Tag Gold Ranger

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Guilt Trip” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury

EPISODE: S29:E18 – “Guilt Trip”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez, Jordan Fite
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Maiya Thompson
DIRECTOR: Charlie Haskell
PREMIERE DATE: September 29, 2022

SYNOPSIS: Void Queen’s forces try and divide the Rangers’ attention across the globe.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Ollie and Amelia are looking to book a stay at the Stine Hotel, which is supposedly haunted. I can only assumed that’s named after famed kids horror author R.L. Stine.

I wonder how much mileage they got out of that gag with the “bird poop” on Ollie’s mom. You think the little kids laughed at that? Hmm…

It’s always nice to see the actors on different sets and in different environments, i.e. something other than the usual locations. Dinohenge, Buzzblast, etc. The set they came up with for Osaka, Japan, seems a little on-the-nose as far as the look of the little buildings, the paper lanterns, etc. But I suppose they have to get the point across to the little kids, right? I appreciated the lab set too.

Sugarhit, the monster in this episode, throws pies and tries to lure the Rangers into a trap using a giant meringue shell. That’s not quite as cheesy as the Rangers getting baked into a giant pizza back in Turbo. But it’s close.

Either way, this show is gloriously ridiculous.

Javi before a fight with Sugarhit: “Let’s pound this cake!” That…is not a line I would have used. Let’s just say that. Let’s just say the double entendres aren’t fit for a young audience.

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Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Seeing Red” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

SERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E15 – “Seeing Red”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Liana Ramirez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: November 2, 2019
SYNOPSIS: Devon develops a conceited attitude about his new powers.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This episode is titled “Seeing Red.” That’s such an obvious title for a Red Ranger-centered episode that I’m shocked it hadn’t been used already in the more than 20 years the franchise had been around at this point.

Ben gets a good ol’ fashioned cake to the face early in the episode. Then later, Betty sits on one. Classic Bulk and Skull, right there.

This is a kids show, so the bank robber Devon catches has to be carrying big sacks full of money. I’m a little surprised the bags didn’t have big dollar signs on them.

Is Zoey trying to be discreet in the gym when they get the call from Grid Battleforce? General Burke does the same sort of thing later in the episode. Why the discretion? They’re the only ones hanging out with a damn robot. I think discretion might be out the window at this point.

On the subject of Zoey, she leaves the battle later in the episode because, “My energy’s low. I need a carrot ASAP.” I can’t decide if that’s a cute and quirky reason to leave a battle, or the most lame one in Power Rangers history. “I can’t fight evil anymore because I have to go eat a carrot!”

Is it just me, or is the Gold Ranger outfit a little more baggy than the others? I know that’s sort of the look for Beast Morpers. But still. Is it the material it’s made with?

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Power Rangers Dino Fury, “The Festival” Review

Rob Siebert 2 Comments

Dino Fury Cycle, Power Rangers Dino Fury, The FestivalSERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
EPISODE: S29:E2 – “The Festival”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez, Jordan Fite
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Robyn Grace
PREMIERE DATE: March 3, 2022
SYNOPSIS: The Rangers need a new weapon to take on the returning Wreckmate.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

I see that in the opening title sequence, Dino Fury is now labeled “A Netflix Series.” It’s even got the little “N” signature before the sequence even begins. I guess that technically means Power Rangers can now be categorized with shows like  Stranger Things, Ozark, etc. That’s…weird. But I’ll take it!

For the planet Rafkon’s Triple Sun Festival, Zayto’s teammates give him a set of nunchucks (shown below). Is it just me, or do we rarely see nunchucks on Power Rangers? I wonder why that is. Maybe it’s too hard for the stunt performers to swing them around while their visibility is a little more limited in the helmets? I’unno. I’m just spit ballin’.

After their respective fights with Wreckmate and Slyther, the Rangers are holding ice packs (Or are they heat packs?) over their civilian clothes. Lame. I get that they can’t show too much skin on a kids show. But still, lame.

Nunchucks, Power Rangers Dino Fury, The Festival

Solon and the Rangers looking at past teams for inspiration was a pleasant surprise. We saw footage from a variety of seasons, from Mighty Morphin to Wild Force to Ninja Storm to Samurai.

Question: Was Tommy’s voice dubbed over? That wouldn’t necessarily be unusual on its own, but everybody else sounded like themselves. Strange…

They did Jordan Fite no favors with that “I’m gonna kick your booty!” line. That was one of the more cringe-inducing lines all season.

For whatever reason, when a Ranger kicks a monster or something, Power Rangers likes to put in laser blast sound effects. As opposed to an impact or a kick sound effect. It happened a couple of times during the Gold Ranger’s fight with Wreckmate. I imagine it’s done to undercut the violence aspect, and make it seem more fantastical and sci-fi. But a kick is a kick, isn’t it? Kids understand that, don’t they? Even as a parent it doesn’t make sense to me.

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Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Our Hero” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E17 – “Our Hero”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez, Jordan Fite
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Guy Langford, Maiya Thompson
DIRECTOR: Caroline Bell-Booth
ORIGINAL U.S. AIR DATE: October 15, 2021 (Netflix)
SYNOPSIS: Aiyon lets the praise for his heroism go to his head.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Watch how close Ollie and Amelia are a little before the three minute mark. By Power Rangers standards, that’s a fairly subtle way of building their romance. Which is happening. Mark my words…

Also, note that Amelia is reading a book about haunted Egyptian pyramids. Nice continuity there, as it relates to her interest in the paranormal.

The bit with the Rangers going into changing rooms to morph feels like something right out of the ’60s Batman TV show, which I’ve always said has more in common with Power Rangers than one might think.

When they cut from Buzz Blast to the party for the Rangers, there are a couple of ADR lines about the Gold Ranger. One of them is a male voice saying, “I bet he’s cute too.” That’s a nice little bit of inclusive verbage.

Power Rangers Dino Fury, Our Hero, Gold Ranger party

I can’t decide whether Jane pointing to the monster fight and exclaiming, “It’s newwwwwwws!” was funny or cringeworthy. I guess I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and say funny.

Slyther’s scheme is to hypnotize the Mosa Razor Zord. So are these zords the semi-alive kind, as opposed to the strictly mechanical kind? I don’t recall that being established. But maybe I’m wrong.

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Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Ancient History” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E16 – “Ancient History”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez, Jordon Fite
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Guy Langford
DIRECTOR: Caroline Bell-Booth
ORIGINAL U.S. AIR DATE: October 15, 2021 (Netflix)
SYNOPSIS: Zayto’s leadership skills come into question after a stunning revelation from the Gold Ranger.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Early in the episode we meet Aiyon, another Rafkonian, and the one behind the Gold Ranger helmet. And for some reason, he’s in Earth civilian clothes. So…where did he get those? I guess it depends on how much time has passed between this episode and “Storm Surge.” Maybe he stopped by an outlet mall on the way to Dinohenge or something?

Zayto and Aiyon are supposedly best friends. But when Zayto discovers that he’s alive after all this time, he isn’t overjoyed to see him. And keep in mind, he’s also been actively searching for any evidence that Rafkon, or someone from Rafkon, is still out there. So we’ve got a double whammy of good news here, and instead he’s solely focused on the disagreement he and Aiyon had literally millions of years ago. I don’t buy it.

We see that the Green Morphin (spelled without the g) Master awoke Aiyon from his slumber after being led there by the Nexus Prism. Why the Green Morphin Master as opposed to a different one? No explanation. Though one isn’t necessarily needed. More importantly, our green friend tells Aiyon, “Without you, Lord Zedd will reign again.” Thus adding a little more credibility to the theory that Zedd will be the main villain next season.

Aiyon reveals that not only were the Sporix Beasts created on Rafkon, but that Zayto could have stopped their creation by voicing his objection. So naturally, he’s got trust issues with Zayto. And yet, a short time later during battle, Aiyon asks him, “You got my back?” That’s an odd contradiction.

How can you tell I’m an old school Mighty Morphin Power Rangers buff? This stuff with the Megazord not being able to fight underwater, and then being saved by the Mosa Razor Zord made me think of “An Oyster Stew,” the final episode of season one. The Rangers faced an almost identical dilemma there.

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

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Storm Surge” Review (Gold Ranger Debuts!)

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

Power Rangers Dino Fury, Storm Surge, Gold RangerSERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E15 – “Storm Surge”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Maiya Thompson
DIRECTOR: Chris Graham
ORIGINAL U.S. AIR DATE: October 15, 2021 (Netflix)
SYNOPSIS: Ollie learns a lesson about keeping promises, as a mysterious storm lingers over Pine Ridge.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Nice bit of continuity in that they tied the mysterious storm back to the (Ninja?) Nexus Prism showing up in “Unexpected Guest.” It’ll be interesting to see if the powers discovered in this episode are somehow linked to the Prism. Not likely, but it would be cool, right?

Dr. Akana seems like a good mom. But if she let Ollie leave the house in those white pants, she’s slacking on part of her job. For whatever reason, I couldn’t stand those damn things.

Mr. Whiz (shown below) was indeed played by Campbell Cooley, the actor who voices Slyther. That’s nice that they did that. I can see previous administrations just putting a new actor in there, as opposed to going for consistency like that.

So Amelia says to the water monster, “Really, cuz you seem kinda shallow.” Afterward, about a second goes by as she cocks her eyebrow. As if the episode wanted to give the awful pun a little more time to breathe, just to make sure we all got it. Still, Hunter Deno’s delivery was cute. So we’ll give her points for that.

Power Rangers Dino Fury, Storm Surge, Campbell Cooley

And so, “Storm Surge” gives us the surprise debut of our Gold Ranger. We don’t have much to go on at this point, as they’re taking the mysterious route for now. I’ll say this much: The costume is cool. Blue and gold usually work. It’s reminiscent of the Ninja Steel Gold Ranger, only without the goofy cowboy aesthetic. Plus, the gold is more yellow and less brown.

So obviously our Gold Ranger knows Zayto. The whole “Hey Zayto” thing at the end was a little clumsy. Presumably like Zayto, this guy has been asleep for millions of years. So he wakes up, sees one guy that he knows, and then teleports away from him? For no apparent reason? Doesn’t add up.

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Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “The Cybergate Opens” 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!!!***

Silver and Gold Rangers, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, the Cybergate OpensSERIES: 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.

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.

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Power Rangers Spotlight: Jordan Gibson

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By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

I’m a huge fan of all the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers variant covers you’re going to see here. That’s why it’s somewhat embarrassing to say I just recently discovered they’re all by the same guy: Jordan Gibson.

Issue #28: Jason remembers. This is the first Gibson cover I can remember seeing. It’s downright touching, actually. A Zeo era Jason gazing fondly at his old Red Ranger costume in the Power Chamber. It’s very easy to read a nostalgic fondness on his face. Ironically, the same feeling those old MMPR episodes evoke from so many of us. For some reason, the placement of his hand on the glass goes a long way in that regard as well. It’s funny how much a simple hand placement can do.

Issue #31: “Forever Red.” I’m convinced this is a nod to another famous comic book cover. I just can’t figure out which one. At the very least, it captures that epic vibe that a lot of covers go for. Certainly as fitting a tribute to “Forever Red” as there’s ever been. My only complaint? I would have put the Red Wild Force Ranger in the center, as opposed to Red Turbo. It was a Wild Force episode, after all.

Issue #33: Dr. Tommy Oliver. Conspicuous by his absence in this year’s big Shattered Grid event comic was the Tommy we saw in Power Rangers Dino Thunder. The Tommy that acted as a mentor to his own team of Rangers. As the villain, Lord Drakkon, was an evil alt-universe version of Tommy, it would have made sense to see those two meet. The closest we got was this variant cover from Gibson. To his credit, this thing is friggin’ awesome. It catches Tommy in the final miliseconds of his morphing sequence. The orange background is really what makes it, capturing the same color scheme they used for most of the morphs that season.

Issue #34: “Once a Ranger.”

“Once a Ranger” doesn’t necessarily get a lot of love from longtime fans. I can see why. Operation Overdrive wasn’t exactly a critical success. But the two-parter still had its merits. At the very least, it was fun to see all the former Rangers back. Gibson tips his hat to said alumni with this variant cover to issue #34.

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