Zathras says: what your own top 25 episodes of B5 are being?

[Neroon]

There has been some interesting discussion on various episodes of Babylon 5, to the point where it's clear we have a wide variety of opinion. Just to muddy up the waters even further, here are my top 25.

Today, at least

#25.)	The Deconstruction of Falling Stars
#24.)	Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?
#23.)	Babylon Squared
#22.)	And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place
#21.)	Comes the Inquisitor
#20.)	Signs and Portents
#19.)	Chrysalis
#18.)	Shadow Dancing
#17.)	Into the Fire
#16.)	The Face of the Enemy
#15.)	Endgame
#14.)	In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum
#13.)	No Surrender, No Retreat
#12.)	And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder
#11.)	The Fall of Centauri Prime
#10.)	Objects at Rest
#09.)	Sleeping in Light
#08.)	War Without End, Part One
#07.)	War Without End, Part Two
#06.)	The Fall of Night
#05.)	Point of No Return
#04.)	The Long, Twilight Struggle
#03.)	The Coming of Shadows
#02.)	Z'ha'dum

And the number one BABYLON 5 episode, coming in by the slightest of margins...	

#1.)	Severed Dreams

 

[Hermiod]

No-one answer this thread, no-one listen to Zathras.

25. Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi ?
24. The Long Night
23. Sleeping in Light
22. Endgame
21. Intersections in Real Time
20. Interludes and Examinations
19. No Surrender, No Retreat
18. The Illusion of Truth
17. The Fall of Centauri Prime (the title of which is not a f***ing spoiler)
16. Deathwalker
15. Chrysalis
14. The Hour of the Wolf
13. Into the Fire
12. Shadow Dancing
11. Point of No Return
10. War Without End, Part One
9. War Without End, Part Two
8. Babylon Squared
7. In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum
6. Severed Dreams
5. The Coming of Shadows
4. Signs and Portents
3. The Face of the Enemy
2. Z'ha'dum
1. The Long Twilight Struggle

This was really hard and it would probably change if I had to do it again.

 

[Jan]

There has been some interesting discussion on various episodes of Babylon 5, to the point where it's clear we have a wide variety of opinion. Just to muddy up the waters even further, here are my top 25.

I can't. I don't think I can even make a top 10 list because so many of the great episodes depend on so many other episodes. When it comes to lists, all I ever come up with is that the off-format episodes are way up there for me.

Jan

 

[Hermiod]

^Yeah, with very few exceptions, I love all of them. My list above is fairly random.

 

[OmahaStar]

In no particular order ...
1 - Born to the Purple
2 - Parliament of Dreams
3 - DeathWalker
4 - By Any Means Necessary
5 - Babylon Squared/War Without End 1 & 2
6 - Chrysalis
7 - Geometry of Shadows
8 - Soul Mates
9 - Coming of Shadows
10 - Acts of Sacrifice
11 - In the Shadow of Z'Ha'Dum
12 - Divided Loyalties
13 - Passing Through Gethsemane
14 - Messages From Earth/Point of No Return/Severed Dreams
15 - Voices of Authority
16 - A Late Delivery From Avalon
17 - Z'Ha'Dum
18 - The Summoning
19 - Between the Darkness and the Light
20 - Endgame
21 - The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari
22 - Day of the Dead
23 - Fall of Centauri Prime
24 - Objects in Motion/Objects at Rest
25 - Sleeping in Light

movies top one - In the Beginning

Crusade top two
1 - The Long Road
2 - Memory of War

 

[Reverend]

25?! That's more than an entire season, can't we narrow it down a little? Or just exclude the obvious ones.

Well, here's my top 10, for what it's worth.

10. Babylon Squared
09. The Illusion of Truth
08. War Without End 1 & 2
07. Z'ha'dum
06. Messages From Earth
05. The Long Twilight Struggle
04. Endgame
03. Severed Dreams
02. Sleeping in Light
01. Intersections in Real Time

That's just episodes in their entirety of course, though some of my favourite moments in the show take place elsewhere. The Sheridan captured in a bar sequence for one, or Kosh getting pissed off with Sheridan and of course Vir getting what he wanted from Morden. Oh and an honourable mention should be made for "A View From the Gallery" and "Comes the Inquisitor".
Actually the show was consistent in it's quality that it'd probably be easier to list the episodes I didn't like to much.
"TKO", "Grey 17 is Missing" & "Exogenesis"...that's about it.

 

[OmahaStar]

can't we narrow it down a little?

No.

 

[Mr Light]

I can't remember well enough to rank them, but the top ten in no order:

#1 shall always be "The Long Twilight Struggle"
#2 Severed Dreams
Interludes Examinations
Shadow Dancing
Whatever Happened to Mr. Garabaldi?
Falling Towards Apotheosis
Long Night
Into the Fire
Face Enemy
Endgame

 

[Angel4576]

This is actually quite tough. After much deliberation;

1. Sleeping in Light
2. Severed Dreams
3. Endgame
4. Z'ha'dum
5. In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum
6. Babylon Squared
7. The Coming of Shadows
8. The Fall of Night
9. Shadow Dancing
10. The Long Twilight Struggle
11. Chrysalis
12. War Without End
13. Falling Towards Apotheosis
14. Comes the Inquisitor
15. Intersections in Real Time
16. Signs & Portents
17. Interludes and Examinations
18. Objects at Rest
19. Objects in Motion
20. Divided Loyalties
21. Into the Fire
22. The Fall of Centauri Prime
23. Between the Darkness and the Light
24. Day of the Dead
25. Confessions & Lamentations

 

[Neroon]

25?! That's more than an entire season, can't we narrow it down a little? Or just exclude the obvious ones.

Zathras KNEW someone would say this, so Zathras decide to ask for 25 to get everyone to think beyond a season's worth of episodes. Much apologisings if you are being concerned.

 

[Orac Zen]

Today's nominees, in no particular order (except for the first two), are:

* Severed Dreams
* Sleeping in Light
* Z'ha'dum
* The Long, Twilight Struggle
* Passing Through Gethsemane
* And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder
* The Coming of Shadows
* Confessions and Lamentations
* Interludes and Examinations
* The Parliament of Dreams
* War Without End (both)
* Babylon Squared
* Endgame
* Atonement
* Point of No Return
* Chrysalis
* GROPOS
* Signs and Portents
* In The Shadow of Z'ha'dum
* And The Rock Cried Out, 'No Hiding Place'
* No Surrender, No Retreat
* Moments of Transition
* The Fall of Centauri Prime
* Objects at Rest
* Falling Toward Apotheosis.

 

[Harvey]

Since I graded everything with a letter system, I'll post the top twenty-five picks:

A+
Revelations (2x02)
The Coming of Shadows (2x09)
Confessions and Lamentations (2x18)
Messages from Earth (3x08)
Point of No Return (3x09)
Severed Dreams (3x10)
Z'ha'dum (3x22)
No Surrender, No Retreat (4x15)
The Face of the Enemy (4x17)
Movements of Fire and Shadow (5x17)
The Fall of Centauri Prime (5x18)
Sleeping in Light (5x22)

A
Mind War (1x06)
Babylon Squared (1x20)
Chrysalis (1x22)
In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum (2x16)
The Long, Twilight Struggle (2x20)
Comes the Inquisitor (2x21)
Matters of Honor (3x01)
Convictions (3x02)
Sic Transit Vir (3x12)
Interludes and Examinations (3x15)
And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place (3x20)
Shadow Dancing (3x21)
The Summoning (4x03)

There's more in season four and season five, but that's the first twenty-five picks, chronologically.

 

[Fist McStrongpunch]

My top 25, approximately, right now, from least best to best.

25 Midnight On The Firing Line
24 And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder
23 The Parliament Of Dreams
22 The Deconstruction Of Falling Stars
21 The Fall Of Night
20 The Long, Twilight Struggle
19 Point Of No Return
18 The Coming Of Shadows
17 Chrysalis
16 Babylon Squared
15 Comes The Inquisitor
14 Rising Star
13 No Surrender, No Retreat
12 Endgame
11 War Without End, Part 1
10 War Without End, Part 2
9 The Summoning
8 Falling Toward Apotheosis
7 Signs And Portents
6 The Fall of Centauri Prime
5 Passing Through Gethsemane
4 And The Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place
3 Severed Dreams
2 Sleeping In Light

And The Number One Absolute Best Episode Of Babylon 5 Ever:

1 Intersections In Real Time

Damn, that was tough.

 

[Neroon]

And The Number One Absolute Best Episode Of Babylon 5 Ever:

1 Intersections In Real Time

Damn, that was tough.

So good, so well made tha tI've only seen it one time. Ever.

It's that effective.

 

[RoJoHen]

I've only seen the whole show 1.5 times through, but I am currently watching "Severed Dreams," and it is fucking awesome. Probably my favorite of the series.

 

[sidious618]

Okay, in some what of an order:

Sleeping In Light
Za'ha'dum
The Long Twilight Struggle
Into the Fire
Intersections In Real Time
The Fall of Centuri Prime
Interludes and Examinations
Endgame
Whatever Happened to Mr. Garabaldi?
Severed Dreams
War Without End, Part Two
War Without End, Part One
In The Shadow of Za'ha'dum
Objects at Rest
The Face of the Enemy
Shadow Dancing
The Summoning
Passing Through Gethsemane
Movements of Fire and Shadow
In the Kingdom of the Blind
Chrysalis
Signs and Portents
Comes the Inquisitor
Lines of Communication

That was tough. I can't going, "Oh, wait, that one, too!"

 

[Reverend]

And The Number One Absolute Best Episode Of Babylon 5 Ever:

1 Intersections In Real Time

Damn, that was tough.

So good, so well made tha tI've only seen it one time. Ever.

It's that effective.

That was my #1 too.
In and odd way, I think it'd like to see that episode adapted into a stage play. The audience doesn't even have to know anything about the show, you get everything you need through inference. Actually, probably best you don't know since more than anything else in B5 history, or perhaps in TV drama history, this one episode can stand totally on it's own. Change the names around, make the Drazi just another human and it could take place anywhere, any time.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

This come from outside time, but still Zathras. Zathras think is good enough to be on someones top 25, maybe even The Ones:

"Zathras look at budget deficit, says, not good. Stop spending.
But no one ever listen to Zathras. But one day, everybody listen.
Then, Zathras elected. Zathras will be great president. Someday even
have face printed on money. Then, everybody have Zathras face in
pants. It is good to be president." -JMS

 

[Jan]

This come from outside time, but still Zathras. Zathras think is good enough to be on someones top 25, maybe even The Ones:

"Zathras look at budget deficit, says, not good. Stop spending.
But no one ever listen to Zathras. But one day, everybody listen.
Then, Zathras elected. Zathras will be great president. Someday even
have face printed on money. Then, everybody have Zathras face in
pants. It is good to be president." -JMS

No Top 25 would be complete without Zathras, of course.

"Zathras trained in crisis management."

Jan

 

[Neroon]

That was my #1 too.

Just to be clear, it's not my #1.... but I still regard it as top shelf. Especially because Boxleitner turns in a stunning performance.

In and odd way, I think it'd like to see that episode adapted into a stage play. The audience doesn't even have to know anything about the show, you get everything you need through inference. Actually, probably best you don't know since more than anything else in B5 history, or perhaps in TV drama history, this one episode can stand totally on it's own. Change the names around, make the Drazi just another human and it could take place anywhere, any time.

Hmmm... hadn't ever thought of that, but I like the idea. It could definitely work.