i have started to re-view all five season from Babylon 5, most likely my favorite science fiction television show ever. although i used to be quite a fan of Star Trek in the 1990s and early 2000s, i could never accept it as a possible future of mankind. Star Trek is pure utopia, a perfect future where humanity managed to overcome all the pressing issues and lives more or less happily. Babylon 5 however is more “realistic” not only in terms of the underlying story (there are conflicts and wars) but also from a technological point of view.
at the moment i am at the end of season 1 and one thing struck me as weird because i haven’t noticed it before: the subtle religious or spiritual undertone of some episodes. i find it hard to believe that our dominant belief systems can survive another 200 years without any significant changes.
additionally, i am trying to picture the “galaxy” of B5, ie. put it on an actual map of our galaxy and see how big it actually is. google came up with useful information and it seems that the area of space B5 covers is actually pretty small. but still, considering the Voyager probes that were launched from Earth in the 1970s are “only” to leave our solar system now after thirty years countinous travel.
it is New Year’s Eve today and i am not sure what to expect from 2008. maybe i should put it in a B5 like phrase: i want to find something worth living for because nothing is the same anymore.