TV Show Review: Babylon 5 - The Legend of the Rangers

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Funny dialog and characters that show promise

Cons: Never went anywhere. Oh yeah, there's that weapons system, too.

The Bottom Line:

Could have lead to more

A sub-par effort in a

Mostly great franchise

"We Live for the One.  We Die for the One.  But We Don't Die Stupidly."

Science Fiction fans are a notoriously loyal and greedy bunch. Even years down the line, we demand more adventures in our favorite universes. After the Babylon 5 spin-off series Crusade was canceled, things didn't look good for this particular franchise. Then word came that the Sci-fi Channel was potentially interested in a new spin-off. The Legend of the Rangers was made as a pilot for the potential new series.

The story is set among the Rangers. As fans of the original series know, the Rangers were created to help maintain order among the various races in the Inter Stellar Alliance. Comprised mainly of Humans and Minbari, more and more races are beginning to join the elite group.

Ranger David Martell (Dylan Neal) has committed a horrid offense - staying alive. The Ranger code strictly states that at no time shall a Ranger back down from a fight. But with his ship out-gunned, David doesn't force a fight, thereby living to fight another day.

A funny thing happens on the way to his court marshal. Saner heads prevail, and he is allowed to stay in the Rangers. He was in line to be given command of a new ship just coming off the assembly line. He does still get to command a ship, but he is given command of a 20-year-old Minbari ship rumored to be haunted.

His first assignment is to provide support for a larger ship taking a group of delegates to an undisclosed location. Even with all the secrecy, they still fly into an ambush, and David and his crew must use every trick up their sleeve if they are going to survive this encounter with an ancient race.

I had only watched this movie once, the day it first aired. I was less then impressed. I bought it mainly so I could complete my Babylon 5 collection. The movie was actually better then I remembered.

The story presented here is entertaining. It had been long enough since I had seen it that I couldn't remember much about it and was pulled into the action again. The acting by a group of unknowns is top notch, and the characters are interesting enough that I wish the series had been picked up so we could learn more about them. Fan favorite Andreas Katsulas (who unfortunately passed away recently) returns as G'Kar, the only character from the original series to appear. His performance, as always, is great. And the dialog is witty. I was laughing out loud at many of the lines. This is some of the sharpest writing series creator J. Michael Straczynski (JMS) has done. This is all supported by great special effects.

Unfortunately, the flaws I remembered were still here. If this had been the pilot for a new series, it would have worked well. It introduces us to a new danger and sets a potentially interesting story in motion. However, since this was all we got, it feels empty. Adding to this is the sense we've done this before in the original series. I'm sure a series would have gone in a new direction, but here "The Hand" just felt like a retreat of original series villains The Shadows.

The almost fatal flaw of this movie, however, is the weapons systems. I mean, seriously, what was JMS thinking? In order for this ship to fire, the ammunitions officer must go into a virtual reality chamber and use Kung Fu moves. I'm not kidding! She has to punch and kick at pictures of the ships in order to fire the weapons. While the visuals are unique and interesting, the idea that a ship would have a weapons system like that is laughable. It pulls me right out of the movie.

This movie was never popular with fans, and in keeping with that, this is a bare bones release. We get the movie in widescreen and surround sound with nothing in the way of extras. I'm a little disappointed. I would have loved to hear JMS attempt to explain the stupid weapons system.

This is not the place to get introduced to Babylon 5. If you are interested in a great science fiction show, start with the season sets. The Legend of the Rangers is a movie only a fan will love, and even then, most fans don't.