Tag Colby Strong

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Evox: Upgraded” Review

Rob Siebert 3 Comments

***As big a Power Rangers fan as I am, I must admit: I’m a little behind on modern PR. Here’s where I attempt to fix that, as I check out episodes of Power Rangers Beast Morphers!***

SERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S26:E20 – “Evox: Upgraded”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Colby Strong
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Simon Bennett
PREMIERE DATE: December 7, 2019
SYNOPSIS: The Rangers journey into the Cyber Dimension to save Devon and defeat Evox.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This episode squeezes a lot into 22 minutes. We get the Rangers traveling into the Cyber Dimension for the first time. We get resolution to the conflict between Devon and his father. Blaze gets his own zord and battles the Red Ranger in the Beast Racer Zord. There’s also the apparent defeat of Evox and his forces. If this were the end of Beast Morphers, I’d actually call it rushed. But as it’s only our first season finale, and this is all a fakeout ending, “Evox: Upgraded” gets a pass as simply fast-paced.

It’s funny what little things you notice, and when. That “GB” logo has been on the Rangers’ suits, and all over the show since the first episode. But I never really noticed it until early in this episode, when we see the Rangers without their helmets on. It stands for Grid Battleforce, obviously. But naturally, I suspect that in Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters, the GB in question stood for Go-Busters.

This episode marks the first time we see Evox in his physical body (shown above), as opposed to being a CGI snake. Question: Are they allowed to show skulls on Super Sentai and/or Power Rangers? Or are they deemed too scary? They’ve done it in the past. But that was then, this is now. I ask because it really feels like whoever designed this suit for Go-Busters wanted the head to be a metallic skull of sorts. It looks fine the way it is. But a skull might have made him look more formidable and intimidating.

Is this episode the first time we see the Steel robot head on top of the Silver Ranger’s body, indicating that the Silver Ranger has removed his helmet? Either way I kind of like that look, even though strictly speaking, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. The Silver Ranger is just an alternate, powered up form of Steel’s robot form, right? So why would he need to take the helmet off?

Cruise really came through in this episode, didn’t he? He piloted the Beast Racer Zord in Devon’s absence, and then helped Devon escape from the Cyber Dimension before the gate closed. Hopefully somebody gave him an oil bath or something…

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

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Rewriting History” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***As big a Power Rangers fan as I am, I must admit: I’m a little behind on modern PR. Here’s where I attempt to fix that, as I check out episodes of Power Rangers Beast Morphers!***

Rozy, Blaze, Ravi, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Rewriting HistorySERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S26:E18 – “Rewriting History”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Simon Bennett
PREMIERE DATE: November 23, 2019
SYNOPSIS: Vargoyle alters the memories of everyone in Coral Harbor, but Steel is unaffected.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Steel: “I can totally take care of a pet on my own. Remember, I have animal DNA in me. I’ll be a natural!” Just as a reminder, Steel does not in fact have animal DNA in him. He has scarab beetle DNA in him. A beetle is an insect. Just sayin…

I will say though, that watching a six-foot tall robot dote on a potted plant (to show he could care for a pet) was unexpectedly hilarious.

Jamie Linehan voices Steel, as well as Vargoyle. This episode puts them in a scene together. Any voice actor who has enough range to effectively play two opposing characters in a scene is damn good at their job. So my hat’s off to him.

Ben and Betty in Hell, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Rewriting Historhy

Ben and Betty accidentally damage a “mega transporter,” and wind up teleported to various places around the cosmos. It’s a green screen effect, of course. The first place they’re teleported is to an erupting volcano (shown above). In that moment, a brilliant idea for a spin-off miniseries popped into my head: Ben and Betty in Hell.

Dark? Yes. But you know it’d be damn interesting. Damn interesting.

The Red Ranger and Vargoyle have an extended fight scene in a long corridor. They even fight upside down on the ceiling for a few seconds, which is pretty cool.

Ever see the famous hallway fight sequence from the first season of Daredevil? This corridor fight brought it to mind. They’re two completely different animals, obviously. But this almost felt like the Power Rangers take on a hallway fight.

Wait, Steel gives up his new dog at the end because he supposedly doesn’t have time to take care of him? That’s pretty lame. Why not just give the character a dog? From a creative standpoint, it’s not like you’d have to show it that often. Plus, I like the idea of a robot with a pet dog. It’s just silly enough to belong in the Power Rangers universe.

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

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Real Steel” Review

Rob Siebert 2 Comments

*** 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!!!***

Blaze, Nate, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Real SteelSERIES: 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.

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

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

** 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!!!***

Devon, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Taking Care of BusinessSERIES: 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.

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

Rob Siebert 2 Comments

*** 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!!!***

Zoey, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, End of the RoadSERIES: 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. You never know what those needles have touched.

Nate and Zoey, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, End of the Road

I want to dislike 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 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 there 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.