Meme Day 3
You have five high school kids in what seems to be an upper middle class area that is predominantly white. These teenagers are diverse in ethnicity, interests, and personalities, ranging from perky valley-girl cheerleader to Black hip-hop dancer to king of the nerds. By all rights, these characters should not be friends. Actually, I think their levels of interaction should range from not even knowing each other exists to being potentially antagonistic in some cases. In real life, it’s doubtful that everyone in this group would be on friendly terms with each other; it’s even more far-fetched that they would form such a tight group of friends. And that is what makes them awesome.
I love this team, even though I haven’t seen every episode with them. They debuted in the premiere (not the pilot. The pilot was just weird) and, with the exception of whether or not Tommy’s powers decided they worked that week, the team didn’t change for another 78 episodes. And in defense of my reluctance to watch all those early episodes, the first season was incredibly formulaic. Ranger(s) deals with something vaguely Aesop-y in everyday life, Rita sees this and creates a corresponding monster, ranger(s) gains knowledge from one of these problems and uses it to deal with the other, a lesson is learned, and the events of the episode are never mentioned again. There are, of course, a few exceptions, but season 1 is rather lacking in continuity.
The story is what keeps me from finishing the season (and a half, though season 2 wasn’t quite as bad), but the characters are why I’ve seen as much of it as I have. The group was insanely diverse, most likely as a way of attracting more viewers, since a diverse cast increased the chances that kids would be able to relate to at least one of the characters, and even though I don’t think they should have liked each other in real life, in the fictional world in which Power Rangers operates, the personality traits that would otherwise clash instead complement each other to form the best team the Power Rangers ever had.
Right from the beginning, Jason, Kimberly, Zack, Trini, and Billy worked well as a team. They had each others’ backs and each of them had a chance for their specific talents to shine. These five set the bar for what a Power Rangers team should be. I don’t particularly like Tommy, but he did fit in well with the original five, and when he wasn’t around, the team definitely felt it. After season 2’s “White Light,” half the cast was fired, and while I like their replacements, the second lineup was nowhere near as great as the originals.
2. SPD Core Team
The SPD team was also comprised of five teens (at least I think they’re supposed to be teens) who were completely different, but unlike the original team, they weren’t friends. Most of the time they couldn’t stand each other, and they fought each other so much that their mentor had to ship them to an off-planet boot camp so they could learn to get along. However, by the end of the season, they went through tons of character development, both as individuals and as a group, and they put their differences aside to form a great team. But I really only like the core team; I’m rather reluctant to include the auxiliary rangers in the team at all.
3. Ninja Storm
I think what works most about this team is the unique structure. Most previous teams are a five man band with a sixth ranger showing up out of the blue about halfway through the season. Instead, Ninja storm had three plus two: It started out with the Wind ninja rangers (red/blue/yellow), who were established as a close group of friends, and then added the Thunder ninja rangers (crimson/navy), adopted brothers on a quest for vengeance. Even the sixth ranger had a twist: instead of a new character being pulled out of thin air to fill the slot, the team's teach support got promoted to Green Samurai ranger halfway through the season. What makes it totally awesome? Even though they're clearly three different factions (everything from their personalities to their costumes to their zord designs is incredibly varied between them), it's still six rangers making up one team. The factions worked just as well together as they did separately.
Worst Team: RPM
I probably need to rewatch RPM, but I generally liked this season. In fact, most of my complaints about this season are due to all the behind the scenes bullshit, but the season is, in some ways, lacking. The rangers weren't bad - even the one I hate isn't nearly as bad as some of the rangers from past seasons - but they lack the team dynamic that is the foundation of Power Rangers. Hell, even the shitty seasons have rangers that act like a team consistently, even if they're two seconds away from killing each other. Overall, RPM is more plot-driven, as opposed to the heavily character-driven stories in past seasons. RPM's team interactions were boring; the character development focused solely on the team as individuals - they never grew as a group. The RPM team wasn't bad; it just wasn't good.
1-How did you get into PR?
2-Favorite season
3-Favorite Team
4-Favorite Male Ranger
5-Favorite Female Ranger
6-Favorite sixth Ranger
7-Favorite Color Ranger
8-Favorite formerly evil Ranger
9-Favorite Villain
10-Favorite redeemed villain
11-Favorite villain henchmen
12-Favorite villain sidekick
13-Favorite Monster of the Week
14-Favorite Mentor
15-Favorite Support Staff
16-Favorite Supporting character
17-Favorite Couple (canon)
18-Favorite Couple (Fanon)
19-Favorite friendship
20-Favorite Teamup
21-Favorite HQ
22-Favorite Earth Location
23-Favorite non-Earth location
24-Favorite Zord
25-Favorite Uniforms
26-Favorite morph call/sequence
27-Favorite Morpher
28-Favorite under a spell
29-Favorite storyarc/episode
30-Favorite finale
I love this team, even though I haven’t seen every episode with them. They debuted in the premiere (not the pilot. The pilot was just weird) and, with the exception of whether or not Tommy’s powers decided they worked that week, the team didn’t change for another 78 episodes. And in defense of my reluctance to watch all those early episodes, the first season was incredibly formulaic. Ranger(s) deals with something vaguely Aesop-y in everyday life, Rita sees this and creates a corresponding monster, ranger(s) gains knowledge from one of these problems and uses it to deal with the other, a lesson is learned, and the events of the episode are never mentioned again. There are, of course, a few exceptions, but season 1 is rather lacking in continuity.
The story is what keeps me from finishing the season (and a half, though season 2 wasn’t quite as bad), but the characters are why I’ve seen as much of it as I have. The group was insanely diverse, most likely as a way of attracting more viewers, since a diverse cast increased the chances that kids would be able to relate to at least one of the characters, and even though I don’t think they should have liked each other in real life, in the fictional world in which Power Rangers operates, the personality traits that would otherwise clash instead complement each other to form the best team the Power Rangers ever had.
Right from the beginning, Jason, Kimberly, Zack, Trini, and Billy worked well as a team. They had each others’ backs and each of them had a chance for their specific talents to shine. These five set the bar for what a Power Rangers team should be. I don’t particularly like Tommy, but he did fit in well with the original five, and when he wasn’t around, the team definitely felt it. After season 2’s “White Light,” half the cast was fired, and while I like their replacements, the second lineup was nowhere near as great as the originals.
2. SPD Core Team
The SPD team was also comprised of five teens (at least I think they’re supposed to be teens) who were completely different, but unlike the original team, they weren’t friends. Most of the time they couldn’t stand each other, and they fought each other so much that their mentor had to ship them to an off-planet boot camp so they could learn to get along. However, by the end of the season, they went through tons of character development, both as individuals and as a group, and they put their differences aside to form a great team. But I really only like the core team; I’m rather reluctant to include the auxiliary rangers in the team at all.
3. Ninja Storm
I think what works most about this team is the unique structure. Most previous teams are a five man band with a sixth ranger showing up out of the blue about halfway through the season. Instead, Ninja storm had three plus two: It started out with the Wind ninja rangers (red/blue/yellow), who were established as a close group of friends, and then added the Thunder ninja rangers (crimson/navy), adopted brothers on a quest for vengeance. Even the sixth ranger had a twist: instead of a new character being pulled out of thin air to fill the slot, the team's teach support got promoted to Green Samurai ranger halfway through the season. What makes it totally awesome? Even though they're clearly three different factions (everything from their personalities to their costumes to their zord designs is incredibly varied between them), it's still six rangers making up one team. The factions worked just as well together as they did separately.
Worst Team: RPM
I probably need to rewatch RPM, but I generally liked this season. In fact, most of my complaints about this season are due to all the behind the scenes bullshit, but the season is, in some ways, lacking. The rangers weren't bad - even the one I hate isn't nearly as bad as some of the rangers from past seasons - but they lack the team dynamic that is the foundation of Power Rangers. Hell, even the shitty seasons have rangers that act like a team consistently, even if they're two seconds away from killing each other. Overall, RPM is more plot-driven, as opposed to the heavily character-driven stories in past seasons. RPM's team interactions were boring; the character development focused solely on the team as individuals - they never grew as a group. The RPM team wasn't bad; it just wasn't good.
1-How did you get into PR?
2-Favorite season
3-Favorite Team
4-Favorite Male Ranger
5-Favorite Female Ranger
6-Favorite sixth Ranger
7-Favorite Color Ranger
8-Favorite formerly evil Ranger
9-Favorite Villain
10-Favorite redeemed villain
11-Favorite villain henchmen
12-Favorite villain sidekick
13-Favorite Monster of the Week
14-Favorite Mentor
15-Favorite Support Staff
16-Favorite Supporting character
17-Favorite Couple (canon)
18-Favorite Couple (Fanon)
19-Favorite friendship
20-Favorite Teamup
21-Favorite HQ
22-Favorite Earth Location
23-Favorite non-Earth location
24-Favorite Zord
25-Favorite Uniforms
26-Favorite morph call/sequence
27-Favorite Morpher
28-Favorite under a spell
29-Favorite storyarc/episode
30-Favorite finale