Review: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Season 3

Favourite Ranger: Kimberly Hart, The Pink Power Ranger

Favourite Villain: Lord Zedd

Favourite Episode: "Ninja Quest" (Parts I-IV)

Least Favourite Ranger: Rocky DeSantos, The Red Power Ranger

Least Favourite Villain: Rito Revolto

Least Favourite Episode: "Attack of the 60' Bulk"

With the arrival of Rita Repulsa's brother Rito Revolto, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers find themselves outmatched. To combat this new threat, they must search out a powerful ally to help them in their quest to defeat their latest enemy.

The first half of the third season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers features some of the strongest storytelling in the history of the series. The opening three-parter "A Friend in Need" is notable for the crossover with the short-lived Masked Rider series and posits the Rangers in space. The different setting and usage of alternate antagonists is a nice change of pace. Similarly, the "Ninja Quest" saga is equally as satisfying since it changes the status quo of the series. The introduction of new costumes, Zords and enemies reinvigorates the narrative, opening up new possibilities for storytelling. Additionally, Bulk and Skull's transition into becoming police officers is a nice progression for them, showing viewers just how far they've come since their days as the school bullies.

Unfortunately, the season loses steam shortly after the departure of fan-favourite Kimberly Hart. Without her grounding presence on the show, it becomes clear that the team lacks cohesion and the chemistry between the cast members is a little off. While Kat is a surprisingly nice addition, she lacks the bubbly personality that made the Pink Ranger so loveable. Even still, Kat's arc of villain-turned-hero is a nice homage to Tommy's introduction into the show and her character is shown to have more depth than the previous Ranger replacements.

Where the season truly loses its way is during the Alien Rangers miniseries. This poorly conceived storyline sees the main cast being transformed into children and features the introduction of a group of Power Rangers from another planet to pick up the slack. Intended to be aquatic in nature, these new heroes can't survive without hydration. They speak through garbled audio filters and are made up with cheap looking masks. This is in stark contrast to their Ranger identities, which are ninja-inspired. They lack personalities and are altogether quite forgettable. At the same time, it's tragic that they didn't use more of the footage from Ninja Sentai Kakuranger throughout the season. Truthfully, they should have eschewed the Alien Rangers arc and instead used their costumes as alternate looks for the main Rangers.

Overall, the conclusion of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers era ends rather disappointingly. The Alien Rangers arc is incredibly underwhelming and the misuse of the Ninja Sentai Kakuranger footage proved to be an obvious missed opportunity. Nevertheless, the efforts made to move the series along through the departure of old characters and the introductions of new ones are commendable. Kat's potential and the new direction with which they've taken Bulk and Skull help prevent this season from being a total loss.

Review: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Season 2

Favourite Ranger: Kimberly Hart, The Pink Power Ranger

Favourite Villain: Lord Zedd

Favourite Episode: "White Light" (Parts I-II)

Least Favourite Ranger: Rocky DeSantos, The Red Power Rangers

Least Favourite Villain: Squatt

Least Favourite Episode: "Where There's Smoke, There's Fire"

After Rita Repulsa's continued failure to defeat the Power Rangers, the nefarious Lord Zedd usurps her throne and unleashes his power on Earth. To combat this threat, the Power Rangers get a major power upgrade. However, they must soon contend with the Green Ranger's depleting powers and the departure of three of their teammates. Can the Power Rangers go on without them?

With the introduction of Lord Zedd, the second season goes through a notable shift in tone. The threats are much more serious and Zedd presents himself as a more menacing foe. Additionally, the formulaic issues that plagued the first season are slowly phased out. There are quite a few multi-episode arcs and the writers spend more time developing the characters' relationships. Notably, Zack pursues the affections of his classmate Angela and Trini enjoys a flirtation with Richie, a boy who works at the juice bar. As such, the writing is much tighter and deeper than before. The multi-part storylines enable the writers to deviate from the episodic formula of the previous season, allowing them to expand upon the characters and the action.

The three part opening "The Munity" serves as a brilliant introduction to Lord Zedd, as well as providing some necessary upgrades for both the good and evil sides of the show. "Beauty and the Beast" is another interesting episode, which sees Kimberly play acting as Rita Repulsa's successor. Another Kimberly-centric episode "Forever Friends" has her contending with Aisha's old friend, whose jealousy towards Kimberly creates some major drama. Other standouts include the multi-part "White Light," "Goldar's Vice-Versa" and "The Wedding," which re-introduces Rita Repulsa as Lord Zedd's bride.

The second season is also known for Tommy becoming the White Ranger, a development that places him as the new leader of the team. This evolution helps his character to cut his ties permanently from his villainous origins and to give him greater prominence within the show. Tommy's increased presence on the show is further aided by his relationship with Kimberly. The pair act as an anchor for the season, with most of the episodes focusing on either or both of their characters.

Another major change for season two was the departure of Jason, Trini and Zack, with them being subsequently replaced by Rocky, Aisha and Adam. Truth be told, losing Trini and Zack as characters hindered the show's dynamic. Zack's over-the-top personality and Trini's quiet confidence helped to provide a balance within the group, keeping the show from focusing too much on Kimberly and Tommy. Of the replacements, Adam stands out due to his portrayal as a shy and soft-spoken guy whose insecurity makes him relatable. Unfortunately, neither Rocky or Aisha leave much of an impression. Rocky lacks a personality, while Aisha's seems to be a carbon copy of Kimberly's. Her fondness for shopping and her bubbly attitude fails to establish her as an adequate replacement for Trini.

While the writing is certainly much stronger than it was in the first season, there were still quite a few duds within the show's second season. The writers were to be commended for their usage of multi-part stories, but they often ended up dragging and didn't develop as well as they could have otherwise. Additionally, the writers rely far too heavily on time travel stories that place the Rangers in a different setting. They're taken back to their childhood, travel to the 1700s, end up in a storybook and Kimberly has an adventure in the Wild West. It's admirable to try out these kinds of stories in order to get them out of Angel Grove, but the frequency of them derailed the overall pacing of the season.

There's no denying that the second season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers proved that the series had substance. The character development was stronger, the episodes were more creative and Lord Zedd upped the ante as the season's primary antagonist. That's not to say there wasn't some room for improvement, as the replacement Rangers were executed poorly and the quality of the episodes varied. Nevertheless, it's not hard to see why this show was such a phenomenon during the '90s. The Rangers face some incredible foes and kicked some major alien butt!

Review: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Season 1

Favourite Ranger: Trini Kwan, The Yellow Power Ranger

Favourite Villain: Goldar

Favourite Episode: "Green With Evil" (Parts I-V)

Least Favourite Ranger: Jason Lee Scott, The Red Power Ranger

Least Favourite Villain: Squatt

Least Favourite Episode: "For Whom The Bell Trolls"

When it comes to the 1990s, very little defines the decade more than the seminal television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. This action-oriented show focused on the adventures of five plucky teenagers as they did battle against the nefarious witch Rita Repulsa and her army of outlandish monsters. It jumpstarted a craze and turned the Power Rangers into a veritable franchise. Nearly three decades later, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers stands strong as a fondly regarded piece of nostalgia for many children of the '90s.

Having premiered in 1993, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is understandably quite dated. The costuming is gag worthy, the acting is over-the-top and the special effects are laughable. While this would largely be regarded as faults to hold against the show, it ends up coming across more as endearing in a fuzzy nostalgic sense. Remarkably, the show's themes and characters have stood the test of time. Its concerns with the environment and the importance of teamwork continue to be relevant in today's society, while the characters are surprisingly well-written and are truly relatable.

The Rangers are the stars of the show and together they form an incredibly well-balanced team. You've got the infallible leader, the spunky valley girl, the brainiac, the kind-hearted activist and the showboating hip-hop dancer. As a kid, I was all about Pink Ranger Kimberly. She's sassy and bubbly, but also a little vapid. As the most traditionally feminine member of the team, this separated her from the others and made an impression on me when I was younger. It certainly also helped that she was the most wise-cracking of the bunch. Now that I'm older, I've come to appreciate Yellow Ranger Trini more and have come to see her as the underdog in the show. She's an incredibly talented martial artist and is a passionate environmental activist with a penchant for collecting dolls. She's much more level-headed than her teammates and her friendship with Blue Ranger Billy is quite endearing. Similarly, Black Ranger Zack is a standout due to his charismatic personality, flashy dance moves and his unrequited love for his classmate Angela (one of the very few recurring plot points to the series).

Sadly, not all Rangers are created equal. Admittedly the team's leader, Red Ranger Jason, is quite bland. He's a martial arts whiz and a football player, but that's about as far as they delve into his character. He's simply not as well defined as his teammates. Tragically, Billy fades into the background due to his mousy personality. This isn't helped by the fact that he receives the fewest episodes focused around his character, no doubt a result of the astronomical popularity of Kimberly and her beau Tommy later in the season.

As far as the writing is concerned, Power Rangers' episodes vary in quality. There's a lot of fluff and filler, with many episodes resulting in zero character or plot development. By and large, the reason for this is due to a lack of story arcs and the vagueness of the villains' motivations. There's no question that the Rangers are written well, but their foes don't receive the same kind of attention. Rita Repulsa and her henchmen may scrape by on their kooky personalities, but they have no depth or motivations. She wants to destroy the Earth and is hellbent on getting rid of the Rangers, yet there's very little psychology behind this. While Goldar and his rivalry with both the Green and Red Rangers help to buoy his character, Rita's henchmen are question marks in terms of their inner workings. Sadly, one of the most underused villains of the season is Scorpina. As such, all of this leads to way too much filler within the first season and this formulaic quality to it makes many episodes quite forgettable. 

That said, there are some truly memorable moments from this season. Episodes focused on Kimberly or Zack tend to be surefire winners, as they tend to perfectly showcase their personality and serve to deepen their characters. Thankfully, these are plentiful. There are also a handful of multi-part episodes that are outstanding. The legendary five part "Green With Evil" saga was responsible for introducing both the Green Ranger and the femme fatale Scorpina, while future Green Ranger-centric episodes such as "The Green Candle" and "Return of an Old Friend" were equally as satisfying.

Odds are that if you didn't grow up in the '90s, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers will be a strange and questionably campy viewing experience. For the rest of us, it is a series that will strike a chord and instantly take us back to our childhood. It's just like spending time with old friends and is recommended for those who don't take life too seriously. If anything, Power Rangers will remind us of simpler times and may perhaps help wipe away some of the cynicism that we were tarred with later in life.