What is the concept of the series?
The first season's voiceover, given
by the station's first commander Jeffrey Sinclair, provides the foundation:
"It was the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind, ten years after the Earth-Minbari War. The Babylon Project was a dream given form. Its goal: to create a place where humans and aliens could work out their differences peacefully. It was a port-of-call; home away from home for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs, and wanderers. Humans and aliens wrapped in two million, five hundred thousand tons of spinning metal: all alone in the night. It can be a dangerous place, but it's our last, best hope for peace."
Babylon 5 was born out of the ashes of humanity's worst conflicts. Around the Earth-year 2247, an unfortunate misunderstanding between the Earth Alliance and the Minbari Federation developed during the first contact of the two powers. As a result, the spiritual/political leader of Minbar was killed and the Minbari began a quest of vengeance against Earth. They chased humanity back to their own solar system, destroying everything in their path. Even though the Minbari surrendered just short of destroying the Earth, humans realized how close they had come to extinction.
After four previous attempts, the Earth Alliance built the space station Babylon 5 and it became fully operational in 2257. The five major galactic entities- the Earth Alliance, the Minbari Federation, the Centauri Republic, the Narn Regime, and the Vorlon Empire- sent a representative to sit on the station's ruling council. A population of about 250,000 humans and aliens lived on the station at any given moment. Babylon 5 became a symbol of cooperation and an example strength through diversification. However, there were troubles ahead....