Power Rangers

[Christopher]

Well, Ninja Steel had its season finale today, and it was rather surprising, because it felt less like the usual cliffhangers we've gotten at the midway points of these last few two-season incarnations and more like an out-and-out series finale, with the main villain defeated and the Rangers losing their powers. The only indication that it isn't over is the final scene with the surviving villain swearing it isn't over. I wonder how they're going to reset all this next season.

Also, this climax seemed to be based on the climax of Ninninger, so it's hard to see where they'd go from here. But then, looking over the PR Wiki, it seems that the character Galvanax was based on was only in a few episodes, and that the main leader of the villains who appeared in the majority of episodes was the character that Odius is based on (though it was a male character in the Sentai). So I guess if Odius becomes the main villain next season, they could just be using footage in a different order than before. Which is hardly unprecedented. MMPR season 3 reversed the order in which the different sets of mecha were introduced in Kakuranger.

 

[May 20]

I don't know anything about the Sentai storylines, so I have nothing to compare today's episode to, though what you are sharing is curious. We were surprised by the three Reds, though. It's been a very long time since I've been surprised by PR, so that was neat. I agree that this felt much more like a series finale than a season finale. I, too, am wondering how they will reset for next season.

 

[Christopher]

We were surprised by the three Reds, though. It's been a very long time since I've been surprised by PR, so that was neat.

I looked it up on the Wiki afterward, and apparently Mick's version of the Red Ranger costume was worn by the father of AkaNinger (the Ninninger Red Ranger) in the climax of that series, while Dane (Brody and Levi's father) was in the costume worn by AkaNinger's grandfather in same.

It was not surprising that Dane turned out to be alive. After all, the last Red Ranger had a father that he thought was dead but who turned out to be alive midway through. I think most Power Rangers parents/mentors who've been presumed dead have turned up alive later, except for Zordon after "Countdown to Destruction," Cole's parents in Wild Force (I think), and several RPM characters.

 

[May 20]

True. The vanishing parents do tend to return in some form. I was less surprised about Dane. My son and I both expected him to turn up at some point in the series, though I wasn't looking for him until the middle of next season. Mick was a surprise. I appreciate the generational source information, though. That's pretty cool.

 

[Christopher]

There are things I like about Ninja Steel (mainly Chrysti Ane), but overall I'm finding it one of the weaker seasons. It's way too much in the Nickelodeon kids' sitcom vein, or at least what I surmise Nickelodeon kids' sitcoms are probably like. The humor is overdone, forced, and often quite unfunny. And the characters aren't that well-developed. I mean, Brody theoretically has all this backstory and baggage -- lost his father and brother, enslaved by Galvanax for ten years -- but he's a virtual cipher, leaving little impression compared to most Red Rangers. Calvin and Hayley are, I believe, the first pair of Rangers to be an established romantic couple from the start, and yet very little has been done with their relationship. It's all just so shallow. I'm really, really surprised that Judd (Chip) Lynn is the showrunner here, because this season just doesn't have the substance and characterization than his previous seasons did.

The Zords are weird this season too. The lack of any unifying theme is odd, and the gimmick of one Zord sitting inside the Megazord and steering it is weird. What really gets me is the Lion Fire Megazord with the Red Ranger sitting in that little open-air cockpit/chair thing on the Megazord's belly. I mean, if you're piloting a heavily armored vehicle in a battle against a giant monster that can fire deadly weapons at you, doesn't it kind of defeat the purpose to sit completely unprotected on the front of the thing??? Although I admit, that one gag a few episodes ago where the three nested Zords and the Red Ranger did a sort of matryoshka-doll attack, leaping out of each other one by one, was kind of clever -- but also incredibly impractical. Why even bother nesting three different robots inside each other if you're just going to leave them behind while the Red Ranger attacks the monster directly? (Although maybe they were going for the same iffy logic as the Kakuranger Ball maneuver in that show, that each participant adds more kinetic and/or spiritual energy to the final projectile.)

 

[May 20]

The zords are weird. I suspect there's a toy marketing angle that I don't care about (because I'm not the target audience) with the nesting of the zords. It's awkward to me. It seems very inefficient for combat.

I also agree that the characters are more two-dimensional than I remember seeing anywhere else in the series; even Megaforce tried to show backstories, pitiful as they were. I want to like Brody, but there's not much to like or dislike. He's just there.

I liked that Dane's sash had the gold design. It looked like a nod to Aiden/Levi, which I thought was appropriate. But, based on the lack of depth to the storytelling this season, I question whether the symbolism was intentional. Based on what you said about the Sentai scene, I think they put Dane in the third suit, regardless of accent color, for the reunion effect. But I like my version better.

My son is currently binge-watching Time Force. The difference is night and day.

 

[Christopher]

The zords are weird. I suspect there's a toy marketing angle that I don't care about (because I'm not the target audience) with the nesting of the zords. It's awkward to me. It seems very inefficient for combat.

Well, sure, naturally it's all about finding new toy gimmicks. There's never been anything remotely efficient or practical about combining smaller combat vehicles into a single larger one. If you have need for both multiple small vehicles and a single large one, you build both, because one thing trying to be two different things will be less than ideal at either one. And of course, an erect bipedal configuration is terribly unstable for anything that large.

Still, when Power Rangers was starting out (or when Super Sentai was about half its current age), the mecha designs tended to have a certain elegance to them, and it was fun watching them combine. These days, they've gotten much more garish and clunky, and they just keep piling on so many new and different mecha that the combinations just race by and the action scenes are cluttered and unfocused.

My son is currently binge-watching Time Force. The difference is night and day.

That was one of the best seasons, probably second only to RPM.

And it was also a Judd Lynn season. I wonder why the quality of his work has declined so much. Maybe the network wants it dumbed down?

 

[Samurai8472]

I don't know anything about the Sentai storylines.

You should take a look into "Go-busters" it was passed over for Kyoryuger/Dino Charge for adaptation

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The entire season is on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnrkgR-NzbW5a4hVELlT3KOsyCDd6c7ZK

 

[May 20]

You should take a look into "Go-busters" it was passed over for Kyoryuger/Dino Charge for adaptation

The entire season is on youtube

Cool. I'll look into it.

Still, when Power Rangers was starting out (or when Super Sentai was about half its current age), the mecha designs tended to have a certain elegance to them, and it was fun watching them combine. These days, they've gotten much more garish and clunky, and they just keep piling on so many new and different mecha that the combinations just race by and the action scenes are cluttered and unfocused.

My first PR show was Samurai. I was flabbergasted at how jumbled and clunky the "super-duper" megazord was with all the little zords attached. I figured that was just the way it was. When we watched the older seasons, I saw that wasn't the case and wondered why clutter seemed to be the new norm.

That was one of the best seasons, probably second only to RPM.

Two of our favorites.

And it was also a Judd Lynn season. I wonder why the quality of his work has declined so much. Maybe the network wants it dumbed down?

I'm sure a lot of it has to do with what Nick will allow them to air. But I also wonder if PR has gone on for so long that they may think that quality is less important because they think they have a built-in audience.

 

[Christopher]

You should take a look into "Go-busters" it was passed over for Kyoryuger/Dino Charge for adaptation

Yeah, that was a good one. Come to think of it, I probably watched it on your recommendation.

Also, the first four Sentai seasons that were adapted for Power Rangers are available free for streaming at ShoutFactoryTV:

http://www.shoutfactorytv.com/tv/action-adventure

That's Zyuranger, Dairanger, and Kakuranger for Mighty Morphin seasons 1-3 respectively, and Ohranger for Zeo. I gather that Carranger (Turbo) is also out on DVD and Megaranger (in Space) is coming soon or newly available, but they aren't on the streaming site yet.

My first PR show was Samurai. I was flabbergasted at how jumbled and clunky the "super-duper" megazord was with all the little zords attached. I figured that was just the way it was. When we watched the older seasons, I saw that wasn't the case and wondered why clutter seemed to be the new norm.

The whole franchise exists to sell toys. The more mecha they pile on, the more toys they can sell. But the design quality does seem to be going downhill lately.

I'm sure a lot of it has to do with what Nick will allow them to air. But I also wonder if PR has gone on for so long that they may think that quality is less important because they think they have a built-in audience.

I don't know about that, because before this season, the quality was increasing since the series resumed production. Samurai was pretty bad; the cast was dreadful, and the writing was little more than a note-for-note remake of the Sentai. Megaforce was decent, though the cast was a mixed bag, it was trying too hard to be an MMPR clone, and the anniversary season was slapdash. And Dino Charge (the first Judd "Chip" Lynn-produced series of the post-Disney era) was pretty good, with a strong cast and decent writing and story arcs. That's why it's so surprising that Lynn's second "modern" season is so weak.


By the way, I think it's safe to say that there's no longer any attempt at continuity between seasons. In this weekend's season finale, the reporter said that Calvin and Monty were the first non-Power Rangers to have close, extended contact with a monster. That implies that Ninja Steel is set in a world that hasn't been under constant attack by monsters of various breeds for the past quarter-century.

 

[Samurai8472]

I also recommend Kyuranger the current super sentai for the year May 20

http://kissasian.ch/Drama/Uchuu-Sentai-Kyuranger/Episode-1?id=32436

 

[Hound of UIster]

The zords are weird. I suspect there's a toy marketing angle that I don't care about (because I'm not the target audience) with the nesting of the zords. It's awkward to me. It seems very inefficient for combat.

The funding for the Japanese version comes from Bandai, the toy company that makes the merchandise. This unfortunately caused a feedback loop in which the ratings for the broadcast show crashed over the last 16 or 17 years while toy sales have done well (most of the time). But in the past ten or so years, Bandai has unfortunately learned that Japanese children (and Japanese toy collectors) really love collectible gimmicks so a lot of these shows are now dedicated to shilling them. This is why you have battery dinosaurs or ranger keys. The current show is an unfortunate victim of this mentality.

 

[Christopher]

But in the past ten or so years, Bandai has unfortunately learned that Japanese children (and Japanese toy collectors) really love collectible gimmicks so a lot of these shows are now dedicated to shilling them. This is why you have battery dinosaurs or ranger keys. The current show is an unfortunate victim of this mentality.

Yeah, and the ninja stars this season. Although they do give the show kind of an interesting dynamic, with the ongoing plot thread about the finite supply of Ninja Steel and the Rangers' need to husband it or repurpose it, e.g. melting down one star to create another.

 

[Samurai8472]

If anyone is interested in something SLIGHTLY different someone on youtube has uploaded the entire season of Tomica Hero Rescue Force

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I've seen clips and I love both of the opening themes for both series(it only lasted two series)

The CGI is a notch better than PR/Sentai but the villains are pretty stupid

The primer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomica_Hero:_Rescue_Force

The show was created after the popular toy line of rescue vehicles from Takara Tomica.


As someone said it's "Power Ranger's meets Thunderbirds"

 

[Christopher]

Meanwhile, Ninja Steel showed its Christmas episode today. It was a clip show, like the holiday episodes tend to be, but they actually found a clever way to use the clip show format to solve the problem of how to tell a Power Rangers story set after the season finale in which the Rangers lost their powers, because it involved Sarah going back in time to their past adventures to borrow their Power Stars so they could fight a monster in the present. Plus Santa was randomly there because Christmas, but I guess the whole "The Power Rangers and Santa are totally pals and hang out" trope is a running gag by this point. Anyway, it meant we got a lot of Sarah, which is always a good thing. Chrysti Ane isn't just gorgeous, she's a skilled comic actress. She could have quite a career ahead of her after this.

What I don't get, though, is: Why would the Rangers (or ex-Rangers, rather) gather together to exchange presents... in the high school? Don't they have homes? And really, the show tends to treat the high school more as a sort of community center and hangout than a place that has, you know, actual classes and schedules and such.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

As with the original MMPR, at this point I'm mainly just watching Ninja Steel because the female Rangers are so gorgeous.

IMO, no one can hold a candle to the ladies of Power Rangers in Space. My inner teenager is still madly in love with Ashley & Cassie. Toss Astronema in there and damn!... (Although Zeo era Katherine will always be my all-time favorite.)

I think most Power Rangers parents/mentors who've been presumed dead have turned up alive later, except for Zordon after "Countdown to Destruction," Cole's parents in Wild Force (I think), and several RPM characters.

I was just reading about Cole's parents online. Apparently, the original agreement with the Fox Kids censors was that they could only kill Cole's parents if they promised to resurrect them later in the series. But then ABC took over the show and they had no knowledge of the original agreement, so the writers were allowed to keep them dead.

I gather that Carranger (Turbo) is also out on DVD and Megaranger (in Space) is coming soon or newly available, but they aren't on the streaming site yet.

Megaranger is out on DVD now. I just saw a copy at my local FYE the other day.

What I don't get, though, is: Why would the Rangers (or ex-Rangers, rather) gather together to exchange presents... in the high school? Don't they have homes? And really, the show tends to treat the high school more as a sort of community center and hangout than a place that has, you know, actual classes and schedules and such.

That's just a standard TV trope. Reminds me of a line that Xander had in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "You know what college is? It's like high school but without the going to class! Well... high school was like that too."

It's been ages since I've seen an episode of Power Rangers. In fact, I haven't watched the show faithfully since the original run of In Space. That was kinda when I "outgrew" the show. Technically, I was probably "too old" for it by the time that Mighty Morphin ended. My best friend & I were closet PR fans all through Zeo, Turbo, & In Space, to the point where I rehearsed an alibi for when we went to the theater to see Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie just in case we ran into anyone that I knew while we were there (which we did, so it came in handy ). It's odd the things that you feel embarrassed about as a kid that don't phase you as an adult.

I've been tempted to try going back into the series. I felt a sudden pang of nostalgia recently. (It actually came from watching the movie The Right Stuff and remembering that I still have a copy of Fox Kids Magazine with a photo of the In Space cast next to a profile of John Glenn. I think I may be the only person who has ever thought about Power Rangers while watching that movie.) What kinda holds me back is the sneaking suspicion that the show won't hold up anywhere near what it feels like in my memory. I remember it as an action-packed sci-fi adventure, not a hyperactive toy commercial that has to spell everything out in big bold letters. Still, I found some half-decent Astronema tribute videos online, and have been feeding my nostalgia kick that way so far. And I wonder... the action still looks good and the music from the show is actually better than I remember. I dunno. I typically don't have much time for TV these days and the seasons are all so long that I'm not sure how much payoff there would be. At least the DVDs are pretty cheap on Amazon these days.

Whaddaya think? Is it worth it?

BTW, I'm interested in knowing what the real-life issues were that led to them lightening up the tone of Ohranger.

P.S. I also found this interview with Christopher Khayman Lee and it's put the biggest smile on my face. Oh, how the last 17 years have changed us all. I don't know that I've ever seen an interview with an actor that reminded me less of the character that they played.

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[Christopher]

IMO, no one can hold a candle to the ladies of Power Rangers in Space. My inner teenager is still madly in love with Ashley & Cassie. Toss Astronema in there and damn!... (Although Zeo era Katherine will always be my all-time favorite.)

They were kinda hot, especially Tracy Lynn Cruz. (She's the actress who made me understand the phrase "You're beautiful when you're angry" for the first time. She was much hotter when Ashley was under a spell and turned evil.) But they're not as magnificent as Amy Jo Johnson.

That's just a standard TV trope. Reminds me of a line that Xander had in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "You know what college is? It's like high school but without the going to class! Well... high school was like that too."

Yeah, but at least school-based shows usually at least pay lip service to the idea that the kids go to classes. I remember MMPR having a lot of scenes set in classrooms, as did Megaforce. But while NS has occasional classroom scenes, it frequently has episodes where school just seems to be a place where everybody hangs out in the lobby to listen to Victor and Monty's latest nonsense or watch Preston's magic show or have the principal announce a competition. It's not between classes, it's instead of classes. Of course the trope exists to an extent in a lot of shows, but rarely this egregiously.

It's been ages since I've seen an episode of Power Rangers. In fact, I haven't watched the show faithfully since the original run of In Space. That was kinda when I "outgrew" the show. Technically, I was probably "too old" for it by the time that Mighty Morphin ended.

I was 25 when MMPR started. I was always "too old" for it -- but not too old to appreciate Amy Jo Johnson and Thuy Trang. And by the time they moved on, the writing had improved to the point that it was still worth watching.

I've been tempted to try going back into the series. I felt a sudden pang of nostalgia recently. (It actually came from watching the movie The Right Stuff and remembering that I still have a copy of Fox Kids Magazine with a photo of the In Space cast next to a profile of John Glenn. I think I may be the only person who has ever thought about Power Rangers while watching that movie.) What kinda holds me back is the sneaking suspicion that the show won't hold up anywhere near what it feels like in my memory. I remember it as an action-packed sci-fi adventure, not a hyperactive toy commercial that has to spell everything out in big bold letters. Still, I found some half-decent Astronema tribute videos online, and have been feeding my nostalgia kick that way so far. And I wonder... the action still looks good and the music from the show is actually better than I remember. I dunno. I typically don't have much time for TV these days and the seasons are all so long that I'm not sure how much payoff there would be. At least the DVDs are pretty cheap on Amazon these days.

Whaddaya think? Is it worth it?

Depends on the season. There's some pretty good stuff in Lost Galaxy and Lightspeed Rescue, some of which is almost as dramatic as Super Sentai writing. Time Force is top-notch and definitely worth it. After that, it's a mixed bag. I liked Dino Thunder, Mystic Force, Jungle Fury, and especially RPM, which was kind of a gritty adult reboot/deconstruction of Power Rangers but also the funniest season they've ever done, with a superb cast (including several actors who've gone onto subsequent success -- Eka Darville, Rose McIver, Adelaide Kane). A lot of people like Ninja Storm and SPD, but I found the former dumb and annoying, and while I respected the complexity of the stories and characters in the latter, I never warmed to the cast.

The post-Disney stuff since then has ranged from awful to okay, with Dino Charge being the most successful incarnation.

BTW, I'm interested in knowing what the real-life issues were that led to them lightening up the tone of Ohranger.

http://powerrangers.wikia.com/wiki/Ohranger

With 1995 marking the 20th anniversary of Himitsu Sentai Goranger, Toei had decided to make a serious anniversary series that harkened back to Sentai's beginning while taking advantage of the developments since then. For it's development, many writers from older series came back to work on the show with the plan for a dark theme. The five Ohranger themselves were to be similar to the Gorenger in personality and former Gorenger Hiroshi Miyauchi (who played AoRenger) was brought in as the mentor for the series. While initially keeping to this concept, the events that occurred in Japan during the show's production, such as the Subway Sarin Incident and the Kobe earthquake, forced the writers of Ohranger to constantly rewrite the scripts. The Ohrangers began to alternate between serious and lighter personalities, these shifts causing a downturn in viewership. However, merchandising sales remained unusually high, so many new weapons and toys were created to continue to boost sales as had been done with Kakuranger the Prior Year when it likewise was under-performing. While Ohranger ultimately had the lowest ratings of any Sentai series up to that time, the resulting toy sales were record-breaking, and did not make the show be considered for cancellation at any point during it's run.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

They were kinda hot, especially Tracy Lynn Cruz. (She's the actress who made me understand the phrase "You're beautiful when you're angry" for the first time. She was much hotter when Ashley was under a spell and turned evil.) But they're not as magnificent as Amy Jo Johnson.

I realize that I'm in the minority on this, but Kimberly was always firmly in my "cute but not hot" category. But, hey, takes all kinds I guess.

 

[JD]

In celebration of the 25 anniversary of the franchise Boom! Studios is going to be doing a big story in their MMPR comics with multiple PR teams joining forces to fight their current villain, Lord Drakkon,

Spoiler: I'm not sure if his real identity is really a spoiler, but just in case I'll code it

an evil alternate universe version of Tommy Oliver

. They also released a cover from one of the crossover issues that is supposed to feature every ranger ever.

 

[Christopher]

In celebration of the 25 anniversary of the franchise

In celebration of oh my god I am so old.