by Matt Sernaker, Managing Editor

In 1993, a television show was launched that would ultimately change the face of children’s programming as we knew it. Five teenagers with attitude burst onto the screen on Saturday morning, teaching children about teamwork, morals, and honor. Twenty years later, the Power Rangers legacy is still going strong with new annual incarnations. Thanks to our friends at Shout! Factory, fans new and old can enjoy several chapters of the Power Rangers saga in a new DVD box set featuring Seasons 8-12 (Lightspeed Rescue through Dino Thunder).

Taking place after “Zordon Era” of the series, Power Rangers shifted away from interconnected seasons in favor of stand alone story arcs. Each season would introduce children to new heroes and villains, with new powers and zords at the Ranger’s disposal. These individual seasons continued with various themes, (ninjas, dinosaurs, time travel, and environmental awareness), and helped to set the stage for future seasons to come.  So what makes these seasons so special?

Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue

• Non-Alien Based Powers – For the first time in the history of the show, humanity has stepped up and created their own technology-based Power Ranger suits and zords. This was a drastic change within the show, as all previous abilities had been based on alien artifacts. Humanity was ready to defend itself, no matter the cost.

• Militaristic Development – Not only did the Rangers get technology-based powers, they also worked for a Military installation called “Lightspeed”, which was in place to protect the world against evil threats.

• Titanium Power – While the show had previously created the completely original American evil villain “Lord Zedd”, we had never seen a Power Ranger without a Sentai (Japanese) counterpart.  The Japanese series that Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue was adapted from did not have a sixth ranger, so a decision was made to create one for American audiences. This meant that all footage featuring the Titanium Ranger had to be created from scratch as opposed just being to adapted.

• Key Episodes – Operation Lightspeed, Cyborg Rangers, From Deep In The Shadows, The Omega Project, Trakenna’s Revenge Parts I-II,  The Fate of Lightspeed

Power Rangers Time Force

• Time Travel! – In the far off Year of 3000, the evil mutant Ransik has escaped from the custody of the peacekeeping force called “Time Force”, and has travelled back in time to Earth’s past. An elite squad has followed the mutants back in time to 2001, where the battle for Earth’s future will begin.

• Romance, Death, and Rebirth – Romance had always been kept to a minimum on Power Rangers. Sure, Tommy and Kimberly were destined to be together, and we had seen a few other romance related storylines throughout other seasons, but most of the time the show steered away from this element. Time Force opens with Jenn and her fiancé Alex getting engaged, and Alex promptly dying at the hands of Ransik.  Death works in mysterious ways, as Jen quickly discovers Alex’s ancestor Wes in 2000, who must help to save the day. Can she differentiate her feelings for her lost love from the new man in her life?

• Pink Ranger Leading The Way – Traditionally the Red Ranger had always been in charge of the Power Rangers team, but Power Rangers Time Force put a strong and passionate Pink Ranger in command, leading her team through time on a mission of revenge.

• Two Red Rangers? – One of the staple elements of the Power Rangers franchise has always been the introduction of a mysterious Sixth Ranger half way through a season. Typically this Ranger is a different color than the rest, but Time Force proceeded to give fans a menacing Red Ranger, aka The “Quantum” Ranger.

• Key Episodes – Force From the Future Parts I-II, The Time Shadow, The Quantum Quest, Time For Lightspeed, The End of Time Parts I-III

Power Rangers Wild Force

• Power Rangers meets Captain Planet – It is very easy to compare Power Rangers Wild Force to Captain Planet and the Planeteers. Both have a Mother Earth type character, environmental awareness, and threats to the planet. When their power combine, they get the Wild Force Megazord, which let’s face it, is still better than a dude with a mullet.

• Disney Take Over – During the course of Power Rangers Time Force, Saban made the surprising move to sell the franchise to Disney. This resulted in some drastic changes to the series as a whole, most notably in terms of tone and location. The overall goofiness of the series increased during this installment and Power Rangers Ninja Storm, and you could tell that production value was a bit different while Disney controlled.

• Ten Years of Power Rangers – While Wild Force is not the most critically remembered series by fans, it did include on of the most iconic episodes of the entire franchise: “Forever Red”. Ten years, ten Red Rangers. Tommy returns and gathers an elite fighting force to stop the evil Machine Empire (comprised of left over Beetle Borgs costumes) from getting their hands on Lord Zedd’s imfamous zord Serpentera.

• Key Episodes – Lionheart, Reinforcements from the Future Parts I-II, Forever Red

Power Rangers Ninja Storm

• Only Three Rangers? – Power Rangers Ninja Storm was the first Power Rangers series to start off with a core team of only three Rangers. Three heroes to save the day, and this time, Blue is a girl and Yellow is a guy! Although the Yellow Ranger was a male character in the Sentai version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, this was the first time we ever had these specific colors for different genders.

• Evil Rangers – With only three main Rangers, it was easy to guess that we would be getting more characters soon, but no one would have thought that we would see two evil Rangers right off the bat. Navy and Crimson Thunder Rangers would play a major role throughout the series.

• Oh the possibilities…– Originally there was a drastically different story concept in mind for Power Rangers Ninja Storm, that would have tied together the more recent Power Rangers installments of Lightspeed Rescue to present in a way that Zordon brought thought the previous series. If you want a fun read of what would have been, check out “Power Rangers Hexagon”, which would have been an epic addition to the Power Rangers mythos, and would have featured the return of classic players.

• Key Episodes– Prelude to a Storm, Thunder Strangers Parts I-III, The Samurai’s Journey Parts I-III

Power Rangers Dino Thunder

• Tommy Returns! – After the success of having Jason David Frank return to Power Rangers in “Forever Red”, steps were taken to bring back Tommy Oliver for a series that would bring the franchise past it’s 500th episode. Tommy takes on the role of mentor in Power Rangers Dino Thunder, training new teenagers to become a new fighting force that no one had seen before!

• No Sixth Ranger – Dino Thunder continued the trend set in Ninja Storm of only having a core team of three heroes when the series begins. Tommy quickly joins the team as the Black Ranger, but a White Evil ranger looms in the distance. For the first time since Power Rangers began in 1993, only 5 Rangers were on screen in a season.

• Legacy of Power – For the 500^th episode of the franchise, the team watches a video diary on the history of the Power Rangers. This episode leads to a rescue of Tommy, and his eventual role as the Black Ranger!

• Key Episodes – Day of the Dino, Legacy of Power, Back in Black, White Thunder, Fighting Spirit, Thunder Storm

Special Features

• The Voice Of A Ranger – Voice Director Scott Page-Pagter and members of the Power Rangers cast discuss the ADR process for the series.
• Ranger Tales – Cast members reflect on their seasons of Power Rangers. This was one of my favorite series of featurettes included in this release. Several cast members from Lightspeed, Time Force, Wild Force, and Ninja Storm discuss their casting process and share some interesting behind the scenes moments. This is a must watch for fans.
• Pure Titanium – The First American Ranger gets his own featurette. Rhett Fisher talks about his sixth ranger and how his character was added to the franchise.
• A Web of Fans – Shout! Factory discussed the Legacy of Power Rangers with some of it’s top fans from the internet.
• Return of the Ranger Featurette with Jason David Frank
• Original Promos

Overall

Power Rangers Seasons 8-12 is a must have for fans of the show. These stories helped to pave way for the future of the franchise and truly set the bar high for installments to come. This set is perfect for fans who grew up with the show, and for families trying to get their kids into the past adventures. Shout! Factory has done it again and really put together a special set that lives up to the legacy of the show.

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Power Rangers Seasons 8-12 Collection on DVD – 5 morphers out of 5.

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