1.28 Island of Illusion, Part I

Episode 28, Season 1

“Island of Illusion Part I”

Writer: Chris Schoon and Shuki Levy

Director: Terence H. Winkless

Episode Summary:

We begin with hip-hop music playing in the background, which can only mean one thing: we’re about to have a Zack scene.  He’s training for a dance competition in Angel Grove because in a city such as Angel Grove there is obviously a competition for any possible thing one could compete in.  Bulk manages to shake Zack’s confidence by challenging him to an impromptu dance-off – somewhere in there a barrel roll goes wrong and Zack realizes he doesn’t have what it takes to win.

Rita sends not one but TWO monsters to Angel Grove –b y far her most evil plan yet.  Mutitis and Lokar take on the Rangers (Mutitis has a phlegm problem and looks like Warren from Buffy when his skin is ripped off and spits on everyone while destroying the city whereas Loka is a giant head that floats in the air).  In an unprecedented move, Tommy stays behind with his students from his karate class while the other Rangers morph and take care of business.  Mutitis shoots the Zords with his toxic foam thereby rendering them useless – despite the late addition of Tommy’s Dragonzord.  Lokar sends the debilitated Rangers to the ISLAND OF ILLUSION!

Once on the island we discover that Billy forgot his sunblock and the Rangers morphers and communicators are missing.  A small man named Quagmire lives on the island and narrates the journey for them in rhyme.  First thing they all see is an army of monsters they thought they’d destroyed (of note we see Sphinx and Eye-Guy from the early episodes).  With Quagmire’s help they realize these monsters aren’t real but are shaken by the notion that Rita can do anything.  Zack turns a corner and runs into a “snake” on a branch (shhh! There’s really nothing there) and starts physically disappearing – it is then that we learn that when you doubt yourself you start to become invisible and disappear.

TO BE CONTINUED!

Facts:
-First on-screen – Zack
-First line - "Great moves, Zack.” -Kim
-Focus - Zack
-Last line - "I’m trying!” – Zack
-Rangers do NOT kill the monster
-Introduction of Lokar

Observations:

During the original run of the show, this was one of my favorite episodes (coupled with Part II) due to the fact that most of the action is out of the suits (I loved when they showed real acting and real martial arts and real story).  That said, we still see a lot of the same techniques used in earlier episodes – for one we see Tommy staying behind with his karate students during the “earthquake” (when Rita’s monsters attacked) in order to keep the Green Ranger out of the scene because he was not in the Japanese footage. 

While I find the Japanese footage marriage to the American footage interesting as an adult, it makes watching these old fight scenes very difficult to enjoy because I don’t see them as they once were.  That said, this episode borrowed Lokar who was a Zyuranger villain known as “Great Satan” who was the ultimate villain of that series.  Lokar is merely a plot aide on MMPR, which I kind of appreciate.  I like the American footage, what can I say?

Nothing else statistically significant really happens in these episodes – but we do get an introduction to Lokar whom we will meet again.  Just you wait and see.