Putting Samurai to Bed and Powering Up For Megaforce

Now that I've thought back on 2 years of Samurai, it's definitely the worst ever from Power Rangers. At first it was alright and picked up somewhat when Antonio joined. Then Super Mode was stalled and it only got worse as the show dragged on and on with Super Samurai in mostly translated episodes. It started to get frustrating as a fan and rock bottom for the entire legacy was reached with "TRICKSTER TREAT." There was some good though... "HE AIN'T HEAVY METAL, HE'S MY BROTHER" and "THE STRANGE CASE OF THE MUNCHIES" were the biggest and only real creative gems, while "TEST OF THE LEADER," "THE TENGEN GATE" and "THE SEALING SYMBOL" were also really good I thought. There were enough decent plots for several 4/5s I gave out. But for over 40 episodes, it was a fairly small amount, compared to other seasons.

In that regard, I'd put Turbo just above Samurai, which I've always considered the low point that also only had a few episodes I thought were really good (and "CHASE INTO SPACE") out of 45. It got to the point I stopped caring for awhile and missed a bunch of fillers in a second half (something I wouldn't do now unless I stopped watching completely).

Another difference is that it's not fun to hate the show anymore - unlike say, during Mystic Force and Overdrive when Rangercast would go on about how bad the episodes were and bitching about the show was sort of new territory for the fandom (though both seasons did have some really good 2 parters and fillers within the shorter seasons).

Even Disney's worst never had some of the problems Samurai had. Often times the Rangers talked down to the audience and nearly every episode had a flashback from the season. It seemed like the writers never communicated with eachother, the cast was never told how to act properly and so on. Plus all the pre-season hype 2 years ago from the trailer was lost when the third episode aired first and the actual premiere (a direct translation of Shinkenger #1) came later. And Bulk and Spike were utilized badly, especially after the Pink Ranger crush was dropped and they disappeared. I'm glad they at least got to finally meet the Rangers at the end of it all though.

After suffering through all that, I'm optimistic that things can only get better with Megaforce. It won't be as close to the sentai as we've had but a lot of improvement has to be made if this year is gonna be much better. Looking forward to how the villains play out, going back to a high school setting and how exactly burning through the entire Goseiger this year ends up. Hopefully the MMPR nostalgia doesn't get too out of hand and it'd be nice if we find out how Skull became rich and Bulk with practically nothing. I'd say it'll really get interesting when we get to the legend war (maybe as another Nick movie special) and then all the anniversary stuff and cameos in 2014.

2012 Wrap-Up: Reality Check

Once that nostalgic timewarp of 2011 fell apart, it was pretty much back to reality in 2012 - one in which several things ended or got cancelled - many of them around the end of the year. And it didn't help the awesome Thundercats update was among the casualties.

I gotta say, one of the worst downward spirals I've ever seen on TV has been the end of G4. I used to like watching Attack of the Show sometimes and they're E3 coverage was great. But then the channel was dropped from DirecTV just over 2 years ago and that was the beginning of the end. Now the network is shutting down and becoming the Esquire Channel. Meanwhile, Gossip Girl ended it's 6 year run and the final season of Merlin is starting on Syfy. December also marked the end of the long-running Nintendo Power magazine, which I'll get to later.

2013 will have more nostalgic fun, as I'll begin watching the MMPR DVDs and The Secret World of Alex Mack season 1 DVD (followed by encodes I'm obtaining). And with the Wii U buzz going on, it's probably going to be the first Nintendo console I won't own, partly because I plan on soon starting the GameCube version of Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. But I'll definitely get on the bandwagon for Nintendo's next-gen system in 5 years or so (and maybe by then be caught up on games I intend to buy)...