In the year 2258, it is ten years after the Earth-Minbari War. Commander Sinclair takes command of a giant five-mile-long cylindrical space station, orbiting a planet in neutral space. At a crossroads of interstellar commerce and diplomacy, Cmdr Sinclair (2d season Captain Sheridan) must try to establish peace and prosperity between various interstellar empires, all the while fighting forces from within the Earth Alliance. It is a precarious command, particularly given that sabotage led to the destruction of Babylon stations 1, 2, and 3 and 4 vanished without trace.

Claudia Christian auditioned for the role of Seven of Nine on "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995). In fact, several B5 actors also did Trek: Andreas Katsulas was Romulan Commander Tomalak; Bill Mumy was an engineer on Starfleet's AR-558 outpost; and more. Trek co-creator Majel Barrett made an appearance on B5 as the seer who foretells Londo's ascension to the throne. Majel Barrett's character, Lady Morella, was the widow of the recently deceased Emperor Turhan, no doubt an homage to Gene Roddenberry.

[Opening narration, season 1]


Commander Jeffrey David Sinclair:
It was the dawn of the third age of mankind, ten years after the Earth-Minbari War. The Babylon Project was a dream given form. Its goal: to prevent another war by creating a place where humans and aliens could work out their differences peacefully. It's a port of call, home away from home for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs, and wanderers. Humans and aliens wrapped in two million, five hundred thousand tons of spinning metal, all alone in the night. It can be a dangerous place, but it's our last, best hope for peace. This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2258. The name of the place is Babylon 5.

Revealing mistakes: In the episode Shadow Dancing, when Franklin slams against a bulkhead, the entire wall moves.