Glen here...

...with a sneak peek at some imagery from an episode of the Babylon 5 spin-off series Crusade.

Previously, Coaxial had run reviews of two rough cut episodes of Crusade. One of the episodes reviewed was called "Racing the Night". Said rough cut did not have any visual effects in place, no final score had been incorporated into the episode, etc. It was...simply...a "work in progress".

Well, last night Coaxial & Company had an opportunity to view the finished product of "Racing the Night". This means we saw the episode with the score completed, all FX integrated into episode. The title sequence was there, the end credits were there, the whole shebang was there.

For a variety of reasons, Coaxial will not be reviewing this "final cut" episode this week. A primary factor in this decision is, simply, I won't have time to sit down and write a review for quite a few days. Secondarily, I would like to see a little bit more of Crusade before solidifying & releasing my opinion about the show as a whole - a sentiment shared by other Coaxial perennials. But at this point in time, it seems likely that the review of this particular episode will be somewhat mixed.

None the less, we really wanted to get some image out there for the world to see. To give readers a sense of what to expect from Crusade. Also, I hope this serves as something of a morale booster to the many, many fans who are waiting on pins and needles for this series to find a home now that it has been thrown into a production freeze at TNT. I know there are a great many readers who have messaged me through e-mail and called me on the phone to express their profound concern regarding the show's fate. It's been good hearing from all of you.

At this point in time, the best response I have to such concern is a quote from a Crusade character named Galen: "There is always hope - only because it's the one thing no one's figured out how to kill yet."

I am probably pushing my luck by posting these pictures - this is the kind of thing the The Powers That Be generally don't appreciate very much at all. None the less, I really sense this is something the fan base needs right about now. My efforts are humble, the selection of imagery may not be the best, but it all comes from the heart - for whatever that's worth.

I would like to say thank you to ROBOGEEK and EL COSMICO for swinging into action on a moment's notice. Doing so enabled me make these screen grabs possible today. And thanks beyond thanks goes to the sources who made receiving this tape possible.

Robo, Cosmico, and I went out of our way to avoid spoiler images (FX related). We also had some trouble nailing the exact moment to capture in many of the scenes we were studying. There is so much movement in Crusade's effects, finding the perfect "beauty shot" (and having reflexes fast enough to grab it) was difficult at best. None the less, I think the following images will give you...at least...a slight taste of things to come. But don't think shots like these are all Crusade has to offer. This episode had vast numbers of ships on-screen at one time, speeder-bike chases between & through skyscrapers, etc. Our meek attempt towards screen capturing can't possibly convey such things adequately, or give you a solid frame of reference from which to draw an educated conclusion about the quality of the FX themselves.

Now, I'm gonna try to short out the inevitable Cease And Desist order by making perfectly clear that:

Aint It Cool News / Coaxial News / Glen Oliver in NO way, shape or form claim *any* ownership over the images presented on this page. We don't own CRUSADE, all visual material presented on this page are copyright Warner Bros Television, Babylonian Productions, etc.

Ain't no way that's gonna work - but what the hell? On with the show...

The first seven images reflect credits from Crusade's opening title sequence:

A "beauty shot" of Crusade's main starship, the Excalibur.

The brightly colored nebulae you see in the background - a frequent motif in the orignal Babylon 5 series - are few and far between this time around.

Note the densely packed starfields around the nebula, and in other shots herein. Sometimes, the stars in this series appear so densely packed (and distant) they almost look like clouds. If you remember the kind of blue-gray space featured in Disney's The Black Hole (a space which was bright enough to silhouette a ship against its ambiance) you start to get a fair sense of what Crusade's space looks like.

Excalibur's forward guns blaze in an effort to fend off swarms of alien "probes" (heavily armed "probes").

One of Excalibur's primary defensive cannons swings and locks into position to challenge the above-mentioned probe swarm.

Some of Excalibur's "Thunderbolt" fighter craft clear a path through Gideon's "sky". Excalibur also carries the more traditional "Starfurys" seen throughout B5.

"Thunderbolts" moving into position to attack a planetary target which endangers Excalibur. As Max Eilerson notes: "I believe that blowing it up is the usual solution to these things..."

Missiles away!

Galen's homonculus.

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So there you have it, folks. Hope this was enjoyable and interesting to all of you. Hope it helps everyone to keep their heads up a little bit longer, until The Long Wait finally comes to an end.

A few weeks ago, it was anounced that the Official Babylon 5 Web Site (www.thestation.com) would soon be posting the complete opening title sequence to Crusade. I don't know how the current shut down affects these plans (if it does at all), but you might wanna keep checking back there from time to time. One way or another, they should be available soon I should think.

For more specific info about (and an overview of) this particular episde of Crusade, CLICK HERE!

Questions? Comments? Praise? Ridicule ? CLICK HERE to e-mail Glen

Or call:

(512) 347-1992