Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Season 3, Episode 17: A Ranger Catastrophe, Part I

Last time we left off with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Christmas was in the air.  There was a Christmas party going on at Angel Grove Youth Centre.  Rita and Zedd tried to get Santa to send out toys that would hypnotize the children of Earth, but the Power Rangers put a stop to it.  Kimberly’s mom and stepdad visited.  It was a happy little self-contained thing that was released as a special before the season began and originally aired after Kimberly had left the show.  The scheduling was weird.

Now it’s time for a multi-episode story.  The show usually ends up being stronger with bigger stories like this, so there’s a lot to look forward to with this one.  And based on the title, it looks like something big is about to happen.  Something catastrophic, even.  What will it be?  I don’t know, but I’m sure to find out when I watch…

Season 3, Episode 17: A Ranger Catastrophe, Part I

Aisha and Kimberly were strolling through the park when they found a lost cat.  They took the cat, which they named PC (that stands for Park Cat), to the local animal shelter.  If the shelter didn’t find its owner by the end of the week, Aisha could take it home as her own pet.

Little did they know that the cat was part of Rita Repulsa’s plan.  The cat was actually a morphed Katherine Hillard.  She was a teenager who had been brainwashed into evil and was working against the Power Rangers.  Kimberly and Aisha were her first targets, though it would be Tommy who went through the most trouble with her.

Bulk and Skull heard about PC and decided that they would go around town and find the owner of the cat.  That would make the pair of bumbling Junior Police Patrol Officers into heroes.  That’s all they wanted.  If they were heroes, the ladies would take them seriously, and they could get some dates.  They would also get respect from Lt. Stone.

Aisha went to the animal shelter to check in on PC and ended up running into Rito Revolto and his Tenga Warriors.  The rest of the Power Rangers were called on to fight off the evil.  After the fight, Tommy went to the Youth Centre and ran into Katherine.  He drove her home in her car.  On the way, though, the car ended up in a different dimension, trapped with no way to get out.  Rita chose this moment to send a giant Rito to attack, and the episode ended.

The fight with the Tenga Warriors was pretty good, with some more new moves.  Rocky hid in a tree and punched out of it.  Not in the branches.  He literally went into the trunk and fought Tenga Warriors through the trunk.  Adam shot some weird power stuff out of his hands to attack two of their enemies.  Then there was Aisha who teleported into the ground.  It was a pretty fun fight for one of the most important episodes in a while.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was firing on all cylinders in A Ranger Catastrophe, Part I.  There were big moments that would change the series forever.  There was enough for each character to do that it felt like a worthwhile story for everyone.  The action was fun, the stakes were high… It was everything that a viewer could have wanted from the show and more.

The most important thing that happened was the introduction of Kat.  Amy Jo Johnson had said near the beginning of the season that she wanted to leave.  She let the writers give her a send-off and the introduction of Kat marked the beginning of the transition.  Kat would become the next Pink Ranger, though there needed to be some story to set that up first.  Much in the same way as Tommy was introduced in the first season, Kat came in as a villain sent by Rita to disrupt the Power Rangers.  She appeared as the Park Cat that Kimberly and Aisha found.  That was a new twist.  She was able to turn into a cat like an Animorph.  And she disrupted the team by trapping Tommy in another dimension.

The Ninja Powers that the Power Rangers have are ever changing, and more than a little confusing.  Every time they fight the Tenga Warriors, they start throwing around new moves.  Some of the moves, such as Adam shooting stuff out of his hands, could help in other fights.  Will it ever happen again?  Probably not.  There was a move one time where Tommy and Kimberly put their hands together to shoot lasers at the Tenga Warriors.  That only happened one time.  The variety of powers is entertaining, for sure, but it makes me wonder why they don’t constantly use some of the more powerful stuff.

This was the first part of a two-part story.  That means that everything ended on a cliffhanger.  The only way to find out what will happen is to move onto the next episode.  That’s why this post is coming to a close and you’ll soon be seeing one for A Ranger Catastrophe, Part II.  Come back soon for that.  I’ll see you then.