Space Rangers

Ouch! I was 11 when this show came on and I LOVED it. For years I hadn't been able to find anything about it online. It's on Netflix's instant view service. It's certainly not what I remembered, but fun to watch for the nostalgia. The special effects look like a BAD Windows 95 screen saver... no, that may be being a bit generous, but it was 1993. The intro is 80'serrific, it's got all the characters turning towards the camera, one by one, and smiling while their name flashes underneath and cheesy music playing. I've got to fill 10 lines... which is stupid so I'm going to keep typing. I'm actually watching the show right now as we speak... er... as I type... I just watched the take off sequence, which to be honest was why I loved the show to begin with. I'm going to raise my original score of 5 to a 9 just because of that. How many more lines of text do I need? This is the 14th line on my screen. Weird...

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.

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! :)

There are some great bones for this but the cinematography and editing are awful. Every few seconds the frame rate slows just slightly in an apparent attempt to be dramatic but it just makes it look like the film was dragging. And the deliberate camera shake is nauseating.

Props are meh and graphics are meg but not unduly so for the year and tech at the time. It's just the lighting and cinematography that makes it nearly unwatchable.

There are some great actors along side some awful ones. And blast it, I know Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is not that bad of an actor but man is he bad in this. I can only hope it was poor direction and script for him.

I wish I could give this series a good remark that would be uplifting to those die hard fans of obscurity. I simply can't. Many episodes were doomed with questionable writing that resembled something out of bad 1970's Flash Gordon knock off. There are many instances where you think that this series will be turned around with good ideas, but at best the writers were only able to depart from the 'science' of fiction and add a lot of stupidity in place of a solemn ending. This is a common mistake with SF series- not realizing that the viewers are smart enough to see through the holes. If the writer asks the audience to skip over a few things, that's left up to the imagination, such a request can be fine in an already 'hit' TV series. But even the jokes weren't that good. These were people of excellent talent, being asked to play pretend on a set that was faker than a spray painted box and the audience was asked to join in. No, this is not even of the same caliber or entertainment value as Irwin Allen's "Lost in Space"- I only hope that it paid well enough for the actors to be associated with it...