There's one thing you have to have if you want a story to catch an audience, and that's interesting characters.
How many shows have you watched where the characters are paper thin cutouts of people rather than actual persons? Movies can get away with this a little more, as shorter overall run time and higher action/special effects budgets can limit the boredom. But people want stories about people, even when they're anthropomorphic cars.
This is a two-fold responsibility in the visual medium of television and film. You need writers who can create fully orbed characters and actors who can bring them to life.
Now, not all the characters on Babylon 5 are that interesting (sorry, Warren)
But a great many are. All of the main cast and several supporting characters, such as Bester and Neroon, are given well-rounded motivations and room to grow over the show's five season run.
Better yet, several characters are placed in direct opposition to one another, giving us the basis for some fantastic story arcs. Whether the evolving relationship between ambassadors Londo and G'Kar, the noir-style thriller of Bester vs Garibaldi, or the meta-conflict of....well, watch the show and find out.
If you've already seen the show, who's your favorite character and who's your favorite opposing pair?
Kosh.
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