Forever Red

Forever Red is the thirty-fourth episode of Power Rangers: Wild Force, commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Power Rangers franchise.

As Wild Force is the tenth season of Power Rangers, and its Super Sentai equivalent, Gaoranger, is the twenty-fifth season of the Super Sentai series, Forever Red is often compared to the Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai special, despite the fact that the two specials have little in common. Like Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai, Forever Red reunited the previous nine Red Rangers (with the exception of Rocky DeSantos) as a means to celebrate the anniversary of the franchise. While the ten Red Rangers acted as a team, the other Wild Force Rangers only made a cameo at the beginning of the episode. In Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai, the focus was on the Gaorangers being taught by a team of 5 Sentai heroes, with only one of them being Red. The appearance of the 24 Red Rangers was only brief.

A fan novelization of the episode was written by author Rob Seiber (under the pseudonym Shadow Ranger), called "Forever Red: The Novel" and can be found on Ranger Retrocenter.com or the author's website, Transdimensional Archives. It expands the story in greater detail than the episode, with a the length of 30 chapters plus an epilogue. Some major differences between the episode and the novelization include: Andros seeking revenge on one of the Machine Empire generals for snapping Ashley Hammond's (the Yellow Space Ranger) spine, rendering her paraplegic; Carter remembering the death of his father while on his way to collect Cole; a reference to the Time Force Rangers travelling back to 1993 and teaming up with the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (which explains why Jason recognised Wes and Eric in the episode); the death of Aurico (which Eric becomes extremely upset about); all of the Red Rangers Zords (Red Battlezord, Lion Galactabeast, Q-Rex, Red Lion Wildzord, Gorilla Wildzord, and Falcon Wildzord, including the Red Battleborg and Time Flyer 1 which both end up getting destroyed) combining to form the Crimson Megazord,and Tommy coming home to Katherine (now his wife) and his baby son. The novel is also aimed at older Power Ranger fans, containing adult themes and language (both Andros and Eric use "fuck" on one occasion).

Red Rangers
The ten Red Rangers featured, in order of appearance in Power Rangers continuity were:

The inclusion of the Quantum Ranger from Time Force was a source of debate among fans, as in the series he was considered a "sixth Ranger" and not a "Red Ranger". However, Eric's inclusion was partially justified by Rocky's absence and by the fact that Wes and Eric effectively led the Silver Guardians together at the end of Time Force and during Reinforcements from the Future, an earlier crossover between Time Force and Wild Force. Since the series, other non-Red Rangers have been similarly termed Red Rangers, including Hunter Bradley (the Crimson Ranger) in Power Rangers: Ninja Storm.

Primary Cast

 * Ricardo Medina, Jr.. as Cole Evans (Red Wild Force Ranger)
 * Jack Guzman as Danny Delgado (Black Wild Force Ranger)
 * Phillip Jeanmarie as Max Cooper (Blue Wild Force Ranger)
 * Alyson Kiperman as Taylor Earhardt (Yellow Wild Force Ranger)
 * Jessica Rey as Alyssa Enrile (White Wild Force Ranger)

Minor Cast

 * Austin St. John as Jason Lee Scott (Mighty Morphin Red Ranger)
 * Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver (Zeo Ranger 5, Red)
 * Selwyn Ward as TJ (Red Turbo Ranger)
 * Christopher Khayman Lee as Andros (Red Space Ranger)
 * Danny Slavin as Leo Corbett (Red Galaxy Ranger)
 * Sean Cw Johnson as Carter Grayson (Red Lightspeed Ranger)
 * Jason Faunt as Wesley Collins (Red Time Force Ranger)
 * Daniel Southworth as Eric Myers (Quantum Ranger)
 * Paul Schrier as Bulk
 * Jason Narvy as Skull
 * Richard Steven Horvitz as Alpha 7
 * Christopher Glenn as Aurico (Red Alien Ranger)(Morphed only)
 * Archie Kao as General Venjix
 * Walter Jones as Gerrok
 * Catherine Sutherland as Tezzla
 * Scott Page-Pagter as Steelon
 * Dave Walsh as Automon

Synopsis
Four years after the destruction of the Machine Empire, surviving members of the empire remain, seeking to destroy Earth (how they had survived Countdown to Destruction remains unclear). Tezzla, Gerrok, Steelon, and Automon (and many Cogs) are all that is left of the Empire, as well as General Venjix, acting as the head leader. They learned that Earth's Moon was the resting place of Serpentera, the Zord created and used by Lord Zedd with the power to destroy a planet. Ever since Zedd's "death" in Countdown to Destruction, the location of Serpentera remained a mystery for many years. Venjix found it and began using Cog soldiers to dig it up, refitting it with a Neo Plutonium reactor to power it.

Andros, the Red Space Ranger, discovered Venjix and found out about his plan after following him for several years. Andros went to the moon to gather video evidence of their plans. He succeeded and sent the tape to Tommy Oliver, the Red Zeo Ranger. When Tommy learned of Venjix's plan, he asked Andros to gather all the current Red Rangers on Earth and meet him at the NASADA space port on Earth. Although it was not explained how each Ranger would be contacted, it's assumed that Andros had contacted Carter, probably recommended by Leo as Leo had met Andros and Carter in two different teamups, who in turn used governmental connections to track down Cole and Wes and Eric of the Silver Guardians. T.J. was easily available as he also served as Andros' second-in-command, while Aurico and Leo were contacted by Andros. However, Tommy contacted his former teammate Jason Lee Scott himself. However, Jason didn't give Tommy a definitive answer as to whether or not he would show up at all.

Cole, the current Red Ranger, was contacted by Carter as the Wild Force team were gathered at a park. Carter stated that only Cole was needed. The two proceeded to NASADA's space port, where they met up with Andros, T.J. and the Silver Guardians, of which the latter two were immediately recognized by Cole, as he already met the two in the Wild Force and Time Force teamup. Tommy appeared and explained that he would be leading the team of Red Rangers. At the last second, Jason pulled up to the group on a motorcycle, surprising Tommy somewhat. Jason explained that he didn't think the mission would feel right without the original Red Ranger. He then proceeded to rib Cole, "the new guy" of the group, who originally offered a handshake. The Red Rangers boarded the Astro Megaship Mark II, created specifically for this mission, and proceeded to the moon. With new Alpha robot, Alpha 7, Tommy further explained the mission to the other Rangers and that they must stop the Machine generals and destroy Serpentera. Venjix and his other generals prepared to board Serpentera, but they were then interrupted by the Rangers. Venjix sent Cogs to distract the eight Rangers while he and the others fled to Serpentera. The Rangers battled the Cogs unmorphed and easily defeated them.

Eventually, Cole escaped the barrage of Cogs and chased the generals. Venjix fired at him, but Cole was rescued by Leo and Aurico on Leo's Jet Jammer. Then all the Rangers gathered, morphed with their respective morphing calls (save Aurico, who never appears demorphed), and battled the Generals. Cole and Jason fought Venjix, where Jason showed the new Red Ranger a corkscrew kick. Tommy and Wes fought Gerrok and Tommy destroyed him with the Zeo Flying Power Kick. Eric and Aurico fought Tezzla and destroyed her with Eric's Quantum Defender. T.J. and Leo fought Automon and destroyed him with Leo's Quasar Saber, Transdagger, and T.J.'s Turbo Blade and Turbo Lightning Sword. Andros and Carter fought Steelon and destroyed him by combining power from their blasters. Cole severely damaged Venjix with his Crystal Saber. Venjix then jumped into Serpentera and took off. With no time to get to the Ship, the Rangers relied on Cole with his Wild Force Rider to battle Venjix. Cole used the rider to fly into Serpentera and destroyed it from the inside. Both Venjix and Serpentera were destroyed. Afterwards, the nine human Rangers part ways, and Cole remarks how Tommy appeared to be the "greatest Ranger ever", with the other Rangers bragging of their exploits.

Episode Trivia

 * Besides the inclusion of the ten Red Rangers and the cameo appearance by the Wild Force regulars, there were several references to previous Power Rangers seasons, including:


 * Alpha 7, a new Alpha robot that had the voice of Alpha 5 (provided by Richard Steven Horvitz) and a body that resembles Alpha 6's body.
 * Astro Megaship Mark II, a new version of the main command center from Power Rangers: In Space. Whether or not this version has it's own version of D.E.C.A. and can transform into a Megazord is unknown.
 * The return of Bulk and Skull, the comedic pair from early Power Rangers, and two of the most popular non-Ranger characters in the series.
 * The return of the Machine Empire, the primary antagonists in Power Rangers Zeo, with former Power Rangers Ranger actors Walter Jones, Archie Kao, and Catherine Sutherland providing some of the voices.
 * The return of Serpentera, the powerful zord operated by Lord Zedd in the early days of the first Power Rangers.
 * Jason Mentions Kimberly Hart, the original Pink Ranger from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.
 * Cole says, "Morphinominal!", a phrase that was coined by Kimberly.
 * T.J. mentions getting baked into a giant Pizza (Trouble By The Slice in Power Rangers Turbo'').
 * Eric makes a reference to his zord, the Q-Rex, and Tommy's original Zord, the Dragonzord, saying his Q-Rex "would eat his Dragonzord for lunch"
 * Wes makes a reference to the Power Rangers fan club with the quote "I've changed history! So why does he (Tommy) have a fan club and I don't?"
 * Bulk and Skull play a game of chess in which the pawns resemble the Psycho Rangers, matching the chess board the Space Rangers used to plan their attack against the Psycho Rangers.
 * Carter is still driving Rescue Rover in used Lightspeed Rescue.

Script Differences and Production History

 * The scene where the Wild Force Rangers meet Carter was originally filmed with more dialogue, such as why only Cole was chosen for the mission, and Cole naming Max as the Wild Force Rangers' temporary leader by saying,"Max, it is important for you guys to stay and protect Turtle Cove." There was also a scene where these kids named Ray and Manny (named after two Power Rangers webmasters) who were fighting over which Rangers are the best. Max and Danny fight over that their respective Ranger colors are cool, and Alyssa ends the argument by saying "First of all, Power Rangers don't fight people, so you shouldn't fight either. They only fight to destroy Orgs to protect the earth," and their mom calls the kids away.
 * In the original ending for "Forever Red", when the other Red Rangers are trying to convince Cole why they are the best Ranger ever instead of Tommy, Andros originally says to the Rangers, "Hey, I destroyed Zordon!" Afterwards, a shocked Jason asks Andros, "You destroyed Zordon?" This line was cut out because BVS Entertainment thought the line was too dark and that the delivery made it sound like Andros was proudly bragging about killing the Power Rangers' original mentor. Instead, Andros says, "Hey, I saved two worlds!"
 * Writer Amit Bhuamik said his original concept for "Forever Red" involved a cult of robed alien priests that were trying to resurrect Dark Specter on a volcanic planet. However, Bhaumik was told by Kochi Sakamoto and the producers that the crew had these "original robot suits" they needed to use, Jonathan Tzachor wanted a superweapon buried on the moon, and Paul Rosenthall suggested using Serpentera again. So he re-wrote the script to include the surviving generals of the Machine Empire instead.
 * It is unknown as to how Carter knew of Cole's last name (Evans). It's assumed that neither Wes nor Eric has nothing to do with it, which is evident or obvious when Carter and Cole, upon meeting Wes and Eric, Cole immediately greeted the latter two in which Carter noted that all three Rangers knew each other, as Lightspeed teamed up with Time Force.
 * This was the first episode that a Ranger (Aurico) did not appear unmorphed due to the absence of his/her actor and was instead voiced by someone else followed by Power Rangers Dino Thunder and later Power Rangers S.P.D.'s "Wormhole" (Tommy Oliver). The original actor who played Aurico could not be found to reprise his role. Also, Aurico is not seen at the end of the episode.
 * There was much more dialogue and footage at the Bulkmeiers' scene. For example: naming all the foot-soldiers, which included Putties, Tenga Warriors, Cogs, Piranhatrons, Quantrons, Sting Wingers, Batlings, Cyclobots and Putrids (Even though they didn't even encounter Batlings, Cyclobots or Putrids); mentioning them fighting the Machine Empire, getting turned into chimps by Divatox (although it was Elgar), Skull saying "If that's Professor Phenomenus, tell him I'm in Stone Canyon," indicating he is trying to avoid him. Also says that Tommy is their boss at Bulkmeiers', and Tommy tells Andros that he is retired before hearing about the Machine Empire generals, then he says "I'll contact the others." Long-time fan Chris Funaro has said that Bulkmeier's is located in Tommy's backyard and that "Bulkmeiyers'" is a pay restaurant right next to his pool.
 * The Machine Empire generals are recycled Big Bad Beetleborg/Metallix suits of Shadow Borg (Venjix), Green Hunter Borg (Gerrok), Lady Borg (Tezzla), and Dragon Borg (Steelon). Automus is a combination of Fire Borg's head on Lightning Borg's body.
 * TJ says he thought the Zeo Rangers destroyed the Machine Empire years ago, he actually meant he thought that the Zeo Rangers defeated them (stopped them from invading Earth). It was actually the energy wave from Zordon's death that destroyed them.
 * At the end of the episode, T.J. had more lines saying, "I mean... (laugh) it was like Pepperonis and cheese and... and heat. And it was hard to breathe. It-It's a great story!" Eric says during this, "Yeah! May the Power be with Ya!" Jason also said, "Yeah, and I heard it was burnt and crispy and ...all kinds of stuff!"
 * Rocky's position as the second Red Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger and the Red Ninja Ranger was largely ignored. His actor, Steve Cardenas, was contacted and he apparently agreed to be in the episode, but he was moving at the time and contact was lost. Word from Forever Red writer Amit Bhaumik has it that had Rocky been in the episode, it would have only been in a civilian cameo as Tommy's butler, who is now wealthy. Though he would have been implied to have still been the Blue Zeo Ranger because it would have been shown he still had his Zeonizers. Rocky would have only participated in the battle as the MMPR Red Ranger if Austin St. John proved unable to make filming. Tommy's wealthy status was omitted from the final cut of the episode and he would instead become a high school science teacher in Dino Thunder.
 * In a cut scene, Cole met Alpha 7 on the Megaship. It involved Cole being scared and surprised he was in space, and Alpha 7 saying "Ay yi yi! Where'd you grow up, in the jungle?" and as Cole was going to tell him he was born in a jungle, he came face-to-face with Alpha 7 and jumped startled. As Alpha 7 introduced himself, Cole wanted to know "Wha-What is a Alpha 7" but said it as if he was scared; and Alpha 7 said he was "a fully sentient, multi-functional automaton and a walking database of everything relating to the Power Rangers" and Cole said (Looking scared and sick), "I think I liked it better when I was on earth..." Thus, Richard Horvitz originally had more lines. However, it is unknown if this scene was filmed or not.
 * The fanbase uses "Automon" for one of the Machine Empire generals names, but in Amit Bhuamik's final draft, he was called "Automus".
 * Originally, Catherine Sutherland was supposed to make a appearance at the end of this episode as Tommy's wife picking him up from the NASADA space port, but was cut due to lack of time. However, she did voice Tezzla, one of the Machine Empire generals, but only did grunts during fight scenes.
 * A scene between Tommy and Alpha 7 on the Megaship was cut that involved asking Tommy what was wrong, and Tommy replying that things have been awkward between him and Jason since they found those stories on the internet, in a reference to slash fanfiction featuring them together. Also, during this scene, T.J. and Eric were having drinks by the synthetron and talking (As if like old friends), and Cole is trying to talk up an enthusiastic Jason.
 * There was originally a 10 Zord battle against Serpentera. It included the Thunder Megazord, Red Shogunzord, Red Battlezord, Lighting Fire Tamer, Astro Megaship, Galaxy Megazord, Lightspeed Megazord (Either that or the Lightspeed Solarzord), Time Force Megazord, the Q-Rex, and Isis Megazord. In another script, the same Zords were used, with the sole exception of the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord, and then the original Megazord, substituting in place for the Thunder Megazord. However, Bandai, the company that designs the toys for Power Rangers, wanted them to use the Wild Force Rider.
 * During an online interview, "Forever Red" writer Amit Bhuamik revealed that he wrote a falling out between Jason Lee Scott and Tommy Oliver and that Jason would have "turned punk" sometime after the events of Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie and before the events of "Forever Red", only to have Jason reunite with Tommy and become friends again. This would explain why Jason comes off as arrogant during this episode. However, the scene was ultimately cut out to keep the episode 22-minutes long.
 * This episode was originally intended as a 2-part episode, and at the time as a big budget, DVD OAV (Original Animated Video) type movie. But Disney only had enough money for so many episodes.
 * Originally, Venjix blasted Cole and Leo and Aurico arrived on the Red Jet Jammer and then blasted the Machine Empire generals. But in Amit's final draft, they arrived and blasted Venjix out of the hangar of the moon base. Tommy acknowledged them by saying, "The Red Galaxy Ranger and the Red Alien Ranger!" and Leo said " This battle isn't just for the Rangers of Earth," and Aurico added, "This is for heroes everywhere!" Not to mention, Leo (Like Aurico) didn't appear unmorphed in Amit Bhuamik's final draft.
 * In the final draft after Leo said "Andros, we got here as soon as we could," Aurico said sheepishly, "Sorry, I always forget to turn right at the Andromeda Galaxy."
 * Scott Page-Pagter and David Walsh played Steelon and Automus respectively, though they were left uncredited.
 * Instead of Jason saying, "Not bad... hang back, rookie! Let me show you how it's done," in Amit's Script he said, "Hang back rookie, and watch why the first Red Ranger is the best." This change was made to make Jason sound far less arrogant.
 * In Amit's script, there was supposed to be a 2 minute montage of Power Rangers clips.
 * Instead of chasing Andros on horses, the generals just simply chase after him and fire him in Amit Bhuamik's final draft.
 * This episode introduces the never-before-seen Ready Room, the place where where the Red Rangers go for a briefing.
 * When asked about the Red Ranger's power restorations on Facebook, Amit Bhaumik replied "For time constraints we had to cut some details like how Tommy, Jason, and TJ got their original powers back. It is regrettable but with only 22 minutes of run time for Forever Red, I thought it was better to focus on the present day action of the episode instead of getting bogged down with filling in every background detail. Especially since casual or newer fans wouldn't have been that familiar with previous seasons and probably wouldn't have cared for too much background explanation.Though we actually had plans to eventually address this. You'll notice when Jason shows up to join the other Rangers he mentions how he recognizes some of the other Red Rangers 'better than others' in reference to Wes and Eric even though that was the first episode they ever appeared together in. By Jason referencing a past team up with the Silver Guardians I was trying to set up an eventual prequel episode or special where we would refer again to, and hopefully even show, how Tommy/Jason/TJ got their powers back. In our original plan for the post-Wild Force season (what was ultimately called Ninja Storm), there were some rough plans to bring Tommy back as sort of like a new Zordon but more of an action-oriented veteran like Nick Fury from Marvel. He would have been the 6th Ranger from that season. But after Wild Force, Disney chose to take the show in another direction with Ninja Storm and then Dino Thunder making Tommy a paleontologist and dropping the Zeo powers."
 * According to Daniel Southworth during the Forever Red Panel at Power Morphicon 2007, the line that he says for this episode "My Q-Rex can eat his Dragonzord for lunch" was an improvised line. Some of the lines for the final scene were done the same as there were only a few lines, and Koichi Sakamoto asked them to come up with something for it.
 * The morphing scene has all of the Rangers morph in the order that their seasons premiered, not counting the Red Alien Ranger, as his respective Ranger team was not actually a season. Also, he was already morphed at that point.
 * To date, Tommy Oliver is the Only Ranger (from the previous seasons, not counting the current Wild Force Red Ranger, Cole) to appear after Forever Red, continuing to serve as the Black Dino Ranger in Dino Thunder, and as well as an morphed-only appearance in the Power Rangers SPD Episode Wormhole. He would be the first character overall (Ranger and Non-Ranger) to be followed by Bulk who is appearing in the current season Power Rangers Samurai.
 * Technically, of the 9 Red Ranger Costumes, the Red Zeo Ranger costume is the only costume to Reappear after this episode (not counting the Dino Thunder Episode Legacy Of Power which features archive footages from the preceeding seasons), in this case the episode Fighting Spirit, also from Dino Thunder.
 * Other material cut from Amit Bhaumik's final draft include: Steelon originally said "Zedd was a fool to leave this burried here." Andros recorded a message on his Astro Morpher saying, "Andros here. This is worse than I thought, they've almost finished digging it out."; Andros orignally said his morphing call "Let's Rocket!" before leaving the moon; Bulk and Skull originally both answered the call; when Cole first met Carter he added "Who are you?"; Wes's Ranger title was addressed as "Time Force Red"; T.J.'s middle name "Jay" was censored, Carter was tong-tied when trying to say T.J.'s full name and T.J. winced when his name was heard; Automus saluted at the speech and said "For the glory of the Royal House of Gadgetry!"; Alpha 7 originally didn't say "It's all ready Tommy!"; Venjix alternatively said "Excellent work. At last King Mondo, we can finally avenge you. The Earth and all their Rangers will pay for what they did to you and our glorius evil empire!"; Jason cracked his knuckles as he said his "Miss King Mondo" remark; Steelon pointed out "Red Rangers! Eight of them?"; and the Generals originally joined in the Cog battle. Also, they had alternate pair-ups. Jason and Cole paired up against Venjix like in the episode, T.J. and Wes fought Automus, Andros and Eric fought Gerrok, Carter and Aurico fought Steelon, and Leo and Tommy fought Tezzla.
 * Wes and Eric orignally contacted Trip in the future to see if the future had changed in one draft.
 * In one draft, Ryan Mitchell, the Titanium Ranger, was going to be the new captain of the rebuilt Lightspeed Aquabase.
 * Disney was going to release a DVD edition of Forever Red that includes commentary and an early Forever Red with no ADR, Danny Slavin wasn't in the episode as Leo, and no special effects that lasts nearly 40 minutes. However, they just decided not to release it. Writer Amit Bhaumik once mentioned it very bitterly.
 * If "Forever Red" had been made into a feature film, writer Amit Bhaumik has said he would have killed off Red Rangers Aurico and Leo because he thought Aurico was "Superfluous" and Leo was the "other Lion-themed Ranger."
 * In the scene were jason and tommy morph they use the original morphin sequence as you could see that jason was skinnier and tommy's shirt of a different color when morphing.

Possible Discontinuity

 * In all, Forever Red is a favorite among the Power Rangers fandom, with some considering it "one of the best episodes ever made". However, many elements of the episode have sparked controversy in fan discussion, making it difficult to classify as canon to the rest of the series. Whereas some have cited them as inaccuracies, others merely point out that they can be explained away, and information regarding the issues was merely omitted from the episode. The following are the most notable issues:


 * Jason and T.J. both lost their powers previously. Jason's power coin was destroyed by Rito Revolto (while in the possession of Rocky DeSantos) and T.J.'s powers were destroyed in the final battle between the Turbo Rangers and Divatox. The episode did not explain how these powers were restored, or how the Tyrannosaurus coin was returned to Jason. When asked about the Red Ranger 's restorations on Facebook, Amit Bhaumik says, "My memory is a little fuzzy on the details, but the short of it is Tommy, between leaving in Turbo and reappearing in Forever Red, goes to Zordon's homeworld of Eltar around Lost Galaxy/Lightspeed Rescue timewise. There he finds the remains of Alpha 5 and takes him to be rebuilt as Alpha 7 (the one you saw in Forever Red). He also uncovers the source of Zordon's powers and restores the Red Zeo Crystal giving him his Zeo powers back. Some time around then he restores Jason's power coin. Lightning Cruiser was modified and became the new source for TJ's Turbo powers (in much the same way Storm Blaster powered Justin's morpher in True Blue To The Rescue. It is possible the car he pulled up in Forever Red was supposed to be Lightning Cruiser." Alternatively, Chis Funaro has said that Amit considers the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Ninja Rangers comic flipbook that introduced the Dark Rangers and saying Jason got his Power Coin back from Red Dark Ranger, Osamu. However, none of these explanations are explicitly shown in the episode.
 * Many fans felt that Cole's use of the Wild Force Rider to destroy Serpentera was a Deus ex machina of the episode. Serpentera had been shown to be a powerful war machine and "the greatest zord ever built" and the fact that a single Ranger could take it down without even using a zord was considered improbable. However, some also claim that the Wild Force Rider, being a gift from Animus, considered to be a god, (as well as the possible disparity between Wild Force and Mighty Morphin ' powers) made it possible that a single Ranger could defeat Serpentera. The general consensus, however, was that Serpentera's destruction was quickly written so as to finish the story. Also, even if the Wild Force Rider was capable of destroying Serpentera, that poses the question of why Cole couldn't do it in the first place.
 * Serpentera is significantly smaller in Forever Red than it was when it first appeared in The Power Transfer. In the beginning, Serpentera was so large that the Red Dragon Thunderzord looked like a mosquito by comparison. In Forever Red, Serpentera's head was barely big enough to fit Cole Evans and his Wild Force Rider inside its mouth. There are some theories that the new Neo-Plutonium fuel caused a molecular shrinkage. Or being buried on the lunar surfaced compacted its form due to its low gravity. Or Venjix, having rushed into Serpentera without figuring out all of its features, had it in a mode which made it smaller, and didn't have time to transfigure it to massive mode.
 * It is unknown how Tommy got his Zeo Ranger Powers back as they haven't be used since Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie. Writer Amit Bhaumik has said that Tommy found the Red Zeo Crystal at some point and that Kat and Rocky were still active as the Pink and Blue Zeo Rangers respectively. It has not been explained, however, why Tommy didn't use these powers in Power Rangers: Dino Thunder, and when the remark is made "Why didn't he just morph? He's a Power Ranger," A retort was made "Not anymore." It should also be noted that in Turbo: A Power Rangers movie, the Zeo Powers were not destroyed, the Turbo powers were simply adopted because of their zords' greater power, though this again creates more issues with the Turbo transition.

Continuity Errors and Mistakes

 * In order to get younger viewers up to speed in a short time, the script simplifies or contradicts continuity set in the previous seasons. This includes:


 * TJ says he thought the Zeo Rangers destroyed the Machine Empire "years ago", and Tommy refers to destroying King Mondo "and most of the Empire with him". (Mondo and the Empire weren't destroyed until Countdown to Destruction when they were hit by Zordon's wave, but were opposed by the Zeo Rangers. Also it could be that King Mondo and the Machine Empire's reputation was destroyed by the Zeo Rangers, forcing them to go back to the United Alliance of Evil.)
 * When the Rangers were discussing other Red Rangers on Earth, Rocky goes unmentioned (as that would raise questions about why he isn't in the episode).
 * Serpenterra was left on the moon after Lord Zedd was defeated, while it should have been in the M51 galaxy. (Although this could be a Scorpion Rain reference, it is possible that Zedd may have had plans with Serpenterra during or after Zeo)
 * Destroyed or missing powers have all been restored off-screen.
 * That none of the people in the hangar had noticed an immense object in what appeared to be mild shadow is remarkable.
 * The Megaship rose up out of the hangar through an enormous skylight not visible in any shots taken from the inside.
 * Just after Leo demorphs and Venjix's line ("Rangers"), there's a long shot of all the Rangers, including the Red Galaxy Ranger. After Venjix's next line ("What? Ten Red Rangers?"), there's a tighter shot, with Leo demorphed again. Leo was not expected to appear in the episode unmorphed after Danny Slavin's falling out with the production crew during the Lost Galaxy/Lightspeed Rescue team up, Trakeena's Revenge. In the end, Danny Slavin decided to take part in the episode as a favor to one of the producers. All of his scenes were filmed filmed during the post production of the episode.
 * When Tommy morphed, he didn't use the traditional morphing phrase of "Zeo Ranger V, Red!". This was probably to save time, as well as to cut his morphing sequence as short as possible so it would be difficult to notice that the old morphing footage still had him with long hair.
 * When Andros morphed, his Astro Morpher made the opening noise twice.
 * After morphing, Leo repeats "Go Galactic!", instead of a more appropriate "Red Galaxy Ranger!" This can be written off as the actor's mistake or re-looped dialogue from ADR.
 * A similar mistake occurs with Wes, who, after morphing, shouts "Time Force!", instead of a more appropriate "Red Time Force Ranger!"
 * Aurico was wearing the Black Aquitian Ranger's belt upside down instead of his own.
 * When morphing, T.J. did not insert his Turbo Key into his morpher.
 * T.J. was able to summon the Turbo Lightning Sword, despite it being destroyed as part of the Turbo R.A.M. in the Turbo Rangers' final battle with Goldgoyle.
 * T.J. referred to the Turbo Lightning Sword as the "Turbo Lightning Zord" instead of "sword".
 * Serpentera appeared gray, not green, in many shots.
 * After Jason said that they had to get back to the Megaship after Serpentera took off and Andros agreed, Carter objects, stating that there wasn't time, and they had to defeat Serpentera before it left the moon. How he planned to accomplish this is unclear.
 * Shots involving both Serpentera and the Red Wild Force Rider were inconsistent in scale.
 * Serpentera must have suffered some unimaginable type of structural damage during the final unseen battle with Lord Zedd for it to be defeated by the Red Wild Force Rider, considering that it was still able to take off, be able to be controlled to fly through space, and emit an energy beam from it's mouth. (To destroy Serpentera, Cole flew into the mouth. It may not be designed to withstand such attacks on the inside.)
 * The Megaship, after landing outside of the hangar, appeared much too small in proportion to the teens and their vehicles.
 * During the group goodbye at the end of the episode, only 8 people put their fists into the circle. This is due to the digital insertion of Leo as Danny Slavin was not around for the shot at the time.
 * Aurico was missing his Aquitian laser and his holster.
 * The voice effect used to change the Red Alien Ranger's voice is different than the one used for the Alien Rangers. However some fans have complained that the previous effect used for the Alien Rangers made them hard to understand, which may be the reason it changed.

Fan Controversy
Due to the controversial nature of this episode and over analyzed by fans, most message boards consider the subject "off limits." The subject of its inaccuracies has been "beaten to death." One particular website went as far to say that the points of controversy in Forever Red are unimportant compared to the enjoyment of the episode, and that the writers needed to bring all the Red Rangers together and did not have enough time to explain all the details of the episode. Many fans now come up with their own explanations.

Western Super Sentai fans however, point out that the issue regarding the restoration of the several former Red Rangers' ability to morph again stems from the fact that Saban made the Ranger suits into "powers" rather than as "tools" like its Japanese counterpart (note that there has been at least one sentai special featuring the then current team and at least 2-3 of the previous teams on that same episode which is seen in the Turboranger special, featuring the Turboranger team and their predecessors from Battle Fever J to Liveman and the Super Sentai world featuring the Turborangers' next 5 successors from Fiveman to Kakuranger in which all the teams featured in those specials including the then current teams Kakuranger and Turboranger never appeared in their human forms). The episode is dubbed "The Forbidden Episode" due to the numerous questions surrounding it; in addition, the frequent permanent bans done to posters who bring up the episode in forums during that time.

Scorpion Rain
Scorpion Rain was a fan film created by Amit Bhuamik, Derik Smith, and Joe Rovang, among a few others. It was a low-budget attempt to explain the gap between Zeo and Turbo featuring Tommy and Kat going up against Serpentera in Zeo Zord 5. The group turned it into an elaborate April Fool's joke. However, reports on the newsgroup circulated that it was an Australian-only finale of Power Rangers Zeo. The original plan was to admit that it was an April Fools joke and release the footage, but Gordon Dickinson debunked the hoax and exposed it as a joke. Thus, the decision was made not to release the fan film at all, at which point Scorpion Rain remained an urban legend in the fandom. Amit Bhuamik eventually became the story editor of Power Rangers Wild Force and penned Forever Red as an unofficial sequel of Scorpion Rain, thus making it unofficially canon in some fans' eyes. Others refuse to accept Rain as anything more then a fan film. Scorpion Rain has generated many fan recreations. In 2007, Chris Funaro and Derik Smith released footage of Part 5 of Scorpion Rain on Funaroverse, but only for one day. Later, on March 25th, 2010, Part 5 of the serial aired on Youtube. When asked about Scorpion Rain in interviews, Amit Bhaumik has claimed ignorance of it.