A cross between our TV Flashback series and Power Rangers coverage, we’ll be looking back week-to-week at past Power Rangers seasons, beginning to end, to coincide with breaks during and between the current seasons.
Episode 10: “Ocean Alert”
Originally aired: April 10, 2004
Power Rangers gets leeway sometimes, because it usually has to reconcile very different bits of material from its Japanese counterpart into a storyline it may not fit. We’ve seen this in Dino Thunder‘s often confusing powerset — the Sentai counterpart, Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger, had a more complex story involving the mecha being sentient creatures from a parallel dinosaur-ruled universe (they can form like robots because, hey, look what you’re watching.)
Dino Thunder simply has the technology built by Hayley and Dr. Oliver, using the “dinosaur DNA integrated with technology” to explain why they all seem to be rogue AIs. “Back in Black” and “Beneath the Surface” established that there are eggs randomly strewn about, which makes next to no sense, unless we assume Dr. Oliver purposefully scattered them around the city. Why, you ask? Who knows…and “Ocean Alert” makes things even weirder by having a tiny Stegozord hatch out of an egg and get immediately tamed telepathically, just because. “Ocean Alert” is one of a few low tier Dino Thunder episodes that only exist to set-up a new Megazord transformation — if you even want to call “surfing on a Stegosaurus” a transformation — and it shows how much effort wasn’t put into it.
Because, honestly…what is this? “Ocean Alert” is supposed to be a Baywatch type of parody, but because this is a kids’ show, there are only so many jokes that can be reasonably squeezed out without breaking standards and practices. And it’s funny, at times, having Conner and Ethan act like typical gross dudes while everyone else rolls their eyes. Having the counterculture Kira in the mix is what stops the episode from getting downright offensive; she’s not annoyed at the boys out of jealousy or anything, it’s because she knows they’re being gross and stupid. She voices the very trite lesson: beauty comes from the inside. Frankly, I’m not sure why the show felt the need to express this, considering we just had a mean diva learn that lesson a few episodes ago. And this diva doesn’t even learn the lesson…the whole point of the episode is that she’s a shallow person and the boys should feel bad for being attracted to her. Also, girls should like boys whether they have acne or not. Yeah, alright. Time to move along to the good stuff.
Episodes 11-13, “White Thunder, Parts 1-3”
Originally aired: April 17 – May 1, 2004
Ah, the classic Evil Sixth Ranger. Well, okay, fifth, in this case. But for all intents and purposes, the White Dino Thunder Ranger fulfills the role, one especially fitting considering the first Evil Sixth Ranger is present for all of this. The best part about the White Ranger arc is that it started long before the fifth dinogem was even a player. We’ve seen Trent develop over multiple episodes, with a character arc that’s at times been more intriguing than that of our main Rangers. I’m confident that everyone assumed Trent would eventually become a Ranger as soon as he landed in the credits, but the how was always the intriguing question, given the complex relationship with his antagonistic father.
The “White Thunder” three-parter is a decent turning point in the Dino Thunder storyline, as any new Ranger story ought to be. The action is on point throughout, and unlike a lot of three-parters, it doesn’t feel too terribly padded. Part of that is because there isn’t a whole lot of plot at all, though; the three-parter is almost entirely a bunch of action sequences with the Rangers getting their asses handed to them, so there isn’t much to pad. And then there are a whole slew of new Zords, which I continue to not really care about. The Zord battles are okay, but also quite messy, with that Stegozord flip-flopping between sides at record speed. It’s a bit frustrating considering how good the character material has been thus far.
That might be the biggest detriment here. The action is really good, and the White Ranger is shown to be quite formidable, with a quicker, more precise and dirty fighting style than we’re used to. And that’s great, but it’s also three episodes of that with very little in the way of anything else. And again, that’s not a bad thing in and of itself; the battles are fun, and that’s really what matters, right?
But Trent has already been set-up as a tragic character with a complex relationship with his father, who is all-but-confirmed to either be Mesagog or Zeltrax here (and if you pay attention to the credits…well…it’s obvious which.) But in any case, Trent’s human story slowly crept in as the most interesting aspect of the season, only to be put on the backburner in favor of the White Ranger counterpart. Granted, Trent gets good material in the opening of part one, re-establishing the shaky relationship with his father. Shades of what we saw in “Golden Boy” are present here, in that Trent totally defends his father’s ban on his drawing, only because he knows deep down his father is looking out for him, in his own way. Hayley and Trent’s relationship is also a standout; as her employee, we get Trent integrated in the core group long before he’s a Ranger. As his employer, we see how caring and sensible Hayley is to everyone, not just to the superheroes. Those are both key to his storyline; his father’s carelessness, of course, is the whole reason Trent finds his way into Mesagog’s lair and gets the gem stuck to himself, and Hayley is the first one to notice that something is up with him. Once Trent turns into the White Ranger for the first time, he’s mostly relegated to stumbling around and sweating — a clearly painful and terrible way to become a Ranger, but one that’s not terribly interesting to watch after the first couple of scenes.
We’ll get the necessary Trent perspective after this three-parter is out of the way, to be sure. So focusing less on Trent the human and more on Trent’s alter-ego initially is totally purposeful, that’s not a question — the question is whether or not the long game here was worth it. As it stands, it results in an unendingly fun series of action pieces, but little by way of the character stuff that had been set-up rather well in episodes before it.
That’s not to say these episodes don’t provide anything noteworthy. Quite the contrary, actually, because there are loads of fun quotes and rewatchable action sequences. The fight between Conner and the White Ranger is particularly brutal, especially given its hand-to-hand combat nature (of course, before White Ranger turns the tables and fires at Conner with his own gun.) The best part about this White Ranger, and what makes him stand out from most other evil Rangers before him, is that he’s purely chaotic evil. He’s not serving anyone, not bound by any curse or desire. He fights and destroys because that’s what he wants to do, and the way he shows up and destroys the monster in part one with such swiftness is indicative of what makes him such a threat. With Trent pretty much asleep at the wheel, White Ranger is an empty shell, a body of power that doesn’t stop until it decides to. If anything, Trent’s human form is merely camouflage for the White Ranger persona, and the prospects of that are terrifying for everyone involved.
There’s also nice growth within the Rangers. In a complete 180 from the earlier episodes, the humiliating losses results in the Rangers seeing how dire the stakes are. Like how Conner needed to see the effect his choices could have on innocent lives in “Wave Goodbye,” the Rangers have to lose a battle once in a while to be reminded that this mission is bigger than them. They suddenly can’t concentrate on the hobbies that once defined them, because everything seems too trite in comparison to the threat of a violent and ruthless psychopath that they can barely touch. “White Thunder” doesn’t focus nearly enough on this aspect, but the few times it does are great.
The White Ranger’s “fascination with the Red Ranger,” as Mesagog notes, goes without explanation — it might just be an incorrect assumption from Mesagog, considering their one-on-one battles were basically a coincidence on both occasions. But it does yield the first appearance of Super Dino Mode, this season’s power-up. It’s a simple one, as it merely has the diamonds grow out into toothy spikes with an unseen power level upgrade. That simplicity is good, but the spikes are also a little sillier than they ought to be, with the flimsy obvious-foam protrusions looking less intimidating and more…well…like part of a costume. It’s Power Rangers, yeah, but the longer spikes are disappointingly cheap-looking, especially considering it came from the generally higher-quality Sentai footage.
Despite being a three-parter, “Part Three” doesn’t really provide much of any conclusion. Cassidy and Devin have a throughline as they try to discover the Rangers’ identity, and Devin does possibly catch the White Ranger demorphing on tape, but that’s left for the next episode. As is Trent’s awareness of his identity, and Tommy getting trapped in amber before telling the Rangers what he knows. They’re all very good cliffhangers, though, propelling this new part of the season from just a simple “turn the evil Ranger good” to something much more relentless and complicated. The main reason this ends the three-parter has more to do with shifting focus; we’re seeing the transition from a story about Power Rangers with the Mercers in the background to the Mercers playing a huge role in the main plot. “White Thunder” introduces us to the concept of the White Ranger, and its chaotic and symbiotic relationship with Trent. What comes next should show how that affects everyone, Trent included, on a personal level. And those character stories are where Dino Thunder can thrive.
Odds & Ends
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With Dino Charge officially premiering next week (after being put online last week,) I’m putting the Dino Thunder flashbacks on hiatus for a little while — and the big three-parter seems like a good a place to stop as any. I’ll be reviewing Dino Charge week-to-week, and plan to resume Dino Thunder when we get the inevitable hiatus, probably around late March/early April. Don’t worry, we’re never gonna be without some kind of longterm Power Rangers coverage!
- What’s with that opening discussion in “Ocean Alert” about new technology and using eyes as video cameras (or whatever?) I thought it’d be relevant to the episode, but nope. Unless it was some metaphor for the male gaze or something?
- While “Ocean Alert” fails miserably at whatever the statement it’s making is, the opening slow-mo walk that Nikki Valentina does into Cyberspace, which escalates to Ethan literally hyperventilating into a paper bag, is hilariously tongue-in-cheek and perfectly over-the-top. I wish the entire episode had played this up.
- Nikki gets away from Zeltrax by stomping on his armored foot with her bare foot, just because.
- There’s a bit in “Ocean Alert” about Devin being braver than a Power Ranger. Was this meant to be foreshadowing for the rumored scrapped plan for Devin to become a Ranger down the line? Because Devin should have become a Ranger.
- I don’t know why Elsa has, like, an eeeevil laptop and headphones. But I’m not complaining.
- Anton refers to how Trent’s parent’s “disappeared.” Whatever you say, bro.
- I like the brief bits in “Part One” where Tommy intervenes at different points during the White Ranger’s attack, having first hand experience with how vicious the evil Rangers are.
- For some reason in “Part Two,” Elsa and Mesagog seem a bit more playful with each other, with Elsa sitting in his thrown and Mesagog giving her a look that’s less threatening and more “Hey, now.” I like this dynamic better than the evil dictator stuff.
- I hate the Brachiozord theme music. It’s so obnoxious and out of place.
- Wow, the Cassidy/Devin stuff in “White Thunder” is…really awful. It’s fun that they’re paralleling Bulk and Skull’s season two quest to discover the Rangers’ identities from Mighty Morphin, and I like seeing the reporter stuff progress. But, man…that kid and his nonsensically dubbed over voice? No. Just stay away from child actors, Power Rangers, especially if you have to freakin’ dub over their voices to make them work.
- That said, I did laugh at Cassidy’s oblivious discussion with Hayley in “Part Three” and Hayley’s “Okay…that’s a thought” reaction.
- Really enjoy the bit when Conner honestly thinks he’s murdered the White Ranger for a split second. It’s out of place, but effective.
- “Oh man, I hate shark monsters.” Tommy has actually faced a couple, hasn’t he?
- “Check your hormones at the door before you morph!”
- “Really try and drown yourself this time, Devin!”
- “Don’t blast people with a ray that turns people’s faces into pepperoni pizza!”
“Good one, Ethan.”
“Really?”
“No.” - “How come he gets the phat helmet?” – God, the teen speak in this show is hilarious.
- “When this opens, there will only be one color left in the rainbow.” – White isn’t a color in the rainbow, bud.
- “My parents will be glad to hear my MIT education hasn’t gone to waste.” – I love Hayley.
- “Since when do they have bad Power Rangers?” Uhhhh, Ethan.
- “You’re good, I’m evil. It’s a pretty simple concept.”
- The White Ranger says “Later, boo.” Welcome to Power Rangers Dino Thunder.
