SATURDAY MORNINGS FOREVER: MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS

While on business in Japan in 1984, Haim Saban became aware of the series Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger; the 16^th installment of Toei Company’s Super Sentai franchise. Zyuranger followed five (later six) warriors from an ancient civilization of dinosaur-evolved humans who are awakened from suspended animation in the present day when their sworn enemy is accidentally released by astronauts. Saban was intrigued by the premise and pondered if it could be adapted for an American audience. Saban purchased the footage from Toei and commissioned a brief pilot to be cobbled together that would illustrate the overall premise and feel of his proposed series.

Saban Entertainment shopped the pilot around to various networks for several years, each one of them passing on it. Finally, in 1992, Margaret Loesch, head of the Fox Kids programming block at FOX, saw the pilot and the potential it represented (Marvel Productions, Loesch’s former employer, had considered its acquisition a few years earlier). Loesch’s mind was further made up after she showed the pilot to her son and saw his positive reaction to it. However, Loesch’s team didn’t share her enthusiasm for the project. She gave Saban a 40-episode order and eight weeks in the summer of 1993 for the show to prove itself.

The Power Rangers and their signature weapons.

Saban wanted the characters of the show to be relatable to his audience. He contacted casting director Katy Wallin and told her they needed a cast of athletic, ethnically diverse actors—preferably with martial arts experience—for a new show. After seeing over 300 people for a week, the producers narrowed down their selections to two groups of five for the network to approve. FOX picked one, and Saban had their Dino Rangers, as the show was originally going to be called. Next came the process of going through all the Japanese footage and pulling out all the elements they could use in their show; namely anything that didn’t broadcast the Japanese origins and could pass as being set in the United States. The footage was then edited together onto a tape with blank spots left in for the new American footage that would tie everything together.

The Zyuranger cast.

As the Japanese show featured a lot of latex-suit monsters similar to Godzilla, writers were able to build an overall theme for an episode related to the monster’s appearance or powers. Episode directors were encouraged to watch the Japanese footage in order to figure out how to marry the Los Angeles settings with the Japanese settings used. Supervising producer and writer Tony Oliver was largely in charge of overseeing the blending of the American and Japanese elements. Saban also purchased the original monster suits and costumes used in the Sentai series for filming any necessary additional footage.

Working hard.

By the time FOX gave Saban the green light in November, the production had to move fast to meet the demand a daily broadcasting schedule required. 15 episodes had to be completely written before even one of them started to be filmed. For the filming process, the production would film up to four different episodes at one time, making the full use of any set that would appear in each episode before moving on to the next location. For the character scenes, the actors filmed with the first unit before moving to the second for their fight scenes. The end of the day was spent dubbing dialogue over the Japanese footage or fixing any of their lines made unintelligible by outside interference. A typical day of filming could run anytime from 5AM until the early evenings.

When the series was picked up by FOX, Saban decided their working title wasn’t good enough. After a 10-minute brainstorming session, the producers settled upon Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Ron Wasserman (credited as Aaron Waters – The Mighty RAW) wrote, composed and produced the series’ theme, “Go Go Power Rangers”, mere hours after reviewing early footage. The series debuted on August 28, 1993 on FOX and became a massive hit. Originally aired in the early mornings on the network, it was soon moved to the more viable afternoon schedule replacing the network’s other big hit, Batman: The Animated Series. Its broadcasts were increased to six days a week to be included in FOX’s Saturday morning line-up.

Rita Repulsa freed from her "dumpster".

The series began when evil alien sorceress Rita Repulsa (Machiko Soga, voiced by Barbara Goodson) was freed from her 10,000 years of confinement when two astronauts discovered her prison (referred to as a dumpster because of its smell) and accidentally released her. Setting up a base on the moon, Rita set her sights on conquering Earth. Zordon (originally going to be called Zoltar, portrayed by David Fielding), who was responsible for her capture and was trapped in a time warp as a result, learned of her escape and had his nervous robotic assistant, Alpha 5 (Richard Steven Horvitz), select five “teenagers with attitude” from Angel Grove, California to defend the Earth by becoming Power Rangers.

Billy, Trini, Jason, Kimberly and Zack: the original Power Rangers.

Selected was team leader and martial artist Jason Lee Scott (Austin St. John), who became the Red Ranger; gymnast Kimberly Ann Hart (Amy Jo Johnson) became the Pink Ranger; intelligent inventor Billy Cranston (named for then-unknown Saban voice actor Bryan Cranston, played by David Yost) was made the Blue Ranger; equally intelligent and environmentally conscious Trini Kwan (Thuy Trang) became the Yellow Ranger (portrayed by Audri Dubois in the original unaired pilot, who was unable to continue with the show when it was picked up for broadcast); and the quick-witted and athletic Zack Taylor (Walter Emanuel Jones) was made the Black Ranger, as well as the team’s second-in-command. The Rangers each possessed a Power Coin that allowed them to tap into an energy source known as the Morphin Grid through a Power Morpher and gain the power from animals of Earth’s prehistoric past. Someone would announce “It’s Morphin Time”, which would cue each Ranger to hold up their respective Coin and exclaim their animal’s name in order to initiate the transformation sequence. It should be noted that the reason the Pink Ranger had a skirt on her uniform and the Yellow Ranger didn’t is that in the original Sentai series the Yellow Ranger was actually a male.

Rita with her minions Goldar, Finster, Baboo and Squatt.

Rita wasn’t without a team of her own. Serving as her general (though not exactly the most loyal as he had his own ambitions of conquest) was the winged monkey-like man Goldar (called Flydar in the pilot, portrayed by Takashi Sakamoto, Kazutoshi Yokoyama, Danny Wayne Stallcup & David Wald, voiced by Kerrigan Mahan). Goldar’s suit was made readily available to the American production, so he was used to deliver any necessary exposition (his Japanese counterpart, however, was mostly silent). Goldar had visible affection for the ruthless femme fatale Scorpina (originally to be named Scorpira, portrayed by Ami Kawai, voiced by Wendee Lee), who also served Rita. Some comic relief was provided by the bumbling duo of Squatt (Minoru Watanabe, voiced by Michael Sorich) and Baboo (Hideaki Kusaka & Jason Ybarra, voiced by Dave Mallow), who were generally on the receiving end of Rita’s displeasure over her failures. Rita’s most useful minion was Finster (Takako Iiboshi, voiced by Robert Axelrod and Steve Kramer in the pilot). Finster was able to create various creatures using a special clay and cooking it in a kiln called the Monster-Matic, as well as supplied Rita with various potions and gadgets. Finster would make the various legions of the Putty Patrol (portrayed by various people); an army of mass-produced similar-looking beings, designed to overwhelm and weaken the Rangers with numbers in order to soften them up for a confrontation with one of Finster’s more refined monster creations.

The Megazord vs. a giant Goldar.

The various monsters would terrorize the populace of Angel Grove with their own unique abilities, eventually growing to a giant-sized version of itself. Goldar and Scorpina also possessed the ability to grow, however Scorpina was the only one to change forms when she did so. To combat these threats, Zordon gave the Rangers their own individual power weapons and Zords: animal-shaped combat vehicles that could join together to form the robotic Megazord. The Red Ranger wielded the Power Sword and piloted the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord, as well as the Megazord when it was assembled; The Pink Ranger wielded the Power Bow and piloted the Pterodactyl Dinozord; The Blue Ranger wielded the Power Lance and piloted the Triceratops Dinozord, and was responsible for developing the Rangers’ wrist communicators; The Yellow Ranger wielded twin Power Daggers and piloted the Saber-Toothed Tiger Dinozord; and The Black Ranger wielded the Power Axe and piloted the Mastodon Dinozord. All of the Rangers also carried a Blade Blaster, which could shift from a small sword to a laser gun, and could combine their various weapons together to form the powerful Power Blaster.

Zordon and Alpha 5 show the Rangers their ratings.

The show’s success led to a whirlwind of public appearances at stores, shopping malls and theme parks, as well as a live stage show. Saban heavily merchandised the series and its characters, forming a partnership with Bandai Co., Ltd. Bandai had produced the toys for the Super Sentai series in Japan and was able to use the same molds with slight modifications to produce a continuing line of toys for Power Rangers. The show went on to be syndicated around the world in various languages.

The Pumpkin Rapper strikes!

FOX wanted to expand the first season, resulting in the ending of “Doomsday” being changed as it was intended to be a series finale. Having exhausted all the usable Japanese footage, Saban paid Toei and Rainbow Productions to produce 25 more monster costumes and new battle footage with the existing Zyuranger suits. Fans of Power Rangers had come to dub this new footage as “Zyu2” as they not were not only made long after the parent series had ended, but also incorporated elements exclusive to Power Rangers such as a reliance on technology over magic. Saban was able to expand the first season by 20 episodes, and still have footage left over for the beginning of season 2. This wasn’t the first time Saban partnered with Toei for additional footage, as they had Toei produce additional footage starring Soga and Kawai before the series began. This footage was of higher quality and had lip movements that better matched the American voices.

The Megazord.

Despite its popularity, the show came under heavy criticism for the level of violence depicted by parent groups. When the complaints reached the newly-formed Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, its negative assessment resulted in the show being removed from Canada’s YTV and Global before the first season, which was several months behind the American broadcasts, came to an end. The murder of a Norwegian girl by two of her friends in 1994 resulted in the show being pulled from Swedish-owned TV3 in all of its markets, despite findings that the culprits were actually fans of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at the time. The New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority embraced the belief of the show’s negative influence on its viewers and had the show removed from the country’s airwaves. It wouldn’t be until 2011 when any form of Power Rangers would be seen there again. In Malaysia, “Mighty Morphin” had to be removed from the logo as the word “morphin” was deemed too close to the drug “Morphine”. The show also gained criticism for the only Asian and Black characters being adorned in colors representing their respective races; a fact the cast members found amusing and often playfully teased their co-stars over.

Skull and Bulk.

When not saving the world, the Rangers would be helping out at school, trying to make the world better as normal teens (who always wore something with their Ranger colors), or hanging out at the Juice Bar and Youth Center run by Ernie (Richard Genelle) in those rare quiet moments. That’s not to say their civilian lives were free from strife. Aside from the typical challenges of being a teenager, they had the local bullies Bulk (Paul Schrier) and Skull (Jason Narvy). Relatively harmless, the pair served as the additional comic relief of the series as they often engaged in schemes to either bolster their standing the community and/or their wealth. However, their schemes generally failed due to their incompetence; specifically Skull’s, who had to be constantly reminded of the scheme as they went. In the original pilot, Skull was played by a different actor and was a tougher character, with Bulk being the dim-witted sidekick, until it was decided to reverse those roles and keep them light. Ironically, Bulk and Skull would antagonize the Rangers’ civilian identities, not knowing they were the very heroes they idolized and constantly tried to learn the identities of.

The Red and Green Rangers; constantly at odds.

While the first 15 episodes were in various stages of production, the producers went ahead in the Sentai series to gather more usable scenes. It was at that point they discovered that the team would soon be joined by a 6^th member: Dragon Ranger (Shiro Izumi). Storylines were quickly modified to lead up to the appearance of this new Green Ranger, as well as another casting session to find who would play him. Eventually the role went to Jason David Frank, who became Tommy Oliver (named after Tony Oliver). Tommy was abducted and brainwashed by Rita, who also gave him his Ranger powers in a new gambit to defeat the Power Rangers. The Rangers eventually defeated and freed Tommy from Rita’s control, and he joined them in their fight against her; however, he had a continuous competitive and antagonistic relationship with Jason.

The Dragonzord.

Like the other Rangers, he had his own Zord, the Dragonzord, which could be controlled by playing the flute portion of his Dragon Dagger. The Dragon Shield, the gold chest plate worn by the Ranger and anyone who came into possession of the Dragon power, was damaged in shipping and a poor copy was used for any American filming (which could be used to distinguish what footage was used at a given time). Tommy and the Green Ranger proved to be popular characters, however since his Sentai counterpart eventually died, Saban had to work in a plot device that had Tommy lose and regain sporadic use of his powers. Gradually, Tommy and Kimberly became romantically involved, which was another exclusive element incorporated into the Zyu2 footage; showing the Green Ranger being protective of the Pink Ranger.

For the second season, Saban created their first all-new villain for the series: Lord Zedd (Ed Neil, voiced by Robert Axelrod). Zedd was Rita’s superior and came to the moon to accomplish what she had repeatedly failed to do; namely destroy the Rangers, conquer Earth and eliminate the Green Ranger. Zedd was dark and cruel, known for his increasingly menacing methods for taking out the Rangers until complaints from parents forced his character to be toned down and his plans to verge on the wacky and cartoonish. Zedd could also create better and more powerful monsters than Finster, making the character largely obsolete. Rita would eventually use a potion created by Finster to make Zedd fall in love with her and the two were married, making their forces stronger.

Goldar and Scorpina.

As new footage would be utilized featuring Zedd, the roles of Rita and Scorpina had to be recast. Carla Perez and Sabrina Lu filled them, respectively, although their original voice actors continued on. Lu’s tenure, however, was brief as she was unable to remain with the show and Scorpina abruptly disappeared halfway through the season. Fielding also left the show at the conclusion of the first season due to other obligations, however looped footage of his face recorded in a single day continued to be used. Manahan was brought in to voice the character for the remainder of the run.

The Thunderzords.

To combat the threat of Zedd, Zordon upgraded the Rangers’ Dinozords into the Thunderzords: Tyrannosaurus Red Dragon, Pterodactyl Firebird, Triceratops Unicorn, Sabertooth Tiger Griffin and Mastodon Lion, all of which combined the form the Thunder Megazord (sometimes called the Mega Thunderzord) or the Thunderzord Assault Team. The Thunderzords were summoned by the Rangers calling their Dinozord name, followed by the Thunderzord name, resulting in a transformation sequence. Only Tommy maintained the same Zord, the reason given that his powers were too weak to sustain another. The Thunderzord footage was taken from the next installment of the Super Sentai franchise, Gosei Sentai Dairanger. Because of this, the cockpits of the Thunderzords were never shown as the Dairanger suits were different and Saban didn’t want to go through the expense of constructing the sets. The cockpit footage of the Thunder Megazord was filmed in a single day and reused constantly throughout the season.

Publicity shot with the White Ranger replacing the Green Ranger.

Additional Dairanger footage was utilized when the Green Ranger’s powers were finally gone for good. Zordon and Alpha worked in secret to give Tommy new powers as the White Ranger. Because the Sentai version of the character, Kou (Hisashi Sakai), was a kid who became an adult when he transformed, the White Ranger often showed some child-like behavior in the original Sentai footage. Saba, Tommy’s enchanted short sword, gave him control of the Tigerzord. Tommy also ascended to the leadership position of the team, supplanting Jason in a peaceful transfer of power.

The new blood: Adam, Aisha and Rocky.

Although the actors enjoyed their experience and each other’s company, there was a sense of discontent growing on the set. The franchise was doing well, both on television and in merchandising. The actors, however, felt they weren’t being fairly recognized for their parts in that success; with St. John once stating in a Huffington Post interview “I could have worked the window at McDonald’s and probably made the same money the first season.” They also wanted the production to become unionized to further ensure their fair treatment by Saban. However, contract negotiations proved futile and St. John, Trang and Jones all left the show after the first 20 episodes of the season were produced.

As the production worked on finding replacements, stock footage, body and voice doubles were used to hide their departure for eight episodes. After another open casting call, Steve Cardenas, Karan Ashley and Johnny Yong Bosch were cast as Rocky DeSantos (Red), Aisha Campbell (Yellow) and Adam Park (Black), respectively. The characters were introduced to the remaining Rangers when they attended a martial arts event and discovered their dual identities. Jason, Zack and Trini were written out as having been selected to represent Angel Grove at the World Peace Conference in Geneva, and their powers were transferred to the new characters via Zordon’s Sword of Light.

During a filming break for the second season, the principal cast and crew (the villains, particularly the suited ones, were replaced by Australian actors to save money, though they used the same voice actors) headed to Australia for four months to film Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (sometimes titled without the “Mighty Morphin”). Initially, it was planned to emulate the style of the show, but the producers decided to invest more resources into the production. As a result, the movie featured bigger and more elaborate versions of established sets, better special effects, and the Rangers were given new PVC and metal suits with emblems on their chests resembling their Power Coins. Other established characters also gained some modifications from their known appearances, both major and minor. To save money, Baboo and Squatt were combined into a new character, the boar-like Mordant (Jean Paul Bell, voiced by Martin G. Metcalf).

The movie suits.

It became the first Power Rangers production not to utilize any kind of pre-existing footage. While the Rangers actors did work inside the heavy 40-pound suits, most of the time they spent transformed the Rangers were portrayed by stunt people. Only Bosch performed all of his own stunts as his stunt double was injured. Frank also performed many of his own stunts. Some of the Rangers received new weapons exclusive to the movie; the Red Ranger got a Power Scope that allowed him enhanced vision; the Yellow Ranger got Power Beams, essentially helmet lights; the Blue Ranger got the Stega Stinger, a grappling device; and the Pink Ranger got the Pterodactyl Thunderwhip. At one point, the crew felt the visors on the helmets would limit the Rangers’ ability to emote and removed them, but soon decided that was a mistake and reshot all those scenes with the visors in place. Production for the film ran over budget and over schedule, resulting in the crew needing to film part of the remainder of season 2 on location in Australia; working in a trip to the continent to cover for that fact.

Ivan Ooze with the movie version of Alpha-5.

The movie centered on the introduction of another ancient evil imprisoned by Zordon (Nicholas Bell), Ivan Ooze (Paul Freeman), who was discovered and freed by Zedd (body played by Mark Ginther) and Rita (physically played by Julia Cortez). Ooze subsequently destroyed the Rangers’ Command Center and their connection to the Morphin Grid. In order to save Zordon and stop Ooze, the Rangers are sent by Alpha (body played by Peta-Maree Rixon) to the planet Phaedos to find a great power. There, they are aided by warrior Dulcea (Gabrielle Fitzpatrick, who was temporarily replaced by Mariska Hargitay during a cancer scare) in finding the Ninjetti power, turning them into Ninja Rangers.

The movie poster.

The film was directed by Bryan Spicer and was released on June 30, 1995 through 20^th Century Fox. Although running against stiff competition from Apollo 13, Pocahontas and Batman Forever, the film went on to gross over $66 million against a $15 million budget. While the film largely embraced what came before, it was completely independent of established Power Rangers continuity due to the visual and character changes, characters who never appeared on the show, and blatant references to death and murder. What was carried over were Ooze’s Tengu Warriors (called Tenga on the show), bird-like warriors that were his version of the Putties, Billy no longer wearing glasses (Yost complained the fake lenses were hurting his eyes), and the acquisition of Ninja Ranger powers (since the third season utilized footage from the next Sentai series, Ninja Sentai Kakuranger).

The third season introduced the new villains Rito Revolto (Stallcup, voiced by Bob Papenbrook), Rita’s dim-witted brother, and Master Vile (voiced by Tom Wyner), their father, who contributed to making the Rangers’ lives hell. After opening the season with a team-up with other Saban acquired property, Masked Rider, the Rangers lose their powers when Rito and four monsters destroy the Command Center, their Zords and their Power Coins. Zordon sent them to find Ninjor (Kim Strauss), the creator of the Power Coins, in order to acquire new Power Coins imbued with Ninja Powers turning them into the Ninja Rangers.

The Ninja Rangers.

In Ninja form, the Rangers gained new mystical powers—such as the ability to allow just their uniforms to take a hit, producing temporary duplicates, moving at super speed or growing giant—as well as new Zords based on their new energy animals. Tommy gained the White Ninja Falconzord; Rocky the Red Ape Ninjazord; Billy the Blue Wolf Ninjazord; Aisha the Yellow Bear Ninjazord; Kimberly the Pink Crane Ninjazord; and Adam the Black Frog Ninjazord. All except the Falconzord merged to create the Ninja Megazord, however the Falconzord was required to summon the other Zords and could attach to the Megazord to create the MegaFalconzord. From their Ninja forms, the Rangers could then shift to their usual Power Rangers forms. To better combat Rito’s Tenga Warriors, Zordon gave the Rangers a metallic armor (their standard suits made with a shiny material) that increased their physical attributes and protection for a time. Another batch of legendary lost Zords, known as the Shogunzords, were also introduced and could form the more powerful, albeit slower, Shogun Megazord.

As the third season progressed, Johnson had grown restless and was ready to move on to other projects. In preparation for this, a new girl from Australia named Katherine Hillard (Catherine Sutherland, who had auditioned for the role of Dulcea) was brought to town under the influence of Rita and Zedd. She could assume the form of a cat and a cat monster, and used her human form to befriend and gain the trust of the Rangers. Eventually, Kat broke free from their control and aided the Rangers; Kimberly in particular. When Kimberly got the chance to practice for the PanGlobal Games, she passed her powers on to Kat and left the team during the season’s 25^th episode. Unfortunately, Kat’s tenure was short-lived as Master Vile unleashed his ultimate plan against the Rangers and turned everyone on Earth into children, effectively cutting off the Rangers from their powers. This led into the 10-episodes mini-series Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, which was used to set up the next incarnation of the franchise.

In 2001, The Walt Disney Company purchased the Power Rangers franchise as part of a buyout of Fox Family Worldwide, which then became ABC Family Worldwide, Inc. Saban Entertainment became BVS Entertainment, and production of the franchise moved from Los Angeles to New Zealand, resulting in the closure of MMPR Productions, the production company created exclusively to make Power Rangers. As a result, Power Rangers was exclusively aired on Disney-owned networks after Fox Kids became FoxBox. In 2010, Disney re-aired Mighty Morphin on the ABC Kids programming block after BVS added new visual effects and created a new opening sequence. These revised episodes comprised the first 32 episodes of season 1 and aired from January to August. When Netflix aired the series on its streaming service, it called these episodes “Season 1 (Reversioned)”.

Sega Genesis box art.

Beginning in 1994, Power Rangers made the leap to home video game consoles. Five different games featuring the title Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were released for the Nintendo Game Boy, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega CD and Sega Game Gear. Both Nintendo versions, published by Bandai, were side-scrolling action games. The Game Boy version, released first, featured the Rangers battling through legions of Putty Patrollers until they would confront the giant boss in the Megazord. The Super Nintendo version started players off in the Rangers’ civilian identities before they powered up for the boss fight. The final two levels featured the player taking control of the Megazord. The Genesis and Game Gear versions, published by Sega, were both fighting games that featured different styles of gameplay. The Sega CD version, produced by Sega TruVideo, used footage from the show and gave the player prompts to press a certain button at a particular time in order to avoid taking damage and advance the story. The Fighting Edition was a Super NES exclusive released the following year. It was a fighting game featuring the Thunder Megazord and the Mega Tigerzord rather than the Rangers themselves.

Super NES screenshot with the Black Ranger.

In 1995, four games were released based on the movie across the various consoles in 1995. The Super NES version was similar to the previous Power Rangers game, except it lacked any Zord battles. The Genesis version featured the addition of the original Red, Black and Yellow Rangers (the new ones’ voice clips were used for their transformations, however) as well as Zord battles, and adapted the episodes “White Light”, “Ninja Encounter”, and “Power Transfer” to pad out the movie’s story. The Game Boy version featured the player starting off as the Rangers’ Ninja forms until they built up enough power to transform into Power Rangers. The Game Gear version was largely the same as the previous game made for the platform, but added a new meter that allowed the performance of a super move when filled.

Bandai Namco and Bamtang Games announced plans for a new Power Rangers video game in 2017 called Mega Battle. The game was a four-player side-scrolling beat-em-up that spanned the show’s first two seasons. Dialogue and audio, as well as stage design, were lifted directly from those episodes. Tommy’s two forms, as well as the four new Rangers, were featured as unlockable characters. The game featured cartoon-like designs for the characters and stages. nWay Games (now part of Animoca Brands) also released Power Rangers: Legacy Wars on mobile devices. It was a tag-team card-based fighting game that brought together characters from various periods of the Ranger franchise. In 2018, characters from Street Fighter were integrated. A short film promoting the game and Street Fighter additions, Street Fighter Showdown, was co-produced by Allspark Pictures and Bat in the Sun and featured Ryu (Peter Jang) and Chun-Li (Gemma Nguyen) teaming up with Tommy (Frank) and Gia Moran (Ciara Hanna) from Megaforce against M. Bison (Kevin Porter). 2018 also saw the release of the Movegames’ mobile game Power Rangers All-Stars by NEXON that ran until 2021. It was a cartoon-styled turn-based RPG that again saw Rangers from across eras unite to battle a threat. The full Mighty Moprhin team was represented. In 2019 nWay would release the more traditional fighting game Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid on consoles. It featured Jason (St. John), Trini (Carrie Keranen), Kimberly (Meghan Camarena), Tommy (Frank), Adam (Bosch), Rita (Goodson), Goldar (Mahan), Zedd (Jeff Diaz) and Scorpina (Lu) as playable characters, as well Zordon (Fielding) and Lord Drakkon (Frank) and Ranger Slayer (Camarena) from the “Shattered Grid” comic storyline. This game also featured Ryu (Kyle Hebert) and Chun-Li (Laura Bailey), both with their own Ranger forms.

An issue of Marvel's Power Rangers comic.

From 1994 to 1995, Hamilton Comics published two volumes of Power Rangers comics featuring original adventures, as well as Power Rangers Saga which retold an episode’s story from the viewpoint of Zordon and Alpha 5 and a giveaway mini-comic that was included in packages of Fruit of the Loom Power Rangers underwear. In 1995, Hamilton lost the license to Marvel Comics who published eight issues of a regular series as well as an adaptation of the movie. Concurrently, Marvel also published a five-issue Ninja Rangers series of which each issue was a flip book featuring other Saban property, VR Troopers. Before losing the Saban license in 1996, Marvel published a single Masked Rider issue which guest-starred the Power Rangers. All of the Hamilton and Marvel comics featured uniforms inspired by the movie costumes, rather than the show. In 2012, Papercutz acquired the Saban license and produced several Power Rangers series. Their Mighty Morphin series in 2014 comprised of a single Free Comic Book Day giveaway issue and two graphic novels which took place during and between various episodes.

First collected edition of BOOM's series.

In 2016, the license moved over to BOOM! Studios where they began a Mighty Morphin series set just after Tommy joined the team. A mini-series, Pink, saw Kimberly, Zack and Trini reunited to battle a new threat unwittingly orchestrated by Goldar. In 2017 BOOM! and DC Comics partnered together to put out a Justice League/Power Rangers crossover mini-series, and BOOM! started a second ongoing series, Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers, which took place during the first year of their being Rangers. For the franchise’s 25^th anniversary and the commemoration of 25 issues of Mighty Morphin, a franchise-spanning crossover event called “Shattered Grid” was published, featuring an evil version of Tommy, Lord Drakkon, seeking to obliterate all Rangers across every era. Two promotional videos for the event were made: the first featured a voiceover narration from Frank as Drakkon with promotional images from the story, and the second featured Frank in the Drakkon costume preparing to attack, written and directed by the event’s writer, Kyle Higgins.

The 100th issue of BOOM's series.

Both main series would end in 2020 and were replaced with two new books called Mighty Morphin, which focused on the core team in Angel Grove, and Power Rangers, which followed Jason, Trini and Zack and their intergalactic adventures as Omega Rangers. These books would be collapsed back into the original series in time for its landmark 100^th issue. 2019 would see another crossover mini-series, this time with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which saw the Turtles briefly gain the Rangers’ powers. A sequel followed in 2022. In 2018 & 2019, BOOM! released two omnibus editions: Archive Volume 1, which reprinted all of the main Hamilton and Marvel comics minus the VR Troopers content, and Archive Volume 2 included the Papercutz comics--excluding the Free Comic Book Day issue and the Beetleborgs crossover—and the first issue of the BOOM! series.

Power Rangers on VHS.

Between 1994 and 1995, Saban Home Entertainment and WarnerVision Entertainment released a series of 1 episode VHS tapes that also included a special feature, such as interviews with the various characters, music videos, and bonus footage. Alpha’s Magical Christmas, Lord Zedd’s Monster Heads and All Time Favorites vol. 3: The Good, The Bad, the Stupid: The Misadventures of Bulk and Skull were direct-to-video specials that were never televised and considered non-canon. 20^th Century Fox released the movie to VHS and LaserDisc in 1995. In 1996, the live stage show tour also received a VHS release. PolyGram Video handled the UK releases and each VHS came with two or more episodes. In 2000, Fox Home Entertainment released a series of seven VHS tapes called Power Rangers Power Playback: Classic Ranger Edition that contained two episodes centering on each of the individual Rangers and three of the holiday-themed episodes. Fox Kids Video and Buena Vista Home Entertainment handled their release overseas. In 2002, Buena Vista released the compilation Power Rangers: Red Alert that featured the episode “Two Heads are Better Than One”. An exclusive video was made for members of the official Power Rangers fan club and was available only to them.

Compilation DVD.

The series first came to DVD in 2003 when Buena Vista released a compilation DVD called The Best of Power Rangers: The Ultimate Rangers featuring episodes from various incarnations of the franchise; including two from Mighty Morphin. The movie also gained a DVD release, sometimes paired up with Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie. In 2010, Buena Vista released the revised version of “Day of the Dumpster” on a promotional DVD that was included with various toys from the 2010 toy line. Saban Brands, after reacquiring the franchise, gave out that DVD at New York Comic Con to promote Power Rangers: Samurai and created a new limited-run DVD with the original version for distribution at San Diego Comic Con and Power Morphicon, the Power Rangers convention. 2011 saw a new release for the movie. Between 2012 and 2013, Lionsgate started releasing holiday-themed episodes from Power Rangers: Samurai in compilations. To enhance them, they worked out an agreement with Shout! Factory to acquire earlier Power Rangers episodes that fit the theme.

The original Shout! complete series set.

In 2012, Shout! acquired the rights to release the series on DVD. That July, they released the complete Mighty Morphin series and the Alien Rangers mini-series in a 19-disc set at Comic Con. In August, they released the first season to Time Life bundled with a Red Ranger action figure and the complete series (minus the exclusive Comic Con dressing) bundled with the season 4-7 collection and the figure. In November, the complete series received a wider retail release along with individual releases of season 1 and 2 split into two volumes each. July 2013 saw the release of the third season without the Alien Rangers episodes. After working out a deal with Lionsgate to get access to the most recent Power Rangers show at that time, a whopping 98-disc limited edition set called Power Rangers: Legacy was planned for December 2013, but ended up being delayed until January. In March of 2015, a new release of the first and second seasons were released exclusively to Wal-Mart with new cover art. In October 2016, Shout! released a new version of the complete set with new cover art. Between 2015 and 2016, Shout! began releasing the complete series of Zyuranger, Dairanger, and Kakuranger with Power Rangers branding. 2019 saw Shout! bring The Movie to Blu-ray for the first time. It was made available to stream on Netflix.

In 2014, Saban Capital Group, the new company started by Saban that reacquired Power Rangers from Disney, and Lionsgate announced that they would be producing a film reboot of the franchise; the third Power Rangers film to be released in theaters, and the first one in 20 years. The film, directed by Dean Israelite off a story by Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Michele & Kieran Mulroney and John Gatins, depicted a more realistic and grounded take on the Rangers lore. Posters for the film featuring the Rangers and glimpses of their Zords were released in September of 2016. Each poster featured a different tagline, however the one used on the Yellow poster, “Driver’s Ed not required”, received some controversy due to the fact that the original Yellow Ranger died in a car crash in 2001. The official teaser trailer made its debut at New York Comic Con the following month. Released on March 24, 2017, the film starred Dacre Montgomery as Jason, Naomi Scott as Kimberly, RJ Cyler as Billy, Becky G as Trini, Ludi Lin as Zack, Elizabeth Banks as Rita and Bill Hader as Alpha. Bryan Cranston marked his return to the franchise, this time portraying Zordon. It received largely mixed reviews over the changes to the source material, uneven tonality and extensive product placement, and managed to eke out only $142.5 million worldwide against a budget of $100-105 million. Intended to kick off a new film series, those plans were abandoned in light of its box office failure.

For the franchise’s 30^th anniversary, a long-developing reunion special of the original Mighty Morphin team was released on Netflix in 2023. Called Once & Always, written by Becca Barnes and Alwyn Dale and directed by Charlie Haskell, it featured the return of Yost and Jones to the franchise, along with Cardenas and Sutherland to round out the team, with appearances by Bosch and Ashley. Although an invitation was extended to all the original Rangers to return, St. John had to decline on account of legal issues preventing him from going to New Zealand to film; Johnson refused for unspecified reasons, but expressed her support for the project and announced writing her own comic series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return; and Frank, long a champion for the franchise, decided to put some distance between him and it to focus on his film, Legend of the White Dragon, before his untimely death. Additionally, Benny Joy Smith reprised her role as Annie from Dino Thunder, and Hortvitz returned to voice Alphas 8 and 9, while Bulk and Skull appeared on a billboard image.

30 years later: in the command center with Adam, Alpha 9, Zack, Billy, Rocky, Aisha, Minh and Kat.

The special incorporated the real-life death of Trang by having Trini killed off in battle, which came at the hands of a revived and robotic Rita Repulsa (Goodson). After Rita captured Jason, Kimberly and Tommy (present through archived audio and seen only morphed), Billy and Zack were forced to call in Rocky and Katherine to replace them, while also dealing with Trini’s daughter, Minh (Charlie Kersh), learning about her mother’s secret life and wanting her powers for revenge. Other Rangers and teams were referenced via captured Rangers, which were represented by Lightning Collection figures from current license-holder and franchise owner Hasbro with their joints hidden, and city names visible on a screen. Unlike the series proper, the only Sentai footage used was in a flashback of Rita’s original release from the space dumpster; otherwise, all of the suit performances were newly-filmed for the special and the Zords and Megazord were completely rendered in CGI. Johnson’s song “Down the Road”, which she performed in the season 2 episode “The Song of Guitardo”, was used over a tribute for Trang and Frank at the end of the special.

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1 (original airdate & reversion airdate):

“Day of the Dumpster” (8/28/93 & 1/2/10) – When Rita Repulsa is freed from her prison, Zordon recruits five teens to become Power Rangers to fight against her schemes to take over Earth.

“High Five” (9/7/93 & 1/2/10) – Billy unveils the Rangers’ new wrist-communicators while Rita plots to trap them in a time warp.

“Teamwork” (9/8/93 & 1/9/10) – The Rangers stumble on Rita’s plans to destroy the Earth with pollution and her powerful Mighty Minotaur prompts Zordon to give the Rangers new weapons.

“A Pressing Engagement” (9/9/93 & 1/9/10) – Jason’s lack of confidence in beating Bulk’s bench-pressing record is compounded when Rita sets him against King Sphinx alone.

“Different Drum” (9/10/93 & 1/16/10) – Kimberly deals with a deaf student in her dance class while Rita sends the Gnarly Gnome to use music against the Rangers.

“Food Fight” (9/4/93 & 1/16/10) – Bulk and Skull turn a cultural food fair at the Juice Bar into a food fight, inspiring Rita to create a monster to eat all of the world’s food.

“Big Sisters” (9/30/93 & 1/23/10) – Rita kidnaps the bratty girl Kim and Trini are in charge of in order to open a chest containing the Power Eggs.

“I, Eye Guy” (9/14/93 & 2/6/10) – When Bulk and Skull gets Willie disqualified from the science fair, his upset state allows him to be kidnapped by Eye Guy who wants his intelligence.

“For Whom the Bell Trolls” (9/15/93 & 2/20/10) – Rita brings Trini’s favorite doll to life and he captures the Rangers in bottles.

“Happy Birthday Zack” (9/16/93 & 2/27/10) – Zack believes his friends have forgotten his birthday while Rita sends down the Knasty Knight to ensure he has no others.

“No Clowning Around” (9/17/93 & 3/27/10) – A clown turns Trini’s cousin Sylvia into a cardboard cutout as part of a trap for the Rangers.

“Power Ranger Punks” (9/20/93 & 7/24/10) – Baboo spikes Kimberly and Billy’s drinks, turning them into unruly versions of themselves that can only be cured by finding a vegetable in another dimension.

“Peace, Love and Woe” (9/21/93 & 8/14/10) – Billy finally finds a date for the dance just in time for Madame Woe to abduct her, thinking she’s a Ranger.

“Foul Play in the Sky” (9/22/93 & 2/13/10) – Kimberly, Bulk and Skull end up stranded in a plane when Rita has her uncle knocked out while the Rangers face a foe only Kimberly’s bow can defeat.

“Dark Warrior” (9/28/93 & 8/21/10) – Billy enrolls in Jason’s karate class to deal with Bulk and Skull while Rita sends a monster after Trini’s uncle’s invisibility formula.

“Switching Places” (10/4/93 & 1/30/10) – Squatt messes with Billy’s latest invention which causes him to switch minds with Kimberly.

“Green With Evil, Episode I: Out of Control” (10/5/93 & 4/3/10) – Rita takes the new kid in town, Tommy Oliver, and transforms him into an evil Green Ranger to destroy the Rangers.

“Green With Evil, Episode II: Jason’s Battle” (10/6/93 & 4/10/10) – Billy and Trini work at repairing the Command Center while the Green Ranger traps Jason in the Dark Dimension with Goldar.

“Green With Evil, Episode III: The Rescue” (10/7/93 & 5/8/10) – Billy manages to rescue Jason as Rita sets Scorpina against them in order to lure the Rangers out to face a giant Goldar.

“Green With Evil, Episode IV: Eclipsing Megazord” (10/8/93 & 5/22/10) – The Rangers transform and call the Megazord, which is promptly destroyed by a giant Goldar, Scorpina and Green Ranger.

“Green With Evil, Eipisode V: Breaking the Spell” (10/9/93 & 6/5/10) – The Megazord is recovered to defeat Rita’s Dragonzord, while Jason sets out to free Tommy from her spell.

“The Trouble with Shellshock” (10/11/93 & 7/17/10) – Baboo and Squatt take advantage of Rita’s nap to send their own monster after the Rangers.

“Itsy Bitsy Spider” (10/12/93) – Rita swaps out a statue Trini and Billy try to save with her newest monster, which plays on Zack’s fear of spiders.

“The Spit Flower” (10/19/93 & 7/24/10) – Putties destroy Kimberly’s parade float design before Rita’s flower monster attacks.

“Life’s a Masquerade” (10/30/93 & 7/31/10) – Rita uses a Halloween party to distract the Rangers from her operation mining a special clay to create new Super Putties.

“Gung Ho!” (10/25/93 & 7/31/10) – Jason and Tommy have trouble working together at the Youth Center, but must to retrieve new weapons for Zordon.

“Wheel of Misfortune” (11/1/93 & 8/14/10) – Rita steals the spinning wheel being used in a play in order to change it into the evil Wheel of Destruction.

“Island of Illusion, Episode I” (11/2/93 & 8/7/10) – Rita sends the Rangers to an island where all of their worst fears become reality.

“Island of Illusion, Episode II” (11/3/93 & 8/7/10) – The Rangers have to conquer their fears in order to defeat Mutitis and escape Rita’s island.

“The Rockstar” (11/4/93 & 8/21/10) – Jason and his cousin end up on a quest to find a mirror that can shatter Putties, which Rita wants to get her hands on.

“Calamity Kimberly” (11/5/93 & 8/28/10) – Kimberly’s bad day gets worse when the Samurai Fan Man traps her in an urn connected to another dimension.

“A Star is Born” (11/15/93 & 8/28/10) – Goldar attacks the Rangers, forcing Tommy to abandon a commercial he’s auditioning for to save them.

“The Yolk’s on You!” (11/16/93) – Finster creates a new monster for Rita’s birthday and Goldar sets it after the Rangers after Baboo and Squatt eat its delicious rare eggs.

“The Green Candle, Episode I” (11/17/93) – Rita plans to retrieve the Green Ranger powers through a magical candle.

“The Green Candle, Episode II” (11/18/93) – Jason goes after the candle but is forced to abandon it in order to save Tommy from the Cyclops.

“Birds of a Feather” (11/22/93) – Jason uses the Dragon Coin’s powers to try and free the Dragonzord from Rita’s magic in order to defeat her latest monster.

“Clean-up Club” (11/23/93) – The Rangers’ attempts to clean up the town is hindered by the Polluticorn, while Skull’s attempts to make Bulk look good in a video fall short.

“A Bad Reflection on You” (11/27/93) – Rita unleashes special Putties on the town that could assume the form of the Rangers.

“Doomsday, Episode I” (11/29/93) – Power Ranger Day is interrupted by Rita’s latest attack with a War Zord named Cyclopsis that proves more powerful than the Megazord.

“Doomsday, Episode II” (11/30/93) – The Rangers regroup and fight back Rita and her forces.

“Rita’s Seed of Evil” (2/7/94) – Bulk and Skull attempt to move the trees the Rangers planted while the Octoplant gives the Rangers trouble.

“A Pig Surprise” (2/8/94) – The Rangers attempt to find homes for stray animals when Rita turns one of them into Pudgy Pig.

“Something Fishy” (2/9/94) – Rita uses Billy’s fear of fish against him with her latest monster: Goo Fish.

“Lions & Blizzards” (2/10/94) – Rita and Goldar change the Rangers’ trophy into their next monster, but they fact it short-handed with Zack out on a date.

“Crystal of Nightmares” (2/14/94) – Goldar uses the Crystal of Nightmares on the Rangers while they camp, stripping away all of their self-confidence.

“To Flea or Not to Flee” (2/15/94) – The Rangers rally to save the Juice Bar while Rita infects a lost dog and Jason with a Flighting Flea monster.

“Reign of the Jellyfish” (2/16/94) – Squatt and Baboo steal the time capsule the kids of Angel Grove High create.

“Plague of the Mantis” (2/17/94) – Bulk and Skull attempt to teach their own kind of Kung Fu while Rita sends a monster down to test the new fighting style Trini learned.

“Return of an Old Friend, Episode I” (2/28/94) – Rita kidnaps the Rangers’ parents and hypnotizes Billy to bring her the Dragon Dagger.

“Return of an Old Friend, Episode II” (3/1/94) – Zordon gives Tommy back his powers and he helps the Rangers rescue the people of Angel Grove.

“Grumble Bee” (4/28/94) – Rita is inspired by Billy’s first “B” to send the Grumble Bee to attack.

“Two Heads are Better Than One” (4/29/94) – Rita sends a two-headed parrot monster after the Rangers while Tommy looks for a specific fruit to appease it.

“Fowl Play” (5/2/94) – Zack teaches magic at a day camp while Rita uses her own to send down a new monster.

“Trick or Treat” (5/3/94) – It’s Kimberly vs. Skull on a TV game show when she’s called away to help the Rangers fight Rita’s latest threat.

“Second Chance” (5/4/94) – Rita sends the Soccadillo monster to attack the park and the Rangers can’t even call Tommy for help since his communicator was stolen.

“On Fins and Needles” (5/5/94) – Jason and Tommy teach the value of teamwork until Rita casts a spell pitting them against each other.

“Enter…the Lizzinator” (5/6/94) – Kimberly tries to help Kelly make the cheerleading squad, but Rita uses the girl to lure the Rangers into a trap.

“Football Season” (5/9/94) – Tommy’s desire to learn football is interrupted when Rita captures all the Rangers, and his failing powers leave him a brief window to save them.

“Mighty Morphin’ Mutants” (5/16/94) – Rita uses the badges of darkness to turn a team of Putties into her own Power Rangers.

“An Oyster Stew” (5/23/94) – Rita tricks Zack with a pair of earrings he planned to give to his girlfriend.

Season 2:

“The Mutiny, Part I” (7/21/94) – Zedd takes over Rita’s operations and creates stronger Putties to send after the Rangers, while Bulk and Skull set out to learn the Rangers’ identities.

“The Mutiny, Part II” (7/29/94) – Zordon gives the Rangers new Thunderzords, but before they can use them they have to reign in the rampaging Dinozords.

“The Mutiny, Part III” (8/5/94) – The Rangers regain control of the Dinozords and Zedd responds by trying to bury them deep in the Earth.

“The Wanna-Be Ranger” (9/13/94) – While left in charge, Alpha goes to befriend a young boy he observes leaving him open to an attack from Primator.

“Putty on the Brain” (9/14/94) – Zedd casts a spell on Billy and Zack that causes them to see the other Rangers as Putties.

“Bloom of Doom” (9/17/94) – Zedd uses Kimberly’s jealousy at everyone joining Trini’s club over hers to cast a spell and turn her fully against Trini.

“The Green Dream” (9/19/94) – Zedd causes Tommy to have a recurring nightmare about losing his powers in order to capture him and the Sword of Power.

“The Power Stealer” (9/20/94) – Zedd sends the Octophantom to capture the Rangers in a magic jar designed to steal their powers.

“The Beetle Invasion” (9/21/94) – The Broomball Tournament is interrupted by Zedd’s Stag Beetle.

“Welcome to Venus Island” (9/24/94) – Zedd captures Trini’s neighbor and uses her as ransom for the Green Ranger.

“The Song of Guitardo” (9/26/94) – Kimberly’s attempts at song-writing lead Zedd to create a music-based monster.

“Green No More, Part I” (9/27/94) – Zedd succeeds in capturing all the Rangers and stripping them of their powers.

“Green No More, Part II” (9/28/94) – The Turbanshell proves too strong for the Thunder Megazord and it ends up falling on Tommy to defeat it once and for all.

“Missing Green” (10/3/94) – Goldar captures Zack, Billy, Trini and Kimberly and threatens to remove their powers via magic candles as was done to Tommy.

“Orchestral Maneuvers in the Park” (10/4/94) – Zack lends his cousin a special horn for his concert, but Zedd has it stolen and uses it as the basis for his next monster.

“Beauty and the Beast” (10/10/94) – Zedd kidnaps Kimberly with the intentions of making her his new queen.

“White Light, Part I” (10/17/94) – News of Tommy’s return takes a back seat to the Scarlet Sentinel, which overpowers the Rangers.

“White Light, Part II” (10/18/94) – Zordon and Alpha turn Tommy into the White Ranger while the others prevent Bulk and Skull from freeing Rita.

“Two for One” (10/24/94) – Zedd turns Kimberly’s purse and lipstick into two new monsters while Bulk and Skull continue their quest to learn the Rangers’ identities.

“Opposites Attract” (10/25/94) – Billy’s crush on Kimberly’s friend is put on hold when Zedd turns his device into a new monster.

“Zedd’s Monster Mash” (10/28/94) – Zedd sends some putties to crash the Youth Center Halloween party and Goldar abducts Tommy while he takes kids trick-or-treating.

“The Ninja Encounter, Part I” (11/2/94) – The Rangers meet Rocky, Aisha and Adam at the ninja competition before Zedd decides to interfere.

“The Ninja Encounter, Part II” (11/3/94) – The Rangers’ new friends are in danger of being made evil while Zedd keeps the Rangers too busy to mount a rescue.

“The Ninja Encounter, Part III” (11/4/94) – The Rangers may have to expose their identities to their new friends in order to save the day.

“A Monster of Global Proportions” (11/5/94) – Zedd has Goldar and Putties kidnap the guests at the Angel Grove High world teen summit.

“Zedd Waves” (11/7/94) – Zedd turns Bulk’s latest Ranger-detecting device into a monster that can hypnotize anyone, including the Rangers.

“The Power Transfer, Part I” (11/8/94) – Jason, Trini and Zack are chosen to attend the World Teen Peace Summit and must acquire Zordon’s Sword of Light.

“The Power Transfer, Part II” (11/9/94) – Tommy uses the Sword of Light to give Rocky, Aisha and Adam their Ranger powers and the new team heads out to stop Zedd’s latest threat.

“Goldar’s Vice-Versa” (11/12/94) – Scorpina disguises herself as a new girl at school and attempts to lure Adam into a trap.

“Mirror of Regret” (11/14/94) – Adam must face his past without the help of the other Rangers.

“When is a Ranger Not a Ranger?’ (11/15/94) – Bulk and Skull discover the Rangers’ identities just as Zedd’s newest monster erases all their memories.

“Rocky Just Wants to Have Fun” (11/16/94) – Zedd casts a spell on Rocky leaving him addicted to the new Pachinko game at the Youth Center.

“Lights, Camera, Action” (11/17/94) – The Rangers’ message about education is interrupted when Zedd changes a camera into the Showbiz Monster.

“Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire” (11/21/94) – Aisha becomes Fire Safety Captain at the school, taking her role so seriously as to face off against Zedd’s newest threat alone.

“Scavenger Hunt” (11/22/94) – Bulk and Skull consult a fortune teller to learn the Rangers’ identities while Zedd interferes with the Rangers’ scavenger hunt.

“The Great Bookala Escape” (11/23/94) – Zedd plans to capture a space ship that crashed on Earth, whose pilot the Rangers have befriended.

“A Reel Fish Story” (11/29/94) – If the Rangers came come together to defeat a lake monster in time, they still have to deal with the Tube Monster attacking the city.

“Rangers Back in Time, part I” (2/4/95) – Zedd reverses time and turns the Rangers into kids, allowing them to be captured in a photograph by the Photomare monster.

“Rangers Back in Time, Part II” (2/11/95) – Bulk and Skull flee with the Rangers’ picture, which Alpha must acquire in order to free them and allow them to undo the spell.

“The Wedding, Part I” (2/13/95) – The Rangers head to Australia just as Rita becomes freed and has Finster make a potion to have Zedd fall in love with her.

“The Wedding, Part II” (2/14/95) – The Rangers face off against a legion of monsters sent by Alpha 5 while Zedd orders Goldar to plan his wedding to Rita.

“The Wedding, Part III” (2/15/95) – The newlyweds head to Earth to destroy the Rangers while Billy finally manages to fix Alpha, just leaving them with giant monsters to contend with.

“Return of the Green Ranger, Part I” (2/20/95) – Rita summons the Wizard of Deception to create an evil Green Ranger and lure the others into a trap that sends them back in time.

“Return of the Green Ranger, Part II” (2/21/95) – The Wizard steals the White Ranger’s powers and the Green Ranger sets the Dragonzord on Angel Grove.

“Return of the Green Ranger, Part III” (2/22/95) – Tommy learns the whereabouts of the Rangers and brings them back to deal with the Dragonzord while he goes after the Wizard.

“Best Man for the Job” (4/29/95) – Competition heats up as Tommy and Kimberly run for school office and Zedd and Rita compete to destroy the Rangers.

“Storybook Rangers, Part I” (5/1/95) – Rita traps the Rangers inside a book Tommy bought for Kimberly while Zedd tricks Bulk and Skull into getting a book that will make a new monster.

“Storybook Rangers, Part II” (5/2/95) – Aisha, Adam and Billy’s search for the book is interrupted by the monster Bulk and Skull helped Zedd create.

“Wild West Rangers, Part I” (5/8/95) – Kimberly ends up lost in time and the Rangers have to stop Goldar and his forces from using the time hole to destroy Angel Grove.

“Wild West Rangers, Part II” (5/9/95) – Kimberly travels to the Command Center of that era, and with the White Ranger and their ancestors they’re ready to fight.

“Blue Ranger Gone Bad” (5/20/95) – Rita turns an artistic version of Billy into an evil clone.

Season 3:

“A Friend in Need, Part I” (9/2/95) – The Rangers head to Edenol to stop an attack by Count Dregon.

“A Friend in Need, Part II” (9/9/95) – The Rangers team-up with the Masked Rider to save the planet, while a sick Kimberly defends Angel Grove.

“A Friend in Need, Part III” (9/9/95) – The Rangers save the planet and return in time to help Kimberly, but Count Dregon follows them to Earth.

“Ninja Quest, Part I” (9/11/95) – Rita’s brother Rito comes to Earth, and with the aid of Zedd’s monsters destroy the Thunder Megazord and Tigerzord.

“Ninja Quest, Part II” (9/12/95) – While traveling to find Ninjor, the Rangers are attacked by Zedd and his new Tenga Warriors.

“Ninja Quest, Part III” (9/13/95) – Ninjor gives the Rangers new Ninja Powers and Zords.

“Ninja Quest, Part IV” (9/14/95) – Rito’s monsters hatch and attack, but they’re all defeated by the combined might of Ninjor and the Ninja Megazord.

“A Brush with Destiny” (9/18/95) – Zedd brings Kimberly’s nightmare to life just as the Rangers lose their powers.

“Passing the Lantern” (9/19/95) – Adam is given a special lantern from his family that Zedd wants for the powers within.

“Wizard for a Day” (9/20/95) – Rito is put in charge of destroying the Rangers for the day, resulting in a teacher being transformed into a monster.

“Fourth Down and Long” (9/23/95) – Finster accidentally creates a monster that turns everyone but Rocky into a football.

“Stop the Hate Master, Part I” (9/25/95) – The Hate Master comes to Angel Grove and puts all the Rangers except Aisha under his spell.

“Stop the Hate Master, Part II” (9/26/95) – Aisha’s necklace proves the key to freeing the Rangers and defeating the Hate Master.

“Final Face-Off” (10/2/95) – Rita steals and unleashes a face-stealing monster that takes Aisha and Adam’s faces.

“The Potion Notion” (10/9/95) – Goldar plots to free Zedd from Rita’s love potion while a monster is sent to Angel Grove with a love potion of her own.

“I’m Dreaming of a White Ranger” (11/23/95) – The villains attempt to ruin Christmas by capturing Satna Claus.

“A Ranger Catastrophe, Part I” (10/16/95) – Aisha and Kimberly find a stray cat before having to protect the animal shelter from Rito.

“A Ranger Catastrophe, Part II” (10/17/95) – The cat is revealed to be new girl Katherine, who helps Rita trap Tommy in another dimension.

“Changing of the Zords, Part I” (10/31/95) – Rita has Katherine steal Kimberly’s Power Coin and the Falcon Zord, which leads to the capture of Ninjor.

“Changing of the Zords, Part II” (11/1/95) – Katherine lures Kimberly into a trap and Zedd forces the Rangers to pilot his new evil Zords lest she be destroyed.

“Changing of the Zords, Part III” (11/2/95) – Tommy rescues Kimberly and Billy finds a way to override the evil Shogun Zords and stop Zedd’s monster.

“Follow that Cab!” (11/4/95) – Bulk, Skull and Kimberly team-up to pursue a thief, which Zedd uses as a basis for his next plot.

“A Different Shade of Pink, Part I” (11/6/95) – Kimberly is offered the chance to participate in the Pan Globals, but training and fighting without her Power Coin have left her weak.

“A Different Shade of Pink, Part II” (11/7/95) – Katherine frees herself from Rita’s spell and confesses to Kimberly, and Rita demands Katherine in exchange for Ninjor’s life.

“A Different Shade of Pink, Part III” (11/8/95) – Katherine retrieves Kimberly’s coin and returns it to her, and Kimberly decides to leave transferring her powers to Katherine.

“Rita’s Pita” (11/11/95) – Rita sends the Ravenator to go inside Tommy and make him want nothing but junk food.

“Another Brick in the Wall” (11/13/95) – Rita decides to get revenge on Katherine by targeting the abandoned lot she wants to turn into a homeless shelter.

“A Chimp in Charge” (11/18/95) – A monkey Katherine and Aisha work with is transformed into a monster by Rita and Zedd.

“Master Vile and the Metallic Armor, Part I” (11/20/95) – Master Vile comes to the moon and announces his desire for the Zeo Crystals.

“Master Vile and the Metallic Armor, Part II” (11/21/95) – Katherine distracts Zedd and Rita allowing Tommy time to search for the Zeo Crystal and the Falcon Zord.

“Master Vile and the Metallic Armor, Part III” (11/22/95) – The Rangers travel to another dimension to retrieve their Zords where Vile banished them.

“The Sound of Dischordia” (11/25/95) – Vile sends his old ally Dischordia to deal with the Rangers.

“Rangers in Reverse” (11/27/95) – Rito obtains the Orb of Doom and uses it to turn everyone on Earth into children, cutting the Rangers off from their powers in the process.

Movie:

“The Movie” (6/10/95) – Ivan Ooze is freed and attacks the source of the Rangers’ powers, forcing them to find a new way to transform and defeat the unholy union of Ivan, Rita and Zedd.

Originally posted in 2016. Updated in 2023.

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November 19, 2016

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS

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