Tag Power Morphicon

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Ultimate Mystery” Review (Lord Zedd Returns…Again!)

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

Lothorn, Power Rangers Dino Fury, Ultimate MysterySERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury

EPISODE: S29:E12 – “Ultimate Mystery”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez, Jordan Fite
GUEST-STARRING: Teuila Blakely
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Robyn Grace
PREMIERE DATE: September 29, 2022

SYNOPSIS: Amelia goes looking for Bigfoot. The Rangers find a destructive new monster.

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By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Now that we’re caught up on Dino Fury and are into what some might consider the home stretch, I feel like I can finally talk about the big cast announcement for next season, Power Rangers Cosmic Fury. It was announced in conjunction with this summer’s Power Morphicon event that the cast of Dino Fury will be returning for Cosmic Fury. As has been widely publicized, this marks the first time since Mighty Morphin Power Rangers that cast members will return as ongoing cast members for a third consecutive season of the show.

Side note: I can only assume that Power Rangers Cosmic Fury will run for two seasons, as all PR incarnations have for the last decade or so. This likely means the cast is returning for both third and fourth seasons…right?

I’m happy for everybody who gets to come back. There are pros and cons to this team, as there are to any team. But as far as the sum of its parts is concerned, this is probably the best team of Rangers the show has brought us in at least 10 years. And as the actors, writers, directors, and everyone involved will now have more time to put into them, they’ll only get better from here.

Dino Fury Rangers, Power Rangers Dino Fury, Ultimate Mystery

All in all, it’s a great time to be a Power Rangers fan.

This episode is called “Ultimate Mystery.” So what do we think the real ultimate mystery of the PR universe is? For my money, it’s why the Rangers abandoned the Zeo powers so readily in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie. I mean, we know the real reason: They had a Turbo movie to make. But I’m talking from an in-universe perspective.

Jane denies Amelia’s request to cover the alleged Bigfoot sighting, and tells her to stay on the Area 62 story. This is the first episode that I can really recall Jane acting like an editor, and not playing things up for comedic purposes. I liked it. It gives her character a little more gravitas.

Speaking of Jane, are Kira Josephson and Victoria Abbott coming back as Jane and J-Borg for Cosmic Fury? I don’t see why they wouldn’t…

Commander Shaw (played by the returning Teuila Blakely, show below) contacts the Dino Fury team and tells them there’s been a jail break at one of their facilities. And hey! There’s the Beast Morphers team! Via Sentai footage, yes. But it is them! A neat couple of scenes from Teuila Blakely as Commander Shaw. Nice that they got her to do that.

Whoa! Hold on! Did Lothorn say he was Lokar’s nephew?!? That little throw-away line is a deep cut from Mighty Morphin. Great little gem, there. We’ll ignore the fact that he inexplicably retreated when he had the Rangers’ backs against the wall.

Lothorn got another cool throw-away later in the episode with, “Hey, I can see Angel Grove from here!”

I’m finding myself wishing the fights were a little less jokey. Lothorn is supposed to be this big, tough monster who fended off some of the Rangers’ most powerful attacks. And yet everybody’s quipping. I get that it’s a kids show. But despite its inherent cheesiness, this show has proven over nearly 30 years that it can be serious and dramatic when it needs to be. I was looking for some more of that seriousness and drama here.

This episode squeezes a lot into its last couple of minutes. First, some important last-minute character development for Amelia. We learn the reason she’s so interested in the mysterious and the paranormal is because of the mysterious circumstances surrounding her parents’ disappearance.

Then, we learn that Lord Zedd was behind the breakout at the Grid Battleforce facility, and that he was aiming to free Scrozzle (also from Beast Morphers). That’s an interesting pairing. I’m looking forward to seeing them together in episodes to come…

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

Jenna Rae Frank Coming to Power Rangers?

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By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Is Jason David Frank’s daughter about to turn Power Rangers into a family business?

PopLurker.com stirred up the Power Rangers fandom Saturday morning, with the story: “Actress Jenna Rae Frank Rumored to Lead Power Rangers as the Next Red Ranger.”

Jason David Frank, of course, played Tommy, the Green Ranger, on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in the early ’90s. He stuck with the show until 1997, returned for a season in 2004, and has done a few one-offs since then. He currently co-owns Power Morphicon Express, a traveling fan convention making its first stop next spring in Pasedena, TX.

Mind you, the article is only a “What if they did this?” fan pitch. It offers nothing in the way of evidence. But lets not be foolish enough to dismiss it outright.

For one thing, this is obviously something the Franks want. I suspect they were actually involved in getting the PopLurker story published, as it conveniently coincides with this “action audition” posted to 14-year-old Jenna’s YouTube page…

According to her IMDB page, Frank’s only on-screen credit, outside of appearing in her father’s YouTube show My Morphin Life, is an episode of 6 Rounds of Chloe, which is labeled as “filming.”

For the record, I’m not saying putting her on the show would be a bad decision. A sort of “legacy” choice like this would drum up a lot of good will with older fans. Which, now that the franchise is under the new ownership of Hasbro, would be a wise publicity move.

Plus, you’ve got to believe JDF would want at least a little on-camera time with his daughter, so it would give them a nice excuse to bring Tommy back again. The Christmas episode of Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel just did something like that with brothers Yoshi  and Peter Sudarso.

Power Rangers Beast Morphers premieres premieres on Nickelodeon this February, and is expected to run through 2020. So the soonest we might expect to see Frank on screen with a morpher in her hand would be early 2021.

Follow Primary Ignition on Twitter, or email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com.

MMPR: Shattered Grid: 25 Morphinominal Moments, Prelude

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By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Let’s talk about Shattered Grid, shall we?

Brought to us by BOOM! Studios and spearheaded by author Kyle Higgins in the pages of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, this massive event comic has been nothing short of a fan-service goldmine. It’s something I never thought Power Rangers would get, even after 25 years. Not because the franchise doesn’t deserve it, but because it just didn’t seem to be in the cards. Especially after the epic disappointment that was Power Rangers Super Megaforce.

I can’t say I’ve been in love with everything that’s come out of Shattered Grid. But there’s no denying what it is, and the amazing talent and dedication of everyone involved.

Thus, as Power Morphicon assembles in California this weekend, it feels only right that I set out to spotlight 25 moments from Shattered Grid that really reached out and touched me as a Power Rangers geek. I’ll be looking at not just MMPR, but also Go Go Power Rangers, the 2018 annual, and the Free Comic Book Day issue. And it should be noted that the moments that effected me might not necessarily big the big plot points. This character dies, that character appears for the first time, etc. Simply put, this will be opinion based. And who knows? Maybe a little insightful…

The first of this five-part series will drop on Tuesday the 21st. The finale hits the web on the 28th, which coincides with not only the final issue of Shattered Grid, but the anniversary episode on Nickelodeon.

Email Rob at PrimaryIgnition@yahoo.com, or follow Primary Ignition on Twitter.

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