Space Rangers

• Created by Pen Densham
• January 6, 1993 to January 26, 1993
• CBS

Main Cast

• Captain John Boon-Jeff Kaake
• Doc Kreuger-Jack McGee
• Jojo Thorsen-Marjorie Monaghan
• Zylyn-Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
• Daniel Kincaid-Danny Quinn
• Dr. Mimmer-Clint Howard
• Commander Chennault-Linda Hunt
• Colonel Erich Weiss-Gottfried John

In the year 2104 the colony of Fort Hope on the distant planet Avalon is protected by the Space Rangers Corps who are the only line of defense for the colonists against the dangers of interstellar life and exploration.

YouTube has been an amazing resource for me. I have reacquainted myself with obscure and largely forgotten material through it that I loved. Such is the case with Space Rangers, an extremely short-lived series from the 90s that while flawed, is still quite good when I watch it again today.

One thing that immediately jumps out at me is just how Caucasian this show is. I am not one to focus on race in anything usually since I care more about being entertained or watching a good story but I could not miss the monochromatic nature of the skin of those in the episodes I was able to watch. And I’m not even talking about the main cast. I am referencing supporting characters and extras. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone of any ethnicity somewhere in a shot. At least outside of alien make up.

Maybe I picked up on this because I think of the future as being very multicultural and this does not necessarily have that. I am not saying every episode of any show needs to look like a meeting of the Rainbow Coalition. Rather it needs to look like humanity as a whole made it to the stars.

Another critique I have is that Space Rangers also looked like a cheap direct video movie from the time. For a trashy 90 minutes that you rented from some video store that’s not bad but for a weekly series I draw some issue with that. From the sets to the effects, it looked like not too much money was put into it. The costumes were generic probably because of that. You never quite got a good idea of the command structure and there should be a hint based off of costumes.

CGI courtesy of Babylon 5 and other shows was starting to become used more and more in television. I was not a big fan of it because even then it wasn’t quite up to snuff for use in TV. Here it looks like better than most video game graphics or the raw footage from some movie but not something you wanted to watch on TV. There’s also the apparent use of miniatures at certain points here as well and the two didn’t necessarily marry up that good.

Having said all that I enjoyed Space Rangers. It was a fun adventure science fiction series and still has that feel today. It did have interesting characters in their conception and interesting concepts. The cast and the characters were better than they should’ve been. I think if this had gone on longer than a mere six episodes (though it was cancelled after the first) it could’ve actually made a mark, but science-fiction was a bit of an investment then. If it wasn’t a hit right away it was dead.

Jeff Kaake was Captain John Boon and as introduced in the pilot episode he separated from his wife who could not deal with the difficulties of frontier life and headed back to Earth. This placed him in a more relatable realm much like Miles O’Brien in DS9. Jack McGee as mechanic Doc Kreuger was as much replaced parts as he was man. Essentially a disabled person as a contributing member and this was used to varying degrees at points. Marjorie Monaghan was Jojo Thorsen who was the pilot as well as the muscle. She hailed from the planet of New Venus which at the start of the show was populated by women as the men had run off during a banshee attack. Banshees were a mysterious alien race that attacked travelers. A character who could be used to examine sexism. The great Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa was Zylyn who was a bit of a spiritual Klingon in execution. The outsider perspective. Danny Quinn was Daniel Kincaid who was the green new recruit as well as the child of a high ranking official. Clint Howard was resident scientist Dr. Mimmer. The character was more comic relief but executed like an adult with the excitement of a child. Linda Hunt was the caring yet tough Commander Chennault. And the late Gottfried John was Colonel Erich Weiss. Weiss came in during the second episode and served as the bureaucratic problems the core cast faced.

From the get-go they laid out a pretty involved universe. They had a functional reality and it felt as if you were simply dropped in and were watching the events. Despite being on the cheap, they set rules and followed them.

The episodes themselves were well directed. They had drama and humor and excitement. You would get thrilled or you would get a good laugh. Adrenaline would get pumping and you cared about those portrayed. The show had so much potential they did not get to exploit.

Despite its flaws Space Rangers was a good show that never quite managed to get out of the gate. What we got though is very entertaining and very enjoyable. While I reacquainted myself with stuff on YouTube it is my understanding that the series is available for purchase as a physical copy but as for streaming, I am unaware of any outlets beyond YouTube. However you check it out please do. You won’t be disappointed!