LouHomey
From my favorite movies..
StyleSk8r
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Rosie Searle
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
bpeck13
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.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
talon_mortis
Crusade was a show with a big challenge, live up to Babylon 5. It didn't, quite frankly. The over-arcing plot was good, most of the characters were well thought out and the ship itself was pretty damned gorgeous. So where did it go wrong? I think the main reason for the cancellation was the 'drabness' that overhung the show. There were a lot of episodes towards the start of the series that were simply weak. From Episode 9 onwards there was a definite improvement, with continuity strengthening and characters being slightly more developed.Some of the shows good points include the constant references to the Shadows screwing around in the past, possibly hinting at a re-emergence, the Apocalypse Box was a great idea, Max Eilerson, a slimyer company man we never did see. Oh, and of course the episode that directly parodied the X-Files.Biggest flaw? Galen. He was truly wooden, a big detraction from the pace and mystery of the show. It irks me that of all the characters that they could have brought back for Lost Tales, it would have to be Galen, wouldn't it. Ah well.So, a cancellation kind of earned. Perhaps B5 was just too good to sequel? After all, Legend of the Rangers came first and that flopped utterly. It makes me wonder just what Lost Tales holds for the future for us.
sross-2
To compare Crusade and/or Babylon 5 to shows like "Space, Above And Beyond" or "Lost in Space" is absurd! Babylon 5 was far above any other sci-fi series ever made. The special effects were state of the art and spectacular. The characters were superb, the stories ingenious and suspense was masterfully done.The break from the usual "resolve everything in 40 minutes" mindset was refreshingly absent in B5. You never knew when a regular was going to buy the farm, which made it much more interesting. There was a darker tone to the show at times, which may have put off devotees of the aforementioned "formula" shows. The classic battle of good and evil, coupled with an extremely adept job of portraying the slimy world of politics and corruption of governments was a delight.I'm just sorry it is no longer being made.
bradphipps101
Crusade was a bold step in another direction for the ultra successful Babylon 5 TV series. Set up in the prologue movie 'A Call to Arms' and taking place 5 years after B5 ends, Crusade follows the crew of the experimental destroyer Excalibur in a search for a cure from a deadly alien plague which is slowly killing the Earth, something in itself is amazing. Not many shows would cut off mankind's homeworld for the sake of a story, and in doing so lifted Crusade to a new level of Sci Fi.
The Excalibur is a mixture of Minbari, Vorlon and Earth technology, and resembles the Liberator from Blake's 7. The highlight of the ship has to be the Main Guns which converts all of the ship's energy into one savage laser beam, but renders the ship without power for one minute as it recharges. J. Michael Strackzynski, the show's creator, is a forward thinker, so much so that this ship was first mentioned back in Babylon 5's 5th season episode 'Movement of Fire & Shadow'.Season One was a mixed bag. Lasting only 13 episodes due to a conflict with JMS and broadcaster TNT, there were only a handful of episodes that stood out. Out of those made, 'Racing the Night' was arguably the best. A desperate species suffering from the same plague as Earth, using any means necessary to find a cure; this episode posed more questions than people think. Had the series continued, it was promised the show would have taken on a new aspect, and the plague wouldn't have been the only thing the crew should be worried about...All in all the show was definitely killed off before it's time. It had potential to rival or even surpass Babylon 5 in terms of excellence, but it seems we'll never know.
