1.38 A Bad Reflection on You

Episode 38, Season 1

A Bad Reflection on You

Writer: Peggy Nicoll

Director: Robert Hughes

Episode Summary:

Scorpina is tasked with a mission alongside The Twin Man – duplicate the Rangers and ruin their goody reputation.  These “evil” rangers wear sunglasses and chew gum and go on dates with Skull, so you know they’re bad news.  They’re so bad, they put laundry soap in the water fountain so Principal Caplan would get creamed in the face with a bunch of laundry soap.

That said, our teens get detention for the “evil” rangers crime!  In detention, we learn that Bulk is sadly illiterate.  Rather than pity him for spelling his own name incorrectly, the “good” Rangers laugh at him.  He pulls out a massive feast his mother packed him for detention and once again they laugh at his unfortunate battle with obesity.  Through Bulk’s television set he brought to detention, we learn that the “evil” Rangers are attacking ordinary citizens with lawn chairs – IT’S MADNESS!

 

Zack confuses Bulk and Skull with this concept of “counting” so they can morph of there and save their reputations.  The “good” Rangers battle the “evil” rangers –  “evil” pink tricks Trini into kicking “good” Kimberly - who turns out to be a putty in disguise.  We uncover the Big Bad – The Twin Man and beat him with the power weapons.

We transport back into detention and watch as Bulk and Skull are sentenced to another detention because the Rangers are big fat liars.

Facts:

-First on-screen – All

-First line – “Mr Caplan – can we give you a hand?” - Billy

-Focus – All

-Last Line – “Get a life.” - Zack

-Bulk spells his name “Buulk”

-The actual Rangers do not appear until 4:30 into the episode

-Sunglasses and gum = up to no good

Observations:

This is quite an enjoyable episode.  Obviously the same actors play both the evil and good Rangers, but all five of them differentiate their evil counterparts enough to make it believable that they actually are being framed.  We also learn that, yet again, evil Billy dresses much better than and is way cooler than real Billy.  I want to give credit to Trini for being the most believable of the five – everyone else performed caricatures of themselves where as her “bad” was much more subtle and evil in a way.

The unmorphed sequences show the actors have some decent acting chops, I don’t think a story-line like this could be pulled off with the same amount of believability by the cast of Samurai . . . but maybe Megaforce.  This episode brings the five rangers back to their roots before Tommy.  It’s a good standalone story that is just fun to watch.  We don’t progress the story any and we don’t earn any new weapons, but we don’t need to – the mid-season finale is about to come up (*spoiler alert*) in the next two episodes.

The thing is – this “evil” Rangers story line works so well in this episode I wouldn’t be surprised if we see it again . . . and maybe again . . . and possibly even again.  Obviously if something works well, do it over and over and over.

MMPR Season 1 on DVD

http://www.shoutfactorystore.com/prod.aspx?pfid=5257851

In case you haven't heard the morphinominal news, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is coming to DVD this summer.  Shout Factory is releasing Season 1, Volume 1 (the first 30 episodes, conveniently already reviewed and analyzed in this here blog) as well as the entire first season in its entirety later this summer.

What this means for you is bonus features on the DVD that we've never seen before - and a bit of a kick in the pants to me to keep updating the blog.  I apologize to anyone who's ever wondered what happens (*SPOILER ALERT*) after Tommy loses his Green Ranger powers.  Didn't mean to keep you dangling.

image belongs to Shout Factory

1.33 The Yolk's on You!

Episode 33, Season 1

The Yolk’s on You!

Writer: Cheryl Saban

Director: Terence H. Winkless

Episode Summary:

Jason and Tommy approach Principal Caplan and suck up to him by telling him what a great idea his talent show was.  Trini is helping Ernie organize the show by gathering props and making sure the talent is prepared.  As Trini mentions her prop gathering duties Tommy realizes he forgot his and Jason’s belts.  So I suppose they’re doing something karate oriented for this show.

Finster delivers a soliloquy wherein we discover that it’s Rita’s birthday!  He creates his own monster and sends it to Earth to make Rita oh so happy on this day of hers.  We find Tommy playfully kicking leaves in the park when putties attack him and steal his communicator and morpher.  At least this time he was wearing his communicator.

Bulk and Skull are trying to eat eggs on the set of the talent show when we cut away to Finster’s monster, affectionately known as Fang, upset at Squatt and Baboo for eating his beloved Gooney Bird eggs.  The parallelism astounds me.

Rita and her goons keep telling Fang that if he kills the Rangers he can have all the Gooney Bird eggs he wants – and my how he tries.   After Tommy breaks free from his putty captors, he calls on Dragonzord to help the Rangers form Ultrazord and take this mother out.

We conclude with Jason and Tommy doing a synchronized karate routine ending in breaking a board.  Which really holds nothing to Bulk and Skull’s rock song.  The teens laugh and the closing credits roll.

Facts:

-First on-screen – Jason and Tommy

-First line – “Hi, Mr C” - Jason

-Focus – Tommy and Jason

-Last Line – “Kiyah!” – Tommy and Jason

-Angel Grove has a dam

-today is Rita’s birthday

Observations:

I’m a bit sad that I didn’t know it was Rita’s birthday ahead of time.  I didn’t even get her a card.  I would have appreciated more of an effort on her henchmen’s part to actually throw her a party.  That would have been some cute comic relief.

That said, I did not appreciate Fang’s weird horrible pseudo-Mexican accent.  Not to mention he was basically being used by Rita.  This makes him a more tragic monster than her others.  All he wanted was his Gooney Bird eggs and they kept telling him the Rangers stole them. 

Something I put together watching this episode – Bulk and Skull are the comic relief of the teens world.  Baboo and Squatt are the comic relief of the evil monster world.  B&S?  And they both stole someone’s eggs in this episodes?  The symbolism is so literal.

All else aside, I think I’ve seen this episode earlier in the series.  Trini yet again shows she’s highly responsible and really runs the show.   Billy dresses as a gay cowboy.  It’s basically a reiteration of Hobby Week but since Tommy missed that we get to learn that SURPRISE his hobby is karate. 

1.32 A Star is Born

Episode 32, Season 1

A Star is Born

Writer: Cheryl Saban

Director: Terence H. Winkless

Episode Summary:

Kimberly and Zack are hanging out with Tommy in school when we find out that Tommy has his eye on stardom and is auditioning for a karate commercial.  What kind of commercial and what it has to do with karate remains unanswered until the end of the episode (dun dun dun).  Tommy’s hair amazingly stays in place as he shows off his martial arts skillz to Bulk and Skull and for the first time I’ve realized Tommy has a mullet.

We cut to the beach where the teens (minus Tommy) are enjoying a day in the sun playing with beach balls (unless you’re Jason and then you’re showing off your guns doing karate moves).  Bulk and Skull lather each other up with lotion/mayonnaise in quite a homoerotic display.  In an unprecedented act of bitchery, Scorpina and her pet worm attack this beautiful beach scene.

The Rangers morph and are trapped in a cocoon spun by her worm (yes, cocoons are for butterflies, I know this).  Tommy is in his audition when Zordon tries to contact him.  We hear his bag beeping because god forbid Tommy ever actually wear his wrist communicator.  Luckily, Jason and the Rangers shoot their way out of the cocoon and call on their Zords.

Bulk auditions for the commercial and hilarity ensues because fat people can’t do sports.  Tommy rocks his audition and then is called away by his Ranger duties.  For some reason a monster called Babe Ruthless appears and the Zords take him down.  We jump out of the Zords only to jump back in seconds later to take down Scorpina’s worm.  Dragonzord Battlemode and Megazord (respectively) win this battle and we find ourselves in Ernie’s gym watching telly.

The newscast on the TV mentions property damage is sustained but there are no human casualties thanks to the Power Rangers.  We then see Tommy’s commercial which seems to have been filmed unknowingly since it’s his audition footage.  Did he even see the contract before signing?  This is dispersed with footage of Bulk’s audition and we’re told that if we take karate lessons we can look like Tommy instead of Bulk.

Facts:

-First on-screen – Kim, Tommy, Zack

-First line – “So Tommy, are you gonna go to the beach with us tomorrow?” - Kim

-Focus - Tommy

-Last Line – “All right, Tommy!” - Zack

-Scorpina has a pet worm

-Zords called on twice

Observations:

The storyline for the episode is good enough in that we get to see the kids having fun at the beach and some hilarity from Bulk and Skull.  We also get to see Tommy do what Tommy does best – fancy kickin’.  The fight scene footage though is spliced to the point of incomprehensibility.  We’re in the Zords defeating Babe Ruthless and then jump out of them only to get back in them again to defeat Scorpina’s worm.  Obviously this is because the fight footage is from two different episodes.  Overall, the editing effort just looks sloppy.  As it does every time they put in two different villains from various episodes.

Also – why did Rita name her monster Babe Ruthless?  I mean, I appreciate the wit behind the name but it sounds like a Roller Derby chick’s name.  Since when does Rita appreciate human culture and history?  The monster comes out of nowhere – the focus of the episode should have been Scorpina’s Worm.  There could have been an entirely different episode with a baseball theme for Babe Ruthless.  The kids could have been coaching a Little League team when all of a sudden Tommy forgets the team’s batting equipment and on his way to retrieve it he realizes he left his communicator on the bench and is jumped by putties while Babe Ruthless attacks the kids on the baseball diamond.  And boom, you’re welcome Saban.

The US footage, yet again, is more pleasurable to watch and makes a lot more sense than the fight footage.  At least the teens’ storylines is coherent and seems somewhat plausible.  Unlike being caught in Scorpina’s worm’s cocoon.  I want a cookie for not making a single dirty joke about Scorpina’s worm or her worm’s cocoon for this entire blog.

1.30 The Rockstar

 

Episode 30, Season 1

 The Rockstar

Writer: Peggy Nicoll

Director: Terence H. Winkless

Episode Summary:

We open with our favorite teenagers packing the car for a field trip (whether this is school sponsored or just for funsies remains unanswered).  Trini packs some “exotic cookies” that turn out to be escargot and everyone enjoys before she unveils what escargot actually is and the teens comically throw the “exotic cookies” over their shoulders.  Through exposition we find out that Jason is not going on this trip because his cousin, Jeremy, is in town and he wants to hang out with him.

We cut to Rita who tells us of her evil plan to obtain the Mirror of Destruction which, true to its name, destroys anything that stands in its path.  Luckily for our Rangers, this mirror is hidden in Angel Grove so they don’t have to travel very far to battle Rita’s evil plan. 

Bulk and Skull are eating a large pizza (the sloppy joe pizza to be exact) and Bulk picks a fight with Jason.  He makes some martial arts moves that are rather uncomfortable to watch and Jason merely evades and lets Bulk make a fool of himself.  He tells Jeremy to remember brains over brawn.  Jason and Jeremy then practice some karate kicks and Jason tells his cousin how martial arts helped build his confidence and made him a better person and the same old crap we hear in every after school special.

Realizing I’m taking too long to get to the point of the episode, I’ll sum up the rest of the ep in one paragraph.

Jason and Jeremy fight some putties on the beach, Jeremy finds a map  that produces an earthquake.  Our teens feel said earthquake in their car (yes, scientifically this baffled me, too) , must be Rita and not the fact that we live in California.  Scorpina then summons Rockstar (cleverly named because it shoots rocks).  Rockstar kicks a morphed Trini and Zack in a pool with rocks attached to their bellies.  Billy shows up despite the fact that he was not in the morphing sequence.  Jeremy finds the mirror and kills some putties with it (not before telling us brains before brawn) and then he masterfully kills Rockstar with it.  Scorpina grabs the mirror and Rita makes her grow.  Goldar joins and the Rangers are able to destroy the mirror.  Jeremy then recounts the story and the Rangers’ egos grow as he tells them how awesome they are.

Facts:

-First on-screen – Jason, Zack, Kimberly, Billy

-First line – “This is going to be fun!” - Billy

-Focus - Jason

-Last Line – “I have a martial arts class that I need to teach.  Come on, Jeremy.” – Jason

-Tommy does not appear in this episode nor is he mentioned

-Jeremy kills the monster, not the Rangers

Observations:

First of all – this is probably the second episode where we see a monster destroyed but NOT by the Rangers (with Alpha 5 destroying the Genie earlier in the season).  But note that Jeremy does not gloat about this when recounting his story later.  I think this humility is perhaps a greater lesson for the kiddies watching at home rather than us constantly being beat over the head with “brains over brawn”.

Second, there are some scientific aspects of this show that really just . . . left me in pain.  Billy didn’t realize what escargot was until he thought about it for a second, he’s a brainiac he should have known exactly what escargot was when Trini said it the first time.  Then we have them feeling the earthquake in the car – which just doesn’t happen.  Then we have the Rangers with rocks on them in the pool.  They were floating in the pool, not sinking.  It makes one question if these rocks were really rocks or rather some Styrofoam prop (my money’s on prop).  I get that drowning Rangers might be too heavy for kids to watch, but having floating rocks is just dumb.

Overall, I didn’t personally enjoy this episode due to the lack of Kimberly (or for that matter, Tommy) – but I can see how this show might be one of those episodes that people distinctly remember from 20 years ago.  If you’re a kid watching this and see someone who looks like you practicing karate with Jason the Red Power Ranger, that’s pretty cool. 

Not to mention, I think Jeremy is undervalued in this episode.  He’s an actual teenager (which at this point none of the actual Rangers are), and he’s actually not that bad with martial arts.  His moves aren’t as polished and tight as Jason’s, but they’re still not too shabby form-wise.  He’s got his wits about him and fights some Putties, kills Rockstar, finds the Mirror of Destruction and recognizes when it’s “too hot to handle” and doesn’t get power hungry.  NBD.  No other kid on the show (at this point) has shown herself/himself as being capable and have all been damsels in distress (for lack of a better phrase).  Trini’s cousin Sylvia?  She couldn’t fight her way out of a paper bag without Trini.  Kimberly and Trini’s “sister” Maria?  Punky Brewster was captured within minutes of us being introduced to her.  Billy’s protégé, Willy?  Forced to hang out in a monster’s eyeball.  Zack’s entire Hip-Hop Kido class?  Sleeping on the job.

We’re getting away from the idea that only the Rangers are the heroes and getting more into the fact that other people, normal average people, have the power to be heroes inside of them.   Now lets go sing some Kumbayahs.

1.29 - Island of Illusion Part II

Episode 29, Season 1

“Island of Illusion Part II”

Writer: Stewart St. John, Chris Schoon and Shuki Levy

Director: Terence H. Winkless

Episode Summary:

BACK TO ACTION!

Zack is still disappearing from the last episode, so if you watched this first run in 1993, Zack was disappearing overnight.  Ever the observant one, Kimberly shouts “Zack, you’re disappearing” to explain to us what is happening.  Trini remembers Quagmire (the little man who rhymes story exposition) and calls on him to help Zack.  He says something about thinking positive thoughts (the moral of the story, folks) to regain your confidence.  Zack is disappearing because he doesn’t believe in himself.

Zack remembers battling the Knight on his birthday when he was by himself and reappears!  Then it’s Kimberly’s turn to see an ILLUSION!  She envisions Bulk and Skull dressed as angels helping a lost turtle find his way.  If Rita can make them nice, she can do anything!  Kimberly starts disappearing before she remembers all the times she saved the Rangers asses by using her bow because she’s awesome.  KIMBERLY REAPPEARS!

Tommy, the lone Ranger (pun intended), envisions the Rangers have abandoned him and they’re all putties.  He starts to fight them before he remembers that time he fought the putties all by himself.  Tommy reappears FTW!  Next we see Trini afraid that Rita may come after her next and envisions Billy standing on a really high mountain (a la High Five).  She remembers overcoming her fear of heights to save Billy and reappears – but not in time for Billy to start doubting his scientific abilities!  Clearly he should have calculated a way for them to get off the island already.  He then remembers his battle with Madam Woe and all is well again.

Then we have Jason.  After seeing his teammates disappear he realizes he’s a bad leader.  Then Quagmire makes him remember the time he took on the Sphinx and Jason’s better again!  Now that the Rangers have beaten the illusions, they magically get their stuff back.  Apparently these are the rules.  They teleport back to Earth, MegaDragonzord forms to take down Mutitis, Lokar escapes at the last minute – and Zack wins the dance competition.

The end.

Facts:
-First on-screen – Zack
-First line - "Zack, you’re disappearing!” - Kim
-Focus - All
-Last line - "Let’s boogie!” - Zack
-MegaDragonzord kills one monster (Mutitis) but lets Lokar escape

Observations:

A couple of things bothered me about this episode, but mostly why was Kimberly’s illusion so lame?  Every other illusion fit the character’s personality.  Zack hates creepy crawlies, Trini is afraid of heights, Jason’s all about being a leader, Tommy’s always fighting alone, and Billy only has his smarts going for him.  So many things could have been done with Kimberly but the writers blew it just to make sure they honored Bulk and Skull’s “you must appear in every episode” contracts.

The other thing that bothers me is that Trini and Billy are at the end of this episode.  Trini is the only Ranger who remembers Quagmire’s name to save the day – and they let her be dumb enough to fall for these illusions?  Billy I can understand doubting himself, he’s smart but has no common sense.  Trini has common sense because she is proficient in every unique quality the other Rangers have (she does martial arts a la Tommy and Jason, she’s smart a la Billy, she does gymnastics a la Kimberly, she has legitimate cuddle time with Zack to learn his dance moves and hip-hop-kido through osmosis).

All that said, I still like the attention paid to character in this episode and appreciated the chance to see the American actors do their thing. 

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.

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.

1.23 Itsy Bitsy Spider

Season 1, Episode 23
"Itsy Bitsy Spider"
Writer: Steve Kramer
Director: Robert Hughes

Episode Summary:

Having recovered from the crap that was the previous episode, the teens decide to embark on a story that has an actual plot.  We open with Billy and Trini calling on their fellow students to sign a petition to keep City Hall from destroying a statue monument and putting up a BBQ pit in its place.  Legend has it that the statue was built to ward off harmful bugs and so Billy and Trini have the science club's entire collection of bugs on display.  Bulk suggests that at last they can get some good bbq and ribs and throws the entire bug collection on their surrounding students wherein we discover that one, Zack Taylor, is afraid of bugs (spiders in particular).  Upon hearing Billy tell the legend of the statue, Rita decides to steal it and send an evil slimy spider in its place that will sprinkle sleeping dust on those around it.

Kim and Jason decide to help Trini and Billy collect more bugs to replace the ones Bulk lost (sadly Tommy is practicing karate/teaching a class/etc and did not join).  Our teens are caught unaware and attacked by putties - but don't worry, they can handle it.  Zack is teaching a Hip-Hop Kido class (which has the same tenets of self-discipline blah blah blah as any martial arts) to small children and he leaves them unattended to get a tape with "funkier" music out of his car.  When he returns, he finds the children he left unattended sleeping since they were sprinkled with sleeping dust.  Zack tries to outrun the sleeping dust and delivers a poetic soliloqui about how much he hates bugs.

Goldar and Rita's Spidercron monster attack Zack and Zordon calls on the other Rangers to help (except Tommy - who never helps) but they're paralyzed by silly string the Spidercron shoots at them.  Rita makes her monster grow and we call on some Zord action.  By this time Tommy has finished practicing karate and put his communicator back on (Zordon should have a talk with him about that) and morphs to bring us DRAGONZORD!  Dragonzord forms with the Mastadon, Triceratops, and Sabre-tooth Tiger to form MegaDragonzord and we take out Spidercron. 

Zack informs us he's officially over his fear of spiders and jokester Tommy puts a plastic spider on Zack's shoulder and relishes in Zack's anguish and fear (pfft, jerk). 

Facts:
-First line - Trini -"Come on, sign the petition."
-Last line - Tommy - "It's a good thing you've overcome your fear of spiders."
-Focus - Zack
-Zack is afraid of spiders
-Zack teaches Hip Hop Kido to paying students
-First time MegaDragonzord used in battle

Observations:

After Trini's been largely ignored for the past ten or so episodes, we start to see her established character traits show up again with her political activism.  Additionally, we see some progression of character in Billy as the boys learned in "Teamwork" that they should help the girls out next time a petition type event comes up again.  Continuity!  I'm also glad they played against type and had Zack (a boy) afraid of spiders and sent Kim (the girly-girl) out into the woods to collect bugs.  This episode picks up where we were before the Green Ranger saga in developing the other Rangers' characters again.  It also acts as an apology for "The Trouble with Shellshock".

The show keeps up this Saved by the Bell/California Dreams playfulness with the teen storylines (they're still going to high school and doing teen things like saving the planet and teaching karate classes) and is really a breath of fresh air after the intensity and darkness of the Green Ranger saga.  I'm taking the fact that we're further developing Zack to mean that either the show recognized how ignored he's been for the first part of the season and that he's actually a pretty decent character OR that they pulled his name out of a hat as the character this story will be about. 

Now for a Jason tangent.  Jason is the defined leader of the group.  But aside from a few select episodes, he's really not a major character in the series.  My guess is because he was hired as a legit martial artist and not so much as an actor.  Which I'm totally fine with, but it's interesting to see how even though he's the leader of the team, the show is not entirely about him (at all). 

From a statistical standpoint, Trini's falling behind in importance (blowing my early hypothesis out of the water), Billy's becoming less boring, Zack's becoming more than a stereotype and earning some screen time which could earn him some statistical points, Jason's still being Jason, and Kimberly and Tommy are taking a back-seat this week so everyone else has a chance.

1.22 The Trouble with Shellshock

Season 1, Episode 22
"The Trouble with Shellshock"
Writer: Stewart St. John and Julianne Klemm
Director: David Blyth

Episode Summary:

We open with the boys playing basketball while Trini and Kim watch, predictably for MMPR, Zack dominates.  While this frivolity is going on, Squatt and Baboo decide to make their own monster, Shellshock, so Rita will love them and create a turtle with a stoplight stuck in his head and given him weapons such as a baseball bat and a pirate hook.  Back on earth, the Rangers fight some putties (some Rangers utilizing the basketball to hit the putties in various body parts).  Tommy excuses himself to go to karate practice and Bulk and Skull try to grab Kimberly and the teens comically show them who's boss by tossing them into a hot dog cart.

Shellshock goes to earth to disrupt the teen's fun-time and we learn that his stop-light isn't just decorative - it also serves a function.  If he shoots his green light laser beam, you can't stop moving, but if he shoots his red light laser beam, you're frozen.  He shoots Trini with his green light beam and Zack, Kim, and Billy with his red light beam.  The battle escalates and Jason calls on his T-Rex while Zordon sends Trini (who can't stop running) to the Mountain of Hope to retrieve a plant that will reverse the symptoms of the green and red lights.  Trini is triumphant and Jason is able to defeat Shellshock with his T-Rex.

We end with the teens playing basketball again and Tommy trashtalks Zack (but it's all talk, Zack is way better).  Billy then steps in to up the ante (which is funny because nerds can't play sports) and ends up doing some flip-slam-dunk that leaves everyone in stitches.

Facts:

-First line - Tommy "Come on, Jas"
-Last Line - Billy "Did you see that?"
-Billy says "morphinominal" for the first time
-First episode with a good Green Ranger
-First time Squatt and Baboo create their own monster

Observations:

This is sadly a good example of an episode that does absolutely nothing.  The entire plot is driven around finding ways to use the Sentai footage whether or not it makes sense.  Dragonzord doesn't come in til the end - let's send Tommy to teach a karate class and then not have him wear his communicator so Zordon can't contact him.  Sidenote, if you're a Ranger now, Tommy, why aren't you always wearing your communicator?  Trouble could strike at any moment.

I'm also not impressed with how Trini is the character who saves the day, but we only hear that Zordon sent her after the antidote in exposition after the fact and that some editing error happened and she calls Tommy "Billy" when she finds the plant.  Trini used to make things happen on this show and now we only get to hear her in voice-overs.  This is wickety-wack.

Also - Shellshock looks like a knockoff version of Tokka from TMNT II.  (I mean, right?)

From a statistical observation perspective, this episode really does nothing to establish any new patterns or trends - with the exception that when Tommy morphs on his own he does not say "it's morphin time" as Jason, Kim, and Zack have all done.  I suppose he hasn't earned that honor yet.