From: gharlane@nextnet.csus.edu (Gharlane of Eddore)
Subject: was: Space Rangers (Captain Power in Space)  is: ember
Followup-To: alt.dev.null
Summary: not 'arf, myte.
Organization: Evil Beings From Planet Eddore, Inc.
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1993 02:16:39 GMT

Mike Jacobs frothed:

> Subject: Space Rangers (Captain Power in Space)
> Message-ID: <35474.MKJACOBS@GSVMS2.CC.GaSoU.EDU>
> From: MKJACOBS@GSVMS2.CC.GASOU.EDU ("Michael K. Jacobs")
> Date: 12 Jan 93 14:50:55 GMT
-----------
> First of all, after watching Space Rangers (and not really liking it) -
> I began to think of this show as a combination of T.J. Hooker and
> Captain Power.

  Just as "BABYLON 5" is a combination of "THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW"
  and "GILLIGAN'S ISLAND."

> It resembles T.J. Hooker in the fact that the first couple of episodes
> were just terrible - another excuse to see William Shatner in another role
> besides James Tiberius Kirk.  Later, T.J. Hooker grew into a good show.

  What time line are YOU making entries from?
  No one over HERE saw any "good shows" on "T.J. Hooker."

> It resembles Captain Power in the fact that the shows have characters
> that could easily switch roles (they both had women pilots - Yeah, both
> leading male roles could be considered "heroes", etc.)

  Yeah, and don't forget that "NIGHT COURT" had a lady lawyer in it; 
  obviously the "SPACE RANGERS" crowd were inspired by the alien concept
  of women working for a living from SOMEwhere.........
  (Jean Bruce Scott, on "AIRWOLF," or Pamela Hensley, the pilot on 
   "MATT HOUSTON," both spring to mind; but the best fictional combat
    pilot who's been on TV SF so far is still Erin Gray on "BUCK ROGERS,"
    before the Universal Management gutted her part and tried to turn her
    into a cheerleader with pom-poms.)

> Please don't think that I am making fun of T.J. Hooker and Captain Power,
> I really did enjoy the shows - Space Rangers just reminds me of them.

  The fact that "SPACE RANGERS" reminds you of one incredibly well-written
  and produced show (considering the budget it was on, and the financial
  and legal pressures on the script consultants!) and a piece of uninspired
  cop dreck like "T.J. Hooker" might be regarded as proof that you should 
  either get out more, or watch a more varied diet of TV.   I recommend
  starting with old episodes of "T.H.E. CAT" and "THE RICHARD BOONE THEATER."
  You might also note the number of decent women professionals who showed 
  up in interesting parts in "KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER," since Francy 
  Productions Inc. had a history of coming up with good parts for the other
  half of the human race whenever possible (despite the anti-female bias 
  of the Universal Management).

> I realize that there are many different points-of-view about the universe
> we live in, and many different dreams and events take place.  Trying to
> compare Space Rangers to a "Star Trek kind of universe" is futile.
> The Rifleman wasn't the only type of western show on television years ago.
> Thank goodness Wagon Train came around as the GREAT BIRD OF THE GALAXY did

   "WAGON TRAIN" antedated 'THE RIFLEMAN,' at least in movie form, and I 
   think as a series, by several years.   The oldest really decent "adult"
   stationary western with guest stars that I know of was the radio version
   of "GUNSMOKE."   I suspect you'll see a lot of recycled "GUNSMOKE" scripts
   on "DEEP SPACE NINE."

> get an idea from that.  I, for one, still enjoy TOS and TNG for the
> adventures of the E - not because of the crew (I almost cried when Kirk
> destroyed the E in TREK III - but it was a valiant and glorius death.)

   It was a smarmy attempt to be a weisenheimer by Harve Bennett, who'd 
   persuaded the Paramount management that he was the one to do "STAR TREK"
   movies, and that the Enterprise *needed* to be blown up.
   It was a show-off kid saying "See what I can do to your religious icons."
   If he'd LEFT the Big E in pieces, it would have been possible to respect
   him a little; but when they trotted out the NCC1701-A at the end, it was 
   just jerking the fans around.... "See?   I can destroy your toy.  Now,
   since I'm so powerful and neat, I can give it back...."    This cheapens
   the screenplay, is unrealistic, and robs the storyline of immediacy and 
   believeability.

> In summary about Space Rangers - I will continue to watch it as some of the
> good things about life (love for example) need time to grow and will enjoy
> it for what it's worth -- entertainment, not some sort of Newton's Apple.

   You are kidding by comparing it to "NEWTON'S APPLE," are you not?  The
   technophobia demonstrated by the first episode is almost as appalling 
   as the technical incompetence of the writers, although the former is
   probably rooted in the latter.

> DS9 - Having only seen a bit of the first episode "Emissary", It will be
> a different point-of-view of the events in the 24th century.  I can't
> wait to finish watching "Emissary" and the other shows that have been
> promised.

   Don't hold your breath for excellence.   Just remember that after 
   ST:TNG had been in production for a year or two, they managed an 
   occasional tolerable script.

> So much for my first message.  I will now leave myself available for
> discussion by private email or through this list.

   Oh, you'll probably get some.


and then "Lady Jo" Constantine added:

> Subject: Re: Space Rangers (Captain Power in Space)
> Message-ID: <C0qyEK.L7F@news.cso.uiuc.edu>
> From: tara@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Lady Johanna Constantine)
> Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 15:15:54 GMT
> Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
> 
> Let us just hope they don't kill Jo Jo like they did Jennifer Chase.
> 

   Jennifer Chase *had* to die.... the network was upset that she and 
   Captain Power (A) weren't getting it on; and (B) that even though 
   he wasn't messing about with her, he wasn't involving himself with
   any OTHER gals, either.
   One network exec said, "Is he supposed to be gay?" 
   But Straczynski, et al, were doing a bang-up job with the 22 minutes
   of story time they had to play with in each show, and they did well
   enough with developing Jennifer and Power's relationship that it 
   would have been just a matter of time, had the series stayed in 
   production. 
   (I always felt that the obvious approach was to make friends with 
    "Overmind" and get it to re-assemble all the humans it had digitized,
    and have Jennifer Chase turn out to be one of them, along with 
    Power's dad...... the series *should* have ended with humans and
    intelligent autons achieving a social symbiosis and going on to do
    *interesting* things.)
 
   Jessica Steen appears to have had either a pending contract, or 
   considerable appreciation, since she walked out of the last episode
   of CAPTAIN POWER and into a fairly decent story arc on "WISE GUY."
   If anyone in L.A. had any sense, they'd pay her to move south and 
   use her in one of the new series.