I did a review of Season 1 Vol. 1 a few weeks back, and in it I explained what made this particular kids show so different. Sure, there were plenty of action oriented children’s programing at the time, particularly on FOX (anyone reminiscing about the old FOX Kids! days right now?). At the time, X-Men and the exquisite Batman: The Animated Series ruled the after school roost. That is, until, television executive Haim Saban bought stock footage of a classic Japanese franchise termed Super Sentai. At first, his idea to take the footage and turn it into something for the states seemed radical. But the powers-to-be over at the News Corporation ran broadcast network agreed to run the pilot. To make a long story short, those few releases hit big. Very big. And soon, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was the weekday afternoon and Saturday morning ratings darling over established adaptations of Marvel and D.C. Comic heroes.
Now, the Power Rangers is an entire brand with many different narrative threads and plot avenues (all while still observing the same formula, even now). The original Mighty Morphin sect consist of the first three season, and a short ten episode miniseries at the end to create a bridge into season four’s story Zeo. ’93-’95 was filmed using parts from the Sentai shows: Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, Gosei Sentai Dairanger, and Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. Anytime you see the Rangers “morphed,” you are actually watching a martial arts show made in the land of the rising sun. But the folks over at Saban Brands understood that going full-on Gojira style overdub would not have done well. There had to be things that the American audience could attach/relate to. What better than a diverse set of kids from SoCal? Austin St. John, Amy Jo Johnson, David Yost, Walter Emmanuel Jones, Thuy Trang, and later Jason David (Fearless) Frank were cast to shoot the scenes “out of costume” if you will. This allowed the writing team to construct story lines that would work well for western viewers, and seamlessly bring in the stock footage to splice it all together 22 minutes at a time. Sounds simple enough, but I can only imagine the creative gymnastics that were done in those production meetings to not only ensure every episode made sense, but that children could easily follow along and find it entertaining. I know it’s a kids show, but it takes some real moxie to sustain a reputable, marketable, and profitable adolescent program for as long as the folks at Saban have been able to with Rangers.
I personally think a key aspect in this longevity is seeing change as a positive, not a negative. (Speaking to the fans) Think about it. In these three season alone, many different Rangers, enemies, locations, Zords, what have you, are introduced and established as working components of the show. Some point to the five part “Green With Evil” portion of season 1 as the defining moment for the show. The idea was to introduce the evil Green Ranger under Rita Repulsa’s control, kick the first five group’s tail, and by the end of it he’ll replaces Jason as the leader of Zordon’s fighting force. Imagine the uproar if, say, The Animated Series had decided to make Clayface Batman’s every episode side kick? Now, we understand this is a ludicrous idea. If nothing else for the sake of “staying true” to the founding text. But this whole Mighty Morphin deal was “make it up as we go” to some extent. Producer Tony Oliver actually admits to being surprised when the sixth Ranger became a stable part of the footage they had to use. This was an inherent advantage the show had. There are no loyalists that may be offended by certain creative decisions. There is no decades long narrative cliff that must be meticulously scaled to ensure no pitfalls occur. Just make the best episode (or multi-part story) you can that day and keep the core production principles in mind so that it all “feels” the same. It’s a formula that has worked for 20 years.
Truly, the actual show shines when a few episodes are dedicated to one thought. The set mentioned above is a shining example, as that one ran for an entire week. All my five year old mind thought about Monday to Friday was how in the world “we” were going to beat this guy! Others weren’t so long, but also very evolutionary. “Green No More” saw Tommy transform into the new White Ranger with his trusty sword Saba and powerful White Tiger Zord. As most successful shows go, you’ll need to deal with cast changes. So the three episode “Ninja Encounter” brought the introduction of Adam (Johnny Yong Bosch), Aisha (Karan Ashley) and Rocky (Steve Cardenas) as the new Black, Yellow, and Red Rangers respectively. Staying with the shinobi theme, “Ninja Quest” offered a slew of fresh things with it’s plot. A new enemy in Rito Revolto (Rita’s brother) and new part time good guy Ninjor are thrown into the fray. But the biggest change was the new Ninja Ranger abilities bestowed upon the sensational six, which restored their original Morph powers and offered them a new “energized” state and a fresh, show room floor set of Zords. The theme that always settled the wary nerves of kids who followed along was the promise that all of the changes would be “for the better.” Sure, I was sad when Amy Jo Johnson left and Catherine Sutherland was brought in as her replacement (“A Different Shade of Pink”). But we were told that Kimberly would continue doing “good will” for the world in some other capacity, and that Kat would kick more butt than Kimberly. We all love the Dino Zords, but hey, Thunder Zords can beat evil better, so I’m cool with it! More of that spontaneous energy that keeps the show running. And for the record, Lord Zedd is a much better primary antagonist than Rita.
While I loved punching and kicking down memory lane with the episodes, the true joy of this process was watching the Special Features discs. Not too many shows done before the DVD age have many projects devoted to the history of the series. Luckily, the team behind this set brought together notable alums to talk about all things Mighty. The first disc is mainly devoted to interviews with the cast and crew. “Morphin Time!” sits down with Saban Entertainment founder Haim Saban, President of Saban Brands Elie Dekel, writer/supervising producer Tony Oliver, casting director Katy Wallin, and “bulk” director Terence H. Winkless. It discusses how Mr. Saban came up with the initial idea, and then in what ways the incredible production team was able to make this uncanny project a successful reality. “A Morphenomenal Cast” again features Katy Wallin, but is dominated with cast member galore: Karan Ashley, David Yost, Walter Emmanuel Jones, Catherine Sutherland, Paul Schrier (Bulk), Jason Narvy (Skull), and others. They discuss, in detail, how they came about lading parts on the program, the hectic work day schedules, and that being apart of the project really allowed them access to the entire “creative” process, which has served them well with other endeavors. Disc 2 has some really interesting featurettes as well. “The Fans Power Up!” is a piece directed and edited by Ranger superfan Bernard “Bruno” Friedland that couples fan interviews with continued cast/crew Q and As about the sensational nature that follows the original run and the profound impact that these three season have had on the lives of some. The other selections on this DVD are taken from the “way back” machine. “Fan Club Video” is footage taken from the official fan club VHS that went out to the members of said club and “White Ranger Kata” is an hour long instructional video featuring “Fearless” Frank himself as a sensei teaching different moves and principles of martial arts.
-“Morphin Time!: A Look Back at the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.”
-“A Morphenomenal Cast: A Look at Becoming a Power Ranger.”
-“Lord Zedd’s Monster Heads”
-“Alpha’s Magical Christmas.”
-“The Good, The Bad, and The Stupid! The Misadventures of Bulk & Skull.”
-“The Fans Power Up! A Peek Inside the Power Rangers Fandom.”
-“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Fan Club Video.”
-“The White Ranger Kata.”
-“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Live: The World Tour.”