Tolkien's Influence on Babylon 5

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I'm in the process of re-watching the epic science fiction series "Babylon 5" and am seeing many nods to LotR, possibly also other works by Tolkien. There are those superficial references that spring to mind immediately, like "Rangers" (who have a very similar function, wandering about and defending the good side in secret) and "Z'ha'dum" (the home world of the Shadows, who are awakened by an expedition, much like the Balrog in Khazad-Dum was roused by the Dwarves, digging too deep). There are great themes, like death and sacrifice, which are of course not unique to these works, but are present in great literature and film everywhere.

The intent of the (sub-)creator is another point: When J. M. Straczynski speaks or writes about the epic, with its five-year story arc, it sounds very like Tolkien writing that he wanted to try his hand at a really long story to see if he could interest readers throughout it. (Quite possibly JMS paved the way for those series which now carry long overarcing plots - at the time of B5, this was unique and the TV moguls were very sceptical.)

There are also individual lines that jump out at me: when Sheridan says (upon Kosh's statement that he will die if he goes to Z'ha'dum) "Then I will die", it forcibly reminds me of Faramir's "Then it [his life] is forfeit."

Are there other fans of the show here that have noticed the influence? JMS has acknowledged it openly as being a respectful nod to JRRT, not plagiarism. I'd love to find out what you've noticed, and as I continue watching, I'm sure I will have more to post.