This article is about a three-part episode in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. |
The Wedding is a three-part story arc encompassing the forty-first to forty-third episodes of the second season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and the one hundred-first to one hundred-third episodes of the series overall. This arc marks the return of Rita Repulsa as a villainess, marrying Lord Zedd in an attempt to reclaim the Moon Palace.
Synopsis[]
As the Power Rangers head to Australia, Rita Repulsa returns from her banishment with a new plan... to marry Lord Zedd! To get the Power Rangers out of the way, Rita sends Finster to ambush Alpha 5 and insert a compact disc into his back panel that contains a personality-altering program. She now has a new servant as a result. He is now corrupted to the point of believing that the Rangers mistreated him, and now he wants to crush them as revenge. Once they're dead, he believes, he will become famous and adored by the populace of Earth.
Plot[]
Part 1[]
The Power Rangers are picked by Angel Grove High School to represent the United States as teen exchange speakers in Australia. Luckily for the Rangers, their trip is coinciding with Lord Zedd's Centennial Recharge, which means that he won't be causing any trouble for anybody while they're gone. However, Ernie tells them to keep an eye on their fellow travelers Bulk and Skull, who are always causing trouble no matter where they go.
In the Moon Palace, Lord Zedd moans about the Rangers leaving Angel Grove defenseless just before his recharge, but he nonetheless heads to his Rejuvenation Chamber and begins his nap to replenish his evil powers. Elsewhere in the Solar System, Rita Repulsa, still shrunken and trapped in her floating dumpster, has heard of the temporary cease-fire between the Rangers and Zedd and is already formulating a plan to destroy them all.
In the Command Center, Alpha 5 can't help but fret over being alone, but Zordon calmly reminds him that there will be nothing to worry about while the Rangers are away. Hoping to calm himself, Alpha decides to go for a walk.
Touching down in Australia, the Rangers and the bullies take in the sights and grab some lunch, though they are briefly concerned when a bright flash of light goes off in the sky. The flash is caused by Rita crashing her Dumpster outside the Moon Palace. She first sneaks into the Palace and finds Finster in his lab. Delighted to see his queen again, Finster uses his Spectron Reintegrator to restore Rita to her normal size. Rita then announces her new plan: she will marry Lord Zedd and turn him into her own betrothed slave by sneaking a love potion into his Rejuvenation Chamber, then throw him in a dumpster and rule everything herself. However, she also wants to present the Power Rangers as a wedding gift, and she is too impatient to wait for them to return from Australia. Finster suggests using Alpha 5 as the very person to lure them back, which Rita agrees to.
As Alpha is wandering the mountains outside the Command Center, he is jumped by Z-Putties and held down as Finster inserts a disc into the robot's systems that brainwashes and corrupts his programming, memories, thoughts and personality. When Alpha returns to the Command Center, now with complete fealty to Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, he calls the Rangers and tells them to morph and teleport to the abandoned Specter Theatre back at Angel Grove, but won't tell them why they have to go there. Zordon demands to know what is happening. Alpha orders him to be silent. Irritated and angered over Zordon's constant blather, Alpha says that he is shutting down his communicator so he can't alert the Rangers to "his [Alpha's] plan", and then, growing more irritated, then says "I think for now I'll fix it so that I won't have to listen to you either!".
In Australia, Bulk and Skull have slipped away from the tour group as the Rangers morph and teleport to the Specter Theater, unaware that it contains a dangerous vortex inside that will seal and drain their powers. Confused at their eerie surroundings, the Rangers hold their position and wait for further orders from the now-evil Alpha.
Alpha has had a complete change of heart. He openly insults Zordon, abuses and kicks the consoles, and even hacks into Zordon's energy tube to ruin the image of his head with hair, flowers and glasses. In the robot's own words, "The Alpha you knew is gone, forever! This is the new Alpha, with a new mission: to oversee the destruction of the Power Rangers!"
At the Moon Palace, Rita has just finished getting a facial from Finster's Moon Mud, giving her a more youthful appearance, and she is now ready to administer the love potion. As she sneaks into the Rejuvenation Chamber and has the potion pumped into Zedd's body, Finster uses the Monster-Matic to recreate 7 of Rita's favorite monsters as well as 3 of Lord Zedd's monsters to be wedding guests and to destroy the Rangers.
Back in the Spectre Theater, the Rangers continue to look around until they are ambushed by the recently brought back Grumble Bee, Eye Guy, Soccadillo, Peckster, Rhinoblaster, Saliguana, Snizzard, Robogoat, Invenusable Flytrap, and Dramole. They decide the numbers against them are too great, and attempt to teleport out only to find they can't. Unable to leave, they decide to fight and attempt to summon their weapons, but they don't arrive as normal. The Rangers quickly realize they're in serious trouble.
Part 2[]
Trapped in the Specter Theater and with nowhere to go, the Rangers have no choice but to fight the monsters with melee attacks.
Back at the Command Center, when Zordon asks why Alpha would put his friends in danger, Alpha announces his inner envy and resentment of the Power Rangers, and how their destruction and the conquest of their world will be revenge for how he had been mistreated and ignored by them over the years. He also states that as a result of their deaths, he will become adored by the people of Earth and go down in history as the one that crushed the forces of Goodness like insignificant bugs.
As the Rangers continue to fight a losing battle against all the monsters, Soccadillo suggests to his fellow monsters to strike them all at once. Grumble Bee states that they have to be in one piece as part of Rita's wedding gifts to Lord Zedd. Peckster states that he's sure Lord Zedd won't mind if a few pieces are missing. Now realizing what's going on, the Rangers retreat in hopes of finding a way out.
Back in the Moon Palace, Lord Zedd has just woken up from his recharge and is immediately love-struck at the sight of Rita Repulsa, the very person he banished for her incompetence, standing over him. Zedd summons Goldar, who is stunned to see Rita back, and orders him to set up a wedding ceremony as his "Worst Man" that is worthy of a queen, though Goldar secretly fears for his own future and tries to think of a way to stop the wedding and get Rita re-banished.
As to Alpha, he spots Bulk and Skull on the Viewing Globe and decides to torture them by teleporting them into the middle of the Australian Outback as revenge for their past mistreatment of him as well. When Zordon tries again to stop him, an irritated and angered Alpha shuts his tube off and revels in the silence (save for the alarm sounding, which he attempted to silence earlier), as he proclaims that the Power Rangers will now be destroyed once and for all for mistreating him.
Meanwhile, Rita praises Alpha for delivering the message of evil. Still spiking his drinks with love potion, Rita tells Zedd about the Rangers being trapped in the Specter Theater, but Finster reports that they have escaped by finding an exit in the Specter Theater's basement level. On Rita's suggestion, Zedd throws down grenades to monsters Peckster and Rhinoblaster, who grow and stop the Rangers in their tracks. The Thunder Megazord and White Tigerzord are sent out against them and nearly win, but Alpha cuts the Zords' power supplies at the last second and leaves them helpless. When the Rangers eject, Alpha insults the Rangers again and sends them back to the Specter Theater.
Peckster and Rhinoblaster are sent back to the Specter Theater with Z-Putties to keep the Rangers inside as the other monsters return to the Moon Palace so they can attend the wedding. In the theater, the Rangers discuss the recent mysterious events and promise themselves that they will find a way out of this somehow.
Part 3[]
With the Rangers still trapped and Alpha still cackling over how the Rangers will suffer for his mistreatment, Lord Zedd orders the wedding to begin. All the monsters watch eagerly as Rita Repulsa begins her march to Zedd's throne. As Finster recites the vows and asks if anyone has a reason against the marriage, Goldar speaks up but is quickly shut up by Rita. The two are officially wed as "husband and fright", and soon everybody is dancing away at the wedding party. To celebrate their honeymoon, Zedd and Rita take off in Serpentera to watch the Rangers' demise.
Back at the Specter Theater, the Rangers are occupied with Peckster, Rhinoblaster, and their Z-Putties. They are able to tangle up the monsters in a net and escape through the basement again. When word reaches Zedd, Goldar rallies all the monsters to destroy the Rangers.
The Rangers are just able to reach the Command Center in spite of constant and repeated monster attacks. Billy is able to pull the evil disc out of Alpha, immediately restoring him to normal and removing him of any memory of being evil. Once Zordon is restored and their powers are replenished, the Rangers summon the Thunder Megazord and White Tigerzord to deal with the monsters as Zedd makes them grow. One by one, each monster is destroyed, and soon Zedd and Rita argue over who's in charge in their relationship.
With everything back to normal, the Rangers return to Australia just as the tour guide arrives looking for them, and Alpha also teleports Bulk and Skull back to where they were. Zordon tells Alpha that he is not at fault for what he did to everybody, and Alpha is glad to be who he is supposed to be once more.
Cast[]
- Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver (Mighty Morphin White Ranger)
- Steve Cardenas as Rocky DeSantos (Mighty Morphin Red Ranger)
- Karan Ashley as Aisha Campbell (Mighty Morphin Yellow Ranger)
- Johnny Yong Bosch as Adam Park (Mighty Morphin Black Ranger)
- David Yost as Billy Cranston (Mighty Morphin Blue Ranger)
- Amy Jo Johnson as Kimberly Ann Hart (Mighty Morphin Pink Ranger)
- Paul Schrier as Farkas "Bulk" Bulkmeier
- Jason Narvy as Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch
- Richard Genelle as Ernie
- Harold Cannon as Mr. Caplan (Part 1 only)
- David Fielding as Zordon (face)
- Robert L. Manahan as Zordon (voice)
- Sandi Sellner as Alpha 5
- Richard Steven Horvitz as Alpha 5 (voice)
- Machiko Soga as Rita Repulsa (Zyuranger Footage)
- Carla Perez as Rita Repulsa (American Footage)
- Barbara Goodson as Rita Repulsa (voice)
- Ed Neil as Lord Zedd
- Robert Axelrod as Lord Zedd, Finster (voices)
- Danny Wayne Stallcup as Goldar
- Kerrigan Mahan as Goldar (voice)
- Michael J. Sorich as Squatt (voice)
- Dave Mallow as Baboo, Grumble Bee (voice, as Colin Phillips)
- Richard Cansino as Eye Guy (voice)
- Brianne Siddall as Soccadillo (voice)
- Scott Page-Pagter as Peckster (voice)
- Bob Papenbrook as Saliguana, Snizzard (voices)
- Steve Kramer as Robogoat (voice)
- Richard Epcar as Invenusable Flytrap, Rhinoblaster (voices)
Song[]
- We're on our Own (Part I)
- White Ranger Tiger Power (Part III)
- I Will Win (Part III)
Errors[]
- Finster's blue headband is missing in original footage.
- Billy stops wearing his glasses in Part I but when he morphs, he is shown wearing his glasses again due to stock footage.
- Due to footage recycling, Aisha had her old hairstyle while helmetless in the Command Center in Part III.
- Finster was shown putting models of Bones, Mighty Minotaur, Cyclops, Babe Ruthless, and Spidertron into the Monster-Matic, but none of these monsters were ever shown having actually being created.
- In Part I, as Tommy says "It's Morphin Time!", Rocky mistakenly lifts his wrist to use his communicator instead of reaching for his Morpher.
- When Peckster caught his Growth Bomb, it was clearly thrown from the side as opposed to falling from above.
- The original Megazord's Power Sword can be seen during the Zord battle.
- In Part III, Robogoat calls his weapon the Robostaff, whereas in "The Green Dream" it was called the Rod of Destruction.
Notes[]
- Part I of this episode aired the same day as VR Troopers episode 46, Race to the Rescue.
- Part II of this episode aired the same day as VR Troopers episode 47, Fiddler on the Loose.
- Part III of this episode aired the same day as VR Troopers episode 48, Virtually Powerless.
- The opening credits are modified to change "John Bosch" and "Steven Cardenas" to "Johnny Yong Bosch" and "Steve Cardenas", respectively.
- Part I is the final time Billy wears glasses. He starts wearing contact lenses after the restaurant scene save for when he morphs due to use of stock footage until he gets his Ninja Ranger powers. He would canonically wear glasses again for a brief time in the Power Rangers Zeo episode "Graduation Blues".
- This episode marks the first time footage is used from Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, in the form of establishing shots of the Spectre Theatre.
- Alpha is accidentally referred to by Tommy as female in Part I.
- The music played at Rita and Zedd's wedding party is "Hava Nagila", a popular Hebrew folk song used at Jewish weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs.
- This episode was described by Richard Horvitz as his favorite because Alpha turns evil.[1]
- In one of the early scenes of Part II, Rita's balcony can be briefly seen in its final Sentai footage appearance from the window of Finster's workshop. Squatt and Baboo can also be seen playing on the balcony.
- From this episode on, Rita is played by Carla Perez and will now appear in almost completely in original footage, while Barbara Goodson continues to provide Rita's voice. However, Carla did cameo as Rita in "The Mutiny", though her face was mostly obstructed or shadowed.
- In Parts I and II, Rita broke the fourth wall, first when she enters Zedd's room she talks to the audience and asks "How'd you like to wake up to that every morning?", the second time is after Zedd wakes up, the potion appears effect on Zedd and he falls in love with Rita, to which Rita looking at the camera and showing the potion says, "It worked".
- Several monsters attended the wedding but did not participate in the final battle, including Snizzard and Invenusable Flytrap. This is due to Snizzard being at the Moon Palace.
- Parts of these episodes, including the scene at the Train Station, were filmed on location in Australia as the movie was being produced. The episodes are heavy on morphed and stock footage as the actors were focused on the feature shoot.
- None of the Rangers appeared unmorphed in Part II.
- This is the final appearance of the Thunder Megazord's mist attack.
- Footage of the wedding was used with altered dialogue on the DTV Lord Zedd's Monster Heads, and was referred to as a Halloween party.
- The shots of the helmetless Rangers in Part III is a mixture of stock footage from "The Mutiny, Part II", "The Beetle Invasion", "The Ninja Encounter Part III", and "Lights, Camera, Action" as well as deleted scenes from The Mutiny Part II, The Beetle Invasion, "Orchestral Maneuvers in the Park", "Where There's Smoke, There's Fire" and Lights, Camera, Action. The shot of Billy removing the disc from Alpha is reversed stock footage from "Green With Evil, Part I".
- While Alpha's programming was corrupted by Finster, he refers to Bulk and Skull as "Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dumber". It is a reference to both the identical twin brothers, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, from Lewis Carroll's novel, Alice In Wonderland and the 1994 Farrelly Brothers film, Dumb and Dumber.
See Also[]
- Ep. 12: Papa's a Vampire!? - Super Sentai counterpart in Zyuranger. See comparison page. (Eye Guy footage)
- Ep. 37: You Have to See It!! Enormous One - Super Sentai counterpart in Dairanger. See comparison page. (Serpentera footage)
- Ep. 35: The Three Punishment Sisters - Super Sentai counterpart in Kakuranger. See comparison page. (Theater footage)
External Links[]
- Watch The Wedding, Part I on the official YouTube page
- Watch The Wedding, Part II on the official YouTube page
- Watch The Wedding, Part III on the official YouTube page
References[]
Footnotes[]