This page outlines the different viewing orders suggested over the years and compares them in detail.
Fortunately Babylon 5's original broadcast order doesn't significantly disrupt the viewing experience, so viewers looking for a hassle-free option can safely watch the show's five seasons in the original broadcast order, DVD order, or HBO Max/Tubi order without major issues and leave the ardent fans to sweat the details. Also the TV movies and spin-offs (apart from the pilot movie The Gathering) are not integral to the main story so they can safely be left until after the main show.
(Note the Crusade spin-off original broadcast order does have significant issues and it's usually recommended to watch in an alternative order - the All-Inclusive order is probably the least controversial but that and other suggested orders are discussed in more detail below.)
Added to this, the showrunner J. Michael Straczynski (jms) has confirmed he's happy to leave fans to discuss different viewing orders and he hasn't stated a preference:
Having said the above, when watching the original broadcast order closely there are a handful of minor continuity issues (discussed in more detail below). During the show's original broadcast jms was very engaged with the online fan community and gave a running commentary on the production of the show. His comments revealed some episodes had had their originally planned airing orders rearranged for various reasons. Based on these comments (as well as evidence within the episodes themselves) changes to the original airing order have been put forward to enhance the viewing experience in different ways.
Viewing order table[]
The three most frequently cited viewing orders are detailed below - click the column headers to sort the table. More detailed comparisons of the different orders can be found in later sections.
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*story dates which overlap multiple shows.
Frequently cited viewing orders[]
Most suggested orders generally trace back to one or more of the below three, each of which have their own pros & cons:
Original Broadcast order[]
The order in which everything was originally broadcast in the US - this matches the order on the DVD boxsets and on most streaming platforms (see later for differences on HBO Max).
Commentary: For the most part this order doesn't disrupt the viewing experience, however there are a handful of minor continuity issues which, based on comments from jms, seem to come from a small number of episodes having had their positions shifted for production reasons:
- Delenn's agents use the triluminary in Legacies, but she doesn't receive it until three episodes later in Babylon Squared.
- Talia says she doesn't want to be part of Psi Corps in Soul Mates, but her motivation to feel that way comes in the next episode A Race Through Dark Places.
- Sheridan discovers the truth about what happened to the Icarus in In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum, but when he hallucinates in the next episode (Knives), he still sees it exploding.
- In Sic Transit Vir we see Drazi & Vree ships patrolling the station, but the Babylon 5 defense treaty isn't signed until the next episode (A Late Delivery from Avalon).
- Londo & G'Kar leave the station for Centauri Prime in Strange Relations but then they appear on-station two episodes later in Day of the Dead.
- The TV movie The River of Souls was broadcast two episodes earlier than it should be within the timeline of the show.
Lurker's Guide Master List[]
This order comes from the very popular fan site The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5, which was maintained during the show's original broadcast and collated jms' comments on Usenet and other online services. One of the outputs of the site was the "Master List": a re-ordering of the original broadcast order, taking into account comments from jms indicating when episodes had had their positions changed due to production issues (e.g. delays in finalising CGI). The Master List page claims (without citation) that jms had given his blessing to the adjustments for Season One and Two.
Features: This order moves 7 episodes within the show's five seasons, based on comments from jms (described in more detail in later sections) addressing the continuity issues described in the previous section. It also inserts some of the TV movies within the run of the show, although not consistently - some are inserted chronologically but others are listed separately from the main show as spin-offs.
Commentary:
- The major point of debate is the placement of the prequel TV movie In the Beginning at the start of the viewing order. This is based on a post from jms suggesting it gives a stronger start for new viewers - it was originally broadcast at the start of the show's re-run by TNT. However because the movie deals with some plot elements which don't appear until later in Seasons One and Two, many prefer to preserve the experience had by original viewers and for it not to be watched first.
- Additionally the order is not entirely consistent as it chose to ignore some comments from jms which indicate a change to the planned order (for example the placement of Mind War, four episodes in the second half of Season One and the position of Passing Through Gethsemane). Moreover one of the order's changes debatably creates a new continuity issue.
- Some also prefer not to interrupt the flow of the final episodes of Season Five by inserting TV movies within them, as this order does.
Historical Database[]
During the run of the show Terry Jones (user b5historyman) began compiling the Babylon 5 Historical Database. This involved scouring each episode (and other B5 media) to pick out references to events past & future, as well as establishing dates for events within the show itself where possible - including a presentation of the episode order based on where they occurred chronologically.
During Season Five, after being sent a copy of the chronology, Fiona Avery (Babylonian Productions' Reference Editor) asked to use the Database as an in-house document to support the production of the show, and later updates were made in collaboration with Babylonian Productions and jms.
The chronology was published in The Official Babylon 5 Magazine, and again later in the book Across Time and Space. The latter also included a less in-depth chronology compiled independently by I. Marc Carlson (which placed the finales, TV movies & spinoffs in the same positions as the Historical Database, but makes no adjustment to the broadcast episode order within each season). In an introduction to the book, Fiona Avery said "both [timelines] have the authorization of J. Michael Straczynski".
Note the episode order presented is an approximation of a "true" chronological viewing order, as some episodes include flashback/forward scenes within them.
Features: This order repositions 14 episodes within the show's five seasons, based on evidence from the episodes and other media (described in more detail in later sections). Most significantly it moves the Season Four & Five finales outside their respective seasons, based on the chronological setting of their framing stories. The TV movies & spin-offs are inserted within the run of the show, again based on the time frame of their setting.
Commentary: Although this gives the order in which events occurred 'historically' according to this authorized internal production document, whether this always presents the best viewing order depends on individual taste.
- For example in Season Five, Day of the Dead is placed before Learning Curve by the historical analysis, but this has the effect of revealing the nature of Lochley's connection to Sheridan with an off-hand comment in Day of the Dead, which can then make the playing out of that as a mystery across Learning Curve & Strange Relations seem a bit redundant for some viewers.
- Similarly for the Crusade episode Ruling from the Tomb, the historical analysis places it after Each Night I Dream of Home. This is due to dating cues within the episodes, but has the effect of Lochley & Gideon seeming to introduce themselves to one another despite having already met.
- The Historical Database order maintains the original broadcast order for Sic Transit Vir and A Late Delivery from Avalon, which the Lurker's Guide switched based on jms' online comments.
- For the TV movie Thirdspace, some viewers prefer the placement suggested by the Lurker's Guide instead of the more complex placement borne out by the historical analysis (it places the Minbar-based scenes of Moments of Transition before Thirdspace but the station-based scenes of Moments after Thirdspace.)
- As with the Lurker's Guide Master List, some also prefer not to interrupt the flow of the final episodes of Season Five by inserting TV movies and Crusade within them, despite their chronological timing. Similarly with the Season Four finale (The Deconstruction of Falling Stars) some prefer the original placement (since parts of the episode follow directly from the previous one) rather than moving it out of position for chronological reasons.
'Hybrid' viewing orders[]
In the years since the show's broadcast, some have chosen to pick different elements from the frequently cited orders. Some examples:
blackcoatcowboy's order: Posted on the b5tv.com forums in 2009, making the bold (but unattributed) claim that "this is how [jms] wants it to be viewed". The episode ordering within each season, the placement of Thirdspace, and the ordering for Crusade match the Lurker's Guide; whereas the Season Four & Five finales, and the remaining TV movies have been placed as per the Historical Database.
Alkibiades410's orders: Posted on the b5tv.com forums in 2016. Their "preferred continuity" order matches the same mix of Lurker's Guide & Historical Database order as suggested above by blackcoatcowboy, except that it places In the Beginning first and uses a different ordering for Crusade (discussed later). Their "chronological" order mostly matches the Historical Database order but instead opts for the Lurker's Guide placement for In the Beginning, Thirdspace and Day of the Dead.
In 2020 the Grey Sector blog suggested a viewing order placing In the Beginning in original broadcast order, Thirdspace as per the Lurker's Guide, and the remaining spin-offs after the main show in chronological order.
Ideal Intended order and Ideal Chronological order: Based on the above fan discussions, the Ideal Intended order is an enhanced version of the Lurker's Guide order which adds three personal preference decision points and uses an improved Crusade order. The Ideal Chronological order is an enhanced version of the Historical Database order which makes five changes across Seasons Three, Four, Five, and Crusade. These community created orders are located here.
Focused Story order: Some prefer to focus on "the story of the last of the Babylon stations" as the story told across the five seasons of the main show. This then considers the spin-offs separately - almost as 'short stories' set in the same world as the main 'novel' of the show - viewing them after the main show (in chronological order) to avoid breaking up the pacing of the main series. The exception is In the Beginning which connects directly to the overall story of the series and can sit well as a prologue (although as with the Lurker's Guide, a first-time viewer starting with In the Beginning is debatable - they may instead prefer to watch it chronologically at the end of the other TV movies to avoid any spoilers).
Distinctive viewing orders[]
More recently there have been viewing orders suggested which take more radical approaches:
HBO Max: The streaming service HBO Max presented the episodes in original broadcast order for Seasons Three through Five. However for Season One four episodes are in different positions (including the two moved by the Lurker's Guide) - whether by accident or design, this order matches an online post from March 1994 by jms written after only the first eight episodes had aired, describing the planned schedule for the remainder of Season One. For Season Two, again four episodes are in different positions but here HBO Max seems to follow the episodes' internal production numbering (which in many cases matches the changes in the Lurker's Guide order). Unfortunately in the case of Divided Loyalties and The Long, Twilight Struggle the change creates a minor continuity issue. This order was also used when the series later appeared on the Tubi streaming service.
Modified Production order: As a part of a Kickstarter update for his upcoming book All Alone in the Night: The Making of Babylon 5, Jason Davis detailed his suggested viewing order based on the episodes' internal production order (with some adjustments for auctorial intent). This gives a very different order for Season One, while the changes for Seasons Two through Five are generally consistent with the Lurker's Guide Master List.
Character Arc order (Season One only): This order was created by user gs4291 in 2020, with the original aim of constructing a self-evident episode order for Season One without having to default to the original broadcast order (as most other re-orderings do). After finding internal story continuity only gave half the data points needed for a 'complete' ordering, they then also looked at how characters' interactions change over the course of the season. The final result moves 8 episodes when compared to the Lurker's Guide order, and is intended to not only set up and pay off plot developments in the most rewarding way, but also to give the most satisfying arc of character development to as many characters as possible. The detailed analysis behind the order can be found here.
Visual Evidence order (Season One only): This order was put forward by redditor avn3 in 2021 (in this post and later updated in this post) which considers the episodes as evidence, as if videotapes of actual events. Since these events must have happened in some particular order, the smallest clues may need to be found to rearrange them properly. 'Hard evidence' is prioritised, which may be as little as a title in a newspaper or a monitor in the background.
Detailed viewing order comparisons[]
TV movies & Spin-offs[]
While there is some debate around the ordering of episodes within each season (see later sections), the majority of the viewing order debate is around when to view the Season Four & Five finales and the Babylon 5 TV movies/spin-offs. This section compares the following orders:
Note 1: Since The Gathering is the series pilot it goes at the start of Season One in all suggested orders
Note 2: Since A Call to Arms is a backdoor pilot for Crusade it goes at the start of Crusade in all suggested orders
Note 3: numbering in the below table is not always continuous - the intention is to highlight where the different orders agree - click the column headers to sort the table
Episodes/Movies | Original Broadcast | Lurker's Guide | Historical Database | Focused Story order |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Gathering & Season One | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Season Two | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Season Three | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Season Four (Eps 1-8) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Season Four (Eps 9-14) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Season Four (Eps 15-21) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
S4E22 The Deconstruction of Falling Stars | 9 | 9 | 29[0. 1] | 9 |
In the Beginning (TVM) | 10 | 0[0. 2] | 27[0. 3] | 0 / 27[0. 4] |
Season Five (Eps 1-17) | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
Thirdspace (TVM) | 12 | 5[0. 5] | 7[0. 6] | 20[0. 7] |
Season Five (Eps 18-19) | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
The River of Souls (TVM) | 14 | 17[0. 8] | 17[0. 9] | 22[0. 7] |
Season Five (Eps 20-21) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
S5E22 Sleeping in Light | 19 | 19 | 28[0. 10] | 19 |
A Call to Arms & Crusade | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
The Legend of the Rangers (TVM) | 25 | 18[0. 11] | 18[0. 12] | 23[0. 7] |
The Lost Tales (DTV) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 |
The Road Home (DTV) | 27 | 27[0. 13] | 16[0. 14] | 21[0. 7] |
References
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The Gathering & Season One[]
There's less of an obvious through-line tying the first season together since the story hadn't yet got to the point where each episode flowed directly into the next. As a result there's more space for fans to find details within the episodes which suggest alternative orders. This section compares the following orders:
- Original Broadcast
- Lurker's Guide
- HBO Max
- Historical Database
- Character Arc order
- Visual Evidence order
- Modified Production order
Note: numbering in the below table is not always continuous - the intention is to highlight the places where the different orders agree - click the column headers to sort the table
References
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Season Two[]
The storytelling starts to become more serialized in Season Two and a number of significant turning points in the premise of the show mean there's much less ambiguity to episode ordering compared to Season One - the focus is more on correcting for post-production delays. This section compares the following orders:
- Original Broadcast
- Lurker's Guide
- HBO Max (unfortunately in the case of Divided Loyalties and The Long, Twilight Struggle this order makes one line in Twilight not make sense. The Modified Production order follows this order, but with Loyalties and Struggle returned to their broadcast order)
- Historical Database
Note: numbering in the below table is not always continuous - the intention is to highlight the places where the different orders agree - click the column headers to sort the table
Episodes | Original Broadcast | Lurker's Guide | HBO Max | Historical Database |
---|---|---|---|---|
Points of Departure | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Revelations | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
The Geometry of Shadows | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
A Distant Star | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
The Long Dark | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8.5[2. 1] |
Spider in the Web | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Soul Mates | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
A Race Through Dark Places | 8 | 6.5[2. 2] | 6.5[2. 3] | 6.5[2. 4] |
The Coming of Shadows | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
GROPOS | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
All Alone in the Night | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
Acts of Sacrifice | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
Hunter, Prey | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
There All the Honor Lies | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
And Now For a Word | 15 | 15 | 13.5[2. 5] | 15 |
In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
Knives | 17 | 15.5[2. 6] | 15.5[2. 3] | 13.5[2. 7] |
Confessions and Lamentations | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
Divided Loyalties | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
The Long, Twilight Struggle | 20 | 20 | 18.5[2. 8] | 20 |
Comes the Inquisitor | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
The Fall of Night | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
References
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Season Three[]
The serialization ramps up even more so in Season Three, so again there is even less debate about the episode order. This section compares the following orders:
- Original Broadcast (matches HBO Max and the Historical Database, for Season Three)
- Lurker's Guide
Note: numbering in the below table is not always continuous - the intention is to highlight the places where the different orders agree - click the column headers to sort the table
Episodes | Original Broadcast | Lurker's Guide |
---|---|---|
Matters of Honor | 1 | 1 |
Convictions | 2 | 2 |
A Day in the Strife | 3 | 3 |
Passing Through Gethsemane | 4 | 4 |
Voices of Authority | 5 | 5[3. 1] |
Dust to Dust | 6 | 6 |
Exogenesis | 7 | 7 |
Messages from Earth | 8 | 8 |
Point of No Return | 9 | 9 |
Severed Dreams | 10 | 10 |
Ceremonies of Light and Dark | 11 | 11 |
Sic Transit Vir | 12 | 12 |
A Late Delivery from Avalon | 13 | 11.5[3. 2] |
Ship of Tears | 14 | 14 |
Interludes and Examinations | 15 | 15 |
War Without End, Part One | 16 | 16 |
War Without End, Part Two | 17 | 17 |
Walkabout | 18 | 15.5[3. 3] |
Grey 17 is Missing | 19 | 19 |
And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place | 20 | 20 |
Shadow Dancing | 21 | 21 |
Z'ha'dum | 22 | 22 |
References
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Season Four[]
At this point the show has reached 'peak serialization': the story of each episode flows directly into next and there is no debate around the ordering of the episodes themselves. Opinions only vary on how (or if at all) to integrate the TV movie Thirdspace, as previously discussed in the TV movie section. This section compares the following orders:
- Original Broadcast (matches HBO Max, and the Modified Production order, for Season Four)
- Lurker's Guide
- Historical Database
Note: numbering in the below table is not always continuous - the intention is to highlight the places where the different orders agree - click the column headers to sort the table
Episodes | Original Broadcast | Lurker's Guide | Historical Database |
---|---|---|---|
The Hour of the Wolf | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi? | 2 | 2 | 2 |
The Summoning | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Falling Toward Apotheosis | 4 | 4 | 4 |
The Long Night | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Into the Fire | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Epiphanies | 7 | 7 | 7 |
The Illusion of Truth | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Atonement | 9 | 9 | 9 |
Racing Mars | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Lines of Communication | 11 | 11 | 11 |
Conflicts of Interest | 12 | 12 | 12 |
Rumors, Bargains and Lies | 13 | 13 | 13 |
Moments of Transition | 14 | 14 | 14 |
No Surrender, No Retreat | 15 | 15 | 15 |
Exercise of Vital Powers | 16 | 16 | 16 |
The Face of the Enemy | 17 | 17 | 17 |
Intersections in Real Time | 18 | 18 | 18 |
Between the Darkness and the Light | 19 | 19 | 19 |
Endgame | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Rising Star | 21 | 21 | 21 |
The Deconstruction of Falling Stars | 22 | 22 | n/a[4. 1] |
Thirdspace (TVM)[4. 2] | n/a[4. 3] | 8.5[4. 4] | 14.5[4. 5] |
References
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Season Five[]
Here the show remains at 'peak serialisation' - the only debated episode position is the one not written by jms. Also opinions vary on how (or if at all) to integrate the TV movie The River of Souls, as previously discussed in the TV movie section. This section compares the following orders:
- Original Broadcast (matches HBO Max, for Season Five - except The River of Souls is not on HBO Max).
- Lurker's Guide
- Historical Database (matches the Modified Production order, for Season Five)
Note: numbering in the below table is not always continuous - the intention is to highlight the places where the different orders agree - click the column headers to sort the table
Episodes | Original Broadcast | Lurker's Guide | Historical Database |
---|---|---|---|
In the Beginning (TVM)[5. 1][5. 2] | 0 | n/a[5. 3] | n/a[5. 4] |
No Compromises | 1 | 1 | 1 |
The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari | 2 | 2 | 2 |
The Paragon of Animals | 3 | 3 | 3 |
A View from the Gallery | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Learning Curve | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Strange Relations | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Secrets of the Soul | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Day of the Dead | 8[5. 5] | 12.5[5. 6] | 4.5[5. 7] |
In the Kingdom of the Blind | 9 | 9 | 9 |
A Tragedy of Telepaths | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Phoenix Rising | 11 | 11 | 11 |
The Ragged Edge | 12 | 12 | 12 |
The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father | 13 | 13 | 13 |
Meditations on the Abyss | 14 | 14 | 14 |
Darkness Ascending | 15 | 15 | 15 |
And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder | 16 | 16 | 16 |
Movements of Fire and Shadow | 17 | 17 | 17 |
The Fall of Centauri Prime | 18 | 18 | 18 |
The Wheel of Fire | 19 | 19 | 19 |
The River of Souls (TVM)[5. 8] | 19.5 | 21.5[5. 9] | 21.5[5. 10] |
Objects in Motion | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Objects at Rest | 21 | 21 | 21 |
Sleeping in Light | 22 | 22 | n/a[5. 11] |
References
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A Call to Arms & Crusade[]
The viewing order for Crusade is notoriously tangled - some background to its short but troubled production can help: the opening episode was originally planned to be Racing the Night and production began with the Excalibur crew wearing gray & red uniforms. After five episodes had been filmed (with another five scripts in hand), the network called for a production hiatus to make changes. These included a costume change to more functional black uniforms and a mandate to write a new opening episode introducing the characters in a more conventional style. To make sense of the uniform changes, it was planned to:
- start the series with a number of 'black uniform' episodes, including the new opening episode
- have an episode in which the the uniforms were changed to gray/red
- air the originally filmed five 'gray/red uniform' episodes
- have an episode in which the uniforms were changed back to black
- air the remaining 'black uniform' episodes
After the production hiatus, eight episodes were filmed with the black uniforms, including the new opening episode (War Zone) and the first 'bridging' episode, explaining the change from black to gray/red uniforms (Appearances and Other Deceits). Of the other three completed scripts, the next to be filmed was the 'gray/red to black' bridging episode (To the Ends of The Earth) but before filming began the network called for production to cease and shortly afterwards the show was cancelled. This section compares the following orders, each of which attempt to reconcile the above:
Original Broadcast[]
The order in which the episodes were originally broadcast in the US - since the second 'bridging' episode wasn't produced, the decision was taken to air all the 'black uniform' episodes in one block, followed by the 'gray/red' episodes. This was despite many of the 'black' episodes being written with the intention of being aired after the 'gray/red' block. While some episodes had dialogue re-dubbed to try and get them to fit in this new order, a number of continuity problems couldn't be avoided:
- In Patterns of the Soul the nano-virus shield is used, five episodes before it's discovered in The Memory of War
- In The Well of Forever Gideon reminds Galen of the time he described the Excalibur as "family", which he doesn't do until seven episodes later in The Memory of War.
- Lochley & Gideon's exchanges are quite formal in Each Night I Dream of Home, despite them getting to know each other intimately six episodes earlier in The Rules of the Game.
Script order[]
This is the order in which the scripts were originally written (originally without any thought to costume changes) which perhaps gives a guide to how the stories were originally planned to progress before the network's intervention (detailed in Volume 2 of the Crusade: Other Voices script book series and reproduced at b5books.com/crusade-episode-viewing-order).
Rerun Broadcast[]
A few years after the original run, the Sci Fi Channel acquired the rights to air Crusade and (being familiar with the controversy) asked jms in what order he would like them to air the episodes. In this post he outlines his rationale: choosing to ignore the costume changes in favour of better introducing the story and characters (at least "as best [he] could remember it when they called"). This places the 'gray/red' episodes at the start with the 'black' episodes mixed in the middle & end. War Zone & Appearances are placed right at the end, outside the run of the other episodes, reflecting that they were only written to accommodate mandates imposed by the network. This order is adopted by the Lurker's Guide Master List.
Historical Database[]
This is the order in which events 'historically' occurred according to the authorized internal production document, the Historical Database. This retains War Zone as the first episode and places the 'gray/red' episodes in the middle as originally planned, with the majority of 'black' episodes then coming after. The placement of Ruling from the Tomb is not preferred by some as it leads to Lochley and Gideon introducing themselves to each other, despite having met two episodes earlier.
All-Inclusive[]
Published in Volume 2 of the Crusade: Other Voices script book series (and reproduced at b5books.com/crusade-episode-viewing-order), as compiled by its Senior Editor Jason Davies: "with the publication of all the extant Crusade material, a new all-inclusive order, interpolating all the various episodes, scripts, outlines and notes in to a cohesive whole, was needed to make sense of the series as it now stands." - Crusade: Other Voices, Volume 2 p361. This also places the 'gray/red' episodes in the middle, taking the events of unproduced episodes into account.
Alternating[]
A more distinctive order was created by Brett Harris on his blog in November 2021. This ordering starts from the internal production order, then makes some adjustments for plot continuity. To avoid the restriction of having all the 'gray/red uniform' episodes in a single block (which forces continuity problems) it proposes that after the black uniforms were introduced, the crew continued to sometimes still wear the gray/red uniforms. To emphasise this, the order then alternates between 'black' and 'gray/red uniform' episodes.
Note 1: Since A Call to Arms is a backdoor pilot for Crusade it goes at the start in all suggested orders
Note 2: Although not strictly relevant for a viewing order, the three completed but unproduced scripts help explain the placement of some episodes in the All-Inclusive order.
Note 3: numbering in the below table is not always continuous - the intention is to highlight where the different orders agree - click the column headers to sort the table
Episodes | Original Broadcast | Script | Rerun Broadcast | Historical Database | All-Inclusive | Alternating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A Call to Arms (TVM) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
War Zone | 1 | 20 | 20[6. 1] | 1 | 1 | 1 |
The Long Road | 2 | 17 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 10.5[6. 2] |
The Well of Forever | 3 | 14 | 12.5 | 19[6. 3] | 19[6. 4] | 19[6. 5] |
The Path of Sorrows | 4 | 15 | 15 | 15[6. 6] | 4[6. 7] | 11.3[6. 2] |
Patterns of the Soul | 5 | 18 | 14 | 18[6. 8] | 18[6. 9] | 11.8[6. 2] |
Ruling from the Tomb | 6 | 19 | 15.5 | 15.5[6. 10] | 1.5[6. 11] | 12.5[6. 12] |
The Rules of the Game | 7 | 16 | 16 | 20[6. 13] | 16[6. 13] | 20[6. 14] |
Appearances and Other Deceits | 8 | 21 | 21[6. 15] | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Racing the Night | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11.5[6. 16] | 9 | 11.5[6. 17] |
The Memory of War | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
The Needs of Earth | 11 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 11 | 9.5[6. 18] | 11[6. 19] |
Visitors from Down the Street | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
Each Night I Dream of Home | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
To the Ends of The Earth (script only) | n/a | 22 | n/a | 22[6. 20] | 14[6. 21] | n/a |
Value Judgements (script only) | n/a | 23 | n/a | 23 | 23[6. 4] | n/a |
End of the Line (script only) | n/a | 24 | n/a | 24 | 24 | n/a |
References
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Other Crusade orders[]
Some other viewing orders for Crusade have been suggested:
blackcoatcowboy's 2009 b5tv forum post includes some orders for Crusade:
- the "Chronological Order" matches the Historical Database, except Ruling from the Tomb is moved earlier (before Appearances and Other Deceits) to rationalize the sequencing of Lochley & Gideon's encounters.
- the "J Michael Straczynksi's Order" matches the Rerun Broadcast order in the table above.
Alkibiades410's 2016 b5tv forum post describes a number of episode orders for Crusade:
- the "Alternate Chronological Order" matches blackcoatcowboy's "Chronological Order" above
- the "JMS Intended Broadcast Order" matches the Script order in the table above
- the "JMS Preferred Chronological Order" is the Script order but with The Needs of Earth & The Memory of War switched as per the Historical Database
- the "Sy-Fy Broadcast Order" matches the Rerun Broadcast order in the table
- the "Chronological Order" matches the Historical Database
- the "All-Inclusive Chronological Order" matches the All-Inclusive order
- the "Preferred Continuity Order" matches the All-Inclusive order except the last 3 episodes follow the Historical Database
- the "JMS 'Fan Prodded' Chronological Order" has no citation for its source, but is the Rerun Broadcast order with the last 2 episodes instead placed first
- the "JMS' TNT Impacted Order" is taken from Volume 2 of Crusade: Other Voices and is based on production documents circa January 1999 before the show was cancelled (described at b5books.com/crusade-episode-viewing-order).
In 2016 the Grey Sector blog made a comparison of a number of orders for Crusade including the Original Broadcast, Rerun Broadcast, Historical Database, and All-Inclusive orders (although it mistakenly ascribes the Lochley/Gideon continuity errors to the All-Inclusive order). It also includes a "Continuity Order" which came from a now-removed Wikipedia page - it generally matches the All-Inclusive order except Ruling from the Tomb & The Rules of the Game are each two positions later. Additionally the blog proposes an "Expanded Pure" order, which has a similar concept to the Script order but instead places the 'black uniform' episodes in chronological (i.e. Historical Database) order.
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