Babylon 5 influences
Encyclopedia
Science fiction television series Babylon 5
draws upon many cultural, historical and mythical influences to inform and illustrate its characters and storylines.
:
Unusual for a television series, this central theme, planned well before the show's production, develops only slowly and takes several seasons to become clear.
's fantasy novel (first published in three volumes), The Lord of the Rings
. For instance, in the first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring
, the Black Riders
first appear singly, then in progressively larger groups; B5 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. These similarities were acknowledged by Straczynski.
Additionally, the Shadows, like the Black Riders, strike a deep primal fear in everyone who sees them. The way the Shadows are spoken of, as the Darkness and the Enemy is reminiscent of how Sauron is spoken of in The Lord of the Rings.
The most obvious reference from the book are Babylon 5s Rangers
, who share their name and mission with Tolkien's Rangers of the North
. Both are secretive orders that work covertly to protect a populace that is either unaware or openly hostile to them, and both are led by individuals of mixed race — Aragorn
, who had blood of Men, Elves, and Maiar
, and the half-human, half-Minbari
Delenn
. Just as the marriage of Aragorn and Arwen reunited the Humans and Elves, whose blood flowed through them both, the marriage of John Sheridan and Delenn reunited the Humans and Minbari, who shared each other's souls.
The code of the Rangers, as stated by Marcus Cole
in the episode "Grey 17 is Missing
", is: "We walk in the dark places that no one else will enter. We stand on the bridge, and no one may pass." This is reminiscent of two scenes from The Lord of the Rings. The first is Aragorn's description of his Rangers during the Council of Elrond
in The Fellowship of the Ring: "Lonely men are we, Rangers of the North, hunters — but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy"; and the second is Gandalf
's confrontation with the Balrog
over the abyss in Moria
, in particular his cry of "You cannot pass!" before he shatters the bridge. Furthermore, Gandalf has previously been warned (by Aragorn, no less) that he will die if he enters Moria (also known as Khazad-dûm); in B5, captain John Sheridan
is warned that he will die if he goes to a planet called Z'ha'dum
. 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. Kosh could also be compared to Gandalf, in that both are powerful beings who help gather the forces of Light together and act as a mentor towards the main heroes, Sheridan and Aragorn. Both also die in their duties, and both return, though Kosh's return was brief. In early declarations JMS also mentioned that there would be parallels between the trajectories of some characters.
Also, B5 takes place at "the dawn of the third age", and the defeat of Sauron
in The Lord of the Rings is considered to be the ending event of the Third Age of Middle-earth.
The third season of Babylon 5, the Shadow War, is depicted less as a typical science-fiction war than as a conflict between Darkness and Light comparable to the War of the Ring. The Shadows, like Sauron, were defeated before, but over time regained their strength and returned to start a new war. The First Ones were leaving the Galaxy to out beyond the Rim, just as the Elves were leaving Middle-earth to go to Valinor
. After the Shadow War, all the First Ones leave for beyond the Rim. Likewise, after the War of the Ring
, the Elves leave for Valinor. Both universes have difficulty getting all the various races to work together to stop the Enemy, since many of these races are suspicious and distrustful of one another.
Aragorn was the rightful heir to the thrones of the sister realms Arnor
and Gondor
. Arnor had long since fallen, and Gondor's own royal line (Aragorn's relatives by blood) had ended. He was hated by the Steward
Denethor who ruled Gondor in lieu of a king, and feared for his position if Aragorn returned to claim his birthright. Sheridan, comparatively, had to breakway from Earth and was declared a traitor by President Clark. Both Denethor and Clark committed suicide at their end.
The Shadows, like Sauron, also have many servants and races working for them, that they summoned when they prepared to make war again. Both also infiltrated and influenced other rulers and nations, through Emperor Cartagia, President Clark, just as Sauron worked through Saruman
and other forces of evil. The Shadow's Mr. Morden is their smooth-tongue advocate, just as Gríma
"Wormtongue" was in Rohan for Saruman. Additionally, the Shadows use living beings as the central operating system of their warships. This theme of domination and alteration is similar to Sauron's desire to dominate life in Middle-earth and bend all to his will.
Delenn's role is not dissimilar from Arwen's. Also, the Centauri and the Narns stand at different technological levels, just as Gondor and Rohan do in The Lord of the Rings. Gondor itself is described in Roman-like terms, whereas Rohan is more Anglo-Saxon. Gondor and the Centauri Republic are soldier states with organized standing armies
and established government bureaucracies
, whereas Rohan and the Narn Regime are more warrior-oriented, having an ad-hoc military and political structure in which the highest leadership is the only constant. The former are older civilizations and the latter are younger civilizations, still imbibed with a spirit of dashing, even reckless, bravery and warrior heritage that is lacking in the former.
Another parallelization that can be made between Babylon 5 and The Lord of the Rings is that of John Sheridan and Frodo: in the end of The Return of the King
Frodo appears to carry too much of a burden to stay in Middle-earth, so he is honored by the elves who take him with them to Valinor
inside the last ship. At the end of Sleeping in Light
, Sheridan goes to Coriana 6 to die where he meets Lorien who apparently honors him by taking him to join the other First Ones beyond the Rim.
The Shadows utilize an "Eye of Z'ha'dum" that has the ability to see across space. The exact mechanics and workings of the Eye are left somewhat vague, and its inner workings were only explored somewhat in the Technomage trilogy novels. The Eye is like a supercomputer which drives "the will" of the Shadows and also oversees the operation of Shadow technology (i.e. planetary defenses of Z'ha'dum), as well as acts as a long-range sensor of some sort. Like the Eye of Sauron, the Eye of Z'ha'dum also has a metaphysical form, as witnessed by Cmdr. Susan Ivanova when she was using the great machine to locate First Ones. However, unlike the Eye of Sauron which is only one eye, the Eye of Z'ha'dum (like those of the Shadows themselves) has fourteen eyes.
The name Narn
s might be derived either from C. S. Lewis
's The Chronicles of Narnia
, or from Tolkien's Narn i Chîn Húrin in The Silmarillion
. The name of Tolkien's heart of elvendom, "Lórien" (or "Lothlórien") is given to the first of the First Ones in B5. (See "Lorien
") The name of the Shadows' agent, Mr. Morden
, may also reflect Tolkien's Mordor
. The similar nature of the names Khazad-dûm and Z'ha'dum has been noted earlier.
The creator of B5, J. Michael Straczynski
(JMS), 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."
JMS has stated 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.
However, there is strong evidence that the mythology created by Tolkien in The Silmarillion as a whole ( and not just The Lord of the Rings ) was used by Straczynski as a reference.
It seems that Babylon 5 used Tolkienian myths as a "not isomorphic template" or a "detailed guide".
Within the universe of B5 the story of the TV series has an analogous position with that filled by Lord of the Rings in the context of Tolkien's Legendarium: it is a transitional step between two eras, describing what can possibly be viewed as a "childhood's end" ,the maturing process of a younger race and its struggle to gain freedom of its predecessors.
Thus the thematical importance of this common element of the two narratives: the pivotal "Third Ages". This is made explicit in a dialogue between Sheridan and Delenn of Into the Fire (Babylon 5)
. Their words have echoes of Gandalf's speech to Aragorn in The Steward and the King one of the chapters of the final book of The Lord of the Rings.
Also there are some persons that think that Babylon 5 can be viewed as an "atheistic mirror image" of Tolkien's mythology and, more specifically, of The Lord of the Rings.
The Vorlons, the Shadows
, and the First Ones as ancient races of the universe, are quite similar to the Valar and the Maiar
; both the First Ones and the Valar/Maiar can present themselves with several appearances/forms to a viewer, as occurred in the case of the Vorlons (and Lorien). The visible forms chosen by the Valar and Maiar were "fanar", or radiant, translucent "raiments" very akin to the "angelic" forms presented by the Vorlons.
The name of the First One, Lorien
, is a homage to the Vala of Tolkien's mythology. The true name of the Vala was Irmo. Lórien, strictly speaking, was the name for his habitation, his gardens in Aman the Blessed Realm. The name was given also to the forest of Middle-earth that was the kingdom of Galadriel
and Celeborn
.
The Centauri
God of the Underworld mentioned by Londo Mollari in The Parliament of Dreams
is called Mogath, a name that resembles the epithet given to the first Dark Lord of The Silmarillion, Morgoth
. Morgoth, in the first stages of Tolkien's mythology, was also a ruler of a particular version of the Underworld.
In Tolkien's books, Morgoth was a rebellious Vala (an angelic quardian of the world that could be seen as a "god")
In The Book of Lost Tales
, which contains the earliest form of the complex of mythological material that would eventually make up The Silmarillion, Morgoth, with the old form of his name, Melko (preceding "Melkor") was a ruler/tormentor of the evil spirits of the dead.
Morgoth was banished to the Outer Dark beyond the Door of Night
, in "The Silmarillion"'s conclusion. And the Outer Dark can be equated both with the darkness of the starry "night" that is outside of Arda
, the Earth, or with the Outer Darkness, The Night or Void that is beyond the confines of Time itself. The Galactic Rim of Babylon 5 seems to have a similar function to the Void of "The Silmarillion". Both of them are places of exile to the disruptive forces of the universe: Morgoth in Tolkien's work, and the Shadows/Vorlons in B5. The Galactic Rim is also akin to Aman
The Blessed Realm of Tolkien's mythology, as a place of enlightenment, transcendence and the voluntary exile of the elder races.
The Shadow Planet Killer
s or Death Clouds, giant machines capable of destroying worlds that were created and used by the Shadows, have a strong resemblance to the Unlight. The Unlight is a dark emanation of Ungoliant
, an evil creature of The Silmarillion incarnated in the form of a giant spider. She helped Morgoth in a crucial moment of the narrative. Like the Planet Killer's shadow cloak, the Unlight resembles a cloud of inscrutable darkness, capable of strangling the very will of any living thing ensnared by it, and capable of obliterating all light. It can be woven like a web. Ungoliant used it to satiate her infinite hunger for luminous energy, and also to hide herself and Morgoth, making both of them invisible to the Valar. This Unlight was also what provoked the Darkening of Valinor. The cloud surrounding the Shadow Planet Killer has the same attributes, generating opaque darkness and draining the energy of all that are entrapped within it: star vessels, power sources, etc. This dark cloud conceals a "web" or "net-like" matrix of numerous destructive mechanisms which make up the Planet Killer itself.
The "physical" forms of the Shadows and the general appearance of their starships are very similar to spiders, making the Shadows themselves and their technology possible homages to Ungoliant and all her progeny (which includes Shelob
of The Lord of the Rings).
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
draws upon many cultural, historical and mythical influences to inform and illustrate its characters and storylines.
Babylon
The most prominent influence is presented by the title itself. According to J. Michael StraczynskiJ. Michael Straczynski
Joseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
:
Unusual for a television series, this central theme, planned well before the show's production, develops only slowly and takes several seasons to become clear.
The Lord of the Rings
Several elements in B5 are similar to elements in J. R. R. TolkienJ. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's fantasy novel (first published in three volumes), The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
. For instance, in the first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It takes place in the fictional universe Middle-earth. It was originally published on July 29, 1954 in the United Kingdom...
, the Black Riders
Nazgûl
The Nazgûl are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
first appear singly, then in progressively larger groups; B5 repeated this tension-building pattern early in its first season, when enemy forces known as the Shadows
Shadow (Babylon 5)
The Shadows are a fictional alien species in the science fiction television series Babylon 5. Their homeworld is Z'ha'dum. In contrast to the Vorlons, whose philosophy is represented by the question "Who are you?", that of the Shadows is represented by the question "What do you want?", centering...
appear first singly, and then in vast numbers. These similarities were acknowledged by Straczynski.
Additionally, the Shadows, like the Black Riders, strike a deep primal fear in everyone who sees them. The way the Shadows are spoken of, as the Darkness and the Enemy is reminiscent of how Sauron is spoken of in The Lord of the Rings.
The most obvious reference from the book are Babylon 5s Rangers
Ranger (Babylon 5)
Rangers are a fictional class of warriors that play a prominent role in the science fiction television series Babylon 5.-History:...
, who share their name and mission with Tolkien's Rangers of the North
Rangers of the North
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Rangers of the North, also known as the Dúnedain of the North, were the descendants of the Dúnedain from the lost kingdom of Arnor...
. Both are secretive orders that work covertly to protect a populace that is either unaware or openly hostile to them, and both are led by individuals of mixed race — Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
, who had blood of Men, Elves, and Maiar
Maia (Middle-earth)
The Maiar are beings from J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy legendarium. They are lesser Ainur who entered Eä in the beginning of time. Tolkien uses the term Valar to refer both to all the Ainur who entered Eä, and specifically to the greatest among them, the fourteen Lords and Queens of the Valar...
, and the half-human, half-Minbari
Minbari
The Minbari are a fictional alien race featured in the television show Babylon 5. The Minbari characters of Delenn and Lennier figure prominently throughout the series; Neroon, Draal, and Dukhat are less prominent Minbari characters....
Delenn
Delenn
Delenn is a fictional lead character in the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Mira Furlan.-Overview:Delenn, an alien ambassador and leader from the planet Minbar, is one of the pivotal characters in Babylon 5....
. Just as the marriage of Aragorn and Arwen reunited the Humans and Elves, whose blood flowed through them both, the marriage of John Sheridan and Delenn reunited the Humans and Minbari, who shared each other's souls.
The code of the Rangers, as stated by Marcus Cole
Marcus Cole
Marcus Cole, played by Jason Carter, is a fictional character in the universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5. He was a regular in the third and fourth seasons of the show...
in the episode "Grey 17 is Missing
Grey 17 Is Missing
Grey 17 Is Missing is an episode from the third season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.-Synopsis:Garibaldi investigates an abandoned level of the station. Delenn is installed as head of the Rangers, but Neroon believes her to be a megalomaniac with messianic delusions...
", is: "We walk in the dark places that no one else will enter. We stand on the bridge, and no one may pass." This is reminiscent of two scenes from The Lord of the Rings. The first is Aragorn's description of his Rangers during the Council of Elrond
Elrond
Elrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Hobbit, and plays a supporting role in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.-Character overview:...
in The Fellowship of the Ring: "Lonely men are we, Rangers of the North, hunters — but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy"; and the second is Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
's confrontation with the Balrog
Balrog
Balrogs are fictional demonic beings who appear in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Such creatures first appeared in print in his novel The Lord of the Rings, though they figured in earlier writings that posthumously appeared in The Silmarillion and other books.Balrogs are described as...
over the abyss in Moria
Moria (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth, comprising a vast network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls or 'mansions', that ran under and ultimately through the Misty Mountains...
, in particular his cry of "You cannot pass!" before he shatters the bridge. Furthermore, Gandalf has previously been warned (by Aragorn, no less) that he will die if he enters Moria (also known as Khazad-dûm); in B5, captain John Sheridan
John Sheridan (Babylon 5)
John J. Sheridan is a lead character in the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Bruce Boxleitner. For most of the series, he is the commander of the Babylon 5 station; during the series' final season he is the President of the Interstellar...
is warned that he will die if he goes to a planet called Z'ha'dum
Z'ha'dum (planet)
In the fictional Babylon 5 universe, Z'ha'dum was the homeworld of the ancient, mysterious race known as the Shadows. The planet is near the galactic rim...
. 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. Kosh could also be compared to Gandalf, in that both are powerful beings who help gather the forces of Light together and act as a mentor towards the main heroes, Sheridan and Aragorn. Both also die in their duties, and both return, though Kosh's return was brief. In early declarations JMS also mentioned that there would be parallels between the trajectories of some characters.
Also, B5 takes place at "the dawn of the third age", and the defeat of Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
in The Lord of the Rings is considered to be the ending event of the Third Age of Middle-earth.
The third season of Babylon 5, the Shadow War, is depicted less as a typical science-fiction war than as a conflict between Darkness and Light comparable to the War of the Ring. The Shadows, like Sauron, were defeated before, but over time regained their strength and returned to start a new war. The First Ones were leaving the Galaxy to out beyond the Rim, just as the Elves were leaving Middle-earth to go to Valinor
Valinor
Valinor is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the realm of the Valar in Aman. It was also known as the Undying Lands, along with Tol Eressëa and the outliers of Aman. This is something of a misnomer; only immortal beings were allowed to reside there, but the land itself,...
. After the Shadow War, all the First Ones leave for beyond the Rim. Likewise, after the War of the Ring
War of the Ring
In the fictional high fantasy-world of J. R. R. Tolkien, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth for control of the One Ring and dominion over the continent. The War of the Ring took place at the end of the Third Age. Together with the Quest of Mount Doom,...
, the Elves leave for Valinor. Both universes have difficulty getting all the various races to work together to stop the Enemy, since many of these races are suspicious and distrustful of one another.
Aragorn was the rightful heir to the thrones of the sister realms Arnor
Arnor
Arnor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador in Middle-earth. The name probably means "Land of the King", from Sindarin Ara- + dor...
and Gondor
Gondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Third Age. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with...
. Arnor had long since fallen, and Gondor's own royal line (Aragorn's relatives by blood) had ended. He was hated by the Steward
Stewards of Gondor
The Stewards of Gondor were rulers from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium of Middle-earth.-Overview:Steward was the traditional title of a chief counsellor to one of the Kings of Gondor. The office of Arandur first came into existence during the reign of King Rómendacil I...
Denethor who ruled Gondor in lieu of a king, and feared for his position if Aragorn returned to claim his birthright. Sheridan, comparatively, had to breakway from Earth and was declared a traitor by President Clark. Both Denethor and Clark committed suicide at their end.
The Shadows, like Sauron, also have many servants and races working for them, that they summoned when they prepared to make war again. Both also infiltrated and influenced other rulers and nations, through Emperor Cartagia, President Clark, just as Sauron worked through Saruman
Saruman
Saruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the tale, but later on aims at gaining...
and other forces of evil. The Shadow's Mr. Morden is their smooth-tongue advocate, just as Gríma
Gríma
Gríma, called Wormtongue, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He appears in the second and third volumes of the work, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, and his role is expanded upon in Unfinished Tales. He is introduced in The Two Towers as the chief...
"Wormtongue" was in Rohan for Saruman. Additionally, the Shadows use living beings as the central operating system of their warships. This theme of domination and alteration is similar to Sauron's desire to dominate life in Middle-earth and bend all to his will.
Delenn's role is not dissimilar from Arwen's. Also, the Centauri and the Narns stand at different technological levels, just as Gondor and Rohan do in The Lord of the Rings. Gondor itself is described in Roman-like terms, whereas Rohan is more Anglo-Saxon. Gondor and the Centauri Republic are soldier states with organized standing armies
Standing army
A standing army is a professional permanent army. It is composed of full-time career soldiers and is not disbanded during times of peace. It differs from army reserves, who are activated only during wars or natural disasters...
and established government bureaucracies
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
, whereas Rohan and the Narn Regime are more warrior-oriented, having an ad-hoc military and political structure in which the highest leadership is the only constant. The former are older civilizations and the latter are younger civilizations, still imbibed with a spirit of dashing, even reckless, bravery and warrior heritage that is lacking in the former.
Another parallelization that can be made between Babylon 5 and The Lord of the Rings is that of John Sheridan and Frodo: in the end of The Return of the King
The Return of the King
The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.-Title:...
Frodo appears to carry too much of a burden to stay in Middle-earth, so he is honored by the elves who take him with them to Valinor
Valinor
Valinor is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the realm of the Valar in Aman. It was also known as the Undying Lands, along with Tol Eressëa and the outliers of Aman. This is something of a misnomer; only immortal beings were allowed to reside there, but the land itself,...
inside the last ship. At the end of Sleeping in Light
Sleeping in Light
"Sleeping in Light" is the final episode of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5. The episode was nominated for the 1999 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.-Plot:...
, Sheridan goes to Coriana 6 to die where he meets Lorien who apparently honors him by taking him to join the other First Ones beyond the Rim.
The Shadows utilize an "Eye of Z'ha'dum" that has the ability to see across space. The exact mechanics and workings of the Eye are left somewhat vague, and its inner workings were only explored somewhat in the Technomage trilogy novels. The Eye is like a supercomputer which drives "the will" of the Shadows and also oversees the operation of Shadow technology (i.e. planetary defenses of Z'ha'dum), as well as acts as a long-range sensor of some sort. Like the Eye of Sauron, the Eye of Z'ha'dum also has a metaphysical form, as witnessed by Cmdr. Susan Ivanova when she was using the great machine to locate First Ones. However, unlike the Eye of Sauron which is only one eye, the Eye of Z'ha'dum (like those of the Shadows themselves) has fourteen eyes.
The name Narn
Narn
The Narn are a fictional alien race in the universe of the Babylon 5 television series. Their homeworld is also called Narn.-Homeworld:Narn is the homeworld of the Narn and the Narn Regime. Its day is 31 hours long. Prior to the Centauri's first invasion, Narn was a healthy green planet. Now it...
s might be derived either from C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
's The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages...
, or from Tolkien's Narn i Chîn Húrin in The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
. The name of Tolkien's heart of elvendom, "Lórien" (or "Lothlórien") is given to the first of the First Ones in B5. (See "Lorien
Lorien (Babylon 5)
Lorien is a fictional character from the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. He appears at the start of season four and again in the last episode of the show. Lórien is also a name given to one of the Valar, god-like beings in the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, of whom series...
") The name of the Shadows' agent, Mr. Morden
Morden (Babylon 5)
Morden is a fictional character in the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Ed Wasser. He is a recurring antagonist in the show.-Overview:...
, may also reflect Tolkien's Mordor
Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor or Morhdorh was the dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of northwestern Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. Orodruin, a volcano in Mordor, was the destination of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to...
. The similar nature of the names Khazad-dûm and Z'ha'dum has been noted earlier.
The creator of B5, J. Michael Straczynski
J. Michael Straczynski
Joseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
(JMS), acknowledges Tolkien when a "techno-mage" loosely quotes The Fellowship of the Ring, where the character Gildor Inglorion
Gildor Inglorion
Gildor Inglorion is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He was a Noldorin Elf of the House of Finrod. In The Lord of the Rings he met Frodo Baggins and his friends in the Shire...
says, "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."
JMS has stated 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.
However, there is strong evidence that the mythology created by Tolkien in The Silmarillion as a whole ( and not just The Lord of the Rings ) was used by Straczynski as a reference.
It seems that Babylon 5 used Tolkienian myths as a "not isomorphic template" or a "detailed guide".
Within the universe of B5 the story of the TV series has an analogous position with that filled by Lord of the Rings in the context of Tolkien's Legendarium: it is a transitional step between two eras, describing what can possibly be viewed as a "childhood's end" ,the maturing process of a younger race and its struggle to gain freedom of its predecessors.
Thus the thematical importance of this common element of the two narratives: the pivotal "Third Ages". This is made explicit in a dialogue between Sheridan and Delenn of Into the Fire (Babylon 5)
Into the Fire (Babylon 5)
"Into the Fire" is an episode from the fourth season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.It marks the end of the "Shadow War" story arc.-Synopsis:...
. Their words have echoes of Gandalf's speech to Aragorn in The Steward and the King one of the chapters of the final book of The Lord of the Rings.
Also there are some persons that think that Babylon 5 can be viewed as an "atheistic mirror image" of Tolkien's mythology and, more specifically, of The Lord of the Rings.
The Silmarillion
The story of Sheridan and Delenn bear a great resemblance to the lives of Beren and Lúthien. The story of Arwen and Aragorn mentioned in the previous section repeats several of the same elements presented in Beren and Lúthien's story. However, it is in Beren and Lúthien's tale that there is a dead mortal man resurrected, with a diminished life expectancy and who marries a female of another species that becomes human/mortal in order to stay with him.The Vorlons, the Shadows
Shadow (Babylon 5)
The Shadows are a fictional alien species in the science fiction television series Babylon 5. Their homeworld is Z'ha'dum. In contrast to the Vorlons, whose philosophy is represented by the question "Who are you?", that of the Shadows is represented by the question "What do you want?", centering...
, and the First Ones as ancient races of the universe, are quite similar to the Valar and the Maiar
Maia (Middle-earth)
The Maiar are beings from J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy legendarium. They are lesser Ainur who entered Eä in the beginning of time. Tolkien uses the term Valar to refer both to all the Ainur who entered Eä, and specifically to the greatest among them, the fourteen Lords and Queens of the Valar...
; both the First Ones and the Valar/Maiar can present themselves with several appearances/forms to a viewer, as occurred in the case of the Vorlons (and Lorien). The visible forms chosen by the Valar and Maiar were "fanar", or radiant, translucent "raiments" very akin to the "angelic" forms presented by the Vorlons.
The name of the First One, Lorien
Lorien (Babylon 5)
Lorien is a fictional character from the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. He appears at the start of season four and again in the last episode of the show. Lórien is also a name given to one of the Valar, god-like beings in the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, of whom series...
, is a homage to the Vala of Tolkien's mythology. The true name of the Vala was Irmo. Lórien, strictly speaking, was the name for his habitation, his gardens in Aman the Blessed Realm. The name was given also to the forest of Middle-earth that was the kingdom of Galadriel
Galadriel
Galadriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
and Celeborn
Celeborn
Celeborn is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Lord of the Rings as the Elven husband of Galadriel, Lord of the Galadhrim; and co-ruler along with Galadriel of Lothlórien. He was the father of Celebrían — the wife of Elrond — and thus the...
.
The Centauri
Centauri (Babylon 5)
The Centauri are a humanoid species in the fictional universe of the Babylon 5 television series. They were the first alien species to make open contact with the human race. Their homeworld is Centauri Prime, a small Earth-like planet consisting of two large continents and several smaller islands...
God of the Underworld mentioned by Londo Mollari in The Parliament of Dreams
The Parliament of Dreams
"The Parliament of Dreams" is an episode from the first season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.-Synopsis:The Earth Alliance arranges a week-long festival of religious and cultural exchange on the station. The Centauri celebrate with a lavish party, commemorating the victory of...
is called Mogath, a name that resembles the epithet given to the first Dark Lord of The Silmarillion, Morgoth
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
. Morgoth, in the first stages of Tolkien's mythology, was also a ruler of a particular version of the Underworld.
In Tolkien's books, Morgoth was a rebellious Vala (an angelic quardian of the world that could be seen as a "god")
In The Book of Lost Tales
The Book of Lost Tales
The Book of Lost Tales is the title of a collection of early stories by J. R. R. Tolkien, and of the first two volumes of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth, in which he presents and analyses the manuscripts of those stories, which were the earliest form of the...
, which contains the earliest form of the complex of mythological material that would eventually make up The Silmarillion, Morgoth, with the old form of his name, Melko (preceding "Melkor") was a ruler/tormentor of the evil spirits of the dead.
Morgoth was banished to the Outer Dark beyond the Door of Night
Door of Night
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Door of Night was a place set at the utmost West of Arda, near to Avakúma, the void. The Door was created by the Valar at the time of the making of the Sun and Moon...
, in "The Silmarillion"'s conclusion. And the Outer Dark can be equated both with the darkness of the starry "night" that is outside of Arda
Arda
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of prehistory, wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and related material once existed...
, the Earth, or with the Outer Darkness, The Night or Void that is beyond the confines of Time itself. The Galactic Rim of Babylon 5 seems to have a similar function to the Void of "The Silmarillion". Both of them are places of exile to the disruptive forces of the universe: Morgoth in Tolkien's work, and the Shadows/Vorlons in B5. The Galactic Rim is also akin to Aman
Aman
-External links:*...
The Blessed Realm of Tolkien's mythology, as a place of enlightenment, transcendence and the voluntary exile of the elder races.
The Shadow Planet Killer
Shadow Planet Killer
A Shadow Planet Killer is a fictional machine from the Babylon 5 television show and films, which was used to destroy planetary ecosystems....
s or Death Clouds, giant machines capable of destroying worlds that were created and used by the Shadows, have a strong resemblance to the Unlight. The Unlight is a dark emanation of Ungoliant
Ungoliant
Ungoliant is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, described as an evil spirit in the form of a spider. She is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings, and plays a supporting role in The Silmarillion. Her origins are unclear, as Tolkien's writings don't explicitly...
, an evil creature of The Silmarillion incarnated in the form of a giant spider. She helped Morgoth in a crucial moment of the narrative. Like the Planet Killer's shadow cloak, the Unlight resembles a cloud of inscrutable darkness, capable of strangling the very will of any living thing ensnared by it, and capable of obliterating all light. It can be woven like a web. Ungoliant used it to satiate her infinite hunger for luminous energy, and also to hide herself and Morgoth, making both of them invisible to the Valar. This Unlight was also what provoked the Darkening of Valinor. The cloud surrounding the Shadow Planet Killer has the same attributes, generating opaque darkness and draining the energy of all that are entrapped within it: star vessels, power sources, etc. This dark cloud conceals a "web" or "net-like" matrix of numerous destructive mechanisms which make up the Planet Killer itself.
The "physical" forms of the Shadows and the general appearance of their starships are very similar to spiders, making the Shadows themselves and their technology possible homages to Ungoliant and all her progeny (which includes Shelob
Shelob
Shelob is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. She appears at the end of the fourth book, second volume , of The Lord of the Rings.-Literature:...
of The Lord of the Rings).