One of the most influential science series of the last two decades was Babylon 5 (B5) For those not familiar with the series, here is a short Wikipedia description:
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on the Babylon 5 space station: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict in the late 2250s and early 2260s. With its prominent use of pre-planned story arcs, the series was often described as a "novel for television."
One interesting tidbit about B5 was use of the Internet by J. Michael Straczynski (JMS). JMS would discuss details of the series with fans through various early Internet portals.
I am posting some of my favorite quotes, some self-explanatory, others I will make additional comments.
They are alone. They are a dying people. We should let them pass.
-Kosh, Midnight on the Firing Line
Who? Republicans?
Every day, here and at home, we are warned about the enemy. But who is the enemy? Is it the alien? Well, we are all alien to one another. Is it the one who believes differently than we do? No, oh no, my friends. The enemy is fear. The enemy is ignorance. The enemy is the one who tells you that you must hate that which is different. Because, in the end, that hate will turn on you. And that same hate will destroy you.
-Rev. Dexter, And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place
Damn, "my friends" about ruined this quote, but it is about the "my friends" guy's friends.
Let me pass on to you the one thing I've learned about this place. No one here is exactly what he appears.
-G'Kar, Mind War
Is G'Kar a dKos contributor?
Kosh: Ahh. You seek meaning.
Talia: Yes.
Kosh: Then listen to the music, not the song.
-Deathwalker
Worst case of testosterone poisoning I've ever seen.
-Ivanova, A Voice in the Wilderness, Part 2
Must be talking about the Bush Administration.
Ambassador, I've learned the hard way that governments deal in matters of convenience, not conscience. If they fall behind, it is up to the rest of us to make up the difference. If we don't, who will?
-Sheridan, Acts of Sacrifice
Yes.We.Will.
I'd like to live just long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I would look up at your lifeless eyes and wave like this.
-Vir Cotto, In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum
Oh, it is to dream.
I was there when our war against Earth began, when our ship encountered an Earth vessel for the first time. Afraid of us, of the unknown, they fired. I saw our leader dying. I heard the cries for revenge, for blood, for death. In return we nearly exterminated an entire species. My people are tired of war, G'Kar!
-Delenn, Acts of Sacrifice
As time passes, our response to 9/11 seems like the Earth-Minbari War.
[Over dinner, new Babylon 5 "political officer" Julie Musante asks Sheridan about "lurkers".]
John Sheridan: It's our version of the homeless. In many ways, we have the same problem Earth does.
Julie Musante: Mmm. Earth doesn't have homeless.
Sheridan: Excuse me?
Musante: We don't have the problem. Yes, there are some "displaced" people, here and there, but, uh... they've chosen to be in that position. They're either lazy, or they're criminal, or they're mentally unstable.
Sheridan: They can't get a job!
Musante: EarthGov has promised a job to anyone that wants one. So, if someone doesn't have a job, they must not want one.
[Musante runs down a list of all the social problems EarthGov has suddenly solved.]
Sheridan: And, uh w-when exactly did all this happen?
Musante: When we rewrote the dictionary.
Sheridan: You can't deal with the problems by pretending they don't exist.
-Voices of Authority
Remember health care for all exists now, the ER.
Something my father said. He was old, very old at the time. I went into his room, and he was sitting alone in the dark, crying. So I asked him what was wrong, and he said, "My shoes are too tight, but it doesn't matter, because I have forgotten how to dance." I never understood what that meant until now. My shoes are too tight, and I have forgotten how to dance.
-Londo, The War Prayer
Let's never forget how to dance.
The Babylon Project was our last, best hope for peace. It failed. But in the year of the Shadow War, it became something greater: our last, best hope...for victory. The year is 2260. The place, Babylon 5.
-Season 3 Opening Credits
During the campaign, I was often reminded of this by The Obama Project of HOPE.
Some other memorable bits from the series: Londo (an alien) tries to figure out what the "Hokey Pokey" song means, a whole episode filmed in real-time on torture, and the exploration of current societal issues. Also, there was an organization called Nightwatch:
In the Babylon 5 science fiction universe, Nightwatch was an Earth Alliance paramilitary organization set up during the Presidency of Morgan Clark. Like the Gestapo of Nazi Germany, Nightwatch became the secret police organization of Clark's New Order.
Nightwatch began by offering extra credits to various people to be their eyes and ears (See: In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum). Because of this, Babylon 5 security officer Zack Allan decided to join Nightwatch. He was in it for the extra money, but soon became more and more disturbed over the course of events, and the escalation of Nightwatch's activities. Zack became increasingly worried about the erosion of civil liberties that was happening with Nightwatch around.
In our universe, thanks for those libertarian librarians.
These few quotes do not do the series justice. A lot of the episodes can be found for free on the Internet, especially at hulu.com (here).