Re: What SF/F Series/Film/Franchise Do You Like, But No-one Else Seems
The difference here is that the Newcomers were the central focus of the story. Every week they were front and center. They had to have depth of character and background and dimension, or else the entire premise falls apart. B5 and to some extent Trek, the story was more on the central cast, hence why such detailed background was not as required for say The Shadows.
The Newcomers, in the very least, are three-dimensional aliens. They have diversity in their culture, physical appearance, religion, etc. Some episodes highlight more elements of this than others, but they were much more consistently fleshed out than any other alien I've seen on television.
Far cry from the "throw up the same back-drop every time for this species" method of Star Trek, Babylon 5, and other shows. But of course Alien Nation only had one alien race to deal with.
The difference here is that the Newcomers were the central focus of the story. Every week they were front and center. They had to have depth of character and background and dimension, or else the entire premise falls apart. B5 and to some extent Trek, the story was more on the central cast, hence why such detailed background was not as required for say The Shadows.