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...


Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and images are copyrighted by Saban Entertainment