Let's rocket! PRiS 1 - 4
From Out of Nowhere, pt. I (writer: Judd Lynn, director: Jonathan Tzachor): Sorry ahead of time for the length; this episode introduces a lot and has a lot of ground to cover. But before we start, let's talk about Turbo, shall we? "From Out of Nowhere" depends on knowledge of the ending of Power Rangers Turbo, "Chase into Space," and if you don't know what happened that episode, like I didn't at eleven, you're hopelessly confused.
"From Out of Nowhere" recaps the finale, but it still gives a pretty poor explanation behind...well, everything. So I'll go over it in more detail because it actually comes up again later and you kind of need to know what happened. The story really starts with Blue Ranger Justin Stewart, whose father had been offered a job that would take them out of their hometown of Angel Grove, and since literally everyone in Justin's life was there, he didn't want to take the job until he'd talked to his son first. But the Rangers learned that the distant planet Eltar was under attack-home planet of their predecessors' mentor, the wise sage Zordon. Zordon and his assistant, Alpha 5, had returned to Eltar earlier in the season, leaving behind a friend, Dimitria, to guide the Rangers. The Rangers are forced to sacrifice all their zords and weapons against a powerful new monster of Divatox's, and as they retreat to their base, the Power Chamber, they learn that Dimitria is leaving with one of their sort-of Sixth Rangers, Blue Senturion (I don't know why they spell it that way either), to aide Zordon on Eltar, which has fallen to enemy forces. But soon after they leave, Divatox's forces overwhelm the Rangers, capturing their sentient vehicles, Lightning Cruiser and Storm Blaster, and blowing up the Power Chamber. The Rangers hide among the wreckage and basically have to fake their deaths, but Divatox is called off the search for their bodies by an emissary from the Monarch of Evil, Dark Specter, who called them to the "Cimmerian Planet" (...I honestly have NO idea why they don't just call it Cimmeria; while Stargate SG-1 may have used the name that same year, it's not like they have a trademark on it or anything). Divatox departs, leaving the Rangers and their assistant, Alpha 6, free to reveal themselves. But for whatever reason, their powers finally give out, implicitly lost forever because of the destruction of the Power Chamber. The Rangers know they have to head to Eltar, so they send Justin ahead to the local space center, NASADA, to let the Commander know that the Power Rangers need to borrow a state-of-the-art space shuttle that's just completed a mission. The Commander agrees, and Justin lets his friends know that he's decided to make the move with his dad, whom he's recently reunited with after a long stint in a children's home. They wish each other goodbye and good luck, as the Rangers set controls for outer space and fly higher than ever before...
"From Out of Nowhere, Part 1" takes place in the immediate aftermath. In Power Rangers Zeo, the name "United Alliance of Evil" was dropped, implying a massive organization of all the bad guys throughout the universe-a Legion of Doom for Power Rangers, essentially. While PRiS never names it as such, it seems reasonable to believe that this is that very Alliance.
The UAE has gathered on the Cimmerian Planet (which is reused stock footage of Rita/Bandora's dumpster planet from MMPR/Zyuranger; it's one of the few non-NASA stock footage planets we've got, so enjoy), and we've got mingling from all the Power Rangers villains to date: Rita and Zedd, Master Vile the Machine Empire, Divatox, General Havoc, and various monsters that honestly should be dead. Also, for all I complained about the video quality of the DVD before, the quality has improved just enough to see that everyone's costumes are really decaying-Rita's headdress, for example, has threads sticking out. Though on some level, I guess it's appropriate-these villains are past their prime. They may have had their victory, but it's visibly close to the end for them. They should have been wiped out long ago, if not for this one lucky win. As for said victory, Divatox is bragging about destroying the Power Chamber when Rita bumps into her. Now, in the Turbo movie, we saw that Rita and Divatox didn't necessarily like each other very much, but here, we learn that the villainesses of Power Rangers absolutely despise one another. Rita starts mocking her for not getting out of the "destroying the Power Rangers" business like she and Zedd did, but Divatox points out she's already destroyed them-much to the surprise of an obvious spy in a dark cloak. Rita can't believe her ears either, but Zedd admits that the whole universe is talking about it. But Divatox's annoying, idiot nephew, Elgar, pisses Rita off, so she launches a blast of energy from her wand to side-swipe them. Both Divatox and Elgar are suitably spooked, but the blast is caught in-hand by a fresh new villainess, Astronema, whose own powers turn the energy purple before she flicks it off. And I have to give credit to the visual artists-they make sure that the energy casts a purple glow against her face. Rumor has it that Astronema's next in line to be the new Queen of Evil, and Divatox is determined not to let that happen.
Sidenote here on the theme: It's just so cheesy and awesome that I can't help but love it. Also, during the opening, they really do try to avoid spoilers-while Carlos is listed as the Black Ranger and TJ as Blue (I'll discuss this more later), the new Red Ranger isn't revealed, and Divatox instead of Astronema is listed as the main villain. And to be honest, the idea of multiple, competing villains is interesting and used well in other Power Rangers and Sentai series-but this is Divatox we're talking about, and I'm not sure the audience would want to put up with her whiny attitude for another season, especially when the alternative is the cooler, more professional Astronema.
The villains all take their place at the banquet table, along with Not A Spy. Astronema, who has a few brain cells more than her predecessors, is suspicious and keeps an eye on him. Also, note that she's fiddling with the locket around her neck. It's not important, but as far as subtle foreshadowing goes? They actually did a damn good job. Dark Specter appears before them, revealing that he's captured Zordon and is draining his powers. Lava will rise in his energy tube until his power is completely gone, thus destroying the Power, the source behind all Ranger powers, forever. And while I can't pretend to be an expert in Power Rangers lore, particularly with how they seem to retcon things every time they return to the subject of Zordon or how the extremely loose continuity always introduces new backstory elements that make ancient times seem really, really more fucked up than we thought...we've got two concepts in Power Rangers behind the morphing powers: the Power and the Morphing Grid. The Power is kind of treated like Star Wars' Force in MMPR, with Zordon constantly wishing people that it will protect them. So my guess is that the Power is the actual...well, the actual power behind the Rangers while the Morphing Grid is the plane that channels it-I guess like mako and the Lifestream in Final Fantasy VII? It seems pretty definitive here that Zordon himself is the source of the Power, or at least, he's merged with it, which might explain why even civilians can create their own powers in later seasons...but I won't spoil "Countdown to Destruction" this early.
Zedd raises a toast, but everyone notices that the spy doesn't drink. Astronema points out the obvious, and everyone else is so shocked that someone would spy on them that they start a fight. The spy pulls his weapon, the Spiral Saber, and leaps on the table like he's Errol Flynn or something and fights off everyone successfully, including Zedd-honestly, as much as I pick on this Red Ranger, I have to admit he's a total badass. But Goldar finds an opening and rips off his cloak, revealing his identity to one and all: a Red Ranger. The villains are shocked that a Power Ranger would be so bold, and Dark Specter gives the order to destroy him. Being vastly outnumbered, Red summons his vehicle, the Galaxy Glider. And it's a nitpick, I know, but I've never understood why an alien Ranger would use the words "hang ten" as a summon. Anyway, he zooms past Dark Specter himself and even outraces his fire breath, just as cocky as can be. Dark Specter's enraged that Red knows his plans and calls for someone to stop him. Divatox and Rita try to sabotage each other in their efforts to volunteer, but Dark Specter's had enough of their crap and charges the observant, deadly serious Astronema with his flagship, the Dark Fortress, to put an end to Red. Silently, Astronema glares at her spiteful predecessors and teleports away with her footsoldiers, the Quantrons.
With all that going on, you'd think we'd forgotten about our Earth-born heroes, the former Turbo Rangers: Red Ranger TJ Johnson, Green Ranger Carlos Vallerte, Yellow Ranger Ashley Hammond, and Pink Ranger Cassie Chan. They're still on the NASADA shuttle, looking out over a...well, I'm not sure. For additional research, I'm working off SirSTACK's script archive, which has early drafts of different Power Rangers seasons-check it out! It's really interesting. But unfortunately, at this time, he doesn't have a "From Out of Nowhere, pt I," so I really can't tell what it is they're supposed to be looking at-my guess is either a black hole or one of those portals from Lost Galaxy. Alpha, holding onto a black box he saved from the Power Chamber wreckage, tries to tell TJ how far they are from Eltar. But he's speaking gibberish-his speech systems were fried in the explosion, and it's taken until now for them to completely degrade. However, in trying to say "Divatox," he manages to say "Diva-derp," so I may have to steal that one for the future. The shuttle is rocked as a spaceship approaches, leaving the orbit of a suspiciously Earth-like planet-yeah, most of the planets in PR, particularly this season, are NASA photos acting as stunt doubles for exoplanets. TJ tries to hail the ship, warning they're on a collision course, but the ship opens and emits a tractor beam, docking the shuttle perfectly-almost as if they were meant to fit together. The Rangers begin to explore, discovering it's called the Astro Megaship. They don't see anyone, but the ship's A.I., D.E.C.A., scans them with cameras to check for Quantrons. They see no one in the engine room, so they briefly split up. Ashley and Carlos check the cargo bay, where they see a star chart, color-coded lockers and jump tubes, and a machine called the synthetron, which can replicate any kind of food the user programs. TJ and Cassie return to say they've struck out, but Carlos finds a plate of some kind of pink and purple alien food, still warm. Someone was there, interrupted during their meal, and recently. They manage to find the bridge, which honestly looks like it was built for a lot more than five people, and they're amazed, but the crew is still nowhere in sight. TJ is suspicious, since someone brought them there and for a reason. Alpha starts looking at the computers and brings up a view of a Jupiter-like planet on the monitor, so TJ wonders if they'll be able to pinpoint their location if they can find out what planet that is.
Meanwhile in space, Red is now escaping Quantrons in their Velocifighters. And here, I really have to criticize the Galaxy Gliders-sure, they're cool, but they leave you completely open to attack. At least the Jet Jammers of LG, while still exposed, are armed. Fortunately, Red, as stated before, is a badass and deflects their lasers with his saber, but he drops it. In space. Where it falls. Physics: It's more of a guideline than an actual rule. Red continues to evade fire and builds up enough speed to safely turn and charge them, splitting his sidearm, the Astro Blaster, into dual mode and shooting them. This is roughly the equivalent of shooting down a couple of fighter jets with a handgun. And it works. Now that that's done, Red retrieves his saber and heads back to his ship...the Astro Megaship.
TJ, Ashley, and Alpha are still on the bridge when an alert comes up. Alpha tries to explain what it is, but no one can understand him. No matter; the door opens, revealing Red, who's just as shocked to see them as they are to see him. Realizing that this looks like they've just hijacked his ship, TJ tries to make peace and explain things, but Carlos and Cassie approach down the hall, spooking him worse. He quickly shuts the door and makes a run for it, but TJ rolls under the door before it can close and takes chase while Ashley goes out the other, open door. That both Reds missed. Great job, guys. The Rangers follow him down a hatch to another level, Megadeck 6, and I really have to say that this episode has done an awesome job building up suspense. You don't know what they're going to find on the ship, you don't know what's going to happen next-it's like "The Rescue Mission" of LG. Red is finally sick of running and appears behind a doorframe to fight them, but an alarm goes off, and the Megaship is rocked by blasts from an approaching ship. Red breaks away and runs to the elevator, the Mega Lift-note, you do not have to put "mega" in front of every noun on this show, regardless of the Sentai's title. TJ tries and fails to pry it open while his team ask why a Red Ranger would attack them without provocation-after all, they're not Kamen Riders. But TJ realizes the obvious: this is Red's ship, he thought they were his enemies, and someone is trying to kill him. So they decide to find another way back to the bridge as Astronema's forces fire again.
Red orders D.E.C.A. to put the thrusters on full power, but the engines are disabled-Red sees on the monitor that a cable disconnected itself from the reactor. I think I said in LG that this is the stupidest engine design ever, and I still stand by this. The cables transferring power from the reactor to the rest of the ship/engines are exposed and liable to breaking loose. To access the engine's circuit boards, you have to remove the protective panels and reach deep into the reactor itself. Regardless of how science is treated as a suggestion instead of law, this is dangerous on all levels. Red has no way of fixing the engines if he has to maneuver the ship from the bridge, but the team's made it to the engine room and hear the alarms and see the flashing lights. Astronema, sure this is a trap, stops firing for a moment as the Megaship plummets through the planet's atmosphere, giving TJ a safe chance to utterly risk his life by having his team dangle him over the catwalk's railing to grab the sparking cable and plug it back in-do I have to say it? DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. EVER. Alpha reboots the engines, and D.E.C.A. alerts Red that the Astro Thrusters are back online-okay, I guess if I complained about the "mega" thing, I should get used to the OTHER overused prefix. Red brings it up on the monitor and realizes the others never meant him any harm, just as TJ said. But even with the thrusters at max, the Megaship is too close to the surface, and it's a rough crash landing. Red goes flying over the control panels and apparently blacks out for a moment on hitting the floor, while the others manage a safer landing in the engine room. With alarms still blaring, Red rushes to the engine room to check on the team, demanding they explain things to him now. You know, as opposed to earlier. TJ reveals they're Power Rangers from Earth, much to his surprise, but D.E.C.A. warns that Astronema's ship is landing. They all head to the bridge, where they learn Quantrons have disembarked and are standing dangerously close to the ship. TJ affirms that they are Rangers, or at least were, and they're heading to Eltar to help Zordon. Red looks down in regret, realizing they don't know the bad news yet. D.E.C.A. reveals launch is impossible with the Mega Accelerator down and their defense is shot without the Mega Lasers. Furthermore, two decks are on auxiliary power. With the Quantrons approaching, Red runs to the elevator for the space hatch so he can fight. This time, TJ stops the doors from closing and tells him they're coming too, and all five run into the breach...
From Out of Nowhere, pt. II (writer: Judd Lynn, director: Jonathan Tzachor) To their credit, the Power-less Rangers are holding their own pretty well, but Red's doing far better, even executing a flawless Rider Kick against several Quantrons at once. He pauses to watch Turbo's teamwork as they refuse to let the Quantrons gain ground, but this gives a Quantron time to sneak up on him. Ashley spots it and warns him in time to defeat it, and the Quantrons retreat. With everyone relatively okay, Red powers down and reveals his true identity-which was already spoiled by the preview and the theme song. He's a teenager with long hair, naturally striped blond and brown. Ashley circles him, clearly checking him out, before stating the obvious, that he's human. He snarks back at her that not all humans come from Earth; he's from a space colony, KO-35, in the Karova System. Everyone introduces themselves, but TJ nearly screws things up again when he offers his hand to shake. Red balks at first, as if afraid it's an attack, but he picks up on the social cues of everyone being shocked to realize it's a common Earth greeting, and he shakes, telling them his name is Andros. Then he leaves to check on the damage to his ship while the others tease Ashley about her obvious crush on him.
Andros begins repairs on the ship's hull while TJ discusses plans with Ashley and Cassie to change course to the Cimmerian Planet if they can't make it to Eltar. Impatient, Andros reveals he was just on the Cimmerian Planet and by now, the UAE's left. They ask if he saw Zordon, and he flatly explains Dark Specter's plan. Shocked both by the plan and Andros's tone, they try to point out that the Rangers are all doomed if Zordon's powers are drained, but Andros insists he's got some time, since Zordon's too strong for Dark Specter to drain that quickly. They're still bothered by his insistence on going it alone, and Cassie tries to convince him they're all in it together, but her words fail to reach him. They follow him inside, where D.E.C.A. is guiding Carlos through the process of repairing Alpha. TJ tries to convince him they have the same mission, but Andros snaps back that as planet-based Rangers, they know nothing about space. However, he manages to turn off his asshole switch for a moment when Carlos has to admit that Alpha's repair work is far beyond his capabilities-implying he may be better with machines than with people (surprise, surprise), Andros takes Alpha aside and asks him to recite his mission while he repairs the speech circuitry. It works in short order, and Alpha's voice switches several modes before finally settling on a new one. Andros apologizes for not having a chip for the old voice, but that's okay because everyone hated the old one and even Alpha seems happier sounding like Wendee Lee than a stereotypical Brooklynite. But any hope that this has thawed Andros any is dashed when he leaves to make sure the shuttle can make the trip to Earth.
Ashley finds him later on the bridge, repairing a console while having D.E.C.A. program the shuttle's navigation. He lowers his asshole setting and tells her that the shuttle's ready to take them home, but she asks if he ever goes back to his own home world, and he says no. She tries to help him out from under the console, but he refuses and gets up himself, so she points out that he seems to hate asking for help. This is the first time anyone really got through to him, and he flounders in awkward silence for a moment before the others arrive. He changes the subject and tells them he's provided enough fuel and supplies for the trip back to Earth, and TJ thanks him and wishes him luck, shaking his hand again. They're dropped off by the shuttle on the planet's surface before Andros takes off, and TJ declares that their new mission is to return to Earth and protect it. But they realize Alpha is missing-they only find Quantrons instead. They're easily beaten and captured, and Astronema herself confronts them, with horribly hammy acting-I swear, Melody Perkins improves over time. She mocks them and asks where Andros went, but when they refuse to say, she gives the order to kill them, teleporting out before a massive laser beams down on them.
Andros sets the accelerator to Hyper Rush 3, but he discovers Alpha had stayed behind. Alpha tries to tell him he's making a huge mistake and really should team up with the others, and D.E.C.A. backs him up on this. Andros insists he works alone, however, but Alpha points out that if he's going to stand a chance at saving Zordon, he needs to take help where he can find it. Andros is forced to reflect on how the others tried to help him and appeal to him as fellow Rangers, and finally, he tells D.E.C.A. to turn around. And it's at just the right time, since the Megaship arrives just before that big honkin' laser and swoops low enough to knock the Quantrons off their feet and allow the others to run before the laser strikes. The Megaship lands, and Andros rushes out, passing out the Astro Morphers and making the morphing call of "Let's rocket!" before typing in the code (335). The morphing sequence is actually lifted wholesale from Megaranger, with the text at the end changed to "Morphing Complete," which means there's a lot of nonsensical text and poor spelling. And for this episode and the crossover episodes of LG, the Rangers appear, opening their eyes before the Sentai footage kicks in. The newly minted Space (not Astro) Rangers take to battle, gleefully testing their new weapons and powers and overall just kicking Quantron ass. But Andros knows Astronema enough to know she's not done yet-sure enough, Velocifighters arrive and open fire. They escape to the ship, and in the Dark Fortress-a transdimensional space station that appears to be half-digitized; apparently, it's usually caught between dimensions or something?-Astronema sends out her sphinx ship again. The Megaship takes off as Alpha decodes the black box, and short-range scanners pick up on the ship arriving just before it fires on them. They just manage to get the shields up in time, but the ship is still rocked, and Andros returns fire. With the shields failing, Alpha reveals the good news he discovered from the black box: Zordon is Batman. Or at least, according to the fans: Zordon set into place a masterplan apparently spanning two decades, if Megaforce is to be believed, ready for a massive attack from space. The Megaship and the shuttle were part of a set (and apparently on loan only to KO-35 and NASADA, respectively), and he encrypted the software on the black box to allow them to link and create the Astro Megazord. So they decide to give it a shot, and the new Megazord cuts through the sphinx ship like butter.
Having replaced the team's destroyed clothes with spiffy new uniforms, Andros gives them the grand tour, explaining about D.E.C.A. in particular. TJ, no longer Red, asks his new leader where they start. Andros says first priority is to repair the Megaship so it'll survive a long-distance voyage, but he doesn't have all the components they need. Cassie suggests they go to Earth and ask NASADA for help, and though Andros hesitates, he admits it's a good idea to get help. Alpha sets the course, and even Andros feels a little touched at his new team's excitement at going home.
Realizing the Rangers are on their way to Earth, Astronema orders the Dark Fortress to follow, ready to destroy the whole planet if that's what it takes...
Save Our Ship (writer: Judd Lynn, director: Isaac Florentine) Andros introduces the team to the simudeck, which takes the place of the holodeck from Star Trek and allows them to practice their skills against holographic enemies-the Craterites, along with a manta ray monster. Unfortunately, for some reason, they don't edit out the text referring to TJ and Ashley as "Mega Blue" and "Mega Yellow." But just as the simulation ends, the Megaship arrives at Earth, and the team is excited to be home. Andros is a little apprehensive, since he's never been to Earth before, but Ashley takes his arm and promises he'll love it. Astronema observes them taking the shuttle to Earth, but to her great displeasure, Elgar arrives on the Dark Fortress. And to be honest, I have no idea why. In-story, the justification is that Dark Specter thought he'd be helpful, but really? The guy destroys Zordon's energy tube in the Power Chamber, and it makes up for an entire season of being an absolute dumbass who fucks up everything? Elgar is my frustration with the Saban-era Power Rangers seasons wrapped up in one convenient, highly annoying package. He's an idiot. He's an attempt at comic relief that has to be pushed way too far in order to work. Sure, kids will laugh at him, but honestly, they're not going to miss him if he's gone-and I'm not sure there's any PRiS fan who genuinely likes him and is glad he got another season. And this isn't me saying, "Oh, funny characters are bad"-no. I love the humor in RPM and Kamen Rider Ryuki, which have some pretty serious and dark premises. I love Den-O and Fourze, which are ridiculously fun and light. But there's the keyword: fun. Elgar isn't fun. The humor with him isn't natural; it's forced. And when you force a joke, it's not funny. This alone is my problem with the way Bulk and Skull developed (and Professor Phenomenus this season and Spike in Samurai, not to mention the teacher and Ernie in Megaforce), but they make it worse by making him a villain. What kind of villain is that supposed to be? I understand wanting kids to be able to laugh at evil so that it doesn't scare them, but I don't believe in talking down to kids when there's a lot on the line. There's a lot of serious stuff this season, and there's a lot of serious stuff in the world. In this specific circumstance, kids should take the villains seriously, know that things are going to be worse before they're better, and know that the bad guys want to take away everything that's light and good in the world-thereby making the heroes seem more heroic because they still believe in light and good and fun and humor. So, yeah. With Dark Specter's orders, Astronema can't throw Elgar out an airlock, and that feeling in your chest is the feeling of sympathizing with Astronema-it's okay, just embrace it.
The Rangers drop by what looks like the Angel Grove Youth Center and Juice Bar in exterior and interior shots, but is dubbed the Surf Spot, so I think it's reasonable to assume that it was bought out and retooled. Andros-now dressed as an ordinary Earth teen from the late '90s-is slightly overwhelmed by the atmosphere and isn't sure about everything, but he's drawn over to a surfboard (likely because it resembles a Galaxy Glider) and accidentally knocks it over. The owner, Adelle, puts it back up and is confused when he asks what it is. But she assumes he's being sarcastic when she asks him what planet he's from and he answers KO-35 matter-of-factly. I'm on the fence of how to feel about this. On the one hand, it's nice seeing Andros actively trying not to be an asshole. On the other, I really hate when any show takes the guy from another planet or world and decides to just milk his foreign-ness for laughs-but I'll get on that in a few episodes. He finally rejoins his friends and watches Bulk and Skull's antics nearby, where Bulk is refusing to share his food with Skull, who forgot his wallet at home. And not amused by Bulk's treatment of Skull, Andros telekinetically squirts hot sauce in his milkshake. Ashley sees it moving, but by that point, he's stopped, so it's hard to tell what's going on. But Bulk drinks and has to run to their table and drink an entire pitcher of water, much to the others' concern-and Andros's amusement. While Bulk drinks, Skull remarks that he doesn't think that Prof. Phenomenus, the scientist they want to talk to, will believe their story. While trying to discover a comet (it was the '90s and the recently discovered Comet Hale-Bopp had appeared the year before and was really awesome), they instead found a half-invisible UFO that sounds exactly like the Dark Fortress. The Rangers realize Astronema followed them, so they cancel lunch plans and rush to get the rest of their supplies at a local electronics store. But Andros picks up something on his AMscanner, which turns out to be Quantrons. They fight them off to an ill-fitting remix of "Go, Go Power Rangers" before realizing they really have to bust ass to NASADA. Andros orders D.E.C.A. to prep the shuttle for launch and to evacuate the NASADA buildings.
Meanwhile, Bulk and Skull meet the Prof., who turns out to be a crazy old man living in his van and is obsessed with aliens. He hears their story and takes them in as apprentices, despite being incapable of finding proof of extraterrestrial life in the alien invasion capital of the world. They end up at NASADA due to car trouble and pick up alien readings. Bulk and Skull are skeptical, but Quantrons teleport in. And a sidenote here: In the original scripts and even in the preview, they show the Quantrons glamouring themselves as human scientists to infiltrate NASADA, but at the very last second, it was dropped, and there's never any mention of the Quantrons being able to disguise themselves as human. I'm honestly not sure why, but I'm guessing it has to do with time and not wanting the Rangers to beat up other humans. Instead, Ecliptor arrives to challenge the Rangers. What? Never heard of Ecliptor? Neither did most of the Rangers, other than Andros-and I like this detail because Andros has been around, so yeah, he knows the guy and the others don't. And as a nice coincidence with the Megaranger footage, Ecliptor's gunning for Red specifically, implying that they have a history or that Ecliptor just really hates him more than the others, for reasons that will be clear later in the season. Although, weirdly, Ecliptor claims that the other Rangers are hiding when they're very obviously behind him-I think Judd Lynn should have double-checked the Sentai footage while writing that bit. And we also see why Andros ordered an evacuation: Astronema blows up the whole damn complex trying to destroy the shuttle via orbital bombardment. Things that won't fly on TV nowadays, empty buildings or not. Ecliptor conveniently teleports out, and they rush to the shuttle and launch in the nick of time. So Astronema locks the satellasers on Ecliptor...who's back, apparently...and supersizes him for the first giant monster fight of the season. He pulls some kind of Trick Vent kaleidoscope doppelganger illusion attack on the Megazord, which gives them trouble until Ashley's Lightstar helmet mode locks onto the real thing, and they destroy him...for now, at least.
Repairs are made, and Ashley invites Andros to the simudeck for a game of pool. He grabs the cue stick with telekinesis, revealing he was the one who dumped hot sauce in Bulk's milkshake. He admits it's a learned skill he's been practicing for years, but he agrees to teach her in exchange for learning to play pool.
Astronema, now with long, black hair decorated with various charms (yes, she can change her hair whenever she wants, okay?), decides to rethink her strategy against the Rangers. She also has a tortoise for some reason, which inspires her to order Elgar to lock the satellasers on the sewers of New York City...and I'm going to be honest, it looks like she just created the Ninja Turtles of The Next Mutation. Leonardo, Raphael, Michaelangelo, Donatello, and Venus DeMilo emerge from the sewers, wary and wondering what's up...
Shell Shocked (writer: Judd Lynn, director: Blair Treu) So. In 2012, Toei came up with this brilliant idea: They would combine their two biggest franchises, Super Sentai and Kamen Rider in a big crossover movie and have a battle between them, settling the question of "Who's more powerful/cooler?" And while the success of Super Hero Taisen is up for debate, I think we can agree that when Saban tried the same with Power Rangers in Space and Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, the results were definitely worse. There's a lot to criticize, but I'm going to try to avoid being as negative as possible-if you want complaining, there's plenty of it online, and they do a much better job tearing this episode apart.
Astronema confronts the TMNT, and Venus recognizes her as the Princess of Evil, which is odd, considering they admit that they don't believe the Power Rangers are real. Astronema tells them that they're going to destroy the Rangers for her, and when they tell her hell no, she zaps them with her staff and turns them evil.
On the Megaship, Andros finally introduces the Galaxy Gliders to the team, claiming that they're safer than the unarmed shuttle...when the first episode established that they are also unarmed and unlike the shuttle, very, very exposed. But they have to switch to on-the-job training when the Electrotramp monster attacks an Angel Grove power plant. And I want to point out that Andros does a morphing pose before sliding down the jump tube, and they're eventually going to drop the pose. Electrotramp turns out to be too much for them, but the TMNT teleport in, to Andros's confusion and the others' shock. To be fair, the Earth-born Rangers think the Ninja Turtles are just an urban legend, and for Andros, this probably looks like five monsters just showed up right out of nowhere and protected them from another monster-better get used to monster vs. monster rivalries, buddy. And much as I hate this episode, I can't hate the stuntwork here. Koichi Sakamoto handled stunt direction this series-of course, it's awesome. And the Turtles' suit actors do a fantastic job in this scene. These suits have got to be heavy-they're far bulkier than the Rangers' suits and most other toku hero suits. They shouldn't be able to move well-there's a reason why the monsters rarely pull off the crazy stuff that most of the heroes do. And in this battle, the Turtles are moving as quickly and flipping as effortlessly as the Rangers' suit actors would. Hell, they even pull off a Super Sentai-esque team attack (ala Goranger or the later Magiranger) to defeat the monster! Andros, naturally, is suspicious as hell-which is understandable, since the TMNT's story has big enough holes to count as a singularity. They fail to explain how they crossed the country from New York to California (it's on Prof. Phenomenus's license plate-we can stop pretending Angel Grove is in the same unknown state as Springfield), let alone how they knew the supposedly fictional Rangers needed help. On top of it, they know that these brand new Rangers have a spaceship-seriously, guys, wise up! This is the last straw for Andros, and he tries to convince the others that bringing the Turtles to the Megaship is a bad idea, but they don't listen and teleport them aboard.
They give the TMNT the grand tour, and Donatello is especially interested in D.E.C.A. Andros spies on the whole thing, and Cassie brings them into the engine room, where they ask how fast the ship goes. In a nice aversion of space technobabble, D.E.C.A. replies that the actual speed of Maximum Hyperrush Velocity is classified, which means they can bullshit it however much they'd like. Cassie tries to convince Andros that he's just being paranoid, but he doesn't budge on his opinion, which is good because someone accesses the main computer controls a little while later. He runs over to find the Turtles cutting some wires, which somehow reprograms D.E.C.A. And in another good bit of stuntwork, this time on Andros's part, he fights them off and runs. On the bridge, Venus and Raph steer the Megaship out of orbit and lower the defenses, allowing Astronema and her away team to board. The Rangers are captured in short order, except for Andros, who's very good at running and hiding. Astronema asserts control over the ship and sets a course for the Teonta Galaxy to meet up with Dark Specter, who likes the idea of using the Rangers' own Megazord to destroy them, but she tries to cover up the fact that they're still short one Ranger. The moment the transmission ends, she threatens Leonardo to find him or be thrown into a black hole. She doesn't shit around.
The others are tied up in the engine room with Quantrons guarding them. Also, the captain talks, sounding like a muffled Dalek. I mention this because they're never going to speak again after this episode. Andros is hiding nearby and uses telekinesis to maneuver a wire cutter over to cut their bonds, but the psychokinetic effort of squeezing the handles causes him to drop it, catching the Quantrons' attention. Fortunately, TJ awesomely explains that they got cut free and hands the captain the cable and his ass. The Rangers then evade the Turtles and leap into the jump tubes, where the Turtles are too wary to follow, and they head to the shuttle. The Megaship takes chase, but Andros flies close to a magnetic field that'll jam its sensors. The Megaship fails to escape, and the cosmic energy reverses the polarity of Astronema's spell or something, returning the Turtles to normal. But Astronema still doesn't shit around and orders D.E.C.A. to self-destruct the ship before teleporting away. The panicking TMNT head to the control panel, and Donny struggles to remember which wire he cut. Venus helps him focus, and despite what we saw happen, he remembers cutting only the green wire. D.E.C.A.'s original programming comes back online, and she cancels the self-destruct.
The Rangers, meanwhile, touch down on a rocky planet, but Astronema attacks. When she gets bored watching her Quantrons have all the fun, she defeats all five Rangers with her boomerang. As they struggle to recover and Andros reaches for his Spiral Saber, the TMNT arrive, and Leo picks up the saber. The Rangers step back, worried they're in for Super Hero Taisen again, but Leo gives Andros the saber and tells him they're good again. This time, Andros believes him, and the heroes join forces. The stunts this battle aren't quite as good, and the weight of the Turtle suits is beginning to show-their suit actors are hard-pressed to keep up with the Rangers' suit actors. But I do like that they eschew the typical color-by-color, girl-by-girl teams that other crossovers go for: Cassie and Mikey are partners, Raph saves Ashley, TJ and Donny tag-team, Venus and Carlos are back-to-back and on even ground, and the leaders team up against their group of Quantrons. After an embarrassing defeat, Astronema and the Quantrons teleport out. The TMNT explain that they'd never willingly fight for evil, and Leo repeats his affirmation from when they first met that the good guys have to stick together. This time, Andros agrees and shakes his hand. The Rangers give them another ride back to NY, and the heroes, now friends, promise to visit each other if possible. Donny even apologizes for reprogramming D.E.C.A., and she claims not to hold a grudge before zapping him. Mikey then asks for a favor, and Andros agrees-to let them take the Galaxy Gliders for a spin before heading home.
"From Out of Nowhere" recaps the finale, but it still gives a pretty poor explanation behind...well, everything. So I'll go over it in more detail because it actually comes up again later and you kind of need to know what happened. The story really starts with Blue Ranger Justin Stewart, whose father had been offered a job that would take them out of their hometown of Angel Grove, and since literally everyone in Justin's life was there, he didn't want to take the job until he'd talked to his son first. But the Rangers learned that the distant planet Eltar was under attack-home planet of their predecessors' mentor, the wise sage Zordon. Zordon and his assistant, Alpha 5, had returned to Eltar earlier in the season, leaving behind a friend, Dimitria, to guide the Rangers. The Rangers are forced to sacrifice all their zords and weapons against a powerful new monster of Divatox's, and as they retreat to their base, the Power Chamber, they learn that Dimitria is leaving with one of their sort-of Sixth Rangers, Blue Senturion (I don't know why they spell it that way either), to aide Zordon on Eltar, which has fallen to enemy forces. But soon after they leave, Divatox's forces overwhelm the Rangers, capturing their sentient vehicles, Lightning Cruiser and Storm Blaster, and blowing up the Power Chamber. The Rangers hide among the wreckage and basically have to fake their deaths, but Divatox is called off the search for their bodies by an emissary from the Monarch of Evil, Dark Specter, who called them to the "Cimmerian Planet" (...I honestly have NO idea why they don't just call it Cimmeria; while Stargate SG-1 may have used the name that same year, it's not like they have a trademark on it or anything). Divatox departs, leaving the Rangers and their assistant, Alpha 6, free to reveal themselves. But for whatever reason, their powers finally give out, implicitly lost forever because of the destruction of the Power Chamber. The Rangers know they have to head to Eltar, so they send Justin ahead to the local space center, NASADA, to let the Commander know that the Power Rangers need to borrow a state-of-the-art space shuttle that's just completed a mission. The Commander agrees, and Justin lets his friends know that he's decided to make the move with his dad, whom he's recently reunited with after a long stint in a children's home. They wish each other goodbye and good luck, as the Rangers set controls for outer space and fly higher than ever before...
"From Out of Nowhere, Part 1" takes place in the immediate aftermath. In Power Rangers Zeo, the name "United Alliance of Evil" was dropped, implying a massive organization of all the bad guys throughout the universe-a Legion of Doom for Power Rangers, essentially. While PRiS never names it as such, it seems reasonable to believe that this is that very Alliance.
The UAE has gathered on the Cimmerian Planet (which is reused stock footage of Rita/Bandora's dumpster planet from MMPR/Zyuranger; it's one of the few non-NASA stock footage planets we've got, so enjoy), and we've got mingling from all the Power Rangers villains to date: Rita and Zedd, Master Vile the Machine Empire, Divatox, General Havoc, and various monsters that honestly should be dead. Also, for all I complained about the video quality of the DVD before, the quality has improved just enough to see that everyone's costumes are really decaying-Rita's headdress, for example, has threads sticking out. Though on some level, I guess it's appropriate-these villains are past their prime. They may have had their victory, but it's visibly close to the end for them. They should have been wiped out long ago, if not for this one lucky win. As for said victory, Divatox is bragging about destroying the Power Chamber when Rita bumps into her. Now, in the Turbo movie, we saw that Rita and Divatox didn't necessarily like each other very much, but here, we learn that the villainesses of Power Rangers absolutely despise one another. Rita starts mocking her for not getting out of the "destroying the Power Rangers" business like she and Zedd did, but Divatox points out she's already destroyed them-much to the surprise of an obvious spy in a dark cloak. Rita can't believe her ears either, but Zedd admits that the whole universe is talking about it. But Divatox's annoying, idiot nephew, Elgar, pisses Rita off, so she launches a blast of energy from her wand to side-swipe them. Both Divatox and Elgar are suitably spooked, but the blast is caught in-hand by a fresh new villainess, Astronema, whose own powers turn the energy purple before she flicks it off. And I have to give credit to the visual artists-they make sure that the energy casts a purple glow against her face. Rumor has it that Astronema's next in line to be the new Queen of Evil, and Divatox is determined not to let that happen.
Sidenote here on the theme: It's just so cheesy and awesome that I can't help but love it. Also, during the opening, they really do try to avoid spoilers-while Carlos is listed as the Black Ranger and TJ as Blue (I'll discuss this more later), the new Red Ranger isn't revealed, and Divatox instead of Astronema is listed as the main villain. And to be honest, the idea of multiple, competing villains is interesting and used well in other Power Rangers and Sentai series-but this is Divatox we're talking about, and I'm not sure the audience would want to put up with her whiny attitude for another season, especially when the alternative is the cooler, more professional Astronema.
The villains all take their place at the banquet table, along with Not A Spy. Astronema, who has a few brain cells more than her predecessors, is suspicious and keeps an eye on him. Also, note that she's fiddling with the locket around her neck. It's not important, but as far as subtle foreshadowing goes? They actually did a damn good job. Dark Specter appears before them, revealing that he's captured Zordon and is draining his powers. Lava will rise in his energy tube until his power is completely gone, thus destroying the Power, the source behind all Ranger powers, forever. And while I can't pretend to be an expert in Power Rangers lore, particularly with how they seem to retcon things every time they return to the subject of Zordon or how the extremely loose continuity always introduces new backstory elements that make ancient times seem really, really more fucked up than we thought...we've got two concepts in Power Rangers behind the morphing powers: the Power and the Morphing Grid. The Power is kind of treated like Star Wars' Force in MMPR, with Zordon constantly wishing people that it will protect them. So my guess is that the Power is the actual...well, the actual power behind the Rangers while the Morphing Grid is the plane that channels it-I guess like mako and the Lifestream in Final Fantasy VII? It seems pretty definitive here that Zordon himself is the source of the Power, or at least, he's merged with it, which might explain why even civilians can create their own powers in later seasons...but I won't spoil "Countdown to Destruction" this early.
Zedd raises a toast, but everyone notices that the spy doesn't drink. Astronema points out the obvious, and everyone else is so shocked that someone would spy on them that they start a fight. The spy pulls his weapon, the Spiral Saber, and leaps on the table like he's Errol Flynn or something and fights off everyone successfully, including Zedd-honestly, as much as I pick on this Red Ranger, I have to admit he's a total badass. But Goldar finds an opening and rips off his cloak, revealing his identity to one and all: a Red Ranger. The villains are shocked that a Power Ranger would be so bold, and Dark Specter gives the order to destroy him. Being vastly outnumbered, Red summons his vehicle, the Galaxy Glider. And it's a nitpick, I know, but I've never understood why an alien Ranger would use the words "hang ten" as a summon. Anyway, he zooms past Dark Specter himself and even outraces his fire breath, just as cocky as can be. Dark Specter's enraged that Red knows his plans and calls for someone to stop him. Divatox and Rita try to sabotage each other in their efforts to volunteer, but Dark Specter's had enough of their crap and charges the observant, deadly serious Astronema with his flagship, the Dark Fortress, to put an end to Red. Silently, Astronema glares at her spiteful predecessors and teleports away with her footsoldiers, the Quantrons.
With all that going on, you'd think we'd forgotten about our Earth-born heroes, the former Turbo Rangers: Red Ranger TJ Johnson, Green Ranger Carlos Vallerte, Yellow Ranger Ashley Hammond, and Pink Ranger Cassie Chan. They're still on the NASADA shuttle, looking out over a...well, I'm not sure. For additional research, I'm working off SirSTACK's script archive, which has early drafts of different Power Rangers seasons-check it out! It's really interesting. But unfortunately, at this time, he doesn't have a "From Out of Nowhere, pt I," so I really can't tell what it is they're supposed to be looking at-my guess is either a black hole or one of those portals from Lost Galaxy. Alpha, holding onto a black box he saved from the Power Chamber wreckage, tries to tell TJ how far they are from Eltar. But he's speaking gibberish-his speech systems were fried in the explosion, and it's taken until now for them to completely degrade. However, in trying to say "Divatox," he manages to say "Diva-derp," so I may have to steal that one for the future. The shuttle is rocked as a spaceship approaches, leaving the orbit of a suspiciously Earth-like planet-yeah, most of the planets in PR, particularly this season, are NASA photos acting as stunt doubles for exoplanets. TJ tries to hail the ship, warning they're on a collision course, but the ship opens and emits a tractor beam, docking the shuttle perfectly-almost as if they were meant to fit together. The Rangers begin to explore, discovering it's called the Astro Megaship. They don't see anyone, but the ship's A.I., D.E.C.A., scans them with cameras to check for Quantrons. They see no one in the engine room, so they briefly split up. Ashley and Carlos check the cargo bay, where they see a star chart, color-coded lockers and jump tubes, and a machine called the synthetron, which can replicate any kind of food the user programs. TJ and Cassie return to say they've struck out, but Carlos finds a plate of some kind of pink and purple alien food, still warm. Someone was there, interrupted during their meal, and recently. They manage to find the bridge, which honestly looks like it was built for a lot more than five people, and they're amazed, but the crew is still nowhere in sight. TJ is suspicious, since someone brought them there and for a reason. Alpha starts looking at the computers and brings up a view of a Jupiter-like planet on the monitor, so TJ wonders if they'll be able to pinpoint their location if they can find out what planet that is.
Meanwhile in space, Red is now escaping Quantrons in their Velocifighters. And here, I really have to criticize the Galaxy Gliders-sure, they're cool, but they leave you completely open to attack. At least the Jet Jammers of LG, while still exposed, are armed. Fortunately, Red, as stated before, is a badass and deflects their lasers with his saber, but he drops it. In space. Where it falls. Physics: It's more of a guideline than an actual rule. Red continues to evade fire and builds up enough speed to safely turn and charge them, splitting his sidearm, the Astro Blaster, into dual mode and shooting them. This is roughly the equivalent of shooting down a couple of fighter jets with a handgun. And it works. Now that that's done, Red retrieves his saber and heads back to his ship...the Astro Megaship.
TJ, Ashley, and Alpha are still on the bridge when an alert comes up. Alpha tries to explain what it is, but no one can understand him. No matter; the door opens, revealing Red, who's just as shocked to see them as they are to see him. Realizing that this looks like they've just hijacked his ship, TJ tries to make peace and explain things, but Carlos and Cassie approach down the hall, spooking him worse. He quickly shuts the door and makes a run for it, but TJ rolls under the door before it can close and takes chase while Ashley goes out the other, open door. That both Reds missed. Great job, guys. The Rangers follow him down a hatch to another level, Megadeck 6, and I really have to say that this episode has done an awesome job building up suspense. You don't know what they're going to find on the ship, you don't know what's going to happen next-it's like "The Rescue Mission" of LG. Red is finally sick of running and appears behind a doorframe to fight them, but an alarm goes off, and the Megaship is rocked by blasts from an approaching ship. Red breaks away and runs to the elevator, the Mega Lift-note, you do not have to put "mega" in front of every noun on this show, regardless of the Sentai's title. TJ tries and fails to pry it open while his team ask why a Red Ranger would attack them without provocation-after all, they're not Kamen Riders. But TJ realizes the obvious: this is Red's ship, he thought they were his enemies, and someone is trying to kill him. So they decide to find another way back to the bridge as Astronema's forces fire again.
Red orders D.E.C.A. to put the thrusters on full power, but the engines are disabled-Red sees on the monitor that a cable disconnected itself from the reactor. I think I said in LG that this is the stupidest engine design ever, and I still stand by this. The cables transferring power from the reactor to the rest of the ship/engines are exposed and liable to breaking loose. To access the engine's circuit boards, you have to remove the protective panels and reach deep into the reactor itself. Regardless of how science is treated as a suggestion instead of law, this is dangerous on all levels. Red has no way of fixing the engines if he has to maneuver the ship from the bridge, but the team's made it to the engine room and hear the alarms and see the flashing lights. Astronema, sure this is a trap, stops firing for a moment as the Megaship plummets through the planet's atmosphere, giving TJ a safe chance to utterly risk his life by having his team dangle him over the catwalk's railing to grab the sparking cable and plug it back in-do I have to say it? DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. EVER. Alpha reboots the engines, and D.E.C.A. alerts Red that the Astro Thrusters are back online-okay, I guess if I complained about the "mega" thing, I should get used to the OTHER overused prefix. Red brings it up on the monitor and realizes the others never meant him any harm, just as TJ said. But even with the thrusters at max, the Megaship is too close to the surface, and it's a rough crash landing. Red goes flying over the control panels and apparently blacks out for a moment on hitting the floor, while the others manage a safer landing in the engine room. With alarms still blaring, Red rushes to the engine room to check on the team, demanding they explain things to him now. You know, as opposed to earlier. TJ reveals they're Power Rangers from Earth, much to his surprise, but D.E.C.A. warns that Astronema's ship is landing. They all head to the bridge, where they learn Quantrons have disembarked and are standing dangerously close to the ship. TJ affirms that they are Rangers, or at least were, and they're heading to Eltar to help Zordon. Red looks down in regret, realizing they don't know the bad news yet. D.E.C.A. reveals launch is impossible with the Mega Accelerator down and their defense is shot without the Mega Lasers. Furthermore, two decks are on auxiliary power. With the Quantrons approaching, Red runs to the elevator for the space hatch so he can fight. This time, TJ stops the doors from closing and tells him they're coming too, and all five run into the breach...
From Out of Nowhere, pt. II (writer: Judd Lynn, director: Jonathan Tzachor) To their credit, the Power-less Rangers are holding their own pretty well, but Red's doing far better, even executing a flawless Rider Kick against several Quantrons at once. He pauses to watch Turbo's teamwork as they refuse to let the Quantrons gain ground, but this gives a Quantron time to sneak up on him. Ashley spots it and warns him in time to defeat it, and the Quantrons retreat. With everyone relatively okay, Red powers down and reveals his true identity-which was already spoiled by the preview and the theme song. He's a teenager with long hair, naturally striped blond and brown. Ashley circles him, clearly checking him out, before stating the obvious, that he's human. He snarks back at her that not all humans come from Earth; he's from a space colony, KO-35, in the Karova System. Everyone introduces themselves, but TJ nearly screws things up again when he offers his hand to shake. Red balks at first, as if afraid it's an attack, but he picks up on the social cues of everyone being shocked to realize it's a common Earth greeting, and he shakes, telling them his name is Andros. Then he leaves to check on the damage to his ship while the others tease Ashley about her obvious crush on him.
Andros begins repairs on the ship's hull while TJ discusses plans with Ashley and Cassie to change course to the Cimmerian Planet if they can't make it to Eltar. Impatient, Andros reveals he was just on the Cimmerian Planet and by now, the UAE's left. They ask if he saw Zordon, and he flatly explains Dark Specter's plan. Shocked both by the plan and Andros's tone, they try to point out that the Rangers are all doomed if Zordon's powers are drained, but Andros insists he's got some time, since Zordon's too strong for Dark Specter to drain that quickly. They're still bothered by his insistence on going it alone, and Cassie tries to convince him they're all in it together, but her words fail to reach him. They follow him inside, where D.E.C.A. is guiding Carlos through the process of repairing Alpha. TJ tries to convince him they have the same mission, but Andros snaps back that as planet-based Rangers, they know nothing about space. However, he manages to turn off his asshole switch for a moment when Carlos has to admit that Alpha's repair work is far beyond his capabilities-implying he may be better with machines than with people (surprise, surprise), Andros takes Alpha aside and asks him to recite his mission while he repairs the speech circuitry. It works in short order, and Alpha's voice switches several modes before finally settling on a new one. Andros apologizes for not having a chip for the old voice, but that's okay because everyone hated the old one and even Alpha seems happier sounding like Wendee Lee than a stereotypical Brooklynite. But any hope that this has thawed Andros any is dashed when he leaves to make sure the shuttle can make the trip to Earth.
Ashley finds him later on the bridge, repairing a console while having D.E.C.A. program the shuttle's navigation. He lowers his asshole setting and tells her that the shuttle's ready to take them home, but she asks if he ever goes back to his own home world, and he says no. She tries to help him out from under the console, but he refuses and gets up himself, so she points out that he seems to hate asking for help. This is the first time anyone really got through to him, and he flounders in awkward silence for a moment before the others arrive. He changes the subject and tells them he's provided enough fuel and supplies for the trip back to Earth, and TJ thanks him and wishes him luck, shaking his hand again. They're dropped off by the shuttle on the planet's surface before Andros takes off, and TJ declares that their new mission is to return to Earth and protect it. But they realize Alpha is missing-they only find Quantrons instead. They're easily beaten and captured, and Astronema herself confronts them, with horribly hammy acting-I swear, Melody Perkins improves over time. She mocks them and asks where Andros went, but when they refuse to say, she gives the order to kill them, teleporting out before a massive laser beams down on them.
Andros sets the accelerator to Hyper Rush 3, but he discovers Alpha had stayed behind. Alpha tries to tell him he's making a huge mistake and really should team up with the others, and D.E.C.A. backs him up on this. Andros insists he works alone, however, but Alpha points out that if he's going to stand a chance at saving Zordon, he needs to take help where he can find it. Andros is forced to reflect on how the others tried to help him and appeal to him as fellow Rangers, and finally, he tells D.E.C.A. to turn around. And it's at just the right time, since the Megaship arrives just before that big honkin' laser and swoops low enough to knock the Quantrons off their feet and allow the others to run before the laser strikes. The Megaship lands, and Andros rushes out, passing out the Astro Morphers and making the morphing call of "Let's rocket!" before typing in the code (335). The morphing sequence is actually lifted wholesale from Megaranger, with the text at the end changed to "Morphing Complete," which means there's a lot of nonsensical text and poor spelling. And for this episode and the crossover episodes of LG, the Rangers appear, opening their eyes before the Sentai footage kicks in. The newly minted Space (not Astro) Rangers take to battle, gleefully testing their new weapons and powers and overall just kicking Quantron ass. But Andros knows Astronema enough to know she's not done yet-sure enough, Velocifighters arrive and open fire. They escape to the ship, and in the Dark Fortress-a transdimensional space station that appears to be half-digitized; apparently, it's usually caught between dimensions or something?-Astronema sends out her sphinx ship again. The Megaship takes off as Alpha decodes the black box, and short-range scanners pick up on the ship arriving just before it fires on them. They just manage to get the shields up in time, but the ship is still rocked, and Andros returns fire. With the shields failing, Alpha reveals the good news he discovered from the black box: Zordon is Batman. Or at least, according to the fans: Zordon set into place a masterplan apparently spanning two decades, if Megaforce is to be believed, ready for a massive attack from space. The Megaship and the shuttle were part of a set (and apparently on loan only to KO-35 and NASADA, respectively), and he encrypted the software on the black box to allow them to link and create the Astro Megazord. So they decide to give it a shot, and the new Megazord cuts through the sphinx ship like butter.
Having replaced the team's destroyed clothes with spiffy new uniforms, Andros gives them the grand tour, explaining about D.E.C.A. in particular. TJ, no longer Red, asks his new leader where they start. Andros says first priority is to repair the Megaship so it'll survive a long-distance voyage, but he doesn't have all the components they need. Cassie suggests they go to Earth and ask NASADA for help, and though Andros hesitates, he admits it's a good idea to get help. Alpha sets the course, and even Andros feels a little touched at his new team's excitement at going home.
Realizing the Rangers are on their way to Earth, Astronema orders the Dark Fortress to follow, ready to destroy the whole planet if that's what it takes...
Save Our Ship (writer: Judd Lynn, director: Isaac Florentine) Andros introduces the team to the simudeck, which takes the place of the holodeck from Star Trek and allows them to practice their skills against holographic enemies-the Craterites, along with a manta ray monster. Unfortunately, for some reason, they don't edit out the text referring to TJ and Ashley as "Mega Blue" and "Mega Yellow." But just as the simulation ends, the Megaship arrives at Earth, and the team is excited to be home. Andros is a little apprehensive, since he's never been to Earth before, but Ashley takes his arm and promises he'll love it. Astronema observes them taking the shuttle to Earth, but to her great displeasure, Elgar arrives on the Dark Fortress. And to be honest, I have no idea why. In-story, the justification is that Dark Specter thought he'd be helpful, but really? The guy destroys Zordon's energy tube in the Power Chamber, and it makes up for an entire season of being an absolute dumbass who fucks up everything? Elgar is my frustration with the Saban-era Power Rangers seasons wrapped up in one convenient, highly annoying package. He's an idiot. He's an attempt at comic relief that has to be pushed way too far in order to work. Sure, kids will laugh at him, but honestly, they're not going to miss him if he's gone-and I'm not sure there's any PRiS fan who genuinely likes him and is glad he got another season. And this isn't me saying, "Oh, funny characters are bad"-no. I love the humor in RPM and Kamen Rider Ryuki, which have some pretty serious and dark premises. I love Den-O and Fourze, which are ridiculously fun and light. But there's the keyword: fun. Elgar isn't fun. The humor with him isn't natural; it's forced. And when you force a joke, it's not funny. This alone is my problem with the way Bulk and Skull developed (and Professor Phenomenus this season and Spike in Samurai, not to mention the teacher and Ernie in Megaforce), but they make it worse by making him a villain. What kind of villain is that supposed to be? I understand wanting kids to be able to laugh at evil so that it doesn't scare them, but I don't believe in talking down to kids when there's a lot on the line. There's a lot of serious stuff this season, and there's a lot of serious stuff in the world. In this specific circumstance, kids should take the villains seriously, know that things are going to be worse before they're better, and know that the bad guys want to take away everything that's light and good in the world-thereby making the heroes seem more heroic because they still believe in light and good and fun and humor. So, yeah. With Dark Specter's orders, Astronema can't throw Elgar out an airlock, and that feeling in your chest is the feeling of sympathizing with Astronema-it's okay, just embrace it.
The Rangers drop by what looks like the Angel Grove Youth Center and Juice Bar in exterior and interior shots, but is dubbed the Surf Spot, so I think it's reasonable to assume that it was bought out and retooled. Andros-now dressed as an ordinary Earth teen from the late '90s-is slightly overwhelmed by the atmosphere and isn't sure about everything, but he's drawn over to a surfboard (likely because it resembles a Galaxy Glider) and accidentally knocks it over. The owner, Adelle, puts it back up and is confused when he asks what it is. But she assumes he's being sarcastic when she asks him what planet he's from and he answers KO-35 matter-of-factly. I'm on the fence of how to feel about this. On the one hand, it's nice seeing Andros actively trying not to be an asshole. On the other, I really hate when any show takes the guy from another planet or world and decides to just milk his foreign-ness for laughs-but I'll get on that in a few episodes. He finally rejoins his friends and watches Bulk and Skull's antics nearby, where Bulk is refusing to share his food with Skull, who forgot his wallet at home. And not amused by Bulk's treatment of Skull, Andros telekinetically squirts hot sauce in his milkshake. Ashley sees it moving, but by that point, he's stopped, so it's hard to tell what's going on. But Bulk drinks and has to run to their table and drink an entire pitcher of water, much to the others' concern-and Andros's amusement. While Bulk drinks, Skull remarks that he doesn't think that Prof. Phenomenus, the scientist they want to talk to, will believe their story. While trying to discover a comet (it was the '90s and the recently discovered Comet Hale-Bopp had appeared the year before and was really awesome), they instead found a half-invisible UFO that sounds exactly like the Dark Fortress. The Rangers realize Astronema followed them, so they cancel lunch plans and rush to get the rest of their supplies at a local electronics store. But Andros picks up something on his AMscanner, which turns out to be Quantrons. They fight them off to an ill-fitting remix of "Go, Go Power Rangers" before realizing they really have to bust ass to NASADA. Andros orders D.E.C.A. to prep the shuttle for launch and to evacuate the NASADA buildings.
Meanwhile, Bulk and Skull meet the Prof., who turns out to be a crazy old man living in his van and is obsessed with aliens. He hears their story and takes them in as apprentices, despite being incapable of finding proof of extraterrestrial life in the alien invasion capital of the world. They end up at NASADA due to car trouble and pick up alien readings. Bulk and Skull are skeptical, but Quantrons teleport in. And a sidenote here: In the original scripts and even in the preview, they show the Quantrons glamouring themselves as human scientists to infiltrate NASADA, but at the very last second, it was dropped, and there's never any mention of the Quantrons being able to disguise themselves as human. I'm honestly not sure why, but I'm guessing it has to do with time and not wanting the Rangers to beat up other humans. Instead, Ecliptor arrives to challenge the Rangers. What? Never heard of Ecliptor? Neither did most of the Rangers, other than Andros-and I like this detail because Andros has been around, so yeah, he knows the guy and the others don't. And as a nice coincidence with the Megaranger footage, Ecliptor's gunning for Red specifically, implying that they have a history or that Ecliptor just really hates him more than the others, for reasons that will be clear later in the season. Although, weirdly, Ecliptor claims that the other Rangers are hiding when they're very obviously behind him-I think Judd Lynn should have double-checked the Sentai footage while writing that bit. And we also see why Andros ordered an evacuation: Astronema blows up the whole damn complex trying to destroy the shuttle via orbital bombardment. Things that won't fly on TV nowadays, empty buildings or not. Ecliptor conveniently teleports out, and they rush to the shuttle and launch in the nick of time. So Astronema locks the satellasers on Ecliptor...who's back, apparently...and supersizes him for the first giant monster fight of the season. He pulls some kind of Trick Vent kaleidoscope doppelganger illusion attack on the Megazord, which gives them trouble until Ashley's Lightstar helmet mode locks onto the real thing, and they destroy him...for now, at least.
Repairs are made, and Ashley invites Andros to the simudeck for a game of pool. He grabs the cue stick with telekinesis, revealing he was the one who dumped hot sauce in Bulk's milkshake. He admits it's a learned skill he's been practicing for years, but he agrees to teach her in exchange for learning to play pool.
Astronema, now with long, black hair decorated with various charms (yes, she can change her hair whenever she wants, okay?), decides to rethink her strategy against the Rangers. She also has a tortoise for some reason, which inspires her to order Elgar to lock the satellasers on the sewers of New York City...and I'm going to be honest, it looks like she just created the Ninja Turtles of The Next Mutation. Leonardo, Raphael, Michaelangelo, Donatello, and Venus DeMilo emerge from the sewers, wary and wondering what's up...
Shell Shocked (writer: Judd Lynn, director: Blair Treu) So. In 2012, Toei came up with this brilliant idea: They would combine their two biggest franchises, Super Sentai and Kamen Rider in a big crossover movie and have a battle between them, settling the question of "Who's more powerful/cooler?" And while the success of Super Hero Taisen is up for debate, I think we can agree that when Saban tried the same with Power Rangers in Space and Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, the results were definitely worse. There's a lot to criticize, but I'm going to try to avoid being as negative as possible-if you want complaining, there's plenty of it online, and they do a much better job tearing this episode apart.
Astronema confronts the TMNT, and Venus recognizes her as the Princess of Evil, which is odd, considering they admit that they don't believe the Power Rangers are real. Astronema tells them that they're going to destroy the Rangers for her, and when they tell her hell no, she zaps them with her staff and turns them evil.
On the Megaship, Andros finally introduces the Galaxy Gliders to the team, claiming that they're safer than the unarmed shuttle...when the first episode established that they are also unarmed and unlike the shuttle, very, very exposed. But they have to switch to on-the-job training when the Electrotramp monster attacks an Angel Grove power plant. And I want to point out that Andros does a morphing pose before sliding down the jump tube, and they're eventually going to drop the pose. Electrotramp turns out to be too much for them, but the TMNT teleport in, to Andros's confusion and the others' shock. To be fair, the Earth-born Rangers think the Ninja Turtles are just an urban legend, and for Andros, this probably looks like five monsters just showed up right out of nowhere and protected them from another monster-better get used to monster vs. monster rivalries, buddy. And much as I hate this episode, I can't hate the stuntwork here. Koichi Sakamoto handled stunt direction this series-of course, it's awesome. And the Turtles' suit actors do a fantastic job in this scene. These suits have got to be heavy-they're far bulkier than the Rangers' suits and most other toku hero suits. They shouldn't be able to move well-there's a reason why the monsters rarely pull off the crazy stuff that most of the heroes do. And in this battle, the Turtles are moving as quickly and flipping as effortlessly as the Rangers' suit actors would. Hell, they even pull off a Super Sentai-esque team attack (ala Goranger or the later Magiranger) to defeat the monster! Andros, naturally, is suspicious as hell-which is understandable, since the TMNT's story has big enough holes to count as a singularity. They fail to explain how they crossed the country from New York to California (it's on Prof. Phenomenus's license plate-we can stop pretending Angel Grove is in the same unknown state as Springfield), let alone how they knew the supposedly fictional Rangers needed help. On top of it, they know that these brand new Rangers have a spaceship-seriously, guys, wise up! This is the last straw for Andros, and he tries to convince the others that bringing the Turtles to the Megaship is a bad idea, but they don't listen and teleport them aboard.
They give the TMNT the grand tour, and Donatello is especially interested in D.E.C.A. Andros spies on the whole thing, and Cassie brings them into the engine room, where they ask how fast the ship goes. In a nice aversion of space technobabble, D.E.C.A. replies that the actual speed of Maximum Hyperrush Velocity is classified, which means they can bullshit it however much they'd like. Cassie tries to convince Andros that he's just being paranoid, but he doesn't budge on his opinion, which is good because someone accesses the main computer controls a little while later. He runs over to find the Turtles cutting some wires, which somehow reprograms D.E.C.A. And in another good bit of stuntwork, this time on Andros's part, he fights them off and runs. On the bridge, Venus and Raph steer the Megaship out of orbit and lower the defenses, allowing Astronema and her away team to board. The Rangers are captured in short order, except for Andros, who's very good at running and hiding. Astronema asserts control over the ship and sets a course for the Teonta Galaxy to meet up with Dark Specter, who likes the idea of using the Rangers' own Megazord to destroy them, but she tries to cover up the fact that they're still short one Ranger. The moment the transmission ends, she threatens Leonardo to find him or be thrown into a black hole. She doesn't shit around.
The others are tied up in the engine room with Quantrons guarding them. Also, the captain talks, sounding like a muffled Dalek. I mention this because they're never going to speak again after this episode. Andros is hiding nearby and uses telekinesis to maneuver a wire cutter over to cut their bonds, but the psychokinetic effort of squeezing the handles causes him to drop it, catching the Quantrons' attention. Fortunately, TJ awesomely explains that they got cut free and hands the captain the cable and his ass. The Rangers then evade the Turtles and leap into the jump tubes, where the Turtles are too wary to follow, and they head to the shuttle. The Megaship takes chase, but Andros flies close to a magnetic field that'll jam its sensors. The Megaship fails to escape, and the cosmic energy reverses the polarity of Astronema's spell or something, returning the Turtles to normal. But Astronema still doesn't shit around and orders D.E.C.A. to self-destruct the ship before teleporting away. The panicking TMNT head to the control panel, and Donny struggles to remember which wire he cut. Venus helps him focus, and despite what we saw happen, he remembers cutting only the green wire. D.E.C.A.'s original programming comes back online, and she cancels the self-destruct.
The Rangers, meanwhile, touch down on a rocky planet, but Astronema attacks. When she gets bored watching her Quantrons have all the fun, she defeats all five Rangers with her boomerang. As they struggle to recover and Andros reaches for his Spiral Saber, the TMNT arrive, and Leo picks up the saber. The Rangers step back, worried they're in for Super Hero Taisen again, but Leo gives Andros the saber and tells him they're good again. This time, Andros believes him, and the heroes join forces. The stunts this battle aren't quite as good, and the weight of the Turtle suits is beginning to show-their suit actors are hard-pressed to keep up with the Rangers' suit actors. But I do like that they eschew the typical color-by-color, girl-by-girl teams that other crossovers go for: Cassie and Mikey are partners, Raph saves Ashley, TJ and Donny tag-team, Venus and Carlos are back-to-back and on even ground, and the leaders team up against their group of Quantrons. After an embarrassing defeat, Astronema and the Quantrons teleport out. The TMNT explain that they'd never willingly fight for evil, and Leo repeats his affirmation from when they first met that the good guys have to stick together. This time, Andros agrees and shakes his hand. The Rangers give them another ride back to NY, and the heroes, now friends, promise to visit each other if possible. Donny even apologizes for reprogramming D.E.C.A., and she claims not to hold a grudge before zapping him. Mikey then asks for a favor, and Andros agrees-to let them take the Galaxy Gliders for a spin before heading home.