B5_Obsessed
Regular
Got this from Frederica at Code7R 
Do you have any idea where anyone would have gotten the idea that Crusade was supposedly going to be merely a continuation of the stories of the B5 characters?
It's unfathomable to me. I think people just had a tendency to assume this would be the case. Or they saw a certain character and resented it, wondering "why can't that be me?" to the point where it becomes "that was SUPPOSED to be me."
Jerry Doyle was convinced that Bruce was supposed to captain the Excalibur, but that you and he had a "falling out" over his "being fired suddenly after five years," and so you quickly rewrote the role as Gideon instead.
Okay, let me put the absolute and total lie to this right now.
I've just gone back into my files and dragged out the ORIGINAL TREATMENT for Crusade, the one written while B5 was still in production, BEFORE "A Call to Arms" was ever filmed. The treatment, which was available to WB, Doug, John, and department keys and I know some cast members got their hands on it, was dated 6/16/98 (that date is still on the file datestamp).
I quote from a latter part of the treatment, where the characters are introduced. There are some little variances here and there -- one in particular that I think will surprise some people -- but this was what was written at that time...the very first time I put ANYthing down on paper about Cruade for WB.
One small caveat: I used the terms "infrequently or not at all" primarily because WB was desperate to make sure that this show was different from B5, so the "not at all" part was a nod to that, but the "infrequently" was my planned opening to use the characters from time to time, which was already in the works when the show was pulled.
Whether it begins within BABYLON 5 or outside, the CRUSADE pilot movie will start with the Drakh attack, and end with the revelation about the plague. It's important to see this happen in current time, rather than hear about it after the fact. We need to see first-hand what's at stake, and how we got here. As a result, the pilot will introduce not only our characters, but the full situation and setup for the series to come. Because of the attack and counter-attacks, it will be primarily action-oriented.
The focus is not on diplomacy, or negotiations ... the focus is nothing less than the very survival of our species, and the acts of heroism that result when our characters stand against terrible and overwhelming odds.
As head of the Rangers, Delenn and Captain John Sheridan give the fleet its mission, and take part in the pilot movie.
After that, once the battle is over and the fleet is on its way, they will appear either infrequently or not at all. CRUSADE will stand on its own, except for possible TNT movie cross-overs.
Let's meet our characters.
CAPTAIN MATTHEW DRAKE, Captain of the Excalibur, the high-tech flagship of the White Star fleet of ships. (The fleet divides into teams to help increase the odds of finding a cure; when they find a possible lead, they call in the Excalibur, wait until it arrives, then they move on to the next destination while the Excalibur does its work.) In his 30s, dark, brooding, attractive, he's a fighter whose own Earthforce ship was destroyed during the initial war with the Drakh. (It wasn't his fault, as we will learn; he was up against impossible odds and barely managed to save his crew at great risk to himself.)
Personally assigned to the Excalibur by Sheridan, this mission represents his chance to redeem himself. Hard-headed and practical, a man of action who doesn't believe in the mysticism practiced by the Minbari and the Rangers; if he can't feel it or taste it, it doesn't exist. A loner whose harsh exterior covers a heart that has been wounded too many times, and now refuses to let anyone near him.
MARCUS COLE, a Ranger established on Babylon 5 during its third and fourth seasons. Energetic, bright, literary, with a poetic quote always at hand when it's needed, and a pike or a PPG rifle when force is needed. Trained equally in martial arts and philosophy. A dashing, romantic figure noted for a cheerfulness that belies something much deeper beneath.
We had to change Drake to Gideon because of a clearance problem, and obviously the Claudia situation threw a monkey wrench into using the character of Marcus, as originally planned.
jms
And presumably Marcus would take the spot that Galen eventually had? Interesting.
No, Galen was in there as well.
jms
-----------------------------------------------------
The part about Marcus has me baffled. He was already "dead" at this time (6/98, I mean) and JMS had often said his death had to be permanent to have meaning in the story (not counting Space, Time, and the Incurable Romantic). His death would've led to Susan's involvement with Byron.
Now here is the ever cheerful Marcus back on the job, with no mention of previously being dead and frozen.
I suppose the one to bring him back could have been Galen, but it's just a little odd that Marcus' profile omits his little health problem.
Do you have any idea where anyone would have gotten the idea that Crusade was supposedly going to be merely a continuation of the stories of the B5 characters?
It's unfathomable to me. I think people just had a tendency to assume this would be the case. Or they saw a certain character and resented it, wondering "why can't that be me?" to the point where it becomes "that was SUPPOSED to be me."
Jerry Doyle was convinced that Bruce was supposed to captain the Excalibur, but that you and he had a "falling out" over his "being fired suddenly after five years," and so you quickly rewrote the role as Gideon instead.
Okay, let me put the absolute and total lie to this right now.
I've just gone back into my files and dragged out the ORIGINAL TREATMENT for Crusade, the one written while B5 was still in production, BEFORE "A Call to Arms" was ever filmed. The treatment, which was available to WB, Doug, John, and department keys and I know some cast members got their hands on it, was dated 6/16/98 (that date is still on the file datestamp).
I quote from a latter part of the treatment, where the characters are introduced. There are some little variances here and there -- one in particular that I think will surprise some people -- but this was what was written at that time...the very first time I put ANYthing down on paper about Cruade for WB.
One small caveat: I used the terms "infrequently or not at all" primarily because WB was desperate to make sure that this show was different from B5, so the "not at all" part was a nod to that, but the "infrequently" was my planned opening to use the characters from time to time, which was already in the works when the show was pulled.
Whether it begins within BABYLON 5 or outside, the CRUSADE pilot movie will start with the Drakh attack, and end with the revelation about the plague. It's important to see this happen in current time, rather than hear about it after the fact. We need to see first-hand what's at stake, and how we got here. As a result, the pilot will introduce not only our characters, but the full situation and setup for the series to come. Because of the attack and counter-attacks, it will be primarily action-oriented.
The focus is not on diplomacy, or negotiations ... the focus is nothing less than the very survival of our species, and the acts of heroism that result when our characters stand against terrible and overwhelming odds.
As head of the Rangers, Delenn and Captain John Sheridan give the fleet its mission, and take part in the pilot movie.
After that, once the battle is over and the fleet is on its way, they will appear either infrequently or not at all. CRUSADE will stand on its own, except for possible TNT movie cross-overs.
Let's meet our characters.
CAPTAIN MATTHEW DRAKE, Captain of the Excalibur, the high-tech flagship of the White Star fleet of ships. (The fleet divides into teams to help increase the odds of finding a cure; when they find a possible lead, they call in the Excalibur, wait until it arrives, then they move on to the next destination while the Excalibur does its work.) In his 30s, dark, brooding, attractive, he's a fighter whose own Earthforce ship was destroyed during the initial war with the Drakh. (It wasn't his fault, as we will learn; he was up against impossible odds and barely managed to save his crew at great risk to himself.)
Personally assigned to the Excalibur by Sheridan, this mission represents his chance to redeem himself. Hard-headed and practical, a man of action who doesn't believe in the mysticism practiced by the Minbari and the Rangers; if he can't feel it or taste it, it doesn't exist. A loner whose harsh exterior covers a heart that has been wounded too many times, and now refuses to let anyone near him.
MARCUS COLE, a Ranger established on Babylon 5 during its third and fourth seasons. Energetic, bright, literary, with a poetic quote always at hand when it's needed, and a pike or a PPG rifle when force is needed. Trained equally in martial arts and philosophy. A dashing, romantic figure noted for a cheerfulness that belies something much deeper beneath.
We had to change Drake to Gideon because of a clearance problem, and obviously the Claudia situation threw a monkey wrench into using the character of Marcus, as originally planned.
jms
And presumably Marcus would take the spot that Galen eventually had? Interesting.
No, Galen was in there as well.
jms
-----------------------------------------------------
The part about Marcus has me baffled. He was already "dead" at this time (6/98, I mean) and JMS had often said his death had to be permanent to have meaning in the story (not counting Space, Time, and the Incurable Romantic). His death would've led to Susan's involvement with Byron.
Now here is the ever cheerful Marcus back on the job, with no mention of previously being dead and frozen.
I suppose the one to bring him back could have been Galen, but it's just a little odd that Marcus' profile omits his little health problem.
