Legend of the Ranger

Movie
German title	Babylon 5: Legend of the Rangers
Original title	Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers: To Live and Die in Starlight
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	2002
length	90 minutes
Rod
Director	Michael Vejar
script	J. Michael Straczynski
production	Ron McLeod
music	Christopher Franke
camera	Henry Chan
cut	Stone Myhrstad
occupation
Dylan Neal : David Martell Andreas Katsulas : G'Kar Alex Zahara : Dulann Myriam Sirois : Sarah Cantrell Dean Marshall : Malcolm Bridges Warren Takeuchi : Kitaro 'Kit' Sasaki Jennie Rebecca Hogan : Na'Feel David Storch : Tafeek Enid-Raye Adams : Firell Gus Lynch : Tirk Mackenzie Gray : Minister Kafta Todd Sandomirsky : Tannier
chronology
←  Predecessor Crusade Successor  → Babylon 5: Forgotten Legends

Legend of the Rangers is an American science fiction - television film by J. Michael Straczynski from 2002. The film was in Germany on 21 November 2005 DVD releases.

overview

Main article: Babylon 5

The film, produced on behalf of the SciFi-Channel , is set in the Babylon 5 universe created by J. Michael Straczynski. He was pilot for a new offshoot - television series be in the from other Babylon 5 productions known Ranger are the focus. Due to low viewing figures for the premiere of the pilot episode, the series never went into production.

J. Michael Straczynski explained the low ratings on which the decision about the production of the series depended a week after the broadcast with the partial simultaneous broadcast of a playoff game of the National Football League . While the film was only shown after the game on the US West Coast, it ran parallel to it on the East Coast. The game had the highest audience rating in years, and since the main football audience overlap very much with Babylon 5's target audience, this unfavorable broadcast date resulted in very low ratings on the east coast. Although the expected ratings on the west coast were even exceeded, the SciFi channel decided not to produce the series due to the poor average rating.

The film was never broadcast on German television, but was dubbed in German for DVD release. It is available as a single DVD, as part of the “Babylon 5 - The Movies” DVD box or as part of the “Spacecenter Babylon 5 Superbox”.

action

After the war with the Shadows ended in 2261, the Interstellar Alliance was formed, on whose behalf the rangers maintain law and order and watch over the peace.

The film is set in 2265. Ranger David Martell takes command of the Liandra , a 20-year-old small cruiser whose previous crew has mysteriously disappeared. The first mission for him and his crew is to escort the Valen , the newest ship in the fleet, which is under the command of its closest competitor, Tannier . The Valen is supposed to bring a number of ambassadors from different worlds - including G'Kar of Narn - to a secret meeting. When they arrive at their destination, the two ships are attacked by an unknown enemy. The Valen is destroyed, but the ambassadors can be saved by the Liandra . A saboteur trapped aboard reveals information about the hostile beings that call themselves The Hand and are said to pose a far greater threat to all races than the Shadows ever were. A game of cat and mouse begins with the remaining enemy ships.

criticism

Legend of the Ranger caused heated discussions and criticism among the existing Babylon 5 fans even after it was first broadcast . The most obvious points of criticism include, for example, completely changed designs of ships, planets and the jump gate effects. The bright, colorful homeworld of the Minbari, which is oriented towards crystal structures, became a gloomy, technical place that stood in complete contrast to the CGI sequences known from the original series . Other reasons for criticism include the somewhat strange control of the on-board weapons , in which the weapons are fired or controlled with blows and kicks within a projection room, as well as the repetitive action elements. For example, the Liandra's crew saved themselves twice by placing bombs on their opponents instead of handing over a prisoner. In addition, the basic principles of the rangers were partially overturned and contradict each other with those known from the series. For them, “We live for the one, we die for the one” still applies , but the interpretation takes on much more fanatical traits . For example, David Martell is said to be punished at the beginning of the film because he withdrew with his incapacitated ship from an overpowering enemy instead of dying for the one together with his crew. In the original plot of Babylon 5, a ranger would only sacrifice himself to serve the common cause - not because of any ideals: a senseless death does not serve the one. It is also worth noting that this battle cry is repeated at every possible opportunity. The absence of well-known characters (apart from G'Kar ) and the sometimes clichéd appearance of the new characters also caused further criticism .

Web links

• Legend of the Rangers in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-16483