Season 1: "Signs and Portents"
Season 2: "The Coming of Shadows"
Season 3: "Point of No Return"
Season 4: "No Surrender, No Retreat"

The Babylon Project was our last, best hope for peace. A self-contained world five miles long, located in neutral territory. A place of commerce and diplomacy for a quarter of a million humans and aliens. A shining beacon in space, all alone in the night. It was the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind...the year the Great War came upon us all. This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2259. The name of the place is Babylon 5. - Captain Sheridan

Babylon 5's mission appears increasingly hopeless. After nearly two years of operation, everything is changing for the worse. Though Babylon 5's mission of peace continues, war appears to be imminent, and there is a dangerous new power in the galaxy that few even suspect exists. Amid the heightening tensions, the complex relationships among the major powers are shifting in unpredictable ways.

The Earth Alliance is in charge of the station and the surrounding space. Its president was recently killed in an "accidental" explosion. His successor seems to be taking the goverment in a sinister direction. President Clark is connected with the Psi-Corps, an organization responsible for the tracking and training of human telepaths; increasingly, though, the Corps appears to be meddling in Earth politics, pursuing its own agenda. Evidence that the last president's death was not an accident isn't being taken seriously. Babylon 5's first commander, Sinclair, was abruptly removed from his post and sent to the Minbari homeworld. The new commander, Captain Sheridan, has his work cut out for him; keeping the peace has never been more difficult.

Once an adversary of Earth, the Minbari Federation has continued to show interest in and friendship with humanity. Over the past year, a few have discovered why: the Minbari religious caste believes that some humans are carrying reincarnated Minbari souls, a discovery they made on the brink of victory over Earth eleven years earlier. The abrupt cessation of the Earth-Minbari War was a direct result; Minbari have a strict moral code against killing others of their kind. Minbari are humanoid, bald, with pale skin and bone crests on their heads.

The Centauri Republic, long considered a fading empire, seems to be on the upswing, thanks to a deal that Ambassador Londo Mollari struck with a mysterious race he knows next to nothing about. Centauri women are bald; men wear their hair in peacock-style fans whose length indicates the wearer's social standing. The Republic is rife with political intrigue and backstabbing.

Among those formerly under Centauri domination are the Narn, a reptilian-looking race who fought off their oppressors in a century-long war of attrition. The Narn Regime has been building up its military, and it looks like that preparation may pay off, as the Centauri have gotten aggressive again and there may be more conflict ahead. Only Narn Ambassador G'Kar believes that somebody else is responsible for the Centauri's military flexing and that more races than the Narn are in danger.

Even though the Vorlon Empire has had a representative on Babylon 5 for a year and a half, almost nothing is known about his race. Ambassador Kosh seems to be taking an interest in Captain Sheridan, but Kosh's interest in humans is still shrouded in mystery. The Vorlons are an extremely powerful race; no expedition into their space has been heard from again. There seems to be some history between the Vorlons and the Minbari, but neither one is willing to say what it is.

The Shadows are a strong and dark power who are clearly not interested in being discovered. Only those who pay attention to prophecies suspect they may have returned after a centuries-long absence. Through their human agent Morden (pictured here) they have offered to help Londo restore the Centauri Empire's glory... but clearly that's only one step in their larger plans.

Much has been resolved since Babylon 5 went online, but many more mysteries and problems remain. Who are the Shadows, and what do they want? What is going on back on Earth, where a new administration seems to be playing some dangerous games? How will Londo deal with his newfound power as he moves aggressively to recapture the Centauri Republic's former glory? Babylon 4 reappeared briefly, in the process of being pulled forward in time by a future version of Commander Sinclair to act as a base of operations in a great war; when will that happen, and how will it end?

Next: The Main Cast

Last update: October 15, 1995