Space Rangers

I adored the episodes I saw of this show, and hungered for more. Only the first three were shown during its first run, although all of them may have been shown at a later time. I believe there are five episodes in all, and you can rent them on VHS, I encourage you to do so. Some reviewers at the time called it "A-Team in space," which is quite valid, and it was lots of fun. Great special effects, the actors were really good, and the story lines were not too heavy, but had enough meaning that it's worth watching. I'd love for Sci-Fi Channel to show the episodes regularly or in a marathon. Go watch the video, and enjoy! :)

This show about a screw up company of space cops was brilliant semi-satire. It took the nuclear family dynamic of the ultra serious "Waltons" mixed it with the sarcastic "Ice Pirates" crews' family weirdness, added space adventure, and voila--Instant Cult Hit! It brings to my mind a tiny film about a loving family type crew of a "renegade" ship that acquires a 8 yr old kid as a stowaway. Both films have a similar technology level, costuming, and dynamic(inner reality) I LOVE Space Rangers for its' internal consistency, irascibility, excellently built characters, sarcastic/witty dialogue, and great cast(their acting ability is unquestionably awesomely great)

Sure, this series was kind of hokey, and sure, the characters were -- as one of the IMDb comments points out -- rather cartoonish. And there's no denying that the stories were highly derivative; you'll find deliberate echoes of "Star Wars," "Star Trek," "Aliens," and a host of old space operas from the early days of TV.

But that's pretty much the point. I'm old enough to remember those early shows -- "Captain Video," "Captain Midnight, " "Tom Corbett," "Space Patrol" -- and "Space Rangers," when I saw it back in '93, had the same kind of unpretentious charm, along with likable (if thoroughly stereotyped) characters, colorful aliens, and plenty of action. It also had a terrific, pounding opening theme by Hans Zimmer (it is on my iPod even as I write this), as well as the pulchritudinous six-foot-tall Marjorie Monaghan as a pilot (so easy on the eyes) and -- in a brilliant bit of casting -- the diminutive Linda Hunt as the Rangers' commander, possessor of one of the most soothing, intelligent voices in the Solar System.

The fact that the show had an obviously low budget seems somehow appropriate; it gives "Rangers" yet another connection to "Tom Corbett" and its ilk.

I was never a fan of "Star Trek"; it seemed just a bit too slick, smug, and preachy. Sure, it was probably, quote-unquote better than "Space Rangers," but I preferred the latter, and I still remember how surprised and disappointed I was when it was canceled so abruptly.

My cousin is a set designer. He made a lot of the stuff on the show including the ship that they used and he even wrote an alien language for the show that was posted on signs and walls around the base that the rangers live and work out of. I have seen every episode of the show including the ones that never aired. I have even read the scripts for episodes that were never filmed. It is a shame that the show got canceled, it was about to get really good. I really don't know what else to say, IMDb says that my post must have at least ten lines of text, but I read posts all the time that have a lot less. I really don't understand why I have to post at least ten lines here. That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.

Beowolf666 is thinking of Firefly (http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=serenity), a truly great show and subsequent movie, Serenity.

I do see where Beowolf666 may have gotten the two confused, some characters sound to be very similar, especially the missionary, female second in command, and engineer.

There is also a similarity in the Banshies of Space Rangers and the Reavers of the Firefly universe. After reading the plot summary for Space Rangers, one gets the feeling that Joss Whedon may have been a fan of Space Rangers, or at least the basic idea, which was then refined for Firefly.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen Space Rangers yet, or I'd leave a comment about it. I just wanted to make sure the nice comments Beowolf666 left were attributed to the correct series.