The story opens [pilot movie - aka "The Gathering"] with Babylon 5 newly online and everyone awaiting the arrival of the Vorlon ambassador. With his arrival all five of the major governments will be represented on Babylon 5 - Human, Centauri, Narn, Minbari, and Vorlon. In addition to the major races quite a number of smaller races forming the League of Non-Aligned Worlds are also represented on Babylon 5.

The peace is often threatened by aggressive on behaviour on the part of the Narn and by lingering tensions between Earth and the Minbari warrior caste, some of whom make it clear they wouldn't mind a rematch. Other mysteries echo throughout this season - the reasons behind the Minbari surrender, the true nature and motives of the Vorlons as well as the sudden disappearance of Babylon 4. There are hints of dark forces at work in the galaxy and some dark forces behind the scenes in the Earth government.

As the pilot opens, Ambassador Kosh is about to arrive, but some-one is planning his destruction and possibly the destruction of B5 as well. One Del Varner has smuggled a changeling net onto the station. A member of the Minbari warrior caste, he planned on using this net to change his shape into that of Cmdr. Sinclair and poison Ambassador Kosh.

The plan nearly succeeds as the Ambassador is poisoned and for a time his life hangs in the balance. Lyta Alexander, the telepath assigned to Babylon 5, carries out a scan on Kosh, and as a result Comdr Jeffrey Sinclair becomes the prime suspect. The Vorlons send a fleet to get Sinclair and also appear to be prepared to take out the whole station in the process. However Sinclair tracks down the real assassin and transmitts his confession to the Vorlon fleet.

After the recovery of Kosh, something like "normality" returns to the station. The Narn attack a Centauri colony [Midnight on The Firing Line]. Raiders - a group of space pirates  - threaten civilian shipping. We learn about Londo Mollari's new love [Born to The Purple] and about some of the dangerous artifacts that can be found in space [Infection]. We meet Catherine Sakai (Sinclair's old flame) and Ambassador G'Kar has problems when an old enemy sends an assissin to kill him [Parliament of Dreams].

We learn more about Psi Corps and its dark side [Mind War], and get our first real clue that there are other forces out there when Catherine begins a mining survey on a promising looking planet.

Some rather vicious pro-earth groups begin to surface [War Prayer] and [And The Sky Full of Stars] Dr Franklin is presented with a problem in medical ethics [Believers] and we learn that Security Chief Garibaldi has a past [Survivors]. There are station strikes as well as growing enmity between Londo and G'Kar [By Any Means Necessary].

The Shadows appear and we meet the mysterious Mr Morden as he visits the station's ambassadors [Signs and Portents]. Babylon 5 staff are under investigation and may be forced to have mind scans [Eyes]. A little more of the Earth/Minbari war is revealed when the body of a Minbari warrior is brought on station [Legacies].

Epsilon 3, around which B5 orbits has always been looked upon as a stable uninhabited world - but is it? And what does Draal have to do with all of this [A Voice in the Wilderness parts 1 & 2].

The missing Babylon 4 mysteriously reappears and we learn something of its fate which leaves us with a sense of foreboding [Babylon Squared]. But there are things happening beneath the surface and something nasty is going on back on Earth as Garibaldi discovers a plot to assassinate the President. But he is too late to warn EarthForce One and the season builds to its climax with Ambassador Delenn entering a Chrysalis state  to fulfill an ancient prophecy, and Garibaldi fighting for his life [Chrysalis].

The Final Note of Season One
Spoken by Commander Jeffrey Sinclair:

"Nothing's the same anymore"