It was 2007. J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of the sprawling space opera Babylon 5, decided to take one more swing at the universe he’d spent the nineties building. The result was Babylon 5: The Lost Tales, a direct-to-DVD anthology that felt like a whisper compared to the roar of the original series. Most fans remember it for what it lacked—budget, scale, and the full ensemble cast—but if you actually sit down and watch it now, you’ll find some of the most haunting writing Joe Straczynski ever put to paper.
It was a weird experiment.
The project was titled Voices in the Dark. It was meant to be the first in a series of "Lost Tales" that would fill in the gaps of the timeline, specifically focusing on characters we hadn't seen in years. Warner Bros. wasn't exactly handing out blank checks at the time. They gave Straczynski a shoestring budget, a green screen, and a very tight shooting schedule. It’s visible. You can see the digital seams. Yet, for a specific subset of the fandom, it remains a vital, if flawed, piece of the canon.
The Reality of the Budget and the Green Screen
You can't talk about Babylon 5: The Lost Tales without talking about the technology. By 2007, the CGI that had pioneered the industry in 1993 looked archaic. Straczynski wanted to use NewTek’s LightWave 3D again but on a much more ambitious scale. He used a "virtual set" approach. Almost everything you see—the corridors of the station, the palaces on Minbar, the cockpit of a Starfury—is digital.
It’s jarring.
Honestly, it feels a bit claustrophobic. Instead of the bustling Zocalo filled with dozens of extras in heavy makeup, we get tight shots of single characters standing in front of digital backdrops. It lacks the "lived-in" dirt of the original show. But there’s a reason for this. The production had to maximize every cent. According to various interviews with Straczynski at the time, the goal was to prove that high-end sci-fi could be produced cheaply enough to justify more entries.
It didn't quite work out that way.
👉 See also: Charlie Charlie Are You Here: Why the Viral Demon Myth Still Creeps Us Out
Overcoming the Absence of the Main Cast
One of the hardest things for fans to swallow was the missing faces. Andreas Katsulas (G'Kar) and Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin) had both passed away before production began. Their absence hangs heavy over the entire project. Instead of trying to recast or ignore it, Straczynski leans into the passage of time.
The anthology is split into two distinct segments. The first features Colonel Elizabeth Lochley, played by Tracy Scoggins. She’s still commanding the station, but she’s dealing with something the show rarely touched: literal demons. Or at least, a man who believes he’s possessed. It’s a supernatural thriller trapped inside a sci-fi shell. It’s weird. It’s polarizing. Some fans hate it because it feels too "Exorcist" and not enough "Earth-Minbari War." But Scoggins sells the hell out of it. She brings a maturity to Lochley that wasn't always there in Season 5.
The second half is where the real meat is. Bruce Boxleitner returns as John Sheridan. He’s older, grayer, and the President of the Interstellar Alliance. He’s traveling to Babylon 5 for a celebration, and on the way, he meets a Technomage named Galen (Peter Woodward).
Galen gives him a choice.
He shows Sheridan a future where a young Centauri prince—the son of Vir Cotto—grows up to become a genocidal dictator who destroys Earth. Sheridan has to decide if he should kill an innocent boy now to save billions later. It’s classic Babylon 5. It’s a moral quagmire. It’s the kind of philosophical weight that made the show famous in the first place.
Why the Reviews Were So Mixed
If you look at the Rotten Tomatoes audience scores or old forum posts from The B5 Books era, the reaction was all over the place. People wanted a space battle. They got two actors talking in a room for forty minutes.
✨ Don't miss: Cast of Troubled Youth Television Show: Where They Are in 2026
That’s the catch.
Babylon 5: The Lost Tales isn't an action movie. It’s a stage play with lasers. If you go into it expecting the Battle of Line, you’re going to be bored out of your mind. But if you go into it wanting to hear Sheridan ruminate on the burden of leadership, it’s gold.
The dialogue is sharp.
"The soul is a very small thing, easily lost," Galen tells Sheridan.
It’s that kind of writing that reminds you why Straczynski won two Hugo Awards. He doesn't write like a TV writer; he writes like a novelist who accidentally wandered onto a film set.
The Technical Legacy
Despite its flaws, The Lost Tales did something important. It was a testbed for the "all-digital" workflow that would eventually become standard in shows like The Mandalorian. Obviously, the tech wasn't there yet in 2007. The lighting doesn't always match the actors. The shadows look a bit "floaty." But the ambition was there.
The score, composed by Christopher Franke, is arguably some of his best work. He took the grand, orchestral themes of the later seasons and stripped them down into something more intimate and eerie. It fits the title. These are lost tales. They are supposed to feel like forgotten memories.
The Death of the Series
Why didn't we get more?
Simple: Money.
Straczynski has been very vocal about the "creative accounting" at Warner Bros. He stated that the studio wanted to keep the budget for the next installment exactly the same, despite the first one performing well in sales. He felt that to do justice to characters like Garibaldi or Londo Mollari, he needed more resources. He didn't want to keep making "talking head" stories if he couldn't show the scope of their worlds.
🔗 Read more: Cast of Buddy 2024: What Most People Get Wrong
So, he walked away.
For years, this was the last live-action Babylon 5 content we had. It wasn't until the recent animated movie The Road Home that we saw these characters again. Looking back, The Lost Tales feels like a bridge. It’s the transition from the 90s era of practical sets and grainy film to the high-definition, CGI-heavy world of modern streaming.
Is It Worth Watching Now?
If you’re a completionist, yes. Absolutely.
You can find it on various streaming platforms or pick up the DVD for a few bucks.
Don't expect a masterpiece.
Expect a conversation.
The Lochley segment is a bit of a slog if you aren't into religious horror, but the Sheridan/Galen segment is essential viewing. It provides a massive piece of world-building regarding the future of the Centauri Republic and Earth’s place in the galaxy. It also serves as a beautiful tribute to the actors who weren't there.
There’s a quiet moment where Sheridan looks out a window, reflecting on those who have moved on "beyond the rim." It wasn't just Sheridan talking; it was Bruce Boxleitner and Joe Straczynski mourning their friends. You can't fake that kind of sincerity.
How to Properly Experience The Lost Tales Today
To get the most out of this specific entry in the B5 mythos, you have to approach it with the right mindset. It is an artifact of a very specific time in television history.
- Watch it after Season 5: Do not jump into this if you haven't finished the main series. The emotional weight of Sheridan’s decision relies entirely on your knowledge of his history with the Centauri and the shadows.
- Adjust your visual expectations: This was shot in 1080p during the early days of HD digital cameras. It has a "crisp but sterile" look. It’s okay to let your eyes adjust to the green-screen backgrounds; eventually, the performances take over.
- Listen to the commentary: If you have the physical disc, Straczynski’s commentary is a masterclass in independent filmmaking. He explains exactly how they cheated the budget and where the ideas for the "demons" came from (hint: it involves a lot of research into Catholic theology).
- Focus on the themes, not the plot: The plot of the Lochley segment is thin. The theme—about whether we need a physical devil to justify our own bad behavior—is the point.
- Pair it with 'The Road Home': If you’ve seen the 2023 animated film, re-watching The Lost Tales provides a fascinating contrast in how Straczynski views Sheridan’s legacy across different mediums.
The legacy of Babylon 5: The Lost Tales isn't found in its special effects or its sales figures. It’s found in the fact that, even with no money and a skeletal crew, the creator still had something to say about the human condition. It’s messy, it’s weird, and it’s occasionally beautiful. Just like the station itself.