Talk:Babylon 5: In the Beginning

	Television portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Television, a collaborative effort to develop and improve Wikipedia articles about television programs. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page where you can join the discussion. To improve this article, please refer to the style guidelines for the type of work.TelevisionWikipedia:WikiProject TelevisionTemplate:WikiProject Televisiontelevision
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.
	This article is supported by the Babylon 5 task force (assessed as High-importance).

Film: American

	Film portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Film. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see lists of open tasks and regional and topical task forces. To use this banner, please refer to the documentation. To improve this article, please refer to the guidelines.FilmWikipedia:WikiProject FilmTemplate:WikiProject Filmfilm
	This article is supported by the American cinema task force.

Watching order?

This article should mention the best order in which to watch In the Beginning (ItB) relative to the Babylon 5 TV series.

Newcomers to the series will inevitably be tempted to watch this before the series, which I consider a major mistake (see below).

I can think of 5 places where to watch this movie:

1. Watch it as the very first introduction to the Babylon 5 universe (even before the pilot The Gathering)

+ this is favored by the Lurker's Guide

+ can be used as a hook to introduce the Babylon 5 universe, specially since "The Gathering" is comparatively much weaker

- constitutes a MAJOR spoiler for the series: the mystery of the Earth-Minbari war, the characters of Delenn and Sinclair, Londo's role in the Shadow war...

2. Watch it at the end of season 5, between "Objects at Rest" and "Sleeping in Light"

+ no spoilers and a very effective way to end the Babylon 5 part of the series

- there are already too many other movies in that "spot" (River of Souls, Legend of the Raiders, A Call to Arms) that don't have much to do with it.

Hence I feel it would be pulling the viewer in too many different directions (who wants to jump from River of souls to ItB?)

3. Watch it after Crusade (and save "Sleeping in Light" for the very end)

+ this is the chronologically "true" place (Londo tells the story in 2278, after the events of Crusade)

- makes the viewer watch all of Babylon 5, all of Crusade before returning to the beginning!

- leaves viewers that would rather not watch Crusade (since it's incomplete) out cold

4. Watch it at the end of season 4, just before the final episode "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars" (DFS).

+ ItB was originally aired on January 4, 1998 which is right between DFS (October 1997) and Season 5 (end of January 1998)

+ I place it just before DFS to get a better chronology: ItB looks at Babylon 5's past, DFS at its future so watching DFS first would be weird

+ removes the "clutter" at the end of season 5

- it does not exactly fit the ongoing story: during the episode before ("Rising Star"), Londo Mollari is just being considered for the title of Emperor, he is NOT Emperor yet!

- also during the beginning of season 5, Londo Mollari is still not Emperor! He will only be crowned Emperor during "The Fall of Centauri Prime (episode 5x19)

5. Watch it during season 3, between the episodes "War Without End I" and "War Without End II".

This would be my favored time to watch ItB. Rationale:

+ again removes the "clutter" at the end of season 5

+ can be conceived as a story told from within the time loop that occurs then (a prequel told by someone caught in the future before the story returns to the present? Whew!)

+ ItB is definitely part of the human/minbari soul cycle which ends with the episode "War Without End II"

- causes some spoilers for season 4, but it shouldn't be too bad (for instance, the events in "Atonement" - the soul hunter - is actually better seen after watching ItB)

But I think it's definitely a tricky question anyway!

Any diehard Babylon 5 fans out there, what do you think? 71.240.11.207 19:50, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have just watched the complete Babylon 5 / Crusade cycle again and I agree that the best time to watch In The Beginning should be during season 3,
between the WWE episodes. Technically, the movie fits in seamlessly if you watch in this order:
- watch up to WWE1, included
- the teaser and the first act of WWE2
- ItB
- rest of WWE2 and continue the series

MCSmarties 16:27, 18 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Could you confirm this is your favourite watching order?

The Gathering
Signs and Portents
The Coming of Shadows
Point of No Return up to War without End I
In the Beginning
War without End II
No Surrender, No Retreat
Thirdspace
Wheel of Fire
The River of Souls
The Legend of the Rangers
A Call to Arms
Crusade
The Lost Tales: Voices in the Dark

Thank you
David Latapie (✒ | @) — www 11:48, 18 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Fair use rationale for Image:Battle of the line.JPG

Image:Battle of the line.JPG is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 09:30, 27 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Fair use rationale for Image:Poweroverwhelming.JPG

Image:Poweroverwhelming.JPG is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 20:25, 26 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]