20) “Doctor K” (Power Rangers RPM, Episode 11)
One of the reasons RPM is so strong is because, in spite of the plot’s mondo scale, it never loses sight of the characters. Taking a page out of the Lost handbook, each character gets a pre-apocalypse flashback episode. While all have a level of tragedy, the titular Dr. K’s story is a chilling tale. The Rangers’ eccentric and hardened “mentor”, played adeptly by a 17-year-old Olivia Tennet, is revealed to not only be the product of a cruel government project, but also responsible for the virus that ended the world. The episode plays the secret government agency tropes surprisingly straight, and uses various butterfly and violin motifs to craft a beautiful view of a profoundly broken character. And most importantly, it ties the season’s grand scale into a personal character moment, no small feat for a show like this.
And hey, why not throw in a bonus…
21) “Mega Mission” (Power Rangers Megaforce, Episode 1)
While the current season of Power Rangers admittedly hasn’t gone to the places we’ve wanted it to quite yet, its first episode pays homage to the very first episode of the series with endearing affection. With numerous references to “Day of the Dumpster”, viewing on the Power Rangers anniversary alongside the episode that started it all is a must. You can read KSiteTV’s glowing review here.
Honorable Mentions: “Changing of the Zords” (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Season 3), “Alien Rangers of Aquitar” (Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers), “Rangers Gone Psycho” (Power Rangers in Space), “Journey’s End” (Power Rangers Lost Galaxy), ”The Samurai’s Journey” (Power Rangers Ninja Storm), “Endings” (Power Rangers SPD), “Mystic Fate” (Power Rangers Mystic Force), “Ranger Yellow” (Power Rangers RPM).
What Power Rangers episodes would you recommend? Sound off in the comments!
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.