Let's watch: Babylon 5

Back to the 90s

TL;DR - I’m going to be watching the 90s TV show Babylon 5 and blogging about it here. Join me!

I grew up on Babylon 5. I was 13 when it started airing in 1993, which meant it hit me at a crucial point in my teenage years. This is when I was forming my own thoughts about the world, about politics, about people and life. It’s when I was most impressionable and open to new types of storytelling.

Needless to say, I loved it.

It’s not hyperbole to say that I wouldn’t now be writing Tales from the Triverse if it wasn’t for B5.

For five and a bit years I was obsessed. Other favourite shows have come and gone but B5 has remained right at the top of my list. I haven’t watched it for well over a decade, though. I’m in my early 40s now, and I’m intrigued to find out what Adult Simon will make of it.

I’m going to be writing about it, episode-by-episode, as I go. That’s the idea, anyway. I’ve never blogged about a show before, so anything could happen. If you’re a B5 fan or if you’re brand new to the show and fancy giving it a try, do join me! We can have fun discussions along the way.

If you are new to the show, here are some reasons why you might want to join us:

1. It’s an early example of really strong, long-form serial storytelling, with a long-running plot that has a beginning, middle and end. This is the kind of thing I like to write, which is why I thought B5 would be an interesting case study.

2. It was an early pioneer of using computer effects. This is both a positive and negative, but from a TV production history standpoint is fascinating.

3. It was largely planned ahead of time, so things that happen in season 1 don’t pay off until season 3. And not in a made-up-as-they-went sort of way.

4. It’s a gritty, alternative view of the future in which things are definitely not perfect and humans have not worked out all their problems.

5. It likely paved the way for Battlestar Galactica and The Expanse, not to mention longer-form stories like Lost.

What version are we watching?

The show just came out on blu-ray, which is the highest quality it’s ever been available. You can also find it on the usual digital places and it occasionally pops up on streaming services. Just make sure you’re watching the remastered, 4:3 aspect ratio versions.

This is the first time it’s been available in semi-decent quality, having been stuck on awful degraded DVD versions for years and years. Do note that it’s still a 30 year old show, so if you’re new you’ll need to set some expectations up front. We can discuss that as we go - discovering where and how it’s of its time will be part of the fun.

What is the watch order?

I’m going to be following the Master Episode List from the Lurker’s Guide (I love that this thing is still online). I don’t yet know whether the blu-ray remaster uses the Master List or the original order - we will find out.

The exception here is that I’m not going to be doing the spin-off movies. We will be focusing just on the show itself. However, we will be watching the original pilot, ‘The Gathering’, because it’s included in the blu-ray set and we might as well.¹

What about spoilers?

I want this rewatch to be open to people who are entirely new to the show. As such, any spoilery discussion will be at the bottom of posts and clearly marked so it can be carefully avoided. Maybe we can try to split comments off in a similar way.

When do we start?

Good question. I’m going to aim to do an episode a week, just like in the old days, but we’ll see what happens. Life may get in the way. Don’t hold me to it.

If all goes well, I’m aiming to kick off with ‘The Gathering’ this Wednesday, 13 November.

Yes, I know that’s soon, and Christmas is clearly going to get in the way, but I’m too excited to hang around. You can, of course, hop on and off whenever you like.

How to join in

This is a sort-of-hidden section of the newsletter just for us. You can browse the episodes here:

If you want to get updates in your inbox you’ll need to subscribe and opt in by going to your account settings and toggling the section on.

Step 1: If you’re not already subscribed…

Step 2: Add the ‘Let’s Watch: Babylon 5’ section to your account

Once you’ve signed up you can then watch along and join in discussions as we go.

Doing it this way means that this is going to be an exclusive club. This won’t be going out on the main newsletter. It’ll just be for those of us taking part.

This is a bit of an experiment, but I think it’ll be fun.

See you on Babylon 5.

1. If you’re new to the show, don’t be put off by the pilot. It’s janky and weird compared to the show itself, and the version on the blu-ray hasn’t been remastered like the main episodes. It can’t really be skipped, though, as it has a couple of intriguing plot threads and characters that are important down the line.