Category: Power Rangers

Posted in Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Unexpected Guest” Review

Posted on by Rob Siebert

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E8 – “Unexpected Guest”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez
GUEST-STARRING: Kelson Henderson
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Maiya Thompson
DIRECTOR: Michael Hurst
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: April 17, 2021
SYNOPSIS: The Rangers get some unexpected aid from Mick, who has followed the Nexus Prism back to Earth.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive!

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Nice high-energy start to the episode as we see the end of a Megazord battle. We see the Megazord fail after taking Wolfgang’s energy blasts. Not sure if I’ve ever seen a Megazord crumble like that before. It crumpled like it was made of Legos.

Moments after the battle we get the return of Mick from Power Rangers Ninja Steel. Not sure why they opted to have Kelson Henderson return as the character, but I certainly won’t complain. It’s always good to see him.

Zayto was kind of a jerk to Mick. The Rangers had no time to help him? At all? I mean, granted their Megazord had just fallen apart. But he is a visitor from another world. Couldn’t they have given him an I.O.U.?

Ah yes, a cake gag. Straight out of the Bulk and Skull playbook.

So Mick has a handheld database with info on all the other Ranger teams. That’s how he fills the Dino Fury team in on the Nexus Prism. Seems like it’d be kinda catastrophic if that thing were to fall into the wrong hands.

Not that I’m pitching a fanfic or anything…

Good use of footage from past seasons during the Morphing Masters sequence. That’s the kind of thing that seems really small and obvious. That’s the kind of thing that seems so small and obvious. But it does a lot in terms of reminding us these seasons don’t take place in a vacuum.

The Morphing Masters are always watching, huh? That seems like the kind of thing we’d want to stash in our memory for later this season.

Unlike last week, Boomtower did bite the dust this time. How much you wanna bet Void Knight’s new “general” shows up in the very next episode? Hardly a guarantee. But possible.

We see Void Knight has a woman he calls “my love” in stasis in a secret chamber. Looks like our villain has a Mr. Freeze complex…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Posted in Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “A Friend Indeed” Review

Posted on by Rob Siebert

*** You know what I am? A multi-tasker. That’s why, as Power Rangers Dino Fury is in full swing, I’ll also be looking back at Power Rangers Beast Morphers. Why? Because I can!!!***

SERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
TITLE: S26:E7 – “A Friend Indeed”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Emmett Skilton (voice)
WRITERS: Chip Lynn
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: April 20, 2019
SYNOPSIS: The Rangers take their Beast Bots for granted. Evox’s forces, however, do not.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

We see Ravi attempting to spar with his Beast Bot, a big blue mechanical gorilla. Later in the episode we’ll see Zoey talking to a yellow mechanical bunny. I can’t help but wonder what that’s like for these young actors, and what they were thinking during some of these early episodes…

These Rangers are obnoxiously ungrateful, considering they essentially have friggin’ robot butlers. Though I guess that’s the idea, isn’t it?

We continue to foreshadow the idea of Nate having wanting a brother. It won’t be too long before that comes to fruition…

Emmett Skilton, the voice of Jax, is the low key MVP in this episode. He had to maintain that cartoony New York accent while also doing some serious emoting, particularly late in the episode when Jax gets his “feelings” hurt. Now that’s a voice actor, ladies and gentlemen.

Toward the end of the episode, Devon, Zoey, and Ravi wind up throwing a party for the Beast Bots. Remember the scene during the first act of Star Wars, when C-3PO gets an oil bath? That’s what I imagine an actual robot party would be like.

That, and maybe a table full of spare parts.

I was surprised to see this episode end on something of a cliffhanger, as Scrozzle tells Blaze and Roxy he’s working on a “cybergate” to move Evox out of the Cyber Dimension.

So let me make sure I understand this…the Cyber Dimension is a place where beings can assume “digital” forms, while also being able to exist outside the dimension in physical form. Evox, however, is too powerful to be transported to Earth without a certain amount of Morph X. Thus, the need to steal it.

So wait, do Blaze and Roxy’s avatars use a certain amount of Morph X every time they transport in and out of the Cyber Dimension? If so, you’d think Evox would want them coming and going as little as possible, thus conserving what Morph X they have. Maybe they’re already doing that? I’unno. Maybe this is one of those things it’s best not to apply too much logic to…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Posted in Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Stego Search” Review

Posted on by Rob Siebert

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E7 – “Stego Search”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Guy Langford
DIRECTOR: Michael Hurst
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: April 10, 2021
SYNOPSIS: As the Rangers search for the Stego Spike Zord, Javi struggles with a lack of acceptance from his father.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

The very first line in the episode is, “What’s the haps, Solon?” Is that really a thing kids say? I thought it was just Sam Roberts.

Random: Chance Perez’s hair has impressive volume. Maybe I just appreciate it because I’m a bald guy.

Izzy: “I feel like I’ve been massaged by a truck.” How very specific. Izzy continues to get the best lines.

Solon finds a “viral video” of Javi’s dad taking his new keytar away from him. What’s the title of that video, I wonder? “Keytar Kid’s Dad Acts Like a Dick,” maybe?

So when Javi plays music it amplifies his “Ranger energy,” prompting a response from the dormant zord they’re looking for. Fair enough. By Power Rangers logic, at least. If the Dragonzord could be summoned by playing a flute, why not a Stegosaurus?

Hunter Deno’s facial expressions were strong in this episode. Very good kids show acting.

I thought Boomtower was a goner. But the big guy lives to fight another day.

I was happy they didn’t quickly resolve the issue between Javi and his dad. There’s enough meat on the bone there to make that season-long story arc between the two of them.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Posted in Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Hangar Heist” Review

Posted on by Rob Siebert

** You know what I am? A multi-tasker. That’s why, as Power Rangers Dino Fury is in full swing, I’ll also be looking back at Power Rangers Beast Morphers. Why? Because I can!!!***

SERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
TITLE: S26:E6 – “Hangar Heist”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Liana Ramirez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Riccardo Pellizzeri
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: April 13, 2019
SYNOPSIS: Devon has trouble trusting Ravi, as Evox’s forces infiltrate Grid Battleforce.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Hold the phone! We’re terrified of the villains stealing Morph X, but Nate just lets Devon borrow some to inject into model rockets? Now that can’t be regulation…

When Ravi ignites his toy rocket, he says, “NASADA, here I come!” That’s a nice late ’90s/early 2000s PR reference if there ever was one.

If they were going to do a “Devon doesn’t trust Ravi” episode, they might have made it the third or fourth episode. Six episodes in, it doesn’t necessarily feel natural to have Devon not trust Ravi. Actually, shouldn’t Ravi be the one with trust issues? He’s the one who’s trained to be a Ranger, and the other two haven’t.

I like the idea of the Rangers capturing a gigadrone, one of the giant machines that the zords fight, for study and analysis. That’s the kind of thing that isn’t done often, if ever. Having a subsequent fight over the drone inside the Grid Battleforce hangar was cool too.

Pretty convenient that Meltadrone (shown right in the accompanying image) looks exactly like the gigadrone Devon and the others were fighting in the simulation earlier. Just sayin’.

The Beast-X Megazord (shown above) looks…decent. I maintain that modern Megazords all look too busy. They’re not nearly as sleek and cool as they used to be. But by modern standards, this one is alright. Strictly okay.

It’s nice that Ben and Betty are friends with the Rangers. It’s a nice shift from the antagonistic relationship the team often has with the resident comedy duos, dating back to Bulk and Skull. Victor and Monty from Ninja Steel come to mind as well.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Posted in Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Superstition Strikes” Review

Posted on by Rob Siebert

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E6 – “Superstition Strikes”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Maiya Thompson
DIRECTOR: Michael Hurst
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: April 3, 2021
SYNOPSIS: After walking under a ladder, Amelia believes herself cursed with bad luck.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Amelia walks under a ladder and thinking she’s got bad luck is pretty hokey. But I’ll say this much: It’s consistent with what’s been established about her character. Remember, she believed in fortune tellers too.

Mucus: “You just fell for a classic bit of Mucus misdirection!” If “mucus misdirection” isn’t the name of a medical condition, it absolutely should be. Get on it, doctors!

I loved the squish sound effect when the monster smacked Mucus on the head. Small details like that make all the difference sometimes.

Solon, the team’s resident cyborg dinosaur, is actually voiced by Josephine Davison, who played Morgana back in S.P.D. She also voiced Itassis in Mystic Force. Her performance here has a motherly quality to it that fits the character really well. Even if you don’t expect it to come from a dinosaur.

On the subject of S.P.D., that’s the last season I remember the music being this catchy. And that was more than 15 years ago. Hat tip to Bert Selen.

So Amelia gets her friggin’ morpher stolen?!? Thus, Boomtower gets into Dinohenge? Really bad rookie mistake, kid…

It’s extremely difficult to say “Boomtower” and not “Boomhauer.” And I’m not even that big a King of the Hill fan.

Nice, hard-hitting zord fight. Plus, there’s something oddly satisfying about watching the Megazord smash a monster with a giant hammer. “Mega Hammer Slam” indeed.

Izzy seriously says, “Okay boomer.” They continue to give her the best lines in the show.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Posted in Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Taking Care of Business” Review

Posted on by Rob Siebert

** You know what I am? A multi-tasker. That’s why, as Power Rangers Dino Fury is in full swing, I’ll also be looking back at Power Rangers Beast Morphers. Why? Because I can!!!***

SERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
TITLE: S26:E5 – “Taking Care of Business”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Colby Strong
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: April 6, 2019
SYNOPSIS: To impress his father, Devon tries to balance a job at a car wash with his Ranger duties.

It gives me a surprising amount of joy that there’s someone in the Power Rangers universe named “Sudsey.” And of course, he runs a car wash. It was either that or soap mascot. What’s more, with those blue coveralls and red shirt, Devon apparently gets to dress like Super Mario when he’s working there.

Ben and Betty give Nate the idea to use discarded Robotron and Gigadrone parts to look for new tech they can use. So wait…you’re telling me Grid Battleforce, a military organization, doesn’t have some kind of clean-up crew? They just leave crap laying around the city? Yeesh. These guys are new to this Power Ranger stuff. How rude!

At about the 7:30 mark, Zoey does a cartwheel to avoid getting hit by Slicertron’s projectiles. The Power Rangers universe is the only place you should ever see someone do a cartwheel during a fight. I’ve never seen Connor McGregor bust one out in the octagon. That’s all I’m sayin’.

I don’t remember the show being quite so pun-filled when I was a kid. Or even as I got older. Yes, the show has always had cheesy puns. But at one point during “Taking Care of Business,” it felt like every other line out of Blaze or Slicertron’s mouth was a slicing or cutting pun. And it’s almost always the bad guys. Apparently puns are evil. Who knew?

So the big plot hole in this episode is the question of why Devon doesn’t just tell his dad he’s a Ranger. Naturally, that would alleviate the whole conflict of him trying to impress his dad by holding this job while still serving as the Red Ranger. Honestly? That didn’t bother me as much as, in hindsight, you’d think it would. Superheroes have secret identities, and it’s a kids show. That’s all the explanation I need.

Plus, if you want to get technical about it, the real plot hole is why Grid Battleforce makes the Rangers keep their identities a secret in the first place…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Posted in Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Winning Attitude” Review

Posted on by Rob Siebert

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E5 – “Winning Attitude”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Chris Graham
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: March 27, 2021
SYNOPSIS: Izzy gets an all-important lesson in sportsmanship from her coach.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

After last week’s episode Hunter Deno, who plays Amelia, tweeted the following…

In terms of her central point, she’s not wrong. This is a very diverse cast, which of course is great for kids to see. I’m really hopeful that we’ll see a Ranger of Muslim descent sooner rather than later. Much like Ravi on Beast Morphers being the first Ranger of Indian descent, the fact that it’s taken so long to have a Muslim Ranger is something of an indictment of a show that’s got diversity built into its DNA.

Also, since last week’s episode the phrase “Cool Cool Coolio!” has been randomly popping up in my head. I imagine I’m not the only one with that issue.

Jane: “A Sporix! In my pants!” There’s a joke there, which you’re definitely not allowed to make on a kids show. Kira Josephson continues to make me smile with her performances.

So the Rangers just teleport in to face Mucus and the monsters without any attempt at subterfuge. I imagine this is one of those times we’re just supposed to assume no one saw them, right? Civilians on this show can have very convenient selective sight at times…

In Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger, the Japanese Super Sentai series Dino Fury is based on, the heroes are knights from the “Ryusoul Tribe.” Ergo, much of what we see on this show has a vaguely medieval look to it. I took particular notice of it with the Hengemen as they teleported into the playground battle sequence.

Those cracks about the monster having kids were funny. This was a good episode for hokey Power Rangers comedy.

Void Knight and the rest of the villains continue to be based out of “Area 62.” I continue to wonder why the number 62. Did they just uptick both the digits in Area 51?

It was, of course, very cool of them to cast Sarah Dalton, a Special Olympics athlete, to play Izzy’s coach Lily. I’m finding that as a parent, I appreciate those kind of choices much more than I used to. Kudos for setting a good example, Dino Fury.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Posted in Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Digital Deception” Review

Posted on by Rob Siebert

** You know what I am? A multi-tasker. That’s why, as Power Rangers Dino Fury is in full swing, I’ll also be looking back at Power Rangers Beast Morphers. Why? Because I can!!!***

SERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
TITLE: S26:E4 – “Digital Deception”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Liana Ramirez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Denise Downer
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: March 30, 2019
SYNOPSIS: Roxy’s avatar plays head games with Ravi on Valentine’s Day.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Ben and Betty’s reaction to the bee might seem like hokey, exaggerated comedy. It’s not. That is how certain people genuinely react to bees. I’ve seen people literally rocket across the room. People who aren’t allergic, mind you. I’ll never understand.

It sure was nice of them to put full make-up, most noticeably lipstick, on Roxy while she was in hyper sleep. Grid Battleforce does it all!

“Here goes nothing but evil.” I like that line a lot. That’s a good Power Rangers line.

“Careful, I have the high ground.” Devon says that to the Tronics during the unmorphed fight. Amazing that even in the Power Rangers universe, the prequels were bad movies.

Liana Ramirez (shown right), who plays Roxy, is probably the most natural actor on the show. Her facial expressions are strong, and she has good delivery.

I reject the premise that Shoveltron, that big clanky monster, snuck up on Ravi. He’s obviously blinded by love. But was he deafened by love too?

There’s a great shot in this episode of the Red Ranger riding down the road on his motorcycle as the Racer Zord comes up behind him. Great camera work.

Toward the end of the episode, Zoey gets the yellow bouquet of flowers we briefly saw Nate pick out earlier. See, if he’d been paying attention, he’d have gotten her a bunch of carrots. That chick loves her some carrots.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Posted in Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “New Recruits” Review

Posted on by Rob Siebert

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E4 – “New Recruits”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Chris Graham
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: March 20, 2021
SYNOPSIS: The Rangers get some unexpected aid from two new allies.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Obviously we get two new Rangers in this episode, Izzy and Javier. As tends to happen on this show, the status quo shifts rather rapidly. New Rangers, new zords, etc. I was hoping we’d get a little more time to settle in with our three-person team. But so it goes.

Zayto: “Are you sure I should interview for this job? I really only have experience fighting monsters.” Something tells me that’s a problem a lot of Rangers have faced when transitioning into the world of 9-5 jobs…

So Izzy and Javier’s stepfather is the park warden, played by Blair Strang. Once again, I’m noticing we’re starting to become acquainted with the Rangers’ parents more and more. We know Ollie’s mom, and now we know Izzy and Javier’s stepfather. What are the odds we meet one of Amelia’s parents at some point?

Mucus: “It’s morphin’ slime!” Why yes. Yes, it certainly is.

The chorus portion of the music during Izzy and Javier’s first morph was a nice touch. Added a nice epic feel to things.

I saw that more than a few people online loved the moment when the newly morphed Izzy ripped off the skirt and said, “Skirts aren’t really my thing.” It was, in fact, a great moment. I likely wasn’t the only one puzzled when the Green Ranger showed up wearing a skirt to begin with, as the corresponding character in the Sentai series didn’t have one.

Izzy: “Big scary monster ran away. You love to see it.” Izzy, played by Tessa Rao, may wind up being my favorite among the Dino Fury Rangers, for no other reason than they seem to be giving her all the best lines.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Posted in Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “End of the Road” Review

Posted on by Rob Siebert

*** You know what I am? A multi-tasker. That’s why, as Power Rangers Dino Fury is in full swing, I’ll also be looking back at Power Rangers Beast Morphers. Why? Because I can!!!***

SERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S26:E3. “End of the Road”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Colby Strong
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Patrick Rieger
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: March 16, 2019
SYNOPSIS: As Zoey tries to promote Morph-X-powered bicycles to save a forest, Blaze plans to steal the Morph X.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

I understand that kids shows often require dramatic actions that spell things out for developing young minds. But Zoey jumping in front of a bulldozer to save a tiny lizard…I mean, really? You sure about that? It’s noble, I’ll give her that. But it’s a little too much for my tastes.

Apparently, people in Coral Harbor are only impressed by bicycles powered by the Power Rangers’ Morphing Grid if they have two seats. Not just one. Apparently, the people in Coral Harbor are very stupid.

You can call the monsters on this show silly, but I’d be damn scared of Needletron (shown below). You never know what those needles have touched.

I don’t want to like that conversation Nate has with Zoey where he talks about not having much of a family, wanting a brother, etc. I’m still not warmed up to the Nate character. But I have to admit, they took an opportunity to develop his character and ran with it. It works.

I’m fairly certain this episode gives us the first “Rangers on bikes” sequence in the show’s history. The Beast Morphers suits made them look like BMX cyclists. Very well done.

Were those “banana rockets” the gorilla zord shot at Needletron? And did Needletron subsequently slip on a giant banana peel? You know what? Sure. Why the heck not?

“Virus eliminated” is a pretty cool post-battle phrase. Concise and to the point.

It’s interesting to me that we now know a parent of each Ranger. Devon’s dad is the mayor, Zoey’s mom is a TV reporter, and of course Ravi’s mom is Commander Shaw. If they was ever a time to do another “villain kidnaps the team’s parents” story, it’d be now.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.