Then I was dreaming that I was posting at the Unwashed board and told Loveshack that he needed to save a ghost to get superpowers.
After a quick review of Big Bad Beetleborgs, I've decided I'd rather capture the ghost for the villianous Triceratops Adam West in exchange for superpowers rather than let Liberace Elvis Leno Ghost wreak havoc on an unsuspecting world.
I don't remember all the particulars of the sentai import shows that aired during Saban's stranglehold on Fox's children's programming for much of the 90s, but I remember some of what I thought were the best components of each show and what would have made for great crossover/composite show.
First of all,
Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers was king. That show started when I was nine and I still loved it. I should stress that I only really liked it when it was just
MMPR, and had season-long plot arcs. Not what they’ve been doing for the last 15 years where they start each new season with a completely new cast and back-story. Though I did start watching again briefly during college, when I saw an ad for the latest incarnation at the time,
Dino Thunder, when Jason Frank came back as Tommy to lead the team. This was back when they’d advertise for
Power Rangers at two in the morning when I was watching
Gargoyles on Disney channel. It wasn’t like I was monitoring the cast roster of
Power Rangers on the off-chance they’d bring back old cast members. I really only liked the show from the first season right up through the time that Tommy led the team as the White Ranger, and even then only
REALLY during that brief period where Lord Zedd was going solo as the villain and Kimberly was still on the team. I never much cared for Rita Repulsa mainly because she wasn't at all threatening, but when a skinless guy with an exposed brain in silver armor started stomping around! Wow! He was scary even when the lights hit him just right and you could see the Japanese man's eyes through the costume visor! Also, the whole Green Ranger story arc kicked all kinds of ass! Anyway…
Best “King” Henchperson: Without question, Goldar on
MMPR. This guy actually looked like someone you’d be afraid to fight in real life. Plus, he was the only monster I remember actually incurring a visible injury on the show rather than just falling over in a cloud of sparks or teleporting away. In the first episode, the dude got his wings chopped off and
kept fighting! Cycloptor from
Masked Rider runs a close second mainly because he spent most episodes of the show standing around in the background behind the villains and rarely ever fighting. Still, you can’t underestimate the appeal of cycloptic robot with guns and a bomber jacket.
Honorable Mention: Rita’s brother, Rito Revulta. He wasn't the least bit threatening, but the costume was cool and he was frequently paired with Goldar, so he gets a pass by association. Same thing with Skorpina, but her infrequent appearances keep her from first place.
Best Goons: Putty Patrollers from
MMPR, with the Skugs from
VR Troopers running a distant second and only mentioned because of their costumes. I don't remember the goons from any of the other shows, or much about the other shows in general for that matter.
Best Heroes: Again, the initial lineup of
MMPR right up through the White Ranger-era lineup was great. It got good again right around the time Jason came back as the Gold Ranger for a bit, but by then I had pretty much lost interest.
Best Costumes:
VR Troopers, hands down. It’s odd, because I got the feeling their show had the lowest budget out of all of them, but it looked like their costumes had the most effort put into them. Anyone can make a cool helmet paired with some spandex, but they actually had
costumes on that show. Also… “FORCES OF DARKNESS EMPOWER ME! TAKE ME BACK TO MY VIRTUAL REALITY!” If they didn’t have a talking dog on that show, it could have been a close contender for the top spot, mainly because it was the
exact same show as
MMPRI don’t remember anything especially redeemable about
Beetleborgs mainly because that whole “kids turn into grownup-sized superheroes” gimmick seemed a little too eye-rollingly blatant and lazy of an appeal to the show’s target demographic. See also:
Power Rangers: Turbo. (I only ever saw the movie, mainly because Kimberly was in it, but I remember thinking it was a little odd that Rocky twisted his ankle and they automatically replaced him with a little kid and Rocky was never heard from again. Didn’t really seem like a career-ending injury. My theory is that they treated him like an injured racehorse and Zordon had him killed.) I just remember the show being very dumb, even for a sentai show, which is REALLY saying something!
But I think we can call agree, no matter what your particular flavor of spandex-clad monster-fighting, that the lynchpins of sentai’s humongous US popularity were the comedy duo of Bulk and Skull and that the genre just hasn’t been the same since their departure.
(I also believe there’s a level of hell where the damned have no one but Alpha 5 to keep them company and reruns of
Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog play in a continuous loop on giant TV’s for all eternity.)
