Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Season 3, Episode 1: A Friend in Need, Part I



Welcome back to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as I head into the third season of the show.  It’s been a while since I wrote about an episode of the show.  I wrote about a few special events in between the second season and now.  They were Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, Lord Zedd’s Monster Heads, and Power Rangers Live.  Now I’m back into the television show and breaking into new ground.

Season 2 ended with a different Power Rangers team than it started with.  About halfway through the season, Jason, Zack, and Trini left to go to a World Peace Conference.  Taking their places on the team were Rocky, Adam, and Aisha.  Tommy lost his Green Ranger powers and gained the powers of the White Ranger.  Lord Zedd showed up and banished Rita Repulsa.  She came back later in the season and married him.  And they got their Thunderzords.  That’s about where we are now.

Season 3 will bring about more changes to the show and after this season, it will never be the same again.  There’s something that must happen before all of those changes.  Saban had another show that was coming on the air around the time that season 3 started up.  That show was Masked Rider, and American adaptation of Kamen Rider.  They set that show up in a three episode story arc that kicked off season 3 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.  That’s what I’m about to get into.  Here comes…
Season 3, Episode 1: A Friend in Need, Part I
Alpha was worried this episode.  The evil Count Dregon was attacking a planet called Edenoi.  It was Alpha’s home planet, and he was worried about the people who were under attack.  The Power Rangers knew that the safety of the planet’s inhabitants was important to Alpha, so they headed across the galaxy to help.  Except for Kimberly, who was sick in bed.

When they arrived, they were greeted with hostility by The Masked Rider.  He and his friends attacked the Power Rangers.  When Count Dregon continued to attack Edenoi, putting both The Masked Rider and the Power Rangers in danger, he realized that the Power Rangers weren’t working with Count Dregon and agreed to let them help.

Lord Zedd spent most of the episode on the sideline.  Since the threat was Count Dregon, he didn’t have too much to do outside of plan an attack for Earth.  He was mostly just jealous that he couldn’t even take over Angel Grove, while Count Dregon was able to easily take down a planet.

The only real fight of the episode was between the Edenites and the Power Rangers.  It was a fun little fight.  The Edenites were trying to kill the Power Rangers while the Power Rangers were trying not to fight at all.  The Earthlings just wanted to help out and were being attacked for it.  The way that they dodged the attacks was a fun diversion from the normal fights, and one that I only remember happening in the early season 2 episode Beauty and the Beast.  In that episode, Richie and Curtis spent a good chunk of time fleeing putties.  This time, it was the Power Rangers avoiding blows, and they were dodging fighters who were as skilled as them.  It was fun, for sure.  The fights should only get better in the other two parts.
A Friend in Need, Part I was the first time in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers history where they teamed up with someone from another team or another fighting force.  They had helped an alien before, but they had never teamed up with a character from another show/season to fight.  Team ups would become a regular thing for Power Rangers later on.  They would team up with different Power Rangers teams throughout the years.  There would be an episode where all the Red Rangers came together to fight.  There would also be an episode where one of the Power Rangers teams worked with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Those are in the distant future for this blog series.  Right now, we have the Masked Rider teaming up with the Mighty Morphin team to kick some Count Dregon butt.

The three part introduction of The Masked Rider was an introduction of the character to the fans of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in an attempt to get them to watch the other show as well.  The events that unfolded in A Friend in Need would have no effect upon the Masked Rider series, as the Power Rangers would never be mentioned in that show.  The events would also not be referenced in the rest of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, outside of the fact that Alpha 5 was from Edenoi.  It would be a team up that had no lasting elements for either show.  A cool premise that meant nothing.

That said, there are still two more parts to the story that I have to watch.  I will soon be getting to A Friend in Need, Part II.  When I get there, I’ll be sure to have a post ready for anyone who reads these.  I hope you’ll be back to let your eyes gaze upon my words.  Until then, it’s morphing time to say goodbye.  For now.  I will be back.

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