Customer Reviews

Crusade: The Complete Series

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Crusade was a well casted series with the potential for a great future.

It started slow like B5 without a lot of definition to the story arc, and the special effects were not all that at times... but the show had already developed a community feel to the well drawn characters, and as usual the dialog was top notch per jms standards.

After the cancellation jms eventually laid out what would've been the future of the story arc, and I gotta say that with this cast this is one story I would've loved to seen come to fruition.

As for the reference in the following review that the show was cancelled due to lack of popularity, this does not appear to be the case at all.

According to jms (and granted its a biased source, but he's not one to modify the facts), TNT just decided the show didn't fit into their type of programming. Audiences were tuning in for that show only, and not staying. So they tried to mess with the show and then eventually pulled the plug. And because they don't didn't want to look stupid if the show were a success elsewhere, they wouldn't let the rights go for any reasonable sum of money.

Crusade was a good show with great potential and a good cast. The show grew on me with repeated viewings. Not to be missed - especially by B5 fans.

Crusade had the perfect cast, the perfect creator and primary writer (J. Michael Strazynski), wonderful characters, beautiful music, and it was killed before a single episode was aired. I admire the creator of the series and loathe those who killed it.

If you have seen any of Babylon 5 or the special movies made for TV related to Babylon 5, you know the quality of production and writing potential Crusade had going for it. Crusade was to be another arc of an unfolding story from JMS within the Babylon 5 universe. In the precious 13 episodes that were completed the viewer gets only a small look at what might have been. The Babylon 5 TV Movie "A Call to Arms" was the lead in, not really a pilot, but a way of setting the stage for Crusade with some characters from both series.

If there is justice in the universe, JMS will one day be permitted to make Crusade as he envisioned it. Then the rest of us will watch it, and later when it is available, we will purchase it.

Crusade was to put it shortly a screw up from day one. The problem was not with the creator, cast, central idea, stories or potential for it to last 5 seasons which was the plan all of which were excellent. As other reviewers have stated if this had gone all the way I am sure it would proudly have stood alongside Babylon 5. Instead some cretinous short sited moronic powers that be tried to put pressure on JMS to turn this into Baywatch in space. He quite rightly pulled the plug rather than watch the show degenerate into something it was not meant to be. Over the course of the 13 episodes we were only given tantalising glimpses of what could have been. Gary Cole in particular was excellent as the mercurial Matthew Gideon. I knew he was absolutely right for the role as he brought that essential blend of authority, and humour while being of-kilter at the same time. The rest of the cast over the 13 episodes showed signs of settling well into their characters. The search for the cure to the Drakh plague was only the beginning of the story and was due to take in the long term consequences of shadow Technology not just the virus. Buy this set and wonder what would have come next. I personally imagine that Gideon would have found the cure and at the end married Captain Lochley. One can only hope that the story mght be finished in some way at some time but in the meantime I will make up my own ending. Buy this set and dream. Peace. Out.

To this day, people think that these 13 random episodes were made in some kind of specific order, including a finale. In fact, there were supposed to be other episodes in-between. That's why the show is so rough. Episodes meant to flesh out the characters and storyline including the uniform color changes were never filmed. Unreleased scripts gave us a brief glimpse of what was to come. The production team even re-dubbed a line or two when JMS shifted what he had around to make some kind of sense for TNT's *limited series*. "I Dream Of Home" was the best he could do to make some kind of closure. The real reason for TNT-Atlanta's interference was after their five year audience study they found out that B5 did not bring in more viewers while their core audience left when B5 came on. So to get out of it's contract so it could use the money to buy another program TNT-Atlanta started making all kinds of unreasonable demands. JMS said he will discuss this in the commentary. It should also be noted that TNT-LA had always been supportive of JMS but it was TNT-Atlanta that had the final say. Also, there was NO FINALE made. The show was dead months before it aired. Some people continue to review this thing like it was cancelled AFTER broadcast. Anyway, by buying the DVDs you send a message to WB that you want more B5. That's how all these DVDs got released in the first place. We bought that cheapy Gathering/In The Beginning DVD. Lastly, as others have noted, our buying the DVDs has resulted in new B5 stuff on the way, including maybe something to do with the Crusade storylines.

In 1999, the creator of the sci-fi TV series "Babylon 5", J. Michael Straczynski, produced a 2-hour made-for-TV film entitled "Babylon 5: A Call To Arms". The premise of "Babylon 5: A Call To Arms" was that several years following the Shadow War, which was part of the plot of the original "Babylon 5" TV series (1994-1998), allies of the departed Shadow race decide to avenge the destruction of the Shadow home world known as Z'ha'dum (pronounced Za'hadoom). Captain Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) becomes aware that Earth is threatened by an imminent attack from the former Shadow allies lead by the reptilian race known as the Drakh, who intend to use a powerful Shadow "planet-killer" to destroy Earth. Captain Sheridan gathers what forces he can to defend Earth, including the use of two prototype warships that utilize Vorlon technology. One of the prototype warships is destroyed during the attack upon the "planet-killer" above Earth, but the Drakh resort to a biological weapon instead that unleashes a deadly virus upon the entire population of Earth. With few people not infected, Earth decides to use its only remaining Vorlon-inspired warship, named Excalibur, to search for a cure before the virus completely destroys all life on Earth within 5 years. Hence, the short-lived TV series "Crusade" was born in 1999, with the intent of being a 5-year long series about the Excalibur crew's search for the cure. Unfortunately, creative conflicts between TNT (that TV channel that originally aired the series) and J. Michael Straczynski lead to show's premature cancellation after only 13 episodes. Also, no other channel had the opportunity of picking up the series in spite of the fact that scripts for three more episodes had been written, but were never filmed.

Starring in the "Crusade" were Gary Cole as Captain Matthew Gideon, Daniel Dae Kim as John Matheson, David Allen Brooks as Max Eilerson, Peter Woodward as the techno-mage Galen, Marjean Holden as Dr. Sarah Chambers and Carrie Dobro as the alien Dureena Nafeel, who was the only cast member from "Babylon 5: A Call To Arms" to have a regular role in "Crusade". Sadly, with only 13 episodes, "Crusade" never really had the opportunity to develop into a show of the same caliber as the original "Babylon 5". However, the same wonderful special effects and character development did have a chance to take shape, especially with the mysterious techno-mage Galen. In order, the 13 hour-long episodes and their original airdates on TNT were as follows:

1. "War Zone" (6/9/1999)
2. "The Long Road" (6/16/1999)
3. "The Well of Forever" (6/23/1999)
4. "The Path of Sorrows" (6/30/1999)
5. "Patterns of the Soul" (7/7/1999)
6. "Ruling from the Tomb" (7/14/1999)
7. "The Rules of the Game" (7/21/1999)
8. "Appearances and Other Deceits" (7/28/1999)
9. "Racing the Night" (8/4/1999)
10. "The Memory of War" (8/11/1999)
11. "The Needs of Earth" (8/18/1999)
12. "Visitors from Down the Street" (8/25/1999)
13. "Each Night I Dream of Home" (9/1/1999)

Of these 13 episodes, the best were "The Path of Sorrows", "Racing the Night", "The Memory of War" and "Visitors from Down the Street". Overall, I rate the short-lived sci-fi TV series "Crusade" with 5 out of 5 stars. It is truly sad that these 13 episodes are all that exist for what could have been a truly wonderful 5-year TV series.

Much has been made of the concept that this show isn't as good as Babylon 5, and it's true, but I found to my surprise that every time I see Crusade I like it a bit more. There weren't enough episodes for the actors to convey a full sense of their characters, but with such strong characters it starts to come through pretty early anyway, and these people are, by and large, very likeable, and the actors are very talented. The effects are good. The music leaves something to be desired, but I can ignore that pretty easily.

One thing that I found helped me a lot in understanding the show is to know that the author intended the episodes to be shown in a specific order, but then the station paying for them insisted that they be re-ordered and that a new pilot episode be created. Because of this, characters occasionally refer to something that hasn't happened yet, and character development seems weird because it no longer progresses in the intended sequence. If you search the web, you can find out what the *intended* episode order was, and some swapping around of discs would allow you to watch them in that order.

Everything I know about "Crusade" indicates that it would have grown up into a TV show nearly as spectacular and flawless as B5. Everything I've read about JMS's plans, everything I know about the cast, and everything that's laid out in these first few episodes points to that inescapable conclusion.

This show was gonna be good.

However... it wasn't good. It didn't have a chance to get good. The cast and crew hadn't quite worked out the kinks yet. The writers hadn't found their groove. The CG effects weren't *quite* where they needed to be to do landscapes. The musical scores overreached. The costuming... sigh. In short, this half-season of TV was pretty bad.

Hold your horses, though. Let me repeat: It was *going* to get good. Every scene, mediocre, bad, or funny, all seemed to say, "Just wait 'til the end of the season when we're going full-steam. We'll knock your socks off."

But the TV executives, short-sighted as they were, killed the show before it got revved up. Then they added insult to injury by packaging these few episodes in a weak set, skimping on features, and overpricing it.

My advice? If you don't already love "Crusade," don't buy it. I firmly believe that it could have become a great show, but there is no greatness evidenced in these episodes, this box set, or this price. Go watch B5 instead. At least *those* overpriced sets are worth their weight in gold.

I fondly recall my days from college when I and a couple good friends would gather to watch Babylon 5 (B5) as it meandered to more and more obscure timeslots. I remember cruising the nets (mostly bb service back then) for news and tidbits from JMS, the creator of both series. I remember "BAM" episodes versus story-developing episodes. To say that I'm a B5 fan is a huge understatement.

I mention all this to provide context for this review. It's not necessarily a good thing for a reviewer of a spin-off to simultaneously be a fan of the original series, as expectations will generally be higher than for the general audience. Nevertheless, here I am.

B5 was a true space epic encompassing many overriding plotlines, conspiracies, nuances of character, and psychosocial conundrums. Crusade has all of these, in their infancy. We note the barest glint of the underlying arc. We see the characters developing more than one-dimension. Sometimes series are cut short when fans know that they could have been great. With Crusade, it was cut too early to even figure that out. To paraphrase the increasingly ridiculous Mr. Rumsfeld, Crusade is an "unknown unknown." To newcomers, this may be irrevelant, but to fans it is unbearable. Anyone who remembers the first time they saw the finale for B5 season three probably also thinks that JMS would have pulled another thriller episode (or 20) out for us.

Crusade, as it is, is not great. The stories seem unconnected, the characters transparent, the plotlines predictable. Yet most episodes still entertained. My criticisms are mostly meant for the "arc" structure of the series, or lack of it. Again, this is probably due to the amputation of the series and not from lack of planning. If enjoyed with an "episode" rather than an "arc" frame of mind, one will not be disappointed.

To summarize, for fans a mixed bag: familiar occasional forays into corny humor, beginnings of deep characterization, hints of underlying plot, and some familiar characters. For newcomers: some episodes with excellent action sequences, mystery aplenty, psychological/spiritual dilemmas, and likeable characters (JMS trademark).

If you are new and bored and mildly interested, pick it up, watch it, and forget it.
If you are new and bored and very interested, I seriously recommend picking up the complete B5 series plus movie set before watching this.
If you are a fan of B5, c'mon guys, resistance is futile, so stop mucking around and buy this, for completeness' sake!

Not great, but could (and probably would) have been. Not unmissable, but a shame for any true fan to miss.

Faith manages.

Crusade's production was launched almost immediately after the conclusion of the Babylon 5 series. The made-for-TV movie A Call to Arms was a bridge between the two series.

The setup: The Shadows have left the galaxy, the Clark regime has been taken out and the Telepath War is over. Earth Alliance and the Interstellar Alliance, now seemingly getting a chance to breathe, are attacked by the Drakh, a species the Shadows used as servants. The Drakh have Shadow technology, giving them an edge in their war against those that drove their masters from the known galaxy. The Alliance defeats them in a battle above Earth, but in a final act of spite, the Drakh dispense a plague into Earth's atmosphere. Scientists estimate that Earth's population has five years to live. Mathew Gideon, a young Earth Alliance officer, is chosen to command the Excalibur -- a brand new starship fusing human, Minbari and Vorlon technology -- and sent to find a cure out among the stars. Along the way, he will clash with the Drakh and his own government and he will constantly be shadowed by a mysterious techno-mage, Galen.

Crusade was a good show with the potential to be great. What a lot of people don't know is that the cure would have been found within two seasons, and the show would have moved on to deeper, darker issues, if one can imagine something darker than Earth's population dying off.

It is incredulous to suggest that the music killed this show, as the reaction was truly a mixed bag, and it took nothing away from the character interactions. Just the same, visits to Babylon 5 and Earth did not kill the show, as the show really wasn't about the plague. As mentioned before, it would have been cured pretty quickly. What killed the show was that fact that TNT execs did not like the numbers it was doing, despite their refusal to give it a decent time slot, among other things. JMS will reveal everything in a tell-all interview included in the DVD set. His comments are so controversial that WB Home Video was wary about letting them go on the DVD. JMS demanded that they be included.

Look for a possible mention of JMS' latest Babylon 5 project, The Memory of Shadows, on the set.

Crusade is often compared to the cult anime show Star Blazers, the first season of which featured a sickened Earth and a spaceship called the Argo sent to pick up a cure from a distant planet.

There may be three or four of you who didn't watch all of Babylon 5, and so don't understand all the mysterious aliens so wonderfully set forth in this unique universe. Forthwith, a primer:

Earth Alliance: military forces of a sometimes uneasy "one world" government, an interesting blend of Army, Navy, and Air Force drawing from all nations (and, interestingly, from colonies like Mars, Io, and others). Basically, us Humans.

Minbari: mysterious elder race that nearly wiped out the human race before discovering we are the "other half" of their souls. Together, the two races kicked the ancient races out of the galaxy and formed the Interstellar Alliance from the former League of Nonaligned Worlds. Empire building ensues.

Rangers: part Minbari, part Human (and soon from other IA races) elite forces. They don't create the peace, they just help enforce it. They go where no one else will; when they guard the bridge, none shall pass -- you get the idea.

Vorlons: mysterious elder race (hmm, sounds vaguely familiar) that acted as a guide for the younger races until we basically outgrew their help. They're big into Order. Thousands of years more advanced than us, their technology is the only real bulwark against the Shadows.

Shadows: mysterious elder race (sheesh) that are agents of Chaos. After a climactic battle, they leave our galaxy along with the Vorlons and the remaining First Ones (mysterious elder--oh, never mind), leaving their former servants in the lurch, holding some really nasty leftover technology.

Drakh: former thralls of the Shadows, they learned well at the (insectoid) knees of their former masters. After causing some serious trouble at the outskirts of the IA, they come after Earth to settle the score. After their leftover Shadow toy fails, they dump a biogenetic plague on Earth on the way out. Hey, not fair!

Vastly over-simplified, that's the universe Crusade happens in. The Excalibur, only surviving prototype of a new melding of Human, Minbari, and Vorlon technologies, is turned into a research and exploration vessel, and sent off to find a cure with the help of the Rangers. We get a Captain who's an inveterate gambler (in more than one sense), a telepathic first officer, a Techno-Mage (one who uses technology to simulate magic), an eccentric, asocial genius (have to have one of those), a noble doctor bravely searching for the cure, an alien Thief (supposedly the last survivor of another race destroyed by the Drakh -- or is she?), and other characters you'll love.

Others have waxed eloquest about the bottom-feeding mouth-breathers at TNT and their moral/ethical shortcomings (beyond recto-cranial inversion -- child molesters look down upon these bozos), so I won't waste your time further. If you loved B5 and feel the need to pick up every piece of video ever produced in that universe, this would be a wonderful purchase. If you never got the chance to see it on TNT (I haven't been back on that channel since the departure of B5), and missed it on the Sci-Fi Channel, this would be a convenient way to pick up the whole shooting match at once. Overlooking the bizarre changes in costuming, the sometimes uneven effects, and the simple fact there were only 13 shows made, this show could be a primer on how to do thought-provoking drama while telling a thumping good story at the same time. Recommended at the price.