Category: Power Rangers

Didn’t get a chance to watch much of SPD so far. Sadly, a lot of it has to do with the ABC station pre-empting the show with alternate programming means and I don’t have the Family channel that normally houses these things otherwise. However, I did gauge a few reactions to the show and some of the… interesting edits made by the new creative head of sorts, Bruce Kalish.

More comic book style transitions is what I’m hearing… not sure if that’s the case because I’ve not seen any of this stuff myself, but that looks to bring this further into camp territory than it’s already been. I would have thought the near-future timeline of this series would have put a damper on that piece of business, but then I’ll read a recap and somewhere along the way, there’s mention of someone named Bridge being obsessed with butter.

I don’t know, guys. Am I really missing anything here?

So another run of Power Rangers comes to a close last weekend. The finale was alright; nothing special, but alright. If nothing else, it brought closure to all the plot threads, gave us a nice raid on Mesogog’s base as well as a couple final battles that pushed the pyro to the limits, and of course, that goddamn semi truck from Ninja Storm makes its return because of course it does.

All in all, DinoThunder was an impressive run that had some really cool filler episodes in addition to some stinkers. The episodes that were supposed to deliver did what they did and more… and the episodes that existed solely for the purposes of fan service certainly covered that ground adequately enough, whether some people agree or not.

Kudos to the cast and crew of DinoThunder for an impressive run and for reinvigorating my interest in the series.

Looking forward to the next incarnation in February, which apparently is getting a new crew and takes place in the near future. Should be interesting.

Later.

• There are now three main rangers as opposed to the original five, and two “reserved” rangers as opposed to the original one.
  (The original sentai Dino Thunder was based on, “Abaranger”, started off with a three-person Ranger team before adding two more. The Super Sentai series usually determines what the Power Rangers show in the subsequent season has to work with; it’s always been the case. This has nothing to do with Village Roadshow – they have to make due with what they have. While Lightspeed Rescue did produce its own unique Sixth Ranger, he was only featured in a relatively small portion of the series and was really nothing more than a peripheral player and plot point.)
• The new megazord is a joke. It looks so ridiculous with a tail for an arm.
  (This is an opinion, not a fact. Some people might actually like the Zord Designs in the various series. I personally don’t care for CGI-based zords, but then again, that’s my opinion. It’s not right nor wrong. It’s all subjective.)
• The stunt doubles are no longer real martial artists. Then again, I could be wrong. I would not want to meet one of them in an alley to find out.
  (I’m pretty sure that Alpha Stunts do know some semblance of martial arts in addition to the usual stuntwork, considering this is a franchise with a large focus on martial arts. I’m surprised that you didn’t complain about all the stunt doubles being male… or perhaps you didn’t know. In which case, I apologize for shattering your fantasy.)
• The pink color has been eliminated from the ranger lineup.
  (So what? There wasn’t a Pink Ranger on the team since Dino Thunder. Power Rangers SPD did bring back the Pink Ranger since that’s what Dekaranger had… why is this a problem again?)
• The cast seems to have gotten a lot smaller, compared to the old days.
  (So there are fewer characters in the cast. I think this is an excellent idea, but the less numbers allow expanded characterizations of those who are available. And don’t give me that “it’s a kids show mentality”, because I know better.)
• The rangers are now under the guidance of a human mentor, rather than an interdimensional being or a sophisticated, yet outgoing robot.
  (There were seasons when the Rangers had absolutely NO mentor. Clearly, this guy is upset because the show isn’t MMPR anymore despite having Tommy and dinosaurs.)

• Put together a saga of episodes (three episodes at the minimum) whence the Dino Thunder Rangers faces the return of Lord Zedd, Master Vile and Rita Repulsa.
  (First off, Rita and Zedd have been turned good and Master Vile can be presumed to be dead after Countdown to Destruction. Since Dino Thunder, Rita has become Mystic Force’s Mystic Mother (and you can tell it’s Rita because it’s the same actress and she mentions something about a headache, despite not sounding at all like the Rita of old) and Zedd apparently returned to evil and is lost in time according to the Super Legends video game… where he had to fight a bunch of Rangers… or something.)
• The saga should feature the return of Zordon.
  (Why are you so obsessed with bringing back Zordon? He’s dead… has been for a long time. Get over it.)
• The Dino Thunder Rangers, in all their inexperience, will lose to Lord Zedd and his minions in battle, thus Doctor Tommy Oliver is left with no choice but to seek the help of Zordon.
  (Why would the DT Rangers have trouble beating Zedd’s forces? Zedd’s army largely comprise Putty Patrollers with a huge bullseye on their chest as well as a variety of test tube monsters. Inexperience should not factor into the Rangers’ defeat; possibly outnumbered or outmatched, but not lack of experience. And why would Tommy go whining to Zordon – if he were alive – for help, especially against an enemy he has defeated countless times and knows better than anybody? When Tommy needed help with a grave threat, he assembled all the Red Rangers he could muster and they fought together to take down a Serpenterra one-third the original size.)
• Together, Tommy and Zordon resurrect the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, or at least close to the originals, considering Thuy Trang’s unfortunate death in 2001. For those of you unaware, Thuy Trang played Trini, the original yellow ranger.
  (Yeah, right. Good luck with that.)
• The original MMPR then morph into action and assist the five rangers of present day, showing them “how it should be done”.
  (What? You mean they travelled to the future? How does that work?)
• In the same event, Tommy’s black dino gem is destroyed somehow, and is haunted by the return of the dragon dagger.
  (His powers have… oh wait, I’m jumping ahead here. But WHY?!)
• The rangers of present day witness Doctor Oliver morph into the legendary Green Ranger, who calls upon the power of the mighty Dragonzord once more, destroying the minions of Lord Zedd.
  (For all intents and purposes, the powers of the Green Ranger are extinguished forever and – short of bringing back the Tommy clone who last held the coin – will never make a comeback. Besides, if given the choice, Tommy would probably go White Ranger, whose powers far exceeded those of the Green Ranger… apparently. Regardless, this is a TERRIBLE idea.)

Someone on one of the Power Rangers fan boards was able to get their hands on the demo theme for next year’s Power Rangers SPD and I was somehow able to listen to it. (2026 Update: Don’t bother asking for a link. I had one, but it’s long since dead and I got rid of it.)

Three words: What The F**k?!

I’m not one to care for theme songs, but this is… I’m sorry, but this is crap. Yeah, it’s from the same guy that brought us the original “Go Go Power Rangers” theme song, but I was never a fan of that song, either. (2026 Update: Settle down, kids. I like it just fine nowadays.)

From a bearably-good theme-song for DinoThunder to… to this… I’ll admit I like the whole rhythm, but the lyrics (or lack thereof) are AWFUL. Understand that it’s a demo, maybe it gets better if it’s used in the final show, but I’m just like… meh.

I might sound a little harsh, but I just can’t help it. It has a good MMPR old-school flavor going for it, but these days, anything that’s a throwback to the old days, such as no-dimensional characters, cheesy rocky music and  technicolor Tommy, can’t be anything but a bad thing.

I’ll wait until the final product, but suffice to say, it’ll have to be a lot better than what I’ve heard thus far.

Originally posted in three parts on the original DTM Blog. Naturally, this archive version has been edited into one single post. I don’t recall the context, but I think it has something to do with some poll to air popular episodes on the old ABC Family channel or something.

Continue reading “Countdown To Destruction… Six Years Lter”

I woke up one morning and waited in anticipation of Ninja Storm, the newest incarnation of Power Rangers and the first one under the belt of Village Roadshow productions. The usual questions comes up, the usual spoiler info is leaked, but all in all, that wouldn’t stop me from having high hopes for this thing.

At eleven thirty, the show begins and I watch with an interested eye.

An hour later, I’m asking myself what the fuck that was.

After about ten episodes of Ninja Storm, I completely shut out on the show. I’ve glanced on a couple of eps late in the series and the quality seemed to have improved somewhat, but not enough for me to stick with it.

For the first time since following the Power Rangers franchise in the very beginning, I’ve turned away from the show, not watching a majority of the episodes and quite frankly not caring. Didn’t even stick around for the finale. That had the makings of being a shitty product in comparison to those before and after. Yes, this show sucked more than Turbo and I’ve seen enough Turbo to know it.

I don’t blame the actors; they played their roles well considering what they had to work with.

I don’t blame the Jap footage; it’s blends nicely with the U.S. footage, even moreso than Wild Force.

I blame it on crappy writing.

It’s a kid show; I know that. On the other hand, you watch some other kids shows and realize that there’s more sophistication than what Ninja Storm had to offer. When an episode of a cheap-ass cartoon such as Superfriends is more sophisticated and provides more entertainment than Ninja Storm, you know something is wrong.

Apparently, Doug saw something wrong and decided to fix it.

DinoThunder seems to be Doug Sloan’s way of apologizing for the crapfest that is Ninja Storm. From the initial episodes, the show looks very promising. The addition of Jason Frank (who reprises his role as Doctor Tommy… how did that happen?) is an interesting move and the current cast of Rangers seem watchable and bearable.

Apology accepted, Doug. Don’t fuck THIS show up.

I’ve been largely silent on this matter for quite a while, but for whatever it’s worth, I’d figure that I would give my thoughts on the current Ninja Storm run of Power Rangers; the first whole season to be released under the Disney era – though some would make a case for Wild Force actually being the first, but I’d consider that a transitional season of sorts; a passing of the guard, if you will.

So I saw about a dozen or so episodes of Ninja Storm… I think up until the Thunder Ranger guys joined the team. It feels like a regression of what came before. The last few seasons before this really kicked their storytelling into high gear; Time Force is often considered one of the best Power Rangers seasons due to its tight storytelling, well-rounded characters, and even its tease of mature content about as far as it could push on what is still considered to be kids stuff. And even Wild Force had its moments.

Ninja Storm dumps all of that and goes back to the simple, campy storytelling style of the early Power Rangers seasons. Granted, you have teenagers talking and acting like teenagers. That’s to be expected. You have a delightfully hammy villain in Lothor. A strange mentor figure – a talking gerbil – fills your Zordon quota… I don’t want to call it bad or anything… but it feels like when Doug Sloan came back to Power Rangers – he had been involved in the early MMPR stuff, which kinda explains a lot – he basically jettisoned the last several years of narrative progress and went back to basics. You know, the stuff that made Power Rangers a household name in the first place.

Bare in mind this is coming from someone who is a year away from hitting his twenties. I am probably the farthest thing from the target audience that this series that I’ve followed since (almost) the very beginning is largely aimed towards. I’m sure that whatever Doug Sloan does here and in subsequent series going forward, he’s doing what he feels is best to try and maintain that young audience. For the older fans, however, who have seen the series evolve past those early days of camp and simplicity, Ninja Storm may very well feel like ten steps back and while some can easily accept the new paradigm and even grow to love it, it might be a hard sell for others.

Right now, Ninja Storm does feel a bit juvenile, but maybe it’s less a series issue and more a matter of I’m getting older and maybe this stuff isn’t for me anymore. That’s when it hits you.

This was something I wanted to get on written word. Who knows? I may feel differently down the road, but for now, those are my thoughts on Ninja Storm. Wish everyone there nothing but the best and hope I can give this show another chance when it’s over.