Power Rangers – Primary Ignition

Power Rangers Beast Morphers – “Tuba Triumph” Review

Posted on 07/31/202107/25/2021 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:E13 – “Tuba Triumph”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Liana Ramierez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Riccardo Pellizzeri
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: October 12, 2019
SYNOPSIS: Ravi comes to the aid of a young man being bullied.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

It was cool to see Roxy in a little unmorphed fight sequence. It gives Liana Ramirez a nice chance to get physical.

By Power Rangers kid actor standards, Lukas Maher does awesome as Joey. And the whole “only use martial arts to defend yourself” thing harkens back to the early days of the show.

That opening title sequence tends to come late, doesn’t it? This time, it didn’t come until we were seven minutes deep.

So as Ravi is fixing up his grandpa’s old tuba to give to Joey, Commander Shaw, Ravi’s mother, tells him a Power Ranger can’t afford to have “silly distractions.” Thus, we have the reason that Ravi hides his artistic talents from everyone. I was surprised we didn’t get some kind of resolution between mother and son in this episode. Hopefully that’s coming in a future episode.

So Nate recalibrates the robotron sensors to pick up “tuba sounds” as they search for Tubatron. As in plain ol’ regular tuba sounds apparently, as Joey is able to trip the alarm by playing his instrument. Seems like a pretty silly oversight to me. Especially when Steel says moments later that Tubatron’s blasts are much bigger.

Then again, Joey is subsequently able to counter said blast with a big note from his tuba (shown above). Talk about mixed messages…

As someone who now has two kids, I’ve got mixed feelings about Joey using martial arts to intimidate the bullies at the end of the episode. Yes, I know the bullies started the issue. And yes, I recognize that Joey didn’t actually hurt anybody. And once again yes, I know that’s the sort of thing the Mighty Morphin Rangers did all the time.

But the bullies weren’t trying to physically hurt anyone. And if you introduce something like a big karate kick into a situation, aren’t you escalating it, and opening the door for the bullies to retaliate with more violence?

Not to blow the moment out of proportion, but it does make me wonder if Power Rangers consults with any sort of child psychologists when concocting these moral lessons.

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

Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Beast Morphers – “Real Steel” Review

Posted on 07/24/202107/24/2021 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:E12 – “Real Steel”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Colby Strong
WRITER: Chip Lynn
DIRECTOR: Riccardo Pellizzeri
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: October 5, 2019
SYNOPSIS: A rift forms between Nate and Steel. Meanwhile, a cloner robotron infiltrates Grid Battleforce.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

It’s interesting to me that the physical manifestation of Morph X is bright green slime. Then again, it’s Nickelodeon. Maybe that’s to be expected.

Incidentally, Real Steel is an overachiever of a movie. It’s pretty tough to go wrong with Hugh Jackman.

I enjoyed the dynamic between Nate and Zoey in this episode. She acts as the voice of reason when his emotions and his inexperience get the better of him. It’s nice groundwork for the more romantic stuff that’s obviously coming.

We keep seeing that same female technician (shown above). In this episode she has the line about there being an intruder in Nate’s lab. It’s not a bad thing, I’m just finding myself wishing that we knew more about her. Or at least her name. All I know about her at this point is that she’s played by Amber-Rose Henshall.

After 12 episodes, I still find the Nate character a little annoying. But it has nothing to do with Abraham Rodriguez. From an acting standpoint, I think he’s actually quite good. Particularly by kids show standards. When he’s playing the clone monster, he has to pun “I copy that” to Colby Strong (Blaze). Not an easy line to motivate without coming off hokey. But he did it.

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

Comic Books/Graphic Novels, Micro-Reviews, Power Rangers

A Mighty Morphin #9 Micro-Review – Lord Zedd and a Larger Universe

Posted on 07/21/202107/21/2021 by Rob Siebert

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

TITLE: Mighty Morphin #9
AUTHOR: Ryan Parrott
ARTISTS: Marco Renna, Walter Baiamonte (Colorist), Katia Ranalli & Sara Antonelini (Color Assistants), Ed Dukeshure (Letterer). Cover by InHyuk Lee.
RELEASED: July 14, 2021

Epic Lord Zedd cover by InHyuk Lee. And this issue has a nice little scene with Zedd as an interrogator to go a long with it.

Parrott continues to be very good at fleshing out elements of Power Rangers mythology. Who and what the Eltarians really are, why the moon base says “Bandora’s Palace” outside, some of the backstory behind the Zeo Crystal, etc. It’s much appreciated, as it gives these MMPR books a much larger feel.

There’s a really intriguing subplot here involving tension between Zordon and Billy. Very curious to see how it’s resolved.

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

Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers: Beast Morphers – “Tools of the Betrayed” Review

Posted on 07/17/202107/14/2021 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:E11 – “Tools of the Betrayed”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Liana Ramirez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: September 28, 2019
SYNOPSIS: A white lie tests Devon’s trust in Zoey.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Coming off “Thrills and Drills,” Beast Morphers feels a little heavy on what I’ll call the “after school special” element lately. That kind of thing has always been a part of Power Rangers. But there’s something to be said for moderation and pacing.

As the episode opens, we see Devon coaching Ravi and Zoey in a blindfolded training session. From a writing standpoint, I get why Devon is coaching. He’s the Red Ranger, the leader, etc. But given his experience level compared to the others, shouldn’t Ravi be the one coaching?

If you ask me, Devon got what he deserved. He trusted his video game to Ben and Betty, the most accident prone people he knows. What did he think was going to happen?

Tooltron, the monster that can disassemble devices on command, threatening to use his power to take Steel apart was a nice touch.

New zord configuration, the Striker Megazord. (shown at top). Looks cool. But as always, modern zords lack a certain punch.

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

Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Thrills and Drills” Review

Posted on 07/03/202106/20/2021 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:E10 – “Thrills and Drills”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Liana Ramirez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: September 21, 2019
SYNOPSIS: Ravi must face his fear of the dentist in order to defeat Roxy’s latest robotron.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

We see Steel working out with the Rangers at Riptide Gym. Has Morph-X made advanced tech so common in Coral Harbor that they can just do that without anyone batting an eye? Seems strange to me.

Along those same lines, Roxy is able to quietly steal a drill from a city worker. You’d think she’d attract attention walking around dressed like that.

The whole dentist/drill premise is something of a groaner. But when you really start to think about that drill…*shudders*…you realize it might not be so silly after all.

I know it’s kids show acting, but I love how Ravi is clutching the side of his helmet to indicate he has a toothache. That’s kinda like holding your hat when you have a headache, isn’t it?

Nate: “I won’t really panic unless I see something with eight legs.” Steel: “Don’t you worry, brother, there’s no octopuses here.” I actually laughed at that. Good line.

These Beast Morphers zords are starting to grow on me. Granted, they still don’t have as much personality as the older, pre-CGI zords did. But I’m warming up to them.

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

Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Silver Sacrifice” Review

Posted on 06/26/202106/19/2021 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:E9 – “Silver Sacrifice”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Riccardo Pellizzeri
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: September 14, 2019
SYNOPSIS: Evox’s forces want Steel’s robot body to house the villainous virus. But Nate isn’t willing to give up his new brother so easily.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Early in the episode, Nate and Steel go jogging. Because that’s apparently what you do when you’re a Power Ranger and have a robot buddy. It’s only two brief shots. But what I love is that toward the end of the second one, right before the cut, we see another jogger come into the frame. If you watch him, you’ll notice he turns his head back to look at Nate and Steel. I absolutely love the notion that this man went out for a jog one day and just happened to pass a boy and his robot doing the same thing.

In the previous episode, one of the other Rangers flat out said Nate “isn’t a fighter.” And yet in this episode, he’s throwing spin kicks. That must be one hell of a training program they’ve got at Grid Battleforce.

Nate, Steel, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Silver Sacrifice

Personally, I’d have borrowed from what they did with Billy way back in season one of MMPR. Have Nate bumble his way through unmorphed fights, and gradually build up his martial arts expertise.

The Rangers are all sneaky when they approach the warehouse where they’re keeping the Cybergate. But when General Burke and the Grid Battleforce troops arrive, they pull up in a pair of SUVs wearing full gear. So much for subterfuge. And low and behold, Ben and Betty get captured. Why were they brought along anyway? This guy seems like he sucks at his job…

Incidentally, General Burke is played by Mark Wright, a voice actor whose work on the series goes as far back as Ninja Storm in 2003. Beast Morphers marks his first major live action role on the show.

Steel: “You haven’t seen power until you’ve seen the power of family.” Awww, that was a nice line. Hokey, but nice.

LOVED the shots of the Red Ranger fighting off the Tronics in the water. Any time they can take advantage of their environment for the fighting aesthetic, it’s a win in my book.

As the Rangers are having to duck and dodge massive shots from the giant-sized Antennatron, they get a message from Commander Shaw: “Rangers, looks like you’ve got big trouble!”

If there was ever a time on this show for a snarky comeback, it was right there.

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

Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “The Cybergate Opens” Review

Posted on 06/19/202106/18/2021 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:E8 – “The Cybergate Opens”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Cosme Flores
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Riccardo Pellizzeri
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: April 27, 2019
SYNOPSIS: Scrozzle builds a cybergate through which to transport Evox from the Cyber Dimension. Later, a new Ranger unexpectedly joins the team.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Nate says “phenomenal” twice in this episode. I know it’s the old school fan in me, but that seems like an obvious missed opportunity to have him say “Morphenominal.”

The CGI used for Evox is hardly state of the art. But it was pretty cool to see him slither through the cybergate.

Hold on a minute…Nate is able to teleport a weapon in from Grid Battleforce using his wrist communicator. But it was supposed to have been damaged when he was captured! What gives?

Using praying mantis DNA and the technology from the Cybergate, Nate transforms himself into the Gold Ranger. Beast Morphers is pretty liberal with its use of the term “beast.” As he’s using praying mantis DNA, Nate is more of a Bug Morpher than a Beast Morpher, isn’t he?

I can’t say I’m a big fan of this Gold Ranger costume and its dark mustard coloring. But I’ll say this much: It looks suitably insect-like.

The robotic body Nate created comes online and morphs into Steel, the Silver Ranger. The best thing I can say about Steel at this early juncture is that I appreciate the voice performance by Jamie Linehan. Delightfully corny.

Steel’s genetic make-up is comprised of scarab beetle DNA (another bug…), along with Nate’s DNA. And so, all the talk we’ve heard this season about Nate wanting a brother gets paid off early. Nicely done.

Devon, Ravi, and Zoey get their butts handed to them by Vacuutron, a monster based off a vacuum cleaner. That’s…embarrassing.

Incidentally, Vacuutron is voiced by Cosme Flores, who also plays Ben.

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

Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “McScary Manor” Review

Posted on 06/18/202106/18/2021 by Rob Siebert

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E11 – “McScary Manor”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Charlie Haskell
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: June 15, 2021
SYNOPSIS: Amelia goes hunting for ghosts, but finds Void Knight’s latest monster instead.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Amelia’s Pop-Pop: “I worked at Area 62 – saw all kinds of crazy stuff.” File that away in the back of your mind. Something tells me that little detail will come back to haunt us…no pun intended.

“McScary Manor,” the episode’s title, sounds like a place you’d find Ronald McDonald around Halloween. Like in one of those commercials with the Hamburglar, Grimace, etc.

Amelia’s fascination with the ghosts and the paranormal has been a nice, consistent character trait. The characterization on Dino Fury has been pretty good, thus far. Everybody seems to have their ground to cover.

Nice little fight sequence with Tombtress and Amelia. Having her hands restrained made for a nice twist.

Javi: “I just love how good at posing we are!” Dino Fury is pretty good at self-referential humor. Not quite as good as R.P.M. was, but still pretty good.

When the Rangers are at BuzzBlast, Zayto is discreet when he tells the others there’s been no sign of Tombtress. I appreciate that, as it seems like one of the few times the Rangers have actually tried to protect their secret identities in this series…

So now we know that not only does Amelia live with Pop-Pop, but her parents were lost in some “pretty mysterious circumstances” when she was a baby. Yet another detail to file away.

I knew Tombtress sounded familiar. She’s voiced by Kira Josephson, the actress who plays Jane.

Always keep an eye on those end credits. You never know whose name is going to pop up. Case in point: Jason Smith, who played the Red Ranger in Power Rangers Jungle Fury, voiced a monster earlier in the season.

This was a good episode, particularly for Amelia. Not only did we get some great character stuff, but she got to pilot the Megazord and lead the team in saving the day.

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

Power Rangers, Television

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Phoning Home” Review

Posted on 06/17/202106/15/2021 by Rob Siebert

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E10 – “Phoning Home”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Guy Langford, Maiya Thompson
DIRECTOR: Charlie Haskell
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: June 15, 2021
SYNOPSIS: Void Knight’s new general impersonates someone from Zayto’s home planet.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Void Knight: “Who cares about colors? We’re not Power Rangers!” That feels like something a non-Power–Rangers fan must have said to one of the writers at some point.

Slyther, Void Knight’s new general, is really charming. His tendency to call his own moves during a fight is a fun quirk, and the vocal performance by Campbell Cooley is delightfully cheesy.

We see via flashback that dogs on Zayto’s homeworld also have those flesh-colored antennae. That should really count as animal abuse. Give the dog some dignity, will ya?

Amelia gets a communication from Zayto about training…right in front of the camera crew. Wish they’d cleared out the extras for that shot.

Nice to see the Rangers training. Small complaint: I wish they could have been in some sort of active wear, as opposed to their standard civilian garb.

There’s a nice little reference to Levi Weston, the Gold Ninja Steel Ranger, in this episode. Little details like that are awesome.

I didn’t know Solon could fight. Certainly not the most fluid movements I’ve ever seen. But still, that’s kinda cool.

Wait…the Rangers don’t know how to summon their zords without Solon’s help? I’m gonna let that slide because we’re still early in the series. But c’mon now, guys…

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

Power Rangers, Toys

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Cut Off” Review

Posted on 06/16/202106/15/2021 by Rob Siebert

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E9 – “Cut Off”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Guy Langford, Maiya Thompson
DIRECTOR: Charlie Haskell
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: June 15, 2021
SYNOPSIS: Ollie takes too much technology on a camping trip. Then, Void Knight cuts the Rangers off from their tech.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Episodes 9, 10, and 11 of Dino Fury are the first episodes of Power Rangers to premiere on Netflix, along with the eight episodes that had already aired on Nickelodeon. I’m curious as to why those last three episodes hadn’t aired beforehand. Still, it makes for a nice little mini-binge.

What’s more, apparently season two of Dino Fury will be exclusive to Netflix. As someone who’s been having a lot of fun following the series on a week-by-week basis again, I’ve got mixed feelings about that. But you certainly can’t argue with the distribution Netflix has. And if it turns out to be good for the show overall, then I can’t complain. It may just take some getting used to.

When the Rangers realize they’re cut off from their tech, Amelia says she’ll “call the old fashioned way,” and goes to find her smartphone. As an adult fan who was around before the age of the iPhone, that line makes me feel old.

So the premise is that the Rangers are “miles from the city,” and can’t teleport in case Void Knight launches an attack. I appreciate that Zayto brought up the fact that they could walk there, despite how long it would take. I was ready for them to simply stay stuck in the forest until they found a solution.

They literally built a giant crossbow to fire Ollie’s arrow at the big tech-blocking balloon. Pure insanity, and I kinda love it.

Based on their interaction in this episode, I’m convinced we’ve got an Ollie/Amelia romance coming our way. I mean, why not?

So…where was Zayto going with the “Why did the chicken cross the road?” joke? Especially if he didn’t know what the punchline was? Not the most important detail in the world. But it’s nagging at me.

Right before the zord battle starts, Ollie says that the bird monster is about to be “all out of cluck.” *cringes* Really? You sure about that?

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