Table of contents
1 B5 and The Lord of the Rings
2 B5 and Shakespeare
3 B5 and King Arthur
4 Ancient Greek Myth
5 Freud
6 Other Influences

B5 and The Lord of the Rings

Several elements in Babylon 5 seem a lot like elements in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. For instance, in The Fellowship of the Ring, the Dark Riders first appear singly, then in progressively larger groups; Babylon 5 repeated this tension-building pattern early in its first season, when enemy forces known as the Shadows appear first singly, and then in vast numbers. The wizard Gandalf is warned in a prophecy that he will die if he goes to an underground city called "Khazad-dûm" (see Moria); in B5, commander John Sheridan is warned that he will die if he goes to a planet called "Z'Ha'Dum" ("Dum" may be a common reference to the word "Doom.") Both men sacrifice themselves, fall into an abyss, and return in an altered form to unite the forces of good against the forces of evil.

Also, Babylon 5 takes place at "the dawn of the third age", and the defeat of Sauron in Lord of the Rings is considered to be the ending event of the third age of Middle Earth.

The name Narns might be derived either from C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, or from Tolkien's Narn i Hin Hurin in The Silmarillion which was itself almost certainly the inspiration for the name Narnia.

JMS (J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of B5) acknowledges Tolkien when a "techno mage" loosely quotes The Fellowship of the Ring, where the character Gildor Inglorion says, "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."

However, after being asked about this and other relationships many times, JMS has been known to get upset.

His response is that, as an author, he is very well capable of writing his own story, and that it is insulting to suggest that B5 is a LotR rip-off. JMS states that people misunderstand the similarities between the two different stories. He often says that B5 is "greatly informed by" but "is not" any particular preceding work of fiction or history.

B5 and Shakespeare

A plethora of Shakespearian quotes and misquotes pepper the Babylon Five dialog. Macbeth being a notable favorite.

B5 and King Arthur

Two episodes highlight the influence of the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The Battle of the Line is an analog to the King Arthur's final battle. Delenn is associated with the Lady of the Lake. Sheridan is unquestionably King Arthur, gathering the disparate alien races under one alliance. Lennier reveals himself as Lancelot when he betrays the rangers over his feelings for Delenn, and Kosh may literally or figuratively be Merlin. Marcus suggests that Kosh, like Merlin, might see the future by remembering it, and that Kosh may have visited Earth and modeled the Round Table after the characters from Bablyon 5.

Excalibur appears at least twice in the series: once as an actual sword and again as the first of the Excalibur Class warships. Note the episode: "A Late Delivery from Avalon."

Ancient Greek Myth

Many of the Earth Alliance ships in B5 are named after Greek or Roman Gods. JMS has said repeatedly that G'Kar is his Cassandra character, who predicts the future but whose warnings go unheard.

Freud

This one may seem dubious, but the dutiful viewer must contrast Babylon 5's effeminate, womb-like form to the Excalibur's phallic presence. Babylon Five is a "Dream Given Form," with the dream symbol repeating itself notably in Londo's dream of his own death and in a subtle reference, "you can't let that destroy the dream" while Sheridan is on Z'ha'dum. (Watch for it in the episode.)

Other Influences

Babylon 5 does have many other influences, including World War II ("There will be peace in our time," remarks a Human diplomat after signing a treaty with the Centauri, who later overrun the galaxy.), The Prisoner, Forbidden Planet, E. E. Smith's Lensman novels and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.

One final influence should be obvious: the history of ancient Babylon.