Dino Super Sendoff

Dino Super Charge returned from summer hiatus with one of the worst non-clip show episodes featuring Shelby and her bestie Erin (who thankfully was never seen again). Things bounced right back with a nice Riley episode in which we got Titano Zord, the entire team working together, and the first message from Silver Ranger. Kaylee then found out Chase's identity in kind of a silly episode. I've never been of big fan of old black and white movies but I liked how Beauticruel was basically Mae West. And despite how ridiculous Leisure was (or that Heckyl just happen to have Loafer on the ship at the same times), "CATCHING SOME RAYS" was still better than "HOME RUN KODA").

It was becoming clear a shift in the show was happening as we'd get rather weak or ridiculous story plots that didn't quite mesh with the other half of the episode - like the N-Zed Boys auditions and exploding Pavlova. The action was solid at least and I liked how Shelby and Tyler finally got together. I loved how Lord Arcanon, Doomwing & Singe teamed up and used the Megazords. The battle between Zenowing and Doomwing was great too. I just wish some of this didn't have to be tied up so quickly like how fast Kendall was able to make the splitters. And Zenowing's debut as Silver was right up there with Ivan for some of the best 6th Ranger-ish episodes since the Disney years.

To me, it was feeling like we were in a solid final stretch for Dino Charge. Sledge coming back was expected but I wish they hadn't quickly killed off Arcanon and Singe in the process. Having to fight the Greenzilla's around the world using all the Megazords was cool, but then those same eggs that hatched become anchors to pull the Earth to the sun? Uh, hold on. I'd hardly call it a Chip finale as it was easily one of the worst under his name, up there with "LEGENDARY BATTLE" for poor finale choices. Almost every season has good closure so even one not very good at least is usually wrapped up pretty well. But having the Rangers go back 65 million years and unextinct the dinos I can't agree with. It could've gone a different way (and probably been a lot better) if the Rangers had simply gone back a short time before Sledge activated the anchors or if the black hole had never formed to begin with. The finale did start out pretty good. The civilian part was excellent with using the quick cameos. Killing off Sledge and the entire ship by sending it into the sun was pretty cool - just wish it had happened in the PRESENT. Plus while I liked that they did an epilogue with "HERE COMES HEXIMAS," it was another ridiculous plot - having Heximas escape death-by-sun and work on his plan all these millions of years.

I like to think PR is one continuity (besides RPM being another dimension) but now I guess Dino Charge is as well. Overall, I'd rank it 9th out of 20. A lot of the classic days were better and several seasons have been worse. The first half felt more classic Chip (especially the signature original premiere), while the second half had much more involvement from the other writers and it showed. If this is the case with Ninja Steel I just hope the plots work better and we're not dealing with the same jokes - or the movie might become more exciting than the show pretty fast.

Grades: "BESTIES 4EVA" 3/5, "GONE FISHIN'" through "SILVER SECRET" 4/5, "WINGS OF DANGER" and "FREAKY FIGHTDAY" 5/5, "WORGWORLD" 4/5, "THE RANGERS ROCK" 5/5, "EDGE OF EXTINCTION" 4/5 and "END OF EXTINCTION" 3/5. For more, check out shyranger.com/PR.html.

The Switch to 2017

Looking back, this was the first time in several years I had no clear favorite song for most of year, coming after the Taylor Swift bonanza of 2015. I'd sorta count The Weeknd's "Starboy" but it wasn't released til September. Fifth Harmony get an honorable mention for "Work From Home" and "That's My Girl" but I'm also biased. I've never really been a big fan of girl groups besides TLC back in the day, but I gotta say I really got to like them last year as they continue to put out good tracks and of course always look good performing. >_> For me, 2016 was more about enjoying more of a variety of current tracks and throwbacks, between the return of video blocks (on the new MTV Classic) and an overhaul on a bunch of Seattle radio stations.

2017 is looking like an exciting jam-packed year, as I'll be going to Lexington Comic-Con again in March, which'll be followed by the Nintendo Switch launch and the Power Rangers Movie, all things I'm excited for. 🙂 Pretty Little Liars will have a big finale night in June (after going on longer than it should have) and then'll come Week of Ranger Bar 3. Also, I'm looking forward to the return of Stranger Things and the new DuckTales, and I plan on changing TV/internet providers in the summer - which means I'll have a big project in getting the DVR cleared.