Press Releases

"Babylon 5 Fans Show Support" 06/05/99

The fans of the Emmy and Hugo award winning television series "Babylon 5" have rallied together to raise public awareness about the plight of the B5 spinoff "Crusade". This series has been cancelled by TNT before it even premiered. Although TNT will show the 13 completed episodes of "Crusade" beginning June 9th at 10pm et/pt, they will not air the remainder of the 5-year series. TNT cancelled the show due to creative differences with the show's creator J. Michael Straczynski.

The fan movement to save "Crusade" currently includes fundraising to pay for ads, letter writing campaigns, distribution of flyers, and web based petitions. The movement has already raised over $3100 in donations (since April 12th) to be put toward the purchase of ads in "Sci-Fi Entertainment" and "Variety" magazines. They will continue to accept contributions until they have enough funding for both ads. Any remaining funds will be sent out to charities including battered women's shelters and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Fan support for "Crusade" has arisen, despite the fact that not a single episode has yet aired, based on the quality and uniqueness of its predecessor, "Babylon 5". J. Michael Straczynski, creator of both "Babylon 5" and "Crusade", wrote 91 of the 110 episodes of B5, producing a unique 5-year story arc which allowed him to create an intricate universe filled with realistic and ever-evolving characters. JMS is being awarded the Ray Bradbury Award for Dramatic Screenwriting by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer's of America for his work on B5. When announcing the award, SFWA president Paul Levison, explained "[Straczynski's] extraordinary work on Babylon 5 revolutionized science fiction on television in the 1990s, much as Star Trek did in the 1960s."

"Crusade" promised to continue this legacy with a new 5-year story set in the same universe as "Babylon 5". "Crusade"'s premise is set up at the climax of the Babylon 5 movie, "A Call to Arms", when enemies of Earth release a plague which will kill every person on the planet in five years. "Crusade" follows the crew of the spaceship "Excalibur" as they search the galaxy for a cure to the plague.

The producers of "Crusade" enlisted the help of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to bring the most accurate possible real science into the show. JPL scientists continually advised the show's writers and producers on both the depiction of future technology and the creation of alien worlds.

In an interview with Dreamwatch Magazine, J. Michael Straczynski said "[Crusade] will show more diversity in it's exploration of alien worlds, civilizations and cultures than has ever been done before for television; it's characters will grow and change and become more than they thought possible; the science will be some of the most accurate yet in how we present those worlds (thanks to the intercession of some of the most brilliant minds in space research who have recently enlisted in the cause of providing technical support for Crusade); it will continue to be written for adults while attempting to awaken the sense of wonder that is part and parcel of classic science fiction; there will continue to be no cute robots or teenage wizkids; it will not talk down to the audience; and it will continue to present questions that have no easy answers and no quick solutions. And the show you will see at the end of what will be a full five year run in 2003... will not be the same show that you began with in 1999. I have something sneaky in mind."

The fans would like to encourage everyone to watch "Crusade", then express their support by writing letters to the Programming Directors of TNT and the Sci-Fi Channel. In the meantime, there are flyers available for download on the fan web sites for those who would like to help spread the word. Please visit "Crusade for Crusade" at http://www.astro.umd.edu/~fleming for flyers, addresses, and information on additional fan activities. People may also show their support by signing one of the many petitions that can be found through ISN News.

and I will include them on the next update.

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