Tag Teuila Blakely

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Artist Anonymous” 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!***

Ravi, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Artist AnonymousSERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E4. “Artist Anonymous”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Teuila Blakely
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Simon Bennett
PREMIERE DATE: March 14, 2020
SYNOPSIS: Ravi is forced to come clean to his mother about his artistic interests.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This whole “Ravi hides his artistic talents from his mother” story probably could have gotten its point across in a single episode. We didn’t really need to come back to it again this season. But at the same time, I can appreciate them drawing it out for the sake of character depth and development. You take the good with the bad in this instance.

I’ve talked before about how nice it’s been to explore the relationships the Rangers have with their parents, as we do with Ravi and Commander Shaw in this episode. But one character we haven’t had that luxury with is Nate. They weren’t mentioned in the Christmas episode, when all the Rangers talked about their holiday plans with their families. Have we established where they are? If we have, it must have been in a throwaway line or something, as I can’t recall it…

On the subject of parents, one thing I realized when watching this episode: Commander Shaw doesn’t have a first name. She apparently never gets one, either. Whoops.

Commander Shaw, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Artists Anonymous

Evox/Mayor Daniels approves the painting of a mural on the Grid Battleforce building. So…is Grid Battleforce supposed to be a secret organization? They must not be, considering they’re drawing attention to the building they operate in. Not to mention the previously alluded to campaign to use Morph-X across the globe.

Scrozzle mentions upgrading this episode’s Gigadrone with Gamertron’s “dome projection technology” from the previous episode. In essence, that means we get the big black bubble again for this episode’s zord fight. Is that going to become a regular thing? I wouldn’t necessarily complain…

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

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.

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

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.

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, “Evox’s Revenge” 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!!!***

Evox, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Evox's RevengeSERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S26:E2 – “Evox’s Revenge”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Teuila Blakely
WRITER: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Simon Bennett
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: March 9, 2019
SYNOPSIS: As Evox and the villains assemble, the Rangers face conflict over who their leader should be.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

The Blaze and Roxy avatars are teleported to the Cyber Dimension where they encounter Scrozzle, who will ultimately serve as one of Evox’s henchmen. He’s also the creator of the Tronics, the villainous foot soldiers for Beast Morphers.

Sometimes I find myself wishing this show would get a little more creative with its voice acting. Scrozzle has virtually the same scratchy, high-pitched voice we’ve heard from villain toadies over and over throughout the show’s life. Can’t we come up with something a little more fresh?

Evox, our computer virus and lead villain for Beast Morphers, takes the form of a big snake (shown above). It’s hardly the best CGI you’ll ever see. But other than that, no complaints. I buy it.

This episode introduces us to the Beast Bots, robot companions for our three Rangers. Nate quickly announces that their circuits infused with animal DNA. That’s one of those things that sounds cool at face value, but when you really think about it, makes no sense. At least not without further explanation. Are we supposed to believe these things are synthezoid robots, like Data or the Vision?

Beast Bots, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Evox's Revenge

Kelson Henderson, who’s been cast on the series several times, once again returns as the voice of Cruise, Devon’s Beast Bot. He was first on the show back in 2005, as Boom on Power Rangers SPD.

Ben and Betty are our comedic side duo this time around, playing the roles previously filled by Bulk and Skull, Cassidy and Devon, Victor and Monty, etc. Historically, when comedy is incorporated this way, the show does a pretty good job of keeping it amusing rather than annoying. Cosme Flores and Kristina Ho are able to keep that tradition alive. I can also appreciate that they’re at the Rangers’ base, getting into hijinks with the tech, gear, etc. That’s a dynamic we haven’t seen in awhile.

Apparently one of the show’s ways of establishing that Devon is a video game nut is simply having him generically reference video games time and time again. At best it’s a little contrived. At worse it’s flat out grating.

These animal-related weaknesses, such as Zoey needing carrots to charge up because of her jackrabbit DNA, are silly and eye-rolling. But because this is a show meant for young children, it’s an acceptable kind of silly. Though in Devon’s case, I highly doubt cheetahs are afraid of dogs. Much less a friggin picture of a dog…

Devon, Zoey, Ravi, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Evox's Revenge

I don’t have any major complaints about the zord stuff here. Power Rangers obviously exists in part to sell toys. But I remember seeing some of the Ninja Steel zords and thinking the “toyification” of the show had become a little too blatant. Especially when we got to the Ninja Steel Megazord. But by modern standards, these zords are fine. At least so far.

I appreciated the way “Evox Unleashed” handled the question of who the team leader would be. Ravi and Zoey both wanted it bad enough to openly compete with one another, whereas Devon simply wanted to do a good job. Thus, not wanting to be the leader so badly ironically made him the perfect choice to lead the team. I like that moral for kids. It’s alright to want something, but not to the point that it supersedes all your other responsibilities.

Although, maybe these kids should have been paying closer attention to the franchise they’re in. C’mon noobs. The Red Ranger is always the leader…

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

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Beasts Unleashed” Review

Rob Siebert 3 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!!!***

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Beasts Unleashed, image 1SERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S26:E1 – “Beasts Unleashed”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Teuila Blakely
WRITER: Chip Lynn
DIRECTORS: Simon Bennett, Yuji Noguchi
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: March 2, 2019
SYNOPSIS: An evil computer virus sabotages a city’s attempt to use the Morphing Grid for clean energy. Three new Rangers rise to take on the threat.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

It’s fun to me that the Morphing Grid has, over time, become more and more of a character on the show. This thing, essentially used as a piece of expository tech dialogue way back in the Mighty Morphin days, has grown and grown to the point that it’s now an active piece of Power Rangers lore. And in the case of Beast Morphers, a pivotal part of the show’s premise. Morph X, a clean energy source derived from the grid, is being used not only to power the Rangers and their tech, but the city they reside in as well. That’s a really cool premise, and a clever way to use the concept of the grid.

But for crying out loud, is it “Morphin Grid” or “Morphing Grid?” Because I’ve heard it said both ways…

Devon Daniels, our new Red Ranger, reminds me a lot of Zack from Mighty Morphin. Rorrie D. Travis injects a lot of charisma into the character. Mere minutes into the premiere, I can tell he was a good casting choice.

Ravi, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Beasts Unleashed

Jazz Baduwalia, who plays Ravi, is the first Indian actor to play a Power Ranger.  I remember being shocked when I heard that. Yes, diverse casting deserves to be celebrated. But the show also deserves to be called out for this one. Beast Morphers is the 26th season of Power Rangers, a show that has supposedly had diversity built into its DNA from the start. And yet there had never been a Ranger of Indian descent until now? To me, that’s more sad than anything else. Sadder still is the fact that we’re now on season 28, and we still haven’t had a Middle Eastern Ranger…

You really can’t blame Devon for sneaking into Grid Battleforce, can you? He’s a gamer, and Grid Battleforce sounds like it was plucked directly from a video game.

Devon’s dad, the mayor of Coral Harbor, references Rita Repulsa, Sledge, and Galvanax when talking about villains who’ve wanted to steal the Rangers’ powers. That’s a nice little moment, harkening back to not just the first season, but Dino Charge and Ninja Steel too.

Nate Silva, the genius “child prodigy” character played by Abraham Rodriguez, annoys me for some reason. Like Will Wheaton in Star Trek: The Next Generation, he’s got a very punchable face.

The Beast Morphers suits are…different. Even by kids standards, the spandex costumes on this show have always required a pretty big suspension of disbelief, not the least of which because of the zippers in back being clearly visible. In contrast, these suits appear to be made of a leathery material, with the zippers clearly visible in front for some reason.

Blue and Red, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Beasts Unleashed

I don’t dislike them, though. They’re an ingredient that makes Beast Morphers stand out amongst other seasons. Would I want the suits to be like this every season? No. But as a one-off they’re perfectly fine.

For whatever reason, Power Rangers loves to tinker with the DNA of its heroes. Case in point, Beast Morphers is merging human and animal DNA to give the Rangers animal-themed super powers. The speed of a cheetah, the strength of a gorilla, etc. As far as the risk/reward ratio is concerned, I wonder how that stacks up against being bitten by a radioactive spider. Or perhaps a radioactive jackrabbit…

Yeah, the Yellow Ranger’s DNA was merged with that of a jackrabbit. Cheetah. Gorilla. Jackrabbit. One of these things is not like the others.

For the uninitiated, Power Rangers is made using footage from the Japanese show Super Sentai. So the producers of Power Rangers are to a large extent beholden to what the Japanese creators do. In this case, I’d love to be able to ask those creators…Why a jackrabbit?

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