7) “Countdown to Destruction” (Power Rangers in Space, Episodes 42-43)
How do you close out 6 years and nearly 300 episodes’ worth of convoluted storylines across four different series? Power Rangers in Space answered this with its two-part grand finale, featuring an all-out war as every major villain (and a whole lot of minor ones) any group of Rangers had faced up until then teams up to lay siege to the entire universe. The Rangers are outmatched but plan to go down swinging, and shifting them to a group of rebel underdogs propels the desperate measures they ultimately take. In Space‘s greatest achievement is the inclusion of Andros and his relationship with Zordon, establishing a feeling of history even after all the original cast members had long since departed. The finale uses this to its greatest effect, and Zordon’s last ditch effort to use his Rangers to save the universe at Andros’s hand is one of the most brilliant deus ex machinas you could ever hope to see. On top of all this, we even get a huge final character moment for Bulk and Skull, the only characters who consistently remained since episode 1, as well as for Angel Grove as a whole in their “Spartacus” moment. The show fires on all cylinders in “Countdown to Destruction”, arguably crafting one of the most satisfying finales of all time.
8) “The Rescue Mission” (Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, Episode 18)
A monster attacks, Rangers morph, monsters grow, Zords defeat monster. The well-known Power Rangers formula has lasted for 20 years, but every now and then the show decides to bust out something completely different. “The Rescue Mission” takes this season’s space mission concept and runs with it, trapping two Rangers and a small crew on an abandoned spaceship filled with monsters. Playing out like a horror movie, the creative lighting and set design create a claustrophobic thriller, and even manages to make those rubber suits kind of scary. While not a huge influence on the show’s mythology overall, it’s an engaging experiment, and proof that this is the franchise that can literally do anything.
9) “The Power of Pink” (Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, Episode 31)
“To the Tenth Power” is a fantastic team-up between the Rangers of Lost Galaxy and In Space, featuring the return of the Psycho Rangers, some of the franchise’s best villains. But it’s the second episode of this team-up that sticks out, giving the Rangers’ actions real consequences. The Pink Psycho Ranger sets forth a plan that will annihilate Terra Venture, and very nearly kills Cassie, the Pink Space Ranger. Kendrix, the current Pink Ranger, makes the ultimate sacrifice to save them all, becoming the first Power Ranger to die in battle. This plot point came completely unexpectedly, raising the stakes and having lasting consequences on the season. And, of course, it solidified Lost Galaxy‘s reputation for its darker nature and high mortality rate.
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4 Comments
This a great list. I don’t think there’s anything I disagree with.
I have to disagree with one thing, overall.
The lack of positive mention to “Power Rangers-Ninja Storm”.
There were MANY very, very good episodes in that series, and felt it was far superior to “Light Speed Rescue”, including the Zords in the series. The commander and the team in LSR was completely lame and the acting was so, below par, I turned it off after 5 episodes.
The “Ninja Storm” was far better with the Zords, storyline (particularly with the Thunder Ranger issue), the the like-ablity of characters (The cross-over between the Wind Rangers vs. Dino-Rangers really should have made this list.)
The
Me personally? I prefer Ninja Storm to Lightspeed Rescue overall. But Ninja Storm works much better as the sum of its parts than it does with individual samplings. Lightspeed Rescue, conversely, has some really good individual episodes within the Titanum Ranger arc, even if the season as a whole is pretty weak (in my opinion, of course.) I rewatched a handful of possiblities to see what felt better, and Lightspeed Rescue’s episode just stood stronger on its own than any individual Ninja Storm episode or arc I tried again. Same with Jungle Fury. Believe me, I grappled with it for a long time.
Nice article! If I may, however, point out that Olivia’s last name is misspelled. It’s Tennet. Thanks.