Republic Rangers: Intergalactic Rescue

Produced during the Clone Wars, Republic Rangers: Intergalactic Rescue was a series of holo-dramas that followed the exploits of a group of young Judicial officers, often dramatising real missions and battles but with the Republic Rangers replacing the roles of the Jedi and elite clone forces within the stories.

The series had a lucrative tie-in toy line, but in addition to generating revenue for the war effort it served a much more important propaganda role: public support for a war between clones and droids had begun to wane, and Republic Rangers was intended to "put a more human face on the war effort". As an added benefit, the series helped to create a disconnect between Republic victories and Jedi participation: an important step in turning public opinion against the Jedi following Order 66.

The series and it's sequel, Imperial Sector Rangers, notably starred a young Ceto Rübezahl - the incumbent Moff of the Greater Javin Sector - who went on to have a successful holomovie career before retiring into politics.

Production

Originally intended to be only a single holo-feature, Republic Rangers: Intergalactic Rescue focused on Judicial Forces veteran Jethro Abbán, an instructor at the Judicial Academy on Carida, who brought a squad of the Academy's most promising Cadets to assist in the Battle of Christophsis. When their LAAT/i Gunship was shot down on it's way to disable a Separatist shield generator, Abbán was injured, leaving Cadet Lieutenant Scanlan Yahto, Cadet Sergeant Viego Viridis, and Cadet Pilot Goran Dior to complete the objective and get their squad to safety. Some of the events depicted were based on the actions of the 501st Legion, and of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano. Throughout the feature, the Rangers wore Phase I armour decorated with the rank colours used during the Battle of Geonosis: red for Captain Abbán, blue for Lieutenant Yahto, green for Sergeant Viridis, and yellow for Pilot Dior.

Because of it's potential as a propaganda tool, COMPOR commissioned a limited ongoing series, as well as the first wave of toys and action figures. Changes were made during series one to make it more marketable: Abbán became a Commander with his own ship, and the Rangers became his elite team. Yahto became an ARC Trooper and earned the nickname Scanner because of that recon slant; Viridis meanwhile became more of an ARF Trooper, and was often seen utilising tactical walkers and heavy weapons platforms. Lieutenant Dior had a minor role as a gunship, shuttle, and transport pilot; series one added Ensign Alex Carmine initially as Dior's navigator, but Carmine quickly became a fan favourite and was included more and more in stories. The series also added a single recurring clone that the Rangers met and saved on one of their early missions: Jenth became Abbán's aid on the command ship, though did occasionally accompany the team on missions as well. Recurring characters included Tiana Nuada, the ship's doctor; and Perrine Coral, a senator and old flame of Abbán's. The main antagonist for series one was a "Force Witch" heavily inspired by Asajj Ventress.

By the end of the first series, Republic Rangers had proven so popular that COMPOR approved a significant increase in it's budget for series two, allowing more episodes to be filmed on location. The production team gained access to actual GAR hardware rather than replicas, allowing more elaborate toys to be manufactured. The Rangers began to spend more time away from Abbán and their command ship, and were given their own craft to get there: Yahto gained a Delta-7B Aethersprite; Dior flew a Y-Wing with Viridis as his gunner; and Carmine flew a Nu-class shuttle, transporting the Rangers' allies, reinforcements, and heavy equipment. A new antagonist was added for series two: Joran Sienna, a Mandalorian from the Death Watch, intended to help vilify their movement and justify the Republic's military interest in Mandalore.

As the war wore on, propaganda became even more vital, and series three saw a dramatic increase in the production budget, and the missions depicted became considerably more grand in scope, ambition, and visual effects. The Rangers were expanded into a much larger unit, with Yahto promoted to Captain, Carmine and Dior serving as his two Lieutenants. Viridis served as Dior's Sergeant; series three saw a redemption arc for the Mandalorian, Sienna, who became Carmine's Sergeant. The Rangers dabbled in almost every branch of the Republic Army, graced with new equipment and new clone allies to justify the sale of a whole new batch of action figures. According to some critics, the series "sold out" to the propaganda machine completely, while others - particularly those who were children at the time, and had parents wealthy enough to keep them supplied with toys - saw it as a justifiable natural progression.

Plans for a series four were abandoned when the Clone Wars ended, though a handful of partially-produced episodes were released to give the franchise a sense of closure. Some years later, COMPNOR attempted to revisit the propaganda success of Republic Rangers through the Imperial Sector Rangers sequel, to only moderate success.

Characters

• Jethro Abbán - a veteran of the Judicial Forces and an old fighter pilot (callsign: Jetstream), Abbán was the Rangers' instructor at the Academy, and became their Commander during series one. He sustained injuries during Intergalactic Rescue that prevented him from being fit for service in the field, though that didn't stop him from being there to assist the Rangers when the plot required (mostly as an excuse for action figures). In the initial holo-feature he had worn armour decorated red; following the introduction of Alex Carmine however, his armour was modified into a darker, more maroon/brown colour.
  • Action figures of Abbán usually came packaged with Jenth, and were not usually paired with any particular vehicle.

• Scanlan Yahto - the Lieutenant during Intergalactic Rescue, Scanlan was altered before the start of series one to resemble an ARC Trooper, in terms of role, skills, and the customisations to his armour; his armour was always decorated in blue, to help distinguish. He earned the nickname "Scanner", which became his callsign during series two when the Rangers were given their own craft. After the Clone Wars ended, the character retired to join the Senate Guard (who also wear blue).
  • Scanlan was available packaged with a variety of vehicles, including a BARC Speeder and a Delta-7B Aethersprite.

• Viego Viridis - the Sergeant during Intergalactic Rescue, Viego was intended to be the gruff and stoic counterpart to the more flyboy personality of Yahto. Original plans cast him as the leader of the Rangers on the ground, while Yahto would have been the pilot, but early popularity saw Scanner take a more leadership role while Viego became the shuttle pilot, and the operator of the crew's heavier equipment. He earned the nickname VTOL, in reference for him being responsible for the team's "take-off and landing". A hot topic of debate among fans is how differently the team's missions might have unfolded if Viridis was in command. 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, echoing his Sergeant colours from the holomovie.
  • Viego was available packaged alongside Goran in the LAAT/c and AT-TE pack, as well as separately with the AT-RT.

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.

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.