This article is about an episode in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. |
Rangers in Reverse is the thirty-third episode of season 3 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. It is also the one hundred and forty-fifth episode of the show. It is the beginning of the eleven-episode Alien Ranger arc.
The episode marks the last time that all of the original MMPR costumes are used by the main team (the core Zyuranger costumes were first used since "Day of the Dumpster" and the Kiba Ranger costume was first used in "White Light").
The 23rd Zeo Serial Short aired before a later airing of the episode.
Synopsis
As the Power Rangers surprise Kat with a trip to the carnival for her birthday, Master Vile summons the Orb of Doom and uses its power to throw the Rangers and the rest of the world backwards in time.
Plot
The Power Rangers, minus Kat, meet in the Juice Bar to discuss plans for her upcoming birthday, while Rita Repulsa is boasting to Lord Zedd that Master Vile's newest plan will destroy them all for sure. The evil patriarch has summoned the Orb of Doom, which will freeze the Earth's rotation and reverse time so that the Rangers will be powerless children. Zedd has his doubts about this plan, especially since he had already tried a similar plan just last year, but Vile calls Zedd an amateur and has Rito Revolto place the Orb outside Angel Grove.
At the carnival, Lt. Stone is trying to enjoy a day off, but runs afoul of Bulk and Skull as they work the parking detail. Nearby, the Rangers take off Kat's blindfold to reveal that they have taken her to the carnival for a surprise birthday party. As they are all enjoying themselves, the Rangers are summoned to the Command Center and given urgent orders from Zordon to stop the Orb of Doom from activating.
The Rangers morph and meet with Rito. Goldar and a flock of Tenga Warriors arrive to defend the Orb, and half of the Tengas break off to attack the carnival. The Rangers are forced to separate. Tommy, Rocky, and Kat focus on the Orb while Adam, Aisha, and Billy use their Metallic Armor to defend the carnival from the Tengas. Unfortunately, the opposition is too strong to beat and Rito is able to plant the Orb. With the Orb in place, Master Vile summons its power and throws the Earth's rotation in reverse, which has the effect of reversing everybody's age in Angel Grove.
The Rangers themselves are turned into kids, along with Bulk and Skull and even Lt. Stone. Zedd, Rita, Goldar, and Rito soon arrive in the carnival to enlarge themselves and trash the city, and the child Rangers are unable to morph in defense. Truly, this is the darkest hour for the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and the Earth.
Cast
- Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver (Mighty Morphin White Ranger)
- Michael R. Gotto as Young Tommy
- Steve Cardenas as Rocky DeSantos (Mighty Morphin Red Ranger)
- Michael O'Laskey II as Young Rocky
- Karan Ashley as Aisha Campbell (Mighty Morphin Yellow Ranger)
- Sicily Sewell as Young Aisha
- Johnny Yong Bosch as Adam Park (Mighty Morphin Black Ranger)
- Matthew Sakimoto as Young Adam
- David Yost as Billy Cranston (Mighty Morphin Blue Ranger)
- Justin Timsit as Young Billy
- Catherine Sutherland as Katherine "Kat" Hillard (Mighty Morphin Pink Ranger)
- Julia Jordan as Young Kat
- Paul Schrier as Farkas "Bulk" Bulkmeier
- Jason Narvy as Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch
- Cody Slaton as Young Bulk
- Ross J. Samya as Young Skull
- Richard Genelle as Ernie
- Gregg Bullock as Lt. Jerome Stone
- ??? as Young Jerome Stone
- David Fielding as Zordon (face)
- Robert L. Manahan as Zordon (voice)
- Donene Kistler as Alpha 5
- Richard Steven Horvitz as Alpha 5 (voice)
- Carla Perez as Rita Repulsa
- Barbara Goodson as Rita Repulsa (voice)
- Ed Neil as Lord Zedd
- Robert Axelrod as Lord Zedd (voice) and Finster (voice)
- Danny Wayne Stallcup as Goldar
- Kerrigan Mahan as Goldar (voice)
- Bob Papenbrook AS Rito Revolto (voice)
- Michael J. Sorich as Squatt (voice)
- Dave Mallow as Baboo (voice) (as Colin Phillips)
- Tom Wyner as Master Vile (voice)
Notes
- Final Fights of the Blue, Yellow, and Pink Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers until the episode Legendary Battle in Power Rangers Super Megaforce.
- Jason Lee Scott will fight as the Red Mighty Morphin' in "Forever Red" (Power Rangers Wild Force).
- Rocky DeSantos will fight as the Red Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger in "Dimensions in Danger" (Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel).
- Adam Park will fight as the Black Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger in "Always a Chance" (Power Rangers in Space) and "Once A Ranger" (Power Rangers Operation Overdrive).
- The White Ranger will return as Tommy's hallucination in "King for a Day Part 1" (Power Rangers Zeo), and as a dream in "Fighting Spirit" (Power Rangers Dino Thunder). Tommy will fight as the White Ranger along with his other ranger forms in Dimensions in Danger (Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel)
- Final time Billy, Aisha and Adam use the Metallic Armor, as well as being the final time the Metallic Armor is used at all.
- When saying they've "tried this once before" to Master Vile, Lord Zedd is referencing Season 2's "Rangers Back in Time" two-parter.
- When Katherine's blindfold is taken off, two shots from No Clowning Around are shown of the carnival.
- This is the second episode with a Ranger's birthday being celebrated, with the previous one being Zack Taylor in "Happy Birthday, Zack". The next one is Justin Stewart in the Power Rangers Turbo episode "Bicycle Built for the Blues".
- This episode marks the final time Billy and Aisha morph.
- This episode marks the final regular appearance of Karan Ashley as Aisha Campbell (although she does have a cameo appearance at the end of Hogday Afternoon).
- Only appearance of Jerome Stone as a child.
- Last appearance of Ernie and Lt. Stone in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as the two are absent in Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers.
- Ernie reappears in the Power Rangers Zeo episode "The Shooting Star".
- Lt. Stone reappears in the end credits of "The Shooting Star" and later with the next episode "Target Rangers".
- The two also appear in the Zeo Serial.
- This is also the last episode to use the 1988 Saban Entertainment logo. However, it made a surprise appearance on the 2010 MMPR revision episodes.
- This is also the first Major cliffhanger episode that wouldn't be resolved for months, something that would reoccur for the transition between Hogday Afternoon & Zeo, Zeo itself, Turbo, In Space, Lightspeed Rescue and several of the Neo-Saban era seasons.
Errors
- When the Rangers split up into two teams, no effort was made by Tommy, Kat and Rocky to use the Metallic Armor or use any kind of arsenal to get past the super strong Tengas and stop Rito from planting the Orb of Doom.
- The Rangers also never consider summoning Ninjor for help.
- The Rangers also never consider summoning their zords to help. While generally frowned upon against small villains, there have been instances where Zordon gave the go-ahead, such as where he suggested they use their zords to crush the Samurai Fan Man while it was still small, knowing of the monster's power.
- Strangely, it appeared that everyone in Angel Grove were reduced to being children and not just those at the age of the Rangers (teenagers), the most obvious example being Lt. Stone who was roughly 10-15 years older than them. This hints at the veracity of the fan theory that the rock of time and the orb of doom were not actual time reversal devices but cast spells to cause people (and some objects) to regress to previous forms of themselves .