Power Rangers in Space
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| Power Rangers in Space | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Format | Action-Adventure |
| Created by | Haim Saban Shuki Levy |
| Starring | Tracy Lynn Cruz Christopher Khayman Lee Patricia Ja Lee Roger Velasco Selwyn Ward Melody Perkins Justin Nimmo Paul Schrier Jason Narvy Jack Banning |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 43 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Haim Saban, Shuki Levy |
| Producer(s) | Jonathan Tzachor |
| Co-producer(s) | Paul F. Rosenthal, Koichi Sakamoto, Scott Page-Pagter, Judd Lynn |
| Story editor(s) | Judd Lynn, Jackie Marchand |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | FOX |
| Original run | February 6, 1998 – November 21, 1998 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Power Rangers: Turbo |
| Followed by | Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Power Rangers in Space (often abbreviated as PRiS or referred to as simply In Space) is a television show that aired in 1998 as the sixth season of the Power Rangers franchise. It was the first full series to be handled by showrunners Judd Lynn and Jonathan Tzachor.
It was loosely based on, and involved footage from, the Japanese television show Denji Sentai Megaranger, the twenty-first Super Sentai series. The show was a turning point in the history of the Power Rangers franchise, as the season brought about the end of six seasons worth of storylines and was the ending of the practice of having the Power Rangers be a continuous serial-style show with a regular cast that carried over from one season to the next. It is argueable that In Space is one of the most successful seasons, after the low ratings in Power Rangers Turbo. It can also be said it is the third most successful season, with only Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Power Rangers: Time Force outshining it.
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[edit] Synopsis
When the Power Rangers: Turbo lose their Megazords, and have their Power Chamber destroyed by Divatox and her army of Pirahnatrons, they (minus Justin Stewart, who stays behind to live with his father) leave for space, in search of the original team's old mentor, Zordon. They come across the new Red Ranger, Andros, who initially doesn't trust them, but after they help him in battle and help save his Astro Megaship, he gives them all new Astro Morphers randomly, allowing them to transform into new Space Rangers. With the aid of new allies and old, such as the Silver Space Ranger, Zhane, and the Phantom Ranger, they face the monstrous Dark Specter, his herald of evil, Astronema, Astronema's loyal general and adopted father Ecliptor, and the homicidal "Psycho Rangers".
For the bulk of the series, the plot involves the Space Rangers trying to find Zordon, who's being prepared for death at the hands of Dark Specter so that the monster could absorb his powers into his own. To keep the Rangers from doing this, Astronema and Ecliptor launched attacks on Earth to keep the Rangers busy saving the planet instead of traveling to alien worlds, while past villain Divatox was reduced to planet hopping while taking Zordon from planet to planet to hide him from the Rangers. This culminated in the eight episode Psycho Rangers arc when Astronema released evil, insane robotic Rangers on Earth to hunt down and kill the Space Rangers. The arrival of the Psycho Rangers came on the heels of Andros discovering the truth about Astronema, that she was Karone, his sister. It took time for her to come to grips with this, but she proved to the Rangers who she really was by turning against Dark Specter and rejoining her brother. The remaining Rangers realized they were wrong about her and accepted her. This did not last long, as the arrival of the sadistic Darkonda resulted in Karone being re-brainwashed and Ecliptor being defiled when Darkonda (who had multiple lives) forcibly gave Ecliptor cybernetic implants to remove any trace of good within him.
In the final two parter of the series Countdown to Destruction, everything came full-circle when Dark Specter attacked the Earth and all remaining strongholds of good in the universe while absorbing Zordon's life into his own at long last. The Space Rangers, Aquitian Rangers, Phantom Ranger, Blue Senturion, Gold Zeo Ranger, and KO-35 rebels fought hard, but were outnumbered and outgunned. The Space Rangers, having lost two out of their four Megazords, fought hard to defend Earth, but even with weapons such as the Battlizer, they were overwhelmed and forced to regroup. Darkonda decided he was done with being an underling and destroyed Dark Specter with a weapon meant for Earth, but was wiped out as well. Astronema was now the "Queen of Evil" now that Dark Specter was gone, and Andros, in a last-ditch effort, went to the Dark Fortress to try to turn her back to good.
As the five remaining Space Rangers fought on Earth, Andros found Zordon in the Fortress. Although no longer in danger of losing his power, Zordon told Andros to shatter the energy tube, allowing his energy to wipe out the forces of evil (those allied with Dark Specter). Andros refused and Astronema attacked. Andros, unable to hurt his sister, was beaten badly in the process. Astronema was about to kill her own brother when Andros deflected her fire back at her, severely wounding her and knocking her unconscious. Ecliptor came in and his caring for Astronema returned after seeing what had happened. The two of them fought, with Andros winning. Finally, he shattered the Zordon's tube, allowing Zordon's essence to expand throughout the universe, but killing him in the process. Almost all of the known villains in the Power Rangers universe were disentegrated into dust, while Lord Zedd, Rita Repulsa, and Divatox were changed into normal humans, no longer evil. The Rangers down on Earth are excited that they won except Ashley who thinks that Andros is not coming back and is saddened by this. The Dark Fortress touched down on Earth, and Andros, with his sister's seemingly lifeless body in his arms, emerged. As he cried for her, she was restored to normal and the Rangers were overjoyed. Andros, Zhane, and Karone decide to stay on KO-35 as the other Rangers go back to Earth. Andros and Ashley walk hand in hand and share a tearful goodbye. Ashley becomes depressed because she misses her Andros, her love interest in the series. Andros decides to go with the Rangers and says to set a course for Earth. Andros and Ashley share a joyful hug in each other's arms, as Zhane and Karone come on board as they all head to Earth.
[edit] Production
The show would be the first Power Rangers series to be completely serialized, in that the entire season would be one whole story with plots continuing from each episode. This series also featured plot devices and storylines never before seen in a Power Rangers series. It is also notable in that it is the first to feature a power-up for the Red Ranger (the Battlizer), which was also an original creation and not originally from Super Sentai (though the Battlizer "Tool" was originally an attack-enhancer in Megaranger, known as the "Battle Riser"). This would become standard practice in the following seasons, as every Red Ranger after Andros would get his own enhancement (in Power Rangers: Ninja Storm and beyond, the name 'Battlizer' would be used again until Power Rangers: Mystic Force). The series is also the first Power Rangers series to feature sympathetic and multi-dimensional villains in the form of Astronema and Ecliptor. Astronema was revealed to be Andros' sister, Karone, who was kidnapped by the cruel Darkonda as a child and raised by the cyborg Ecliptor to be the evil Dark Spectre's harbinger of evil. When Astronema learned the truth about her identity, she was tortured and brainwashed into staying evil by Dark Spectre and Darkonda. Ecliptor, who saw himself as Astronema's father due to him raising her, gained a level of depth not seen by many villains on the show when he tries to defend his adopted daughter, only to be cruelly tortured by the sadistic Darkonda, who forces a merger of the two into a singular entity that leaves Ecliptor broken both physically and mentally.
What is notable is that the theme of this series bears absolutely no similarities to its Sentai counterpart, along with its successor, Power Rangers Lost Galaxy and as opposed to both Power Rangers Time Force and Wild Force. Denji Sentai Megaranger's theme was technology, such as the internet and, mostly video games, but because of a misinterpretation by the creators' part, namely seeing the Megaranger mecha flying in space, it was mistakenly believed that Megaranger's theme was space exploration. By the time the mistake was discovered, it was decided upon that the space theme would be kept. Fortunately for all those involved, Power Rangers in Space proved very successful, and removed any chance of the series being cancelled due to the poor ratings of In Space's predecessor Power Rangers Turbo.
[edit] Characters
[edit] The Space Rangers
- Andros
- The Red Space Ranger; a native of the planet KO-35, he used his Ranger powers to defeat Astronema and try to recover his sister. He was portrayed by Christopher Khayman Lee.
- Carlos Vallerte
- The Black Space Ranger and the former Green Turbo Ranger. He was portrayed by Roger Velasco.
- T.J. Johnson
- The Blue Space Ranger and the former Red Turbo Ranger. He was portrayed by Selwyn Ward.
- Ashley Hammond
- The Yellow Space Ranger and former Yellow Turbo Ranger. She was portrayed by Tracy Lynn Cruz.
- Cassie Chan
- The Pink Space Ranger and former Pink Turbo Ranger. She was portrayed by Patricia Ja Lee.
- Zhane
- The Silver Space Ranger; he was kept in stasis for several years because he was injured in his last battle saving Andros. When he was unfrozen, he helped the Rangers out, but was affected by a morphing time limit, which he was later able to remove. He was portrayed by Justin Nimmo.
[edit] Allies
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Johnny Yong Bosch | Adam Park |
| Donene Kistler, voiced by Wendee Lee | Alpha 6 |
| Aloma Wright | Adelle Ferguson |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | |
| Paul Schrier | Farkus "Bulk" Bulkmeier |
| Jason Narvy | Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch |
| Aquitian Rangers (uncredited) | |
| Blake Foster | Justin Stewart |
| Melody Perkins | Karone |
| David Walsh (voice, uncredited) | Blue Senturion |
| Alex Dodd (voice, uncredited) | Phantom Ranger |
| Brad Hawkins (voice, uncredited) | Trey of Triforia |
| Bob Manahan (voice, uncredited) | Zordon |
| Archie Kao, Reggie Rolle, Danny Slavin, Valerie Vernon, Cerina Vincent, and Russell Lawrence | Galaxy Power Rangers & Magna Defender |
[edit] Villains
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Christopher Cho | Dark Specter (voice) |
| Melody Perkins | Astronema |
| Walter Lang | Ecliptor (voice) |
| Kenny Graceson | Elgar |
| David Umansky | Elgar (voice) |
| Steve Kramer | Darkonda (voice) |
| Patrick David Michael Maize Wally Wingert Kamera Walton Vicki Davis |
Psycho Rangers (voices, uncredited) |
- List of Power Rangers in Space monsters
- Enemy Foot Soldiers:
- Quantrons
- Craterites
- Piranhatrons
[edit] Other Villains
Villains from previous series also appeared. Information about these recurring villains can be found in the following articles:
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Carla Perez | Rita Repulsa (uncredited) |
| Barbara Goodson | Rita Repulsa/Prince Sprocket/Orbus (voices, uncredited) |
| Ed Neil | Lord Zedd (uncredited) |
| Robert Axelrod | Lord Zedd/Finster (voices, uncredited) |
| Kerrigan Mahan | Goldar (voice, uncredited) |
| David Stenstrom | King Mondo (voice, uncredited) |
| Alex Borstein | Queen Machina (voice, uncredited) |
| Oliver Page | Klank (voice, uncredited) |
| Hilary Shepard Turner | Divatox |
| Lex Lang | Rygog (voice) |
| Scott Page-Pagter | Porto (voice, uncredited) |
| Tom Wyner | General Havoc (voice, uncredited) |
[edit] Arsenal
- Astro Morphers: Wrist mounted gadgets worn by the five core Space Rangers, developed on KO-35; utilized for morphing and communication. With a cry of "Let's Rocket!", the Rangers open up their Morphers to reveal a keypad, and punch in "335" then "Enter" to morph.
- Digimorpher: Cell-phone-based morpher used by Silver Ranger. He enters the digits "2580", which spell out "Mega", to morph.
- Battlizer Gauntlet: The Red Ranger's special morpher-like gauntlet possesses 3 functions.
- 1. Energy Punches/Chops - Covers Andros's fist in bright red energy, increasing the impact of his punches.
- 2. Laser Blast - A small laser that is capable of cutting through nets or stunning opponents.
- 3. Battlizer Armor - This function, first activated by Carlos's friend Silvy, grants the Red Ranger an armored battlesuit equipped with a rocket launcher and flight capabilities.
In order to control the Delta Megazord, the wearer simply speaks commands to the Battlizer Gauntlet. e.g. "Delta Megazord, transform, now."
- Astro Blaster: Standard Ranger sidearm which can be broken into two separate blasters.
- Spiral Saber: Red Ranger's personal weapon. It featured a distinct drill-like blade, and could be combined with an Astro Blaster and equipped with a "Booster" attachment at the blade's tip to increase its firepower.
- Quadro Blaster: Combined form of the Black, Blue, Pink and Yellow Rangers' signature weapons.
- Astro Axe: Blue Ranger's personal weapon.
- Lunar Lance: Black Ranger's personal weapon.
- Star Slinger: Yellow Ranger's personal weapon.
- Satellite Stunner: Pink Ranger's personal weapon.
- Super Silverizer: The Silver Ranger's personal weapon doubles as a blaster and a sword.
- Galaxy Gliders: Surfboard-based transports used for both atmospheric and interstellar travel.
- Silver Cycle: The Silver Ranger's personal vehicle, armed with laser blasters, can also become a Galaxy Gilder.
- Megatank: A small, armored transport used for interplanetary missions.
- Galactic Rover: A sleek dune buggy piloted by the Silver Ranger developed by refugees on KO-35.
[edit] Zords
The Zords in Power Rangers in Space were based on various Space vehicles. The Astro Megashuttle was used by four of the Turbo Rangers to leave the Earth to try and help Zordon. The Astro Megaship was Andros' personal spacecraft that could combine with the Megashuttle to form a Megazord. The Delta Megaship was given to the Space Rangers by the Phantom Ranger. Andros won Zordon's keycards and the Space Rangers learned the location to the Mega Voyager, five new space vehicles. Zhane was given the Mega Winger by the KO-35 Rebels.
- Astro Delta Megazord
- Astro Megazord
- Astro Megaship
- Astro Megashuttle
- Delta Megaship/Megazord
- Astro Megazord
- Winged Mega Voyager
- Mega Voyager
- Mega V1 (Robo Voyager), piloted by Andros as the Red Space Ranger
- Mega V2 (Shuttle Voyager), piloted by Carlos as the Black Space Ranger
- Mega V3 (Rocket Voyager), piloted by T.J. as the Blue Space Ranger
- Mega V4 (Saucer Voyager), piloted by Ashley as the Yellow Space Ranger
- Mega V5 (Tank Voyager), piloted by Cassie as the Pink Space Ranger
- Mega Winger, piloted by Zhane as the Silver Space Ranger
- Mega Voyager
[edit] Episodes
| # | Air Date | Episode Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1998-02-06 | "From Out Of Nowhere, Part I" |
| 2 | 1998-02-13 | "From Out Of Nowhere, Part II" |
| 3 | 1998-02-20 | "Save Our Ship" |
| 4 | 1998-02-27 | "Shell Shocked" |
| 5 | 1998-03-06 | "Never Stop Searching" |
| 6 | 1998-03-13 | "Satellite Search" |
| 7 | 1998-03-20 | "A Ranger Among Thieves" |
| 8 | 1998-03-27 | "When Push Comes to Shove" |
| 9 | 1998-04-03 | "The Craterite Invasion" |
| 10 | 1998-04-04 | "The Wasp With A Heart" |
| 11 | 1998-04-11 | "The Delta Discovery" |
| 12 | 1998-04-18 | "The Great Evilyzer" |
| 13 | 1998-04-25 | "Grandma Matchmaker" |
| 14 | 1998-05-02 | "The Barillian Sting" |
| 15 | 1998-05-09 | "T.J.'s Identity Crisis" |
| 16 | 1998-05-16 | "Flashes of Darkonda" |
| 17 | 1998-09-12 | "The Rangers' Mega Voyage" |
| 18 | 1998-09-19 | "True Blue to the Rescue" |
| 19 | 1998-09-26 | "Invasion of the Body Switcher" |
| 20 | 1998-10-03 | "Survival of the Silver" |
| 21 | 1998-10-10 | "Red With Envy" |
| 22 | 1998-10-14 | "The Silver Secret" |
| 23 | 1998-10-15 | "A Date With Danger" |
| 24 | 1998-10-16 | "Zhane's Destiny" |
| 25 | 1998-10-17 | "Always A Chance" |
| 26 | 1998-10-21 | "The Secret of the Locket" |
| 27 | 1998-10-23 | "Astronema Thinks Twice" |
| 28 | 1998-10-24 | "The Rangers' Leap of Faith" |
| 29 | 1998-10-28 | "Dark Specter's Revenge, Part I" |
| 30 | 1998-10-29 | "Dark Specter's Revenge, Part II" |
| 31 | 1998-10-30 | "Rangers Gone Psycho" |
| 32 | 1998-10-31 | "Carlos On Call" |
| 33 | 1998-11-04 | "A Rift In the Rangers" |
| 34 | 1998-11-05 | "Five of a Kind" |
| 35 | 1998-11-06 | "Silence Is Golden" |
| 36 | 1998-11-07 | "The Enemy Within" |
| 37 | 1998-11-11 | "Andros and the Stowaway" |
| 38 | 1998-11-12 | "Mission to Secret City" |
| 39 | 1998-11-13 | "Ghosts in the Machine" |
| 40 | 1998-11-14 | "The Impenetrable Web" |
| 41 | 1998-11-18 | "A Line In the Sand" |
| 42 | 1998-11-20 | "Countdown to Destruction, Part I" |
| 43 | 1998-11-21 | "Countdown to Destruction, Part II" |
[edit] See also
- Countdown to Destruction, the finale episode
- List of Power Rangers planets
| Preceded by Turbo |
Power Rangers 1998 |
Succeeded by Lost Galaxy |
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