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