Babylon 5
Stuck the LandingFinale "Sleeping in Light" scored 9.2, one of its highest-rated episodes.Grew the BeardSeason 1 rated 7.1. From season 3 on it settled around 8.1.
Sprawling sagaA many-threaded epic that unfolds across seasons.This show: 9/10Space & sci-fiSpace, aliens and grand-scale science fiction.This show: 9/10Deep worldbuildingDense lore that rewards immersion.This show: 9/10SerializedContinuous arcs where every episode builds on the last.This show: 9/10Political intriguePower struggles inside governments and institutions.This show: 8/10Ensemble castMany characters carrying equal weight.This show: 8/10PhilosophicalBig questions of meaning, ethics and existence.This show: 7/10War & militaryArmed conflict and the soldier's experience.This show: 7/10
Rate this series
Starring
Mira FurlanRichard BiggsStephen FurstAndreas KatsulasPeter JurasikJerry Doyle
Written by
J. Michael Straczynski
Starring
Mira FurlanRichard BiggsStephen FurstAndreas KatsulasPeter JurasikJerry Doyle
Written by
J. Michael Straczynski
Ratings per Episode
Votes per Episode
Babylon 5 Episode Ratings Heatmap
| Avg | E1 | E2 | E3 | E4 | E5 | E6 | E7 | E8 | E9 | E10 | E11 | E12 | E13 | E14 | E15 | E16 | E17 | E18 | E19 | E20 | E21 | E22 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | 7.1 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 7.0 | 6.4 | 7.3 | 7.6 | 6.8 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 7.2 | 8.3 | 5.8 | 6.6 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 8.4 | 7.3 | 8.6 | |
| S2 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 6.7 | 7.1 | 7.3 | 7.7 | 9.1 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 7.7 | 7.4 | 7.2 | 7.8 | 8.9 | 7.2 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 9.2 | 8.0 | 9.1 | |
| S3 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 6.8 | 8.6 | 9.1 | 9.6 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 9.1 | 9.4 | 7.2 | 6.6 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 9.4 | |
| S4 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 7.8 | 7.5 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 7.2 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 9.0 | 7.5 | 8.6 | 8.3 | 8.8 | 9.2 | 8.5 | 7.6 | |
| S5 | 7.7 | 7.1 | 7.8 | 7.3 | 7.8 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 7.8 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 7.9 | 8.5 | 8.6 | 8.9 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 9.2 |
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About
"A five-year plan that mostly delivered"
Set aboard a five-mile-long space station in neutral territory, Babylon 5 follows its commanders and ambassadors as alliances fracture and an ancient evil stirs. It's a slow-burn political drama dressed as space opera, built around a story arc plotted years in advance rather than made up episode to episode. Early seasons wobble with dated effects and stiff line deliveries, but the show rewards patience: threads planted quietly pay off across seasons in a way genre TV rarely attempted at the time. It's talky, earnest, occasionally cheesy, and ultimately one of the more ambitious things network sci-fi ever tried.
Watch it for
the rare payoff of a story arc planned from the very first episode.
Maybe skip if
you can't get past clunky early effects and a shaky, uneven first season.
Written by our AI editor to help you decide, spoiler-free by design.
All Seasons
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Signs and Portents1994
7.134K2317h 32m
Season one is set in the year 2258 aboard a five-mile-long, totally self-sufficient United Nations-like space station. Babylon 5 is where humans and aliens try to work out their differences peacefully, in neutral territory full of mystery, suspense, and adventure. The space outpost is a hotbed of interplanetary intrigue, conspiracies, and betrayals among myriad life-forms living and working together.
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The Coming of Shadows1994
7.821K2215h 53m
In season two, Babylon 5 gets a controversial new leader as the station prepares to serve as the last defense against a terrifying race known as the Shadows.
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Point of No Return1995
8.321K2215h 58m
It is now the year 2259. Five hostile federations dominate the outermost regions of space. This season, Babylon 5's captain declares the station an independent state and forms a war council to battle the evil Shadows – and their allies on Earth.
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No Surrender, No Retreat1996
8.217K2216h 1m
In season four, the station continues to serve as a refuge for heroes, thieves, and rare and exotic beings in a time of uneasy peace and the constant threat of war. The space station and its allies finally engage the powerful Shadows in a tremendous showdown, while the station's captain strives to expose far-reaching corruption on Earth. Also, Sheridan and Delenn's alliance – both personal and political – signals a new age of peace in the universe.
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Wheel of Fire1998
7.715K2216h 9m
In 2262, longstanding conflicts between telepaths and normal humans lead to a major clash on the space station. A new captain takes over, and Sheridan continues Babylon 5's peacekeeping mission by forming the InterStellar Alliance.
Full Cast & Crew
Cast
Mira Furlan Delenn, Ambassador Delenn
Richard Biggs Dr. Stephen Franklin
Stephen Furst Vir Cotto
Andreas Katsulas G'Kar
Peter Jurasik Londo Mollari
Jerry Doyle Michael Garibaldi
Bill Mumy Lennier
Bruce Boxleitner Capt. John Sheridan, President John Sheridan
Claudia Christian Cmdr. Susan Ivanova, Lt. Cmdr. Susan Ivanova, Capt. Susan Ivanova
Jeff Conaway Zack Allan, Security Chief Zack Allan, Zack Allen
Crew
J. Michael Straczynski
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