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Quote:

Originally Posted by Kickback

it feels like we've gone major major steps backwards.

If by backwards to another point in popularity and sheer presence is what you mean, then yes. The show has reverted back to a point in sheer popularity that it hasn't had since the mid-90's. Saban has done an absolutely fantastic job in breathing new life and promotion into the franchise in the last two years. The cast themselves have had appearances all over the country, doing charity events, going to promotional events for children, along with the suit actors traveling the globe including meeting Michelle Obama in London.

The merchandise has been excelling on all fronts, from toys to clothing to food to costumes. The Power Rangers Samurai logo was on merchandise ranging from nightlights to build a bear to megazords to macaroni and cheese. Even though the supposed "Intern Bot" isn't reaching its potential, is still making marked progress in gathering fans by reaching out to social media in Facebook and Twitter. Power Rangers Samurai has made quite a splash onto the marketing scene in the past two years and the show hasn't seen this type of exposure in a very long time.

Granted, these are all levels of marketing that can be applied to anything, but we're in a much better place as a franchise right now, as Elie Dekel and the press has repeated, saying that this is an exciting time for Power Rangers.

Aside from Samurai's inherent flaws as a series, it has produced a few episodes to me, as an adult fan that I enjoy greatly, such as Unexpected Arrival, Super Samurai, Trading Places, and Strange Case of the Munchies. I'm not going to sit here and sugarcoat what is wrong with Samurai as a show. I'm not blind. Mentor was less than useful, some of the acting was well below par, and the transition from Samurai to Super Samurai was painful. Story arcs were badly handled due to doing a Google Translate from Shinkenger. I would give Samurai a 5/10.