|
Community Links |
Members List |
Search Forums |
Advanced Search |
Go to Page... |
|
Thread Tools |
01-12-2021, 08:50 PM | #421 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,407
|
Wild Force Pre-Show Preamble Wild Force is a show that everyone hated for the longest time, but over the years has gained more and more fans. Which to me is great, because I've always liked this show! Starting off with probably the biggest influence it had on the franchise: This was the first season to feature Auxiliary Zords... okay well, technically not the first, the series has had them before, but Wild Force? It went all in on this concept, and made various Collectible Mecha a staple of the franchise for decades to come. (And yes I know we technically have Gaoranger to thank hush.) And honestly? I actually think that no other season has done it the way that Wild Force has done since. Because with this show, each Zord was basically its own separate character with a defining personality trait; Something that many seasons have discarded over the years. This not only made every Zord memorable from a design standpoint, but a story standpoint too. Heck, speaking of characters, I love everyone in the cast! Most people of course gravitate towards Zen Aku and Merrick, but my favorites were always Max and Danny, the BFFs of the Rangers. Not only was their friendship charming, but all of their focus episodes were just the right balance of heart-warming and utterly ridiculous(Let's beat the monster using a bowling ball that creates tornadoes!). This was also the final season of the Saban Era, and to me, it really felt like they did their best to go all out with it. Like I said, every character is memorable, the musical score, while not the best in the series, is rather good, the action is fun, and the Battlizer is one of my favorites if only from a sheer design standpoint, and uh... it almost feels like I'm forgetting something... ... Okay who am I trying to kid? We ALL know what episode I'm about to talk about. The one that keeps Wild Force relevant to this very day and is one of most love it or hate it crossovers of all time. Episode 34: Forever Red Oh my god I'm so giddy watching this again!! I don't care what you all say, this is one of the best crossovers ever made and you'll never change my mind! So what is it? Well, remnants of the Machine Empire, who happen to be Evil Bettleborgs, decide to dig up the remains of Serpentera on the moon in an attempt to rule everything. In order to combat this threat, every Red Ranger from across the series needs to join together as one, and put the Machine Empire, and Serpentera, down once and for all. That... that is like the coolest premise of a Power Rangers episode EVER!! And yes, ALL the Red Rangers! They even bring in Eric(Quantum Ranger) from Time Force! It's just unfortunate that they couldn't contact Steve Cardenas to be Rocky or David Bacon to be Aurico proper, because oh man would that have kicked this up to an entire new level! Bulk and Skull even get to make a cameo! Thus answering the question as to whether or not Bulk ever returned from Terra Venture. I also got a kick out of how their chess set features cameos from the Psycho Rangers and Lord Zedd's' Evil Rangers. On the moon, I love the civilian fight here alot. They did a great job at showing off each Ranger's' unique fighting style; such is the advantage of having trained martial artists in your cast, people! That said, I can't help but always get a kick out of Carter the most. Everyone else is doing flips, and spin kicks, and stuff like that. Carter? He opts to just shoot everyone, haha. And then, one of my favorite scenes in anything EVER happens: I... I am a HUGE sucker for team up Morphs like this. And remember, Power Rangers and I are the exact same age. So when I was 10 and I first saw that? All the great memories of the past 10 years came flooding back to me all at once. Heck, even now, almost 20 years later, this scene still has that effect! Know what? For those who maybe still don't get it, let me attempt at giving you a comparison that maybe you will understand. So, I haven't watched Kamen Rider Zi-O yet, right? But one of the few things of it I have seen is this: And already that scene is one of my favorite scenes in the entire franchise. Like, Zi-O could end up being the worst Rider show, heck, the worst toku I'd ever seen in my life, and a whole bunch of it would feel totally justified just for that Henshin sequence alone. Because to me, it's stuff like this that shows that the makers of the show are trying. Trying to honor the seasons of the past, trying to make their audience happy, trying to do something cool to have their season stand alongside the rest. It's just... I get very emotional when it comes to celebratory scenes like this, alright!? So after that escalation of ecstasy, we're treated to another great action sequence, and I love all of the team-ups that happen here. Just like with the unmorphed fight, every Ranger is given their proper chance to shine. Their weapons, their unique fighting styles, the banter they share with eachother... it's just so well done I just don't even know how well I can actually get it across. As for Serpentera, well, while the Rangers fail in preventing it from launching, what proceeds is definitely Cole's' most badass moment in the entire show: Using the Wild Rider to tank a world destroying lazer right in the face and blow Zedd's' Zord up from the inside. You can call bull if you want, but I don't care. That is just so frikken cool that I can't help but love it. The episode ends with the Rangers disbanding, but not before trying to flex on one another. But I gotta say, the victor is TJ, with this single line: "Did I ever tell you guys about the time I got baked into a giant pizza?" Overall, there's a reason that to this day, fans still ask for a Forever Red 2. This is a crossover that has pretty much everything; Almost every main hero up that point, great attention to detail, good character interactions, excellent fight scenes, and a premise that, on its own, is just so cool you can't help but feel excited about it. It's not only my favorite episode of Wild Force, but is really close to being my favorite episode in the entire franchise. And I really hope that either Hasbro or BOOM! Studios can make Forever Red 2 happen for the 30th Anniversary. After-Show Bonus If you wanna say that Forever Red shouldn't count because it's a crossover, then I think my follow-up would be Team Carnival, since it features Jindrax trying to knife Taylor in public, and dude, that's just hardcore.
__________________
Last edited by DreamSword; 01-27-2021 at 07:58 PM.. |
01-12-2021, 09:14 PM | #422 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
|
The whole episode is a bona fide classic, but it'll always be that aforementioned ending scene that really cements how well done it was for me. Every single line is pure gold, and it goes to show how tightly they were able to pack in so much in just a single episode.
The real victor is Eric saying his Q-Rex would eat the Dragonzord for lunch, by the way. Not because of the line itself, mind you – it's because of the sheer confidence it takes to immediately do a pantomime impression of a T-rex to emphasize the point.
__________________
|
01-12-2021, 09:16 PM | #423 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: World of Ataru
Posts: 857
|
Yeah Forever Red was great. It pays off using years of PR lore to give a satisfying tribute that gives both old and new fans something to love. And the civilian fights and wireworks has to be given props by Koichi Sakamoto and I hope one day he would properly come back to PR again.
As a sidenote I do think you would genuinely like Zi-O for the same reason you like Forever Red the people working on it where making series who's main purpose was to celebrate an Era. Getting as many actors as they can and pulling some real surprises. It wasn't perfect and the show structure certinly left some things to be desired but it's heart was in the right place. Just like Forever Red.
__________________
|
01-12-2021, 09:24 PM | #424 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,407
|
Quote:
The whole episode is a bona fide classic, but it'll always be that aforementioned ending scene that really cements how well done it was for me. Every single line is pure gold, and it goes to show how tightly they were able to pack in so much in just a single episode.
Quote:
The real victor is Eric saying his Q-Rex would eat the Dragonzord for lunch, by the way. Not because of the line itself, mind you – it's because of the sheer confidence it takes to immediately do a pantomime impression of a T-rex to emphasize the point.
Quote:
Yeah Forever Red was great. It pays off using years of PR lore to give a satisfying tribute that gives both old and new fans something to love. And the civilian fights and wireworks has to be given props by Koichi Sakamoto and I hope one day he would properly come back to PR again.
Quote:
As a sidenote I do think you would genuinely like Zi-O for the same reason you like Forever Red the people working on it where making series who's main purpose was to celebrate an Era. Getting as many actors as they can and pulling some real surprises. It wasn't perfect and the show structure certinly left some things to be desired but it's heart was in the right place. Just like Forever Red.
__________________
|
01-13-2021, 09:04 PM | #425 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,407
|
Turbo Pre-Show Preamble Ah yes Turbo, the first season alot of people disliked because... uh... You know I personally never found a thorough reason alot of people disliked this show. The closest I could ever get is "Justin is annoying." But hey, yeah, call me the much less talented contrarian, because I actually really like Justin as a character, as well as the season he comes from! Let's just say that, without getting too much into it, I could actually relate to Justin alot. Plus, I always felt that, as a character in and of himself, Justin was actually really balanced, and fit in perfectly with the rest of the cast. Heck, "Balanced" is probably a term I'd use to describe the season as a whole. Following off the heels of Zeo, Turbo continued the trend of raising the stakes and the drama. And of course, this only came about in even better ways come the second half, when Judd Lynn fully took over as the head of the season. The writing all throughout the second half is impressive in just how tight it is. They knew they had to develop the newcomers from "Passing the Torch" quick to bring people around, and they did a fantastic job of it. Heck, I personally think the second half of Turbo is Lynn's' best work when it comes to Power Rangers! So of course, you might already have an idea in your head about which episode is my favorite, because there's a few common ones people tend to choose: "Trouble by the Slice" "Spirit of the Woods" "Little Strong Man" "Chase into Space" ... I chose none of these. Oh, they're all very memorable and wonderful episodes for sure, but for me, nothing in Turbo will ever top this one... Episode 43: Parts and Parcel This episode took like 0 seconds to become my favorite in Turbo, just based on its premise alone. Bulk and Skull's' newest job is with "Super Duper Fast Deliveries" and TJ notes to Kassie how the two really should be admired with how hard they're always working. I'm sorry, were Bulk and Skull just paid a frikken compliment?? Things go south quick though, because someone known as the Daytime Thief has been stealing alot of packages lately, and Bulk and Skull are the prime suspects. TJ, showing us just how great of a guy he is, instantly rises to their defense, and offers to help them do a stakeout to catch the thief. That... oh my gosh this is such a great turnaround! Now don't get me wrong, I'm not only of those people who say "The Rangers are always jerks to Bulk and Skull for no reason" because hey, there were certainly many times where the two got what was coming to them, but I also get the sneaking suspicion that had this happened around any of the previous teams, their reaction would be "Oh those two are always misplacing stuff and screwing things up." The mystery of who the Daytime Thief is is pretty quickly revealed to the audience. It's Divatox, looting tech in order to create remote controls for the three Zords she plans to later sick on the city. Anyone else get a kick out of how much of a... Diva, Divatox is? I sure do. But none of that is really important, because what is important is that TJ keeps good on his word. Even after duty calls him to deal with some Piranhatrons, he immediately goes back to helping Bulk and Skull, even calling in the other Rangers to help out when the first stakeout ends in failure. Not only that, but when the mooks reveal themselves, TJ prioritizes getting Bulk and Skull to safety and letting the other Rangers deal with the goons. TJ really does have great priorities! He's a good leader! The Megazord fight is great and all, but whenever I see the Rescue Megazord, I can't help but think about how the Rescue Zords were the first set of Zord toys I ever owned as a kid. It always makes me super nostalgic. And in the end, after Divatox is dealt with and Bulk and Skull are about to be arrested, we're treated to what I will always see as THE definitive TJ moment. He has the Rangers all show up, in uniform, and personally clears the two's' names. That... that is so cool! And kind! And TJ right then and there became my favorite Red Ranger! It's because of this scene that, despite everyone always thinking of TJ as Space Blue, to me, he will always be Turbo Red. Yes, even over Tommy. The look on Bulk's' face at the end says 1000 words. You can tell he's not used to people showing him genuine kindness, and he can't help but immediately go in and give TJ a huge hug. Honestly? I'd do the same. After-Show Bonus There's apparently a Director's Cut of the Turbo Movie buried way down deep in a vault somewhere, that has a ton of bonus scenes and elaborated upon plot points. Johnny Yong Bosch has even posted a few of the deleted scenes on his social media in the past. Probably the most notable one being a civilian fight on the pirate ship. I hope they release the Director's Cut in full someday.
__________________
|
01-14-2021, 03:16 AM | #426 |
Member
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 462
|
I am not a massive Turbo fan but I suppose where I do differ from the majority view is that A] I didn't see what was all that much better about the second part considering that while TJ and Cassie were a good addition Ashley and Carlos in my view I liked more in In Space and B] I know it's controversial but I was never that big on Andros or Zhane despite Andros' story with Karone being a good part and I actually still would have liked In Space if TJ was red, I just honestly found TJ pretty cool considering Tommy's story was admittedly getting a bit ridiculous by that point suddenly being a massive expert on cars!
|
01-14-2021, 04:47 AM | #427 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,551
|
Ah yes, the last episode before the show entered what some people call “Cerberus Syndrome” (ie. it got darker starting with the next episode). Though it is a good send off to Bulk and Skull’s plot before finale, even if they are somehow unemployed again by next season.
And then egazord battle was cool, though I’ll mostly remover that one of the evil Zords is called “the CatZord”. Could the writers not come up with anything more threatening? |
01-14-2021, 09:02 AM | #428 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,407
|
Quote:
I am not a massive Turbo fan but I suppose where I do differ from the majority view is that A] I didn't see what was all that much better about the second part considering that while TJ and Cassie were a good addition Ashley and Carlos in my view I liked more in In Space and B] I know it's controversial but I was never that big on Andros or Zhane despite Andros' story with Karone being a good part and I actually still would have liked In Space if TJ was red, I just honestly found TJ pretty cool considering Tommy's story was admittedly getting a bit ridiculous by that point suddenly being a massive expert on cars!
As for TJ during In Space, well, I do think it narratively overall made sense for him to be Blue, and according to Selwyn Ward, TJ's' actor, the writing staff told him that while Andros was the main character, they were doing their best to still portray TJ as the overall leader. Whether or not they actually succeeded in that is of course up to the viewer(I have mixed feelings on it). I mean, Divatox is pretty simple-minded, so just calling it the Cat Zord is something I feel she'd totally do, haha.
__________________
|
01-14-2021, 11:17 AM | #429 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,407
|
R(acing)P(erformance)M(achines) Pre-Show Preamble Negatives: RPM is overrated. Like, everyone likes to complain about MMPR fans, and oh yeah, I'll give it to you that they can certainly be annoying, but RPM snobs? Yeah, let's just say that claiming "RPM is the only good season" is no better than those who claim MMPR, In Space, or Time Force are the only seasons worth anything. The second half is a huge step down from the first, there are a good handful of moments where the show comes across as pretentious, it has one of my most hated characters ever in Colonel Truman, and that theme song is easily the second worst the series has to offer. I also very much disagree with Eddie Guzelian's' assessment that the series had grown "stagnant, and needed to change" at the time. Because see, here's the thing, no matter which Era of Power Rangers you use as a measuring stick, every Era evolved in its own way, and offered various different ways for people to experience the franchise. The Saban Era started off as something simplistic and fun for 5 year olds, to later evolve into something aimed at 10 year olds, with each season upping the drama and the stakes, ontop of the franchise being a huge multimedia giant at the time. From video games, to comics, to toys, Power Rangers did its best to be absolutely everywhere. The Disney Era, due to Disney's' own disinterest in the franchise as a whole, focused almost entirely on the toys and the show itself. But where the Era really shined, and why I feel Guzelian really didn't know the franchise as well as he might've thought, is that, similar to my feelings on Phase 1 Heisei for Kamen Rider, every season of the Disney Era feels really unique! Each entry has a different style, a different tone, and their own unique shake-ups in the formula. Did they still follow a certain set of tropes and ideas? Certainly, but every season offered something new to consider. And even if you wanna try to say "The Neo-Saban Era just shows Guzelian was ahead of his time!" I still don't agree because here's the thing: Saban is the reason Rangers now has way more avenues than it ever did. It's thanks to them that we got Battle for the Grid, Legacy Wars, the BOOM! Studios comics, the twitch marathon, the ever-expanding board game, and Hyper Force. While the seasons in the Era itself focused more on being light-hearted and fun, Saban still did their best to try and make sure there was something for everyone in terms of the franchise; Something I feel alot of fans don't often give them credit for. So yeah, while I understand him being upset at his show being unjustly ripped from him, I feel Guzelian was kinda full of it with that statement. Positives RPM is overall really good show though. Overrated doesn't mean bad! Being initially aimed at 15 year olds allowed it to do even more new things that the series couldn't before, resulting in one of, if not the darkest season in PR. Ontop of that, all of the original footage shot for the season is actually impressive. The type of thing we hadn't really seen since season 3 of MMPR, and wouldn't really see again until Beast Morphers. Probably the thing that stood out most to me though, especially for the first half of the show, is just how well handled the character development is. While the character balance isn't the best(Kobayashi this ain't), everyone does get offered atleast one chance to shine. My favorite character in the show is Ziggy, but ironically, I always felt that his character focus episodes were actually the weakest, so we won't be focusing on him today. Instead, we'll be focusing on what I consider to be the out and out best character focus episode that the show has to offer, also ironically belonging to the character who gets the least amount of focus. Episode 10: Ranger Blue In almost any other season, Flynn would've been the Red Ranger. Anyway, the episode immediately starts off strong with probably the one scene literally everyone who has even a passing knowledge of RPM knows about. Doctor K is asked a ton of questions by the team about various aspects of her Ranger technology, which in turn hangs a ton of lampshades on various elements of the series proper. My favorite question comes from Ziggy, where he questions why huge fireballs form whenever the Rangers are done Morphing. Ignoring the implication that this always happened every time with every other season(it didn't), it's more the face on Doctor K that sells the exchange for me. Heck, the whole scene in general is very funny, though for me, now knowing some what went on in the show's' making, I honestly can't tell if Doctor K is being used as a mouthpiece for the writers or not? On the one hand, we have K saying things like "We're dealing with reality. If you want justice read a comic book." On the other, the other members of the team are shown to be totally onboard with Flynn's' new callout idea, and K being dismissive is what sets Flynn's' flashbacks in motion. And yeah, every flashback Flynn has is totally great in detailing his resolve, his character, and his backstory. We even get to see where his "Justice Unleashed" idea came from! Considering Guzelian outright admitted to taking inspiration from alot of movies he personally loves when it came to creating RPM, I feel like the flashback idea came from Highlander. And hey, I'm all for it! The meeting is cut short due to an attack on Corinth, and the fight is of course nice, but can I just make a quick side tangent here? I appreciate how RPM knew how to do black leather jackets properly. Weird thing to call out, I know, but the jackets are themselves simplistic, have enough variation to work as a uniform, and the black leather itself doesn't define a Ranger's' entire fashion sense outside of Dillon. This is something other shows I've seen totally missed, so it's something I've grown to love in terms of RPM's' aesthetics. I also love the Scottish bagpipes that play in the background whenever the action is focusing on Flynn. Very nice touch. When something in Flynn's' suit goes awry, he's told to stay out of commission until Doctor K can get it fixed, and it's here we see a really nice and balanced viewpoint to Flynn's' character. Like many a traditional hero, he won't, heck, he outright can't just stand idly by while people are in danger, even if it's something that's sure to backfire on him. And later on, he comes up with an idea that actually manages to floor Doctor K. Use the Morphing explosion as a weapon! Yeah, Flynn might have chronic hero syndrome, but he's not an idiot. I love the face on K all throughout the rest of the episode here too, which just screams "Oh my god I can't believe he figured something out like this before I did. What." The final scene, where Flynn returns home to find that his dad has been collecting snippets of all of the Blue Ranger's' exploits is really touching, and is what cemented this episode as my favorite in RPM. They knew exactly what they were doing by making it the credits sequence, and I love it. Overall, while this is probably the most simplistic and straight-forward episode in terms of plot, every point it does make is well done, stands tall, and makes the entire episode extremely memorable for me. Top notch. After-Show Bonus Two-for-one deal today! First off, something alot of people probably already know, is that RPM had a few demo theme songs that were way better than the one we actually ended up getting. My favorite being this one: Next, while alot of people accuse Judd Lynn of just making stuff up come the second half of RPM, he attests that this is infact not the case. Directly from the Ultimate Visual History book: Podcast audio can be downloaded HERE.
__________________
Last edited by DreamSword; 03-18-2023 at 05:13 PM.. |
01-15-2021, 09:28 AM | #430 |
Member
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 462
|
Sorry if it's off-topic but I did just want to say I actually missed the original morphing sequence more than anything in the second half(which to put my pedantic hat on seems technically more like 2 thirds but I'll play ball) considering I always wanted more actual ''morphing'' in Power Rangers! Although Tommy maybe shouldn't have got his own helmet formup but it just always seemed a bit unfair to me that a couple of actors were apparently written out despite initially wanting to stay on, but I suppose that possibly happens with soaps too!
|
|
TokuNation News & Rumors |
Figuarts/Seihou GRIDMAN |
SH Figuarts BoonBoomger Red |
Hasbro Licenses Power Rangers Toys to Playmates Toys |
Discotek Media Licenses Mobile Cop Jiban |
What's going on with CSM? |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:43 AM.
|