Tuesday, July 12, 2011

History of Power Rangers: Power Rangers Dino Thunder



The History of Power Rangers travels to Reefside, where the Rangers are powered by genocide to fight off scientists who don't know how to hold test tubes or who mistake their experiments for Mountain Dew.



In Part 2, we take a look at Tommy's psyche and see the Ninja Storm Rangers kick our heroes' asses.


NOTE: Yes, I am aware that all of Power Rangers is on Netflix.

ETA (4/9/12): I have closed comments on this post because the only new ones coming in are asking when the next History of Power Rangers will be coming, which by now people should know does not make it come any faster. ‎

119 comments:

Psidebby said...

Linkara, seriously... Do some damn research when you bring up the Sentai stuff... Abaranger did not run at the same time as Dino Thunder, it aired a year prior to Dino Thunder, as is usually the customary practice for modern Sentai to Power Rangers adaptions (Sans Samurai to Shinkenger, due to the issues with RPM being at the time the end to the run of Power Rangers.)

Fact checking is your friend.

Gus said...

See I knew it. I told you SPD would take forever to finish and low and behold this one took an extra month compared to last time.

Now then on to the retrospective!

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"Linkara, seriously... Do some damn research when you bring up the Sentai stuff... Abaranger did not run at the same time as Dino Thunder, it aired a year prior to Dino Thunder, as is usually the customary practice for modern Sentai to Power Rangers adaptions (Sans Samurai to Shinkenger, due to the issues with RPM being at the time the end to the run of Power Rangers.)

Fact checking is your friend."

I have. And I had read that Abaranger (and other sentai at the time) was AIRING at the time they were FILMING Dino Thunder and their respective Ranger series. As such, it often made it difficult for them to write around sentai footage that they had not yet received.

That is what I have read and heard, and thus that is what I said.

Anonymous said...

Psidebby, Linkara has said time and time and time and time and time again, that he is NOT inherently familiar with the Sentai versions, and he never plans to be.

You can definitely have your own opinions about WHY you think he doesn't follow the Sentai version, that's fair...

...but at the very least, you should realize or understand that for whatever reason he isn't familiar with them and hence why he might not know as much as you do about that.

CMWaters said...

There's one thing I'm surprised you didn't confront, only because I didn't want you to get a bunch of messages and stuff about it:

Why wasn't the red Turbo Ranger part of Tommy's inner spiritual journey versus his past forms.

I figure it's mostly because he gave up those powers to TJ, but still...just so you didn't get swamped by comments about that, I thought you would mention it.

Still, great job with this. I had been waiting for this one, and I also can't wait to see SPD AKA "Let's see how many Rangers we can shove into this series, even if they're one shots!"

Caitlin R said...

I watched a few of the episodes, and from what I saw, I really enjoyed it. I haven't seen SPD. I remember seeing the commercials for it on Toon Disney(now Disney XD). I can't wait to see what you think of it.

CMWaters said...

Oh, forgot to say this in my last one:

The new intro you did is different in a good way. I like it even better than your original one.

ShadowWing Tronix said...

I like the new opening for History Of. It's like one of the later Mighty Morphin' openings.

Dino Thunder was indeed one of the better of the Disney-era Ranger shows. The characters were believable, and it didn't bother me that the growth we saw in Connor was an attitude adjustment.

Speaking of Kira's story, one episode that did bug me was an early episode when we meet a girl who used to sing with Kira but later became a variation of Britney Spears (before the real singer went nuts). It seemed that the writer was using to voice his complaints about "bubblegum" pop music--literally in the case of Tommy complaining about today's music. (He later told a bunch of kids to get off his lawn, I assume.)

But the fights were good. I didn't mind the civilian powers in this series, because it was different and they needed something to counter not being martial artist. (Even Wes had some fighting skills.) Later seasons, however, really should haven't used them. SPD just made it ridiculous and while I won't spoil Operation Overdrive for our host, there are just so many questions brought up by it.

Civilian powers didn't make sense again until Mystic Force and then never again until the current Samurai, but both teams use mystic powers so they get the same pass and Ninja Storm.

WhiteHowl said...

Good review. I started smirking after hearing the Abaranger theme song at the end of the video. After looking back on Dino Thunder it's interesting to see how different the Sentai is considering that well we're starting to get to the Kalish Era now, and boy do you have your work cut out for you Linkara. At the very least SPD isn't a terrible series.

Speaking of which what are your opinions on Samurai Rangers now that we're getting near the halfway point?

Anonymous said...

Well, if we're going to be techinal about the whole "Dragons as dinosaurs" statement, there are two things to bring up.

One is that the legends of dragons are often thought to have been inspired by people dicovering dinosaur bones.

The other is that PR has a history of calling creatures "dinosuars" that aren't really dinosaurs. MMPR had a mastadon and saber-toothed tiger as zords (prehistoic mammals) and pterodactyl (pterosaurs). This season follows the common misconception that pteranodon, and other pterosaurs were dinos when in fact they are are different sub group of reptiles.

The dimetrodon is from another different group of reptiles and actually predated the dinosaurs. Their actually from the group of reptiles that would eventually evolve into mammals. (Yeah, I was a big prehistoric animal nut when I was younger and still love to learn about them)

Another thing that bothered me, though not to any real extant but I might as well bring it up is when people use the term "honor" and "ninja" in the same breath. Granted my knowlegde of ninja history is somewhat limited but weren't ninjas they guy you'd get because they would do the jobs warriors with honor wouldn't do? Historically speaking, I though ninjas were theives, assassians, and mercinaries.

TheDVDGrouch said...

For me the wait made the finale project so much so more enjoyable. If I had a hat I would take it off to you good sir.

Razorvine said...

Yay! more HoPR! I always look forward to these, though I always end up wasting a whole afternoon on them LOL!

I remember catching bits and pieces of this series, and the next one SPD which is one of the later series that really grew on me.

Random thought have any of the much later series ended up in comic book format?

VermillionBrain said...

Damn that Elsa, I had such a crush on her. I don't know why, but women in leather who can beat me senseless are a big weakness of mine.

That is probably TMI.

Anonymous said...

They needed an excuse to get rid of Tommy for 10 episodes? Was "Abareblack disappeared for 10 episodes" not good enough?

And Mesagog looks like a reject from the Super Mario Brothers movie.

SeanAsh said...

"when people use the term "honor" and "ninja" in the same breath. Granted my knowlegde of ninja history is somewhat limited but weren't ninjas they guy you'd get because they would do the jobs warriors with honor wouldn't do? Historically speaking, I though ninjas were theives, assassians, and mercinaries."

This. This has bothered me for a long time.

Anyway, glad to see you liked this series. Because of the mixed reaction to SPD, I'm really looking to hearing your opinions, at least more than you hinted at in your twitter feed.

And because of your workflow, you'll be watching Mystic Force next.....You're gonna quit, aren't you?

Anonymous said...

I still prefer Lothor over Mesogog... Why Mesogog is such a textbook case, Cool Villian formula. Make him menacing, make him calm and cool. Clad him in leather and then have him get taken out in the last 5 minutes of the final episode. Also His final plan before he mutates, Is a Giant Death ray... with out the needed power source. Genius

What, No Lothor does something clever by brainwashing the rangers?

enough about that.

Why would Tommy build an army of Drones... Well if your Amit, It was so he could browbeat the other rangers into his Hexagon!
okay really this just kinda adds to the meme of Tommy's an Idiot

The TJ maneuver... Really He blows up one Mega Zord that was getting thrashed and suddenly his the pinnacle of incompentence.

Anonymous said...

The prodigal Ranger has returned! At least for one season. (S.P.D. doesn't count.) Other than that I liked Dino Thunder so much that it got me re-interested into Power Rangers again. True, it was mainly for the Tommy factor, but that's besides the point.

Once again, I agree with your observations and ramblings, but have to include my own. Again, like Ninja Storm, they had potential, but they wasted it. Not just in the build-up for various sagas, but mostly for the new ideas. Disney could have made their own Sixth Ranger similar to what Lightspeed Rescue did, but chose not to. Hell, they could have made the sixth Ranger Hayley making her the first female sixth Ranger, but didn't.

I like Dino Thunder, don't get me wrong, but parts of it, to me, seem to be filled with lazy writing and a lack of creativity and imagination.

However, I did really like the whole theme of personality. You didn't mention this, I think, but from the way you were describing it, and from my own recollections, there was a subtle displayed theme of personality for Dino Thunder. The various Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde moments, Tommy's mental battle, and even the other individual Rangers as well as Devin and Cassidy showed a good display of changing personalities or personalities that weren't supposed to be taken stereotypically.

Next time we enter the Kalish age where opinions are divided and no matter where you are if it's near or far Space Patrol Delta is the first of Kalish Power Rangers seasons that gets very opinionated.

Adam said...

Awesome review. However I do have some points of disagreement on your stance on Lothor and Mesagog as villains.

Lothor was goofy, sure, but he was also arguably one of the most competent villains in the history of Power Rangers. He begins Ninja Storm by successfully taking down an entire academy of highly skilled ninjas, bests his rival and equal in combat, and is just about ready for world conquest. And even his losses all ultimately were part of his final plan at the end. As a result, the rangers of this season are underdogs, basically in a guerrilla war that they have little chance in. In spite of his quirks, it leads to some very dramatic storytelling.

Mesagog on the other hand, while he certainly is creepy and atmospheric, never really accomplishes anything. The Dino Thunder rangers pretty much have a nonstop series of victories, and he doesn't really gain anything in turn. He has trouble keeping his own minions in line, and even when the white ranger clone is supposed to be working for him, he really functions more as a third agent then anything else, someone not working for either side.

I feel this is most highlighted in the teamup episode. Lothor is revived and immediately and successfully takes his revenge on the Wind Academy, and brainwashes the rangers. He's back for barely a few minutes, and he reclaims his position power just like that. Mesagog on the other hand...doesn't really do anything. He tries to recruit Lothor...isn't even particularly successful at that...and that's pretty much it.

Anyway, just my few cents.

Des Shinta said...

Nice to see another installment. While the old opening had grown on me, this one is a nice improvement.
Yeah, there's only so much time in a clip show that has to showcase eleven seasons in twenty minutes while still having it's own relevant plot. So of course some things get left out.
Ah yes, Cassidy was a nuissance.
IT could be conveyed that he wanted to research the creation of power rangers based on the older powers, in the event another Planetary-scale attack occurred. Considering RPM...
Huh, a Gurren Lagann Line shows up years before in another series. Who knew.
500 episodes is a lot, but considering the cutbacks Disney made, we are a long ways off From 1000.
Something to note, Toys From Wild force on for a while were actually designed to be able to exchange arms...at least in their Japanese versions. Not sure about the components of the American versions.
Sentai Does certainly have some great moments, but the same can be said of Power Rangers.
Eh, I liked the SDM's. The Edged elements would have made for good additional melee Effectiveness, especially Trent's, if they weren't made out of rubber.
And they have such knowledge of the Morphing Grid to know about the color power duality issues because... I know we know, but still.
Disney-era flashiness is sadly common in the the later team-up episodes, unfortunately.
It should be noted that the Truck was one they used briefly last season, just given a new paint job.
Yeah...AbareKiller was evil for a good chunk of Abaranger's run, so limited by sentai footage to need the evil clone White Ranger after they freed Trent. Writing and all.

NekoLLX said...

Why would Tomy want to make robot footsoldiers unless he was planing to become a super villian?

Are we forgetting that he archives all past seasons...that means he knows about the Turbo Robo Rangers (good) and Lightspeed roborangers (went bad) maybe he was trying to make a team of robo rangers so a team of Teenagers with Atitude wouldnt be forced to give up their lives to save the world?

Xepscern said...

First, real quick fun fact: Dino Thunder's theme is the first theme to not have the word "Go" in it. Just a little fun fact.

Also... I personally think Thunder Storm is the best team-up of the series, aside from Reinforcements. It's a good plot, and, unlike Reinforcements, the previous team isn't tacted on at the end. The plot would be diffrent if any other team was used (and not just the fact that both teams function on a main team of only three Rangers).

I loved Dino Thunder, and I firmly believe that it's the best we'll see until RPM (and even then, YMMV). Series with great villains tend to be fondly remembered (aside from WF). This is why LSR isn't viewed so great; while Carter may be awesome, boring villains make it seem like anyone could do that.

Also, yes, he did blow up a FREAKING MOANTAIN!!!

Carlos Hugo said...

To corect, not to you, but the yellow renger, Ninjas DO NOT have sense of Honor, the Samurais DO Have the "Honor sense" and just becouse they were in close with the shogun or a High status family, the Ninjas by the other hand where from simple people trained in trick or treat to kill or hide OR trained assasin who only will be obedient to the one who can pay it.

I'll be waiting for six months for the next chapter, ha ha.

No reference to that moment when Tommy, unaided by any zord, eliminated by himself a giant monster? How sad (How many Power Ranger can say that they have do that?)

Gyre said...

Our hero. A dumb, sexist jock. I did warn you to skip to RPM, Linkara.

On civilian powers I have to take a different view. I see it more as the Ranger powers 'bleeding' into the unmorphed person, and thus being a side effect of being a Ranger. Sure some of it can be bad like the slow motion stuff but I'd say it fits.

As for Tommy, it felt like he just stole the show. He was the better actor and the most liked so it felt like the others were redundant.

On another note the new opening is impressive, really shows the unity of the teams, but I still prefer the old one.

VermillionBrain said...

Dangit, I posted before I was done with my comment.

The factoid that Disney thought Tommy was swearing during his fights is the funniest thing I have heard in a long time. Although now I wonder if Tommy ever made those sounds during "fun time" with Kimberly...? Wow, I think I broke my childhood there.

I always thought that the Mesogog head design was a bit silly. it looked less like dinosaur bone and more like melted putty. I will agree that the fight with Lothar was kickass. They really wanted to do some damage to each other, and it was neat seeing two villains go all out like that. Considering Lothar was a ninja and the brother of the sensei, it makes sense he was markedly more developed as a fighter than a villain.

Related to the above, the crossover. While I agree that one team shouldn't overshadow the other, and the best ones were when the teams were able to combined their talents effectively. i don't see how they could have credibly convinced the audience that the Dino Thunder Rangers (with their lack of training and near-dismissal of their powers) could stand on an even footing with the more experienced and trained Ninja Stormers. In it's own way, it established the differences between the teams more, and showed the Dino Thunder Rangers as more realistic (if you don't practice, you get your ass handed to you in so many nice ways). I hate that they had to look bad, but I like that such a small continuity aspect was kept.

Your theory about Tommy makes a lot of sense. It sounds like he shifted from Batman (considering "Tommy Oliver" the disguise and his Ranger form as his true self) to Superman (realizing that the Ranger costume was only that, and that it took his human self to give it any meaning). Another possible interpretation: Tommy could have been quite happy to stop being a Ranger (which explains why he wasn't grabbing for the Zeo powers too quickly) but thought such "freedom" was pointless after Mesogog became a threat. His "stuck" and "invisible" problems could have made him think he would never win, and therefore never be free of the responsibility of Rangerhood. The test was to see if was still willing to fight, not because he was "stuck" as a Ranger, but because he WANTED to, that it was inherent in him, and he wouldn't let such dark thoughts get the better of him. I have no idea if that made sense, but there ya go.

To end it all, another excellent entry into the HOPR series, and well worth the wait.

Werezilla said...

I have to say it's great to finally see you're look at Dino Thunder, though there are a few points I feel I have to mention.

First up, looks like I guessed right as to why you hate civilian powers, which I thought to my self the moment you mentioned it in the Season three review.

Next up is a big one. I've said before that I think Tommy gets in the way of other rangers around him getting their own moments of cool and character development, with him being shoved down our throats at every turn like in Mighty Morphin through Turbo. Plus there's the fact that Tommy has somehow become a archeologist in the short time between Turbo and Dino Thunder, which if you ask me is starting to cement his God Mode Mary Sue status in my eyes.(the part I mentioned earlier about him taking screen time from other characters not withstanding) David Yost's issues with the producers aside, it would have been more convincing if Billy had been the one to create the Dino Thunder powers and had become a brilliant scientist in such a short time since he had already created Zords of his own back in HIGH SCHOOL. Not to mention the fact that originally Billy was going to be Zeltrax, which would have been huge character derailment, once again degrating other rangers to make Tommy look like he's the "Bestest ranger evar".

On a more positive (less likely to get me beat to death by Tommy fans) note is that you are correct about Connor, Ethan, Kira, and Trent, who are more believable teenagers.

And finally, SPD was the final season I seriously sat down and watched, which I liked, even though I once jokingly called it Lightspeed Rescueforce, and look forward to you're thoughts on it.

TJOmega said...

I actually wasn't aware that JDF had a deal worked to go visit his family during filming... I liked Dino Thunder but always thought of it was the "Keep Tommy off screen" season. When he went into the coma I was half expecting them to leave him there for 5 episodes with stock footage of JDF sleeping in his trailer.

VERY interested to see HoPR from here on out. This was the point where I jumped from Power Rangers to Super Sentai, so by the time SPD had started to air, I had already watched Dekaranger, which is one of the best Sentai series. When SPD in my opinion dropped quality so much, it was only amplified knowing how much better it was in Japan, so until we get to RPM this will be very educational and interesting series.

Tyler Breuker said...

I like what you did with the new opening, show more footage from the newer seasons, when you're getting up to them.
For the White Ranger Clone, was pretty pointless, the writers probably just wanted to get Trent on the team sooner cause the Sentai footage (from what I'm guessing) had the White Ranger against the other rangers for a lot longer (at least it didn't drag out like the clone saga).
And I really do like your explanation of Fighting Spirit, and I actually wished the Dino Thunder writers could have worked with that angle.

Anonymous said...

I feel this is most highlighted in the teamup episode. Lothor is revived and immediately and successfully takes his revenge on the Wind Academy, and brainwashes the rangers. He's back for barely a few minutes, and he reclaims his position power just like that. Mesagog on the other hand...doesn't really do anything. He tries to recruit Lothor...isn't even particularly successful at that...and that's pretty much it.

Anyway, just my few cents.


BUT BUT BUT BUT
Mesogog has the cool voice! The imposing figure and and and! A Marvin the Martian Death Ray!

Mesogog is cool in the short term especiallu when you weren't someone who like comic villians When you honestly start thinking about it. Mesogog is kinda a massive failure as a villian once his coolness factor wears thine... namely the anti-climatic way all the villians go does come back to haunt them. Zeltrax got the better end fight the Mesogog!

Mesogog didn't even get to Walk through the Rangers*Unlike Lothor pimp slapping his way through all of them* Mesogog just gets shots and starts mutilplying.

Furore said...

Thank you Mr Lovhaug. I enjoyed the heck out of this instalment, as always.
And, as always, I will need to watch it again to really make sense of the story. Dang, Power Rangers, you crazy!

This one caught me by surprise. I had almost forgotten about HOPR. I know it takes a long time to make.

May I make a suggestion?
I don't know if you are aware of the Accursed Farms series "Freeman's Mind".

But what THAT guy does is provide a kind of 'health bar' on his site, showing the level of completion for the next episode.

It helps him dodge some of the repetitive WHEN WHEN WHEN questions of his fans.

It might be worth thinking about. It might work for you, I don't know. Just a thought.

Anyway, stay awesome, Linkara. CHANNEL Awesome!

Anonymous said...

I am well aware that SPD had mixed reactions among the fans, but personally, I found it one of the best and more enjoyable PR seasons. Looking forward to see it covered in the next video.

dj1107 said...

-after hearing Tommy psyche dissection- Dude you just blew my mind...... Anyway good too see you enjoyed Dino Thunder so this is like the 3rd best in your opinion 2nd was Time force 1st was In Space. gotta say when I watch DT it felt like a well written comic done by early Marvel. Mesagog was to me the 2nd best main bad next to Zedd. So now you enter the Kalishi era SPD I think you'll be fine, Mystic force you'll be good until they get rid of Koragg (just kidding) Operation Overdrive you may need a few drinks before that, Jungle Fury I guess you'll be okay (I enjoyed it). Gotta say I was scratching my head about SS airing at the same time of PR that it was being based on but then I finally got it you ment in production and filming while Abarangers was going on

Alex Tibbetts said...

Dino Thunder I did not watch...sure it had Tommy in it, but I was not THAT interested in it at the time just to see Tommy. The characters themselves for the most part were not that appealing to me and were bad actors for what little I did see. SPD however...THAT was a total 360. I watched one episode and I was hooked. The characters were awesome, Doggie Crueger, the Zords, everything! I look forward to the SPD retrospective.

SirLordJ said...

Another great episode Linkara! I did enjoy this series, but you're right about things ending with a whimper not a bang. I remember the finale being very blah. Also Mesogog's monster form is so stupid looking mainly because of that neck. This series was great anyways it just had so much going for it.

I'm interested to see what you think of SPD due to the fact that my interest began to wane with that show once again and Mystic Force officially killing it due to how dumb it was.

Keep up the good work =D

Mountain King said...

Dino-thunder was, in my opinion the start of a brief revival for Rangers. This season and the next were some of the strongest so far. I still think RPM was one of the all time best, but these were quite good. (I personally liked Mystic Force but can see why others wouldn't, found Overdrive far too silly, even for power rangers (PROO as an abbreviation, oh boy) and Jungle Fury made a good attempt but just didn't quite make it)
I'm actually surprised you were able to boil this one down so short, especially after the overly long Wild Force review. There was a lot more going on in this season than last time, with a more complicated Villain, a better (if still two dimensional) dynamic from the team and what felt like more scope. In PR continuity at least.
I agree with your interpretation of most of the Rangers, especially Tommy. While I do think you over analysed, just a little with him, but that's hardly a crime.
I really can't think of much to say. A very competent, thought out and skilfully edited review. Nothing surprising there, but I think you sacrificed too much this time around. It felt too clinical, I know you're not looking at these with nostalgia anymore but if ever there was a time for it, it was this series.

Thomas

boooratt said...

cewl glade to see one of these again!

I never watched this season. I baled around Turbo.

I'm really surprised you didn't use a skit from Robot Chicken where that dinosaur guy(sorry I just watched this review and I've already forgot his name) is working as a manager at Burger King in one of those Where Are They Now skits. You knoww the ones?

Furore said...

Gyre said:
"Our hero. A dumb, sexist jock. I did warn you to skip to RPM, Linkara."

What? Are you trolling? Did you NOT comprehend that this is History of Power Rangers?

As in, HISTORY of Power Rangers? Or, History of Power Rangers?

As in, absolutely not not NOT "partial history of certain PR seasons as long as Gyre approves if which ones"?

I mean, really. All you have to do is pay attention.

cquizzle said...

Yay!!! Another great HOPR!!! Finally glad to watch what your thoughts are on one of my favorite seasons. Also really glad that you put in the "badly dubbed episode of Abaranger" into this review. I'm also glad that you thought the Mesogog vs. Lothor fight was insanely badass as well. I was hoping for a joke about Tommy still shifting into Turbo to become the Black Dino Ranger. Also laughed at your reaction to the stripe on the Green Ranger's helmet. I personally liked the costumes of this season, or at least the Black, White, and Triassic Ranger costumes, although I will admit that the battlizer and Super Dino Modes did look silly. I also agree that some of the stories had amazing buildup w/ little to no payoff. Can't wait to see the SPD review.

Alto200 said...

Before I start I am not trying to annoy Linkara in any way shape or form, just curious as to why Linkara has zero interest in watching the Sentai source material? If you don't want to watch it then that's fine but I'm curious as to why you have no interest or compulsion to watch them? Speaking as someone who watches both avidly Sentai is pretty dang awesome but with 35 plus years it's very daunting.

I just like to know your thoughts is all

James said...

Great video, I think Dino Thunder stands out as a season I WANTED to like alot more then I actually did. (yeah I'm one of those Time Force/In Space peoples)


The nostalgia of having Tommy back was great and I tuned in far more then I did with Ninja Storm/Wild Force (though I later downloaded and enjoyed most of Wild Force).

I think you nailed the issue with all the anitclimaxes. There were other plot threads you didn't mention but overall Dino Thunder kept tossing out interesting ideas seeming to almost start utlilizing them then suddenly end them in abrupt and unsatisfactory ways.

The buildup to the finale was one of the worse I've seen (granted I didn't watch anything between SPD and RPM). With Time Force and Wild Force you get the feeling of raised stakes and an epic finale building. Dino Thunder seemed to almost start doing that then slammed on the breaks for an anticlimax before suddenly tossing us into a finale were the zords were abruptly destroyed and their powers tossed away.


I probably would rate Dino Thunder more highly if not for the awkward handling of the white ranger and then the weird decisions made in the finale episodes. Even Turbo did a better job in keeping pace when it actually decided to have an epic event (mostly the changing Zords and Power chamber destruction though your right in that those events were soured by Divatox being an annoying character)

Fandango said...

You sneaky bastard ^.^ More than excellent surprise for today. Thank you, oh great one ^^

Personally I found that Dino Thunder has the best and most awesome scene of Power Rangers when Tommy Roundhouse kicked the hell out of that T-rex. Just my opinion.

Good analysis of the show, and I can't wait to find out what you thought of SPD. I found that it has some of the better characters in the PR series, but that it's ultimately a very boring season.

Bruno said...

YES!!! we're finally getting to the power rangers that i saw

ZweiAeikozz said...

Linkara this was wonderful Video. I have to say Parts I though you were going to gripe about you didn't. I do love that ending though. what would japan know about power rangers.

Very Kindly looking forward to SPD as I personally believe that is the best season of power rangers ever.

Zandrous said...

Glad to see the new episode man. Always a joy. And now with the netflix addition, which Im sure you're as happy about as I am, things should be a little easier on you now. I can only imagine what it was like looking up the episodes online and dealing with time constraints due to AT4W and the 3rd year anniversary. So while i was saddened by the wait, i'm happy to just see it out.

And for all the people throwing fits over a hiccup like mistaking the sentai series coinciding with its american counterpart in aspect of release and distribution, just.....stop it. the guy's doing his best to have his multiple projects going and he's just one guy. its not like he's got someone from channel awsome there helping him 24/7. So just back off. Im an old-school fan of the power rangers too, but i'm not going insane over the most inane mess-ups. i'm sure we will live.

Again man great job and looking forward to the next installment.

Anonymous said...

Another great HoPR :) This was great to start my day with, thank you for all your hard work on it :)

I agree that this is definitely one of the better Disney era series. I have a great affection for it as its the series that got me interested in Power Rangers again. I also really liked how believable the three lead characters are as teenagers, much more than the MMPR era rangers are. Also, there's a nice neat demo in the opening episodes of how our idea of heroes has changed - in MMPR, Bulk and Skull were the ones getting detention and the MMPR were paragons of virtue who were involved in every good will project going and never got into trouble unless it was some kind of mistake, when we get to Dino Thunder, the Rangers meet for the first time in detention, are obviously self-absorbed, and spend most of their time arguing with each other. I like that contrast, it says a lot.

I totally agree that so many story threads are resolved way too quickly. Also Disney seems to have an issue with resolving any romances between its Rangers - Tori & Blake's attraction stayed very low-key, almost invisible, and not much progress was ever made, whilst Kira and Trent's disappeared halfway through the series.

SPD is definitely the beginning of the love it or hate it seasons. Personally, I love Mystic Force and Jungle Fury and RPM, the others I'm really meh about.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on them all :) Again, thanks for all your hard work on this series. It's really appreciated.

Anonymous said...

Somewhere a paleontolgist is crying.

I don't like to be this guy. I really, really don't. It's pronounced Tri-assic like Tri-angle. They even pronounced it as such in the show. If this is part of your accent, I apologize. It's just I loved the idea of paleontology growing up, and this is just ingrained into my mind.

Vickram101 said...

I'm kinda surprised that you did not notice that the MMPR green ranger is wearing a silver morpher instead of a gold one. But then again it was too small to notice and the place was tinted green.

Chatty said...

Great that you redid the intro, only problem is that you have Samurai letter-boxed. Would you mind fixing that?

I always saw this series as a better done version of MMPR. It's essentially the same premise, just better handled and more realistic. They're teenagers, not saints.

As for the whole "they were writing while the Sentai was airing", it's probably more apparent in 'in-Space'. Since they were already trying to set up from the previous series (Turbo), they had to go by what materials were out for it, which was most likely only the suits and mecha. They thought they would get a space-theme, but instead got a technology-theme. Which is why we got so many fights on Earth.

I liked that you mention the "Sentai tribute" episode. Only problem I had was that a lot the jokes might've been too confusing, in that a lot of the cracks seemed to be aimed more at PR than at the Sentai. But at least they still gave it recognition. Speaking of Abaranger, the extra villains Lothor brings are actually the main villains from Aba.

Good luck with SPD. Although it starts out pretty strong it starts to drop in quality pretty quickly. Especially when the Sentai isn't anything special the series really takes a nose dive when it becomes Dekaranger-lite.

Anyways, I've talked long enough. Keep it up!

Trevor said...

@Psidebby,

Look, if you don't like the way Lewis/Linkara does HOPR, don't watch the videos. He has previously said he doesn't know Super Sentai and is only looking at POWER RANGERS.

It's like your parents say...If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

Anonymous said...

There is only one word for this...

Morphinominal!

-M4A

cquizzle said...

I forgot to say something in my comment, which is my own theory as to why the Red Turbo Ranger didn't show up in Tommy's head. While the most popular reason is that he gave the power to TJ, I believe that it's actually from a time that Tommy would rather soon forget. While Turbo nearly killed Power Rangers, for plot convenience, he's thinking, why did we go from great, magical powers to cars, seriously, we were getting stronger and stronger, did we hit a limit as to how strong we got so we had to race the monsters that were being sent out, man, that make no sense. That's what I believe and I'm sticking with it.

Stephen Rosebaugh-Nordan said...

Good to see HOPR back again. I loved this series, although it wasn't what got me back into power rangers. That was SPD and I can't wait to hear your opinion on it, since I really liked the series. I watched Dino Thunder retroactively and my jaw dropped at all the nostalgia I was tripping throughout, having grown up in the mighty morphin era.

Really loved the character analysis of Tommy at the end too, it was very deep and reflective.

Here's hoping that someday Disney adapts the awesomeness that is Gokaiger into a power ranger series of this caliber.

kriss1989 said...

Interesting. I always had a different theory when it came to the Zeo powers. Since they are ALWAYS growing in power, what happens when they grow TOO powerful for the body to handle? We've seen before that there is limits to how much morphing power a person could handle. So what if the Zeo powers grew to the point where a human could no longer use them?

V said...

@4:36-5:10, I agree with your sentiment on "civilian powers," but Andros from "In Space" was telekinetic, and Trip from "Time Force" was psychic, as was Cole from "Wild Force" to an extent. Love this review series otherwise. ^_^

Anonymous said...

Man, the SPD review should be... how should I put this? Buttery?

KKDW said...

New opening was kinda surprising, I expected you to chop out some of the clips from the old one and stick in some new ones from Samurai along with adding the Samurai Rangers to the opening clips of every ranger. I'm guessing you ditched that becuause you wouldn't have been able to fit all the Rangers into those few seconds after adding the Samurai Rangers. But I like what you replaced it with, and I know it's based on the that section for the first opening of Mighty Morpin' season 2.

Anyway, I was thinking giving Dino Thunder a go and after this I think I almost certainly will.

Justin Joyce said...

Oh this is awesome! Dino Thunder was awesome and was my first Power Ranger series as a child. it's what made me the major fan i am today. It was this series that i used to get my little brother watching Mighty Morphin and so on. excellent work once again Linkara!

can't wait for SPD, one of my person favorite seasons. until then, good luck with everything, stay Gold.

Anonymous said...

"Somewhere a paleontolgist is crying."


Half the scientists in the world mispronounce the words in their field. I know plenty of Astronomers who still say "your anus" rather than "Ur-an-us." I even knew someone who was in school for Zoology pronounce it "zoo-ology" rather than "Zo-ology."

No paleontologist who isn't obsessive compulsive gives a crap.

Justin_Brett said...

Man, since you liked Mesogog so much, it'll be interesting to see what you think of Grumm and Moira. They're easily the worst original villains...until two seasons after SPD, anyway.

AmuroNT1 said...

Yay for HoPR. Always makes me smile seeing your snarky but loving take on these silly TV shows about teenagers in spandex beating up rubber monsters.

There are two rumors I've heard about Dino Thunder that I never got confirmed. One claimed that Tommy's role in this series was inspired by the classic anime "Daitarn 3", where the protagonist had to protect Earth from a new lifeform his father invented that subsequently went out of control. The other said that Zeltrax was originally intended to be Billy, but they couldn't get David Yost to return (for the reasons put forth in his interview I suppose) and thus they introduced a new character and treated him like an old friend.

As has been said, the Evil White Ranger thing was of course a "limitations of the Sentai" situation, since his Japanese counterpart was a selfish antihero who only cared about things as long as he found them "thrilling". Which makes it kind of strange in the latest season, Gokaiger, as that character is the one to give the Silver Ranger his powers and encourages him to become the greatest hero in the world with him.

Finally, though I haven't watched it myself, a good friend has seen the episode of Abaranger that was used for Lost and Found in Translation. According to him, the parody dub was actually pretty accurate, the only real change being the little girl villain blasting a subordinate for taking her makeup (while in the original it was a Vader-style "you fail so I harm you" thing). It's kind of funny that Sentai purists claim this episode demeans Sentai and makes it look bad, when the Monster of the Week was a giant mushroom that put wigs on people. Disney didn't make that part up, guys...

AmuroNT1 said...

Also, I should have said this before, but I didn't think to. To Psidebby, a two-second search on Wikipedia reveals that Abaranger ran from February 16, 2003 to February 8, 2004, while Dino Thunder ran from February 14 to November 20, 2004. Which means that Lewis is correct when he says DT was IN PRODUCTION while Aba was running...unless they managed to complete the entire series in the week between Aba's end and DT's premiere, in which case Doug Sloane must secretly be the Flash. The factoid about the Triassic Ranger situation is rather well-known, and if Aba had already finished at that time then the mistake would never have been made in the first place.

FugueforFrog said...

I watched this last night but was too late to post something. As such, outside the great job this time, a few things came to mind watching the review:

1. I found it somewhat strange that the musician Kira would end up going after and getting the artist of the group. Pardon seeing "Xanadu" everywhere but it just felt rather strange and not too coincidental.

2. From what I''ve read and heard, it really isn't that much of a problem for Tommy to suddenly decide to get into "dino genetics" and create new Ranger powers in that whole period between mid-Turbo and "Day of the Dino". I remember someone saying somewhere that Tommy at one point wanting to be a doctor, thus he would learn a lot about physiology and the means to assist and improve the body. So as I see it, Tommy did go to medical school thinking he was going to move on with his life...but two things brought him back into the Ranger fold. One was that evil never really went away post-Z-Wave. Obviously Tommy would be keeping track of the Ranger activities after his departure, seeing how well connected he was with several other Rangers by "Forever Red". And thus, he would know or have learned of what emerged after Andros killed Zordon, with evil coming that wasn't merely just from space but was either hidden away on Earth (Bansheera, the Orgs), from another period of history (Ransik) or just created from the darker aspects of the human psyche that some head in a tube can't throw away (Lothor). Thus, it's natural that Tommy would become intrigued and ultimately push himself into creating new Ranger powers to fight against this evil. But as for the other reason as to why Tommy would be able to believe he could do it: Lightspeed Rescue. They were the first Ranger team created that was not based on alien tech, future tech or a mystical element: they were purely created by a team of humans to fight against an unknown foe. With the success of Carter's team, I could imagine Tommy desiring to create Ranger powers of his own, perhaps inspired by the usage of dinos in homage to his old team. of course, the factor that Anton would end up funding him leading to Mesogog would just be the icing leading to the factor that by trying to create something to save the world, Tommy nearly created something that almost destroyed it, thus leading to your excellent anlysis of what happened in "Fighting Spirit". (also had a bizarre theory in my head as to how the heck Tommy ended up down this path further, which sort of includes a lot of weird thoughts about Time Force, "Wild West Rangers" and how the stupid Tommy/Kat relationship no longer exists in my head thanks to these...but I doubt I want to fill this more that needs to for the moment.

3. Somehow hearing the Abaranger theme at the end was hilarious considering this was a Power rangers review...as was your intro about pretty much linking "Kat's arrival" and "the birth of Zeo". (BTW: the new opening rocks)

Ricardo said...

James Gavin said:

"Great video, I think Dino Thunder stands out as a season I WANTED to like alot more then I actually did. (yeah I'm one of those Time Force/In Space peoples)"

Yeah, I feel ya there. I'm one of these Time Force/In Space guys too. They are 2 of my 3 all-time favorite PR seasons, the other one being SPD.

Anyway, that's part of the reason Dino Thunder didn't leave that much of an impression on me when I first watched it as it did on Linkara. The other reason being the anti-climatic endings, 'great buildup, little payoff' deal you mentioned left me with a sort of 'eh' feeling when Dino Thunder was over, making me see it as a slightly above average season back then.

Then again, I have to acknowledge and agree with much of the merits of this season you brought up on the videos, Linkara. That's especially true regarding your analysis of Tommy's psyche, which I found incredibly well put together.

Great video, as I expected. Looking forward to your HOPR on SPD.

Trevor said...

Great Review!

Can't wait for SPD...which I thought was the strangest Power Rangers Show at the time due to the animatronic humanoid dog character.

Shadow Walker said...

Wow....just...Wow; I knew it would take some time with the anniversary of TGWTG hindering you, but damn you didn't skimp on anything.

I didn't get to watch as much of this season as I would like because I was working my ass off at the time and mornings just didn't agree with me nor did I have a DVR like I do now, so to see this and all your analysis the story made me squee. Definitely one of the best of HoPR so far. This series shows you are more than just the Angry Reviewer.

I do however have one thing I'd like to point out, assuming you met JDF at Morphicon why didn't you bring up the fact that he was wearing long sleeves most of the time? I think this was about the time that he started getting the sleeve tattoos that he has now, and I have always found that particular story interesting. Minor I know but I honestly had to ask it

You know I did watch the arcs centered around Tommy being invisible/permanently morphed and it really makes me go "Why didn't I think of that when i was watching it" when you started to dissect his character arc

Anyway can't wait for the next one no matter how long it might take.

Miguel said...

Glad to see the Dino Thunder review up. I like your interpretation of Fighting Spirit, and I agree about Mesogog making a better villain than Lothor. It's not about the score-board (Because if it were, Lothor would be a bad villain in that regard because he stole the Ranger's powers and they still defeated him with a flick of the wrists.), it's about making a good impression, and Mesogog definitely makes a good evil impression. Plus he racks up so many points with me by having a head that's not cheesey CGI.

Also, I'm interested in your eventual episode on Samurai, because I am not enjoying that series. Perhaps, in the century it'll take you to get to that point, you could find the time to watch Shinkenger? It makes for an interesting case, since they're almost exactly the same series (Give or take some of the less kid-friendly stuff like the red ranger being being what you'd basically get out of an Elseworld story where Batman is a samurai, the green ranger being a prankster and the blue ranger having a personality.), but I adore Shinkenger and abhor Samurai.

Adam said...

As for Trent's zord, it is actually based on a rather neat looking pterosaur called a Tupuxuara. (Which isn't a dinosaur either, but that's neither here nor there.

As for why it is called a Drago zord, I always figured it was a shout out to Tommy's origional zord, which was also an out of place dragon zord in a dinosaur themed series.

Wesley Muench said...

I really enjoyed your in depth look into Tommy's mind. But you barely mentioned Hayley at all in the review and you didn't mention her at all during character analysis. Did she leave that little of an impression?

Ugo Strange said...

GREAT analysis on Tommy ! I thought of it in a similar way but NOT THAT IN DEPTH! HOT DAMN! Can't wait to see what you think of SPD. Another good one Linkara. These puppies are worth the time !

Tyler Kelley said...

I think Linkara is a boss for even sticking with this series. Considering how much flak he gets for one tiny thing its amazing he even continues to offer the product. I will wait patiently for the SPD version and will enjoy it when it arrives. Thank you Lewis for this amazing series.

arw1985 said...

Great review as always, and even a nice analysis on Tommy.

This was the last Ranger series I watched in full until RPM, of course, 'cause it was pretty good. It was a decent series. It really did remind me of MMPR when it first came on too. The crossover was good. I might place it 2nd or 3rd in terms of crossovers. It looks like I'm stepping into new territory from on down the road until you get to RPM. Hope you enjoy SPD!


So I got two questions:
What is your favorite Ranger by far?
What is your least favorite Ranger by far?

Timzor said...

Thanks for the tipoff about Netflix. Even if they are a bunch of damn dirty price gouging bastards!
*just got the email about the 60% price increase*

nanaki626 said...

Another fantastic review, the only part I really find myself disagree with you on was Conner. While yes he show that he wasn't the smartest guy around, in the episode with the personality swapping meteor we can see that he is a actually has a fair amount of intelligence, he just doesn't do much with it. Granted, that could simply be me just interrupting the character in a different way then you, so I guess I have to say to each their own.
As a side note, you might find it interesting that several groups of fans actually consider him to be one of the most powerful rangers yet, something I find myself agreeing with because he is the first Red Ranger to forge his battleizer through sheer force of will instead of having someone else build or give it to him, at least that is how I always interrupted that episode.

I loved your analysis Tommy's character, honestly one of the best I have seen yet.

I eagerly await your review of SPD.

The Mad Scientist said...

I'm really glad you liked this series, Lewis! It's one of my favorites as well. Also, THANK YOU for including the full morphing sequence from Thunder Storm. That is, by far, my favorite morphing sequence in the entire show! SO GOOD!!!!!!

Chatty said...

@AmuroNT1
I don't think the problem is that the script was bad, but that the acting was terrible. They give them goofy voices with zero to little emotion and synch it up rather poorly. The Sentai was already pretty silly, you don't need to dumb it down even more. Or it could also be that the series does take a rather dark turn around the time Abare Killer shows up. The particular episode isn't exactly the pick of the liter.

"Which makes it kind of strange in the latest season, Gokaiger, as that character is the one to give the Silver Ranger his powers and encourages him to become the greatest hero in the world with him." Well he does eventually become less of a jerk later on and warm up to them a bit. Not to mention the three rangers picked make more sense if you've seen the series where they appeared. SPOILERS, they all died.

Patrick said...

Great review Linkara. Dino Thunder is actually the only series after In Space that I watched clear through, since I'm a big dinosaur fan. Unsurprisingly, I enjoyed it thoroughly. A note about the DragoZord, though - it's actually based on Tupuxuara, a genus of pterosaur with a big decorative crest on its head. I expect they changed it to "Drago" for the sake of simplicity.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I really enjoyed the review. Worth the wait. Can't wait to see Jungle Fury (when you get the time, of course). Never watched it when it was on air, but I loved Gekiranger.

Mr. Saturn said...

I noticed a few nods to the whole color-coded clothing thing. Nice little 4th wall breaking.

ViperXX79 said...

With the show being moved to New Zealand it was interesting to see all the actors that were in another great show called The Tribe appear from Ninja Storm and the following 4-5 Power Ranger series. Not sure if you've seen the show but it's interesting to see the influence.

Furore said...

No no no, it's not bullcrap...

It's the highlight of your review! The last few minutes, when you discuss the Inner Journy of Tommy Oliver, well, that is the part where my hair stands up (ew).

I completely loe HOPR. Moar plox.

Truce Weston said...

very enjoyable episode, and i got to learn stuff i didn't know.

the opening joke about the whole "alien rangers" saga and kimberly dumping tommy being not mentioned in Legacy Of Power, had me on the floor laughing!

new intro! awesome!

I was surprised you didn't comment more on Hayley but a whole series of 38 episodes is a lot to make into a value pack of this size

awesome work dude!

Unknown said...

Starting with Mystic Force, they reduced the number of episodes to 32 instead of 38-40, so there should now be no excuse for not using the best Senti footage for the episodes.

I think the remaining seasons are a bit underrated.

SPD - One of the best acting Power Rangers series and a very strong story. The team-up episodes are a little lackluster.

Mystic Force - I think you'll find it like Wild Force, very underrated. I don't really know why it gets criticized as it does.

Operation Overdrive - I also think it's underrated, but very boring.

Jungle Fury - Starts out slow, but I think it's one of the best Power Rangers series.

RPM - The best Power Rangers series of them all. No contest.

Anonymous said...

Card game nerd that I am, I can't help but note that all Tommy needs is blue powers to hit every color in Magic: the Gathering. Heh. :P

On a more pertinent note, having stopped paying attention to the show itself after Zeo, this series has been both a delightful surge of nostalgia and a fascinating look at what transpired after I fell off the wagon. With Tommy's reappearance as a mentor figure, I felt it was appropriate to make a comment here. Because, let's face it, for a child of the 90's like me, seeing him again is pretty dang awesome, even if the reaction is several years after the fact. Thanks as always for doing this, Linkara. :)

arw1985 said...

Dang. I meant to say "Who " on those questions. Sorry.

Jarkes said...

What? No mention of how the "reveal" of Zeltrax being Smitty was hurt by the fact that Smitty wasn't even mentioned until the episode where Zeltrax's identity was revealed? I'm surprised.

Speaking of which, I remember reading somewhere (it might've been TvTropes) that Zeltrax was originally going to turn out to be Billy (which, while it would've been interesting, wouldn't have made a whole lot of sense), but David Yost wouldn't return, presumably because he was still sore over the homophobia crap he had to put up with during Mighty Morphin and Zeo. Is this actually true?

Jarkes said...

I'm also a little surprised that you didn't question the fact that Tommy had gotten a PhD in paleontology and had created all of those powers and Zords and whatnot in about 6 years.

Unknown said...

Hey Lewis! Great Review once again, but i actually got some interesting info with mesogog's jaw. If you look closely, you see black and red make-up on the face. and the human mouth is open really wide.

So instead of animatronics, the human actor himself is actually moving the jaw. The jaw is just attached under his chin; which give more credit to the actor since if you think about it his jaw probably was killing by the end of the day.

Ramnesis said...

My one disappointment is that you didn't put in Tommy's line: "We were trying to create a dinosaur at one time that had the power of mind control."

Why would you ever want to do that, Tommy!?!?!?!

Sure its a filler episode, but that line is probably the single most stupefying line in all of Power Rangers.

Eevuljeeneuss said...

Linkara,
Great job on another HoPR! I've been watching Power Rangers since the beginning, though more sporadically as I've aged. Your reviews of the seasons so far have been a wonderful journey back to a show that I grew up with. I really appreciate how you take an analytical look at the seasons and compare to the series as a whole instead of following the fan boy bias that has become so common on the internet. Keep up the good work!

JLH said...

In honor of this being posted (congrats on passing the 500 episode mark, Linkara), I've finally gotten around to posting the scans of several PRDT scripts to my online collection of nearly 200 Power Rangers scripts. So, for anyone who wants to know what a script for PR looks like...

http://sirstack.livejournal.com/

Outlaw said...

Great review of the series, but I noticed that this one lacked several things that the previous reviews had, such as analysis of side characters, of nature vs technology and some such. Did you just want to get it out or did you not have much to say about them?

Jarkes said...

Random: I've been watching Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 1 again, courtesy of Netflix Instant, and I noticed a detail I had forgotten: Whenever the original Megazord goes from Tank Mode to Battle Mode, a robotic voice proclaims, "Megazord sequence has been initiated!" as the transformation starts, and "Megazord activated!" when the transformation is complete. Do you have any idea who did that voice?

JLH said...

Jarkes, that's Tony Oliver. Voice of Rick Hunter on Robotech, Saba in seasons 2 & 3 of MMPR, and one of MMPR's developers (he wrote the first episode, among others).

CS said...

Yay, new HOPR! Your reviews got my boyfriend into enjoying the Power Rangers as much as I do and he's been eagerly awaiting for your next review. I'm so glad you're still making these! :)

Especially since he's reluctant to watch any series you've already covered and I'm happy to get out of watching Wild Force again, haha.

Christopher said...

So basically the Triassic Ranger is the PR equivalent to the Armor of Inferno from Ronin Warriors, eh? Awesome.

Anonymous said...

This is the season that almost got me back into Power Rangers. When it was airing, I would catch a few minutes here and there, but at that point in my life I was very much a "Why did I watch this stuff when I was a kid, again?" lapsed fan. Since you started this series... I think I've actually watched more of Dino Thunder than any of the other post Mighty Morphin' series to date.

Now if they would only start releasing DVDs of the various series, I think I'd be a happy camper.

Fiery Little One

Dragoryu3000 said...

Oh, Zeltrax. His reveal as guy-we've-never-heard-of-before-now was so anticlimactic for me as a twelve-year-old. I remember that there was someone who I REALLY wanted him to be revealed as, but I can't remember who it was. Maybe it was Jason, or Tommy's clone...hopefully it wasn't Goldar, because that would've been stupid of me.

While we're on the subject of Zeltrax, was his "son" Goldenrod ever mentioned again after Tommy killed him? Seems like that could've been added to his whole revenge shtick.

Anonymous said...

SPD is awesome, i hope he likes it.

Erik Johnson Illustrator said...

Personally I never thought "civilian powers" made sense because they never used them when it was convenient.

Kira can't use her "Canary Cry" when she's wearing her helmet, and on "SPD", Jack's phasing and Z's duplication power could have been incredibly useful during ranger fights, but they never explained why they didn't use them. Then again the notion of how the SPD rangers got their powers is a bit sketchy but I'm sure we'll get there soon enough.

Also, you frequently comment on the aesthetic elements like the theme song, ranger suit and Battlizer design and even morpher shape and function, but I'm curious how you would grade the actual morphing sequence? Do you prefer the quick cry of Mighty Morphin' over later sequence that show detailed transition from protagonists with attitude to full ranger? How do you feel about the surroundings of the morphing? We've had everything from metal corridors, exterior environments to featureless backgrounds.

Don't feel you have to answer, its just been on my mind lately since I was catching up on "Mystic Force" to prepare from your eventual video and it just struck me as odd how in the shining moment when these kids become heroes, we get a shot of their flying asses. Not exactly the stuff legends are made of.

Just a thought. Best wishes in your many projects.

Anonymous said...

Civilian Powers: I don't know why people don't like them. I think they're cool.

White Ranger Clone: I think you down played him too much. If my memory is correct he caused a lot of trouble for the Rangers.

Dino/Ninja Team Up: I agree when you said it makes sense that the Dino Ranger would get their butts kicked by more experienced Rangers. However back then I had hoped that the Dino Rangers would've gotten in a few good blows to the Wind Rangers.

Zeltrax: I wish you had talked more about how awesome Zeltrax was (no joke). I believe even before he became "Super Zeltrax" he had a few good fights/scenarios. IMO he's one of the best 2nd in commands in the Power Rangers series/universe.

NGT said...

What have you done to my beautiful HOPR opening? The other one had energy and action, this one has obvious editing and boredom and Ron Wasserman music that doesn't fit anymore. It gets better towards the end, but this one just isn't as awesome.

To be honest, the Civilian Powers argument has always struck me as somewhat stupid. They're an obvious hedge against the fact that an untransformed Ranger is a vulnerable Ranger. Style or feel doesn't enter into the equation; it's a matter of tactics.

This actually looks surprisingly good, but then I may just be getting a false positive off Tommy's obviously improved acting skills. The fact you've put in little to show the acting of the others is a little...suspicious.

Tommy as Batman again? Power Rangers Beyond! "The voice called me Bruce. That's not what I call myself in my head."

Anonymous said...

I've found myself really missing your HoPR segments.

Three of the civilian powers stood out for me: one, a guy could stretch. Two, somebody turned invisible. Three, somebody got rocky skin and invulnerability...
Does anyone else think they'd've added somebody with fire powers if they'd had the budget?

Anonymous said...

Linkara, I agree with you 100% about your comments on the Abaranger tribute and I feel that Disney did a good job on showing fans that you can like both without the harsh, stupid comparisons on which is better. To me, that episode was a backwards interpretation of exactly what Japan thinks of us. I know several Japanese people who love Power Rangers MORE than they like their own show, Super Sentai. They all said the exact same thing, they like it because it's different and they like to see what kind of interpretation America makes to their show. I hate that some U.S. fans (Sentai elitist) believe that Japan doesn't like Power Rangers because that's a lie. The fact is that most of them LOVE Power Rangers. I'm not going to say that everything that Power Rangers has done is gold but I won't say that everything Power Rangers has done sucks either. I agree with everything you said about PR:DT. Keep up the good work man.

Jarkes said...

Hey, Linkara, just saying, but if you don't make a "Battle Thong" joke in regards to Jack's Battlizer in SPD, I shall be very disappointed...

Anonymous said...

"Jarkes said...

Hey, Linkara, just saying, but if you don't make a "Battle Thong" joke in regards to Jack's Battlizer in SPD, I shall be very disappointed..."

It can also be seen as a protective cup.

Anonymous said...

interesting facts about abaranger:
The black rangers morphing key is a harmonika, don't know why they didn't show that in dino thunder, after all it would have been a great little call back to the dragon dagger flute.

zeltraxs isn't a person but an armour that takes control of whoever defeats it. It had taken control of the black ranger's wife, and later it took control of the black ranger.

the white ranger was the main villain for a large part of the episodes, he even designed the monsters of the day while he was. He only joined the rangers briefly before his unstable morpher killed him and his zord

Dragon30125 said...

Linkara don't take any offense as this is just nitpicking, but Tommy uses a spinning crescent kick on the robot t-rex in the beginning NOT a roundhouse kick. and yes i do know what i am talking about as i have been learning karate since 1998 and teaching since 2002 as a ten year old mind you but yeah. not a major mistake that one that really gets on my nerves, sorry. Just letting you knowas you say that you read all comments.

Andrew said...

I know you don't like eing rushed, but it's been a while since you made a hopr, and were missing your epic manly voice.

Rick007 said...

Does anyone else look at Shane and think Malachite from the Suburban Knights?

V said...

I know that every HOPR is well worth the wait, but if you have any, maybe you could put some of the cutting room floor footage together and post it? Just a suggestion.

vinny said...

lay off linkara geez u guys need to take a chill pill he also doing AT4W where bad comics burns

Anonymous said...

can tell us a good web site to get a power ranger replica unifrom like your green ranger one

rick007 said...

I just wanted to know what you thought the themes of this season were as you didn't go into the overall themes that much. Is it be your own person and don't let anyone tell you diffent? That's what I got from it least ways.

Anonymous said...

I hate to be that person, but when will History of Power Rangers:SPD be coming out? We havent gotten a new once since July. I know you have others things going on and its close to the holidays,but will we see it anytime soon?

Alex Stritar said...

Nicktoons has been marrathoning Dino Thunder for the weekend, so I decided to give the show a try. Pritty good, but I'm not sure if it's really my thing.

Anonymous said...

Much like the other anonymous post I don't want to be "That Guy" but it has been over 6 months since the last video. I'm quite keen to see the next video since we've come so far and the finish line seems so much closer it would be a shame to now see things through. I also quite liked both SPD and Dekaranger so I'm interested to see what others thought too.

Come on Linkara You can do it!

Anonymous said...

C'mon man. I don't want to bitch, but it has been 8 months.

ThatNostalgicBlogger said...

Again, like the comments above, I hate to be one of THOSE people who constantly whine and order you to hurry up but it's been nearly a year now since you uploaded a new HOPR. I understand that this is probably low on your priority list right now but maybe you could just post something to let us know when the next one will be coming out so we have an idea of the time period to wait. I think I speak for many when I say, although I respect you and how much time goes into each video, we're all desperate for another HOPR.

Gus said...

I knew it. Mystic Force was too boring. he's likely only seeing one episode a week if even that. Plus with all the stuff on Atop the Fourth Wall as of late- while I like it I do sort of see some issue with the videos getting longer and longer with each plot related episode- he likely won't have SPD ready for us until he's on vacation from all this at some point.

Still I had hoped this turn of events would have caused him to take away the rule about watching the entire next series to see what stuck with him. But that just means one episode whenever be it a year or two, or until he runs out of story ideas or fans get really really sick of story in his video. neither of which is happening any time soon

Anonymous said...

It has been quite a while since the last HOPR. I understand you have already watched SPD and I also know that it is very hard for anyone to get their hands on power rangers media. Recently, Seban has stepped up on finding any episodes on youtube as well as on other sites and claimed them. If you or anyone who wants to watch the series, go to http://www.watch-power-rangers-online.com/ (yes highly creative name)they have all the episodes. And yes, I will respectively wait for the next HOPR.