It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Power Rangers is a KID'S SHOW. Let's say that the audience was seven years old in 1993. Let's add 31 years and we get 38 YEAR OLDS. Some of them may even be buying toys at Toys R Us for their children, godchildren, and nephews! Dryed Mangoez's author Jeff got it right when he said this:
People of all ages will want to spend their money and/or their parents’ money on things they actually like and are invested in. When those things are toys and merchandise, you’ve got to be able to get people to like and be invested in the show. That’s not happening right now.
It is a pretty simple, basic premise to believe that a good show with good writing and good acting and good production will appeal to viewers young and old enough that they will want to spend money on stuffs related to it. Being excited about the latest episode may be the feeling that nudges you toward buying that new figure or that branded T-shirt. Being invested in the story and characters instills in the consumer the warm, fuzzy feeling of being open to invest in the merchandise with cold hard cash (or credit).
But Power Rangers right now does not do that. Especially when it refuses to even try to put together a cohesive season-long story or give its characters actual development. Or even worse, rely only on pandering to those old fans with rose-tinted spectacles who may be old enough to be buying toys for their kids.
Tthe problem is an OVERDOSE of Ranger History Lessons. I watched Mighty Morphin' Once and Always and said, "Okay, the problem is that Power Rangers still relies on its success in the 1990s." I could compare that to still using OBSOLETE 1990s software and stuff. Mighty Morphin' was still shiny and new when it became a monster hit. However, a franchise needs to evolve and not get stuck with, "Okay, let's just live in our past successes." Living in past successes is certainly a SUCCESS KILLER in the present. It's okay to have Ranger History Lessons DURING anniversaries or a few episodes. However, I feel the Ranger History Lessons are basically overused. It's like having too much salt or too much sugar. It becomes JUNK because it's in EXCESS!
I was excited to see what Hasbro could've done with Power Rangers Beast Morphers. Instead, it ends up crashing down as a show with TOO MANY RANGER HISTORY LESSONS. Today, the Power Rangers franchise is still throwing back to the VERY FIRST SEASON. It's disappointing that this happened. Back then, I remember actually enjoying the Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue game and the Power Rangers Time Force game on the PSX. They're not the best but they were enjoyable for their time. It was that time when Power Rangers started to move beyond Mighty Morphin'. So really, what's the excuse of still banking on the first season? Not a good way to evolve!
When Disney killed the franchise and Saba brought them back, I was excited because I thought we'd be getting the good times of In Space - Wild Force again. But nope, instead we got MMPR nostalgiawank and the worst aspects of Saban's tenure. It's weird how when it comes to Power Rangers I have to say that I hate MMPR and modern Power Rangers, but prefers In Space - RPM. Even Operation Overdrive has some originality instead of "member the 90s?!"
ReplyDeleteYes, I felt a bit of that too. Sometimes, some people have a justification to dislike a franchise. I ended up disliking Power Rangers due to the Disney to Saban 2.0 era. I may admit Sentai can have its shortcomings too. No franchise is perfect. However, I feel MMPR nostalgiawank is really intolerable.
Delete