Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Favorites - Top Ten Power Ranger Team-ups

The Snowocalypse of 2016 is officially over. I think everyone in the state can say, “About time!” It may have been fun for the kids, but for an adult it kind of sucks. Since there was nothing to do (other than eating, sleeping, texting, trying to exercise, and Internet surfing), I hit up Netflix to see some more of that butt-kicking action. One stop was today’s subject: Power Ranger Team-Ups. I’ve had this idea in my head for months and it was finally time to see what team-ups were the best. Besides, I might as well talk about the Rangers in the month where butt-kicking is the theme.

For those who don’t know or are in the “cool” crowd, the Rangers would usually team up with past Rangers usually once a season. They have teamed up with other heroes though with the most notable and infamous team-up being with the Ninja Turtles. Yes, that happened and it wasn’t that good. It was kind of a yearly thing with the show but some seasons skipped the team-up episode. They tend to vary in quality. You have the good, the bad, and the down-right ugly episodes. So, here are my top Ten Power Ranger team-ups. Before I get to those, I do have a couple I need to mention. Whether they are honorable mentions is a big matter for debate.

  • A Friend In Need (Mighty Morphin’) – This was really the first team-up with another hero for the show. In this case, it was the Masked Rider. If you don’t know who that is, then you’re not the only one who says that. All I know about the character is that was another hero Saban wanted to make a show around and it only lasted a season on FOX. The Rangers end up traveling to the world of Edenoi on the behalf of Alpha 5. They find the planet enslaved by Lord Dregon and they team up with the Masked Rider to beat some baddies. We even got some Rita/Zedd action as well. It was an okay arc but I didn’t like it all that much. The Masked Rider was kind of lame which is probably why his show only lasted a season.
  • Shell Shocked (In Space) – This weird crossover happened when the Rangers teamed up with the Ninja Turtles. Astronoma hypnotized the reptiles into being against the Rangers but you know how those things work out. This wasn’t one of the good ones. At this time, Saban was making Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation. I don’t remember much of that show but I don’t remember it being good. Fortunately, this one episode was just a hiccup in a pretty good season for the show.
  • Legendary Battle (Megaforce/Super Megaforce) – “Well, that was a letdown,” a lot of Ranger fans said. This finale for Power Rangers Super Megaforce (seriously?) was the famed battle that teamed up every Ranger from the franchise and took about five minutes to happen. The finale had the main villains try to attack Earth with everything with the Megaforce Rangers throwing everything including the kitchen sink at them. I didn’t watch Megaforce, so I can’t really comment on that show. I haven’t heard good things about it though. It wasn’t a bad finale but the team-up was really a letdown for me. It felt tacked on at the end. I will say it was cool seeing some of those old faces though.
 With those out of the way, here’s the list.

10. Clash of the Red Rangers (Samurai) – This crossover brought the Red RPM Ranger from his alternate universe to the regular universe to team up with the Samurai Rangers. Since RPM’s Earth was decimated, I guess that was the best way to go to explain that. He was after Profressor Cog, a villain who worked for Venjix. Because of Professor Cog, all but the Red Samurai Ranger is teleported to the other Earth, so Scott (RPM) and Jayden (Samurai) have to do the best on their own. I didn’t watch Samurai, so I can’t comment on the season. I will say that this was a fun little special. It does suck that we didn’t get the rest of the Rangers involved and Eka Darville (Scott) couldn’t physically be there because of some SAG bullcrap. RPM was one of my favorite seasons and it would have been cool to see the rest. Still, this was fun.

9. Wormhole (SPD) – In this team-up, Grumm (SPD’s villain) travels back to 2004 to rule Earth in the past. He also teams up with one of the Dino Rangers’ villains. SPD goes back in time and ends up teaming up with the Dino Rangers to stop Grumm. This was actually the second time these two teams met in the season. “History” (the other episode) had the Dino Rangers teleported to the future for some devious plot but it was just Conner, Ethan, and Kira. This episode had the whole team and it was pretty fun for the most part. It had a dumb ending with Kruuger (SPD’s boss and alien dog?) erasing everyone’s memories as well as his own. I didn’t get that.

8. The Delta Discovery (In Space) – In this episode, the Space Rangers get a message from the Phantom Ranger about Zordon’s whereabouts. Divatox (yes, that’s her name) is shipping him around and Astronoma is helping see this through. The Phantom Ranger even lets the other Rangers have the new Delta Megazord to use in their fight against evil. While it’s a small team-up, it was cool to see the cool-looking Phantom Ranger again. Astronoma’s and Divatox’s bickering toward one another was also funny.

7. Time For Lightspeed (Time Force) – In this crossover, the Time Force Rangers team up with the Lightspeed Rangers when Vypra teams up with Ransik. Vypra ends up unleashing a Superdemon and it has to take the might of both teams to put it down. This was a cool but short crossover. It was nice seeing the Lightspeed Rangers come back for one more go-around. It was also pretty cool seeing all those Battlizers being used. It just sucks that this one was just one episode because this would have been a cool two-parter.

6. Rangers of Two Worlds (Zeo) – In this one, Billy starts to age rapidly, so the Alien Rangers from Aquitar are called in to help. Not only do the Rangers have King Mondo sending another monster, but Rita and Zedd send their own monster.  This was actually a pretty fun two-parter. Not only does it bring two teams together for the first time, it’s the last episode for Billy on the show. What sucks about that is that David Yost (Billy) left the show before this was made. Other than that piece of sad news, this was a good crossover.

5. Always A Chance (In Space) – This team-up features the return of Adam (Johnny Yong Bosch). When Carlos accidentally injures Cassie during a battle, he starts to doubt whether he is fit to be a Ranger. Adam comes in to help him get his mojo back. While it’s only one Ranger, it’s freakin’ Adam and I liked how he was used here. He even morphs into his old Black Ranger costume for a cool moment. The only thing I didn’t like about it is Carlo’s whining, but what can you do?

4. Thunder Storm (Dino Thunder) – In this crossover, Lothor (Ninja Storm’s villain) returns and places the Wind Rangers under his control. He also teams up with Mesagog, Dino Thunder’s villain. The Dino Rangers and the other Ninja Rangers have to find a way to get the Wind Rangers out from Lothor’s control. This was a really fun crossover since we actually get to see two teams fighting each other this time. I also liked how all of Ninja Storm’s characters were used here. It does everything a crossover should do and more.

3. To The Tenth Power/ Power of Pink (Lost Galaxy) – In some ways, this was the one that kind of started the whole yearly team-up tradition since all of the Space Rangers (except Zhane) come back. Trakeena gets a hold of the Psycho Rangers and uses them against the Galaxy Rangers. Luckily, the Space Rangers come in to help them out for the two episodes. Even though it’s not billed as a two-parter, it feels like it. It’s a fun yet tragic series of episodes since we Kendrix (Pink Galaxy Ranger) dies in “Power of Pink.” It’s a moment that really hasn’t been topped since then. This was done because the actress (Valarie Vernon) was diagnosed with leukemia and had to leave the show.

2. Forever Red (Wild Force) – In this 10-year anniversary special, Cole (Wild Force) and all of the former Red Rangers (except for Rocky) team up to take down remnants of the Machine Empire. What can I really say about this one? This was fun from beginning to end. We see the return of some favorites like Jason and Tommy. We also get some nice action towards the end. The only thing that might drag this down a bit is that it’s only one episode. It would have been cool to spread this out, but I heard that it wasn’t doable. Still, it’s awesome that we were able to get this.

1. Reinforcements From The Future (Wild Force) – In this two-parter, a group of Mut-Orgs comes from the future to the present day. They’re pretty powerful and own the Wild Force Rangers as well as Wes and Eric from Time Force. It has to take both full teams and Ransik (Time Force’s villain) to stop them. This crossover did a lot of things right. It uses the Time Force Rangers and Ransik in a pretty cool way. Not only do they cross over with these Rangers, old plotlines from the previous season are picked up. The ending is a little cheesy with that song at the end, but it was cool to see both teams have some fun.

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Well, that’s my list. I know I left some off, but you can guess why they’re not here. If you have any favorites, let me know. Well, I’m out. Peace, God Bless, and may the power protect you.

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