Sadly, I'm going to be VERY busy for the next week or two, so it might be a bit before you see the next one, so I decided to release this one early. Enjoy!
The History of Power Rangers looks at season two, wherein Tommy gets bleached and Bulk and Skull prove to better heroes than the Rangers.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
History of Power Rangers: Mighty Morphin' Season Two
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
68 comments:
WOW part 2 came out fast!!
I mistook this as part 1 for a second, was wondering why it said 0 comments...
cant wait to see your take ^.^
Another great vid, Lewis. Have fun in Chicago with the rest of the crew!
"Busy," no kidding! I'm beginning to wonder when/if you even sleep! XD You should take a spring break sometime and rest a little.
Anyway, loved it. Keep up the good work!
Love the joke at the end. I don't remember The Ninja Encounter at all, but I do remember Adam, Aisha, and Rocky becoming the new Rangers. Tommy as the White Ranger quickly became my favorite Ranger because of how cool he was and how cool he looked to the point where white became (and still is) my favorite color.
Looking forward to next season, my personal favorite.
One thing always confused me about the power transfer. Why do they need to get the sword? If Zordon gave them the power, wouldn't he be able to take it if they were willing and give it to another?
I've heard a lot of people blame Lord Zed for their attachment to mind control as erotic, in much the same way people have blamed 60s Catwoman for liking leather outfits.
...I have to admit there's a certain appeal to Kimberly being mindcontrolled several times that's not entirely chaste. It's not a thing I particularly buy into (I blame Buffy and perhaps the Outer Scouts from Sailor Moon for my own preference for fighters), but I understand it.
Also I'm completely blaming you for the fact we're locating the first three seasons now. Well done. :P
In response to your asking why they don't just tell Bulk and Skull that they're the Rangers: It's the third rule of being a Power Ranger. They have to protect their identities to their best abilities.
Excellent analysis once again, Lewis! The bit about the baby carriage really had me laughing because I remember watching that and asking myself how it was STILL ROLLING even in the grass. Mostly because of the times I'd try to ride my bike over grass, only to eventually just get off and walk the bike back to the road. Physics in Power Rangers is just a minor inconvenience that you can easily overcome with only willpower and a Power Coin!
I am wondering what is your favorite season personally, but I'm going to guess that it's either 3 or 4, since I know that after Zeo things just went down the drain FAST. I'm also really looking forward to some sort of angry rampaging rant about Bulk and Skull as monkeys during Turbo. Then again, I'm willing to bet there are a LOT of things in Turbo that will inspire angry rants.
May the power protect you (in Chicago)!
I always wondered why they needed a sword to transfer the powers of the original Red, Black, and Yellow Rangers, when Zordon originally just simply handed them their Power Coins. Heck, Tommmy just handed his Dragon Coin to Jason, who in turn just handed it back. Zordon hands Tommy the White Tiger Coin, Ninjor hands them the Ninja Coins, and Kimberly just hands Kat her Crane Coin. All "transfers" done without a flashy sword.
Granted, I learned much later that it was because the original actors had walked off the set and they needed a plot device so as not to show their faces so we hopefully wouldn't notice they weren't really there.
One of the things I loved about Jason, Trini, and Zack constantly walking off set was the forced use of stock footage, which had Tommy, despite being the White Ranger, wearing green again almost as much as he wore white.
Man am I glad you're doing this series. I quit watching during Turbo as a kid cuz I had lost all interest when a kid younger than me became a Power Ranger. In fact, the vast majority of my grade school class were all bitter over it. I didn't tune in again util Dino Thunder and that was only because my favorite was back. I'm very interested to see what all I missed out on up until Dino Thunder and possibly what I missed out on after Dino Thunder. ^_^
Linkara spoils us with all the extra work he does. Although a new comic in five panels would be great.
Great video once again. I love the power rangers having watched them from the beginning and having only missed RPM. I can't wait to see your thoughts on the seasons after space when there is only a loose continuity. Have fun with the rest of the That Guy crew and keep doing what you do.
Chicago? CHICAGO!? Oh wow, now I'm trembling with fangirlish glee...I'm wondering what biblical epic and smile-bringing crossovers will come out of Chicago this year.
I had one Hell of a crush on Billy as a kid, and when he was first turned into a Bulk/Skull nincompoop (along with Kimberly), I cried. I laughed my ass off watching the "Kimberly hamming as Rita" scene again. Ah, memories.
Thanks again Lewis, for a damn good blast from the past. Have fun in Chicago, and I raise my Pepsi-filled Blue Ranger glass to you as a salute.
By the way, how were the Tastykakes I sent you?
I admit that I haven't eaten any yet, but my dad liked them.
Good analysis. I remember that great Bulk and Skull moment as well.
"By the way, how were the Tastykakes I sent you?"
You sent him tastekakes...let me guess butterscotch krimpets.
Great vid, and thank you so much for doing this series, I am having a lot of nostalgia for this and loving it. I forget how awesome Bulk and Skull are, thanks for reminding me.
Cant wait till the next one, and continue the good job on doing these.
@Razorgeist:
Nope; never was a fan of those. My Krimpet-shaped mouse bit the dust after two weeks of use, too. I sent chocolate cupcakes and the pinnacle of addictive baked goods, peanut butter KandyKakes.
Wow, you're right, Amy Jo's Rita impression IS eerie. Granted, mostly it's just high-pitched yelling, but she really did an amazing job.
Also, I know you didn't want to draw comparisons between the Super Sentai material and Power Rangers, but I still think it's worth pointing out that in Dairanger, the giant dragon robot that became Serpentara was essentially a force of nature, akin to Galactus, explaining why it's so insanely powerful.
Gotta say, you're bringing back a lot of old memories, Linkara, and all of them good ones. And despite your busy schedule, I'll be anxiously waiting for the next installment in this little history lesson, as well as what you're thoughts on the entire ordeal is.
And if you ever need help, with either research or anything else like that, give a shout out and I'm sure myself and others would be willing to help. :3
Wait, this might sounds stupid, but when you say Sentai footage, you mean that they were using footage from another TV show as well as filming a lot of original footage?
That actually makes a lot of sense now that I think about it. When I was 5 I remember watching an episode where when they started fighting they were suddenly on top of a building. Being 5 I didn't question it.
I'm loving this series. You make good documentaries.
Great job as usual Lewis, and I'm looking forward to this and whatever you and the rest of the TGWTG crew come up with for the 2-year anniversary.
I have another reason why the people of Angel Grove deserves to be destroyed: They decide to send half the ONLY six people who actually do anything in the city (running charities, teaching kids, etc) away to do goody-goody somewhere else.
Lewis, you mentioned you appeared in some musicals in high school. Which plays were you in and what roles did you play?
Power Ranger fix get.
How do you find the time to do all this? I envy your time management. Do you not sleep or something? I bet its that futon. It looks a tad uncomfy to sleep on... that has to be it. I had a futon once and damn, I couldn't get a decent night of sleep on it.
...Then again I can't sleep on a normal bed either.... so I'll shut up now.
One thing always confused me about Zedd. Before he hooked up with Rita, he used some sort of bomb-type thing to make his monsters grow. Once he married Rita, he used his own staff in conjunction with Rita's to make their creatures super sized. Why in the world didn't he use his own staff to make the monsters grow? Why did he need to use that bomb thing? Why does he start to use his staff to make monsters grow when he marries Rita? It's just... confusing. Still, good analysis and good review, as always, and I'm looking forward to the original ninja season.
Interesting story... Well not interesting to most people but I like it. When I was in secondary school (alight it was 1998) I went on a ski trip to a small town in America called Stow. While I remember that trip for more than a few reasons, not least of all because it was my first trip to the US, I still remember catching a episode of Power Rangers. Believe it or not that episode was one of the ones you highlighted here. When Bulk and Skull saved the mind wiped rangers.
Now for various reasons I won't go into we're usually a year or so behind American TV over here in Britain. So, at the time, I had no idea there even was a White Ranger or the cast change. Still that wasn't the biggest surprise for me.
I loathed Bulk and Skull in the first year. All they did was get in the way and it felt like they were padding out the episode. As you pointed out it was only 25 min per episode and I always felt a little cheated that so much was wasted on these two one note characters.
It was with that episode, that I caught out of sequence, that I began to respect the hapless pair. They had developed into not only likeable characters but one's I could respect. I was stunned, they were more than filler and an important part of the over all show.
While I still dislike comedic relief in my action shows (it always feels forced to me) this one episode serves as a reminder that a lot can happen to anyone, if they are done right. Not something you expect from Power Rangers
Good luck with the rest of your work.
Thomas
Hello, Linkara, I'm a big fan of yours, I know that you get that a lot, but, uh, I'm just really surprised by something in this review...
Tommy says "We're going to can this bitch."
I admit I didn't watch every episode, but isn't this a family show? :)
Even if they did that on Prime Time, I can't imagine them getting away with it too much.
Or, was it uncensored on the DVD or something? I'm just surprised in the mid 90s they would allow that word to be used on a kid's show.
Don't hate me everyone for not being extremely hip and up with how the FCC works...
Sorry for bothering you. Love the reviews. Makes me want to watch them again.
Weeeeell to be accurate, he said "Time to can this FISH," but when I first heard it it sounded like bitch. XD
Can I mention that Johnny Young Bosch, the guy who did Adam, went into anime did memorable characters like Vash the Stampede in "Trigun"? Surprisingly, even the Nostalgia Critic knows this.
Another great vid. I'd also add that the second season began the wussification of Goldar. In the first season, he was a powerful fighter that the Rangers had to really fend off. In the Green With Evil mini-series, Jason fought him in an unmorphed state, and basically had to hide in a batch of fog to keep from getting skewered by Goldar's sword. Basically, you didn't want to mess with Goldar, especially if you were unmorphed.
Then in the second season he began to turn into a somewhat incompetent henchman. It was cool to see Tommy own Goldar in that clip you showed, but it also demonstrated that Goldar was getting pretty weak as a villain. I guess it was part of the show's creators softening the villains up, like having Zedd marry Rita. By the time we get to Zeo, Goldar's basically hanging out with Bulk and Skull in their garage or something (granted, he lost his memory, but still, it's kinda disappointing to see him reduced to comic relief). Even in the movie when things were beefed up, Goldar was becoming a dork.
- Jason
zed = sroc
rita = wizard
Weird question, what musicals were you in?
Don't know why you guys care, but Guys and Dolls, Ohklahoma, and Pirates of Penzance.
We care because a) we're nosey and b) we want to imagine you singing the songs XD
Oh god, I cannot WAIT till we get to the season where Bulk and Skull become Cops. That was just heartwarming to see, even if they were just doing it to impress chicks at times.
Also, Skull makes a way prettier girl than he should. XD
And here I thought that the biggest controversy was when some kids were getting hurt imitating the Rangers, not the Zedd costume (which I didn't find all that scarry--then again I was in high school). That's what led to other Saban series being toned down on the violence (read "Masked Rider" and "Beetleborgs", both of which just made VR Troopers look that much better), although nothing really changed with MMPR.
I think Zedd may be one of my favorite villains period. And Bulk & Skull were such good characters that they not only lasted through the entirety of the "Zordon years", but Bulk was (poorly) used in Lost Galaxy, and both had a cameo in "Forever Red", the Wild Force team-up of Red Rangers.
I absolutely loved Power Rangers as a kid so this History special is great, and damn I remember getting a big action figure of Serpentera, so very big, so very cool, from my grandpa as a kid. I loved it. Sadly it's gotten really broken down over the years and i just recently had to throw it away it was so damaged. I wish I had taken better care of it as a kid but I played with it 24/7 as a kid.
We want to know what musicals you were in 'cos we're all really damn nosy. XD
Can I be even nosier and ask how long you played the violin?
I played the violin for a few years, but was never very good at it, despite enthusiastic practice.
Thank you for explaining it, Linkara. Gee, is my face red.
And sorry for the wall of text.
"Wait, this might sounds stupid, but when you say Sentai footage, you mean that they were using footage from another TV show as well as filming a lot of original footage?"
Yes. Power Rangers takes its costume and mecha designs from a Japanese franchise called Super Sentai, which at its simplest can be described as Japanese Power Rangers. Every year it's a new series with new actors, new costumes, and a new motif, not connected to anything before or after. Saban (and now Disney) took the relevant footage out, filmed stuff with American actors, and added them together to make Power Rangers. Sentai started in 1975, and the annual reboot formula was established after attempts at multiple season shows flopped. This is why there was a new set of Zords in the second and third seasons (and to sell more toys) as well as every season afterwords. Eventually they ran out of footage and the suits really didn't line up with the zords they were using, so they decided it would be cheaper and ultimately more profitable to start using the new suits from Sentai each year. Eventually they also adopted the "new year, new cast, new show" mentality as well, rather than attempt to maintain a single continuity and pay wages to actors who would inevitably demand more money to keep playing the same role year after year (not to mention just plain getting too old for the role, since the belief is that kids will relate better to teenagers than adults).
So that's how Power Rangers is made in a nutshell.
They've come a long way since MMPRS1: they film a lot of their own suit footage on top of using Sentai stuff, and the Battlizers they use are made by Power Rangers for Power Rangers, although Jungle Fury created three original ranger suits instead of an armor suit.
In the words of Alpha, "AY YI YI YI YI!".
Hopefully it won't be too long of a wait, but even if it is, I love this concept of breaking down the pros and cons of Power Rangers. I stand by what I said about In Space and am still eagerly anticipating your 2 cents on it.
As long as I exist, theres hope in this world....hope in this world..
I really hope that Linkra starts talking about the music soon, also this is awesome retro stuff.
great job.
Go green ranger... go!
Lord Zedd was pretty cool - unlike Rita, he was pretty intimidating. It's a bummer he sort of wimped out as the series went on. Serpentara is a pretty sweet ride, though, so he's got that going for him. And I always liked Rita.
While I never really got into Tommy as a character like you did, but you make a persuasive argument that Bulk & Skull may very well be MMPR's true protagonists. There's times when the Rangers seem like they're only there for the fight scenes. Your improvements on their story pretty much match what I always wanted to say.
Old-West Aisha's dress is really pretty. It's the best part of that story.
That stroller-chasing sequence should be set to "Yaketty Sax".
I think your rant about the general stupidity about Angel Grove's non-Ranger residents is why I liked SPD - if the Rangers are gonna be in charge of keeping everything peaceful, they might as well be cops.
Have fun in Chicago!
Please tell me you're gonna cover Power Rangers RPM X3
Lol, nosey fans unite! I think the question we should be asking Lewis is: "Is there anything you CAN'T do?"
I can't wait for you to cover season 3.
Zordon: I demand you release the Pink Ranger at once.
Zedd:....NO!
Really enjoying this look through the series. I like how thoroughly it's explored here, and how there's some humour without going out of the way just to make jokes. It's informative and fun. Looking forward to more!
Surprised you never brought up Scorpina but I guess you always could in the next part.
You don't like peace, Linkara? I have heard you say something negative every time world peace is brought up in a comic or something like this. :(
Regardless, I am really enjoying these. I used to watch Power Rangers as a kid but I don't remember much about it. Thanks! :)
I like peace fine - I don't like kids' show telling me that peace is achieved by parade floats. ^_~
I'm surpised you didn't touch more on the destuction of the original zords. It was a shock to me as a kid and happened as a cliffhanger. It's the closest thing to the death of a protagonist the show had. The Rangers looked devastated if I remember correctly.
The only thing that would have made Kimberly's Rita better was if they poorly dubbed her lines.
Thanks for making this video! I hope that you include those TV comercials that they did with the power rangers where the actors talk to the kids of how baf guns are and Bulk & Skull talk about how they are playinga character or something like that
I'm really interested to know your thoughts on Season 3's cliffhanger ending (which evidently led to Zeo). Though that's for another video.
Anyways, I've always found the episodes where it was blindingly obvious that Jason, Zack, & Trini weren't themselves, so to speak, really funny. Maybe it's the liberal use of stock footage, or the dubbers's terrible imitations of the three, but they've made me laugh.
White Ranger Tommy was, and always will be, my favorite character in the series. He was just awesome. Though the fact that the show drove home the fact quite a bit added to my perception. One memory that sticks out, is the one episode where the Rangers had to fight fish-themed monsters, and Tommy pretty much curbstomped all-over five monsters, with little to no effort.
@Anonymous
I do remember the little PSAs the actors would do. And yes, I remember the one you mentioned about Bulk & Skull talking to kids about how they're simply acting. I also remember one where Kimberly & Billy told kids about the reality of weapons and violence. Pretty riveting stuff. (Then again, it's just me.)
I would like to point out one technicality that might explain Lord Zed's failure to throw Rita to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. The only downside to this explanation is that it paints Zed as a dope long before he became such.
If Lord Zed did minimal research to find out where Rita was and simply teleported there he might actually have no idea where in the galaxy he is. If he launched aiming for the outer edge of the galaxy and Rita had incredible luck a throw by Lord Zed would have to launch Rita at faster than 300 kilometers per second.
The downside to my theory beyond that is that Rita would also have to be the luckiest being in existence, given the side of the galaxy. So yeah, big stretch but sometimes Power Rangers was about that improbable.
I don't remember the episode where the three new guys (Rocky, Adam, and Aisha) first debuted, but I do remember that vow Zordon made them keep at the end of the last episode of that arc.
I never noticed how bland Richie was! LOL! that was a very funny observation!
But dude, you have to now bring up in Zeo, during the Gold Ranger saga, about how everyone and their mama was thought of to be the Gold Ranger (even Skull!) but it ended up being a set of triplets who sound like VR Troopers, and briefly bringing up the whole switching Saban did on Jason David Frank and Brad Hawkins (Ryan)!
a great series! I look foward to more awesomeness and all it's forms from the Mighty Linkara!
So until my plan to attack the world with Japanese stock footages comes to fruition, MAKE MINE LINKARA!
You don't like peace, Linkara? I have heard you say something negative every time world peace is brought up in a comic or something like this. :(
Peace itself is wonderful. Thinking you can achieve it with parades or school functions is just plain stupid. Just like assuming that people being sick of having trite message about world peace being good are automatically warmongers. The world doesn't function like your Poli-Sci class, buddy, nor should it have to.
Gotta say - because I only just remembered it since someone else mentioned the music: Is it just me or did the green ranger flute music sound a bit like one of the Star Trek or Star Wars intros?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL8nnMpV2Eo
the bit of music at 41 seconds. Everytime I hear the dragon flute, my brain bursts into that XD
And given the most recent comic review...oh god
Wait... speech club, musicals, violin... add in the glasses and nerdiness...ignore the conservative politics... dear God, you're my male distaff counterpart! ;)
Oh, Zedd and Rita's marriage, one of the most surreal moments in my childhood! Looking forward to more of your thoughts on that.
"I didn't fail, you simpering twit! You failed! You all failed! Just like you've failed before!"
That needs to be on a shirt, or at least go on Youtube.
Hahaha, I can't believe that this is a thing being made!
Couldn't get enough of these when I was a kid, and now I have to go back and rewatch the old stuff just to keep up.
Anywho not to ramble, but good luck with the next fifteen or so seasons.
Waitin' with bated breath.
very cool, nead more.
Not a fan of Katherine huh? I know what you mean. Until they left in Turbo, whenever she was on screen, I always used to squint and pretend it was still Kimberly.
I can't wait to hear what you have to say about 'Fighting Spirit' from Dino Thunder.
"Why in the world didn't he use his own staff to make the monsters grow? Why did he need to use that bomb thing? Why does he start to use his staff to make monsters grow when he marries Rita?"
Because in Dairanger (which was used for season 2), they used the bomb.
Too much pink energy is dangerous! Man, Tommy and Zedd were pure GAR. Goldar & Billy too. Kimberly = DFC
First time poster, long time viewer. I love this series for bringing back loads of memories that are coming back to me. I was probably about 3 when they first started airing power rangers. only getting 7 channels at the time, i grew up on the fox kids, and PBS kids blocks. I remember being asked what i wanted to be when i was older at the age of about 4, and saying i wanted to be a power ranger. boy was i ridiculed for that. Well Louis I wanted to say thanks.
By the way i used to have a comic, you should review but am wondering if anyone else has it: The Superman-Jeff Gordon Team up. It came with a shirt, but i only got it for the comic, ironicly i have never been a fan of nascar. I can't remember how bad it was, but superman driving a ca is pretty lame.
LOL
You are such a stupid Faggot Linkara.
"LOL
You are such a stupid Faggot Linkara."
Yes, your contribution here shows off your own intellect to great effect.
You make a good point about the teens' activities. I certainly never had that sort of time or money. Maybe Angel Grove is economically and socially very high class? Sort of like one big gated community?
Never would have expected to see Sergio Leone references in an episode of Power Rangers; ie The extreme face and eyes close-ups with bulk and skull, during the showdown with the monster.
Post a Comment