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Babylon 5

Six television films and a spin-off series slot at points inside the five year arc, and the one that comes first in story order is the one that gives away the most.

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Where to start with Babylon 5

Watch the pilot, then the five seasons in broadcast order, and hold In the Beginning until after season 4. It is the earliest thing in story order and it names outcomes that seasons 1 to 3 spend sixty-six episodes withholding.

  1. 1
    The Gathering Babylon 5: The Gathering

    The pilot, set a year before season 1. It is slower and stranger than the show it introduces, and one lead role is recast afterwards, but it sets up the station and the Minbari.

  2. 2
    Babylon 5, season 1 Babylon 5

    The setup year. It is the weakest stretch and it is also where almost every later payoff is planted, so skipping it costs you the arc rather than saving you time.

  3. 3
    Babylon 5, season 2 Babylon 5

    The arc starts moving and the station changes hands. From here the episodes stop being self-contained.

  4. 4
    Babylon 5, season 3 Babylon 5

    The Shadow War proper, and the point most people say the show becomes what it was aiming at. The season ends mid-story.

  5. 5
    Babylon 5, season 4 Babylon 5

    Two seasons of plot compressed into one because renewal was in doubt, which is why it moves faster than anything around it.

  6. 6
    In the Beginning Babylon 5: In the Beginning

    Now watch the prequel film. It covers the Earth-Minbari War of 2245 to 2248, and it is written for people who already know how the war ended and who the survivors became.

  7. 7
    Babylon 5, season 5 Babylon 5

    The last year, made for TNT after the renewal came late. Its final episode is set nineteen years later and works as an ending to the whole thing.

Then what? Thirdspace is set inside season 4 and can be watched at any point after it. The River of Souls comes next in story order, then The Legend of the Rangers, then A Call to Arms, which leads straight into Crusade's thirteen episodes. The Lost Tales is last. The Road Home, the 2023 animated film, is optional and hops between timelines, so nothing depends on where you put it. If you want the strictest ending, hold the last episode of season 5, Sleeping in Light, until after Crusade, since it is set nineteen years after everything else.

A suggested way in, not an official one. The full list is below — tick anything off in either place.

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