BABYLON 5
CRUSADE
ENTIRE SERIES

Released: Dec 8th 2004
Amazon Price: Unavailable
MSRP Price: $59.98 
Warner Bros. Website Price $49.95 
Costco Price: $39.99

Complete 13 Episode Run
Format: Pan & Scan
Studio: Warner Bros.
Run Time: 576 minutes 
Number of Discs -  6

Babylon 5 Official Website 
Warner Bros. Website

Crusade Rating:   A

STARS: Gary Cole, Tracy Scoggins, Daniel Dae Kim, David Allen Brooks, Peter Woodward, Marjean Holden, Carrie Dobro

Crusade was expected to be a Babylon 5 spin-off hit series. That was the end of that. TNT wanted concessions that creator J. Michael Stracynski  was unwilling to make. Crusade was cancelled before the first episode hit the airwaves. 

I was ecstatic when I heard a new Babylon 5 would be coming to television. That same happiness wanned that it would be a TNT run rather than syndication. It was short instant when trouble started to brew with TNT's desire for more alien and human interfacing, particularly in the sexual nature. As everyone knows TNT ruined things with the series and JMS. 

In 2267 Earth has won the war, but lost Earth. After fending off a fierce attack by the Drahk combatants, Earth is attacked with an alien plague. A plague that will wipe out the human population within five years. It's up to Matthew Gideon, Gary Cole, Captain of the starship Crusade to search galaxy for a cure. 

This was yet another DVD release I have been looking forward to. It's not Babylon 5, but it's as close as a fan could hope for. The special effects are still top notch, for the time, as is much of JMS's handiwork with the script and storytelling.  

A new Babylon 5 project is heading to the big screen with production beginning in April of 2005. The Babylon franchise has concluded its run to DVD with Crusade. 

PACKAGING: 
Crusade packaging matches the previous release of the other Babylon 5 sets. The Digifold slip case is done in a blue imprinted foil  with cast and ship imprinted on the cover. The same image when is printed on the Digipack which folds out to four sections. On each fold is an episode guide. The guide contains show title, synopsis, crew info, and chapter searches. 

VIDEO: 
Crusade's video looks very nice. The colors are soft and natural appearing with the dark being sharp. Unfortunately the video is in Pan & Scan, the natural display for television shows right now. The anamorphic widescreen is really missed here. It is presented in the dual layer format.

AUDIO: 
The audio has been remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1. It sounds excellent through the surround. The spacial effects sound very cool and the voices are sharp. Warner Bros. has given a nice transfer with the sound.

BONUS FEATURES: 
There is audio commentary on two key episodes and a probing documentary, The Making of Crusade Forging Excalibur: Learn About the Starship From the Inside Out. 

SUMMARY: 
This boxed set has a great history behind it. The only true flaw with this set is the lack of an anamorphic widescreen transfer. The audio is grand and the video does look good. This is a great way to finish off owning the Babylon 5 franchise. 

CRUSADE  Rating:  A  

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