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In talking about Crusade, one must first recognize the fact that we are talking about a series that was cut short before it even aired. Only 13 episodes were produced of the show and of those 13 a handful do not do the series or its predecessor, Babylon 5 justice. True to form J. Michael Stracynski (hereby referred to as "JMS") set about to tell us a story, albeit one not as tightly plotted as Babylon 5 or as driven by multiple story arcs, but a story nonetheless. A story meant to further the Babylon 5 universe, but a story that was cut short. Captain Matthew Gideon is perhaps the most flawed. He's a gambler, he doesn't take anything from anyone, he's angry over the loss of a ship he served on, but most of all he's determined. For all that though, he's not one to jump into things head on, he more prefers to have an ace up his sleeve. That `ace' being, at least some of the time, his mysterious `Apocolypse Box,' which started sowing seeds of doubt. There is Dureena, the thief with a code of honor. Dureena is trustworthier than Eilerson, despite her background. She does provide the important role of being the one person who can pick locks, sneak in and out of places, and search alien worlds for the cure. And don't forget Galen, who is the most interesting. He's a Technomage, which means he uses science and technology to simulate magic. That means he's the one with the ability to save the crew and spy on them when needed. He rescued Gideon 10 years in the past, when his ship was destroyed and now cares for him as if Gideon were a stray cat he took in and yet more times than not, it seems he needs Gideon more than Gideon needs him. It's a shame all this potential was left in the limbo good shows go when they are taken off the air. Even more so when you learn how the first season was to end. Without spoiling things (in the case of some miracle resurrecting the series), it seems that a lot more people than we thought are using the Shadow tech that the virus is based on. President Clark's Shadow enhanced ships in `Between the Darkness and the Light' was just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, it's a lot more recent use of Shadow technology than another group in the Babylon 5 universe that bases what they do on that same technology. The former group, at the end of the season though, was willing to protect their secret use of the Shadow tech at any cost. For now though, we are left with 13 episodes, most of which do make for good television as stand-alone episodes. And yet, they could have been so much more...Read full review
This is a spin off of the Babylon 5 TV series. However, you don’t really need any knowledge of the Babylon 5 series to enjoy it. To best understand this series, watch the prequel movie "A Call to Arms" first. An alien species has infected Earth with a deadly virus. If a cure isn’t found, everyone on Earth will be dead within five years with only the few humans who were on other planets, battleships or space stations at the time of infection being whose left of humanity. The new proto-type battleship “Excalibur” with Captain Mathew Gideon’s (Gary Cole) goal is to explore other species and sources for a possible cure. They are to go anywhere and do whatever it takes to succeed in that goal. It is too bad this series was cut short. It was interesting and Gary Cole made a great lead actor—not your typical stuffy military-type at all. He cheats, he lies, he speaks his mind regardless of rank, and he breaks the rules--but always for the right reasons. The worst part is that the series just stops mid-stream/mid-season. They should have finished out the season and found a way to wrap things up. So what if it was only a one-year series? At least the viewers wouldn’t have been left just hanging with no conclusions or closures. They talk about fan/viewer loyalty—how about reciprocating some of that loyalty to the viewers??? Don’t get us hooked just to slam the door in our faces!! I liked the series very much and would have liked to see it continued.Read full review
A Spin-off of Babylon 5 from the genius of J. Michael Straczynski. Be sure to watch the B5 TV movie "A Call To Arms" first as it is a prelude to Crusade… Well, let’s admit it… It’s not Babylon 5! But to be fair, I saw a marked improvement between the first few and last few episodes… If it had lasted a bit longer, it might have found itself a viewing audience. What I found most peculiar was how little background or mood setting music there was… Always an influential factor in a viewing experience. Also, the 13 episode run was comprised of stand alone stories, rather then the habitual story arc pattern established on B5 but Straczynski mentions in the extras that it would have evolved into a story arc based show given time. Still, for fans and collectors of B5, this box set might is worth a look… Of course you can get it for a reasonable price on Ebay and that’s a further incentive to adding it to ones collection.Read full review
I greatly enjoyed & revered Babylon 5 which I watched & taped when it originally aired. But this series which was supposed to be another 5 year extravaganza by B5's creator slipped by me back then unnoticed & bit the dust after a mere 13 episodes apparently due to creative disagreements between TNT & Joe Michael Straczynski. I just finished watching it last night & it's lamentably perhaps the most criminally premature ending series of the last 2+ decades because it was great with incredible CGI visuals & effects & a very interesting & diverse cast. Buy it & watch it & weep for what could have been that's somewhat revealed by J.M.S. in a bonus commentary of 1 episode & interview!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Although is not a mesmerizing as Babylon 5, Crusade had all the elements needed fro success. This series suffered the same illment as Joss Whedon's Firefly, all episodes aired but not in the order they were meant to which may have led to a confusing beginning. The introduction to the ways of thinking of the technomages and the not depending on the older races was a key point, for me to the plot of the series. To be able to see things, areas in the B5 universe not explored was the real point of it. Still, if you like B5 give Crusade a chance.
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