| Power Rangers Zeo | |
|---|---|
| Format | Action/Adventure Science fantasy |
| Created by | Haim Saban Shuki Levy |
| Starring | Catherine Sutherland Nakia Burrise Steve Cardenas Johnny Yong Bosch Jason David Frank Austin St. John David Yost Paul Schrier Jason Narvy Richard Genelle Gregg Bullock |
| Voices of | Richard Steven Horvitz Robert L. Manahan David Stenstrom Alex Borstein Barbara Goodson Oliver Page Douglas Sloan Melora Harte Robert Axelrod Kerrigan Mahan Bob Papenbrook Michael Sorich Dave Mallow Brad Hawkins Lex Lang Derek Stephen Prince Paul St. Peter |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 50 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Haim Saban Shuki Levy |
| Producer(s) | Jonathan Tzachor |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Saban Entertainment |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | FOX (Fox Kids) |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Original run | April 20, 1996 – November 27, 1996 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers |
| Followed by | Power Rangers Turbo |
Power Rangers Zeo (often abbreviated as PRZ, and often simply called Zeo) is an American superhero television series and the second installment of the Power Rangers franchise that is a continuation of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, that aired in 1996.[1][2][3][4] [5]
It is based on the Super Sentai series Chōriki Sentai Ohranger. Power Rangers Zeo is also the first season of Power Rangers to follow the Sentai practice of annual Ranger suit changes.
Contents |
Power Rangers Zeo immediately begins after the events of Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers where Tommy and the other Rangers witness the destruction of the Command Center. After recovering, the powerless Rangers discovered the Zeo Crystal intact in the rubble – apparently dropped by Goldar and Rito Revolto. The Zeo Crystal guided them to a portal, which took them deep underground to the heretofore unmentioned Power Chamber. There, they found Zordon and Alpha 5 waiting for them. The team was bestowed with the five Zeonizers empowered by the Zeo Crystal. Tanya Sloan joined the team as Zeo Ranger II — Yellow, while Billy Cranston chose to become their technical advisor, rather than continue being a Ranger.
All of this occurred as the Machine Empire entered Earth's solar system. So powerful, even Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd were forced to flee from them to the M51 Galaxy or be destroyed. Led by King Mondo and Queen Machina, the Machine Empire sought to conquer Earth. Armed with new weapons and Zords, only the Zeo Rangers stood in their way. Unbeknownst to anyone, Rito and Goldar – now amnesic – were left behind on Earth. They were taken in by Bulk and Skull, who had them serving at their beck and call. Bulk and Skull, meanwhile, continued to be members of the Junior Police Force until Lt. Stone was fired. Quitting as a show of support, they joined him at his new detective agency.
Over time, the Machine Empire began wearing down the five Zeo Rangers. Help arrived in the form of the mysterious Gold Ranger. No one knew who he was and while suspicion abounded, it was clear he was there to help the Rangers. It turned out that the Gold Ranger was an alien, Trey of Triforia. This revelation came after he was injured in battle. Split into three separate selves, Trey was forced to temporarily pass on his powers to a worthy warrior while healing. They attempted to transfer the Gold Ranger powers to Billy; but were unable to because Billy had acquired a large amount of negative energy due to the destruction of the Command Center. The ultimate successor was Jason Lee Scott, the original Red Power Ranger. This event also saw the introduction of the more powerful Super Zeozords, which were used against a tougher generation of machines. The Super Zeo Megazord was powerful enough to even later destroy King Mondo, creating a power vacuum in the Machine Empire.
Secretly returning from the M51 Galaxy, Lord Zedd and Rita sought to become top villains again. Operating out of an RV with Finster, they first restored Goldar and Rito's memories. After King Mondo was destroyed, they launched their first plan: use Louie Kaboom to take over the Machine Empire. Though he did succeed, he had also broken free of Zedd and Rita's control. He embarked on his own plans to conquer Earth and destroy the Zeo Rangers. Louie was later destroyed by the machinations of Prince Gasket and Princess Archerina, who ruled until King Mondo's reconstruction was complete and caused them to flee.
When Billy began rapidly aging, the Zeo and Aquitian Rangers raced to help him, as well as combat monsters from both King Mondo and Rita. Billy ultimately left Earth for treatment on Aquitar and chose to stay in order to be with Cestria. Soon afterwards, it was discovered Jason could no longer handle having the Gold Ranger powers. They were leaving his body and draining his lifeforce in the process. Trey was still in recovery, but a risky gambit healed and restored the powers to him. Rita and Lord Zedd also blew up the Machine Empire's leadership.
Billy and Alpha 5 built the Zeozords after the rangers lost their powers, with the ones that Ninjazords and Shogunzords were rendered dormant. The Red Battlezord was created using Battle Borg technology, and can only be controlled telepathically by Tommy (but was once configured for Adam's use yet with setbacks). Pyramidas was the Gold Zeo Ranger's Zord, and acted as a Carrier Zord. Trey of Triforia also supplied the Zeo Rangers with the Super Zeozords and the Warrior Wheel for the Gold Ranger. All Zeozords were abandoned and kept in storage in the Zeozord holding bay (except for Pyramidas, which Trey brought with him when he left).
Throughout a good part of Power Rangers Zeo a constant teaser was the identity of the Gold Ranger, and then after that, the identity of who would take the mantle of the Gold Ranger. After many episodes of speculation, it was revealed the Gold Ranger was in fact a new character never seen before, Trey of Triforia, basically turning all other hints into Red Herrings. Former Red Ranger Jason Lee Scott obtains the powers of the Gold Ranger after Trey loses the ability to, but again with no prior knowledge Jason was even back in Angel Grove, any previous teasers were again false hints that would not be reflected in the series. Actor Brad Hawkins, who played one of the main characters on similar show VR Troopers, voiced the Gold Ranger early on. Saban had allegedly planned to use him after the end of VR Troopers in another role. However, for unknown reasons (believed to be scheduling conflicts), he was not used as the identity of the Gold Ranger, with Ted, Tim and Tom DiFillippo instead portraying the three parts of Trey. Additional candidates for the Gold Ranger's identity included:
Image Comics began publication of a Power Rangers Zeo comic in August 1996. It featured scripts by Tom and Mary Bierbaum, and art by Todd Nauck and Norm Rapmund. Four issues were drawn but only one was released before Image Comics lost the license.[6]
| Preceded by Alien Rangers |
Power Rangers 1996 |
Succeeded by Turbo |
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