Babylon 5 Remastered Now Available On HBO Max

Babylon 5 is now streaming on HBO Max. Not only that, but the series has been upgraded for its [...]

By Jamie Lovett

Babylon 5 is now streaming on HBO Max. Not only that, but the series has been upgraded for its move to Warner Bros.' streaming service. The series, which fans feel has been mistreated in the home media market, received some HD upgrades that can now be seen in all five seasons on HBO Max. The updated episodes are also available to purchase on iTunes and Amazon. Series creator J. Michael Straczynski shared a preview of the remastered work to Twitter in November 2020. "This appears to be a look at the 'remastered' B5 eps on Itunes/Prime (for purchase)," he Tweeted with a vidoe comparison attached. "For me the biggest difference is the color range. The DVDs/digital until now were so washed out, after a while even I forgot how much vibrant color there was."

Babylon 5 is a space opera series that began with the test pilot movie Babylon 5: The Gathering and then began airing in full on Warner Bros.' Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN) in January 1994. The series ran for five seasons, following the diplomatic drama of the diplomats and military personnel stationed on Babylon 5, meant to be a neutral meeting ground for rival factions who had just previously been embroiled in a long and costly war.

Babylon 5 was considered ahead of its time in terms of long-form television storytelling. Rather than telling episodic stories and expanding the characters as seasonal renewals demanded, Straczynski conceived Babylon 5 as a "novel for television," planning out a five-season story before the show debuted.

Those plans hit problems when PTEN ceased production in 1997. Believing the fourth season would by Babylon 5's last, Straczynski did his best to cram the final two seasons of planned material into one, wrapping up the lingering plot threads. That made things awkward when the series was renewed for a fifth season on TNT, requiring an additional season's worth of stories. The series also includes six made-for-TV movies and three spinoffs.

Babylon 5 was also ahead of the curve in terms of creating a multimedia franchise. The series spawned several tie-in novels, games, and comics. Unlike other comparable franchises, these tie-ins are largely considered part of the series canon, with Straczynski writing some himself.

Are you excited about Babylon 5's remaster on HBO Max? Will you be revisiting the series or checking it out for the first time? Let us know in the comments section.

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