Crusade-Complete Series (1999)

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General		Extras
Category	Action	Audio Commentary-Filmmakers And Cast - Two Episodes Featurette-Making Of Featurette-Forging Excalibur
Rating
Year Of Production	1999
Running Time	551:35
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (5)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4,5	Directed By	Jerry Apoian John Copeland Tony Dow Stephen Furst
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Gary Cole Tracy Scoggins Daniel Dae Kim David Allen Brooks Peter Woodward Marjean Holden Carrie Dobro
Case	?
RPI	$99.95	Music	Evan H. Chen

    J. Michael Straczynski’s science fiction/fantasy tale about a space station that would serve as the future of mankind, Babylon 5, quickly became a cult legend with its believable characters and dark scripting. During and after the series’ production, a collection of Babylon 5 TV movies were also made, the last of which, A Call To Arms, was to set the scene for a whole new J. Michael Straczynski science fiction masterpiece, Crusade.

    The plot of Crusade revolves around the search for a cure to the Drakh plague that has infected Earth. With five years to find a cure before the virus adapts to human physiology, Captain Matthew Gideon (Gary Cole) is put in charge of a prototype spacecraft called The Excalibur, and is sent to the farthest reaches of known space to find a means of preventing the extinction of the human race. Accompanying Gideon are: a telepathic first officer Lt. John Metheson (Daniel Dae Kim), a brilliant physician Dr. Sarah Chambers (Marjean Holden), a surly Interplanetary Expeditions archaeologist Max Eilerson (David Allen Brooks), an alien thief called Dureena Nafeel (Carrie Dobro) whose race was exterminated by the Drakh, and a technomage names Galen (Peter Woodward) who has a shady past and a connection to Gideon. Along the way we also meet up with a few Babylon 5 characters, including Captain Elizabeth Lochley (Tracy Scoggins) and Dr. Stephen Franklin (Richard Biggs in his last appearance as this character before his sudden death in May 2004).

    Unfortunately, the network had second thoughts about the show, and Crusade was cancelled half way through its first season. This seems greatly unfair for a number of reasons, all of which can doubly be said about Joss Whedon’s superior science fiction/western series Firefly. Most importantly, half a season is barely enough to establish background story and characterisation in a show of this nature. Any fan of Babylon 5 will tell you that it really didn’t hit its stride until the final few episodes of the first season. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine didn’t really get going until its third season. However, without the background tapestry, the larger picture is incomplete and lacking.

    So, with a mid-point cancellation, all we have left of Crusade are the following 13 episodes:

Disc 1

1. War Zone (42:28)

    In the wake of the Drakh attack, Capt. Gideon is given control of the Excalibur. His first mission: the capture a crashed Drakh vessel.

2. The Long Road (42:26)

    Gideon and Galen must endeavour to help a primitive race whose resources ar ebeing plundered by Earth in order to extend human life.

3. The Well Of Forever (42:25)

    With a psi-tester on board to keep an eye on Lt. Matheson, Gideon ventures into hyperspace to find the ‘Well of Forever’ where all questions are answered.

Disc 2

4. The Path Of Sorrow (42:26)

    An impenetrable globe housing a psychic alien leads each of the crew down a personal journey to confront their own pain.

5. Patterns Of The Soul (42:28)

    A trip to find a group of colonists who escaped Earth before the Drakh attack uncovers a dark secret inside Earth Dome and new hope for Dureena.

6. Ruling From The Tomb (42:26)

    A medical symposium on Mars initiates a relationship between Gideon and Lochley, as well as a series of murders that lead to a terrorist group wanting to prevent a cure to the plague.

Disc 3

7. The Rules Of The Game (42:24)

    During negotiations on Babylon 5 with a difficult alien race to get permission to land on their planet, Gideon and Lochley find their relationship growing, and Max is forced to help his ex-wife out of a situation with some mobsters.

8. Appearances And Other Deceits (42:25)

    A derelict spacecraft yields one alien survivor that is more of a threat than initially suspected.

9. Racing The Night (42:26)

    A dead world appears to hold secrets to great knowledge, but when crew members start going missing, it seems there is much more at foot on the planet.

Disc 4

10. The Memory Of War (42:26)

    When Galen warns Gideon about a planet that they are set to explore, Gideon ignores the warning and goes down. But when night falls and the murders begin, Gideon is forced to rethink his decision.

11. The Needs Of Earth (42:25)

    To rescue a criminal with important knowledge that may lead to a cure, Gideon and Dureena must travel to a poisonous planet and rescue him from bounty hunters.

12. Visitors From Down The Street (42:27)

    When the Excalibur encounters a race of aliens that speak English and dress like 20th Century humans who claim that Earth has persistently interfered in their culture, Gideon decides to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Disc 5

13. Each Night I Dream Of Home (42:23)

    A secret mission brings a friendly face on board to conduct some ethically questionable research in a bid to save Earth.

    Such a pity.

    Crusade contains the seeds of being a truly great science fiction show, in many respects a rival of its predecessor, despite slow character development and a pilot episode (which was never meant to be aired first) that came across as slightly contrived. But with all the interference from the studio that this show had to endure – a facet that the crew decided to send up in Appearances And Other Deceits – it shines remarkably well, with some truly excellent episodes. Given enough time, this would have blossomed into a first-rate science fiction saga that would have been remembered alongside Babylon 5 and the Star Trek franchise.

    Sure, there are problems, too. The characters take a bit of getting used to, as they all have quirks that are striking in their own way, but also initially alienating and off-putting. Once you have settled into a few episodes, though, you will find that the characters are for the most part a lot of fun, particularly Peter Woodward as Galen and David Allen Brooks as Max Eilerson. However, even Gary Cole begins to grow on you with his particular acting style, and by the end of it he is a truly interesting and multi-faceted character.

    While we fans can hope for some form of series revival (a string of movies perhaps), the longer it goes without an instalment the slimmer those chances become. Until there is a continuation or conclusion, Crusade will stand as a testament to what happens when the studio clashes too much with a headstrong and proven creator at the helm. Wasted potential, but definite glimmers of potential nonetheless.

Video

    Transferred here in its original broadcast ratio of 1.33:1, full frame, non-16x9 enhanced, it is a shame in some respects that a 1.78:1 remaster was not done from the original print. That said, this is an excellent transfer and I have many glowing things to report.

    It has been my experience that most TV shows are very sloppily transferred. Having reviewed more than a few in my time working for this site, it is generally the case that TV transfers are done, poorly, from an NTSC source, or worse yet, from a VHS master. Colour tends to be washed out and the image excessively grainy, exhibiting a lot of film-to-video transfer artefacts such as moire and aliasing as well. I am extremely pleased to announce that a first rate job has been done for this transfer, which will please any fan of the show.

    First things first – image detail. This is very lavish with a high degree of detail, including textures on costumes and surfaces. All the work and attention to detail that went into creating the sets for this show have been lovingly transferred.

    Second – shadow detail. This, too, is well above average, with deep blacks, no graininess in the shadows, and texture still visible even in low-light shots. Very well done.

    Third – colour balance and saturation. Really, wow. A lot of effort has been put into getting a highly saturated image that is definitely better than any of the Babylon 5 series, and one of the better ones I have seen for a TV show as of late. Balance and contrast is also spot on, with skin pigment a fleshy pink without any undue red.

    Fourth – MPEG artefacts are completely absent, and film-to-video transfer artefacts are extremely rare. The worst involved some extremely minor aliasing in some of the CGI sequences.

    Fifth - film artefacts. There is a little dirt here and there, but it's much better than the early seasons of Babylon 5, and nothing is terribly distracting.

    Subtitles are white with a black border, clear and easy to read, and follow the dialogue pretty closely.

    From what I can tell, these discs are all single layer – I spotted no dual-layer pauses. If they are dual layer discs, then the pauses must be between episodes, even though there are three per disc.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    On the bright side, great effort was done to remaster this show into a strong 5.1 Dolby Digital surround mix from its original 2.0 Dolby Surround master.

    Dialogue is exceptionally clear, with little in the way of sync issues that aren’t clearly source faults. They are very minor.

    There is a fantastic range here, with great rumbling ambient bass and detailed upper ranges which give great inflection to the dialogue and sound effects.

    The surrounds are given a very good workout, with plenty of ambient noises and directional cues from the rear as well as the front.

    The subwoofer got a great pounding, particularly in various battle scenes, but also just with various sound effects, of which there are plenty in this show. Big, loud, powerful.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menus

    All menus are presented in 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced. They are static and silent.

Episode Audio Commentaries

    Presented in 2.0 Dolby Surround, the following episodes contain an audio commentary:

• The Well Of Forever (Disc 1) by actors Peter Woodward and Carrie Dobro, director Janet Greek and writer Fiona Avery.
• Chasing The Night (Disc 3) by creator J. Michael Staczynski

These commentaries are both excellent and worth listening to in order to understand just how much everybody had to put up with when trying to get this show made.

Disc 5

Featurette – “The Making Of Crusade” (14:25)

    Presented in 1.33:1, full frame, 2.0 Dolby Stereo, this featurette looks at the concept behind the show and the future plans for it, had it been able to go ahead for its full five seasons. Makes you really wish the studio had stuck it out for at least a full two seasons before deciding whether the planned twist would work.

Featurette – “Forging The Excalibur” (5:43)

    Presented in 1.33:1, full frame, 2.0 Dolby Stereo, this is a look at the design of the Excalibur inside and out.

    Without an R1 release for direct comparison, it is hard for me to give a definitive answer. However, I have read several reviews published on the Net regarding this release, and it would seem that the R1 release is substantially identical in terms or content and features, and differs only in terms of subtitles, NTSC picture format, and region coding.

    I would hazard a guess that the R4 image quality is as good as if not better than the R1 release – really, it is exceptionally good and shows no signs of being a transfer from an NTSC original.

    In light of these facts, I would recommend buying whichever release you can get cheaper. Unless someone tells me otherwise, I am going to put this down as a draw.

    Crusade is really so much wasted potential. While not an instant classic at 13 episodes, the seeds of greatness were there, all they needed were a little nurturing and attention. Sadly, the studio cut off the water and blocked the sun and that was the end of that. Still, it makes a very interesting footnote to the Babylon 5 series, and well worth the investment.

    Video quality is outstanding, although sadly only in its 1.33:1 original broadcast ratio. Unfortunately, as per policy at this site, I have to take one star off the overall rating for this DVD because of that.

    The 5.1 Dolby Digital sound mix is outstanding, and much better than the pseudo-5.1 that Babylon 5 was often given.

    The few extras included are definitely worth a watch, but it still feels a little light-on.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall