What "Space Rangers" does the TNG writers/directors guide refer to?

The Star Trek: The Next Generation Writers/Directors Guide from 1987 mentions in its "What doesn’t work" section (emphasis by myself):

7. Treating deep space as a local neighborhood. Too often, script ideas show characters bouncing from solar system to solar system, planet to planet, without the slightest comprehension of the distances involved or the technologies required to support such travel. Fine (and even fun) on SPACE RANGERS but not on STAR TREK.

Let me say that I think this rule/wish was pretty much ignored as the series went on (for what it’s worth, this applies to various of the items in the "What doesn’t work" list). "Bouncing from solar system to solar system" is exactly what Star Trek crews tend to do in some episodes, and Star Trek certainly has its examples of writers "without the slightest comprehension of the distances involved" (warning, TVTropes link).

That notwithstanding, what does the mention of "SPACE RANGERS" allude to?

• Is it a reference to some concrete work named "SPACE RANGERS", just like "STAR TREK" in the same sentence? If so, which one? I only know one short-lived show of that name, but it’s from 1993 and thus probably wasn’t yet in the making back in 1987. The Disambiguation page on Wikipedia doesn’t list any other candidates of that name that would really fit, either.
• Or is the term "Ranger" just meant to evoke a certain generic idea among the presumed U.S. American readers of the document? (One that is still so specific as to match the description in the paragraph? So far, "ranger" usually made me think of vast and sparsely populated areas than a "local neighbourhood", but then, I do lack the right cultural background to know that word in context 😉 )