The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers
The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers | |
---|---|
DVD box cover | |
Genre |
Space Western Action/Adventure |
Created by | Robert Mandell |
Voices of |
Robert Bottone Alexander Marshall Maia Danziger Corinne Orr Laura Dean Jerry Orbach Earl Hammond Ray Owens Hubert Kelly Doug Preis Henry Mandell |
Composer(s) |
Phil Galdston, John Van Tongeren, Peter Wetzler |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 65 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Abe Mandell |
Producer(s) |
Robert Mandell Bob Chrestani |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company(s) | Gaylord Entertainment Company |
Release | |
Original network | First-run syndication |
Original release | September 14 – December 11, 1986 |
External links | |
Website |
The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers is an American animated Space Western television series created by Robert Mandell and Gaylord Entertainment Company.[1] It was broadcast in syndication between 1986 and 1989.[2] The series combines sci-fi stories with traditional wild west themes. It is one of the first anime-style shows produced mainly in the United States, although the actual animation was done by the Japanese animation studio Tokyo Movie Shinsha. At the time it aired, The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers was considered a revolutionary children's show.[3]
Plot
The show is set in the future, some time after the year 2086, when two aliens from the planets Andor and Kirwin travel to Earth to search for allies against the expansionist Crown Empire led by the Queen of the Crown. In return for the help, the two aliens gave mankind construction plans for a hyperdrive device. After this key event in human history, interstellar travel flourished and a huge number of colonies emerged in distant star-systems. Alongside the growth of human activities in space, criminal activities also grew, and the new colonies required defense against various threats, including the Crown Empire. A group known as "BETA" (Bureau for Extra-Terrestrial Affairs) was founded to cope with these tasks, with a "Ranger" division being a part of it.
Most of the colonies portrayed in the show specialized in either agriculture or mining "star stones". Many of the planets on the show have names that evoke ideas of a Western setting, Nebraska, Mesa, Ozark, and Prairie being a few.
BETA is shown to be the major military and exploratory arm of Earth. The organization's headquarters are on Earth. BETA sustains several bases on and around Earth, such as the Longshot Research Facility in the Grand Canyon and the BETA space station in Earth's orbit.
The Series-5 Brain Implant, or S5 is implied to be the closest mankind will ever get to merging with cybernetics. The S5 implant enables a dramatic boost of innate abilities due to its unique conversion of bio-electrical power generated by alpha radiation stored within the badges worn by the Galaxy Rangers.
The Crown Empire, also known as the "Crown," is ruled by the Queen of the Crown, whose intentions and motivations are described as being evil. She controls a large number of planets in a vast section of the galaxy, all of which she rules as a cruel tyrant. The Queen controls her empire using creatures called Slaver Lords with whom she has a psychic link. Slaver Lords derive their power from the psychic energy of other beings. After the Empire encountered humans, the Queen discovered that they were more suitable for energy extraction than any other previously encountered species.
Characters
Episodes
Theme songs
"No Guts, No Glory"
The theme song for the show, "No Guts, No Glory", was featured in the opening credits preceded by a spoken introduction. The song was written and composed by Phil Galdston and John Van Tongeren, and performed by Van Tongeren using the stage name Johnny Vancouver. The song was also featured in the end credits for episodes 1-35 and episode 37.[4]
"Rangers Ride Forever"
The song "Rangers Ride Forever" (commonly known as "Rangers Are Forever"), which featured as the end theme for episodes 36 and 38-65 was performed by the UK rock/AOR band FM, whose lead singer is Steve Overland. FM also performed the song "Showdown" (commonly referred to as "Out Beyond The Stars") which was included as foreground music in several episodes. Both songs were written and composed by brothers Steve and Chris Overland.[5]
DVD releases
Koch Entertainment currently owns the DVD distributions rights to Galaxy Rangers through Koch Vision.[6] Four Galaxy Rangers DVDs, each containing four episodes, were released in the United States.[7] Koch has released the entire series which consists of two box sets.[8] The first set was released on May 13, 2008 and the second set was released on August 19, 2008
KSM Film in Germany released the series on DVD in 5 episode volumes from May to November 2005, 25 episode volumes from April to August 2006, a complete set in June 2008 with a Blu-ray version released in November 2012.[9]
Reception
The show has become a cult favorite and been considered innovative and ahead of its time.[10] It had a unique sense of humor, and each character was well defined, without the trait of clichés to sell toys which was common among many shows at that time.[11][12][13][14]
See also
References
- ↑ "A Cult Phenomenon". Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers. Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers 35 (June): 52–53. August 1987. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
- ↑ Terrace, Vincent (2009). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2007 (Volume 1). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-3305-6.
- ↑ "Galaxy Rangers Rockets to Disc". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ↑ "Adventures Of The Galaxy Rangers - Music Listing". Hearst Animation. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
- ↑ "Adventures Of The Galaxy Rangers - Music Listing". Hearst Animation. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
- ↑ "Galaxy Rangers - Koch acquires adv of the Galaxy Rangers for DVD". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
- ↑ "Galaxy Rangers - 'New in Order' Collectable Multi -DVD Sets Announced for the Classic Cartoon". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
- ↑ "Galaxy Rangers - The Collection: Volume 1". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ↑ "Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers - Die komplette Serie (Blu-ray)".
- ↑ "Galaxy Rangers: No Guts, No Glory, No Clue". Popmatters. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ↑ ""Galaxy Rangers" Resin Statues". Animation Insider. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ↑ "PR: Adventures Of The Galaxy Rangers - The Collection: Volume 1". Toon Zone. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ↑ "Galaxy Rangers: Collection 2" Saddles Up Successfully and Rides Into The Sunset". Toon Zone. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ↑ "Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers: The Collection Volume 1". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
Further reading
- The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers Annual 1989 ISBN 0-948936-88-6
External links
- The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers at the Internet Movie Database
- The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers at TV.com
- The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers at the Comic Book DB
- The Hearst Animation Official Galaxy Rangers Website
- Toonopedia - Galaxy Rangers