Why I Think "Power Rangers In Space" And "Power Rangers Lost Galaxy" Are Overrated

 

It's no secret that I dislike Power Rangers and did a poor job hiding it. It's no secret now that I'm also critical of newer Super Sentai every now and then (but some seasons are still good) even when I prefer Super Sentai over Powr Rangers. Now, I decided to write my OPINION PIECE (yes, take note of that) on two Power Rangers shows that got a lot of love from its fandom - Power Rangers in Space and Power Rangers Lost Galaxy. The two shows succeeded each other with the space hype. 

Let's talk about Space first and why I think it's overrated

Space was the show that saved the Power Rangers franchise from cancellation. It's often hailed as a good season. However, I decided to think about how the story was a DIRECT continuation of Power Rangers Turbo. One reason why I prefer Choriki Sentai Ohranger over Power Rangers Zeo is the use of the self-contained continuity where I didn't need to watch EVERY OTHER SENTAI to understand it. Yup, I could watch Ohranger without having to watch Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger up to Ninja Sentai Kakuranger just to understand it. Now, I think about how the series just gets overrated one way or another.

Some people tend to praise Space to be "better" than Denji Sentai Megaranger. For me, it's quite the opposite. I guess it's because I didn't need to watch other older Super Sentai entries before I could understand it. I mean, I didn't need to watch Gekisou Sentai Carranger to understand Megaranger. Megaranger has a new cast, new story, no trying to end an era that went for to long (the Zordon Era), and the fact that the series can stand on its own. I felt not having a United Alliance of Evil with villains from Zyuranger to Carranger allowed more focused writing. If there's another lesson I learned in writing - too many characters can create a mess. I think Space also had that problem too. I can't imagine if Javious I had to deal with the villains from previous series and write a huge bang in the end.

My criticism of Space actually got harder when watching Dengeki Sentai Changeman. Weird but true. I felt that the Dark Specter was just the Dark Bitcher in contrast to Star King Bazoo of the Gozma Empire. True, the series was in 1985 and was among the pre-Zyuranger era. I felt that the rivalry of Change Dragon and Bubba was more developed than Red Space Ranger and Ecliptor. I also felt that Shiima's role was better written than Astronema. Hmmm... maybe I could talk about how Ahames herself might be a better villain than Trakeena. Trakeena in Lost Galaxy was badass but I still think Ahames was written better. I felt everything about Changeman as an older Super Sentai managed to have more laser-focused writing than Space could ever do for me.

Now, how I think Lost Galaxy really got overrated

It's funny that I really able to watch Seijuu Sentai Gingaman without thinking about Lost Galaxy. Yet, I couldn't watch Choshinsei Flashman without thinking about Lost Galaxy. I felt there were some stuff in common. What are these stuff in common? Well, I could really start babbling about it in greater detail over a show that bragged a huge budget. For a show with a huge budget - I feel like Lost Galaxy ended up as all flash without substance IMHO.

Flashman was also pretty ambitious in 1986. The story of five children taken to the farther reaches of the Universe, raised by the aliens of a lost galaxy, and returning to Earth to fight off the Mess Empire is quite ambitious. The Flashmen grew up in a lost galaxy gaining their superpowers. They are guided by Mag who I find to be better than Alpha Six. I feel like it'd be somewhat cool if Mag was an ally of Peebo from Chodenshi Bioman. However, the self-contained nature of the shows tend ot give mor eway for creative writing. Lost Galaxy was still relying on the previous entries such as how Bulk and Professor Phenomenus were from the previous season. Bulk was also from many seasons ago too!

Speaking of Professor Phenomenus - I felt that the guy is someone who'd go away and you won't miss him. Meanwhile, Flashman has Professor Tokimura who is a nutty scientist yet he's essential to the plot. Tokimura is obsessed with aliens and time travel. For all the comedy that Tokimura has - he builds up the plot whenever he appears. For example, Tokimura ends up helping the Flashmen figure out why their powers were fading. Tokimura is also in search of his missing child who turns out to be one of the rangers. The buildup that Tokimura has is more interesting than Phenomenus working at the Comet Cafe. Tokimura isn't just comic relief - he's really there as a plot device!

The villains in Flashman also made me think of Scorpius' army. Heck, I even want to think of Ra Deus as the Super Sentai counterpart of Scorpius. These guys were a galactic army that also had insectoid footsoldiers - something Lost Galaxy used as an American exclusive grunt. Though, I felt that Lost Galaxy adding Captain Mutiny was adding a third wheel or was unnecessary since Deviot himself wsa already a third wheel. Both Great Doctor Keflen and Sir Kaura are also rather dangerous foes - I felt their tension was that built up! I felt Scorpius was wasted (and I felt the same way for Javious in Megaranger though he was hardly interesting) unlike Ra Deus who managed to build up before falling to treachery. I also think that Sir Kaura might be able to take out both Villamax and Deviot at once. The villains here managed to build things up better than Scorpius' Army IMHO.

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Pretty much, this is just my personal opinion. I just felt the desire to write it after some time. So, feel free to disagree if need be!