What order should the Babylon 5 movies and series be watched in?

Question

Can someone tell me what order should the Babylon 5 movies be watched, so as to get the best out of them as a whole while watching the series?

I know that release date isn't the best way to do this as they sometimes have to release movies earlier than they'd like to fit in with channel scheduling etc.

Answer 1

From the episode list at The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5

That list provides the chronological order of the storyline for the episodes as well as the movies, as indicated by JMS. (Some episodes vary slightly with the release dates and the chronological ordering intended)

Answer 2

This is too big for a comment, so I'm posting it as another answer:

If you plan on watching the Crusade spinoff, don't watch it in airdate order. I strongly, strongly suggest chronological order - it resolves most of the inconsistencies TNT created when they started interfering with the series, and the character development makes a hell of a lot more sense:

• 1x01 - War Zone
• 1x02 - The Long Road
• 1x06 - Ruling from the Tomb
• 1x08 - Appearances and Other Deceits
• 1x10 - The Memory of War
• 1x11 - The Needs of Earth
• 1x09 - Racing the Night
• 1x12 - Visitors from Down the Street
• 1x13 - Each Night I Dream of Home
• 1x04 - The Path of Sorrows
• 1x05 - Patterns of the Soul
• 1x03 - The Well of Forever
• 1x07 - The Rules of the Game

Basically, 5 episodes of Crusade were produced with minimal meddling. Then filming went on hiatus while the budget was increased and better sets/etc were made - and TNT's meddling went crazy.

For example, episodes numbered 1x09 - 1x13 use the original, low-budget uniforms. After the budget was increased, TNT mandated that the high-budget new uniforms be aired first - so they became episodes 1x01 - 1x08. Appearances and Other Deceits had an in-universe designer create the old uniforms as a new design, then one of the unfilmed episodes would have a laundry accident that "returned" them to the new, high-budget uniforms seen in the others. Since that episode was never filmed, we can imagine it happens between Each Night I Dream of Home and The Path of Sorrows, when the chronological ordering switches the uniforms back.

Other much more spoilery advantages to this order include:

• The nanotech shield. In airdate order, it was used before Dr. Chambers invents it. In this order, it makes sense.
• The Apocalypse Box's warning about Galen (in The Memory of War) foreshadows a small distrust between Gideon and Galen that grows throughout the episodes (when in this order), all the way through The Well of Forever. Word of God is that it would have gotten far worse through the remainder of the season.
• Gideon and Lochley's familiarity with each other.

Among others.

_{(To be perfectly honest, I almost suggest skipping Crusade altogether. Episode 1x14 was planned to be its version of Signs and Portents, launching the true storyline of the series... So what did manage to get filmed largely feels like a teaser to something that will never happen. Very frustrating.)}

Answer 3

Best movie order is as follows:

1. Watch "The Gathering" pilot movie
2. Watch all of Seasons 1, 2 and 3.
3. Watch Season 4 up to Episode 8
4. Watch B5 Movie "Thirdspace"
5. Watch Season 4 Episode 9 with Delenn as she goes into the dreaming. This is good background material for the next movie
6. Watch "In The Beginning" immediately after Season 4 Episode 9 and before Episode 10. This is the best time to watch the movie as you don't get spoilers and it ties in really well with episode 9 in Season 4.
7. Watch the rest of Season 4
8. Watch Season 5 right up to the episode BEFORE "Objects In Motion"
9. Watch "Legend Of the Rangers" A lot of people slag this movie, but for G'Kar alone it is worth watching and infinitely better than Star Trek V.
10. Watch "A Call To Arms" which sets up the spin off show Crusade.
11. Watch the 13 episode series Crusade next.
12. Watch "The Lost Tales" the 2007 I think it was, direct to DVD movie.
13. Watch the Season 5 episode "Objects in Motion".
14. Watch the movie "River of Souls" as this takes place in the year 2263 between "Objects in Motion" and "Objects at Rest" in Season 5 and makes the most sense to watch here.
15. Watch "Objects at Rest" and the grande finale "Sleeping In Light" Watching these 2 episodes back to back has the best emotional impact.

Mo matter what "Sleeping In Light" should be watched absolutely LAST.

Answer 4

Just a LITTLE correction to the answers above...

In "Thirdspace", Zack is seen fully wearing and sporting an alternative B5 uniform just like Sheridan and the rest. This, however, is not a formally accepted fact until S4 E09 (the beginning scene).

I would thus respectfully suggest that for the sake of consistency that instead of watching "Thirdspace" after S4 E08 to instead watch it after S4 E09.

I know, trivial detail but...

Answer 5

Unfortunately the assigned episode numbers, release dates, and production numbers do not match the intended viewing order of the show's creator, J Michael Straczynski (JMS).

Intended Order

The Intended Order for all TV Episodes and Movies as listed below is the order that JMS intended the show to be viewed in for full dramatic impact. This viewing order was taken from JMS's interviews, notes, and discussions. This is not a chronological order of events, and not everything is meant to make sense at first as some episodes have flashbacks and visions of things. This order (including the very similar Lurker's Guide) is popular among devoted fans.

Source 1: https://babylon5.fandom.com/wiki/Viewing_Order

Source 2: http://www.b5tv.com/showthread.php?t=11675

Note: For the Crusade spin-off the Chronological Order option is listed below as it is enjoyable and popular among devoted fans without continuity issues or jarring inconsistencies. This Crusade order is from the Babylon 5 Historical Database as authorized by JMS, with one adjustment to correct a continuity issue in "Ruling From the Tomb".

Episode Name	Intended Order	Episode #	Release Date
The Gathering (Movie) *A	1	N/A	1993-02-22
Midnight on the Firing Line	2	1x01	1994-01-26
Soul Hunter	3	1x02	1994-02-02
Born to the Purple	4	1x03	1994-02-09
Infection	5	1x04	1994-02-16
The Parliament of Dreams	6	1x05	1994-02-23
Mind War	7	1x06	1994-03-02
The War Prayer	8	1x07	1994-03-09
And the Sky Full of Stars	9	1x08	1994-03-16
Deathwalker	10	1x09	1994-04-20
Believers	11	1x10	1994-04-27
Survivors	12	1x11	1994-05-04
By Any Means Necessary	13	1x12	1994-05-11
Signs and Portents	14	1x13	1994-05-18
Grail	15	1x15	1994-07-06
Eyes	16	1x16	1994-07-13
A Voice in the Wilderness, Part I	17	1x18	1994-07-27
A Voice in the Wilderness, Part II	18	1x19	1994-08-03
Babylon Squared	19	1x20	1994-08-10
The Quality of Mercy	20	1x21	1994-08-17
TKO	21	1x14	1994-05-25
Legacies	22	1x17	1994-07-20
Chrysalis	23	1x22	1994-10-26
Points of Departure	24	2x01	1994-11-02
Revelations	25	2x02	1994-11-09
The Geometry of Shadows	26	2x03	1994-11-16
A Distant Star	27	2x04	1994-11-23
The Long Dark	28	2x05	1994-11-30
A Spider in the Web	29	2x06	1994-12-07
A Race Through Dark Places	30	2x08	1995-01-25
Soul Mates	31	2x07	1994-12-14
The Coming of Shadows	32	2x09	1995-02-01
GROPOS	33	2x10	1995-02-08
All Alone in the Night	34	2x11	1995-02-15
Acts of Sacrifice	35	2x12	1995-02-22
Hunter, Prey	36	2x13	1995-03-01
There All the Honor Lies	37	2x14	1995-04-26
And Now For a Word	38	2x15	1995-05-03
Knives	39	2x17	1995-05-17
In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum	40	2x16	1995-05-10
Confessions and Lamentations	41	2x18	1995-05-24
Divided Loyalties	42	2x19	1995-10-11
The Long, Twilight Struggle	43	2x20	1995-10-18
Comes the Inquisitor	44	2x21	1995-10-25
The Fall of Night	45	2x22	1995-11-01
Matters of Honor	46	3x01	1995-11-06
Convictions	47	3x02	1995-11-13
A Day in the Strife	48	3x03	1995-11-20
Passing Through Gethsemane	49	3x04	1995-11-27
Voices of Authority	50	3x05	1996-01-29
Dust to Dust	51	3x06	1996-02-05
Exogenesis	52	3x07	1996-02-12
Messages from Earth	53	3x08	1996-02-19
Point of No Return	54	3x09	1996-02-26
Severed Dreams	55	3x10	1996-04-01
Ceremonies of Light and Dark	56	3x11	1996-04-08
A Late Delivery from Avalon	57	3x13	1996-04-22
Sic Transit Vir	58	3x12	1996-04-15
Ship of Tears	59	3x14	1996-04-29
Interludes and Examinations	60	3x15	1996-05-06
Walkabout	61	3x18	1996-09-30
War Without End, Part I	62	3x16	1996-05-13
War Without End, Part II	63	3x17	1996-05-20
Grey 17 is Missing	64	3x19	1996-10-07
And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place	65	3x20	1996-10-14
Shadow Dancing	66	3x21	1996-10-21
Z'ha'dum	67	3x22	1996-10-28
The Hour of the Wolf	68	4x01	1996-11-04
Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?	69	4x02	1996-11-11
The Summoning	70	4x03	1996-11-18
Falling Toward Apotheosis	71	4x04	1996-11-25
The Long Night	72	4x05	1997-01-27
Into the Fire	73	4x06	1997-02-03
Epiphanies	74	4x07	1997-02-10
The Illusion of Truth	75	4x08	1997-02-17
Thirdspace (Movie)	76	N/A	1998-07-19
Atonement *A	77	4x09	1997-02-24
Racing Mars	78	4x10	1997-04-21
Lines of Communication	79	4x11	1997-04-28
Conflicts of Interest	80	4x12	1997-05-05
Rumors, Bargains and Lies	81	4x13	1997-05-12
Moments of Transition	82	4x14	1997-05-19
No Surrender, No Retreat	83	4x15	1997-05-26
The Exercise of Vital Powers	84	4x16	1997-06-02
The Face of the Enemy	85	4x17	1997-06-09
Intersections in Real Time	86	4x18	1997-06-16
Between the Darkness and the Light	87	4x19	1997-10-06
Endgame	88	4x20	1997-10-13
Rising Star *B	89	4x21	1997-10-20
No Compromises	90	5x01	1998-01-21
The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari	91	5x02	1998-01-28
The Paragon of Animals	92	5x03	1998-02-04
A View from the Gallery	93	5x04	1998-02-11
Learning Curve	94	5x05	1998-02-18
Strange Relations	95	5x06	1998-02-25
Secrets of the Soul	96	5x07	1998-03-04
In the Kingdom of the Blind	97	5x08	1998-03-18
A Tragedy of Telepaths	98	5x09	1998-03-25
Phoenix Rising	99	5x11	1998-04-01
The Ragged Edge	100	5x12	1998-04-08
Day of the Dead	101	5x10	1998-03-11
The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father	102	5x13	1998-04-15
Meditations on the Abyss	103	5x14	1998-05-27
Darkness Ascending	104	5x15	1998-06-03
And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder	105	5x16	1998-06-10
Movements of Fire and Shadow	106	5x17	1998-06-17
The Fall of Centauri Prime	107	5x18	1998-10-28
Wheel of Fire	108	5x19	1998-11-04
Objects in Motion	109	5x20	1998-11-11
Objects at Rest *C	110	5x21	1998-11-18
The River of Souls (Movie)	111	N/A	1998-11-08
Legend of the Rangers: To Live and Die in Starlight (Movie)	112	N/A	2002-01-19
A Call to Arms (Movie)	113	N/A	1999-01-03
War Zone	114	C1x01	1999-06-09
The Long Road	115	C1x02	1999-06-16
Ruling from the Tomb	116	C1x06	1999-07-14
Appearances and Other Deceits	117	C1x08	1999-07-28
The Memory of War	118	C1x10	1999-08-11
The Needs of Earth	119	C1x11	1999-08-18
Racing the Night	120	C1x09	1999-08-04
Visitors from Down the Street	121	C1x12	1999-08-25
Each Night I Dream of Home	122	C1x13	1999-09-01
The Path of Sorrows	123	C1x04	1999-06-30
Patterns of the Soul	124	C1x05	1999-07-07
The Well of Forever	125	C1x03	1999-06-23
The Rules of the Game	126	C1x07	1999-07-21
The Lost Tales - Voices in the Dark (Movie)	127	N/A	2007-07-27
In the Beginning (Movie) *A	128	N/A	1/4/1998
Sleeping in Light *C	129	5x22	1998-11-25
The Deconstruction of Falling Stars *B	130	4x22	1997-10-27

Decision Points

*There are three decision points indicated with asterisks in the chart based on your personal viewing preference.

• *A. The order of the Movie "In The Beginning". JMS suggested watching it 3rd to last, just before "Sleeping in Light", as a summary flashback. However some fans prefer to watch this just after Season 4's "Atonement" as it ties in really well with this episode and you wont get any spoilers. Alternatively you can watch it first, before "The Gathering" as an interesting prequel with spoilers. If someone is on the fence about watching Babylon 5, its recommend to watch In The Beginning first because it gives them a taste of what will come will push them over the edge into watching the show.
• *B. The order of Season 4's "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars". JMS suggested watching it last, as it wraps up the entire B5 universe. However some fans prefer to watch this after "Objects at Rest" at the end of Season 4 as originally broadcasted to conclude Season 4. During production of Season 4 it appeared B5 would not be renewed for Season 5, so "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars" was created to conclude the entire B5 universe.
• *C. The order of Season 5's "Sleeping in Light". JMS suggested watching it 2nd to last, just before "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars", as it wraps up the show. However some fans prefer to watch this after "Rising Star" at the end of Season 5 as originally broadcasted to conclude Season 5, before moving on to watch the spin-off movies/episodes.

Other Orders

Additionally, the other popular Babylon 5 Viewing Orders for all TV Episodes and Movies are listed here: https://babylon5.fandom.com/wiki/Viewing_Order - This includes episode by episode lists with descriptions and comparisons for each order. The Chronological Order is a notable and very enjoyable alternative to the Intended Order.

Answer 6

Personally I think you should follow the release order as much as possible, with only a few modifications. Following the release order means you will get the same experience as people watching the show at the time of release. When creating a new episode/film, the creators largely catered towards audiences who had already watched everything released up to that point, and so you should be on fairly safe ground.

The exceptions I think should be made are:

• The film "Thirdspace". It was the first produced movie, although the second to be released. Though it was released during season 5, it's set during season 4 and doesn't contain any spoilers for later-released episodes. It's kind of weird to watch it and go back to that time it was set after so much has happened in between.
• The series finale episode, "Sleeping In Light". This was intended as an overall finale to the franchise as a whole (the fact that they moved this episode from the end of season 4 to the end of season 5 when a fifth season was ordered attests to this) and therefore should be watched last. It's also set in the year 2281, which is later than any other episode or film (except for segments of the season 4 finale). It's intended to provide finality.
• The episodes in the series "Crusade". Here the network messed with the episode order and so to watch it in release order would not be in keeping with the creators' wishes.

In summary, I think the following order should be used:

1. Watch the pilot film "The Gathering"
2. Watch the whole of seasons 1, 2 and 3
3. Watch season 4 episodes 1-8
4. Watch the film "Thirdspace"
5. Watch season 4 episodes 9-22
6. Watch the film "In The Beginning"
7. Watch season 5 episodes 1-21
8. Watch the film "River Of Souls"
9. Watch the film "A Call To Arms"
10. Watch the episodes of "Crusade" in the order suggested by user Izkata in his answer
11. Watch the film "The Legend Of The Rangers: To Live And Die In Starlight"
12. Watch the film "The Lost Tales: Voices In The Dark"
13. Watch season 5 episode 22 ("Sleeping In Light")

I understand why other posters have shuffled around "Objects In Motion" and "Objects At Rest" towards the end also as these are "goodbye" episodes. However, they also naturally follow from the earlier episodes in season 5 and wrap up the storyline in 2262 (the year when the majority of season 5 is set) which is before all of the later-released films. The same cannot be said for "Sleeping In Light" which is set much later. So I think "Objects In Motion" and "Objects At Rest" should really be watched immediately after watching the main part of season 5.

Answer 7

As Ruben said, Zack doesn't get his alternative B5 uniform till 'S4E9 - Atonement' so Thirdspace should slot in after that.

Also, If you're trying to be as chronologically accurate as possible (Though I do agree that 'In the Beginning' should be saved till late in S4 to avoid spoilers) you should save 'S5E22 - Sleeping in Light' till after all of the films and episodes as it takes place much later chronologically.

EDIT:

I'm actually doing a re-watch of B5 right now and I realised that theoretically Thirdspace has to slot in later than I previously thought.

Most people say between E8 & E9 but as stated above, because of Zack's uniform it can't be before E9. However, after watching through a bit more I realised that Dr Franklin is away from B5 from E9 through E12 and only gets back on station in E13. So though it's later on in the season, assuming Zack's uniform wasn't just a continuity error, Thirdspace should slot in somewhere after E13 - 'Conflicts of Interest' but before the campaign to remove Clarke.

Answer 8

I'm watching based on the printed list and not the graphic (the graphic is wrong on several key points).

A call To Arms is happening 6 years after the Shadow War, so it would be 2267. It should be one of the last movies watched.

The Legend of the Rangers talks about the Anniversary of the Alliance. There is also another problem in that the ship they're on lost it's crew 20 years prior, and there were Human Rangers on board. This totally messes with the Timeline, and G'kar should be dead by this time. Horrible continuity besides being a very cheesy show. I had remembered it being kind of good until watching it again last night and lost it when watching the weapons officer doing the 30 second scream while shadow boxing in VR. It's bad.

For the sake of continuity it should be considered "alternate universe" since none of the rangers act ranger-like.

My take right now would be watching season 5 until Objects at rest. Watch River of Souls, A Call To Arms, Crusade, Lost Tales, and then the final episode. After all that, then Legend of the Rangers, despite how bad it is.

Answer 9

Here's a suggested chronological viewing order of all Babylon 5 movies and TV series in an normal, ordered list that aims provide accessibility, including people with Tritanopia (blue / green colorblindness), people who use screen readers, etc. :

1. The Gathering (pilot movie)
2. All episodes from Season 1, Episode 1 through Season 4, Episode 8
3. Thirdspace (movie)
4. All episodes from Season 4, Episode 9 through Season 4, Episode 22
5. In the Beginning (movie)
6. All episodes from Season 5, Episode 1 through Season 5, Episode 21
7. River of Souls (movie)
8. Legend of the Ranges (movie)
9. Season 5 Episode 22
10. A Call to Arms (movie)
11. All episodes of the "Crusade" spinoff series
12. The Lost Tales: Voices in the Dark (movie)

Answer 10

You can do no harm to yourself starting with "In The Beginning." Aside from the obviously harmless title, the movie was made to introduce new viewers to the show when it was picked up by TNT at the beginning of the fifth season. TNT showed seasons 1-4 in progression once a day for five days a week, with a new fifth season episode at a different time slot once a week. There are thousands of people who watched the show, enjoyed it, and became hooked by it while watching it in this nonlinear fashion, including yours truly.

Rather than be spoiled by something, you will have an even greater insight into the genius of Babylon 5 storytelling. It's the belief that one viewing order is better than another that may spoil the show!

Also don't forget about the novels, several of which are considered canon, especially The Shadow Within and To Dream in the City of Sorrows, which are seamlessly interwoven with the show. Please feel free to pick them up and put them down as you feel to achieve their maximum effect!