Command Center Commentaries: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 3- Part 2

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers have their new ninja powers and we're now back to the status quo of getting a couple of filler episodes from time to time. The fillers aren't too bad, but the show has evolved over 3 seasons to the point where the viewer is expecting a little more depth. With that in mind, this batch of episodes (10-17) might seem brief in terms of episodes analyzed, but trust me when I say stronger strings of episodes are on the way.


Episode 12- Stop the Hate Master Part 1: Not on overly awful multi-parter in concept, just some of the cheesiness feels off-balanced. Zedd and Rita send a monster to Angel Grove to fill the Rangers with hate. This monster raps, which is already very distracting in terms of tone. The Rangers are pretty interesting when they're evil. Although, some of the acting could've been better (I'm looking at you Steve Cardenas). Aisha is the only one to be unharmed by the monster's affects, because of a necklace her grandma gave her. Uh...ok, I just thought it was because she wasn't there when the other Rangers were put under the spell, but fine, it's because of a necklace her grandmother gave her.

Episode 13- Stop the Hate Master Part 2: In Part 2, Aisha helps save the day with the help of the power of love. Not bad for the title of a Huey Lewis song, but my God this was terribly corny. When you sell me on an episode that says the Rangers all start to hate each other to the point where Billy sabotages the Command Center's technology and they tease a showdown between Adam and Tommy to see who the better fighter is, I'm pretty much on board. But when you save the day with the power of love, it just feels wrong.

Episode 15- The Potion Notion: While not an overly important episode on a storyline basis, it is an entertaining concept. It's an episode that deals with love spells gone wrong. Bulk falls for Aisha, Kimberly falls for Skull, Lt. Stone and Mr. Caplan fall for Ms. Appleby, the whole shebang. I just always get a kick out of TV shows that do the whole love spell thing. Plus, we get a little payoff on the whole "Rita gave Zedd a love spell last season" thing. Not to mention the ending gives a nice little character moment between Kimberly and Skull where she actually calls him a friend. That's what I really enjoy about the show, the little moments that can show some serious character growth. Think all the way back to the first episode of the first season. I know it's a kid's show and all, but I appreciate the amount of maturity the showrunners can give to these actors and characters to have little character bits like this, creating a relationship arc that is able to change over time and growth. Look at me getting all existential about Power Rangers.

Episode 16- I'm Dreaming of a White Ranger: And here I thought Power Rangers couldn't do anything worse than the straight to VHS "Alpha's Magical Christmas" special. Zedd tries to take over the world with hypnotic toys he plans to deliver on Christmas, so he holds the North Pole hostage. Thus, the Rangers need to travel to the Pole in order to save Santa and the elves. On an interesting note, the Rangers are unable to morph while at the North Pole. That makes this, as far as I believe, the first episode that had purely American footage. If it's not, please correct me. But anyways, this special has all the cliches you'd expect from a Christmas episode, and while corny, I have a soft spot for all things Christmas, so this doesn't bother me that much.

Episode 17- A Ranger Catastrophe Part 1: And now we've arrived to the episode that gave us our most important recurring character of the season. The teens find a cat in the park that ends up being a teenage girl that Zedd and Rita are using to execute an evil plan. She separates Tommy from the group and they are kidnapped to another dimension. And, in a fun little moment, you can see Kimberly's immense jealousy when she sees Tommy with another girl. It's not an overly important Part 1, but it sets a lot of groundwork for future story arcs in this season.

Character Spotlight: Aisha Campbell, played by Karen Ashley

Apart from that whole power of love thing in "Stop the Hate Master," we actually were able to know a bit more about Aisha over the course of these episodes. For starters, she has an amazing amount of pride and respect for her family when a hate-filled student denies her entry in a social club due to her family's financial status. She commits time in her schedule to visit with her grandmother, leading to her not falling victim to the Hate Master's spell. On top of that, we discover in "A Ranger Catastrophe" that she has a deep passion for helping animals, which will play a major role in her development towards the end of the season. She's grown a lot more than just being Kimberly's new best friend and liking to go shopping.

Character Spotlight: Rocky DeSantos, played by Steve Cardenas

This group of episodes had 2 filler episodes focused on Rocky, so I thought this would be the opportune moment to talk about him. He's grown a bit since his introduction in Season 2. He's grown a lot more of a status as the field leader when Tommy isn't in battle and you even get to see that he's smart, funny, and has an appetite. These are a few minor things, but it's still something. You can still see that Rocky has improved since he became a Ranger and is at least filling the role of Red Ranger a little better. I think all Rocky needed was time to step out of Jason's shadow. With that comes a confidence in helping lead the team and more definable traits.

With Katherine introduced into the fold, what can happen to the Power Rangers next? We'll find out when we get to Part 3...


Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and images are copyrighted by Saban Entertainment