Tolkien's Influence on Babylon 5

[Ardent]

Originally Posted by Ibrîniðilpathânezel

... The Vorlons and Shadows are like the Ainur, attempting to guide the younger races to their own purposes for good or evil. The Minbari are much like the Elves, the Firstborn, who went to war against the evil Ainur, the Shadows, long ago, and only survived because of the intervention of a human who became an Elf (Minbari -- I'd never thought of Valen/Sinclair as Earendil before, but I can see some influences)...

In the episode 'Late Delivery From Avalon', with Michael York, at the end Marcus speculates that if Delen is the Lady of the Lake, then Kosh must be Merlin. Here the two stories are drawing on the common source of Arthurian legend, and Kosh as Gandalf would make sense if you consider he's one of the few of his race, like the maiar, to interact with the younger races.