 | This article is about a/an series entry (the 12th) in the Power Rangers franchise. |
Power Rangers Dino Thunder (often abbreviated as "PRDT") is the tenth incarnation and twelfth season of Power Rangers, based on the 27th season of Super Sentai - Bakuryū Sentai Abaranger.
Synopsis
A soccer player, computer expert, a musician, and their science teacher join forces to become Power Rangers and help save the Earth from mutant dinosauric beings that wish to eradicate all human life and return Earth to the age of the dinosaurs. Their enemies are Mesogog and his minions Zeltrax and Elsa.
In this season, Tommy Oliver, of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to Power Rangers Turbo fame, returns as a paleontology professor in Reefside, California. When he is assigned three detention students, Conner McKnight, Ethan James, and Kira Ford, they end up finding the Dino Gems, paving the way for them to become the Dino Thunder Power Rangers. Conner gains the power of the Tyrannozord, as well as superspeed; Ethan gains the power of the Tricerazord, as well as the ability to make his skin super-strong; Kira gains the power of the Pterazord, as well as a sonic scream. Tommy (known often as Dr. O) himself joins the team as the Black Dino Thunder Ranger, and they are also later joined by Trent Fernandez as the White Dino Thunder Ranger. During the course of the series, the team adds to its arsenal Zords based on the Pachycephalosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Ankylosaurus, Dimetrodon, and Stegosaurus, the last of which combines with Trent's Zord, a Tupuxuara, to form the Dino Stegazord. Tommy pilots the Brachiozord, the carrier for all the other Zords. At the end of the series, Conner, Kira, Ethan, Tommy, and Trent finish off Mesogog but burned out their Dino Gems in the process. Elsa also redeemed herself. After saving the world the rangers starts their simple life again and became heroes for the town.
Characters
Dino Rangers
Dino Rangers in Super Dino Mode
Rangers
| Color | Role | Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Red Dino Ranger | Conner McKnight | James Napier |
| Blue Dino Ranger | Ethan James | Kevin Duhaney |
| Yellow Dino Ranger | Kira Ford | Emma Lahana |
| Black Dino Ranger | Tommy Oliver | Jason David Frank |
| White Dino Ranger | Trent Fernandez-Mercer | Jeffrey Parazzo |
Villains
Mesogog's Army
- Mesogog
- Elsa/Principal Randall
- Zeltrax
- Tyrannodrones: Mesogog's Foot Soldiers.
- Triptoids: Zeltrax's Foot Soldiers.
| Color | Role | Actor |
|---|---|---|
| White Dino Ranger | White Dino Ranger (clone) | Adam Gardiner |
- Mutations
- Birdbrain
- Pollinator
- Donkeyvac
- Demagnetron
- Dysotron
- Golden Rod
- Scorpex
- Megalador
- Creature
- Angor
- Rojobot
- Insectolite
- Fossilador
- Termitetron
- Ka-Ching
- Mad Mackerel
- Copyotter
- "Other World Monster"
- White Terrorsaurus
- Jupitor
- Tutenhawken
- Thornox
- Deadwood
- Horn-Rimmed Monster
- Jade Gladiator
- Skortch
- Squidrose
- Croco D'Vile
- Rumba Monkey
- Rude Elf
- Fridgia
- Ruby Dragon
- Ugly Monster
Lothor's Army
Other Characters/Allies
- Cassidy Cornell: The local High School reporter who also tries to find out the identities of the Power Rangers.
- Devin Del Valle: Cassidy's stupid sidekick and cameraman; he has a slight crush on Cassidy.
- Hayley Ziktor: Manager of the Cyberspace Cafe, and technical adviser of the Rangers.
- Anton Mercer: Trent's adoptive father and Mesogog's alter ego.
- Mr. Cormier: Cassidy's boss and employer.
- Ninja Storm Rangers
- Sensei Kanoi Watanabe
- S.P.D. B-Squad Rangers
Arsenal
Morphers
- Dino Morpher (Red Ranger/Conner, Blue Ranger/Ethan and Yellow Ranger/Kira)
- Brachio Morpher (Black Ranger/Tommy)
- Drago Morpher (White Ranger/Trent)
- Triassic Morpher (Triassic Ranger - used for Battlizer)
Weapons
- Tyranno Staff (Red Ranger/Conner)
- Tricera Shield (Blue Ranger/Ethan)
- Ptera Grips (Yellow Ranger/Kira)
- Brachio Staff (Black Ranger/Tommy)
- Drago Sword (White Ranger/Trent)
- Shield of Triumph (Triassic Ranger)
- Thundermax Blaster/Saber (Red/Conner, Blue/Ethan and Yellow/Kira)
- Z-Rex Blaster
Vehicles
- Raptor Riders (Red/Conner, Blue/Ethan, Yellow/Kira and Black/Tommy)
- Raptor Cycles (Red/Conner, Blue/Ethan and Yellow/Kira)
- Dino ATVs (Black/Tommy and White/Trent)
- Hovercraft Cycle (Blue/Ethan)
- Triceramax Command Center Truck
Suit Upgrades
- Super Dino Mode (All 5 Rangers)
- Triassic Ranger (Red Ranger upgrade)
- Battlized Triassic Ranger (Triassic Ranger upgrade)
When the Triassic morpher is given enough Dino energy, it unlocks the Battlizer Armor.
- Triceramax Command Center was shown on screen but not named. The name "Triceramax Command Center" comes from the toy line released by Bandai in the US.
Zords
- Legend: ◆ piloted zord, ❖ aux zord, ➲ carrier zord
Biozord System
- Thundersaurus Megazord ◆◆◆
- DinoStegazord ◆❖/◆◆
- Triceramax Megazord ◆❖❖❖❖/◆❖❖❖❖
- Mezodon Megazord ◆/◆
- Cephalazord ❖/❖
- Dimetrozord ❖/❖
- Parasaurzord ❖/❖
- Ankylozord ❖/❖
- Brachiozord ➲
Alternate Combinations
- Valkasaurus Megazord ◆◆◆◆◆◆
- Thundersaurus Megazord with Cephala Puncher ◆◆❖
- Thundersaurus Megazord with Dimetro Saw Blade ◆◆◆❖
- Thundersaurus Megazord with Stego Surfboard ◆◆◆❖
- Thundersaurus Megazord with Parasaur Cutter ◆◆◆❖
- Thundersaurus Megazord with Ankylo Drill ◆◆❖
- Thundersaurus Megazord with Ankylo Drill and Parasaur Cutter ◆◆❖❖
- Dino Stegazord with Cephala Puncher and Dimetro Saw Blade ◆❖❖❖
- Dino Stegazord with Ankylo Drill and Parasaur Cutter ◆❖❖❖
Evil Megazords
The Comic Strip
A monthly comic strip based on the series appeared on several issues of "Jetix Magazine" in the UK. Jetix Magazine was the official magazine of JETIX, the channel that aired Dino Thunder in the UK.
The Video Games
There were two games produced for the Dino Thunder series. On the Game Boy Advance, there was a sidescrolling version which was a simple platformer involving fighting several foes from the series. The other game was produced for the PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo Gamecube. This was the first Power Rangers game produced on a "next generation" console. Unexpectedly all the action takes place inside the zords. This game also had a few inconsistencies with the series to allow the action to take place in the zords while battling the regular bad guys who were human size. (The series always displayed a monster needing to be destroyed before it could be a giant, a side affect of the Hydro Re-Generator)
Episode List
- Day of the Dino Part 1
- Day of the Dino Part 2
- Wave Goodbye
- Legacy of Power
- Back in Black
- Diva in Distress
- Game On
- Golden Boy
- Beneath the Surface
- Ocean Alert
- White Thunder Part 1
- White Thunder Part 2
- White Thunder Part 3
- Truth and Consequences
- Leader of the Whack
- Burning at Both Ends
- The Missing Bone
- Bully for Ethan
- Lost & Found in Translation
- It's a Mad Mad Mackerel
- Copy That
- Triassic Triumph
- A Star is Torn
- A Ranger Exclusive
- Tutenhawken's Curse
- Disappearing Act
- Fighting Spirit
- The Passion of Conner
- Isn't it Lava-ly
- Strange Relations
- Thunder Storm Part 1
- Thunder Storm Part 2
- In Your Dreams
- Drawn into Danger
- House of Cards
- A Test of Trust
- Thunder Struck Part 1
- Thunder Struck Part 2
Specials
Comics
The following stories were printed in the UK Jetix Magazine.
VHS/DVD Releases
DVD
- Volume 1 (Episode 1-3)
- Volume 2 (Episodes 4-8)
- Volume 3 (Episodes 9, 11-14)
- Volume 4 (Episodes 15-19)
- Volume 5 (Episodes 20-24)
- Power Rangers Dino Thunder Vol. 5 Triassic Triumph
- Power Rangers Dino Thunder (Complete Season) [RC2]
- Power Rangers Seasons 8-12 (Lightspeed Rescue to Dino Thunder)
- Power Rangers Dino Thunder: The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
Notes
- This is the first Power Rangers season to air on Toon Disney & Jetix.
- This season is the second to have a prehistoric theme.
- The finale of Dino Super Charge, End of Extinction, retconned continuity so that the meteor strike that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs never happened. Because the Dino Gems were contained in these meteors, this would mean that the Dino Thunder Rangers never got their powers, therefore writing the entire season out of continuity. But in the Super Ninja Steel episode Echoes of Evil It is revealed that Dino Charge is in a different universe.
- This season also marks the return of Tommy Oliver from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Zeo & Turbo as a main cast member, as well as the new Ranger, making it the second season to have a veteran Ranger return to its full-time duties as a ranger. The first being Power Rangers Zeo with Jason Lee Scott.
- This is the only season to have four members on the core team as opposed to five.
- Despite having an overall dinosaur theme, the Pterazord, Dimetrozord and Dragozord are not technically dinosaurs, with both the Pterazord and Dragozords being pterosaurs and the Dimetrozord being a pelycosaur, a mammal-like reptile. Also, Dimetrodon lived at least 40 million years before any dinosaur.
- Styracosaurus has recently been recognized as a species of Centrosaurus, another horned dinosaur.
- It would have made more sense for the Mezodon Rover to be based on the plant-eating prosauropod Plateosaurus, one of the largest and best-known dinosaurs from the Triassic. This way, Conner's "Triassic Ranger" title would fit better when he operated it. Centrosaurus and other horned dinosaurs, or ceratopsians, were exclusively from the late Cretaceous.
- This is the second season to feature core three Rangers as opposed to five, a trend first started by Power Rangers Ninja Storm. This wouldn't happen again until Power Rangers Jungle Fury.
- Although the team lost their powers at the end of the season, the core three regained their abilities as of the events of History. It is not explained, however, the way Trent and Dr. Oliver managed to re-obtain their powers by the time of Dimensions in Danger.
Errors
- Some of the episodes shows that Tommy didn't put the key into the Brachio Morpher properly.
External links
References
