Say it isn't so....DS9 a rip off of Babylon 5?

Founder · **Fri Oct 06, 2006 6:35 pm Say it isn't so....DS9 a rip off of Babylon 5?**

Similarities between Babylon 5 and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

As a DS9 fan, I find all of that really disturbing. It doesn't make me like the show any less, but it certainly makes me HATE Paramount. It's bad enough they ignore the fans by making prequals, but stealing other show's premises? That's messed up...

Lord Borg · **Fri Oct 06, 2006 6:46 pm**

I think it's freaky coencidences. Perhaps it could be copies. Work on DS9 started back in 91/92, proposeals were made to Gene before he died.

Defiant · **Fri Oct 06, 2006 8:01 pm**

Bab5 got cancelled though. DS9 didn't. Score one for the home team.

Lord Borg · **Fri Oct 06, 2006 8:17 pm**

Not to mention, any similarities, it seems ultimately, DS9 did it first. Whether or not they came from the Bab5's series bible, or not.

Untitled · **Wed Oct 11, 2006 12:29 am**

Don't know. At the time these shows were out I hated both of them.

Lord Borg · **Wed Oct 11, 2006 1:08 am**

Well, they COULD have perhaps done the stuff from Bab5's "Bible", but in all seriousness, that bible became property of paramount when left with them, and the list seems to show DS9 actually did it "First" on screen,

chaotica · **Sun Oct 15, 2006 12:04 am Stealing is Fun**

Which means that maybe it was legal for Paramount to use the ideas, but hardly right. Good God... does a company get to legally own a show idea that was pitched to them, even if they don't accept it at the time? If Paramount was legally stealing, if they had rights because of the pitch JMS made to them in the 80s (yes, the 80s), why wasn't JMSs name on DS9 as creator?

Here's my solution... let's thank pitchforks and pointed ears that Berman, etc., stole JMSs ideas. That way we got two brilliant SF programs. Certainly JMS has reason to be mad. But not US. We should console JMS, mop his brow with a soothing wet washcloth, show support, but then treasure our tapes and discs of DS9 AND B5. It's amazing how both could take the same basic idea and do such different original things with it, especially considering that each detail of B5 seems to have a counterpart in DS9. The Centauri/Narn thing equals the Cardassian/Bajoran relationship. Etc etc..

Don't fret over whether a stolen, plagiaristic DS9 deserves to exist. It won its right to exist through doing the show very well. I only wish they could steal more of JMSs ideas, as long as JMS gets to do his shows too.

Lord Borg · **Sun Oct 15, 2006 12:17 am**

It's hardly plagerism, while the person did seem to "make" the ideas, a series bible is a siple guide. As mentioned, everything done in B5 was done way later, or differnt then DS9. There's bound to be similarities, anyways.

Solitary Poet · **Sun Oct 15, 2006 10:09 am**

�Deep Space Nine� was the show least effected by B & B even though TOS and VOY were my favorites, I am smart enough to know DS9 was by far the best Trek spin-off. DS9 was first. That�s like saying that �Batman� was a rip-off of �The Green Arrow�.

Sonic74205 · **Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:58 am**

Babylon 5 didnt get cancelled. and yes DS9 in a way is a "rip off" as you say. Back in the early 90s there wasnt much sci-fi good enough to challenge star trek until babylon 5 came along. It was so bold and different. The only show truely on the same level as star trek was babylon 5. With babylon 5s strong influence DS9 started to change and become more like it. I wouldnt say its a bad thing at all. it made DS9 improve and turned into a better show all round. Look at the first season of DS9 compared to the last season of DS9. Completely different and i thing that change works really well for the show.

The same thing happened with Enterprise and Stargate in the last seasons of enterprise it changed drastically to compete for rating with stargate. Unfortunatly it didnt work this time around. But i do think it worked for DS9

chaotica · **Fri Dec 15, 2006 12:14 am**

B5 was a much, much better example to follow than Stargate.

iamthepolarbear · **Mon Dec 25, 2006 7:58 pm**

nightwolf · **Mon Dec 25, 2006 9:44 pm**

Ive only watched about 1/4 of an episode of babylon 5 and i had to turn it, i couldnt stand the show myself.

If its not star trek then its a waste of time to me.

Babylon 5 dont have no similarities to ds9 in my opinion, not by a long shot.

Sonic74205 · **Thu Jan 04, 2007 7:56 am**

Actually Babylon 5 has been around longer than DS9. The Pilot movie "The Gathering" was created before DS9, a year later the show started.

If you actually watch all of babylon 5 you will realise that everything that happens in all the seasons are very important and i wouldnt change any of that.

Season 1 was the beginning, the start of the events about to happen in the later seasons, the start of the new station and new crew and its about the crew trying to deal with working and living on such a large influential station

the last season was about winding down after years of conflict and the start of an alliance which not other show has done before. Its about the new alliance trying to find its feet and trying to finally create peace

I love ds9 very much but im sorry it has nothing on B5