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.
