The History

1986                First notes and drafts on the Babylon 5 story
1987 Spring/Summer  Babylon 5 treatment and writer's bible created by JMS.
1988 May            Artist Peter Ledger hired to design a Babylon 5 logo, and
                    to do a series of paintings based on the treatment and
                    bible, which were then used for various presentations.
1988 Summer/Fall    Babylon 5 pitched to CBS, HBO, ABC, and others.
1989 March          Babylon 5 pitched to Chris-Craft Television, a consortium
                    of stations.  CCT pledges support of B5, and attempts are
                    made throughout 1988 and 1989 to create co-production
                    deals with foreign investors.
1989 June/July      Babylon 5 submitted/pitched to Paramount.
1989 December       Babylon 5 receives additional pledge of support from
                    Warner Bros., which begins working with CCT to form fifth
                    network at same time.
1991 November       Babylon 5 announced as one of three flagship projects for
                    Warners' Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN). The
                    trades carry the story extensively.
1992 June/July      Casting for the pilot movie.
1992 August 10      Filming on the pilot movie begins.
1992 Sept. 4        Filming ends on the pilot movie.
1992 Nov.  7        First showing of pilot movie to a convention audience
                    at Wishcon II in Springfield, Mass.
1992 Nov. 28        First announced showing of pilot movie to a convention
                    audience at Loscon 19 in Los Angeles, CA.
1993 Jan. 14        Final edit of pilot movie completed.
1993 Feb. 19/20     Satellite feed of pilot movie to local stations.
1993 Feb. 22 week   TV debut of the pilot movie.  It achieved a 10.3 GAA
                    national rating, which was better than the two hour
                    premieres of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (10.2),
                    The Untouchables (10.2) and Time Trax (8.3).
1993 April          Series Pre-production starts.
1993 May 28         Formal announcement by Warner Bros. of a series order.
1993 Mid-July       Filming starts on the series.
1993 Late Summer    Parts of the first three episodes are previewed at San
                    Diego Comic Con, WorldCon and CopperCon 13.
1993 Mid-Sept.      Foundation Imaging awarded Visual Effects Emmy for the
                    Babylon 5 pilot movie at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
1993 Mid-Oct.       First fully completed episode delivered to Warner Bros.
1993 Oct./Nov.      PTEN rebroadcast of Babylon 5 pilot movie.
1993 Nov. 26        "Midnight on the Firing Line" screened at LosCon 20.
1994 Mid-Jan.       "Making of Babylon 5" airs (hosted by Walter Koenig).
1994 Jan. 20        Satellite feed of first episode.
1994 Jan. 26        Start of weekly series on PTEN.
1994 Mar. 23        Filming ends for first season.
1994 May 20         JMS announces Michael O'Hare's departure.
1994 August 10      Filming begins for second season.
1994 September 10   "The Parliament of Dreams" wins Emmy for makeup design
1994 Nov. 2         Second season premieres in the US.
1994 Nov. 25        Limited-release B5 soundtrack debuted at Loscon 21
1995 Feb. 28        Viewers for Quality Television select B5 as the #1
		    syndicated drama, and the #16 show overall.
1995 April 20       Filming ends for second season.
1995 April 25       Release of B5 soundtrack.
1995 June 8         Show is officially renewed for a third season.
1995 June 12        Season three preproduction begins.
1995 July 20        Babylon 5 is nominated for three Emmy awards.
1995 July 31        Production begins on season three.
1995 October        Last four episodes of season two shown.
1995 November       Season three premiere.
1996 July 18        "Comes the Inquisitor" is nominated for an Emmy.
1996 August 26      Filming begins on season four.
1996 August 27      "The Coming of Shadows" wins the Hugo Award.
1996 November       Season four premiere.

Last update: September 15, 1996