MMPRSSF+ Pt. II: The Journey Continues

At long last, I am proud to present part two of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Super Special Feature +. Right now, on your computer! (The "plus" stands for Germany.) We continue with the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers retrospective, already in progress.

What made MMPR so special was that a show like this was virtually unprecedented in the North American market. The notion wasn't new, as we had seen costumed super hero teams and transforming robots in the past, courtesy of Japanese cartoons. But this was different. This was real. Real-ish. It brought all those awesome powers and abilities one step closer to being within our feeble child-grasps.

The concept for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers—as well as a great deal of footage of the Rangers in uniform, the Zord battle scenes, and Rita and her monsters—came from the Japanese T.V. series Dinosaur Squadron Zyuranger.

Now, seriously, why does Japan have such cool names for television shows? "Dinosaur Squadron Zyuranger"? This is how all T.V. shows should be named. To Hell with "Heroes" and "Lost." They should be called "Holy Shit, Super Guys GO!" and "Oh Fuck, Where Am I?" respectively.


Sawyer loves the new title.

MMPR ran for three epic seasons. During that time, several new characters and elements were introduced: Tommy Oliver (Jason David Frank), after a brief stint of freelancing for Rita as a ne'er-do-well, joined the team as the Green Ranger—primarily due to their superior benefits package (no hypnotic mind-control spells and fewer beatings) as well as a chance at some hot Pink Ranger action. Well I have bad news for you, Tommy. She's already got a boyfriend: Me, and we hump like goats. (That means there's a lot of nibbling and bleating.)


Lord Zedd: Meat Sack.

Then there was Lord Zedd, who was introduced in season two and proceeded to bust ass for a short while until he made the fateful mistake of marrying Rita Repulsa. But you can't really blame him. The witch slipped a roofie into his scotch while he was sleeping. Seriously. This was in the show, more or less.

It was all downhill for ol' Zedd after that. He started drinking in order to smother Rita's incessant nagging and eventually gave up all effort in defeating the Power Rangers. They'd show up at his moon base looking for a fight and he'd be like, "I can't, guys. Rita's totally on the rag and would flip if she knew I was hanging out with you." Then he'd hear Rita stirring in the distance and be like, "Shit, she's awake! GTFO for reals!"

However, despite these changes, things still remained pretty much the same throughout the entire series. In fact, any episode of MMPR can typically be broken down as such:

  • The Power Rangers (in civilian mode) are all hanging out at their local school/diner/gymnasium.
  • Bulk and Skull interrupt the group's activities in a desperate cry for attention.
  • Evil happens.
  • The Rangers venture forth and fight valiantly, but are soon overpowered.
  • They call upon the assistance of A) an ally, B) a special weapon, C) their Zords, or D) any combination of the preceding.
  • Evil is vanquished and they all go out for ice cream with a deaf girl (MMPR 1x05 – Different Drum).

As you can see, this show can get pretty intense. But don't take my word for it. Listen to what these real people have to say:

"This article is VERY immature"
Some chick with boobs

"This is an intro paragraph, not an article. More work next time please before posting."
Guy who thinks he's Batman

"not very well written and I [...] have failed to find anything remotely funny in this article"
Wes from Taciturn

"When I read this, the words 'lame' and 'pointless' come to mind for some reason..."
Mom?

Fuck you too, Internet.




Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

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