''Space Rangers'' is an American futuristic

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

. The series aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

in 1993. The show was created by

Pen Densham Pen Densham (born 14 October 1947) is a British-Canadian film and television producer, writer, and director, known for writing and producing films such as '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves''Kasindorf, Jeanie. "Million Dollar Babies: How a Bunch of ...

and Trilogy Entertainment Group.

Synopsis

In the year 2104, the Earth colony Fort Hope on the distant planet Avalon struggles to survive. A small force of police/marines called the "Space Rangers Corps" are the first, last and only line of defense for the colonists against crime and the perils of interstellar exploration. The series concentrates on Captain John Boon and his team of Rangers aboard Ranger Slingship #377.

Cast

* Jeff Kaake as Captain John Boon * Jack McGee as Doc Kreuger * Marjorie Monaghan as Jojo Thorsen *

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Japanese: 田川洋行, ''Tagawa Hiroyuki''; born September 27, 1950) is a Japanese-born American actor, film producer, and martial artist. Often cast as villains, he is known for his film roles in ''The Last Emperor'' ...

as Zylyn * Danny Quinn as Daniel Kincaid *

Clint Howard Clinton Engle Howard (born April 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is the second son born to American actors Rance and Jean Howard, and younger brother of actor and director Ron Howard. His 200-plus acting credits include feature films such as ...

as Dr Mimmer *

Linda Hunt Lydia Susanna "Linda" Hunt (born April 2, 1945) is an American actress of stage and screen. She made her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart in ''Popeye'' (1980). Hunt portrayed the male character Billy Kwan in '' The Year of Living Dangerously'' ...

as Commander Chennault *

Gottfried John Gottfried John (; 29 August 1942 – 1 September 2014) was a German stage, screen, and voice actor. A long-time collaborator of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, John appeared in nine of the filmmaker's projects between 1975 and 1981, the year befor ...

as Colonel Erich Weiss

Planets

* New Venus -A former Earth colony that was overrun with Banshees. While most of the men elected to abandon the colony, the women chose to stay and fight off the invaders. As a result the colony became an Amazon-like

matriarchy Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property. While those definitions apply in general ...

. Jojo Thorsen originates from this colony and harbors a deep hatred for Banshees. * Skaraab -A desolate planet where the days are so hot that the suns burn away all surface life in a matter of one day. The planet's vegetation has to grow back overnight and is so aggressive that it will even consume animal tissue in order to survive. It is also home to an ancient Graaka burial temple. * Earth -Home to the Space Rangers Corps & its Central Command. It is several weeks away at lightspeed from Fort Hope. * Avalon -Home to our heroes' colony of Fort Hope. On the outside it looks much like the Painted Desert in the American southwest. * Katraz -Penal colony. A place where the galaxy's worst are dumped off never to be heard from again. There are no guards and no ways to leave. The planet is ruled by anarchy among the inmates. One inmate named Rec heads the majority of factions on the planet. The name is no doubt derived from the former San Francisco prison of

Alcatraz Island Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pri ...

which also had the reputation for being impossible to escape. * Blood Nebula -A favorite hiding spot for smugglers and slavers. Its red clouds jam most sensors making enforcement in this area difficult at best. * Vee'Lon Prime -A wet, sandy, and tropical planet home to the reptilian Vee'Lons.

Episodes

Media

The complete series was released for a short time on VHS tape. It was later released to DVD for Region 2. On October 15, 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1.The Short-Lived '93 Show on DVD as 'The Complete Sci-Fi Cult Classic TV Series'
Oddly, the Mill Creek release contains two DVDs but contains all six episodes highly compressed onto the first disk, while the second disk has the same six episodes combined into three mini-movies of two episodes each. Furthermore, the Mill Creek release specifies a different episode order list versus the Episodes list above. The Mill Creek release specifies the order as: # "Pilot" # "The Replacements" # "Banshees" # "Death Before Dishonor" # "The Trial" # "To Be Or Not To Be" It is not specified on the DVD package why the episodes are in this order on the DVD.

References

External links

*
Marjorie Monaghan's (Jojo) website on ''Space Rangers''
{{Pen Densham Space adventure television series CBS original programming 1990s American science fiction television series 1993 American television series debuts 1993 American television series endings 1990s American drama television series Television series set in the 22nd century Television shows scored by Hans Zimmer