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By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
The best part of the early days of the internet was logging in, and finding people like you with the same interests. America Online, Prodigy, Compuserve, all had incredibly active forums devoted to everything from roleplaying a Moogle from Final Fantasy, to talking about Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was on a fan message board where J. Michael Straczynski went for help during the production of Babylon 5’s first season when he needed some names. In return, he snuck in a subtle tribute to the fan who helped him out.
Asking The Fans For Help
JMS was a part of the Science Fiction Round Table on GEnie, the online service that predates the rollout of “www,” long before he brought Babylon 5 to life. Accessing the GEnie service required a specific modem setting, dialing into the service, and then entering a specific prompt once connected. We used to have to jump through hoops to talk to complete strangers about how annoying Wesley Crusher was.
After Warner Bros. legal team denied some names during the production of the first season, JMS took to GEnie for new names. One user, who would go on to tell the story on Reddit multiple times over the years, said he looked down at his desk and saw a disc for Quantum Link sitting there, and played around with Quantum as the element that powered jumpgates. Season 1 Episode 6, “Mind War,” is the first time that the element “Quantum-40” is mentioned by name.
JMS Said Thanks In The Best Way
In “Parliament of Dreams,” Sinclair (Michael O’Hare) takes his on-again off-again love interest Catherine to Fresh Air, where the Maitre’d takes them to their table, and says that “David will be your waiter tonight.” That’s the real name of the user who named Quantum-40, and when he asked JMS if it was a coincidence, the coy answer he received from the Babylon 5 creator was: “Freud says there’s no coincidences.”
Babylon 5 isn’t the first show to pay tribute to a fan, and it won’t be the last. It was one of the first where the creator would directly talk to fans. Trek: The Next Generation, The X-Filesand Babylon 5 were among the first shows that reached new levels of success thanks to their online popularity. The “virtual town square,” as most print media referred to online forums at the time, was a new frontier allowing sci-fi fans thousands of miles apart to connect over shared interests.
Babylon 5 Fandom Is Over 30 Years Old And Still Going Strong
Today it’s easy to talk to actors on social media, Wil Wheaton is especially active, as is Stargate Universe’s David Blue, Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoff and Tricia Helfer, and countless others. It’s both a good thing, as it’s fun to see what your favorite stars are up to, and they often will post behind the scenes from their projects, but also a bad thing because what if, well, your favorite star is a jerk?
The Babylon 5 fandom has had its up and downs over the years. It’s grown and evolved alongside the internet, enduring disappointments (Crusade) and a comeback (Babylon 5: The Road Home), while keeping the flame lit for any news of a revival or a legacy series.
