Tommy Lawson
08-28-2008, 11:52 PM
It's been exactly 15 years since Mighty Morphin Power Rangers first hit the airwaves on Saturday, August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids Network. It was such a strange concept in 1993 - taking U.S. actors that filmed scenes in California while mixing it with Japanese footage from super sentai, but it quickly caught on and became an amazing success like no other in 1993. The Rangers have traveled through space, gone back in time, and gone all over the world over hundreds of episodes. They've also changed companies from Saban Entertainment to Disney in 2001, and filming locations from the U.S. to New Zealand (with the first movie being filmed in Australia). While most of the 15th anniversary celebration happened in 2007 with the 15th season, Operation Overdrive, I still think it is a good idea to remember the anniversary for its fans.
Unfortunately, every year, it seems as though Disney places less and less emphasis on the Power Rangers. The one thing I most want them to budget for, which seems to be more and more forgotten with each passing year, are the team-up episodes. It's become such a rare event that we're lucky to get one every three seasons, instead of every season like in the past. In my opinion, they can use as much Japanese sentai footage in the other episodes as they want, but to me, the team-up episodes are supposed to be the PR-exclusive highlight of the year event. I hope Disney keeps supporting the show until the 20th and 25th anniversaries, which would be celebrated by Disney in 2012 and 2017 respectively, should they decide to continue the show for that long. That depends on how profitable the show is for Disney of course.
Unfortunately, every year, it seems as though Disney places less and less emphasis on the Power Rangers. The one thing I most want them to budget for, which seems to be more and more forgotten with each passing year, are the team-up episodes. It's become such a rare event that we're lucky to get one every three seasons, instead of every season like in the past. In my opinion, they can use as much Japanese sentai footage in the other episodes as they want, but to me, the team-up episodes are supposed to be the PR-exclusive highlight of the year event. I hope Disney keeps supporting the show until the 20th and 25th anniversaries, which would be celebrated by Disney in 2012 and 2017 respectively, should they decide to continue the show for that long. That depends on how profitable the show is for Disney of course.