Babylon 5 Viewing order

[Fidelis]

Well once again i think my subject line pretty much sums it up.

i have been looking for some new sci-fi stuff i have not seen before and i though B-5 looks alright, i have not seen a single bit of babylon five, and after going to a few sites including the gateworld one, i am having a bit of trouble figuring out whate the best viewing order for the seasons and movies and all that are. so i ask all you knowledgable babylon 5 fans out there what is the correct order for watching these things. i am not sure if it makes a differance but i would prefer a release order rather than a chronological order.

[walterIsTheMan]

1) I'd start with the Babylon 5 movie "In the Beginning". It was made as a prequel and gives a lot of backstory.
2) Then watch the pilot movie "The Gathering".
3) Then go ahead and do seasons 1-5 in order.
4) The movies "Thirdspace" and "The River of Souls" can pretty much be watched whenever, as they have their own plots. Though it probably would be best to watch them prior to season 5, just so it's the same cast as where you are in the show.
5) After you finish season 5 then watch "A Call to Arms". It sets the stage for the spin-off show Crusade.
6) Then watch Crusade and the last movie "Legend of the Rangers" also known as "To Live and Die in Starlight".

There are certain episodes that take place in the future or past, but it's just easier to watch all the episodes in order.

[david2708]

As the above poster said, but you could really skip Season 5. The show's over by season four more or less. You could maybe rent the last disc of season five to see the fall Of Centari prime and the last ep that was filmed the year before because they weren't sure they were coming back.
The first season is pretty awful and you'll wonder what the fuss was about. The show improves with season 3 being the best IMO.

[walterIsTheMan]

The first season is pretty awful and you'll wonder what the fuss was about. The show improves with season 3 being the best IMO.

Yeah hold on untill seasons 3 and 4 because it improves as they go. So try to bear the sometimes lame season 1 and 2 episodes.

[ibwolf]

1) I'd start with the Babylon 5 movie "In the Beginning". It was made as a prequel and gives a lot of backstory.
2) Then watch the pilot movie "The Gathering".
3) Then go ahead and do seasons 1-5 in order.
4) The movies "Thirdspace" and "The River of Souls" can pretty much be watched whenever, as they have their own plots. Though it probably would be best to watch them prior to season 5, just so it's the same cast as where you are in the show.
5) After you finish season 5 then watch "A Call to Arms". It sets the stage for the spin-off show Crusade.
6) Then watch Crusade and the last movie "Legend of the Rangers" also known as "To Live and Die in Starlight".

There are certain episodes that take place in the future or past, but it's just easier to watch all the episodes in order.

No! That is really not a good viewing order for those new to the series.

Start with The Gathering (the pilot for the series) and then go on to season 1-4, only then should you watch In the Beginning (this is basically production order). In the Beginning contains numerous spoilers for the first few seasons. If you watch it first, you'll miss out on all the mystery of what is really going on that is such a compelling part of B5.

For repeat viewing, it is quite OK to start with In the Beginning, but not for inital viewing!

Thirdspace was produced after In the Beginning, but it can be viewed about half way through season 4. Then there is season 5, River of souls (The legend of the Rangers would be next if you want to see that) and finally A call to arms and Crusade.

[Madeleine]

I'm with ibwolf. In the pilot and the episodes that follow there's a whole load of foreshadowing, clues, hints, red-herrings and tantalising pieces of the big story. This is all through the first season, and gradually in s2 and s3 we see the picture building up, and as it nears completion and the final, staggering pieces are put into place it's quite stunning, and a catharsis for viewers who've invested the years' worth of episodes. The movie "In The Beginning" is just a dramatisation of everything that is known about certain events that had happenned years before the time shown in the pilot. It heaps up everything in one easy-to-digest platter, and while it's entertaining to watch whether you know the story or are coming to it fresh it's no substitute for finding everything out the hard way

[yaaayoubetcha]

You could also give the Rangers movie a miss.

twas tripe.

[skritsys]

A good online resource for reference when you have a question about an ep would be http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/lurker.html

[Missster.Freeman]

The Lurkers Guide is an excellent resource, but be careful when you visit the episode guides, they are full of spoilers.

[skritsys]

I should have mentioned that, my bad. However, after you watch an episode it makes a great in depth tool for whatever questions you may have.
There are plenty of extra tidbits in there as well.

[Integrabyte]

I guess I did not do this whole B5 right . I willed myself to finish S1. I liked Jeff a lot. Shame they wrote him out. Anywho...by the time I finished S2 I started to love B5. Now I am going to finish S4 and start S5. Shame they fired Ivanova .

[DigiFluid]

When I get around to watching the show, I intend to do so in their original airing order...

The Gathering
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
In The Beginning
Season 5 (up to/including 'Movements of Fire and Shadow')
Thirdspace
Season 5 (up to/including 'Wheel of Fire')
River of Souls
Season 5 (remainder)
Call to Arms
Legend of the Rangers

[Sci-Fi]

I guess I did not do this whole B5 right . I willed myself to finish S1. I liked Jeff a lot. Shame they wrote him out. Anywho...by the time I finished S2 I started to love B5. Now I am going to finish S4 and start S5. Shame they fired Ivanova .

They didn't fire Ivanova (Claudia Christian), her contract was up and she thought the series was over and got another gig. There wasn't any indication that B5 would get a 5th season and JMS basically compressed the original S4 and S5 together in S4 so the story could be finished. So there was a bit of confusion and miscommunication and that's why S5 seemed so different, although many fans wanted to see the Telepath War played out.

If you are talking about Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O'Hare), he wanted to return to Broadway and wasn't used to the (frantic pace) film schedule for a TV series. So there was a bit of friction there and you can do a search to read about the details. Stage acting doesn't necessarily translation well on film, but O'Hare's later guest appearances brought new light on his character.

A lot of the original plans for the characters from the pilot movie were changed as replacement actors were hired and the new characters developed. It took too long for somebody to pickup the series, so actors have to take whatever jobs that come their way...have to pay the bills and some of the actors were in demand at that time (Tamlyn Tomita had a nice film career, while Johnny Sekka was suffering from health problems and retired, Andrea Thompson left for NYPD Blue, etc etc). In the end, it all worked out.

[Integrabyte]

They didn't fire Ivanova (Claudia Christian), her contract was up and she thought the series was over and got another gig. There wasn't any indication that B5 would get a 5th season and JMS basically compressed the original S4 and S5 together in S4 so the story could be finished. So there was a bit of confusion and miscommunication and that's why S5 seemed so different, although many fans wanted to see the Telepath War played out.

If you are talking about Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O'Hare), he wanted to return to Broadway and wasn't used to the (frantic pace) film schedule for a TV series. So there was a bit of friction there and you can do a search to read about the details. Stage acting doesn't necessarily translation well on film, but O'Hare's later guest appearances brought new light on his character.

A lot of the original plans for the characters from the pilot movie were changed as replacement actors were hired and the new characters developed. It took too long for somebody to pickup the series, so actors have to take whatever jobs that come their way...have to pay the bills and some of the actors were in demand at that time (Tamlyn Tomita had a nice film career, while Johnny Sekka was suffering from health problems and retired, Andrea Thompson left for NYPD Blue, etc etc). In the end, it all worked out.

Spoilers for length....

Spoiler:

Response from Claudia Christian, July 20 1997


Dear Folks, Here's my side of the story and I should know because I was there.
On June 20th, I was called into the B-5 office to find out the fate of the 5th season. With three other cast members present we were told that we could make the fifth season (yeah!). We were then asked to give up the residuals for that season (those are the things that pay the rent since syndication isn't exactly lucrative). Well, nonetheless I said okay-I even volunteered to talk the rest of the cast into it. I had expressed my hesitation in extending my contract renewal because I wanted to get their assurance that in the 5th season I could get at least 4 episodes off to do a film. That was the only thing I was asking for. No raise--accepting a paycut-- simply less episodes, period. Ask yourself this: why would I have done the TNT promos for the 5th season if I did not want to be involved?
While I was in Europe (I was there for almost a month), I heard about the gossip column in Variety. It is a gossip column, nothing more. I have no idea who planted the gossip and frankly, I didn't think much of it since Hollywood is based on gossip. Because the producers and Joe were in Europe, I assumed negotiations for the 5th season would continue when we all returned. I was told quite curtly that my request for time off had been denied and that Ken Parks from Warner Bros. had told my agent to tell me to "Find another job, we'll replace her." After four years of working for a substantial paycut because I loved the show and the people involved, and felt that I was portraying a character that people really cared about, this hurt me immensely. At that point, I was in shock but I still went to Blackpool thinking that they would come around and give me the time I needed off. I knew Ivanova was in the first episodes. I figured we could sit down with my agent and come to a deal. In Blackpool, I was told by JMS that he would give me the episodes off but I could not get anything in writing. I trust him, however I know that he was not writing all of the episodes for the fifth season so I really felt that I had to have something in writing. I turns out my fears were justified because when my agent spoke to John Copeland (producer) and mentioned Joe's offer to write me out of a few episodes, Mr. Copeland responded by saying "That's not possible. If TNT wants her in every episode then she has to do all 22. That's the deal, take it or leave it."
At this point, I was told that I had until Monday to call Warner Bros. to tell them I was on board. Well Folks, an actor does not call a studio. Our union has rules. The producers of B-5 never called my manager or agent to tell them of this deadline. Instead, I was told by Jeff Conaway. I called my agent and left word. We missed each other. On Monday, I found out that on the previous Friday my agent had received a fax stating that the offer for me to be in B-5 was withdrawn. In essence, I was fired. This fax was received on Friday, so what kind of game was being played by giving me false hopes throughout the weekend in England? And by the way, on Tuesday of that week, I was in London promoting the show and doing magazine interviews and TV talk shows for them on my own time. Why would I do that if I did not believe something could be worked out.
If they really wanted me back, they would have accepted my plea through my agent to sit down and have a meeting. He was told by John Copeland that he was "a dollar short and a day late." They simply did not even want to sit down with me!
Once again, I would do season 5...if I had less episodes. I am hurt and disappointed that I have not even received the opportunity to discuss my needs. I was dismissed coldly and simply. I want you to know that I have given my heart to the show and I love Ivanova as much as any of you. I did not "leave" the show. I did not ask for more money. I did not create this mess. Perhaps this is a great lack of communication. I would like to think that. Thank you all for your love and support. I would never abandon you.



Claudia Christian

[DigiFluid]

Ouch, that's cold....