"Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

I know at least one person over here has been waiting for the Crusade books to come out. The first of the 4 volume set will be available on Wed. Aug. 25 at 10:00 AM Pacific time.

Why four books when it was supposed to be three? Check out B5Books.com for more information and to see the cover of the first book.

This is gonna be good!

Jan

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

Since this is about books related to Babylon 5/Crusade, I I'm going to move this thread to the B5.related forum instead of having it here in the B5.personnel.

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

I may have missed it - has the price been announced?

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

They mentioned they found a lot of interesting stuff in the warehouse. Is there any chance that original CGI files were found, and that the DVDs can get a proper make-over?


EDIT: Sorry, I misread. It isn't for sale for $10 the first 7 days. It's for sale 10 dollars cheaper the first 7 days. The regular price has not been announced yet.

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

I'm not 100% certain but I'm pretty sure it'll be the same as the rest: $29-ish for the first week and $39-ish after that.

Jan

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

That's great. I read on the site that you get 10 dollars off for subscribing to the email newsletter. Is that on top of the discount for the first week?

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

No, sorry, there's no additional discount for subscribing. The intent is that if you subscribe to the email alerts you'll always know about the releases in time to take advantage of the debut discount even if you don't see any of the online announcements that I (and others) run around posting.

Jan

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

Thanks for clarifying that, Jan.

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

For those interested in the first volume of "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?", the debut discount price of $29.99 is good through tomorrow only.

http://www.cafepress.com/b5books

Jan

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

thanks for that update, i was always curious about the crusade plot

so, who's going to review the books for us??

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

I'm not. That Behind-the-scenes interview book totally burned me out.

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

From the product description at Cafe Press, this sounds like a bunch of interviews, unused scripts, and a various hodgepodge of stuff related to the show and its airing.

I'm wondering if there will ever be actual novels continuing the story line and whatever arcs JMS envisioned within it. I have just started watching the show for the first time ever, just the first two episodes so far (I'm going to try to watch this just a little at a time, to savor it as much as possible because there are only 13 eps), after having read the Technomage Trilogy and become familiar with the fascinating character Galen. Stylistically it looks like the show may surpass B5 in my opinion, although nothing could surpass the epic scope of the B5 arcs, as those were the defining events of this "age" in the B5 universe. But boy does it look like it had a lot of potential. Including lots of potential for eye candy, with both the technomages' abilities of illusion, and just exploring a variety of diverse worlds throughout the B5 universe ("road shows" can be very engaging if done well).

Any word on proposed actual continuations of the story, either in novel form, movies, or (dare we ever hope) some sort of revival of the TV series?

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

Yes, it's a continuation of the script book series similar to the 14-book (plus Other Voices) series done for B5 itself beginning in 2005.

Unlikely. First, JMS has said repeatedly that he isn't really interested in doing so because he envisioned the story for television. Second, there's no publisher currently interested in publishing them and third, it's beyond the scope of the script books project in general and in particular (partly) because licensing from WB would be prohibitive.
Unknown if it's anything to do with Crusade, but there does seem to be something stiring regarding B5. JMS just can't/won't discuss it until the ink's dry on actual contracts.

Jan

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

I asked him a couple years ago, and he flat out said the story wouldn't be continued in any other format. I did not ask - but suspect - that his attempt to pitch a Trek reboot a few years back was actually an attempt to salvage the Crusade storyline by using it in another universe.

Just this week, JMS said on his facebook page that the B5 project was still moving forward to some extent, but gave no details.

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

Hi Jan, any updated guesses on when "After April" means? IE: Is there a belief we might hear something in May?

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

No, not really. JMS posted last night that he
and that:

So it sounds to me like negotiations for whatever it is are still in progress but that things are still moving along and not stalled. And that's good news, imo.

Jan

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

Thanks. LOL, great visual, B5 is the football, the fans are Charlie Brown and the studios/networks are Lucy. So apt.

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

Bringing an old thread back to life, but has anyone heard when parts two to four are due?

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

Nothing so far. Believe me, as soon as I hear anything, I'll spread the word.

Jan

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

Perhaps I am no longer on the Mailing List, as found this message on the B5Books website today.


https://b5books.com/
-------------------------------------------
AUGUST IS CRUSADE MONTH AT BABYLON 5 BOOKS

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT #1
J. Michael Straczynski Says “YES”
The Remaining “What the Hell Happened” Volumes WILL NOW Be Published

From Captain Jaclyn – In our last newsletter we announced that the Crusade book series by J. Michael Straczynski "What the Hell Happened” would not be continued beyond Volume 1. That has changed. For the good.

We explained that the CRUSADE: WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED series was backburned years ago when Straczynski's agents were concerned that the autobiographical nature of the story would conflict with his forthcoming autobiography (Becoming Superman, 2019) in which his account of the Crusade debacle was detailed.

Within minutes of the mailing, fans began campaigning for the volumes without his commentary, explaining how much they wanted just the unproduced scripts, memos, concept artwork and related content.

Always wanting to do right by fans, JMS agreed.
Release date forthcoming.

P.S. HELL Volume 1 will be re-released when Volumes 2 and 3 become available. Release information forthcoming.

P.S.S. We have rebooted the three NON-JMS Crusade books. They are available now.

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

Was reading further down the page at https://b5books.com/ and noticed there are Bundle Offers for the three Other books on Crusade. IF one purchases one of the Bundles, one gets that same version of the Crusade Encyclopedia at no extra charge. This new Encyclopedia appears to be a reprint of the Crusade entries published in the original B5 Encyclopedia, but as it's just the Crusade entries, isn't as Hefty as the Paperback version or the collector's $$ Signature Edition.

And the Biggest News is that B5Books is going to be offering EBOOKS on -- certain -- future releases, along with hardcover options as well.

=====================================

BONUS Big Announcement
THE CRUSADE ENCYCLOPEDIA

What is the Crusade Encyclopedia?
It's all the entries from the print edition of the Babylon 5 Encyclopedia that relate to the Crusade universe. This is a total of 438 entries. The 8.5x11 hardcover is 132 pages. The ebooks range from a low of ~24MB to a high of 137MB

We created the Crusade Encyclopedia for two reasons:
1) At 132 pages it's much easier to reference an entry than using the 838 page paperback and/or the 2-volume color Signature Edition.
2) We wanted something to re-immerse fans in the Crusade universe. So we created this sit-down-and-readable volume.

The Crusade encyclopedia is not for sale. You can only get it free as part of the hardcover and ebook bundle. We pay all shipping and all US sales tax for your free copy.

FOR exhaustive detail on these three titles go here
https://b5books.com/babylon-5-crusade-books/
=====================================

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

I didn't receive an email either, and I did receive the previous one originally saying they wouldn't continue the What the Hell Happened books, so I wouldn't have seen this if you hadn't posted, so thanks!

Hmm, going to have to dig my books out of storage and see how many of those Crusade books I already have. The offer of the hardback encyclopaedia with the bundles is a very generous one.

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

(In Homer Simpson Voice: Hardcover Encyclopedia :drool:)
Regarding the mailing list: Heard from :) Captain Jaclyn :) that the Official Announcement should be going out via email tomorrow. In "A View From the Gallery" Delenn said that Time is Circular, so if one is always Arriving Late, could conceivably loop around and actually get there Early. Especially if Sector 14 is nearby.

Purchased the Ebook Bundle yesterday to have a look at the Crusade Encyclopedia since the Ebook versions are available "now". It's about 132-ish pages, and while it's the same material originally published in the B5 Encyclopedia, having only the Crusade entries allows for a fresh look at the series. Interesting Coincidence that Mr. Kitty and Mueller, Rolf are on the same page, as Mr. Mueller made the unwise decision of ordering the catnapping of Mr. Kitty... and while he didn't get all the money he was asking for, he did get a Shiny New Necklace from Max.

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

Received the mail just 10 minutes ago.

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

Yeah I got mine. Guess it is time to start saving some moola. :lol:

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

Minor Update-ish
There was another newsletter on August 9th that provides links for purchasing both the hardcover encyclopedia :drool:($49.99 + shipping/tax) and/or the ebook-download version ($18.99, no US tax). So if you had already purchased those three Crusade books in the original paperback release, do not have to re-purchase items to get the physical encyclopedia. Although why not get "all four" ebooks, as they don't take up extra space on the shelf!!

However, the web site doesn't have this info (yet?), and while I could paste the links here, do not want to push my luck. Am guessing it should be updated shortly, but if not, can always send a message to help@b5books.com .

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

Worst spin-off series ever. Boring premise (5 years searching for a cure to a virus? Really?). Uninteresting characters with none of the charm of the original cast (it desperately needed one or two as regulars). Needed to focus on the important unfinished stories from original series (on screen not in books which for me are separate): Telepath War, Earthgov after Clark, the Narn and Centauri storylines, Lyta and her attempts to establish a telepath homeworld. Some were hinted at but should have been the whole focus of the show.

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

What makes you think that they were going to spend 5 years searching for the cure? If they'd been able to even finish the first season, that would have been abundently clear (and there were lots of hints in what we did see) Lyta was supposed to be the telepath in 'The Path of Sorrows' but they couldn't come to an agreement with Tallman. It had a regular from the original show. Bester would have been in the next episode to be shot if the show hadn't been shut down.

Contrary to you, I liked all of the cast except I thought that the doctor needed more fleshing out.

You didn't like it, and that's fine. But your post seemt to indicate that you think JMS got stupid in between shows which really didn't happen.

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

I completely agree with Jan. :thumbsup:

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

I wouldn't call it the worst ever, but I agree that it wasn't the best. To an extent I think that can be understood given how TNT messed around with it, it's a miracle they were able to produce a coherent show at all. But personally I did find some of the stories lacked impact, and I wasn't sold on some of the writing. Given that everyone on Earth was now on a countdown, there was a surprising lack of urgency to the storylines. Characters (and cast) were fine but I think some of them lacked energy. Galen was cool and a good addition to the B5 universe, but he spoke soooo ponderously sometimes. Matheson and the doctor were neither here nor there, but they could have developed as the show went on. I didn't like the actress playing Dureena, but at least she did have some energy on screen. The music was terrible and robbed the show of some dramatic impact. The effects weren't great and relied too much on unconvincing green screen, But there was some good stuff in there too. Eilerson was fun and a standout, Gary Cole was excellent as always. It was good to see Lochley fleshed out a bit more and to see Franklin again. If you compare it to the first 13 episodes of B5, I think they are mostly comparable in quality, and look how B5 turned out! Left to its own devices, I think Crusade could have gotten much better than what we saw.

It wasn't going to be 5 years searching for the cure, the cure was going to be found in season 2, the main storyline would be about the Shadow tech that Earth is using, as exemplified by the vessel that destroyed Gideon's ship. So I think it would have delved into Earth after Clark, and no doubt more B5 characters would have returned.

I think though what you describe as wanting is a direct sequel to B5, which I sympathise with, but I think that's a little bit unfair on Crusade as it was never about being that. When JMS first spoke of a sequel series, I think there were plans for it to be about the Rangers, 'Empire building' (I don't quite like the phrase, but developing the Alliance is what it means), and would have featured Sheridan and Garibaldi. I'd have liked to have seen more of the Rangers and empire building in season 5 to be honest, rather than Byron.

Re: "Crusade: What the Hell Happened?"
 

That's what I heard as well. Instead of appreciation for assistance with a certain plague, discovery of the Shadow hybrid ships (and people) would have made the Excalibur a target. It's possible (?) that the two written scripts which begin-ish that arc - "To the Ends of the Earth" and "End of the Line" - might be in the coming (?) soon WTHH books, as the early-early 3 volume set I have includes them. OV2 includes the script for the third written-but-unfilmed episode "Value Judgements", which would have been amazing with Walter Koenig returning as Bester. The OV books include other early draft-ish scripts which provide a glimpse into the where things might have been heading - what Could Have Been if not for delays in production and Suits putting their fingers in the pie. With hybrid Shadow ships and heavily-armed remnants of Psi Corps flitting about, what other skeletons does Earthgov have in their closet?

Did that concept turn into Legend of the Rangers?