The Power Rangers Universe
- Thread starter Mr. Mr.
- Start date
I would love for them to go darker with these films. They have a lot of stories to use, especially with Mighty Morphin' being 3 seasons long. You've got evil Tommy, the Island of Illusion, Rita stealing the Rangers' power, Jason being captured, the team losing their Zords, Tommy's change from green to white, and that's just off the top of my head. They could easily spread all of that over a few films!
Bulk and Skull definitely need to go though, or at least, smarten them up and not make them look ridiculous as that sort of humour doesn't translate well in big feature films with the darker storyline. Maybe they should use them as the characters that try to expose the Rangers' identities (like they already have done but failing less so epically) to increase the tension throughout the film and create smaller storylines alongside the main plot. It would emphasise more the whole 'Rangers battle to save the earth, but also battle to keep their identities secret' thing and keep with the original story.
I have been watching some of the more recent Power Rangers seasons and I quite like the Samurai and Super Megaforce ones. It was the Super Megaforce season that has got me to take a look into the Samurai one and it's not all too bad. The ones produced by Disney are utter shit though. I'm glad Saban is doing it. With the money being put into it, do you guys reckon they'll still use footage from the Super Sentai series or actually do their own stunts and use their own costumes? The only problem with recycling the Super Sentai footage was the inconsistencies. The filming and production are only just a little different, but enough to notice the switch between the two.
Speaking of villains, I do like Dayu's story from the Samurai/Super Samurai Rangers. Her storyline with Deker is really interesting and ends up quite touching, especially for a kid's TV show. It has the basis of a good young adult fiction story in there already.
Bulk and Skull definitely need to go though, or at least, smarten them up and not make them look ridiculous as that sort of humour doesn't translate well in big feature films with the darker storyline. Maybe they should use them as the characters that try to expose the Rangers' identities (like they already have done but failing less so epically) to increase the tension throughout the film and create smaller storylines alongside the main plot. It would emphasise more the whole 'Rangers battle to save the earth, but also battle to keep their identities secret' thing and keep with the original story.
I have been watching some of the more recent Power Rangers seasons and I quite like the Samurai and Super Megaforce ones. It was the Super Megaforce season that has got me to take a look into the Samurai one and it's not all too bad. The ones produced by Disney are utter shit though. I'm glad Saban is doing it. With the money being put into it, do you guys reckon they'll still use footage from the Super Sentai series or actually do their own stunts and use their own costumes? The only problem with recycling the Super Sentai footage was the inconsistencies. The filming and production are only just a little different, but enough to notice the switch between the two.
Speaking of villains, I do like Dayu's story from the Samurai/Super Samurai Rangers. Her storyline with Deker is really interesting and ends up quite touching, especially for a kid's TV show. It has the basis of a good young adult fiction story in there already.
Let's not forget that story where Billy and Kimberley were turned into petulant punks.
The Disney ones were the ones that got me back into watching it for a little bit. I loved Ninja Storm and Dino Thunder back then. For me, the real reason for decline during the Disney seasons was when Doug Sloan, who was brought in as executive producer for the series when the switchover to Disney happened, left after Dino Thunder and they brought in this guy named Bruce Kalish, who I seem to recall was quoted as saying that his job was to simply translate Japanese and nothing more.
I didn't know that! Sounds awful. I remember watching the original seasons, then onto Zeo (which was a major step up from MMPR and also bloody good!), Turbo and a bit of in Space. After when it moved to Lost Galaxy I lost track and stopped watching because I grew up a little bit and had less time to watch it. I saw a bit of each in between and just got bored with the constant shift in cast and boring plots (the Power Rangers always winning and no cliff hangers at all apart from the season finales). The news of Saban buying back the Power Rangers franchise was the only thing that got me back to watch the Samurai era. Now I'm just catching up as it goes! I like the addition of the Legendary Mode which is a nice little touch of nostalgia.
Lost Galaxy was terrible, even Karone couldn't get me watching. I strangly liked Lightspeed Rescue, and as already stated Time Force is just wonderful. I lost interest from Disney onwards with Wild Force but I did watch SPMD and Mystic Force and really liked those. I lost it again from Operation Overdrive and even Jason from Home and Away and Adelaide from Neighbours couldn't get me interested in Jungle Fury or RPM. Those dodgy Australian/New Zealand accents doing American to reduce costs by filming overseas really did bother me.
I really like the suggestion with Bulk and Skull in terms of supporting characters trying to reveal their identity. I don't want any comedy b plot stuff with them or any of the villains (looking at you Rito Revolto), it's not needed if this is to be a young adult film franchise.
I really like the suggestion with Bulk and Skull in terms of supporting characters trying to reveal their identity. I don't want any comedy b plot stuff with them or any of the villains (looking at you Rito Revolto), it's not needed if this is to be a young adult film franchise.
It would be great if they made it more dark and gritty so that people my age (26) who fondly remember the original series will be interested.
I think if they could get some big Hollywood names involved it could be a success.
I follow Amy Jo Johnson (Kimberly) and Steven Cardenas (Rocky) on Twitter. Amy tweeted she wants to play Ivan Ooze.
Kimberly was always my favourite but looking back I never notices how utterly gorgeous Rocky was.
I also never realised how racially stereotyped the Rangers were. black ranger was a black man, yellow ranger was Asian and red ranger was Mexican.
I think if they could get some big Hollywood names involved it could be a success.
I follow Amy Jo Johnson (Kimberly) and Steven Cardenas (Rocky) on Twitter. Amy tweeted she wants to play Ivan Ooze.
Kimberly was always my favourite but looking back I never notices how utterly gorgeous Rocky was.
I also never realised how racially stereotyped the Rangers were. black ranger was a black man, yellow ranger was Asian and red ranger was Mexican.
Wild Force is a hot-ass mess, but since Disney bought the PR franchise after production had already begun on that season, I personally don't really consider it a Disney season, because they had to finish what was started. I think only half of it was produced by Disney. I do love that Wild Force is the only season where the producers flat out released an apology after one of the episodes saying something like, "Sorry we messed that one up, guys. We'll do better next time."
As for the dodgy Aussie/Kiwi accents, I usually just laughed when they would slip through (James Napier had a couple of particularly bad moments that I'm surprised weren't refilmed), but on the bright side, the scenery they used for the fight scenes and such was way more gorgeous than the ones filmed in California.
I love that the California series' (especially the early ones) were clearly all filmed for a fiver on shitty industrial estates and the odd park. It was hilarious.
I fucking loved the Power Rangers. Mighty Morphin' remains my favourite but I remember the utter shock during the series of finale when the Command Center was blown up. It was so awesome for me as a child and I couldn't wait to see what happened. I imagine for a lot of kids of our generation, it was probably the first time we were exposed to story arcs in kids' TV. Zeo was an awesome follow-up, even if the villains weren't quite as good (and comedy Zedd and Rita was dreadful) but as a follow-up and first reinvention, it did the job. Turbo was fucking awful and that's when they lost me. I returned for In Space when people raved about how good it was (and it was!) and it had the perfect finale. That closed my days as a fan, apart from seeing the odd episode here and there of what came in the following years.
I remember Fox Kids showing Lost Galaxy at the same times as showing earlier series and I found the whole thing terribly confusing but it was a fucking terrible follow-on and I never liked it.
I fucking loved the Power Rangers. Mighty Morphin' remains my favourite but I remember the utter shock during the series of finale when the Command Center was blown up. It was so awesome for me as a child and I couldn't wait to see what happened. I imagine for a lot of kids of our generation, it was probably the first time we were exposed to story arcs in kids' TV. Zeo was an awesome follow-up, even if the villains weren't quite as good (and comedy Zedd and Rita was dreadful) but as a follow-up and first reinvention, it did the job. Turbo was fucking awful and that's when they lost me. I returned for In Space when people raved about how good it was (and it was!) and it had the perfect finale. That closed my days as a fan, apart from seeing the odd episode here and there of what came in the following years.
I remember Fox Kids showing Lost Galaxy at the same times as showing earlier series and I found the whole thing terribly confusing but it was a fucking terrible follow-on and I never liked it.
I liked the outside locations from New Zealand too, particularly for Mystic Force, it really worked.
Does everyone here know about the story regarding In Space? They misinterpreted what the sentai version was, which was essentially based on video games. It makes it even more remarkable that we ended up with a season that good, when budget was slashed, sentai footage was limited and had to be cheaply edited (to look like it was in space), and they thought it would be the last season.
Does everyone here know about the story regarding In Space? They misinterpreted what the sentai version was, which was essentially based on video games. It makes it even more remarkable that we ended up with a season that good, when budget was slashed, sentai footage was limited and had to be cheaply edited (to look like it was in space), and they thought it would be the last season.
It's so odd that a series with lots of plot arcs and a bit more mature tone (for a kids show) basically saved it, but they never stuck to that winning formula.
A gritty power rangers wouldn't work, it'll be like Man of Steel and feel awkward and contrived, with depth shoe-horned in where there wasn't any. There's a lot to explore from the basic premise that would be interesting (e.g. kids being chosen to save the world and dealing with this being dumped on them, "why me?", reluctant superheroes. the horror of this massive alien invasion etc), but it still needs to have fun and charm. They're in multicoloured spandex after all. There's a good opportunity for a more human, grounded story, which would be refreshing. The Avengers is the perfect template for this.
I don't think I've heard much about his attitude on set but apparently he was abused by the crew for being gay, which may have had an affect on him while he was on set. I think it got too much he had to leave pretty much as soon as possible, as his very last episode he appeared in didn't even feature his voice and used pre-recorded visuals!
That makes a lot of sense with David Yest then. I find the Thunder Megazord and certain elements with the White Ranger and Alien Rangers confusing, they come from other sentai, right? I know sentai ended up providing them with more footage for MMPR because everything from Zyuranger had been used.
I've looked a bit into the current series today and they have the ability to morph into any previous Power Ranger incarnation. The issue is that they're using sentai footage of outfits used previously to MMPR. The excuse onscreen is that some are Power Rangers never seen before on earth. That is dreadful, they should have come up with a better explination or just not used that footage. When they change into one the American audience is aware of, they'll reference it by saying 'Time for Time Force!' for example, but if it's not they just won't say anything.
I've looked a bit into the current series today and they have the ability to morph into any previous Power Ranger incarnation. The issue is that they're using sentai footage of outfits used previously to MMPR. The excuse onscreen is that some are Power Rangers never seen before on earth. That is dreadful, they should have come up with a better explination or just not used that footage. When they change into one the American audience is aware of, they'll reference it by saying 'Time for Time Force!' for example, but if it's not they just won't say anything.
I would love to cast this vehicle. This is what I'd do:
Dylan Minnette as Red
Chloe Moretz as Pink
Kodie Smit-McPhee as Blue
Zendaya Coleman as Yellow
and Jaden Smith as Green
..with Angela Bassett playing Rita Repulsa and Giancarlo Esposito as Zordon.
Dylan Minnette as Red
Chloe Moretz as Pink
Kodie Smit-McPhee as Blue
Zendaya Coleman as Yellow
and Jaden Smith as Green
..with Angela Bassett playing Rita Repulsa and Giancarlo Esposito as Zordon.
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Yep, the White Ranger is from Dairanger (the next series following Zyuranger, the one used for Season 1) and the Alien Rangers are Kakurangers (the next series again). From Zeo onwards, they just followed the pattern.
I only recently found out the White Ranger in Dairanger was a kid, which explained why "Tommy" was always prancing about like a nutjob on top of the White Tigerzord. I always thought he was oddly enthusiastic.
The one thing I never understood about the Alien Rangers is why they were used at all. Was it some contractual thing, to give the actors time off or something? It's such a bizarre move to get a new cast for the last ten episodes of a series.
I always thought it was due to a number of reasons - lack of existing, usable footage - they couldn't give the rangers those "Alien rangers" powers/uniforms, and then the all-new Zeo powers mere episodes later, perhaps a bit of "Oh fuck, what are we going to do now? We can't keep stretching Zyuranger footage" and I half wonder if there was contractual issues again and they were trying to work things out - and lost Aisha in the process.