I'm not going to belabor this.
Those of you reading this, some of you may not like Science Fiction and you may not like the effects. At this moment I really don't care. Because in another rewatch of Babylon 5, I am bowled over by how prescient this little show that could was. To be honest, you don't even need to watch past Season 3 (although given how Season 3 ends, I'm pretty sure you're going to if you've invested at that point).
It's as good a reflection of the problems facing America today as anything I've seen, and it was written more than 25 years ago.
Yes, it's a slow start. Yes, Michael O'Hare sometimes comes across as wooden. Yes, Bruce Boxleitner might as well have "I am a Boy Scout" stenciled on his forehead. But the overarching storyline is terrifying in just how accurately J. Michael Straczynski (hereafter JMS) portrayed the human condition and how fear can twist us.
Before you launch into a "your fave is problematic" diatribe...I know that JMS is problematic. Hell, he knows he's problematic. That does nothing to negate the fact that this work of his is the best thing he'll ever do and contains a story that does what Shakespeare did: highlight who we are as people.
Warts and all. Maybe especially the warts.
We can all sit around and hope for Gene Roddenberry's vision a better future (for those of you who don't know, Roddenberry=Mr. Star Trek) where we follow the better angels of our nature, but for the pragmatists among us, Straczynski has you covered. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" might also be one of JMS' mottos.
I can pontificate about this for a long, long time. But I'll just say this: it's on HBO Max, and it's worth your time.
PS: RIP Mira Furlan, a better actress than we deserved, and a life needlessly shortened by a disease we should have found a way to cure by now (West Nile Virus).
