Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Michael Vejar

When the television show Babylon 5 ended its five-year run, there were many loose ends out there. Over the years, creator J. Michael Straczynski has put out several made-for-television movies (and one direct-to-DVD movie) to keep the story going as well as provide closure on some points. There was also one series, which was a spin-off of the original Babylon 5, titled Crusade. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite catch the way the original series did and was cancelled before it even managed to complete one full season.

When the possibility of another spin-off was rumored, The Legend of the Rangers tested the waters. The Rangers were an interplanetary force that seemed to combine elements of being military police and the CIA. Originally, they were primarily made up of Minbari and Humans, but as the series went on and more races signed onto the Alliance, there was a need to expand the ranks. The Legend of the Rangers gives them much more depth in terms of representing the various species seen throughout the show’s run.

The Narn and the Drazi are the newest members of the InterStellar Alliance, and the argument is made that their new recruits should be a part of the crew of the newest ship. They are assembled in a ceremony that is quite spiritual, as well as providing a way for them to get to know each other. Most of the crew is still made up of Humans and Minbari, but there is a Narn and Drazi on board.

While there’s no one here who stands out as a Marcus Cole – a character that exemplified the Rangers in the series – the ones who are on board this ship are not one-dimensional and not as predictable as I thought they would be. David Martell (portrayed by Dylan Neal) was in command of a ship and backed out of what appeared to be a no-win situation. That is not in line with the Ranger code, whereby no Ranger ever backs down from a fight.

Returning in disgrace, David believes he is on his way out. Instead, he ends up in command of an aging Minbari vessel, leading the crew made up of the first recruits from their newest allies.

They are assigned to escort diplomats to a secret location for a top-secret meeting. Despite all of the security and clandestine orders, the Rangers still manage to fly into an ambush.

If anything had come of a series based on these characters, the movie might have fared better overall. However, as a stand-alone production in the universe of Babylon 5, it’s fairly lackluster. Other than a cameo by G’Kar (portrayed by Andreas Katsulas), there are no characters familiar to series fans.

The special effects are good. There’s one neat effect with the weapons system, but it just really doesn’t ring true with a weapons system that is both powerful and effective. The weapons officer enters what appears to be a virtual-reality recreation of the battle and hangs in mid-air, throwing punches and kicks in the direction she wants to fire the weapons. Wouldn’t it be more practical if she were firing a gun rather than having to thrust her arm in the direction of each ship? It seems a rather clumsy and awkward way to operate a weapons system, although the virtual reality effect looked cool. I’m sure this would have been one of the first things jettisoned had it been made into a series.

The acting is hit or miss. Straczynski is known for his great writing ability, but I have to blame some of what the actors had to work with on him. The other part was that they just weren’t that good at what they were doing. I didn’t feel convinced that they were honestly immersed in that universe. There were cliches aplenty involving the characters and their background, which is unfortunate since so many of the characters in the series were wonderful and multi-dimensional. Again, I wonder if a series had been made, if they would have grown, or if some of them would have left in short order.

The Legend of the Rangers just has so many things against it that it never really gets off the ground and catches hold, either with the story or as a potential series. I would rather see more direct-to-DVD movies based on the surviving members of the original cast than faulty pilots like this one.