Saban re-acquires rights to 'Rangers'

[The Borgified Corpse]

barnaclelapse wrote:

---

That actually sounds really appealing to me.

The current reruns on ABC add new, lame effects to the old episodes. Hell, there are times when it feels like they're turning it into the old Batman TV show with "Biff," "Pow," & "Wham" superimposed on the screen. Plus, they're taking too long getting through the early episodes and re-rerunning the early episodes. Most of the episodes before the Green Ranger showed up were shite.

Kibbin wrote:

---

I saw most of Dino Thunder and will say it does its share of winks and nudges, the only one that comes to mind that isn't too much of a spoiler is Tommy commentating on the Rnagers fashion/colour choices.

Yeah...

Gojirob wrote:

---

If nothing else--release whole seasons on DVD. You could even nix Turbo's rep by releasing one half with the departing MMPR vets (as part of Zeo), and the other half along with the intro to Space. Channel, DVD--whatever--there is a base, and Disney never moved to exploit it. It kind of reminds me of Lincoln's comments to McClellan about the Army Of The Potomac--if you're not using it, can I borrow them?

While I suspect that much of the show that I loved when I was 12 will not hold up now that I'm 27, I'd still like to see them release some more of the old stuff on DVD, like everything up through Power Rangers in Space.

While Power Rangers Turbo was one of the weaker series, I loved the 2nd half of it, with Hilary Shepherd Turner as Divatox. (Trekkies here would remember her as that slutty member of the Jack Pack in "Statistical Probabilities" & "Chrysalis.") She was great fun as the villain. "Viva La Diva!!!"

I'll also have to disagree with the drooling over Kimberly. She was cute, but it's all about Kathrine! Tall, blonde, leggy, a sexy Austrailian accent, what's not to love? I'd also like to give a shout out to Ashley, Cassie, & Astronema from Power Rangers in Space!

[Starbreaker]

Nardpuncher wrote:

---

Hi, I'm going to be the a##hole that comes in here surprised that anyone would talk about this show.
Unless you're having nostalgia for your youth ( I guess people that watched this at age 7 would be about 23 or 24 now)

Yup. We had the Power Rangers, not SpongeBob.

[MeanJoePhaser]

Christopher wrote:

---

Oh, RPM was the best Power Rangers season ever. It was smart, dark, funny, richly character-driven, affectionately deconstructionist -- it was practically a Ron Moore BSG-style reinvention of the franchise, but a lot more fun. It'll be a hard act to follow.

It scares me that you're serious.

I remember years ago, they reused Starship Troopers uniforms in one version...and I was like WTF?

[Christopher]

DigificWriter wrote:

---

Speaking of MF, one of the problems that a lot of the PR fandom has with it is that most of the 'focus' was on the character of Nick at what many felt was the expense of the others.

That's fair, particularly where Madison is concerned; in fact, they even lampshaded their underuse of Madison by doing an episode about her feeling that she wasn't contributing enough to the team. But I feel the other Rangers aside from her were handled about as well as was typical. I'd say that it's pretty routine for the lead Ranger to get the most development and the other teammates less so. And Nick's story arc was one of the more interesting Red Ranger arcs.

The Borgified Corpse wrote:

---

The current reruns on ABC add new, lame effects to the old episodes. Hell, there are times when it feels like they're turning it into the old Batman TV show with "Biff," "Pow," & "Wham" superimposed on the screen.

I'm not entirely sure, but I have the vague recollection that this "enhanced" version of MMPR was actually made over a decade ago when the reruns were syndicated or repackaged or something. So if I'm right about that, it's not ABC's or Disney's fault, except in that they chose to go with this edition rather than the original.

It's too bad I find the interpolations so annoying. As much as I hated the writing in the first season, it would be enjoyable to revisit the old gang, especially Kimberly and Trini.

While Power Rangers Turbo was one of the weaker series, I loved the 2nd half of it, with Hilary Shepherd Turner as Divatox. (Trekkies here would remember her as that slutty member of the Jack Pack in "Statistical Probabilities" & "Chrysalis.") She was great fun as the villain. "Viva La Diva!!!"

Yeah, Turner's Divatox was the best PR villain ever. Nobody ever enjoyed being evil quite so much, or was so much fun to watch being evil.

[The Borgified Corpse]

Christopher wrote:

---

I did a 3-part overview of the Power Rangers saga to date on my blog, beginning here:

http://christopherlbennett.wordpress...power-rangers/

Interesting stuff. Page 3 is probably the most shamelessly heterosexual anaylsis of the series I've ever seen.

BTW, what did you mean by, "It was dark, but it was also funny, with great witty dialogue (Guzelian has a knack for it) and hilarious, biting deconstructions of longstanding Power Rangers tropes. Yet even as the show made fun of PR conventions, it simultaneously managed to concoct almost plausible-sounding scientific explanations for them — reconstructing even as it deconstructed"? What kind of conventions did it deconstruct?

I decided to check out how some of these Rangers' careers have been going since they left the show.
- Of course, Amy Jo Johnson has clearly had the most success of any of them, landing regular roles on Felicity & Flashpoint.
- Walter Jones has had a decent career of supporting roles and guest roles on various TV shows & B movies. His biggest post-Ranger role was on the Nickelodeon sci-fi series Space Cases (many episodes of which were written by Peter David and Bill Mumy and occasionally featured a pre-Firefly Jewell Staite). He also had a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo on Buffy the Vampire Slayer as one of the frat boys throwing the Halloween party in "Fear Itself."
- Patricia Ja Lee has been doing more anime voice over work it seems.
- Unfortunately, IMDB shows scant few credits for Austin St. John, Jason David Frank, Tracy Lynn Cruz, or Catherine Sutherland. (Except Catherine Sutherland was in that Jennifer Lopez movie The Cell.)

[The Borgified Corpse]

Christopher wrote:

---

Yeah, Turner's Divatox was the best PR villain ever. Nobody ever enjoyed being evil quite so much, or was so much fun to watch being evil.

I'm not entirely sure I'd call her the best villain ever. I've still got a soft spot for ol' Lord Zedd.

But you're right that no one else can play a fun villain like Turner. There's one episode I remember in particular, where she was holding auditions for new monsters. Just the way she got so exasperated with the moronic auditioners was pure comedy gold.

It's ironic that I can talk about this show so (relatively) openly now. I remember back when I was in middle school, my best friend & I loved the show so much. His parents bought him nearly every toy in the line from the beginning of the series all the way up through Power Rangers in Space. Yet we both felt like we were a few years too old to watch the show respectably. We were closet Power Rangers fans, always terrified that one of our classmates would discover our secret and destroy our social standing forever. It got so bad that, when we went to the theater to see Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, I thought up an alibi in case anyone we knew saw us there. Lo & behold, we did end up running into a P.E. classmate of mine. When he asked us what movie we saw, without a beat, I lied, "The Empire Strikes Back."

[Christopher]

The Borgified Corpse wrote:

---

BTW, what did you mean by, "It was dark, but it was also funny, with great witty dialogue (Guzelian has a knack for it) and hilarious, biting deconstructions of longstanding Power Rangers tropes. Yet even as the show made fun of PR conventions, it simultaneously managed to concoct almost plausible-sounding scientific explanations for them — reconstructing even as it deconstructed"? What kind of conventions did it deconstruct?

Everything. Every cliche of the previous fifteen years of Power Rangers. The multicolored costumes, the transformation phrases, the animalistic giant robot vehicles, every trope and silly stylistic gimmick you can think of. The most brilliant and hilarious example was an episode that made use of the gimmick of having random explosions go off behind the Rangers when they transform and pose. They rationalized it as a release of excess energy from the transformation process. And then, when the other Rangers were menaced by the monster of the week, the Blue Ranger figured out he could use this effect -- by transforming with his back to the monster!!

- Of course, Amy Jo Johnson has clearly had the most success of any of them, landing regular roles on Felicity & Flashpoint.

And some movies too, including a TV movie with the very apt title of Perfect Body (about bulimia or anorexia, but with a ton of AJ gymnastics).

- Walter Jones has had a decent career of supporting roles and guest roles on various TV shows & B movies. His biggest post-Ranger role was on the Nickelodeon sci-fi series Space Cases (many episodes of which were written by Peter David and Bill Mumy and occasionally featured a pre-Firefly Jewell Staite). He also had a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo on Buffy the Vampire Slayer as one of the frat boys throwing the Halloween party in "Fear Itself."

I think he did a CSI episode once. Of course, Archie Kao, the Lost Galaxy Blue Ranger, has been one of the CSI Lab Rats for many years now. Several other former PR cast members, including Hilary Shepherd Turner, have done CSI guest spots. It's odd, since they don't have any casting directors or producers in common.

- Patricia Ja Lee has been doing more anime voice over work it seems.

As has Johnny Yong Bosch, who's one of the leading anime dub artists in the field.

The Borgified Corpse wrote:

---

I'm not entirely sure I'd call her the best villain ever. I've still got a soft spot for ol' Lord Zedd.

Sure, Zedd was fun, but Divatox was sexier.

[Agent Richard07]

Christopher wrote:

---

Everything. Every cliche of the previous fifteen years of Power Rangers. The multicolored costumes, the transformation phrases, the animalistic giant robot vehicles, every trope and silly stylistic gimmick you can think of. The most brilliant and hilarious example was an episode that made use of the gimmick of having random explosions go off behind the Rangers when they transform and pose. They rationalized it as a release of excess energy from the transformation process. And then, when the other Rangers were menaced by the monster of the week, the Blue Ranger figured out he could use this effect -- by transforming with his back to the monster!!

I loved that Q & A with Doctor K. Very memorable.

[Peach Wookiee]

Meredith wrote:

---

As long as Saban stays far far away from Sailor Moon, I'm happy.

The live-action series... Naoko Takeuchi was involved in it... AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

[The Borgified Corpse]

Christopher wrote:

---

Everything. Every cliche of the previous fifteen years of Power Rangers. The multicolored costumes, the transformation phrases, the animalistic giant robot vehicles, every trope and silly stylistic gimmick you can think of. The most brilliant and hilarious example was an episode that made use of the gimmick of having random explosions go off behind the Rangers when they transform and pose. They rationalized it as a release of excess energy from the transformation process. And then, when the other Rangers were menaced by the monster of the week, the Blue Ranger figured out he could use this effect -- by transforming with his back to the monster!!

Awesome! What were some others?

Personally, I used to always be bothered by why the giant monsters never seemed to attack the Megazord during the seemingly vulnerable transformation stage. At least, on Power Rangers in Space, it looked like the Astro-Megazord had some sort of shield around it while it transformed.

BTW, speaking of Zords, I have a long-delayed rant coming about that red battle-Zord that Billy gave to Tommy on Power Rangers Zeo. Here, after several years of perfectly functional, conventional Zords, Billy tries to reinvent the wheel with a Zord controlled by telepathy. Unfortunately, because it's controlled by telepathy, it doesn't work right when Tommy is under stress. So since he can't stop angsting about his newly retconned long-lost brother, his new Zord can't fight for shit. It's like those bio-neural gel-packs from Star Trek: Voyager. They were supposedly faster than traditional circuits but they seemed to get infected every other week.

[The Borgified Corpse]

I always wanted to see Schrier and Narvy get their own show as a Laurel-and-Hardyesque duo, or star in a Gilligan’s Island remake.

IIRC, they were considering a Bulk & Skull spin-off. It's the reason why Power Rangers Zeo ends with that weird bit where they get recruited to be French spies. This was supposed to lead into the spin-off, but they canned it since they couldn't come up with more than a few episode ideas. That's why all was conveniently forgotten in the next movie.

[Agent Richard07]

The Borgified Corpse wrote:

---

What kind of conventions did it deconstruct?

Watch this clip starting at the 1:02 mark. It's a scene from an episode of Power Rangers RPM...

[Gojirob]

[QUOTE=The Borgified Corpse;4078553]

Christopher wrote:

---

Everything. Every cliche of the previous fifteen years of Power Rangers. The multicolored costumes, the transformation phrases, the animalistic giant robot vehicles, every trope and silly stylistic gimmick you can think of. The most brilliant and hilarious example was an episode that made use of the gimmick of having random explosions go off behind the Rangers when they transform and pose. They rationalized it as a release of excess energy from the transformation process. And then, when the other Rangers were menaced by the monster of the week, the Blue Ranger figured out he could use this effect -- by transforming with his back to the monster!!

Awesome! What were some others?

Personally, I used to always be bothered by why the giant monsters never seemed to attack the Megazord during the seemingly vulnerable transformation stage. At least, on Power Rangers in Space, it looked like the Astro-Megazord had some sort of shield around it while it transformed.[QUOTE=The Borgified Corpse;4078553]

To use an animated version, the very first Lion Voltron attempt was blocked by the monster; A much later attempt by a monster to block it actually caused damage to the monster.

One of the extreme lesser sentai lights, Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters From Beverly Hills, had the hapless henchman use an ingenious scheme to wear the heroes down by pulling the monster back and letting it heal while sending down a fresh creature. The big bad came back and quickly reimposed the status quo. For some reason, sometimes these little shows make that odd turn their better-made cousins miss.

[Christopher]

The Borgified Corpse wrote:

---

Awesome! What were some others?

I don't remember exactly, and I couldn't do them justice. Your best bet is to track down the series and watch it yourself.

Personally, I used to always be bothered by why the giant monsters never seemed to attack the Megazord during the seemingly vulnerable transformation stage.

Oh, that's just basic henshin etiquette. You never attack during the transformation -- it would be impolite!

Although in Toei's prototype giant-transforming-robot show, which bizarrely was a Japanese version of Spider-Man, they actually had the monster attack mid-transformation in the second episode. Or rather, Spidey had a flying car that he travelled to the giant spaceship/robot in, and the monster fired on the car to prevent it from docking with the ship, at least for a little while.

BTW, speaking of Zords, I have a long-delayed rant coming about that red battle-Zord that Billy gave to Tommy on Power Rangers Zeo. Here, after several years of perfectly functional, conventional Zords, Billy tries to reinvent the wheel with a Zord controlled by telepathy. Unfortunately, because it's controlled by telepathy, it doesn't work right when Tommy is under stress. So since he can't stop angsting about his newly retconned long-lost brother, his new Zord can't fight for shit.

Well, of course, they were constrained by the stock footage from Ohranger, the show adapted into Zeo. In the original story, it was the Red Puncher, a robot that "was sealed away after an incident in which it went berserk and killed its original pilot." (The Super Sentai shows had a whole lot more violence and death than the Power Rangers shows adapted from them.) The writers of Zeo were stuck with the footage of the Red Ranger struggling to master the berserk giant robot, and they had to come up with a new story justification for it.

The Borgified Corpse wrote:

---

IIRC, they were considering a Bulk & Skull spin-off. It's the reason why Power Rangers Zeo ends with that weird bit where they get recruited to be French spies. This was supposed to lead into the spin-off, but they canned it since they couldn't come up with more than a few episode ideas. That's why all was conveniently forgotten in the next movie.

I'd forgotten about that part. There is an odd lacuna between the end of Zeo and the Turbo movie -- not just Bulk & Skull, but Zedd & Rita triumphantly returning at the end of Zeo and then suddenly going into retirement in time for Turbo. If I were the type to write fanfiction, I probably would've come up with a story to bridge the gap.

[DigificWriter]

Borgified Corpse, I'm wondering if you had similar issues - vis a vis the Red Battlezord - with regards to the Alien Rangers of Aquitar being telepathically linked to their Battle Borgs, because Billy got the tech and 'know-how' to build the Battlezord from his trip to Aquitar early on in Zeo.

In order to engender some discussion, what are everybody's top two favorite seasons from the franchise, and why?