Top, from left: Daniel Kincaid, Doc "Tin Man" Krueger, Zylyn, Capt. John Boone, Jojo Thorson. Bottom: Cmdr. Chennault.
"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a guy who can't hold his ammunition."
— Jojo Thorson
This American futuristic space adventure series, created by Pen Densham and Trilogy Entertainment Group, aired briefly on CBS in 1993.
Set in 2104, it depicts a force of quasi-military police, known as the "Space Rangers Corp.", which defend the colonists of Fort Hope against crime and the perils of space exploration. The TV series focuses on Ranger Slingship #377 and its misfit team.
Due to poor scheduling and scripting problems, it was cancelled after six episodes — only four of which were aired in the U.S., and out of order at that. In spite of this it was well-received internationally, has turned into a cult TV show, and has since become available on VHS and DVD.
All the Banshees in the universe won't stop us from bringing you these tropes:
- Action Girl: Jojo is a member of a race whose men abandoned their planet when threatened; the women fought and survived. She's fit, has exceptional reflexes and can hold her own in a fight.
- Adam Westing: in "To Be... Or Not To Be" Buddy Hackett playes washed-up comedian Lenny Hacker. In an odd twist of
The Danza, Hackett's character is actually named directly after himself — Buddy Hackett is a stage name. His birth name was Leonard Hacker. - The Alcatraz: A Penal Colony planet called "Catraz".note
- And Starring: Linda Hunt gets "And" billing in the opening.
- Awesome, but Impractical:
- Instead of standing, sitting or reclining, the pilot lies pronenote on a cushion, with many of the control panels above her to the front and either side. Probably done simply to appear unique — and it succeeds, but mostly due to the fact that the position would tire the arms and make it awkward to do anything other than steer — not to mention the neck strain.note
- Jojo looks good in a corset, but in real life corsets tend to restrict motion and interfere with breathing. It's especially impractical when she's suffering from cracked ribs ("The Replacements").
- Berserk Button: Played for Laughs: Don't insult Doc's music.Doc: Screechin'? I'll give her screechin'! She's the one that's screechin'! What the hell's she know about music anyway?
- Calvinball: In the pilot, we're introduced to Jojo by watching her play a game of skill and reflexes. We never find out any details of the game.
- Creepy Blue Eyes, Alien version: Zylyn's race has pale yellow irises rimmed in red.
- Custom Uniform of Sexy: Jojo's outfit fits this trope.
- Cyborg: Many parts of Doc's body have been replaced; he opted for mechanical instead of biological replacements to avoid the paperwork the latter would entail, which would in turn trigger forced retirement.
- Deadpan Snarker: Nearly everybody has their moments, but Jojo does it best.Jojo: I like him! We'll call him "Ringer". As in "Dead".
- Death Glare: Zylyn. Pretty much all the time.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The series didn't last long enough to see any major changesnote , but there were a few between the pilot and second episode.
- There were some changes to the uniforms; most notably Cmdr. Chennault's.
- Jojo's eyebrows were black and bushy in the pilot; in subsequent episodes they were merely swooped.
- The special effects enjoyed a notable upgrade between the pilot and the second episode.
- His Name Really Is "Barkeep": Ringer was nicknamed by Jojo and only ever referred to as Ringer after that, including in the credits. Presumably, as a robot, he never actually had a name until then.
- The Engineer: Doc maintains the ship's systems and the team's conventional weaponry.
- Hustler: In Jojo's intro scene she's shown losing badly at a game that requires skill and reflexes. After tricking her opponent into betting heavily on a second round, she reveals herself to be one of a race of supremely skilled warrior women, at which point she beats him handily.
- In-Series Nickname: Doc is often called "Tin Man" due to his extensive cybernetics.
- Job-Stealing Robot: Ringer is brought in to help the team when resources are thin, and he's better at everybody's job than they are. Lampshaded by Doc. (As it turns out, he's actually intended as a spearhead for replacing the entire Ranger force with robots.) It ends abruptly when it turns out Ringer is unable to cope with a situation outside his programming, which sends him into a cybernetic seizure.Doc: Are you this good with everybody's job?
- Large Ham: It's obvious the cast are having far too much fun, but especially:
- Zylyn, pretty much in every scene he's in. Especially in the pilot. He's even mugging for the cover photo. Somewhat justified in that he's an alien psychic rage warrior.
- Weiss also frequently pulls out the stops.
- Military Brat: Kincaid's father is a serving general. Kincaid comes with the usual emotional baggage.
- New Meat: Daniel Kincaid is the new recruit. When introduced to Boone, he snaps to attention and quotes his training scores. He mellows out pretty quickly, though.
- Of Corsets Sexy: Jojo wears what appears to be a corset as part of her uniform, for no apparent reason aside from some minor Fanservice.
- Only One Name:
- Zylyn, as far as we know.
- Mimmer is never referred to by anything else. We don't know if it's a given name, a surname, or his only name.
- A number of aliens apparently only have single names.
- Penal Colony: The planet Catraz in "To Be... Or Not To Be".
- Perma-Stubble: Boone has this. Doc's is long enough to be a scruffy beard. Averted with Kincaid, who is always clean-shaven.
- Pet the Dog: After saving a deaf boy, Doc lends him his cyborg ear just in time to hear his mother calling.note Doc shrugs and gifts it to him, saying he can get another one any time.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: Zylyn. In case you had to ask.
- Psychic Powers: Zylyn has the ability to sense both the present and residual presence of nearby beings, though it works better when he removes his yoke. The former is more useful tactically, while the latter is more useful forensically.
- Rubber-Forehead Aliens: An ongoing trope. One alien's face is framed in ridges, though most are more restrained. Zylyn's race gives it a light touch. Occasionally you'll see an alien missing features we take for granted, such as the nose or ears. Skin colors are played with. The show at least makes an effort to increase the sense of alienness by introducing strange tics or odd speaking mannerisms in addition to the makeup. Averted for the Banshees, which are an insectoid race.
- Space Western: The Rangers are a military unit based at the edge of an expansion frontier at a station called Fort Hope.
- Statuesque Stunner: At 6' (183cm) Jojo is taller than most of the rest of the main cast.
- Super Smoke: One of the alien smugglers in "The Replacements" can change his form to a group of liquid blobs. In this form he's able to pass through solid objects, including walls. He uses this to escape capture and to engineer an apparent prison suicide, but it leaves behind a detectable amount of ultraviolet radiation.
- Team Mom: Cmdr. Chennault.
- Tempting Fate: Dealing with a stowaway makes the crew lose valuable time. Jojo complains:Jojo: We're wasting time; I'd have been happier to see a Banshee. *sudden flashes of light* BANSHEES!
- Too Kinky to Torture: Zylyn tries to take revenge on Mimmer by stuffing him into the clothes washer. When they open the door he's covered in suds:Mimmer: Wow! You guys gotta try this!
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: General Kincaid to his son at the end of "To Be... Or Not To Be".
