It doesn't seem like it has been twenty years since the Power Rangers were first on television, but the franchise will officially turn 20 this September. Over the last six months, I have had the chance to review several of the Samurai DVD titles from Lionsgate. I guess you can say I got in the mood for more Power Rangers, so I ended up buying the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Complete Series a few months back. Yes, I do realize the seasons' volumes have been slowly coming out on DVD, but I was interested in the two bonus discs that only come with the complete series.
The complete series includes:
- Season 1 Vol. 1 (3 discs)
- Season 1 Vol. 2 (3 discs)
- Season 2 Vol. 1 (3 discs)
- Season 2 Vol. 2 (3 discs)
- Season 3 (4 discs with a bonus disc containing the mini-series Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers)
All 145 episodes are here along with the 10 part mini-series Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, which ended the original series and lead to the yearly title and costume changes.
Yes, I know the series can be campy, but that's because the series takes scenes from the Japanese Super Sentai franchise and mixes it in with new American footage. When I was a kid I never paid much attention to the fight scenes, but you can tell the Yellow Ranger was played by a male actor in the Super Sentai series, but the American version has female actors playing the part. So that answers the question of why the Yellow Ranger never wears a skirt.
The series started out as by-the-book monsters vs. zords, but became more of its own series when the Saban Brands ran out of Super Sentai footage. Instead of changing the costumes on a newly popular series, they continued to use the same ones, though they did add the White Ranger costume during Season 2. The show became more of a hit when they added the original villain, Lord Zedd, though there were plenty of complaints from parents about the darker character.
I have had a blast rewatching theses episodes, which a few of them seemed new to me. There are plenty of great extras too. Shout! Factory did a wonderful job putting together a great complete set for the MMPR fans.
while my power rangers education began with Lost Galaxy, i later caught-up with the MMPR and the rest of them and lost interest in the middle of operation overdrive.....
ReplyDeleteAparajita @Le' Grande Codex