Racing Mars

"Racing Mars" is an episode from the fourth season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.

Synopsis

Dr Franklin and Marcus arrive on Mars to begin coordinating with the resistance.

Arc significance

• We see signs of friction between Garibaldi and Sheridan.
• The creature that controlled Captain Jack will later be identified as the Drakh keeper, which made its first appearance (chronologically) in Epiphanies

Production details

• The Identicards given to Marcus and Franklin are for Jim Finneman and Daniel Lane, respectively. Their backstory is that they are a young, married couple on holiday to Mars on their honeymoon. This is a rare look at human social issues in the Babylon 5 universe and insinuates that by the 23rd century, same-sex marriage is perfectly legal not only on Earth but most likely on colonies like Mars and although not stated, we might assume Proxima 3 as well given that these were under Earth jurisdiction before they broke away. This is also a rare sci-fi allusion to same-sex relationships at all, especially in futuristic settings, one notable exception coming from Caprica and another being the Battlestar Galactica webisode The Face of the Enemy. Other science fiction series like Torchwood have featured same-sex encounters as well, but here Babylon 5 shows same-sex marriages as perfectly normal in the future.

External links

• Racing Mars at The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5