Command Center Commentaries: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 2- Part 4

As I was saying last time, with horrible dubbing and background actors, Jason, Trini, and Zack were essentially written off the show. When Rocky, Adam, and Aisha were brought in, anyone with a brain would have realized what we were being set up for: Rocky was replacing Jason, Aisha was replacing Trini, and Adam was replacing Zack. And on paper, that might make a lot of diehard fans upset at the time since they grew up with those original 3 Rangers. But they were already gone anyways, so why prolong the inevitable? It actually was a smart move, as it allowed a sense of freshness to be brought into the show. Fans who have been there since the beginning can continue the adventures without a problem, and this team allowed them to almost reboot the show's format for newer viewers. There's a lot of filler to start out with, but like the very beginning of the first season, they stand out as important episodes that get you acquainted with the new characters and the new team dynamic. I'm all for that. I was born the year the first season came out, so I don't have cognitive memories of the original team. I don't have that nostalgia for Jason, Trini, or Zack. THIS is my Power Rangers team. The one I grew up with. The one I'm the most familiar with. The one that made me a fan of the show. Rocky as the Red Ranger, Aisha as the Yellow Ranger, and Adam as the Black Ranger. So how are the first impressions to the new Power Rangers team after watching episodes 27 through 35? Let's find out.


Episode 27- The Power Transfer Part 1: Go figure, Jason, Trini, and Zack are selected to be a part of that peace conference thing. Who didn't see that coming? The episode revolves around switching the powers from Jason, Trini, and Zack to Rocky, Aisha, and Adam. This would be so much nicer if the actors had stayed around for it. Last time I'll harp on this, but those characters were only there in spirit. They go to a planet to get a sword to transfer the powers, and things are going fine, until Lord Zedd brings his own zord Serpentera.

Episode 28- The Power Transfer Part 2: Serprentera would be a great idea, if the zord didn't have a battery that drains like crazy. They get off the planet, they transfer the powers, and all is well. This 2-parter doesn't really work well in execution, but it is still an important episode to watch. Welcome to the team Rocky, Adam, and Aisha. Hopefully you guys do some memorable stuff that makes us forget about those other three Rangers that left the show. Good luck!

Episode 29- Goldar's Vice Versa: This episodes serves as the first episode of the next generation of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The new Rangers feel integrated with the older Rangers, there's no major monster of the day, and it's a very simple episode concept. Yet, it's one of my favorites. This is the first episode of Power Rangers I ever saw, and one that I frequently watched on VHS. It's just a favorite for me, plus it reintroduces an older villain from the first season for a special appearance. Simple, but memorable. And the stuff with Bulk and Skull is great, as they try to avoid getting asked out by some girls who bear an awfully strong resemblance to the two of them.

Episode 31- When is a Ranger Not a Ranger?: Picture this: Lord Zedd creates a monster that scrambles the Rangers' memories, so they cannot remember that they are Rangers. Who has to save the day? BULK AND SKULL!!! Wow! Even more amazing, THIS is the episode where Bulk and Skull find out who the Rangers are. You gotta love how the wheels begin turning in their heads when they discover the truth. Plus, it's nice to see the three older Rangers not know what's going on when they go to the Command Center.

Episode 32- Rocky Just Wants to Have Fun: Oh dear lord. I'll get into the fans' thoughts on Rocky when I analyze his character, but if this is his first standalone episode, it's all downhill from here. A spell is put on him to just have fun. So when the monster shows up, Rocky's just running around, ignoring his fellow Rangers, and sets a really bad first impression with new viewers. If this episode is any indicator, he is definitely NOT Jason. But at least he could've possibly been a decent enough Red Ranger. This episode gives an emphatic "NO" on that possibility. No matter how much Rocky had other episodes and some character development, this is the episode I think about most when it comes to Rocky. On the plus, there's a funny subplot of Bulk and Skull trying to prove that Ernie is a Power Ranger. Let that speak for itself.

Episode 34- Where There's Smoke, There's Fire: Here's another episode that I owned and watched frequently on VHS when I was a kid. This was an episode that I think should've taken place immediately after "The Power Transfer." It teaches the viewers a lesson in fire safety, while also teaching Aisha a lesson in trying to control the situation by herself. You need to have help from your team, even if you feel responsible to handle a situation herself. She even says that she has a lot to learn about being a Power Ranger. I have a nostalgia for this episode, but it can't be ignored that this is a poor standalone episode to introduce Aisha to a new crowd. If they had kept this closer to their introduction, you could see her grow as a character from the mistakes she makes in this episode. This is about 6 episodes removed from them getting the powers, so it feels like a step backwards for her character.

Character Spotlight: Rocky DeSantos, played by Steve Cardenas

Poor Rocky. The guy had a tough act to follow after Jason set the standard for being the Red Ranger. To further add to the pain, he's one of the only Red Ranger to not be the leader of the Power Rangers. At this point, the show didn't have enough of an identity to figure the Red Ranger would always be a leader. As time went on, and every team after Mighty Morphin Power Rangers had a Red Ranger leading the team, it only made Rocky stick out like more of a sore thumb. I've gone on for years to defend Rocky's position on the team by saying "you can't blame the guy because he was never going to be the leader anyways." But then I started to think, what does Rocky bring to the table? A character like Aisha already had an established tone and character traits early on, and Adam was a character that got developed over time and was always evolving, so where does that leave Rocky? He's kind of bland throughout, but I will say, I really liked the martial arts that Steve Cardenas brought to the fight scenes. He's arguably one of the best fighters on the team at this point, but that doesn't save the fact that he didn't have much personality.

Season Spotlight: The Zords

With this being my nostalgic Power Rangers season and my nostalgic Ranger team, it only makes sense that the Thunderzords are my most nostalgic zords. I just like their look and their functions. They are upgraded versions formed from the original zords, hence why you'll see the Tyrannosaurus morph into the Red Dragon when they call for the zords and so forth. The Red Dragon is a favorite because of how it transforms into a humanoid form to fight the bad guys on its own. The other 4 zords (the griffin, the unicorn, the firebird, and the lion) only add to the power to create the Mega Thunderzord. The Tigerzord is also incredible. Just a whole bunch of fun to watch and completely different than the Dragonzord. Even Tor the shuttle zord gets some good action every once in a while, but he's not as cool as Titanus. The Thunderzords were a great upgrade from the original zords and helped get the idea across that the Rangers were growing more powerful over time.

With some filler to establish the new Rangers out of the way, the time can be made for more multi-parters and episodes to shake the season up further. I'll cover that in Part 5...


Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and images are copyrighted by Saban Entertainment