OO Wrap-up

Ranking the episodes favorite to least favorite:

1) Face to Face I/II  
2) Man of Mercury I/II  
3) Both Sides Now  
4) One Gets Away  
5) Once a Ranger II  
6) Pirate in Pink  
7) Once a Ranger I  
8) Behind the Scenes  
9) Red Ranger Unplugged  
10) Home and Away I/II  
11) Nothing to Lose  
12) Heart of Blue  
13) Follow the Ranger  
14) Ronny on Empty I/II  
15) Crown and Punishment  
16) Two Fallen Foes  
17) Things Not Said  
18) Kick Into Overdrive I/II  
19) At All Cost  
20) Just Like Me  
21) Weather or Not  
22) The Underwater World  
23) It's Hammer Time  
24) Out of Luck
25) One Fine Day  
26) Lights, Camera, DAX  
27) Way Back When

I enjoyed celebrating the 15th anniversary and meeting the OO Rangers at Power Morphicon was very cool. The actors were great and the group we had this year was one of my favorites along with SPD, Time Force, Lightspeed and "Zordon Era" seasons.

Tyzonn's introduction eps were definitely my favorite of the season and the best thing adapted/changed-for-PR from Boukenger. As much as Will quitting got annoying, I gotta say the Will-Kamdor/Miratrix eps were excellent (aside from their final battle which could've been done better). I wish they could've done more with the ninja villains. Rose had a great episode in "PIRATE IN PINK" and the city destruction/plot in "BEHIND THE SCENES" made it another standout. As for Ronny and Dax, I'd have to say "RONNY ON EMPTY, I" and "HEART OF BLUE" were the best (Of Course, Dax was undoubtedly my least favorite Ranger of the season).

OO easily had the best Red Ranger and 6th Ranger since Kalish took over and the search for relics bridging the episodes together was certainly a nice improvement. It could've been a good end to the shows run if it had a proper 2-part finale (And unless you've been living in a cave, you know Jungle Fury is it).

On the down side, Hartford being in charge and running things could've been done better. Why was the base so deep underground? Why did we only ever see Spencer and no one from Hartford Industries? What DOES the company do, anyway? What did they do with all the zords after the last episode? And why the hell was there NO security?! -_-
I know I'm too nice, but still -- They DID learn from SPD/Mystic Force and they tried, so I gotta give them credit for that.

More soon.

(Final Episode) "CROWN AND PUNISHMENT": Fast and Flurious

Very predictable, but I was overall pleased. Hard to believe it was the last episode... It felt more like a regular episode with a closing scene tossed in.

Enjoyed the battle with the Chillers in the mansion. Flurious doing more damage inside and finding the Command Center would've been great, but I was still pretty happy with it.

It's a no brainer Kelson's run on PR is finished. He can't play ally roles (who just so happen to know how to fight at the end of the season) forever. Although I wouldn't mind if he comes back as a MoTD or something.

Why didn't Vella use any Mercurian powers? Meh... Kinda hope Beth doesn't appear again towards the end of Jungle Fury. >_>

I didn't mind Flurious transforming into Gajadom, but that zord battle was shorter than a transformation sequence. They should've just had him grow instantly and spend more time with that and skip the ground battle. We really didn't need BOTH. Although I did like the final battle poses when the Chillers were finished off. And despite morphing three times, the individual action shots each Ranger had morphed and unmorphed throughout the episode were a nice touch. Excellent homage to the actors and the characters.

I didn't think they'd actually kill Flurious in his regular form. Mack sure burned-out quickly too. And speaking of killing, I guess Kamdor must've had the crystal on him when he exploded. It would be nice to have some on-screen confirmation, but perhaps it was the only way to get killing off Miratrix past the censors. If she was meant to still be alive they would've followed up on it.

It's a shame that ran out of time to mention what SK did with the crown or the deal with Moltor kidnapping Vella after the Fearcats were gone.

Wow, Caitlin looked stunning. ^_^

Like the past three finale eps before it, I give this a 4/5. Nowhere near epic and not as much closure, but for the end of the season I'll take it.

More on the season overall coming soon.

"NOTHING TO LOSE" (PR-1531): Iced Out

Now this I enjoyed a little more than last week. Pretty much what I'd expect from the second-to-last episode (aside from the morphed battle that could've been shorter)... Fast-paced again, but not horribly rushed or put together -- which I was a bit afraid of going into it.

I liked how Mack was willing to sacrifice himself to get the crown back alone from Moltor and his whole attitude about how Hartford can always create Mack 2.0. The comment about humanity was cool too.

... Will focus again? I dunno whats more obnoxious -- "It's slammer time!" or "LAZORZ!!" o_O

Moltor's end was great. He comes crawling into the ice den, practically admits defeat, lets Flurious hold the crown and gets iced. Pretty good for the show having to do something original. Flurious using the jewel to cause the volcano to erupt was cool too.

... Oh lord, Moltor had Vella captive? Didn't see that one coming. Granted, it was obvious she'd be in this episode after they showed her in the recap, but... the hell?!

Interesting how the mummy that's been there all season now comes into play.

I look forward to the final episode and the big battle with Flurious. Oh how I hope they don't leave out even a quick explanation about Vella to make time to wrap up everything and end it happily. >_>

4/5

"TWO FALLEN FOES" (PR-1530): Stretching it out.

First, a little about "WAY BACK WHEN": Yeah, the Rangers shouldn't have needed a review to figure out who has what, but I did like how they made the connection and figured out where to go for the last jewel. And again Spencer helped save the day. PRDT's "A TEST OF TRUST" is still the worst clip show to me.

This week was an episode that definitely could've been done better.

One thing I liked about the final battle with the Fearcats was the Bouken footage mixed in so it wasn't just all flips and explosions. Kamdor vs Will pretty much was ALL of the latter. And why was it so stretched out? You couldn't even seen Kamdor's Dual Mode face in PR footage. The whole rivalry between them just felt forced, especially in this episode -- Like hey, it only happened because of Yaiba and Masumi's history in Boukenger. Since OO is so much of a watered down Boukenger already, I would've preferred they skipped Kamdor vs Will and had made it more of a team effort.

The rest of the episode I didn't mind so much. Miratrix turning into the giant Gekkou and Kamdor double-crossing her (which he likely had planned all along) was done all right. But is Miratrix trapped forever or will she return at the end? I'd like to see this not be left unresolved, but I hope she wouldn't turn good. >_>

An eclipse in the middle of the afternoon?

And geez... Way to make Kamdor look like a douche by not noticing Norg easily stumbling upon the jewel. At least he was useful for once and they're obviously setting up for him betraying Flurious and helping the Rangers.

3/5

"HOME AND AWAY, I and II" (PR-1527-1528): Bad Kitties

Both episodes were good and Part II was especially paced pretty well, I thought.

Enjoyed how all villain factions were finding relics and the FearKitties stole them all to power-up Agrios.

Yay for trashed zords.

Nice to see Flurious out with Norg actually doing something

"Just do it -- Mr. Hartford." It was great to see him getting OWNED. All is definitely not forgiven between Mack and Hartford.

I liked how Mack nearly pulled a Tommy and self-destructed Flashpoint before the others came to the rescue. Although the zords were in good condition fairly quick, after the beating they took.

And the Cats getting destroyed was well done -- Benglo in Bouken footage and Mig by the battlizer. I'm enjoying the battlizer more this year too and don't mind seeing it so much.

Looking forward to Kamdor making his final move.

4/5 for both parts.

Also, I still stand by what I said before and that maybe I've been too easy on the show this season... But really, it's hard not to be when improvements have been made over past seasons and for the most part, I've enjoyed it.

"RED RANGER UNPLUGGED" (PR-1526): Identity Crisis

Not a bad episode.

I liked how Tyzonn knew Crazar and was more involved in an episode for the first time in awhile.

Gotta say "Spencer's Specials" looked delicious.

The clones battle was all right. And SOME brief mention about Dual Drive Megazord would've been nice. At first I thought they combined two Bouken episodes for this, but it was actually one... so I'll let it slide.

While it's dumb Tyzonn didn't morph right away (again), I do like how it gives more of a chance to see the character fight out of suit. And still the best 6th Ranger we've had in years. Sort of an Andros-Ryan vibe off of him.

4/5

"THINGS NOT SAID" (PR-1525): Clever n' Creepy

Yep, doesn't take much to sum up this one...

We finally see that Mack -- the best Red Ranger we've had in years -- is not human, but rather an android Hartford created. Seeing him malfunction and his head detached was pretty creepy. It is great the show is doing this, though. We all knew it was coming, but the youngins may not get it...

Unlike Time Force, there's a decent excuse for why there's no mother this season. Even Hartford admitted he couldn't get a woman. Mack's response about him "making one" was funny.

Why is it always the Dark Shadow monsters that PR zips through? -_-

Eh, for a second I thought the ninjas would actually keep the jewel. Darn Ronny's super-speed.

I'd say this was the best battlizer episode since "SHANE'S KARMA, I and II." The way it was written -- with Rose having developed technology that was going to be used to add power to zords and that it couldn't be used by a normal human -- was pretty cool. And it doesn't look bad either, although Sentinel Knight talking was weird as hell. Spencer and the Rangers were great too.

And Mack was definitely about as sick of Hartford as we were by the end of the ep. Seriously, how much was Bruce drinking when Rod Lousich was casted? ...And again when the character was developed? O_o

Even though this wasn't a bad ep, I'm really realizing that I've enjoyed the show way too long and have been giving it too much respect...

"RONNY ON EMPTY, I and II" (PR-1523-1524): Halloween Havoc

Part I was pretty decent, but I didn't think Part II was as good and could've been better.

I liked how the Rangers fought the FearKitties and Moltor -- and Ronny and Will were captured.

The intro for BattleFleet was just okay... Nowhere near the importance the mecha gets in sentai. And the new Megazord looks sweet. One of those times I wish I had seen the sentai first (which I absolutely plan on doing with Geki/Jungle Fury).

Oh, how I hate Hartford. >_<

Norg "helping" Will... Oh boy.

Ronny regained her energy awfully quick, as did Sentinel Knight returning to normal. Meh.

That egg just... came outta nowhere.

While I thought Halloween was a bit odd for an episode subplot, the party scene at the end was great.

And Mack is a robot. Check.

Part I: 4/5, Part II: 3/5

"ONE FINE DAY" (PR-1522): Rose is Rose

Today's sub-title comes from the comic strip of the same name.

A straight average episode following the teamup, which is what I was expecting.

ANOTHER DAY OFF?! Yep, must be a 'Bruce' episode. -_- "ONE GETS AWAY" was great, but I knew he wouldn't pull it off again.

Nice to see Tyzonn try to get Rose to open up a bit, but the serious dramatic acting doesn't really work on this show. It was all pretty flat and Ty was too annoying.

Why didn't they contact Hartford and Spencer for help with the forcefield?

I liked Sentinel Knight when he was non-corporeal, but now that they'll pull out the sword every chance they get, it'll get old as fast.

It was cool they showed Mig really kick Ty's butt and shoot at him, but why in the hell didn't he morph sooner?!

Mack was found 2 years ago? This has to be better than "The Light" crap. It certainly can't be any worse. And Mack is already much better than Nick anyway, so this should be good.

Flurious can't stand Norg, but won't just vaporize him. Scenes like this make having the Yeti more worthwhile.

"ONCE A RANGER, I and II" (PR-1920-1921): A Midsummer 'Knights' Dream

I tell ya, I hadn't been that buzzed after an episode of PR since probably "FIGHTING SPIRIT." The hype for this was a lot like "FOREVER RED" I'd say -- But the wait between getting info for this and it airing was a bit shorter. And unlike FR, this wasn't total fan service, but had a good share of it, while managing to keep the OO story going.

Thrax didn't look as freaky as he appeared in the teaser. They could've put a little bit of Rita in him, but it was done well enough. It was more of a tribute to Zedd than anything. Funny how he was imprisoned in a space dumpster. Nice nod to Rita there. Glen Levy wasn't anything special either. You have to figure the kid (I use the term loosely) was pretty messed up too. >_>

I thought Thrax would just be after the Rangers, but enjoyed how he had a personal vendetta against Sentinel Knight. Liked how he invited each of the villains to his lair too, which was on good ol' Onyx.

It was fun to see the villains join forces for once and only time I'm sure. Didn't take much to kill the link to the Morphing Grid. I was surprised they actually gave it a physical form, which I always thought was best left to the imagination.

Loved the morphed Ranger intros. I imagined how cool it would be if they played the instrumental themes and was so glad they did. Too bad Disney will probably never own the MMPR music library.

I find it funny how Sentinel Knight bothered to go all the way to 2026 or so to get Bridge and said "previous Power Rangers." I'm glad how he became Red didn't get left unexplained.

Now that I think of it, I also find it funny how the Chillers are usually the main foot soldiers and the CGI Lava Lizards is so darn obvious.

Kira: What an incredible Command Center. Dr. O would have loved to seen that.
Adam: Hey, you know, I still can't believe he's a doctor.
Me: Niiice.

The nod to Angel Grove was also nice. Wish the warehouse fight could've been longer, but I'll take it. "Plan Xander" returns! And Adam might be a little "old school," but he still gots it. ^_^

...Okay yeah, the instrumental mash-up was getting done to death, but it was great hearing SPD's theme again. <_< style="font-weight: bold;">"THUNDER STORM" aired, you knew it HAD to happen.)

It was cool how the vets got to pilot the Megazords too. Nice unique way of using a Bouken mecha battle. Mack's super jumping and defeating Vultures was also taken from Bouken, right? I guess I'll let that slide then. Thank God they apparently learned from using sentai in the SPD/DT teamups...

So OO has a running theme of Rangers quitting. Mack... Will... Everyone. Granted, I don't blame them... (Would you wanna work for Hartford? >_>) Kind of amusing in a kids show so focused on teamwork and doing the right thing.

After watching this a second time, I don't think Alpha's voice was TOO bad and was a better attempt at the original than Mystic Mother ever was. His height though is another story. o_O Yeah, some explanation would've been nice, but I'm happy they really put in the effort to do this so long after PRLG. I'd like to think that after the Galaxy Rangers and people of Terra Venture got settled on Mirinoi, they shipped Alpha to the PR warehouse (possibly when Bulk came back), figuring that he would be needed again on Earth someday.

Enjoyed Adam leading the morphing and the new sequence was sweet. And I liked how they arranged the morphing and vet intros by season (oldest first and more recent first) and mixed it up for the unmorphed fight.

The final battle was essentially what I expect from the show now. No battlizers was nice, but I was kinda surprised no power-up modes were used either. Remember the SWAT laser-palooza in "HISTORY"? And I take it Sentinel Knight is full of power, but destroying Thrax in a few kicks was as bad (if not worse) than Cole driving through Serpentera. -_- Aside from that, I was pretty satisfied with how it turned out.

Nice updates on what the vets are doing now and "Buttery" makes a return. And the teamup ends in MMPR-style.

Thank you Jackie and everyone for doing your best to get in references and make it memorable, while dealing with the way the show is so Disney-fied. Too bad the music director really screwed up -- But aside from that and a few things left to the imagination, well done. I'd put it in the middle, maybe right around RoTW... Better than "TRAKEENA'S REVENGE" and "TIME FOR LIGHTSPEED," but below TtTP/PoP, RFtF, FR and "THUNDER STORM."

Part I: 4/5, Part II: 5/5
As a whole: 4/5, 8/10

To each their own, but for an anniversary teamup some 5 years into the "Disney Era" and the third season under Kalish, I enjoyed it and the effort put into it was certainly "morphinominal."

"ONE GETS AWAY" (PR-1519): Jewel Thief

What a nice episode. The ninjas stealing the third jewel from Will, battling with the FearKitties, Moltor getting some scenes and a quick appearance by Flurious. Having all the villains in an episode worked well this time -- and to think Bruce Kalish wrote it. >_>

Funny how Rose had herself and the team keep going and going... until they were waist deep in the ocean.

Will should know better than to work alone anymore, but the attack by Miratrix and Kamdor was well done. I wish those two could have more of a background.

Running thoughts during Will's resignation:
"Oooh, this time Will's quitting for real."
"All I care about are the jewels... Now GET OUT!"

Hate how Hartford is such an ass, but love how Spencer OWNS him. "Yeah, you lost the CROWN, buddy!"

I was kinda surprised Moltor was eager to do something nice for the Kitties. Obviously, he must have some underlying plan.

Nice combat between Mack and Mig. Anytime the censors let the Fearcats hand guns pass is good.

That was one sweet evil zord and the battle was great. Liked how they used strategies and different Megazord combos. Too bad they weren't named. :\ And I wish they'd care to mention if the Cats are having the robots built for them by stolen Lava Lizards or what?? I suppose that could be it, since they dropped off a few Lizards as a "present" for Moltor, so maybe they're doing all the work.

"Once a Ranger, always a Ranger." Nice prelude to the teamup. And I imagine the recap of villains will lead into the big alliance.

What's going on with Hartford? Is he not from Earth? Is he Rita and Zedd's son, Thrax? (Eh...) And as much as I can't stand him, I'm glad they're at least doing something with him.

5/5. Best episode with Kalish as the writing credit since Doggie Cruger's Ranger debut in "SHADOW, II."

"OUT OF LUCK" (PR-1518): Compass Craziness

I'd say this was a funny episode and written pretty well. Mack's run of bad luck was funny to watch, but got dull as it went on... and on and on.

I wonder what Hartford meant about Mack being affected by luck? At least his worry over him seems to be for good reason now.

Liked how the compass was used in the Megazord battle.

3/5

"IT'S HAMMER TIME" (PR-1517): Not so Godly...

After focusing on Tyzonn a couple episodes, we return to other Ranger focus, starting with Ronny.

This was a weird episode for me and I have a lot of mixed feelings about it.

It's great they did something original, but I just wasn't feeling the Gods. The way it was done with Loki starting out posing as Thor was a bit awkward.

And speaking of awkward, am I the only one who's sick of Spencer being able to impersonate practically anyone?! This was just as bad as when he was falling off the building in "THE UNDERWATER WORLD." >_<

I did like how Thor called the jewels "The Jewels of the Gods" and Thor, Loki, Flurious and Moltor had their own unique teleporting effect.

Also liked how they fitted all the villains into the episode, but the first zord battle and monster were VERY random. I was hoping we'd see more of Miratrix and Kamdor. And it was great how Moltor swooped in at the end and stole the relic.

3/5

"JUST LIKE ME" (PR-1516): Smooth Moves

Nice to be getting some good ol' 6th Ranger focus, something we haven't really had since before Kalish took over. As long as Tyzonn doesn't stray TOO out-of-character (Cam and the guitar, anyone?) I'm gonna continue to like this. Him trying to copy Will was a bit silly, but I didn't mind it too much and it made for a decent plot and matched the footage.

Something I DO mind? Norg. I did like how they tried to give him something to do by going over to Moltor's, but the freakin' dream sequence ruined it. >_<

Loved the unmorphed action with genetic powers. Morphed wire-fu madness -- not so much. >_>

Moltor making Chillers and giant Lava Lizards... I'll be looking forward to seeing Task 21 of Boukenger, that's for sure.

"BEHIND THE SCENES" (PR-1515): Dude, where's my zord?

I was skeptical at first about this episode. Glad it didn't turn into a Dax focus, after his stage fright. Tyzonn suddenly had a change in personality and got anxious for his new zord(s).

The "Good Morning San Angeles" scenes were nicely done.

Liked how they actually showed the city under attack, which we don't get very often anymore. The footage was a bit jumpy, as they didn't show any buildings get hit or Rangers fall and demorph. In this day and age though, I'll take it.

And the Rangers failed for once. ... REALLY failed. I was afraid they'd go straight to Super DriveMax or Ultrazord, every time now.

More great villain vs. villain action. Moltor's been gone long enough now. Hope we see him in "JUST LIKE ME."

4/5

THE TEAMUP!

The special hour-long teamup, "ONCE A RANGER" with an appearance by Alpha (which number is anyones guess) ... Airs July 25th, 8:00 ET/PT on Toon Disney!

"MAN OF MERCURY, I and II" (PR-1513-1514): Fearcats are on the move, Fearcats are loose...

The last introduction for a 6th member wasn't too "LONG AGO" but I 'd say this is the best it's been handled since DinoThunder.

Nice cameo by Jim McLarty (Broodwing) playing Dr. Medland.

Fearcats vs the Ninjas. Love how much villain-against-villain stuff we're getting and how we have something different than a normal single group of bad guys with foot soldiers.

Norg is always gonna be pretty useless, but I like Flurious' reactions to him.

Nice focus on Ronnie. Liked how she used the cats own weapon against them and bonded with Tyzonn.

Tyzonn was saved by Hartford a little TOO quick.

I didn't mind Flurious pulling the Gyro's outta nowhere, but Norg dragging in Cheetar and Mig's bodies could've been handled a lot better.

Enjoyed Tyzonn's backstory of being a rescuer. His morph is cool and the solo fight was pretty standard. Was a bit turned off by the Transtech and Hovercraft appearing for 2 seconds beforehand. Although I'd say the worst were the 2 second zord fights. -_-

Teamup Rumors

From a News & Views column test on The Realm of ShyRanger:

POSTED 5/12: The returning Rangers for the teamup are rumored to be Adam, Xander, Tori, Bridge and Chip. Emma was rumored of coming back, but according to information leaked by Richard Brancatisano himself, it seems Chip will be Yellow, not Kira. Also, there will be a zord fight. Eh, "zord fight" = Excuse to use footage a Boukenger episode. And how much you wanna bet Tori will have a showdown with Miratrix for the traditional "girl fight"?

POSTED 3/31: Rita and Zedd's son seeks revenge on Rangers past and present in a special 15th anniversary teamup. Source. I'm definitely looking forward to this. Lets just hope they come up with a decent story that makes sense.

"FACE TO FACE, I and II" (PR-1511-1512): Tyzonne's Trouble

Now we're talking. Best '6th Ranger' prelude since Cam in Ninja Storm.

Part I was great. It had a lot of Boukenger footage which means the episode it was translated from must be really great. ^_^

As usual, Spencer had some of the best scenes. Enjoyed the PB&J bit.

Nice to see Flurious checking in, since you know he has nothing better to do.

Was surprised when Moltor called for Tyzonne. Didn't expect to see him so soon.

Loved how Ronnie revealed the secret passage, slid down the pole while morphing and then said, "Look out, baddies. I'm ready to rock!" My favorite scene of hers out of 10 episodes.

The Transtech still sucks, but it was handled a little better this time.

Part II was also good, just a notch lower.

Enjoyed the story of Moltor finding Tyzonne and forcing him into working for him by turning him into a monster. Interesting how he's part of a race called "Mercurion" and can turn into liquid mercury.

The Sonic Streaker is cool. Now there's some CGI I don't mind. And it's nice to have an "Ultrazord" again, even if it is rather clunky.

I didn't like how the citrus in Spencer's lemonade helped decode the map and Tyzonne quickly got turned back into a human with the jewels. I know they only have so much time to work with, but I thought they could've saved something for "Man of Mercury, I."

Definitely enjoyed the battle scenes in both episodes too. Some good wirework and the explosions weren't bad.

** Comments for episodes 1-9 can be found on Star Power.