Batman: The Animated Series Season 1- Part 2

Let's head to episodes 8-14 to see what adventures are in store for the Dark Knight...


Episode 8- Forgotten: This episode is one of the weaker ones I've seen thus far, only because Bruce Wayne loses his memory and spends most of the episode unaware of who he is. The real selling point for the episode is Alfred. That man uses so many tactics on how to track down Bruce's whereabouts. There's even a point where he flies the freaking Bat Wing. The man's a freaking boss. Bruce needs to give that guy a raise.

Episode 9- Be a Clown: We have another Joker episode, this one focusing on the Mayor's son running away and the Joker taking him under his wing. The setting for the climax is in a carnival, which offers a lot of great visual possibilities. Joker really makes the episode worth watching. His laughter and lines are just so infectious to enjoy. He's great. I also love the bit of him saying that he was thinking of taking up a protege. A foreshadowing of things to come, perhaps?

Episode 10- Two-Face Part 1: This is a landmark episode for the series, as it marked the first time one of Batman's adventures couldn't be solved in a 20 minute runtime. It focused on the transformation of Harvey Dent into Two-Face. The origins of Two-Face exist in a split personality of Harvey's called Big Bad Harv. He's been showing up more in Harvey's life, exposing the rage that Harvey is hiding inside. Then he undergoes a physical transformation that fully unleashes Big Bad Harv as Two-Face. As an episode goes, this is about as perfect a 20 minute character study as you could get. We'd seen Harvey in earlier episodes, so seeing how his character was expanded and completely warped by the end of part 1 was really well handled.

Episode 11- Two-Face Part 2: 6 months later, Two-Face has become a formidable criminal in Gotham and mobster Rupert Thorne wants him taken out. They play to Harvey's sensitive side and fool his fiancee into leading them right to Two-Face. So Batman shows up to try and make sure Harvey does the right thing. This second part isn't near as good as the first, but there is one pretty strong highlight. Bruce has a nightmare about being unable to save Harvey from the accident that disfigured him. He's so guilt ridden that his dream morphs the guilt over Harvey's accident to the guilt of his parents' death. DUDE! That's some deep stuff for a children's animated show to handle. I don't even know if a show for adults could get that dark and visual.

Episode 12- It's Never Too Late: The episode takes place in the middle of a mobster war. When Batman saves one of the leaders, we are taken into his universe by seeing his crumbling family life. What makes me astounded by the episode is that I don't mind how much Batman takes a backseat to this story. He's barely in the episode. In 20 minutes, we see a point A to point B transformation of a drug dealer that completely humanizes him. I'm still amazed how much thought and creativity can go into this show. The showrunners took the subject matter very seriously and treated the audience accordingly. No need to dumb stuff down because it's "meant for kids." I love that.

Episode 13- I've Got Batman in my Basement: And then they go and do an episode like this. The first major disappointment of the show, the episode focuses on a really kid friendly scenario of a child rescuing Batman from a fight and hiding him away in his basement. Heck, the kid drives the Batmobile at one point. This is just an embarrassing episode for this show to have. It plays to the lowest common denominator of making an episode that only young children will find exciting. Even more embarrassing is that this episode was the first to feature the Penguin, making this the only episode thus far to feature a disappointing debut for a main villain.

Episode 14- Heart of Ice: Wow. Talk about 20 minutes of sheer perfection. This episode earned the show its first ever Emmy and the award is well-deserved. Beautifully tragic in its storytelling, well-written dialogue, fantastic animation and action, and an episode that revitalized a Batman villain that has since become one of his most iconic foes. If you couldn't tell by the title, this is the episode that introduced Mr. Freeze into the DC animated universe. His introduction is very memorable, a calculating, bitter villain bent on revenge. Initially, he doesn't want to fight Batman, until Batman stands in his way of revenge. By the end of the episode, Batman learns the backstory of Freeze and still wants to stop Freeze, but also bring justice for the wrongs that were brought upon him. That's great. A deep, rich story with complex characters and motivations. What a flawless episode. One of my favorites to watch.

Series Spotlight: Two-Face, voiced by Richard Moll

It might seem strange to start the character analysis with a big name villain like Two-Face, but when you look at the landscape of the rest of the show, he barely shows up in it. When he does show up, not much else is left to expand on his character. I mean, that debut was a phenomenal 2-part episode and it would be hard to live up to that quality and expand upon it. So, as a result, Two-Face would occasionally show up in his own episodes, but was mainly regulated to showing up in episodes that featured a lot of villains at once. Yeah, the gimmick would probably get stale if you pulled Two-Face out as much as you would a Joker or Penguin, but at least he made the most of his villainous material with a spectacular debut.

Series Spotlight: Mr. Freeze, voiced by Michael Ansara

Another villain that didn't have a whole bunch of appearances, Mr. Freeze definitely knew how to make an impact. Heart of Ice is one of the show's best episodes and properly told an origin that has become the folklore for the character. This was a character that started off very cheesy and corny when you look at the early incarnations, but Batman: The Animated Series knew how to give the character a serious, modern update. He's a very tragic villain. When you learn that he's just trying to get revenge on the people that essentially murdered his terminally-ill wife, you actually feel really bad for the guy. Do you condone his actions? Probably not. But you can at least understand WHY and HOW he is the way he is. That's a very good line to define villain that only has about 3 or 4 appearances in the entire show. Heck, they even used this version of Freeze for the inspiration for Batman & Robin. Of course, we all know how that turned out, but it's pretty cool (PUN INTENDED!) to know that this character had such a strong response that they felt he could be the main villain in a blockbuster motion picture.

Halfway through the first season at this point. Join me in Part 3 to continue my in-depth reflection on Batman: The Animated Series.


Batman: The Animated Series and images are copyrighted by Warner Bros. Animation

Batman: The Animated Series Season 1- Part 1

If you follow my movie blog, you're pretty familiar with the idea that I love superheroes. That exists in films, comics, and television. The television landscape for superhero shows has been in a revolution as of late with successful shows like Daredevil, Arrow, Jessica Jones, and The Flash. Yet, there was also a huge boom for superhero cartoons in the '90s. Shows like X-Men and Spider-Man existed and entertained a ton of viewers, but if there was an animated show that dominated television for years, it was Batman: The Animated Series. Lasting for four seasons and having one of the biggest followings a cartoon series targeted towards children has ever had, the show was the beginning of a renaissance that led to the creation of shows like Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, Batman Beyond, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, all existing in the same universe, held together by a number of team-ups and Easter eggs. Recently picking this phenomenal show on DVD, I'm going to go through the most memorable episodes, characters, and technical aspects of the series. Let's start with Disc 1, covering episodes 1-7.


Episode 1- On Leather Wings: This episode did in 20 minutes what most Batman movies are unable to do in 2 hours: utilize Batman's detective skills. Without giving too much away, Batman solves the mystery of Man-Bat. It's a pretty good episode to kick off the series. It's an impressive mystery that brings any casual viewer the status quo that surrounds the story of Batman, while also delivering a story that is contained in itself. It's not the biggest story in the history of the show, leaving the door open for the show to grow and expand to bigger heights. That's an important quality for a show's first episode. Pull your audience in with a good effort, and keep the quality of the show improving as time goes on.

Episode 2- Christmas with the Joker: This episode was a landmark in superhero television history, as it marks the show's first appearance of The Joker. He debuts in glorious fashion, escaping from Arkham Asylum on Christmas Eve. He plans to cause as much chaos as possible, all of which is Christmas related. Robin also makes his first appearance in the series, requesting that they stop looking for trouble on Christmas and go home to watch It's a Wonderful Life instead. Batman replies by saying he's never watched it because he couldn't get past the title. Stuff like that is proof of how well-written the show is. It's a good episode that will please any fan of holidays and superheroes. Not to mention, it introduced that Batman-themed Christmas song that you will never be able to get out of your head.

Episode 3- Nothing to Fear: This episode appears on the surface to be an important episode simply because it marks the debut of The Scarecrow. And while that is a good reason to watch this episode, it also has some great character moments for Bruce Wayne and Batman. We learn that his greatest fear is disappointing his parents. That's some pretty heavy stuff for a "kid's" show to cover. But then again, this isn't your ordinary kid's show. We also have a good moment from Alfred telling Bruce that his parents would be proud of him because he is proud of him. That's a really touching moment that doesn't take much time to execute, but leaves a strong, lasting impact on the episode. If I had one complaint about the episode, it's Scarecrow's look. This is a very early stage of the Scarecrow look and it hadn't been fine-tuned yet. When we see him in later episodes, his mask is much more scary and threatening. Here, it's a bit silly, but I think they were testing the waters to see what kind of character designs they could get away with on a children's program.

Episode 4- The Last Laugh: It's April Fool's Day and Joker has released a toxic laughing gas throughout the town. This episode might seem pretty ordinary when it comes to the Joker and Batman stuff, but what I really enjoyed was seeing the people of Gotham just lose their minds as a reaction to the laughing gas, including Alfred destroying all the furniture in Wayne Manor. Plus, having Alfred exposed to the gas fuels Batman's desire to find an antidote as quickly as possible. Not an awful episode, but we all know Joker's best material in the show came later on when a certain sidekick of his was introduced.

Episode 5- Pretty Poison: We have the debut of Poison Ivy, as she poisons Bruce Wayne's good friend Harvey Dent. We once again see Batman's detective skills take full effect in this episode, as he investigates the poison, the flower needed for an antidote, and suspects Pamela Isley (Ivy's alter ego) almost immediately. And THAT is why Batman is the greatest detective mind! Anyways, the final confrontation with Ivy offers a unique climax in terms of the animation choices. We have Batman fending himself off against some of Ivy's deadly plants, and even uses some great psychology to get the antidote from Ivy.

Episode 6- The Underdwellers: I was very optimistic heading into this one. When I read that it was Batman going up against the Sewer King, I thought this was going to be a very uninteresting episode. And then the plot began to unfold and I realized there was a lot going on in the episode's favor. First of all, we get to explore the underbelly of Gotham's sewers. Secondly, whomever is voicing the Sewer King is having the freaking time of his life, as he hams it up in all the right places. I also really enjoyed the bits involving Alfred and Frog, a child who Batman takes from the sewers to his mansion. And I really loved how Batman deals with the Sewer King. We all know Batman has a set of rules with how he deals with the criminals, but he even said he was thinking of making an exception after the Sewer King has corrupted the minds of dozens of children. Some powerful stuff here and I didn't even see it coming. That's the beauty of a show like Batman: The Animated Series.

Episode 7- P.O.V.: The title should be an indicator that this episode offers some interesting perspective. Detective Bullock, Officer Montoya, and Officer Wilkes are under questioning for a botched sting operation. They all tell their stories from different viewpoints, with Batman showing up being the only thing that ties their stories together. You can tell pretty early on that one of them is lying, but I dare not give that away. It's a smaller plot in terms of the villains, but it's a cool episode that dives deeper into the characters within the Gotham Police Department, particularly Montoya. She's protective of Wilkes, a rookie cop, stands up to Bullock's accusations, and has an appreciation for what Batman does for Gotham City. I also like how Commissioner Gordon stands up for his crew, even Bullock, who has been known to be a thorn in Gordon's side.

Series Spotlight: The Animation

I'm going to save my thoughts on some of the key characters for down the road as I dive deeper into the series. Let's go ahead and look at some of the great technical aspects that make the show incredible to watch. For starters, big kudos to the animation department. From the Batmobile, to the shots of Gotham City, to the designs of the iconic characters. Every shot in this show feels like a piece of art. Need some proof? Just watch the opening to the show. They don't even need to give you the title of the show. After that minute long opening, you know, based on the brilliant animation that you are watching a show about Batman.

Series Spotlight: The Music

Accompanying the fantastic animation is a wonderful score, mainly composed by Shirley Walker, Lolita Ritmanis, and Michael McCuistion. To add even more awesomeness to the score, is the fact that Danny Elfman composed the main theme song. The show already has so much going for it as a piece of living art, and then the music chimes in. The first thing you see in every episode is a title card, featuring a main theme song. The music is so grand and ranges on a variety of emotions. The music can be whimsical, dark, haunting, heartwarming, and much, much more. It can be a lot of things. I also love that a lot of the main characters get their own unique theme music. That's something you see in big budget movie scores from Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. You wouldn't expect it to be part of a children's cartoon about Batman. But it's very appreciated and one of the many reasons why this show can be considered one of the finest crafted cartoon shows to ever exist.

Things are off to a good start with Batman: The Animated Series. Join me in Part 2, as we dive deeper into the early folklore of one of the greatest animated programs television has ever seen...


Batman: The Animated Series and images are copyrighted by Warner Bros. Animation

Command Center Commentaries: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 2- Part 2

Change is the theme of Season 2, and episodes 10-18 change the entire landscape of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. As the season progressed, one of the story arcs that tied even the most mundane of filler episodes together was Lord Zedd's plan to get rid of the Green Ranger's powers. It actually got pretty dramatic in some moments. It had to be building towards something, and it would be answered very early on in this season. By now, if you're a fan, you've been waiting for me to get to a pair of 2-part episodes that swap out one 6th Ranger for another. This is something I've been waiting for too, as we're about to get to the debut for my all-time favorite Power Ranger: the White Ranger.


Episode 12- Green No More Part 1: This 2-part episode brought us the conclusion to the storyline of Tommy's battle with his powers. Lord Zedd sends down a monster that actually sucks out the remainder of the Green Ranger's power in order to power a crystal that will lead to the creation of Zedd's Dark Rangers. Let me just stop right there for a moment. The Dark Rangers were an interesting concept, essentially taking Rita's idea of creating the Evil Green Ranger and making an entire team out of it. Comprised of 5 new kids at Angel Grove High, eerily resembling our original 5 Rangers right down to the colors they wear, it COULD have been a cool moment for the series. Instead, they are given 5 of the most embarrassing costumes you could ever wear. They are completely non-threatening, some of them aren't even the right color, and they make the Putty costumes look dignified. Awful. Simply awful.

Episode 13- Green No More Part 2: On to the stuff that actually involves Tommy's last battle as the Green Ranger. Tommy loses his powers, but is still able to defeat the monster, fight Goldar, enter Zedd's dimension, and destroys the crystal. Conveniently, touching the crystal left Tommy energized for one more fight, and so he saves the day. This would have been a really great way to give Tommy another great sendoff for a while, but the stuff with the Dark Rangers makes this a mixed bag of an episode to watch.

Episode 14- Missing Green: I think we've arrived at the point in the show where Tommy not being around just felt wrong. There's a handful of episodes where we are back to the original 5 and it feels like something is missing. However, this is a really good filler because of what it did with the story. Jason is missing Tommy, but even worse, blames himself for Tommy losing his powers in the first place. This is continuity that exists all the way back to The Green Candle. That's pretty impressive stuff. Even worse, Zedd plans to do the same thing with The Green Candle with the other 4 Rangers. It's up to Jason to save the day. This episode goes out of its way to show just how awesome Jason really is as the team's leader. Although, am I mistaken or does something seem off with Jason's voice in the episode? Particularly when he's morphed. Ah well, I'm sure that's not going to happen often. We even get a Tommy cameo at the end of the episode and he's no longer wearing green. Instead, he's wearing all white. Odd...

Episode 17- White Light Part 1: You wanna talk about an episode where stuff gets kicked up a notch? Zedd sends down a very powerful monster that lays waste to the Rangers. Meanwhile, Rita's dumpster has landed on Earth and in the possession of Bulk and Skull. If they can get the dumpster open, they could very well learn the identities of the Power Rangers. And while all of that is going, Zordon and Alpha disappear to an unknown section in the Command Center and Billy discovers what they are doing: making a new Power Ranger. HOLY CRAP! There is so much going on. The resolution to this 2-parter had better deliver.

Episode 18- White Light Part 2: The Rangers are called in by Zordon and Alpha to meet the new addition to their team: The White Ranger. This is a great debut. He descends from above the Command Center and takes off his helmet as the show cuts to commercial. Returning from the commercial break, they reveal the identity of the White Ranger: IT'S TOMMY!!!! HECK YES!!!! He is given his new Zord, his new weapon, and is declared the new leader of the Power Rangers. The Rangers save the day, both by destroying the monster and stopping Rita before she can give their secret away. With so much going on in the 2-parter, you'd expect it to feel too jumbled to be coherent. But the show does a great way to tie everything together in an entertaining 40 minute episode that serves as a memorable return for one of the best Power Rangers ever.

Character Spotlight: Billy Cranston, Played by David Yost

Billy was one of the biggest characters to evolve over the course of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and we see some strong showings of that in the early episodes of Season 2. Thanks to more time spent in the Command Center, Billy grew in knowledge of the technology and utilized more of his own inventions to help stop the monster of the day. That's a key thing about the teenagers that proves Zordon made the right call choosing them as Power Rangers. The powers don't define them, their abilities as humans do. Billy uses resourcefulness in technology to help the Rangers in battle. Not to mention that his fighting abilities and physique also became more prominent as the episodes progress. He's come a long way from the guy who joined Jason's karate class to build his self-confidence.

Character Spotlight: Zack Taylor, played by Walter Emanuel Jones

Not much is done with Zack during the early portion of the season. The only thing that ties him to any kind of progression is the introduction of his cousin Curtis. But even then, Curtis spends more time being best friends with Richie than he does interacting with his own family. Thankfully, Angela did not come over to Season 2, so there's one good thing that came out of Zack's lack of progression. Still, wish more was done with him, as he was really doing some great stuff at the end of Season 1. Although, knowing what we know is due to come in the next couple of episodes, it's probably for the best that they didn't start any monumental story arcs with him.

With Tommy back on the team as the White Ranger, there are still a number of changes coming that will shakeup the Ranger team. I'll talk more on that as we head into Part 3...


Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and images are copyrighted by Saban Entertainment

Command Center Commentaries: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 2- Part 1

It might seem strange to the casual Power Rangers viewer that Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was given multiple seasons. I'm sure many are used to the idea that once a season is over, they usually change everything heading into a new season. One season is normally a series of a television program, all tied together by being seasons in the Power Rangers franchise. But at the time, Saban probably didn't want to take that risk yet. Power Rangers was the biggest thing in the world for kids at the time and they probably didn't want to alienate those viewers that brought them success by changing too much right away. But, those changes did need to happen in Season 2 to keep the show current and relevant. With limited Sentai footage carrying over, they had to borrow elements from the next Sentai series, while also maintaining the same aesthetic look that made them popular. It's ingenious how they were able to accomplish this over the next 2 seasons, but for now, let's focus on the changes that occurred in the first batch of episodes (episodes 1-9) from Season 2.


Episode 1- The Mutiny Part 1: Nothing kicks off a season better than an epic 3-part episode that completely changes everything we knew about Power Rangers. While the Rangers are preparing for a charity ATV race (yeah sure, why not?), Rita's palace is invaded by the true Emperor of Evil, Lord Zedd. Watching this as a kid, you had to be scared to death of Zedd's appearance. A red body, covered in muscles and veins. An exoskeleton made of chrome. A bright red visor that shoots a beam like a periscope. A snake that becomes his magic staff. And that booming voice. He is amazing. One of the best debuts a villain could ever have on a show like this. He berates Rita for not being able to defeat mere children and banishes her to outer space. HOLY CRAP! In a manner of one episode, a new villain arrives, completely belittles a villain we've spent 60 episodes with, and takes over command, while also not even considering the Rangers to be a legitimate threat. He also creates a new army of Putties that prove to be stronger than Rita's, but can be defeated if the Rangers hit the Z on their chests (minor flaw there Zedd). But the episode comes to an end when Zedd's new monster terrorizes the town and freezes the Rangers' Zords. What are they gonna do now?

Episode 2- The Mutiny Part 2: To make matters worse, the Pirantishead monster takes full control of the Tyrannosaurus Zord and the Dragon Zord. To combat Zedd's new threats, Zordon and Alpha create the Thunder Zords. But they can only be activated if the Rangers regain control of the Dino Zords. So Billy and Trini begin to work on a device that will give them full control of their Zords. The episode ends with Tommy, Jason, Zack, and Kimberly trying desperately to buy Billy and Trini time, as the device isn't ready yet. This episode serves as the transitional episode in the 3-parter, so there's not a whole lot to talk about. The new Zords look cool, but we haven't seen them in action yet. Also, Tommy isn't allowed to pilot a new Zord because of his limited power supply. In reality, it's because the Sentai footage they got the Zords and a lot of the Season 2 monsters from didn't have a color-coordinated Zord for him to pilot (technically Zack's Zord is green, but there's enough black on there to slip through the cracks and it would be really strange for them to give all the Rangers except Zack a Zord just on color semantics.)

Episode 3- The Mutiny Part 3: The episode ends how you'd expect it to. The Rangers summon the Thunder Zords and they save the day. It's a good debut for the Thunder Zords. With the amount of hype going into their creation, the payoff works very nicely. I should also take this time to mention what Bulk and Skull will be up to for the remainder of the season. After being rescued by the Power Rangers during this 3-parter, they vow to find out their true identities. It's a nifty way to keep Bulk and Skull more directly connected with the Rangers both in action and at school. These first three episodes served as a great debut for a new villain, an introduction to some new powers, and get the ball rolling on some new character motivations and storylines.

Episode 4- The Wanna-Be Ranger: Here's an interesting little filler episode that surprisingly focuses on Alpha. When Zordon plans to go offline for a bit, he leaves Alpha in charge of the Command Center and informs him to contact the Rangers at the first sign of trouble. When he spots a little boy lost in the park, he thinks he can handle it and teleports to help. When one of Zedd's monsters attacks Alpha to try and get taken to the Command Center, Alpha activates his self-destruct mechanism. It's a race against time for the Rangers to defeat the monster and save Alpha before he goes kaboom. In addition, the monster is an ape that can transform into the other Rangers, so that gives a lot of fun scenes and opportunities in the Ranger battles.

Episode 5- Putty on the Brain: Zedd puts a spell on Billy and Zack that causes them to see the other Rangers as Putties. Again, another fun opportunity for the action sequences. You can only imagine from their POV how surreal it would be to see Putties fighting Putties. Of course, the problem is temporarily solved because the spell is broken when the Rangers are morphed, but it's a fun idea for an episode. Besides, I love the shot of Bulk and Skull temporarily falling victim to the spell and seeing a Billy as a Putty wearing glasses. That's a shot you can't unsee. Plus, when the monster of the day shows up, Billy and Zack spring into action by working on a new invention of Billy's to neutralize the monster's fire powers. You get an idea that Billy and Zack are forming a close friendship on Jason and Tommy or Trini and Kimberly levels.

Episode 6- Bloom of Doom: Speaking of Trini and Kimberly's friendship, that's the subject of the next episode. Zedd puts a spell on Kimberly to make her grow immense jealousy towards Trini for having more people sign up for her volleyball club than Kimberly's gardening club. It's a really good episode that shows Amy Jo Johnson's range as a young actor. You can feel just how cold and bitter she feels towards someone that we usually see as her best friend. Naturally, they make up and defeat the Bloom of Doom monster with a bit of '90s "girl power." It's a cheesy filler in hindsight, but I like a lot of what is in the episode, such as the idea of Zedd trying to make the team implode on itself by capitalizing on human flaws. Listen to him narrate the consequences of Kimberly's emotions and actions. THAT is the mark of a truly evil villain.

Character Spotlight: Jason Lee Scott, played by Austin St. John

Jason is one of those characters that doesn't need a bunch of development because he never really needs to undergo any major changes. He's the leader, so he's the bravest and one of the best fighters. He's got great friendships with his entire crew. There's really not much to him. But again, it's not that big of a problem. He's the role model for the children watching the show. They can look up to him as someone they could be when they grow up. In this first batch of episodes, Jason gets a lot of combat exposure against the monsters of the day. Usually the rest of his team is captured as well and Jason is the one that has to fight the monster and save the day. It's little touches like this that made Jason stand out as one of the better Red Rangers.

Character Spotlight: Trini Kwan, played by Thuy Trang

I pretty much touched as much base on Trini as I could in Part 1, but there are a few more things I could address with the early introductions of the Season 2. For starters, in The Mutiny, when she and Billy were working on a device together, I kind of got the idea of a teased romance for the two. Of course, further developments would neutralize that altogether, but it was a nice thing that was hinted if it could've gone more long term. What I was not a fan of was her brief romance with new character Richie. He's a new kid at school that she thinks is cute, and he brings little to nothing to the table of being an actual character. The only thing I guess he was used for effectively was being a red herring for the identity of something I'll talk about in the next episode. Still, the romance with Trini and Richie was an underwhelming thing they gave Trini as one of her last "major" story arcs.

With a new villain making waves against the Rangers and Tommy's powers constantly depleting, they will need to be on their guard for a bunch of new dangers and changes coming their way. And we'll talk about one of the biggest changes in the history of Power Rangers in Part 2...


Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and images are copyrighted by Saban Entertainment

Command Center Commentaries- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 1- Part 6

So, let's recap. We've got 10 episodes to go in the iconic and nostalgic first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. While there's still an expected amount of filler to take place, at least we have Tommy back on the team. And it might be the whole Tommy factor of it all, but the fillers in these last 10 episodes hold a certain weight of importance that I haven't seen since the first 10 or 15 episodes. There isn't a multi-parter in this batch. No major cliffhangers. And the only overarching story that exists in majority of these episodes is Tommy's struggle with his temporary powers. With all of that ahead of us, let's see how most of episodes 51-60 end the season on a high note.


Episode 54- Trick or Treat: We actually have another Halloween themed episode in this first season. However, this one's a little more ambiguous with the setting. Kimberly competes on a costume themed game show, while Rita sends down a rapping, pumpkin monster. Silly at first, but what really shines in this episode is Tommy. The guy gets an amazing fight against the Putties. And after getting called away from a karate match, shows some serious ferocity fighting the Pumpkin Rapper. It's a gem of a filler episode that is sure to keep you entertained.

Episode 56- On Fins and Needles: We get another episode for all of you Jason vs. Tommy fans out there. This time, Rita puts a spell on Jason and Tommy that causes them to be at odds with each other. The moral they're setting is to not solve your problems by fighting each other, which was actually handled a little more subtle than you'd expect. Plus, it's a great episode that showcases an underlying tension that exists when you have Tommy or Jason on the same team. The debate still goes on with the fans. You can't like both equally. You can only have ONE favorite. And when they have a side bet of who can defeat the monster first, you can hear the animosity between the two. If Tommy wins, he becomes leader of the Power Rangers. If Jason wins, Tommy has to give up being a Power Ranger. Great moment. One of the best nuggets of dialogue in this season. Of course, nothing actually comes from that side bet, but I don't care. It was so awesome!

Episode 58- Football Season: The interesting part about this episode is that the least interesting stuff in the episode is the actual Ranger footage. The guys at Angel Grove High are training to try out for the football team, so it leads to a lot of opportunities for a fun character episode. Bulk and Skull are training with the idea that Bulk needs to learn ballet in order to be light on his feet. Ernie trains Tommy at the Juice Bar, giving Tommy a much needed confidence boost. The other Rangers have a fun game of flag football in the park that reeks of '90s montage cheesiness. It's a fun episode for any sports fans out there to check out.

Episode 59- Mighty Morphin Mutants: Rita takes a bit of my advice and goes back to the idea of creating her own copies of the Rangers. The fun bits of the episode include Goldar training the Putties to be like the Power Rangers. There's this one Putty that just isn't getting the hang of it, and his failure is sure to provide a bit of a chuckle. The Rangers are actually in fear of these Mutant Rangers, since they know all of the Rangers' moves. Plus, the Zord fight involves the two Megazords battling the monster of the day and 3 giant Mutant Rangers. Talk about a stacked finale. This episode also provides an interesting story on Tommy's forgetfulness, possibly hinting that Ranger duties can have a questionable impact on one's life in the normal world. It goes nowhere by the end, and is barely mentioned in future episodes, but it's definitely a good character moment for Tommy that shows that it's ok for a Power Ranger to have a flaw.

Episode 60- An Oyster Stew: A questionable episode to end the season, as it focuses on Zack's "relationship" with Angela. If you recall in a previous review, I questioned what Zack actually saw in Angela. To this day, I still don't get it. Her birthday is coming up, and Zack feels the way he needs to impress her is with a fancy dinner at a French cafe and a pair of pearl earrings. This episode focused on a two-sided moral. For Zack, he shouldn't try to impress Angela with flashy gifts and what money can buy. And for Angela, she should stop being so materialistic and appreciate Zack for who he is. To the part of the episode having to do with the Power Rangers, this episode works for two reasons. The first is that we get to see Tommy and Zack fight off an oyster monster that shoots acid gel at them, resulting in Tommy giving Zack his shield to protect him. And the second reason is that for the first time ever, we get to see the Megazord fight underwater. While both of these scenes are cool, the episode ends with Zack romancing Angela by singing to her with help from Bulk and Skull. Not exactly how I would've pictured a season of Power Rangers to end, so this finale is pretty anti-climactic in the long run.

Character Spotlight: Tommy Oliver, played by Jason David Frank

I think it's no surprise that Tommy is my favorite Power Ranger. He's almost usually everybody's favorite and is easily the biggest legend in Power Rangers history. What a great way to introduce a character. He's the new kid at school, turned evil by Rita, fights the Rangers in an epic five-part episode. When he's turned good, he's brought in for backup like the closing pitcher for a baseball team. When they wrote Tommy out of the season following The Green Candle, fans lost their minds. He's brought back in epic fashion with Return of an Old Friend, but he's warned that his powers will be limited. He's got a romance going on with Kimberly, and a competitive bromance with Jason. He's great. No question about it. But the great thing about a character like Tommy is that his legendary status and character growth has just begun. There's a lot more layers that makeup Tommy's career as a Power Ranger that we haven't seen yet, and this is just a taste of the greatness to come.

Season Spotlight: Final Thoughts

The first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is not going to be the greatest season to watch if you aren't wearing a pair of nostalgia googles. While there are a great number of episodes that are enjoyable to watch, the filler is a bit formulaic. You could actually skip around 30 episodes in this season and not miss a thing. Don't get me wrong. I love this season. It's something great to watch, as you can see the beginnings of this over 20 year franchise. But there are better seasons with better character development and storylines to follow. The stories centering on the Green Ranger were the real lifeblood of this season, and really helped carry the momentum and weight of the show heading into season 2. But, with Sentai footage limiting even further, they would have to throw some new stuff our way to keep the show fresh and relevant. And boy, do they throw a lot of great new stuff our way. But I'll get into that next time, when I talk about Season 2 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers...


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Command Center Commentaries: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 1- Part 5

After an additional 20 episodes were added to the first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, I'm sure a lot of people were expecting the showrunners to bring their A game in storytelling in order to keep the episodes fresh and innovative with the young viewers. That's not exactly what we got for a while. In episodes 41-48, we got filler. LOTS of filler. On top of that, fans were still writing to the show demanding that they bring Tommy back in some capacity. After sitting through enough filler episodes and noting a few standouts, episodes 49-50 brought a memorable multi-parter with a moment that would bring a lot more attention to the final 10 episodes of the season. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. For now, let's look at the few key episodes that took place between episodes 41 and 50.


Episode 42- A Pig Surprise: Some might think it was a lazy decision to bring back Pudgy Pig for an episode. In terms of the Sentai footage, you are correct, but they make the most of the American footage. The episode features great character development for Bulk and Skull when they adopt a pig named Norman and actually care for him. When he's transformed into Pudgy Pig, they actually try to return him to a state of being "home" by reminding him that they're his parents. The episode also features a great standalone fight scene where Zack takes on a squad of Putties on his own. You started to see the Rangers be able to do this more often as the show progressed, but for the most part, they would only do this with Jason or Tommy, so it was nice to see a character like Zack show off his improved fighting skills. We also tackle a bit of thought provoking themes with Pudgy Pig when he falls in love with a female pig on a farm. This causes the Rangers to step back and say that he is an actual pig and not something evil made by Rita, since anything Rita would have conjured would be incapable of loving anything.

Episode 45- Crystal of Nightmares: Essentially another clip show, this episode provides a lot of humorous bits with Bulk and Skull, as well as another meaningful character building moment for them. I'll explain. Goldar uses the Crystal of Nightmares to haunt the Rangers' dreams, thus lowering their confidence. The Rangers all dream of previous battles, but Bulk and Skull dream of being superheroes trying to save the city. Of course, the bit ends with them not being able to pilot the Megazord, but hey, it's the thought that counts. Anyways, I really like seeing the Rangers without their confidence and having to fight to get it back. It kinda felt like a throwback to their first battle with the Putties, with the contrast being how the Rangers have evolved in their skills over the course of 45 episodes.

Episode 49- Return of an Old Friend Part 1: It's Parent's Day and we get to see that the Power Rangers' parents wear the same colors as their respective children. A bit cheesy, but harmless. Anyways, Rita's plan involves brainwashing Billy to deliver the Dragon Dagger back in her control, the Rangers' parents are abducted, and Goldar won't hand them over until the Rangers give up their Power Coins. That's some pretty heavy stuff for the FIRST part of a two-parter. What can possibly top that? I'll tell you what can. Jason reveals that there is still one Power Coin left: the Dragon Coin. It cuts to a mysterious figure entering the Juice Bar. The camera pans up to a familiar looking teenager wearing green clothing. IT'S TOMMY!!! GO, GREEN RANGER!!!!

Episode 50- Return of an Old Friend Part 2: After the most amazing cliffhanger a Power Rangers fan could ever endure, Zordon teleports Tommy to the Command Center and infuses the Dragon Power Coin with his energy. It revives the Green Ranger for a limited amount of time, and Tommy helps get the other Power Coins back to save the day. So, with 10 episodes left, we have Tommy back on the team. Fans everywhere rejoice!

Character Spotlight: Kimberly Ann Hart, played by Amy Jo Johnson

Of the characters in the first bit of the season, Kimberly is probably the one I liked the least. It's true that she grows into her own as the show progresses, but at this point, most of her material was simply that she was a valley girl. She had episodes where she showed courage as a teen and as a Power Ranger, like flying a plane to safety or fighting some of the more gross monsters of the day. Her strongest relationships were with Trini as her best friend and with Tommy as her potential love interest. Not the strongest introduction, but it could've been a lot worse. With her setting the bar low on development, it actually leaves the door open for her to improve and grow throughout the rest of the series.

Season Spotlight: Music and Costumes

When you're marketing a show like this towards children, you need to be able to have something that appeals to both the eyes and the ears. For the eyes, we have a colorful collection of the most iconic Power Rangers suits in history. When people say "Power Rangers," no matter what year it is, THIS is the team they think of. Look at that photo. THAT is childhood for a lot of people, myself included. As for the sounds, we have the greatest rocking soundtrack of any '90s kids show, courtesy of Ron Wasserman. Everyone knows the song "Go Go Power Rangers," but Wasserman provided a lot of gems with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, such as "Fight," and "Zords." I wish Wasserman would have been a part of every season, his music brings a level of kid friendly '90s metal. It's hard to explain, but it's excellent to listen to while watching the Power Rangers in action.

There's only 10 episodes left in the first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. And with the Green Ranger back on the team, anything can happen. Stay tuned for Part 6...


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Command Center Commentaries: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 1- Part 4

During the production of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, there was a HUGE elephant in the room that was plaguing the upcoming episodes. In the Sentai, the Green Ranger doesn't last as long as we'd think he would. He...dies. And yet, Tommy is the most popular character at this point and the key reason for Power Rangers staying on the air. You can imagine the amount of panic that would be circulating around the creative team. If you made your way through the episodes following Green with Evil, Tommy would get separated from the rest of the team, either being knocked out by the Putties, attacked by the monster of the day, or being somewhere where he was separated from his communicator. He'd later show up towards the end of the battles and be a clean-up player for the team. Morph, show up, summon Dragon Zord, and they win. That was the formula that was occurring most of the time, but they had to do the inevitable: they had to bring the Green Ranger to an end. On top of that, the season was arriving at the end of the original 40 episode contract that they were signed up for, so within episodes 31 to 40, they had to find a way to give the Green Ranger a proper sendoff, but also deliver on the planned season finale. The pressure is on, so let's see how the show handled its purposed final 10 episodes.


Episode 34- The Green Candle Part 1: How do you solve the dilemma of Green Ranger Sentai footage? Simple, you write him off. But because this was a show for kids, they couldn't kill him off like in the Sentai. Instead, we get the great storyline of The Green Candle. This two-parter is near perfection. The premise is simple: Rita unveils a candle made of green wax that is connected to Tommy's powers. When the candle burns out, Tommy's powers are gone. They address in the show that he must have touched the candle when he was under her spell during the Green With Evil saga, and that she's been holding it as a trump card for such an occasion. That's GENIUS. It'd be easy to not even address a continuity issue like that and get away with it on children's programming, but they treated their viewers like they weren't stupid with a moment like this. I like that a lot. She also sends a cyclops monster that can mimic the megazords. Part 1 ends with the stakes the highest they've ever been on the show: if the Rangers are unsuccessful, Tommy will no longer be a Power Ranger.

Episode 35- The Green Candle Part 2: Thanks to Billy's invention, Jason goes into Rita's Dark Dimension to battle Goldar and retrieve the Green Candle. But when the Cyclops comes back, Tommy can't hold him off on his own, so the Rangers are called in to help. Now it's a race to the finish, as they have to dispatch the monster in time to go back and get the candle. Of course, they are unsuccessful in getting the candle, but the day is saved when Tommy gives his power coin to Jason. Tommy is no longer a Power Ranger, but his powers stay in the team and Jason receives the gold shield, the Dragon Dagger, and the Dragon Zord. And the episode gives you a happy ending by giving the fans something they'd been hoping to see for a while: Tommy asks Kimberly out on a date and they kiss. YAY! If you don't know the show well, *SPOILER ALERT* Tommy does come back. But if you were watching this as a kid when it was airing, you had no idea. At the time, it was a proper sendoff to a great character and the episode still holds up very well today.

Episode 38- A Bad Reflection on You: If you've ever gotten tired of seeing the five actors play the teens so pristine and proper, you'll enjoy this filler episode. Rita sends a monster that can turn himself and 4 Putties into evil copies of the Rangers. They cause commotion at school that gets the real Rangers in detention. While they're in detention, the phony Rangers wreak havoc on Angel Grove. That's a clever idea. I actually really like and I wish Rita would've returned to that idea a handful more of times, because it actually works for a good chunk of the episode. Also, this is the only other episode that had Bryan Cranston voice a monster, as he voices Twin Man. His voice is used for maybe two minutes, but you can't help but appreciate the early beginnings of one of my favorite actors on one of my favorite childhood shows.

Episode 39- Doomsday Part 1: Angel Grove is holding a Power Rangers Day in honor of our colorful heroes, but Rita makes all of the town citizens vanish in a vortex. At the same time, Goldar terrorizes the city with his own Megazord. The Rangers have to find a way to save the day, or lose all the people of Angel Grove forever. It's a pretty cool concept for a purposed finale, but the execution leaves a little to be desired. This could have been 1 episode, and a lot of the stuff in the two-parter seems a bit slow for my taste. We also have a moment of Angela turning Zack down, but saying that she'd accept a date from him in a heartbeat if he was a Power Ranger. This has been popping up in a couple of the filler episodes at this point, and I'm still baffled about what Zack sees in her outside of looks. We also have a great bit from Bulk and Skull trying to steal the thunder at the celebration by debuting their alter egos The Incredible Bulkster and Super Skull. There's an awful lot of Megazord footage in episodes 39 and 40, so get used to seeing that. Not a whole lot to rave about the first part, as it's just set up for what should be an epic conclusion to one of the toughest challenges the Power Rangers have ever faced. What's going to happen next?

Episode 40- Doomsday Part 2: They save the day, obviously, and we get to the final 5 minutes of the episode, which are really worth talking about. There's so much finality in this episode. Rita and her goons flee from Earth, the people of Angel Grove are returned safely, the Power Rangers are regarded as town heroes, and look...even a cameo from Tommy. On top of that, Zordon gives them the option to carry on with their normal lives and entrust the powers in the hands of the next generation of Power Rangers. Of course, they say they'll continue to be Rangers, and celebrate as we head to the end credits. Remember, this was supposed to be the final episode of the season, but the show had proven to be so popular that an additional 20 episodes were ordered as a result. Kinda neutralizes the importance of an episode like Doomsday in hindsight, but it's still cool to see how the show was planned to end.

Character Spotlight: Zack Taylor, played by Walter Emanuel Jones

Once again putting racism aside in terms of the casting, Zack was more than just the token black guy. He actually brought a lot of levity to the episodes. Quick with one-liners and comebacks, Zack was the cool guy that children watching would've wanted to have as their best friend. His unique breakdance fighting style (Hip Hop Kiddo) also allowed him to stand out during many of the fight scenes. Seemingly confident and fearless, there were only three things that got in Zack's way: spiders, snakes, and Angela. His pursuit of Angela is one of the aspects with his character that I just don't get. Based on how she treats him, I'm surprised he wanted her in the first place. Guess you can chalk that up to the excitement of the chase. Anyways, Zack was funny, a good dancer, an unorthodox fighter, a loyal friend, and an excellent member of the team.

Season Spotlight: Weapons and Zords

The Rangers have a classic arsenal of weapons and Zords at their disposal. It's pretty simple to process the weapons. Zack has an ax, Kimberly has a bow and arrow, Billy has a lance, Trini has a pair of daggers, Jason has a sword, and Tommy has a combination dagger and flute. A flute? Interesting. In all seriousness, the dagger does its job well and the flute is only used to summon the Dragon Zord. I'll use that to segue to the Zords. I like that the Rangers have Zords that have their own special powers. Like the Mastodon Zord has ice powers, the Triceratops Zord has hooks that shoot out of his horns, and the Tyrannosaurus Zord can actually fight many battles on its own. The original Megazord has such an iconic look to it, but I'm a much bigger fan of the other megazord combinations. I like the Dragon Zord, I like the Dragon Zord in fighting mode that combines with the Triceratops, Mastodon, and Sabertooth Tiger Zords. But the best combination is the Megazord and the Dragonzord combining with Titanus to form the UltraZord. To find out how I feel about that, I redirect you to my Island of Illusion review in Part 3.

With 20 more episodes ordered for Season 1, what can happen next for the Power Rangers? Tune into Part 5 to find out...


Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and images are copyrighted by Saban Entertainment

Command Center Commentaries: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 1- Part 3

I think everyone knows how the Green with Evil saga comes to an end, so there's no point in me hammering it in with the intro. With Tommy joining the team, the group dynamic, as well as the overall balance of the show, had shifted. New stories were going to be added, such as Tommy's teased relationship with Kimberly, his competitive nature with Jason, and the threat of Rita coming after the Green Ranger's powers. All of that and more are now possible to explore on the show. By looking at episodes 21-30, let's see what kind of momentum the show could carry with the inclusion of the new sixth ranger. Of course, there's also the opportunity to keep building the original 5 Rangers as characters, but would they be able to do that while making sure Tommy is able to fit in swimmingly with the rest of the group? Unfortunately, this group of episodes features quite a bit of filler, but there are some highlights worth noting, starting with one of the most famous Power Ranger moments ever that took place on a great day in history.


Episode 21- Green with Evil Part 5: Breaking the Spell: On this day, 22 years ago, 2 glorious things happened. On Oct. 9, 1993, a beautiful baby boy was born (that would be yours truly) and the final chapter of the Green with Evil saga aired on television. This episode is important because of the obvious. It's not only the episode that aired the day I was born, but it is arguably the most important episode in Power Rangers history. It's the episode where the Rangers break the spell and Tommy becomes a good guy, being the first 6th Ranger, and leading to him becoming the greatest Power Ranger of all-time. So yes, this episode is kind of a big deal to me and fans alike.

Episode 25- Life's a Masquerade: It's time for their first Halloween themed episode of the season. This episode involves our teens getting ready for a costume party (including some really funny scenes with Bulk and Skull), and going head to head with the freaking Frankenstein Monster. I love Halloween, so I can easily enjoy this episode any time I watch it. Plus, who doesn't love Billy's overly complicated way of saying "It's Morphin' Time."

Episode 26- Gung Ho!: The moral of the episode is teamwork, which is a problem for Jason and Tommy as they prepare for a martial arts competition for teams. They are tested in battle to work side by side and they end up unlocking a major player in their arsenal: Titanus, a legendary Zord that will aid them in battle throughout the rest of the seasons. This episode is worth watching just for the amount of effort they put into the scenes of the martial arts competition. That takes up the last 6 minutes of the episode, which means they end the scenes of them as Rangers pretty quickly. That's right, they made Rita's plan of the day feel second banana to the importance of their problem in their teenage lives. I love that. It knows how to distinguish that these teenagers aren't defined by their powers, but that they are Power Rangers due to how they are as human beings. It doesn't follow as cookie cutter a formula as other filler episodes, and if you ever had the debate of Jason vs. Tommy, this is an episode you have to watch.

Episode 28- Island of Illusion Part 1: This two-parter focuses on the Rangers gaining much needed self-confidence in an epic battle against Rita and occasional recurring villain Lokar, who has a voice that will sound an awful lot like a MAJOR villain that I will talk about next season. They get trapped on an island with a dwarf wizard thing named Quagmire (giggity). The episode ends with the Rangers beginning to doubt themselves one by one, which causes them to begin disappearing. If they vanish, they will be gone forever. A clever idea for an evil plan. What is it all building towards?

Episode 29- Island of Illusion Part 2: A clip show! Yes, thanks to Quagmire (giggity), the Rangers are reminded of times when they had to be brave, which gives them the courage and confidence they need. That's about it. This happens six different times in one episode, so it does get repetitious, but the clips they use are a clever way to show newer viewers some of the best monsters and moments from episodes they may have missed. If this was all the episode was, I wouldn't recommend it. But, when they get off the island, they form the Ultrazord, combining the Megazord, the Dragon Zord, and Titanus. I'm a 22-year-old man and I still cheered when they formed that thing. The Ultrazord would become a staple of Power Rangers folklore, and it's nice to see where it got its beginnings courtesy of this episode.

Character Spotlight: Billy Cranston, played by David Yost

Billy started the show off as your stereotypical '90s nerd, and would evolve into one of the most beloved and developed characters in Power Rangers history. In the first season, he's used for comedic relief and technological advancement. We get glimpses of Billy's intelligence through his scientific babble and his various inventions, including the communicators and the Rad Bug. While characters like Jason and Kimberly were what kids might have wanted to be, Billy was the personification of what a lot of the fans were. Lack of confidence, picked on at school, uncoordinated. Billy was one of the most relatable characters in Power Rangers and grew out of his generic smart guy role and into something much more complex and compelling.

Season Spotlight: Bulk and Skull

Farkas Bulkmeier and Eugene Skullovitch, played by Paul Schrier and Jason Narvy, are two of the best developed and most beloved characters in the history of Power Rangers. In the first season, they start out as your generic, bumbling bullies, but they become so much more than that over their six season run as recurring characters. At this point in the season, they show up to pester the teens and are given their comeuppance by the end of the episode, usually with Bulk getting a bunch of food or gunk thrown on him. Skull's big bit at the time was that he would repeat what Bulk would say, and it would annoy the crap out of Bulk. I'm glad they evolved over time, but their bits are still enjoyable for what they are at this time and are the building blocks to a lot of the show's humor that worked.

The season is halfway over, so what can Mighty Morphin Power Rangers bring to the table to keep the interest going? We'll find out in Part 4...


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Command Center Commentaries: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 1- Part 2

Things seemed to be getting better for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers at this point. With more than 10 episodes on TV, the show has its quo established and can spend more time dedicated to the standalone episodes. Any viewer watching at this point was familiar with the characters and overall presence, so they were tuning in to see what the monster of the day was for the Rangers and what their problem of the day as teenagers was. Because of that, you're able to factor in what types of episodes you like and dislike. Enjoy action? You'll find some of those here. Like comedy? They'll stick a few of those in as well. Bottom line, the episodes are expected to have problems for the teens both at school and as Rangers that are to be solved in a 20 minute runtime every day. That formula will soon change, but for now, let's see what stands out in episodes 11-20.


Episode 11- No Clowning Around: A silly concept, but it actually turns into a unique episode. In what feels like the first major episode where the teens are somewhere that isn't school, the Youth Center, or the Command Center, they visit a carnival that is overrun with Putties in clown disguises. The fight scenes in the carnival are worth watching the episode alone, as they show how resourceful the Rangers can be given their environment. The stuff with trying to turn the Rangers into cardboard cutouts and the giant pinapple/clown/octopus monster are a bit questionable, but the fight scenes definitely help deter from the strange and cheesy parts of the episode. A solid filler episode for the fans of the action scenes to check out.

Episode 14- Foul Play in the Sky: This episode serves as a really good character building moment for Kimberly, as she must fly a plane to safety after her uncle drinks a sleeping potion from Rita. With Bulk and Skull hamming it up in the back of the plane, Kimberly must be courageous to save the day. Then, she must spring into action to help the Rangers fight off the Snizard monster voiced by Bryan Cranston. That's right, WALTER FREAKING WHITE voiced a couple of monsters on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Plus, Billy's last name is Cranston, which is given to him much later in the season. I wouldn't think it a coincidence that the Blue Ranger would be named after the guy who would go on to create Blue Sky meth. That is awesome.

Episode 17- Green with Evil Part 1: Out of Control: This episode introduces us to arguably the most important character to come into the Power Rangers equation, Tommy Oliver, played by Jason David Frank. Upon his introduction, two things are established: that he rivals Jason in terms of fighting ability and Kimberly has a crush on him. Rita thinks he's perfect to be her evil Green Ranger, and thus things changed forever. This was the first time that the Rangers couldn't solve a problem in 20 minutes. In fact, this is the first and only time that the show had an episode last 5 episodes. This was essentially a TV movie, a week-long event that absolutely changed the tone of the series. In the episode, Tommy infiltrates the Command Center, cuts off their connection with Zordon, deactivates Alpha 5, breaks into their Megazord, and beats the stuffing out of them. Talk about a memorable introduction. It goes without saying that anyone claiming to be a true Power Rangers fan should watch and appreciate this entire 5-part episode, as it was the biggest game changer that Power Rangers could've asked for.

Episode 18- Green with Evil Part 2: Jason's Battle: This episode is highlighted by Jason being kidnapped to Rita's Dark Dimension to fight in an unmorphed battle against Goldar. He's been a great leader at this point, but now he's on his own and without his powers. It's a true battle of his strength and courage at its finest. Billy also gets great development by repairing Alpha and working with the technology in the Command Center, something that will prove to be very important for Billy as the seasons progress. As for Tommy, he has a great fight scene with the Putties on the beach, showcasing how awesome of a fighter Jason David Frank is, and it gets the Green Ranger the Sword of Darkness, a very powerful and awesome looking weapon that I wish would've stayed around longer. 

Episode 19- Green with Evil Part 3: The Rescue: The Rescue is a pretty simple chapter in the saga, Jason must battle both Goldar and the Green Ranger on his own, while the Rangers must work together without their leader in order to figure out a way to bring him back. Simple, yet effective. This episode also marks the first time we see the villainous Scorpina, who had a short but memorable run on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. It's a very good middle chapter to showcase the Rangers' strengths, even when they are up against a wall.

Episode 20- Green with Evil Part 4: Eclipsing Megazord: The penultimate chapter in this multi-parter, this episode focuses on the Rangers gripping onto their last bit of hope to get the Command Center up and running again, almost finding Zordon, and all that is squashed when they lose the Megazord due to a solar eclipse. And c'mon, who doesn't love seeing a gigantic Green Ranger fighting the Megazord? Yeah, they essentially fall prey to a lot of what was already done in Part 1, but it does end on a different note that makes it significant. At the episode's conclusion, the Rangers find out that the Green Ranger is Tommy, a person they believed to be a friend, leaving them very confused and conflicted. This is a very strong and pivotal moment for the team, as they must now figure out how to stop Rita's plan without destroying Tommy. And that is a great way to leave the fans on a cliffhanger, like I'm about to do here.

Character Spotlight: Trini Kwan, played by Thuy Trang

Obvious racism aside, Trini was a very practical asset for the team to have. She was intelligent, kind, and knew when to have a good time. She was one of the better role models on the team, always having some cause to fight for or some lesson to teach, but usually never in the obnoxiously preachy way. Like Jason, Trini has very little growing to do because she starts the show with her feet planted firmly on the ground. Ironically, her only major fear on the show is heights, and that's solved by the second episode. She's a solid character, not too deep, but also not too broad. She could get along with all her teammates on different levels. Billy on intellect, Jason on martial arts, Zack on humor, and Kimberly in that '90s "girl power" kind of thing. Trini can easily go down as one of the best Yellow Rangers in history and a lot of that's because of how Thuy Trang played her. It's a shame that Trang died in a car accident in 2001, who knows what else she could've brought to the world of entertainment had she lived. At least her legacy lives on in this iconic Power Rangers character.

Season Spotlight: Zordon and Alpha 5

Our mentor and sidekick for the series are two of the most iconic supporting characters in all of Power Rangers. Zordon and Alpha 5 aren't the most well-developed side characters, but they have a nice nostalgia to them. Zordon is the giant, floating head in a tube that helps mentor the Rangers in all their day to day shenanigans and Alpha 5 is the quirky, yet sometimes annoying robot that assists in the Command Center. This section of episodes is actually pretty appropriate to talk about these two, as the Green Ranger cut the Power Rangers off from Zordon and Alpha, leaving them to use what they had been taught in order to solve the problem. Stuff like that really helped show how Zordon and Alpha had helped the Rangers in and out of the Command Center. Not bad for an inter-dimensional being caught in a time warp and his robot that sounds like Invader Zim.

We've only scratched the surface of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, come back for Part 3...


Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and images are copyrighted by Saban Entertainment