One of the Greatest Sci-Fi Shows of all Time is Streaming Free (With a Catch)

In a move sure to please fans of hard sci-fi, one of the most beloved genre shows is finally streaming for free—both on Tubi and the Roku channel. But there is a catch; for reasons we can’t explain, the pilot episode of the series isn’t included with the rest of the episodes. And while that’s annoying, it’s not worth writing off a rewatch entirely, as the second episode of the series has a great recap of what you would have missed having not seen the pilot. 

Babylon 5, which stars Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian, and Mia Furlan, takes place on a five-mile-long space station, documenting the lives, political drama, and the tension of looming war between intergalactic enemies, the Centauri and the Narn, over the course of five years. While the show was never a particular hit among critics, fans love it to this day (there are even hopes of a series reboot) and claim that Babylon 5 was both groundbreaking and hugely influential, inspiring other sci-fi giants like Battlestar Galactica, Dark, The Expanse, and even Deep Space Nine.

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Babylon 5 is More Relevant Than Ever

So, should you make time to binge Babylon 5 now that it’s streaming for free? According to one fan, the only correct answer is a resounding yes. “I just finished re-watching Babylon 5 for like the tenth time a few months ago. Yes, it is worth watching! A million times yes. Especially right now, because there are some very relevant things going on in the show that is eerily similar to the path America is taking today,” they said. Another added, “Babylon 5 started off rough. However, it ended up being the best science fiction television series of the 1990’s. Possibly the best sci-fi series ever made. The layer upon layer of politics, intrigue, vast time frame, and more. No other sci-fi series has been quite as ambitious. I loved it.”

While the first season, like a lot of first seasons of sci-fi shows, is a rough watch, it’s worth it to get into the heart of the series, which tackles character growth in a way that leaves a lot of its contemporaries, and even future series tackling similar issues, in the dust. The series was planned in its entirety from the very beginning and unfolds like a novel would, as opposed to continuing the story-of-the-week formula that was so popular at the time, which only adds to the depth and connection between the characters and the narrative.

So if you can get through the cheesy CGI and rougher acting moments of the first season, Babylon 5 is absolutely worth the watch now that it’s streaming for free. Will you be checking the series out? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to head over to the ComicBook forums to see what other fans are saying.