The Demo Site

originally posted November 23, 2005

by VengeanceGOD

Further thoughts on Power Rangers SPD


In a year where the country itself its most divided in thirty years, one season of Power Rangers rose up to divide our poor fandom more than it had ever been. The season was Power Rangers: Space Patrol Delta. In the beginning, the prospects were good. Sure, the one episode of Power Rangers that the new executive producer, Bruce Kalish, had written wasn’t that great, he assured us that it was more due to people editing his work than anything else. And in the very beginning of this saga, all was good.

I remember when I turned on Beginnings, expecting nothing more than your basic opener. I was blown away. Here was a show that had fully fledged characters, amazing storylines, production qualities far beyond anything I had ever seen before. From there, the show continued to impress. I still hold that Idol is the best episode of PR I’ve ever seen. Without a doubt, SPD was about to be the best season of PR every produced. It had us all on such a euphoric high that barely anyone noticed when things started to slip.

Right around Dogged, suddenly, it seemed like people weren’t trying anymore. The acting was downhill, the plot was badly written…something was just wrong. I figured it was nothing, and that they had just hit a slump. They’d get out of it. Shadow rolled around, and I was proved right by yet another amazing episode. I completely forgot about the problems before. It was obviously the start of a new beginning.

Only…not. It became the end of the beginning, instead. Suddenly, SPD threw everything out. The amazing actors who had kept us interested were trying so hard, but the dialogue they were given was impossible. Look at Chris Violette, the man who made Idol amazing, and his reaction to Jack’s “death” in Impact. The acting is there, but the dialogue is so bad that he just can’t do it with a straight face. Look at SWAT, when suddenly the Rangers find themselves transported to a bad ‘Nam movie, running around screaming “I’m comin’ buddy! Hold on!”

Hell, let’s look at SWAT for a second, perhaps the biggest example of everything wrong with this season. The Rangers were best friends, bonding just the episode before. Suddenly, they hate each other to the point where Doggie removes them from defending Earth so they can go have a therapy session at boot camp? Were the writers sucked into one of their own plot-holes?

The season gets worse and worse from there…until suddenly, History hits. And we get a good teamup, and then we’re back to the crap. Then Badge hits, and suddenly we have a good episode again. Funny that both of those were written by Jackie. Then crap, then Endings part 2, which did rule, but was focused entirely on Doggie Crueger, and how badass he was, which is what has made many people jump to their feet and proclaim him the greatest mentor of all time.

Inconsistent characters. Badly written plots. Forgotten plots. The problems with SPD are well documented, and I’ve spent enough time on them now. So let’s start with the good stuff. The actors, as I previously mentioned, were some of the best in PR history. You guys did a really good job, especially with what was handed to you, and you should be proud.

Greg and his production department should always be proud of what they accomplished this season. Never before has the world of PR felt so immersive. It was amazing.

As for the whole issue of continuity, in all honesty, no one but the really nitpicky fans care about that. You didn’t step on anything that can’t be fixed in a fanfiction or two…although we shouldn’t really be fixing your problems for you. 

And for the way you guys catered to the fans outside of the show…thanks. No one has ever shown this much dedication to a group of grown men and women who post on the internet about a children’s show involving men in spandex before. And for that, no matter what happened with SPD, we’ll always be grateful to you.

As for Mystic Force, well, Bruce, you did an awesome job with quite a few eps of PR. I charge you to attempt it with a whole season this time. Good luck.