The television series ''Babylon 5s use of the Internet began in 1991 with the creator of the series,
J. Michael Straczynski
Joseph Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'' ( ...
, who participated in a number of
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
venues to discuss elements of his work with his fans, including the
rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5 Usenet
Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...
newsgroup, where he continued to communicate as late as March 2007. This flow of information and feedback had a substantial impact on ''
Babylon 5'', as well as Straczynski's other shows and his fan base. This interaction pre-dated the coining of the term "
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
", but is functionally similar.
As of September 2021, Straczynski continues to interact with his fans regularly on Twitter.
Internet usage
Forums
''Babylon 5'' was one of the first shows to employ
Internet marketing to create publicity among online readers far in advance of the airing of the pilot episode. Straczynski participated in online communities on
Usenet
Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...
(in the
rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated newsgroup), and the
GEnie and
Compuserve
CompuServe (CompuServe Information Service, also known by its initialism CIS) was an American online service provider, the first major commercial one in the world – described in 1994 as "the oldest of the Big Three information services (the oth ...
systems before the web came together as it exists today. Straczynski had long participated in many online forums since the 1980s, and is widely credited as being the first notable artist and celebrity to interact with fans online, even before the advent of the
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet.
Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...
.
This free interaction with his fans was not without its problems. A third-season episode ("
Passing Through Gethsemane
''Babylon 5'' is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on the Babylon 5 space station: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the ...
") was originally developed a year earlier in 1994 but had to be "scuttled" because a fan posted a story idea on GEnie that matched the plot of the episode. The story was not put back into the production pipeline until Straczynski could obtain a signed legal release from the fan. The moderated
Usenet
Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...
group was created as a consequence, specifically to filter out story ideas. Straczynski also asked fans not to engage in fan-fiction while the show was in production, and most fans complied with this request.
On rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, Straczynski regularly discussed with fans the process of creating and producing the show, the meaning of the work, and the development of the plot. He confirmed or denied fan theories and interpretations of the show, and answered questions – though often cryptically. In November 1995, Straczynski temporarily left the newsgroup due to an increasing number of
flames
A flame (from Latin ''flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...
, but returned in December when a process was put in place to filter the threads that reached him.
Fan sites
''Babylon 5'' also inspired a number of fan sites. One of the first was ''The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5''. It was noticed by ''The Washington Post'' and acknowledged by Straczynski in a Season 5 DVD commentary. Its root URL at the time, Hyperion, was used on the show as the name of a heavy cruiser.
It also received early news from the show's copyright holders.
Internet marketing
In 1995, Warner Bros. started the Official Babylon 5 web site which was hosted on the now defunct Pathfinder portal. In September 1995 they hired a fan,
Troy Rutter, to take over the site and move it not only to its own domain name at www.babylon5.com, but also to oversee the "Keyword B5" area on
America Online
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...
. The fans continued to play an important role in the development of the series and the online support campaign is credited with helping persuade former
PTEN station owners to carry the fourth season of the show in 1996.
Over the course of the series, Warner Bros. encouraged the use of pictures and images on fan web sites, and eventually created a home-page community called AcmeCity where users could create a homepage using logos and graphics without fear of lawsuits. Also during this time,
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
executive Jim Moloshok created and distributed electronic
trading cards
A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other ...
to help advertise the series.
A contest was conducted in conjunction with
Sound Source Interactive called the ''Mystery Alien Sweepstakes,'' with the grand-prize to portray an alien on the show.
Fan influences
*The ''Babylon 5'' pilot, ''
The Gathering,'' originally featured music by former
Police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
drummer
Stewart Copeland. After ''B5'' was greenlighted Straczynski solicited suggestions on GEnie for a replacement composer. After some suggested
Tangerine Dream member
Christopher Franke
Christopher Franke (born 6 April 1953) is a German musician and composer. From 1971 to 1987, he was a member of the electronic group Tangerine Dream. Initially a drummer with The Agitation, later renamed Agitation Free, his primary focus eventua ...
, that musician was eventually hired.
*Straczynski hired
John E. Hudgens
John E. Hudgens (born April 6, 1967, in Memphis, Tennessee) is an independent director, producer, and editor noted for his short ''Star Wars'' fan films and for many ''Babylon 5'' promotional videos.
On his own, Hudgens began editing ''Babylo ...
, a fan of the show, and later the ''Babylon 5'' section sysop on
GEnie, to create promotional music videos for the show after seeing the original one Hudgens did on his own. They collaborated on a total of eight, and Straczynski would often use one as his introduction at convention appearances. Straczynski commissioned the fifth one (''Welcome to the Third Age'') to be his pitch reel to sell the show to
TNT.
*The spatial location of the B5 station itself is stated as “Grid Epsilon coordinates: 470/18/22.” This came about because Straczynski was touched by an outpouring of support from the GEnie Science Fiction and Fantasy RoundTable (SFRT) community in regards to a potential letter-writing campaign that turned out not to be needed after all. He was still grateful, however, and asked how he could show his appreciation. An SFRT participant suggested placing the station at the 3D spatial coordinates corresponding to the GEnie Page (#470, for original SFRT), CATegory (#18, for Non-Trek SFTV Series), and TOPic (#22, for Babylon 5) of what was then the only official B5 Topic on GEnie (the strange capitalization of CATegory and TOPic is because GEnie was command line-based and allowed commands to be abbreviated to three letters). Straczynski agreed and added that info to the series bible used by episode writers. The “Grid Epsilon” part was his own touch, based on the first two letters (which were usually both capitalized) of GEnie itself (since it was originally a GE (
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
) property).
*B5 fans on GEnie referred to themselves as "Grid Epsilon Irregulars".
*A fictional chemical substance called Quantium-40 was mentioned after Straczynski conducted a contest online to name the substance.
*A Fresh Aire Restaurant waiter was named David after David Strauss, who came up with the name Quantium-40.
Another character was named after a fan who helped raise money when one of the actors had not been paid for his conference attendance.
*Babylon 5 fans on the Internet have popularized the
<*>
symbol ("the
ASCII
ASCII ( ), abbreviated from American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. Because of ...
Jumpgate") as a sort of "secret handshake" to recognize each other online. In 1994, a
birthday card for Straczynski was sent around the U.S. to many of the avid posters on the rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon-5
newsgroup
A Usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from users in different locations using the Internet. They are discussion groups and are not devoted to publishing news. Newsgroups are technically distinct ...
. While the card was being circulated, clues were given on the newsgroup, denoted by the symbol
<*>
, and the jumpgate symbol continued to be used thereafter, even appearing on fan-produced jewelry.
See also
*
''Babylon 5'' influences
References
Sources
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Further reading
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{{Use mdy dates, date=March 2020
Babylon 5
1990s in Internet culture
2000s in Internet culture