In which, I confess I am a Nerd.

So, I'm a fan of Babylon 5. Season 1 was almost universally awful (except for the finale) and most of season 5 was unremarkable (except for the final few episodes), but the bulk of the series had enough good moments to outweight the cringe-inducing moments.

Part of the problem with the original run of B5 was that it started out on The WB network, and was shifted to TNT, neither network known for quality original programming, or a large audience. You also had budget problems (small, unknown series with lots of makeup, sets, and special effects on smaller networks), scheduling problems (constant schedule changes, including a jump from broadcast to cable), and an always uncertain future (the season finale for season 4 was filmed separately, and the series final filmed at the end of season 4 because B5 was not renewed until partway through its season 4 run. There were casting problem (poor actors). But the biggest problem was that there had never been a similar series on American TV before, and no one knew what to do with it.

B5 was an experiment, essentially: A sci-fi series, with a planned 5 year run. Set beginning, middle and end points. Allowances made for cast changes. Extensive use of CGI. A real relationship with Earth, politics, homelessness, religion, poverty and crime. Truly alien aliens and environments. Unforunately, early on, Warner Brothers wanted a Star Trek like 'alien of the week' series, and it shows.

And if the whole series was re-made today, starting from scratch, every single problem would be solved.

Planned Series

Lost, Battlestar Galactica, and others. All planned. Well, Lost WAS planned - but they were extended by an extra 2-3 seasons, and it shows. But, generally speaking, networks (and viewers) know how to deal with that now.

No Sci-fi Stigma

Sure, BSG isn't considered strictly sci-fi, but it's made it 'cool.' The last run of superhero movies haven't hurt to dimished the nerd stigma around sci-fi either. Just as importantly, sci-fi has also expanded past Star Wars and Star Trek. It'd be easier to attract quality actors and staff, and have some sway with the networks.

CGI

The occasionally hilariously bad CGI can be traced to both its pioneering use, and the low budgets. Better CGI is available now, for lower cost.

Of course, I'm not a TV executive, producer, director or writer. But it's nice to dream. It could be done. Of course, B5 has already been made once. There's no real need to do it again (for 20 years or so - look at BSG.