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

If you're paying attention to what's been going on with this season, you might notice a certain pattern that was used back in Season 2. Is there a member of the team that is perhaps feeling less included in the episodes than others? Is there some kind of competition or event that is taking up said character's time and attention? Is there a new character that has shown up, befriended the Power Rangers, and just so happens to wear the same color as the previously mentioned character? If you answered yes to all of the questions, then you know as well as I do that episodes 18 through 25 will see a member of the Power Rangers depart from the team and a new member will take their place. Will this departure have more dignity than the horrible dubbing that was used to say goodbye to Jason, Trini, and Zack? Let's find out by picking up where we left off last time, with Tommy and the new character Kat in trouble and the Rangers needing to save them from a strange dimension.


Episode 18- A Ranger Catastrophe Part 2: The Rangers save Tommy from the dimension, they destroy the monster and save the day. You know, I'm getting really sick and tired of these lackluster conclusions to multi-parters. Of course the Rangers are going to save the day, I shouldn't expect anything less. We're far removed from multi-parters that would actually up the stakes for the Rangers, and it'll probably be a long time before we get another one on this show.

Episode 19- Changing of the Zords Part 1: In the traditional fashion of me being proven wrong, we are finally treated to something that really felt different from your usual multi-part episode. Rita and Zedd stumble upon some dormant zords, the Shogun Zords, and they plan to have the Rangers pilot them in the name of pure evil. How do they plan to do that? Well, for starters, they have their new evil pawn Kat steal Kimberly's power coin during a battle, making her weaker. With that power coin, Kat gains access to the Falcon Zord and captures it for Rita and Zedd. Having a huge power source like that in their control, they also are able to kidnap Ninjor. And that's all by the end of Part 1.

Episode 20- Changing of the Zords Part 2: With Kimberly significantly weakened, Rita and Zedd lure the other Rangers to a monster battle while staging an altercation between the Tengas and Kat. Kimberly comes to Kat's rescue and passes out due to her weakened state. Kimberly is now being held in Zedd's dimension. The only way the Rangers can free her is to give in to Zedd's demands. His first demand is to be teleported into the Command Center. Seeing Zedd's chair in the Command Center is surreal, and is a landmark moment in the history of Power Ranger villains. If they wanna free Kimberly, they must pilot the Shogun Zords. What will their answer be? Tune in next time to find out. Oh gosh, what a cliffhanger. And that's not my sarcasm talking. Could you imagine waiting to hear their answer and then you have to wait til the next day to find out? Wow. Genius move.

Episode 21- Changing of the Zords Part 3: The Rangers agree to pilot the Shogun Zords, but only as a way to stall while Billy prepares a machine to help save Kimberly. Meanwhile, Tommy goes to Zedd's dimension to free Kimberly and...comes face to face with Lord Zedd for a fight. WOW! This is like Zedd's reckoning as a villain. He is so superior in combat to the rest of his evil forces, but he has such power that you wouldn't expect him to have to do all the dirty work. But when he does, he's all business. He even insults Tommy's battle cries. This fight was awesome to watch, and you can imagine that Tommy got away lucky. Zedd could have finished him off if they kept going. Anyways, the Rangers gain control of the zords once Kimberly is back with them, and they save the day. But on an interesting note, they've won the battle, but the war is still to be decided. Zedd and Rita still have Ninjor and the Falcon Zord, and they still have Kat securing her way into their group. So, we have a multi-parter come to a very rewarding conclusion, while leaving the door open for arcs to continue. And in a nice moment to parallel Tommy's struggle with losing his powers in the first few seasons, he consoles Kimberly at the end of the episode when she begins to question how long she has left to be a Power Ranger.

Episode 23- A Different Shade of Pink Part 1: Kimberly begins training with a coach for an upcoming gymnastics competition that is on Olympic levels of importance. The goal here for Rita and Zedd is to keep her busy and worn out so she eventually hurts herself. Simple premise, but the intriguing part is the ending. It leaves you on a cliffhanger with Kat finally breaking free of Rita's spell and tries to help Kimberly before she falls off the balance beam and hits her head.

Episode 24- A Different Shade of Pink Part 2: Part 2 opens with Kimberly rushed to the hospital, the rest of the Rangers and Kat waiting for her to wake up. When she does come to, Kat finally comes clean about everything and the Rangers forgive her, citing back to how Tommy was able to overcome Rita's evil spells and find the good in himself as well. Rita and Zedd then offer a deal to the Rangers: they will give Ninjor back to the team in exchange for Kat. What will the Rangers do?

Episode 25- A Different Shade of Pink Part 3: The Rangers devise a plan to protect Kat in a force field after they get the jar with Ninjor in it. The jar is empty, so it's interesting to see both sides weren't going to hold up their end of the bargain. The Tengas destroy the force field and Kat is taken to Zedd and Rita's Dimension. From there, it's the ending you'd expect. I'm ok with this episode getting the traditional happy ending because of what it means for the show. Kat is able to get the pink power coin back in the hands of someone that is good and the Rangers save the day. Kimberly decides to go train for the gymnastics competition and names Kat as her replacement. It's a pretty good way to handle a farewell to an original Power Ranger and introduce a new one. Good luck, Kat. You've got some big boots to fill.

Character Spotlight: Billy Cranston, played by David Yost

Billy has become one of those mainstay members of the team, to the point where we don't need to really see him go on a massive story arc or have monumental development anymore. He's one of the most likable and popular members of the team, so you can imagine the showrunners would want to retain all of the positives for Billy, instead of drastically changing what made fans fall in love with the character in the first place. The key thing for Billy this season was how much he'd improve with his inventions. With the amount of time he's been spending in the Command Center, he's really become an extra set of eyes and ears for all that happens in their secret base. Also, that whole "geek" element to his character has been completely scrapped as a negative trait. His character is now fully realized as both an intelligent and confident member of the Power Rangers.

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

And thus, another one of the original Power Rangers have bid farewell to the show. In Kimberly's defense, her actress actually stayed around to make sure her character was written off properly. It was something that was heavily teased throughout the series. She was sick and missed the teamup with Masked Rider. In many filler episodes, she was practicing her gymnastics and was called into action as a last resort. In one episode, she is trapped within a taxi cab monster and the Rangers have to save her. And of course, her missing power coin left her in a weakened state that forced the other Rangers to work as a team with her included less. It sucks to see Kimberly go from the team, but they were preparing us for it throughout the season and by the time she did leave the series, she was able to evolve and develop her character far beyond the stereotypical Valley Girl we met all the way back in Season 1.

So how will Kat measure up as the new Pink Ranger and what's in store for the Power Rangers next? We'll have to wait until Part 4 to find out...


Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and images are copyrighted by Saban Entertainment