By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

So yesterday, like a perfectly normal 33-year-old man, I geeked out over a photo from a children’s show.

But not just any children’s show. The Power Rangers 25th anniversary episode, which is set to air August 28 on Nickelodeon. In prime time, no less.

As you can likely tell, I’m an un-closeted, unabashed PR geek. As such, I can tell you history dictates that an anniversary show usually means appearances from past Rangers. With this big anniversary approaching, we were all expecting an episode with some familiar faces. We just weren’t entirely sure who we’d see. This week, we got our first official confirmations with this photo from IGN…

For the uninitiated, these are (left to right) Catherine Sutherland, Jason Faunt, and Jason David Frank, reprising their roles as Katherine, Wes, and Tommy. All three are regulars on the convention circuit nowadays, so it’s not necessarily a huge shock to see them. But while JDF and Jason Faunt both appeared on the show’s 20th anniversary episode, this will be Sutherland’s first on-screen appearance for PR since 1997. So it’s obviously quite special to see her with a morpher on again.

Oddly enough, some fans have balked at Kat using the Turbo powers, as opposed to the Zeo powers. The argument being that while she eventually passed her Turbo powers on to someone else, she was the one and only Pink Zeo Ranger. While I admit that given the choice I’d have her use the Zeo powers, I’m not going to nitpick it. I’m just happy to have her back.

Look closely, and you’ll see Tommy is using the Green Ranger power coin. So he’ll be the Green Ranger again, as he was when we last saw him. It makes sense, as the Green Ranger has more nostalgic value than almost anything else in the series. But I’ve actually got a soft spot for Tommy as the White Ranger. I almost wish they’d swerve us and go that way.

As for who else we’ll see on the show, there’s a list of names out there of PR actors spotted in New Zealand (where the show is filmed) during production. But again, nothing is confirmed. The only unannounced name that I think is pretty obvious is Ciara Hanna, who played Gia in Power Rangers Mega Force. She recently did some business with the show alongside JDF. So I don’t think it’s much of a stretch.

Either way, here’s hoping this show is as special as we’re all hoping it will be. After enduring for 25 years, the series deserves at least that much.

Email Rob at PrimaryIgnition@yahoo.com, or follow Primary Ignition on Twitter.