Do you remember BABYLON 5? During the early 90’s, when there was a veritable dearth of genre programming, BABYLON 5 “was our last best hope…” for something worth watching! Part soap opera, part conspiracy theory drama, and part war story, BABYLON 5 arguably influenced television as we know it today. With its series-long continuous story arcs that only soaps had dared to do, and its pioneering CGI effects simply because there wasn’t the budget for the traditional complex optical effects with physical models, BABYLON 5 became the template for STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE which aired at around the same time.

Well, the writers of hit series BREAKING BAD certainly remember this ground-breaking science fiction programme, as it was referenced in a recent episode. This prompted BABYLON 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski to tweet that he would like to see his creation to return as “more than an obscure reference” and he urged fans to “get organized and loud”, because if the show didn’t discover new viewers it could “slide into obscurity”.

“Because Babylon 5 isn’t on the air in the US anywhere, it’s impossible for the show to add new viewers except one at a time, friend to friend, or if you’ve heard about it enough to want to shell out the money for the DVDs,” he said.

“Casual viewers can’t stumble across it while channel surfing – either has to be convinced to release the show somewhere, or a network like Syfy or Chiller or another along those lines has to be prompted to pick it up. This ain’t something I can do, or even directly participate in. It’s up to the fans now.”

Could Netflix be a new home for the seminal series? Not according to Straczynski, as he insists that “to find new viewers needs a network”. Time to dust off my DVD box sets and make some noise.

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