Power Rangers having a culture of cheapness has hurt the franchise so much
 

There is a big culture of, "cheapness" that has hurt Power Rangers. Imagine if the show was unionized a bit earlier. I feel like the franchise could be in a better place.

I'm not sure I agree with the thesis, as PR did quite well for itself, despite its 'cheapness'. In fact that might be one of the things that gave it legs in the early days was how low cost it was. It would have definitely been more attractable to the people pumping money in.

Also regardless, how the money was used was better than how much they got. Look at how Godzilla: Minus One for instance.

I would say that the problem is not cheapness, but stagnation. The approach: “let the Japanese do all the special effects” worked in the 90s and even in the early 2000s. And this is not a fact, given that only PR and the Beetleborgs achieved success. But the mix of the advent of the Internet and the high popularity of Japanese culture required innovation. PR ignored them, trying to ride on the chips of the past and nostalgia. Even Cosmic Fury didn't exactly go too far.

Also: in essence, PR didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel. "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" from 1956 and the American version of Varan are made from the same patterns. Haim Saban simply expanded on this approach and proved that it still works 40 years later. And they treated the Japanese with respect. When Roger Corman released Battle Beyond the Sun and Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, the Soviet originals were not even mentioned in the credits.

Yeah I do agree with that. What would you have done to prevent said stagnation?

Honestly, it's difficult to give a definite answer here. It all depends on the possibilities. The simplest method: refuse to copy both Sentai plots and the style of early PR. In this regard, RPM is a step in the right direction for me, but precisely in terms of idea, not style.
It would also be possible to take an example from the Sentai trend, but just from the trend, without directly copying the plot and character. I mean adding an older member to the team. PR did this with Tommy and Billy, but the past Rangers played the role of fighting mentors due to their experience. And I mean an older character with no combat experience. It would definitely add an interesting dynamic. Here you can even play continuity by saying that this participant was studying in Angel Grove at the time when the first Power Rangers appeared. The main thing is not to overdo it with nostalgia.
If I imagine that I have more opportunities, then I would try to establish closer relations with Toei. Arrange at least cameos from the original Sentai actors in PR and PR actors in later Sentai. And a full-fledged crossover, at least in anniversary years. It would be very difficult to pull off, but the fans would appreciate the result.
Also, it always bothers me that PR has the rights to the show before the Zyurangers and does nothing with them. It seems to me that, given the remade stories from these shows, they could be used for blockbuster films, like PR 2017. These are roughly my thoughts.

Wait, PR has the rights to everything before Zyu? I always thought it started there (the localising rights that is). Does that go all the way back to the first one?

I agree with the stagnation comment as I think nostalgia has become a crutch for many companies. It is possible we could awe new developments in the future...but I fear that they'll still be based around mmpr

I don`t know for sure, but I made this assumption because on the YouTube channel Toei Tokusatsu the episodes of early Sentai posted there are blocked for the western regions. It seems to me that there are rights, although they are more nominal and most likely their use would require additional discussion with Toei.

I think this is a reference to the fact that Pre-Zyu Rangers were used in Super Megaforce in haphazard fashion. On occasion, they also show up in BOOM! Comics. It could also be seen as a reference to the fact that the license holder for Sentai in the West is the license holder for P.R.

As for the topic at large, it's not necessarily the "cheapness of the franchise" that hurt it, but the "cheapness of the license holder"! If Saban actually cared for his actors more, then things might have turned out much differently. The only time I think he truly came correct was with Lost Galaxy.

Yeah Dissing off Toei was pretty dumb in my view.