Tag Kira Josephson

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “The Nemesis” Review (Season Finale!)

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury

EPISODE: S29:E22 – “The Nemesis”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez, Jordan Fite
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Simon Bennett
PREMIERE DATE: September 29, 2022

SYNOPSIS: The Rangers face Void Queen one final time.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Early in the episode, Zayto essentially dismisses the Orria and the other Rafkonians, telling them to evacuate. From a story perspective, I get why that was done. But from an in-universe perspective, it’s a little dumb. They’re about to go up against the most powerful enemy they’ve ever faced. You’d think they could use all the help they could get…

That Nemesis Beast monster that ultimately serves as the final big enemy of the season is pretty damn cool. I appreciate that it’s taller than the Megazords. Heck, I’d have made it even taller. It gives it a hell of an imposing presence.

We knew once they set up the Dino Master Saber’s ultimate attack that they were going to come back to it. Most likely in the finale. Was it predictable? Yes. But I’m just grateful that they set it up a few episodes ago, as opposed to having it be a last minute deus ex machina kind of thing.

Now that we’ve reached the finale of Dino Fury, I feel like I can officially ask this question: What’s with the “battle stance” shot in the opening credits (shown above)? It doesn’t appear in any episode. So was it just put there for the opening montage?

Another question: What’s with Izzy’s fighting stance? It’s like she’s channeling a cat, or something. Now that I have seen again at different points in the series. Did they tell her to do that? Or is that something Tessa Rao made up on her own? I don’t dislike it. I’m just curious as to what she’s doing.

Seeing the Rangers float down from above the Nemesis Beast and then slide down its body was really cool. The kind of thing you rarely, if ever, see on the show. And then the Hengemen coming out to fight on the body was like something out of a video game. Granted, it was all Sentai footage. But it was still great.

After Void Queen reverts back into Santaura (once again via the power of love, etc), the Morphin Masters seal all the Sporix away somewhere. You’d think as all-knowing masters of the Morphin Grid, they’d know that like, half the Power Rangers seasons begin with the discovery and unsealing of some old evil thought locked away forever…

Mucus lives! We see her in her slimey form oozing out from under a rock after the battle. Somehow, that has a feel-good quality to it. I’ve seemingly grown fond of the character.

Six months after Void Queen’s defeat and Zayto’s apparent death, we learn the Rafkonians are staying on Earth. What’s more, their as aliens will be public. That’s unorthodox. But okay, I suppose. What’s more, there are probably lots of aliens hiding in plane sight on Earth. The Rafkonians are simply the newest.

We also learn that Santaura is pregnant. They list off a few paint colors for the baby’s crib: Briarwood green, Corinthian sunset, and Ocean Bluff blue. These are little hat-tips to Mystic Force, RPM, and Jungle Fury, using the names of the cities they all took place in. Interesting that they used Corinth for one. Is the existence of a parrallel dimension common knowledge in the PR universe? Or am I just overthinking a cute little Easter egg? More likely it’s the latter, I think.

On the subject of hat-tips, Jane mentions the creation of Buzz Blast Angel Grove. Which is, of course, a nod to Mighty Morphin.

Jane and J-Borg end Dino Fury by pigging out on some Rafkonian cuisine (shown above). That would have been a fair enough way for them to go out, I suppose. This isn’t the end for them, though. Kira Josephson’s Instagram has indicated they’ll be back for Cosmic Fury in some capacity. I’m glad for that. It wouldn’t have been right for them to bring all the Rangers back, but not the two of them.

The Rangers are called back to Dinohenge, where we learn Zayto is alive (and in a new Ranger suit). What’s more, Lord Zedd has escaped and the Rangers need to go after him. Thus, we have our set-up for Cosmic Fury.

I can only assume Zayto’s new costume (shown above) is going to be the suit they use for him in Cosmic Fury. In which case, that’s an awful lot of silver and not much red, considering it’s a Red Ranger suit. I’ll say this much: It’s different.

Zayto indicates that he was saved by the Morphin Masters, but he isn’t sure how. As I’ve said before, I don’t like the idea of the Rangers having cosmic big brothers that can bail them out of a bad situation. It waters down the stakes in any given every episode. I’m sure we’ll get more info about how and why Zayto was saved when we get to Cosmic Fury. Here’s hoping it’s a good explanation…

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

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Serious Business” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
EPISODE: S29:E8 – “Serious Business”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez, Jordan Fite
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Catherine Bell-Booth
PREMIERE DATE: March 3, 2022
SYNOPSIS: Void Queen’s minions search for Void Knight. Meanwhile, BuzzBlast is hacked.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Tarrick, a.k.a. Void Knight, isn’t exactly a master of disguise, is he? The purple shirt with the…what is that he’s wearing over it (shown above)? It looks vaguely like S&M gear. *shudders* Talk about a way to attract unwanted attention to yourself.

I get that the little kids need to know it’s Void Knight. But we’ve seen his face plenty of times at this point, and he is the only one on the show who wears purple. The shirt would have been enough, I think.

And as if they’re not pushing things with the outfit as it is, later in the episode the bad guys find someone wearing virtually the exact same outfit. Only on Power Rangers, folks.

Kira Josephson delivering again as Jane early in the episode with her, uh…we’ll call it dancing, for lack of a better term. Her facial and vocal reactions to the footage were nice.

Again, only on Power Rangers could a kid in a clown mask hack a major media company, and then have a job with said company by the end of the episode. I ain’t complainin’. I’m just sayin’.

Zayto: “Outnumbered, huh? Must be Tuesday.” That line kind of lands. I get what they were going for. But it doesn’t quite hit the bulleye. If the show were still premiering on Saturday mornings, he might have said, “Must be Saturday” to better effect.

During the big battle with Trackenslash, somebody comes up to Jane and J-Borg and says the Rangers are “losing badly. They might even be destroyed!” I understand why they can’t say the word “killed” on a kids show. But that’s one of those moments where it really would have helped to say, “They might even be killed!”

Beatrice Taniguchi, the young actress who played Mara the hacker, was pretty good. I’m so used to kid actors that are…less than good…from the early days of the series. So it’s been refreshing these past few seasons to get kid actors that usually don’t give cringey takes.

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

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.

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.

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

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “McScary Manor” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

Amelia, Hunter Deno, Power Rangers Dino FurySERIES: 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. 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 Amelia’s hands restrained made for a nice twist.

Pink Ranger, Power Rangers Dino Fury

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…

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, 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 Dino Fury, “Winning Attitude” Review

Rob Siebert 2 Comments

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.

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Lost Signal” Review

Rob Siebert 3 Comments

Zayto, Power Rangers Dino Fury, Lost SignalSERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
EPISODE: S26:E3. “Lost Signal”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Kira Josephson, Victoria Abbott
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTORS: Chris Graham
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: March 6, 2021
SYNOPSIS: After receiving a message from Zayto’s home planet, the Rangers must fight a monster blind.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Sometimes, in the back of my mind, I’ll hear my mother asking nitpicky questions. One came to me as I was watching the opening credits sequence this week: “Why is it called Dino Fury? What are they so mad about, anyway?”

Oh jeez. We’re seeing more tentacled people? I can’t say that’s the route I’d have gone. I’d have forgone the tentacles altogether. Back in the day, Andros was able to pull off the alien look just by putting blonde streaks in his hair. Couldn’t they have done something like that with Zayto?

You’d think I wouldn’t have rolled my eyes so hard at Amelia thinking a psychic could unravel the mystery of the message from Zayto’s planet. This is, after all, a show with tentacled people, an anthropomorphic talking dinosaur, and a cyborg walking around like normal in everyday life. By Power Rangers standards, who’s to say it’s that far-fetched?

It looks like Jane and J-Borg are our comedic duo this season, in the spirit of Bulk and Skull or Ben and Betty. These pairs are usually an acquired taste. But I’ll say this much: They found two funny actresses in Kira Josephson and Victoria Abbott. Dino Fury is also the first season to give us two women in these roles, as opposed to two men, or one man and one woman.

Pine Ridge. That’s our city name in Dino Fury. Pretty generic. But it beats no name at all.

Solon would be such an awesome sidekick for the Rangers if only her lips moved a little bit. Those zoom lenses on her eyes are pretty cool, though.

I enjoyed that little fight sequence between Zayto and Vypeera, and I like the idea of the Rangers having to fight a monster blind. I only wish it could have gone a little longer.

I talked last week about the zord sequences having too much CGI for my taste. Cast in point: The Tricera and Ankylo zords. Whenever they were on screen, it looked like the show jumped right into a video game. And not in a good way.

So Ollie and Amelia teleport into the Megazord cockpit, and one of the first things Amelia says is: “We’ve got to get a selfie in this thing!” Please tell me that’s not how kids talk these days. Tell me they don’t go around asking to take selfies in things. Please? Pretty please…?

I like the T-Rex Champion zord better than the Megazord. The latter just has too much going on. It’s almost overwhelming on the eyes. That’s a common problem with modern Megazords, I think.

This episode had its high points. But overall, I’d call it a step down from the first two. Here’s hoping next week’s will be better.

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

Power Rangers Dino Fury: “Sporix Unleashed” Review

Rob Siebert 3 Comments

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
EPISODE: S28:E2. “Sporix Unleashed”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Shavaughn Ruakere, Kira Josephson
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Charlie Haskell
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: February 27, 2021
SYNOPSIS: Ollie devises a plan to catch the Sporix monsters on the loose, and executes it without the knowledge of his teammates.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

I’ve got a beef with modern day morphs: They’re way too wordy. It goes, “It’s morphin’ time! Dino Fury key, activate! Link to Morphing Grid!” C’mon, folks. We’ve only got about 22 minutes here. Let’s move things along…

Also, link to Morphing Grid? I suppose that’s practical. But much like “Activate Beast Power!” in Beast Morphers, it’s not very creative. What’s the deal? If you can’t think if something quick and catchy for them to say, just stick with “It’s morphin’ time!”

I suppose I’m just old, but the notion of drones being used on Power Rangers is quaint to me. It’s a good thing, though. The more this show can keep up with the times, the better.

When Zayto, who’s been asleep since prehistoric times, asks where all the dinosaurs are, Amelia says: “Well, they’re mostly in the movies.” Mostly. I love that. Nice subtle nod to…you know…28 years of continuity.

Hartford Robotics, Jane, Power Rangers Dino Fury, Sporix Unleashed

Power Rangers Operation Overdrive doesn’t get a lot of love. Simply put, it wasn’t very good. That being said, I did enjoy the small Overdrive reference in this episode. During the scene at Buzz Blast, “Hartford Robotics” is printed on the box the android comes in (shown above). That kind of thing is cute, harmless, presumably easy to do, and fans get a kick out of it.

So the henchgirl’s name is Mucus. Again, I’ve got to call them out for lack of creativity on this one. Was Phlegm taken? I do like that she can turn into green slime, though.

While I’m not a fan of the morphing call, the CGI portion of the morph sequence is pretty awesome. I can’t bring myself to complain about that.

Thus far the music, composed by Bert Selen, really adds a lot to Dino Fury. It’s heavily synthesized, which I’m sure isn’t for everybody. But it gives the show a particular flavor, and the heavy percussion adds a lot to the fight sequences.

The “toyification” of Power Rangers, which many see as the show’s entire purpose for existing, is in full effect here. The Rangers have swords with a t-rex head on the hilt, and can manipulate the jaw to do various super-powered stuff. Are they selling that sword at Wal-Mart yet? Even as an adult, I’ve got to admit it’s pretty cool.

I saw some fans on Twitter were happy to see the Rangers teleporting. Frankly, it’s hard to believe teleportation ever left Power Rangers. During the first several years of its existence, it was a big part of the show’s DNA.

You know what would be nice? If Ollie’s mom figured out he was a Power Ranger. Not because he told her, but because she…you know…recognized her own son’s voice and body language. I don’t expect characters on a kids show to be that competent. But this woman is supposed to be a brilliant scientist, right?

I hope kids get a kick out of the zords they see on Power Rangers. Because as an adult, they generally don’t do much for me. All the CGI that’s been integrated into zord sequences for the better part of 20 years now muddies them all together, making them less distinct.

That said, the T-Rex Champion Zord looked pretty good. The CGI and practical effects were blended together fairly well. By modern zord standards, it scores high.

Well how about that? The Rangers are, in essence, using crowdsourcing as their monster alert system. Civilians can call, text, or DM Sporix sightings to the Rangers. I like that a lot, and I don’t believe anything like it has been done before.

Void Knight and Mucus (shown above) are using an abandoned base called “Area 62” as their lair. I’ve got no issues with that. Obviously it’s a take-off of Area 51. It does, however, make me wonder what happened to Areas 52-61…

Dino Fury has come out of the gate strong. I’m mostly pleased with what I’ve seen so far. I’m legit looking forward to the next episode!

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