CRUSADE EPISODE THREE REVIEW:

I have put up a review of the third episode of Crusade, "The Well of Forever", written by Lars Joreteg.

Here is a small quote from the review:
"Overall, this episode was mostly about character development, and as such it worked wonderfully. But there is still something that keeps it from being a great episode overall, but I can't quite put my finger on it. But Crusade is gaining depth after every episode, and this third episode is among the best so far. "

Don't forget to put your views on the new message boards.

US, CANADIAN & UK AIR DATES & TIMES FOR CRUSADE THIS WEEK:

(For the week of 28/06/99)

Monday
TNT (US) - Episode 3: "The Well of Forever". 11 pm ET/PT - (repeat)

Tuesday
CityTV - Episode 3: "The Well of Forever". 8:00pm

Wednesday
TNT (US) - Episode 4: "The Path of Sorrows ". 11:30pm on the EAST coast and 8:30pm on the WEST coast, so check your check your local listings for the time in your area - it immediately follows the live NBA Draft broadcast.

Thursday
CFCF-12 - Episode 3: "The Well of Forever". 00:00am (i.e. Midnight - start your vcr on Wednesday at 11:58PM or so)

Friday
None

Saturday
SPACE - Episode 4: "The Path of Sorrows". 7pm ET

Sunday
SkyONE (UK) - Episode 1: "War Zone". 8pm - UK Premier

CRUSADE EPISODE THREE RATINGS:

The ratings for the third episode of Crusade, "The Well of Forever", earned rating of 1.2, which is down .2 on last week's episode. Hopefully it won't go down much more.

Here is what a fan has to say about the episode:

"I have been undecided about Crusade until now. The story line of 1 and 2 just didn't "feel" like JMS. Episode 3 is JMS inside and out. Now I'm comfortable. Gotta get this show back in production before all of the cast disappears into other projects. I thanked Heineken for advertising on Crusade and got a very nice e-mail back from them. I am sending more thank-you e-mails to other sponsors tonight."

"Lets all thank them!"

What did you think of "The Well of Forever"? Why not put your views on the message forum and see what other people thought of it.

For details on how to save Crusade by writing to the networks and the sponsors, click here.

The time for the first showing of "The Path of Sorrows" (June 30th) has changed to 11:30pm ET/PT on TNT. The following week Crusade returns to it's normal 10pm slot. Below is the current schedule for Crusade on TNT:

June 28 - The Well of Forever at 11 pm ET/PT - (Repeat)
June 30 - The Path of Sorrows at 11:30 pm ET/PT (Immediately following live NBA Draft broadcast)
July 5 - The Path of Sorrows at 11 pm ET/PT - (Repeat)
July 7 - Patterns of the Soul at 10 pm ET/PT
July 12 - Patterns of the Soul at 11 pm ET/PT - (Repeat)

Click here to go to TNT's Crusade Site.

Sierra Studios has officially announced that Babylon 5: Into the Fire will be the name of its upcoming B5 space-combat simulation game. B5 creator J. Michael Straczynski and Sierra agreed on that title because it highlights the "impending danger and action" of the game's story.

Sierra has also announced that a number of B5 actors will make appearances in Into the Fire, including: Bruce Boxleitner as John J. Sheridan; Mira Furlan as Delenn; Jerry Doyle as Michael Garibaldi; Tracy Scoggins as Capt. Elizabeth Lochley; Wayne Alexander as Lorien; Thomas MacGreevy as the Centauri Minster of Defense; and Beata Pozniak as President Luchenko.

The game will also feature a number of B5 TV sets that were recreated inside the Babylonian Productions sound stage, as well as special effects by the show's costume and prosthetic designer, Optic Nerve. The script for Into the Fire is more than 100 pages long, which is roughly equivalent to a feature film. Into the Fire is scheduled for release in early 2000.

News Source: 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)."

CRUSADE EPISODE TWO REVIEW:

I have put up a review of the second episode of Crusade, "The Long Road", written by Lars Joreteg.

Here is a small quote from the review:
"Overall I thought this episode was a nice change of pace from "War Zone", and really shows Crusade's potential for interesting drama. Hopefully we will get to know more of the characters soon, I really look forward to the next episode."

Don't forget to put your views on the new message boards.

(US & Canadian air dates for the week of 21/06/99)

Monday
TNT (US) - Episode 2: "The Long Road". 1 am ET/PT (i.e. Tuesday Morning) - (repeat)

Tuesday
CityTV - Episode 2: "The Long Road". 8:00pm

Wednesday
TNT (US) - Episode 3: "The Well of Forever". 10:00pm ET/PT

Thursday
CFCF-12 - Episode 2: "The Long Road". 00:00am (i.e. Midnight - start your vcr on Wednesday at 11:58PM or so)

Friday
None

Saturday
SPACE - Episode 3: "The Well of Forever". 7pm ET

CRUSADE EPISODE TWO RATINGS:

The second episode of Crusade, "The Long Road", achieved a rating of 1.4 on TNT. This is not very good. One reason for this lower rating could be that many people may not have known that there are more episodes.

Anyway, whatever the reason this rating must not go down any further for the series to have a real chance of being renewed.

The encore for the first Crusade episode, "War Zone" earned a rating of 1.2 which is very good for a repeat and also given it's 11PM start time. Maybe being aired after wrestling helped it?

Babylon 5 has won the Saturn Award for Best Syndicated/Cable Series On Television!

WAR ZONE REVIEW & RATINGS - A REAPPRAISAL:

It seems that I was a little too hard on the ratings in my early report... as I didn't know what they really meant myself... Anyway, on examining some ratings of other TNT shows, it shows that Crusade actually did really well, despite the lack of advertising by TNT.

The rating of 1.9 that Crusade got was almost as good as TNT's wrestling transmissions (2.3), their main type of show. It certainly would make "Crusade" be one of cable's highest rated dramatic series.

As I said earlier, even with the lack of adverting, Crusade has achieved a high rating which will go along way in getting the series renewed.

Hopefully Crusade's second episode will get around the same rating and show TNT just how many people like it.

Don't forget to put your views on the new message boards on this site, there will be one for every episode to keep a record of what everyone thought about them.

THE RATING FOR THE FIRST CRUSADE EPISODE:

The first episode of Crusade earned a 1.9 household rating in the Nielsens during its debut on TNT.

The lack of advertising by TNT seems not to have effected Crusade's rating too much.

JMS COMMENTS ON THE FIRST CRUSADE EPISODE:

CRUSADE STARTS TOMORROW ON TNT:

Just a quick reminder to say that Crusade start's to air tomorrow (June 9) on TNT at 10 pm ET/PT.

Here is the schedule on TNT for Babylon 5 & Crusade:
In the Beginning airs on Wednesday, June 9 at 4 am ET/PT
Crusade premieres on Wednesday, June 9 at 10 pm ET/PT
A Call to Arms airs on Wednesday, June 9 at 11 pm ET/PT

Thirdspace airs on Thursday, June 10 at 1 am ET/PT
River of Souls airs on Thursday, June 10 at 3 am ET/PT

Don't forget that Crusade's production re-start is all down to ratings, so don't forget to watch Crusade :) This is the best way to try and save crusade.