See also details of the tv movie "A Call to Arms" in section 4,
    (Q 4.1 and info on the novelization in Q 5.3).  Crusade videos are
    being released, see Q4.4.

Q 2.0 When can I see Crusade on UK tv?

A.  Channel 4 now, (as of the start of September), have the terrestrial
    broadcast rights, no word yet of when it will be scheduled.  We are
    also waiting for news of any reruns on Sky One

Q 2.1 What has happened to the production of Crusade?

A.  As of 26th February 1999, and with 13 episodes (more than half the
    first season) already filmed, JMS confirmed that production has
    stopped.  You can see his news posting care of DejaNews:
    <URL:http://www.dejanews.com/[ST_rn=ps]/getdoc.xp?AN=448888662>

    TNT, (the US cable tv channel), were hailed for stepping in at the
    last moment and funding season 5 of Babylon 5.  They also commissioned
    the four tv movies.  But despite signing up to buy Crusade their
    relationship with Babylonian Productions and Warner Bros. had become
    rather bumpy.  One presumes that this reflects changes of staff
    amongst TNT's tv executives in Atlanta.

    Warners helped Babylonian resist TNT's requests to dumb down the
    stories and to fill the sets with skimpily dressed females.  But TNT's
    jerking on the strings became too much for WB, who started to look for
    another US outlet to underwrite production.  One report is that
    production initially stopped because all the scripts in hand featured
    a minor character that TNT first said they wanted to see more of, and
    then decided they didn't want after all!

    The state of play, as reported on the 'net by JMS:
    "So TNT will now air the full 13 produced, and that's the end of it
    for now.  I say for now because WB has told us to fold and hold all
    the sets, rather than scrap them, because they believe strongly in the
    show, and feel that when the ratings come in we may well be able to
    pick up a second season.  We'll see."

    For Crusade to get that reprieve it must get good ratings in the USA
    for those 13 episodes.  Unfortunately the cast of Crusade are only on
    contract until July, and even JMS himself will be involved in other tv
    projects in the meantime so may not be available for a new season.
    Other difficulties include the preference of channels such as SciFi
    for productions that they own part of, so that they get a slice of any
    success.  (Crusade, like Babylon 5 before it, is owned by WB.)

    More details of Crusade's travails can be found via DejaNews, or at
    "Ain't it Cool News": <URL:http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/>

Q 2.2 What was Crusade supposed to be?

A.  Crusade was JMS's new tv project after Babylon 5, the story starts in
    2267 in the Babylon 5 calendar.  Like Babylon 5 itself, JMS planned to
    tell an overall story arcing across 5 seasons of 22 episodes - though
    the framework of the connecting story would be looser.  The series
    stars Gary Cole (Midnight Caller), Peter Woodward (son of Edward),
    Daniel Dae Kim, David Allen Brooks, Marjean Holden and Carrie Dobro.

    The TV movie A Call To Arms sets up the story for Crusade, and
    premiered in the USA on 3rd January 1999.  The series itself debuted
    on TNT on Thursday 10th June 1999.

Q 2.3 When/where will Crusade be broadcast on 'normal' tv in the UK?

A.  Channel 4 have now (beginning of September) acquired the broadcast
    rights to Crusade.  There is no indication yet of when it will be
    scheduled.

    One problem is that Warners prefer to release the tv movies in the UK
    on the video 6 months before the first tv broadcast.  Yet A Call to
    Arms is important in setting up the premise for Crusade.  (Though
    episode one of Crusade does have a lot of introductory exposition to
    help introduce viewers.)

    Paul Bolchover has suggested a possible timetable could be:
      Jan 99 - US Airing of "A Call to Arms"
      Jun 99 - UK Video release of "A Call to Arms"
               [actually released on the 2nd August]
      Jan 00 - UK TV rights to "A Call to Arms" become available
               [6 months after the video release pushes this back to
                March]
      Mar 00 - UK TV airing of "A Call to Arms"
      Apr 00 - UK TV airing of "Crusade"

Q 2.4 Anything else I should know about Crusade?  (No Spoilers!)

A.  Until Crusade appears on terrestrial tv (Channel 4 & S4C) please
    follow these guidelines against posting spoilers:

    1: uk.media.tv.sf.babylon5

    You should not post Crusade plot or character details to
    uk.media.tv.sf.babylon5, use uk.media.tv.sf.babylon5.misc instead.
    See the "Micro-FAQ: Crusade on *  Sky tv" posting for more details.

    2: alt.babylon5.uk

    Title your posts clearly and use 30 lines of "spoiler space" to
    protect readers who don't have access to Sky tv.  See "The Posting
    Rules" post for more details.

Q 2.5 Is there a website with more information about Crusade?

A.  The official site is at:
    <URL:http://www.b5crusade.com/main.html>