SFTV: SF Tube Talk - March 1999 by Lee Whiteside From the Magrathea/SFTV Web Page http://www.goodnet.com/~leew Crusade is Dead, Long Live Crusade! After almost a month of speculation and rumor, the fate of the Babylon 5 spinoff series Crusade has been decided. Production has been shut down after the filming of the first 13 episodes. An attempt to move the show to the Sci-Fi Channel was not successful and the future of the series is in doubt. However, Warner Bros. has asked Babylonian Productions to put the sets in storage for now just in case there is a pickup for more shows from TNT or another network, which is still possible. Reports are that the relationship between TNT and Babylonian has been rocky from the start, with TNT trying to provide more creative input than the producers wanted or needed. This resulted in TNT being less than enthused about the resulting episodes. Production was shut down in October to upgrade the sets and change the uniform designs, but even with those visual changes, TNT was not satisfied. In early February, production on Crusade was shut down again after filming of the 13th episode, "Appearances and Other Deceits". As with most contracts, the production contract was for 13 episodes with an option for the "back nine" which TNT decided not to pick up if they were not going to get the changes they wanted. With TNT not willing to fund the rest of the season, Warner Bros. started looking for other sources to pick up the series for a full season. According to Straczynski, the Sci-Fi Channel/USA Network was very interested and did a lot of number crunching, but just didn't have the budget to pick up the series this year. That does not rule out funding for next year, however. As it stands, TNT has paid for the 13 episodes and will air them starting June 9th at 10 pm ET/PT. The resulting ratings will play a large factor in any decisions to continue Crusade. Campaigns have started to help convince either TNT or Sci-Fi Channel to pick the show up for a second season. In my opinion, the Sci-Fi channel is the best chance for the show to continue, since even if the ratings are outstanding, TNT would probably still want to have their creative input whereas the Sci-Fi Channel would more than likely let Straczynski make the show he wants to make. The critical factor is that the second season options for the actors expire in July and a decision on a second season would be needed by then. According to Stracynski, the Sci-Fi Channel is in a position to committ to a second season before the contract options expire. The best time to write to the Sci-Fi Channel would be in June after the initial episodes have aired on TNT. Following are addresses you can write to in order to show your support for Crusade: TNT Programing Director TNT 1050 Techwood Drive, N,W. Atlanta, GA 30318 Other names at USA/SFC to write to are: SFC/USA Networks Barry Diller, CEO - USA Networks Stephen Chao, President USA Networks Ms. Bonnie Hammer, Senior V.P. of Programming, USA Networks 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020-1513 But What About The Show? It seems that the behind-the-scenes goings on may end up overshadowing the actual episodes of the series in addition to the effects those shenanigans have had on what we will see when the series finally airs. As set up in the last Babylon 5 TV movie "A Call to Arms", Earth has been infected with a bio-genetic plague that will kill off all life on Earth within five years. That's all life, not just humans. In the movie, we met Galen (Peter Woodward), the technomage and Dureena (Carrie Dobro), the alien thief. For the series, the Excalibur is Captained by Matthew Gideon, played by Gary Cole (American Gothic, Midnight Caller). His first officer is the telepath Lt. John Matheson, played by Daniel Dae Kim. Their doctor is Susan Chambers (Marjean Holden) and their head archeologist from IPX is Max Eilerson (David A. Brooks). Also appearing occasionally will be Tracy Scoggins as Captain Lochley from Babylon 5 (although it may only be a couple of episodes due to the production shutdown). One of the changes that came out of the October shutdown was to produce a new opening episode, "War Zone", to show how the crew of the Excalibur was brought together. The intended opening episode, "Racing The Night", is set several months into the mission, and introduces the new characters during the episode. TNT felt an introductory episode was needed for new viewers and convinced Straczynski to do one. With the new opening episode starting out with the new uniform designs initiated after the October shutdown, the initial five episodes filmed will have noticeable differences from the other episodes. Straczynski has devised a storyline where Earth Gov. propaganda specialists suggest they change the look of the Excalibur crew to he lp the morale on Earth when reports are made from the ship. This will occur in the "Appearances and other Deceits" episode, which will be followed by the original batch of five episodes. "Appearances" was the last episode filmed and its unclear if the episode where they change back to the "old" uniforms was filmed. Following are the episodes that were produced, listed in the assumed airing order with the production number in parentheses. 1. War Zone (108) - Shows us the reactions of the crew to the Drakh attack on Earth as they are brought together to search for a cure on the Excalibur. 2. The Long Road (107) - Guest stars Edward Woodward ("The Equalizer") as a technomage who stayed behind when the rest left during the Shadow War. He helps out the colonists on a farming planet who are besieged by a massive mining operation to mine a unique mineral that might be helpful in curing the plague. Edward Woodward is the father of Peter Woodward (Galen). 3. The Well of Forever (106) - Written by Fiona Avery. Reportedly features Galen. 4. Ruling From the Tomb (111) - Written by Peter David. A conference about the plague being held on Mars is threatened. 5. The Path of Sorrows (109) - The crew discovers a telepathic alien when investigating and ancient ruin. The alien causes the crew to remember painful events from their past. This was an episode TNT did not want because of the amount of backstory presented in it. 6. Rules of the Game (112) - Set mostly on Babylon 5. Focuses on Dr. Chambers and Max Eilerson with an appearance by Captain Lochley. May air last in the run. 7. Appearances and Other Deceits (113) The crew discovers a derelict alien ship in space, leading to an invasion of Excalibur. Meanwhile, two propaganda specialists from Earth have be sent to the Excalibur in an effort to improve the image of the ship and her crew in the eyes of the people back home. 8. Racing the Night (103) - The Excalibur visits a world with a dead civilzation that may have been subjected to the Drakh/Shadow plague 1000 years in the past... Takes place about 5 months after the Drakh attack. The original first episode. 9. The Needs of Earth (101) - May deal with a nanotech virus that ends up being used as a shield against the Drakh virus. 10. The Memory of War (102) - No Info available. 11. Each Night I Dream of Home (105) - One of the few Earth Senators not on Earth when the plague hit brings a civilian with him for a secret mission for the Excalibur. Has Lochely (Tracy Scoggins) and Dr. Franklin (Richard Biggs). 12. Visitors From Down The Street (104) - Some sort of X-Files parody/homage with aliens in the Mulder & Scully roles. 13. Patterns of the Soul (110) - Written by Fiona Avery. The crew visits a planet outside of Earth Jurisdiction to track down some colonists who may be infected with the plague. Information for this report came from posts and other messages from J. Michael Straczynski, Ain't It Cool News (www.aint-it-cool-news.com), the Babylon 5 Spoiler Junkies Page (www.visi.com/~wildfoto/spoilers.html)