"Racing the Night" discussion

[ruuger]

Since we're watching Crusade in the revised broadcast order sanctioned by JMS himself, we're skipping the god-awful "War Zone" for now, and so...

This is the discussion post for "Racing the Night". Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware. If you have any fanworks related to this episode, you can also leave links to them in this post.

Summary:
The crew of the Excalibur discovers a planet that has been infected with the same plague as Earth.

Extra reading:
The article for "Racing the Night at The Lurker's Guide.

Comments

[alexcat.livejournal.com]

As much bas I loved B5, Crusade was another thing entirely. I was always fascinated by almost every aspect of it, though I suspect that it was mostly knowing that we would never really find out what happened other than the plague was cured.

This was not the first episode in the order I saw them in the first time but I always liked this one since it showed us how Gideon got chosen to be the captain as well as a bit about his character right off the bat.

And Max... I loved the arrogant SOB right from the start. Who wouldn't? And Galen was also a favorite. Gotta love anyone who quotes Gandalf.

I suppose anyone who tuned in expecting anything like B5 would have been as rudely shocked as those who expected Stargate Universe to resemble the other shows in any way. Perhaps that is why it died so quickly.

This episode was a good one though not one of my favorites. We do get to see the Apocalypse Box though. I actually could not understand it and I don't remember noticing that it sounded more like Gideon as time went on. What a lovely mystery left unsolved!

When I first saw the series, I had to buy it on pirated video from ebay. DVD's are much nicer!

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Alas I am separated from my Crusade dvds and can't start my rewatch until next week, so I have to comment from memory - that is a much better introduction episode for the show. Good character bits for everyone, and if the ethical dilemma is on the talking side, well, all the better as far as I'm concerned.

American Gothic equipped me with a liking for Gary Cole, who did make Gideon my favourite among the JMS-written captains (well, him and Lochley), but my favourite character in Crusade always will be Max Eilerson. (Aka The One Archaeologist Who Survives. Despite working for the dreaded company of Anna Sheridan and Morden fame.)

Crusade comes across as very much inspired by the British tv show Blake's 7, and not just because the Excalibur looks so much like the Liberator, but also because some character map on others, Max Eilerson and Avon being a case in point. Otoh Dureena has quite a different personality from Vila, and while it amuses me to think of Galen as Cally, he's not really.

I have Galen issues, but not caused by anything in this particular episode, so I won't mention them until we get to the eps causing said issues.

[alexcat.livejournal.com]

Max may one of my favorite characters on any show! He's such an ass and such a lovely one at that!

I still have not seen American Gothic but knew Cole's work forever... He played General Custer once and I'm a Custer era history buff.

[widsidh.livejournal.com]

New to Crusade, so first impressions:

This does seem like a very good introductory episode, and did feel as if it had always belonged there. I certainly didn't think there was something about a character I should know and didn't.

Max annoys me so far (in a way that was no doubt intended, so after comments above I am looking forward to see how he develops). I also liked the sparring between Galen and Dureena.

I agree it looks like a different animal from B5 proper, but there still is the same knowledgeable and inelligent writing, and I am looking forward to more.

Re Blake's 7: oh *that's* what the Excalibur reminded me of! :-)

PS, not keen on the uniforms...

PPS, I switched the subtitles on for the apocalypse box.