"You Prefer Babylon 5!" Topic

You were asked to decide – TMP link

Deep Space Nine vs Babylon 5?

51% said "Babylon 5"
25% said "Deep Space Nine"
13% said "never watched these shows"

Honestly, the two shows are barely comparable.
DS9 is largely episodic, with eventual longer epic story arcs layered on top, which only move forward periodically.
B5 is largely a lengthy epic, divided into episodic format, with most episodes directly or indirectly furthering the epic story.
Honestly, I find DS9 more enjoyable to re-watch, as one can skip the poorer episodes outright and not miss any true advancement of the longer arcs.
B5 really doesn't allow for this, except very early on (fortunately, that's where the bulk of the stinker episodes are).
But B5's story arc is more cohesive and better done, especially with the growth and change in certain characters (Londo and G'kar most significantly). When it tried to be "episode-centric", it often failed.
DS9's characters largely remain static, primarily only really reacting to exterior changes than truly having their own internal ones. There is growth, but it's not as central to the series arc as B5 did. Having said that, DS9 had some truly effective episodes ("The Visitor" and "By the Pale Moonlight," among others), as well as some that were just plain fun.
B5 did have the superior end to its story arc (next to last episode, Season 4); DS9's was unsatisfying and a bit of a cop-out.

I do still like ‘em both, though!

For the record, I've never watched B5 Season Five, being forewarned that it's an apparent mess.

A good result…without a Shadow of a doubt, or a Vorlon for that matter.

Babylon 5. I have a lot of autographs of the cast and fund memories of encounters with them.
Farscape would be next.

Loved them both. Liked B5 better at the time, but recently re-watched B5. It didn't age as well as I would have hoped. Still great, but I find DS9 to be much more rewatchable and has aged very well.

+1 Herkybird. I must admit that I generally found DS9 boring.

Both had great massive space battles. Win, win for sure.

I've watched through DS9 maybe a few times, I find it a chore because of so many unless filler episodes. Watched through Babylon 5 so many more times because of how it unfolds like a novel, it was better written. The only thing I rank higher than B5 is Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Gundam…. was thinking of boosting Starblazers up in there a bit, only because I love those series more than Star Trek.

I couldn't disagree more on the writing. DS9 after the first season was far better than B5. Considering the acting and production values I find it amazing B5 ranked higher. Had B5 had another full season without being jerked around it might have delivered on its potential but it was a failed show to me. Maybe I expected too much out of B5.