The Lurker's Guide's order having the movie "In the Beginning" first is controversial and not something I'd personally recommend. It spoils one of the major story arcs of the first two seasons.
I just reread the summary of “In The Beginning” and you’re absolutely correct. Do not watch this pilot first!
I don’t know why the Lurker’s Guide (or JMS) recommend watching it first. I rewatched Babylon 5 recently and I’m glad I watched “In The Beginning” last.
>I just reread the summary of “In The Beginning” and you’re absolutely correct. Do not watch this pilot first!
You are absolutely correct that "In the Beginning" has all kinds of spoilers, and shouldn't be watched.
Because "In the Beginning"[0] is not a pilot. It was a TV movie made to introduce the series to TNT viewers and broadcast just before they started airing Season 5.
"The Gathering"[1] is the only Babylon 5 pilot (with "A Call to Arms"[2] as the introduction for Crusade[3], and "To Live and Die in Starlight"[4] was the pilot for the never-made "Legend of the Rangers"[5])
The main reason to watch "In the Beginning" first IMO is that Season 1 is mostly world-building that doesn't start paying off until the very last episode of Season 1 and then into Season 2. If you're showing it to someone you think may not stick through the entire first season otherwise, watching ItB first demonstrates that this story really is going somewhere interesting and worth your time.
Their rearrangement of the TV episodes is fine.