Of all the science fiction television that graced our screens in the 1990s, one of the most popular was easily J. Michael Straczynski's
Babylon 5. Even at a glance it's not difficult to see why: it was a grand space opera featuring alien civilizations, intergalactic war, space combat and so on, but it also featured a pre-planned five-year story arc. I think it was Straczynski himself who described the series' aim as "a novel for television". Spaceships, story arcs, constant little Easter eggs that only science fiction aficionados or dedicated viewers would notice -
Babylon 5 remains to my mind the most strategically directed show for hardcore science fiction fans ever produced.
