1.27 Wheel of Misfortune

Season 1, Episode 27
"Wheel of Misfortune"
Writer: Mark Ryan & Cheryl Saban
Director: Terence H. Winkless

Episode Summary:
We open with the rehearsal of Angel Grove High School's production of Rumpelstiltskin directed by Principal Caplan.  Our tragic heroine ordered to spin straw into gold is played by the only Ranger who can act so well that we can see her acting as her character "acting" - KIMBERLY!  We also see Jason break out of the jock-stereotype as another lead in the production.  Oddly enough, we also see Bulk and Skull taking part in their school's production.  The spinning wheel (trustingly donated by Kimberly's grandmother) is then broken when Bulk spins it too hard (that's what she said? reaching too much?)

Kimberly is extremely upset at the loss of her grandmother's prized spinning wheel that only Tommy can comfort her as he offers to fix the wheel for her.  Unknownst to our teens but knownst to us - Rita has stolen the wheel to turn it into her latest monster: The Wheel of Misfortune!  We learn the wheel will destroy anything it touches - watch out, Rangers!  Tommy is kidnapped by putties and tied to a tree while the other Rangers battle Scorpina and Goldar.  Rita asks us to watch her monsters grow and the Rangers must battle the villains AND the wheel WITHOUT DRAGONZORD!

Luckily Tommy is smart and fakes being sick to trick the putties and gets himself loose in time to morph and call on Dragonzord to bring all the Zords together to form ULTRAZORD (with Titanus)!  After their victory, the wheel is returned better than its original state as it's no longer broken.  The show goes on and someone tells Kimberly to "break a leg" - Tommy winks (swoon) and tells Kimberly "Don't you dare."  Bulk comically splits his pants and Kimberly closes the show.  Applause.

Facts:
-First on-screen - Billy
-First line - "And places everyone" - Billy
-Focus - Kimberly
-Last line - "The end." - Kimberly
-First time the Rangers use Ultrazord

Observations:
We see more of the flirtation between Kimberly and Tommy which is good for showing a developing a season-long story arc.  So that's a good, but we also see some writing that's just sloppy.  Bulk is starring in a school play directed by the Principal.  I get that we only have two faculty members in all of Angel Grove (Ms Applebee the English teacher and the Principal) but wouldn't Applebee have been the better choice?  Was she unavailable for this episode?  And let's say Bulk is in the show because of detention or something - why is he the lead?  Was there really no other student who could pull the role off?    And the school play takes place in Ernie's Gym and Juice Bar?  Does the school just not have an auditorium?  Has public school funding for the arts deteriorated that much?  However, I like that Jason's in the play, to me that says he's building up his extracurriculars to make his college application more marketable.  You go, Jason.

I enjoy any episode about Kimberly, naturally.  And naturally at this point in the show anything about Kimberly will also be about Tommy since they're meant to be - but his capture by the putties is just stupid.  I get why they had to get Tommy out of the picture - the Sentai footage doesn't allow for the Green Ranger to appear as frequently as the other Rangers due to his Green Candle dilemma (his candle in Sentai-world is counting down the hours he has left to live - so you understand why he's reluctant to fight in every battle).  I still think the putties tying him to a tree is stupid, and I think his plan to trick them by faking sick is even more stupid.  Why didn't the putties trap him to a different dimension or use something other than shoddy rope to tie him to the tree?  Sigh.  Henchmen.

Nothing else in the episode is really that statistically significant for the study - we see the introduction of Ultrazord since it's a new toy Zord for the show but as for characterization, nothing else is really all too different or significant. And Trini . . . Trini, you're slowly disappearing from statistical significance in my study!  Come back!

1.26 Gung Ho!

Season 1, Episode 26
"Gung Ho!"
Director: Robert Hughes
Writer: Mark Hoffmeier

Episode Summary:

Tommy and Jason are training for the Team Ninja competition and having trouble cooperating.  Despite the fact that Zack is coaching and Billy designed a computer program to get them into shape, their constant bickering about who is right and who is wrong is getting in the way of progress.  Because obviously this conflict has been building up since . . . ?  Trini tells the boys they need to learn to GUNG HO!  Kimberly and Trini are walking to the park discussing the conflict between Jason and dreamy Tommy when Rita sends a band of putties to attack the girls.  But wait, these aren't just ordinary putties - they're Super Putties made from the Super Putty from the last episode (CONTINUITY!)!

The other Rangers try to help the girls fight off the Super Putties and then regroup at the Command Center since they've never before had that much trouble with henchmen.  Zack (who leads with "it's morphin time" as the de facto second in command) leads Kimberly, Billy, and Trini into battle against the Super Putties while Zordon comes up with this *amazing* plan to get Tommy and Jason to cooperate - he sends them to gather the only weapons they can use to defeat the Super Putties.  What's the catch?  He gives them a map . . . split in two . . . and gives them each half.  Fool-proof. 

Tommy and Jason still won't gung-ho and even though they find the landmarks they should be, each takes credit for something without helping the other.  Sigh.  They finally spot the weapons and are attacked by a giant mecha-beast.  They morph and Jason comes up with a plan that finally incorporates teamwork - Tommy you're better with a sword (I don't know what this assumption is based on) and I can get up the hill faster to get the weapons, so you take my sword, and I'll take your shield since I'll be defenseless.  They do so and Jason discovers . . . some other team of Rangers weapons!

He steals the other Rangers weapons and brings them to his friends who use them to shoot down the Super Putties.  We then find out the mecha-beast?  Really our good friend Titanus whom Zordon's never mentioned before and can apparently turn Megazord into the ultimate weapon.  Thanks.

Shirtless Tommy and Jason battle fully cloaked ninjas in the Team Ninja Finals and apply their team-working skills from earlier to win the competition.  Yay.

Facts:

-First line - Jason "I could've had you man."
-Last line - Jason "Yeah, we make a great team."
-First on-screen - Tommy and Jason
-Focus - Tommy and Jason
-Introduction of the Super Putties
-Introduction of Titanus the Carrier Zord
-Tommy's shield is transferable

Observations:

I like the plot of this episode - I really do.  It makes sense to have a rivalry between the leader of a team that's been in place and a newcomer that has a lot more power (and a much bigger Zord, if you know what I'm sayin').  But since Tommy became a good guy, he and Jason have been friends and Jason's welcomed the addition to the team, so this conflict seems to come out of nowhere.  But again, I think the conflict makes more sense than the previous episodes of no conflict.  It gives an interesting kick to my study of the power struggle on the team.

Let's talk about the guns.  They very explicitly say "Zyuranger" on them.  I get that we use the Japanese source footage a lot - but is there really no way we could have re-filmed this scene?  Also, when do the Rangers actually use these guns to battle Super Putties again?  They made it sound dire that they get these weapons, yet the Rangers seem to battle the Super Putties with ease later in the series.

Lastly, in Zyuranger, the Zords are guardian beasts that are alive - Titanus seems to exhibit this quality as well.  I don't know how else they would have addressed Zordon hiding this weapon that could have really helped during the Green Ranger saga except to say that Titanus is different from the other Zords.  He really does have freedom of choice and now he's choosing to help the Rangers.

1.25 Life's a Masquerade

Season 1, Episode 25
"Life's a Masquerade"
Writer: Cheryl Saban
Director: Robert Hughes

Episode Summary:

We open with the Rangers helping Ernie set up the Gym and Juice Bar for a costume party that will be taking place later that afternoon.  Zack is helping Jason put up some party streamers while Tommy is helping Kimberly paint something on a ladder (SPOILER ALERT: Bulk will get pain in his face due to the paint being conveniently hilariously left on a ladder).  Zack chases after Angela (aka the only other black girl in Angel Grove) and she shuts him down.  Again.

Rita reveals to us that her Super Putty is ready and her team of villains spend the majority of the episode mining said Super Putty.  But how to distract the Power Rangers so they don't disrupt her evil plot?  Inspired by their Halloween-themed party, Rita decides to send a Frankenstein monster to wreak havoc on Angel Grove and busy the Rangers for a few hours.

After the commercial break, the Rangers are all dressed up in their costumes ready to go party!  The ever-perceptive Kimberly notices that Tommy isn't there.  Jason (aka Tommy's keeper) informs us (and Kim) that Tommy is putting the finishing touches on his costume and will meet up with them later.  Typical.  Alpha 5 recognizes the opportunity to mingle with the Rangers and comes to the party as a mysterious visitor that women seem to crawl all over.  I haven't seen this kind of woman-on-robot action since Short Circuit.  Frankenstein comes to the party and people mistake him for Tommy - but Billy (dressed as Sherlock Holmes) would like to investigate for more clues.

Billy follows the monster to Rita's cave where she's mining her Super Putty and a fight ensues after he carelessly trips a sensor.  Billy morphs ("it's time for molecular transmutation!") and then runs to the others.  Putties attack Tommy while he's by himself further preventing him from joining his friends.  But no worries, Tommy makes it to the battle just in time to call on Dragonzord to form MegaDragonzord!

We end at the party - but still no Tommy!  Alpha 5 wins the costume contest and makes a casual exit as Tommy shows off his new Frankenstein costume!  The Rangers chortle and Kimberly comments that Tommy looks, like, so cute in gray. 

Facts:

-First line - Kim "Hey guys, nice costumes."
-Last line - Kim "You look great in gray."
-First on-screen - Kim
-First hit - BILLY!
-Morphinominal Count : 1 - Kim says it
-Costumes: Jason - Robin Hood, Zack - King Tut, Billy - Sherlock Holmes, Trini - Pocahontas, Kimberly - Generic Princess, Tommy - Frankenstein

Observations:

I like how we introduce the Super Putty in this episode and set up the plot for "Gung Ho!" (the next episode), it gives the show a feeling of continuity and like there is some over-arching plot.  That said, we've established before that Kimberly likes Tommy.  It's fact.  Even earlier in the episode, he tries to help Kimberly do some painting.  Why then, do Kimberly and Trini accept dance offers from two random guys?  If I were Tommy's friend I'd totally tell him his girl's cheating on him (*omg* I just realized this is fore-shadowing for when she writes him a Dear John letter in Power Rangers Zeo!).

Going along with the romance aspect of this episode, (looking past the fact that Angela is the only black girl we've seen in Angel Grove and therefore the only girl Zack can be attracted to) I like that Angela turns down Zack repeatedly.  He's set himself up to be a really cool guy and when we see him crushed by a girl, we see a lot more to his character.  A whole two dimensions.  He likes to dance and rejection crushes him.  But again, I like the fact that they use a second-tier character that will continue to appear throughout the series.

Let's look at the monster.  Obviously when Megazord battles Frankenstein we're seeing the Sentai footage.  But I'm surprised at just how much original US footage was produced with the monster.  Given, the costume was probably not that expensive to recreate, but I like when they bring the costume to the US footage and bridge the gap between the Sentai footage and the un-morphed teens.  It makes it more difficult (as a child viewer) to realize you're really watching two different shows.

Lastly, I think I need to start tracking how many times this one piece of footage is re-used and count how many times Megazord crushes this office building.

1.24 The Spit Flower

Season 1, Episode 24
"The Spit Flower"
Writer: Peggy Nicoll
Director: David Blyth

Episode Summary:

We open with Kimberly working on a scale model of her float representing world peace for a parade.  I think it's supposed to be akin to the Rose Bowl parade since she's using a lot of flowers and tells Tommy that after the parade they're going to recycle the flowers by turning them into potpourri.  Rita sees this through her telescope and is driven mad by the idea of world peace, which luckily for her hasn't happened yet.  She sends putties down to trash Kimberly's float leaving her devastated and Jason (arriving too late) declares Rita's a "real witch" but you and I, dear viewer, know he meant another word that rhymes with witch.

The group takes Kimberly to lunch to make her feel better while Tommy has "stuff to take care of" since he can never be in the same place with the other Rangers at the same time.  Rita creates a monster called the Spit Flower monster that turns every plant in its path into a human-eating monster.  After a short fight, Rita makes her monster grow.  Zordon calls Tommy to join the fight so they can form MegaDragonzord - but oh no, that's not enough!  They regroup and Zordon holds Tommy behind in case the Rangers fail.  Kimberly shoots an arrow in the Spit Flower's mouth (apparently his weak spot) and the Rangers form their Power Blaster with their weapons and the good guys win.  Tommy then asks for Alpha's help in a project in his garage (I bet it's Kimberly's float!).


We end at Ernie's with the teens watching the parade on television.  Apparently Kimberly did not want to see the parade due to her grieving the loss of her float but they convince her to anyway.  Tommy forces her to stare at the screen and we see HER FLOAT!  She gives Tommy a hug and the romance continues.  Zack does a magic trick and Bulk and Skull run away.


Facts:


-First line: Kim - "Thanks a million, Ernie."
-Focus: Kimberly
-Last line: Zack - "The hand is quicker than the eye."
-Zack's shows us his first magic trick


Observations:


All things considered, this episode really isn't that bad.  There's nothing amazingly special about it, but we get to see Kimberly's acting chops and some light-hearted comedy with the team trying to pick up Kimberly's spirits.  We also see the high school boy in Tommy as he tries to find ways to get Kimberly's affection as he carries a book in front of him (jk).  All in all, it's really sweet.  Also, we see (again) that the teens really are good role models for the kids watching at home.  Kimberly created a world peace float and her friends helped her put it back together when the putties destroyed it.  Quite the heart-warming display of teamwork.

A lot of episodes get caught up in one character or the action (sometimes glossing over the semblance of a plot at all) and especially in later seasons we forget why Zordon picked these teens.  Their friendship makes them a strong group and given that they're all so "different" from each other, episodes like this show us that they do care about each other and that they are in fact friends.  I appreciate the character development episodes, they're a lot easier to watch than the bland (read: stupid) plot episodes.

I can see my obvious bias in that any episode about Kimberly will automatically be an awesome one for me and that might not be the case for others.  I can see that unless you're a Tommy or Kimberly fan, these last few episodes have really left you feeling slighted.  Zack's getting some more screen-time and we see his other interests (i.e. magic and his catch-phrase "the hand is quicker than the eye") which is quite different from my observations from the pre-Tommy world.  We're seeing a lot less of Billy and Trini (after watching the Zyuranger counterpart episode, Trini really got screwed with the Shellshock episode) and I'm not entirely sure this trend will change anytime soon.