Babylon 5... movies?!?

[Danoz]

Okay, so I'm a little confused on Netflix about how to set up my queue here. There's the seasons, yes, but there's also several movies. I'm 2 disks away from finishing season one, so in order to avoid spoilers-- could somebody please do me a favor and just layout what order I should order my B5 queue should be in?

Just fill in the gaps w/ movies . I'm afraid of seeing pictures or descriptions that could let me know of character who will/won't be there etc. There's like three options of season 5... "the gathering" and the works. Needless to say I'm confused, and I don't want to do the "research" via wikipedia for fear of spoilers.

Thanks!

 

[Harvey]

"The Gathering" is the original pilot. It takes place before season one. It's not required viewing, but it does add a few extra layers to things. There's no reason you can't watch it now.

"Thirdspace" takes place between "The Illusion of Truth" and "Atonement in season four. It's not necessary to watch i then, however. You could just as easily watch it after finishing the series.

"River of Souls" takes place six months after "Objects at Rest." Its entirely standalone, and, quite frankly, pretty bad. Watch it, if you must, after you've finished the series.

"In The Beginning" is a prequel to the series, but it is built around a framing sequence that takes place in 2277. I wouldn't watch it until you've finished everything but the final episode, "Sleeping in Light." I think it fits well between "Objects at Rest" and "Sleeping in Light," actually, but you may want to hold off until you've finished the series.

"Call to Arms" is a Babylon 5 movie, but it is also a sort of pilot to Crusade. Watch it before you watch the episodes of that short lived series, if you plan to.

"Legend of the Rangers" was a failed pilot movie. It's not as bad as detractors would claim, but it's not very good, either. It takes place after "River of Souls" and before "Call To Arms," but there's really no reason you should have to watch it then. Save it for after the series.

"The Lost Tales" take place ten years after "Objects at Rest," but due the the main titles, I feel they're very much intended to be seen after you've watched everything else, or in the very least after you've watched "Sleeping in Light" (the series finale).

 

[jbrinegar]

I think youll find alot of opinions on viewing order. IMO, I like to watch them in the order they were originally aired. It does mean you jump around the timelines a little, but all secrets would be preserved this way:

The Gathering (pilot)
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
In the Beginning
River of Souls
Thirdspace
Call to Arms
Crusade
Legend of the Rangers
The Lost Tales

When you rewatch the series, you could change up the order to be chronologically correct.

Just my opinion of course!

 

[misskim86]

I'd also watch everything except the gathering last

 

[Lindley]

"In The Beginning" is a prequel to the series, but it is built around a framing sequence that takes place in 2277.

2278, actually, I think. Not that it makes much difference for this thread. It may be safely watched any time after season 4, although keeping it for the end of the series is fine.

 

[Harvey]

"In The Beginning" is a prequel to the series, but it is built around a framing sequence that takes place in 2277.

2278, actually, I think. Not that it makes much difference for this thread. It may be safely watched any time after season 4, although keeping it for the end of the series is fine.

It looks like you're right, my mistake. Although I don't know why you would watch it after season four (specifically "Rising Star"). Sure, there aren't any spoilers that it will reveal beyond that episode, but I think it fits better in the scheme of the series as the penultimate entry before Sleeping in Light.

 

[OmahaStar]

I think youll find alot of opinions on viewing order. IMO, I like to watch them in the order they were originally aired. It does mean you jump around the timelines a little, but all secrets would be preserved this way:

The Gathering (pilot)
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
In the Beginning
River of Souls
Thirdspace
Call to Arms
Crusade
Legend of the Rangers
The Lost Tales

When you rewatch the series, you could change up the order to be chronologically correct.

Just my opinion of course!

I agree with this order for a first-time viewer. One, it makes it MUCH easier for the viewer to get the disks, and two, well, it just doesn't break up the flow of the episodes.

The movies are, save one, self-contained. They do not add to the *big* story arc (and this series sure has one, though I doubt a viewer in season 1 has caught on to it quite yet), and do tend to break up the flow. There's one that does that pretty bad. Sure the timeline says it goes between episodes (actually, the events supposedly occur *during* the episode, between commercial breaks).

The first-time viewer probably isn't going to want to stop a dvd mid-episode, put in another disk to watch a movie, then go back and try to figure out where that break is. What's the point in all that hassle? Just watch em in the order described above and you'll be fine.

Heck, you could probably save "The Gathering" movie til later and just do watch all the movies in order after the end of season 5. It'll be a nice little treat, seeing old familiar faces from so long ago.

 

[RoJoHen]

Since you're almost done with Season 1 anyway, you might as well just save the movies (including "The Gathering") until you're done with the whole show.

 

[Brolan]

I agree with the above, watch the movies (except for the Gathering) after the five seasons. Think of them as dessert.

 

[glindros]

I agree except save In The Beginning until the end. The payoffs in that movie are wonderful, if you've seen the whole series.

 

[js]

Hmm, I've been marathoning B5 for a newbie and we finished season four a few weeks ago, then took a break. Next week I was going to show him 'In the Beginning' before we started watching season five.

It's been a while since I watched either ITB or S5, so why shouldn't I show him ITB before S5? Didn't it air right before S5?

js

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

Hmm, I've been marathoning B5 for a newbie and we finished season four a few weeks ago, then took a break. Next week I was going to show him 'In the Beginning' before we started watching season five.

It's been a while since I watched either ITB or S5, so why shouldn't I show him ITB before S5? Didn't it air right before S5?

js

It should be perfectly fine to watch between S4 and S5.

As for the recommendations to watch it between "Objects at Rest" and "Sleeping Light"... well, I guess that's because "In the Beginning" (or at least its framing story) takes place between these two episodes. And thematically (as well as emotionally) it fits very well with the series finale.

 

[zenophite]

"The Lost Tales" take place ten years after "Objects at Rest," but due the the main titles, I feel they're very much intended to be seen after you've watched everything else, or in the very least after you've watched "Sleeping in Light" (the series finale).

To which I would add only that "Lost Tales" is not very good either.

BTW jms has basically declared that he's not interested in doing anything else in the B5 universe that is less than a big budget film, which suits me fine upon thinking about how Lost Tales turned out.

 

[DWF]

Hmm, I've been marathoning B5 for a newbie and we finished season four a few weeks ago, then took a break. Next week I was going to show him 'In the Beginning' before we started watching season five.

It's been a while since I watched either ITB or S5, so why shouldn't I show him ITB before S5? Didn't it air right before S5?

js

Yeah it'd be OK to watch ITB before the fifth season.

 

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

If you're confused about what movies to watch and when, and you aren't quite getting all the explanations, just follow this simple rule:

TV Show first.

Everything else, in addition to being inferior, isn't really time-line specific. Yes Thirdspace is set in the 4th season somewhere, ItB is set in the future and the past, RoS is after the show. None of it is essential really. You can watch them all after the main show and not have a problem

 

[js]

Hmm, I've been marathoning B5 for a newbie and we finished season four a few weeks ago, then took a break. Next week I was going to show him 'In the Beginning' before we started watching season five.

It's been a while since I watched either ITB or S5, so why shouldn't I show him ITB before S5? Didn't it air right before S5?

js

It should be perfectly fine to watch between S4 and S5.

As for the recommendations to watch it between "Objects at Rest" and "Sleeping Light"... well, I guess that's because "In the Beginning" (or at least its framing story) takes place between these two episodes. And thematically (as well as emotionally) it fits very well with the series finale.

Well, now I'm wondering if maybe he'd get more from it if I saved it for watching between Objects and Sleeping. Hmm... decisions, decisions!

Thanks for the info!

 

[Jan]

Well, now I'm wondering if maybe he'd get more from it if I saved it for watching between Objects and Sleeping. Hmm... decisions, decisions!

Thanks for the info!

For a first viewing, I strongly recommend that you don't allow anything to interrupt the emotional momentum of watching "Objects in Motion", "Objects at Rest" and "Sleeping in Light" in a row.

Jan

 

[Cary L. Brown]

"The Gathering" is the original pilot. It takes place before season one. It's not required viewing, but it does add a few extra layers to things. There's no reason you can't watch it now.

"Thirdspace" takes place between "The Illusion of Truth" and "Atonement in season four. It's not necessary to watch i then, however. You could just as easily watch it after finishing the series.

"River of Souls" takes place six months after "Objects at Rest." Its entirely standalone, and, quite frankly, pretty bad. Watch it, if you must, after you've finished the series.

"In The Beginning" is a prequel to the series, but it is built around a framing sequence that takes place in 2277. I wouldn't watch it until you've finished everything but the final episode, "Sleeping in Light." I think it fits well between "Objects at Rest" and "Sleeping in Light," actually, but you may want to hold off until you've finished the series.

"Call to Arms" is a Babylon 5 movie, but it is also a sort of pilot to Crusade. Watch it before you watch the episodes of that short lived series, if you plan to.

"Legend of the Rangers" was a failed pilot movie. It's not as bad as detractors would claim, but it's not very good, either. It takes place after "River of Souls" and before "Call To Arms," but there's really no reason you should have to watch it then. Save it for after the series.

"The Lost Tales" take place ten years after "Objects at Rest," but due the the main titles, I feel they're very much intended to be seen after you've watched everything else, or in the very least after you've watched "Sleeping in Light" (the series finale).

I agree with everything he's said here, except that I'm one of those who thinks that it always works best with "Sleeping in Light" being the very last thing you watch, period... it's the ultimate "wrap-up" to everything in the series (including the movies, and, I think, the spin-off series).

 

[Harvey]

I agree with everything he's said here, except that I'm one of those who thinks that it always works best with "Sleeping in Light" being the very last thing you watch, period... it's the ultimate "wrap-up" to everything in the series (including the movies, and, I think, the spin-off series).

That's why I've put In The Beginning in between "Objects at Rest" and "Sleeping in Light." It makes sense chronologically and thematically.

I've excluded River of Souls and Legend of the Rangers because they're, well, not very good, and as standalones entirely inconsequential.

Thirdspace and the Lost Tales both begin with a sequence that places them in a certain time, but from the perspective of looking back after having finished the series (and "Sleeping in Light").

"A Call To Arms" and "Crusade" are more of their own thing. If the series ran for a full five years, I might think differently of it, but as it stands I think it really messes up the momentum of the final stretch of episodes with its total lack of resolution.

It might be fun to watch everything totally chronologically at some point, but it doesn't make much sense for first time viewers, or the best thematic sequence. All IMO.

 

[Neroon]

I tend to favor watching "In the Beginning" as I first saw it, late season 4. By that point, all of the elements which the movie addresses have been seen prior in the series. Waiting until after "Objects At Rest" feels as if it's too long. Chronologically, with the way "In the Beginning" ends it fits. But for my taste I enjoy it placed close to the events which it references.