Mission Statement: Who We Are and What We Want
Mission Statement: Who We Are and What We Want
We are Tim and Heather Fleming.
More than three years ago, we started a website called Crusade for Crusade because we loved Babylon 5 and believed that it was more than just entertainment. It was great science fiction, the kind that thoughtfully and meaningfully explores concepts like human nature and religion. It was the kind of show that challenged the viewer to pay attention, and if you did, you were rewarded with a wonderful story, fully realized and ever evolving characters, and fascinating ideas, all of which were the source for hours of fun and interesting conversation long after we had finished watching the episodes.
We believed that Crusade would be another such show, and so we started our first website in order to fight for it when TNT cancelled the series before airing even a single episode.
The fight for Crusade (and later for Legend of the Rangers) was long and hard, but we fought well. Through our efforts and those of many other dedicated fans, more than $7,000 was raised to pay for ads supporting Crusade in "Variety" and "Sci-Fi Entertainment" and also 3,000 "Save Crusade" buttons which were handed out at conventions by the fans and the Crusade actors. Additionally, countless numbers of "Save Crusade" flyers were distributed at conventions and comic book stores and countless letters were sent to TNT, Warner Brothers, Sci-Fi, magazines, newspapers, and advertising sponsors. We came very close (more than once) to getting a B5-related series back on the airwaves, but in the end it just didn't happen.
When word came down that our final chance had died with Sci-Fi's decision not to make Legend of the Rangers into a series, we knew that it was time to shut down the "Crusade for Crusade" site. But with some thought and some little pushes from our "Crusade for Crusade" readers :), we realized that it wasn't time for us to disappear from the web completely. Although Babylon 5 was our favorite show (and probably always will be) there are other shows out there that are also worth talking about and supporting.
This new site, "Science Fiction Crusade", is named in honor of Crusade and is based on the idea that science fiction is a special form of entertainment: science fiction is uniquely suited to entertaining people while also making them think. At it's best, it can open people's minds to new ideas, make them contemplate their beliefs, values, and goals, and challenge them to look more closely at their ideas about good and evil, and at how they live their lives. At the same time, the best science fiction is also great fun :).
On this site we will give you the news and our reviews and opinions about any tv programs, movies, books etc. which we believe live up to (at least in some measure) the great potential of science fiction. We will also, of course, let you know when we think things fail completely to live up to that potential so you can avoid wasting precious hours on the terrible drivel that is sometimes passed off as science fiction. (We define "science fiction" loosely to include speculative fiction and fantasy programs like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) We will do our best, as we have always done on the "Crusade for Crusade" site, to give you acurate information and our honest opinions.
Finally, we know from past experience (and sadly that includes much more than just Crusade), that even when science fiction is great, it is often underappreciated and poorly or not at all supported by the industries which produce it, especially by the television industry. Thus, this site will serve one further purpose: This site will always be ready to support any quality show which is in need of that support. Although we lost the battle to save Crusade, we learned an important lesson: Even though it hurt to lose Crusade, we felt far better having fought as hard as we could to save it, than we would have if we had just sat around and done nothing.
Great science fiction should be enjoyed and celebrated, and we hope to do a lot of that on this page. But when the time comes, the fans of science fiction must also be ready to fight for the things that are truly worth fighting for. We're ready to do that too!
