Power Rangers RPM

Power Rangers RPM
File:Logo-rpm.jpg
Genre	Action-Adventure, Drama
Starring	Eka Darville Ari Boyland Rose McIver Milo Cawthorne Daniel Ewing Olivia Tennet James Gaylyn Adelaide Kane
Country of origin	United States New Zealand
No. of episodes	13 (As of May 23, 2009) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Koichi Sakamoto Eddie Guzelian Judd Lynn
Producer	Sally Campbell
Production companies	BVS Entertainment Jetix
Original release
Network	ABC (ABC Kids)
Release	March 7, 2009

Power Rangers: RPM is the seventeenth and most recent season of the long-running Power Rangers series of American children's television. As with all previous Power Rangers series, RPM uses footage, costumes, and other props from the Super Sentai Series Engine Sentai Go-onger. Due to the channels Toon Disney and Jetix becoming a single channel called Disney XD, the ABC Kids block on American Broadcasting Company stations broadcasts episodes of RPM.

Story

Three years prior to the series' beginning, an AI computer virus called Venjix took over all of the Earth's computers, rendering all communication useless while creating an army of robot droids to destroy everything. Humanity's last safehaven became the domed city of Corinth. Surrounded by Venjix's forces and a force field, it is nearly impossible to enter without luck or firepower. When the force field is lowered to allow surviving humans sanctuary, Dr. K's RPM Power Rangers fight Venjix's forces to protect Corinth from being destroyed.

Pre-production and casting

Australian actor Eka Darville, who previously starred in series three of Blue Water High, was reported to have a role in September 2008 in what was then unknown as RPM which began production in September 2008 in New Zealand. He is still cast as the Red Ranger, Scott Truman. Heidi Kathy Bradhurt had been cast as an extra, but her profile initially listed her as the Yellow Ranger, named "Kayla", whose name and actress has since been changed. Daniel Ewing had been reported in November 2008 to be playing a major character named "Dillon", revealed to be the Black Ranger. Other cast members include Murray Keane in the role of "Benny", Charlie McDermott voicing "General Crunch", and Jason Hoyte as a guest role named "Mr. McAllistair".

An article of The New Zealand Herald reported that RPM is the last season of the Power Rangers run. Production manager Sally Campbell stated in an interview "...at this stage we will not be shooting another season". However, a couple weeks later, Bandai released a statement that "Disney is producing a Season 18 and Bandai America will continue to develop action figures and toys for fans and collectors of all ages."

Characters

The Power Rangers (Ranger Operators)

Main article: RPM Power Rangers

Scott Truman

A year prior the the present day, Scott and his older brother Marcus, codenamed Eagle 2 and Eagle 1 respectively, were pilots in the Air Force's Eagle Squadron; Scott found himself often in his brother's shadow, as his father, Colonel Mason Truman, was both overprotective of Scott and put more faith in the older son. Both brothers fought in the original battle to secure Corinth, where Marcus was killed when his fighter jet was shot down and crashed. Scott was chosen to be the Ranger Operator Series Red (Ranger Red). As the cocky, stubborn, and strong-headed leader of the RPM team, Scott is somewhat abrasive to many at first and admitted that he was at first unimpressed with Dillon, and then later even more so with Ziggy, being added to the Ranger team. Scott is portrayed by Eka Darville.

Flynn McAllistair

A laid back Scottish mechanic with a useful basic knowledge of technological devices. Flynn grew up on comics and always wished to be able to help people just like the superheroes he admired. Unfortunately it was due to his will to help people that he constantly suffered and lost jobs as a result of his naivety towards such responsibilities. During the battle for Corinth, he single-handedly risked his life to go back out of the city and bring a busload of refugees in, finally impressing his father, who used to scoff at and look down upon his son's desire to be a hero. He was later chosen by Dr K as Ranger Operator Series Blue (Ranger Blue). Flynn is portrayed by Ari Boyland.

Summer Landsdown

Summer was a rich and spoiled heiress, with constantly absent parents; when Venjix forces attacked on her birthday, she was abandoned by her friends and long-suffering staff during the evacuation. She abandoned her selfish personality when her butler, Andrews, who saved her during the frantic race towards Corinth, was killed protecting her. She later performed amateur medevac operations in the battle for Corinth, rescuing the downed Scott after he ejected from his ruined jet. She was chosen to be the Ranger Operator Series Yellow (Ranger Yellow), while making a deal with her parents to be given space in return for an eventual marriage. She convinced Dillon to join the team. Summer is portrayed by Rose McIver.

Ziggy Grover

Ziggy was a former (and incompetent) member of Fresno Bob's criminal Scorpion Cartel, but angered all the cartels in an act of kindness. It was due to this act of kindness that he was forced to flee the city. During his first appearance, he befriends Dillon and with him, returns to Corinth. He eventually joins the team as an assistant. He later becomes the Ranger Operator Series Green (Ranger Green) when bonding with the Green Rev Morpher became the only option to protect the powers from falling into Tenaya 7's possession. He is simple-minded and slightly cowardly, and reluctant to be a Ranger. However he has recently been shown to be taking his duties more seriously, attempting to do his best during missions as opposed to hiding, which he did in his first battle. Ziggy is portrayed by Milo Cawthorne.

Dillon

Dillon has no memory of his past, nor has any knowledge of why his body is riddled with Venjix technology that boosts his physical capabilities. He spent a year trying to reach Corinth until he ran into Ziggy trying to rob him, the latter who then subsequently helped him get into city. A terse loner, he outwardly is unconcerned with others, but has defended Ziggy & Summer, who convinced him to join the RPM team as the Ranger Operator Series Black (Ranger Black). The only clues to his past are a musical pocketwatch that he seems to have some emotional attachment to, and several mysterious recurring dreams. In "Blitz", a virus was activated within his Venjix implants that will cause them to grow and spread throughout his body until they completely overtake him. Dillon is portrayed by Daniel Ewing.

Allies

• Dr. K: The Rangers' mentor who creates the technology for the RPM Rangers; she is extremely sensitive about the Ranger suits, particularly if someone calls them spandex. She's a genius and also musically inclined, using the violin and keyboard when working and even using them in conjunction with some of her equipment. Although her identity was initially obscured by her speaking through a computer screen and distorting her voice (the Rangers referred to K as "he"), the Rangers later learned that she is actually a young woman.
  At a young age, she was taken away to a morally dubious government think tank called "Alphabet Soup" in which she created both "Project Venjix", a self-aware virus (sold to her as a "very special computer program"), and the Ranger Series technology called "Project Ranger". She has long since forgotten her real name and only goes by "K", the name that was assigned to her by the agents. She was not allowed to go outside, being told that she was allergic to sunlight, and had no friends before being introduced to Gem and Gemma in her final year with the agency. Upon discovering that the government agents had been lying to all the Alphabet Soup members about the allergy, she uploaded Venjix into the facility to enable her to break out but was both thwarted and prevented from installing the firewall to contain it, enabling the spread of Venjix. She escaped to Corinth a year later and is responsible for the broadcasts leading people there.
  Due to her childhood and upbringing, she rarely leaves the base and is quite blunt with other people, outright stating if she doesn't like someone, most notably Ziggy. This also makes her socially inept even making compliments coming from her seem awkward. She also never refers to the Rangers by their real names, keeping her relationship with them as professional and impersonal as possible (though on two occasion, she has called Dillon by name). Despite these traits, Dr. K seems to have an unmindful affinity for cute things as evidenced by the questionably cartoony Zord designs and her sleeping attire.
  Because of her commitment to destroying the Venjix virus to atone for her mistake, she overworks herself developing new ways to combat Venjix and has little time to herself. While her physical abilities are limited, Dr. K is capable of defending herself using her quick thinking to repel enemies, often using what seems to be a technologically enhanced violin against Tenaya 7. When Dillon's robotic implants were in critical danger of being taken over by Venjix, the only way to slow the growth was to input the base code of the virus to stop the acceleration program. After making the tough decision to save Dillon, she subsequently revealed to the rangers that she was the one who released the virus into the world. Dr. K is portrayed by Olivia Tennet.
• Colonel Mason Truman: Scott's father and the leader of Corinth's defense forces. Truman's relationship with his son a strained one, as he seeming favored his late son, Marcus, over Scott. Even after Scott's recruitment as Ranger Red, Truman is still overprotective of Scott. Although he does not express it openly, Truman is still proud of Scott's accomplishments. Portrayed by James Gaylyn.
• Corporal Hicks: While a capable soldier, he is curious and can be a bit clumsy, and is often seen absentmindedly trying to touch Dr. K's equipment. Portrayed by Damien Avery.
• Vasquez: Portrayed by Mia Koning.
• Benny: A friend of Ziggy's from his Scorpion Cartel days, who helped smuggle him out of the city. Portrayed by Murray Keane.
• Gem and Gemma: Cheery twins who finish each other's sentences, they were the first people whom Dr. K called friends (though she didn't like them at first) and fellow members of Alphabet Soup. They were the test pilots for Ranger Operator Suits back when she was younger and still working for the think tank facility. When Venjix was reeking havoc across the world, they stopped Alphabet Soup from killing Dr. K to cover up its involvement and allowed her to escape. They were last seen trying to retrieve the experimental Gold and Silver Series prototypes during the Venjix takeover and Alphabet Soup facility collapse, and haven't been seen since. Portrayed by Mike Ginn and Li Ming Hu.

Villains

The primary villains in Power Rangers: RPM operate out of a mechanical fortress.

• Venjix: An aggressive sentient computer virus, it was created by Dr. K on behalf of Alphabet Soup. Dr. K released it into the facility servers in hopes that she would be able to escape, but was discovered and dragged away before she could install a firewall. Without a firewall to keep it contained in the Soup facility, it quickly spread through the world's computers and within three years had taken over the earth's defense forces and data networks. Its only form is that of a large technological pillar with one red optical eye. The virus is so powerful that it decimated almost the entire world, leaving only the city of Corinth. Voiced by Andrew Laing.
• General Shifter: One of Venjix's mechanical generals, he is more serious and aggressive than his counterpart, Crunch; he is still stupid enough to believe his own reflection was a secondary head inside a monster. Venjix gunned him down in a display of annoyance over the constant failures, though he was later rebuilt. Voiced by Mark Mitchinson.
• General Crunch: Another of Venjix's mechanical generals. He appears to be dim-witted and less serious than his counterpart, Shifter. As with Shifter, he was shot down by Venjix - several times, the last shots being for naively noting some basic flaws in Venjix's plans (poking fun at Power Rangers' genre conventions). He was rebuilt soon after though. Voiced by Charlie McDermott.
• Tenaya 7: A Generation-7 Gynoid created by Venjix to resemble a human. She is known for whistling the tune from The Farmer in the Dell (similar to Omar Little from The Wire) before confronting and attacking her opponents. In battle, she wears a tinted visor. She also has a detachable hand that is used for infiltration, espionage, and melee sneak attacks; the constant repairs and upgrades her hand has had to go through have become something of a running gag with the character. Her first mission was to use her human-like appearance to attend Ziggy's Green Ranger audition to bond with and steal the Series Green powers, unexpectedly resulting in Ziggy bonding with the powers in an attempt to protect them. Tenaya has a rebellious side, often criticizing Venjix's plans and talking to it sarcastically, similar to Dillon's defiance of Dr. K, but despite this Venjix's considers her its most wise and trusted warrior. She is also noted for tormenting her opponents and for enjoying her work, unique among Venjix's creations. Also unique is that since she's designed as a human, Venjix gave her human-like tendencies attributing to her personality, such as a self-preservation instinct and the ability to sleep. She has a condescending attitude towards humans and will take violent offense should anyone ever call her one. Portrayed by Adelaide Kane.
• Grinders: Venjix's mechanical footsoldiers.
• Venjix Drones: Cicada-like Assault vehicles, piloted by the Grinders. They can change from a land-based form to an aerial mode.
• The Cartels: Five criminal organizations that control the Corinth underworld who are not related to Venjix. On highly lucrative operations or against common problems (such as Ziggy), they have been known to work together. The most prominent is the Scorpion Cartel under Fresno Bob (John Sumner), who is known as a criminal to both the Rangers and Colonel Truman, but manages to remain free.
• Alphabet Soup: A government think-tank, they abducted Dr. K and other child prodigies such as Gem and Gemma to work on secret, complex scientific projects, keeping the children at their facility by making them believe they were ill and fatally allergic to sunlight. They had both the Ranger Series technology and the Venjix virus created, and when Venjix broke free, their primary concern was to ensure nobody knew of their involvement with the creation of the virus by ordering the death of Dr. K. The assassination attempt was thwarted when Gem and Gemma knocked the facility staffers out. It is as yet unknown what their objective was before Venjix was released, or why they took Dr. K in the first place.

Arsenal

• Engine Cells: Power chips that plug into both the Rangers' weapons to power them, and the Zords to enlarge them.
• Cell Shift Morpher: A handheld cell phone device Rangers Red, Blue, and Yellow use to morph. They must also insert a blue-decaled, silver Engine Cell that allows them to morph. Their morphing call is "RPM, Get In Gear!"
• Rev Morpher: A wrist worn device modeled after a gear shifter that Rangers Green and Black use to morph. They must also insert a green-decaled silver Engine Cell that allows them to morph. They have the same morphing call, "RPM, Get In Gear!"
• Nitro Blasters: The Rangers' sidearms, powered by Engine Cells. They also have a Nitro Sword mode.
• Wheel Blasters: These are actually the wheels that allow the rangers to control their Zords. It is used with a Cell Shift Morpher or a Rev Morpher inserted in the middle. It can be separated in the cockpit of the Zenith Megazord and shifted into a blaster. By inserting a checker-decaled, white Engine Cell, they can use the Zenith Megazord's Final Attack. It can also be removed from the Zords completely for use as a weapon in field combat.
• Spacetime Manipulation: Each Ranger has the ability to manipulate electrons in their personal biosphere to bend spacetime in unique ways, letting them perform powerful attacks.
  • Burst Attack: Ranger Red channels energy into his own body for three seconds.
  • Time Manipulation Burst: Ranger Blue is able to freeze time for ten seconds.
  • Energy Blast: Ranger Yellow can fire large surges of energy.
  • Teleportation: Ranger Green can teleport for a period of time.
  • Invincibility Shield: Ranger Black can produce a shield that makes him impervious to all attacks for five seconds.
• RPM Enforcer: A combination of the Road Blaster and the Turbo Plasma Launcher. Powered by Engine Cells.
  • Road Blaster: A combination of the Street Saber, Turbo Cannon, and Zip Charger. Powered by Engine Cells.
    • Street Saber: Ranger Red's personal weapon.
    • Turbo Cannon: Ranger Blue's personal weapon.
    • Zip Charger: Ranger Yellow's personal weapon.
  • Turbo Plasma Launcher: A combination of the Turbo Axe and Rocket Blaster. Powered by Engine Cells.
    • Turbo Axe: Ranger Green's personal weapon.
    • Rocket Blaster: Ranger Black's personal weapon.

Zord Attack Vehicles

The Zords in RPM are referred to within the series as the "Zord Attack Vehicles". Each Zord Attack Vehicle is an animal-themed motor vehicle with large optical sensors that the Rangers say resemble anime-style eyes. When summoned by the Rangers, they must plug in their appropriate engine cell into their respective Zords in order to power them up and enlarge them.

• Eagle Racer: Ranger Red's Zord is an eagle-themed race car with flight capabilities. It forms the torso, head, and arms of the High Octane Megazord. It is frequently simply referred to as the Eagle Zord in the show
• Lion Hauler: Ranger Blue's Zord is a lion themed bus. It forms the legs of the High Octane Megazord.
• Bear Crawler: Ranger Yellow's Zord is a bear-themed monster truck. It forms the lower torso of the High Octane Megazord.
• Tail Spinner: Ranger Green's Zord is a shark-themed motorcycle. It becomes the left arm for ValveMax Megazord and Zenith Megazord to become a spinning blade. It can also replace the left arm of the High Octane Megazord with the same attack.
• Wolf Cruiser: Ranger Black's Zord is a wolf-themed police car. It becomes the right arm for the ValveMax Megazord and Zenith Megazord to become a blaster. It can also replace the right arm of the High Octane Megazord with the same attack.
• Crocodile Carrier: An orange crocodile-themed eighteen wheeler (called Croc Carrier for short). Rangers Green and Black each have an Engine Cell Key for half of this unmanned/remote Zord. In order for it to function properly, it requires a flux overthruster core reactor, which are very hard to come by. This Zord forms the body, head and legs of the ValveMax Megazord and the feet for the Zenith Megazord.

Megazord Formations

• Zenith Megazord: The High Octane Megazord combines with the Tail Spinner, Wolf Cruiser, and Croc Carrier. The Tail Spinner and Wolf Cruiser form arms and the Croc Carrier forms feet for the Megazord. A second flux overthruster was necessary in order to power the megazord which was copied from a Venjix Attackbot. Its final attack shoots out projections of all six Zords that combine it.
  • High Octane Megazord: The Eagle Racer, Lion Hauler, and Bear Crawler Zords combine to form the High Octane Megazord. It wields a shield made from the chassis of the Bear Crawler and the Super Saber with which it can perform a high speed slash in which it finishes opponents.
    • High Octane Megazord with Tail Spinner: The Tail Spinner replaces the left arm of the High Octane Megazord and forms a spinning blade weapon. It's finishing move is a powerful slash.
    • High Octane Megazord with Wolf Cruiser: The Wolf Cruiser replaces the right arm of the High Octane Megazord and forms a powerful gun weapon. It's finishing move are powerful blasts.
  • ValveMax Megazord: The Croc Carrier forms the body, head and legs, while the Wolf Cruiser and Tail Spinner form the right and left arms respectively. It's finishing move are two slashes from the Wolf Cruiser and Tail Spinner while the last move is a chomp from the mouth of the Croc Carrier.

Episodes

Main article: List of Power Rangers: RPM episodes

#	Air date	Episode Title
1	2009-03-07	"The Road to Corinth"
2	2009-03-07	"Fade to Black"
3	2009-03-14	"Rain"
4	2009-03-21	"Go For the Green"
5	2009-03-28	"Handshake"
6	2009-04-04	"Ranger Green"
7	2009-04-11	"Ranger Red"
8	2009-04-18	"Ranger Yellow Part 1"
9	2009-04-25	"Ranger Yellow Part 2"
10	2009-05-02	"Ranger Blue"
11	2009-05-09	"Doctor K"
12	2009-05-16	"Blitz"
13	2009-05-23	"Brother's Keeper"
14	2009-06-13	"Embodied"
15	2009-06-20	"Ghosts"

External links

• Power Rangers: RPM at ABC Kids
• Power Rangers: RPM at IMDb