OFF: B5 Crusade (was Re: HW: At last - some NEWS!)

[Andrew A. Apold]

>At 09:34 29/03/99 -0500, Andrew A. Apold wrote:
>>>Is this the 'Crusades' spin-off which has apparantly now been canned, after
>>>they finished filming 11 episodes?
>>>I read somewhere that it will still been screened, though!
>>
>>13 episodes.  And TNT as still apparently going to air those 13 episodes.
>
>So why was it canned?

Near as I can tell TNT was upset with the direction of the show, they wanted
to have some input/control on the content to more appeal to their "core
audience",
which apparently is more geared to wrestling fans.  There were rumors about
wanting skimpier outfits, etc.  JMS simply said that TNT was not "Science
Fiction
Friendly", and that they decided to go another direciton.  Warner Brothers (who
owns B5) attempted to find another distributor, but Sci-Fi channel couldn't meet
their price (they mostly now do only reruns and their own shows they make on
the
cheap, as evidenced by their canning of Mystery Science Theater 3000) and had
already committed most of their budget anyways.  No one else came forward, so
that was that.  The cast and crew were all let go to find work elsewhere, though
they're under contract through July, I think, just after the shows air... there
is a tiny window of opportunity should the episodes have terrific ratings in
which
they could all be brought back.   But it would have to be truly phenomenal...

============================================
"I was corrupt before I had power!" - Random

Andrew Apold