Power Rangers

The Original Power Rangers as portrayed in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Power Rangers is an ongoing franchise of television series, chronicling the adventures of teenagers or 20-somethings who transform into the titular superheroes. The show is directly tied into a vast merchandising empire largely owned by Japanese toy company Bandai.

While the concept is based on the Super Sentai series of yearly serials, it is not an English dub of the original, but rather a 'new' production with English-speaking actors spliced in with the original Japanese footage to varying ratios. Due to the very Japanese nature of many of Sentai's stories and design, the American shows are always at least slightly changed to fit a Western audience.

Power Rangers was distributed by Saban Entertainment from 1993 until the end of 2001 and was broadcast on the Fox network. Power Rangers was officially purchased by Disney in 2001. The show continued to air on the Fox Network until Fox Kids was dismantled in 2002, and has since aired on various Disney-owned stations.

Plot

Template:Spoilers Each of the Power Rangers seasons, or "incarnations", centers around a group of people, often teenagers (age of actors actually varies from 18 to 23 years old), that gain super powers to fight the henchmen of various villains, ranging from demons to witches to aliens. To activate these powers, these characters, known in general as the Power Rangers, morph by performing a standard action and reciting a morphing call. Throughout the series, the Power Rangers learn the importance of teamwork and perseverance as they battle progressively harder-to-defeat villains. Like its Super Sentai counterpart, from which part of an episode's action footage is taken, a monster is unleashed on the Power Rangers and it is usually up to them to destroy the monster.

Often, before a monster is defeated, a monster will grow into gigantic proportions, forcing the Power Rangers to use gigantic (bio)mechanical machines known as Zords. In many cases, these Zords can be combined to form a more advanced (and humanlike) machine, known as a Megazord. In many series, because of the way Zords are combined, the Power Rangers may also use interchangeable parts to enhance their fighting power, or combine Megazords together to form larger Megazords. Some seasons feature extremely large combinations of Zords known as Ultrazords.

What is a Power Ranger?

A Power Ranger is a human or humanoid person who "morphs" from a natural, unpowered form into a superhuman warrior clad in a full-body costume (irreverently and incorrectly called spandex), as well as a helmet with an opaque visor, which in many cases serves to protect his or her identity. A morphed Ranger generally possesses superhuman strength, durability, and hand-to-hand combat ability; unmorphed Rangers may possess other innate abilities (such as telepathy, superspeed, invisibility, etc.) which are usually not directly related to his or her Ranger powers. Rangers appear to retain their original physiology beneath their suits when in morphed form, as Rangers' helmets have been seen removed or broken on numerous occasions, revealing his or her natural form underneath; helmets aside, the suits are donned and removed nearly instantaneously with a glow of light or some other effect. Rangers are known to "demorph" involuntarily due to some magical effects or powerful physical attacks, with potentially life-threatening injury to the Ranger's natural body.

Rangers regularly operate in teams of five, with a special sixth Ranger frequently rounding out the bunch; sometimes a core team of three will later be joined by two or three additional Rangers. Each Ranger's suit and energy spectrum will match a specific color, with red, yellow, and blue being joined by some combination of pink, green, black, or white. Rangers may be named after their respective colors, such as Red Ranger, Blue Ranger, etc., but numbers or other names may also be used. There is usually no more than one Ranger of a given color on a team, but exceptions of this rule are generally given alternate names (such as Navy for an alternate blue, and Crimson or Quantum for an alternate red). The team's costumes are nearly identical aside from color and perhaps a number designation; any additional Rangers (such as the standard sixth Ranger) will regularly have additional costume modifications.

Plot Sequence

A normal Power Rangers episode can be broken down into an everyplot.

The plot sequence is generally as follows:

Rangers are seen in everyday life with a dispute to resolve.
Rangers are attacked by evil enemy's minions/footsoldiers.
Rangers fight minions/footsoldiers.
Rangers morph.
Rangers defeat minions/footsoliders.
Evil enemy revives minion and makes minion grow to gigantic proportions, followed by Rangers summoning giant machines known as Zords and/or their combined form, the Megazord.
Optional: Rangers find that their current powers are insufficient to defeat monster and discover a new power, such as a Battlizer armor for the Red Ranger, a sixth Ranger, or a new Megazord.
Rangers fight and defeat said giant minion, usually using a flashy trademark move.
Rangers are shown back in everyday life, having learned a life lesson which solves the earlier dispute.

Elements of a Power Rangers season

Each team of Power Rangers, with few exceptions, obey a general set of conventions, outlined at the beginning of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and implied throughout many of the other incarnations, although not stated explicitly. These include the Power Rangers being forbidden to use their Ranger powers for personal gain or for escalating a fight, explaining why the Rangers don't just step on the small monsters with their Megazord. The Power Rangers are also forbidden to disclose their identities to the general public, barring extenuating circumstances (although this rule was disregarded in Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue and Power Rangers: SPD). The penalty for disobeying these rules, at least in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers would be the loss of the power.

The arsenal available to the Power Rangers is also somewhat standardized: each Ranger is generally armed with a weapon such as a laser gun or a sword. Each Ranger also has a secondary set of weapons, that can often combine to form a larger weapon (usually a cannon). As the series progresses, one or even all of the Rangers are also usually given a motorcycle for long-distance travel, as well as individual zords. In many series, a Ranger is also given additional zords or weapons, in some cases one Ranger may receive something that other Rangers may not have - an example of this is the Battlizer given to the Red Rangers of each series since Power Rangers: In Space. Although much of the arsenal can also be found in Super Sentai, there is generally at least some that are not, generally added for the express purpose of marketing toys designed and sold by Bandai.

In later incarnations, it is also common for each incarnation to be separate, storywise, from another incarnation. A tradition in later incarnations is for two teams of Power Rangers to team up and take on a villain. In Power Rangers: Wild Force, the tenth incarnation of Power Rangers, this is taken to the next level, as ten Red Rangers teamed up in the episode "Forever Red." The only season not to feature this is Power Rangers: Ninja Storm, due to a shift back to non-SAG talent when production was moved to New Zealand.

Episodes

Motion Pictures

The Power Rangers series have also brought forth two movies.

A movie was planned to be produced for Power Rangers: Time Force in 2001, but the threat of a Screen Actors Guild strike cancelled those plans.

Criticisms

Original Executive Producer Haim Saban was criticized heavily for his use of non-SAG actors, and the one-sided contracts that the actors were bound to for appearing on the show. The "Mighty Morphin" cast was bound to five-year contracts with no benefits and insultingly low pay (reportedly $500 US per week), which were non-negotiable. When the series hit big time, Fox signed the show to a two-picture deal, and actors Austin St. John, Walter Emmanuel Jones and Thuy Trang left the series when none of their demands were met. They were immediately replaced, to no negative effect on the show's ratings.

Many critics of the early Power Rangers series claimed that the Power Rangers use unnecessary force to destroy their monsters, and often get into fights when better alternatives were available. In some cases, networks pulled Power Rangers from its lineup, citing such concerns. Later incarnations of Power Rangers often attempt to explain the actions of the Power Rangers, but many still believe that Power Rangers remains a series too violent for young children. Finland pulled the series as they believed that the series caused two boys to beat up a girl in 1993 (it was eventually found that the murder was unconnected to the series). For a time Power Rangers was not pulled from Malaysian television screens as the word "morphin" (in the phrase "It's Morphin Time!") sounded a bit too much like the drug morphine had been banned then it shows only title Power Rangers instead.

The first season of Power Rangers also drew criticism from some groups claiming that the Ranger colors were racist, specifically referring to Zack, the Black Ranger (played by African American actor Walter Emmanuel Jones) and Trini, the Yellow Ranger (played by Asian American actress Thuy Trang). This criticism was rendered moot when the two actors left the show halfway through Season Two and were replaced with an Asian American male as the Black Ranger, and an African American woman as the Yellow Ranger. This was mentioned on VH1's I Love the 90s. Amy Jo Johnson and Walter Emmanuel Jones appeared in the "1993" episode. Since then, no Asian-American actor or actress has played the Yellow Ranger, and no African-American has played the Black Ranger.

The fact that there are very few links between the later Power Rangers series (apart from the name and format) is often resented by the older Power Rangers fans. Each series now seems to start the story anew instead of continuing from the previous season as it used to. The first Power Rangers show to stop being a direct continuation from the previous was Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy; however, recently there has been a small attempt at making the series after Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy in canon with the Power Rangers timeline with Tommy Oliver's recall of the events in an episode of Power Rangers: Dino Thunder and in Power Rangers: Wild Force's tenth incarnation celebrationary episode "Forever Red" which featured all the Red Rangers from Jason Lee Scott right up to Cole himself.

In the UK, the first incarnation sparked fears that kids would hurt themselves by recreating the moves in the series. As a result, GMTV (who is still the analogue host in the UK) had to issue a warning at the end of an episode stating, "The Power Rangers are specially trained martial arts experts, so don't you copy them!" GMTV no longer issues this warning. However, Jetix in its British incarnation still issues a generic warning for the entire series that was used since the beginning of Power Rangers: In Space.

When Power Rangers was first released it was classified as children's programming. However, since its release, the show has continued to evolve into a program that is enjoyed by more mature audiences, partly due to its aging original fans. This has led to some fans requesting that the tone and format of the show be changed in order to better suit its more mature audience. However, whereas Power Rangers still appeals to older viewers, the show's producers feel that a more mature show might alienate their largest demographic—children. It would also cause them to lose revenue in toy and merchandising sales, which finance the shows.

Many also credit Power Rangers for an increased interest in the martial arts by suburban America. This fad-like popularization of martial arts in mainstream youth culture is often looked at as one of the reasons the McDojo has become somewhat of a prevalent phenomenon.

Incarnations of Power Rangers

Series	Year	Based On
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers	1993 – 1995	Kyoryuu Sentai ZyuRanger (1st season)
		Gosei Sentai Dairanger (2nd season)
		Ninja Sentai Kaku Ranger (3rd season)
Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers (Mini-story arc within the third season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)	1996	Ninja Sentai Kaku Ranger
Power Rangers: Zeo	1996	Chouriki Sentai Ohranger
Power Rangers: Turbo	1997	Gekisou Sentai CarRanger
Power Rangers: In Space	1998	Denji Sentai Mega Ranger
Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy	1999	Seijuu Sentai Gingaman
Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue	2000	Kyukyu Sentai GoGo-V
Power Rangers: Time Force	2001	Mirai Sentai Time Ranger
Power Rangers: Wild Force	2002	Hyakujuu Sentai GaoRanger
Power Rangers: Ninja Storm	2003	Ninpu Sentai Hurricanger
Power Rangers: Dino Thunder	2004	Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger
Power Rangers: SPD	2005	Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger
Power Rangers: Mystic Force	2006	Mahou Sentai Magiranger
??	2007	Gougou Sentai Boukenger

Power Rangers on DVD

Currently, there are only 18 DVD releases of Power Rangers in the USA (as listed below). Internationally, however there have been additional DVD releases (such as Time Force and Wild Force in Germany) and as free DVDs attached to Jetix Magazine UK.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment is scheduled to release five new volumes of the upcoming season, Power Rangers: Mystic Force in 2006.

The current Power Rangers DVD titles are:

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie, 1995; Fox Home Entertainment

Turbo: A Power Ranger Movie, 1997; Fox Home Entertainment

The Best of the Power Rangers: The Ultimate Rangers, 2003; BVHE

Power Rangers Ninja Storm Volumes 1 - 5, 2003; BVHE

Power Rangers Dino Thunder Volumes 1 - 5, 2004; BVHE

Power Rangers SPD Volumes 1 - 5, 2005, BVHE

Trivia

Red, Blue, and Yellow are the only colors that have been a part of every Power Rangers team incarnation since the show's inception.

This is one of the first children's television shows to include bleeped swear words. The only instances of such swearing are during the credits when outtakes are shown.

All Black and Green Rangers so far have been male, while all Pink Rangers so far have been female. The only colors that have been worn by both male and female Rangers are White, Yellow, Blue, and Red (Red SPD A-Squad Ranger is currently the only female Red Ranger. A second Blue female will be introduced in Power Rangers: Mystic Force).

Despite having starred in a childrens show, eight Power Rangers cast members have appeared nude in films, this includes: Amy Jo Johnson, Catherine Sutherland, Hilary Shepard Turner, Carol Hoyt, Cerina Vincent, Sasha Williams, Jeffrey Parazzo, and Michelle Langstone.

In the original series, the Yellow Ranger was portrayed as a female, although her Morphed form was flat-chested and did not include a skirt as the Pink Ranger's Morphed form did. This was because the fight scene (Morphed) footage was taken from the Japanese Zyuranger, where the Yellow Ranger is actually a male. This change of gender in the Yellow Ranger was repeated in Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy, Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue, Power Rangers: Time Force and Power Rangers: Wild Force.

With the exceptions of the Time Force Power Rangers, the Aquitian Rangers and the SPD A-Squad Rangers, every Ranger team has had a male as its leader. Although Wes did take control of the Red Time Force Ranger powers in 2001, which by most Ranger standards would make him the leader of Time Force, Jen was assigned to be the leader when the team went through the Time Portal in 3000. Delphine has successfully led (and, by all accounts, still leads) her team. Charlie of SPD made history when she was revealed to be the series' first female Red Ranger.

So far, there have been ten Red Rangers, two White Rangers, one Pink Ranger, and one Black Ranger to lead a Power Rangers team. Note that the ten Red Rangers counts Tommy's Zeo and Turbo incarnations as one, and that Taylor is also excluded as her leadership was handed over to Cole at the start of the Power Rangers: Wild Force season.

Kendrix from Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy became the first member of any Power Ranger team to die while being a Ranger. The actress who played Kendrix, Valerie Vernon, had been diagnosed with leukemia and was forced to leave the show in the middle of its run. Kendrix did appear periodically to assist her replacement Karone, and was returned to life (via unknown circumstances) in the season finale of Lost Galaxy.

In the entire history of Power Rangers, Tommy Oliver (Jason David Frank) is the only character to have worn four different colors as a Ranger, more than any Ranger in history (Green, White, Red and Black).

Tommy Oliver is currently the only character to have ever teamed up with at least one Ranger member from every team of the first thirteen seasons (Mighty Morphin' through SPD).

Jason David Frank is the only Power Rangers actor to have appeared in at least one episode of five incarnations of the series playing the same role.

Actress Katrina Devine is the first member of the Power Rangers family to be part of two Generations, playing different roles in each, portraying Marah in Power Rangers: Ninja Storm, then returning to play Cassidy in the immediate succeeding incarnation, Power Rangers: Dino Thunder. This feat has now been surpassed by actors Antonia Preeble and Kelson Henderson who (as of the premeire of Mystic Force in February 2006)will have each played three different characters in every season since Dino Thunder. Antonia played Conner's girlfriend Krista in Dino Thunder, voiced Nova Ranger in SPD, and will be playing a character named Claire in Mystic Force. Kelson Henderson played Kira's record producer in Dino Thunder, Boom in SPD, and an (as of now) unknown character in Mystic Force.

In a similar vein, Katrina Devine and Melody Perkins are the only two Power Rangers actors to portray a villain in one Generation and a person on the side of good in the immedately succeeding incarnation. However, Perkins played the same character in her sequence, playing the evil Astronema (aka Andros' sister Karone) in Power Rangers: In Space, then returning to portray Karone again in Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy, where she became the second Pink Galaxy Ranger after Kendrix Morgan's death.

Over the last few years, the term "Ranger Up" has come into play. It is often used when a character instructs another to morph. An example is in Power Rangers: Dino Thunder, when Ethan spots some Tyranno Drones near a movie theater. He calls Dr. Oliver, who instructs him to "Ranger Up".

Characters

Rangers | Villains | Monsters |

See List of Power Rangers characters for more extensive listings.

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