RPM #29 "IF VENJIX WON" Password Panic | #30 "END GAME": Countdown to Destruction

#29:
I really hoped this would turn out better, after ideas for what would happen started going around months ago. I didn't really like how K's video would come on when incorrect passwords were typed in and the Rangers' guesses were lame. Although I gotta say nice work with showing mostly relevant clips and brief run-downs of each Ranger.

I kept holding on for something throughout the ep, but whatever reference to past PR we were supposed to get, didn't even happen.

The other part of this with the Ziggy/K focus was cute. I liked how the password turned out to be Ziggy. ^_^


#30:
Liked Gem and Gemma's idea of how to find the location of Venjix Palace.

Nice to have a little Ziggy/Dillon bonding again.

Although Venjix giving Kilobyte the shaft feels kinda sudden, I like how he activated Hicks -- and in turn spoiling the master plan a little early and pissing Venjix off.

And damn, Vasquez too (... and a bunch others in the army)! Wasn't expecting that. Loved Truman's reaction to her.

Started out kinda slow but ended with a great prelude to the finale. Kinda reminded me of "RESURRECTION" and this time, I'm hoping for something along the lines of "COUNTDOWN TO DESTRUCTION"/"JOURNEY'S END." Bring it, Chip.

S-9.09 "Pandora"

Wonderful episode. Seeing the various Luthorcorp tech get used again took me back to the days of the Luthors.

Great job showing just what happened to Lois, tying in when she first put the ring on to when she returned with Alia.

It's interesting to think about this timeline in which Lois was gone and Clark had much more training with Jor-El (without the distraction of Lois being around). I have to wonder just how much of the events that happened and will be coming up (Wonder Twins, Zatanna, JSA, etc) would've occurred.

Can't wait to see how everyone tries to prevent their doom and Zod's ultimate plan.

Dragon Knight update

Despite the big slump and very slow pacing its gone through, I've stuck with the show and have to say "XAVIAX'S WRATH" has been my favorite all season. Didn't think they'd actually vent Kit. I always thought, if anything, I'd be Len and Kit would be alone (albeit for a short time). I love the discussion of what might happen coming up with Eubulon (the Advent Master) and Adam hopefully showing up.

Loved how Xaviax stood there after Wrath disappeared and gave one of his best lines ever. Possessing Vic/Wrath was really fun to watch. Still wish we could have an "IF XAVIAX WON" episode.

The big grieving scene was nicely done, especially with the lack of flashbacks and being silent.

I really hope Ninja Maya isn't a dream of hers.

And I've enjoyed the 'No Men' plot for the most part. The fight with the 3 agents in the white room was pretty lame, though.

S-9.07 "Kandor"

Loved this episode. Great flashbacks all around.

Great use of powers by Clark. Unearthing the S shield in the desert was pretty cool.

Ollie as Clark's sidekick this time was a nice change.

Well done with the Davis/Doomsday tie-ins.

Was sorta expecting a little more from Tess when she met Jor-El, like a mention of Lex and how she basically inherited his obsession.

Tess finally getting what she wanted from Clark was awesome. Liked that he just went ahead and super-sped in front of her, without thinking about it.

S-9.06 "Crossfire"

It was like the plots in this ep were caught in a Crossfire.

I could've easily give this an average, based on how the Ollie/Mia storyline started out, but love the Lois/Clark stuff as always, making the ep turn out pretty good. The return of Zod/Tess interaction was done well also. Pretty cool introduction to the future solar towers and Zod as a new company head.

More time spent with Ollie watching Mia before approaching her would've been nice. Sorta surprised she was back on the street at the end. Liked Ollie's "Why dontcha take it easy there, Speedy..."

Clark stopping the bullets and saving Ollie and Lois was awesome.

It was great to see the entire cast in this, now that Lois is in more eps and they have one less actor. Between all the stuff happening, the episode flowed pretty well.

S-9.04 "Echo"

If you think I loved this episode, you'd just be reading my mind. ^_^

Great to see Toyman again. Christopher Gauthier pulls it off brilliantly. It's like having Smallville's own William O' Leary.

Seeing Clark super-speed the people outta the factory and leave his trademark was pretty nifty.

Clark hearing Lois's thoughts was cute. Liked how it was a temporary gift from Jor-El and how it tied into the plot.

Ace of Clubs... of course. Might as well use it for all its worth since it means no pad for Oliver. :\

I like that Oliver is still being haunted by Lex's image.

Awesome how Tess is having Schott figure out how the krypto-heart works.

S-9.03 "Rabid"

I went into this episode with low expectations, mostly looking forward to Lois and Clark moving forward a bit. I'm not a big fan of "xx hours earlier" eps that we get every year, but overall this was actually pretty good. The makeup, lighting and camera effects were done very nicely, making it look really creepy.

I always appreciate references to past characters... well usually. Davis sure, Lana notsomuch.

Guess that means Green Arrow is dead. :(

Love how Zod has no idea about Clark and is thinking it's Jor-El. Gonna make things really interesting later.

RPM #27 "CONTROL-ALT-DELETE": General Deception | #28 "RUN ZIGGY RUN": Green Courage

Liked how Tenaya 15 was intro'd, with Venjix referring to her as his new weapon, before they actually showed her.

At first I thought the key quickly falling outta Scott happened too soon, but I liked how the plotline turned into Dillon/Tenaya.

So Shifter really was smart. I suspect Crunch really isn't.

Scott's helmet falling off was weird, but the posing was cool. I really liked how he just owned Shifter. The whole fight with Dumbbell-Bot was pretty cool as well. I enjoy when they mix it up by having solo morphs than everyone just getting in a group and morphing.

5/5. Sorta fitting how Garber's last episode was excellent, much like his first ("IDOL").


"RUN ZIGGY RUN" turned out better than I thought. I didn't think I'd wanna give this a 5 also, but it was a pretty good wrap-up to Ziggy's past with the mafia. Even tying in to the main story by sending Tenaya to get something for Venjix from Fresno Bob was pretty cool. That's exactly what the show should do -- start to piece together Venjix' final plan, now that there's not much time left. And using Shifter's upgrade for himself -- awesome.

Love the Ziggy/K stuff.

Another fun battle, this time with Kilobyte.

Liked how Ziggy/Gemma and Dillon/Gem teamed up during the zord battle and how all the MZs fought individually for a bit before forming Ultrazord.

I could careless about Go-On's comedic antics, but there's some great stuff coming from it.

RPM #25-26 "KEY TO THE PAST"/"BEYOND A DOUBT": Truth Discovered

Nice to see Tenaya 7 follow up on her threat to Shifter. Didn't really like how Venjix banished him so quickly. I do like that he's no longer a dumbbell and is becoming a big threat to the Rangers. The suddenness of it could've been handled better though.

Dillon finally realizing the truth was nicely done. I thought Tenaya's visor would break and he'd recognize her. I like that he used the "tire spin" on her. Tenaya having to face who she really is was done well also. Best part had to be when she flashbacked while hanging on.

The screeching tires effect hasn't been used for Tenaya much I don't think, so I liked that they did that too.

Always nice to see a semi-demorph.

Surprised to see actual blood on the show -- and not from some guy in a suit.

Nice continuing right where we left off with"BEYOND A DOUBT." The zord action was handled pretty well -- from evil PaeloMax to the big combination. More great story with Tenaya and Dillon as well.

I like how Judd went with a bunch of their own cockpit scenes, which obviously makes life easier when the mecha battles getting edited to death as it is.

Loved the shot of all the zords and how the Ultrazord uses holograms of the Megazords with their finishers.

And the happy ending is ruined. :( Next time: "Venjix' Revenge"

Also, there's just something about editing Hellgaille Palace onto the wasteland that I always get a kick out of.

5/5 for both eps.

Smallville Season Premiere "Savior"

As usual, this show is the Savior of my TV viewing.

That has to be the best opening they've ever done. Nice to see the new clips added and more wiggle room with one less person.

Awesome seeing Clark underway with Jor-El's training and questioning his lack of ability to fly.

Liked the mention of Kara and Tess pointing out that Zod isn't the voice that spoke to her. Also liked Chloe's attempt to try to get Clark to use the ring to prevent Jimmy's death.

If Clark was really giving up his humanity, he should've ended his ties with the farm. And sweet fight with Alia.

It's gonna be another great year. ^_^

RPM #24 "ANCIENT HISTORY": Day of the Dino

I felt like this episode should've been done sooner, but better late than never. Nice Truman/K focus about moving on from the past for a brighter future.

Why'd Venjix not send Tenaya 7 to the rundown Alphabet Soup sooner? I liked the plot and how snooping around the old storage awakened the DinoTrain. I thought it was funny that of all the props to use as old Ranger tech, they had an Overdrive helmet.

Pretty funny with the holograms.

The sudden Megazord practice felt out of place. To me, it's reasonable enough Ziggy thought they should train, figuring Drill-Bot would go large soon anyway. Though it would've flowed better if Drill-Bot had actually run away or something. Also, wouldn't have thought Corinth has a train system.

After a pretty average ep in "THE DOME DOLLS" and sorta weird clip show mash-up, RPM bounced right back to a 4/5.

RPM #21 "NOT SO SIMPLE": A Silver Lining

Nice to see it's Gemma's turn after Gem had his. Although cutting the sentence-finishing was abrupt, it worked well enough.

I genuinely laughed the first time Flynn tried to get Dr. K to trust him and when he asked Gemma about finishing his sentences. XD

Tenaya's 100% robot? LIES!

Warrior Wheel Mark II!

Boy, is Truman gonna rip K from her high horse in a few eps from now... >_>

This episode was....simply brilliant. I was surprised Matt Negrete wrote it (probably the last script before Lynn and Tellegen fully took over), which made it feel like an Eddie Guzelian ep, I thought. Awesome character focus and footage adapting.

And I don't think Series Gold and Silver will be displayed along the wall with the others. :\

RPM #19 "THREE'S A CROWD": Megazord Mishap | #20 "HEROS AMONG US': Good as Gold

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Power Morphicon 2

Thought I'd share a few thoughts about the next con, officially announced back in June. It's already getting exciting, as a ton of PR alumni are already on board, including nearly everyone who was at Anime Expo -- and it's still a year away.

I'm glad things are happening a lot smoother this time around. Last time, the huge delay in info from the website lead to me scrambling to be on the forum as much as I could during the final month or so (which wasn't easy during May sweeps) and perhaps a better effort to find a roommate could've been made. For next years con, the details will be out in a more timely manner and the roommate situation -- we shall see. I can't wait to see the schedule, which is bound to be jam-packed, better structured and have panels for a majority of the seasons. It'd be nice to buy something from the merch tables this time as well.

I still don't know what I was thinking -- not bothering to spend even a lunch going through the booklet of my then-new digital camera -- instead figuring it out while using it. It was just one trip after another to that gift shop. -_- Next year though, will go MUCH better and I'll definitely have a stash of rechargeable batteries so I can just keep switching them out when needed (more Rangers = more pics).

One thing that was great about the first PMC was the very intimate feel -- tons of impromptu autograph signing and pics, as fans could casually chat with the PR alumni in the hallways -- whether they were passing by or just hanging out. That's likely to change.

I'll look forward to arriving at the location a day or 2 early and be ready for actors who happen to show up the evening before it starts. And being my 3rd PR gathering, things shouldn't be so freakin' awkward. It'll be great to meet actors again who were at the last PMC and ones making their first appearance at the con, all while hanging out with people I know from Rangerboard and talked to at ACEN. ^_^

RPM #18 "BELLY OF THE BEAST": Blockbuster

This was an excellent episode to cap off the recent Dillon focus and what ultimately became Eddie's last episode. :(

Supervising a huge production value while having someone else write the script was never more obvious than the past 2 eps.

This episode alone felt like more of a mid-season blockbuster than "DARK WISH" ever was -- especially how involved Truman and his men were, the impending doom and Truman and Hicks present for Dr. K's speech for once.

Pretty cool how they were able to change the doomsday machine to become a whale at the last moment and fool the Saw-Bot by forming the new MZ.

And I gotta say I love Tenaya 7's attitude. "KEY TO THE PAST" can't come soon enough.

RPM #17 "PRISONERS": Go For 'Boom Time'

Great episode. Enjoyed the plot again -- and tied in with more of Dillon's backstory only made it better.

It's moments like Ziggy stumbling to get outta the slave clothes that I really appreciate from the writers. It was cute when he and Summer both called front seat. ^_^

Shadow puppets save the day!

The only complaint has to be Saw-Bot getting defeated quickly after the core 5 had so much trouble with him. An entire episode for this (similar to some of the old ones in the later Saban years) would've been nice -- on the other hand, the more time spent on story is great too.

I kinda like Gem and Gemma always showing up already morphed, but it'll be nice when we finally see their morph and the suits case expands to include them (I'm guessing the big group shot at the at the start of the theme is from the next ep).

I just can't say enough how phenomenal it is how well this shows written and how great these characters are. 5/5.

RPM #16 "IN OR OUT": Aired Out

This episode was well put together, I thought. I liked the attack on the air supply plot.

Loved how Dr. K had something different to say to each Ranger along with giving them hugs and how awkward it was for everyone. Dillon's only there as part of a "work release agreement." Ha. Poor Ziggy. Like how they're undoubtedly building up something between him and K.

Gem and Gemma finishing eachothers sentences is annoying as hell, but I'll get used to it. It's interesting having Rangers who're basically insane. Doing their own sound effects while going over the plan was pretty funny.

I liked how Truman put his foot down with them, but ultimately they were the ones who were right. The others reactions to Gem and Gemma are good as well. No one (but maybe K) likes their attitude.

Liked the use of powers to get out of the dome.

Nice to see Summer lead another morph in Scott's absence.

Ugh, quick zord battles seem even worse when a Megazord is just there suddenly. >_>

5/5

RPM #15 "GHOSTS": The Wings of RPM

Pretty much what I expected -- a good, action-packed intro for Series Gold and Silver.

I doubt they'll classify Gem's zord as a falcon, after Flynn's joke about it being a chicken... and hey, they're clearly avoiding naming Ziggy's zord, so why name Gem's?

Perhaps we need more MOTDs with bombs -- then the explosions wouldn't feel so unnecessary. Although it's kinda nice if it's unique for Dyna-Bot.

Great fight scenes for Gem and Gemma, showing off their powers and moves.

It was a bit odd to see Shifter alongside Venjix, when there was no sentai footage which would call for it. And the death of Project Go-Onger was really cheap.

No 5/5 this time, but still a pretty good 4.

RPM #14 "EMBODIED": Road Trip

Kinda wish the episode had started out with the Rangers reaction to what Dr. K said, but Dillon's little outburst sorta made up for it.

Gosh, was that ADR crappy. I do like when we have an early zord battle and we get into the episode right after it.

Oh man, another WIN with the Go-onger RV. I actually had to quickly pause the ep to collect myself. Never would've imagined some of the already minimal sentai footage this season would include their mobile base. All that's missing now is Bomper. ^_^

Nice work trying to spruce up the same old quarry with piles of rocks and changing the color tone. I love that they do it for all the wasteland scenes.

The big battle with Venjix was nicely done. I like some of the different wire-fu moves they've been doing all season (especially for Ziggy).

Interesting attitude Venjix has going on. Tenaya should just overthrow him, then she can take over. >_>

RPM #13 "BROTHER'S KEEPER": Leader and Brooder

... That was one of the most misleading episode titles I've ever seen. Thought for sure it would involve Marcus somehow, maybe more about Scott's relationship with Colonel Truman. Nope. But hey, it's great to be surprised. And since episode summaries are out now (I haven't read all of them myself), this is the last time to have no idea what to expect.

The first part at the beach was pretty good. Liked how Tenaya 7 was just there suddenly.

Loved the observation by Dr. K (in her slippers and PJs, no less) about Summer liking Scott and Dillon.

Liked how Scott and Dillon were stuck chained together, although it felt sorta like a cop-out that they could've morphed sooner to break it. And nice to see the Wheel Blasters used in a ground battle.

Great end to the episode -- Dr. K revealing to the Rangers that she's responsible for Venjix.

5/5. Nicely done.

RPM #12 "BLITZ": Back to Black

Usually eps like these are an excuse to burn through sentai battle footage. Instead, RPM just did all its own stuff. Not a bad episode at all -- just different than what we've had.

I had the sense this episode was re-cut after Eddie left, which explains more morphed fights than usual and Judd Lynn also being credited for EP. I expect eps like these anyway, so it wasn't a big deal (Clearly it's what "ROBOTPALOOZA" should've been).

Gotta say, I really liked the start of the episode, getting back to Dillon's haunting past with a dream. Nice use of sound effects and Kelson returning to PR to voice Sat-Bot. Although Dr. K is a bitch for trying to shut down Series Black twice, it was very interesting how Dillon over-rode it and a virus in him activated.

Will Dillon go totally evil and join Venjix' army? Will Dr. K ever find a cure? Can't wait to see how this develops...

RPM #11 "DOCTOR K": Smart Child Slavery

Wow, Dr. K's remark to Ziggy was c-c-cold, but now that we know the trauma she went through, I'm not surprised.

Liked that they brought up the issue how the Venjix hardware is getting stronger quick.

Nice foreshadowing to Gem and Gemma returning with Series Gold and Silver, while Dr. K is saddened having believed they died.

So Broodwing became a Government agent who's partially responsible for seeking and looking after smart children -- enslaved to work on computer programming. Makes sense to me. <_<

Another great callback, seeing K make the recording to the citizens to go to Corinth. Hopefully they'll fill more of the background soon of when Summer, Scott and Flynn were recruited and received their morphers.

Clever plan to bring the defunct bot to The Garage so they could get a mirror copy of the part needed for Zenith Megazord. These Megazord intros tied in with the episodes plot are exactly how it should be done. And with all the times the villains have been/will be in the Rangers base this year, I'm gonna be hoping it'll finally get destroyed in the finale (Judd Lynn did blow up the Power Chamber for good after all).

Loved the violin over the zord battle. Absolutely perfect how it went with K playing it. Nice piano music too. Interesting how she seems to use musical instruments to focus and find solutions to problems.

Yeah, zooming inside the helmets was cool at first, but got way overdone. I'd say Eddie got a little too happy using their own cockpits.

Overall, this was one of the most beautifully executed episode ever, especially the music and butterfly scene. RPM continues to squash the past couple years.

Smallville Season Finale "Doomsday": Going Dark

You know, I love the season re-caps they always do. I knew the episode itself would be about as fast paced.

Clark should have sent Bloomsday to the Phantom Zone, but Chloe staying alive has altered things and now Clark will die. Love this timeline stuff and how the Leigon has to get involved. Fun to imagine if Clark had sent the beast to the future.

Nice moment between the RBB and Lois. Didn't think they'd come back to it this year.

Clark got what he deserved for speaking for the group that Oliver was off the team, only to have Bart and Dinah stick with him. Wish we could've seen more of the JLs and an attempt to weak Doomsday with their powers.

Loved how Jimmy found out Clark's secret -- and Davis kills him! One of the biggest surprises all year. Never thought one of the deaths would be him. I like how they set up his little brother to be the actual comics Jimmy.

Damn, Lois is in the future? Hopefully they'll do something with this and she won't just come back.

Great to finally see Doomsday without clever shadowing. Yeah, I was expecting more mayhem and a longer fight.

Interesting ending between Clark and Chloe. I felt like this was the darkest he's ever been, like Kal-El took over or something. Very symbolic having him vanish. As this went on, I started to wonder what the cliffhanger would be...

Sure enough, the Orb starts going crazy. Tess hurries to the window and Zod appears! I was sorta expecting Davis would re-awaken as Zod. Guess we'll have to wait until the season premiere. Was hoping they'd do more with Tess as well, especially after the scene at the end of "Eternal."

All in all, this was a good year with some interesting changes. The addition of Tess made up for the departure of Lex and her progression of doing Lex's dirty work and ultimately turning a new leaf after his betrayal was well done. I'm glad she's not going anywhere. Oliver's slow turn to darkness and his issues with Clark was great too.

Can't wait to see what happens with the characters next season, especially Zod. We all know these things get wrapped up pretty quick (Lex-Zod, Bizarro), so it should be exciting if he is the big villain next year. Great way to keep Sam Witwer too. Looking forward to what the hecks going on with Kandor as well. And maybe they'll bring back Doomsday for sweeps.

S-8.21 "Injustice": Search and Betrayl

You know what's really injustice? All this talk of Kandor when Laura Vandervoort's not returning anytime soon (AFAWK). >_>

Very sneaky having Eva impersonate Chloe. Going into the ep, I wondered why Chloe would be back suddenly.

I was really digging the all black going on.

Good focus on the Ollie/Tess relationship. Yes, Ollie has got to stop trying to kill people. Looks like it'll get addressed.

And yeah, the "Doomsday" trailer looks great. I wonder what the Lois/Tess catfight over the Orb is all about...

RPM #10 "RANGER BLUE": Total Flynn and Pure Win

HOLY CRAP. Talk about pure win -- This episode was it.

Acknowledging the zords eyes, why they have to yell the morph call and even the explosions -- Absolutely brilliant. If RPM had roll calls, I wonder what Dr. K's response would've been for 'em... >_>

Flynn's backstory was nice and pretty straight forward. They way the zipped through him getting dismissed from various jobs was awesome.

About time the Generals got out and fought. Cute little run-through by Tenaya of the Rangers.

I liked when Scott and Summer morphed off-screen and we saw the suits disappear.

It was great how Flynn owned Dr. K. And a solo morph explosion that's actually part of the plot? Amazing.

S-8.20 "Beast": Impending Doom

Pretty good episode. Feel bad at the mess Chloe's gotten herself into when she really is trying to protect Clark.

I liked the continuing focus on the relationship between Clark and Ollie -- and how Clark had to save him.

Kinda surprised how Brainiac's crystal seemed to come outta nowhere. As others probably did, I felt like "wait, what?" when Clark mentioned it.

Now that the season is about to come to an end, I gotta say the supporting cast roulette has been pretty annoying this year, with the addition of Tess/Davis/Ollie. I wish Tess had been in more episodes and Lois had gotten more shoutouts like Ollie had (at least she had 2 or so). On another note, I'd say the Davis/Doomsday storyline has been paced very well.

RPM #09 "RANGER YELLOW, Part 2": Wedding Woes

LOVED the guys fighting Grinders unmorphed while talking about the recent events and how it continued after they morphed. Perfect job fitting the ADR lines.

Nice wrap-up of Summer's backstory. Andrews dying right there on screen was quite a surprise. LOL at him on a block of legos. >_>

Was expecting Summer to actually have joined the medical team, but just deciding on-the-spot to save Scott was OK too. Great job intertwining a few clips from previous eps.

Don't really like 25 second zord battles, but it did make more time for other scenes, like the awesome fight in the Garage amidst the wedding stuff. I'd hate to say it, but it sorta reminded me of "THREE'S A CROWD" (the episode with Wedding Dress Org). <_< It's a nice change having an episode with less morphed stuff for once.

I'd put Part 2 a bit lower than Part 1 overall, mostly for being sick of Summer's parents attitude when the episode began and Chaz' royalty -- I wasn't feeling.

RPM #08 "RANGER YELLOW, Part 1": Girl Power

Nice to see two-part eps acknowledged as such in the titles again and none of the Kalish "adding a II" crap.

I thought the Q&A with the kids was enjoyable and sorta felt like a jab at the fandom.

Summer was really cliche in her flashback, but I like how they were daydreams and most likely some exaggeration of what actually happened. I really like what they're doing with her and her motivation to be a better person.

Nice to see Tenaya 7 out on another mission. While I do like how heavily focused the Rangers are while the villains are limited to monsters, Grinders and Tenaya (as Venjix oversees everything), more with them would be nice. Like maybe have Tenaya in more episodes if Shifter and Crunch are gonna stay in the scrap heap?

This episode had great fight scenes too and did a nice job of having Summer save the day.

The parents were dumb, but meh, big deal. Remember how goofy Boom's parents were? >_>

So on a scale of female Yellow eps, I'd give this a solid "WAY OF THE MASTER" out of a "INVASION OF THE BODY SWITCHER."

RPM #07 "RANGER RED": Flying Low

This episode sorta put me on the fence. While part of it was good, part of it was just weird too.

Scott getting in some screentime with Ziggy and showing him the ropes was nice. Using the stroller against the Grinders was funny, but just felt kinda wrong, I thought, with the baby inside.

Pretty decent flashbacks for Scott. I especially liked how he witnessed his brothers death when the jet exploded. Didn't really like how he was able to return to the crash site a year later and find the envelope still there. And really bad CGI. >_>

Wasted chance for a full screen of Scott's complete morph.

Cool intro for the CrocCrawler.

3/5 overall. Every season -- no matter how good -- has a plot or something I don't care much about and it doesn't help that aviation doesn't interest me.

RPM #05 "HANDSHAKE": Creepy Crawly

Love the tension Dillon has with Dr. K. Nice follow-up with the invisibility power getting tested. Yeah, I can see why we aren't getting "RANGER BLACK" for the foreseeable future, which is just fine since Dillon's had more focus than anyone until now.

Wow, I forgot how PR can be GENUINELY FUNNY. The blaster coming out of the fridge made me laugh which doesn't happen very often.

Tenaya's remote hand ala Addams Family was pretty cool. GREAT callback using the blaster to kill it. Loved how she commented on the monsters wacky design.

General Crunch asking if Venjix was gonna supersize Nozzbot then, or wait until the Rangers beat him was great too. And Crunch's new voice fits better.

The only real complaint is that Ziggy was given his zord without anything being said when Dr. K gave Dillon his. Otherwise, another great episode, right down to Ziggy's on-the-job learning of how to fight. 5/5.

S-8.18 "Eternal"

Flashback episodes are generally pretty good and this one didn't disappoint.

Wow -- loved how they perfectly added new scenes with Young Davis to the pilot footage, even adding stand-ins for the Kents walking away. Hopefully Young Lex returns next year for an episode or 2.

Clark and Chloe figuring out what's been going on with Davis was nicely done. Good to see Clark get on her about it.

Great continuity with the Traveler storyline again. The way Tess told it was pretty nice. Great to see that facility again too.

I know, I'm lame. Had no idea what Chloe was looking at on the couch (before Clark threw it in the fire), until someone filled me in. -_- I'll definitely start watching the DVDs by next year.

Geez, Clark is such a dick, but it does make for a great plot point...

Clark: Fuck you, bitch. I don't care you're not a Luthor. I'm not telling you anything.
Tess: Fine, we'll play it you're way... Kal-El.

Damn, now Tess has Lex's map to the Fortress! Hmm, Tess possibly controlling Clark for the season finale cliffhanger would make up for Lex not getting to do it. And it could be the only way he fights Bloomsday.

RPM #04 "GO FOR THE GREEN": Infiltration Failure

The auditions for Green were funny, maybe a little too over-the-top, I thought. Ziggy's ambition was great. And nice to see our heros NOT have secret identities this year.

Liked the explanation of the Ranger suits unique power traits.

Good plan by Venjix to infiltrate the Rangers from within using Tenaya 7. A female Green would've been interesting. I like how whistling is her calling card. The interaction between Ziggy and Tenaya was well done. Nice use of a battle helmet so Dillon doesn't recognize her.

Ziggy bonding with the morpher and insta-morphing as a last resort was also done well. Looking forward to "RANGER GREEN" and more of his past involving the mafia.

Also, I'm liking the use of the sound effects in battle.

A slight step down, otherwise still very good. 4/5.

S-8.17 "Hex"

This was a pretty nice episode. Enjoyed meeting Zatanna and Chloe playing Lois.

Almost thought Oliver was gonna wish for Lex to come back or something. >_>

I liked how Chloe officially became the Watchtower. Kinda hoping Bart (along with Victor) is one of the JLers returning, since he was mentioned twice in just this episode and you know, it would make up for them not being able to be in "Odyssey."

RPM #03 "RAIN": Dillon's Decision

I like the tension between Scott and Dillon and how Scott kinda seems jealous of him. Summer and has good chemistry with Dillon, which is cool.

Now THAT was one of the best explanations about Ranger suits and powers we've EVER had. Nice tie-in to the morphing grid. I like that Summer said "morpher."

Interesting brief look at whatevers haunting Dillon. They way he fondly looked at the kids playing (sorta an "In Space" moment), makes it look like Tenaya 7 will turn out to be related to him.

Bah, so the MOTDs do talk. I thought it'd be kinda cool if they didn't. I like how they can get into Corinth through various ways (such as the water system), although the city should be better guarded. The gas ventilation blocking the entry was neat, I thought.

Funny how Dr. K keeps being referred to as a man. Can't wait to see their reaction.

Ziggy continues to bring some good Bridge-style comedy relief while not acting as some poor mans Dax.

I really like how the Ranger suits stand in the cases and disappear when they morph.

Dillon's training sequence and first morphed fight were cool. Great to see someone besides Red get the slowww solo morph.

Even if the ending was sudden, I liked how Scott was concerned for his car. And the Megazord battle ending in the last minute, instead of the lighthearted moments we've had for years adds another fresh change in the mix.

This was basically the conclusion of the premiere, one of the most well paced and thought out beginnings to a season ever -- something you wouldn't expect with only 32 eps. 5/5.

S-8.15 "Infamous" and 8.16 "Turbulence"

"Infamous" just didn't sit right with me.

Clark revealing himself to the world -- at first being the hero, but soon getting slammed with paparazzi, with people wondering why he can't be everywhere, was pretty well done. It got kinda sad though, especially when his friends were in danger. Nice touch with Clark on the phone with Martha.

For what wasn't a dream, Linda's quick come-n-go near the cameras and people suuure made it seem like one.

The Clark/Lois scenes were good as always, but it was a bit disappointing they didn't meet up at the end, especially with Clark standing right there. I guess we have to expect more of this with another season to go.

While Davis confessing to Chloe was good, I don't like that it was erased anyway. Surely Clark could've gone back knowing about Bloomsday, but nooo... I wonder if he'll instead find out when/if they show Davis complete transformation in the season finale.

I liked how Davis in the hospital was reset and Linda wanted to see him, although her dying by suffocation was really lackluster. Doomsday should've killed her. >_>

And shouldn't Clark try to do something about the Fortress which could result in Brainiac's return?

Eh, perhaps this episode would've been better as another what-if AU, instead of actually happening before using the Leigon ring to reset the day.


"Turbulence" was pretty good, focusing on Davis and his trying to control the inner beast, while Jimmy returns to Metropolis and regrets it.

Davis realizing he can control the beast from coming out -- by killing -- is getting pretty creepy.

Heh, Clark practicing quick changes. Loved the photo booth super change.

Liked how Tess kept trying to get Clark to open up and how she staged the plane
explosion.

Wow, kudos to Jimmy to standing up and ripping Chloe a new one, after all he want through and how paranoid he was. Well done.

I get the feeling this is a step in the 'bye-bye Chloe' direction. >_>

RPM #01-02 "THE ROAD TO CORINTH" /"FADE TO BLACK": "It's time for a change"

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Gearing up for RPM, while KRDK holds strong

Some final thoughts before I watch RPM tomorrow (comments start next week)...

What a couple weeks its been. I gotta say this is the most excited I've been for a new season since pretty much DinoThunder. SPD comes in a close second with it's cool roll call promos.

The 4 minute trailer was nothing short of a grand reinvention -- similar to reinventions in Zeo and Lost Galaxy (inspiring me to make the teaser below).




RPM will have a LOT to live up to and based on Eddie Guzelian's posts and how much effort and care he put in -- I don't think it'll be a problem. I'll be more concerned about what'll happen to the episodes when they shift to Judd Lynn (especially considering he was NEVER told how Eddie would've finished the storylines), but that's not until the 19th episode.

News of PR not continuing production is really no surprise, considering we almost didn't even get RPM, if Disney hadn't been obligated to keep going and what-not. RPM could very well be one heckuva final season to go out with a bang, instead of merely "NOW THE FINAL FURY." >_>


Meanwhile, Dragon Knight continues to be pretty good. I like what they've done with the characters and how Xaviax pretends to be different people to trick the guys he wants to become Riders.

S-8.13 "Power"

I know a lot of people didn't think this episode was as good as others have been, but I liked it. I always like re-created flashbacks and was happy to finally find out what Lana had been up to and how she made the DVD so quickly.

I liked the path they gave Lana and how she convinced Dr. Grohl to let her have the invincibility suit. Watching her cut her hair was really unneeded, nor was kissing to end the episode again (I'd say it should've been left off "Bulletproof").

I love they're pushing forward with Lex being a badass once again. I wonder if they'd flashback to Lex saving Tess or offering her Luthorcorp. And doesn't Tess know what happened to Gina, after she came out that she loved Lex? >_>

So is Davis stuck as Doomsday now? Does Lex still know Clark's secret? I'm half expecting something will happen to his mind as a result of the experiments if he does, or maybe he doesn't know anymore, considering they're going so far as to give him a modified voice with the body double. It must've been a helluva time rescuing him and getting him hooked up after the Fortress collapsed.

Power Rangers RPM update and comments

You know, I was SO confident RPM would be on Disney XD -- clearly a perfect match, but nooo... I won't rule out the possibility that my ABC affiliate will return to showing PR, but baring a miracle, this'll be the first time I'll be relying on encodes for the entire season. (On a side note, the worst incident I had back when episodes were being first-run on ABC between 2002-03 was sitting down to watch the Ninja Storm premiere off the VCR, just to find out my affiliate opted to show infomercials instead. >_<)

I like that for the first time since Wild Force, we'll have 4 females on the show: A mentor named Dr. K (Olivia Tennet), Tenaya 7 -- a "hot villain" (Adelaide Kane), plus the Yellow and Silver Rangers.

It'll be interesting to see how it turns out, knowing that Bruce Kalish original replacement (Eddie Guzelian) was fired half-way through the season and someone -- who it sounds like changed the shows direction to be more lighthearted -- took over.

The most depressing news out of all of it (besides being on ABC only), would have to be that Jackie Marchand left as a result of the EP problems, joining some other staff out the door. :(

This kinda sounds like a mash-up of Turbo and Wild Force. For me, Turbo was essentially the equivalent of a Kalish Disney season and the last time I really didn't care much to watch and/or record the show -- mainly during some of the second-half fillers. As the saying goes, "everything but the kitchen sink," which is what they were throwing at us. Most episodes weren't more than average. The detonators plot got done to death. Some of the CarRanger footage was used pretty bad at times and PR gave no explanation (the zord crash course in ep 3, the awkward giant Porto fight, the villains running off... bah). A couple story plots were dropped as well when Hilary Turner took over Divatox and Judd Lynn replaced Doug Sloan. Of course, it wasn't ALL bad. Phantom Ranger was cool and the arc with General Havoc was well done. And when "CHASE INTO SPACE" aired, I thought it was the best finale ever... heh.

We'll just see how PR handles another "goofy car sentai" again. And hooray for episode titles that aren't all 5 words!

S-8.11 "Leigon"

This episode was a great way to introduce non-comic fans (like myself) to the Leigon. I seriously feel like reading comics now. ^_^

The entire ep was executed and written perfectly. Was surprised when Persuader was gone so quickly, but the reason he was there was great.

Loved how Garth nearly said "Superman" and the "No glasses, no tights, no flights" reference. :D Awesome use of superpowers too and letting Clark come up with the techno-exorcism.

Alison played Marsters' Brianiac beautifully.

Since the Fortress is still transformed, I assume Brainiac is still there or he'll be back with Doomsday's help.

Anyone else feel odd being without much of the main cast? Can't wait for the Tess/Lana confrontation in "Bulletproof" and whatever Lana's destiny is.