Against my better judgement, I'm doing another seasonal watch- last time was Jungle Fury (Here, if you're curious as to how that turned out) and at the end I said I might do another one- either Mystic Force or RPM. And in defense of my choice, this year celebrates five years since The Little Season That Could. I know last time I justified it through "I'll do Spirit of the Tiger after" but let's be frank in that there's no way I can extend this long enough for that, so assuming six months haven't past before they do that supposed episode where they go to Corinth, I'll come back.
Yes I know RPM started back in March and it ended in December so I'm celebrating its anniversary in the middle but be quiet.
Same rules as Jungle Fury- all episodes done with two days between unless it's a two parter or connects plot-wise with the next, in which case the day after. I'm also keeping track of when the first Back-Explosion appears, and may or may not keep a "Times Summer is a Mary Sue" count depending on.
With all that said, let's start the loose string of puns and Get In Gear!
The Road To Corinth
* Yeah, Doctor K's opening narration? Nice mood setter. Problem is that like Ninja Storm, it outstays its welcome.
* I'm pretty sure they took the "World in red" clip from a free-ware viral outbreak game. Looks close enough, to be fair.
* Way to spoil Dillon will be a Ranger in under half a minute.
* Oh hey theme that's just barely better than the Samurai/Megaforce themes. Database Ranger said it best when he said that if nothing else, the theme gets stuck in your head through sheer determination. Also, it still has more lyrics than the other two themes. I do like the guitar, though, but I still would have prefered the other theme (You know, "You'll never break us, or erase us, Power Rangers RPM LET'S GO!"), but this fits more.
* "Listen carefully, OK? We don't have a lot of time?" Pal, we've got 32 episodes. Breathe.
* "It started three years ago." Damn it Mystic Force, why didn't you keep an eye out?!
* The World Internet Federation? What, did representatives from 4Chan, Something Awful, Tumblr and the like get together to talk Serious Internet Stuff? I'd totally watch that show.
* Venjix really should have just knocked out Netflix. The world would have wrecked everything just to get a glimmer of the third season of Orange is the New Black.
* Clearly, we all put too much hopes on that whoever the next killer AI would be running it on Vista.
* Whoever designed Venjix watched too much 2001.
* Corinth- which is either in Greenland or Boston. Not sure which is worse.
* And then we cut to TOTAL WAR.
* Is this CG bad? Almost laughably. Does it ruin the mood? CHRIST NO.
* Like, Jesus, so many non Back Explosions! And lots of running and shooting! WE'RE NOT FIVE MINUTES IN.
* And we get a strong first impression of the good Colonel. I like this one.
* "Go shoot at something." Please someone tell me he's coming back for SMF.
* "Pile of worthless CRAP!" Woah. I like Flynn.
* And holy hell, that robot had no legs! We had a bisected robot! Wow, Disney gave no shits, did they?
* I will say Ari does a good job overall with the accent.
* I have to say this- RPM had a very low budget, but DAMN it makes it feel bigger than it is. This scene after the conversation between Flynn and Truman, for example. I guess this is why people grew attached to Eddie very quickly.
* And the environment magically transforms from desert to plains by the almighty powers of the Jump Cut.
* Those robots not gonna... you know... fire?
* OK, if I'm keeping a "Times Summer is a Mary Sue" counter, I'm making that motorcycle slide a point. Also? Really un-needed CG, just have a jump or something instead, not that pointless slide.
* Hah, get it? She's gonna be the Yellow Ranger so her helmet's yellow!
* I do like how a lot of things are said that make more sense in other episodes- read, Flynn, Scott and Summer's focus episodes.
* And someone's mentioned to be dead not 6 minutes in. Yikes.
* I'm sure Scott's gonna have more injuries from a plane crash than a simple broken arm.
* Yikes, that intro is stark.
* "Somewhere outside the done..." Well, better than being in Under The Dome, I guess.
* Way to kill the mood, ABC Kids bumper.
* "Baby you can drive my car..."
* OK... this scene of driving is oddly funny. Probably because it looks like it comes out of a 70's rock ballad music video.
* "You're on Desert Storm FM, where we play nothing but the staticy hits, all day every day."
* And we meet Dillon, looking like a reject for the main character in the Metro Games. Or Fallout.
* "I keep the water bottles safe from that bastard Troy and his fascist campaigns."
* I like how much attention is given to how desolate the area around Corinth is.
* Annnd here's your Lone Wandering Badass, kids!
* Where did Dillon come from with that jumping stunt?
* I love the decision to focus on the flower over the fight. Also, Dillion takes down a bunch of these robots unarmed- further proving my theory that the Samurai Rangers are the most incompetent team ever.
* MORE BISECTION HOLY GOD.
* Ah, Ziggy. He makes such a great first impression in this scene. :007:
* First time I heard the outtake muffler joke, it got a chuckle out of me.
* Considering what we learn in Ranger Green, Ziggy must have been nuts with sunstroke to want to go back to Corinth.
* "With legs so long, they'll blow your mind." Really, Desert FM? Could you be more explicit?
* Ah, the Amnesiac Hero trope. Look, it's relatively unused in PR at least- outside of Tommy "Swiss Cheese" Oliver... Wonder if Tommy's dead in the RPM timeline... good thoughts.
* Remember the fumes line. Also, "Kill" K-WORD DARKEST EPISODE. And this time, I mean that.
* You know Dillon, if you ditch the radio, you may get more fuel.
* And the patrol... uses dirt bikes on what looks like the dirt bike track from Ninja Storm.
* Dillon even rips plastic wrappings off like a badass.
* "I'm running the Venjix barricade... in broad daylight, with, uh, Willie Wonka." Yeah, you're in safe hands.
* Watch out robots! Dillon's gonna throw... something!
* Back-Explosion Count: 14 minutes 49 seconds.
* I love Ziggy in this scene. "We can still turn back- WE CAN STILL TURN BACK!"
* "Barry, our job is just to lift our arms up and down every stinking day." "I know, right? Best job ever!" "Ugh."
* "I never learned to play a musical instrument."
* You know, I can let go the exploding architecture in this scene- why wouldn't you stick landmines everywhere?
* Of course Ziggy turns on the one charge that doesn't immediately explode.
* Oh hey first Go-Onger monster that really doesn't suit the setting.
* Is it just me, or does this episode have some kind of lighting effect to make it more grim and dusty when in the desert?
* How is Dillon's radio STILL not tuned? He's in friggin Corinth!
* And just in case you're an idiot, the episode flashes back to when we saw the Rangers... 15 minutes ago.
* The RPM morphers... they're OK, nothing to get excited about, or vice versa. I like the morph itself, though- fair few shots of the actors themselves in the spand- biosuits.
* So it's only 19 minutes in- with TWO MINUTES LEFT- do we finally get the Rangers. To compare to Welcome to the Jungle, by this time we'd met the Rangers, the villains (RPM does this as well) the mentor, the support characters, the main base AND we saw the Rangers receive their morphers. I get that RPM pushes in the crapsack setting and getting to know Dillon and Ziggy, but I do like at least the basics about the Rangers.
* I do like the fight scene itself, though.
* That Nitro Sword... is a baton.
* Wow, Summer likes her kicks.
* Extremely Petty Reasons I Hate Summer: She causes the only Back Explosion in the fight.
* I like how we're only getting Sentai Footage for the first time as the credits roll.
* "What's a Power Ranger?" Oh, where do I begin... Remind me, what did Casey say...
And then Theo went...
Overall
Well, I'll say one thing... this is a very different opening episode.
We get the backstory- Venjix screwed the world over. And a lot of the episode is showcasing it with a lot, A LOT, of shots of the desolate wasteland that is now earth. Character wise, Dillon and Ziggy are introduced and we get a sense of who they are.
One thing the episode does well is bring up stuff that becomes important later- mainly in the focus episodes of the three Rangers. And talking of the Rangers, we went NINETEEN MINUTES before they showed up- the word "Rangers" isn't even uttered until the very end. It's very different from other openings, and for the most part... it works. Really, really well. Already we have a sense that things have gone to shit, and this is the first episode.
Again, though, I have to say it's jarring to not know a lot about the Rangers themselves- they just show up at the end, and we still haven't ticked off a lot of usual things in Power Rangers- no headquarters or mentor, for one.
But this is a unique opening, for sure. For the most part it works, but hopping from a more straight example like Welcome to the Jungle to this is... jarring, to say the least.
Next Episode: Fade to Black
Yes I know RPM started back in March and it ended in December so I'm celebrating its anniversary in the middle but be quiet.
Same rules as Jungle Fury- all episodes done with two days between unless it's a two parter or connects plot-wise with the next, in which case the day after. I'm also keeping track of when the first Back-Explosion appears, and may or may not keep a "Times Summer is a Mary Sue" count depending on.
With all that said, let's start the loose string of puns and Get In Gear!
The Road To Corinth
* Yeah, Doctor K's opening narration? Nice mood setter. Problem is that like Ninja Storm, it outstays its welcome.
* I'm pretty sure they took the "World in red" clip from a free-ware viral outbreak game. Looks close enough, to be fair.
* Way to spoil Dillon will be a Ranger in under half a minute.
* Oh hey theme that's just barely better than the Samurai/Megaforce themes. Database Ranger said it best when he said that if nothing else, the theme gets stuck in your head through sheer determination. Also, it still has more lyrics than the other two themes. I do like the guitar, though, but I still would have prefered the other theme (You know, "You'll never break us, or erase us, Power Rangers RPM LET'S GO!"), but this fits more.
* "Listen carefully, OK? We don't have a lot of time?" Pal, we've got 32 episodes. Breathe.
* "It started three years ago." Damn it Mystic Force, why didn't you keep an eye out?!
* The World Internet Federation? What, did representatives from 4Chan, Something Awful, Tumblr and the like get together to talk Serious Internet Stuff? I'd totally watch that show.
* Venjix really should have just knocked out Netflix. The world would have wrecked everything just to get a glimmer of the third season of Orange is the New Black.
* Clearly, we all put too much hopes on that whoever the next killer AI would be running it on Vista.
* Whoever designed Venjix watched too much 2001.
* Corinth- which is either in Greenland or Boston. Not sure which is worse.
* And then we cut to TOTAL WAR.
* Is this CG bad? Almost laughably. Does it ruin the mood? CHRIST NO.
* Like, Jesus, so many non Back Explosions! And lots of running and shooting! WE'RE NOT FIVE MINUTES IN.
* And we get a strong first impression of the good Colonel. I like this one.
* "Go shoot at something." Please someone tell me he's coming back for SMF.
* "Pile of worthless CRAP!" Woah. I like Flynn.
* And holy hell, that robot had no legs! We had a bisected robot! Wow, Disney gave no shits, did they?
* I will say Ari does a good job overall with the accent.
* I have to say this- RPM had a very low budget, but DAMN it makes it feel bigger than it is. This scene after the conversation between Flynn and Truman, for example. I guess this is why people grew attached to Eddie very quickly.
* And the environment magically transforms from desert to plains by the almighty powers of the Jump Cut.
* Those robots not gonna... you know... fire?
* OK, if I'm keeping a "Times Summer is a Mary Sue" counter, I'm making that motorcycle slide a point. Also? Really un-needed CG, just have a jump or something instead, not that pointless slide.
* Hah, get it? She's gonna be the Yellow Ranger so her helmet's yellow!
* I do like how a lot of things are said that make more sense in other episodes- read, Flynn, Scott and Summer's focus episodes.
* And someone's mentioned to be dead not 6 minutes in. Yikes.
* I'm sure Scott's gonna have more injuries from a plane crash than a simple broken arm.
* Yikes, that intro is stark.
* "Somewhere outside the done..." Well, better than being in Under The Dome, I guess.
* Way to kill the mood, ABC Kids bumper.
* "Baby you can drive my car..."
* OK... this scene of driving is oddly funny. Probably because it looks like it comes out of a 70's rock ballad music video.
* "You're on Desert Storm FM, where we play nothing but the staticy hits, all day every day."
* And we meet Dillon, looking like a reject for the main character in the Metro Games. Or Fallout.
* "I keep the water bottles safe from that bastard Troy and his fascist campaigns."
* I like how much attention is given to how desolate the area around Corinth is.
* Annnd here's your Lone Wandering Badass, kids!
* Where did Dillon come from with that jumping stunt?
* I love the decision to focus on the flower over the fight. Also, Dillion takes down a bunch of these robots unarmed- further proving my theory that the Samurai Rangers are the most incompetent team ever.
* MORE BISECTION HOLY GOD.
* Ah, Ziggy. He makes such a great first impression in this scene. :007:
* First time I heard the outtake muffler joke, it got a chuckle out of me.
* Considering what we learn in Ranger Green, Ziggy must have been nuts with sunstroke to want to go back to Corinth.
* "With legs so long, they'll blow your mind." Really, Desert FM? Could you be more explicit?
* Ah, the Amnesiac Hero trope. Look, it's relatively unused in PR at least- outside of Tommy "Swiss Cheese" Oliver... Wonder if Tommy's dead in the RPM timeline... good thoughts.
* Remember the fumes line. Also, "Kill" K-WORD DARKEST EPISODE. And this time, I mean that.
* You know Dillon, if you ditch the radio, you may get more fuel.
* And the patrol... uses dirt bikes on what looks like the dirt bike track from Ninja Storm.
* Dillon even rips plastic wrappings off like a badass.
* "I'm running the Venjix barricade... in broad daylight, with, uh, Willie Wonka." Yeah, you're in safe hands.
* Watch out robots! Dillon's gonna throw... something!
* Back-Explosion Count: 14 minutes 49 seconds.
* I love Ziggy in this scene. "We can still turn back- WE CAN STILL TURN BACK!"
* "Barry, our job is just to lift our arms up and down every stinking day." "I know, right? Best job ever!" "Ugh."
* "I never learned to play a musical instrument."
* You know, I can let go the exploding architecture in this scene- why wouldn't you stick landmines everywhere?
* Of course Ziggy turns on the one charge that doesn't immediately explode.
* Oh hey first Go-Onger monster that really doesn't suit the setting.
* Is it just me, or does this episode have some kind of lighting effect to make it more grim and dusty when in the desert?
* How is Dillon's radio STILL not tuned? He's in friggin Corinth!
* And just in case you're an idiot, the episode flashes back to when we saw the Rangers... 15 minutes ago.
* The RPM morphers... they're OK, nothing to get excited about, or vice versa. I like the morph itself, though- fair few shots of the actors themselves in the spand- biosuits.
* So it's only 19 minutes in- with TWO MINUTES LEFT- do we finally get the Rangers. To compare to Welcome to the Jungle, by this time we'd met the Rangers, the villains (RPM does this as well) the mentor, the support characters, the main base AND we saw the Rangers receive their morphers. I get that RPM pushes in the crapsack setting and getting to know Dillon and Ziggy, but I do like at least the basics about the Rangers.
* I do like the fight scene itself, though.
* That Nitro Sword... is a baton.
* Wow, Summer likes her kicks.
* Extremely Petty Reasons I Hate Summer: She causes the only Back Explosion in the fight.
* I like how we're only getting Sentai Footage for the first time as the credits roll.
* "What's a Power Ranger?" Oh, where do I begin... Remind me, what did Casey say...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Casey from Welcome to the Jungle (Post 4729932) Yeah, who hasn't? |
And then Theo went...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Theo from Welcome to the Jungle (Post 4729932) No way! Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be a... if that's what it takes. |
Overall
Well, I'll say one thing... this is a very different opening episode.
We get the backstory- Venjix screwed the world over. And a lot of the episode is showcasing it with a lot, A LOT, of shots of the desolate wasteland that is now earth. Character wise, Dillon and Ziggy are introduced and we get a sense of who they are.
One thing the episode does well is bring up stuff that becomes important later- mainly in the focus episodes of the three Rangers. And talking of the Rangers, we went NINETEEN MINUTES before they showed up- the word "Rangers" isn't even uttered until the very end. It's very different from other openings, and for the most part... it works. Really, really well. Already we have a sense that things have gone to shit, and this is the first episode.
Again, though, I have to say it's jarring to not know a lot about the Rangers themselves- they just show up at the end, and we still haven't ticked off a lot of usual things in Power Rangers- no headquarters or mentor, for one.
But this is a unique opening, for sure. For the most part it works, but hopping from a more straight example like Welcome to the Jungle to this is... jarring, to say the least.
Next Episode: Fade to Black
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