Power Rangers Episode Reviews

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 18 - White Light Part 2

2011-03-24T16:29:00.003-04:00

So, we have another new monster on the loose, Bulk and Skull have found Rita's dumpster, and Zordon and Alpha have shut down the Command Center, leaving the Rangers on their own. But who cares about any of that, THERE'S GONNA BE A NEW RANGER! OMIGOD OMIGOD OMIGOD! Who is he? What does he look like? What Zord will he have? Let's not waste any more time speculating and find out!

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We pick up where we left off as Billy watches Zordon and Alpha work on the new Ranger. He runs off to tell the others, making enough noise that I'm surprised Alpha and Zordon didn't overhear him. On the moon, Zedd gloats about his minor victory due to the Rangers' retreat and promises to finish them off next time he sees them.

We cut to Billy's lab where he tells the group about the new Ranger. Surprisingly, the Rangers aren't exactly receptive to the idea. For one thing, Zordon and Alpha kept it a secret from them. Another problem is that they don't know who it is. Kimberly questions why they didn't just give Tommy the new powers, considering he was already a member of the group. Plus, they're all friends with one another and mesh better as a team. But Jason says that they need a new Ranger to help in their fight against Zedd, and that Zordon must have a reason behind what they're doing, so they come to terms with the idea.

After Alpha and Zordon work on the new Ranger some more, we see Bulk and Skull try and fail again to open the dumpster. Skull suddenly gets an idea and they head to see Ernie, for some reason. After they leave, we see that Rita's actually starting to open the dumpster herself. This probably won't end well.

Back at the Command Center, we see that Zordon and Alpha are finished and have reactivated everything. They contact the Rangers and they teleport to the Command Center. Once there, Zordon gives a speech about the Green Ranger's powers disappearing and them needing a new, more powerful Ranger in his stead. They selected a candidate and granted him these powers. Zordon then introduces the newest member of the team, the White Ranger.

A light suddenly turns on from above. The White Ranger slowly descends from above, almost god-like in essence. The suit is amazing, a perfect combination of white, black and gold, making him look very regal and exactly as important as he should be. Zordon then tells him to reveal his true identity. He slowly unclasps his helmet and pulls it off.

Kimberly: *faints*

Holy shit! Who could make Kim faint like that? Is he so incredibly handsome that women literally fall just by looking at him? Who is this guy?

Tommy: Guess who's back?

Oh, hey, it's just Tommy, that's what all the-A-BWHA?!

Yes, the White Ranger is Tommy, meaning he's a full-time Ranger again. Are you really surprised? He has a tender moment with Kimberly as the group celebrates their savior's return.

Zordon: Are you pleased with the new leader of your team?

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! What's all this about Tommy being the leader now? Where did this come from? What about Jason? No, don't just grin and be OK with it, man! Say something! He knocked you out of your position on the team! He didn't even have the decency to forewarn you! Stand up for yourself!

Jason: Uh, Zordon, I thought I was the leader? Weren't you going to clue me in to this anytime soon?

Zordon: Eh, who cares, you're gonna be leaving the show in a few episodes anyway.

Jason: Wait, what?

Zordon: Er, I mean....peace conference. You'll be going to a peace conference. Yeah.

So yeah, Zordon apologizes for being secretive, then goes on about Tommy's new powers are even greater than before and can never leave him. Alpha explains that Tommy will control the new White TigerZord, and will control it with a talking sword by the name of Saba. Oooooookay. But yeah, Tommy's back! Woo!

Meanwhile, Bulk and Skull have what they need to open the dumpster: a giant can opener. I'd comment on the ridiculousness of this, but I'm more curious about where exactly ERNIE found something like that! Zordon catches wind of this, as well as the returning Scarlet Sentinel. Problem is, the Zords were apparently damaged in their last battle and need repairs. Billy and Trini teleport away to repair them, Zack, Jason, and Kim are assigned to stop Bulk and Skull, and Tommy's off to fight the monster. Tommy calls for the morphing sequence, even though he's already morphed. By the way, in case you care, he takes his old position as the first to go, he has a white background instead of green, and calls out "TigerZord" instead of "DragonZord".

Jason, Kim, and Zack arrive and find Z-Putties swarming around, so they start fighting them. Meanwhile, Tommy arrives and immediately summons the White TigerZord. It looks pretty damn cool...until it randomly falls over. OK. By the by, Tommy is a LOT more expressive in the Sentai footage this time around. That would be because his counterpart is a kid. Yeah, Super Sentai did the whole "kid as a Ranger" thing long before Turbo did. Make of that what you will. Oh, and Tommy has a new theme, which is basically just his Green Ranger theme, except with "White Ranger" placed in over the parts with "Green Ranger". Creative.

After that bit of randomness, the three fight more Z-Putties while Tommy successfully enters his White TigerZord. Or rather, he rides on top of it for a bit first before entering. I guess old habits die hard, huh? The TigerZord then roars so hard it actually sends Scarlet Sentinel flying back a bit. Wow. He then converts the TigerZord to Warrior Mode, which is just it standing upright, back legs becoming legs and front legs and head becoming arms and chest, a new head popping up. Also, Tommy has ANOTHER theme while in the TigerZord, "White Ranger Tiger Power". I'm willing to bet someone edited that so it only said "White Power". And if they didn't before, they certainly will now that I suggested it. Anyway, the White TigerZord fights Scarlet Sentinel for a bit, Tommy asking Saba to make it "follow his every move". Why not just tell him to make it punch and kick at the right times? Also, Saba doesn't say much, beyond compliment Tommy on his awesomeness.

After more Z-Putty fighting, Tommy grabs an orb from the back wall and uses it to make the Zord shoot fireballs out of its chest. Yeah, the wall behind Tommy has a bunch of orbs with Japanese symbols on them that make the Zord do things. How much you want to bet we won't see him use this that much? Sentinel summons AC and DC which turns the tide against Tommy. He ejects from the TigerZord, which causes Zordon to make some adjustments to the ThunderZords. For what, we'll see in a moment.

Jason summons the Red DragonZord and it transforms into its Warrior Mode. It then rides on the White TigerZord (now back in its regular mode), which works for a little bit, but not long. The other ThunderZords are then summoned and combine with the TigerZord to form the MegaTigerZord. The Lion forms the shoulders and backplate, the Unicorn and Griffin form the legs, and the Firebird wraps around the TigerZord's right arm. It also spontaneously gets a new helmet. It shows off its finishing move, which is to shoot the Firebird at them, turning it into a flaming projectile. It blasts through all three monsters, finishing them off and leaving the MegaTigerZord and the Red DragonZord Warrior Mode to pose.

Back with Bulk and Skull, they eventually give up on opening the dumpster. Of course, right then, Rita gets out, though still small. She then calls the duo a human Squat and Baboo, and they faint. Hey, that's a pretty devastating insult! Of course, the Rangers arrive and immediately place her back in the dumpster. A little later, they wake Bulk and Skull back up, while demorphed, of course, and act like nothing happened. Meanwhile, Zordon sends the dumpster back into space, where Rita will never return....for now, anyway.

We cut to the Juice Bar, where the group are celebrating Tommy's return, who is now wearing white, of course. Richie then walks over, apparently having won a martial arts trophy. Whoopee. He demonstrates, which causes a cake to go flying into Bulk and Skull. The two immediately decide "screw this", and leave. Tommy's glad that things haven't changed in the three episodes he's been gone, group laughs, episode ends.

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As far as a two-parter goes, this one was pretty good. The first part worked well as the setup, and the second part was simple awesome in its reveal. The most popular character is back, he has new powers, meaning new suit, new Zord, new everything. And since he's using a Dairanger costume now, that means he can actually fight the monster without it looking like a choppy mess. Though I'm still surprised there was no problem with Tommy suddenly becoming the leader. Overall, well done, and worth your time.

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Here's the new White Ranger. I actually like the little bit of unintentional continuity here as it looks a bit like the Green Ranger suit.

Here we have the new White TigerZord...

...and here's its Warrior Mode.

Finally, the ultimately awesome MegaTigerZord. Which, for some reason, doesn't get used that much. I think.

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Unfortunately I can't find a sequence of the White Ranger morph alone. You'll have to wait until later after...well, you'll see.

The White TigerZord converting to Warrior Mode.

The MegaTigerZord transformation.

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 17 - White Light Part 1

2011-03-24T14:11:00.002-04:00

Last time, we got an episode that was so bad it was offensive. Or rather, it was so bad because it was offensive. I could list all the reasons why that episode was so bad, but I'm in a bit of a rush, so let's just get to why we're here today. Another two-parter called White Light. Yeah, three episodes after we finished with our last two-parter, in which Tommy was written out of the cast, we get another one. Still, the multi-parters are usually (emphasis on usually) important and pretty good, so I guess I can't complain. Let's see what all the fuss is about.

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So we start off at the Juice Bar, and it seems like business as usual. Billy and Trini are hanging out at the bar, Bulk and Skull have another plan to find the Rangers' identities that they don't explain, Richie is being useless, same ol' same ol'. Kimberly then comes skipping in, literally, as she tells Billy and Trini that she got a letter from Tommy saying that he's coming home at the end of the week. Seriously? What happened to him being written out? Are you guys capable of letting this guy go? Well, to be fair, the plan was originally to write Tommy out so Jason David Frank could go on to star in the Power Rangers spinoff, VR Troopers. And don't bother asking me about that show, I literally know nothing about it. Fans, however, kept writing to Saban to keep Tommy in the show, so I will give Saban credit for actually listening to the fans. Anyway, they run off to tell the others and prepare a surprise party.

On the moon, Zedd catches wind of Tommy's return and isn't too happy that he just won't stay away. He mentions that he has some sort of plan, though what, we don't find out. Back on Earth, we see Jason and Zack playing football with some random no-names. Oh, and Curtis too. The others arrive and tell them the good news, Zack mentioning that it's been way too quiet lately.

*a-he-hem* FOOOOOOOOOOOOOORESHADOWIIIIIIIIIIING!

We then cut to the Command Center where Zordon and Alpha mention something about a secret mission. They then shut down the computers and teleport into a secret chamber to prepare. This is smart right here. We don't know what they're talking about, but the fact that they have to shut down the entire Command Center to prepare, essentially cutting them off from the Rangers and the world as a whole indicates that this is pretty big.

Zedd suddenly senses that Zordon's disappeared, which leads to some explanation as to how the Power Rangers' powers work. Their morphing abilities are tied to some energy force called the Morphing Grid, and any Ranger, no matter how or where they get their powers, draw energy from this grid. The Grid's power is maintained by the constant battle between Zedd and Zordon, which fans have extended to essentially mean the battles between good and evil, which is an explanation I like more than just those two. Either way, Zedd sees Zordon's disappearance as a sign of weakness, so he decides to make his next monster, as well as hatch a plan to turn Tommy evil again. He zaps some statue of a fist and calls it the Scarlet Sentinel, though it doesn't actually turn into anything yet. Right.

On Earth, Bulk and Skull are hanging around the last spot where the Rangers were, waiting for them to arrive. Skull wishes that they got some sign that they were on the right track. God apparently decided to fuck with these guys, as a meteor crashes nearby right then. Don't worry, it doesn't cause widespread destruction from the impact, it just freaks people out a little bit. Jason and Billy run off to find out what it is, but Bulk and Skull have already done the same.

And just what was this meteor?

.....HOLY SHIT IT'S RITA!

Yep, the dumpster that Zedd trapped Rita in way back in the first episode of this season has crashed on Earth, just in time for Bulk and Skull to find it. Bulk thinks this is the sign they're looking for, and somehow the dumpster will lead them to the Power Rangers. If they only knew. They grab the dumpster and head for Skull's dad's workshop, just as Jason and Billy arrive to check it out. They find nothing, leaving them confused.

The confusion continues when Zack comes across the fist statue from before, which is now dripping with this green jelly slime for some reason. He goes back and brings Trini and Kimberly to check it out, confusing them as well. It gets worse when they try to contact Zordon, but don't get a response. They contact Jason and Billy instead, who teleport there. Billy makes the brilliant conclusion that....wait for it....Zedd is behind it! No wonder Billy is considered a GENIUS!

But, since the monster isn't ready yet, Zedd sends down some Z-Putties to occupy the Rangers for a bit. A fight starts and....ugh, was it really necessary to redub them while they're unmorphed? Now it's even more obvious as to what's going on! Anyway, after that, they decide to try and contact Alpha and Zordon again.

Meanwhile, Bulk and Skull arrive at Skull's dad's workshop and get to work on opening the dumpster. Back with the group, they still don't have any luck contacting Zordon, so they decide to just teleport to the Command Center themselves and see what's going on. After they leave, we discover that the fist statue has a glowing mask on the back of it. Or maybe it's a face, as eyes behind the mask open. Creepy...

Meanwhile meanwhile, we cut to somewhere else as we see Tommy taking a swim. *insert gratuitous shirtless shot for the girls here* Suddenly, he starts flashing random colours and disappears. Uh, OK. Did Zedd grab him? Well, he doesn't flat out say he did, just that things are going "according to plan", and that the monster is almost ready. Why the ambiguity? Well, you'll see why soon enough.

At the Command Center, the Rangers see the place practically abandoned and wonder just what the hell is going on. Billy spouts some technobabble and grabs a CD that'll apparently tell them everything. The Rangers then teleport to Billy's lab. While Bulk and Skull work more on opening the dumpster, Billy discovers the hidden chamber in the Command Center where all the power is currently being focused. Before he can figure out just why this is happening, Zedd activates the Scarlet Sentinel and has it attack. The Rangers morph and head out to fight it.

After the Scarlet Sentinel (which now has the additional name of Nimrod, for some reason) wipes the floor with the Rangers, Zedd makes it grow and the Rangers summon the ThunderZords in response. After forming the Thunder MegaZord, the Rangers promptly get their asses kicked by Scarlet Sentinel some more, especially after it summons its assistants, AC and DC. Uh...the whole Scarlet Sentinel being named Nimrod is one thing, but why are its assistants named AC and DC? Is there any significance behind it? Is it just for an AC/DC reference? What's the point? Anyway, Billy escapes from the MegaZord and teleports to the Command Center for help.

After Bulk and Skull work on the dumpster a bit more, we see Billy wandering around the Command Center, looking for Alpha and Zordon to get help. He opens the secret chamber he discovered and heads in. After going through some tunnels and such, he spies on Alpha and Zordon, and the episode ends when he discovers just what they're working on: a new Power Ranger.

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Well, the first part of this wasn't anything big-HOLY SHIT A NEW POWER RANGER! That's all this episode was, one long build-up to the fact that they'll be introducing a new Power Ranger. If you look at it as that, it's done well. Nothing is explained right away, leaving fans wondering just what's going on, and then when the reveal happens, fans are instantly excited. Now, for the big question: who is it? Find out next time!

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From left to right: AC, Scarlet Sentinel, and DC. I still don't get the significance of the reference.

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 16 - Beauty And The Beast

2011-03-23T18:00:00.002-04:00

Last time, we had a ridiculously long title, two bad actors for the price of one, and a plot that was just barely held together by the gimmick of bringing back old monsters. Which in and of itself wasn't done very well and went by way too quickly. I have to admit, I don't have very high hopes for this one, but let's dive in anyway.

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So we start off at the Juice Bar with Kim and Billy, Kim showing off a mirror she has. Turns out Tommy won the mirror for her at a carnival, which causes the two to mope about Tommy leaving the group. Geez, we just managed to do one episode without mentioning Tommy! One! It's like they don't want to write him out of the plot!

On the moon, Goldar mentions how the Rangers are distraught over Tommy's departure (geez, was he THAT important?), so Zedd decides on his next target. He chooses Kimberly, but he has a strange interest in her. He mentions that he's "intrigued" by her courage, so he chooses her to be his queen?! Whaaaaaaaaa?! Where did this come from?! Since when was Zedd even remotely interested in having a queen at all, let alone one of the Rangers?! I mean, yeah, Amy Jo Johnson is smoking hot, but this goes completely against Zedd's personality! It's almost like they toned down the seriousness of his character because some people were complaining that he was too scary for kids! I mean, it's just a hunch.

Back at the Juice Bar, Kimberly's still moping over Tommy, so she decides to see a fortune teller named Madam Swampy. Wow. It's like they weren't even trying with that name. By the way, I love how Billy tries to discredit fortune telling because he's a scientist and all. Yeah, monsters that grow to enormous sizes, an evil sorcerer who is looking for world domination, and a group of superheroes in multi-coloured outfits mentored by a floating head in a tube is perfectly believable, but fortune telling? Psssssssh. They leave and Bulk and Skull enter, Bulk getting the obvious idea of using the fortune teller to discover the identities of the Rangers, so they quickly head for wherever the fortune teller is.

Somehow, Bulk and Skull get there first. OK, whoever is playing Madam Swampy is instantly a better actor than the entire cast combined, solely because she was able to call herself Madam Swampy without bursting into hysterical laughter. That's talent. And her talent is wasted because her character is the subversion of the mystical fortune teller that's only out for money that's now become a stereotype in itself. Just let it die, guys. Let it die. Anyway, she gives them some map that will apparently lead them to something good, though what it is, I can only begin to guess.

After Zedd talks more about wanting Kim he sends Goldar down to turn her evil. He teleports down to Earth as Kimberly arrives at Madam Swampy's little hut. After Kim gets yanked around like a helpless damsel in distress and not at all like a Power Ranger, Goldar tosses some magic dust in her face that knocks her out, allowing Goldar to grab her and teleport away. Kim dropped her bag with the mirror during the fight, so Zedd decides to use the mirror for his latest monster, Mirror Maniac. Why does that sound like a bad comic book supervillain in itself?

We cut to Zack and Billy rollerblading in the park, the only important bit of dialogue being that Jason's fishing in the mountains with his uncle. K. Zordon contacts them and they meet up with Trini at the Command Center. Zordon fills them in on the plan to make Kim Zedd's queen, as well as they apparently can't break the spell, or track down the cave that Kim's being kept in. Well, nice knowing you, Kimberly. Hope you enjoy being the sex slave for a skinless sorcerer from Hell of another planet.

Zedd then sees the Rangers rollerblading, so he sends some Z-Putties down to fight them. Turns out the rollerbladers, however, are Curtis and Richie. Wait, so Zedd mistook these two for the Rangers? HOW?! He knows their secret identities and knew them from day one! How do you screw that up?! And did we really need to see these guys AGAIN?! Anyway, Zordon catches wind of what happens and the Rangers decide to split up, Billy and Trini going after Kim while Zack handles the Z-Putties. What about Jason, you ask? According to Zordon, they can't contact him because he's too far into the mountains.

....are you fucking SHITTING ME?! You mean to tell me that the LEADER of the motherfucking POWER RANGERS can't be contacted by a superpowerful Oz ripoff just because he's too high in the mountains?! Saban, are you purposely trying to piss people off with all these lapses in suspension of disbelief?! Or was this the best excuse you could make for why Austin St. John couldn't appear in this episode? Anyway, Billy and Trini morph and the three teleport away.

So, despite being unable to find the cave before, Billy and Trini find it no problem. At this point, I really don't care. They fight some Z-Putties near the cave while Zack takes care of the other Z-Putties unmorphed. Once that's done, Billy and Trini head in...oh son of a fuck, they switched Trini's voice too! And why did they purposely give Richie an open vest to wear?! Are they pretty much just giving up on him and letting him be eye candy for the girls?! Why is this episode pissing me off so much?!

We cut to the cave where Kimberly wakes up from the sleep dust, only to meet up with Goldar, Squat and Baboo. Yeah, remember when Squat and Baboo did stuff? Me neither. Goldar tells her that she will now be instructed on being an evil queen, and gives her an outfit to wear....that looks exactly like Rita's.

*a-he-hem* FOOOOOOOOOOOORESHADOWIIIIIIIIIING!

As it turns out, Goldar's spell didn't work in the slightest, but Kim decides to play along anyway. This leads to her doing a startlingly incredible Rita impersonation. Seriously, it's so accurate I would think she did the real voice, except I know she didn't. It's so good that Goldar even thinks he did the spell TOO well. Points to Amy Jo Johnson for being awesome. Billy and Trini arrive and...

.....what in the fuck is up with Trini's voice? Did they get the new voice actor to purposely sound Asian?! I don't know if you guys can tell from the few clips I've shown you, but Thuy Trang has no accent at all. So why did they make the voice actor have one? Saban, why are you making me question you?

Anyway, they escape and Zedd sends the Mirror Maniac down to attack the city. Alpha contacts the trio, explains that both Zack and Jason are already there, even though they couldn't contact Jason before, so Kim morphs and the rest join the fight. They fight some more Z-Putties while the Mirror Maniac...stands on the sidelines and critiques the fight. Wow. I have to admit, the fight is decent, but nothing special. Then again, I just came off of seeing The Protector starring Tony Jaa, so I may be a bit biased.

Anyway, Zedd makes the Mirror Maniac grow, which somehow breaks its center mirror, I don't even care anymore, so the Rangers summon the ThunderZords and form the Thunder MegaZord. They fight, Mirror Maniac doesn't do diddly dick, Thunder MegaZord finishes it off, please let this end. Zedd of course blames everyone except himself, whatever.

Back at the Juice Bar, Kim can't find her mirror, apparently not realizing she just fought it. You'd think she'd catch on, since Zedd turning important objects into monsters has become his M.O. Actually, it wasn't destroyed as Curtis returns it to her. Bulk and Skull arrive, having followed the map, and running right into the group. Ironically enough, they immediately believe Swampy to be a fraud, since there's no WAY these guys are the Power Rangers. As it turns out, the map was actually a cross-promotional bit between Swampy and the Juice Bar for free muffins or something. Group laughs, episode ends, thank the almighty LORD.

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So hey, I don't know if you can tell, but I HATE this episode! The plot made no sense when you consider Zedd's character, the fact that he couldn't tell the Rangers from two boring side characters is just stupid, the fact that they couldn't contact Jason because he was in the mountains is even MORE stupid, WHY DID THEY MAKE TRINI'S VOICE ACTOR SOUND ASIAN, and it was just overall bad. The only shining moment in this episode was Amy Jo Johnson's uncanny impression of Rita. Hunt down that one clip on YouTube or whatever, but otherwise, avoid this one at all costs.

So, hopefully the next episode will be better, tune in next time for...another two-parter?! Didn't we just finish with the last one?!

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Mirror Maniac actually makes me realize something: all of the Dairanger monsters so far have a theme with a singular eye. Why is that?

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 15 - Orchestral Maneuvers In The Park

2011-03-22T17:40:00.003-04:00

Last time, we wrapped up the Tommy storyline as best as could be done, while enduring a storyline that, while an interesting concept, was weighed down by continuity and technical issues. Still, things have changed so now we need to create a new status quo. Let's see just how we go about doing that.

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So we start off at the Juice Bar where...ugh. Why do you exist, Richie? Zack and Trini are hanging out when...oh, Curtis? So there was a point to introducing that character? You sure? He mentions taking part in a jazz competition and wants to borrow Zack's trumpet for it. Zack agrees but brings up that it belonged to their uncle, who's a famous jazz musician, so he needs to be careful with it. Our exciting plot, ladies and gentlemen.

On the moon, Zedd catches wind of the trumpet and decides to use it as part of his next plan. The Rangers will fight hallucinations of some monsters they've fought in the past. Once they're tired out, Zedd will finish them off. A good plan, don't get me wrong, but how does the trumpet fit in? Is it just another "F-U" to the Rangers? Zedd, you're starting to become very Rita-like in your pettiness.

We then cut to the park with Zack, Billy, and Kim heading for the festival. I think. They then run into Bulk and Skull with some gardening equipment. They mention that they have a new plan to uncover the Rangers' identities, but we don't find out what it is. Oh, please, don't keep us in suspense. Zedd explains that the trumpet's music will cause the aforementioned hallucinations right before he sends some Z-Putties down. OK, I can live with that explanation. During the battle, one of the Z-Putties sprinkles something on the trumpet that I guess curses it. The Rangers finish them off and head back to the Juice Bar.

After they successfully deliver the trumpet to Curtis, we learn of Bulk and Skull's new plan: get the footprints of the Rangers from where they were last seen, make a cast from them, and then find a match. OK, this sounds like a good plan, but wouldn't that only work if they were wearing the same boots as when they made the print? And if that's the case, I think they'd catch on to the fact that regular people were wearing bright white boots!

Back at the Juice Bar, Curtis takes part in the jazz concert and I would comment on how good he is...except it's obviously dubbed in and the actor's just messing around with the instrument. The trumpet casts the spell on the Rangers...and nothing happens. Guess it's a delayed effect. After the concert, a Z-Putty appears and steals the trumpet, somehow without anyone seeing it. Zedd then transforms the trumpet into his latest monster, Trumpet Top. Ignoring the fact that this monster is incredibly ridiculous, both in look and name, why bother cursing the trumpet if it's the monster that'll play the music? It just seems like an unnecessary extra step.

After the expected gag of Skull spilling cement on Bulk, we see the Rangers wandering through the park, Zack moping about the missing trumpet. Trumpet Top then summons an old monster, Grumble Bee. The Rangers are naturally confused as to how a monster is back from the dead, but they morph and take it on anyway. Trumpet Top adds to the mess by creating illusions of Saliguana and the Fabulous Fighting Flea. Then Soccadillo shows up. Then...which one was that again? Oh, Rhinoblaster. Right. And Zack has a different voice actor and it's really noticeable. Then the Mantis shows up. Then the Stag Beetle. Then the Slippery Shark. This sequence would probably be really cool, except it moves way too fast for me to get any enjoyment out of it. Although a mildly funny bit is the monsters stepping on one another to get at the Rangers. Which is quickly ruined by Jason's other voice actor.

While the Rangers are fighting, Alpha and Zordon observe what's going on, namely them fighting nothing. Zordon, being Zordon, instantly knows that they're placed under a spell. Seriously, how does he do that? He always knows what's going on as soon as he sees it. In most cases, I assume he just heard about it, but this seems like strangely concise observations. This also earns another funny scene where Bulk and Skull see the Rangers fighting nothing and wonder just what the hell is wrong with them. Zordon teleports them to the Command Center, leaving Bulk and Skull the perfect opportunity to make new footprint casts.

Once there, Zordon explains that the group is under a spell, as well as what happened to Zack's trumpet. Of course, the only way to break the spell is to destroy Trumpet Top. Naturally. The Rangers head back into battle as Zedd makes Trumpet Top grow. So the Rangers summon the ThunderZords and form the Thunder MegaZord. The fight is pretty decent, with Trumpet Top actually using the Thunder Sabre against the Thunder MegaZord. This proves to be a bad idea, however, as it makes the Sabre shock Trumpet Top so it can get it back and finish him off. Zedd groans in disgust that he's lost yet again.

Back at the Juice Bar, the group celebrates with Curtis that they got the trumpet back when Bulk and Skull arrive with the footprint cast ready for testing. Zack gets....ugh, Richie...to start some music and get everyone to the dance floor. Despite their best efforts, Bulk and Skull hang onto the cast, only to drop it a second later. You know, I get that the Rangers are just trying to cover their asses here, but it makes them seem more bully-like than the supposed actual bullies. Talk about your mixed messages. Anyway, group laughs, episode ends.

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This is yet another middle-of-the-totem-pole episode. The plot is there mostly for the novelty of seeing some old monsters again, the monster is just ridiculous, and the smartest bit of writing is the plan from Bulk and Skull. That's usually not a good sign. If you want to see a bunch of old monsters in one place, then this is an episode for you, but really, you're not missing much.

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Trumpet Top. Just....look at him. What more needs to be said?

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 14 - Missing Green

2011-03-21T12:40:00.002-04:00

So, Tommy's powers are gone. Yes, he went out in a blaze of glory and got to defeat Zedd one more time, but he's still out of the group. Yes, the two-parter wasn't that great and had a subplot that went nowhere, but the bottom line is, Tommy is out. How will this affect things from here on out? Let's take a look.

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So we start off at the Juice Bar with Jason practicing for yet another martial arts tournament. Seriously, how many of these does he need to partake in? He tries to practice but is distracted by something. Zack assumes that he misses Tommy, but, in a nice bit of continuity, we find out that Jason blames himself for Tommy losing his powers back in the Green Candle saga. If Tommy hadn't lost his powers then, they wouldn't have had to worry about them decreasing now, and he'd still be a Ranger. Zack tries to reassure Jason that there was no choice in the matter, but it doesn't work.

This minor bout of depression is the perfect inspiration for Zedd's next plan. He's made candles for each of the Rangers save for Jason, and he plans to torture Jason some more by using them to drain the Rangers' powers as well. Yes, I'm going to start nitpicking here, so brace yourself...HOW?! How in the world were these candles even made?! The original Green Candle worked because it was made from the wax that Tommy was encased in to first become the Green Ranger. Therefore, it makes sense that it would have a connection to his powers. How does the same apply to these candles?! Were the other Rangers encased in wax to first gain their powers and Zedd somehow stole it? If so, it seems like a pretty important thing to leave out! And why was there no Red Candle made? Why make these candles to give a big middle finger to Jason and not just go ahead and drain his powers too?! I get the drama behind this plan and I do like it, but it still doesn't make a lot of sense!

Back at the Juice Bar, Zack, Billy, and Kim are discussing Jason's problem. Thuy Trang is still on injury, so we won't be seeing her much. Kim decides that they should go find Tommy so he can help cheer Jason up. Kim explains that he sometimes goes up to his uncle's cabin, so they decide to head there. Bulk and Skull overhear them, and hearing Kimberly mention "Ranger", assume that they're trying to find the Rangers' identities as well. So they grab Bulk's aunt's cab and follow them.

The Rangers pull over (and just to clarify, yes, they picked up Trini along the way) to consult their map. This is the opportunity needed for Goldar to appear, causing the Rangers to morph. While Goldar is monologuing, as he so often does, Bulk and Skull try to take a picture of him and the Rangers. How this will uncover their identities is a mystery. A nest of eggs falls on them, which means they failed, somehow. Goldar then teleports the Rangers to Zedd's Dimension of Doom, which is the same dungeon area from when Jason fought Tommy while he was evil and where the Green Candle was kept. With the Rangers trapped behind bars, Goldar uses the remnants of the Green Candle to light the other candles for each Rangers. I'm sure some would consider that as an explanation as to how the candles would work, but I still have my doubts.

At the Command Center, Zordon fills Jason in on the Rangers' disappearance, as well as why they left Jason at the Juice Bar. Alpha starts scanning for any sign of them, while Jason mentions that there's no point in winning the upcoming tournament if the others can't be there to share it with him. Awwww. Zedd sees the trophy for the tournament and decides to use it for his next monster, transforming it into Pipebrain. Er....OK.

Back at the Command Center, Zordon catches wind of Pipebrain, and Alpha finds the Rangers. Once they learn of the candle scenario, Jason is PISSED. Zordon tries to calm him down and gives a speech about how leaders need to make tough decisions, etc etc. Of course, Jason decides to save the others, which can only be done by defeating Pipebrain. Of course. Jason morphs and goes out to battle.

And here we have a problem. With the appearance of Pipebrain, we're finally using the Gosei Sentai Dairanger footage for monsters. Which means that there won't be any choppy Zord battles anymore! Instead, we get choppy Ranger battles! ....great. Sure, they bring in some Z-Putties to help, but it doesn't really work. And Jason sounds different! Great, now there's the voicing issues again. After some fighting for a bit, Zedd makes Pipebrain grow, thank God, so Jason summons his Red Dragon ThunderZord and fights it alone.

The Red Dragon Zord turns into its Warrior Mode and I gotta say, the Zord battles are MUCH better now. It's a solid back and forth battle and the Red Dragon is pretty agile, unlike the MegaZords which were pretty bulky and slow. The Red Dragon Zord mainly uses its bo staff to fight, even doing the Matrix spinning kick. You know, when Neo sticks that pipe in the ground and spins around on it? Basically that, except it's done to only one guy. He finishes Pipebrain off by spinning his bo staff around like helicopter blades and hitting him with it. Cool.

Back in the "Dimension of Doom", Goldar gloats some more about how the Rangers will lose and such. A nice effect here is this weird flame like effect on the Rangers, making it look like they're burning away. It's hard to describe, but it fits really well. Jason arrive and fights Goldar, eventually causing him to retreat. This scene would be pretty cool if Austin St. John was actually doing the voice here. He gets the Rangers' Power Coins and uses them with his own to restore their dying powers. OK, whatever. He frees the others and they escape, even with Goldar spontaneously coming back to try and stop them. OK.

The Rangers arrive at the Command Center after some minor drama with Jason possibly not getting out. They locate Tommy who's writing a letter to the group. By the way, a nice touch here is that Tommy is no longer wearing green, indicating the loss of his powers. In his letter, he talks about how he misses the guys, but he needs some time to himself to get things straight. He also says that he obviously doesn't blame Jason for what happened and reminds him that the team needs him. This gives Jason the confidence he needs to go back to the tournament.

At said tournament, Bulk and Skull try to prove that they met the Rangers, but the pictures they took were just of the eggs falling on the camera, of course. Jason enters the tournament and of course he wins, what else would happen? He dedicates the obvious win to Tommy as the episode ends.

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This episode is kind of iffy. As an epilogue to Tommy's departure, it's alright, and it's a nice callback to what caused him to go down this path in the first place. Still, issues both in continuity and from a technical standpoint weigh this one down a bit. Not to mention we still don't really know how the episodes from here on will play out, since this was still wrapping up the Green No More storyline. If you feel you have to, then give this one a watch, but it's really not that important.

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Incidentally, he got the name "Pipebrain" from the trophy name, which was called the Golden Pipe Trophy. That is a really stupid name for a really stupid-looking trophy.

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 13 - Green No More Part 2

2011-03-19T15:13:00.003-04:00

So, Zedd has successfully drained Tommy's powers via a shellfish monster, and has also recruited some evil clones (not really) of the Rangers to become his Dark Rangers. This would sound fairly epic, except it comes off as underwhelming in execution. Still, there's another episode to make things up, so let's see how it goes.

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So we start where we left off, with Tommy on the run from Turban Shell. He tries to use the somewhat hilly terrain and Shell's very slow body to his advantage, but it doesn't last long, since without his powers, even this guy can cause some trouble for him. Meanwhile, at the Command Center, we find out there's a force field around it to prevent the Rangers from communicating with them, created from the Green Ranger energy. To make matters even worse, the force field is apparently compressing, meaning that within a certain amount of time, the Command Center will implode! Geez! This is how you raise the stakes, and now this two-parter is a bit better.

In the Otherworld, we learn that apparently, because of the force field around the Command Center, the Rangers don't have access to their powers. I think. Anyway, Goldar wants to finish them off, but Zedd has a much worse fate in store for them. He decides to send them back to Earth with their powers gone, so that they can watch Turban Shell destroy their city and not be able to do anything about it. Damn. That's some evil shit right there. Now you know why Zedd is awesome. He sends them back, and being the heroes they are, they instantly head for Billy's lab to find a way to break the force field around the Command Center.

Back with Tommy, right before Turban Shell is set to finish him off, Goldar appears to send Turban Shell to Angel Grove. Shell leaves, leaving Goldar to take care of Tommy. I like the bit of continuity here, as Goldar and Tommy have had a bit of a rivalry since Tommy's evil days. Goldar gloats about how Tommy is now powerless and adds to this by showing video from his now "glory days" of fighting with the Rangers. This is a nice way of rubbing in the fact that Tommy is now powerless and the villains have essentially won this round.

At Billy's lab, he, Zack, and Trini try to find a way to break through the force field around the Command Center, which mostly involves Billy typing randomly. A news report confirms that Turban Shell is attacking again, which does trouble the Rangers quite a bit. We then move to the moon where Zedd gloats about how much pain the Rangers must be in, before explaining the next phase of his plan: reprogram the ThunderZords and give them to the Dark Rangers. Nice.

After the others arrive and stew about the attack, we cut to Tommy and Goldar, Goldar about to send Tommy "spinning into space with this device". Or something like that. I should note here that Tommy's been beaten down both physically and emotionally here. He no longer has his powers, meaning he can't help his friends or be with them anymore, and Goldar rubbing this in his face made it worse. Or so he thinks, which is important here. Goldar orders Tommy to declare him his superior. For about a minute, Tommy looks like he's going to, but declares Goldar to be out of his mind, jump higher than any non-morphed human being should be able to jump, and starts fighting Goldar. This is the turning point for both of these characters. Tommy was already awesome before, but it's here he truly moves into "supremely ultimate awesome" territory. It's also where Goldar suffers a huge amount of Badass Decay, so much so that any of the Rangers can kick his ass unmorphed, whereas before, he could beat up all of them when they were morphed.

Anyway, they fight for a bit, eventually Tommy gets that device Goldar had and teleports him away. This also explains the message from the last part, as Tommy uses it to contact his past self. Or rather, he somehow contacts another version of him and gives him his communicator. I think. Time travel is confusing. Bottom line, Tommy gets his communicator so he can teleport out of there.

Back at Billy's lab, Billy manages to get through the force field just as Tommy arrives. Alpha manages to contact the group and Zordon explains that the only way to destroy the force field is to destroy the green crystal. Only a non-Ranger can get into the Otherworld undetected, meaning Tommy has to go back. He agrees and is teleported to Otherworld.

Once there, while Zedd is busy talking to the Dark Rangers, Tommy grabs the crystal and smashes it. This not only depowers the Dark Rangers and sends them back to Earth (wow, they were important, weren't they), but also gives Tommy the perfect opportunity to taunt Zedd before teleporting away. Zedd is enraged like never before. Back at Billy's lab, Tommy returns and everyone has their powers back. Tommy was able to regain the energy trapped in the crystal, meaning he can fight one more time. Everyone gets together and this time, the morphing sequence just feels more important, knowing it really is Tommy's last, but he's willing to go out on a triumphant note.

They arrive and immediately summon the ThunderZords and form the Thunder MegaZord. Another choppy fight later (including Turban Shell jumping up and doing...something that hurts the MegaZord) and the Rangers are knocked out of the MegaZord AGAIN. Seriously, is Turban Shell actually this strong? I might be able to take him seriously if he didn't look so ridiculous. Well, the Rangers minus Jason are knocked out of the MegaZord, actually, somehow separating the Zords and leaving Jason to fight Shell alone in the Red Dragon ThunderZord Warrior Mode. This doesn't last long either, leading to the Red Dragon Zord changing back to normal and flying away. Wait, what about Jason? Does he just stay in there?

Tommy starts to summon the DragonZord, but Zordon contacts him, revealing that Shell is weak to heat from within. So Tommy hides within a crate of fruit and is eaten by Shell. He then pulls out a frickin' lazer rifle and starts blasting! Where'd he get that?! Anyway, after more blasting, Zack gets the idea of spraying cold water on him from the outside, the sudden change in temperature making him brittle. Sure, I'll buy that. Tommy escapes and gives the lazer rifle back to Billy. Oh, yeah, duh. Obviously he got it from Billy. The ThunderZords come back online, so they reform the Thunder MegaZord and finish off Turban Shell.

We cut to the Juice Bar, where Trini explains that the Dark Rangers are back to normal with no memory of what happened. And surprise surprise, they walk in just then. The leader of the group orders some drinks from...RICHIE?! Oh hell, Ernie HAD to give him a job. Now he'll never go away! Kim gets the sudden idea that they just need friends to be good people, so Jason pays for their drinks and they start to get to know one another. Whoopdy-frickin-doo.

Back to the Command Center, the group celebrates their victory, and heap a lot of praise on Tommy for coming through and just generally being awesome. Tommy gives a bit of a speech on how the powers don't make the hero, etc etc, and Jason assures him that he'll always be part of the group. The group comes together for one last freeze-frame cheer as the episode comes to an end.
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This episode was MUCH better than the last one, mainly because Tommy losing his powers was given the importance it deserved. It was constantly hovering over Tommy's head, the fact that he couldn't help his friends no matter how badly he wanted to. In the end, though, he was able to make a comeback and save the day, partially without his powers at all, proving how badass he is and handing Zedd his biggest defeat yet. This episode isn't without its faults, however. The Dark Ranger subplot ultimately went nowhere, and Turban Shell, despite having a hand in Tommy's powers finally going, was just another monster for the most part. So, this two-parter isn't perfect, and could've been done much better, but for what we got, it wasn't bad. I recommend watching it if only for the sake of importance.

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 12 - Green No More Part 1

2011-03-19T12:17:00.002-04:00

Last time, we had another episode with its positives and negatives. It had some good drama with Tommy eventually accepting that his powers will go, but some continuity problems dragged it down. Once again, it's better to see it as part of the subplot. A subplot that is thankfully coming to an end today. We have a two-part episode that finally resolves the issues with Tommy's powers, which will mean that he gets them back in full and resumes kicking ass. ....right?

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So we start off outside the Juice Bar with Tommy moping around the basketball court. Kimberly comes to cheer him up as we get a recap of Zedd's actions for this subplot. Tommy also mentions that Alpha gave him a bioscan to determine if there was any hope of getting his powers back to full, the results of which we'll find out shortly. Lightning then starts striking the area, which results in Tommy seeing...himself? Yeah, some weird holographic copy of him suddenly appears, apparently from the future. The future him gives him some message about a final battle and his communicator, as well as to not give up, before disappearing, leaving Kim and Tommy, as well as the audience, confused as hell.

We cut to the moon briefly where Zedd promises that the Green Ranger will lose his powers today, and then the Rangers will be finished. We then move to the school where we're introduced to Zack's cousin, Curtis. And apparently, excellent dancing skills is genetic in Zack's family, because we meet Curtis while he's showing off his dance moves to a crowd. He even moonwalks, the bastard. And FUCK, Richie's there too. God, why can't this guy just go away? He and Curtis leave and Tommy walks in, explaining what happened to Zack and Billy. They're suddenly interrupted by spontaneous rolling garbage cans that have Bulk and Skull in them. They were placed in those cans and are promptly scared shitless of the group behind them. Five teenagers who are clearly bullies because most of them wear fingerless leather gloves. They are also wearing the original five's respective colours. I have a very bad feeling as to where this is going.

Apparently, my feelings aren't unfounded, as Zedd decides to take these supposedly nasty doppelgangers and make them into his Dark Rangers. Well, I'm sure another evil Rangers scenario could work considering it's Zedd at the helm, right? Er, right? There's also a green crystal that's apparently siphoning the Green Ranger power, which Zedd will use again Zordon and the Rangers. This sounds like just another plot from the past few episodes, which is a good way of luring the viewer into a false sense of security.

At the Command Center, Tommy gets the news from Zordon, and it isn't good. They're unable to restore his powers, meaning he's left with enough for one last battle. Tommy mentions the vision, which Zordon can't quite pinpoint a concrete meaning yet. He does determine, however, that since Tommy wasn't wearing his Green Ranger outfit despite being in the middle of a battle, it doesn't look good.

We then move to the beach where the Rangers, minus Trini, are hanging out. Kim explains that Trini's visiting her grandmother, hence her absence. I think the real reason was because Thuy Trang broke her leg and had to be written out for a couple of episodes. I'm not 100% sure on that, though. The doppelgangers show up to pretend to be tough, which leads to Zedd deciding to transport them to his "Otherworld" to transform them into the Dark Rangers. How much you want to bet this "Otherworld" doesn't get any mentions after this two-parter? They're teleported away as the Rangers wonder just what the hell is going on.

In this Otherworld, Zedd briefs the doppelgangers on becoming the Dark Rangers, as well as his newest plan, which is to create a monster to force Tommy to use up his powers. Unfortunately, he chooses to make one from some shells Kimberly was collecting, resulting in Turban Shell. Not only is this monster slow and very lame, but the fact that THIS guy is supposed to mean the end of Tommy is just bad.

At the Command Center, Tommy relays the test results to the others just before Turban Shell attacks Angel Grove, already in giant form. Trini arrives and Tommy obviously wants to help, not knowing it's just part of Zedd's plan. They eventually agree, and I like the more subdued "It's Morphin' Time" call by Jason, knowing that this will most likely be Tommy's last fight. They morph and head out to battle.

Once there, they see the giant Turban Shell and quickly summon the ThunderZords and form the Thunder MegaZord. And then Tommy summons the DragonZord! So, what happened to him not being able to control a Zord anymore? Aw, who cares, the DragonZord is back for one last romp! Thankfully, this means that its fight with Turban Shell isn't a choppy mess, unlike the fight with the Thunder MegaZord. Somehow, Turban Shell beats up the Zords enough to force the Rangers to eject, allowing it to retreat.

In the Otherworld, Zedd isn't too happy that Turban Shell made a run for it, so he forces it to go back and finish off Tommy. He then teleports Tommy to some field in the middle of nowhere so the two can fight. They do for a while until Turban Shell absorbs what's left of Tommy's powers and transfers it to Lord Zedd. Yep, this is how Tommy loses his powers. Just terrible.

Meanwhile, the Rangers find that they can't contact Zordon, and are suddenly teleported to the Otherworld, in a force field and demorphed. Zedd exposits about his plan to replace the Rangers with his Dark Rangers and we see them for the first time...and they look ridiculous. It's basically just recoloured Putty outfits with red eyes and mouth. How can they be expected to see out of those masks? Zedd exposits more while the Rangers try to convince the Dark Rangers to not follow Zedd. Naturally, it doesn't work. The episode ends with Tommy running away from the very slow-moving Turban Shell.

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For an episode that's supposed to lead into the end of Tommy's tenure as the Green Ranger, this isn't very good. The monster is lame, the subplot with the Dark Rangers seems forced, and it overall feels very underwhelming. Ah well, maybe the second part will be better.

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This is Turban Shell. This is supposed to be the one responsible for Tommy losing his powers. If you believe this at face value, I worry for your sanity.

So, these Dark Rangers are supposed to replace the Power Rangers. Ssssssssss....yeeeeeeeeah....

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 11 - The Song Of Guitardo

2011-03-18T14:58:00.003-04:00

Last time, we had another part of the "Tommy losing his powers" subplot, which was slightly better than the ones before it in terms of drama and tension, but some technical issues brought it down a bit. We're now at the last episode before this subplot comes to its conclusion, so let's not waste any more time and get to it.

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So we start off at the Juice Bar with Kimberly practicing guitar. I'd comment on the fact that Kim randomly knows how to play guitar, but Amy Jo Johnson does have some musical talent, so I'll let it slide. She asks Zack to give her some help with the lyrics after mentioning something about a picnic later. On the moon, Zedd sees Kim playing guitar and decides to use it as inspiration for his next monster. However, Goldar mentions that since the guitar isn't alive, Zedd can't make a monster out of it.

Now, this WOULD be an interesting weakness on Zedd's part...if Zedd didn't just make a beetle monster out of a poster two episodes before this! What the hell?! Why is this suddenly brought up when there was no indication of it before? Not to mention Zedd made monsters out of a gorilla SUIT and a picture of a goat monster! What, was the suit made out of real gorilla?! Was the paper that the goat monster picture was on mean it was technically alive? Saban, if you're going to introduce a potentially exploitable weakness in someone, make sure it doesn't contradict what's already happened!

Anyway, Zedd decides to base his monster on a musically-themed insect, a cicada. Don't ask me how he went from guitar to cicada. He further explains that the monster will use a hypnotizing song to place the Rangers under his control. Works for me. I guess.

We then cut to the park with the group at their picnic. And then Richie shows up. Goddammit. OK, after listening to him for a few minutes, I have to admit that I may have been a bit hard on him. He isn't actually that bad. The problem is that there's no point to him. All we know about him is that he's the new kid in town and that Trini has a crush on him. That's it. Maybe the viewers could get attached to him if there was something about him to like, but there isn't. He's just there to take up space. Saban, if you're going to introduce a character that'll stay for more than one episode, give us a reason to like him!

After he leaves, we see Bulk and Skull's newest plan: disguise themselves as a monster and a victim to lure out the Rangers. Why this involves Skull dressing up like a princess and sounding like a lost member of Monty Python is beyond me. Bulk also mentions that this is their last chance to meet the Rangers. Wait, why? Is something happening in the next episode that'll prevent them from discovering the Rangers' identities? I'm confused.

Anyway, their antics do attract the attention of the group, which pisses off the duo as they're trying to attract the Rangers. See, it's funny because they ARE the Rangers, but Bulk and Skull don't know it. Ho ho ho! Except not really all that funny. The Rangers lecture the two on "crying wolf" and leave, allowing the two to resume their goofiness. Oh, Kimberly left her guitar behind. I mention that now because Zedd's ready to make his monster, who will steal the guitar for his spell.

The duo continue their craziness (seriously, why is Skull still doing the bad British accent?) when they find a large bug. A cicada, apparently, which is a lot larger than it should be. Zedd zaps it and it transforms into Guitardo. That sounds like something ripe with potentially offensive jokes. It starts chasing the two around, as expected.

Zordon contacts the group and has them teleport to the Command Center to prepare them for the monster's hypnotic abilities. Once there, Alpha scans Tommy for info on his power levels while Zordon briefs the others. We see Guitardo take Kim's guitar while Zordon goes on about how the group needs to keep their minds focused and not fall to Zedd's will, etc etc. Alpha says that Tommy's powers are too low to go out into battle, so the others have to go on without them. I do like this part here. You really do feel sorry for Tommy since he can't go out and help his friends in battle. The Rangers morph and head out to battle.

They meet up with Guitardo and he starts playing his music, which causes the Rangers to...stand there. Really? Not even a slight hint that you may be losing control? At all? Oh, there we go. OK, now all the Rangers except Kim are floating in the air. How does this qualify as mind control again? Tommy decides he has to go help the others and Zordon eventually gives in. Tommy morphs and joins the fight, taking on Guitardo for a bit before it runs off, telling them to meet him at the fair. Tommy runs after it while Kim contacts Zordon. He explains that the only way to help the others is to destroy Guitardo, of course, so Kim runs off to help Tommy.

At the park, Guitardo starts playing his music to make Tommy float in the air, but Tommy breaks out of it by playing his Dragon Flute. Huh, why not? Guitardo then tries again, this time making Tommy sink into the ground. This sounds more like a gravity-controlling monster than a hypnotist. Why not just go with that? Kimberly arrives and manages to save Tommy by using her Power Bow as a harp. Again, why not? They fight for a bit more and Guitardo gets the upper hand, until Kimberly uses the Dragon Dagger as an arrow for her Power Bow and she blasts him. OK, that was kinda cool. This is enough to finish off Guitardo, free the Rangers, and get Kim's guitar back. Zedd has had enough and promises victory next time.

Back at the Juice Bar, the group is holding their picnic inside as a sudden rainstorm drove them in. We then see Bulk and Skull return and we get more silliness. Bulk then gets pissed at Skull for his idea, leading to this:

Skull: My idea? MY idea?! Since when have I ever had an idea?!

Well, at least he admits his incompetence.

The group has a good chuckle and Tommy actually mentions that he's going to miss this. This is a pretty sad moment, to be honest. It seems as though Tommy has finally accepted that his powers are going to be gone soon, so he's just going to enjoy his time with the group while he can. Kimberly and Zack then sing the song that they were working on, which admittedly, is pretty nice. I could swear I saw Tommy getting a little teary-eyed at one point. The episode ends on an uplifting note.

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Again, this episode has its ups and downs. On the one hand, the moments were it seems Tommy's time with the Rangers is getting shorter and shorter are well done and pretty sad when you think about them. On the other hand, the continuity issues and lazy characters bring this one down a bit. Like the others in this subplot, this is somewhere in the middle. Next time, a two-parter that brings this subplot to an end!

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I still don't see the connection between a guitar and a cicada that resulted in Guitardo, but I guess you have to make some leaps in order to make the Sentai footage make some sense.

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 10 - Welcome To Venus Island

2011-03-16T17:19:00.002-04:00

Last time we had an episode that sort of just filled space. It had a weak plot, the monster wasn't very good, and it overall felt pointless. It did, however, continue the plot of Tommy's powers disappearing, but it would've been better if there was more to it. I'm betting this episode will do the same, but thankfully, we only have a couple more episodes before this plot point is resolved, so let's get on with it.

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So we start off at the beach, with Tommy, Kim, and Trini hanging out with some kid that Trini apparently knows. Great, child actor. And this season was going so well. The kid leaves and...goddammit, Richie walks past. Richie and a child actor in the same episode. This does not bode well at all. We then see Bulk and Skull's next plan: disguise themselves as Z-Putties to lure out the Rangers. Of course, the costumes are bad, all they do is wreck a sandcastle, and Bulk gets his ass kicked by a 5-year old. Ah well, better luck next time, guys.

On the moon, Zedd isn't too pleased that people are mocking the Z-Putties, so he sends the real deal down to cause some havoc. As well as kidnap that girl. Because every child actor on this show needs to be the kidnap victim. Goldar has a spaz attack so Zedd sends him down too to do...something. It's not really clear what. I also like how Zedd referred to himself as "The Master Of The Universe". And here I thought He-Man couldn't get any more naked than he already was. Apparently I was wrong.

Back on Earth, the girl lets out the most unenthusiastic "hey let me go" I've ever heard, and the group comes running. Just in time to see Goldar teleport away with the girl. They notice a bottle he left behind, which they open, causing flames to shoot out and write a message in the sand in some ineligible language. Which of course has a big Z as the signature, because that's how Zedd rolls.

On the moon, Zedd is glad that Goldar caught the girl successfully, but isn't happy that he dropped the bottle. Goldar's explanation is that he dropped it in the battle.

Zedd: The BATTLE?! With a little girl?!

Oh snap, Zedd's gonna slap a bitch!

But Zedd, evil genius that he is, manages to make a negative into a positive. He realizes that once the Rangers decipher the message, they'll find out where the girl is being kept and head there, meaning they can ransom her for the Green Ranger. Subplot continuing, as expected.

At the Command Center, Billy tries to translate the message to find the girl (named Haley or Hally or Halle or something). They eventually discover that she's trapped on the titular Venus Island, which can be called up at Zedd's will. If it sinks without them rescuing her, she'll be gone forever. Not from drowning, of course, this is a kid's show! She'll just be "lost to Zedd's evil". Zordon mentions that at sunset, the wind will blow towards the island, so it's up to Billy once again to create some device to track the wind. Because he's a super-genius and all that.

*insert pissed-off Wile E. Coyote here*

We cut to Billy's garage, where he uses his technical wizardry to create some wind-tracking device. Because he's just that damn good. He, Jason, and Trini go back to the beach while the others wait in the Command Center...

...Zack sounds off. Sure, it still sounds like him, mostly, but he still sounds different. Almost as if he has a different voice actor dubbed in over his lines...hm.

Anyway, they release the balloon at sunset and head back to the Center. While tracking the signal, the others question whether or not Tommy should go. And Zack has his normal voice again. Weird. Tommy convinces the others to let him go if he agrees to escape should Zedd target him. They find the island, as well as Hally trapped in some magic cage. Apparently it's slowly turning her evil, which means they were being literal earlier. Because Zedd totally needs a little girl in his vast empire of evil. Time is of the essence, so the Rangers teleport to Venus Island.

The Rangers arrive and start wandering the island, which, since it's VENUS Island, has a lot of Venus Flytraps on it. Zedd springs his trap by zapping one of the flytraps and creating his newest monster, the Invenusable Flytrap. Eh, it's alright. The monster teleports in front of the Rangers, so they morph in response. For some reason, Jason and Zack don't make any noise when morphed. Also weird. They fight the Flytrap, who sounds like a stereotypical old lady, and it opens it's chest to capture all the Rangers except for Tommy and Trini. It offers to let them go if Tommy gives up the last of his powers and follow Lord Zedd, but they refuse. Zordon orders them to retreat and they return to the Command Center.

Once there, Zordon explains Zedd's plan to fully control Tommy and the Green Ranger powers. Zordon also reminds them of Hally's dire situation, so Tommy decides that he has to give himself up to Zedd. Trini offers to go fight the Flytrap alone, but Tommy refuses. I have to admit, this scene is pretty tense. It's almost like Tommy's willingly walking to his death or something. Nicely done, Saban. However, Alpha manages to save the day by discovering the Flytrap's weakness, heat. If the other Rangers create intense heat from inside the Flytrap, they'll be able to escape. Tommy and Trini teleport back to the battle to help the others.

Once there, they resume fighting the Flytrap. We then cut to inside it and...OK, I can clearly see Jason moving as though he's speaking, but no noise is coming out! What the hell? Well, as it turns out, this was around the time Walter Jones, Austin St. John, and Thuy Trang, the actors for Zack, Jason, and Trini respectively, were having money issues with Saban, and refused to do voice acting for a number of scenes. This explains why Zack sounded weird earlier. They got different voice actors for the suits, but re-airings of the episode just cut it out altogether. Hence why Jason and Zack don't make any noise while morphed.

Anyway, they combine their energy or something to create plenty of heat from within. This, plus Trini and Tommy fighting outside, cause enough damage to force the Flytrap to release the others. They fight some more and combine their weapons into the Power Blaster. And now Jason and Zack have their voices again. I guess they just re-used an old version of this sequence. They blast it and finish it off.

Zedd's none too happy with failing again. However, he still has the last laugh, as Hally is still trapped on the island. He commands the island to start sinking, forcing the Rangers to move faster to find her. They eventually find her in a cave, but can't get to her right away, since the fog's still around the cage and would just turn them evil. And Zack's voice is gone again. I'd stop pointing it out if it wasn't so blatant. Trini finds the solution, which is to just blast the cage until it's gone. Tommy rescues Hally and...the Rangers blatantly call him Tommy in front of her! Guys! What happened to the whole secret identity thing?! Fine, clearly the producers didn't care, so I won't either.

After the Rangers escape and Zedd promises eventual victory, we arrive at the Juice Bar, where Bulk and Skull are interrogating Hally about the Rangers. She gives surprisingly accurate details about both Jason and Tommy, which naturally scares the piss out of them. Bulk and Skull have some French artist draw the Rangers from Hally's descriptions, which allows Bulk to practice his French, which the artist calls "fascinating". More like offensive. The drawing's finished which turns out to be...some sort of gala event. Alrighty then. Group laughs, episode ends.

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This one was slightly better than the last episode, but not by much. The moment with Tommy resigning himself to his fate was surprisingly well done. And I'll admit that the Bulk and Skull moments were pretty funny. But other than that, this one was still in the middle, and the lack of voices for Jason and Zack really drag it down for me. Overall, OK, but again, just part of something bigger.

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Please keep all vagina jokes regarding the Invenusable Flytrap to yourselves. I'd like to keep some dignity with regards to these reviews.

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 9 - The Beetle Invasion

2011-03-15T13:47:00.003-04:00

Last time, we had an episode that wasn't really that great, but was fairly important. The monster wasn't all that creative, the plot seemed a bit rehashed, and, to be honest, the whole "dream" thing didn't really play a big part. It was kind of implied that it was Zedd's fault, but at the same time, not really. It was important, however, in introducing the subplot of Tommy's powers disappearing much faster. This will continue over the next few episodes, so let's get a move on and see where we go next.

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So we start off at the Juice Bar with Ernie playing some weird game with a broom and a ball. The game in particular is called "broomball". It's just like hockey, except you use a broom, and a ball.

Dark Helmet: Everybody got that?

Ernie wants Tommy, Jason, Zack and Billy to play for his team, but they're a bit reluctant. For some reason. We then have these two kids come in from Stone Canyon, who had challenged Ernie to a game. By the by, Stone Canyon is a neighbouring city to Angel Grove, that will be mentioned again in a few episodes' time, but we'll get to that then. Ernie volunteers the guys, which causes the kids to scoff. After all, they've been undefeated for the past two years! It's not like these four in-shape guys who happen to double as superheroes could beat them! Jason accepts and the game is on.

On the moon, Zedd goes on about his plan to destroy the Green Ranger. He explains that he wants to wipe away all memory of Rita's failures, and since Rita technically created the Green Ranger, he wants to wipe him out for good. Makes sense, I suppose. He then sees a poster of the Stone Canyon team, who happen to be called the Beetles. This is apparently inspiration enough for him to create four bowl-cut wearing bugs who form a band and defeat the Rangers with their evil devil music.

OK, not really, but he does use the poster to create a bug monster, the Stag Beetle. ....wow, and I thought Robogoat was unoriginal. Of course, the Stag Beetle's purpose is to drain more of Tommy's Green Ranger energy, and it wanders off to do just that.

Back at the Juice Bar, the group all practice broomball to get ready for the game. One of the balls bounces towards the bar, which is caught by...oh, great. It's here we're introduced to one of the most pointless side characters in this series, Richie. He actually lasts for more than one episode, but he has zero personality and seems to exist only to give Trini a love interest, though nothing ever comes of it. Bulk and Skull then show up with Bulk's latest plan. With a new device they got from a back-of-a-comic-book-order (remember those?), they're going to capture the scents of everyone at the broomball game, then match them with the scents of the Power Rangers. Wait, when did you guys get the Power Rangers' scents? Are you guys that big of fans? ...you guys are starting to scare me now.

We cut to the park with Kimberly and Tommy going for a run. Zedd sends down some Z-Putties to hold them off until the Stag Beetle arrives. The Z-Putties arrive and they fight for a bit. It's nothing special. Meanwhile, the others put up their poster beside the Stone Canyon poster, and notice the beetle missing. Of course, that's the perfect time for the Stag Beetle to show up at the fight, so Tommy and Kim morph (out of order, for some reason). They fight some more, but the Z-Putties overwhelm Tommy, allowing the Stag Beetle to start draining his powers. Kimberly contacts Zordon for help, who relays the message to the other Rangers. They morph and join in. The Stag Beetle eventually retreats, but not before stealing all of Tommy's energy.

Zedd gloats about a successful plan, and explains that he'll now have the Stag Beetle destroy the Rangers with the Green Ranger's own power. At the Command Center, the Rangers discover that Tommy's powers are gone, and Zordon explains that the same could happen to any of them. Billy proposes Alpha make a MacGuffin machine to get Tommy's powers back, but it'll take a while to build. The Beetle reappears, and Zordon explains that they can't destroy him until they get Tommy's powers back. The Rangers head back to the battle.

Once there, the Rangers start fighting the Stag Beetle with their Blade Blasters (seriously, why? Those things suck as daggers), which naturally leads to the Stag Beetle smacking the Rangers around. It summons some Z-Putties to make things harder, leading the Rangers to move to higher ground. Back at the Command Center, Alpha continues to work on the MacGuffin machine, which is supposed to absorb the Green Ranger energy once the Beetle uses it. He does mention the possibility of the Beetle using it up, which I think will come into play in some way. The Beetle and the Z-Putties eventually catch up to the Rangers in front of a cliff. Beetle fires the Green Ranger power at the Rangers just as Tommy arrives to steal it back. This gives the Rangers the necessary opportunity to combine their weapons and zap the Stag Beetle with the Power Blaster.

However, it's just a flesh wound, meaning Zedd can make the Stag Beetle grow. The Rangers summon the ThunderZords in response and form the Thunder MegaZord. Choppy fight sequence go! Watch as the Stag Beetle clearly kicks the original MegaZord, and then get cut by the original Power Sword instead of the Thunder Saber! OK, OK, Thunder MegaZord finishes it off and Zedd surprisingly doesn't get pissy. Since the Stag Beetle did use up some of the Green Ranger power, it's only a matter of time before it's gone for good. See, told you that would come into play.

We then move back to the Juice Bar, where the group has their broomball game, while Bulk and Skull wander around with what is essentially a blowdryer. Of course our heroes win at the last second, as they always do. Richie shows off his blandness, the other team is so crushed they can barely say "good game", and Tommy mopes some more about his powers dwindling. Unlike the last episode, though, he remains optimistic that he'll get his powers back at full strength as the episode ends.

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This one was just there. Like the last two, it didn't really serve much purpose other than to continue the subplot of Tommy's powers draining. One good thing about this episode, though, is that it shows off Zedd's attitude about this whole thing. He can accept one minor defeat if the end result is what he wants. Overall, this just seems like one part of a much bigger episode, and if you look at it as that, it's not so bad, but on its own, it's better if you skip it.

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The Stag Beetle. One of the most unoriginally-named characters as of yet. And it doesn't even look that good.

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 8 - The Green Dream

2011-03-14T15:32:00.003-04:00

Last time, we got an episode that was pretty disappointing. The monster was uninspired, the plot seemed tacked on, the good aspects of this season were barely there, and Bulk and Skull somehow became even more incompetent than usual. Not a good sign for this episode, but since it apparently features Saban's cash cow, how bad can it be?

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So we start off at the school, with Ms. Appleby giving the class an essay assignment. Bulk and Skull panic, but Bulk decides to kill two birds with one stone and write an essay about the Power Rangers' secret identities. Uh, don't you need to know what they are first, guys? Surprisingly, Skull gives off a good evil laugh here. We then move to the hallway where Tommy seems a bit jumpier than usual. He explains to Kim that he's had "the dream" for the third night in a row. Basically, he's dreamt about losing his powers, and since it's happened three times in a row, he takes it as a sign that it'll happen soon. Personally, I would too. No way that's a coincidence. Kim tells Tommy to stay positive, but it's obvious that it isn't working very well.

On the moon, Zedd gloats over Tommy's weakening powers, and devises his next plan: use the Sword of Power to drain away the rest of the Green Ranger power. The problem is, however, the Sword can't be summoned unless all of the Rangers come together to do so. So, he decides to capture them one by one and trap them in the Dark Dimension, thereby forcing them to summon the Sword to escape. Hmm, manipulation, separating the group, preying on their weaknesses? This is the Zedd I remember! Good to have you back!

We cut to the Juice Bar where Billy is tinkering with some electronic scrambler or something. Not sure how it'll help fight Zedd, but still a pretty nifty device. The group talks about the assignment until Bulk and Skull arrive with some cheap radar device, designed to detect the Rangers' energy signatures. I don't know how much it cost, but it definitely couldn't have been enough for Bulk and Skull to snap it up. Billy uses his scrambler to mess with their device so they think Ernie is a Ranger. He does some goofy kung-fu poses to mess with them and they sulk. Tommy leaves to study for the essay and-

*record scratch*

WHAT IN THE HIGH HOLY HELL?!

Zack's hair is back to that poofy 90's afro! What in the shit is going on here?! Did I see these episodes out of order or something?

...huh. Turns out I did. Oops. Sorry guys, this one's on me. This is supposed to take place before The Power Stealer. My bad.

Zedd sees Tommy walking home alone, so he sends his Z-Putties to capture him and put him in the "Dark Chamber". Whatever that is. The Z-Putties arrive and Tommy, since he's Tommy, starts kicking ass. He even bicycle kicks one of them! Eat your heart out, Liu Kang! Well, OK, not really, but it was still awesome! The Z-Putties overwhelm him, however, and teleport him to the Dark Chamber, which is just another creepy cave. Goldar appears with Zedd's staff no less! Holy shit! He explains that he'll cast a spell on Tommy and take control of him, so that he can convince the others to summon the Sword of Power, then steal it and give it to Zedd. Of course Tommy refuses to be evil again, but he doesn't have a choice as Goldar zaps him and his eyes glow red, showing he's under Zedd's control. Damn.

Of course, Goldar gloats about how Tommy is evil again (though not really), and then notices a book that he dropped on mythology. He sees a picture of some guy fighting a goat monster, and he asks Zedd to make a monster out of it. Zedd agrees, somehow getting his staff back, and creates the Robogoat from the picture.

Wait.

How can a mythological goat monster be called "Robo"goat? That doesn't make any sense! What part about him is robotic? How does that even...nevermind.

Zordon catches wind of this and contacts the Rangers, just as Tommy rejoins the group. They all teleport to the Command Center and Zordon fills them in on Robogoat. Tommy proposes that they summon the Sword of Power, which could give Tommy enough of a power boost to last longer in battle. Now, I'm just throwing this out there, but how do the Rangers know about the Sword of Power?! It was never mentioned until this episode! Did Zordon brief them on it ahead of time? And if so, WHY ARE THEY JUST USING THIS NOW?! Whatever, they summon the Sword and Tommy suddenly starts acting eeeeeevil and teleports away.

Back at the Dark Chamber, Goldar gets Tommy to hand the Sword of Power over to Robogoat. This instantly breaks the spell over Tommy, allowing Robogoat to teleport away. Goldar dares Tommy to morph and use up what's left of his power. Tommy, knowing it's a trap, morphs anyway and goes after Robogoat. He sees the Sword of Power nearby and, like a dumbass, runs after it, allowing Robogoat to cause random explosions from a distance. Robogoat appears and the two fight for a bit before Tommy gets the Sword back. Or not, as it's a fake, Robogoat still having the real one. He attacks Tommy and tosses him down a cliff, leaving him beaten and his powers fading.

Back at the Command Center, Zordon finds Tommy, apparently explained to the Rangers that Tommy was under Zedd's control off-screen, and the Rangers morph to go save him. Once they arrive, they all pretty much get wrecked by Robogoat and the Sword of Power. Robogoat then creates a fissure that traps the Rangers, save Jason. Jason pulls out his Power Sword (not to be confused with the Sword of Power) and engages in an epic sword fight with Robogoat. Well, not epic, but better than expected. Jason eventually knocks the Sword of Power out of Robogoat's hands, allowing it to be teleported to the Command Center. They fight for a bit more and Jason somehow gets Robogoat to release the others, who were suddenly sealed in Robogoat's body. I dunno, let's just go with it.

Zedd makes Robogoat grow, so the Rangers summon the ThunderZords and from the Thunder MegaZord. Another awkward and choppy fight begins, one part being the Thunder MegaZord pulling out the Thunder Saber...only for Robogoat to stare at the original MegaZord's Power Sword. Wow, nicely done there. The Robogoat gets the upper hand and starts electrocuting the Thunder MegaZord. Because he can do that. Guess that's where the "Robo" part comes in. Tommy, low on power, tries to summon the DragonZord to help them out, but it doesn't work. The Rangers recover anyway and finish off the monster. Man, that's gotta be pretty demoralizing for Tommy.

Back on the moon, Zedd berates the others for costing him his monster and the Sword of Power. However, all is not lost. They did cause the Green Ranger to waste a good portion of his power, which Zedd plans to take advantage of. Back at the school, Tommy talks to Kim and Jason about how his time is running out, and how his nightmare is slowly coming true. They try to reassure him that he'll come back from this like before, but Tommy isn't convinced. The episode surprisingly ends on a low note, with Tommy realizing that Zedd will be purposely targeting him from here on out.

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This one was...OK, I guess. It has its faults, like the flimsy MacGuffin Sword and the weak monster. This works better as an introduction to a subplot. Tommy's powers are almost gone and he knows it, and like he said, Zedd plans to take advantage of that. We'll see that over the next few episodes (and it does make The Power Stealer make a bit more sense. Not by much, but a bit). I have to give credit for the ending of this episode, at the very least. It doesn't end with the usual group laughter, everything's gonna be OK ending like it usually does. It ends on a depressing note, and it actually seems foreboding. Like the kids know it's only a matter of time before Tommy's gone for good. That's ballsy, and I have to give Saban credit for that. This episode's more important than it is good, so watch it if you feel you have to, but otherwise, skip it.

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I still don't get it. Why does a goat monster based on some mythological creature get the name "ROBOgoat"?

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 7 - The Power Stealer

2011-01-24T09:30:00.004-04:00

Last time, we got an interesting episode, showing off both Zedd's planning skills and Amy Jo Johnson's acting skills, which made for an enjoyable romp all around. Oh, and there was a weird-sounding monster too. I'm sure the good work will continue with this one, so let's take a look.

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So we start off at the Juice Bar with a "clean-up drive" taking place, which is apparently good enough to make the news, since there is a reporter there. She turns to our heroes and-

HOLY SHIT ON A CHRIST CRACKER!

Zack! What happened to your hair?! You switched from that cheesy 90's crewcut/afro combo to frickin' CORNROWS?! I mean, yeah, I know we see his new hairdo in the intro, but it's still hard to get used to. It completely goes against his original and more familiar design. Things will never be the same again.

It's here that you'd expect me to rant about them bringing up yet another environmental message, but surprisingly, it's not about cleaning the environment. It's more just about keeping the community clean and looking nice. So, it's not really annoying, but more entirely pointless. Yeah, I can understand you wanting to clean up litter, but why graffiti? I think it adds a lot of ambiance to a neighbourhood. If you're walking down the street and you see some random graffiti on a wall, you know you're in a baaaaad town. Then again, this is Angel Grove, which is supposed to be squeaky-clean, so I can see why they're bothering with this.

The reporter mentions a rumour that the Rangers are gonna show up and help with the clean-up, causing our heroes to try waaaaay too hard to hide the fact that they are, in fact, the Rangers. After they leave, Bulk and Skull try to borrow the recording equipment from the news crew, but no luck. Bulk, evil genius that he is, gets an idea. They follow the camera crew to the park, where the Rangers are said to be showing up, then when they do, they rush in, yank off their helmets, and expose their identities for fame and fortune. This seems...rushed, a bit. What, the Power Rangers are just gonna stand there and let you yank off their helmets and expose their identities to the world? Yeah, that'll happen.

We then move to the moon, Zedd concocting his next plan. He mentions how the Rangers love everything clean and pretty.

Goldar: Yes, it's one of the Rangers' most disgusting traits!

When you find yourself agreeing with the villain, that's not a good sign.

Zedd decides to create the ugliest monster he can think of, the Octophantom, which is a cross between an octopus and an elephant. Oooookay.

We then cut back to Earth, with the Rangers and others all cleaning up the park, with the camera somehow appearing in the trashcan facing up. And this isn't just a strange camera shot, it's implied that the camera being used in the episode, by the news crew, is somehow in there. I don't get it. Zedd mentions how the Octophantom is supposed to capture each Ranger in a magic jar, which will drain them of their powers. Why does this sound familiar? He mentions that the Green Ranger will be first, of course, because he needs to be written out until the end.

So back on Earth, Z-Putties arrive and start to cause havoc. Tommy, Jason, and Kim get the others to run away, but it should be noted that the cameraguy leaves his camera behind, still recording. This'll come into play later. They fight the Z-Putties for a little bit, until Zedd sends down the Octophantom. Eeesh, he wasn't kidding about it being ugly. They morph, meaning the camera saw who three of the Rangers were. They fight off the Z-Putties some more, the camera capturing everything. Here is where I find a problem with the Z-Putty fights now. They kick and punch the Z-Putties in their weakspot multiple times, yet they don't die right away. Yet when Kimberly barely grazes one Z-Putty's symbol, it dies. Yeah, it'd be boring if they were beaten right away, but a little consistency wouldn't kill you, Saban. Of course, this wouldn't be a problem if they didn't have the weakspots in the first place.

Anyway, Tommy gets overwhelmed by the Octophantom and the Z-Putties and is captured. Jason and Kim teleport to the Command Center, the camera having seen everything. Bulk and Skull come across said camera, realize that it was recording while the Rangers were fighting, and take the tape. I'd be worried about this if status quo wasn't in the way.

After some random expositing about the monster at the Command Center, we see Tommy chained up in a cave somewhere, which is somehow draining his powers. I'unno. Zedd explains that he'll send the Octophantom to Earth to deface some public property with graffiti, in order to lure out the Rangers.

Zedd, stop. You're supposed to be a SMART villain. This is smelling awfully Rita-like. Yes, this is just a trap to lure out the Rangers by exploiting their good nature, but they're not THAT good! Besides, Zordon explains that it's clearly a trap from the get-go. Sure, they morph and go anwyay, but come on, this is just stupid!

They arrive at the battlefield and start fighting Octophantom, who attacks them by throwing...something. It's too small to see. They keep fighting while Billy stays in the background, trying to think of a plan. Wow, how uncharacteristically dickish of you, Billy. Stay behind and let your friends do the dirty work while you try to think of something. What a hero, folks. Octophantom is about to capture the Rangers, but suddenly stops to admire his reflection. Soooo, his necessary weakness is that he's vain. How...random. He then opens the jar, but Jason gets out of the way, the other three being captured. Octophantom teleports away, telling Jason to meet him at the quarry that so many battles take place at.

Back at the Command Center, Billy decides to create a device that can exploit the Octophantom's vanity. Dude, just get a giant frickin' mirror! And why does Jason need to run ahead and give Billy time to build a "device"? Seriously, just get a mirror and attack him while he's distracted! Why be so needlessly complicated? Oh, and if I haven't mentioned it by now, Jason suddenly acquired a habit of shouting "Back To Action!" whenever he or the group teleports back to the battlefield while already morphed. I guess they didn't have enough catchphrases already.

Jason teleports to the quarry and meets up with the Octophantom, who has the others tied up on a hill nearby. How this is draining their powers, I have no idea. Jason clenches his fist to show this is srs busness, yo, and they start fighting. And Jason gets his ass kicked. What the hell? Then Billy shows up with his device: a shield with a mirror in it. .....why did he need to make that?! He gives Jason the shield while he goes to save the others. After more fighting, Jason finally uses the shield to distract Octophantom while he blasts him with his Blade Blaster. Billy frees the others, then sends Tommy back to the Command Center because of his low power. I have to admit, an interesting effect is with Tommy's green suit slowly turning a dark grey-ish colour to show his dwindling powers. Nice touch.

Anyway, Zedd makes the Octophantom grow, so the Rangers summon the ThunderZords and form the Thunder MegaZord. They fight for a bit and it's slightly better than these fights have been so far. Emphasis on the "slightly", though. Although the Thunder MegaZord shows a new trick in creating a tornado with its sword. Anyway, after some awkward punching, the Thunder MegaZord just finishes the Octophantom and that's that.

Back at the Juice Bar, Jason congratulates Billy for his work today. For what? Abandoning his buddies and letting them get captured while his big device is essentially a frickin' mirror?! Yeah, that's some top-notch work there, boss. They mention that Tommy's powers are getting weaker and weaker, which is pretty much the only continuing plot point right now (not that I'm complaining, mind you), before Bulk and Skull arrive with the tape, ready to play it. The Rangers stop them, however, and wind up switching the tapes around so they get some cartoon that Skull apparently likes.

Now, there's something that's really bugging me here: Why didn't Bulk and Skull watch the tape ahead of time?! It doesn't make any sense that they would just grab a tape, think it had the Rangers' secret identities on it, not check the evidence, and show it to everybody. Yeah, they're not that bright, but they're not THAT stupid! But status quo demands that the Rangers' identities remain secret at all times, so we get this. The only redeeming part is that, while Bulk is lamenting his lost fame, Skull actually yells at Bulk for once because he's trying to watch the cartoon. Bulk facepalms and the episode ends.

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This one was baaaaaaad. I mean, it wasn't really bad, but bad enough to be noticeable. It seemed very, very rushed. Get the monster ready A.S.A.P., give the Rangers something to do while waiting, have Billy create some device to save the day, have Bulk and Skull do something...it just seemed like a paint-by-numbers episode with very little substance to it. The monster was a mess, the fight scenes weren't memorable, and Bulk and Skull were somehow stupider than usual. Even Zedd seemed to be phoning it in this time around. All in all, not a good one.

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Why a cross between an elephant and an octopus is called the OctophanTOM is beyond me. In fact, where exactly is the elephant incorporated here? It just seems like an octopus monster.

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I'd like to finish today by apologizing for the lack of updates recently. I've had a few things to deal with. In addition to figuring out what's going on with college right now, I've also started writing for a gaming website, GameRant. And no, I'm not telling you which writer I am. Just trust that that's what I'm doing. As such, I can't promise that updates will be as frequent as they once were, but I will try to get back to doing this on a semi-regular basis.

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 6 - Bloom Of Doom

2011-01-23T10:57:00.002-04:00

Last time, we had an episode that was good in concept, but somewhat flawed in execution. It still had its fair share of good points, like a cool monster, but the negatives were a bit more apparent. I'm sure this one will be better, so let's take a look.

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So we start off at the Juice Bar with a number of booths set up, each for a respective club in the school. Of course, Billy has the science club, while Zack has the "hip-hop-kido" club. I know that's his own fighting style, but wouldn't it make more sense for him to do the dance club? Trini's in charge of the volleyball club/team, and gets a huge turnout. Kimberly, who's in charge of the flower/plant/botany or whatever club, who's right beside her, gets no one. Kim congratulates Trini, but seems just a bit jealous of Trini at the moment.

Which is the perfect opportunity for Zedd's next plan. He'll cast a spell on Kimberly's cactus, and when she pricks her finger on it, her jealousy towards Trini will increase exponentially. I really like this plan. It's similar to the last two plans of wanting to split the group up, but those relied more on confusion among them. This one is about making one of them want to split the group up. That's brilliant.

Back at the Bar, Zack dances around to get people interested in his club, Bulk and Skull talk about their "Unsolved Mysteries" club (which actually sounds pretty cool), and Douchelan whines about how the applications are all over the place. Kim remains optimistic that she'll get members, despite Bulk and Skull's mocking. Back on the moon, Goldar pours a "jealousy potion" onto a cactus, and Zedd sends out a Z-Putty to switch it with Kim's. I'd comment on the semantics, but it ends with the same result, so whatever.

The Z-Putty arrives on Earth, in a human disguise, and makes the switch while Kim talks to Ernie about her troubles. Afterwards, Kim pricks her finger, as predicted, and as a nice touch her eyes flash green for a second. She confronts Trini over her "stealing" all the club members, and when Trini offers to help her get some, she says that she can find some on her own. Of course, our heroes can't imagine what's wrong with her! She then talks to Bulk and Skull, who continue with the same plan from the last episode to find the Power Rangers, as in, record people's voices to match with the ones they heard. Kim berates them as she usually does, but a really nice touch here is that she sounds much more mean-spirited towards them, instead of her usual level of sarcasm. Subtle, but noticeable enough to make a difference. Tommy tries to cheer her up with a flower, but Kim just gets worse, even mentioning that Trini isn't her best friend.

After Trini's volleyball club ends for the day, Jason and Tommy ask her what's going on with Kim, but Trini's just as lost as they are. Bulk and Skull arrive, and initially decide that there's no way that they could be the Rangers (cue knowing look between the members), but decide to record their voices anyway for the sake of SCIENCE! *trumpets* This, of course, leads to Bulk getting tied up in the microphone cord. Meanwhile, Kim is messing around in a garden, wondering why she's even bothering, calling it boring. Zedd decides to use the flowers to create this week's monster, the titular Bloom of Doom.

At the Command Center, Zordon and Alpha catch wind of the Bloom of Doom's creation, Zordon mentioning that its pollen is highly flammable, and they contact the Rangers. Jason, Trini, and Tommy morph first, followed by Zack and Billy. When Kimberly gets contacted by Zordon, there are a number of nice touches here. First, Kim puts on a fake smile and has a false sound of pleasantness in her voice. Then, while Zordon is talking, she makes constant "hurry up" motions with her hands, but doesn't say anything. Then, after getting the special vine weapon thing to take on the Bloom of Doom, she puts on another fake smile before morphing. All nice ways to show just how different this Kim is.

The Rangers arrive at the battle and the Bloom of Doom summons some Z-Putties for the fight. Of course, the Rangers plow right through them, and take on the Bloom, who sprays her burning pollen on the guys. Kim wraps it up with the vine/ribbon thing, which of course electrocutes it. Trini accidentally cuts the ribbon, letting the Bloom escape. Kim goes after it, and winds up being teleported to some alternate dimension with the Bloom. The others retreat to the Command Center for backup.

In the alternate dimension, the Bloom attacks Kim while mocking her, saying that her own jealousy has driven her friends away and that she'll be stuck there forever. At the Command Center, Billy manages to figure out through technobabble a way for Trini to save Kimberly and break the spell. Which is "throw her daggers at this spot". Makes as much sense as anything else, but this scene does show that Billy's become a lot more accustomed to the Command Center's technology. Trini teleports back to the battlefield.

Back in the alternate dimension, we see Trini's daggers come out of nowhere and hit the Bloom, freeing the both of them from the dimension and breaking the spell on Kim, just as predicted. The two instantly patch things up and team up to fight the Bloom. The others arrive and combine their weapons into the Power Blaster and finish it off. Zedd gets angry and promises victory next time.

Back at the Juice Bar, Kim meets up with her group members, who got the wrong information on where to meet, which is explained by Douchelan mixing up the locations. We then think we're getting a gag with Douchelan sneezing his toupee off, but it's just a tease. Damn, what a missed opportunity. How sad is it that we won't get to see Douchelan sneeze his toupee off. The others arrive and Trini and Kim reaffirm their friendship. Bulk and Skull arrive, supposedly with evidence of the Power Rangers identities via their voices. Of course, the tape screws up and they have nothing. Still, Bulk and Skull vow to find their identities regardless. They wander off, group laughs, episode ends.

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This one was very good. The plot was interesting and showed that Zedd was willing to adapt his gameplan even this early on. The monster was...interesting, to say the least. But really, you should watch this episode solely because of Amy Jo Johnson's performance. She manages to add enough little things to make it seem like an increased aspect of a character, rather than an entirely different person. Very well done, and worth your time.

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The only thing that really stuck out for me concerning the Bloom of Doom was its voice. I can't even describe it properly, but it sounds like a woman's voice horribly warped to switch between high pitched and unnaturally deep.

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 5 - Putty On The Brain

2011-01-22T10:45:00.002-04:00

Last time, we had a fun little romp with a shapeshifting white baboon, which allowed some actors to flex their skills in villainy without actually turning evil. This also showed the brilliance that is Lord Zedd, which will continue for a while. I have high hopes for this next one, so let's take a look!

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So we start off at the school with Zack giving Billy a pair of sunglasses, which is for their work in the science lab. We then immediately jump to the moon. Wait, Zedd has a plan for the sunglasses? Apparently, yes. He says he'll cast a spell on them that will alter Billy and Zack's vision so that they see the other Rangers as Z-Putties and attack them. And yes, this spell will remain even if Billy and Zack take the glasses off. See, Zedd thinks of everything, doesn't he?

He casts the spell on the glasses and they put them on, altering their vision so they see Tommy, Jason, and Kim as Z-Putties. And here we see a fatal flaw in the plan: They can still understand their speech. I get that seeing Putties would freak you out quite a bit, but doesn't the fact that they're speaking in the same voices as your friends strike you as a bit odd? Well, maybe they can't and that's just the viewers, but either way, Douchelan arrives and Zack and Billy assume the Putties are attacking him, leading to a collision. Douchelan gets pissy and assigns Zack and Billy detention.

Meanwhile, Bulk and Skull continue on their quest to discover the Rangers' identities. Skull mentions something about recording people's voices, so I guess they're going to match people's voices to the Rangers', which they overheard. Not bad. Bulk says that everyone is a suspect. Leading to this little bit.

Bulk and Skull: *look at each other for a moment, then shake their heads* Nah.

Despite their plans, they still aren't exactly that bright, are they?

Ms. Appleby asks the duo to feed the class pet iguana while she goes and prepares today's test, which they do by dumping the entire box of food in. Of course, Zedd picks this as the opportunity needed to transform the iguana into today's monster, the Saliguana. It's actually a pretty cool looking monster, from what I've seen of it. Another little bit I like:

Bulk: *very calmly to Skull* I think we may have overfed it.

*the two then look at Saliguana, scream, and run out*

After that, Ms. Appleby's class gets ready for the test, as Zack and Billy start to realize that something isn't quite right. See, they CAN still understand the others, which makes earlier even more confusing. Skull accidentally plays back Ms. Appleby's voice on his recorder, which leads to him and Bulk getting detention and Ms. Appleby confiscating the equipment. Billy realizes that Zedd put a spell on them, which leads to Bulk and Skull swiping the sunglasses and putting them on, leading to them getting hit with the spell. They see Zack and Billy as the Z-Putties and run out.

Zedd then sends down some real Z-Putties to add to the confusion. Zack and Billy meet up with the real Z-Putties, leading to an easy attack on the Z-Putties' part. Things only get worse when the other Rangers arrive and get mixed in with the Z-Putties. They still fight them off, but Zack almost attacks Trini in the mix-up. They explain the situation to the others and they all teleport to the Command Center for help.

Once there, Zordon fills them in on the Saliguana, who just happens to be a fire-breathing lizard monster. Billy offers to make a device that can counter its fire-breathing, and Zack decides to help him, while Alpha works on a way to break the spell. Back at Billy's garage, the two work on something to freeze Saliguana, due to it being cold-blooded. Trini arrives and says she has an experiment she wants to try. She morphs and they discover that the spell doesn't work when the Rangers are morphed. Saliguana attacks, so Trini teleports away, Zack and Billy morph, as do Kim and Jason, Tommy staying behind due to low power.

They take on some Z-Putties for a while before Zack and Billy take on Saliguana. They try the device Billy created on it, but it doesn't work properly. After more fighting, Billy discovers that he forgot to add a computer chip to it that would make it work. Just...*sigh* never mind. They use it again and it works this time, the others arriving just in time to lend a hand. They combine their weapons into the Power Blaster and zap him. Just before he can die, however, Zedd throws his magic grenade down and makes him grow. The Rangers summon the ThunderZords in response.

The Red Dragon ThunderZord goes to Warrior Mode to try and take him on solo at first. It doesn't really end well. The other four Zords then combine to form some sort of flying platform or something for the Red Dragon Zord to ride on. It isn't that impressive, it's just the four sticking together with some metal platform inexplicably in between them. The Red Dragon Zord flies around for a bit, dodging the Saliguana's fire, before just combining with them and forming the Thunder MegaZord. The Saliguana then fires out its red tongue at the Thunder MegaZord to trap it...which somehow turns into a thick, BLACK tentacle when it moves to the MegaZord. That's just terrible. It breaks free and finishes Saliguana off with the Thunder Sword. Zedd glows red with anger and blames Goldar.

Back at the school, the iguana is returned safe and sound, whereas Billy and Zack are still under the spell. The others arrive with the sunglasses, now altered by Alpha, and after putting them on, the spell is broken. Of course, Bulk and Skull are still affected by it. Skull finds the iguana, and Bulk figures that, since it fought the Rangers, it'd be able to "sniff them out". Uh, OK...they let it go and the other classmates freak out. You know, despite it being the CLASS PET. Ms. Appleby gets them to put it away, leading to Skull lamenting the fact that they won't find out who the Power Rangers are. Group laughs, episode ends. Uh, what about Bulk and Skull being under the spell?

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This one was decent. Zedd continues to show off his brain power, but what does making Billy and Zack see Z-Putties in the place of their friends have to do with a fire-breathing iguana? Bulk and Skull actually show a degree of brilliance with their planning, though not much. The monster was pretty cool, but the Zord fights are still pretty bad. I can't really recommend this one, but I can't hate it either. It's somewhere in the middle.

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I forgot to mention that the Saliguana is apparently a cross between an iguana and the mythological Salamander, hence the fire-breathing.

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 4 - The Wannabe Ranger

2011-01-21T19:04:00.002-04:00

So, Season 2 is officially under way as Zedd has established himself as the new Big Bad and the Rangers have new Zords to take him on. Tommy's powers are dwindling faster now, and Bulk and Skull have decided to expose the Rangers' true identities. Now we just need to figure out how that's all going to fit in for the next few episodes. Let's establish the new status quo!

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So we start off with the group playing basketball, with all the obligatory flips and slow-mo dunks to make it look cool for the kids. Because that hasn't been played out or anything. Zack sneaks up on Kimberly while wearing a white gorilla suit, which he wore for his cousin's birthday party. What kid would want a freakin' gorilla at their party?! Especially an albino one? Anyway, remember the suit, it's important later. Zordon contacts the group and they teleport to the Command Center. Well, that was quick.

Once there, Zordon explains that due to the alignment of the planets or something that he'll lose his powers temporarily. He warns the group to be on guard for Zedd's next attack. Well, damn. This sounds like it could be an intense episode. The Rangers fighting a still-new threat without their mentor to help? Sounds entertaining to me.

On the moon (and by the way, I love the camera angle when we first see Zedd. It zooms in slowly at an angle through a dark hallway past some Z-Putties, before Zedd's throne turns around and we zoom in on Zedd. Very creepy), Zedd, being the evil genius that he is, takes this as the opportunity to defeat the Rangers, mentioning the Primator and "making the Rangers destroy each other". This is the game plan Zedd would be known for. Rather than directly attack the Rangers, a number of his plots focused on causing conflict within the group, making it easier for him to defeat them. It perfectly paints him as the devilishly brilliant counterpart to Rita's petty self. He zaps Zack's discarded monkey suit and it becomes the Primator, essentially a white baboon monster.

At the Command Center, Alpha scans around Angel Grove, looking for any threats. He sees a lost boy looking for his mother, and decides to go help him himself rather than call the Rangers. After he teleports away, we see Bulk and Skull with some weird equipment, listening for any sounds similar to the Rangers' teleportation sounds. OK, pretty good idea. After all, how often do you see or hear people teleporting anywhere? Alpha lands right in front of them, they freak out and run off, leaving Alpha confused. He meets up with the boy (named Dylan, by the way) who is excited to meet Alpha. Well, of course. What kid wouldn't be excited to meet a freaking robot? Alpha decides to stay with the kid until his mother arrives, and the two play soccer while waiting.

The Primator appears in the bushes, however, and reveals that he can transform into other people. He displays this by turning into Billy, who just looks silly beating his chest like an ape. He walks up to the duo, which leads to this:

Fake Billy: You're a naughty, naughty boy, Alpha.

STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER!

Primator/Billy berates Alpha for leaving the Command Center unprotected, and tries to get him to take him there. Somehow, Alpha discovers that this Billy is a fake, so Primator changes back to normal and Dylan escapes. Primator tries to get Alpha to take him to the Command Center, but Alpha activates his self-destruct! HOLY SHIT! Alpha's gonna go kaboom! Well, no, actually he just short-circuits a bit and falls down. So, what was the point of that? Did he wipe his memory banks? Did he just shut down? Why call it a self-destruct if he didn't blow up?

Where's the kaboom? There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom!

Anyway, Zedd tells him to leave him and Primator teleports away, arriving in front of the Juice Bar and disguising himself as Zack. Fake Zack walks in and tells Kimberly and Trini that Tommy's in trouble, surrounded by Z-Putties and losing his powers. He offers to get the others while they run off. I don't know why, but I really like the moment immediately after they leave. Primator/Zack just sits down, sips Trini's drink and says "Mmm, banana shake" with an evil smile. Maybe it's the monkey reference, maybe because Walter Jones is just being delightfully evil, maybe it's both.

The two arrive at the park to see nothing wrong, which leads to some confusion. The feeling increases when Trini tries to contact Jason, but due to him, Billy, and the real Zack working in Billy's lab with headphones on, he doesn't hear it. Zedd then chooses this time to send Z-Putties down to attack Kim and Trini. Again, smart thinking on Zedd's part here, dividing the Rangers up and picking them apart rather than attacking them in a group. It would probably work too...if not for the Z-Putties' huge glaring weakness. But I digress. Kim and Trini take care of the Z-Putties and head back to the Juice Bar.

They meet up with the others and are relieved to see that Tommy's OK, and want to know why Zack sent them out to the park. Once they learn that Zack was with Jason and Billy in Billy's lab for most of the day, they start to realize that something's wrong. They get even more concerned when they try to contact Alpha, but get no answer. They leave for the Command Center to get some answers. Meanwhile, Dylan stays with Alpha, who will self-destruct in 10 minutes. Oh, OK, so he'll still go kaboom.

...wait, WHY IS DYLAN STILL THERE?! I know that he isn't very old, but I'm sure Alpha must've told him that he's going to explode! Run, kid! Run for it!

The Rangers arrive at the Command Center to find Zordon back at full power, who fills them in on both Alpha and the Primator. Since the Primator's attack is more immediate, they morph and go after him. Once they arrive, they suddenly find that they have one Yellow Ranger too many. To determine which is which, Jason offers to fight the both of them, since he's familiar with Trini's fighting style and would know which is the fake. One of them is reluctant to fight, but the other isn't and lunges at Jason. The others blast the now-obviously fake Trini, causing Primator to revert to its true self. Incidentally, I really hate to point this out...but the American voicing dubbed over the Japanese suit actors' overly-dramatic movements is particularly annoying here. By that, I mean listening to Zack and Tommy's somewhat subdued questioning of the real Trini while watching their Japanese equivalents' suit actors wide shrugging and thumbs-up just really sticks out. Most times I can forgive it, but for some reason I can't get over it here.

So the Primator fights the group for a bit before pairing off with Zack, the two of them rolling out of sight. A Black Ranger wanders back out and the group checks on him. Of course, it's actually Primator, who attacks the group before the real Zack comes to the rescue. Primator cycles through some Ranger colours before landing on Red, leading to Jason to take him on himself. They fight for a bit and a Red gets knocked back towards the group. The other Red says that that's Primator. Which is a lie, as Primator zaps the group with eye lazers from the small holes on his helmet. Hey! Why can't the real Ranger helmets do that? Sure, it'd probably never get used, but it'd still be a cool effect. The Rangers retreat to the Command Center to regroup.

At the Command Center, Zordon reveals something I probably should've mentioned earlier, but didn't because I didn't think it would come into play. While disguised as Billy, he saw his reflection on Alpha's head, which is what caused him to revert to his true form. So, if he sees his reflection, he has to turn back to normal. Uh, sure, whatever. Of course, Kimberly has a mirror ready, so the group teleports back to the battle. They somehow get split up, with Billy, Jason, and Trini coming across a Green Ranger. They learn it's Primator and attack him, eventually showing him reflection. This actually causes the Green Ranger helmet to develop red markings and a tail to grow. Interesting look. The Rangers start to beat him down, but Zedd makes him grow. So the Rangers summon the ThunderZords and form the Thunder MegaZord while Tommy summons the DragonZord. Wait, what happened to him not being able to properly control a Zord due to his low power?

Anyway, I don't think I'll be commenting on the first few MegaZord fights since they're all choppy and cropped together. I doubt you're surprised by the Thunder MegaZord finishing off Primator with his Thunder Sword. Back with Alpha...DYLAN IS STILL THERE?! Did Alpha not tell him that "self-destruct" meant "run kid, I'm gonna EXPLODE!"?! The Rangers arrive and Billy manages to prevent the Earth-shattering kaboom. Of course, NOW Dylan's mom shows up as the Rangers and Alpha teleport away. At the Command Center, Zordon advises that Alpha alert the Rangers the next time he leaves the Command Center. Group laughs, episode ends.

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This was a fun, fun episode. Sure, it has its faults. Bulk and Skull barely get a cameo, and Zedd doesn't do much besides create the monster and make it grow. Still, the concept alone shows that Saban seems to actually be putting thought into their monster plots now, instead of just "make monster, fight Rangers" every week. Also, if you want to see a couple of the actors try to be evil, then this is the episode for it. Maybe it's just nostalgia talking, since this is one of the episodes I remember most from the second season, but I say this one is worth watching.

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How can you not like Primator? He's a shapeshifting mutant baboon, for God's sake!

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 3 - The Mutiny Part 3

2011-01-19T12:34:00.002-04:00

Where we left off, the Zords had been frozen, save for the T-Rex Zord and DragonZord, which are under Zedd's control. Thing is, the Rangers need their old Zords back to get the new Zords necessary to take on Zedd properly. Billy and Trini are working on a device to free them, but the constant attacks aren't making things easy. Is there a way out of this? Let's find out!

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By the way, the new intro for this season is introduced here. The theme song is the same, but the images are different, with plenty of gratuitous explosions and actually showing the new MegaZord before we officially saw it. Way to spoil it, Saban!

We pick up where we left off, with the Zords ceasing their attack on the Rangers. Pirantishead then decides to have the Zords attack the citizens at the motocross. Oh snap! The Rangers run off to warn them, while Billy and Trini continue to work on the device. Zedd brags about his imminent victory, as he is wont to do.

The Zords arrive at the motocross and actually start attacking the citizens. Well, there go the Rangers' reputation again. They need a good PR agent. Zedd brags some more as Billy finally finishes that device. And it only took an episode and a half! He and Trini morph and take the device to the others. Except...it doesn't work.

A Billy invention DOESN'T WORK?! It's all over! Game over, man! Game over!

Jason then gets the crazy idea of combining their weapons into the Power Blaster to take out the Zords. Of course, Alpha points out that if they destroy the old Zords, they can't use the new ones. Zordon tells him to have faith as the Rangers combine their weapons. Turns out, it was a feint as they change targets and blast Pirantishead. It doesn't destroy him, but it does hurt him. This gives Billy the opportunity to fix his device, which had the batteries upside-down.

...wait, what?

The batteries were UPSIDE-DOWN?!

Tommy: "Our genius"...

Yeah, what he said! But at least this means that Billy's invention isn't a failure.

He activates it just in time to regain control of the two Zords. This pisses Zedd off like nothing else and decides that if he can't have the Zords, no one can, and so he sends them back under the earth. Of course, this happens all the time, so I don't see the problem. In fact, didn't Rita and the evil Green Ranger do this already?

Zordon gets Alpha to move the underground Zords back to their respective hiding places, hoping that if there's enough left of them, they can still create the new Zords. Luckily, Zedd didn't get to the DragonZord, so Tommy sends it back underwater where it'll be safe. Zedd then reveals his method of making monsters grow: throw a grenade at it. Yeah. Well, it catches it and throws it at the ground, which makes it grow, but that just seems so unnecessarily awesome.

Anyway, Pirantishead grows and the Rangers retreat to the Command Center. Zordon reveals that the plan worked and they were able to make the ThunderZords. However, Tommy's power is still too weak to support a Zord, so he can't get one. The Rangers teleport back out and summon the ThunderZords, which consists of their old Zords appearing, being struck by lightning and transforming into the new Zords. I like the new Zords enough, but they seem a bit out of place with the Rangers. Not sure why.

The new Zords arrive and we see that the Red Dragon can transform into the Warrior Mode. I was never really sure how this worked, but I think that the neck and tail become the legs, the front and back claws become the arms, and the head detaches and reattaches to the new neck. It makes a bit more sense when you consider that it's a Chinese dragon. They decide to form the Thunder MegaZord, with the other Zords forming a sort of armor for the Red Dragon. The Unicorn and Griffin become the legs, the Firebird wraps around its waist like a skirt, and the Lion becomes the chestplate, arms, and helmet. I like the Chinese warrior theme of the MegaZord, but again, it feels a bit out of place.

And now we come to a problem with the first few MegaZord fights. See, Saban still had some excess footage left over from what they got from Toei. They decided to try and splice the footage in with the footage of the new MegaZord, which makes for some pretty sloppy fights. You never actually see the MegaZord and the monster on the screen at the same time, resulting in one attacking, then the other reacting, wash and repeat.

Anyway, they fight for a bit and I can't stop thinking about Jason's line. He says "time to can this fish", but the way he says it, I could swear he says "bitch" instead of fish. Unintentional humour! Eventually, the MegaZord finishes Pirantishead off with its Thunder Sword. Zedd gets pissed, blames everyone except himself, and vows revenge.

At the Command Center, Zordon commends them on a job well done. Kimberly asks if Tommy could still help out with the DragonZord, but since his Green Ranger powers are dwindling, so is the DragonZord's. Tommy seems ready to leave the group, but the others promise that he'll always be one of them, and that there still may be a way to keep his powers. Tommy then wonders what happened to Rita, so they see Rita floating around space in the dumpster. They have a good laugh at that, but then discover that Bulk and Skull are still trapped on their four-wheelers, driving around like maniacs. After another good laugh, they decide to help.

They teleport to where Bulk and Skull are and use Billy's device to regain control of the vehicles. Tommy and Kim go to check on them while the others get theirs. Bulk and Skull tell them about what happened as well as their plans to discover the Rangers' identities. The others arrive and they all drive off to the finish line as the episode ends.

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In terms of starting off a season, this was the way to go. Change the status quo enough so that it's not entirely different, but different enough to be significant. Establish a new villain and put him over as better than the previous one, to instill the belief that the Rangers could lose at some point. The Zords were changed, but they were changed for a reason, considering the new monsters were so powerful that just one of them, normal-sized no less, could stop the old Zords dead in their tracks. Even the comedic duo was given something to do this season, which we'll see play out in regards to how it'll develop their characters. Things have changed, but just enough to make people interested, and not so much for people to throw their hands in the air and say "It's too different now, it sucks!". In general, just a good three-part story, well worth your time.

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The Red Dragon ThunderZord changing to its Warrior Mode.

The full Thunder MegaZord.

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 2 - The Mutiny Part 2

2011-01-19T11:46:00.002-04:00

Where we left off, a new villain had kicked out the old, bring with him new goons and monsters, the latter of which froze the Zords in their tracks. How can the Rangers hope to get out of this? Let's find out.

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We continue from where we left off, the Rangers placing all their hopes in the T-Rex Zord. However, this is all going according to Zedd's plan, as he then commands Pirantishead to take control of the T-Rex Zord, causing it to attack the Rangers. Damn, just how powerful is this guy?

Tommy gets a recharge from Zordon, but he again warns him that it's only temporary. He teleports to where the Rangers are and summons the DragonZord to take on the T-Rex Zord. They fight for a bit with both sides getting good hits in. Zedd decides "sure, why not?" and commands Pirantishead to take control of the DragonZord as well. He does so as things go from bad to worse in a hurry. The two Zords start causing havoc as well as attacking the Rangers. Tommy tries to regain control of the DragonZord with his Dagger, while the others try to get to higher ground so they can get into the T-Rex Zord. This doesn't work either as the Zords just attack them as soon as they're in range. The Rangers decide to retreat to the Command Center for help.

Once there, they're about ready to give up being Rangers due to the hopelessness of the situation. Zordon decides that they need new Zords to take on Zedd, as well as the "power of thunder" for whatever reason. They head outside and see what their new Zords will be. Jason with get the Red Dragon ThunderZord, Trini the Griffin ThunderZord, Zack the Lion ThunderZord, Billy the Unicorn ThunderZord, and Kimberly the Firebird ThunderZord. And of course, these five can combine into the Thunder MegaZord. Kimberly asks what Tommy's going to get, but Alpha mentions that they're not sure if Tommy's powers will remain. Alpha also mentions that they need to regain their old Zords to reverse-engineer them into the new ones.

The Rangers sit around, trying to think of a solution to their problems. Billy, being the genius that he is, decides to make a device that can jam the signal that's freezing and controlling their Zords. He and Trini teleport to his lab to work on it. While that's going on, Zedd believes that he's already won, and commands Pirantishead to cause more havoc on Earth. He does so at the motocross, which the Rangers decide to stop. Zordon, however, tells them not to go, since Pirantishead has their Zords and it'd be too dangerous for them. Well, that's a bit unexpected. This is serious.

Bulk and Skull argue over which way is back to the finish and go their separate ways, but wind up heading back the way they came anyway. As Pirantishead causes more destruction, Billy and Trini continue to work on the device. The other Rangers can't wait anymore and choose to go after the monster. Zordon relents and lets them go, the group teleporting back to the field. Zedd reveals his plan to Goldar: lure the Rangers out with Pirantishead, then have the Z-Putties distract them, and finally finish them off with their own Zords. Already Zedd is proving to be a better strategist than Rita. That's a villain, folks.

The Rangers wander around until they find Pirantishead, but he teleports away and, as planned, the Z-Putties arrive to fight the Rangers. And here's where we're going to run into a problem with this season's Putty fights: If they know where the weak spot is, why don't they just hit it right away and be done with it? Because then the fights would be too short and boring. While that's going on, Bulk and Skull run into each other again as well as Pirantishead, who takes control of their vehicles and make them drive off backwards. The Rangers finish off the Z-Putties, but Pirantishead returns and summons the T-Rex Zord and DragonZord, just as planned.

They start attacking the Rangers, and since when did the T-Rex Zord have eye lazers? Anyway, the Rangers ask Zordon for the new Zords, but like he said, they need the old Zords first. Jason asks for Billy and Trini's help as the second part ends.

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The stakes are raised even more in this part. Not only are four of the Zords frozen solid, but the other two are under the enemy's control. The hope of new Zords to take on Zedd makes this worse, as they need the old Zords back first, but there's no way they could get the old ones without the new ones. Quite the dilemma. How can they hope to fix things in the third part?

Power Rangers Season 2 Episode 1 - The Mutiny Part 1

2011-01-19T10:41:00.003-04:00

And so we begin Season 2! Things are gonna get shaken up quite a bit this season. New villains, new Zords, new heroes, new monsters, plots that don't suck!...I hope, anyway. And we kick things off with a three-parter that makes a number of these changes, so let's not waste any time and dive right in.

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By the way, a nice touch here is that they still use the old intro for the first episode of the new season, since the new villains haven't been introduced yet.

So we start off at some motocross for charity, and are you really surprised that our heroes are here and taking part? I am surprised Douchelan is here, but I guess they couldn't find any other dumbass authority figure to take his place. Bulk and Skull are here too, dressed like rejects from Mad Max, of course. And yes, they're more worried about winning while the others are focused on the charity, as expected.

Now, it does sound like I'm complaining here, but this is actually pretty smart what they're doing here. They're starting off by lulling us into a false sense of security by making us think this is just another episode. The intro's the same, there's a random subplot, and it'll probably end with another monster showing up and causing trouble, as usual.

We move to the moon where Rita starts to form another plan to take on the Rangers. Suddenly, lightning starts to strike her palace. On the moon? Lightning? *sigh* Magic. Goldar instantly knows what's going on and mentions that the true Emperor of Evil, Lord Zedd, has returned. Rita looks like she just pissed herself. Instantly, the fans wonder what's going on. Goldar's explanation seems to build up Zedd as someone more powerful than Rita, which instantly grabs people's attention.

Back on Earth, the motocross begins and...we get bad songs to go with it. Yet another attempt at making something look cool for the kids, but it fits with the "false sense of security" I mentioned. Back on the moon, the storm gets worse and Lord Zedd arrives in Rita's palace. Rita gets another headache. Goldar's response?

Goldar: Deal with it!

Keep this in mind, it'll make sense in a minute.

Apparently, the storm is so powerful that the Rangers can hear it on Earth, as they pull off of the track and wonder what's going on. Only the arrival of the most awesome Power Rangers villain ever!

Back on the moon, things have already changed considerably. There's a new, much larger palace on the moon, Zedd has his own theme music, which is much more intimidating than that weird rock that Rita had, and Zedd's Z symbol is everywhere. Squat and Baboo go into hiding before lightning strikes a pedestal in the middle of the room, summoning a throne with the Z on it. Goldar welcomes Lord Zedd to the palace as the throne turns and we get our first full look at Zedd. And goddamn, he is awesome. Picture a skinless body with only muscle, except the bones are on the outside and are metallic, cooling tubes serving as the veins, and a very awesome mask serving as the face. It's actually pretty hard to describe, but seriously, he's just awesome. He even has a snake that transforms into his staff (which has a big Z on the end of it, of course)

Goldar starts sucking up to Zedd, promising to serve him and him only. Zedd rewards him for his loyalty by restoring his wings. I wondered what happened to those. Rita walks in and tries to get on Zedd's good side. It doesn't exactly work. Zedd berates Rita for constantly failing to defeat the Rangers, especially considering they're just children. He does have a point, and Goldar agrees. Zedd starts to get pissed, glowing red when he does so. Why this is important, I don't know.

Alpha and Zordon catch wind of what's happened and contact the Rangers, who teleport to the Command Center. Once there, Zordon fills them in and explains that Zedd is essentially Rita's boss, and is much more powerful than her. So much so that they might not be able to defeat him, even with their Zords. This is working perfectly. Zedd continues to be built up as the next big thing and the reason why things need to be switched up and fast.

Back on the moon, Zedd learns more about the group as Goldar suggests they attack with some Putties. But they can't use any old Putties for this, they have to use ZEDD'S Putties. We are then introduced to the Z-Putties, which are basically the normal Putties, except they're wearing white outfits with a large Z on their chest. Remember that, it's very important later.

On Earth, Bulk and Skull crash into a tree, and decide to head for the finish on foot, as the storm above their heads gets worse and worse. On the moon, Rita continues to beg Zedd for another chance, offering to make a monster for him, but Zedd refuses due to her constant failure. He then tells the Z-Putties to bring out Rita's "traveling vehicle". Which just so happens to be the dumpster from the first episode! Although it's considerably smaller. Zedd officially banishes Rita from his palace, destroying her staff and shrinking her down to fit into the dumpster. And, of course, Rita gives her best Wicked Witch impression with "I'm shrinking! I'm shrinking! Oh, what a planet, what a planet!" Goldar puts her in the dumpster and Zedd and the Z-Putties hurl her out into space. Rita, however, vows that she will return.

Back on Earth, Bulk and Skull come across the Rangers' vehicles and decide to use them to get to the finish. Or they would, except the Z-Putties arrive. The Rangers see what's happening from the Command Center, noticing that they're not normal Putties. They morph and head to the battle.

Once there, Bulk and Skull hide behind some bushes while the Rangers fight the Z-Putties. They continue to ooh and ahh like spectators while the Rangers get their asses kicked by the Z-Putties. To make matters worse, after hinting at it for almost 20 episodes, we finally see signs of Tommy's powers dwindling. Things soon take a turn for the better once Jason destroys one of them, discovering that the Z-Putties' weak spot is the Z on their chests. See, this is what I don't get. The Z-Putties by themselves are stronger than the normal Putties and were beating the Rangers, in morph no less, for a while here. But because Zedd just had to put his symbol on them, they can be destroyed, and quite easily, actually. Where's the logic behind that? Anyway, this is enough for the Rangers to turn things around and defeat the Z-Putties. They check on Bulk and Skull, who are starstruck, and teleport away. Bulk and Skull decide what they're going to do for this season: uncover the Power Rangers' true identities.

At the Command Center, the Rangers report to Zordon what's happened and wonder what's about to happen next. Zedd answers them by using his magic to transform a piranha on Earth into Pirantishead, our monster-of-the-week. Wait, there are piranha in Angel Grove?! No wonder Billy's scared of fish! The Rangers head back out into battle, minus Tommy who needs to recharge. They meet up with Pirantishead who starts causing havoc. For some reason, the Rangers move right to summoning the DinoZords. This quickly proves to be a bad move, as Pirantishead actually freezes the DinoZords, minus the T-Rex, in place. This is where Part 1 ends.

------------------------------------------

This is how you start a season. The status quo has been shaken up, with a new villain kicking out an old one, problems among the group, the comedic duo actually having their own constant subplot established, the goons are supposedly stronger, and the fact that a monster-of-the-week can just stop the Zords in their tracks is a real shocker. Things will continue to change in the next part.

----------------------------------------

Our villain for this season, Lord Zedd, the baddest mofo in Power Rangers history.

The supposedly stronger goons, the Z-Putties.

Just the fact that Pirantishead could stop the Zords in their tracks indicates that he's not like the other monsters-of-the-week.

Power Rangers Season 1 Episode 60 - An Oyster Stew

2011-01-18T10:34:00.003-04:00

Last time, we had an episode that was actually decent. Yes, there was possible conflicting messages and forced character traits, but the fights were entertaining and, in all fairness, it could've been much worse. I don't see how this episode could be better, but we'll see.

Oh, and also, this is the last episode of Season 1! FINALLY!

-----------------------------------

So we start off at the Juice Bar with Zack spotting Tommy on the weights. We get a gag with Bulk and Skull practicing for a band audition later on. I have to admit, Bulk does have the voice for it. Kim walks over to Zack and Tommy and Zack reveals that he wants to do something big for Angela's birthday. OK, so they are continuing this. Zack decides he wants to get her a pair of pearl earrings. Damn, Zack! Why not just spring for the diamond ring? Kim suggests sending her a singing telegram, which Zack agrees to. He does, of course, add onto that by saying that he should give her the earrings at the restaurant they go to, and he asks Tommy and Kim to come along to make it a double date. They agree, while I continue to try to get over the fact that Zack wants to give Angela PEARL EARRINGS. It's starting to get just a wee bit creepy...

On the moon, Rita of course uses this as inspiration for her latest monster. Goldar suggests using the Eco...Ekosy....Ecosite...you know what, let's just call it the MacGuffin Pearl. Anyway, use the Oysterizer monster to pollute the water, blah blah blah, moving on. Back at the school, Zack asks Angela out on the date and, after some coaxing, she accepts. Now Zack just needs to get the earrings. Uh, that might've been a good idea before asking her out, idiot. Back to Rita, the Oysterizer mentions something about the Pearls of Stillness, whatever those are. Also, the Oysterizer just looks...weird.

Back on Earth, Zack walks out of a jewelry store, obviously disappointed with how the pearls were out of his price range. He wanders around to the park and runs into a hobo, who offers to sell him a pair of pearl earrings. Zack, like a dumbass, agrees and buys the earrings, running off to tell the others. Of course, the hobo was a Putty in disguise, so I'm guessing those were the Pearls of Stillness, or something. We then move to the double date, with all four arriving at the French restaurant. Zack, again, like a dumbass, offers to order for everyone since he apparently knows French. Who sees the escargot joke coming?

Back at the park, the other Rangers run into some Putties and they start the expected fight. Zordon and Alpha learn about the Oysterizer as well as the Pearls of Stillness, which can turn people into statues. Ooh? He contacts the other Rangers after their fight and warn them about the Pearls, so they teleport away. Back at the restaurant (OK, it was a frog legs joke), the waiter arrives with the singing telegram, which happens to be sung by Bulk and Skull. Of course. Zack just gives Angela the pearls, which she of course LOOOOOOOOOVES. Just when they're about to kiss, Bulk and Skull knock a cake over, and cause their usual bit of ruckus and mayhem. Zack and Tommy walk off to wash up while Angela tries the earrings on. The other Rangers arrive just in time for everyone, including them, to turn to stone. Zack and Tommy come back and see what's happened, so they teleport to the Command Center.

Once there, Zordon fills them in and explains that to break the spell, they need to lure the Oysterizer out of the water and destroy its pearl. They mention the possibility of fighting with the MegaZord underwater, as well as Tommy's limited power as always. The two morph and go to fight the Oysterizer. Tommy wanders off to another part of the beach just before the Oysterizer attacks Zack. He sprays some weird pink goop on him, which is apparently acidic. Tommy reappears and saves Zack (of course) and actually gives him the Dragon Shield to heal his injuries. That's actually a cool visual. Of course, Oysterizer sprays Tommy with the goop too, so Zack fights him off and he escapes into the water. Apparently he destroyed the pearl during the fight, because the spell is now broken.

Back at the restaurant, Angela's earrings disintegrate, which she blames on Zack for some dumbass reason. Zack arrives and Angela gives him the brush off. He informs the others of the situation, namely them having to fight the Oysterizer underwater. The group runs off (but not before Zack pays the bill), and they morph and jump into the MegaZord and head underwater.

Once in the deep, they find the MacGuffin Pearl and destroy it with the MegaZord's head lazer. Oysterizer shows up and starts beating on the MegaZord, which the others attribute to the MegaZord not being able to fight underwater. The DragonZord supposedly is, however, so they contact Tommy and he summons the DragonZord to the fight. The DragonZord smacks the Oysterizer out of the water and starts fighting it on land. Oysterizer uses a ball and chain to tie up the DragonZord, leaving it open for more pink goop to be sprayed. The MegaZord returns, however, Power Sword in hand and saves the DragonZord. It then uses the power of Deus Ex Machina to heal the DragonZord. Because they're the Power Rangers! The DragonZord blasts Oysterizer with his finger missiles, leaving him open for the MegaZord to finish him off with the Power Sword.

Back at the Juice Bar, the Rangers celebrate their victory, while Zack arrives with flowers and spouts this episode's message about not buying love with money, etc etc. It was cooler when the Beatles said it, guys. Bulk and Skull arrive, having to wash dishes at the restaurant after all the chaos they caused, and are apparently there to help Zack patch things up with Angela. They provide the background music while Zack sings and...he's actually pretty good. Until Skull ruins the mood, of course. Zack and Angela patch things up, they kiss, Bulk and Skull kill the mood some more, group laughs, episode ends.

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For the final episode of a season, that was actually just another filler episode, this one...well, it could've been worse. The whole bit with Zack wanting to buy his potential girlfriend pearls is a bit much, and Angela's reaction is also a bit off, but it was a good message that was delivered and it wasn't crammed down our throats or anything. The monster battles were odd, but overall just more of the same. In the end, it was just filler. Watch it if you feel you absolutely need to.

-------------------------------------

I think the Oysterizer wins the award for the strangest looking monster of Rita's crew.

And for the sake of completion, here's Zack with the Dragon Shield.

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And now, my thoughts on Season 1 as a whole.

Well...it was a start.

That's really Season 1 in a nutshell. A start to a franchise. I don't think anyone at the time expected Power Rangers to take off like it did. And why would it? Wooden acting, hammy plots, and Japanese TV show footage pasted in? How could that possibly be a good show? Well, it somehow caught on. For one thing, no kids show had this level of fighting before, which the kiddies just ate up. Second, it was giant robots fighting monsters. Try and tell me a kid wouldn't want to see that.

The characters did evolve beyond their stereotypes, though not by much. Jason is still a jock with a heart of gold, but he's also proven to be a capable leader in a short amount of time. Trini is still the spiritual girl who got the least amount of development in my opinion, but she is the unofficial Team Mom who gives the moral of the episode, so she does have a purpose. Zack is still the cool guy, but he's proven to not be perfect through his fears and his issues with Angela. Kimberly is still the valley girl, but she's also the heart of the team (no pun intended), often being the shoulder to cry on when something goes wrong. Billy is still the nerd, but has gained a level of confidence as the series has moved on. Tommy, once he joined, was pretty much a loner, but grew to be a key member of the group and also had his own insecurities to deal with. Those of you expecting a Breakfast Club reference here will probably be disappointed.

Speaking of Tommy, the five-part Green Ranger Saga is still the highlight of the series. It's the perfect example of what Power Rangers is like when it's good. It's exciting, it's interesting, the stakes are high, and fans can be worried about the outcome. On the other hand, the last chunk of filler episodes can be examples of what the show is like when it's bad. The plots are forced, the messages shoehorned in, and the battles, the reason the kids watch the show, are afterthoughts. This series is by no means perfect, nor is it the best season of them all. Anyone who says otherwise either doesn't know what they're talking about, or is afflicted with nostalgia. It is not the worst season either, however. Like I said, it's a start to a franchise, and should be recognized as such.

OK, now that I'm done, we can move on to Season 2, where things do start to pick up, in my opinion. I'll see you next time for...

A THREE-PARTER?!

Power Rangers Season 1 Episode 59 - Mighty Morphin' Mutants

2011-01-17T16:29:00.002-04:00

Last time, we dealt with an episode that just seemed to be a 20-minute commercial for football. What will all the references to the sport and Tommy (who, admittedly, is perfect in every way) suddenly making star quarterback, despite not knowing anything about the game the day before. I don't see how this one could be worse, but we'll just have to see.

-------------------------------

So we start off at the school with Tommy running late for class. I'm sure this is important, somehow. Once he arrives, Ms. Appleby reveals the assignment for the week: the students ask their friends about any negative qualities they may have that they need to work on. I really don't see what subject this would be classified under, but whatever.

On the moon, Rita goes on about how her cronies couldn't find a weakness for the Green Ranger. Again, Tommy, perfect. She then tells them to get the Badges of Darkness to transform some of her Putties into Mutant Rangers. Uh, didn't we do this plot already?

We move to the Juice Bar with Jason and Tommy sparring. Afterwards, Tommy mentions the assignment and asks Jason if there's any negative qualities he needs to work on. Jason mentions Tommy's forgetfulness. What? Aw, come on, he's not forgetful. Sure, he was late for class in this episode, and he forgot his notebook in this episode, and just now he forgot his water bottle, his towel, and his drink in this episode...see a pattern yet? Tommy asks Kimberly and Trini and they confirm this, and offer to help him out, of course.

We then get a montage of Putties training under Goldar to decide who will become the Mutant Rangers. For some reason, we keep seeing one Putty trying and failing miserably time and again. Goldar decides to fire him, and by that, I mean set him on fire until he's nothing. He gives the other five Putties a Badge of Darkness, deciding that there won't be a Mutant Red Ranger. Because it's not like you have umpteen other Putties that are competent and could fill the role, right? By the way, the Mutant Rangers aren't that different from the normal Rangers, besides grey gloves, boots and belts instead of white. After a bit with Bulk and Skull back at the...wait, wait, I have to mention this or it'll drive me crazy.

See, Bulk and Skull talk to Tommy and act like their usual selves, but when the assignment comes up, they say that they don't have any negative qualities. If they left it at that, I wouldn't say anything, but they go on to say that they like themselves as they are. Tommy says that they'll fail the assignment then. Now, I'm probably just nitpicking here, but what kind of message does that send? "Don't like how you are as a person, but change yourself so that other people like you"? Yeah, I know Bulk and Skull aren't the best people right now, and they will change for the better later on, but what the hell's wrong with liking yourself as you are? It's probably nothing, but this really bothers me.

Anyway, Kim and Tommy are walking home when they run into the Green and Pink Mutant Rangers. They pair off with their respective colours and fight and...it's bad. I mean, they don't do much and when they "connect", you can clearly see that they're nowhere near touching them. After supposedly getting beaten by the two, the Mutant Rangers retreat. We skip to the Command Center, where Zordon fills the group in on the Mutant Rangers, as well as explains that the reason there's no Mutant Red is because Rita hasn't created a capable leader yet.

We see Tommy with a miniature computer (created by Billy, of course) to help him remember things. Wouldn't it be funny if he forgot that too? We then meet our monster-of-the-week, Commander Crayfish, who is now the leader of the Mutant Rangers. Yeah, it's a crayfish, nothing special. Tommy's computer malfunctions and he forgets more stuff, then Zordon contacts the other Rangers about Commander Crayfish. Oh, Tommy forgot his communicator, so he can't show up right away.

Wait...

You mean to tell me that this was all just another way to keep Tommy from showing up right away...?

.....

POWER! SHORTAGE! You devoted a two-parter to that specific plot point and you keep avoiding it and create other reasons to keep Tommy away! USE YOUR STORIES!

So, the Rangers morph and go to fight Crayfish. Once there, Crayfish says "It's Mutant Time!" and the four Putties morph into the Black, Pink, Yellow, and Blue Mutant Rangers. They do their own poses to mock the real Rangers and the fight begins. Crayfish even has a dark version of Jason's Power Sword as indication of his leader position. They fight for a bit until Tommy finally gets his communicator. He morphs and joins the fight, fighting against the Mutant Green. I'd ask how the Mutant Green has the Sword of Darkness, but I'll just chalk that up to a reference. The bad guys get the upper hand when they combine their weapons to form an evil Power Blaster and zap the Rangers, causing them to retreat. OK, that was a nice touch.

At the Command Center, Zordon hands the group upgraded versions of their weapons to help them in the fight. They teleport back to the battle and the fight starts up again. The fight is fairly entertaining this time around, culminating in a showdown with both teams' Power Blasters firing at each other. Our heroes win that and defeat Mutant Yellow and Pink. Rita ups the ante by not only making Commander Crayfish grow, but the remaining three Mutant Rangers as well. Nice. The Rangers summon the DinoZords and form the MegaZord while Tommy summons the DragonZord.

The brawl begins with the MegaZord handling Commander Crayfish while the DragonZord fights the three Mutant Rangers. Incidentally, I think this could technically be the first time the goons of the show go giant. Sure, they're technically powered up, but I think it counts. Oh, and I love this one line here.

Tommy: DragonZord, use your Tail Whip, now!

See, it's funny because Pokemon practically exploded onto the scene about 3 or 4 years after this, effectively knocking Power Rangers off its pedestal as the "in thing" amongst the kiddies. You know, retrospect and all that.

Anyway, we get a weird bit where the Mutant Rangers lift up Commander Crayfish, giving him the high ground or something. The Rangers summon Titanus and form the UltraZord, firing all weapons and finishing Crayfish and the Mutants. Rita is beyond words.

We move back to the school and get the message of being proud of who you are and your faults make you unique, etc etc. I'd call this a blatant contradiction of earlier, but I'm just going to assume the Rangers themselves actually learned this one themselves. We then get a bit with Bulk and Skull, pretending to be high class gentlemen (Bulk looks very much like Penn Gilette of Penn and Teller in a suit...), giving a gift to Ms. Appleby. She gets them to open the gift, Silly String sprays out, they run off, group laughs, episode ends.

--------------------------------

OK, so this one wasn't THAT bad. Yes, Tommy suddenly being forgetful seemed to be yet another way to keep him out of the episode until the end. But, if they bring this up in a later episode, then I'll consider it an actual character trait. The Mutant Rangers bit was done before, and while this one wasn't as good as that time, it wasn't necessarily bad. It's just that that episode was exceptionally good, so it'd be hard to top it. Overall, this one was alright, worth a watch I suppose.

---------------------------------

Here's Commander Crayfish and the Mutant Rangers. I actually have to wonder...why did Rita make a crayfish monster the leader of her evil Rangers? It just seems so random...

Power Rangers Season 1 Episode 58 - Football Season

2011-01-16T12:45:00.002-04:00

Last time, we dealt with a perfect example of a bad episode. The messages they were sending contradicted one another, the child actor was terrible, as always, Tommy was put on the bench until the end for a dumb reason, especially when they already had a plausible reason established, and there were just one too many soccer references. Judging from the title of this episode, we'll have to deal with it again.

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So we start off at the school, and if the title didn't tip you off already, it's football season and both Jason and Tommy are going to try out. We get a gag with Bulk and Skull that ends with Bulk crashing into Douchelan. May not have been funny, but it was satisfying. For some reason, Tommy isn't sure he'll make it onto the team. Dude, you're TOMMY. You'd get on the team with one leg and narcolepsy.

Blah blah, Rita hates football, blah blah, she's gonna beat the Rangers, blah blah blah. So we move to the Juice Bar where Tommy is still worried about the tryouts, since he's never played the game before.

...wait, WHAT?! You're trying out for a football team when you've NEVER PLAYED FOOTBALL IN YOUR LIFE?! How does that...how does it...I don't even...WHAT?!

Anyway, Ernie was apparently an all-star fullback back when he was in college, so he offers to help Tommy train. Considering he's NEVER PLAYED THE GAME BEFORE, Ernie has a lot of work ahead of him. We get another gag with Bulk and Skull, Bulk in a tutu because football players study ballet. Ernie confirms this, but I have my doubts. We see Tommy do various training exercises and I really cannot bring myself to care about this.

We see the Rangers playing flag football in the park and...son of a bitch, it's that stupid music from the trash club episode! You know, that supposed "cool" music that makes what the group is doing popular and something kids want to do. And yeah, playing flag football with your buddies is a lot cooler than picking up trash, but is this really necessary? We get some more training with Tommy and he's apparently too used to karate to get a handle on something as basic as tackling. Frikkin' wow, man. We then see Bulk practicing his ballet in detention and, judging from the look on Skull's face, he's getting a little too into it.

After more of the bad montage, Putties arrive and the Rangers fight them off. Afterwards, Zordon contacts them and they teleport to the Command Center. Once there, he fills them in on how Rita is planning her own game (UUUUUUUUUUGH), and reveals this week's monster, Rhino Blaster. Which actually looks like a mutant hybrid of a rhino and a bat. According to Zordon, if the Rangers lose the game, Rita will take control over Earth. So...she was serious about a game?

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-

The Rangers morph and go to fight the Rhino Blaster. Once there, he summons some Putties, in football uniforms no less. They, somehow, kick the Rangers' asses. Just...how? Why? Who? Where? When? WHAT?!

*sigh* Just two more after this...I can get through this...I can do this...

So, the Rhino Blaster summons some tornado that teleports the Rangers to an alternate dimension. While Alpha tries to bring them back, Zordon contacts Tommy for help. Who, of course, picked NOW to not wear his communicator. After more training with Ernie, he grabs his communicator from his bag and teleports to the Command Center. Zordon fills him in, mentioning his limited power seemingly for added drama, and Tommy morphs to fight the Rhino Blaster.

Of course, since it's Tommy, he takes out the football Putties easily and faces Rhino Blaster one-on-one. They fight for a bit until Rita makes the Blaster grow. Tommy summons the DragonZord as I realize I'm just barely in the second half of the episode. I'm not sure I like this. They fight for a bit and ENOUGH WITH THE FOOTBALL REFERENCES ALREADY. Dammit Tommy, you didn't even know how to play the game before today!

Alpha says that the only way to free the Rangers is to send the Dragon Dagger into the alternate dimension, but if the Rangers don't get it, then the Dagger and the Rangers are lost forever. Zordon relays this to Tommy and he decides to trick the Rhino Blaster into sending him to the same dimension as the others. He moves out of the way of the tornado at the last second, throwing the Dagger in instead. Apparently it worked, but we don't really get any indication it did. Tommy enters the DragonZord for the second time ever and continues fighting. And gets beaten so bad he's ejected from the DragonZord. Huh. Finally, the Rangers reappear...already in the MegaZord. Whaaaaaaa? Tommy gets the Dragon Dagger back, which is enough to repower the DragonZord. Sure, whatever. The Rangers form the MegaDragonZord for the third time, I think, and finish Rhino Blaster off. Rita gets another headache.

We cut back to the Juice Bar where Douchelan announces the new team: Jason, Zack, Billy (HWHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!), a bunch of people we don't care about, he forgot the rest of the names, Bulk, who's still wearing the tutu for some reason, and Tommy as the new star quarterback. BULL AND SHIT TOGETHER. Tommy thanks Ernie, the others, the Academy, his parents, blah blah blah, episode ends.

---------------------------------

This is just an aside, but I really have to wonder: Did Toei make the new Sentai footage by themselves and Saban had to write episodes around them? Or did they ask for the footage to go with their already planned episodes? I'm really, really hoping it's the former, because I really, really hope no one voluntarily wrote this episode.

I get that Tommy is super-amazingly-awesome, but how can he go from not knowing how the game works, having never played it, to suddenly being so good he makes the team as the quarterback? Yes, by all means Saban, rub it in our faces that Tommy is the perfect human being and we can never match up to him. But if you have to do that, stop with the bad sports references. It's getting ridiculous. Just avoid this episode.

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Unfortunately, this was the best picture of Rhino Blaster I could find. And by the way, what's with that name? I get the Rhino part, but why Blaster? You'd think he'd have some sort of gun if he had that name.

Power Rangers Season 1 Episode 57 - Second Chance

2011-01-15T12:12:00.002-04:00

Last time, we got an episode that was much better than expected, which explored the possibility of the Power Rangers coming apart from within. We also got a decent monster that put up a pretty good fight. Hopefully, and I really, REALLY mean hopefully, this episode can follow suit.

---------------------------------

So we start off at the Juice Bar with Ernie posting the results of the Junior Soccer Team Tryouts. Oh dear God, I know what this means...

*dun dun DUN!*

BAD CHILD ACTOR!

Unfortunately, I'm right, as our subplot character for today is Roger, the kid who didn't get onto the team. He mopes about not getting on, so Ernie decides to have a second tryout for those who didn't get on. Because sports teams totally work like that.

On the moon, Rita actually thinks this issue with the soccer player is worth her attention, and gets Finster to work on the Socadillo monster. It's a 7-year old who wants to play soccer. Why is this so important?

We cut to the school where Tommy talks to Jason and Zack about the tryouts, and Zack says that, since Roger practiced with him and Jason, he should get in. You know, I really have to wonder why it's so goddamn important that this one kid get onto the team. I mean, how is it fair to all the kids who practiced hard and got on the team the first time if they're just going to let the runner-ups have another chance? What kind of message are you sending them? "Sorry kids, don't worry about practicing hard and actually putting effort into your game, just be buddies with the coach and you'll be fine." If I was a parent of one of those kids, I'd be pretty pissed.

Bulk and Skull arrive and they mess around with a soccer ball, kicking it past Ms. Appleby and sending it ricocheting all over the place. In the chaos, Tommy smacks his communicator against the wall, apparently damaging it. After the group breaks up and Bulk and Skull get detention, Tommy has a communication mishap with Zordon, so he decides to have Billy see if anything's wrong with his communicator. OK, I get that this is another reason to have Tommy arrive late, but...POWER SHORTAGE! Are we completely ignoring that plot point now?!

Oh, wait, the real reason Tommy will be late is because his communicator keeps going off in class, so Ms. Appleby confiscates it. Again, POWER SHORTAGE! We then cut to the park where Roger is practicing soccer with Jason and Zack. And he sucks. And Rita agrees with me. So why does he need to get on?! Rita sends down some Putties to fight the two, but Socadillo can't go because it needs to be charged, for some reason. Rita gets pissy and sends it down anyway, which turns out to be a grey boulder that the Putties kick around. For now, anyway. Trini, Billy, and Kim get contacted by Alpha and they teleport to the battlefield, Trini protecting Roger while the others fight off the Putties and Socadillo. After taking care of the Putties, Socadillo disappears, for the time being anyway.

We cut to the Command Center where Zordon fills them in on Socadillo and how it can change forms once it has enough energy. Alpha mentions trying to contact Tommy, but no luck. We then move to the school, where after an interlude of Bulk and Skull thumb wrestling (complete with Bulk and Skull faces on the thumbs), we learn that Ms. Appleby never returns anything she confiscates. I'm sure that'll change quickly. The Rangers morph and go to fight Socadillo.

We see Socadillo's true form and, it's what you expect. A giant armadillo monster. For some reason, this is another monster I remember pretty well from childhood. Not sure why. Maybe I had a toy of him too or something. Anyway, he smacks the Rangers around without taking any damage, supposedly because of his strong armor. After a clip of Tommy asking Ms. Appleby for his communicator, the Rangers try that pyramid-formation-thing with the Blade Blasters. Socadillo just curls up into his ball form and doesn't take any damage. He then rolls around into the Rangers, then uncurls and summons some Putties. They kick some clay balls at the Rangers, and follow that up with kicking a curled-up Socadillo at them.

Tommy somehow managed to get his communicator back (do I want to know why he's flicking his wrist like that?) and tries to contact the Command Center. After some problems, Alpha tells him what's going on and he morphs and joins the fight. Of course, since he's Tommy, he evens the odds immediately, leading to the Rangers kicking Socadillo's ass all over the place. Until Rita makes him grow, of course. So the Rangers summon the DinoZords and form the MegaZord while Tommy summons the DragonZord.

They brawl for a bit and...it just looks really clumsy. Of course, they can't really do anything while Socadillo is curled up, so Zack gets the oh so brilliant idea of "waiting for it to uncurl before attacking". No shit, Sherlock. As expected, it uncurls, they summon the Power Sword and finish it off. Rita wonders why she even bothers. You know, so do I.

Back at the Juice Bar, the group finds out that since everyone apparently did SO well, Ernie made a second soccer team, and Roger is the captain. *ahem* BULLSHIT. There is no way that Roger would've been THAT good after what we've seen of his "skills", or lack thereof. Bulk and Skull arrive, blah blah, you don't need to practice to be good, blah blah, yes you do, and then Skull gets some weird green stuff on the soccer ball and smacks himself in the face. Group laughs, episode ends.

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And we're back on track with bad filler episodes, I see. Besides Socadillo, which wasn't THAT great a monster, this episode was just bad. Mixed messages aplenty, bad child actors, unnecessary reasons to keep Tommy away that won't be brought up again (seriously, what did Tommy have to do to get his communicator back?), and Bulk and Skull just being unfunny. Just avoid altogether.

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I kind of feel sorry for Socadillo. He's a decent-looking monster, yet he's stuck in a crappy filler like this and has to deal with way too many soccer references. Poor guy.

Power Rangers Season 1 Episode 56 - On Fins And Needles

2011-01-14T12:11:00.003-04:00

Last time, we got an episode that could've been fairly entertaining if it made any degree of sense. A game show that changed its rules seemingly on a whim, or flat out ignoring them, coupled with a monster that was a PUMPKIN RAPPER GOD WHYYYYYYYYYY. *sigh* Almost done...almost done...

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So we start off with Tommy and Jason teaching karate to some kids. Why is this so important when they do it practically every week? Or is it more about the Jason/Tommy dynamic, as Billy points out? Blah blah, karate is about self-defense, blah blah blah, class ends. Yeah, probably the Jason/Tommy part is what's important here.

And I'm right as Rita gets pissy over the duo's bromance and decides to make them enemies. Somehow, the monster-of-the-week, the Slippery Shark, can do that, at least according to Goldar. Back on Earth, Jason and Tommy are walking through the park when Putties attack. They fight off the Putties for a bit, until one of them throws some weird boomerang thing. Tommy catches it, but it shocks him. Same thing happens to Jason. So I guess that's what's supposed to turn them against each other? Then what was all that about the Slippery Shark? Was it his boomerang? Anyway, they finish off the Putties, and the spell starts to take effect, the two bickering over who needed who in the fight. It culminates with Tommy saying he's tired of taking orders from Jason, while Jason saying that the Power Rangers were fine before Tommy came along. The fans disagree, but still, damn.

I have to give Rita credit here, this is a pretty good plan. Destroying the Rangers from within seems to be better than just sending a monster after them over and over. Of course, her successor would become much more well-known for that tactic...*sigh* Just a few more episodes...

We cut to the school where Jason and Tommy are still bickering, Tommy mentioning that he quit the class to get away from Jason. Considering Trini and Kimberly are watching, why don't either of them think that maybe, just maybe, Rita is being this little dispute? I mean, sure, it's not inconceivable that these two would start fighting over something, but still, the possibility is there. Bulk and Skull arrive and try to escalate things to a full-on fight. It almost works before Ms. Appleby arrives and things are broken up. Naturally, Trini and Kim are clueless as to just why these two are fighting. Again, evil moon witch who sends monsters after you every so often. Does no one consider this?

Rita gloats about how her plan is coming along, and Finster finishes the Slippery Shark monster. It's a typical hammerhead shark monster, and would actually look pretty cool, if not for that stupid mouth of his. It's always stuck in that wide-open frowny face that just looks dumb. Anyway, it gets sent down to Earth to fight the Rangers.

We move to the school for a moment as Bulk and Skull start selling tickets to the fight between Jason and Tommy, which leads to this:

Bulk: How much do we have?

Skull: I lost count.

Bulk: Well, how much did we have before you lost count?

Skull: A dollar.

Bulk: ...you're worthless, you know that?

Ouch. That was harsh.

Alpha tries to track down the monster, but it's apparently moving too fast for him to get a lock on. I'm sure this'll be important later. Somehow. We cut to the Juice Bar where...wait, there actually is a fight? I thought it was just Bulk and Skull being...well, Bulk and Skull. Jason and Tommy start circling one another, just waiting for the first move. Of course, the others show up, and Zack tries to break things up, but no good. Right before the fight really begins, however, Zordon contacts the group, so Jason and Tommy postpone the fight and leave. Bulk and Skull get chased out by the spectators, wanting their money back.

Once they arrive at the Command Center, Zordon fills them in on the Slippery Shark, as well as the spell over Jason and Tommy. He says that to break the spell, they basically have to quit being little bitches and put aside their differences. Easier said than done, of course. The other Rangers are told to stand by while Jason and Tommy morph and go to find the shark.

At the park, Tommy proposes a wager: if he beats the Shark first, he becomes the new leader. Jason retaliates by saying that if he does it, then Tommy's out of the group. Snap man, snap, this is getting heavy. The Shark, of course, travels through the ground, fin sticking out just like Jaws. Both of them try to catch him, but no luck. They run into each other again and argue over battle strategies. They separate, try again, no luck. They meet up again and it almost seems like they're becoming more willing to work together. The Shark appears and starts kicking their asses. Spontaneously, they decide to work together and throw a net over it. Apparently, the spell is now broken. But the Shark is still a threat as it breaks free from the net and starts beating the duo down. The other Rangers morph and go to help them out.

The others arrive and they all start to get smacked around by the Shark. Once it goes underground, however, Zack uses his Power Axe to blast the exposed fin. The Rangers then combine their weapons into the Power Blaster, but before they can fire, Rita make the Shark grow. So the Rangers summon the DinoZords and form the MegaZord while Tommy summons the DragonZord.

The two fight the Shark for a bit and the Shark is actually a difficult fight, considering he's so fast. The Rangers summon the Power Sword, but even that doesn't work because they can't hit him. Billy gets the idea to just block his attack and hold him in place, leaving him open for the DragonZord to score a hit. Since it's Billy, it works. The MegaZord destroys the Shark's fin before finishing him off with the Power Sword. This was actually a decent fight.

Back at the Juice Bar, Tommy and Jason resume teaching karate to the kids. Bulk and Skull arrive, both of them a mess after being caught by the angry spectators. They order Jason and Tommy to fight, which naturally doesn't mean diddly-dick. They take a swing, miss, their fists collide, they faint from the pain, group laughs, episode ends.

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I have to admit, this was much better than I thought it would be. The idea of turning the Rangers against one another is a good one, and one that is sadly not explored that much this season. The dialogue between Jason and Tommy could get a little hammy at times, but there seemed to be real conflict between the two. Not to mention that the Slippery Shark was a good monster, and the fights were decent enough to warrant mention. Overall, a pretty good episode, worth your time.

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The weird thing is, I can't think of any comments for the Slippery Shark. Sure, he didn't suck, but there were better monsters. He's alright, I guess.

Power Rangers Season 1 Episode 55 - Trick Or Treat

2011-01-13T12:56:00.002-04:00

Last time, we dealt with a frustrating episode that had yet another terrible child actor taking up valuable time that could've been devoted to fighting the pretty decent monster-of-the-week. It amazes me how often this has happened and probably will happen in this show. I doubt this'll be much better, but we may as well find out.

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So we start off at the Juice Bar with Kimberly practicing her gymnastics. After that, she tells Trini and Tommy that she's been accepted onto the game show "Trick or Treat". How a supposed Halloween-themed game show became the "number one game show in America" is beyond me, but I'm not complaining, it sounds cool. Although winning a car seems a bit much. Then again, it's a game show, so we have to follow the stereotypes. Trini promises to be there, but Tommy has some international karate match to compete in, which disappoints Kim, naturally. We then find out that Skull is her opponent for the show. Gee, what are the odds?

Of course, to go with the Halloween theme for this episode, Rita wants the Pumpkin Rapper to...

...no.

No, no, NO.

I did not just hear/type PUMPKIN RAPPER.

Dear God, NO.

Squat and Baboo planted the pumpkin seeds in the park, which will grow into a PUMPKIN RAPPER DEAR GOD WHYYYYYYYYYY.

We move to the set of Trick or Treat and everyone is dressed up in costumes, of course. Bulk is advising Skull to cheat his way through the show, as expected of them. The show begins and our Dracula-esque host introduces "Princess" Kimberly (all the Rangers seem to have a Medieval/Renaissance theme among them) and Eugene Skullovitch (Skull's dressed as an escaped convict and I think Bulk's a mummy). The objective of the game is this: Ask the host various trick questions. Successfully tricking the host earns you Pumpkin Points. The one with the most Pumpkin Points by the end of the game wins. This'll be...interesting, to say the least.

We then cut to the park with Tommy wandering around near the planted pumpkins. So much for that karate match, huh? Rita gets pissed that he's near the patch, so she sends some Putties down to fight him. And in the middle of the fight, we head back to the game show.

Kim asks the host if he can reveal the identity of the Power Rangers. Wait a minute, how is THAT a trick question?! That's just a question he doesn't know the answer to! I call foul! But, it works, and she gets a point. But then we move to the next phase of the game, the "Wicked Wheel Of Misfortune". Hey, wait a minute! Wasn't there a monster called the "Wheel Of Misfortune"? And didn't it suck copious amounts of ass?! Has Saban forgot the names of some of their own monsters?! Or are they trying to be clever and referencing one of their earlier creations?

...nah.

After a clip of Tommy fighting in slow-motion, for some reason, we see Kimberly getting strapped onto the "Wheel of Misfortune" and getting spun around. And then Tommy wins the fight with the Putties and Kim gets three more points. Wait, she just had to spin on the wheel for a while to get points? This game show makes no sense!

Tommy contacts Zordon about the strange pumpkins, but Zordon tells him to go on to his karate match, and he'll contact him if the Rangers need him. Back at the show, Skull successfully tricks the host by asking him if he knew Bulk's name. Again, HOW IS THAT A TRICK QUESTION?! Although I do like the host's response.

Host: What friend?

Hehe, it's funny because Skull's not popular.

Skull then has to play the "Wicked Web of Disaster". Basically he has to grab three flies from the web in 10 seconds before the spider gets him or something, I doubt they'll follow these rules as well. He starts to grab the flies, but the spider pops down and sprays him with white stuff (shut up), so I guess he loses.

Alpha is watching the show at the Command Center, and learns that Kim needs to trick the host just one more time to win. Before we see that happen, however, the Pumpkin Rapper (WHYYYYYYYYYY) is officially born, so Zordon contacts the Rangers. The others signal to Kimberly that they need to go, so Kim shows off her acting skills by pretending to faint. The Rangers take her off stage while Bulk and Skull celebrate Skull's win by default.

The Rangers teleport to the Command Center and Zordon fills them in on the evil pumpkins. The smaller ones can attach to people's heads and actually suffocate them.

Zordon: The Pumpkin Rapper will try to distract you with his clever raps and rhymes.

*furious twitch*

The Rangers morph and go to find the Pumpkin Rapper (WHYYYYYYYYY). Once in the patch, all the Rangers except Kim get pumpkins stuck on their heads. I have to admit, it's kind of funny how the suit actors try to get the pumpkins off. Kim uses her Blade Blaster to smash the pumpkins, but the other pumpkins rise up and become...Putties with pumpkins on their heads. Uh, I thought that prevented someone from breathing? Oh, whatever. The Rangers beat down the Pumpkin Putties, which turn back into pumpkins once they're defeated, but begin to have problems with the numbers. They spot a larger pumpkin that will probably become the Pumpkin Rapper, so they go over and wake it up...with a bad rap.

I'm going to hate the next bit so much, I just know it.

The Pumpkin Rapper appears and he's just like you'd expect, some scarecrow thing with a pumpkin head. Bad rapping aside, the fight starts. After beating up more Pumpkin Putties, the Pumpkin Rapper wraps up the Rangers in vines. Which allows him to shock them. Of course. Zordon decides now's a good time to contact Tommy, which he does so right before he goes out for his demonstration. Awwwwwww. Tommy morphs and joins the fight, freeing the Rangers from the vines. He then distracts the Pumpkin Rapper while the others combine their weapons into the Power Blaster and finish it off. Rita hates everything.

Back at the Juice Bar, Kim and Tommy are comforting each other over how they both had to lose something to fight the Pumpkin Rapper (AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH). Bulk and Skull arrive in the new car, but someone from the game show's standards and practices commandeers the car when it's discovered that the two cheated. Somehow. Bulk gets his costume caught in the door, it spins him around as the car drives away, Kim and Tommy laugh, episode ends.

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This one was a pain. I'm all for a Halloween-themed game show, but when the host can't even keep track of his own rules, something is seriously wrong. And also, the Pumpkin Rapper (GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH) has become my least favourite monster ever. Why did they need to make a rapping pumpkin monster?! What thought process was behind this? "Dur, well that there rap music has got pretty popular, we should incorporate it badly into out kids show!" One of the things I hated about the 90s...skip this one.

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The Pumpkin Rapper. Just...WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!

Power Rangers Season 1 Episode 54 - Enter The Lizzinator

2011-01-12T17:22:00.000-04:00

Last time, we had an episode that, while just as much filler as the ones previous to it, it at least had enough comedy to make it mildly entertaining. The relationship between Zack and Angela was developed a little more, but we'll have to see if it goes anywhere. I doubt this could do better, but we'll see.

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So we start off at the Juice Bar with a group of cheerleaders practicing their routine. Kim and Tommy are watching, and Tommy mentions that Kim's cousin Kelly is in there. I'm assuming it's the girl moving out of sync with the rest of the group, since that would provide the subplot for this episode. Can I call 'em or can I call 'em? She moves away from the group, obviously frustrated with her inability to keep in tune and...ugh, just wonderful. Her child actress would have to be a bad one, wouldn't she? Kim goes over the routine with her, but Kelly still has doubts. This is going to be one of those "fast-forward" episodes, I can just tell.

On the moon, Rita gets pissed at the fact that no one's cheering about her, so she decides to use the titular Lizzinator to attack Earth while the Rangers are distracted with a kidnapped Kelly. Yeah, sure, why not?

Back at the Juice Bar, Ernie needs someone to go downtown to pick up supplies, because the delivery truck broke down, so Jason volunteers. He leaves while the others join up with Kim and Tommy. Kim goes over the routine with Kelly again, and again she has problems. She gets as upset as a bad child actor can get and runs off. We cut to a playground where Kelly is hanging around on the swings. Kim and Tommy arrive and Kim explains that she had to practice just like everyone else when she was a cheerleader, and that Kelly will get there through hard work, etc etc.

After Kim gives more advice to Kelly, Putties arrive and she and Tommy fight them off. They're quickly taken care of, but Kim stops just in time to see Squat and Baboo appear and kidnap Kelly, taking her to some cave in the middle of nowhere. Kim and Tommy run to the Juice Bar to inform the others and they all head off.

Meanwhile, Jason is getting the supplies Ernie asked for, which is the perfect time for the titular Lizzinator to appear. Jason morphs and takes him on and...oh dear God. They gave him a Schwarzenegger-like voice. Lizzinator = Terminator, I guess. He does prove his badassness, however, by THROWING A CAR AT JASON. Just...damn. He tosses Jason around for a bit, showing off his impressive strength, before getting bored and, with the obligatory "I'll be back", disappears.

We move to the Command Center, where Jason fills the others in on the Lizzinator, and the others fill him in on Kelly. Zordon explains that even with Tommy helping them out, the Lizzinator is too strong for them to take on, due to it being coated with indestructible metal from another galaxy. They discover that the Lizzinator is attacking buildings and abandoned cars again, so all six morph and go to take it on.

I guess they lose Tommy somewhere on the way, because it's down to the normal five as they take on Lizzinator and some Putties. For some reason, Lizzinator really has a thing for wrecking cars, as he's more focused on smashing one that's nearby than fighting the Rangers. Maybe it has to do with the Terminator crashing cars into buildings. Maybe. Jason goes to take the car from him, only to find a Putty inside of it. So, wait, the Lizzinator was going to destroy the car with the Putty inside? I don't see how that makes sense...what's even weirder is this next bit:

Jason: Putties can drive?!

*Putty starts driving the car towards Jason*

Jason: Yep, they can drive!

Um...what?

It then proceeds to drive around with Jason latched on top. Seriously, what is going on here?! Jason finally falls off and the car disappears into nothingness, while Lizzinator starts kicking boulders at Jason. OK, that's kind of cool. Then Lizzinator tosses a ridiculously huge one at him. Oh, wait, there's Tommy, just in time to kick the boulder back at Lizzinator. The two start fighting, which is perfect time to cut away and see what Kelly's doing!

We get some really bad acting from Kelly as she has an inner monologue on what to do to get herself out of this mess. She decides to teach Squat and Baboo some cheers. And then back to the fight. I'll try to hold in my rage for the end of the review. Tommy beats Lizzinator down, because his awesomeness can penetrate even an indestructible metal from another galaxy. Rita makes him grow, so Tommy summons the DragonZord. They fight for a bit with Lizzinator showing just how strong it really is, lifting DragonZord by the tail and swinging it around. This prompts the others to summon the DinoZords and form the MegaZord.

But wait! We can't fight yet! We have to see what Kelly's doing! She's leading Squat and Baboo in a cheer about Rita! Do you care? No? Fine, back to the fight. Lizzinator actually smacks around both the DragonZord and the MegaZord. He's so powerful that he can just blow on them and they get hurt. Until they summon Titanus and form the UltraZord, firing everything and finishing him off. Zordon tells the Rangers where Kelly is, and Kelly manages to annoy Squat and Baboo so much that they teleport back to the moon. Apparently, that was her plan all along. Yeah, I call bullshit on that one, kid.

After the Rangers rescue her, we cut back to the Juice Bar. Kelly spouts off some crap about how she needed to believe in herself and blah blah blah. Bulk and Skull then show up. OK, where the hell were you guys?! You could've saved this episode with some comedy! What were you doing that was so important? And for the love of God Bulk, WHY ARE YOU DOING YOUR OWN CHEER?! Stop degrading yourself like this, man! I know you constantly fall into things or have things spilled on you, but that is much more dignified than doing your own cheer to try and show up a 13-year old girl! He splits his pants and disappears, thank God. Kelly starts her tryout and...starts dancing? Whaaaaaaaaaaa? I don't know anything about how cheerleading works, but doesn't it involve, you know, a routine?! Not just random dancing to some bad early 90s rap?! Somehow, this causes her to get in and the episode mercifully ends.

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It's amazing how an episode can have both good and bad moments. The Lizzinator is actually a pretty decent monster, even with the bad Schwarzenegger accent. It was actually impressive how strong he was made out to be. On the other hand, Kelly was just annoying. Yes, again, her child actor was bad, but why in God's name did they keep cutting to her in the cave leading Squat and Baboo in cheers in the middle of fights?! What purpose did this serve?! That she was gaining confidence? Bullshit. She could've shown confidence in any other way besides this. I don't care if they just tacked it on at the end, it would've been much better than this. Skip this one altogether.

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Who knew Schwarzenegger was a furry? Although I'm sure there are better names to use than Lizzinator. Kind of gives yourself away.