The year was 1993. Many great shows and movies were released this year as well as some pretty awful ones. I was about 7 during the time so it was a good age to appreciate a lot of the shows. My parents didn't spend too much time with me. Like most children with parents like that, we spent more time in front of the television. My favorite channels were the Disney channel, Nickelodeon, and most of all... Fox Kids.

I kept seeing previews for an upcoming show that really caught my eye. I kept checking everyday for it. Eventually I came across one of the most amazing shows I set eyes on. The Might Morphin Power Rangers. The suits looked cool, the helmets were awesome, and the fighting was spectacular. I was instantly intoxicated with excitement by this show. I had to catch it every Saturday morning. I remember the first villain that I saw was Pudgy Pig. Although it exceeded my expectations, the Zords were not used during that episode. My favorite was Billy, the Blue Ranger. I think it was because my tutor at school was friends with him in person.

After that. My Saturday morning lineup became more enjoyable. I loved The Batman Animated Series, Bobby's World, and Eek! The Cat shows, but this one topped them all. It was still in the first season; so new episodes were only seen during the weekend.



As we all know, when a franchise becomes popular, toy companies instantly hop on the wagon. While I was one of the boys who constantly repeated the words: "I want that" whenever a cool toy commercial came on, I really wanted these toys. I wasn't that big of a fan of the first figures that I was introduced to. The characters were in uniform and their heads flipped inside of their chest to reveal themselves without their helmets on. They looked too bloated and bulky.



Maybe the first line of figures was not up to my expectations, but the Zords soon changed that. These things reminded me of Voltron. All five Dinozords transformed into one colossal fighting machine.



I have to admit, as much as I loved the Zords... I never owned any. I was grateful enough to own a single kick action Red Ranger. There was a button on the back and it would cause his leg to kick. It had amazing articulation for a toy during that time.

Even better, I owned the Power Morpher with all five coins. A handle flipped out of the back and when you pressed a button on the side, the Morpher opened up with lights and sounds. It also came packaged with the blaster that they hardly ever used on the show. It would be a light up gun and transformed into a giant blade. I never knew why they never used them in the shows very often.

As the show continued its success, new characters and villains were introduced. The Green Ranger is probably one of the most loved and memorable characters, which also spawned new toys such as the Dragonzord and Tommy figures.



Season two was later created and the craze continued. Characters like Lord Zedd and the new Putty Patrol design came about. Not to mention, three of the original cast members left the series. It was said that Zedd was too freighting and parents threw a fit over it. The show had to dumb him down which was a shame. Also, new Zords were accessed, and the White Ranger was introduced.



Awhile after this, while living in a military family all my life, we were constantly moving around the world. We moved to Yokota Air Force Base in Japan for 5 years. It was near Tokyo, but since we lived off base for awhile, all the channels were in Japanese… except for Godzilla and Sesame Street of course. Luckily, the Power Ranger movie was out on VHS. Yeah, you know the box looking things with film rolled inside it? The thing I loved about the movie was the costume designs. No CGI, but realistic armor to make the suits look like actual super fighting uniforms. They even managed to place the emblems on their chest that you constantly saw on every ad or toy. The soundtrack was also just as pleasant which I still listen to today… when no one is around. Being deprived of my favorite show, I watched the movie over and over again. It even sprouted new figures that looked like metallic repaints of the original flip head figures. This was near the end of my Power Ranger phase since they started turning Zeo and Turbo, etc.



In conclusion, I’m still in love with the franchise. Looking back, I’m surprised at how big it took off. There were however a few things I didn’t like about the show. I disliked the tricked out VW Beetle Billy made in season 1, people at the dock must have been upset that this Dragonzord kept emerging from the sea and walking on everything on a daily basis, the plot became goofier when Zedd and Rita get married, and what was the point of making a “whooshing” sound every time the Rangers made a sudden movement?

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers spawned many other great shows such as V.R. Troopers, Super Human Samurai Cyber Squad, and Masked Rider. I still have the full collection of the Series 1 and Series 2 trading card sets. I’m thinking of collecting the Fleer Ultra movie cards again soon. I hope you enjoyed my rant. Let me know if you would like to read more of my nostalgic jargon.