The Demo Site

originally posted August 7, 2006

By Victor Ong

Although Operation Overdrive more than half-a-year away, the anticipation is nevertheless becoming lethal. How will Disney handle the 15th incarnation of the States' most popular boy-action TV programme?

Boukenger's Task 1 presented a widescreen adventure of epic proportions that quickly tethered off into the regular Sentai fare, though as previous posts on this blog suggest, it is styled way better than Magiranger. See http://thegkatimes.blogspot.com/2006/07/im-really-looking-forward-to-power.html and start wishing for some solid 'anniversary material', to quote The Snake.

After the dismal Wild Force, which I truly hesitate to show my countrymen, Tori and the Ninja Storm gave me hope. It was something different. DinoThunder made a splendid showing, too, especially for people whose memories of Power Rangers are still stuck at the Tommy-Kimberly stage -- it is a step ahead which forsakes everything that transpired between Zeo and Ninja Storm.

Earlier this year, I took the liberty of new membership to post some opinion http://thegkatimes.blogspot.com/2006/05/new-power-rangers-movie.html calling for a 3rd Power Rangers movie -- a call that's too oft-repeated. If EP Kalish is finally ready for some ambition, we fans should suggest a cinema-quality Operation Overdrive. And merely reformatting the presentation style to widescreen isn't gonna do the job.

Is the 2007 season going to be dominated by pyrotechnics again? Are they going to film 25 episodes this time? If so -- and the ep count remains unconfirmed, mind you -- then the creative team had better give the world a GOOD 25-ep season devoid of cardboard, slapstick acting, inexperienced ADR and superimposing, poor body language and a noisy soundtrack.

If, as the previous post http://thegkatimes.blogspot.com/2006/08/is-disney-really-capable-of-canceling.html suggest, Disney really decides to cancel the whole franchise altogether, then the above changes had better take place, else we fans will forever sue the profit-driven, aesthetics-come-second Mickey Mouse company for slander, negligence and defamation of the Power Rangers TV show, which is in every way deserving of the treatment that has been given to the X-Men, Batman, The Hulk, Fantastic Four, Elektra, Spiderman and the I-love-Lois-Lane Superman.

We understand that for Power Rangers to remain TV-Y7-FV and not progress to PG-13, the creative team has to tone down on some of the consequences of explosive action, i.e. blood, screams, real pain and gore. But I believe that there is a kinder way to treat the Rangers than plonk them in the midst of rubber monsters and blow multi-colored smoke about them. While there should be cooperation amongst the Rangers, it is best to save the synchrony and fight-to-the-beat bowwow till the 16th season. If you want a TV series to rival Smallville, then you must give the characters a greater dimension of individualism.

That is if the Scooby-Doos want to make Overdrive an epic season. As end-users, we have no choice but to wait as we ride out the storm Mystic Force is causing with its rap. :)