Episode Info
The Spinoff To Babylon 5 - CRUSADE

RATING: ****(!) out of ****

CAST:
Gary Cole
Captain Matthew Gideon

Daniel Dae Kim
Lt. John Matheson

Peter Woodward
Galen

Carrie Dobro
Dureena Nafeel

Gary Graham
Psi Cop

The reason that I liked Babylon 5 so much was that every once in a while it would pull out an episode that simply knocked you out. I have fond memories of staying up until midnight each Saturday to watch B5, and thinking that maybe I was the only one to realize just how good it was. Now, this episode of Crusade gives me the same feeling.

Everything about this episode was very atmospheric. It really didn't contribute much to the story, but instead let us see into the minds and hearts of the characters in a new way. In one episode, I feel that I've come to know Gideon, Galen, and Matheson. This was an episode that may not work for everyone, but for me, it was a complete and utter knockout.

Not only was it an emotionally intense episode, but some of the CGI was quite stunning, especially the destruction of the EAS Cerberus by a strange looking Shadow-like ship. Evan Chen's score was also quite a bit improved, more in line with what I thought he would sound like. (Not as much dischordant as very Eastern sounding.)

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this episode is one of the best things I've ever seen on TV. Better than some of Babylon 5 in fact. Like "Well", this episode requires brains and heart. There's not a lot of action, no fist-flights or real space battles, but soul. In a world where violence is commonplace and all we see is crap like wrestling and cookie-cutter cop shows, soul is exactly what we need.

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