I Feel Power Rangers' Biggest Weakness Is The Tendency To Rely Too Much On Throwbacks

The more I watch Super Sentai - the more I think one of the reasons why I dislike Power Rangers is the tendency to use the SINGULAR TIMELINE. I wonder why in the world did I even watch Power Rangers Beast Morphers (which I did bother to finish, hehehehehe) and why I even sat through Kishinryu Sentai Ryusoulger. Speaking of which, I felt that Lord Zedd's sudden return as a guest in Power Rangers Dino Fury would be as stupid if Black Cross Fuehrer returned as a guest character in Ryusoulger. As said, I still feel Black Cross Fuehrer returning in the Gokaiger 199 Movie is understandable. However, a regular episode of? That would totally be rather weird if Toei Ltd. wanted to bring back a very unfamiliar villain to the new generation huh? 

Rethinking of the Beast Morphers "history lessons"... 

This reminds me of a review that rant from Dryed Mangoez's finale review. I still feel like quoting what he said over and over again since Lester Jeff (the owner) took the words RIGHT OF MY MOUTH when I couldn't:

The basic premise of this episode is actually very sound. It’s a typical finale plotline. Sacrifices are made, everyone is in danger. But with the show being so opposed to a serialized storyline (which doesn’t mean Operation Overdrive-type cliffhangers every week and really only means a clear, season-long plot), there’s never an opportunity to truly bank the emotions and connections necessary to make such a climax meaningful and impactful.

I mentioned it last week with the big Evenjix reveal. And it’s the same here.

I had to go back and check the Go-Busters episode the zord battle is from and confirmed that it was from the climactic Christmas episode. I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t watched. But it was a stunning episode and probably one of my all-time favorites. Knowing what that moment meant and was a climax for, knowing how meaningful it was for the season, it’s hard to then come into Beast Morphers and see those scenes play out here. And again, that’s on me. That’s my problem and preference.

But it’s an example of how amazing scenes and episodes like that can be when there’s a consistent build up and development to really form a strong foundation for such events and climaxes.

Beast Morphers as a whole does not do that. When the endgame has to do more with pandering to the older, rose-colored glasses-wearing fans by referencing a season that is considered today to be one of the best or most “mature” as opposed to a story that is developed over the course of 40 episodes here, it’s just not going to hit the mark.

Like I said in my apathy rant, I’d rather have a well-written, good season with ZERO references to past seasons over a poor season with MANY references to past seasons. I don’t need a history lesson every season. I don’t need random “Ranger Vaults” or “Ranger History” lessons or cameos. I just want a good show. And I think the smarter, more sophisticated children in today’s target demo deserve that as well, if not more so.

It’s not about pleasing us old fans. It’s about recognizing the potential in Power Rangers as a series that can appeal to a wide audience. No, it does not need to be grim!dark. No, it doesn’t have to be the second coming of RPM or Time Force or especially Mighty Morphin.

That's why I felt Beast Morphers practically killed its potential. I felt the show's mere mention of Rita Repulsa up to Galvanax could've been a red flag to me. Tying the Morphin Grid to the new energy is another thing. It does end up being nothing more than trying to rely on nostalgia has been a real problem. 

Rethinking the first Saban era of throwbacks

I was thinking about the overhype of some seasons like Power Rangers in Space and Power Rangers Lost Galaxy. Right now, I think that Space is overhyped after watching Dengeki Sentai Changeman. The same went when I watched Choshinsehi Flashman - I feel Lost Galaxy was a bloated mess after that. So yeah, the rumor that Lost Galaxy was "more popular" than Seijuu Sentai Gingaman can be easily refuted by now! I still respect people who prefer Lost Galaxy over Gingaman. Then again, I still feel about the overhype behind the two space seasons. Also, I still feel Denji Sentai Megaranger manages to pull off a plot better than Space. Megaranger is pretty much its own continuity, not a direct sequel to Gekisou Sentai Carranger, and has a more focused finale.

I think what I truly disliked about the Saban era was the Zordon Era. I feel like having Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers overextend to two more seasons, give it a direct sequelitis with Power Ranger Zeo and then make Power Rangers Turbo another direct sequelitis just isn't my thing. Turbo ended with four out of five rangers traveling into space. I felt the finale was just... not my thing. At least Carranger had a direct finale after they defeated Emperor Exhaus. The only thing I complained about Carranger's finale was how in the world the mecha repaired that quick after Exhaus destroyed them? Yeah, I think they were repaired to screw logic as always.

I think it was good how Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue and Power Rangers Time Force were less reliant on throwbacks. Having a throwback to last year can be a good thing IF not done too often. I think having the crossovers with each other was still good in some way. Though, I still prefer how Super Sentai does its obviously non-canon crossovers. I feel Vypra returning suddenly is as random as Pierre returning into Mirai Sentai Timeranger vs. Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive. The difference is the Super Sentai crossover is anything but canon most of the time. It's pretty much like the Dragon Ball Z movies where events contradict actual canon. 

Wild Force did a few throwbacks. I think the throwback with Time Force was a good one. No use of Japanese footage for those episodes. I feel the lack of a Megazord battle was also a good thing. It was cool to see how things somehow got connected. Wesley and Eric working together was cleverly carried over. It was also nice to see Ransik return with his actor Vernon Wells. Though, I felt that the "Forever Red" episode was rushed and could've been extended into a two-parter. The closing part of "Forever Red" was again doing too many throwbacks. I even felt that Hyajakuu Sentai Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai did a better job by not having too many throwbacks. Sure, younger viewers got introduced to the older members but we don't hear too many throwbacks from them. I couldn't imagine if Banba even had to talk about a particular episode of Dengekitai JAKQ - a show that unfortunately got rushed due to lack of ratings!

The Disney era's use of throwbacks

Well, Disney did get the Power Rangers license from Saban for some time. It's no secret that I already hate Disney now, right? I guess everything started for me when Hannah Montana ruined Disney for me. I also feel those live-action remakes lack the enthusiasm of classic animated films. I guess I'll always like Beauty and the Beast (1991) over the remake. Sure, the remake did beat Power Rangers (2017) at the box office. But still, I'd choose to rewatch neither. Both felt numbing to me.

Unlike Wild Force, Power Rangers Ninja Storm DIDN'T have a crossover with a previous season. It was refreshing actually to have it work that way. Still, it's no secret I've got blatant favoritism for Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger over Ninja Storm. The show did run its course but running for just 38 episodes was rather blah. Though, I appreciate how the series didn't make too many throwbacks or none at all. It seemed that Power Rangers was going to start relying less on throwbacks. That's until...

My dislike for Power Rangers Dino Thunder is too blatant, right? Yeah, I called it Dino THUMPER out of spite. One the reasons why I tend to hate it, are mostly because of the TOMMY HYPE. Unlike its source material Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger - the show relies on th singular timeline. I feel like do we even need a history review of Mighty Morphin'? Just imagine if Abaranger had done that with doing a history review of Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger? The events of Abaranger show why it can't share the same continuity with Zyuranger. Dinosaur extinction can vary from Super Sentai entry to Super Sentai entry. Yeah, you can't have Bandora using Horonderthal or Hyde Gene to carry out the job. Bandora's genocide didn't cause Dino Earth to appear either. I felt that Dino Thunder having that huge throwback to a series that premiered 11 years ago feels weird. 

This would remind me of how Avatar Sentai Donbroters has either the same Kaito or a different Kaito from LAST YEAR'S Kikou Sentai Zenkaiger. Kaito was still RATHER FRESH from last year if ever. It would be a bummer though IF Donbrothers forcibly had Shiro Izumi return as Burai and mentor them. That would be rather cool (for me only) BUT NOT FOR THE RECENT VIEWERS. At least Donbrothers doesn't keep dropping history lessons every week either even if they use past powers. Though it can't be denied I'm also being harsh on Donbrothers to a certain extent.

The next set of Disney seasons did more crossovers than last year. Power Rangers SPD made a brave move by setting itself at a different time period (2025). The crossover with Dino Thunder needed a time machine. I felt that Power Rangers Mystic Force forcibly merging Mystic Mother with Rita Repulsa wasn't such a good idea. Both were played by the late Soga Machiko but it seems to contradict Rita's purification. I'm amazed at how Lord Zedd's purification was also retconned in Dino Fury as well.

The Neo-Saban era truly had a Morphine Overdose as well...

Sure, I'm not a fan of that messy hate fic where the Gokaigers fought the Samurai Rangers. However, I can't deny that Power Rangers Samurai was trying to milk Mighty Morphin' in some way. I think Spike's addition as Skull's son (presumably by Bulk's sister since Bulk calls him "nephew") was just bad. The opening theme song tried to rehash the iconic theme song to the point of, "UGH can we get a new song now?" Yeah, it's so bad that I really felt like, "Why did I even add them to my deleted Old Shame?" Another question I asked myself was, "Why did I even bother to give Saban a chance?" The show was so bad. Though what came after it was miles WORSE...

Power Rangers Megaforce is so notoriously messy that I call it Megafail. Some may even call it MegaFART or any bad name. I don't hate the cast. For example, Andrew Gray did get better but only AFTER the show. I still like pretending Andrew's now some American expat in Japan. Though, this series truly gets notorious for having too many throwbacks. Yeah, Gosei as Zordon's student is just one. A direct contradiction has it that Gosei never wakes up until the aliens land. Yet, let's face it, how many times did it happen and Gosei NEVER WOKE UP until Megafail? I'm still laughing at the contradiction there. The show tried to overload on eye candy but NEVER came up with a good script. Even worse, I feel there are too many women out there that make Gia and Emma feel like they suddenly disappeared without a trace.

Yeah, I did watch Megafail for eye candy only to get headaches in between. It was remedied by watching some older Super Sentai AND the good thing is that some later Super Sentai series have been good IMHO. I feel Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger has been more watchable than Space. I feel Kaito Sentai Lupinranger vs. Keisatsu Sentai Patranger has girls that made the Megafail girls feel non-existent to me. Though, I feel the Lupato girls weren't all that attractive. I tend to admire Kazusa Okuyama more for her prowess as I don't really find her super attractive. Yeah, it's totally that stupid IMHO.

Power Rangers Dino Charge did have fewer throwbacks. For one, I'm glad that the whole season tried to operate nearly independently of the other shows. It's pretty much like how Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger (which I just couldn't enjoy either, SO THERE) didn't throwback to the previous season except in that really awful crossover with Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters. I'm amazed at how Beast Morphers even went as far as to still carry it on Ugh, I really felt dizzy just thinking about how those two incidents are huge messes. Meanwhile, I still think Shuriken Sentai Ninninger just kept nagging history lessons in certain episodes. The same went for its bigger Adaptation Decay - Power Rangers Ninja Steel. That's why I think Hurricanger is miles better than that really numb Ninninger. 

That's why I even wrote if Power Rangers could die any time soon. I still felt the franchise seriously slipping down. Well, it didn't and somehow, Toei Ltd. and Saban found other ways. But still, I wonder if Power Rangers Cosmic Fury might cause the franchise to get sucked into a black hole. I guess Toei Ltd. could only care more about the royalty fees they receive from whoever owns the brand, right?