Every once in a while a show will come along that hovers dangerously close to the edge of hokeyness, but always manages to have enough self-irreverence to pull it all off. The only other show that I can think of that can do something like that is "Farscape." Now, "The Long Road" has managed to do the same. So many of the elements of the story could easily descend into a state of complete hokeyness. However, the sense of fun in this episode managed to keep it from going that way.

This episode features the two of the more intriguing characters of the series, Galen and Gideon. The two of them have excellent chemistry together, become almost an interstellar Odd Couple of sorts. Equally impressive is the chemistry between real life father and son Edward and Peter Woodward. We get a sense of Galen's reputation among the Technomage community as well some nice background on the Technomages themselves.

The CGI was again top-notch, very impressive, especially the large golden dragon that frightens away those who might harm the planet of Regula 4. One of the funniest scenes of the episode comes with a conversation between Galen and Alwyn while "holo-demons" attack an EarthForce combat patrol in an inn. Overall, the FX perfectly match the tone of the script and don't look at all as cheesy as some people had claimed that they were.

The only thing that was even remotely bad about this episode was the music. Evan Chen appears to have not learned that cheesy music does not add anything to a scene. I can live with dischordant music at times, but not the kind of music that seems far more aptly suited in a Teletubbies episode. However, I will say that overall the music is improved from "A Call To Arms," however, Chen has a long ways to go before he can ever match Christopher Franke.

All in all, "The Long Road" proves that CRUSADE is a good show on it's own rights - very different from its Babylonian predecessor, but still one of the best shows on TV.