Babylon 5 and Crusade news
July 2nd, 1999
How long will Crusade last ?
All we know for sure is that the episodes already filmed will be aired on TNt
Wednesday night 9pm cst and an encore on Monday night after wrestling
There is some hope that another network ( most often mentioned is the Sci Fi Channel) will pick it up
Of course there is some debate about whether the show deserves to live. For my two cents worth I would really like to see more of the show before I make a final decision.
I have to admit I wasnt to impressed with the pilot and the first couple of episodes of B5.
And several of the characters are certainly intriguing enough to watch for now. Plus I really hate the fate that because of some network flacks in Atlanta I may never get to see how Crusade develops
ps... the problem wasn't with the LA TnT production people ( ie Kat) but with some yo yo higher ups in Atlanta
Didnt like the first episode.. well that was "their" vision of Crusade.. including the fist fight that opened the show)
What we do know
Warner Brothers ordered the sets to be put in storage and the actors are under contract until sometime in July
WB tried to work out something with Sci Fi already but the SCi Fi Channel already had a significant part of it's
budget committed to new programming
Even though JMS is involved in other projects he has already said he could also work on Crusade
How is Crusade is doing
Yes the numbers dont look great but compare them with what is on the Sci Fi Channel
CRUSADE RATINGS - A WORD FROM JMS:
Here is some very good news from jms about the ratings so far:
"We got a 1.4 on The Long Road, which from what we're being told was down because of being up
against the first night of the NBA Finals; the East Coast was down as a result,
so the numbers dropped even though they were about right for the west coast.
And the demographics are great. (Everything on TNT's lineup and elsewhere got hit by the Finals,
and of all that, we got hit generally the least of everyone)"
"Interestingly enough, I just got a note from one of the people at SPACE, the Canadian channel carrying Crusade, and he says that the ratings on WarZone *doubled* the usual B5 ratings (which were very good to start with)."
-jms
The top 10 Sci Fi shows
SHOWRATING
The Lost Boys 1.4
Star Trek Marathon 1.2
The Visitor 0.9
Child's Play0.9
American Gothic 0.8
Earth 2 0.8
Farscape 0.8
Sliders 0.8
Space: Above & Beyond 0.8
ISN got the numbers from the Sci Fi Channel
Some ratings of other science fiction type shows on tv
3rd Rock (special) 5.9
X-Files 4.8
3rd Rock 4.6
Early Edition 4.3
Charmed 3.1
Buffy (special) 2.3
Buffy 2.2
Voyager 2.2
Seven Days 1.7
The Sentinel 1.3
source the Sci Fi Wire
What can you do to save Crusade
write the Sci Fi channel in support of Crusade.. use the snail mail address
Ms. Bonnie Hammer,
Senior Vice President of Programming,
Sci-Fi Channel,
1230 Avenue of the Americas,
F115,
New York, NY 10020-1513.
ps I wouldnt even fool with TNT
Check out these other sites that are trying to save Crusade
Interstellar Network News Crusade Page
Crusade Quest for life
Crusade for Crusade
How this happened
One of the new things I learned the nortoriuos memo published on Aint it Cool News was for real
Some type of conflict has appeared and WB television is looking for a new netowrk
JMS has stated a preference for the Sci Fi channel; even encouraging fans to write the Sci Fi Channel
( see the JMS posts below)
Below is some comments JMS has made on the net about Crusade
The first memo was in response to earlier rumors of a TnT internal memo supposedly outling
some questionable changes and suggestions for Crusade
Date: 20 Sep 1998 15:07:09 -0700
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
Subject: Crusade Crisis??????
Message-ID:
References:
( The first part is JMS response to an earlier post
> The TNT memo was apparently real; however,
the egregious points have > now been withdrawn,
and on top of that, TNT has allocated a big chunk > of change
to let us build some new sets and expand stuff.
( JMS continues...)
" What we've done is to try and expedite this so we can have the new stuff in hand
for the maximum number of episodes as quickly as possible.
We always take a one-week hiatus in every block of episodes we shoot,
all the way through B5's history and now. One week around the start of October
(depending on the start of filming), then the Christmas break,
then another one-week hiatus midway through the last 10 episodes.
So what we did here was to add on three weeks to the hiatus, starting Tuesday.
Well, three paid weeks off for most of the crew directly involved with the actual filming, anyway.
Construction, art department, props, wardrobe and other departments
will still be working away to build and dress the sets and stuff
so we can get right back into shooting on with the new stuff in place.
We're talking here improvements to the corridors, to the quarters to enlarge them,
adding a wardroom/mess hall, an exercise area...other stuff.
We generally add sets each season, and wanted to do these down the road,
but now we have the chance to do them now".
jms
So for awhile things looked good
TnT had given some extra money and things looked happy in Crusade land..
Even thou some rumors persisted of TnT making demands
The first shadows on the horizon didnt have to do with Crusade, but rather,
with Babylon 5 and the TnT movie " Call to Arms" .
TnT moved the B5 daily strip to 3pm (cst) even before the fifth season episodes had a chance
to air as part of the reruns.
Then there was the minimal publicity given to "Call to Arms" by TnT compared to another original TnT such as "Purgatory".
even JMS commented about it in this post
Date: 05 Jan 1999
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
I am in total darkness when it comes to understanding TNT's philosophy of promotion.
They did little for this, I guess because it was the last of B5 in someone's view,
promoted the hell out of the Houdini flick, which cost about 3 times more than we did...
and we ended up getting exactly the same ratings.
With a little real promotion, we could've done even better.
jms
And Joe has a point.. not only did TnT run incessant ads for Houdini they also did a lot
of print advertising for it, especially in USA Today
I was planning to print TnT's snail address in the February newsletter and here so fans could write
and politely encourage TnT to move the B5 daily strip back into either a better afternoon timeslot
or air it on the weekend
Well guess what I discovered before I could do that
This post from J. Michael Straczynski
Date: 29 Jan 1999
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
(in response to a rumor that Crusade had been canceled by TnT)
Joe had this to say:
The plug has not been pulled by TNT, which cannot pull the plug
because we don't work for TNT, we work for WB.
TNT is a distributer.
All I can say for now is that, like Oliver Stone's project for TNT, Witchblade,
we have found that TNT (known primarily for westerns, historical dramas and wrestling)
is not SF-friendly in terms of really getting what SF is about,
and it may not entirely reconcile with what their core audience expects from them...
and that a new, more SF friendly venue is being explored.
So if folks wanted to drop an encouraging note to, let's say,
the Sci-Fi Channel, for instance, that would certainly be okay by me.
But in the interim...no, we're not canceled.
We're taking offnext week to allow WB to work its magic, but that's about it.
jms
That is about the last real news I have
Joe is still extolling people to write to the Sci Fi channel and has this to say
about why the WB network would not work
31 Jan 1999
From: J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com>
WB Network is out of the question, due to the way WB is structured.
It's a very long, corporate story, just take my word for it...SFC is the best option for us.
jms
From the copyright notice
(JMS has granted blanket permission for redistribution of his posts on the web )
But this is for web distribution
You better not copy them, and publish them for profit
TNT is now running Babylon 5 very early Saturday mornings
this should tell you soemthing about jow they feel about it
Hello there..
I put this web page up to answer the questions from my friends
Most of the information came from either
From
TNT The Home of Babylon 5 on Television
Which as things like faq's, calendars, plus a
discussion forum
that I sometimes hang out at
or from
Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5
The best source for Babylon 5 and Crusade news and information
A fantastic episode guide can be found here.. the best I have ever seen done for any televison show plus
news on Babylon books, comics and other B5 resources
If you are wondering about the recent demise of INS you might wish to check out what JMS had to say about it by checking out the JMS archives at Lurkers.
Babylon 5 SF References List
A really interesting place that has info how some references and homages to both media and written SF have made their way into B5.
Also see
Genre Movies and Tv
For other Babylon 5 sites
A link to a press release I found using yahoo news about
JPL and Crusade
Find out more about Crusade from a John Copeland interview on
TV gen on line
B5 Discussion Board a place where the pookha hangs out
( ps I would like to say there have been some people at TnT that have been wonderful
both toward B5 and it's fans
I would especially like to thank Kat and the B5 web designer)
Mab's Golden Thread asked how did all the posters acquired their nick's
The Patient Gardener has now posted them
here
Home pages of some of the posters
Babylers Home Page
new address
Babylon 5, Science Fiction and Canadians who have contributed to the world of Science Fiction.
Blind Man’s Useless Ideas for Babylon 5
a B5 Humor Page
check out the useless ideas and picture parodies if you need a good laugh
plus the new "Star Wars" site...The Rabid Bantha Bar and Grille
cScott's B5Parodies
Tammy 's Station (G'Kar fan)
g'kar fan's The Babbylers Board
Kalina ' Lurker on the Station
Also personal essays (lurkings) on various subjects
Kosh Kaltu
Lonegungrrl's Sci Fi Site
Rants and Raves on Sci Fi and other things
Lord of Sporks
Green Cow Publications, very little to do with B5 but the thing is funny
Mad Dog's Page of Ultimate Horror
Minarvia's Battles of Babylon 5
includes guide to Hperspace, detailed listing of the various battles on B5
Symbols of B5 and 25 reasons to like Babylon 5
Nick Stamatelos
real title Nick and Pete's Home Page
features photo's of the B5 Mall tour
Patient Gardener
The Psight Site
Phil and Val's place on the web
ShalMayan
she may come after me for this but in a lot of ways Shal is like a
centered Earth Mother for the board.. except for baseball season when she turns into a whacko Padres fan
run away.. run away
Thoth"s Domain
tOM's Page
B5 meets Monty Python
Trurl's The Dance Easy
Vir's B5 Humor Page
Old TnT Discussion Boards
TnT Message boards archive
Write to anyone on the show at the following address:
c/o BABYLON 5
14431 Ventura Boulevard
Suite 260
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
OFFICIAL BABYLON 5 FAN CLUB
PO Box 856
North Hollywood, CA 91603
The Babylon 5 Fan Club
E-mail address: B5FanClub@aol.com
For change of addresses for the Fan Club, write to: B5FanClub@aol.com.
For problems with the Fan Club web site: bruckner@thestation.com
or sgbruckner@aol.com
The official Warner Brothers B5 site
Also check out the web page for the
Zocalo
The Zocalo has ceased publication.. boo hoo .. just when B5 fandom really needed it
At least the
Zocalo back issues are on the web
Albert's Babylon 5 Novel Review Page
Reviews of all the Babylon 5 novels
Chattanooga Area B5 Club
Babylon 5 is owned by Warner Brother's and all it's entities
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