Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers: To Live and Die in Starlight (2002) (TV)

Director:

Michael Vejar

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski (writer)

Release Date:

19 January 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A new kind of evil demands a new kind of courage.

Plot:

A disgraced Ranger takes command of an old, possibly haunted, ship on an escort mission that encounters deadly peril from a new enemy civilization.

Plot Keywords:

Court Martial | CGI | Space | Warrior | TV Series Pilot

Cast

Dylan Neal	...	David Martell
Andreas Katsulas	...	Citizen G'Kar
Alex Zahara	...	Dulann
Myriam Sirois	...	Sarah Cantrell
Dean Marshall	...	Malcolm Bridges
Warren Takeuchi	...	Kitaro Sasaki (as Warren T. Takeuchi)
Jennie Rebecca Hogan	...	Na'Feel
Mackenzie Gray	...	Minister Kafta
David Storch	...	Tafeek
Enid-Raye Adams	...	Firell
Gus Lynch	...	Tirk
Todd Sandomirsky	...	Tannier
Andrew Kavadas	...	Captain Bart Gregg (as Andrew A. Kavadas)
Simon Egan	...	Minbari Crewman
Bernard Cuffling	...	Sindell

Also Known As:

Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers (USA) (working title)
Legend of the Rangers: Babylon 5 (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Germany:12 | Ireland:PG | Finland:K-11 | UK:PG | Australia:PG | Netherlands:6

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Babylonian Productions

Trivia:

Minister Kafta claims to serve an organization called The Hand. The Hand is a fictional villainous organization in the Marvel Comics universe. The Hand first appeared in Daredevil volume 1 #168 (January, 1981).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When David is thrown against a bulkhead during his fight with Minister Kafta the metal wall wrinkles on impact, revealing it to be a cushioned barrier.

Quotes:

G'Kar: Every spacefaring race has two things in common. First, they have a food identical to what humans call "Swedish meatballs."

Movie Connections:

Follows Babylon 5: Thirdspace (1998) (TV)

It could have been better.

Well, I am a fan of B5, but Legend of the Rangers is another example of the B5 follow-ups not quite living up to the original series. It had its good bits, but on the whole, contained a flawed storyline.

The first half was good. The dialogue was witty and thoughtful, there was character development and the direction was good as well. The Visual effects were phenomenal. However, the second half came off as if it was written and directed by completely different people of lesser ability.

The reason of why the Rangers were feared across the galaxy was lost in this film. It was talked about some, but not really shown. Nor was it visible in the actions and situations these characters were put into. Nor readily visible in their actions.

Rangers are supposed to be peerless warriors, masters of stealth, intelligence and espionage, and skilled and equipped with the best tech. They are trained hard, to be able to deal with the most negative situations at need, but not to be put in them at the Council's whim. Putting a Ranger crew in a falling apart ship, 20 years old, seemed ridiculous. Particularly when you consider the fact that they are based out of Mimbar and have the White Star fleet, some of the finest ships in the galaxy, at their disposal.

Also, many characters were portrayed as not good enough or barely good enough to be Rangers. This is very much in conflict with the ideal of the Rangers and their hard and unforgiving training.

In the end, I was only barely satisfied with the "movie". It came off more like a long, generic Star Trek Next Gen episode. That is simply below B5's writing and direction. I gave it a (barely) 5.