If it were only a matter of set design, you wouldn't hear
a peep from me. For what I hope will be the last time, here's
how it lays down:

BABYLON 5 DEEP SPACE 9
Commander Sinclair Commander Sisko
Casino Casino
Bar Bar
Female second in command Female second in command
Shapechanger in original script Shapechanger in pilot script
Located near a jump-point (warp) Located near wormhole (warp)
Number-designated space station Number-designated space station
Hookers Hookers
Similar prosthetics Similar prosthetics
Similar sets Similar sets
Female 2nd fending off attack at end Female 2nd fending off attack
Bazaar Promenade
Cmdr. haunted by recent war Cmdr. haunted by recent battle
Cmdr. is unmarried Cmdr. is (now) unmarried
Freeport/port of call Freeport/port of call
Travelers/diplomats/smugglers Travelers/diplomats/smugglers

Those are the highlights. There's more, but this point has
been belabored far more than is reasonable at this point. With
one bit of new information...I've heard that Majel Barrett-Roddenberry
has been quoted as saying that B5 has borrowed from DS9...now I
can't personally confirm this, I wasn't there, but if those who
sent me private mail testifying to this want to come forward, they're
welcome to do so (though no onus is attached if they don't).

Can such things happen by accident? That's more a question for
others.

Now, again, I don't want to go on about this in extremis. The
only reason I replied was because you asked, and seemed to think that
the only similarity was in the set design. As has been stated
(repeatedly), they will be very different shows, in many ways, in
terms of the stories and the characters and the fact that we just
operate in a completely different fictional universe.

So that said...let's move on. In future, if anyone wants to
get the details, they should be referred to this message. There's
going to be a lot to discuss, and a lot of new stuff coming down
the road in terms of B5, and I'd hate for this topic to end up
just a constant rehashing of point-by-point similarities. Best to
talk of B5 in terms of B5, not via comparison to others.

jms