Out with the old and in with the new...sort of. It's time once again, my fellow Babylonians, for fans of the B5 franchise to salivate in anticipation for the newest incarnation of the Babylon 5 storyline. Mr. S (you know I can't spell Stranglemydogskip, so we'll call him Mr. S) has taken time off from writing best selling spider comics, long enough to delve once more into the award winning sci-fi universe he so beautifully created. "Legend of the Ranger", a new series premiering exclusively on the Sci-Fi channel in January of 2002, introduces fans to a period of time just after the Shadow War, when fallen worlds and shattered governments needed the outside assistance of the legendary Rangers to bring some sence of order to their chaotic lives.

So will this new series be a mixture of "NYPD Blues" meets "Buck Rogers"? Or are devoted fans being straddled once again with just another "Star Trek" look-alike, as they were with "B5: Crusades"? Will "Legends..." be a show about a galactic police force roaming the stars in pursuit of justice, civil rights, and maybe a few bribes along the way? Or will "Rangers" be another cookie-cutter-sci-fi series about the adventures of a lone starship, exploring the galaxy while imposing their morals and beliefs any world that happens to get in their path? ...I sure hope not!

Now as you all know (which you don't because I've never told you) I'm a huge B5 fan. I have been ever since that fateful day many years ago, when lady luck saw fit to bless me with the opportunity to see the "Babylon 5" pilot "The Gathering". I know that "Gathering" wasn't the best piece of work Mr. S has ever churned out on his PC, but you have to understand...this was the early 90's. Oh things were much different then; "Star Trek The Next Generation" was still running with a full head of steam, "Deep Space 9" was making a very meek entrance onto the sci-fi scene (it would also make a very meek exit a few long years later), and followers of everything fantastic and wierd were treated to a small T.V. event that would have some wonderful reprecussions. "Babylon 5: The Gathering", a made for T.V. movie/series pilot hit the airwaves with an enormous splash, and then...disappeared. It wasn't until 6 months later that Vorlon/Centaury/and Narn fans were reintroduced to that 5 year story arch for which Mr. S will always be known. Over the course of those years familar faces would come and go, captains would leave to become legends, friends would reveal themselves as enemies, the plot would thicken, and the sci-fi community would forever be able to lift its head high because one of their own had done what so many before it had never attempted to do; create a series that when compiled in its entirety, season by season, presents viewers with a complete story that holds both a beginning, middle, and an end. Amazing to say the least.

Mr. S now takes us back to that labor of love he created so long ago, with the newest chapter in the B5 saga. But are fans going to be seeing a new chapter in Mr. S's grand soap opera of war, redemption, and revelations, or is "Legend of the Rangers" a stand alone piece of work, with its own story, its own heroes, and a conclusion unhampered by the events of its predecessors? I'm afraid..not.

The previews have already established that the new series takes place either after the events depicted in the third season of "Babylon 5" or during the years leading up into "Babylon: Crusade" (which took place between the next to last and last episode of B5's fifth season, if that makes any sence). I'm a little disappointed to be truthful, because I have to wonder; why mess with perfection? "B5" doesn't need any help story wise in embellishing parts of the grand tale that remain unknown to fans. Why? Because we know the outcome, and I'm not just referring fans to the last episode! During the fourth season of "Babylon 5" there was an episode that took the viewer on a million year journey after the Earth/Sheridan War. Shown, were specific time periods after the war, which ended with an image of a lone ranger (I couldn't pass that one by) at the million year mark, recording the events that lead up to that time. From this one show, fans will always know that humanity does survive in spite of itself to do otherwise, and we will at some far flung date, reach the level of godhood that only a few other beings have shared before (in other words, you'll be just like me someday). My point is; if we already know the outcome, why bother telling the story? The only reason that Mr. S even wrote that episode was because he was afraid that Warner Bros. was going to shut down his series before he had the chance to finish the story. Fans watched the fifth season of "B5" becuase they were unwilling to let go of those characters they had learned to love over the 4 years, even though they knew the outcome of the series, BUT the difference here was that they had FOUR WHOLE SEASON TO FALL IN LOVE, "LEGEND of the RANGERS" is new, and thus, the love is not there. I already know how the story ends, so why would I be interested in seeing a series that will have no relevance on what has come before? I asked myself that same question with "Crusade", and the answer came in me not watching the show past the 3rd episode. Is it just me, or does this sound a lot like the problems fans are having with the "Star Wars" prequels? Any new entree into any established storyline has little chance of being as good or better than what has already come, becuase we know the overall outcome. The "Star Trek" franchise is different, because they just either rewrite or conveniently forget what has already been told before. "B5" should be better than that , if not out of respect for the original, then because of the love fans have for that future time and its people.

I don't know what to expect from "Legend of the Rangers", but Mr. S does have one thing going in his favor, and that's talent. Here's hoping that the FIRST ONE doesn't let fans down, but instead reaches for a new story that will rest comfortably for all time beside the first volume of his all-so-wonder-masterpiece, "Babylon 5".

Till next time... the doctor is out!

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