Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Season 1, Episode 27: Island of Illusion: Part 1



Something that I always look forward to in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is a multiple episode story arc.  The reason that I like this in the series is because it means that the story of one episode will likely have weight throughout the remainder of the series.  This might not always be the case.  I don’t remember the entire series and I’m not too far into it again.  But going off of the previous multiple episode arc, I have confidence in more arcs bringing more changes to the show.

The previous story arc that I am hinting to is the Green with Evil five part story.  It was the introduction of Tommy, the Green Ranger.  Mighty Morphin Power Rangers used the story arc to introduce this character as a strong counterpart to Jason, and to bring a new ranger into the team.  The two episode arc that I am at is Island of Illusion.  The first half has brought the group into one of the most dangerous situations that they have ever been in.  I’ll get to that in a bit.  I’m hoping that the second half will set into motion some repercussions that will change the series, even if slightly.  I love the series as it is at this point, but everything needs growth, change, and expansion in order to survive.  The episodic nature of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is nice and all, but there needs to be a little bit more story that flows through multiple episodes.

That’s not to say that this hasn’t been happening in a slight way throughout the past few episodes.  Like I said, a new character was added in the previous story arc.  Super putties were added only two or three episodes previous.  But the episodes are still neatly wrapped up by the end.  There are very few story elements that last more than one episode.  Perhaps this arc can help to change that.

Season 1, Episode 27: Island of Illusion: Part 1

The episode opens on Zack practicing for an upcoming dance competition.  He’s filled with a lot of self-doubt.  Bulk and Skull take this opportunity to bully Zack.  It ends in a dance off that Zack easily wins.  Bulk falls into some pillars that are in the Youth Center for some reason.

Meanwhile, Rita is planning one of her most dastardly plans ever.  She summons a monster called Lokar to defeat the Power Rangers and send them to a mysterious island.  The Power Rangers fight Lokar as much as they can before their Zords are defeated and they are sent to the island.

Once on the island, the group spends some time trying to figure out where they are.  Zack finds a snake and freaks out as he is prone to do.  One of the previous episodes brought his fear of snakes up.  As he gets scared, he begins to fade into nothingness as though he is Marty McFly.  Goldar shows up to laugh at the Power Rangers and tell them that their fear will make them fade away.  Then the episode ends.

I fear that the two episode arc was only done because they couldn’t fit everything into one episode.  I hope that isn’t the case.  I hope that the two episode arc is a sign of some sort of significance to the overall series in the way that Green with Evil was significant to the series.  I am hopeful but wary.

What I appreciated about the episode is the stakes that were brought in.  After so many simple episodes in which a monster comes down and the Power Rangers defeat the monster, it is a nice change of pace to have such high stakes in an episode.  The Power Rangers could perish in the situation.  You don’t feel the calm confidence that you do in your average episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.  As a viewer, you are worried for their well-being for only the second or third time in the show’s history.  It’s a good feeling for the series to cause because it means that they are doing their job.

So, as an episode, I think this one definitely had its strengths and weaknesses.  The stakes were raised as the Power Rangers ended up in peril.  The problem is that I don’t think that the two episode arc is going to mean anything for later episodes of the series.  It’s something that saddens me because I’d like to see the show grow.

I’m done writing about this episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and I’m ready to move onto the next episode.  When I watch that one, I’ll write about it too.  Keep one eye open at all times for that.  It’ll probably be up sometime this week.  I’ll see you back here for that.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is "Real Steel" Like "Over the Top"?

When I was going through my weekly movie binge a couple weeks ago, I stumbled upon two movies that I had never seen before that tackled a very similar story.   It was an odd thing to have happen because I didn’t know of any similarities between the two movies.   The first was Real Steel, a movie about a man who participates in robot boxing while bonding with the son that he had left years before.   The second was Over the Top, a movie about a man who participates in arm wrestling while bonding with the son that he had left years before.   Similar?   I think so. Let’s begin with Real Steel.   I watched this one because, why the hell not?   I quite enjoyed the movie and by the end I was rooting for Hugh Jackman’s character to help his robot, Atom, to a victory.   The thing to point out about Real Steel is how good the visual effects were.   I wasn’t expecting too much going in, but I thought they masterfully crafted each robot in a way that it entirely fit its surroundings and didn’t
Read more

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Season 2, Episode 8: The Power Stealer

Image
Last time we sat down with the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers , Tommy was going through some serious stuff.   His powers were running low because Lord Zedd was targeting him.   He felt hopeless.   His friends were comforting him.   There was also a Robo Goat trying to take a powerful sword and use it against the Earth.   There were fights all over the place and an emotional hook that was unmatched in any episode that wasn’t in a multi-part arc. This episode, there might be follow-up to the Tommy storyline.   It would be nice to see more of the struggle with his powers.   Right now, that’s the one throughline that has been playing out.   II hope this episode continues to have some sort of meaning to the overall story, instead of being a self-contained and meaningless.   The show needs to grow and evolve, with a storyline that builds to something significant.   Having episodes that keep the story at a standstill is boring.   The story needs to move forward.   Will this episode d
Read more

A Short Description of how Baby's Day Out (1994) is a Live Action Cartoon

Image
Animated movies have been a large fixture throughout cinematic history.   There is currently an Academy Award category devoted entirely to animated features.   They are an important part of the cinematic landscape.   Movies would be completely different if not for the animated films that have been popular throughout the past century. Children have always been a large part of the popularity of cartoons.   This has not been solely a movie based genre.   Television also thrives on animated shows.   As a child, I can remember watching cartoons on Saturday mornings.   In the children’s cartoons, characters could be forced into dangerous predicaments, get injured or nearly killed, and continue on with their lives as if nothing ever happened to them.   This was the way of cartoons such as Looney Toons , where Elmer Fudd, Wile E. Coyote, Daffy Duck, and Yosemite Sam would always suffer great physical trauma, then return to their normal selves in the next scene. This is probably
Read more