Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

This article is about a/an series entry (the 1st) in the Power Rangers franchise.

For the team, see:Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (team)

For the show's seasons, see:Season One, Season Two, Season Three

The original version logo.

The reversion logo.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (often abbreviated as "MMPR") is a live-action television and movie series based on the Super Sentai series Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger, literally Dinosaur Squadron Beast Ranger and often abbreviated as Zyuranger (after the Kunrei-shiki romanization). Although Zyuranger was the main Sentai used for MMPR, it also uses elements (mecha and monsters) from Gosei Sentai Dairanger, literally Five-Star Squadron Dairanger, in its second season and Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, or Ninja Squadron Kakuranger, in it's third season. At the time, the Super Sentai genre was one of Japan's hottest tokusatsu properties, and Haim Saban seized an opportunity to adapt it for American audiences.

The show first aired on Fox Kids on August 28, 1993 and ended on February 17, 1996. On January 2, 2010 a reversion of the series with a new logo, comic book-referenced graphics, and alternative special effects began airing on ABC Kids but was cancelled after airing 32 first-season episodes.

The theme music, "Go Go Power Rangers," was often parodied, and many of its subsequent incarnations contain the words "Go" or "Power Rangers" in their theme music.

Production

"Ay-yi-yi, this place is a disaster!" Actually, this article/section is in need of clean-up. You can help us out by editing it! Reason: grammatically and stylistically messy

Before Power Rangers became a worldwide hit during the decade of the 1990s, Super Sentai had been very popular in Japan for decades. Having seen the Japanese program during a trip, Haim Saban began work to adapt it for American television. He realized he could produce an effective adaptation, initially to be called "Dino Rangers", by combining original American footage with the Japanese Sentai stock footage, primarily of action scenes. The pitch was initially rejected by several U.S. networks until Fox head of children's programming, Margaret Loesch, championed the show and ordered 40 episodes.

For the first season of what would eventually become Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Saban chose to adapt 1992's Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger, which had a dinosaur motif.  After a nationwide search, five actors were cast as the Power Rangers: Austin St. John as Jason Lee Scott (the Red Ranger), Amy Jo Johnson as Kimberly Ann Hart (the Pink Ranger), Walter Jones as Zack Taylor (the Black Ranger), Thuy Trang as Trini Kwan (the Yellow Ranger), and David Yost as Billy Cranston (the Blue Ranger).

Zyuranger involved five ancient warriors who were awakened to use their dinosaur powers to fight an evil witch. While Power Rangers used Zyuranger footage, it had a much different storyline. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers would feature an evil queen,Rita Repulsa, who was freed from her prison on the moon after 10,000 years. In response, an ancient wizard namedZordon, recruited five "overbearing" teenagers. Rita Repulsa's scenes were adapted from the Sentai footage of Zyuranger's main villain, Witch Bandora. Rita's voice was dubbed by Barbara Goodson. The voices of her various underlings and featured monsters would be dubbed by American actors as well.

A pilot episode was filmed but did not air until 1999 as a special "lost episode". A rewritten second pilot, titled "Day of the Dumpster", aired on August 28, 1993.  The show became an overnight sensation and was beating Fox Kids' highest-rated show, Batman: The Animated Series, within two weeks of its premiere. A heavy merchandising rollout soon followed, with the Power Rangers being featured in a line of toys by Bandai, as well as apparel, school supplies, video games and more.

The show's popularity was bolstered when a new 6th Ranger named Tommy Oliver (Jason David Frank) was added to the canvas.  His introduction in the five-part episode, Green With Evil, took the fast-growing phenomenon to new heights. In keeping with the Zyuranger footage, Tommy's Green Ranger character was written out of the show, causing significant backlash among fans.

Fox eventually extended its 40 episode order to 60, leading the show's producers to alter the ending of the planned series finale, "Doomsday". Because that episode used footage from Zyuranger's final episode, Saban struck a deal with Toei Productions to provide several dozen episodes' worth of addtional footage, which allowed the Green Ranger to return. Toei agreed to make subtle modifications to certain elements in order to make its footage more closely match the American storyline. This included changes in personality among the Rangers, and the acknowledgement of a romantic subplot between the Pink and Green Rangers. This supplemental footage is commonly referred to by fans as "Zyu2", and would continue to be used well into the second season.

Now a ratings and merchandising juggernaut, MMPR returned for a second season in the summer of 1994.  Fox aired the three-part season premiere in primetime, pairing the latter two episodes with Saban's other Fox megahit, the animated "X-Men" series. Season two brought major changes to the storyline and look of the show. Rita Repulsa was replaced in favor of an original villain, Lord Zedd, which had no Japanese counterpart. The Rangers' original Dinozords were also retired in favor of the Thunderzords utilizing footage from a second Sentai series, Gosei Sentai Dairanger. Saban, meanwhile, was still using up the remaining Zyu2 footage, which forced the Zord battles to be edited in such a way that the Zords and monsters were never seen in the same shot (because the Zyu2 battles included the Dinozords) and, in several instances, Thunder Megazord and Dragonzord would participate in the same battle despite being from two different Sentai productions.

Early in the second season, the Green Ranger's powers were lost for good, and the popular Tommy character was once again written off the show. He would return just a few episodes later as the new White Ranger, which was based on the Dairanger's KibaRanger character. As a result, Saban began producing more original footage of morphed Ranger battles in order to include characters from two disparate Sentai properties, including monsters. But the inclusion of the White Ranger opened the door for Dairanger's Zord battles to air as intended, complete with the new White TigerZord

Walter Jones, Austin St. John, and Thuy Trang all left the show early in season two. At the time of their departure, they had filmed several additional episodes worth of scenes, but were unable to complete additional dialogue recording,(or ADR),for quite a few episodes. As a result, footage of Jason, Zack and Trini (while morphed) was dubbed over with different voices. Eventually the trio was written out of the show and replaced by three new Rangers: Rocky DeSantos (Steve Cardenas) as the new Red Ranger, Adam Park (Johnny Yong Bosch) as the new Black Ranger, and Aisha Campbell (Karan Ashley) as the new Yellow Ranger.

Episode variations

Some of the episodes seen on Netflix and outside of the US vary from their original Fox Kids broadcasts. See article: Domestic vs. international masters

Synopsis

Long ago, the ancient wizard Zordon did battle with the evil witch Rita Repulsa. He eventually managed to defeat her in a game using five magic coins. As punishment for her loss, she was sealed in a canister on Planet Nemesis, a planet that travels close to Earth every 10,000 years. However, before being sealed away, Rita trapped Zordon in a time warp.

Millennia later, Rita and her minions escaped their prison and set out to conquer Earth. Zordon, desperate to stop her, had his assistant Alpha 5 recruit five "teenagers with attitude" to counter her threat. They were granted the powers of the dinosaurs, and became the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

After several losing battles, Rita created an evil Power Ranger using a sixth power coin. This Green Ranger, Tommy Oliver, caused major damage to the Power Rangers until they were able to break Rita's spell. Grateful, and now burdened with responsibility, he joined the Power Rangers but was stripped of his powers soon after by Rita's enchanted green candle.  Tommy's powers were temporarily transferred to Jason.  Later, Zordon was able to directly infuse Tommy's power coin with his own power, and the Green Ranger returned to the team, though his powers would prove unpredictable and would fade over time.

The Rangers continued to thwart Rita's attempts to destroy them. Lord Zedd, Rita's evil overlord, came to the moon and relieved her of her duties, taking over her moon palace and sealing Rita in a dumpster once again.  In his first encounter with the Power Rangers, Zedd's Pirhantishead monster froze four of the Dinozords and took control of the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord and Tommy's Dragonzord.  Though the Rangers were able to wrest control away from Zedd, the Dinozords would prove to have insufficient power to combat Zedd's more powerful monsters.  Before Zedd was able to destroy them forever, Zordon and Alpha 5 used the Dinozords' remaining power to create the Thunderzords, a set of fighting machines in the form of mythical creatures.  The Dragonzord would remain, but shortly after Zedd's arrival, Tommy's Green Ranger powers were lost permanently.  Dragonzord would return to its slumber under the sea.

Tommy would not be gone for long, however.  Zordon and Alpha created new White Ranger powers for him, and he returned as the leader of the Power Rangers, complete with a new White Tigerzord.  A short time later, Jason, Zack and Trini were selected to represent their hometown of Angel Grove at a global youth peace conference, forcing them to leave the team.  They were replaced by Rocky DeSantos, Adam Park and Aisha Campbell, respectively, who had recently transferred to Angel Grove High School from nearby Stone Canyon.

While the Rangers were on a school trip to Australia, Rita Repulsa made her way back to the moon and worked with her loyal minion, Finster, to give Lord Zedd a love potion while he was deep asleep in his 100 year recharge.  When he awoke, he was madly in love with Rita, and the two were quickly married.  Zedd later learned of the deception and took an antidote, but realized he loved Rita anyway.

Rita's brother Rito Revolto came to Earth and dealt the Rangers a crippling blow when he and Goldar destroyed the Thunderzords and, along with them, the Rangers' powers.  Undaunted, they sought the aid of Ninjor, who had created the powers.  After an arduous quest, Ninjor bestowed upon them the new Ninja powers, and fought alongside the Rangers as an ally against Rita and Zedd's combined forces. 

Dissatisfied with his daughter's failure to destroy the Power Rangers--and displeased with her choice in a husband--Rita's father, Master Vile, took on the challenge.  He was able to turn back time, turning the Rangers into children and removing Ninjor from the equation.  While the Rangers embarked on a quest to find five pieces of the mystical Zeo Crystal in order to restore them to their proper time, Zordon enlisted the assistance of the Alien Rangers of Aquitar in the interim.  Aisha's Zeo quest took her to her ancestral home of Africa, where she met a young girl named Tanya Sloan.  Wanting to use her knowledge of the modern world to help the impoverished people of the land, Aisha chose to stay behind in Africa and sent Tanya back to Angel Grove with the yellow portion of the Zeo Crystal.

Mere moments after uniting the Zeo Crystal and restoring the flow of time, Goldar and Rito Revolto invaded the Command Center and stole it, while also planting an implosion device.  Its detonation caused catastrophic damage to the Command Center, and Alpha 5 was able to teleport the Rangers away with just seconds to spare.  The Rangers watched as the Command Center was reduced to a pile of flaming rubble.

Characters

Power Rangers

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Color	Role	Actor
White Ranger	Tommy Oliver	Jason David Frank
Red Ranger	Jason Lee Scott ► Rocky DeSantos	Austin St. John ► Steve Cardenas
Black Ranger	Zack Taylor ► Adam Park	Walter Jones ► Johnny Yong Bosch
Blue Ranger	Billy Cranston	David Yost
Yellow Ranger	Trini Kwan ► Aisha Campbell	Thuy Trang ► Karan Ashley
Pink Ranger	Kimberly Ann Hart ► Katherine Hillard	Amy Jo Johnson ► Catherine Sutherland
Green Ranger	Tommy Oliver / Tom Oliver	Jason David Frank ► Jason David Frank

Wild West Rangers

Color	Role	Actor
Red Wild West Ranger	Rocko	Steve Cardenas
Black Wild West Ranger	Abraham	Johnny Yong Bosch
Blue Wild West Ranger	William	David Yost
Yellow Wild West Ranger	Miss Alicia	Karan Ashley

Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers

Color	Role	Actor
Red Aquitar Ranger	Aurico	David Bacon
White Aquitar Ranger	Delphine	Rajia Baroudi
Blue Aquitar Ranger	Cestro	Karim Prince
Yellow Aquitar Ranger	Tideus	Jim Gray
Black Aquitar Ranger	Corcus	Alan Palmer

Allies

• Zordon
• Alpha Series
  • Alpha 4
  • Alpha 5

Ninjor

Ninjor

• Tanya

Masked Rider

Dex Stewart

• King Lexian
• Donais
• Zarius
• Ferrian

Civilians

• Farkas "Bulk" Bulkmeier
• Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch
• Ernie
• Lt. Stone
• Ms. Appleby
• Mr. Caplan
• Angela
• Richie
• Curtis
• Veronica
• Dr. Kender
• Sam Trueheart

Villains

Power Rangers Villains

• Rita Repulsa
• Lord Zedd
• Master Vile
• Hydro Hog
• Goldar
• Scorpina
• Rito Revolto
• Professor Longnose
• Squatt
• Baboo
• Finster
• Lokar
• Billy Cranston (clone)
• Primator
• Blue Globbor
• Putty Patrollers
  • Super Putty Patrollers
• Z Putty Patrollers
• Tenga Warriors
• Evil Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
• Mutant Rangers
• Dark Rangers

Monsters

• List of Mighty Morphin 1 Monsters
• List of Mighty Morphin 2 Monsters
• List of Mighty Morphin 3 Monsters

Masked Rider Villains

• Count Dregon
• Doubleface
• Nefaria
• Cyclopter
• Gork
• Fact
• Cogwarts
• Plague Patrol
  • Plague Sentry

Arsenal

Main Articles: Arsenal (MMPR), Arsenal (MMPR2), and Arsenal (MMPR3).

• Power Morphers: Used by the teens to morph into their Power Ranger forms.  Powered by magic power coins.
• Dragon Dagger: Green Ranger's weapon used in combat, and also to summon and control the Dragonzord.
• Blade Blaster: Standardized Ranger weapon.  Can be used as blaster or short sword.
• Saba: White Ranger's sentient, talking sword. Used to summon and control the White Tigerzord. Also has the ability to fly and fire laser blasts from his eyes in combat.
• Shark Cycles: Shark-themed motorcycles used for rough terrain.
• Metallic Armor: Special armor created for battling an improved breed of Tenga Warriors. Enhances the Rangers' speed, strength, resistance to injury and resistance to magic spells.
• Power Cannon: Giant bazooka that fires loadable spheres of energy.
• Power Weapons: Five individual weapons that can combine into the Power Blaster for powerful attacks. Red Ranger uses the Power Sword, Yellow Ranger uses the Power Daggers, Blue Ranger uses the Power Lance, Pink Ranger uses the Power Bow, and Black Ranger uses the Power Axe.
• Sword of Power
• Sword of Light: A sword that acts as a transfer conduit in order to confer the Rangers' powers between individuals.
• Sword of Darkness: A weapon temporarily wielded by the Green Ranger while under Rita Repulsa's control.  Believed destroyed, but the Sword (or a facsimile) returned on several occasions.
• Power Coins: Source of the Ranger's power.  When inserted into Power Morphers, gives each teen the ability to morph into Power Rangers.  Also allow access to Zordon's Command Center.

Zords

Rangers Zords

Season One

• Dinozords
  • Tyrannosaurus Dinozord (Red)
  • Mastodon Dinozord (Black)
  • Triceratops Dinozord (Blue)
  • Saber-Toothed Tiger Dinozord (Yellow)
  • Pterodactyl Dinozord (Pink)
• Dino Megazord (combination of Dinozords)
• Dragonzord (Green)
• Dragonzord Battle Mode (combination of Dragonzord, Mastodon, Triceratops and Saber-Tooth Tiger Dinozords)
• Mega Dragonzord (combination of Dino Megazord & Dragonzord)
• Titanus the Carrierzord
• Dino Ultrazord (combination of Mega Dragonzord & Titanus)

Season Two

• Thunderzords
  • Red Dragon Thunderzord (Red)
  • Lion Thunderzord (Black)
  • Unicorn Thunderzord (Blue)
  • Griffin Thunderzord (Yellow)
  • Firebird Thunderzord (Pink)
• Thunder Megazord (combination of Thunderzords)
• White Tigerzord (White)
• Mega Tigerzord (combination of Unicorn, Lion, Griffin and Firebird Thunderzords & White Tigerzord)
• Tor the Shuttlezord
• Thunder Ultrazord (combination of Thunderzords, White Tigerzord & Tor)

Season Three

• Ninjazords
  • Falconzord (White)
  • Ape Ninjazord (Red)
  • Frog Ninjazord (Black)
  • Wolf Ninjazord (Blue)
  • Bear Ninjazord (Yellow)
  • Crane Ninjazord (Pink)
• Ninja Megazord/Ninja Megafalconzord (combination of Ninjazords, with or without Falconzord)
• Ninja Ultrazord (combination of Ninja Megafalconzord & Titanus)
• Shogunzords
  • White Shogunzord (White/Pink)
  • Red Shogunzord (Red)
  • Black Shogunzord (Black)
  • Blue Shogunzord (Blue)
  • Yellow Shogunzord (Yellow)
  • Shogun Megazord (combination of Shogunzords)
  • Shogun Megafalconzord (combination of Shogun Megazord & Falconzord)
  • Shogun Ultrazord (combination of Shogun Megafalconzord & Titanus)
• Battle Borgs
  • Red Battle Borg
  • White Battle Borg
  • Black Battle Borg
  • Blue Battle Borg
  • Yellow Battle Borg

Evil Zords

• Cyclopsis
• Serpentera

Episode Guide

Season 1

0. Day of the Dumpster (pilot)

1. Day of the Dumpster
2. High Five
3. Teamwork
4. A Pressing Engagement
5. Different Drum
6. Food Fight
7. Big Sisters
8. I, Eye Guy
9. For Whom the Bell Trolls
10. Happy Birthday, Zack
11. No Clowning Around
12. Power Ranger Punks
13. Peace, Love and Woe
14. Foul Play in the Sky
15. Dark Warrior
16. Switching Places
17. Green With Evil Part I: Out Of Control
18. Green With Evil Part II: Jason's Battle
19. Green With Evil Part III: The Rescue
20. Green With Evil Part IV: Eclipsing Megazord
21. Green With Evil Part V: Breaking The Spell
22. The Trouble with Shellshock
23. Itsy Bitsy Spider
24. The Spit Flower
25. Life's a Masquerade
26. Gung Ho!
27. Wheel of Misfortune
28. Island of Illusion, Part I
29. Island of Illusion, Part II
30. The Rockstar
31. Calamity Kimberly
32. A Star Is Born
33. The Yolk's on You!
34. The Green Candle, Part I
35. The Green Candle, Part II
36. Birds of a Feather
37. Clean-Up Club
38. A Bad Reflection on You
39. Doomsday Part I
40. Doomsday Part II
41. Rita's Seed of Evil
42. A Pig Surprise
43. Something Fishy
44. Lions & Blizzards
45. Crystal of Nightmares
46. To Flea or Not to Flee
47. Reign of the Jellyfish
48. Plague of the Mantis
49. Return of an Old Friend Part I
50. Return of an Old Friend Part II
51. Grumble Bee
52. Two Heads are Better than One
53. Fowl Play
54. Trick or Treat
55. Second Chance
56. On Fins and Needles
57. Enter… The Lizzinator
58. Football Season
59. Mighty Morphin' Mutants
60. An Oyster Stew

Season 2

1. The Mutiny, Part I
2. The Mutiny, Part II
3. The Mutiny, Part III
4. The Wanna-Be Ranger
5. Putty on the Brain
6. Bloom of Doom
7. The Green Dream
8. The Power Stealer
9. The Beetle Invasion
10. Welcome to Venus Island
11. The Song Of Guitardo
12. Green No More, Part I
13. Green No More, Part II
14. Missing Green
15. Orchestral Maneuvers in the Park
16. Beauty and the Beast
17. White Light, Part I
18. White Light, Part II
19. Two for One
20. Opposites Attract
21. Zedd's Monster Mash
22. The Ninja Encounter, Part I
23. The Ninja Encounter, Part II
24. The Ninja Encounter, Part III
25. A Monster of Global Proportions
26. Zedd Waves
27. The Power Transfer, Part I
28. The Power Transfer, Part II
29. Goldar's Vice-Versa
30. Mirror of Regret
31. When is a Ranger Not a Ranger?
32. Rocky Just Wants to Have Fun
33. Lights, Camera, Action
34. Where There's Smoke, There's Fire
35. Scavenger Hunt
36. The Great Bookala Escape
37. Forever Friends
38. A Reel Fish Story
39. Rangers Back in Time, Part I
40. Rangers Back in Time, Part II
41. The Wedding, Part I
42. The Wedding, Part II
43. The Wedding, Part III
44. Return of the Green Ranger, Part I
45. Return of the Green Ranger, Part II
46. Return of the Green Ranger, Part III
47. Best Man for the Job
48. Storybook Rangers, Part I
49. Storybook Rangers, Part II
50. Wild West Rangers, Part I
51. Wild West Rangers, Part II
52. Blue Ranger Gone Bad

Season 3

1. A Friend in Need, Part I
2. A Friend in Need, Part II
3. A Friend in Need, Part III
4. Ninja Quest, Part I
5. Ninja Quest, Part II
6. Ninja Quest, Part III
7. Ninja Quest, Part IV
8. A Brush with Destiny
9. Passing the Lantern
10. Wizard for a Day
11. Fourth Down and Long
12. Stop the Hate Master, Part I
13. Stop the Hate Master, Part II
14. Final Face-Off
15. The Potion Notion
16. I'm Dreaming of a White Ranger
17. A Ranger Catastrophe, Part I
18. A Ranger Catastrophe, Part II
19. Changing of the Zords, Part I
20. Changing of the Zords, Part II
21. Changing of the Zords, Part III
22. Follow that Cab!
23. A Different Shade of Pink, Part I
24. A Different Shade of Pink, Part II
25. A Different Shade of Pink, Part III
26. Rita's Pita
27. Another Brick in the Wall
28. A Chimp in Charge
29. Master Vile and the Metallic Armor, Part I
30. Master Vile and the Metallic Armor, Part II
31. Master Vile and the Metallic Armor, Part III
32. The Sound of Dischordia
33. Rangers in Reverse

Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers (Mini Series)

1. Alien Rangers of Aquitar: Part I
2. Alien Rangers of Aquitar: Part II
3. Climb Every Fountain
4. The Alien Trap
5. Attack of the 60' Bulk
6. Water You Thinking?
7. Along Came a Spider
8. Sowing the Seas of Evil
9. Hogday Afternoon: Part I
10. Hogday Afternoon: Part II

See also

• Mighty Morphin 1, the first season.
• Mighty Morphin 2, the second season.
• Mighty Morphin 3, the third season.
• Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, a miniseries concluding the third season.
• Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger, the aesthetic counterpart for the rangers and the first season.

References

• Power Rangers | Teams | Mighty Morphin