Power Rangers Back, Bigger and Better Than Even
by Darryl Warren
They were just five teenagers with attitude. But they would later change the way we look at teamwork and super heroes. After 20 years, the Power Rangers have proven to be an unstoppable force.
It’s so hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since the first episode of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Almost everyone who grew up in the early 90s has a personal connection with the original team. But what most fans don’t know is how it began. Power Rangers are an American adaptation of the popular Japanese television series known as Super Sentai.
After many failed attempts to bring the show to an American audience, Haim Saban managed to make a deal with Toei Productions to bring the show overseas. On August 28th, 1993, the first episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers premiered on Fox Kids. Orginally the series was only intended to be 40 episodes long, but it ended up sparking a global phenomenon. Everything from lunch boxes, video games, granola bars, spaghetti Os, action figures, Barbie dolls, clothing line brands etc.
Day of the Dumpster opens with astronauts on the moon who discover a mysterious dumpster. When they come in contact with it, an evil witch by the name of Rita Repulsa is released after 10,000 years of imprisonment and has plans on taking over planet Earth.
That’s when we’re introduced to the five main characters. Zack (black ranger), a dancer and martial artist with his own style known as “Hip hop Kido”, Kimberly (pink ranger), a typical valley girl and gymnast, Billy (blue ranger), an awkward, but intelligent scientist and engineer, Trini (yellow ranger), a calm but fearless environmentalist, and Jason (red ranger), a high skilled and respected martial artist. After an earthquake strikes their hometown of Angel Grove, the five teens are teleported a command center where they meet their mentor, Zordon, a holographic floating head, and his robotic assistant Alpha 5.
He explains to them that they’ve been chosen to protect the world and are given powers of the ancient dinosaurs through devices called morphers (Mastodon, Pterodactyl, Triceratops, Saber-tooth tiger, and Tyrannosaurus) to become the first team of Power Rangers. At first, they were very reluctant of their responsibility, or at least until they came face to face with Rita’s foot soldiers, the puddies. So far, the teens are getting their butts handed to them until Jason suggests that they use the morphers that Zordon gave them. After a successful transformation, these ordinary teenagers accept their roles as powers rangers.
Two of the main characteristics that made the show so popular amongst young children were its heavy usage of martial arts and emphasis on teamwork. Many fans can attest that they learned a lot of life lessons simply from watching the series. The show would later introduce a new character Tommy, the green ranger. In a five part story arc entitled “Green with Evil”, Rita Repulsa casts an evil spell on Tommy, making him turn against the rangers. Towards the end of the story arc, the spell is broken and he becomes a member of the team. Although his addition to the team made the Power Rangers fan base skyrocket, the drama behind the scenes would result in a character write-out.
In the story arc entitled “The Power Transfer” Zack, Trini, and Jason are asked to attend a peace conference, forcing them to give up their powers. They are later replaced by three teenagers known as Adam, Aisha, and Rocky. The character write-out occurred when Austin St. John (Jason), Walter Jones (Zack), and Thuy Trang (Trini) were all fired due to asking for a raise in pay. This caused a huge backlash, but luckily, there were big things in the making.
In the summer of 1995, the show would finally hit the big screen in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: the movie. When a villain known as Ivan Ooze threatens Angel Grove with purple hypocrite ooze, the six rangers must master the way of the ninja in order to bring Ivan’s reign to an end. What also made this movie so legendary in pop culture was the factor of death brought into the storyline. When Ivan Ooze finds the command center, he tears it apart and nearly kills Zordon in the process.
Many fans (especially the older ones) can really connect with the show’s simplicity. Back then, the series didn’t have a solid plot; it followed a very generic formula: Teens go to school, Rita sends a monster to attack Angel Grove, teens morph into power rangers, monster grows, and Rangers use the megazord to defeat the monster. A Youtuber known as Dosmrider said that “I wouldn’t be making reviews nor have the friends that I do without it. I don’t think any other franchise has impacted my life as much”. With all the success in over 20 different seasons, the franchise has had its ups and downs. In late 2002 during the season of “Wild Force”, the franchise was bought by Disney and production for a new season known as “Ninja Storm” went underway in New Zealand.
Currently, the 21st season of Power Rangers “Super Megaforce” airs on Nickelodeon. The season finale will feature the return of iconic rangers such as Tommy from the original series, TJ and Cassie (In space), Leo, Damon, and Karone (Lost Galaxy), Carter and Dana (Lightspeed Rescue), Wes (Time Force), and Mike and Emily (Samurai), and every single ranger from the past 20 years. The episode will air on November 22, 2014.
Over the last year and a half, this team up has been highly anticipated by fans young and old. It’s surreal seeing how far the franchise has come; never in a million years would I have thought we’d see a 20th season. But it doesn’t stop there; In February 2015, a new season of Power Rangers will go prehistoric in the new show called Power Rangers Dino Charge. During a convention in Pasadena, California, Austin St. John hinted that he might return in this season. When actor Kevin Duhaney (Ethan James) from Power Rangers Dino Thunder was asked if he’d be interested in returning for a guest appearance in the new season he responded with “Of course”. So far the future looks for Power Rangers bright and I’m definitely looking forward to another 20 years. May the power protect you.
wikipedia.com
