Tag Liana Ramirez

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Fossil Frenzy” Review

Rob Siebert Leave a 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!***

SERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E19 – “Fossil Frenzy”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Liana Ramirez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: June 24, 2020 (UK), November 21, 2020 (US)
SYNOPSIS: Zoey takes a big risk to make up for a big mistake.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Jacqueline Scislowski is one of the better actors on Beast Morphers, particularly when it comes to playing vulnerable or distressed. This episode highlights that, as Zoey accidentally destroys a priceless fossil belonging to her brother.

The fossil is burned up with “metachloric acid.” I’m fairly certain that’s not a real thing. There’s a meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid, but not metachloric acid.

I’m surmising by its use in this episode that metachloric acid is used to move a plot along without burning up any set pieces in the process.

Without the fossil, Zoey’s brother is worried about not having anything to bring to his scholarship meeting. But moments later, Robo-Roxy produces a newspaper that has this new dinosaur species’ discovery as front page news. Couldn’t he have pointed to that, said he was on that expedition, and gotten someone to vouch for him? Seems pretty simple.

Considering Zoey’s brother allegedly discovered a new species of dinosaur with that fossil, she’s able to access the rest of the fossilized remains fairly easily. They basically just put up some flags and string. They didn’t even put a tarp over it. Some scientists…

Seeing Robo-Blaze and Devon get an extended fight sequence was cool. They’ve slowly but surely built up a nice little rivalry over the course of the series.

And so, Robo-Roxy goes down in flames once and for all courtesy of the Beast-X King Ultrazord. Big hat-tip to Liana Ramirez, as she played that evil character perfection. Avatar/Robo-Roxy loved being bad, and it showed.

They went back to the whole “Devon freezes up around dogs because of his cheetah DNA” thing for a gag at the end of the episode. They’ve used that maybe twice in the entire series. Which is for the best. Because, y’know, it’s dumb. Not quite as dumb as a dog putting ketchup on a hot dog. But still dumb.

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

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Goin’ Ape” 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!***

SERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E17 – “Goin’ Ape”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Liana Ramirez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: June 22, 2020 (UK), November 7, 2020 (US)
SYNOPSIS: Robo-Roxy sets out to destroy Ravi once and for all.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

The episode starts off with Ravi and an old lady on a park bench, and the old lady just helps herself to Ravi’s sketchbook. Yes, they had to establish what Ravi had gotten Roxy for their anniversary. But still…rude much?

We also later find out the woman’s name is Stacy. I must admit, I’ve never heard of an old woman character named Stacy. On a kids show like this, you’d think she’d have been named Ethel or Hazel, or something a little more stereotypically mature-sounding.

Indeed, for the first time in many episodes, we see the genuine Roxy as opposed to the robotic version that serves Evox. Roxy was a little too hung up on what she was getting for her anniversary. Apparently in the Power Rangers universe, the thought doesn’t count…

As we’ve seen before with this Ravi/Roxy romance, they lay on the stereotypical lovey dovey imagery. Cast in point, the candles and the rose petals on the date. Even the beach setting when Ravi goes to be alone after the fight. Granted, they subsequent Sentai footage was at a beach, so it was called for. But still…

I noticed during this episode that Roxy’s robot form has the word “escape” printed on her forehead. Turns out Escape is the name of her Sentai counterpart. Conversely, Robo-Blaze’s counterpart is named Enter.

The second fight between Ravi and Robo-Roxy takes place at “Hartmann Nature Park.” Perhaps not coincidentally, Johnny Hartmann does the teleplay for this episode.

Are gorillas notoriously bad-tempered? Part of the premise of this episode is that Ravi, whose DNA has been infused with that of a gorilla, gets so hot-tempered that he turns on his teammates during battle. That’s supposed to be a side effect of the gorilla stuff, right? But is that a thing that gorillas do? Probably not…

Then again, the cheetah DNA-infused Devon freezes up when he sees a dog. Or even just a picture of a dog. Realism isn’t this show’s strong suit.

Ravi goes nuts with anger at the end of the episode, and Roxy is ultimately the one to cool him down. Yet again, a wasted opportunity for a kiss on this show. Just sayin’.

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

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Golden Opportunity” 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!***

SERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E16 – “Golden Opportunity”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Liana Ramirez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Chip Lynn
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: June 19, 2020 (UK), October 31, 2020 (US)
SYNOPSIS: Nate must choose between being with his parents and being a Power Ranger.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This episode gives us something I’ve been hoping to get from Beast Morphers: Some time with Nate’s parents. Devon, Ravi, and Zoey all have a parent that we know. It’s only natural that we meet at least one of Nate’s.

Incidentally, the Nate character has grown on me. I thought he was a little bit of a twerp when the series started. But time has softened my stance on him. Maybe it’s just a matter of spending a little time with someone…

This episode is pretty ambiguous about what Nate’s parents actually do overseas. Perhaps that’s on purpose. All the episode really tells us they move around, make things better, and then move on. Sounds like it might be a Peace Corps or American Red Cross type thing.

The little moments between Nate and Zoey in this episode are nice. Abraham Rodriguez and Jacqueline Scislowski don’t have a lot to work with in terms of giving their romance actual substance. But their performances are believable nevertheless. You can say what you want about the acting on Power Rangers, but those two are good.

If these were the Mighty Morphin days, I’d have actually been concerned Nate was being written off the show. This is one of those “move away” stories they always used to use to write characters out. Jason, Zack, and Trini went to Switzerland. Kimberly went to Florida. Now we’ve got an episode about Nate potentially moving to Costa Rica with his parents.

After Devon, Nate, and Steel destroy the Gigadrone with their zords, they rush back to rendezvous with the others as they fight against Robo-Roxy. As usual, they arrive via car. But I mean…couldn’t they have just gotten there in the zords? Why did they need to drive themselves there? And it again raises the question of why they can’t be teleported.

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

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Save Our Shores” Review

Rob Siebert 2 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: S27:E2 – “Save Our Shores”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Liana Ramirez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Simon Bennett
PREMIERE DATE: February 29, 2020
SYNOPSIS: Scrozzle creates robot duplicates of Blaze and Roxy.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

As Power Rangers is a kids show, using kids humor, I seldom like to say that something is “stupid.” But that bit where Ben and Betty mistake glue for sunscreen, and then proceed to go around picking up trash with their exposed skin? Stupid. Like, objectively stupid.

Based on the amount of crystals we see, I’m guessing Evox’s base is now located in the Crystal Dimension that I’ve heard about elsewhen. Aesthetically, it looks like it’s pretty much the same as the Cyber Dimension, only with a yellow sky instead of red, and a bunch of crystals everywhere. Fair enough, I suppose.

Roxy says her aunt “put me in charge of everything,” presumably as it relates to the beach clean-up. Question: How old are our Rangers supposed to be? College-aged? Post-college? They must be. We’ve never seen them in high school or anything. Either way, that’s a lot of responsibility for somebody so young…

Longtime Power Rangers fans may recognize Roxy’s Aunt Regina as Miriama Smith, who played Elsa way back in Dino Thunder. She does well, as expected. But they did her no favors with the grammar-butchering line: “A bunch of salty sea creatures is not our problem.” Seriously? How’d that get left in there?

Incidentally, Roxy’s aunt works for a company called Collins Industries. Way back in Time Force, Wes and his greedy corporate mogul father had the last name Collins. Are they connected? Probably not. But it’s fun to think about.

Trappertron causes a huge explosion right after trapping Blaze and Roxy in his cage. Maybe a little too big. Blaze, Roxy, and Zoey should probably all be dead and burnt to a crisp. Or at least injured.

After scanning Blaze and Roxy, Scrozzle is able to create robot duplicates of them. This essentially ushers in the return of the evil avatars. It’ll be interesting to see how the good and evil counterparts co-exist throughout the season.

It’s interesting to me that Blaze and Roxy, the real versions as opposed to the evil robots, are in the friends group with Devon and the others. As such, they feel like they should be Rangers, even though they’re not. I’m curious to see how they’re used going forward.

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

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Target: Tower” 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!***

Roxy, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Target TowerSERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S26:E19 – “Target: Tower”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Liana Ramirez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Simon Bennett
PREMIERE DATE: November 30, 2019
SYNOPSIS: Evox’s forces enact a plan to steal an entire Morph-X tower.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

The stakes are obviously high in this episode. It’s the penultimate episode of the first season, and we’ve got lots of drama with the transporters and the Morph-X tower, Devon and his father, as well as Ravi and Roxy.

That being said, certain characters act really stupid in “Target: Tower.”

Let’s talk about this van. Ben and Betty are riding around doing their comedy shtick when they happen to stumble upon a van that contains the three “mega transporters” that were stolen in the previous episode. Said van is guarded by a few Tronics. That’s it. No one else is guarding them. No Blaze, no Roxy, no monster.

This whole plan to infiltrate Grid Battleforce, get the transporters, and teleport the Morph-X tower into the Cyber Dimension was Blaze and Roxy’s, right? And yet, they stick the centerpieces to their plan in the middle of…a van? A van, no less, that’s guarded by Tronics, which Blaze even says are “useless.” If I’m Evox, I’m taking Blaze and Roxy off the planning committee for the foreseeable future.

Blue Ranger, van, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Target Tower

(Incidentally, if you look at the above image, you can see the crew in the reflection of the Blue Ranger’s visor. Whoops.)

Then later in the episode, Commander Shaw tells Ravi to drive the van containing the transporters back to Grid Battleforce. Keep in mind, when avatar Blaze and avatar Roxy infiltrated Grid Battleforce in the previous episode, they sabotaged the real Roxy’s stasis pod. They obviously did this as a strike at Ravi, who everyone knows is in love with the real Roxy. It’s common knowledge. The Rangers know it. The bad guys know it. And Commander Shaw, Ravi’s own mother, knows it.

So when the Rangers regain the transporters in this episode, Commander Shaw inexplicably tells Ravi to drive the van to Grid Battleforce. All the while knowing that he’s vulnerable to the bad guys doing exactly what they did, which is using the potential destruction of avatar Roxy, and thus the potential revival of the real Roxy, against him. Oye…

Also, why does Ravi have to drive the van back to Grid Battleforce? Don’t they have some kind of reconnaissance team that can take possession of the transporters to make sure they aren’t booby trapped or something?

On the up side, I like the way the conflict between Devon and his father comes to a head in this episode, with Mayor Daniels thinking Devon abandons him amidst an attack. The scene where Devon’s identity is revealed was great. Nice and dramatic.

Mayor Daniels, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Target Tower

Mayor Daniels even gets in on the action in this episode, which is cool to see. Whenever somebody swings a shovel, you know they mean business…

I also love that none of the posters at Mayor Daniels’ campaign rally have his first name on them. They simply say, “Vote Daniels.” I had to wiki his first name. It’s Adam.

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, “Gorilla Art”

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:E16 – “Gorilla Art”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Teuila Blakely
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: November 9, 2019
SYNOPSIS: Ravi’s efforts to hide a talent accidentally cause trouble for the Rangers.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Ravi being scared to share his painting hobby with his mom doesn’t necessarily track for me, given what we saw in “Tuba Triumph.” I get that the two situations aren’t necessarily the same. But the moral is more or less the same, isn’t it? Not being ashamed of who you are, what you love, etc.

We’ve seen Ravi look longingly over the comatose body of Roxy (the real one, not the avatar) a few times now. Makes me wonder…is anybody longing over Blaze? I mean, he’s there too, right?

Is there a creep factor to Ravi drawing Roxy while she’s comatose? Is there a creep factor to just generally being drawn without your consent? I was at a sit-down event once, and a pretty well known comic artist was there drawing headshots of people and then giving them the drawings. Is that weird? Not saying yes or no. Just asking.

These Beast Bot centered episodes don’t do as well with me. For my money, things would have been a lot more interesting if one of the other Rangers had discovered Ravi’s hidden talent. Granted, then you wouldn’t have the whole memory erasure thing to get the plot moving. But it might have been a little more relatable.

I can only imagine what it’s like to act alongside a robot gorilla with a steering wheel on its face. You won’t see that on any other show…

Note that when Ben and Betty get messy at the end of the episode, they’re laughing with the Rangers, as opposed to being laughed at. That’s a big difference between modern PR, and what we saw with Bulk and Skull back in the ‘90s.

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

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?

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

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

Striker Megazord, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Tools of the BetrayedSERIES: 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?

Devon, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Tools of the Betrayed

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 Beast Morphers, “Thrills and Drills” 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!!!***

Roxy, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Thrills and DrillsSERIES: 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.