Outstanding elements of ''Babylon 5''

This article contains some of the most important mythological elements of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.

Alien Technology

The Great Machine of Epsilon III

The Great Machine is a giant underground structure, located beneath the surface of the planet Epsilon III. The visual appearance of the machine "is strikingly similar to the incredible backdrops and set pieces depicting the Great Machine in the 1956 science fiction film Forbidden Planet." [1]:64

Alien Healing Device

A device used for corporal punishment by an unknown alien race, it transfers life energy from one person to another.[2]:12-13 It is introduced in The Quality of Mercy, after which it comes into the station leadership's possession. It appears twice more, in Revelations, where Capt. Sheridan and Dr. Franklin use it to heal Michael Garibaldi,[3]:179 and in Endgame, where Marcus Cole uses it to heal Commander Susan Ivanova at the cost of his own life.[4]:108

Jumpgate

A large machine in space that provides a stable portal into hyperspace that any ship can use. Quantium-40 is an unstable element required for Jumpgate construction in the Babylon 5 universe.

Minbari Fighting Pike

Ancient type of melee weapon frequently used by Minbari warriors and - most prominently during the series - by Marcus Cole, a Ranger stationed on Babylon 5.[2]:44 When inactive, a Fighting Pike resembles a metal tube or cylinder and is easily concealable.[5] When activated, it rapidly extends into a lightweight quarterstaff.

Shadow Death Cloud

The Shadow Death Cloud is a type of planet killer used by the Shadows. Towards the end of the last Shadow War, the Shadows used at least one Death Cloud to attack planetary populations that had allied with the Vorlons. After the events of the main Babylon 5 television series, the Drakh attacked Earth using a Death Cloud in Babylon 5: A Call to Arms. The attack was foiled by EarthForce and the Interstellar Alliance's new Victory-class battleships, but not before the loss of one of the Victory-class ships, and the infection of Earth with the Drakh plague. Ending the Drakh plague on Earth was the main goal of the protagonists of the short-lived spinoff, Crusade.[4]:209-201

Triluminary

The triluminary is a triangular Minbari device (one of three such devices[3]:160) with a small chip in the center. It appears in the episodes "And the Sky Full of Stars" (S1E8), "Babylon Squared" (S1E20), "Chrysalis" (S1E22), and "War Without End, Part Two" (S3E17).[3]:160. It is a multipurpose object, seen to be used during "And the Sky Full of Stars" to meddle with Jeffrey Sinclair's memory, and in "Chrysalis" to transform Delenn into a half-human, half-Minbari hybrid.[2]:221

In the final moments of the Earth-Minbari War, the Grey Council used a triluminary to interrogate Sinclair, whom they had captured. During the show's first season, it is revealed that the triluminary indicated that Sinclair had a Minbari soul, which prompted the Minbari surrender. In "Atonement" (S4E9), the triluminary's glowing is explained to be in response to Valen's (Sinclair's) DNA.[4]:80 In "Babylon Squared" Delenn is given one of the three triluminaries by another Grey Council member, which she uses in "Chrysalis" to initiate her transformation into a Human-Minbari hybrid.[3]:168 In "War Without End", Zathras appears to bring at least one Triluminary to Sinclair from Epsilon III,[6] to facilitate his transformation into Minbari.[3]:326-327

Earth Alliance Technology

Phased Plasma Gun (PPG)

The Phased Plasma Gun (or PPG) is a fictional weapon from the television series Babylon 5. It is most commonly seen as a sidearm, but the presence of rifle-sized weapons is also noted.[2]:168 A slightly different sidearm version[7] was seen in Bayblon 5's spin-off Crusade.

Normally created with serial numbers that cannot be removed without destroying the weapon, a non-serialized PPG discovered in a late first season episode alerts Babylon 5 Security Chief Michael Garibaldi that a well-connected conspiracy is afoot.[3]:168-170

In earlier episodes, where few shots were fired, plasma bursts were carefully generated and penetrated their targets. Later in Babylon 5, when massive battles were staged, a lower quality CGI[8] was used.

Babylon 5 station personnel use a short range Communication Link (typically referred to simply as a "link"[2]:134) to communicate with each other's within the station. They also have a tracking beacon built in. The links attach to the back of one's hand. The links are bio-coded and designed so they can not be used by anyone except their owner. In the Season Five episode Objects in Motion, however, an assassin kills a security guard, steals his link, and manages to bypass the coding and listen in to security communication.

In that same episode Security Chief Zack Allan finds the link the assassin switched for the guard's link sticking to the inside of a metal box. Chief Medical Officer Stephen Franklin remarks that (the link shouldn't be sticking because) "Links don't use adhesive. It's a molecular bonding material genetically coded to the owner".

In reality, of course, the links had to be glued or taped to the actor's hands. In the cast commentary for the Season 2 episode The Geometry of Shadows the actor who plays Michael Garibaldi complains that having the link glued on and then removed ripped the hair off his hand. The actress who plays Susan Ivanova replies that she used double-sided tape to stick her link to her hand instead of glue.

Organizations

Grey Council

Ruling body of the Minbari Federation as created by Valen during the Shadow War one thousand years before the events of Babylon 5.[9]:232 Comprising nine members, three from each of the Minbari's three castes (Worker, Warrior, Religious). Among Minbari therefore also known as 'The Nine'. The council was broken in mid-2260, around the time Babylon 5 seceded from earth, and was reformed by Delenn in the aftermath of the Shadow War, this time with five from the Worker Caste, and two each from the Warrior and Religious Castes serving in advisory roles.

Nightwatch

The Nightwatch was the secret police force introduced under Earth Alliance President Morgan Clark. It was designed to secure Clark's anti-alien agenda and sniff out "undesirable" factions that were viewed as traitors.[2]:162-163 A significant portion of Babylon 5's security staff joined Nightwatch (among them Zack Allan), much to the consternation of Chief Garibaldi. Narratively, the Nightwatch serves to articulate recurrent human anti-alien prejudice.[9]:196

References

  1. ↑ Guffey, Ensley K; K. Dale Koontz (2017). A Dream Given Form: The Unofficial Guide to the Universe of Babylon 5. ECW Press. ISBN 9781770412651.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bassam, David (1997). The A-Z Guide to Babylon 5. Dell Publishing. ISBN 0440223857.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lane, Andy (1997). The Babylon File. Virgin Books. ISBN 0753500493.
  4. 1 2 3 Lane, Andy (1999). The Babylon File, Volume 2. Virgin Books. ISBN 075350233X.
  5. ↑ Sprange, Matthew (2006). Babylon 5 Role Playing Game. Mongoose Publishing. p. 135. ISBN 9781905471201.
  6. ↑ "Triluminary WAS NEVER CREATED??!? (JMS, what have you done?)". December 11, 1996. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
  7. ↑ "Babylon 5 Universe: Phased Plasma Gun (PPG - Crusade Version)". Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  8. ↑ "Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5: Severed Dreams (jms speaks)". Retrieved 2010-11-12. "Q: The PPG blasts looked different. A: That was because there were so MANY of them; our PPG bursts usually take a great deal of work. If we'd given all of them in this scene that amount of work, we'd still be doing them."
  9. 1 2 Johnson-Smith, Jan (2005). American Science Fiction TV: Star Trek, Stargate, and Beyond. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 0819567388.
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