1.6 Food Fight

Season 1 Episode 6
"Food Fight"
Writer: Cheryl Saban
Director: Robert Hughes

Episode Summary:
The episode opens with Kimberly and Trini greeting Principal Kaplan at Ernie's Gym and Juice Bar.  We soon  learn that they're having a cultural foods festival to raise money for some playground equipment.  Bulk and Skull start a food fight and we find out Kaplan wears a hairpiece.  Rita is inspired by their festival and creates the Pudgy Pig to eat all the world's food supply.  The Rangers morph to fight the pig only to have him eat their weapons . . . and do some squeal noise and cause his tail to do something that really made me feel awkward to watch. 

He attacks the food festival and as the Rangers observe the damage, Trini (aka the only Ranger with a brain, sorry Billy) notices that he didn't touch any of the spicy food.  The Rangers once again morph and take food with them to feed the pig.  Trini stuffs a spicy radish in a sub and feeds it to the pig which causes him to get horrible indigestion (which I completely understand) and throw up their weapons.  They then combine their bile-covered weapons to kill Pudgy Pig.  At the episode's end the Rangers are upset that the festival was ruined but luckily Alpha 5 made some food which comically included a spicy radish.  Trini shows us that she's a proper saleswoman and convinces Principal Kaplan to buy a radish sub for $20 for the playground.  Trini > everyone. 


Facts:
-First Line - "Hi!" - Kim and Trini
-First on-screen Ranger - Kim and Trini
-Last Line - "Laugh!" - All
-Pudgy Pig shows up in the US-shot footage (the second time this happens, Gnarly Gnome was the first)
-Zack says "Morphinominal" for the first time


Observations:
First of all, I was at first reluctant to buy the fact that Angel Grove couldn't afford playground equipment.  The people are well-dressed and drive nice cars, one would assume they're taxed pretty decently and the city could use those funds to purchase playground equipment.  Then I remembered this is Angel Grove and the city is destroyed nearly every single day by giant monsters.  They rebuild fairly quickly which must eat up a lot of resources and money - so THAT'S why we're having a fundraiser. 

Secondly, this is the first monster Rita's created that actually poses a viable threat to the world.  If he eats the entire world's food supply - yeah, that would really suck.  That would suck far more than a giant ape with wings or a Gnarly Gnome or Sphinx with special blowing powers.  However, I don't like Zordon's calculation that he will eat the entire food supply in 48 hours, he spent 20 minutes alone in just Angel Grove for goodness sake.  Also, the way he kept saying "I'm hungry" and in that voice - was anyone else thinking Cartman on South Park?

Third, the cultural foods booths . . . Zack is in charge of African-American food, Trini is in charge of a generic Asian foods booth.  Really?  I wouldn't mind the African-American food booth except that Kim and Jason are at the USA booth.  However, if racism offends you, at least they pay you off with a bit of fan-service by keeping Kimberly in a skimpy outfit showing her stomach at all possible moments.  Win-win.