Power Rangers: Carrying Over Characters

[PalleteRider]

The other day my friend and I were discussing about Power Rangers when came to an interesting topic: carrying over characters from one season to another. Do you think it is still possible that Power Rangers to try this concept again with the new seasons (especially now that Judd Lynn is the EP)? One of the reasons the old crew from the MMPR days are remembered is because of how long they are in the show. (And I also find it interesting that in the 10th episode of Dino Charge, Riley gave me some vibes of Hikari aka ToQ 4. Hmm...)

 

[Sentaifan'07 Xman]

Actually, this was probably a recurring thing that has only happened during the Mighty Morphin'/Zordon era of Power Rangers. It's just that since Saban at that time didn't want to change the cast until halfway through the second half of Turbo, the producers at that time felt that the fans weren't ready for a new start, nor were they actually ready for some new heroes afterwards. However, since then. Nowadays, the fans have actually accepted the newer cast members of different seasons and they really don't care who gets to be which ever Power Ranger as long as the formula stays the same, but also adding in some new mythos to the franchise. Besides, even if we do want to see some of the original cast members from Mighty Morphin' back in the newer seasons of Power Rangers, it's best that they only make a brief cameo appearance or just act as a supporting character/mentor character to the new team of rangers. Because, quite frankly....it's NOT their show. The old MMPR crew have had their fun, but it's time to give the new kids a shot. Let the newbies have their time to shine on spotlight. This isn't like what happened with Dino Thunder where Tommy has to work with some new kids aren't the same as the original team. No, no, no, no, no!!! This is something different.

So yeah, I wouldn't seeing any of the original Mighty Morphin' characters make a return to the franchise, but, let them act as a supporting character or just a brief cameo. That's it.

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

The first Super Sentai Series, Go Ranger, had 84 episodes. That's more episodes than ANY other Sentai Series after it.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers had over 100 episodes; more if you count all of the Zordon Era.

To me, it's always been about popularity.
Both of these shows, in their respective countries, were new concepts. No one had EVER seen anything like these shows! And the first in a series will always be super popular, so of course the companies that made them are gonna make them last as long as possible.

However, carrying characters over means forcing many different shows to become part of one continuing story, especially when they were never designed to be that way. Keeping the ZyuRanger costumes while borrowing assets from DaiRanger and KakuRanger? What an editing nightmare that must have been! That's why the Zordon Era eventually came to an end. It was a great ride while it lasted, but it was only going keep getting harder and harder to force each season into same continuity, not to mention it would hinder creativity if each season was super similar to the last. I think Power Rangers found their own creative balance. They eventually followed Super Sentai's example and let each season stand on its own as an independent thing, but it's still implied that most of Power Rangers is part of the same universe. That way, crossover specials aren't completely out of the question.

 

[PalleteRider]

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Fair point.

Yeah, now that I've been looking back at some of Season 2 and 3 episodes, it was indeed a nightmare-editing.

More or less, it would be cool to see something like this again. Not in the grand scale of the MMPR days, but something like Turbo - In Space kind of thing. Or just even Astronema becoming Galaxy Pink (that's why I brought Riley up). I don't know, I just always found this to be a cool thing that I miss. (And something fun to think about at times)

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

To be fair, it would be easier to carry over characters if the adapted material did it first. And lots of people have been wanting Super Sentai and/or Kamen Rider to do that since Black & Black RX.

 

[PalleteRider]

Yeah, though the closest thing we get is same actors playing different roles in Sentai's case.

In my opinion, PR doesn't need to follow Sentai that much (isn't that most of us want?); PR doesn't need to wait for Sentai to do it since they've done it before.

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

I suppose it could be done if kept in moderation. Maybe make it last for two seasons instead of multiples.

I think the major thing that would dictate that is popularity. When MMPR was new, it became an overnight success. It was so popular, I am sure that's why they tried to keep as many of the actors as possible during the early half of the Zordon era. But as the suits and characters changed, as Power Rangers slowly began to step away from being one united universe between seasons, popularity began to die down.

I am sure financial success is a factor too, but I really think popularity is a stronger factor than people give credit to. I'll admit that ever since Saban got the rights back, especially with Dino Charge, I've been seeing more and more advertisements for the toys and the show. I am sure awareness is high, and I am sure they are probably still making enough money in merchandise to keep making the show. However, Power Rangers just hasn't had the same popularity since MMPR... The love for the franchise just isn't palpable. You can see plenty of commercials, but that doesn't mean everyone's talking about it. Look at Star Wars. There's a new movie coming, excitement is building, and merchandise for it is EVERYWHERE! I've even seen some kids complaining about how big it has gotten.

I have no idea what's going to happen when Saban and Lionsgate release their Power Rangers movie. I don't even know what kind of tone the movie will have. Maybe it'll change things with the television show, but I doubt it and I don't think anyone should get their hopes up. If the Power Rangers production crew have found a business model that works for their annual TV shows, then they probably won't change it.

 

[PalleteRider]

Eeyup. Something like Dino Thunder bringing back Tommy could work too. Heck, I heard Rocky's actor and Austin Johns having that talk about Dino Charge a few months back; I can see them becoming the extra rangers

Indeed. For me, Power Rangers has the potential to be big like those other superhero brands, but the popularity, like you said has dwindled since the old days. Despite the merchandise and advertising, a thing that Saban should keep in mind is making a good show. Granted, that is subjective but with enough effort (like Dino Charge) it can be done, and this way, capturing that old magic is possible.

And why would anyone complain when something gets big??? xD

One thing I hope about this movie is that it can freshen up the franchise. What I fear they would do is turn into another big-budget-Hollywood-cash-in type of movie: all hype but mediocre presentation.

 

[90210Girl]

No more fucking tommy please.

 

[90210Girl]

I may be alone in this but I think if Edward Payne was in DT we might;ve never gotten hartford in PROO. I know its speculation but I also think tommy would;ve made OO much better