Power Rangers
From The TV IV
| Power Rangers | |
| |
| Premiere | August 28, 1993 |
| Finale | December 26, 2009 |
| Airs | check local listings |
| Creator | Haim Saban
Shuki Levy |
| Network | FOX (Fox Kids) (season 1-10)
ABC (ABC Kids) (season 10-11; season 17– ) ABC Family (Jetix) (season 12-13) Toon Disney (Jetix) (season 13-16) |
| Style | 30-minute science fiction / fantasy |
| Company | BVS Entertainment, Inc., Renaissance-Atlantic Films |
| Episodes | 668 + unaired pilot + 5 specials + 2 films (through season 16) |
| Seasons | 16 |
| Status | Currently airing season 17 |
| Origin | USA |
| Next Episode | 17x29 - If Venjix Won (12/19/09)
17x30 - End Game (12/19/09) |
Power Rangers is a science fiction / fantasy program that currently airs on Toon Disney and ABC. It is based on the long-running Japanese Super Sentai series of Tokusatsu programs. It is not simply an English dub, but rather a new production with American actors and footage spliced in with the original Japanese footage in varying ratios. Due to the very Japanese nature of the Sentai series, which often features inappopriate content, the series has to be adapted and/or altered to fit a Western audience. However, the action sequences featuring the characters in costume and mecha (called "Zords" in the American series), are typically dubbed.
The series focused on individuals who would "Morph" (that is, transform), into a powerful superhero usually wearing a brightly colored battle suit typically made of spandex featuring a helmet with a opaque visor. Once Morphed, the Ranger in question would gain superhuman strength, durability and hand-to-hand combat ability. The series is infamous for changing its name, cast and plot every year; following in the footsteps of its Japanese counterpart. Rangers usually operate in teams of five, with a sixth Ranger usually joining the team part way into the series. (Recently, however, a core team of three will later be joined by additional Rangers). The Rangers are also given specialized weapons and vehicles, as well as mechanical giant robots known as "Zords" (that can combine into the "Megazord"), to help combat they're enemies.
The series illustrated the continuing battle of Good vs. Evil, with Good winning most of the time. In a typical series, some sort of evil force would surface (either supernatural or alien in origin), and would either plot to conquer and rule the Earth, or destroy it. Each season, the Rangers have to fight this evil, with each villain possessing a horde of foot soldiers and a seemingly endless supply of monsters. The series also follows the "monster of the week" formula, whereas the villain sends down a new monster every week to fight the Rangers. Each episode typically follows this formula...
The Rangers would be presented with a dilemma;
The Villain uses this to his or her advangtage, creating a monster or summoning a monster from they're army;
The monster wreaks havoc until the Rangers are notified;
The Rangers are finally reached and head into battle;
The villain usually sends down foot soldiers to wear them down while the monster continues to cause destruction;
The foot soldiers are overcome and the Rangers start fighting the monster;
After some fighting, the monster finally show signs of weakness;
At this point, the Rangers usually combine they're weapons to form some sort of cannon or blaster, and are seemingly able to destroy the monster;
The villain is extremely angered, and revives the monster, making it grow to a gigantic size;
This is usually followed by a Megazord battle in true monster movie fashion, the Megazord and monster engage in hand-to-hand combat, the Megazord wears the monster down, summons a weapon and destroys the monster for good; the monster is destroyed in a huge explosion;
The Rangers are shown back in civilian mode, and have by this point usually overcome they're dilemma;
The original series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and its related merchandise proved to be quite popular, and saw overnight unbridled success, catapulting into pop culture in mere months. The series ran from 1993 to 1996 and spawned a feature film, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie.
In 1996 after three seasons and 155 episodes, the Mighty Morphin label was retired as the series would follow in the footstep of Super Sentai, changing is name, cast and plot every year; thus the Power Rangers franchise was born.
The third season ended with a ten-episode miniseries entitled Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, which in turn led to the next series via a cliffhanger.
The fourth season and second series, which was entitled Power Rangers: Zeo, proved to be just as popular as the original, running for 50 episodes.
The fifth season, which was titled Power Ranger: Turbo was launched with a theatrical film, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie. The film however, was considered a box-office disaster, partially because it had a limited run in theaters.
By the time the fifth season premiered, problems were lurking on the horizon. The series that Turbo used footage from entitled Gekisou Sentai Carranger featured physical comedy and slapstick humor, effectively spoofing the Super Sentai formula. This presented problems for the producers, as they found themselves divided as to whether or not to utilize the comedy element or present the series in a serious manner. In the end, the comedy element won. This led the series to be plagued by low-ratings, and a bad reputation that would follow it for years to come. The series progressed for 18 episodes before longtime Power Rangers stars were replaced with new ones. And longtime writer Judd Lynn would be given the job of head writer.
Contents |
[edit] Current Cast (Power Rangers: R.P.M., (Season 17: 2009)
| Actor | Character | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Main Cast | ||
| Eka Darville | Scott Truman / Ranger Red | 17 |
| Ari Boyland | Flynn McAllistair / Ranger Blue | 17 |
| Rose McIver | Summer Landsdown / Ranger Yellow | 17 |
| Milo Cawthorne | Ziggy Grover / Ranger Green | 17 |
| Dan Ewing | Dillon / Ranger Black | 17 |
| Mike Ginn | Gem / Ranger Gold | 17 |
| Li Ming Hu | Gemma / Ranger Silver | 17 |
| Olivia Tennet | Dr. K | 17 |
| James Gaylyn | Colonel Mason Truman | 17 |
| Adelaide Kane | Tenaya 15 | 17 |
| Co-Starring | ||
| Mia Koning | Vasquez | 17 |
| Damien Avery | Corporal Hicks | 17 |
| Andrew Laing | Venjix (voice) | 17 |
| Leighton Cardno | Kilobyte (voice) | 17 |
| Charlie McDermott | General Crunch (voice) | 17 |
| Mark Mitchinson | General Shifter (voice) | 17 |
[edit] Seasons
| Season | Premiere | Finale | # |
|---|---|---|---|
| FOX (Fox Kids) | |||
| Season One Mighty Morphin Power Rangers | August 28, 1993 | May 23, 1994 | 60 + 1 |
| Season Two Mighty Morphin Power Rangers | July 21, 1994 | May 20, 1995 | 53 + 1 |
| Season Three Mighty Morphin Power Rangers | September 2, 1995 | February 17, 1996 | 43 |
| Season Four Power Rangers: Zeo | April 20, 1996 | November 27, 1996 | 50 |
| Season Five Power Rangers: Turbo | April 19, 1997 | November 24, 1997 | 45 |
| Season Six Power Rangers: In Space | February 6, 1998 | November 21, 1998 | 43 + 1 |
| Season Seven Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy | February 6, 1999 | December 18, 1999 | 45 + 1 |
| Season Eight Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue | February 12, 2000 | November 18, 2000 | 40 |
| Season Nine Power Rangers: Time Force | February 3, 2001 | November 17, 2001 | 40 |
| FOX Kids (Fox Kids) / ABC (ABC Kids) | |||
| Season Ten Power Rangers: Wild Force | February 9, 2002 | November 16, 2002 | 40 |
| ABC (ABC Kids) | |||
| Season Eleven Power Rangers: Ninja Storm | February 15, 2003 | November 15, 2003 | 38 |
| ABC Family (Jetix) | |||
| Season Twelve Power Rangers: Dino Thunder | February 14, 2004 | November 20, 2004 | 38 |
| ABC Family (Jetix) / Toon Disney (Jetix) | |||
| Season Thirteen Power Rangers: S.P.D. | February 5, 2005 | February 2, 2006 | 38 + 1 |
| Toon Disney (Jetix) | |||
| Season Fourteen Power Rangers: Mystic Force | February 20, 2006 | November 13, 2006 | 32 |
| Season Fifteen Power Rangers: Operation Overdrive | February 26, 2007 | November 12, 2007 | 32 |
| Season Sixteen Power Rangers: Jungle Fury | February 18, 2008 | November 3, 2008 | 32 |
| ABC (ABC Kids) | |||
| Season Seventeen Power Rangers: R.P.M. | March 7, 2009 | December 26, 2009 | 32 |
[edit] Feature Films
| Title | Release Date |
|---|---|
| Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie | June 30, 1995 |
| Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie | March 28, 1997 |
[edit] In-Depth
- At a Glance: Additional information about the series
- Former Casts: Cast list from former seasons/incarnations of Power Rangers.
- Weapons and Gear: A list of weapons, gear and vehicles from former seasons/incarnations of Power Rangers.
[edit] DVD Releases
[edit] External Sites
- Official website for Power Rangers
- Power Rangers: Jungle Fury Episodes, TV Listings, News, Photos and More at TVGuide.com
- Power Rangers Central
- Linear Ranger's Power Rangers Mystic Force Site
- Ranger-Retrocenter.com
- Power Rangers Online
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