Crusade
From The Great Machine
The first spinoff series of Babylon 5 (Lurkers' Guide entry) ran on TNT for thirteen episodes, having been set up by the TV-movie A Call to Arms.
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[edit] Summary
After the Drakh struck Earth with a Biogenetic Plague on the ISA's 5th year anniversary, Captain Gideon and his crew set out on a mission to find a cure.
[edit] Cast
- Matthew Gideon, Captain of the Excalibur. Played by Gary Cole.
- Galen, the Technomage. Played by Peter Woodward.
- Dureena Nafeel, the thief. Played by Carrie Dobro.
- Max Eilerson, Researcher for Interplanetary Expeditions. Played by David Allen Brooks.
- Lt. John Matheson, XO of the Excalibur. Played by Daniel Dae Kim.
- Dr. Sarah Chambers, Chief Medical Officer. Played by Marjean Holden.
[edit] Cancellation
Creative differences between Straczynski and TNT caused problems; the network wanted more sex and violence (AICN) and forced Straczynski to begin the first episode with a fistfight. The sex-and-violence request was later withdrawn and TNT in fact allocated more money to Crusade, giving the actors better uniforms and new sets mid-season, but due to the creative differences TNT eventually decided to cancel the series after thirteen episodes had been produced, but before any of them were aired. No major story arcs had yet come into play, except for hints concerning the "apocalypse box," perhaps.
[edit] Notes
[edit] Plots and Story Arc
From comments by JMS on the rec.arts.babylon5.moderated newsgroup, it would appear that the Drakh plague was not nearly as critical a plotline as it would seem. A cure was likely to have been found in or around the second season, but in doing so, a far more sinister plot would be revealed, potentially involving Earth/Shadow hybrids and the research that went into making them.
[edit] Trivia
The production team received help from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to make sure that the series depicted science and technology accurately (JPL press release).
