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CRUSADE
thirteen episodes, and I want more

[ Home | The Arc, Season by Season | Crusade ]

What it is At the end of "A Call to Arms" last January, the Drakh release a plague on Earth. It will kill every living thing on the planet in five years unless somebody finds a cure. Crusade is the story of the ship sent out to look for one: the Excalibur, a prototype built from Minbari and Vorlon technology, going anywhere and digging up anything that might help. It's set in 2267, and it was planned as another long story, told over several seasons. The crew: Capt. Matthew Gideon Gary Cole. A captain with a past and a strange box in his quarters. Lt. John Matheson Daniel Dae Kim. First officer, and a telepath in the uniform. That alone tells you how much changed after season five. Max Eilerson David Allen Brooks. An archaeologist and linguist who's in it for the money. My favorite. Galen Peter Woodward. A technomage. Says less than Kosh, if that's possible. Dr. Sarah Chambers Marjean Holden. The one who actually has to find the cure. Dureena Nafeel Carrie Dobro. A thief whose whole world was wiped out by the Drakh. And Captain Lochley from season five drops in, which was nice to see.

What happened TNT premiered Crusade on June 9, but production had already stopped before the first episode aired, after thirteen episodes were finished. From what JMS has said publicly, the network wanted changes to the show, and the two sides couldn't agree. So we got thirteen episodes and no more, and all thirteen have aired now. TNT also didn't show them in the order they were meant to go. If you taped them, it's worth the trouble to put them back in story order before you watch them again. The fan sites have the proper order posted, and it makes a real difference to Gideon's story.

What I liked I'll be honest: it isn't Babylon 5 yet. It took B5 a season to find its feet too. But Gary Cole is good, Max and Galen are great, and the Excalibur is the best-looking ship in the whole universe. The questions it sets up (what's in Gideon's box, who Galen answers to, what the Drakh plague really is) are exactly the kind of long questions that make this universe worth watching. I want the answers. That's the whole reason for this page.

What I'm hoping for There's talk on the newsgroup that the Sci-Fi Channel might pick the show up. Nobody knows anything for certain, and I'm not going to pass on rumors as facts. But the one thing that has ever saved this universe is fans who spoke up. Babylon 5 almost didn't get a fifth season and it got one. What you can do: Write a short, polite letter or e-mail to the Sci-Fi Channel saying you'd watch Crusade. One page. Say which episodes you liked. Paper letters seem to count more than e-mail. If TNT reruns it, watch it. Numbers still matter. Don't flame anybody. Not TNT, not the Sci-Fi Channel, not the guy on the newsgroup who hated it. Angry fans are easy to ignore. Polite ones who show up in the thousands aren't. I'll update this page the day I hear anything real.

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This page last revised September 19, 1999.