Tag Vargoyle (Power Rangers)

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Intruder Alert!” 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!***

Captain Chaku, Red Ranger, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Intruder Alert!SERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E11 – “Intruder Alert!”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Jack Buchanan
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Johnny Hartmann
DIRECTOR: Simon Bennett
PREMIERE DATE: June 12, 2020 (UK), September 19, 2020 (US)
SYNOPSIS: The Rangers are quick to judge a mysterious newcomer.

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

First thing’s first: The Captain Chaku character is adapted from the Space Sheriff Gavan character from Metal Hero Series, another tokusatsu show much like Super Sentai. In Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters, the show which Beast Morphers is adapted from, the Gavan character teamed up with the titular heroes. Thus, the footage we see here.

Captain Chaku is voiced by Jack Buchanan. Maybe it’s the old school Power Rangers fan in me, but I could have sworn he was voiced by Sean CW Johnson. Johnson, of course, played Carter back in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue. Maybe they both just have that authoritative quality to their voices.

One little trivia note about Chaku: He was at one point going to be called the “Silver Senturion,” as a nod to the Blue Centurion character from Power Rangers Turbo. So said Jason Bischoff, the former Global Director for the Power Rangers franchise, on Twitter.

Ryjack, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Intruder Alert!

This episode introduces us to Ryjack, a big blue Rhino-looking guy who for some reason has a thick Austrailian accent (provided by Kevin Keys).  He’s an intergalactic criminal who wants all the Ranger take from Nate’s vault, which we saw in “The Evox Snare.”

But here’s my question: Why the Austrailian accent? I mean, the things we see on this show are so silly that I guess you could counter with, “Why not an Austrailian accent?” But for whatever reason, every time Ryjack speaks it yanks me right out of the show. Not a fan.

Incidentally, a Rhino is yet another animal that’d be more fitting for a Ranger to have than a jackrabbit, much less a mantis or a beetle. Just sayin’.

Ryjack uses a “Reanimizer” to resurrect Vargoyle. He does so by using the device on Vargoyle’s old blaster. Ryjack is then able to control Vargoyle using an inhibitor collar.

So where does one get a Reanimizer, per se? I don’t care what universe you’re in, that kind of thing would be pretty highly sought after.

Keep an eye on that Reanimizer. I get the sense it’ll be important for certain developments later in the season…

Also, make note of that inhibitor collar. We’ll later see that technology used on a much more high-profile villain.

Ryjack summoning the Vivix from Dino Charge, and especially the Putty Patrollers from Mighty Morphin (shown above), with the Reanimizer was a very pleasant surprise. As an old school PR fan, seeing the Beast Morphers team fight off Putties was a trip.

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.