Post by B5Erik on Jul 31, 2015 2:47:25 GMT
After Babylon 5 J. Michael Straczynski decided to do a spin-off/sequel series that went in a different direction. This would be a ship based series with the crew on a desperate mission to save the people of the Earth from a manufactured bio-weapon that would kill all animal life on Earth within 5 years. Talk about your Five Year Mission!
But TNT had some ideas of their own. Where JMS wanted to pick up the story a couple months into their 5 year mission, TNT decided that they wanted a proper pilot/introductory episode and some episodes that would lay the foundation for the series as it developed. They also wanted new uniforms for the crew.
OK, it happens. These things wouldn't help the show, but they wouldn't hurt it, either.
But then TNT had a change in leadership, and the initial order of 13 episodes were all that were produced, despite more scripts having already been written. TNT cancelled the show before it even aired because they did not believe that Babylon 5 and it's spin off fit in with the rest of their, "Gritty, realistic dramas." The cancellation came at a late date in the production cycle, and even though there was some interest from the Sci-Fi Channel, there was no open spot in their schedule. They were contractually obligated to other shows, and they didn't have the budget to order up a season of Crusade when they didn't know at what point it would be broadcast.
Crusade was dead.
And it hadn't really even gotten in to the heart of the story yet. The Drakh plague arc was just beginning, and there were other things that JMS had planned that would never see the light of day.
Unfortunately, like Babylon 5, Crusade started off slowly. With JMS not yet in full swing of the story arcs that he was so well known for on B5. The quality of the episodes only hinted at how good the show could become. Given how much B5 improved from the first season to the second it's a good bet that Crusade would have also gotten better as time went on.
But we'll never get to see what it could have become. And that's a shame. The cast was very, very good, and the team in place producing and directing the shows delivered some phenomenal stuff on B5.
Unrealized potential. Two horrible words for fans of Babylon 5 with hopes that Crusade would continue the saga.
But TNT had some ideas of their own. Where JMS wanted to pick up the story a couple months into their 5 year mission, TNT decided that they wanted a proper pilot/introductory episode and some episodes that would lay the foundation for the series as it developed. They also wanted new uniforms for the crew.
OK, it happens. These things wouldn't help the show, but they wouldn't hurt it, either.
But then TNT had a change in leadership, and the initial order of 13 episodes were all that were produced, despite more scripts having already been written. TNT cancelled the show before it even aired because they did not believe that Babylon 5 and it's spin off fit in with the rest of their, "Gritty, realistic dramas." The cancellation came at a late date in the production cycle, and even though there was some interest from the Sci-Fi Channel, there was no open spot in their schedule. They were contractually obligated to other shows, and they didn't have the budget to order up a season of Crusade when they didn't know at what point it would be broadcast.
Crusade was dead.
And it hadn't really even gotten in to the heart of the story yet. The Drakh plague arc was just beginning, and there were other things that JMS had planned that would never see the light of day.
Unfortunately, like Babylon 5, Crusade started off slowly. With JMS not yet in full swing of the story arcs that he was so well known for on B5. The quality of the episodes only hinted at how good the show could become. Given how much B5 improved from the first season to the second it's a good bet that Crusade would have also gotten better as time went on.
But we'll never get to see what it could have become. And that's a shame. The cast was very, very good, and the team in place producing and directing the shows delivered some phenomenal stuff on B5.
Unrealized potential. Two horrible words for fans of Babylon 5 with hopes that Crusade would continue the saga.
