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{{quote|''"Just so we're clear: once we go, this is my command. I'll do whatever's necessary. If that means turning the entire galaxy upside down and shaking its pockets to see what falls out, that's what I'll do. I'm not subtle, I'm not pretty, and I'll piss off a helluva lot of people along the way, but I'll get the job done."''|'''Captain Matthew Gideon'''}}
[[Spin-Off]] from ''[[
This being said, the series suffered terribly from [[Executive Meddling]] - it was commissioned by a network whose understanding of the series pretty much stopped at "We'll be rolling in money if this is as popular as ''Babylon 5'' was," and then later learned that this wasn't the case anyway -- and the relationship between creator/producer [[J. Michael Straczynski]] and the network [[Screwed
Amusingly, this level of Executive Meddling made it into the screenplays : In several of the episodes, the situations the characters run through resonate with the situation in which the creator was deadlocked with the network, and some of the corresponding dialogue is acidic, to say the least. Then again, if the author had resigned to the notion that he wasn't going to get the series to fly, why not [[Biting the Hand Humor|have some fun while at it?]]
Not to be confused with the second book in the ''[[Destroyermen]]'' series, or the historical Crusades.
{{tropelist}}
* [[Aliens Steal Cable]]: In the episode ''Visitors From Down the Street'' (an [[Homage]] to [[The X
* [[Alien Non-Interference Clause]]: "Visitors From Down The Street" explicitly draws attention to the fact that the ''B5''-[[The Verse|verse]] equivalent of Starfleet ''doesn't have one''. And would be rather hypocritical if it did, because Earth was given [[Faster
** The aliens had actually assumed they did, even ''trying to rub in'' that the crew couldn't interfere. They made sure to include that part of the conversation in the recordings revealing the conspiracy when they distributed them across the planet.
* [[Anachronic Order]]: To the extent that it is impossible to view the episodes in any order without continuity errors.
* [[Armor-Piercing Question]]: Galen asks a series of questions over the opening titles, answered by Gideon except the last: "Who do you serve, and who do you trust?"
** Which, in light of the fact that the cure for the Drakh plague was due to be found around a year and a half into the five year show with the story of Earth's use of leftover Shadow technology taking centre stage, could be seen as a very subtle bit of foreshadowing.
* [[Bad Bad Acting]]: Galen, talking through his Homunculus. Presumably because [[They Just Didn't Care|he just didn't care]].
* [[Cheap Gold Coins]]: Averted in one episode; the crew visits a human colony which is voluntarily living at a pre-industrial level. Captain Gideon goes to a tavern and holds up a gold-colored coin, asking for whatever it will buy. The tavernkeeper responds that it's enough to buy the entire tavern. Not just all the food and drink ''in'' it. ''All'' of it.
* [[Coming in Hot]]: ''[[Inverted Trope|Inverted]]!'' Lochley's disabled Starfury is ''swallowed'' by the ''Excaliber's'' open hangerbay as the ship swoops past, using forcefield crash barriers to keep her fighter (and her) from being smashed against the rear bulkhead of the bay. [[Invoked]] as a result of [[Exact Words]], below.
* [[Cool Starship]]: The ''Excalibur''.
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* [[Failure Is the Only Option]]: While the series looks like it's set up like this, the plans were to subvert the trope. The Drakh plague would have been cured around halfway into the second season. See below in [[What Could Have Been]].
* [[Homage]]:
** There are multiple similarities to ''[[Blake's
** "Visitors From Down The Street" is a parody of ''[[The X
* [[Head-Tiltingly Kinky]]: The Pak'Ma'Ra-Human porn that Captain Gideon stumbles upon. Right after the ship's doctor mentions that those two species are entirely incapable of mating.
{{quote|
* [[Imminent Danger Clue]]: Gideon and Lochley realize at the last second that an alien is about to shoot because the alien weapon produces a smell of ozone when it is being charged.
* [[Insufferable Genius]]: Max Eilerson.
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* [[Magic From Technology]]: The techno-mages, by definition.
* [[Magic Mirror]]: Gideon's Apocalypse Box, "It gives you an edge. It knows things no one else knows." "You have to be very careful because... it lies. Not all the time. Just enough.".
* [[Orwellian Editor]]: A rather bitter real-life example. When it came time for the DVD release, JMS was asked to contribute to the bonus features. He agreed, but only on the condition that he could discuss what he went through in regards to [[Executive Meddling]] and being [[Screwed
* [[Percussive Pickpocket]]: A thief does this to Max.
* [[Pilot Movie]]: Kinda - it only included two characters from the series and was more of a [[Poorly-Disguised Pilot]] in the form of a ''[[Babylon 5]]'' TV movie.
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* [[Recycled in Space]]: A [[Running Gag]] amongst the fandom was to refer to the show as "[[Dungeons and Dragons]] In Space!" There was a wizard (Galen), a thief (Dureena), a healer (Doctor Chambers), a warrior (Matheson), a paladin (Gideon), [[And Zoidberg|and Max]].
** And in an interview for the DVD set, JMS essentially fronts up and admits that was quite deliberate.
** In addition to the ''[[
* [[Refuge in Vulgarity]]: The Fen. One of them ''really'' likes their ship. Complete with the cast doing a head-rocking variation on the [[Star Trek Shake]] just in case you can't figure out what the Fen is doing to their ship.
* [[Screwed
* [[Shout
** The entire "Visitors from Down the Street" is an ''[[Affectionate Parody]]'' of ''[[The X
** In "Ruling from the Tomb," several characters are hanging out in a bar called "Phobos" on Mars. John Sheridan visited a bar with the same name in the [[Babylon
*** For bonus points, two of the street names mentioned in the episode are named for [[Ray Bradbury]] and [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]], both of whom wrote fiction based on Mars.
* [[That Came Out Wrong]]: Gideon dates Lochley and at one point asks her if she was ever "under" (unbeknownst to him, her ex-husband) Sheridan. She does a [[Spit Take]]. Then she kindly waits until he's taken a drink to tell him who her ex is, forcing one on him too.
** It's a bit of a [[Genius Bonus]] too, especially on the first viewing, as only people who watched the last season of Babylon 5 would know that Sheridan and Lochley had been married prior to her mentioning it in that scene.
* [[Thirty Second Blackout]]
* [[Travelling At the Speed of Plot]]: [[Trope Namer]], via [[J. Michael Straczynski]]'s comments on the show.
* [[Wave Motion Gun]]: The ''Excalibur'''s biggest weapon -- an experimental prototype that drains the ship's power for 60 seconds after it's fired.
* [[What Could Have Been]]: JMS had a five year arc planned out, which he's teased at over the years and will be revealed with the publication of ''Crusade'' scriptbooks. Additionally, three scripts had been written and prepped for production when the show was cancelled, including the season finale:
** "To The Ends Of The Earth", by JMS, would have kicked off the series' '''real''' story arc by having Captain Gideon getting a lead from the Apocalypse Box on the mysterious vessel that destroyed his former ship, the ''Cerberus''. After taking the ''Excalibur'' on a [[Moby Dick|Captain Ahab mission]] and alienating the rest of the crew, he destroys it, and the audience learns the ship had some connection to Earthforce.
** "Value Judgements", by Fiona Avery, would have seen the crew encountering Alfred Bester, the antagonist telepath from ''[[
** A story arc for Dureena in the latter half of the first season would have seen her banished from the ''Excalibur'' for a few episodes. When she returns, it's with no memories and a mysterious glowing sword.
** "The End Of The Line", by JMS, would have been the season finale and seen Gideon trace the origins of the mysterious ship he destroyed (in "To The Ends Of The Earth") to a top-secret Earthforce base that had been experimenting with Shadow technology since before [[Babylon
** The cliffhanger would be resolved in season 2 by transferring Gideon's consciousness into the Apocalypse Box until his body had been healed. As a result of discovering the conspiracy in Earthforce to use Shadow technology, the ''Excalibur'' crew would be "black-balled" by the Earth Alliance and become renegades. Ultimately, the cure to the Drakh plague would have been discovered around the middle of the second season, since the Earthforce conspiracy storyline was always meant to be the main arc of the show.
** Since the show was cancelled and none of these story arcs were shown, writers attempted to include them in their [[Expanded Universe]] novels. ''The Passing of the Techno-Mages'' trilogy notably describes the origins of techno-mage "tech" as Shadow technology. Also, the Shadow hybrid ship that destroyed the ''Cerberus'' is itself destroyed shortly after by a weapons overload.
** In 2010, it came to light that Peter Woodward (Galen) wrote an entire episode that JMS had slated for the second season. It's called "Little Bugs Have Lesser Bugs" and would've been/is (if you read the script) equal parts icky and funny.
* [[X Meets Y]]: ''[[Blake's
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[[Category:Military Science Fiction]]
[[Category:Crusade]]
[[Category:TV Series]]
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