What order should the Babylon 5 movies and series be watched in?

Best movie order is as follows:

1. Watch "The Gathering" pilot movie
2. Watch all of Seasons 1, 2 and 3.
3. Watch Season 4 up to Episode 8
4. Watch B5 Movie "Thirdspace"
5. Watch Season 4 Episode 9 with Delenn as she goes into the dreaming. This is good background material for the next movie
6. Watch "In The Beginning" immediately after Season 4 Episode 9 and before Episode 10. This is the best time to watch the movie as you don't get spoilers and it ties in really well with episode 9 in Season 4.
7. Watch the rest of Season 4
8. Watch Season 5 right up to the episode BEFORE "Objects In Motion"
9. Watch "Legend Of the Rangers" A lot of people slag this movie, but for G'Kar alone it is worth watching and infinitely better than Star Trek V.
10. Watch "A Call To Arms" which sets up the spin off show Crusade.
11. Watch the 13 episode series Crusade next.
12. Watch "The Lost Tales" the 2007 I think it was, direct to DVD movie.
13. Watch the Season 5 episode "Objects in Motion".
14. Watch the movie "River of Souls" as this takes place in the year 2263 between "Objects in Motion" and "Objects at Rest" in Season 5 and makes the most sense to watch here.
15. Watch "Objects at Rest" and the grande finale "Sleeping In Light" Watching these 2 episodes back to back has the best emotional impact.

Mo matter what "Sleeping In Light" should be watched absolutely LAST.

Just a LITTLE correction to the answers above...

In "Thirdspace", Zack is seen fully wearing and sporting an alternative B5 uniform just like Sheridan and the rest. This, however, is not a formally accepted fact until S4 E09 (the beginning scene).

I would thus respectfully suggest that for the sake of consistency that instead of watching "Thirdspace" after S4 E08 to instead watch it after S4 E09.

I know, trivial detail but...

As Ruben said, Zack doesn't get his alternative B5 uniform till 'S4E9 - Atonement' so Thirdspace should slot in after that.

Also, If you're trying to be as chronologically accurate as possible (Though I do agree that 'In the Beginning' should be saved till late in S4 to avoid spoilers) you should save 'S5E22 - Sleeping in Light' till after all of the films and episodes as it takes place much later chronologically.

EDIT:

I'm actually doing a re-watch of B5 right now and I realised that theoretically Thirdspace has to slot in later than I previously thought.

Most people say between E8 & E9 but as stated above, because of Zack's uniform it can't be before E9. However, after watching through a bit more I realised that Dr Franklin is away from B5 from E9 through E12 and only gets back on station in E13. So though it's later on in the season, assuming Zack's uniform wasn't just a continuity error, Thirdspace should slot in somewhere after E13 - 'Conflicts of Interest' but before the campaign to remove Clarke.

This is too big for a comment, so I'm posting it as another answer:

If you plan on watching the Crusade spinoff, don't watch it in airdate order. I strongly, strongly suggest chronological order - it resolves most of the inconsistencies TNT created when they started interfering with the series, and the character development makes a hell of a lot more sense:

• 1x01 - War Zone
• 1x02 - The Long Road
• 1x06 - Ruling from the Tomb
• 1x08 - Appearances and Other Deceits
• 1x10 - The Memory of War
• 1x11 - The Needs of Earth
• 1x09 - Racing the Night
• 1x12 - Visitors from Down the Street
• 1x13 - Each Night I Dream of Home
• 1x04 - The Path of Sorrows
• 1x05 - Patterns of the Soul
• 1x03 - The Well of Forever
• 1x07 - The Rules of the Game

Basically, 5 episodes of Crusade were produced with minimal meddling. Then filming went on hiatus while the budget was increased and better sets/etc were made - and TNT's meddling went crazy.

For example, episodes numbered 1x09 - 1x13 use the original, low-budget uniforms. After the budget was increased, TNT mandated that the high-budget new uniforms be aired first - so they became episodes 1x01 - 1x08. Appearances and Other Deceits had an in-universe designer create the old uniforms as a new design, then one of the unfilmed episodes would have a laundry accident that "returned" them to the new, high-budget uniforms seen in the others. Since that episode was never filmed, we can imagine it happens between Each Night I Dream of Home and The Path of Sorrows, when the chronological ordering switches the uniforms back.

Other much more spoilery advantages to this order include:

Among others.

_{(To be perfectly honest, I almost suggest skipping Crusade altogether. Episode 1x14 was planned to be its version of Signs and Portents, launching the true storyline of the series... So what did manage to get filmed largely feels like a teaser to something that will never happen. Very frustrating.)}

I'm watching based on the printed list and not the graphic (the graphic is wrong on several key points).

A call To Arms is happening 6 years after the Shadow War, so it would be 2267. It should be one of the last movies watched.

The Legend of the Rangers talks about the Anniversary of the Alliance. There is also another problem in that the ship they're on lost it's crew 20 years prior, and there were Human Rangers on board. This totally messes with the Timeline, and G'kar should be dead by this time. Horrible continuity besides being a very cheesy show. I had remembered it being kind of good until watching it again last night and lost it when watching the weapons officer doing the 30 second scream while shadow boxing in VR. It's bad.

For the sake of continuity it should be considered "alternate universe" since none of the rangers act ranger-like.

My take right now would be watching season 5 until Objects at rest. Watch River of Souls, A Call To Arms, Crusade, Lost Tales, and then the final episode. After all that, then Legend of the Rangers, despite how bad it is.

You can do no harm to yourself starting with "In The Beginning." Aside from the obviously harmless title, the movie was made to introduce new viewers to the show when it was picked up by TNT at the beginning of the fifth season. TNT showed seasons 1-4 in progression once a day for five days a week, with a new fifth season episode at a different time slot once a week. There are thousands of people who watched the show, enjoyed it, and became hooked by it while watching it in this nonlinear fashion, including yours truly.

Rather than be spoiled by something, you will have an even greater insight into the genius of Babylon 5 storytelling. It's the belief that one viewing order is better than another that may spoil the show!

Also don't forget about the novels, several of which are considered canon, especially The Shadow Within and To Dream in the City of Sorrows, which are seamlessly interwoven with the show. Please feel free to pick them up and put them down as you feel to achieve their maximum effect!

Personally I think you should follow the release order as much as possible, with only a few modifications. Following the release order means you will get the same experience as people watching the show at the time of release. When creating a new episode/film, the creators largely catered towards audiences who had already watched everything released up to that point, and so you should be on fairly safe ground.

The exceptions I think should be made are:

• The film "Thirdspace". It was the first produced movie, although the second to be released. Though it was released during season 5, it's set during season 4 and doesn't contain any spoilers for later-released episodes. It's kind of weird to watch it and go back to that time it was set after so much has happened in between.
• The series finale episode, "Sleeping In Light". This was intended as an overall finale to the franchise as a whole (the fact that they moved this episode from the end of season 4 to the end of season 5 when a fifth season was ordered attests to this) and therefore should be watched last. It's also set in the year 2281, which is later than any other episode or film (except for segments of the season 4 finale). It's intended to provide finality.
• The episodes in the series "Crusade". Here the network messed with the episode order and so to watch it in release order would not be in keeping with the creators' wishes.

In summary, I think the following order should be used:

1. Watch the pilot film "The Gathering"
2. Watch the whole of seasons 1, 2 and 3
3. Watch season 4 episodes 1-8
4. Watch the film "Thirdspace"
5. Watch season 4 episodes 9-22
6. Watch the film "In The Beginning"
7. Watch season 5 episodes 1-21
8. Watch the film "River Of Souls"
9. Watch the film "A Call To Arms"
10. Watch the episodes of "Crusade" in the order suggested by user Izkata in his answer
11. Watch the film "The Legend Of The Rangers: To Live And Die In Starlight"
12. Watch the film "The Lost Tales: Voices In The Dark"
13. Watch season 5 episode 22 ("Sleeping In Light")

I understand why other posters have shuffled around "Objects In Motion" and "Objects At Rest" towards the end also as these are "goodbye" episodes. However, they also naturally follow from the earlier episodes in season 5 and wrap up the storyline in 2262 (the year when the majority of season 5 is set) which is before all of the later-released films. The same cannot be said for "Sleeping In Light" which is set much later. So I think "Objects In Motion" and "Objects At Rest" should really be watched immediately after watching the main part of season 5.

Unfortunately the assigned episode numbers, release dates, and production numbers do not match the intended viewing order of the show's creator, J Michael Straczynski (JMS).

Intended Order

The Intended Order for all TV Episodes and Movies as listed below is the order that JMS intended the show to be viewed in for full dramatic impact. This viewing order was taken from JMS's interviews, notes, and discussions. This is not a chronological order of events, and not everything is meant to make sense at first as some episodes have flashbacks and visions of things. This order (including the very similar Lurker's Guide) is popular among devoted fans.

Source 1: https://babylon5.fandom.com/wiki/Viewing_Order

Source 2: http://www.b5tv.com/showthread.php?t=11675

Note: For the Crusade spin-off the Chronological Order option is listed below as it is enjoyable and popular among devoted fans without continuity issues or jarring inconsistencies. This Crusade order is from the Babylon 5 Historical Database as authorized by JMS, with one adjustment to correct a continuity issue in "Ruling From the Tomb".

Decision Points

*There are three decision points indicated with asterisks in the chart based on your personal viewing preference.

• *A. The order of the Movie "In The Beginning". JMS suggested watching it 3rd to last, just before "Sleeping in Light", as a summary flashback. However some fans prefer to watch this just after Season 4's "Atonement" as it ties in really well with this episode and you wont get any spoilers. Alternatively you can watch it first, before "The Gathering" as an interesting prequel with spoilers. If someone is on the fence about watching Babylon 5, its recommend to watch In The Beginning first because it gives them a taste of what will come will push them over the edge into watching the show.
• *B. The order of Season 4's "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars". JMS suggested watching it last, as it wraps up the entire B5 universe. However some fans prefer to watch this after "Objects at Rest" at the end of Season 4 as originally broadcasted to conclude Season 4. During production of Season 4 it appeared B5 would not be renewed for Season 5, so "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars" was created to conclude the entire B5 universe.
• *C. The order of Season 5's "Sleeping in Light". JMS suggested watching it 2nd to last, just before "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars", as it wraps up the show. However some fans prefer to watch this after "Rising Star" at the end of Season 5 as originally broadcasted to conclude Season 5, before moving on to watch the spin-off movies/episodes.

Other Orders

Additionally, the other popular Babylon 5 Viewing Orders for all TV Episodes and Movies are listed here: https://babylon5.fandom.com/wiki/Viewing_Order - This includes episode by episode lists with descriptions and comparisons for each order. The Chronological Order is a notable and very enjoyable alternative to the Intended Order.