Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Difference between revisions
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* [[Jason Narvy]] as '''[[Bulk and Skull|Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch]]''' |
* [[Jason Narvy]] as '''[[Bulk and Skull|Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch]]''' |
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* [[Gregg Bullock]] as [[Jerome Stone|Lt. Stone]] (1995–1996) |
* [[Gregg Bullock]] as [[Jerome Stone|Lt. Stone]] (1995–1996) |
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Robert Trotter as All POWER RANGERS (But His favorite is Green) |
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===The villains=== |
===The villains=== |
Revision as of 03:49, 3 March 2006
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers | |
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File:MMPRgroup.jpg | |
Created by | Haim Saban Shuki Levy |
Starring | Austin St. John Jason David Frank Walter Emmanuel Jones David Yost Amy Jo Johnson Thuy Trang Steve Cardenas Johnny Yong Bosch Karan Ashley Catherine Sutherland Paul Schrier Jason Narvy Robert L. Manahan Wendee Lee Carla Perez Barbara Goodson |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of episodes | 155 (including alien rangers) |
Production | |
Running time | 20 minutes (without commercials) |
Original release | |
Network | FOX |
Release | August 28, 1993 – November 27, 1995 |
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (often abbreviated as "MMPR") is a live-action television and movie series, based on the Super Sentai series Kyoryuu Sentai ZyuRanger, literally Dinosaur Warriors Beast Ranger and often abbreviated as Zyuranger (after the Kunrei-shiki romanization). Its second and third seasons also drew on footage and elements from Gosei Sentai Dairanger and Ninja Sentai Kaku Ranger respectively. (By this time, the Super Sentai genre/series was already one of Japan's hottest tokusatsu properties and had been going for over a decade.) The show first aired on Fox Kids on August 28th, 1993, and ended on February 10th, 1996. Although it was a children's series, it launched a pop culture phenomenon and became known as one of the cultural icons representing the 1990s. The theme music, "Go Go Power Rangers," was often parodied, and many of its subsequent incarnations contain the words "Go" or "Power Rangers" in their theme music.
The series takes place in the fictional town of Angel Grove, California. After an expedition to the moon revealed a dumpster, astronauts opened the dumpster and inadvertently released the villain Rita Repulsa from 10,000 years of confinement. When word of Rita's release came to Zordon, he ordered his robotic assistant, Alpha 5, to find five "teenagers with attitude," who would defend the Earth from Rita's attacks. The story would continue on to subsequent incarnations, often with new villains.
Although the series started off with five Rangers (colored red, blue, black, yellow, and pink), a sixth, the Green Ranger, joined later on in the episode arc "Green with Evil." The Green Ranger appeared on and off throughout the series through various storylines until he was converted into the White Ranger, who remained a permanent fixture from "White Light" until the end of MMPR.
The various Power Rangers over the years have been replaced, mainly because of evolving storylines which eliminated their characters. It was also rumored that the actors behind these characters were holding out for better pay, which could be another possible reason for replacement, but this has not been confirmed.
Two films based on the television series were produced: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie and Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie.
Synopsis
Template:Spoiler Long ago, the ancient wizard Zordon did battle with the evil witch Rita Repulsa. After long years of battle, he managed to defeat her in a game by using 5 magic coins. As punishment for her loss, she was sealed in a canister on Earth's moon. However, before being sealed away, Rita trapped Zordon in a time warp, preventing him from participating in further battle against her.
10 millennia later, Rita and her minions escaped their prison thanks to two unaware astronauts, and set out to conquer Earth. Zordon, desperate to stop her, had his assistant Alpha 5 recruit five "teens with attitude" to do battle with her. They were granted the powers of the dinosaurs, and became Power Rangers.
After several battles, Rita created an evil Power Ranger using a magic coin of her own, infused with the power of the Dragon. This Green Ranger caused major damage to her foes, until he was freed from her control by the other Rangers. Grateful, & now burdened with responsibility, he joined the Power Rangers.
Following several more defeats, Rita's fortress was invaded by Lord Zedd. Disgusted with her failure, he took over & sealed her away again, launching his own campaign against the Power Rangers. Despite his defeat of the Green Ranger, he was unable to beat the Rangers' new powers of the mythical beasts (their new Thunder powers). Things were complicated by the creation of the White Ranger, & the return of Rita, who gave Zedd a love potion. It was later discovered, after Zedd took an antidote, that he loved her anyway.
Rito Revolto later came to Earth & managed to destroy the Rangers' prev. powers. Undaunted, they sought the aid of Ninjor, creator of the powers, who gave them the new Ninja powers. After several more battles, Zedd & Rita were joined by Rita's dad, Master Vile. Following his failed attempts to defeat the Rangers, he turned back time, destroying the Ninja powers & eliminating the threat of Ninjor. These events culminated in Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, leading up to Power Rangers: Zeo.
Cast
The Power Rangers
- Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver (Originally the Green Mighty Morphin' Ranger) (1993–1994), (The White Mighty Morphin' Ranger) (1994–1996)
- Austin St. John as Jason Lee Scott (The Original Red Mighty Morphin' Ranger) (1993–1994)
- Walter Emmanuel Jones as Zack Taylor (The Original Black Mighty Morphin' Ranger) (1993–1994)
- David Yost as Billy Cranston (The Blue Mighty Morphin' Ranger/Ninja Ranger) (1993–1996)
- Amy Jo Johnson as Kimberly Hart (The Original Pink Mighty Morphin' Ranger/Ninja Ranger) (1993–1996)
- Thuy Trang as Trini Kwan (The second Yellow Mighty Morphin' Ranger) (1993–1994) (d. 2001)
- Steve Cardenas as Rocky DeSantos (The second Red Mighty Morphin' Ranger/Ninja Ranger) (1994–1996)
- Johnny Yong Bosch as Adam Park (The second Black Mighty Morphin' Ranger/Ninja Ranger) (1994–1996)
- Catherine Sutherland as Kat Hillard (The second Pink Mighty Morphin' Ranger/Ninja Ranger) (1996)
- Karan Ashley as Aisha Campbell (The third Yellow Mighty Morphin' Ranger/Ninja Ranger) (1994–1996)
- Audri DuBois as Trini Kwan (Original Yellow Mighty Morphin' Ranger) ("Day Of The Dumpster" pilot)
(Note: "Cranston", whilst generally accepted by the fanbase as Billy's last name, wasn't officially stated in the show's continuity.)
The other good guys
- David Fielding as Zordon (1993–1994)
- Robert L. Manahan as Zordon (1994–1996)
- Richard Steven Horvitz as Alpha 5 (Voice) (credited as Richard Wood)
- Kim Strauss as Ninjor (1995–1996) (Voice)
- Paul Schrier as Farkas "Bulk" Bulkmeier
- Jason Narvy as Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch
- Gregg Bullock as Lt. Stone (1995–1996)
The villains
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cf/Rita_Repulsa_from_Mighty_Morphin%27_Power_Rangers_%28screencap%29.jpg/220px-Rita_Repulsa_from_Mighty_Morphin%27_Power_Rangers_%28screencap%29.jpg)
- Machiko Soga as Rita Repulsa (1993) – In Japanese Super Sentai, Machiko Soga plays as Queen Bandora (1992)
- Carla Perez as Rita Repulsa (1994–1995)
- Barbara Goodson as Rita Repulsa (Voice)
- Ed Neil as Lord Zedd
- Rob Axelrod as Lord Zedd & Finster (Voices)
- Kerrigan Mahan as Goldar (Voice) (credited as Ryan O'Flannigan)
- Tom Wyner as Master Vile (Voice)
- Ami Kawai as Scorpina
- Wendee Lee as Scorpina (Voice) (credited as Wendee Day after 1st 2 seasons)
- Bob Pappenbrook as Rito Revolto (Voice)
- Michael Sorich as Squatt (Voice)
- Dave Mallow as Baboo (Voice) (credited as Collin Phillips)
- List of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers monsters (Season One)
- List of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers monsters (Season Two)
- List of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers monsters (Season Three)
Arsenal
- Power Morphers: Morphers used by Power Rangers, powered by magic coins.
- Morphing Call: "It's Morphin' Time!"
- Tyrannosaurus!/Red Ranger Power!(Red Ranger)
- Saber-Toothed Tiger!/Yellow Ranger Power! (Yellow Ranger)
- Triceratops!/Blue Ranger Power! (Blue Ranger)
- Pteradactyl!/Pink Ranger Power! (Pink Ranger)
- Mastodon!/Black Ranger Power! (Black Ranger)
- Dragonzord!(Green Ranger)
- Tigerzord!/White Ranger Power!(White Ranger)
- Morphing Call: "It's Morphin' Time!"
- Blade Blasters Each Ranger carried a sidearm blaster that could also convert into a short sword.
- Personal Power Weapons
- Power Sword: Red Ranger's weapon.
- Power Axe: Black Ranger's weapon. Can be used as a traditional axe, and shoot energy from a hole in the handle.
- Power Bow: Pink Ranger's weapon. Was once used as a harp, in concert with the Dragon Dagger as a flute, to defeat the music-based monster Guitardo.
- Power Daggers: Yellow Ranger's weapons.
- Power Lance: Blue Ranger's weapon. Could be broken down into two mini-lances.
- Power Blaster: The personal weapons of the 5 core Rangers could combine into the Power Blaster for powerful attacks.
- Dragon Dagger: Weapon of Green Ranger, used to summon and control Dragonzord.
- Dragon Shield: The golden shield on the Green Ranger's upper body was often almost impervious to attack, especially when the Green Ranger was playing the Dragon Dagger. The shield repeatedly took heavy fire from a number of weapons, ranging from a Power Blaster to Titanus, and deflected the blasts. The shield could also be transferred to other Rangers.
- Saba: Talking sword of the White Tiger Ranger, used to summon/control White Tigerzord. Also has the ability to fly and fire laser blasts from his eyes.
- Shark Cycles: Shark-themed motorcycles created by the fossilized fin of an ancient shark.
- Metallic Armor: Special armor created for battling the new-and-improved Tenga Warriors. Enhances the Rangers' speed, strength & resistance to injury or magic spells
- Power Cannon: Giant bazooka that fires loadable spheres of energy.
Zords
Main articles: Zord and Zords in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Season One
The Dinozords
- Ultrazord (combination of Megadragonzord & Titanus)
- Megadragonzord (combination of Megazord & Dragonzord)
- Megazord (combination of Dinozords)
- Tyrannosaurus Dinozord (Jason/Red)
- Mastodon Dinozord (Zack/Black)
- Triceratops Dinozord (Billy/Blue)
- Saber-Toothed Tiger Dinozord (Trini/Yellow)
- Pterodactyl Dinozord (Kimberly/Pink)
- Dragonzord (Tommy/Green)
- Dragonzord Battle Mode (combination of Mastodon, Triceratops, Saber-Tooth Tiger Dinozords & Dragonzord)
- Titanus (the Carrierzord)
Season Two
The Thunderzords
- Thunder Ultrazord (combination of Thunderzords, Tigerzord & Tor)
- Thunder Megazord (combination of Thunderzords)
- Red Dragon Thunderzord (Jason, then Rocky) (Red)
- hunderzord Assault Team (combination of Lion, Unicorn, Griffin & Firebird Thunderzords)
- Lion Thunderzord (Zack, then Adam) (Black)
- Unicorn Thunderzord (Billy/Blue)
- Griffin Thunderzord (Trini, then Aisha) (Yellow)
- Firebird Thunderzord (Kimberly/Pink)
- White Tigerzord (Tommy/White)
- Mega Tigerzord (combination of 4 Thunderzords & White Tigerzord)
- Tor the Shuttlezord
Season Three
Ninja Zords
- Falconzord (Tommy/White)
- Ape Ninjazord (Rocky/Red)
- Frog Ninjazord (Adam/Black)
- Wolf Ninjazord (Billy/Blue)
- Bear Ninjazord (Aisha/Yellow)
- Crane Ninjazord (Kimberly then Kat) (Pink)
- Ninja Megazord/Ninja Megafalconzord (combination of Ninjazords, with or without Falconzord)
- Ninja Ultrazord (combination of Ninja Megafalconzord & Titanus)
Shogunzords
- White Shogunzord (Tommy/Kimberly)then (Tommy/Kat)(White/Pink)
- Red Shogunzord (Rocky/Red)
- Black Shogunzord (Adam/Black)
- Blue Shogunzord (Billy/Blue)
- Yellow Shogunzord (Aisha/Yellow)
- Shogun Megazord (combination of Shogunzords)
- Shogun Megafalconzord (combination of Shogun Megazord & Falconzord)
- Shogun Ultrazord (combination of Shogun Megafalconzord & Titanus)
Trivia
- Due to the unforeseen popularity of the series, Saban, the company that produced Power Rangers, was faced with the possibility of exhausting all of its Zyuranger footage with no more to fall back upon in order to continue producing the show. The company contacted Toei (the company which produced/produces the Sentai series in Japan) as well as Rainbow Productions (the company that designed and produced the monster suits), requesting another half-season's worth of Zyuranger footage, specifically for Power Rangers. The two Japanese companies agreed, creating around 25 brand-new monsters and filming both human- and zord-sized battle footage for each, as well as incorporating elements from MMPR into the footage (a relationship between the Green and Pink Ranger and the Blue Ranger as the brains of the group being the most obvious examples). These monsters are collectively known in the Power Rangers fan community as "Zyu2." Around this time, Saban was also negotiating a deal with Toei to acquire footage from Gosei Sentai Dairanger, the sentai series which followed Zyuranger. Saban used more than half of the Zyu2 costumes in the remainder of Season One of Power Rangers. When they decided to replace the Dinozords with the mecha from Dairanger in Season Two (termed Thunderzords in Power Rangers), the Zord footage of the remaining Zyu2 monsters became obsolete. To compensate for this, Saban attempted to splice the Zyu2 and Dairanger footage to ensure that the Zyu2 monsters were not seen fighting with the old Megazord that was not supposed to be there. In other words, it would show only the monster attacking followed by a shot of just the Thunderzords taking the damage. This did not always work, for occasionally the monster could actually be seen making physical contact with the old Megazord.
- "Bones" was the name of the first monster to ever battle the Power Rangers in the inception of the series. Although, in the lost episode (the original pilot), they battled "King Sphinx" (he was called Fly Guy in the pilot), and Sphinx appeared again in the episode titled, "A Pressing Engagement."
- Billy Cranston (David Yost) wears blue plaid boxer shorts. In the episode "Power Ranger Punks," Billy (David Yost) and Kimberly (Amy Jo Johnson) become punks after drinking Rita's potion. Viewers can see the top of Billy's boxer shorts in his punk outfit, which is a blue plaid pattern. However, after the spell is removed by Alpha and Zordon, Billy immediately notices this and hides the top of his boxer shorts from sight.
- The suits of several monsters were modified in some fashion in order to create new monsters for American footage. Such monsters were:
- Pudgy Pig was disassembled, and parts were used for Turkey Jerk in Season Two's "Storybook Rangers."
- Mr. Ticklesneezer was repainted and clad in a Santa Claus-like suit, becoming Grumble the Elf in Season Two's "Storybook Rangers."
- Snizard was repainted and modified with a cobra hood to become the Cobra Monster in Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue's "The Cobra Strikes."
- Chunky Chicken was also disassembled for use in Turkey Jerk.
- Grumble Bee was repainted and given buck teeth to become Waspicable in Power Rangers: In Space's "The Wasp with a Heart."
- Primator was repainted and given extra fur, and became the Snow Monster in Season Two's "Storybook Rangers."
- Salaguana was disassembled into the reptillian parts of Triter from Power Rangers: Zeo's "King for a Day."
- Silver Horns was repainted and a tongue was added, becoming Repellator in Season Three's "A Friend in Need."
- Merrick the Barbaric's head was removed, and his body was used for Incisorator in the Season Three episode "Changing of the Zords, Part II." Ironically, Incisorator's episode aired before Merrick's.
- The expression "Morphinomenal!" was coined by Kimberly Ann Hart.
- Similarly, "It's Morphin Time!" was first spoken by Zordon.
- The expression "Back To Action" was coined by Jason Lee Scott.
- The Ninja and Shogun Ultrazords are the only Zord formations in Power Rangers history that are made from American footage. No suits or props were used in making them; the Bandai toys of each Zord were used to bring them to life on the show. The American versions of the toys were used for this, which presented some problems as the American versions are often noticeably different than the Japanese versions (and thus, the actual Zords on the show). For example, the left arm of the Japanese Shogun Megazord toy , the "Muteki Shougun" from "Ninja Sentai Kakuranger" (and the real Shogun Megazord/Muteki Shougun) is white. For some reason, the left arm of the Shogun Megazord toy was repainted pink for the American version to match the main five colors of the Rangers being used in the United States at the time (the U.S. was still using the Zyuranger colors of Red, Black, Blue, Yellow, Pink). Thus, the arm would suddenly switch colors whenever the Shogun Ultrazord was formed. Additionally, because the "Return of Titanus" version of the Titanus toy was used, the Ninja and Shogun Ultrazord formations mistakenly had the Dragonzord chest shield on the front of Titanus.
- According to the "Reality Check" PSA of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Amy Jo Johnson, David Yost, and both their respective characters are accomplished martial artists and gymnasts.
- As the title says, the announcement is a reality check, or something that clarifies or serves as a reminder of reality often by correcting a misconception.
- Five video games based on this show were produced, one for Sega Genesis, one for Sega CD, one for Sega Game Gear, one for Super Nintendo Entertainment System and one for Game Boy.
- Billy the original Blue Ranger has the distinction of being the only Ranger to hold the same position for the longest time (3 years, 1993-1996) without ever switching colors, a record yet to be surpassed. Similarly, he is the only original Power Ranger to appear in every episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and remain there from the start to the end of the MMPR generation.
- Being the original series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers also the most favorite of all Power Rangers fans, winning a viewer contest conducted by ABC Family in 2004, receiving the most votes.
- The original series has the distinction of being the longest-running incarnation lasting for three years (1993-1996). This fact is somewhat parallel to the Super Sentai series, since Himitsu Sentai Goranger, the very first Sentai, ran over three years with a total of 83 episodes, making it the longest Sentai series.
- Aaron Waters composed and wrote The Original Power Rangers theme song, a full length, 4 minute long track used for promotion. Its title is "Go Go Power Rangers!"
- As is commonly known now, despite the Yellow Ranger being a female within Power Rangers, in "Kyoryuu Sentai Zyuranger" the Yellow (or Tiger) Ranger, named Boi/Boy, was male. Due to this, there is an obvious change in the physique of the Yellow team member when the show cuts to Sentai footage (this is most notable within Season 1).
- The order in which the Ninjazords and Shogunzords were acquired was reversed in Power Rangers. In the original source of those two Zord sets, "Ninja Sentai Kakuranger", the 'Shogunzords' were gained before the 'Ninjazords'. In the same way, since there were only five Rangers in Kakuranger, the Falconzord was a separate entity not belonging to anyone of them. Ninjaman/Ninjor didn't need a 'Zord' since he could grow Zord-size.
- The monster, "Brick Bully" was never destroyed by the Blue Shogunzord. In the Japanese version, he is destroyed by the Kakuranger's cycle attack.
- Actress Thuy Trang died in an automobile accident on September 3rd, 2001, when the automobile she was riding lost control. She was not wearing a seatbeat. Her fellow passenger in the car was Angela Rockwood-Nguyen, the wife of fellow Vietnamese-American actor Dustin Nguyen. Rockwood-Nguyen survived the automobile accident despite not wearing a seatbeat, but she became quadriplegic. Two members of the Power Rangers original cast, David Yost and Amy Jo Johnson attended the funeral. An episode of Power Rangers: Time Force was dedicated in memory of Thuy Trang.
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers has been banned from broadcast in both Malaysia and New Zealand (ironically where Power Rangers: Mystic Force is currently being filmed), due to its violence.[1]
External links