Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Season 1, Episode 17: Green With Evil, Part 1: Out of Control



Seventeen episodes into the first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers came a shift.  A five episode arc was put into the series.  This arc was set to introduce a new character that would eventually become a breakout star of the show.  This character was Tommy Oliver, the Green Ranger.

Tommy Oliver wasn’t always a good guy.  The episode I’m writing about right now will attest to that.  He was a bad character for a while.  While Tommy himself didn’t want to harm anyone, he would be forced into hurting the Power Rangers in ways that they hadn’t yet been hurt.  There was a darkness to the arc that wasn’t in any of the previous episodes.  It’s time to dive into the episode, so here we go.

Season 1, Episode 17: Green with Evil, Part 1: Out of Control

Meet Tommy Oliver.  He’s a new transfer student at Angel Grove High School.  He knows martial arts.  In fact, he’s good enough that he ended a match against Jason in a draw.  His talent is large.  As is Kimberly’s lady boner for him.  He’s going to be a popular guy in school.  He will be noticed.

Rita Repulsa notices Tommy and discovers that he is the best chance that she has at defeating the Power Rangers.  Rita sends putties down to fight Tommy while she captures him in a power sphere thing.  The fight is ridiculous.  It’s like a mockery of old martial arts flicks.  But it works for Rita because she captures Tommy.

The whole idea behind capturing Tommy is that he will become the newest Power Ranger.  Only, he will be possessed by Rita Repulsa.  Tommy becomes the Green Ranger and is released upon the Power Rangers.

The first stop for Tommy is the headquarters, where he infects Alpha 5 with a virus and breaks the system that keeps Zordon in the dimension of Earth.  Jason and the gang discover that there is a problem and travel to the headquarters in their super flying Volkswagen Beetle.  When they get there, they see that Goldar has been released on Earth and go to stop him.  Billy also takes a virus disk out of Alpha 5 and Alpha 5 tries to help get Zordon back.

When the Power Rangers are fighting Goldar in the Megazord, the Green Ranger shows up.  He breaks into the Megazord and attacks the Power Rangers from within.  Goldar disappears.  The Power Rangers all fight on the ground, with the Green Ranger doing enough to cause a retreat.  The Power Rangers go back to the headquarters, scared and worried.  The “To Be Continued” title appears.

Things aren’t looking too good for Earth at the end of the episode.  This is the first time that the series has ended on a down note.  It is also the first time that a story has continued through multiple episodes of the show.  Usually the story gets wrapped up by the end of the episode, and the events don’t mean much to the overall series.  This time around, there are direct consequences to what will happen later in the series.

The evolution of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers has begun.  It is no longer entirely episodic.  It might go back to that style again later, but for the next few episodes, the show will have an overarching story that will have repercussions throughout the show’s run.

Now it’s time to watch part 2 of this arc.  How will the Power Rangers come back from the trouble that they are in?  Can they stop Tommy from letting Rita destroy Earth?  Will Tommy snap out of Rita’s possession?  What will happen to Zordon?  All of these answers might not be answered in the next episode, but some could be.  I’ll be back soon to tell you how it works out.

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