This article is about a/an three-part episode in Power Rangers Turbo, the third season in the Zordon Era . |
Shift Into Turbo is the three-part season premiere of the first to third episodes of Power Rangers Turbo of the Power Rangers series. These episodes mark the final appearances of Rocky, Zordon and Alpha 5 as regulars. Dimitria and Alpha 6 make their debut here. The title is also the morphing call for the Turbo Rangers, as well as the title of one of the songs from Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie.
Synopsis[]
As the Power Rangers prepare for their high school graduation, Divatox plans her revenge on them for destroying Maligore.
Plot[]
Part 1[]
On a distant planet, the evil space pirate Divatox is rallying forces in preparation for her new campaign to destroy the Power Rangers (as payback for their recent ruining of her wedding to Maligore) and conquer Earth. In picking monsters to serve as her main crew, Divatox names the ferocious Rygog as her second-in-command, the rotund Porto as her technical adviser, and her nephew Elgar (still crispy and smoking from being thrown in the Pit of Eternal Flame) as someone she doesn't want to lose track of. Legions of Piranhatrons see them off as the villains board the Subcraft and set course for Earth.
In Angel Grove, great changes are coming into the lives of the Power Rangers. Kat, Tanya, Adam, and Rocky (the latter retired due to injuries) are looking forward to high school graduation. Tommy, having already gained his diploma, is now working at his uncle's stock-car garage and is already proving himself as an adept racer. The newest Ranger of the group, Justin, is taking an equivalency test in preparation for his enrollment into Angel Grove's school system, and has finished well ahead of his allotted time.
At the lake, Bulk and Skull are back in the Angel Grove Junior Police Patrol and writing out parking tickets despite a complete lack of cars. The recently-reinstated Lt. Stone arrives with orders to report to the Angel Grove Energy Center and head up security. When Divatox's Subcraft dives into the lake behind Stone's back, the pair try to turn his attention towards it but are unable to make Stone look.
Justin arrives to meet with his friends, minus Tommy, as they set up the graduation stage, and they all recount (in flashback footage from the movie) the events of their adventure to Muiranthias. When Rocky is asked by Justin if he wants his powers back, he simply smiles and replies that they're already in good hands as Rocky has a lot of stuff to do, including his new karate school and Adam, Tanya and Kat know that they will miss Rocky dearly. Their Communicators go off and Alpha 5 asks them (with a giggle) to come to the Power Chamber.
As it turns out, Alpha and Zordon are going to throw a small graduation party for the Rangers, complete with cake. While Justin stays behind to be taught how to work the communication systems, the other Rangers leave to get ready for graduation.
Divatox sends out Elgar to plant a detonator in the Angel Grove Energy Center. It will explode in an hour and destroy the facility, blacking out the city and ruining the Rangers' graduation ceremony. Elgar is also given a Changer-Laser from Porto, which he uses to turn Bulk and Skull into monkeys when they try to get in his way.
The monkeys attempt to call for police backup to no avail, though their chimp cries are picked up by the Power Chamber. Justin volunteers to investigate on his way to the graduation and teleports to the Energy Center.
As he arrives, he finds the monkeys and Elgar (having just set the detonator) wandering around. When they realize that their monkey-screeches can't be understood by anybody, Bulk and Skull run off to get help and give away Justin's hiding spot as they flee. Elgar quickly spots him and starts a fight.
Part 2[]
Despite his age and size, Justin is able to hold his own against Elgar until Piranhatrons arrive to overwhelm him, forcing him to morph.
As the graduation ceremony begins, Kat, Tanya, and Adam grow concerned that Justin hasn't arrived yet. When asked about his whereabouts, Zordon informs them of the situation at the Energy Center, and they are forced to leave the ceremony.
Out in the parking lot, Divatox appears to offer her congratulations to the Rangers, as well as a group of Piranhatrons to stall them for time. Adam keeps the minions busy while Kat and Tanya morph to meet with Justin, then morphs himself to fend off the Piranhatrons surrounding him. Alpha contacts Tommy to morph and help relieve Adam, and the Piranhatrons retreat with Divatox. The pirate, however, cackles that it may already be too late for them.
Finally arriving at the Energy Center, Adam and Tommy rejoin the rest of the team and wipe out the Piranhatrons. Elgar takes the time to retreat, and the Turbo Rangers begin searching the area in order to find the reason for his visit. The facility proves too huge for them to locate whatever it is they're looking for, so Justin is sent back to the Power Chamber to make modifications to a Turbo Navigator. Kat recalls how they used it to find Lerigot, with Tommy hoping it can be used to find whatever Elgar left. Meanwhile, the detonator is still ticking away towards its deadly end.
At the Power Chamber, Alpha is eagerly watching a monitor but turns it off in panic when Justin arrives. Zordon tells Justin that the Turbo Navigator does not need to be adjusted as it will automatically detect any person or technology of alien origin. Justin leaves, and Zordon calmly tells Alpha that the Rangers will know in time what they are doing.
With the Turbo Navigator, the Rangers find the detonator only to get attacked by Rygog and even more Piranhatrons. With the others fighting them off, Tommy grabs the detonator and since it doesn't have a switch to turn it off, he runs for the street as Zordon sends in the Turbo R.A.M., which is used to carry the device safely away from the Energy Center as it explodes.
Back at the ceremony, the Rangers arrive and Mr. Caplan is finally able to stop stalling for time to introduce Kat's speech. With that, the Rangers(except Justin) and Rocky finally graduate from Angel Grove High. Justin walks over to his friends to congratulate them, and they all have a group hug.
At the Juice Bar, the Rangers discuss their plans for the future. Tanya is going to become a trainee DJ at the radio station, and Adam a stuntman at the amusement park. Lt. Stone suddenly comes in carrying the monkeys Bulk and Skull, who naturally get into mischief over a banana split and leave Stone with a face-full of ice cream in the process. Stone can't help but feel like he recognizes the monkeys.
In the Power Chamber, Alpha and Zordon watch the monitor intently as the wizard Lerigot appears. On the monitor is a cosmic wormhole in deep space that is connected to Zordon's home world of Eltar, one that will only be open for a short time. Zordon tells Alpha to call the Rangers only when the wormhole is fully open.
Meanwhile, Divatox has learned about the wormhole and is beginning to formulate a new scheme.
Part 3[]
As Tommy goes back to practice at the racetrack, Kat, Tanya, Justin, and Adam converse with each other at the Juice Bar. Kat explains that she is going to be working with the Freshmen of Angel Grove High School. Mr. Caplan suddenly appears to meet with Justin about the results of his equivalency test. He reveals that since Justin's score is incredibly high for his age, he's considered a prodigy, and he will be among the High School Freshmen starting in the Fall. The Rangers congratulate Justin for his success.
When they are called to the Power Chamber, the Rangers are surprised to find Lerigot and an emotional Alpha. Zordon tells the Rangers that Lerigot has come to free Zordon from his time-warp and allow him to return to his home and family on Eltar and that Alpha will be going with him. The Rangers are shocked, and worry that no-one will be around to help and guide them. Zordon assures them that he has made arrangements for a replacement.
In the Subcraft, Divatox is anticipating Zordon's departure so she can launch a full-scale attack. When Porto arrives with news of someone else traveling through the wormhole towards Earth, one who seems to agitate Divatox when seen via periscope, she changes her plans and orders Porto to find a way to close the wormhole instead. The monster Amphibitor is summoned to plant a device on Earth designed to seal the wormhole up and keep Divatox's unwanted company out.
When Tommy arrives in the Power Chamber (as he wouldn't miss the event), Lerigot begins the process to send Zordon home but is interrupted by Amphibitor's device. To make it worse, Elgar is causing a rampage in a fleet of vehicles.
The Rangers morph and head out in the Turbozords to wreck Elgar's cars in a high-speed battle as they join together to form into the Turbo Megazord. Outgunned and outmaneuvered, Elgar retreats.
The Rangers return to the Power Chamber to say goodbye to Zordon and Alpha, who must now leave before the wormhole closes. As their longtime mentor and friend vanish under Lerigot's power, the alarm goes off and the Rangers realize that Divatox's device is collapsing the wormhole, which will destroy Zordon and Alpha if they are caught inside.
In order to ensure their safe passage, the Rangers must destroy the device, which Amphibitor furiously guards.
In the Subcraft, Rygog has just finished arming a pair of torpedoes (both modified by Porto) and fires them at Amphibitor. Upon their impact, the monster grows to an incredible size. However, he does not last very long against the Turbo Megazord, which demolishes him in a high-speed spin-out attack.
Amphibitor's death shuts down the device, allowing Zordon and Alpha to complete their journey, and Lerigot leaves for his home as well. Now completely alone in the Power Chamber, the Rangers are at a loss on what to do now. Suddenly, a loud voice echoes from nearby and a robot that looks like Alpha walks into the Power Chamber... Alpha 6, to be exact! The new Alpha introduces to the Rangers a beautiful robed woman, Dimitria of Inquiris. Though her unusual trait of speaking in questions leaves the Rangers a bit confused, Dimitria honors her friend Zordon's request to guide them as their new mentor.
In the Subcraft, Divatox is absolutely furious at learning that Dimitria is on Earth and swears that she will destroy her.
Cast[]
- Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver (Red Turbo Ranger) (unmorphed only in Part 1)
- Blake Foster as Justin Stewart (Blue Turbo Ranger) (unmorphed only in Part 1)
- Johnny Yong Bosch as Adam Park (Green Turbo Ranger) (unmorphed only in Part 1)
- Nakia Burrise as Tanya Sloan (Yellow Turbo Ranger) (unmorphed only in Part 1)
- Catherine Sutherland as Katherine "Kat" Hillard (Pink Turbo Ranger) (unmorphed only in Part 1)
- Steve Cardenas as Rocky DeSantos (Parts 1 & 2 only)
- Paul Schrier as Farkas "Bulk" Bulkmeier (Part 1 only (voice for the latter in Parts 1 & 2))
- Jason Narvy as Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch (Part 1 only (voice for the latter in Parts 1 & 2))
- Gregg Bullock as Lt. Jerome Stone (Parts 1 & 2 only) & (credit only in Part 3)
- Royce Herron as Ms. Appleby (Parts 1 & 2 only)
- Harold Cannon as Mr. Caplan (Parts 2 & 3 only)
- David Fielding as Zordon (face)
- Robert L. Manahan as Zordon (voice)
- Donene Kistler as Alpha 5 and Alpha 6
- Richard Steven Horvitz as Alpha 5 (voice)
- Katerina Luciani as Alpha 6 (voice) (Part 3 only)
- Carol Hoyt as Divatox and Dimitria (Part 3 only)
- Kenny Graceson as Elgar
- David Umansky as Elgar (voice)
- Ed Neil as Rygog
- Lex Lang as Rygog (voice) and Lerigot (voice) (Parts 2 & 3 only)
- Scott Page-Pagter as Porto (voice)
- Bob Papenbrook as Amphibitor (voice)
Zords[]
Songs[]
- Freewheelin'
- Take Them Down (instrumental)
- Calling For A Hero (instrumental)
- We Need A Hero/5-4-1 (instrumental)
Errors[]
- In Part II, when Lt. Stone bumps into the waiter, the Sundae falls with the tray. But in the next shot it's now in the shot in the air.
- In the preview for Part III, the announcer incorrectly states that the wormhole is a way home for Lerigot.
- When Elgar turned Bulk and Skull into monkeys, their gloves disappeared while the rest of their clothes remained.
- The Rangers' arm patches do not appear during their morph, an error that would continue until the sequence was replaced in "Stitch Witchery". This is due to the morphin sequence being carried over from the film, which lacked the patches.
- At several points during this episode, during close-ups of Zordon the Power Chamber returns to the look it had during Zeo.
- In Part III, the Rangers have trouble forming the Turbo Megazord despite having done it before (although this could be explained away by stating that this time they formed it while at high-speed, while the previous occasion was a much slower transformation).
- Kat, Justin, Adam, and Tanya all appeared in the Turbo Megazord's cockpit upon combining their Turbozords, despite it being located in the Megazord's head which was a part of Red Lighting, which had yet to dock with the others.
- During the scene where the Rangers get rid of the detonator, the stunt actor's face could be seen through Tommy's visor.
Notes[]
- Part I marks the first appearance of Porto while Part III marks the first appearance of Alpha 6 and Dimitria.
- Part I has a flashback of Turbo: A Power Ranger Movie.
- This is the first episode not to feature an appearance from the Evil Space Aliens in any way.
- None of the Turbo Rangers appeared morphed in Part 1.
- Between the end of the movie and this episode, the Rangers were issued with the Turbo Carts which would integrate into their Zords and form a new cockpit for the Megazord.
- Final unmorphed appearance of Rocky DeSantos until Super Ninja Steel. He will appear morphed as Zeo Ranger III Blue in the episode "Legendary Battle" in Power Rangers Super Megaforce, while he will return using the original Red Ranger powers in the episode Dimensions in Danger in Super Ninja Steel.
- Part III marks the 1st episode since "Zedd's Monster Mash" to not feature Rocky as a regular and the first episode since "Sowing the Seas of Evil" that he didn’t appear.
- This is the first episode of the series to mention Eltar and establish it as Zordon's homeworld (becoming the only element from the movie to become canon in the TV series).
- Due to them being turned into chimps, Part I marks the final time Tommy, Kat, Adam, and Tanya would see Bulk & Skull as humans before passing on their powers. However, Adam would presumably see them again in In Space's "Always a Chance", while Tommy would see them again sometime before Wild Force's "Forever Red".
- Lerigot makes his first and only appearances in the TV show in Parts II and III (though he appears in Part I through archive footage).
- This is the last time in which Alpha 5 is shown with the movie designs (which Alpha 6 share) as his next and final appearance in "Passing the Torch, Part II" has him in his original body.
- Part II marks the first appearance of the Robotic Arsenal Mobilizer (better known as the Turbo RAM).
- Starting here, all Power Rangers episodes start with a cold opening. This would last until Time Force's "The End of Time", but the cold opening would later reappear from "Origins" of Power Rangers Samurai up to "Evox Unleashed" of Power Rangers Beast Morphers.
- Due to Hilary Shepard Turner being on maternity leave, Carol Hoyt takes over the role of Divatox until "When Time Freezes Over".
- The cockpits of the Turbozords and Turbo Megazord appear differently from this episode to how they appeared during Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (while the film used original cockpit footage, the series uses footage from Carranger).
- From this episode onward, the Ranger costumes now have patches on each arm, the left with the numbers 1-5 depending on the Ranger, and the right with the 'C' logo that would appear throughout the series (which was the logo used in Carranger).
- Divatox's costume is more toned down, particularly around the chest area, in the TV series, as opposed to the movie.
- The Piranhatron costumes are changed from the movie, no longer having masks that show visual human facial features.
- In Part III, Porto makes it so that Divatox can now use her Subcraft's torpedoes to enlarge monsters. In the movie, the missiles acted purely as weaponry.
- Part I is the final time Bulk, Skull, and Jerome Stone are seen as police officers, having all been given "one more chance" at their old jobs before circumstances force them to quit again (Bulk and Skull get turned into monkeys by Elgar, and Stone becomes Ernie's replacement at the Juice Bar starting with the next episode).
- In Part I, several monsters of the day appear behind Divatox, including Amphibitor, Shrinkasect, Strikeout, Torch Tiger, Voltmeister, Terror Tooth, and Wild Weeder.
- The reason for Bulk and Skull being turned into chimps was so that their actors could have time to work on their spinoff show, which unfortunately would not come to fruition.
- Part III marks the first time Justin appears helmetless in the show proper.
- Part III marks the final time Tanya and Kat appear helmetless and the final time Tommy and Adam appears helmetless until "Legendary Battle" and "Once a Ranger", respectively.
- Divatox talks into a Crab Microphone when addressing the Piranhatrons. It is currently unknown if the Crab Microphone appears in any other episode.
- Rocky wears gray instead of blue in Part I.
See Also[]
- Ep. 1: Fighting for Traffic Safety - Super Sentai counterpart in Carranger. See comparison page. (Porto's debut)
- Ep. 4: A Red Light to Enlarging - Super Sentai counterpart in Carranger. See comparison page. (Amphibitor debut)
- Ep. 5: Up Ahead, Gekisou Fusion - Super Sentai counterpart in Carranger. See comparison page. (fight footage)
External Links[]
- Watch Shift Into Turbo, Part I on the official YouTube page
- Watch Shift Into Turbo, Part II on the official YouTube page
- Watch Shift Into Turbo, Part III on the official YouTube page