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Icon-mightymorphinThis article is about an episode in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

The Wanna-Be Ranger is the fourth episode of the second season and sixty-fourth episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Synopsis[]

The Rangers find themselves seeing double when Lord Zedd attacks them with Primator, a monster that can impersonate one Ranger at a time.

Plot[]

While Jason, Kimberly, Tommy, Billy, and Trini, are enjoying a friendly basketball game, Zack shows up and scares Kimberly while wearing a white gorilla costume, that he was using to perform at his little cousin's birthday party. Zack takes off the costume to join in the game. However, they are suddenly alerted by Zordon to the Command Center. He informs the team that due to a galactic imbalance caused by the upcoming alignment of the planets in the Solar System, he will be forced to temporarily lose his powers, leaving Alpha 5 in charge. After the Rangers teleport back to Angel Grove, Alpha expresses his sadness on being alone in "this big, scary Command Center".

Meanwhile, Lord Zedd senses the sudden flux in energy. Realizing Zordon's powers are down, he transforms Zack's gorilla costume into Primator, which possesses the power to shape-shift into the likeness of any of the Power Rangers, either morphed or unmorphed.

Back at the Command Center, a bored Alpha 5 is scanning the Viewing Globe when he sees a little boy, Dylan, who needs help in the park. He considers contacting the Rangers, but decides to help the boy, calling himself "Alpha Ranger".

After scaring away Bulk and Skull, who are trying to discover the secret identities of the Rangers, Alpha finds Dylan and discovers the boy has been separated from his mother. Alpha befriends Dylan, who teaches Alpha to play soccer. Squatt notices that Alpha has left the Command Center and notifies Zedd.

Meanwhile, Primator shape-shifts into a Billy look-alike and confronts Alpha and Dylan and tells Alpha to take him to the Command Center. However, when "Billy" is caught in the reflective surface of his helmet, Alpha sees Primator's true form and realizes "Billy" is a fake. Primator attacks Alpha, who orders Dylan to run to safety and activates his self-destruct sequence so that Primator can't use him to find the Command Center.

With its plan thwarted, Primator transforms into a Zack look-alike and lures Kimberly and Trini into a trap, as the girls end up battling and defeating Zedd's Putties.

Afterward, they return to the Youth Center and confront the real Zack, who says he knew nothing about the Putty attack. Jason tries to contact Alpha at the Command Center but gets no response.

The Rangers teleport there and find Zordon has returned. Zordon briefs them on Alpha 5's predicament and reveals they have mere minutes to save him from self-destruction. However, they must battle and defeat Primator first and Zordon explains the monster's shape shifting ability, making Kimberly realize that Primator disguised himself as Zack to trick her and Trini. Kimberly apologizes to Zack and the Rangers morph.

The monster confuses the Rangers with his shape-shifting abilities, forcing them to retreat and regroup at the Command Center.

Zordon explains that Primator can't maintain his shape-shifting ability upon seeing his own reflection, using Alpha's encounter with the Primator as an example.

Equipped with a mirror, the Rangers teleport back to the battlefield, but somehow get separated. Jason, Billy and Trini find Tommy, seemingly in pain because of his waning powers, but become wise when "Tommy" suggests they give up. Jason kicks "Tommy" down, saying the real one never gives up so easily. Using the mirror he brought with him, Billy exposes "Tommy" as the Primator and the other three Rangers arrive. With Primator's shape-shifting powers now obsolete, Lord Zedd has no choice but to make his monster grow.

After a harrowing battle, the Dragonzord and the Thunder Megazord destroy the monster, but the Rangers must rush to help Alpha before he self-destructs.

The Rangers teleport to Alpha's location, and Billy is able to restore Alpha's systems to full operation with just seconds to spare, and Dylan is reunited with his mother.

With Alpha's greatest adventure ended, Zordon chides him for leaving the Command Center unprotected and failing to inform the Rangers that he would be leaving, reminding Alpha that even though he meant well, a true hero knows the meaning of responsibility. Trini then teases Alpha about being grounded for a few thousand years, and Alpha laments not ever being able to learn to play soccer.

Cast[]

Songs[]

Errors[]

  • When Jason answers Zordon's message at the start of the episode, Trini is right beside him but has vanished in the close-up.
  • After Primator-Billy catches Dylan's soccer ball, Dylan runs off but is suddenly right next to Alpha, who is quite far away).
  • When Alpha falls over and says "ten minutes to self-destruct," a lump can be seen in his "throat" before vanishing.
  • In the wide shot of the Rangers arriving to confront the Primator, Zack is next to Kimberly and Trini is next to Jason but the roll call has them swap positions.
  • Primator disguised as the Yellow Ranger is visibly shorter than the real Yellow Ranger.
  • In the two Yellow Ranger sequence, the Primator fake has visible clasps on the helmet while Trini does not.
  • Based on their original positions and movements during the fight between Red Ranger and the disguised Primator, it appears to actually be Primator who rejoined the others.
    • In the uncut Zyu2 footage released nearly twenty years later, this is indeed the case as Primator, in the form of the Red Ranger, attacks the others while they are off-guard.
  • During a close-up of Jason and the Primator fighting, the background changes behind the fake Red Ranger from a seafront to a blue sky.
  • Kimberly falls down after Primator turned into fake Jason, despite having not attacked them yet due to cuts in footage.
  • When Primator hits the Rangers with his Red Ranger eye blasts, the Rangers are sent flying before the hits landed.
  • Although the mirror used to outsmart Primator was stated to belong to Kimberly, it was blue and has a picture of the Triceratops Power Coin on its back when Billy uses it.
    • The mirror was taken from Zyu2 footage, which utilized the characterization of the Blue Ranger as being technologically adept.
  • The Megazord is briefly visible beside the Dragonzord when Primator blasts them, and its right shoulder can be briefly seen in the corner of the screen when the Dragonzord begins to fight the monster.

Notes[]

  • The original script title for this episode was "Where in the World is Alpha?".
  • The episode was adapted into the book "Alpha, the Hero", and Primator would be used in Lord Zedd's Holiday Humbug, a picture book adaptation of Alpha's Magical Christmas.
  • This is the first of only two episodes that the Dragonzord fights alongside the Thunder Megazord. However, this is the only episode where the Thunder Megazord and Dragonzord defeat the enemy together.
  • There were many instances of cut footage in this episode:
    • After Primator is knocked out of the Yellow Ranger disguise and uses his spear weapon, the episode cuts a small bit of footage of him using the weapon on the Rangers excluding Billy.
    • Primator, disguised as the Black Ranger, fighting the others.
    • A shot of the Primator's tail coming out from between the fake Tommy's legs during the fight against him with his spear was cut.
    • There was originally a sequence of the Rangers posing in front of a fountain, followed by Jason and Tommy then leap up and punch Primator.
    • Jason and Tommy blasting the Primator with their Power Weapons was cut.
    • A scene of the Power Blaster being used on the Primator was cut.
    • The Megazord and the Dragonzord attack Primator.

External Links[]

References[]

Footnotes[]


Icon-mightymorphin List of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Episodes
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 • 17-21: Green With Evil • 22: Itsy Bitsy Spider • 23: The Trouble with Shellshock • 24: The Spit Flower • 25: Life's a Masquerade • 26: Gung Ho! • 27: Wheel of Misfortune • 28 & 29: Island of Illusion • 30: The Rockstar • 31: Calamity Kimberly • 32: A Star Is Born • 33: The Yolk's on You! • 34 & 35: The Green Candle • 36: Birds of a Feather • 37: Clean-Up Club • 38: A Bad Reflection on You • 39 & 40: Doomsday • 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 & 50: Return of an Old Friend • 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

1-3: The Mutiny • 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 & 13: Green No More • 14: Missing Green • 15: Orchestral Maneuvers in the Park • 16: Beauty and the Beast • 17 & 18: White Light • 19: Two for One • 20: Opposites Attract • 21: Zedd's Monster Mash • 22-24: The Ninja Encounter • 25: A Monster of Global Proportions • 26: Zedd Waves • 27 & 28: The Power Transfer • 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 & 40: Rangers Back in Time • 41-43: The Wedding • 44-46: Return of the Green Ranger • 47: Best Man for the Job • 48 & 49: Storybook Rangers • 50 & 51: Wild West Rangers • 52: Blue Ranger Gone Bad

Season 3 & Alien Rangers

1-3: A Friend in Need • 4-7: Ninja Quest • 8: A Brush with Destiny • 9: Passing the Lantern • 10: Wizard for a Day • 11: Fourth Down and Long • 12 & 13: Stop the Hate Master • 14: Final Face-Off • 15: The Potion Notion • 16: I'm Dreaming of a White Ranger • 17 & 18: A Ranger Catastrophe • 19-21: Changing of the Zords • 22: Follow that Cab! • 23-25: A Different Shade of Pink • 26: Rita's Pita • 27: Another Brick in the Wall • 28: A Chimp in Charge • 29-31: Master Vile and the Metallic Armor • 32: The Sound of Dischordia • 33: Rangers in Reverse • 34 & 35: Alien Rangers of Aquitar • 36: Climb Every Fountain • 37: The Alien Trap • 38: Attack of the 60' Bulk • 39: Water You Thinking? • 40: Along Came a Spider • 41: Sowing the Seas of Evil • 42 & 43: Hogday Afternoon

Movies & Specials

Alpha's Magical ChristmasMighty Morphin Power Rangers: The MoviePower Rangers (2017)Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always

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