Is Crusade better than Babylon 5?

[Majestic]

In the DVD & Video Guide 2006 edition by Mick Martin and Marsha Porter, Crusade is a new entry and they actually gave it the full five stars which is one more than the four stars they gave for Babylon 5. This is what they wrote:
"Crusade (TV Series) ***** Following the Shadow War, Earth is contaminated by a plague that will, scientists estimate, take five years to adjust to human biology and wipe out all civilization on the planet. Thus, it's up to Captain Matthew Gideon and the crew of Excalibur (an experimental ship combining Earth and alien technology) to roam the stars in search of a cure. This sequel to Babylon 5 may only consist of 13 episodes (as a result of a TV network's failure to see its potential), yet it is as good as its predecessor. We suggest you watch Babylon 5: A Call to Arms first and then view the series in the order intended by creator J. Michael Straczynski, not as packaged (in the sequence aired on TV). Begin with episode 9, then continue with 11, 10, 2. 12, 3, 13, 5, 4, 6, 7,1, and 8. We tried it, and the series is much richer as its writers intended."

I only seen Crusade when it was on TV years ago but one day I am going to have to watch it again this time in JMS's intended order.

I remember looking through a magazine in a review which says something like that if JMS was having another success after Babylon 5, Crusade was not it. This was in regards to the quality of Crusade and not how long it lasted. When I watched Crusade on television I did not think it was bad at all but the five star rating given by Martin and Porter in their review was definitely a surprise for me.

So does anyone here think that Crusade is better than Babylon 5?

I pefer Babylon 5 actually, but Crusade didn't get given a chance to get its grounding. Another good series cut short because of the networks.

 

[Masterjon911]

I like babylon 5 better i think they gave the victory class too much power.

 

[F-Bobby]

crusade had EXCELLENT potential. it was a series that had great potential.

 

[Kosh Naranek]

Personally, I liked both series and all the movies equally.

IMHO, the Victory was pretty low end for what was, essentially, Crusade's version of the Enterprise. It was also quite effective the way they showed the bugs the ship had in the movie that introduced the class.

It may be classed as an advanced heavy destroyer, but, IMHO, its the equivilant of, perhaps, a Soverign(sp?) from ST (not the SW one) in mission profile.

 

[Modigar]

B5, but who knows what else crusade had in store for us if it was given more seasons

 

[Cylon]

ive been meaning to watch crusade it sounds quite good

 

[Muad'Dib]

In my opinion you can't really compare the two, if simply because Crusade didn't even get a full season, a mere 13 episodes is all it was given. The series was axed by TNT before the first episode even aired. Comparing that to the full five seasons of B5 is just not fair in my view, Crusade barely had enough time to find its legs.

That said, if I were to compare B5 Season 1 with Crusade's season 1, I think Crusade had a superior build up to wherever they were heading; so in that sense, I think Crusade was better. It took a while for B5 to really get its machine rolling, I think Crusade would have had very much the same course.

Sure I missed Ivanova in Season 5, but Lochley turned out to be a fine stand in, in spite my skepticism and she sure was easy on the eyes. I loved her in Crusade and her working romance with Gideon. Gideon was the Sisko to Sheridan's Picard, though I admit Sheridan was more of a Kirk/Picard hybrid. Still Gideon was awesome, Galen was one of the most intriguing characters from the entire B5 universe, Matheson was a good No. 1, and Dureena was always a pleasure to watch.

With Crusade episodes like The Well of Forever, Path of Sorrows, Racing the Night, and Each Night I Dream of Home were B5 at its best. I was extremely P.O. JMS didn't use the sci-fi channel movie opportunity to make a 2 hour finale to Crusade and instead made Legend of the Rangers.

I suppose I consider Crusade an extension to B5, so I don't really judge it as a different show so I can't truthfully say I like one over the other. But man would I have loved to have the full 5 seasons of Crusade.

 

[Majestic]

But man would I have loved to have the full 5 seasons of Crusade.

As would I.

 

[Modigar]

As would I, I would like to know where they were going with Galen and the apocolypse box , I love mysterys.

 

[Creed]

one phrase... techno-mages

you may as well have flushed the whole series right then and there.
The idea was a pointless gesticulation towards a fraction of the market at the cost of the show's integrity.

One of the strengths of B5 was the dark realism of the science fiction, with junk like them there the follow up show could never really rise above the level of a sad-gimmick.

 

[Atlantis]

If you think that, then my advice is to read the scripts/synopses of the three cancelled final episodes of Series 1... the Technomage thing is really well explained in the series finale, and would be a very good episode.

 

[Paulhanselluk]

crusade just seemed lost to me, the story only seemed to have a very loose structure (at best), and the crew felt like a ship full Neelix!!!!, Iam holding hope for more lost tales.....

 

[Creed]

Atlantis: I've looked for something to compare it with to illustrate my point but frankly it's near impossible, very few people would be that daft.
The closest i could get was somewhere between jaja binks and Anakin's flying ability in Ep1.; an action deliberately aimed to target market sectors and crowbared into a genre that it really had no business in

For all the explanations, no matter how well they tried to explain away the presence of such junk the basic fact was still there.. they were 'magic' users in a hard sci fi genre.

you can dress them up as being technoloigicla instead, but if that was the sole intention why nbother with the mystic babble.

flat they were an attempt to appeal to the sort of egotistical twits that like the idea of being all 'knowing smug gits with powers beyond mortal ken.' (tm)
people who would like to say.. 'look at me I'm better than you'

There are more than enough of such shallow idiots in real life without seeing them in a show that was supposed to be about dark gritty science fiction.

 

[Atlantis]

Have you read the synopsis of the episodes then? Don't judge it without knowing.

Anyway, they were in Babylon 5 too, not just Crusade, so don't put Crusade down about it. JMS put them in B5 himself, it was not pandering to the market sectors.

 

[WrathofSpanky]

I did love the darkness of B5. I think it was that more than anything else that made it what it was. It was a contrast between light and darkness. But it effectively transferred the cold hard and often cruel truths of real life to a fantasy world of the future. Its like saying "In the distant future are great wonders and spectacular achievements BUT....

I view Crusade as an OK extension of Babylon 5 but not a truly individual move. The whole technomage thing did seem a bit much to me. I think that by showing them too much their "magic" was lessened. They are better kept as a mystery with small showings her and perhaps there but not as a main theme for an extended storyline.

With the sad deaths of Biggs and Katsulas, there will never be another full scale plunge into Babylon 5 with the original cast. JMS has stated in a very final sense that those two characters will NEVER be recast nor should they be I think. No one else could do it. It just wouldn't be the same and I doubt a true B5 fan could overlook such a thing.

Maybe, instead of going forward like in Crusade, Legend, and Lost Tales, they need to go back. I think something to do with humanities first encounter with the Centauri and the beginnings of the Dilgar War might be fascinating. Perhaps not a series as the climate for such a thing doesn't look good at the moment, but perhaps a full featured film.

It could be a special effects extravaganza showing Dilgar use of WMD's like mass-drivers and large scale multi race battles such as in B5.

 

[Atlantis]

Hmm, i actually think that it should be kinda left as it is now, just as I do with Star Trek. The show has been done, and can't be improved upon (due to the intricateness of the plot lines etc). Agents of Gaming filled in a lot of gaps and history with the Babylon 5 Wars game (which JMS personally regards as accurate).

So for now, now that the foundations have been laid, I believe it should be left to the fans' imaginations.

 

[WrathofSpanky]

It wouldn't really be necesary to recover or meddle with things that have already been covered. Maybe something like the dilgar war would be a little too extreme but maybe something about the early days of human space travel might be interesting without screwing around with canon. A couple of films like JMS has done in the past with a basic continuity to the plots perhaps separated by 15-20 years. No dramatic struggles or anything just politics, diplomacy, and a few sad happenings and an angry Narn or two.

Again, no cursing or swear words.... The thing with the $$ does not work, the mods are no bots.

 

[Wheller]

now that i've finished Crusade i can finally make a comment here

is Crusade better?

no. not by a long shot. but of course it only had 13 episodes.

shame that Scifi Channel didn't pick it up. I'm sure it would have been a success.

maybe if they stopped producing the Horrible B-Movies they put out and focused on shows they'd have room in the budget.

but the past is the past. and there isn't much you can do about it... unless JMS suddenly decides he wants to do some kinda B5 Revive.

haha Rhymed