Difference between revisions of "Republic Rangers: Intergalactic Rescue"

Revision as of 18:29, 27 February 2010

Filmed during the Clone Wars, Republic Rangers: Intergalactic Rescue was a propaganda tool created to put a more human face on the Republic's war effort, after concerns that a war between clones and droids was too impersonal to maintain popular public support.

Though created by the same studio as the Rangers of the Old Republic series and theoretically set within the same universe of continuity, Intergalactic Rescue was considered by most to be a separate entity; the term Republic Rangers is considered synonymous with this incarnation of the franchise alone.

The series notably starred [[]], who went on to have a successful holomovie career before retiring into politics; and Ceto Rübezahl, who eventually left acting to pursue a military career.

Production

During the Clone Wars, concerns came from opinion polls that suggested the public was lacking in support for the war; the Clone army lacked a human face with which the populace could relate. Several efforts were undertaken: one of which involved commissioning a number of new holo-series to provide fictionalised and relocatable characters within a Clone Wars setting. One of these series was a revamped and modernised spin-off of the moderately successful Rangers of the Old Republic franchise.

"Republic Rangers: Intergalactic Rescue" followed the exploits of a fictional unit within the Grand Army of the Republic, which travelled to the sites of famous Republic battles to render humanitarian aid, invariably finding themselves embroiled in some sort of adventure or mystery along the way. Though supported by Clone Troopers - who were rarely seen unmasked in episodes - the primary focus of the series was on five Human officers who filled key roles in the operational infrastructure of the unit. In order to maximise the market penetration of the franchise, the series made extensive use of several articles of GAR field equipment, and each character wore uniquely coloured Clone Trooper armour to allow for a variety of tie-in toys and action figures.

The series met with considerable success, running for two and a half seasons - the last cut short by the official end of hostilities for the Clone Wars. The series was never re-broadcast on official networks, but did see considerable air time in syndication on other networks during the early days of Palpatine's new order. It was also followed some years later by a short-lived Imperial Rangers series that recycled some of the more popular characters, but this failed to achieve the same popularity of the Clone Wars incarnation.

Characters

Jethro Abbán

A former Fighter Pilot turned Command Officer in light of the abundance of clone pilots, Jethro Abbán - callsign "Jetstream" - was introduced as the leader of the Intergalactic Rescue unit. During the first appearance of the team he personally served as Field Commander, and as the copilot aboard the team's Gunship. An injury was written into the second episode however that allowed the younger characters to take the fore, pushing Abbán into a more advisory, mentor role. Abbán only appeared in the field on one subsequent occasion; when he did so, he wore unmarked (white) Clone Commando armour.

Scanlan Yahto

A Navy Lieutenant and veteran Fighter Pilot from before the Clone Wars, Scanlan Yahto - callsign "Scanner" - was introduced initially as the reconnaissance pilot deployed as a vanguard in advance of the remainder of the Intergalactic Rescue team. Over time however, the character emerged as one of the most popular, and evolved into the de facto Field Commander for the unit; a common criticism by fans is that, by the short-lived third season, the series had become "The Scanlan Yahto Show", with insufficient screen time dedicated to developing the other characters. During field operations, his Clone Trooper armour was decorated in Blue.

Viego Viridis

A Shuttle Pilot in the Republic Navy, Viego Viridis was introduced as the gruff and stoic counterpart to the more flyboy personality of Yahto. Script writers had originally intended to evolve Viridis into a leader, but it was discovered that Yahto was more popular with consumer groups, and so Viridis took on a more secondary role; a hot topic of conversation amongst Republic Ranger fans centres around speculation over how episodes might have unfolded if Viridis had been in charge. In terms of character, his biggest development came when he was established as a "big brother" style mentor to Carmine, particularly when the latter began to serve as his copilot. During field operations, his Clone Trooper armour was decorated in Green.

Alex Carmine

A young Ensign during the initial stages of the series, Alex Carmine first appeared as the Navigator aboard the Republic Cruiser that the Rangers employed in an early episode. He proved popular with fans - particularly the teenage female demographic - and was reintroduced in a later episode as a cast regular; he was also considered the most relatable of the characters, particularly to young males. His role varied; he continued as part of the flight crew aboard the team's Republic Cruiser, and also took over Dior's responsibilities as copilot aboard the team's Transport. During field operations, his Clone Trooper armour was decorated in Red. Played by Ceto Rübezahl.

Goran Dior

A Navy Gunner, Goran Dior was originally introduced as a young Lieutenant to serve as the copilot for Viridis. However, as the series wore on it was decided that a Viridis-Carmine dynamic would make for better audience satisfaction, and so Dior was expanded into a more independent character, often operating the ground equipment - TX-130 Sabers, AT-TE Walkers and so on - that was deployed by the transport Viridis flew. Unfortunately, fans widely regarded Dior as underdeveloped and underused, though that more often than not earned him a soft spot rather than dislike. During field operations, his Clone Trooper armour was decorated in Yellow.

Joren Sienna

A Communications Officer and Ensign in the Republic Navy, Joran Sienna only featured in a minor role during the first episode, but was expanded upon once Abbán took a less active role in the field. He was used mostly to provide a conversation partner for Abbán in scenes on the bridge, when the rest of the team was deployed. He was rarely deployed in the field; on occasions when he was, his Clone Trooper armour was decorated in Orange.

Tiana Nuada

Initially a minor character who served as the medic that regularly patched up the team, Tiana Nuada was expanded upon during the final series, and developed into a love interest for Carmine. Compared to Coral she was much less developed as a character, and audiences felt she was too two-dimensional. Female fans in particular are often hostile towards the character, though male fans speculate that this is mostly for disrupting their Carmine love fantasies.

Perrine Coral

The Senator for an undisclosed Sector, Perrine Coral serves as the unit's friend and contact on Coruscant. She has some sort of past association with Abbán, though the specifics are never disclosed; fan speculation suggests a romantic involvement between the two, though this was never overtly alluded to in the series. The character bears a strong resemblance to the Senator for Naboo at the time - Padmé Amidala - though producers claim that the resemblance is purely coincidental.

Overview

Republic Rangers: Intergalactic Rescue

The series originated as a feature-length holomovie, intended to be able to stand alone as a feature in its own right, but also to allow for development into a recurrent holo-series if it proved successful. The holomovie featured a cast of only six named actors, the remainder of roles being filled by unnamed extras - the majority of whom were Clone Troopers loaned to the production by the Media Services branch of COMPOR.

In the movie, the characters represented part of a - highly fictionalised - unit of reserve troops led by non-clone military officers, who were responding to the aftermath of the Battle of Christophsis. In particular, it focussed on the crew of a single LAAT/i Gunship; commanded by Commander Jethro Abbán, flown by Lieutenant Viego Viridis, and with Ensigns Goran Dior and Alex Carmine as Gunners. They were deployed to rescue Lieutenant Scanlan Yahto, a fighter pilot who had been flying reconnaissance for the rescue mission when he was shot down by a small force of battle droids that had become isolated from the main army, and failed to comply with the Separatist orders to surrender. Not only was the team successful in rescuing Lieutenant Yahto; they also successfully neutralised the Separatist force.

Season 1

After being picked up as a series, changes were made to the series dynamic. In the first instalment, an injury was written in to move Major Abbán out of the field, and make way for the younger characters. Yahto's rank was modified to bring him in as the new Field Commander, while Dior was made the new copilot to Viridis; their ship was modified to a LAAT/c Transport to allow the series to showcase GAR ground equipment, and maximise merchandising opportunities. Joren Sienna, who had been a minor character in the movie, was given a more significant role as the Communications Officer, working with Abbán to coordinate missions from the bridge.

Instalments were fairly formulaic: Yahto would deploy in advance of the team, would assess the situation, and then signal back to the ship; Viridis would then deploy - assisted by Dior, and by Carmine where necessary - transporting an item of GAR hardware that was assessed as being sufficient to solve the emergency of the week. More often than not, situations could apparently be solved by shooting at it with a TX-130 Saber Tank, or an AT-TE Enforcer; though the team did make use of other equipment as well.

Season 2

Renewed by COMPOR for a second season, the producers became more adventurous, beginning to deviate from merely rescuing survivors to actively thwarting the Separatists' efforts. Several genuine historical events were rewritten and fictionalised with the Republic Rangers given credit in the place of the clones. Because of his popularity with audiences, Carmine was given a more prominent role, taking over Dior's default participation in every mission as copilot of the LAAT/c; Dior was moved to serving as the primary driver for the GAR hardware the team used. The team also increasingly participated on missions away from their main unit, travelling via Republic Cruiser to other planets where they operated alone in a more "action hero" setting.

Season 3

The series was renewed again, but was cancelled before completion because of the end of the Clone Wars. The series was the least popular with fans, focussing almost exclusively on different ways in which Yahto or Carmine could save the day; criticisms that the integrity of the plot was sacrificed in the interests of fan service were common. That the series ended part way through was considered a blessing by fans, though there was a desire among the fan base for a certain degree of closure. Several years later, the producers tried to offer this with their follow-up series, Imperial Sector Rangers.

Trivia

• The term "Intergalactic Rescue" is a misnomer, given that episodes never took the characters to other galaxies. Interstellar Rescue would have been more accurate, but producers found that "Intergalactic" resonated better with consumer groups.

• Though identified by their colour - as Blue Ranger, Red Ranger, etc - among fans, the characters were never officially referred to as such in the series itself; though the terminology was used as an incidental line in some episodes, as fan service. The characters wore uniquely coloured armour in order to make the task of individualising action figures easier for merchandising.