Daniel Dae Kim's largest role before Lost was as Lieutenant John Matheson, a main cast member on the Babylon 5 spin-off, Crusade.
The creator of Babylon 5 and Crusade, J. Michael Straczynski, did not have a great deal of time to flesh out Lieutenant Matheson's character before Crusade was cancelled. Crusade ran a total of thirteen episodes. (For a full discussion of TNT and the cancellation, please go to Tim and Heather Fleming's pages.) The series is now available on DVD.
Crusade is the story of a desperate search. After a failed attempt to destroy Earth, the mysterious Drakh "poisoned the well" - they seeded Earth with a deadly plague. Thankfully, the Drakh did not have the time to set the virus for human biology, so it is having to adjust itself. It is estimated that the virus will wipe out all life on Earth within five years. The Earth was placed under strict quarantine and the best ship in EarthForce, the Excalibur, was given the impossible task of trying to find a cure before the five years are up. Among the crew members of the Excalibur are its Captain, Matthew Gideon, and his Executive Officer, John Matheson. For a more detailed introduction to Crusade, please go to ISN News.
Some of the Significant Episodes for Lt. Matheson --
Episode: "The War Zone" (episode #1.1, Prod #108) (6/9/1999)
John helps put down a mutiny then sees the plague-ravaged Earth. He is then chosen for the very important position as second-in-command of the Excalibur.
Episode: "The Well of Forever" (episode #1.3, Prod #106) (6/23/1999)
John is visited by Mr Jones, a watchdog for telepaths. Mr Jones threatens to relieve John of his duty, until Mr. Jones is blackmailed by Gideon to let John stay. John makes his first visit to hyperspace.
Episode: "Path of Sorros" (episode #1.4, Prod #109) (6/30/1999)
The revelation of John's role in the Telepath War. For a complete (spoiler) description, go to this abbreviated The Path of Sorrows synopsis.
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While his character was still becoming clear, there are some things that we do know about Lieutenant John Matheson. John is the first Telepath to be allowed into EarthForce since the disbanding of the Psi Corps. He has wanted all his life to be in EarthForce and is determined to succeed, both as an individual and as an example of how telepaths can work alongside "normals".
"This is like a trial programme," explains series creator J. Michael Straczynski, "and if it works, they'll keep it going. There are a lot of senators who are very suspicious about this whole thing who are saying, 'If it doesn't work, we're putting everything back; we'll just control it better this time!'" (Quote from Spectrum)
John is very loyal to Captain Gideon, at least in part because Gideon gave him the chance to prove himself as an officer. He served as Gideon's First Officer on his previous ship.
Since the end of the Telepath War, and society's realization of the destructiveness of shutting all the telepaths away in one place together, the Psi Corp has been disbanded and there is an effort to integrate telepaths back into "normal" communities. John, who has a telepath "power" rating of P6, follows the New Rules for Telepaths as carefully as he can. There is a Telepath watchdog sent every six months to check on him and make sure he sticks to those rules. The experience is rather unpleasant.
For more details, read the Matheson portion of The Crusade Writer's Bible.
Daniel has his own interpretation and mental biography for John Matheson.
"I have a lot of images for Matheson, and the pre-dominant image is of a dormant volcano. I think he's someone that tries to look serene and placid on the outside, but I think in the future you'll begin to see it bubble up and maybe even explode. I see a guy who's torn between two worlds, the world of telepaths and the world of mundanes. Each are very distinct, and if you're not one or the other, you're not treated the same."
(Quote from Spectrum)
As Crusade progressed, it became apparent that Lt. Matheson was not the straight arrow he appeared at first. In an episode called The Path of Sorrows, a flashback sequence shows his meeting a young telepath who is part of the resistance movement against the Psi Corps.
Significant events from John's past are revealed in this episode. For a complete (spoiler) description, go to this abbreviated The Path of Sorrows synopsis.
In relation to Path of Sorrows and other unknown parts of John's past, Daniel has said the following:
"What do they say about people who are so much the white knight? That the whitest knights have the darkest side. I think you'll see a dark side to everybody. Part of the great thing about the character is in the past, before Crusade was explored, so there are a lot of places to go."
(Quote from Spectrum)
Crusade's creator JMS had the following to say about Daniel's portrayal of John Matheson:
(August 18th, 1998)
"Daniel Dae Kim as Lieutenant John Matheson brings an unexpected intensity to the part, a
seriousness and earnestness that is simultaneously endearing and sobering: you know that if he
said he would plant his feet on the bridge and await your return, that you could go away for two
weeks, and he would still be there, just as you left him, and woe to anyone who tried to move him off that spot."
More John Matheson pictures and screen captures from Crusade are available in the Image Gallery.
