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Comment by blincoln | Hacker News Reader

AFAIK, J. Michael Straczynski was the first person to get a successful arc-based television series on TV, with _Babylon 5_ - the pilot aired in 1993.

He had tried earlier with _Captain Power_ in 1987, but that only lasted a single season, and it was kind of doomed to be thought of as a kid's show because of the toyline tie-in.

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> AFAIK, J. Michael Straczynski was the first person to get a successful arc-based television series on TV, with _Babylon 5_ - the pilot aired in 1993.

Would you consider Twin Peaks (1990) to be arc-based?

Soap Operas?

I was thinking of that too, especially of all the personal problems the characters had in Evangelion. I had to stop watching because of the main protagonist repeatedly asking why his father doesn't show any love for him. A lot of people are into those story-lines, and I guess it partly explains Evangelion's popularity with women too.

This was also part of the point of the show; it was setting itself opposed to all the Mecha anime from the 80s and 90s with teenagers piloting robots, often with no parents around, but showing no external signs of trauma.

Yeah, Shinji is not a lot of fun. Though, he's not really "supposed" to be likeable. Over the years I've warmed up to him, though. He'll never be likeable but he's definitely sympathetic and actually rather realistic, considering the hell he's put through.

Personally, I identified heavily with Shinji when watching the anime for the first time, and binge watching the box set ended up being some form of catharsis, finding someone relatable to myself at the time. I wouldn't say that was the only reason it became one of my favourite TV shows, but it certainly helped. I can understand other people finding him annoying, just wanted to give an alternative perspective from someone who didn't.

Babylon 5 was even called a "space opera."

Right. The people behind it also wanted to create a "Hill Street Blues" for scifi. They also combined "Lord of the Rings", with each episode being a chapter. This explains Garabaldi's drinking problems, the head doctor getting addicted to drugs, Z'ha'dum, the Rangers, and the ancient races going beyond the galactic rim leaving the younger races to develop.

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