Did you like "Crusade" the B5 spin-off?
- Thread starter Jayson1
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I'm pretty fond of it. I certainly wish it'd had a chance to grow into it's own, and still would be pretty excited for any form of continuation or revival (I think Archer-style 2.5D animation would be a good fit, and it'd help with any necessary recasting with all the time that's passed). Though I am insistent on pretending "Warzone" doesn't exist.
I watched it once about ten years ago or so. I remember enjoying it perfectly well, but I really don't remember anything else about it.
Perhaps new viewers should avoid the network-mandated and controlled episode "War Zone" - it sucked worst.
I loved Crusade. It had a great cast playing great characters, and I'm sure the long-term storyline would have been as good as B5. Also, it really managed to capture that feeling-- a couple of episodes in particular-- of the universe as a mysterious, almost mystical place, like Golden Age SF or the original Star Trek.
I had a lot of stumbling blocks with Crusade (I never liked the Technomages on Babylon 5 and Galen was everything I disliked about them up to the Nth degree) and the X-Files episode was insufferable, but I did like Max Eilerson. I plan to revisit the show at some point so it will be interesting to see how much or how little I've softened on it in the intervening years.
The X-FIles episode will be worst than you remember. I don't recall disliking it as much the first time but it kind of lost me when they didn't even make the aliens resemble Mulder or Scully at all in terms of personality and for some reason they felt the X-FIles all took place in a poorly lit 1940's looking Private Eye movie type of place.
Jason
Jason
I've watched Crusade a few times. Each time I can see bits and pieces of where the series was going, but with so few episodes and the behind the scenes politics, the 13 episodes are a mess and are worst than B5's season 1. Of course B5's season 1 had a lot of stand-alone episodes, as Straczynski had done by design that did include story threads for the future, whereas Crusade was one huge story, and all we got were the beginning threads of that story. Crusade's stories were trying to be interconnected, but failed.
There seems to be no definitive way to order the episodes because of conflicts between story elements and the uniforms changes. I prefer to view in the order defined by the story elements - I can easily ignore the uniforms.
JMS seems to have completely lost interest in Crusade - hence the script book series being abandoned. It's frustrating but what can you do?
I watched it in the order it is in on the DVD set. But the main issue is that we only got the head of the story, and it was cut before you could figure out where the main body was going.There seems to be no definitive way to order the episodes because of conflicts between story elements and the uniforms changes. I prefer to view in the order defined by the story elements - I can easily ignore the uniforms.
JMS seems to have completely lost interest in Crusade - hence the script book series being abandoned. It's frustrating but what can you do?
That's what you get if the network cancels a series with multiple story arcs while it's in production. There have been hints of what was planned for the rest of the first season and a little into the second season. If I recall correctly:
- Dureena returns from a prolonged absence with a sword that has special properties but she has no memory of how she found it. Her desire to learn about and to acquire Technomage abilities estranges her from Galen.
- Bester is located but evades capture. I assume he would cut a deal eventually with the Excalibur crew to assist them in return for his continued freedom.
- A secret Earthforce base where Shadow tech is being researched and developed is located by the Excalibur.
- While investigating this base, Gideon is killed. He is then restored to life by Galen using the apocalypse box.
- A "cure" is found on Earth for the Drakh plague but this cure is morally compromising. I assume something like the healing device shown on B5 is used to treat some at the cost of the lives of others - some combination of convicted criminals, political dissidents, perceived "sexual deviants", the long-term unemployed, the old, the poor, the mentally or physically infirm, religious and racial minorities etc. - basically, Third Reich ethics. This is just my guess though.
- The crew learn that Technomage abilities depend on shadow tech. Such shadow tech is revealed to require the death of sentient, intelligent beings for its creation.
- The Excalibur crew are declared renegade and have to go on the run from Earthforce, while still searching for a real cure. I assume the Interstellar Alliance are neutral toward them and the Rangers provide covert support.
I thought, aside from "In the Beginning," "A Call to Arms" was the best of the TNT TV movies. Competing against "Thirdspace" and "River of Souls," I realize that's damning with faint praise. I recently re-watched it, and it's entertaining, but not great.
When Crusade first aired, I was in a dorm and could watch the first few episodes. Then, I moved into an apartment and I can't remember why, but I never saw the rest of the run. By this time we knew it had been canceled. I did read all I could find about the show and the episodes, so when they finally aired on Sci-Fi, I was prepared for the good, the bad, and the ugly. Therefore, I could enjoy them for what they were and I certainly did at that. Then, JMS released three scripts to a site that was quick to go away. I appreciated the direction the show seemed to be going in, and, years later, when I got the DVD set, I found that I was enjoying the show even more.
I've given up hope for any continuation of Crusade certainly on TV, but also in comics, novels, etc. The best we got is a throwaway line in the Centauri Trilogy by Peter David alluding to the fact that the virus was cured. I don't even think the virus was mentioned in The Lost Tales, even with the inclusion of Galen in one of the stories.
When Crusade first aired, I was in a dorm and could watch the first few episodes. Then, I moved into an apartment and I can't remember why, but I never saw the rest of the run. By this time we knew it had been canceled. I did read all I could find about the show and the episodes, so when they finally aired on Sci-Fi, I was prepared for the good, the bad, and the ugly. Therefore, I could enjoy them for what they were and I certainly did at that. Then, JMS released three scripts to a site that was quick to go away. I appreciated the direction the show seemed to be going in, and, years later, when I got the DVD set, I found that I was enjoying the show even more.
I've given up hope for any continuation of Crusade certainly on TV, but also in comics, novels, etc. The best we got is a throwaway line in the Centauri Trilogy by Peter David alluding to the fact that the virus was cured. I don't even think the virus was mentioned in The Lost Tales, even with the inclusion of Galen in one of the stories.
I really should check Crusade out some time. When I originally watched B5 a few years ago I had planned on doing Crusade too, but ended up getting sidetracked and never watched it.
I've bee thinking about doing a B5 rewatch and if/when I do, this time I'll do Crusade too.
I've bee thinking about doing a B5 rewatch and if/when I do, this time I'll do Crusade too.
I was a bit surprised that JMS didn't use The Lost Tales to give at least some kind of closure to Crusade. I have to wonder if the first DVD had been successful enough for the series to continue if a future one might have been a conclusion for Crusade, or if he would have at least found a way to give some kind of closure to it in a story focused on B5 characters.
Agree. CRUSADE was a reboot of STAR BLAZERS:QUEST FOR ISCANDAR. A prototype starship Excalibur like the Argo would fire it's massive main weapon like the Argo's Wave-motion gun etc and their mission to get the "cure" for Earth's crisis.
As I said, I found that going in knowing it has issues helps. It's certainly not a perfect show, but there's enough good there to make it enjoyable if you're in the right mindset.
If you can stand (or even better, are like me and enjoy) Peter Woodward's overacting as Galen, then the episode "The Long Road" will be a treat as not only do you get him in all his glory, you get his father, Edward Woodward, too!
There's always the hope for that. He did use Galen in one of the stories. I can only imagine it was a matter of struggling to get whoever was available, too. Daniel Dae Kim was still on Lost at that point, for example.
I can remember someone posting when the news broke about Crusade that it was Star Blazers with the serial numbers filed off.
I suspect that Peter Woodward was asked to play Galen in the manner of Nicol Williamson as Merlin in John Boorman's Excalibur.
I liked the actual original entertainment property JMS ripped his 'Crusade' story line off from wholesale - AKA the Japanese Anime "Space Battleship Yamato" (Hell the Excalibur starship even had it's own Wave Motion Gun, with the exact same issues of the weapon from SBY).
And the Japanese recently did an excellent update to the series with Space Battleship Yamato: 2199 and
Space Battleship Yamato: 2202:
https://www.funimation.com/shows/star-blazers/
^^^
Both available in the U.S. via streaming and soon on Blu-Ray in English Dub or Subtitled formats.
And the Japanese recently did an excellent update to the series with Space Battleship Yamato: 2199 and
Space Battleship Yamato: 2202:
https://www.funimation.com/shows/star-blazers/
^^^
Both available in the U.S. via streaming and soon on Blu-Ray in English Dub or Subtitled formats.
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