JMS' Viewing Order
JMS' Viewing Order
JMS' Viewing Order
t=11675&pp=40
B5TV.COM (http://www.b5tv.com/index.php)
- B5.FAQ (http://www.b5tv.com/forumdisplay.php?f=21)
- - JMS' Viewing Order (http://www.b5tv.com/showthread.php?t=11675)
This viewing order was taken from J Michael Straczynski's interviews, notes, and discussions. Not
everything is meant to make sense but this is how he wants it to be viewed. Some episodes have
flashbacks and visions of things and cannot be separated the episode.
--
Atonement
Racing Mars
Lines of Communication
Conflicts of Interest
Rumors, Bargains and Lies
Moments of Transition
No Surrender, No Retreat
The Exercise of Vital Powers
The Face of the Enemy
Intersections in Real Time
Between the Darkness and the Light
Endgame
Rising Star
The Legend of the Rangers - To Live and Die in Starlight (SciFi Channel TV Movie / Failed
Pilot)
Crusade - Season 1
Racing the Night
The Needs of Earth
The Memory of War
The Long Road
Visitors from Down the Street
The Well of Forever
Each Night I Dream of Home
Patterns of the Soul
The Path of Sorrows
--
Crusade has three official ways to be seen but only one that is sanctioned.
Original Order
1. War Zone (108)
2. The Long Road (107)
3. The Well of Forever (106)
4. The Path of Sorrows (109)
5. Patterns of the Soul (110)
6. Ruling from the Tomb (111)
7. The Rules of the Game (112)
8. Appearances and Other Deceits (113)
9. Racing the Night (103)
10. The Memory of War (102)
11. The Needs of Earth (101)
12. Visitors from Down the Street (104)
13. Each Night I Dream of Home (105)
Chronological Order
1. War Zone (108)
2. The Long Road (107)
3. Ruling From the Tomb (111)
4. Appearances and Other Deceits (113)
5. The Memory of War (102)
6. The Needs of Earth (101)
7. Racing the Night (103)
8. Visitors From Down the Street (104)
9. Each Night I Dream of Home (105)
10. The Path of Sorrows (109)
11. Patterns of the Soul (110)
12. The Well of Forever (106)
13. The Rules of the Game (112)
I moved this as the first obvious entry in the new FAQ forum.
So which Lochley episode does everyone think came first? I used to think it was the final aired
episode, but now I'm thinking it's the Mars one...
just started watching the complete box set and i didn't know where to start because unlike most TV
shows the viewing order is all over the place along with movies and spinoffs that all need fitting in
somewhere..... if this is the way JMS says it should be viewed then this should be the master viewing
guide right?
my first time round i watched the "in the beginning" before anything and it was full of spoilers
:brickwall:
now i have a guide that works i will watch it for the second time but before i start i need to know that
this is really the true agreed viewing order by JMS because i don't really care what Joe Blogs down
the street has to say about the order because Ive been burned already on how to watch it..........
( this is my first post and im happy to see there's still a lot of love for B5 so many years later )
blu-ray plz *wink* *wink* if ST:TNG can do it then B5 shouldn't be that hard, WB pay up redo the
ships in HD res so they match the lost tales and clean up the prints and i will pay out for it, if any
show is crying out for a HD master its B5 hell its even already in 16.9 so it will not put the youngsters
off by having black bars on the sides
(OAR is very important to me i would take 4.3 on any show if that's how it was shoot)
i KNOW the fx are on on video tape but even if 80% of the ep is in full HD that's a big thumbs up
from me
HD might not be that important to most people but when you have a 50" 1080p tv dvds tend to look
ugly, dont care too much about seeing new things in the image but would like the added sharpness
that HD brings
thoughts?
Welcome to the site, yes, that is JMS' actual preferred order, however, he sees no problem with In The
Beginning being watcheded first. Me personally, I suggest watching it later on, if you are watching for
the first time, in order to preserve you from Spoilers, but, if, you've already seen the whole Series, In
The Beginning is great to start with.
Regarding HD Remastering for Babylon 5, very unlikely to happen, there just isn't believed to be a
wide enough fanbase to justify the expense. TNG had a very large audience in it's day, and still gets
pretty decent ratings in Reruns after all these years, so, it's a much more viable candidate then B5 is
:( (I am looking forward to the the TNG remastering, though, BTW. I want to do a full rewatch, which
I have never done, I've only watched original airing and catch reruns here and there. I am holding off
on watching or purchasing TNG until the TNG-R sets are released)
I decided to watch 'In the Beginning' right after Season 4.... is Crusade still available out there for
order? I found the Legend of the Rangers and the movie collection of The Gathering, In the
Beginning, Thirdspace, River of Souls, and Call To Arms. With the five seasons on DVD that's the
extent of what I have. Saw the Lost Tales, missed a chance to get it when I went back for it.
PS my profile picture isn't showing? (it appears in the User CP but not here on the forum)
Crusade seems to be still available new on Amazon.com. If that's not suitable, I guess your best bet
is either Amazon.co.uk marketplace (there appear to be copies available) or eBay.
Regarding the picture, it's a little confusing as "Profile picture" and "Avatar" are not the same thing
and you can set them separately. If you go to User CP, you should also see an option called Edit
Avatar (under Settings and Options) - that's where you can set the avatar that actually appears next
to your posts on the forum, not on your profile.
Quote:
Regarding the picture, it's a little confusing as "Profile picture" and "Avatar" are not the same
thing and you can set them separately. If you go to User CP, you should also see an option
called Edit Avatar (under Settings and Options) - that's where you can set the avatar that
actually appears next to your posts on the forum, not on your profile.
deepdiscount.com has Crusade included in TV Buy One Get One Free (Enter Code BOGOTV) deal at:
http://www.deepdiscount.com/index.cf...ltsPerPage=250
Crusade
http://www.deepdiscount.com/dvd/crus...mplete-series/
List Price:$59.98
Price: $26.70
You Save: $33.28 (55%)
It's $13.87 on Amazon.com. Plus deepdiscount.com has very limited international delivery, so without
knowing the poster's country of residence, I'd hesitate to recommend that.
Thanks for the responses Kribu and KoshN, now I shall also try to fix my avatar...
Interesting. I have a feeling I'll be doing a series rewatch by Christmas, at least of the major arc
related episodes. I always thought that I'd watch "in the Beginning" right after Atonement as I believe
that's the last regular season episode to reveal everything that ITB spoils. Watching it before the
series seems like a big mistake for first time viewers.
TKO and Legacies right before Chrysalis seems to really weaken the end of the season to me.
Quote:
TKO and Legacies right before Chrysalis seems to really weaken the end of the season to me.
It really depends on whether it's a first run view or whether you've watched B5 more than once.In a
Re-viewing, I'd place ITB first, for chronalogical reasons, because I know the secrets. As an
introduction, it's not bad. Not good, mind you, but doesn't really spoil the suprises to come.
Quote:
It spoils Sinclair, the earth minbari war cause and the role of the vorlons. That's way too much to
spoil for first time viewers. Up until the Coming of shadows we really don't know what the Vorlons
role is or plans for us are.
I'm trying to see B5 for the first time. Before I begin, I'm trying to find the right order, but it seems
it's not that simple, a situation worst than The Prisoner episodes order.
In your experience, (and without giving me too many explanations because of spoilers :D ) do you
reckon the JMS' one is the right viewing order to follow?
It seems very odd to me to see the season finale of 4th season as the series finale... Too timey-
wimey, if you allow me :klingon:
Really, don't worry about it in the slightest. Watch 'The Gathering' and then the episodes in the order
they come on the DVDs and simply get immersed in the story for the first time. You won't really
appreciate the nuances until the second time, anyway so just concentrate on it as presented in the
simplest way possible - which is how those of us who watched it in its first run saw it.
Jan
The Gathering is for me really the movie to look at the first and then I just go how the dvd's are in
the box.
I'm rewatching B5 and i Think I will do it this time by the list.
Quote:
Jan
So, there is no need to watch the movies in the order JMS himself advices, between the episodes of
the series?
Just out of curiosity, does it make sense the suggestion to watch the season 4 finale as series finale?
(no spoilers, of course... just be vague :D )
Quote:
Jan
So, there is no need to watch the movies in the order JMS himself advices, between the
episodes of the series?
Just out of curiosity, does it make sense the suggestion to watch the season 4 finale as series
finale? (no spoilers, of course... just be vague :D )
I stand by this....
http://www.b5tv.com/showpost.php?p=349849&postcount=3
....order. If you do not watch the TV movies where they are supposed to go chronologically, keep in
mind when watching them where they are supposed to go, i.e. what timeframe they're from..
HOWEVER, watch The Gathering FIRST.
Quote:
I hadn't considered before the possibility of watching Deconstruction of Falling Stars last. In terms of
the emotional content of the show and the storylines of our characters, then no, Sleeping in Light is
the end. Deconstruction of Falling Stars also has some foreshadowing for season 5 that you lose if
you move it to the end. But without giving away anything at all about Deconstruction, I can see an
argument for moving it to the end. Maybe not on your first run through - as others have said, stick to
the order in the DVD sets for that, but on subsequent viewings it might be interesting to see how it
works at the end.
And yes, that does sound a little paradoxical, but you will understand after you've seen it :-)
Quote:
I registered just to weigh in on this... this watch order is garbage, and watching this particular order
ruined Crusade for me. After watching B5 multiple times over the past 20 or so years, seeing Crusade
for the first time watching this order was highly unsatisfying at best, totally confusing at worst. How
can War Zone come in as the penultimate episode when it sets up the entire premise of the show?
This is just WRONG! After finally watching the penultimate episode here and seeing what should have
been the first episode made me really angry. I don't know what your sources are, but how can the
first episode (108 War Zone) be so far down the list, it makes no sense.
To ANYONE coming to Crusade for the first time, please ignore this JMS watch order...
War Zone (chronologically takes place immediately after "A Call to Arms.")
Racing the Night
The Needs of Earth
The Memory of War
The Long Road
Visitors from Down the Street
The Well of Forever
Each Night I Dream of Home
Patterns of the Soul
The Path of Sorrows
Ruling from the Tomb
The Rules of the Game
Appearances and Other Deceits
http://www.b5tv.com/showpost.php?p=349849&postcount=3
Quote:
I hadn't considered before the possibility of watching Deconstruction of Falling Stars last. In
terms of the emotional content of the show and the storylines of our characters, then no,
Sleeping in Light is the end. Deconstruction of Falling Stars also has some foreshadowing for
season 5 that you lose if you move it to the end. But without giving away anything at all
about Deconstruction, I can see an argument for moving it to the end. Maybe not on your first
run through - as others have said, stick to the order in the DVD sets for that, but on
subsequent viewings it might be interesting to see how it works at the end.
And yes, that does sound a little paradoxical, but you will understand after you've seen it :-)
That actually makes quite a bit of sense. I mean if Thirdspace is moved up for chronological reasons,
Deconstruction should be moved back. The only downside is that it's not as epic a series ender as SiL.
Okay now that I can post I just wanted to say that I have been using this thread for years. Thanks to
blackcoatcowboy for starting it. :thumbsup:
This isn't the authorised by Joe Straczynski viewing order. The correct viewing order is in the Babylon
5 Historical Database, the In house reference researched and compiled by Terry Jones with the full
input and cooperation of Joe Straczynski and Fiona Avery at Babylonian Productions.
Okay I will grant you that, but it is still a good thread that opened up the discussion. :thumbsup:
Quote:
Absolutely, but I've now posted on a new thread the correct order of everything in the B5 canon
epsiodes (B5 and Crusdade), Movies, Comics and Short stories :thumbsup:
Quote:
--
Crusade has three official ways to be seen but only one that is sanctioned.
Original Order
1. War Zone (108)
2. The Long Road (107)
3. The Well of Forever (106)
4. The Path of Sorrows (109)
5. Patterns of the Soul (110)
6. Ruling from the Tomb (111)
7. The Rules of the Game (112)
8. Appearances and Other Deceits (113)
9. Racing the Night (103)
10. The Memory of War (102)
11. The Needs of Earth (101)
12. Visitors from Down the Street (104)
13. Each Night I Dream of Home (105)
Chronological Order
1. War Zone (108)
2. The Long Road (107)
3. Ruling From the Tomb (111)
4. Appearances and Other Deceits (113)
5. The Memory of War (102)
6. The Needs of Earth (101)
7. Racing the Night (103)
8. Visitors From Down the Street (104)
9. Each Night I Dream of Home (105)
10. The Path of Sorrows (109)
11. Patterns of the Soul (110)
12. The Well of Forever (106)
13. The Rules of the Game (112)
[QUOTE=fyl2u;459940]
Quote:
The production numbers. 101 means season one, first episode filmed.
Quote:
Really, don't worry about it in the slightest. Watch 'The Gathering' and then
the episodes in the order they come on the DVDs and simply get immersed in
the story for the first time. You won't really appreciate the nuances until the
second time, anyway so just concentrate on it as presented in the simplest
way possible - which is how those of us who watched it in its first run saw it.
Jan
So, there is no need to watch the movies in the order JMS himself advices, between
the episodes of the series?
Just out of curiosity, does it make sense the suggestion to watch the season 4 finale
as series finale? (no spoilers, of course... just be vague :D )
I stand by this....
http://www.b5tv.com/showpost.php?p=349849&postcount=3
....order. If you do not watch the TV movies where they are supposed to go chronologically,
keep in mind when watching them where they are supposed to go, i.e. what timeframe
they're from.. HOWEVER, watch The Gathering FIRST.
Why? It's not correct and certainly NOT the authorised jms chronological viewing order.
[QUOTE=Jan;459941]
Quote:
The production numbers. 101 means season one, first episode filmed.
Oh crikey, so they weren't even filmed in either "the original order" or in JMS's order?
[QUOTE=fyl2u;459991]
Quote:
The production numbers. 101 means season one, first episode filmed.
Oh crikey, so they weren't even filmed in either "the original order" or in JMS's order?
This is the correct jms authorised chronological order from the Babylon 5 Historical Database
Quote:
Short answer: yes. This happened quite a lot on B5 -- "Chrysalis" was filmed in the middle of Season
1, for instance.
(Actually, for some time now I've wondered if that was in part because JMS was hedging his bets on
Michael O'Hare's health, the way he hedged by filming "Sleeping in Light" at the end of Season 4. But
maybe it really was because of all the visual effects necessary.)
In this case in particular, I think that the time needed was correct. JMS said in the script books:
Quote:
“Chrysalis” required new ship designs, the creation of Earthforce One, the Shadow vessel,36
the Shadows themselves, the Io station, the attack on the Narn fleet, and a lot of naturalistic
CGI – the hardest kind to produce convincingly – including the DownBelow environments and
the Maze, which for me was emblematic of Londo’s life. Each turn of the maze represents a
choice he’s made, or is going to make, for good or ill. He’s in the center of that maze, just as
he is in the center of his life, when Mr. Morden offers him a direction and a choice, appealing
to him as a patriot but also as someone who wants desperately to be recognized, to be
important again. Once
he makes that choice, Londo begins a journey that will ultimately take him far from any hope
of salvation.
To illustrate just how close we ran to the bleeding edge in terms of delivering these big
episodes in time for broadcast...and how things don’t always work out as you plan them...we
were frenziedly working on “Chrysalis” until the last possible minute, to make sure it was
absolutely flawless. Finally,
exhausted but happy, we delivered the episode the day before it was to be beamed out to the
various PTEN stations via satellite feed.
Ah, I'd forgotten that Chrysalis was one of the ones where they were down to the wire.
And I keep forgetting that they would have invented the Shadow ship for Chrysalis and re-used it in
Signs and Portents rather than the other way around.