The Planet Eltar

Power Rangers Samurai Episode Review #5

Episode 5: Day Off

Written by: David Schneider and Jill Donnellan

Directed by: Luke Robinson

Episode 5 already! I wonder what our favourite Samurais will be up to today. Well according to Mike (carrying a skateboard ‘cause he’s cool like that) Ji has given them the day off. Hopefully nothing will interrupt their well earned break and we can have a nice relaxing 25 minutes. Not likely though right dudes? I wonder what terrible monster they will face this week. What lessons will they learn? Who will be the worst actor? What will Bulk get squirted in his face? To find out the answers to these questions and more read on!

From The Archives #1 Cybertron

Here we have a very special clip. This is the pitch reel for Saban’s Cybertron which went through a great many changes before eventually airing as VR Troopers. What’s most interesting about this clip is just how different things could have turned out. Though it seems to annoy a great deal of Power Rangers fans these days Jason David Frank was a very major part of the show’s success and things could have turned out quite differently. Would Power Rangers have been as successful as it was if JDF had left permanently to star in Cybertron/VR Troopers? Would there have been a film version? Would Power Rangers still be going now? Would VR Troopers have a longer, more successful run? Most likely the answers to these questions would be no but we will never know for sure but Cybertron sure looked like a fun show.

Power Rangers Samurai Episode Review #4

Episode 4: Deal With a Nighlok

Written by: Jill Donnellan and Jonathan Rosenthal

Directed by: Luke Robinson

The pre credits sequence is enough to make my blood run cold. Is this going to be a Mike-centric episode? It certainly looks that way; Mike asks “what’s up with Kevin?” and apparently the answer isn’t that’s he’s just a terrible actor. Kevin’s acting a bit odd, first he’s rubbing Emily’s face in the fact that she has a possibly terminally ill sister, then he’s quick to patronise Mike who’s finally learned how to draw his symbol properly. Mike once again proves himself the best actor in the series by giving the exact reaction I would have when Kevin touches him on the shoulder in a very smug manner. In a rare moment of not being completely soulless Mia is quick to dismiss Kev’s offer of hel,p and this is very much the highlight of her Ranger career so far. Even Ji doesn’t know what’s up with Kevin, but if we’re lucky we’ll get to spend the whole damn episode finding out.

Power Rangers Samurai Episode Review #3

Episode 3: The Team Unites

Starring

Alex Heartman as Jayden/Red Samurai Ranger

Najee De-Tiege as Kevin/Blue Samurai Ranger

Erika Fong as Mia/Pink Samurai Ranger

Hector David Jr. as Mike/Green Samurai Ranger

Brittany Anne Pirtle as Emily/Yellow Samurai Ranger

Paul Schrier as Farkas “Bulk” Bulkmeier

Felix Ryan as Spike Skullovitch

And

Rene Naufahu as Mentor Ji

Written by David Schneider and James W. Bates

Japanese episode written by Yasuko Kobayashi

Directed by Peter Salmon

So here we are then! The episode that aired first. I have no idea why Nick chose to air this ahead of the perfect series opener “Origins” but what ya gonna do? The best bit about this episode is it’s a Mike-centric episode. I’m a big Mike fan as I’ve mentioned before. He’s the only Ranger that may possess an actual human heart beating in his chest. So I’m filled with joy at the thought of an episode dedicated to my favourite Samurai Ranger before quickly falling to my knees in despair when I realise there must be a Kevin-centric episode just around the corner. Probably featuring Kevin’s Dad. But as I shudder worrying about such nightmares let us be brave and get on with today’s episode…

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Power Rangers Samurai Episode Review #2

Episode 2: Origins Part 2

Starring

Alex Heartman as Jayden/Red Samurai Ranger

Najee De-Tiege as Kevin/Blue Samurai Ranger

Erika Fong as Mia/Pink Samurai Ranger

Hector David Jr. as Mike/Green Samurai Ranger

Brittany Anne Pirtle as Emily/Yellow Samurai Ranger

Paul Schrier as Farkas “Bulk” Bulkmeier

Felix Ryan as Spike Skullovitch

And

Rene Naufahu as Mentor Ji

Written by Jill Donnellan and James W. Bates

Japanese episode written by Yasuko Kobayashi

Directed by Peter Salmon

So here we are then, the second episode (technically) of Power Rangers Samurai. Building on the foundations of the first part we start to get to know our new team of spandex clad Samurai warriors. The episode kicks off with our young heroes practising the use of their Samurai symbols (you know the ones that look really Japanese-y). This light hearted scene really gives you the measure of these characters. Jayden is the swot quick to impress his non-Japanese mentor with his impressive brush strokes, Mike’s the cheeky slacker that doesn’t work hard enough, and Kevin can’t act. The girls are both perfectly competent at drawing symbols and in the sexually progressive world of Power Rangers that’s probably the best they can hope for.

Power Rangers Samurai Episode Review #1

Episode 1: Origins Part 1

Starring

Alex Heartman as Jayden/Red Samurai Ranger

Najee De-Tiege as Kevin/Blue Samurai Ranger

Erika Fong as Mia/Pink Samurai Ranger

Hector David Jr. as Mike/Green Samurai Ranger

Brittany Anne Pirtle as Emily/Yellow Samurai Ranger

And

Rene Naufahu as Mentor Ji

Written by David Schneider and James W. Bates

Japanese episode written by Yasuko Kobayashi

Directed by Peter Salmon

I’ll kick off with a warning. These reviews will be fairly in depth and will include a great many spoilers for those that have yet to see it, so if you want to watch Power Rangers Samurai and don’t want the storylines spoiled leave right now. I am also writing these reviews after the first year of Samurai has aired, meaning I’m in a position where I can actually watch the first episode first rather than nineteenth, so I’ll be reviewing episodes in their intended order rather than the order they originally aired in America.

“Centuries ago in Japan, Nighlok monsters invaded our world, but samurai warriors defeated them with power symbols, passed down from parent to child. Today the evil Nighlok have risen once again and plan to flood the earth. Luckily, a new generation of heroes stand in their way. They are the Power Rangers Samurai.”

Welcome to the Planet Eltar

Hello and welcome to my blog. As you may have guessed this blog is dedicated to Power Rangers and Super Sentai. I’m sure at this point you’re thinking “oh great another blog about a silly kids show written by a guy who’s far too old to still be watching it” and you’d be pretty spot on with that. I am 27 years old and I still buy toys, play video games and watch cartoons. But thanks to the internet I now know I’m not alone in this and would you proper some stupid kid writing about how pretty the colours on Power Rangers are or a grown man who can give you in depth analysis and sharp social commentary? The kid? Ah well kids aren’t allowed on the internet because of all the paedophiles so you’ll just have to put up with my inane chatter. I’m also not one of these “fanboys” you get these days. I won’t be posting fan fiction, I don’t use terms like “shipping” or whatever other god awful kids today write about on Tumblr and I don’t spend my spare time imagining the red and green rangers running around fields naked whilst holding hands and saying how much they love each other. On this blog I intend to review every episode of Power Rangers. I’m not in with the “fandom” I’m not cool I don’t know who I’m supposed to hate so what you’ll get here are my honest thoughts on what I think of each episode. I’m also gonna try and review episodes from Super Sentai probably starting with Gobusters when it starts airing later this month. I don’t claim to be an expert on either Power Rangers or Super Sentai and my reviews are just for fun.

I first became a fan of Power Rangers when I was about 8 or 9. I saw a few episodes of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers but I wasn’t that interested. But then came the Green Ranger and like many other kids I fell in love with the Power Rangers universe. For a lot of us back then Tommy Oliver was what Power Rangers was about and Saban knew it. As a boy I desperately wanted a White Ranger action figure which sold out absolutely everywhere. The kid me never got that White Ranger. But I have two now so in your face 10 year old me! I can remember the countdown that GMTV taunted us with every day for the arrival of the second season of MMPR. I had my heart broken by the eventual departure of the Green Ranger and we didn’t have internet access back then so I had no idea my hero Tommy would return as the new leader of the Power Rangers. I was naive enough to not realise that Zack, Trini and Jason had disappeared to be replaced with stock footage and terrible voice overs. I remember the release of the first movie. I never got to see it in the cinema and just like the White Ranger figure it was always sold out in my town. But I had a friend who’s mum was in a video club and he was lucky enough to get the movie on good ol’ VHS and every night for several weeks we watched that film. It wasn’t easy for me being a Power Rangers fan I was bullied throughout my last few years in primary school because no one else liked it and felt I was too old to be watching it. My love of Power Rangers carried during my first year of high school but would come to an end with Power Rangers Zeo. I was still enjoying the show I even bought the Morphin’ Gold Ranger because I was so desperate to find out who he really was. But the bullying got too much and I gave up Power Rangers, I completely missed Turbo (terrible I know) and saw the first few episodes of In Space and Lost Galaxy then the odd episode of the series that followed.

I did return to Power Rangers eventually (well duh). It started with Ninja Storm, the first series of the Disney era, which started on Jetix with a massive ten episode (rather brilliantly skipping the very first episode bravo schedulers) marathon me and my younger brother, a fellow Power Rangers fan, ended up watching all of. Due to poor scheduling it took several years before I saw the whole series (yeah I bought it on DVD in the end). I lost touch with the series once again and then it got cancelled after RPM. Then I came across the internet and found a whole load of fans of Power Rangers that were my age and they felt no shame about it they were happy to tell the world about it. I decided “fudge it what do I care what people think?” and I threw myself back in to the Power Rangers universe. Then I decided to start this blog. And just a year later I’ve actually started doing it.

My interest in Super Sentai is a much more recent thing. I first discovered that Power Rangers used Sentai footage a few years ago and I really couldn’t get my head around it at all. But when I rediscovered my love of Power Rangers I decided to investigate Sentai more thoroughly and managed to track down several subbed episodes. I’m by no means an expert on Super Sentai but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen (mainly Gokaiger so far) and I’m looking forward to exploring more through this blog.

So yeah this entry is a rambling mess and it’ll probably only get worse but at least the next entry will be an actual review. My plan is to get all the episodes of Power Rangers Samurai reviewed so I can try and keep up with the new Super Samurai episodes as well as the latest Super Sentai as they air. But living here in the UK without access to Nick I will be relying on the internet to see the latest episodes.

Anyway that’s my game plan if you’re coming along for the ride I’ll look forward to your input, if you’re here to insult me please don’t I’m really very sensitive and you don’t want to see a fat man cry do you? Well if you’ve managed to read this you get a gold star.

Excelsior!

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