Republibot 3.0
Regular
Hi, everyone. Let's speculate a bit, shall we? Since many, many, many clues of what would eventually happen in B5 were dropped in "The Gathering," I think it's probably fair to assume that the seeds of a lot of what would have happened in "Rangers" were planted in the pilot. ("To Live and Die in Starlight")
Obviously, the question of what happened to the crew of the Liandra, and who the traitor was would have been revealed. The Traitor, of course, would still be alive. I'm not convinced that we met the traitor in the pilot episode, of course, but I think they would have been a major recurring character in the series itself, had it gone on. I'm assuming it's whomever their superior in the Rangers was - whomever gave them their marching orders. I base this on nothing whatsoever.
Obviously, we would have had to deal with The Hand. Obviously there would have been run-ins with the Drakh. Obviously Bester would have turned up eventually.
My big hunch, however, is that much of the show would have been dedicated to the Telepath Wars. Crusade started 5 years after the formation of the ISA, 4 years after the show ended, and the war was said to be "Recent" in the first episode. "Rangers" started about 2.5 years before that, or about 2.5 years after the ISA, about 18 months after the penultimate episode of Season 5, and the war hadn't started yet. Lyta gave Garibaldi 2 years to get things in gear for her, and then she'd remove the "blocks', which means whatever she was planning would have started about six months after the pilot. Ergo, probably, the Telepath War would start around the end of the first season, and simmer in the background for the next season or two.
Now, JMS has said that the cure to the Drakh plague would have been found before the end of the season, "Possibly well before." I'd submit that using the Straczynskian standard design of 5 seasons, 110 episodes, and the fact that the third season of Rangers would have taken place concurrently with "Crusade" that it's likely the show was intended to pick up the Drakh Plage thread and resolve it, possibly involving as many Crusade alumns as were willing to guest star.
So whadya' all think?
Obviously, the question of what happened to the crew of the Liandra, and who the traitor was would have been revealed. The Traitor, of course, would still be alive. I'm not convinced that we met the traitor in the pilot episode, of course, but I think they would have been a major recurring character in the series itself, had it gone on. I'm assuming it's whomever their superior in the Rangers was - whomever gave them their marching orders. I base this on nothing whatsoever.
Obviously, we would have had to deal with The Hand. Obviously there would have been run-ins with the Drakh. Obviously Bester would have turned up eventually.
My big hunch, however, is that much of the show would have been dedicated to the Telepath Wars. Crusade started 5 years after the formation of the ISA, 4 years after the show ended, and the war was said to be "Recent" in the first episode. "Rangers" started about 2.5 years before that, or about 2.5 years after the ISA, about 18 months after the penultimate episode of Season 5, and the war hadn't started yet. Lyta gave Garibaldi 2 years to get things in gear for her, and then she'd remove the "blocks', which means whatever she was planning would have started about six months after the pilot. Ergo, probably, the Telepath War would start around the end of the first season, and simmer in the background for the next season or two.
Now, JMS has said that the cure to the Drakh plague would have been found before the end of the season, "Possibly well before." I'd submit that using the Straczynskian standard design of 5 seasons, 110 episodes, and the fact that the third season of Rangers would have taken place concurrently with "Crusade" that it's likely the show was intended to pick up the Drakh Plage thread and resolve it, possibly involving as many Crusade alumns as were willing to guest star.
So whadya' all think?
