Interstellar Network News

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Interstellar Network News (ISN) is a fictional TV news network in the Babylon 5 universe. ISN was modelled on real-world news outlets, such as CNN. In the Babylon 5 fictional universe, ISN is the sole Earth broadcaster, based in Geneva, [1] :106 and is featured in many episodes such that the changes in tone are readily discerned as the show progresses.

<i>Babylon 5</i> American space opera television series

Babylon 5 is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Television. After the successful airing of a test pilot movie on February 22, 1993, Babylon 5: The Gathering, in May 1993 Warner Bros. commissioned the series for production as part of its Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN). The first season premiered in the US on January 26, 1994, and the series ultimately ran for the intended five seasons, costing an estimated $90 million for 110 episodes.

CNN American news channel

CNN is an American news-based pay television channel owned by AT&T's WarnerMedia. CNN was founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner as a 24-hour cable news channel. Upon its launch, CNN was the first television channel to provide 24-hour news coverage, and was the first all-news television channel in the United States.

As the series unfolds, ISN evolves from a free press to a blatant propaganda organ. In the final episode of Season 2, ISN broadcasts, unedited, Lt. Keffer's footage of a Shadow vessel attacking him in hyperspace, [2] :250–251 which only later is investigated by Earthforce. [2] :257–258 During the Earth Alliance Civil War, the ISN studios were forcibly seized during a live broadcast in the Season 3 episode, Severed Dreams , [2] :295 after which the network was absent from the show until Ship of Tears , four episodes later, [2] :312 but the public reaction to ISN after it returns is more skeptical. [3] :200

"Severed Dreams" is an episode from the third season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. It won the 1997 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.

Ship of Tears is an episode from the third season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.

The season 4 episode, The Illusion of Truth is a frank study in propaganda. [4] Rather than a traditional episode format, the Babylon 5 command staff grant interviews to an ISN news team. [5] :138 The final segment of the episode is the resultant piece of propaganda, carefully edited to portray Captain Sheridan, Delenn, and others in as bad a light as possible. [6] :75–78

"The Illusion of Truth" is an episode from the fourth season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.

Following the Earth Alliance Civil War, the ISN anchors removed in Severed Dreams are returned to the air in Endgame . [6] :107

Endgame (<i>Babylon 5</i>) 20th episode of the fourth season of Babylon 5

"Endgame" is an episode from the fourth season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.

ISN also broadcasts news magazine-style shows, including "36 hours" featured in the episodes And Now For a Word [3] :128–132 and The Deconstruction of Falling Stars . [6] :114 During the former, short pro-Psi Corps messages are seen, representing subliminal propaganda, [5] :82` but actually being shown twice as long as a 'real' subliminal ad, in part to avoid running afoul of the actual laws regarding subliminal broadcasts. [2] :226

"The Deconstruction of Falling Stars" is the final episode of the fourth season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. This was the final episode of Babylon 5 to air on PTEN, produced as a replacement for "Sleeping in Light" when the show was renewed by TNT.

In the fictional universe of Babylon 5, the Psi Corps is an agency of the Earth Alliance responsible for all humans with telepathic or other para-psychological abilities anywhere within Earth-controlled space. All persons with Psi abilities are required to either join the Corps, face lifetime imprisonment, or submit to a lifetime of drug treatments to suppress their abilities. Prolonged treatment with these drugs has a depressing effect. Susan Ivanova's mother committed suicide after ten years under treatment.

Series creator J. Michael Straczynski noted that ISN broadcasts were designed to "reveal more about what was happening on Earth than what was going on aboard Babylon 5" [3] :129 Henry Jenkins notes that "The series' characters inhabit a world profoundly shaped by the flow of news and information across various channels of communication [...] They give interviews to reporters, and we watch as what they say is distorted to serve various agendas." [7] :vx-xvi

J. Michael Straczynski American writer and television producer

Joseph Michael Straczynski is an American television and film screenwriter, producer, director, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Studio JMS, and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 (1993–1998) and its spinoff Crusade (1999), as well as the series Jeremiah (2002–2004), and Sense8 (2015–2018).

Henry Jenkins American media scholar

Henry Jenkins III is an American media scholar and Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts, a joint professorship at the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He also has a joint faculty appointment with the USC Rossier School of Education. Previously, Jenkins was the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities as well as co-founder and co-director of the Comparative Media Studies program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has also served on the technical advisory board at ZeniMax Media, parent company of video game publisher Bethesda Softworks. In 2013, he was appointed to the board that selects the prestigious Peabody Award winners.

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<i>Crusade</i> (TV series) spin-off TV show from J. Michael Straczynskis Babylon 5

Crusade is an American spin-off television series from J. Michael Straczynski's Babylon 5, released in 1999. Its plot is set in 2267, five years after the events of Babylon 5, and just after the movie A Call to Arms. The Drakh have released a nanovirus plague on Earth, which will destroy all life on Earth within five years if it is not stopped. The Victory class destroyer Excalibur has been sent out to look for anything that could help the search for a cure.

"The Fall of Night" is the final episode of the second season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.

"And Now For a Word" is an episode from the second season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. The documentary format used in this episode was later revisited for the fourth-season episode "The Illusion of Truth".

English Wikipedia articles related to Babylon 5 and Crusade:

The Earth Alliance is the name of a fictional alliance of the nations of Earth and off-world colonies in the television series Babylon 5. The transition of Earth government from a democratic, elected government to an authoritarian, militaristic one and back to a democracy again is a major theme of the series. It is considered one of the five major galactic diplomatic/military powers in the Babylon 5 pilot episode movie "The Gathering". They have separate seats at the head of the council chambers on the Babylon 5 station. The League of Non-Aligned Worlds sit in the general assembly section.

The Battle of the Line is a fictional battle in the Babylon 5 fictional universe, the final battle of the Earth-Minbari war. The Battle of the Line was a desperate attempt by the Earth Alliance to stop a Minbari combat fleet from attacking Earth. Over 20,000 Human defenders fought in the battle, including most of the remaining warships of the Earth fleet. Despite this armada, the Minbari fleet easily destroyed most of the defending human warships, taking few losses themselves. Incredibly, however, the Minbari suddenly surrendered to the almost-defeated humans with no explanation.

Morgan Clark fictional character from the television series Babylon 5

William Morgan Clark is a fictional character and a major antagonist from the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, portrayed by Gary McGurk. His character rarely appeared on-screen, but is a major off-screen presence in the show.

Ulkesh fictional characer from the television series Babylon 5

Ulkesh Naranek is a character within the fictional universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. The voice for the character was provided by Ardwight Chamberlain.

<i>Omega</i>-class destroyer

The Omega-class destroyer is a fictional vessel used by Earthforce, the military branch of the Earth Alliance, in the science fiction television series Babylon 5. The CGI model of the ship created through an early version of Lightwave made its first appearance during the opening scene of the opening episode of the second season, "Points Of Departure", which was initially aired in the United States on November 2, 1994.

In the Babylon 5 science fiction saga, the Book of G'Quan is a Narn holy book. Each book is copied painstakingly by hand, exactly reproduced from the original version. In this way, the accuracy of the text and images are assured. Narratively, the book of G'Quan plays "an [...] important role in both Babylon 5's primary arc and G'Kar's personal story."

Draal is a fictional character in the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played first by Louis Turenne and later by John Schuck.

Number One (<i>Babylon 5</i>) fictional character from Babylon 5

Tessa Holloran, also known as Number One, is a recurring fictional character in the television series Babylon 5, and was portrayed by United States actress Marjorie Monaghan. On the show, Number One was initially the leader of the resistance movement on Mars and later became head of covert intelligence for the Interstellar Alliance. During the time frame Babylon 5 takes place, Mars was a human space colony seeking independence from the Earth Alliance, and the issues on the red planet were story elements throughout the Babylon 5 series.

This article contains some of the most important mythological elements of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.

Babylon 5 is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label in association with Straczynski’s Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Television. After the successful airing of a backdoor pilot movie, Warner Bros. commissioned the series as part of the second year schedule of programs provided by its Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN). It premiered in the United States on January 26, 1994 and ran for the intended five seasons. Describing it as having "always been conceived as, fundamentally, a five year story, a novel for television", Straczynski wrote 92 of the 110 episodes and served as executive producer, along with Douglas Netter.

References

  1. ↑ Bassam, David (1997). The A-Z Guide to Babylon 5. Dell Publishing. ISBN   0440223857.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Lane, Andy (1997). The Babylon File. Virgin Books. ISBN   0753500493.
  3. 1 2 3 Guffey, Ensley K; K. Dale Koontz (2017). A Dream Given Form: The Unofficial Guide to the Universe of Babylon 5. ECW Press. ISBN   9781770412651.
  4. ↑ J.P. Telotte (2008). The Essential Science Fiction Television Reader. University Press of Kentucky. p. 260. ISBN   9780813172965. "But once we have watched The Illusion of Truth--an episode in which we first see the cast go about their business while being recorded by a news crew and then watch the distorted broadcast of those events--how can we believe in news objectivity?"
  5. 1 2 Bassom, David (1997). Creating Babylon 5. Del Rey Books. ISBN   0345414527.
  6. 1 2 3 Lane, Andy (1999). The Babylon File, Volume 2. Virgin Books. ISBN   075350233X.
  7. ↑ Lancaster, Kurt (2001). Interacting with Babylon 5: Fan Performances in a Media Universe. University of Texas Press. ISBN   0292747225.
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