Written Features – Page 2

Power Rangers Reflections #23 – Grid Connection (Bite-Sized Edition)

Yes, I’m going to talk about that episode of Beast Morphers that features a crossover between the Dino Charge, Dino Thunder, and original Mighty Morphin brand of Power Rangers that hasn’t aired yet.

How is this possible?

Well, someone uploaded the big crossover episode of Beast Morphers onto Facebook and I was able to watch it because it aired in the UK while we have to wait until Nick feels like airing them and I’d have to wait another year before they show up on Netflix. By the way, because this hasn’t aired around these parts as of yet, there’s a good chance people haven’t seen the episode and it goes without saying that there be some spoilers, even if I’m not really going to touch on the plot of the episode all that much for reasons that will evident after the break.

SPOILERS AFTER THE BREAK…

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Shad Gaspard

For those who haven’t heard, former WWE Superstar Shad Gaspard (he of Cryme Time fame with JTG) and his ten-year-old son were caught in a rip current while swimming this past Sunday. He directed lifeguards to save his son first, but was unfortunately caught in a wave. His body was found a couple days later.

I remember Cryme Tyme being a pretty entertaining duo and both guys did good stuff. Those who knew Shad have said that he was a good man… and knowing that he sacrificed his life so that his son could be saved more than solidifies that claim.

Thoughts and prayers to the family.

Howard Finkel

I thought long and hard about how to properly convey the words in regards to what kind of impact the late great Howard Finkel left on my life… and I end up drawing a blank. It’s almost embarrassing that it took me two weeks since his passing to come up with a worthy tribute… but ultimately, nothing I can do could be considered as such.

Because there are no words that could do the man justice.

Howard Finkel is the first thing that comes to mind when I think pro wrestling ring announcers. For over two decades, he was the voice of Wrestlemania. Appropriate when you consider that he was the one who coined the name. His distinct vocal inflections and way of making things seem grandeur and important brought a level of class and distinct to a sport that was often lacking in such things… and did a far better job of it than anyone that came before or since.

Howard Finkel was also the smartest man in WWE, with an encyclopedic knowledge of the business that became the inspiration for a short-lived contest called Out-think The Fink, where fans would try to stump the Fink. And when he needed to be, he played a perfect lackey or foil to the delight of the audience.

It is safe to say that there will never be another Howard Finkel. He was truly one of a kind and he shall be forever missed.

Thanks for the memories, Howard.

Power Rangers Reflections #22 – The Mutiny (3-Part Episode)

Wasn’t planning on this… but figured it’d be both a worthy tribute of sorts and a way to kick off the series.

So this past weekend, voice actor Robert Axelrod passed away. And in a tribute of sorts, I want to muse on the three-part episode that introduced his most famous portrayal: Lord Zedd.

Axelrod wasn’t a stranger to Power Rangers: he had voiced the character of Finster during the show’s first season. But most people know him best as the voice of Zedd, the villain introduced in the second season premiere as a replacement for Rita Repulsa in order to change things up.

Even though this is a three-parter, we’ll be blowing through these episodes pretty quickly with some bullet points and other bits of observation. This aired in prime time, you know. And it was a pretty big deal at the time to have Prime Time Power Rangers… I have no idea what that meant, but it was indeed a big deal and you knew shit was going down.

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Robert Axelrod

Robert Axelrod passed away this past weekend.

Best known for his vocal talents as the villainous Lord Zedd in several seasons worth of Power Rangers, Mr. Axelrod has voiced numerous characters over the course of his career, from Digimon to Robotech and other anime dubs of note. He had also been a guitarist in the 1970s.

Words cannot properly the profound sense of loss that is being felt and I can only offer my thoughts and condolences to his family and friends on this trying time.

Godspeed, Mr. Axelrod. And thanks for the memories.

Power Rangers Reflections #21 – A Friend In Need

It’s A Friend In Need… indeed! It’s the Season 3 premiere of Mighty Morphin! It’s a 3-parter! It’s the first time we’re introduced to The Masked Rider before his eventual short-lived television show! It’s the first crossover between Power Rangers and Masked Rider, long before Super Sentai and Kamen Rider would do such a thing decades later! It’s… not worthy of a full write-up.

So we’re doing the points system here… but a bit differently, because this multi-part episode has three different plotlines going on and the points system is the way to go since we can focus on each of these plotpoints separately.

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Power Rangers Reflections #20 – A Mystery To Me

And so here we are; a new set of Power Rangers Reflections and with it, a new approach.

So this is the new format; a basic plot summary and a couple points of observation. I’m fairly sure that somewhere down the line, we’ll do the old-school format for certain episodes, but for the moment, this is what we’re doing going forward. That way, I’ll be able to manage entries more quickly and perhaps even more frequently.

So today’s subject matter is the Power Rangers Zeo episode known as “A Mystery To Me,” where everyone participates in a “Who Done It” costume party. This also happens to be the two-hundredth overall episode of Power Rangers ever… and this is how they’re celebrating that monumental occasion… with a costume party.

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Power Rangers Reflections Redux #19 – Time For Lightspeed

The annual tradition of the current season’s Ranger team teaming up with the previous season’s Ranger team was something of a regular staple in Super Sentai shows starring with xxx/xxx. Once Power Rangers opted for an approach more akin to Super Sentai – individual seasons would breed new teams and powers based on an appropriate Sentai – it was only a matter of time

Time For Lightspeed, the Time Force/Lightspeed Rescue crossover, isn’t quite the memorable episode as what came before, nor is it as good as it could’ve been. The big issue with this crossover is that it only lasts a single episode, which already cripples whatever storytelling you have and forces you to cram in as much as possible. Even the tenth anniversary episode Forever Red, as good and gratifying as it was, was hampered by a single episode run.

But let’s not dwaddle…

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Luke Perry & King Kong Bundy

News broke that Luke Perry, he of Beverly Hills 90210 fame, passed away yesterday after suffering a massive stroke some time prior. While I was never a follower or viewer of 90210, Luke Perry is one of those names you heard a lot about back in the day because he was one of those heartthrob types that all the ladies went crazy for. He always seemed like a chill dude and to hear of his passing, it feels like another step towards old age and senility.

And then news broke that King Kong Bundy passed away… the big mountain of a man who was a very imposing and very intimidating man that used his massive girth as a weapon, notably involved in the first two Wrestlemanias with the “9-second win” over SD Jones and the Cage match with Hulk Hogan, but had a sizable – no pun intended – career in Midsouth and World Class. Another sign that the end is near for most of us old people.

My thoughts and prayers to their families.

Godspeed.

Bob “Super Dave” Einstein

So around the same time that news of Mean Gene’s passing broke, there was also news that Bob Einstein, old Super Dave Osbourne himself, has also passed away due to his battle with cancer and that’s a childhood passed away. Back when I was a kid and even a teen growing up, I’d be watching the family-friendly iterations of the Super Dave show where they bleep out all the swearing with funny duck quacks and things of that nature, which actually made it funny, but watching this alleged stuntman with this seemingly endless Super Dave Compound showing off all these gimmicks going wrong and performing all these stunts that turned out badly… man, you couldn’t help but feel for the poor guy, but first let me laugh at the compressor turning him into a little head with two feet.

I recently found a Youtube channel that had most of the old Super Dave clips uploaded, all uncensored with all the colorful metaphors intact and just the fact that I remember most of these like they happened yesterday just shows how much of an impact and an affect that Super Dave had on my cumulative years. And those clips still hold up. When I got news of his passing, I loaded that page and binged on all those clips. And it was all due to SD, his deadpan, straight-faced reaction to all the stupid going on around him.

Bob Einstein did other stuff; he did Officer Judy in the old Smothers Brothers show, he was a recurring character on Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, and a few other things… but to me, he’ll always be Super Dave. And his being gone makes the world a less appealing place.

Godspeed, Super Dave Osbourne. May your stay in the ol’ Super Dave Compound in the sky be free of accident… or anything made from genuine Saskatchewan Seal Skin Bindings.