Power Rangers Zeo: Episode 3: The Shooting Star

 

Previously on Power Rangers Zeo, things changed. The teens got their new powers. Billy became the technical advisor, stepping away from the Blue Ranger role he had assumed for three seasons. The Moon Monsters fled from the galaxy as The Machine Empire entered the picture. Bulk and Skull even got new roommates in the form of Goldar and Rito Revolto. There was a fight against the Cogs, the new foot soldiers of The Machine Empire. Audiences were even introduced to The Power Chamber, the new headquarters for the Zeo Rangers. It was a lot to process in the first two episodes of Power Rangers Zeo.

Things would continue as the season progressed. The Machine Empire had yet to send a monster down to Earth. The Zeo Rangers hadn’t received any weapons or Zords. Ernie and Lt. Stone, who were now in the opening credits, had yet to appear. The third episode likely introduced some of these elements to Power Rangers Zeo. The only way to find out was to watch…

 

Episode 3: The Shooting Star

The teens were studying for an upcoming test. The captain of the high school baseball team approached Tanya to study with her. Tanya went to another table with him, where he showed her the answers to the test. She told him that he shouldn’t use them and should study instead. He spent the whole episode fighting against her before realizing the error of his ways and agreeing that studying was the right choice.

Bulk and Skull weren’t at school. They were busy testing out their motorcycle, which Goldar and Rito Revolto had fixed up. They took it for a test drive, utilizing the rocket power on an empty road. The motorcycle broke down. While they were trying to fix it up again, they got surrounded by Cogs. Luckily, the Cogs weren’t after them and left them alone to continue their mission. Lt. Stone soon showed up to chastise them for focusing on the motorcycle instead of their jobs.

The Cogs were looking for the Zords. Alpha, Billy, and Zordon had new Zords hidden for the Zeo Rangers to use. The Machine Empire wanted to get to them first. They wouldn’t. The Zeo Rangers showed up to fight them off, kicking and punching like usual, with a new visual flair. Tommy did a Zeo power kick. The background dropped out, leaving only black and a rotating fire/lightning star border around him. It was very comic book superhero like, breathing new life into the fighting. When a giant star monster was sent to Earth, the Zeo Rangers hopped in their Zords and went off to fight. And, boy, what a fight it was. The Zords were bombarded by The Machine Empire’s flying ships. Tommy’s Zord got tangled in some power lines. The Zeo Megazord was built. It attacked the giant star monster, couldn’t defeat it with a normal sword swipe, powered up the sword, and gave the killing blow. It was a fun first Zeo Zord fight. 

 

  

Power Rangers Zeo came on strong at the beginning of the season. After an okay premiere, it featured a character episode that was one of the best character episodes the Power Rangers franchise had aired up to that point. It was a story that was meant to tell children not to cheat on their tests. But it was also the first Tanya episode. It featured stakes that didn’t hinge upon The Machine Empire attacking Earth. They attacked Earth, sure, but their attack didn’t provide the stakes for Tanya’s story. The heightened stakes came from the relationship between Tanya and the baseball player being torn apart by the cheating. It was well done. The rest of the episode was good too.

It wasn’t just Tanya work that was done in The Shooting Star. The Zeo Rangers were given their Zords and got to use them in a fight. The Zords, themselves, may have been the weakest featured in the first four seasons of Power Rangers. Not in terms of strength, but in terms of design. Two of the Zords were clearly the legs of the Zeo Megazord and were basically designed as pillars with guns on top. They had to be pulled by two of the other Zords. It was the least exciting looking of any squad of Zords. When they turned into the Zeo Megazord, that was fine. The Zeo Megazord looked like any other Megazord and had a sword that turned into a flaming sword for the final kill. It was standard Megazord stuff. The Zords left something to be desired, though.

There was one thing about the Zeo Megazord that didn’t quite work, and that was only because of having watched the second and third seasons of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. In those seasons, the Sentai footage was from different series than the suits that the Power Rangers wore. That meant the American show had to produce new cockpit footage. They were able to make the cockpit of the Megazord roomier, giving everyone their own personal space. The cockpit of the Zeo Megazord felt really cramped, with the Zeo Rangers sitting almost on top of one another. Maybe it’s the pandemic and social distancing, or maybe it’s being used to the more spacious cockpit, but they were too close to one another in this one.

This was only the third episode of Power Rangers Zeo. There were still a few elements that needed to be introduced to the series. People had to leave, people had to join. Would the next episode feature any more changes? Would it feature the same level of quality as The Shooting Star? There was only one way to find out. That was by watching the next episode. Come back soon for the post.