JMS approved Chronological viewing order

Looney said:

Can't wait to take this viewing order out for a test drive. LOL :thumbsup:

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b5historyman said:

Enjoy:thumbsup:

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Looney said:

b5historyman said:

Enjoy:thumbsup:

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I plan to my friend. I plan to. :thumbsup:

Speaking of chronology I love how your lists reminds us that In The Beginning is meant to be viewed late. Yes the vast majority of the material is a prequel, but it is a story being told by someone late in the overall arc. So despite the fact the majority of the material takes place before The Gathering, important plot points happen in the present of that story in 2278.

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b5historyman said:

This is the real approved chronological viewing order of the B5 canon, from the In House reference The Babylon 5 Historical Database, researched and compiled by Terry Jones with the full input, cooperation and authorisation of J.Michael Straczynski.

News board posting on 19th May 2000:
"Because episodes were often aired out of order, you have to look at what's *inside* the episode when determining the chronology rather than when PTEN decided to air an episode.
jms"

SEASON 1 2258
Midnight on the Firing Line. February 2258.
Soul Hunter. Wednesday 2nd March – Thursday 3rd March 2258.
Infection. Tuesday March 8th- Wednesday March 9th 2258.
Born to the Purple. Tuesday March 22nd – Friday March 25th 2258.
The Parliament of Dreams. Wednesday March 30th – Sunday April 3rd 2258.
The War Prayer. Sunday April 3rd – Thursday April 7th 2258.
And the Sky Full of Stars. Monday April 11th – Wednesday April 13th 2258.
Mind War. Sunday April 24th – Tuesday April 26th 2258.
By Any Means Necessary. May 2258.
Death Walker. May 2258.
Believers. June 2258.
Survivors. June 2258.
A Voice In the Wilderness Pts1 & 2. June 2258. See note below.
Babylon Squared. Tuesday July 12th 2258 - Wednesday July 13th 2258
Legacies. July 2258. See note below.
Grail. July 2258. See note below
NOTE: Babylon Squared, Legacies and Grail are placed before Signs and Portents and ordered on the basis of Delenn receiving the Triluminary and beginning construction on the Chrysalis device (shown at different stages of construction throughout).
Signs and Portents. Wednesday August 3rd – Friday August 5th 2258.
TKO. August 2258.
EYES. September 2258.
The Quality of Mercy. September 2258.
Chrysalis. Friday December 30th 2258 – Sunday January 1st 2259.

SEASON 2 2259
Points of Departure. Sunday January 8th 2259.
Revelations. Thursday January 12th - Thursday January 19th 2259.
The Geometry of Shadows. Wednesday January 25th - Sunday February 5th 2259.
A Distant Star. Monday January 30th -Thursday February 2nd 2259.
A Spider in the Web. March 2259.
A Race Through Dark Places. Tuesday March 14th – Friday March 17th 2259.
Soul Mates. May 2259.
The Long Dark. June 2259.
The Coming of Shadows. Tuesday June 13th - Saturday June 17th. 2259
GROPOS. Tuesday June 20th - Friday June 23rd 2259
All Alone in the Night. July 2259.
Acts of Sacrifice. July 2259.
Hunter, Prey. July 2259.
Knives. August 2259.
There All the Honour Lies. August 2259.
And Now for a Word “36 Hours aboard Babylon 5” Saturday September 16th 2259.
In the Shadow of Z’ha’dum. Sunday September 24th 2259.
Confessions and Lamentations. November 2259.
Divided Loyalties. Friday November 24th 2259 - Saturday December 2nd 2259
The Long Twilight Struggle. Sunday December 3rd – Sunday December 10th 2259.
The Fall of Night. Monday December 18th 2259. (Start of story)
Comes the Inquisitor. Tuesday December 19th – Wednesday December 20th 2259.
The Fall of Night. Sunday December 24th 2259 (end of story)

SEASON 3 2260
Matters of Honor. Wednesday December 27th 2259 - Tuesday January 9th 2260.
Convictions. Saturday January 13th - Sunday January 14th 2260.
A Day in the Strife. Monday January 15th - Tuesday January 16th 2260
Passing Through Gethsemane. Thursday January 18th – Sunday February 4th 2260.
Voices of Authority. Monday February 5th – Wednesday February 7th 2260
Dust to Dust. Wednesday February 28th – Friday March 1st 2260
Exogenesis. Sunday March 10th – Wednesday March 13th 2260.
Messages from Earth. Monday March 18th – Monday April 8th 2260.
Point of No Return. Monday April 8th – Wednesday April 10th 2260
Severed Dreams. Sunday April 14th – Monday April 15th
Ceremonies of Light and Dark. Tuesday April 16th - Thursday April 18th 2260
Sic Transit Vir. Sunday June 30th – Friday July 5th 2260
A Late Delivery from Avalon. Thursday July 11th - Friday July 12th 2260
Ship of Tears. Wednesday July 24th 2260
Interludes and Examinations. Saturday August 3rd – Monday August 5th 2260
War without End parts one and two. Friday August 9th – Monday August 12th 2260 (This story takes place over four time periods 2260, 2254, 2258 and 1260)
Walkabout. August 2260.
Grey 17 is Missing. Tuesday November 26th – Sunday November 30th 2260
And The Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place. Saturday December 7th – Wednesday December 11th 2260 (Z minus 14 days- Z minus 10 days)
Shadow Dancing. Saturday December 14th – Thursday December 19th 2260 (Z minus 7 days – Z minus 2 days)
Z’ha’dum. Thursday December 19th – Wednesday December 25th 2260 (Z minus 2 days to Z day, Sunday December 21st when Sheridan leaves for Z’ha’dum, A four day jump from B5).

SEASON 4 2261
The Hour of the Wolf. Saturday December 28th 2260 - Monday January 6th 2261.
Whatever Happened To Mr Garibaldi ? Wednesday January 8th - Tuesday January 14th 2261
The Summoning. Saturday January 11th - Saturday January 18th 2261
Falling Toward Apotheosis. Sunday January 19th - Monday January 20th 2261.
The Long Night. Wednesday January 22nd - Friday January 24th 2261.
Into the Fire. Thursday January 23rd - Thursday January 30th 2261.
Epiphanies. Saturday February 1st - Saturday February 15th 2261.
The Illusion of Truth. Thursday April 3rd - Saturday April 12th 2261.
Atonement. Saturday April 26th - Monday May 5th 2261.
Racing Mars. Sunday May 11th - Tuesday May 13th 2261.
Lines of Communication. Tuesday May 13th - Friday May 16th 2261.
Conflicts of Interest. Saturday May 17th - Monday May 19th 2261.
Rumors, Bargains And Lies. Monday May 19th - Wednesday May 21st 2261.
Moments of Transition. Tuesday May 20th - Monday September 1st 2261 (This story takes place over 4 months. The events of “Thirdspace” take place in June 2261 during this story)
No Surrender, No Retreat. Tuesday September 2nd - Thursday September 4th 2261
Exercise of Vital Powers. Saturday September 6th - Monday September 8th 2261.
The Face of the Enemy. Friday October 17th - Wednesday October 22nd 2261.
Intersections In Real Time. Thursday October 23rd - Monday October 27th 2261.
Between the Darkness and the Light. Monday October 27th - Friday October 31st 2261.
Endgame. Saturday November 1st - Tuesday November 4th 2261
Rising Star. Monday November 3rd - Wednesday December 31st 2261.
The Deconstruction Of Falling Stars. Friday January 2nd 2262 – 1,002,262

SEASON 5 2262
No Compromises. Tuesday January 13th - Saturday January 17th 2262.
The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari. Tuesday January 20th - Wednesday January 21st 2262.
The Paragon of Animals. Friday January 30th - Saturday January 31st 2262.
A View from the Gallery. Thursday February 12th - Friday February 13th 2262.
The Day of the Dead. February 2262.
Learning Curve. Sunday May 17th - Friday May 22nd 2262.
Strange Relations. Saturday May 23rd - Sunday May 24th 2262.
Secrets of the Soul. Monday May 25th - Thursday May 28th 2262.
In the Kingdom of the Blind. Wednesday May 27th - Sunday May 31st 2262.
A Tragedy of Telepaths. Tuesday June 16th - Thursday June 18th 2262.
Phoenix Rising. Friday June 19th
The Ragged Edge. Saturday June 20th - Tuesday June 23rd 2262.
The Corps is Mother, The Corps is Father. Wednesday June 24th - Monday June 29th 2262.
Meditations on the Abyss. Monday July 13th - Wednesday July 15th 2262.
Darkness Ascending. Thursday July 23rd - Thursday July 30th 2262
And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder. Friday July 31st - Thursday August 6th 2262.
Movement of Fire and Shadow. Sunday August 9th - Friday August 14th 2262.
The Fall of Centauri Prime. Friday August 14th - Tuesday August 18th 2262.
The Wheel of Fire. Wednesday August 19th - Friday August 21st 2262
Objects in Motion. Tuesday September 1st - Saturday September 5th 2262.
Objects at Rest. Sunday September 6th - Friday September 11th 2262
Sleeping In Light. Wednesday December 28th 2280 - Friday January 20th 2281.

THE TV MOVIES
The Gathering Sunday January 3rd - Friday January 8th 2257
Thirdspace June 2261 (The story takes place in the middle of 2261 from on screen narration. This is during the events of Moments of Transition [after Delenn returns to Babylon 5 from Minbar, Franklin is back from Mars and Lyta is not been coerced to rejoin Psi Corps] as this story takes place over four months, from Tuesday May 20th 2261 to Monday September 1st 2261)
River of Souls Tuesday June 8th - Sunday June 13th 2263.
Legend of the Rangers: To Live and Die in Starlight. March 2265.
A Call to Arms Tuesday December 17th - Monday December 30th 2266.
Lost Tales: Voices in the Dark Monday December 24th - Sunday 30th December 2271
In the Beginning (The top and tail sections with Londo are Wednesday December 24th 2278, 2245-2248 for the Earth-Minbari War, 2249 for the destruction of the Babylon Station).

Crusade Season 1 2267.
War Zone 1st Jan - 5th Jan 2267.
The Long Road. 27th Feb - 2nd March 2267.
Appearances and Other Deceits. March 2267
The Memory of War. 30th March - 1st April 2267.
Needs of Earth. April 2267.
Racing the Night. May 2267,
Visitors from Down the Street. 13th May - 14th May 2267
Each Night I Dream of Home. May 2267.
The Path of Sorrows. June 2267.
Ruling from the Tomb. 15th June - 16th June 2267.
Patterns of the Soul. June 2267.
The Well of Forever. July 2267. (Joe confirmed that Mr Jones saying Matheson had sensed the emotions of others, was indeed referring to Durkani and Lyssa from Visitors from Down the Street)
Rules of the Game. July 2267
To The Ends of the Earth 1st September - 3rd September 2267 (Full script but unproduced. Dates from the script)
Value Judgements. September 2267 (Full script but unproduced)
End of the Line. December 2267 (Full script but unproduced)

Arc related canon comics [C] and short stories [SS]
In Darkness Find Me. Friday January 6th -Tuesday January 17th 2259 [C]
Treason. Thursday January 19th - Monday January 23rd 2259 [C]
In Harm’s Way/The Price of Peace. Tuesday January 24th 2259 [C]
Shadows Past and Present. February 2259 [C]
In Valen's Name. Sunday February 2nd - Thursday February 6th 2261 [C]
Hidden Agendas. Wednesday January 21st - Thursday January 22nd 2262 [SS]
The Shadow of his Thoughts. Thursday August 20th - Saturday August 29th 2262 [SS]
Genius Loci. Thursday October 15th - Saturday October 18th 2262 [SS]
The Nautilus Coil. 2265 [SS]
True Seeker. November 2269 [SS]
The Lost Tales. 2271 [C]
Space, Time and the Incurable Romantic. 2560 to 2593. [SS]

Canon novels and their chronological ordering within the Babylon 5 universe
Dark Genesis: The Birth of the Psi Corps. 2115 – 2189
Deadly Relations: Bester Ascendant. 2195 – January 2257 (In 2195, this is where Kevin Vacit disappears. His fate is eventually revealed in The Nautilus Coil. There is a cross over with events portrayed on Mars with the Shadow vessel recovery in 2253 witnessed by Sinclair and Garibaldi in Shadows, Past and Present and Dr Kirkish in Messages from Earth, and events recorded in the novel The Shadow Within on Thursday 19th November 2256 with Anna Sheridan asking Terence Hilliard to scan one of the organic artifacts. Ms Donne reports this to Bester after his assassination of Director Johnson and Donne is ordered on the Icarus mission. There is a discrepancy at the end where it suggests the Ironheart incident on Babylon 5 is concurrent with the loss of the Icarus, the events are actually over a year apart)
Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester. February 2271 – January 2281
The Passing of the Techno-mages:Casting Shadows. 27th November 2258 – January 3rd 2259.
The Passing of the Techno-mages: Summoning Light. 22nd January – 15th February 2259.
The Passing of the Techno-mages: Invoking Darkness 4th August 2260 – 31st January 2261.
The Legions of Fire stories are replete with dates, however they are about a year out to what is established on screen. The dates presented here have been corrected and match with the established calendar. There is also another error in that Minbari cycles are said to be less than Earth years, they aren’t. A Minbari cycle is the equivalent of 16 Earth months.
Legions of Fire:The Long Night of Centauri Prime. 15th August 2262 – 16th December 2266.
Legions of Fire: Armies of Light and Dark. 21st December 2266 – 2272.
Legions of Fire: Out of the Darkness: 2273 – January 2279
The Shadow Within: 19th November 2256 – 8th January 2257 (The Anna Sheridan/Morden/Z’ha’dum plot line is considered canon by Joe, and is referenced in the outlines for the techno-mage trilogy)
To Dream in the City of Sorrows: 6th December 2260 (framing story is 6 days after Neroon beat Marcus) 9th February – 15th December 2259 (Sinclair’s story line. Some story events are concurrent with The Coming of Shadows and All Alone in the Night)

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b5historyman said:

The Fall of Night. Monday December 18th 2259. (Start of story)
Comes the Inquisitor. Tuesday December 19th – Wednesday December 20th 2259.
The Fall of Night. Sunday December 24th 2259 (end of story)

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KoshFan said:

I think my only objection is that "Signs" is such a teaser episode, hinting at so much to come, that I like it arriving a little earlier to get people's attention!

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KoshFan said:

I, too, am interested in the ordering of Season 1 -- placing "Signs and Portents" so late surprises the heck out of me.

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okesh_naranell said:

Just to caveat: of course everyone's entitled to their own rewatch episode order - some might prioritise plot continuity, others character development, episode pacing, jms' original intention, or just nostalgia! This is just my two cents...

My rationale (which I think is the same as b5historyman's) for 'Signs and Portents' coming quite late is based on the below "prop continuity":
- Delenn is given the triluminary in 'Babylon Squared'
- Delenn's "agents" use the triluminary in 'Legacies'
- the chrysalis device is 1/3rd built in 'Legacies'
- the device is 2/3rds built in 'Signs and Portents'

Based on this the order goes 'Babylon', 'Legacies', 'Signs'. Since other factors place 'Babylon' quite late in the season, this means 'Signs' ends up even later.

It does seem strange when one's used to 'Signs' position as an almost out-of-nowhere glimpse of the broader story, which then recedes before resurfacing at the season finale - however I think it can also work as a near-season end "mini-climax" (similar to 'The Long, Twilight Struggle' or 'Shadow Dancing') by tying up the season's Raiders storyline with a big space battle!

But for me the most compelling argument to place 'Signs' after 'Babylon' is to strengthen Delenn's late-Season One character arc. This is one of my favourite parts of Season One because it's all but invisible on first viewing, with the sub-text only evident on re-watching.

With the above order, Delenn's story goes:
- standing before a Grey Council skeptical of the Shadows' return, Delenn asks to remain on Babylon 5, with only the self-belief instilled in her by Dukhat to drive her
- her fellow Councillor (who I always head-canon to be Jenimer btw) gives her the triluminary as a coded endorsement and signal that he believes she is the one prophesied to undergo the change promise by Valen
- Delenn begins building the device, in the meantime using the triluminary in obtaining Branmer's body
- as she continues to build the device, Delenn is visited by Morden. Sensing the presence of his companions, she realises: "they're here"
- fueled by her recent encounter, she sends Lennier to Kosh with the question "Have the Shadows returned to Z'ha'dum?". Kosh responds "Yes."
- knowing the fatal risk she could be taking, Delenn goes to Kosh to voice her last doubts. Remembering the advice of her mentor, Delenn looks into the face of a Vorlon and her doubts are removed. She completes the device and enters the chrysalis

If 'Signs' comes before 'Babylon', as well as the inconsistency of the chrysalis device-building, it seems odd to me that her recent encounter with what she strongly believed to be a Shadow agent wouldn't be part of the discussion over whether or not Valen's prophecy is at hand. With the above ordering Delenn has already been shunned by the Grey Council and is left alone to wrestle with the implications of Morden's visit and whether she has the strength to do what must be done...

I won't pretend there isn't a bit ret-conning/"head canon" going on here, so of course it's possible to "head-canon" these things the other way - perhaps the changing state of the chrysalis device indicates Delenn had previous bouts of doubt and she constructed, then deconstructed, then reconstructed it... As I said earlier, it's just a question of which elements you want to prioritise for your own ideal viewing experience...

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