Tag Steel (Power Rangers)

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “The Silva Switch” Review (Musical Number!)

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!***

Musical group shot, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, The Silva SwitchSERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E18 – “The Silva Switch”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: June 23, 2020 (UK), November 14, 2020 (US)
SYNOPSIS: A lab accident switches Nate and Steel’s bodies.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Within the first few minutes, I was fairly certain I was going to be disappointed in this episode. Not because it’s a body-switch episode, but because they swapped Nate and Steel’s voices as well as their bodies. In other words, Abraham Rodriguez (Nate) has his voice dubbed over by Jamie Linehan (Steel), while Rodriguez’s voice is coming out of Steel’s body. I was looking forward to seeing how Rodriguez would inhabit that Steel character, both physically and vocally. So to not get the whole package in that respect was a let-down.

However…

At about the 7:30 mark, from out of absolutely nowhere, the show dives into its first ever Broadway-style musical number, complete with singing and choreographed dancing. I had no idea it was coming and was absolutely blown away. It’s not brief, either. It goes on for almost two minutes on the dot.

Nate, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, The Silva Switch

I have a new respect for Abraham Rodriguez after seeing this sequence, as he had to be the centerpiece to the whole thing. It’s obviously not him singing. But he pulls off all the physicality and the dancing seamlessly. I can’t find anything that indicates he’s been in musicals before. But the dude was such a natural that you’ve got to believe he at least did it in school at some point.

I’m wondering, however, if he’s not a singer. That might explain why they had Jamie Linehan dub over his dialogue in the episode. That way Linehan, who’s obviously a voice actor, could carry the vocal portion and allow Rodriguez to focus on the other elements of the performance.

Is the whole thing pretty hokey? Absolutely. Did it win an Emmy, or even a Kid’s Choice Award? Nope. But when you can break new ground on a show that’s been around for 25-plus years it’s usually a good thing. No one was expecting, or for that matter calling for, a musical scene in Power Rangers. But this team took the concept, ran with it, and made it into one of the highlights of the entire series. Bravo.

They actually did make me feel sad for Steel when it was time for he and Nate to switch their bodies back. Dude loved being human enough to break out into friggin’ song. We should all love something that much.

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

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “The Evox Snare” Review (Doctor K Returns!)

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:E10 – “The Evox Snare”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Kevin Copeland
GUEST-STARRING: Olivia Tennet
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Chip Lynn
DIRECTOR: Simon Bennett
PREMIERE DATE: June 11, 2020 (UK), September 19, 2020 (US)
SYNOPSIS: Devon desperately tries to save his father before it’s too late.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Judd “Chip” Lynn co-wrote this episode, and also did the teleplay. It’s is first writing credit on the show since the premiere. Fitting and likely not an accident he came back for this episode, as he was the showrunner for the second half of RPM. In addition to the various other PR seasons he lead and/or worked on, of course.

I appreciate that Devon seems to be the only one concerned about safely separating his father from Evox. Meanwhile, Commander Shaw and the others are more fixated on simply stopping Evox. It makes sense, and would naturally prompt Devon to go looking for alternative solutions.

Devon reaches out to Doctor K, who we know from 2009’s Power Rangers RPM, played once again by Olivia Tennet. It’s just a little cameo. But it’s still really cool. And it does raise some questions…

In doing his research into past Ranger teams, Devon apparently had Cruise go looking through “Ranger records.” That’s just an arbitrary phrase of course. The Beast Morphers team isn’t the first to have data on previous Ranger teams. Especially in recent seasons. The Megaforce Rangers had one. Next season we’ll see that Mick has one, and subsequently the Dino Fury Rangers have one. So are these databases all independently assembled? Or are is there an archivist out there somewhere that’s collecting this information? Could it be Gosei and Tensou from Megaforce?

What’s more, “Dimensions in Danger,” the 25th anniversary episode aired during Ninja Steel, reaffirmed that RPM and Dino Charge both took place in alternate dimensions. Is the existence of this multiverse going to be known to all teams going forward?

Incidentally, my own little headcanon has always been that SPD takes place in an alternate dimension. But more on that another day.

Doctor K points Devon in the direction of the Split-Emitters from Dino Charge. Later, Devon, Ben, and Betty go into said vault, where we see a lot of props from past seasons. Ben and Betty reference items from Dino Thunder, Mystic Force, and Operation Overdrive. And there were Blade Blasters from Mighty Morphin front and center. It’s surprising that the show took the time to revel in its own retro geekery. Not something it should be doing often, but really neat when it does.

Nate says that he used said Ranger tech as the basis for developing their team’s tech. Again, this begs the question of where he got all this old tech. Particularly tech from another dimension. Grid Battleforce must have some kind of transdimensional partnership with the RPM and Dino Charge universes. It would explain why Commander Shaw didn’t seem to bat an eye when Devon got a call from another dimension.

Steel uses his blaster to blow up a tanker truck filled with Morph-X so the bad guys don’t get away with it. Considering Morph-X is supposed to be flammable, the resulting explosion doesn’t seem like it was nearly big enough.

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

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Secret Struggle” 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!***

Zoey, Nate, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Secret StruggleSERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E9 – “Secret Struggle”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: April 25, 2020
SYNOPSIS: Steel tries to play matchmaker with Nate and Zoey.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Here we have the latest in what I’ll refer to as Beast Morphers‘ sequel episodes, i.e. episodes that follow up on plot threads from the first season. “Artist Anonymous” was, of course, a sequel to “Gorilla Art.” “Sound and Fury” got a sequel episode with “Beast King Rampage.” Now, this episode once again follows up on “Sound and Fury” by forwarding the Nate and Zoey romance.

After Steel finds out Nate and Zoey like each other, he flat out asks: “What’s the harm in dating?” Kind of an obvious question, isn’t it? Especially if you’re versed in your superhero media. Having romantic feelings for one of your teammates can impair your judgment in the field.

It makes me wonder: Are police officers and firefighters allowed to date one another? Assuming they work closely, of course. I imagine that, much like in the fantasy world of Power Rangers, it’s something that’s not necessarily encouraged. But what can you really do to stop it?

Zoey, Nate, image 2, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Secret Struggle

I visibly cringed when they had Nate and Zoey recreate the famous pasta moment from Lady and the Tramp. Between that, and the picnic bit with Ravi and Roxy back in “Believe It Or Not,” Power Rangers is embracing romance at its most stereotypical and superficial. It’s not the worst thing for a kids show to do. But it’s disappointing. If you go back at look at the more memorable romances in the show’s history (Tommy and Kimberly, Andros and Ashley, Wes and Jen, or even Ollie and Amelia in Dino Fury) they rarely if ever had to do any of that. You can do romance on a kids show without diving into that kind of thing. That approach almost seems lazy, truth be told.

I came into Beast Morphers under the mistaken impression that Nate and Zoey were going to get to kiss at some point. Obviously, I was mistaken. Are Tommy and Kimberly the only couple in the history of this show to get a proper kiss? If not, they definitely have the most notable one. And that was almost 30 years ago. It was the early ’90s, man. A different time.

I love how, in an attempt to prevent himself from overheating, the Blue Ranger uses a little hand-held fan. It’s hokey, and of course would never work. But it’s a funny visual.

Also funny? In the closing moments of the episode, as Evox/Mayor Daniels is running out of the building, all the good guys get briefly trapped behind the revolving door. Was that intentional? It must have been. Though in the Rangers’ defense, revolving doors do suck like that…

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

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “The Blame Game” 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!***

Steel, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, The Blame GameSERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E6 – “The Blame Game”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: April 4, 2020
SYNOPSIS: Steel takes lessons in discipline a little too far.

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

The inciting incident for this episode is when Steel sees a father punish his daughter for littering by telling her to pick up extra pieces of trash. His initial instinct is to say that the father is being mean, but the Rangers quickly explain to him what punishment and discipline are.

The funny thing about this is that the way the incident plays off, Steel is actually right the first time. The father does come off disproportionately harsh about his daughter letting a single piece of trash fall to the ground. I say that as a parent myself. And the funny thing? Steel proceeds to act disproportionately harsh about matters of discipline for the rest of the episode. So if the Rangers had been paying attention from the start, a whole big mess could have been avoided.

Steel goes on to punish workers at Grid Battleforce for very minor infractions by having them sweep the parking lot, clean toilets, etc. Do the Rangers really hold rank over grunt workers like that? Do they actually have the authority to tell someone to clean toilets? If so, why? Or are the workers just intimidated by a robot Power Ranger making demands of them like that?

Ben and Betty, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, The Blame Game

Betty says that the leaf blower she and Ben are using “sucks.” She might be the first person in the show’s history to say that something sucks. I’d thought that distinction went to Izzy a couple seasons from now. But Betty may have beaten her to the punch.

Incidentally, if Bulk and Skull had done that Morph-X powered leaf blower bit back in Mighty Morphin, it totally would have ended with Bulk’s pants being vacuumed off his body. Oh, how times have changed.

Controlatron takes control of Cole, and subsequently Nate, using what Blaze refers to as a “virus-infected puppet.” That terms sounds like something you’d call someone when you want to insult them. “Dude, you’re just a virus-infected puppet!”

Abraham Rodriguez, who plays Nate, had a tall task in motivating that “I’m a good little puppet” line. Perhaps note quite as hard as his “I copy that” line in “Real Steel.” But still…

Back in “Save Our Shores,” I wondered how the show would handle the co-existence of Blaze and Roxy with their robot counterparts. Apparently the show’s answer to that dichotomy is to simply not feature the good versions of Blaze and Roxy at all. Have we even seen them since?

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

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Believe It Or Not” 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: S27:E1 – “Believe It Or Not”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: February 22, 2020
SYNOPSIS: The Rangers uncover Scrozzle’s latest plot.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

The opening moments of this episode, with Devon and Blaze sparring, are a nice callback to “Beasts Unleashed,” when they obviously had a very different relationship. It’s a nice indicator of how far they’ve come, and how things have changed since last season.

We see that France now has its own Morph-X tower. Naturally, that begs the question as to what other places around the world opted to get one. Coral Harbor has several, doesn’t it? So if France has one, they’d presumably be getting more.

The first time we see Ravi and Roxy in this episode, they’re on a picnic and she’s literally feeding him a strawberry. Let no one ever accuse Beast Morphers of being subtle with the whole romance thing.

This is the last time we’ll see them, but I like the Gigatronics. I think more villains should have had giant-sized versions of their henchmen. Giant Cogs in Zeo would have been cool, for instance.

This episode plays up the idea that Steel is buying into conspiracy theories. Bigfoot, the Lochness monster, etc. But in the end, we learn he was right all along. Not sure I would have gone with that moral in this particular case. Especially when you consider how many people in this country buy into crazy conspiracy theories. Does Q’Anon exist in the Power Rangers universe? Boy, I hope not…

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

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Scrozzle’s Revenge” 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: S26:E22 – “Scrozzle’s Revenge”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Maiya Thompson, James Collins, Cameron Dixon
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: December 14, 2019
SYNOPSIS: Scrozzle launches an attack during the holiday season.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

The more I see of Scrozzle, the more convinced I am that he’s a henchman who could have taken a crack at being a main villain. He’s got a great evil mind. And he’s still out there working at it despite his team taking a big L in “Evox: Upgraded.” Heck, in this episode he even gets in a zord and battles the Rangers himself! You’ve got to respect that.

Nice to see the Rangers’ parents each get a little montage on this holiday clip show. As I’ve indicated previously, there’ve been seasons where the Rangers’ parents haven’t been seen, or even alluded to.

We see the Rangers battling Infernotron, as a car in the background is lit ablaze with pink fire. I guess we can count them lucky that those flames never reached the gas tank. And that was before they blew up a monster right in front of it. Somebody needs to get these kids into a fire safety course!

I know it’s the holiday season and what not. But if I’m in charge, the minute Steel accidentally zaps Ravi and turns him into a Christmas ornament, he’s off the team. Or at the very least suspended for a little while. Dude can’t be doin’ that.

Santa Claus makes an appearance in this episode, as he’s prone to doing in Power Rangers holiday shows. I had just assumed PR kept getting different actors to play the role. But that’s not the case. The show has actually used the same actor, Bob Sumner, to play Santa Claus since Dino Charge back in 2015. Sumner also played Fresno Bob in RPM. It’s not every actor that can pull off playing both a crime boss and St Nick…

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

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Hypnotic Halloween” 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!***

Cast Halloween shot, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Hypnotic HalloweenSERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S26:E21 – “Hypnotic Halloween”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Maiya Thompson, James Collins, Cameron Dixon
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: October 19, 2019
SYNOPSIS: The Rangers are hypnotized into believing they are their Halloween characters.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Here we have one of our season-requisite holiday clip shows. The “Rangers think they’re their Halloween characters” thing is a creative framing device, though.

This episode aired on October 19, which would seem to indicate it chronologically falls between “Tuba Triumph” and “Sound and Fury.” But oddly enough, every source I’ve checked lists it as the 21st episode of the season. Perhaps that’s indicative of the order the episodes were produced in…?

Hold on, so Steel wasn’t effected by Vargoyle rewriting the memories of everyone in Coral Harbor, but he’s effected by Scrozzle’s hypnotic streaming service? Doesn’t necessarily make sense from an in-universe perspective. But if you let Steel stay coherent, this episode starts to feel a lot like “Rewriting History.” So I guess we’ll let it slide.

Viking Zoey, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Hypnotic Halloween

This episode feels like it was a lot of fun to make. Particularly for Jacqueline Scislowski, whose loud and boistrous Viking character was a radical departure from the often shy Zoey.

Speaking of Vikings, was Rorrie D. Travis channeling Sean Connery for his Viking impression? Is he even old enough to know who Sean Connery is?

Jazz Baduwalia might have needed some more direction as Sherlock Holmes. It seems like he was told, “Just look through the magnifying glass a lot. That’ll make you look like Sherlock Holmes. I mean, he always did that, right?”

Here’s how much of an old school Power Rangers geek I am: I remembered that Billy also dressed up as Sherlock Holmes way back in the season one episode “Life’s a Masquerade.” Also Tommy, much like Steel in this episode, dressed as Frankenstein. Actually, Billy dressed as a mad scientist in season two’s “Zedd’s Monster Mash,” much like Nate does in this episode. Deliberate homage? More likely, it’s a sign that stock Halloween costumes haven’t changed much in two decades…

You know who would have been perfect for this episode? Ben and Betty. And yet, they weren’t here for whatever reason.

This was actually a pretty intense zord fight for a clip show. Nicely done.

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

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, “Ranger Reveal” 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: S26:E17 – “Ranger Reveal”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jamie Linehan (voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Denise Downer
DIRECTOR: Oliver Driver
PREMIERE DATE: November 16, 2019
SYNOPSIS: The Rangers face the threat of their identities being made public.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Early in the episode, Ben and Betty are catapulted into the back of a truck filled with leaves via a giant selfie stick. I almost hate to keep comparing these modern comedic duos to Bulk and Skull from Mighty Morphin. But they’re the precedent they’re all following. So I think it’s fair.

Bulk and Skull got into messy and cartoony situations, obviously. But I don’t remember them defying the laws of physics and reality the way cartoons do, and the way Ben and Betty sometimes do. That would be my one big criticism of what they do on this show. I’d argue that even little kids understand the basic rules of reality, and if you bend the rules of reality too far, it takes the viewer out of the moment.

In other words, the less likely it is that something can happen in the real world, the less funny it is. Just my opinion.

Vargoyle is voiced by Jamie Linehan, who also does Steel. Once you know that, it becomes difficult not to hear Steel when Vargoyle is talking. Even though Vargoyle’s voice does have more of that trademark Power Rangers villain growl.

Zoey and the other Rangers clearly don’t want their identities revealed to the public. And yet, they sit out in public with Steel. They’re the only ones hanging out with a friggin’ robot!!! How big a secret could their identities possibly be?!?

Still, I appreciated that they established how much more difficult it would be for the Rangers to do their jobs if they were famous. It was a nice way to set up stakes for the episode.

What we have here is a nice build on what we saw established in previous episodes, with Zoey’s mom (played by Sia Trokenheim) being a reporter. We had a nice message about her doing the right thing despite what it could do for her career. But this episode poses a similar question to the one posed by “Taking Care of Business” from an in-universe perspective: Why can’t Zoey just tell her mom she’s a Power Ranger?

Granted, we know why she can’t from a writing standpoint: Because that’s not how superheroes and secret identities work. Plus, the conflict makes for a good TV episode. But Zoey confiding in her mom would nip the problem in the bud pretty quickly.

Oh well. I’d wager their identities get revealed at the end of the series anyway. That’s often what happens on this show.

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