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Hero

I think you could pick nearly any main character from the show and point to them as the hero. They all move along some fabulously entertaining story arcs, and they all go through so much. But, if you're going to get right to the heart of matters, the hero of this story is John Sheridan. Though we don't start with Sheridan around, once he comes on, nearly everything revolves around (or at least relates to -- and often directly) him. Well, him or Delenn. Or Londo. Or G'Kar. Or... I should stop. Let's just look at Sheridan, because... well, you'll see. :)

Plot Summary

Quite honestly, it's hard to give a brief summary of the plot of this show. Conceived and structured as a novel for television, it's vast and sprawling and covers a lot of territory. (Straczynski structured the show along the lines of classic fiction structure, with each season comprising both a year in story and a volume, complete with a name, in the story.)

But more than that, it's hard to summarize something on one's own when the creator of the thing did that for you.

Each season's opening credits features a voiceover that sets up the show, and, when taken together, they form a fantastic overview of the show's history and direction.

Introduction -- Season 1, Signs and Portents: "It was the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind, ten years after the Earth-Minbari War. The Babylon Project was a dream given form. Its goal: to prevent another war by creating a place where humans and aliens could work out their differences peacefully. It's a port of call, home away from home for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs, and wanderers. Humans and aliens wrapped in two million, five hundred thousand tons of spinning metal, all alone in the night. It can be a dangerous place, but it's our last, best hope for peace. This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2258. The name of the place is Babylon 5."

Rising action -- Season 2, The Coming of Shadows: "The Babylon Project was our last, best hope for peace. A self-contained world five miles long, located in neutral territory. A place of commerce and diplomacy for a quarter of a million humans and aliens. A shining beacon in space, all alone in the night. It was the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind, the year the Great War came upon us all. This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2259. The name of the place is Babylon 5."

Complication -- Season 3, Point of No Return: "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."

Climax -- Season 4, No Surrender, No Retreat: (each line is delivered by a different cast member) "It was the year of fire. The year of destruction. The year we took back what was ours. It was the year of rebirth. The year of great sadness. The year of pain. And the year of joy. It was a new age. It was the end of history. It was the year everything changed. The year is 2261. The place, Babylon 5."

Denouement -- Season 5, The Wheel of Fire: (Rather than a narrative about the station and the story, this opening credits sequence features lines of dialog from the first four years, giving a sense of its history and scale.) (Text copied from Wikipedia because I always miss a line or two when listening to it.) "And so it begins. There is a hole in your mind. What do you want? No one here is exactly what he appears. Nothing's the same anymore. Commander Sinclair is being reassigned. Why don't you eliminate the entire Narn homeworld while you're at it? I see a great hand, reaching out of the stars. Who are you? President Clark has signed a decree today declaring martial law. These orders have forced us to declare independence. Weapons supplies. Unless your people get off your encounter-suited butts and do something. You are the One who was. If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will die. Why are you here, do you have anything worth living for? I think of my beautiful city in flames. Like giants in the playground. NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR GALAXY. We are here to place President Clark under arrest."

As for the characters, it's probably best to run down those in the opening credits, as that should cover most everyone. (Okay, so it's the opening credits plus one. But still.)

In Season 1, Babylon 5 is run by Commander Jeffrey Sinclair, assisted by Lt. Commander Susan Ivanova and Security Chief Michael Garibaldi. The station's doctor is Stephen Franklin. The key ambassadors are Delenn of the Minbari Federation, Londo Mollari of the Centauri Republic, G'Kar of the Narn Regime, and Kosh Naranek of the Vorlon Empire. Several of the ambassadors have assistants: Lennier works with Delenn, Vir Cotto works for Londo, and Na'Toth works for G'Kar. There is also a commercial telepath assigned to Babylon 5: Talia Winters.

By Season 2, Sinclair has left and been replaced by Captain John Sheridan. Ivanova is promoted to full Commander, and we meet a fighter pilot named Warren Keffer. The rest of the cast stays the same.

In Season 3, Keffer and Na'Toth are gone and not replaced in a major way. So is Talia, but in her place we get Lyta Alexander, who is a telepath working for the Vorlons. Garibaldi's second in command, Zack Allan, comes to the forefront. We also add Marcus Cole, a Ranger, to our crew.

Season 4 keeps the characters pretty steady, but by Season 5, Kosh, Marcus, and Ivanova are gone, and Babylon 5 has a new captain, Elizabeth Lochley. And that's how the show ends.