17) “Stranger Within” (Power Rangers Mystic Force, Episodes 8-9)
Power Rangers Mystic Force is one of the weirdest seasons of the franchise, but that also makes it one of the most endearing when you decide to embrace it. “Stranger Within” is akin to “The Rescue Mission” in that it breaks formula, though it does so by–in true Mystic Force fashion–being really really weird. Pink Ranger Vida is turned into a vampire after going to a concert with an evil DJ, and it’s up to Chip, the genre-saavy Yellow Ranger, to save her. The episode has fun with vampire tropes and is completely aware of how silly all this is, but still manages to sneak in some genuine emotion out of Vida and Chip’s friendship. Not to mention, there’s a fairly game-changing plot twist at the end that brings the whole season up in points. While other episodes on this list exemplify Power Rangers at its most underrated, “Stranger Within” is the opposite–it’s exactly what non-fans think of this goofy show, but in the best way. It’s silly, weird, overdramatic, and colorful, but still fun, satisfying, and filled with likable characters.
18) “Once a Ranger” (Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, Episodes 20-21)
Despite being one of the weakest seasons, Operation Overdrive threw out a surprising little gem to celebrate the franchise’s 15th anniversary. While previous team-ups featured one season’s team or one color’s worth of Rangers, “Once a Ranger” crafts a brand new team of “Retro Rangers”–Mystic Force‘s Xander, SPD‘s Bridge, Dino Thunder‘s Kira, Ninja Storm‘s Tori, and fan favorite Adam in his Mighty Morphin incarnation. While not the gigantic fanservice explosion “Forever Red” was, this two-parter throws out some fun references, and even takes the time to explain why and how such a team-up could occur.
19) “Road to Corinth” (Power Rangers RPM, Episode 1)
To be honest, “Road to Corinth” is on this list in hopes that newcomers will check it out and be enticed to watch all of Power Rangers RPM. Because RPM is generally regarded as one the best, if not the best season of the franchise, and the most accessible to new viewers for its competency. After a computer virus and an army of robots successfully take over the world (à la Terminator) only 1% of the population remains, living in the single dome city of Corinth and protected by army-grade Power Rangers. From the first moment, “Road to Corinth” exemplifies a level of acting skill and cinematography such a cheap show never touched on, and thrusts us into a bleak world that still manages to be remarkably funny, whimsical, and self-referential, as Power Rangers should be.
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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.