First season is a touch rough… 2-4 are a masterclass on scifi. Fifth season is so so. They thought that tbs was going to cancel them so they wrapped up on the 4th season… Only to be renewed last minute.

Here’s the viewing order The Gathering Seasons 1-4 Thirdspace In the Beginning Season 5 River of Souls A Call to Arms Crusade Legend of the Rangers Lost Tales

It’s hands down the best scifi show.

Here’s the lurkers guide http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/

Enjoy op!

A lot of people will tell you the first season isn’t worth watching. I’ll admit that the acting is a little cheesier, and there are some episodes that you might think are a little heavy handed… but they set the stage for you to feel what you feel when the things they were exploring in the b plots come back in the main arc of the show. There will absolutely be moments 3 and 4 seasons in where you go ‘oh shit, they set this up in the second episode!’ Because it was heavy handed enough that you will remember it, even thoughbyou didn’t get it at the time.

To an extent, you do have to get over the cheesy acting. I see it more like a play than a show with overly realistic acting. Some of the acting is a tool to get things across. And you know what? I don’t know how well Londo and G’kar would play out without that cheesy background. There hasn’t ever been better character development than those 2.

The first season is a lot of world building and one off episode stories. They all move forward character motivation and the world, but it is the most difficult part to get through for most people. Once season 2 gets going, it pretty much doesn’t stop til halfway through season 5.

I’d easily say that B5 is as good or better than almost any other sci fi show ever made. It’s absolutely a product of it’s time, but at the same time it is so forward thinking in terms of an ongoing multi season story arc that survives multiple major characters leaving the production with few hiccups. It is almost prescient in some of the scenarios that are explored, particularly in the back half of season 4.

I don’t know if another show has done a better pairing than Londo and G’Kar. By all measures, I probably watched B5 way too young, but I adored it at the time and found it amazing on a rewatch a handful of years ago. Typing this makes me want to watch it again

I’d suggest getting through the first season and into the second. It gets much, much better. the first season is mostly worldbuilding- there’s narrative arcs, but they’re mostly focused on setting the stage, so to speak.

As mentioned, season 1 is a bit rough, but the latter seasons wouldn’t be so good without that foundation.

another comment- it was mid-90’s CGI, so do give it some grace for that. But given the CGI technology of the time… they set a huge number of records. It should also be noted that the reason the two first seasons seem so similar, between B5 and ST:DS9 is that JMS pitched the show to UPN first, gave them an early show bible that they had for… a long time. They declined and decided to basically rebrand that as star trek (and viola, DS9). The two shows do diverge dramatically at the second season. b5 was first, though.

ETA: also, I’ve been thinking about the show a lot with Israel-Palestine stuff, being a bit comprable to the Centari-Narn stuff. not, like 1:1, but, specifically, Delenn asking “when does it end”, and the rant about that. funny the things that stick with you.

I swear this exact thread happened like last month?

Look up a “necessary episodes only” watch list.

Babylon 5 is excellent… eventually. Most of season 1 is supremely skippable, and much of it absolutely should be skipped. Season 2 gets a lot better, and by season 3 you’ll be watching every episode.

I feel like Londo and G’kar carried the show with their acting chops.

Personally the instant it turned into a Star Trek bridge doing space fighting stuff I instantly lost interest, like a switch turning off.

I wanted political maneuvering and explorations of the toll it takes on those who do it. There are a billion “officers on the bridge of a ship giving orders” shows.

Don’t discount world-building and character development. There’s a scene in the penultimate episode of the series that seems simple, just two characters on a bare set, talking. Yet it hits so hard, because you know and care for them deeply after 5 seasons, you know their struggles, and you know what it means to them.

Though, not every show speaks to every person. I’d say stick it out until episode 8, “And the Sky Full of Stars,” and then stop if you’re not feeling it.

Also, remember that this show came out long before the streaming era. We couldn’t binge it, we got one episode per week. That left plenty of time in between to absorb the story and speculate about what was yet to come. There are a lot of levels, mysteries, and philosophical implications in there that might benefit from a slower watch.

Babylon 5 is a weird show for me. When it was first running, I religiously watched it. If I couldn’t watch it live, I got upset and went around my circle of friends to see who’d recorded it so I could watch it as quickly as possible. Up to Season 4 I was gripped. (Season 5 was “meh” because of production shenanigans.)

Years later I watched them on DVD and … the magic was gone. Watching one episode after another, without separating them by a week, just took the shine off of it. I didn’t even finish watching the episodes on DVD; I think I made it to mid season 3 (and the amount I watched slid down and down up to that) before not bothering to continue. I eventually gave them all to a friend of mine and never watched the show again.

I can’t think of a single show I’ve ever watched that had that weird impact on me: first loved, second bored. Usually shows I loved I keep loving, shows I was bored by remained boring, and very occasionally a show I thought was boring the first time got more interesting on second viewing. But B5? It’s the only one that goes this way.

The first season of the show absolutely comes across like store brand Star Trek. The production values and effects look a bit weaker, some of the acting is a bit soap opera-ish, and it’s often self-contained adventures of the week.

Seasons 2-4 are some of the best Sci-Fi put to television. You might feel like Season 1 is “gotta get through it” and…on repeat viewings of the show, there’s at least four Season 1 episodes that truly are dead ends that might contain some world building but I still just skip them. TKO chief among them.

IIRC you stopped just before the worst episode of all, the fourth. Episode 6 and 8 are worth it and it gets better from there.

Looks like the consensus is…yes, give it another go (though a few warned that, yeah, it may not be all people promise).

Alright, once I can afford it and things stabilize I think I will. Thanks for the input!

Similar question: I was a huge fan of B5 when it came out but time has moved on, production values have changed, and I do tend to like edgier shows like The Expanse. I wonder if I should watch it again or f it’s best left in my nostalgia

Do you like political intrigue and mystery set in a sci fi universe? That’s the backstory that runs through the later seasons.

have you ever watched the original battlestar gallactica and liked it? Do you like TOS trek. Im wondering if the special effects might be putting you off.