Apparently, reason why they made Sam into a ball of light as the Omega Ranger was a production issue. You see, Disney did not and would not let the production crew of S.P.D to hire another actor to play adult Sam, but they had to adapt the footage of Deka Break (that's his Sentai counterpart) and his zord so they came up with the ball of light idea, so that they could implement the character without having to hire a new actor. I still wish they gave him more character development, though.
Or at least gave him a better backstory that dystopian future. Especially since he doesn't really act like he came from a world that's falling apart, honestly.
One thing to keep in mind is that this is they chose to go with Canadian and American actors for the Rangers this season, rather that using at least some local talent from New Zealand. This likely increased costs.
@@carlrood4457 well compared to the other Disney seasons like dino thunder or ninja storm, spd has a much larger cast anyway. Working for a major studio and handling budget is tough. I still love omega ranger though mostly because his powers and suit we're really cool.
I thought this season was good but the story with the A-Squad rangers to me was a let down because you never got to know them so their turn was no surprise. I think that if the A-Squad was around for a while acting as role models and mentors. If you got to know them and like them, their turn would have been way more surprising and make their rivalry much more personal and feel like a much greater hurdle for the B-Squad. That's just how I feel but is a good way to describe the whole season, good but could have been better.
I agree with you, the last episodes were so rushed. And literally everyone saw the treason from the A Squad since day one. I totally would love they had developed the A Squad more, maybe giving them personal motivations to join Grumm, and not just "we agree more with Grumm, deal with it"
@@pn2294 well they probably shouldn't be doing ALL the fighting. The writers would have to come up with something to give them a reason like "A-Squad is busy with another monster" or "2 membes of A-Squad got injured in their previous mission." I admit it would kinda obvious and messy to write them out but the personal stakes would make it forgivable to me.
There was a nice touch with Bridge becoming the Blue Ranger at the end. Sky needs a more laid back second in command, just like Jack needed a more strict one. It's acknowledging the leader's strengths and weaknesses and setting the command structure accordingly. The one thing they could have addressed is the general attitude of other SPD officers. Presumably, they get a lot of requests for Ranger duty and two slots hadn't even been filled on the B-squad. Wouldn't assigning two completely untrained people cause some friction? What about the apparent nepotism?
I really appreciate that insight about leader/lieutenant dynamics! Bridge is my favorite member of this team, and I really enjoy his and Sky's friendship because it's a case of opposites, but I never thought of it exactly like that before.
The problem with PR is that they use super sentai footage for most of the fighting scenes , and for all of the megazord scenes . This led to a more restricted plot as they had to adjust the fighting scenes to the plot of the episode as well.
That's a great theory that the SPD technology was based off of time force's tech. It now makes sense on how Sky's Dad ranger suit was a copy of Wes' morpher.
Quoting Linkara: "Sam... Has no character... He is a ball of light!... Moving On" Hot damm this season rules, I loved it when I was 14, I still love it now!
Looking at Jetman, Jetman had arguably better effects than Zuyranger. If they added some extra CGI to the energy effects and digitally edit out zipper and wires, ect..., it could work as a streaming show.
Personally, I would hope that if they adapt lupinranger versus Patranger, that the patrangers would be a special investigative unit of spd. You could call them the major crimes hunting down the master thieves of the bandit rangera
S.P.D. was one the more expensive seasons and it was quickly beginning to go over budget so they couldn't hire another lead actor to play Sam like they originally planned. Voice over costs less so they came up with the ball of light idea. Budget is also the reason Disney decided not to bring Jason Frank back for the team up episode. My experience with S.P.D was the same. I originally didn't like it that much when it first aired but watching it as an adult made me appreciate how great it really was. Now it's my favorite season in the whole series. However, my main two issues with it are my issues with most other seasons. The writers tend to give 1-3 rangers the bulk of the focus and the rest don't get to do anything important or grow as characters. Also, the writers tend to put their best effort into the first half and the remaining episodes are filled with filler until it's time to wrap things up. A few seasons are exceptions to the rule but most fall into the same trap unfortunately.
Agent Orange From what I could tell, the Disney era actually managed to start making the second half interesting from Mystic Force to RPM (only reason I got through Overdrive, I was never bored by it), Neo-Saban has been trying, but they haven’t figured it out yet.
Yeah, I remember Overdrive & Mystic Force getting much more interesting when they introduced Mack's secret & The Ten Terrors. RPM was still good when Judd Lynn took over but I felt Guzelian's run was a bit stronger. I've given up on expecting Neo-Saban to dramatically improve. I don't know if it's Nickelodeon's fault but it feels like something is holding the series back from reaching the quality of the best Disney & original Saban eras.
The thing that impresses me the most about RPM is that so many episodes, regardless of what the main plot is, pay attention to the details surrounding previous or upcoming plot points(Such as the tiny bit of Dylan moments in Scott's focus episode). It's not always the case, but several episodes in that season have such a rare layered quality to them, and some seasons have no episodes like that. While I don't view SPD as my all time favorite, it might have been, if they, as Agent O states, gave more focus to the other characters. Syd could have been other worldly impressive if she went through a paced out character arc, I truly believe that. The reason I favor RPM, Jungle Fury, and Lost Galaxy over SPD is because their characters felt more fully formed, even with only a pair of focus episodes in some instances.
I don't say this enough, but thank you, all of you. I put everything I had into these last two videos that so many of you wanted, and the responses were some of the most encouraging I've ever seen. And an added thanks to the subs whose insight helped me improve some things in the part 2 script. Quick notes: 1. A few of you have asked about the Power Rangers fan fictions I write. I'll be posting them(somewhere) very soon. I would love your feedback on those when I do, even if you end up hating the story. I just want to improve as a writer. More details to come in a future update video. 2. After we cover Ninja Storm, I'll probably be making a couple smaller more topic driven videos before I make another large scale review. So more vids similar to the one I made about Scott Truman. I've got some interesting ideas so hopefully you'll all enjoy those too!
I really like ur theory on sky's dad an in a way it makes sense even tho we might never know the truth it's fun to think that there really is a time force connection to SPD in one form or another
looking back, I think my only real gripes with SPD are Sam being a lame af ball of light and the fact that episodes in the back half were aired out of order. Even the TWO crossover episodes with Dino Thunder were good. Also...I always found Bridge's character quite "buttery" :P lol
10:07 if I recall correctly, lightspeed rescue had an episode sort of like that. The higher ups that control lightspeed above Captain Mitchel thought that the rangers were screwing up too much in regards to property damage and civilian injuries so they thought a robotic team would do it better. It fails, hilariously in just a few seconds, and the human team comes and saves the day.
I hope the algorithm blesses this video. That speech at the end made me think With the popularity of invincible, power rangers might take the more mature trend
I'd like to help clarify something for you, just as a tidbit of info (not trying to be a smartass or anything). The reason Sam is a ball is because the SPD effects team were told they couldn't hire anymore actors and so they decided to go around that angle, as the Omega Ranger couldn't exactly be exempt. At least, that's the story that was told during one of the Rangercons, anyway.
Also, that same Rangercon discussion, the same effects dude said that whatever fan theories you guys have on about the show with costumes being there for whatever reasons, you're probably right because they didn't write it down or care to (Though, I might be confusing that with when they talked about people talking about the plans for Phantom Ranger, though they /did/ write a story for him that they couldn't finish)
That is valuable intel, thanks for sharing! What I thought about but didn't write into the script is finding a way to have Sophie as the Omega Ranger, or even make it so that Kat's focus episode turned her into the perma-seventh Ranger and do away with Sam's involvement entirely.
The Disney Brain yeah, all that potential... wasted. But Then again wasted potential is nothing new on power rangers. Especially when the above comment stated the producers outright stated that they didnt care. That kind of apathy for a show like this is not a good thing to have, that kind of apathy became so systemic to this show that megaforce became such an unmitigated mess of untapped potential.
Bobby Torres I work in the film industry myself and eventually towards becoming a producer myself. You would be surprised depending the situation with budget. The problem with SPD is you have too many characters in the main cast for a TV show that already has low budget. Also the effect to do a ball of light like in this case to replace a character is an easy effect and not difficult to do with a low budget. It's not like that effect was done very well to begin with. They had 5 rangers, shadow ranger, Kat, sam, and more. They also killed more budget deciding to do an original character in Grum. Remember the titanium ranger for lightspeed? He barely was on the show because he was an original character and they couldn't use any Sentai or stock footage when he was there.
Warning: Gets pretty rambly about my history with the show around SPD and beyond. If we count Wild Force as still Saban since they were still in mid-rights transfer, it's pretty incredible how Disney took over. Sure, Ninja Storm was an okay start that was kinda marred by audio issues, somewhat inconsistent accents getting used to the whole New Zealand thing and...well, it being fairly decent at best. Then Dino Thunder and SPD happen and in my opinion, given I like Ninja Storm, Disney was batting a thousand with THREE SEASONS IN A ROW. It's like I completely forgot the show changed hands when it seemingly got better after Wild Force and Ninja Storm were more decent than great to me. SPD is by far my favorite Disney season, and it and Dino Thunder absolutely rank up there with the best. But...after SPD, I can't legitimately rank any season that came after that. Mystic Force was when I was slowly dropping off the show, and after Overdrive...even I could tell I wasn't enjoying it as much. I flat-out refused to give Jungle Fury a chance when it came out much less RPM, and seeing synopsis of them today I wanna slap myself and say "no, get over the silly theme songs, they're WAY better than Overdrive!" But I can't rewind the clock, so it's gonna feel like I cheated myself out of a fresh experience. Feels especially painful when I gave Samurai a shot later and...god, the hype wore off fast. Yeah, the song is back, Bulk is back, but...I don't care for it. Then seeing Megaforce be an absolute insult...yeah...if Forever Red could be as good as it was despite massive story cuts and being in the middle of a rights change, Megaforce had no goddamn excuse sucking as much as it did for an entire dual season show. At least seeing Dino Charge being better gives me hope aaaaaaaand we're right back down again seeing Ninja Steel clips. Gah. Oh well, the reboot movie was awesome, least there's that. Oh, and Hyperforce is an awesome thing they're doing! ...That I missed an episode of...so now I need to pray I have Tuesday off work so I can watch it before the next episode that night...idiots thinking people totally have six hours to dump on one show in a single day...UH ANYWAY. After that complete mess I just made, I'll bring it back to "I love SPD and it's definitely one of my favorite seasons."
This comment is awesome! I felt like I could see you growing up as Power Rangers kept moving forward. For some reason in that head canon of mine you have brown hair, but minor details, lol. But yeah, I don't think you'll regret giving Jungle Fury and RPM a chance. I'd call both a return to form after the Overdrive debacle and I'd easily rank them among the all time best seasons.
Thank you for your hard work on this series. I'm glad that your analysis showcased the good and bad while imputing your theories into it. SPD to me shows the conflict between having good characters vs having good rangers. Personally I like characterization more but I understand why some prefer the other. There may be better rangers but the SPD crew will be my favorite characters other than Time Force and Mighty Morphin.
I think this review was astounding. But did you ever thunk how more relevant and relatable this season is now more than in 2005? By the way the aliens react to S.P.D is exactly how people react to the police now which I think is pretty interesting to look into.
I thought about that constantly, which is why I angled that as social subtext. However, I was wary about going too far down that path because that's not really what I do, or try to do. But the parallels to the modern day only make this season that much more forward thinking retroactively.
Disneybrain, I'd love to see a list ranking the Power Rangers mentors. I actually hadn't thought of how great Doggie made the season until you mentioned it. And considering how little Megaforce's Tiki did, it could be interesting regardless of whether it was best or worst.
I'll probably make a video about the 10 best Supporting Characters. A few Ranger mentors are also Rangers themselves so I'll also talk about some of them in the Added/6th Ranger countdown!
I know I'm late to the game but I have a comment on Jack. He's the one who wants to go back to help out Bridge, Sky, and Sid and risk arrest. Z is resistant, but he's the one who wants to help despite the risk. It's also somewhat implied that the stealing for the poor thing was his idea to begin with, more so than Z. I think that at Jack's base his only goal is to help people. That's his drive, even more than Z. Z wants to change the world, while Jack wants to help on a more individual basis. That's part of why he doesn't want to join SPD at first. He doesn't view the organization as helpful or understanding. He probably see's the way the aliens and the poor (such as Piggy's clientele) run from SPD and views the organization as counter to his goals. However Cruger sees that in Jack and understands that his goal is to help individuals. That's why he chooses him as a leader over Sky at first. Sky wants to advance, Jack wants to help. Which is a better quality in a Power Ranger? The episode where Cruger takes Jack's morpher, Cruger basically forces him to sit and listen to his team struggle, it isn't until then that Jack reacts. Jack needs to view his leadership role as helpful before he can fully embrace it. Overall, I think this is also why Sky grows to respect him. He sees that Jack's goal is not to usurp him, but to simply be a good citizen. This inspires Sky to improve himself and Sky's goals change as well. He is not longer thinking primarily about advancement, but about the goals of SPD as a whole. In the end, Sky understands that to be helpful to the community, he needs to take whatever role that his commander sees as best for him. That was way longer than I anticipated. Sorry. I have many opinions.
I'm glad I read this. Where were you people when this season was airing? Wish I could have met you and also other people who have watched this series and have many opinions.
2nd half of SPD's highlight moments also included the SWAT episodes, and especially the one in which Jack and Sky go to space to blow up an asteroid and Jack apparently sacrifices himself.
I was thinking of a series where the evil ranger has to keep his secret from his journalist girlfriend (however this still could be a high school team, but that could just be because my high school’s TV Studio has good tech; maybe better than some universities), then she ends up a ranger ally upon joining the heroes (however, changes his suit entirely; but that is just because I think just using Denziman and Sun Vulcan suits and build from there would cost a lot, but it could be cool [like a storyline where Midoninner shows up while Levi is on tour, leading to Ninja Steel civil war, only solved when Levi introduces the sub surfer zord. Midoninner use could be debated from there]).
I'll say it again.. Thank you for these reviews. I'll tell you I only grew up watching super sentai (with the exception of the o.g power rangers and that's how I learned English) and ended up being a super sentai purist.. Coz of you, i ended up giving these shows a chance.
Bridge is the hidden MVP of this season, imo. Though Cruger, Sky and Jack are also all top-tier too. I didn't hate the Omega Ranger at all but I didn't find him all that compelling either.
I’m curious what you think Disney Brain, do you like it when the shows start off with smaller three man teams and eventually grows? There’s not many of those three man teams seasons but when they show up I tend to love them. Most in part because there’s time to develop the original three man ranger team. Build their characters just a little bit and then throw in more Rangers to help build the story. I like the fact that SPD B Squad starts as a small three man team, even if it was just a brief couple of episodes, of officers who has worked together for some time at least. The change in dynamic by adding to new members off the street definitely added an interesting element earlier on in the season and watching them grow as a team was great. The Disney Era of Power Rangers would have benefited from having more episodes to help add depth to the story. That’s one thing I wish they did better and that’s have fleshed out multiple episode arcs for stories. I wished Jack didn’t join the team until a few episodes later. Z’s character joining so quickly made a lot of sense. But I would’ve love to see him be far more reluctant to join. Granted it probably would’ve have to been an all US production for those first few episodes but to add more depth it would have been worth it. Jungle fury in my mind would do wonders if they extend their arcs a bit longer than one episode especially in the earlier episodes, but that’s a whole other discussion. Overall I just feel like three man teams feels a little more intimate. It feels like you’re actually getting to know the characters and not just have two characters in the background with hardly any development.
I also find myself preferring the smaller team start for all the reasons you mentioned. Jungle Fury is the best example because after we got to know the main three, you add episodes dedicated to understanding RJ's chnaged role after becoming a Ranger and then another two devoted towards understanding Dom's perspective and the team finding a way to fit him in, which also gave Fran an important role with her own more generous initial take on Dom. It all worked well. I think starting with five is fine, but scattering the arrivals as they do in SPD and in Lost Galaxy works best. Beyond the original which was simply establishing a precedent, I've never been a fan of assembling people all at once because it just feels forced. I guess for Lightspeed that was more of the point, but like with Megaforce, that felt unneeded. Not that they'd bother to develop any of them anyway. But Dino Charge course corrected when they allowed Ty and Shel to go on their own adventure before we ever see Riley. So even with magic gems calling to them, it still felt more organic.
Found your channel a few weeks ago after I decided to watch all of the series I've never seen. I love watching these videos after I finish a series! Keep it up man! :)
Isinia (Cruger's wife) was also never really given much character. Considering the impact she had on Cruger, and for her own sake, I wish she had gotten more properly explored. Still, I get that they had to ration their time and focus for a relatively large cast of main characters.
this was a great video, when i started to watch spd i didnt put much thought in what i was watching and really disliked it, but now i think im going to give it another chance
Well done on the video. You reminded me of the time when I was looking forward to seeing Power Rangers episodes. Makes me want to go back and rewatch this series.
I just watched this season. Bridge annoyed me for 75% of the season. Probably because we’re both very introverted. But you’re right. He was definitely necessary to the show.
Another beautiful and intriguing analysis, thnks for explaining the connection of sky's father and wes red TFR.. MY favorite spd rangers were jack, cruger, Sam, bridge...
I was really young, and watched S.P.D. religiously when it aired, and flaws and all it was my favourite season growing up. Hell, I still have my morpher that I begged my mum to buy me
I remember talking with a friend back in middle school when the show was air (In Mexico) then he say as a joke "I want to go out of school and watch SPD" and i say "you see it too?", then half of the guys in the classroom where talking about SPD and how different was from past rangers, thanks to that we have an rolling inside joke of doing that morphin movements with our cellphones
That is definitely an interesting story to tell power Rangers tackling The friend or foe plot line of DC's Batman v Superman And it all being fed to the public through a critical journalist like spider man's very own J Jonah Jameson Extra points of the actor behind said critical journalist happens to be The yellow M&M himself JK Simmons
Like others, my only real gripe with this season has to be Sam being a ball of light, otherwise, this season is just an amazing watch for me and I will be proud to watch it over and over again
The whole Sam as a ball of light thing was so the show could save on budget by not having another actor unlike the sentai version also it helped the writers not having to stretch themselves thin with coming up with new things for another character sense they already had so many.
I haven't watched Time Force, so I had no clue who Wes was, so thanks for clarifying that in your theory, which makes more sense just bc I didn't have a clue how the red Time Force ranger looked like in civilian form
Funny, I was actually gonna request a return to the "Top _ *Insert color here* Rangers" videos…It's like you read my mind. Can't wait to see that video. :) SPD is a series that really grew on me the more I thought about it…It was always in the middle for me in terms of Disney seasons (and it still is), but the cast is one of my favorites in the franchise, and I love the opening theme way more than I should. It really feels like a spiritual successor to Time Force in the best of ways. :) Oh, and Bridge is precious. :P
SPD by far is one of my favorite ranger seasons of all time(the other one being Dino thunder) I loved the show when i was a teen i will never forget the adventures and memories that I had watching SPD watching the rangers grow and all the fight scenes done. I loved the team up episode between SPD and Dino thunder I loved it all, SPD will always be one of my favorite seasons. I can see the pros and cons to this series but I love it no matter what
Power Rangers needs to try and make another season where two Rangers have that dynamic of growing as characters as their two personalities first bounce off each other and then they slowly learn from each other. When done right it makes some great characters and moments. Also, I have an idea for the type of character they need to have questioning the Rangers and their actions: a J Jonah Jameson type character. Granted, it might be hard to write one without just blatantly ripping off the character, but I think it would be just the right fit for a show like Power Rangers. He'd be the sort of character everyone loves to hate, with several jokes at his expense occurring throughout the series, but there would also be episodes that show that beneath all the bluster and rants he has a valid point. While he would never be working for the bad guys, and in fact probably be against them just as much as he's against the Rangers, he would serve as a sort of secondary antagonist throughout the series, one that makes the public and sometimes even the Rangers question if they are doing the right thing. One last thing for the Disney Brain: don't let Doctor K hear you calling the suits "spandex"! (unless you have a burning desire to find out what it's like to scrub clean the floors of a garage with a toothbrush)
I would love to see that kind of character. Assuming the movie sequel is still happening, which it still could based on ongoing merchandising, they would have the best shot at making such a reality possible. Their heroics were on the news at the end of the movie, and in today's world, it wouldn't take long to eventually grab national headlines. And more to the point, not every news outlet would see them as heroes. LOL, and don't worry, when I finally review RPM, I will do my best to avoid the S-word ;)
The movies would be an interesting place to put this type of character, and the producers might not feel like they were going out on such a limb since it looked like they were trying to make the movie something mature audiences could enjoy too. Still, I'm not sure if 2 hours and change would be enough time to effectively develop that character, unless they had a whole series already lined up, which I don't think is that likely imao. Honestly I'm not sure Neo-Saban would be willing to jump out of their nice formulaic comfort zone though. I admit I haven't been keeping up with the new series, but nothing I saw when they were still showing it on Nick gives me any confidence in them. Dare to dream, I suppose. Also, something I meant to ask last time, why so little on Doggy Kruger? I'd figure the arc leading to him becoming the Shadow Ranger would have gotten some attention at least.
For whatever reason, the complete Shadow Ranger arc seemed self explanatory in terms of why Doggie was able to suit up again, but even then, it's something that probably should have warranted more attention. But I guess it's a blessing in disguise, since now when I talk about Cruger during my 6th Rangers top 10, it won't feel like I'm repeating myself as much.
The whole "Sam is a ball of light" thing was a cost saving measure, apparently they didnt have enough money to hire another actor. I personally think they shouldve just made the Omega Ranger a robot in order to better justify his total lack of any personality, but thats just me. As it stands, i think the Omega Ranger plot is one of the few weakpoints SPD has. The whole Omni thing is another downside, that kinda ruined Gruum imo
Ugh this is not why I subscribed! You the Disney Brain! I loved your original videos! I’m not a power ranger person but if this what you like doing then great! I’ll share this channel to my brother! I appreciate for you doing something new and I’m not hating!
When I was really little, I used to play a game with my cousin where we’d punch a soccer ball to each other when we sat down. I’d always say ‘fist of iron’ before hand. I didn’t know where I got it from until I got older and rewatched SPD.
In hindsight, the fact that they made the red ranger and the leader of the team of POLICE rangers a black man and an inmigrant (alien) respectively, was a very good choice. Specially with all the messed up crap happening right now (june of 2020).
However I do have a question, could Beast Hunter Zeek from GOGOV work in VR Trooper/Metal Hero (i think the only Metal Heroes that are not troopers are Jiryia, the Bettleborgs shows, and another insectoid team between those [kiddie shows aren’t cannon]) universe? (like use Space 18 as a Halloween special where 2 rangers get sucked in the VR Troopers arcade game where they meet the VR Troopers, even the other Space Cops [Gaven], and they end up trying to break out of the Shogun’s Curse on the game)
Im surprised you didn't have a piece of narrative about Piggy. Besides the line you mentioned in part 1. His overall narrative was needed in SPD since his growth was there too even in a comedic role.
I thought about including him, but I felt like that line was really his most valuable contribution on a narrative level. He is very important to the story, but I felt like the subtle irony of a super powerful organization like SPD needing to go to him for information every time a situation came up spoke for itself.
I sort of disagree with you analysis of Jack. Clashing with higher ups doesn't make you a bad leader. Jack defends his team against anyone when it is warranted. Almost every time he clashed with Crueger or Sky he was right. He is probably by far one of the BEST red rangers. Being a kid from the street learning to lead a police force destroying Grumms master plan. Not only that Jack was willing to sacrifice himself to destroy the asteroid. I don't see many red rangers who had a better showing of leadership.
1. A J. Jonah Jameson dynamic in Power Rangers? Interesting. 2. Do you read other fanfiction? If so, I am working on a treatment for Super Megaforce, basically tying the Sentai teams and each ranger to the PR Multiverse
The actual truth behind Sky's dad wearing a time force helmet is a budget issue again. The executive producer, Greg, wanted to design new suits and helmets for Sky's dad and the A Squad. But Disney didn't have enough budget so they let Greg use old helmets and suits. So Greg randomly got the time force helmet and did little add ones. But at that time he didn't know that fans would actually find connection. So its actually Disney's fault.
Thank you for clarifying the Time Force connection. But am I the only one that sees modified Space Ranger helmets on A squad? EDIT: I would also like to see your thoughts on Hyperforce, however that should probably wait until it's finished.
nahte724 my theory is simiar, i always felt that because bio lab were already trying to reberse engineering ranger tech, they would continue to do so and they would not only replicate wes' morpher but use his ranger suit as a template for the suits eventually used by SPD
I am planning on that. What I'll do is create a poll to see which video people want the most after I give my initial thoughts on Super Ninja Steel. Whichever gets the most votes will be next! Side note, it might end up being Wild Force, cause after I made this video, that's where the requests started leaning towards :)
10:14 it's funny that you bring that up because in go busters the sentai that beast morphers is gonna be adapted from has a character of the week who says the rangers do more harm than good
SPD was the only Disney era that kept the mature themes of the show as producers were having a hard time trying to make Dekaranger's plot more kid-friendly. So that's why many things slipped in for this show such as Sky's dad being murdered by Mirloc and the one of the aliens looked like a mobster from The Godfather.
SPD reminds me of FMA03. The first quarter or so is at its best when the government personnel are goofing off, but the pacing suffers later on as a result as the writers struggle to cram in all the stuff they wanted to do with the villains.
Personally, what they did with Sam was just beyond bad; along with Disney not wanting to hire another actor/not wanting to provide extra funds, the team wasn't really happy with dealing with Omega Ranger and tried to push him out of the story as much as possible. I find this pretty unforgivable and inexcusable, because the audience is ultimately the ones loosing out unfairly. Even as a ball of light, Sam should have still been a real character, with growth and development; Phantom Ranger was a suit-only character, yet he was interesting and had development and stuff. If they really didn't like the ball of light thing, repurpose one of the existing characters into a ranger, like Boom or Kat; if not, kitbash and repaint existing monster pieces into an original character and do a Monster-turned-good story or something! It's infuriating because Sam, in my opinion, had the components of a good ranger; he's mysterious, he's pretty powerful, has cool gadgets and weapons... but they did nothing with him and kept pushing him out
I love this review! SPD is my all time favorite season of Power Rangers so I've waited for this. I'm suprised you didn't really touch on Shadow Ranger though, and the character development it related to Commander Krueger's character.
To me, it seemed like Shadow Ranger was more of an extension of Cruger more so than a necessary aspect, so I directed the part 1 conversation about him more towards what he is as a mentor, since even as a Ranger, he never really stopped being that, similar to RJ. But I do wish I could have been more detailed regarding the symbolic nature of him overcoming his past to lend his strength to the current fight. That was most definitely a misstep.
The Disney Brain Your reasoning is sound! And what you just mentioned about overcoming his past comboed with what you'd said in the video about Kat digging into him when neccesesary are perfect assessments!
I think Lupin ranger vs Patranger could make a fun SPD Prequel, right now we're 5 years away from SPD's time setting, if they want to maintain consistency and keep SPD part of the current timeline, we need to at least see mentions of aliens starting to live on Earth, now for LVP being adapted into a prequel, it would pretty muh play out normally, but Cop Pink would go by the name Charlotte, ad the show progresses and they keep trying to catch the thieves and fight the bad guys, she starts off nice, friendly, ad bubbly as a new recruit, but as the battles rage on and she sees them compromising to work with the thieves, as both teams start getting closer as friends and a united team thanks to the perspective of Ranger-X, Charlotte on the other had sucks it up but becomes more cold and mission focused while her team starts to hang out more with the thieves. eventually by the end the 2 teams have become one and in the final battle Charlotte snaps at Cop Red and berates him for compromising their goals, she then stars demanding to be called Charlie, then we see Cruger offer her the role of leading SPD's experimental A-squad. Thus this leads into SPD of present. eventually we could get and SPD, LVP team up where an enemy of LVP returns years later after SPD and the LVP rangers come out of retirement with the old SPD rangers reuniting and Sky giving Jack back the red morpher. But when they ask the LVP team who their pink ranger was, they find Charlie locked up in a cell, and have no choice but to free her. She reluctantly agrees to help them and the theives comment on how it;s weird the cops don't trust one of their own any more, just a funny joke on trust since they didn't trust the theives at first, but now they can't trust Cop Pink. Charlie makes a comment how funny it is to go from red back to pink again, and they wok with the SPD rangers to fight the bad guy, after that it's up in the air if Charlie is redeemed, or goes back to prison. I like this idea because it has a bright young ranger recruit get colder and more serious as the season goes on, and connects to SPD in an awsome way. It also fleshes out one of the A-squad rangers and if the narrative becimes clear, can tell us why the A-squad joined Grumm.
The reason Sam was turned into a ball of light and never unmorphed was Disney fault. I saw a TH-cam bid where the show runner said, Disney refused to give them anymore money to cast a new ranger. They needed a new ranger cuz of all the Japanese zord footage. So they knew they couldn't created a new person and give them a backstory so they were like hey remember Sam. That's why his powers changed
3:19-4:03 I agree Sam should've had more development and more moments with Z after he revealed himself as the Omega ranger because after the reveal they barely interacted with each other through out the rest of the season except for the quick goodbye hug at the end of the last episode. For example my idea for a filler episode with Sam and Z called "Meeting" that could've happened would be that Sam and the other rangers could be walking down a corridor at SPD headquarters and then suddenly they notice Sam's younger self to which Omega ranger Sam quickly turns into a ball of light and fly's away, kid Sam is happy to see Z and the rangers but he wanted to meet the new Omega ranger because he heard stories from the other cadets. Z would later ask why he disappeared and Omega ranger Sam explains that he has to avoid any interaction with his younger self because he might accidently reveal to kid Sam that he is him from the future and that he will ultimately become a power ranger, which could result in kid Sam with this future knowledge accidently make a bad decision at some point in his life that could result in him never becoming a ranger.
Apparently, reason why they made Sam into a ball of light as the Omega Ranger was a production issue. You see, Disney did not and would not let the production crew of S.P.D to hire another actor to play adult Sam, but they had to adapt the footage of Deka Break (that's his Sentai counterpart) and his zord so they came up with the ball of light idea, so that they could implement the character without having to hire a new actor. I still wish they gave him more character development, though.
Or at least gave him a better backstory that dystopian future. Especially since he doesn't really act like he came from a world that's falling apart, honestly.
Seriously, they thought making him a fucking ball of light was a good idea?
I think at some con appearance, Bruce Kalish said something to the effect of "We could have dealt with Sam better"
One thing to keep in mind is that this is they chose to go with Canadian and American actors for the Rangers this season, rather that using at least some local talent from New Zealand. This likely increased costs.
@@carlrood4457 well compared to the other Disney seasons like dino thunder or ninja storm, spd has a much larger cast anyway. Working for a major studio and handling budget is tough. I still love omega ranger though mostly because his powers and suit we're really cool.
I thought this season was good but the story with the A-Squad rangers to me was a let down because you never got to know them so their turn was no surprise. I think that if the A-Squad was around for a while acting as role models and mentors. If you got to know them and like them, their turn would have been way more surprising and make their rivalry much more personal and feel like a much greater hurdle for the B-Squad. That's just how I feel but is a good way to describe the whole season, good but could have been better.
One day, I'll make a video complaining about how the A-Squad were handled.
I agree with you, the last episodes were so rushed. And literally everyone saw the treason from the A Squad since day one.
I totally would love they had developed the A Squad more, maybe giving them personal motivations to join Grumm, and not just "we agree more with Grumm, deal with it"
I can see your point, but it would of probably made the series a bit too long in that regard.
It would also be weird that B-Squad is doing all the fighting while A-Squad is still there
@@pn2294 well they probably shouldn't be doing ALL the fighting. The writers would have to come up with something to give them a reason like "A-Squad is busy with another monster" or "2 membes of A-Squad got injured in their previous mission." I admit it would kinda obvious and messy to write them out but the personal stakes would make it forgivable to me.
There was a nice touch with Bridge becoming the Blue Ranger at the end. Sky needs a more laid back second in command, just like Jack needed a more strict one. It's acknowledging the leader's strengths and weaknesses and setting the command structure accordingly.
The one thing they could have addressed is the general attitude of other SPD officers. Presumably, they get a lot of requests for Ranger duty and two slots hadn't even been filled on the B-squad. Wouldn't assigning two completely untrained people cause some friction? What about the apparent nepotism?
You must realised there was friction it was sky due to his immature attitude the rest had respect already simple.
I really appreciate that insight about leader/lieutenant dynamics! Bridge is my favorite member of this team, and I really enjoy his and Sky's friendship because it's a case of opposites, but I never thought of it exactly like that before.
The problem with PR is that they use super sentai footage for most of the fighting scenes , and for all of the megazord scenes . This led to a more restricted plot as they had to adjust the fighting scenes to the plot of the episode as well.
That's a great theory that the SPD technology was based off of time force's tech. It now makes sense on how Sky's Dad ranger suit was a copy of Wes' morpher.
Production-wise, it's a recycled suit as Disney couldn't afford time and money to recreate another DekaRed suit or do something original.
Quoting Linkara: "Sam... Has no character... He is a ball of light!... Moving On"
Hot damm this season rules, I loved it when I was 14, I still love it now!
Private Eye - En Retrospectiva ikr it's my 2nd fave season after jungle fury
I love Linkara and finding out he was a ranger fan was awesome, HOPR is such a fun series cause of how he reacts to both the good and the bad
@@jordantherider5472 Jungle fury and spd tie as my favorite seasons.
My personal headcannon is That the PR verse Jetmen(Let's call them Power Rangers Winged squadron) are some form of Airforce Division of SPD.
I like that head canon!
If Saban would do that series. Following your head cannon can work.
Looking at Jetman, Jetman had arguably better effects than Zuyranger. If they added some extra CGI to the energy effects and digitally edit out zipper and wires, ect..., it could work as a streaming show.
Personally, I would hope that if they adapt lupinranger versus Patranger, that the patrangers would be a special investigative unit of spd. You could call them the major crimes hunting down the master thieves of the bandit rangera
@@TheDisneyBrain That sounds awesome.
S.P.D. was one the more expensive seasons and it was quickly beginning to go over budget so they couldn't hire another lead actor to play Sam like they originally planned. Voice over costs less so they came up with the ball of light idea. Budget is also the reason Disney decided not to bring Jason Frank back for the team up episode.
My experience with S.P.D was the same. I originally didn't like it that much when it first aired but watching it as an adult made me appreciate how great it really was. Now it's my favorite season in the whole series. However, my main two issues with it are my issues with most other seasons. The writers tend to give 1-3 rangers the bulk of the focus and the rest don't get to do anything important or grow as characters. Also, the writers tend to put their best effort into the first half and the remaining episodes are filled with filler until it's time to wrap things up. A few seasons are exceptions to the rule but most fall into the same trap unfortunately.
Agent Orange From what I could tell, the Disney era actually managed to start making the second half interesting from Mystic Force to RPM (only reason I got through Overdrive, I was never bored by it), Neo-Saban has been trying, but they haven’t figured it out yet.
Yeah, I remember Overdrive & Mystic Force getting much more interesting when they introduced Mack's secret & The Ten Terrors. RPM was still good when Judd Lynn took over but I felt Guzelian's run was a bit stronger. I've given up on expecting Neo-Saban to dramatically improve. I don't know if it's Nickelodeon's fault but it feels like something is holding the series back from reaching the quality of the best Disney & original Saban eras.
Agent Orange RPM’s second half had a different staff so it being a coherent narrative is impressive.
The thing that impresses me the most about RPM is that so many episodes, regardless of what the main plot is, pay attention to the details surrounding previous or upcoming plot points(Such as the tiny bit of Dylan moments in Scott's focus episode). It's not always the case, but several episodes in that season have such a rare layered quality to them, and some seasons have no episodes like that.
While I don't view SPD as my all time favorite, it might have been, if they, as Agent O states, gave more focus to the other characters. Syd could have been other worldly impressive if she went through a paced out character arc, I truly believe that. The reason I favor RPM, Jungle Fury, and Lost Galaxy over SPD is because their characters felt more fully formed, even with only a pair of focus episodes in some instances.
The Disney Brain which is ur favourite.
I don't say this enough, but thank you, all of you. I put everything I had into these last two videos that so many of you wanted, and the responses were some of the most encouraging I've ever seen. And an added thanks to the subs whose insight helped me improve some things in the part 2 script.
Quick notes:
1. A few of you have asked about the Power Rangers fan fictions I write. I'll be posting them(somewhere) very soon. I would love your feedback on those when I do, even if you end up hating the story. I just want to improve as a writer. More details to come in a future update video.
2. After we cover Ninja Storm, I'll probably be making a couple smaller more topic driven videos before I make another large scale review. So more vids similar to the one I made about Scott Truman. I've got some interesting ideas so hopefully you'll all enjoy those too!
The Disney Brain can you please do light speed rescue or in space
The Disney Brain your PR videos are the best
The Disney Brain can you do a full analysis on Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue next please
Improve as a Writer? Your a Word Smith compared to me!! Nothing is ever wrong with your script!! Your awesome DB!😃
You got any thought exercise videos in the works yet?
I really like ur theory on sky's dad an in a way it makes sense even tho we might never know the truth it's fun to think that there really is a time force connection to SPD in one form or another
they straight up have a Time Force Red Ranger in the picture Sky holds.
@@chrisbuttonshaw2088 it was just a reused suit, theres no confirmation
Red Gundam Ranger I think SPD is a prequel to Time Force.
looking back, I think my only real gripes with SPD are Sam being a lame af ball of light and the fact that episodes in the back half were aired out of order. Even the TWO crossover episodes with Dino Thunder were good. Also...I always found Bridge's character quite "buttery" :P lol
i hate wormhole.
Every time I eat toast, I make the hand gesture :P
There should have been a two part team up, nor two single epiaode team ups.
*finger wiggle intensifies*
Is that why Morgana is Mora again in the second team up episode? It was aired out of order?
These videos really make the crap I watched well into my late teens seem well written and meaningful. This season has a special place in my heart.
10:07 if I recall correctly, lightspeed rescue had an episode sort of like that. The higher ups that control lightspeed above Captain Mitchel thought that the rangers were screwing up too much in regards to property damage and civilian injuries so they thought a robotic team would do it better. It fails, hilariously in just a few seconds, and the human team comes and saves the day.
Jack is in my top 3 red rangers of all time! Loved Jack throughout the series and awesome seeing a dread head red ranger!!!
I hope the algorithm blesses this video. That speech at the end made me think With the popularity of invincible, power rangers might take the more mature trend
I'd like to help clarify something for you, just as a tidbit of info (not trying to be a smartass or anything).
The reason Sam is a ball is because the SPD effects team were told they couldn't hire anymore actors and so they decided to go around that angle, as the Omega Ranger couldn't exactly be exempt. At least, that's the story that was told during one of the Rangercons, anyway.
Also, that same Rangercon discussion, the same effects dude said that whatever fan theories you guys have on about the show with costumes being there for whatever reasons, you're probably right because they didn't write it down or care to (Though, I might be confusing that with when they talked about people talking about the plans for Phantom Ranger, though they /did/ write a story for him that they couldn't finish)
That is valuable intel, thanks for sharing! What I thought about but didn't write into the script is finding a way to have Sophie as the Omega Ranger, or even make it so that Kat's focus episode turned her into the perma-seventh Ranger and do away with Sam's involvement entirely.
LordMyko its horsecrap. Utter horsecrap. Cuz im pretty sure special effects are more expensive than hiring actors.
The Disney Brain yeah, all that potential... wasted. But Then again wasted potential is nothing new on power rangers. Especially when the above comment stated the producers outright stated that they didnt care. That kind of apathy for a show like this is not a good thing to have, that kind of apathy became so systemic to this show that megaforce became such an unmitigated mess of untapped potential.
Bobby Torres I work in the film industry myself and eventually towards becoming a producer myself. You would be surprised depending the situation with budget. The problem with SPD is you have too many characters in the main cast for a TV show that already has low budget. Also the effect to do a ball of light like in this case to replace a character is an easy effect and not difficult to do with a low budget. It's not like that effect was done very well to begin with. They had 5 rangers, shadow ranger, Kat, sam, and more. They also killed more budget deciding to do an original character in Grum. Remember the titanium ranger for lightspeed? He barely was on the show because he was an original character and they couldn't use any Sentai or stock footage when he was there.
Warning: Gets pretty rambly about my history with the show around SPD and beyond.
If we count Wild Force as still Saban since they were still in mid-rights transfer, it's pretty incredible how Disney took over. Sure, Ninja Storm was an okay start that was kinda marred by audio issues, somewhat inconsistent accents getting used to the whole New Zealand thing and...well, it being fairly decent at best. Then Dino Thunder and SPD happen and in my opinion, given I like Ninja Storm, Disney was batting a thousand with THREE SEASONS IN A ROW. It's like I completely forgot the show changed hands when it seemingly got better after Wild Force and Ninja Storm were more decent than great to me.
SPD is by far my favorite Disney season, and it and Dino Thunder absolutely rank up there with the best. But...after SPD, I can't legitimately rank any season that came after that. Mystic Force was when I was slowly dropping off the show, and after Overdrive...even I could tell I wasn't enjoying it as much. I flat-out refused to give Jungle Fury a chance when it came out much less RPM, and seeing synopsis of them today I wanna slap myself and say "no, get over the silly theme songs, they're WAY better than Overdrive!"
But I can't rewind the clock, so it's gonna feel like I cheated myself out of a fresh experience. Feels especially painful when I gave Samurai a shot later and...god, the hype wore off fast. Yeah, the song is back, Bulk is back, but...I don't care for it. Then seeing Megaforce be an absolute insult...yeah...if Forever Red could be as good as it was despite massive story cuts and being in the middle of a rights change, Megaforce had no goddamn excuse sucking as much as it did for an entire dual season show. At least seeing Dino Charge being better gives me hope aaaaaaaand we're right back down again seeing Ninja Steel clips. Gah. Oh well, the reboot movie was awesome, least there's that. Oh, and Hyperforce is an awesome thing they're doing! ...That I missed an episode of...so now I need to pray I have Tuesday off work so I can watch it before the next episode that night...idiots thinking people totally have six hours to dump on one show in a single day...UH ANYWAY.
After that complete mess I just made, I'll bring it back to "I love SPD and it's definitely one of my favorite seasons."
This comment is awesome! I felt like I could see you growing up as Power Rangers kept moving forward. For some reason in that head canon of mine you have brown hair, but minor details, lol.
But yeah, I don't think you'll regret giving Jungle Fury and RPM a chance. I'd call both a return to form after the Overdrive debacle and I'd easily rank them among the all time best seasons.
Where’s Jungle Fury? That’s one also one of my favorites.
Thank you for your hard work on this series. I'm glad that your analysis showcased the good and bad while imputing your theories into it. SPD to me shows the conflict between having good characters vs having good rangers. Personally I like characterization more but I understand why some prefer the other. There may be better rangers but the SPD crew will be my favorite characters other than Time Force and Mighty Morphin.
You're very welcome! And not surprisingly, I too prefer great characters over great Rangers.
I'm not the only one that thinks Kat is hot
Jack will always be the definitive S.P.D red, for me
Same
Ive always headcannoned lightspeed and the silver gaurdians coming together to create SPD .
That does make sense.
I think this review was astounding. But did you ever thunk how more relevant and relatable this season is now more than in 2005? By the way the aliens react to S.P.D is exactly how people react to the police now which I think is pretty interesting to look into.
Marcus Phelps I thought this as well. Crazy the similarities between SPD and society now.
I think its just interesting to look into.
I thought about that constantly, which is why I angled that as social subtext. However, I was wary about going too far down that path because that's not really what I do, or try to do. But the parallels to the modern day only make this season that much more forward thinking retroactively.
I completely respect that decision. Its just kinda weird how it turned into one of the more relatable seasons as it got older
People hated the police in 2005 just as much as they do now
Disneybrain, I'd love to see a list ranking the Power Rangers mentors. I actually hadn't thought of how great Doggie made the season until you mentioned it. And considering how little Megaforce's Tiki did, it could be interesting regardless of whether it was best or worst.
I'll probably make a video about the 10 best Supporting Characters. A few Ranger mentors are also Rangers themselves so I'll also talk about some of them in the Added/6th Ranger countdown!
Timothy Washburn gosei was horrible.
I know I'm late to the game but I have a comment on Jack.
He's the one who wants to go back to help out Bridge, Sky, and Sid and risk arrest. Z is resistant, but he's the one who wants to help despite the risk. It's also somewhat implied that the stealing for the poor thing was his idea to begin with, more so than Z. I think that at Jack's base his only goal is to help people. That's his drive, even more than Z. Z wants to change the world, while Jack wants to help on a more individual basis.
That's part of why he doesn't want to join SPD at first. He doesn't view the organization as helpful or understanding. He probably see's the way the aliens and the poor (such as Piggy's clientele) run from SPD and views the organization as counter to his goals.
However Cruger sees that in Jack and understands that his goal is to help individuals. That's why he chooses him as a leader over Sky at first. Sky wants to advance, Jack wants to help. Which is a better quality in a Power Ranger?
The episode where Cruger takes Jack's morpher, Cruger basically forces him to sit and listen to his team struggle, it isn't until then that Jack reacts. Jack needs to view his leadership role as helpful before he can fully embrace it.
Overall, I think this is also why Sky grows to respect him. He sees that Jack's goal is not to usurp him, but to simply be a good citizen. This inspires Sky to improve himself and Sky's goals change as well. He is not longer thinking primarily about advancement, but about the goals of SPD as a whole. In the end, Sky understands that to be helpful to the community, he needs to take whatever role that his commander sees as best for him.
That was way longer than I anticipated. Sorry. I have many opinions.
I'm glad I read this.
Where were you people when this season was airing? Wish I could have met you and also other people who have watched this series and have many opinions.
This season was definitely very well handled from a writing and acting standpoint and also a direction.
Jack and Sky are the Greatest Red-Blue combo ever. The development they bring about in each other is just, chef's kiss
I would pay for a Bridge and Chip team up 👌🏻⚡️
Shark Dude 7 YES PLEASE
Shark Dude 7 + Ziggy.
Lot of jokes
S.P.D is a great show nuff said .
Plus got to love bridge
Do you know what is his favorite part of any song?
great video! really good take on the series. all those future videos sound amazing.
Can't wait for the Ninja Storm vid. It's my second favorite season behind Dino Thunder
Personally, I would love to see a top ten support characters video. People like Miss Fairweather and Fran deserve more attention.
The disrespect of Jack Landers as a leader is blowing my mind
2nd half of SPD's highlight moments also included the SWAT episodes, and especially the one in which Jack and Sky go to space to blow up an asteroid and Jack apparently sacrifices himself.
8:22
He pressed the Carter button again...
LOL, you can't not press the Carter button.
The Disney Brain well you did!
I REALLY like your explanation of SPD and Time Force connection. Now this makes A SENSE.
Keeping a straight face with characters like boom and bridge would be brutal
Great video! Love these.
I was thinking of a series where the evil ranger has to keep his secret from his journalist girlfriend (however this still could be a high school team, but that could just be because my high school’s TV Studio has good tech; maybe better than some universities), then she ends up a ranger ally upon joining the heroes (however, changes his suit entirely; but that is just because I think just using Denziman and Sun Vulcan suits and build from there would cost a lot, but it could be cool [like a storyline where Midoninner shows up while Levi is on tour, leading to Ninja Steel civil war, only solved when Levi introduces the sub surfer zord. Midoninner use could be debated from there]).
Lindsay Yale Entertainment ...what?
Good to see im not the only one who likes bridge
I'll say it again.. Thank you for these reviews. I'll tell you I only grew up watching super sentai (with the exception of the o.g power rangers and that's how I learned English) and ended up being a super sentai purist.. Coz of you, i ended up giving these shows a chance.
Yay! As a fan, that's really all I can ask for :)
Bridge is the hidden MVP of this season, imo. Though Cruger, Sky and Jack are also all top-tier too. I didn't hate the Omega Ranger at all but I didn't find him all that compelling either.
I’m curious what you think Disney Brain, do you like it when the shows start off with smaller three man teams and eventually grows?
There’s not many of those three man teams seasons but when they show up I tend to love them. Most in part because there’s time to develop the original three man ranger team. Build their characters just a little bit and then throw in more Rangers to help build the story.
I like the fact that SPD B Squad starts as a small three man team, even if it was just a brief couple of episodes, of officers who has worked together for some time at least. The change in dynamic by adding to new members off the street definitely added an interesting element earlier on in the season and watching them grow as a team was great.
The Disney Era of Power Rangers would have benefited from having more episodes to help add depth to the story. That’s one thing I wish they did better and that’s have fleshed out multiple episode arcs for stories. I wished Jack didn’t join the team until a few episodes later. Z’s character joining so quickly made a lot of sense. But I would’ve love to see him be far more reluctant to join. Granted it probably would’ve have to been an all US production for those first few episodes but to add more depth it would have been worth it.
Jungle fury in my mind would do wonders if they extend their arcs a bit longer than one episode especially in the earlier episodes, but that’s a whole other discussion.
Overall I just feel like three man teams feels a little more intimate. It feels like you’re actually getting to know the characters and not just have two characters in the background with hardly any development.
I also find myself preferring the smaller team start for all the reasons you mentioned. Jungle Fury is the best example because after we got to know the main three, you add episodes dedicated to understanding RJ's chnaged role after becoming a Ranger and then another two devoted towards understanding Dom's perspective and the team finding a way to fit him in, which also gave Fran an important role with her own more generous initial take on Dom. It all worked well.
I think starting with five is fine, but scattering the arrivals as they do in SPD and in Lost Galaxy works best. Beyond the original which was simply establishing a precedent, I've never been a fan of assembling people all at once because it just feels forced. I guess for Lightspeed that was more of the point, but like with Megaforce, that felt unneeded. Not that they'd bother to develop any of them anyway. But Dino Charge course corrected when they allowed Ty and Shel to go on their own adventure before we ever see Riley. So even with magic gems calling to them, it still felt more organic.
Found your channel a few weeks ago after I decided to watch all of the series I've never seen. I love watching these videos after I finish a series! Keep it up man! :)
Isinia (Cruger's wife) was also never really given much character. Considering the impact she had on Cruger, and for her own sake, I wish she had gotten more properly explored. Still, I get that they had to ration their time and focus for a relatively large cast of main characters.
The hate the fact Sydney and Z and Bridge got little focus. A love story between Syd and Sky would have been good too.
I had the same thoughts about the connection to Time Force. I 100% consider that my headcanon
this was a great video, when i started to watch spd i didnt put much thought in what i was watching and really disliked it, but now i think im going to give it another chance
Can you do a light speed rescue analysis?
Well done on the video. You reminded me of the time when I was looking forward to seeing Power Rangers episodes. Makes me want to go back and rewatch this series.
I just watched this season. Bridge annoyed me for 75% of the season. Probably because we’re both very introverted. But you’re right. He was definitely necessary to the show.
SPD is my number 1 in my top 5 Ranger series
Another beautiful and intriguing analysis, thnks for explaining the connection of sky's father and wes red TFR.. MY favorite spd rangers were jack, cruger, Sam, bridge...
I was really young, and watched S.P.D. religiously when it aired, and flaws and all it was my favourite season growing up. Hell, I still have my morpher that I begged my mum to buy me
I remember talking with a friend back in middle school when the show was air (In Mexico) then he say as a joke "I want to go out of school and watch SPD" and i say "you see it too?", then half of the guys in the classroom where talking about SPD and how different was from past rangers, thanks to that we have an rolling inside joke of doing that morphin movements with our cellphones
one thing I loved about SPD was how the episode titles were simplistic and didnt give away too much on the episode and wasnt a corny pun.
I liked that too. I think by abiding to that format, it forced them to get creative with their titles.
Matthew Pearson i too noticed it. It was something different
That is definitely an interesting story to tell power Rangers tackling The friend or foe plot line of DC's Batman v Superman And it all being fed to the public through a critical journalist like spider man's very own J Jonah Jameson Extra points of the actor behind said critical journalist happens to be The yellow M&M himself JK Simmons
Like others, my only real gripe with this season has to be Sam being a ball of light, otherwise, this season is just an amazing watch for me and I will be proud to watch it over and over again
Ninja Storm! Yes! I think Ninja Storm gave me unreasonable expectations of ninja seasons. >_>;
LOL, you and me both!
The whole Sam as a ball of light thing was so the show could save on budget by not having another actor unlike the sentai version also it helped the writers not having to stretch themselves thin with coming up with new things for another character sense they already had so many.
I love your power ranger videos, can't wait to see more XD
I haven't watched Time Force, so I had no clue who Wes was, so thanks for clarifying that in your theory, which makes more sense just bc I didn't have a clue how the red Time Force ranger looked like in civilian form
A brilliant analysis! A HUGE THUMBS UP! ❤️💯
Thank you!!
Cam is my favorite sixth ranger
You don’t really have much choice lmao
Funny, I was actually gonna request a return to the "Top _ *Insert color here* Rangers" videos…It's like you read my mind. Can't wait to see that video. :)
SPD is a series that really grew on me the more I thought about it…It was always in the middle for me in terms of Disney seasons (and it still is), but the cast is one of my favorites in the franchise, and I love the opening theme way more than I should. It really feels like a spiritual successor to Time Force in the best of ways. :)
Oh, and Bridge is precious. :P
Yeah, haha, I figured it's been a minute since I made a list featuring Rangers, so why not? :D
SPD by far is one of my favorite ranger seasons of all time(the other one being Dino thunder) I loved the show when i was a teen i will never forget the adventures and memories that I had watching SPD watching the rangers grow and all the fight scenes done. I loved the team up episode between SPD and Dino thunder I loved it all, SPD will always be one of my favorite seasons. I can see the pros and cons to this series but I love it no matter what
I like Syd because... reasons...
B O O B S
I like Z better...but i like syd too
Power Rangers needs to try and make another season where two Rangers have that dynamic of growing as characters as their two personalities first bounce off each other and then they slowly learn from each other. When done right it makes some great characters and moments.
Also, I have an idea for the type of character they need to have questioning the Rangers and their actions: a J Jonah Jameson type character. Granted, it might be hard to write one without just blatantly ripping off the character, but I think it would be just the right fit for a show like Power Rangers. He'd be the sort of character everyone loves to hate, with several jokes at his expense occurring throughout the series, but there would also be episodes that show that beneath all the bluster and rants he has a valid point. While he would never be working for the bad guys, and in fact probably be against them just as much as he's against the Rangers, he would serve as a sort of secondary antagonist throughout the series, one that makes the public and sometimes even the Rangers question if they are doing the right thing.
One last thing for the Disney Brain: don't let Doctor K hear you calling the suits "spandex"! (unless you have a burning desire to find out what it's like to scrub clean the floors of a garage with a toothbrush)
I would love to see that kind of character. Assuming the movie sequel is still happening, which it still could based on ongoing merchandising, they would have the best shot at making such a reality possible. Their heroics were on the news at the end of the movie, and in today's world, it wouldn't take long to eventually grab national headlines. And more to the point, not every news outlet would see them as heroes.
LOL, and don't worry, when I finally review RPM, I will do my best to avoid the S-word ;)
The movies would be an interesting place to put this type of character, and the producers might not feel like they were going out on such a limb since it looked like they were trying to make the movie something mature audiences could enjoy too. Still, I'm not sure if 2 hours and change would be enough time to effectively develop that character, unless they had a whole series already lined up, which I don't think is that likely imao.
Honestly I'm not sure Neo-Saban would be willing to jump out of their nice formulaic comfort zone though. I admit I haven't been keeping up with the new series, but nothing I saw when they were still showing it on Nick gives me any confidence in them. Dare to dream, I suppose.
Also, something I meant to ask last time, why so little on Doggy Kruger? I'd figure the arc leading to him becoming the Shadow Ranger would have gotten some attention at least.
For whatever reason, the complete Shadow Ranger arc seemed self explanatory in terms of why Doggie was able to suit up again, but even then, it's something that probably should have warranted more attention. But I guess it's a blessing in disguise, since now when I talk about Cruger during my 6th Rangers top 10, it won't feel like I'm repeating myself as much.
The whole "Sam is a ball of light" thing was a cost saving measure, apparently they didnt have enough money to hire another actor. I personally think they shouldve just made the Omega Ranger a robot in order to better justify his total lack of any personality, but thats just me. As it stands, i think the Omega Ranger plot is one of the few weakpoints SPD has. The whole Omni thing is another downside, that kinda ruined Gruum imo
Boom should have been the Omega Ranger
Ugh this is not why I subscribed! You the Disney Brain! I loved your original videos! I’m not a power ranger person but if this what you like doing then great! I’ll share this channel to my brother! I appreciate for you doing something new and I’m not hating!
When I was really little, I used to play a game with my cousin where we’d punch a soccer ball to each other when we sat down. I’d always say ‘fist of iron’ before hand. I didn’t know where I got it from until I got older and rewatched SPD.
In hindsight, the fact that they made the red ranger and the leader of the team of POLICE rangers a black man and an inmigrant (alien) respectively, was a very good choice.
Specially with all the messed up crap happening right now (june of 2020).
Way before all the crap we have going on right in today's world uh?
@@ZephyrBW well, I mean, it's nothing new right? Sadly. It just got more visibility now.
@@Nparalelo Yeah. But it got very out of control, people twist it to their own advantage
that was fast! and cool as always, and i hope ypu do thematic analysis with super sentai!
However I do have a question, could Beast Hunter Zeek from GOGOV work in VR Trooper/Metal Hero (i think the only Metal Heroes that are not troopers are Jiryia, the Bettleborgs shows, and another insectoid team between those [kiddie shows aren’t cannon]) universe? (like use Space 18 as a Halloween special where 2 rangers get sucked in the VR Troopers arcade game where they meet the VR Troopers, even the other Space Cops [Gaven], and they end up trying to break out of the Shogun’s Curse on the game)
Im surprised you didn't have a piece of narrative about Piggy. Besides the line you mentioned in part 1. His overall narrative was needed in SPD since his growth was there too even in a comedic role.
I thought about including him, but I felt like that line was really his most valuable contribution on a narrative level. He is very important to the story, but I felt like the subtle irony of a super powerful organization like SPD needing to go to him for information every time a situation came up spoke for itself.
I sort of disagree with you analysis of Jack. Clashing with higher ups doesn't make you a bad leader. Jack defends his team against anyone when it is warranted. Almost every time he clashed with Crueger or Sky he was right. He is probably by far one of the BEST red rangers. Being a kid from the street learning to lead a police force destroying Grumms master plan. Not only that Jack was willing to sacrifice himself to destroy the asteroid. I don't see many red rangers who had a better showing of leadership.
1. A J. Jonah Jameson dynamic in Power Rangers? Interesting. 2. Do you read other fanfiction? If so, I am working on a treatment for Super Megaforce, basically tying the Sentai teams and each ranger to the PR Multiverse
I watched it as it came out and was instantly hooked
HA!
Bridge was my favorite as well.
His existence made seeing Dax even worse.
The actual truth behind Sky's dad wearing a time force helmet is a budget issue again. The executive producer, Greg, wanted to design new suits and helmets for Sky's dad and the A Squad. But Disney didn't have enough budget so they let Greg use old helmets and suits. So Greg randomly got the time force helmet and did little add ones.
But at that time he didn't know that fans would actually find connection. So its actually Disney's fault.
Best PR series ever! By far...
Sky is my favorite blue ranger because he has a compelling arc and development
Thank you for clarifying the Time Force connection. But am I the only one that sees modified Space Ranger helmets on A squad? EDIT: I would also like to see your thoughts on Hyperforce, however that should probably wait until it's finished.
nahte724 my theory is simiar, i always felt that because bio lab were already trying to reberse engineering ranger tech, they would continue to do so and they would not only replicate wes' morpher but use his ranger suit as a template for the suits eventually used by SPD
it is.
Ummm, can you do a video on Lightspeed? It's probably the most overlooked season of ALL time
I am planning on that. What I'll do is create a poll to see which video people want the most after I give my initial thoughts on Super Ninja Steel. Whichever gets the most votes will be next! Side note, it might end up being Wild Force, cause after I made this video, that's where the requests started leaning towards :)
10:14 it's funny that you bring that up because in go busters the sentai that beast morphers is gonna be adapted from has a character of the week who says the rangers do more harm than good
My Favorite ranger from SPD is The Shadow Ranger he is awesome and is probably the best Mentor in Power Rangers for me
SPD was the only Disney era that kept the mature themes of the show as producers were having a hard time trying to make Dekaranger's plot more kid-friendly. So that's why many things slipped in for this show such as Sky's dad being murdered by Mirloc and the one of the aliens looked like a mobster from The Godfather.
This one is my favorite season oficina all
I'm so glad you did this video. Loved spd
Whatever anyone says about Jack he's the one who bought me into this power rangers fandom
Same
The omega ranger was set as a ball of light because disney didnt want to pay anyone else and it was cheaper
Thanks. You just gave me an idea for my fic Lost City II. The outside news giving their thoughts on a destroyed Angel Grove
SPD reminds me of FMA03. The first quarter or so is at its best when the government personnel are goofing off, but the pacing suffers later on as a result as the writers struggle to cram in all the stuff they wanted to do with the villains.
Personally, what they did with Sam was just beyond bad; along with Disney not wanting to hire another actor/not wanting to provide extra funds, the team wasn't really happy with dealing with Omega Ranger and tried to push him out of the story as much as possible. I find this pretty unforgivable and inexcusable, because the audience is ultimately the ones loosing out unfairly.
Even as a ball of light, Sam should have still been a real character, with growth and development; Phantom Ranger was a suit-only character, yet he was interesting and had development and stuff. If they really didn't like the ball of light thing, repurpose one of the existing characters into a ranger, like Boom or Kat; if not, kitbash and repaint existing monster pieces into an original character and do a Monster-turned-good story or something!
It's infuriating because Sam, in my opinion, had the components of a good ranger; he's mysterious, he's pretty powerful, has cool gadgets and weapons... but they did nothing with him and kept pushing him out
Can you make a video just ripping into alien rangers
I love this review! SPD is my all time favorite season of Power Rangers so I've waited for this. I'm suprised you didn't really touch on Shadow Ranger though, and the character development it related to Commander Krueger's character.
To me, it seemed like Shadow Ranger was more of an extension of Cruger more so than a necessary aspect, so I directed the part 1 conversation about him more towards what he is as a mentor, since even as a Ranger, he never really stopped being that, similar to RJ. But I do wish I could have been more detailed regarding the symbolic nature of him overcoming his past to lend his strength to the current fight. That was most definitely a misstep.
The Disney Brain Your reasoning is sound! And what you just mentioned about overcoming his past comboed with what you'd said in the video about Kat digging into him when neccesesary are perfect assessments!
I remember I didn't like this season when I was a kid and first watched it. Revisiting it, I see that it is one of the better ones.
I think Lupin ranger vs Patranger could make a fun SPD Prequel, right now we're 5 years away from SPD's time setting, if they want to maintain consistency and keep SPD part of the current timeline, we need to at least see mentions of aliens starting to live on Earth, now for LVP being adapted into a prequel, it would pretty muh play out normally, but Cop Pink would go by the name Charlotte, ad the show progresses and they keep trying to catch the thieves and fight the bad guys, she starts off nice, friendly, ad bubbly as a new recruit, but as the battles rage on and she sees them compromising to work with the thieves, as both teams start getting closer as friends and a united team thanks to the perspective of Ranger-X, Charlotte on the other had sucks it up but becomes more cold and mission focused while her team starts to hang out more with the thieves. eventually by the end the 2 teams have become one and in the final battle Charlotte snaps at Cop Red and berates him for compromising their goals, she then stars demanding to be called Charlie, then we see Cruger offer her the role of leading SPD's experimental A-squad. Thus this leads into SPD of present. eventually we could get and SPD, LVP team up where an enemy of LVP returns years later after SPD and the LVP rangers come out of retirement with the old SPD rangers reuniting and Sky giving Jack back the red morpher. But when they ask the LVP team who their pink ranger was, they find Charlie locked up in a cell, and have no choice but to free her. She reluctantly agrees to help them and the theives comment on how it;s weird the cops don't trust one of their own any more, just a funny joke on trust since they didn't trust the theives at first, but now they can't trust Cop Pink. Charlie makes a comment how funny it is to go from red back to pink again, and they wok with the SPD rangers to fight the bad guy, after that it's up in the air if Charlie is redeemed, or goes back to prison. I like this idea because it has a bright young ranger recruit get colder and more serious as the season goes on, and connects to SPD in an awsome way. It also fleshes out one of the A-squad rangers and if the narrative becimes clear, can tell us why the A-squad joined Grumm.
My favourite SPD Rangers:
Bridge Carson
Doggie Cruger
Sam
Did anyone else notice the Aquatian at 1:30! Aquatar made its way to spd!
The reason Sam was turned into a ball of light and never unmorphed was Disney fault. I saw a TH-cam bid where the show runner said, Disney refused to give them anymore money to cast a new ranger. They needed a new ranger cuz of all the Japanese zord footage. So they knew they couldn't created a new person and give them a backstory so they were like hey remember Sam. That's why his powers changed
3:19-4:03 I agree Sam should've had more development and more moments with Z after he revealed himself as the Omega ranger because after the reveal they barely interacted with each other through out the rest of the season except for the quick goodbye hug at the end of the last episode.
For example my idea for a filler episode with Sam and Z called "Meeting" that could've happened would be that Sam and the other rangers could be walking down a corridor at SPD headquarters and then suddenly they notice Sam's younger self to which Omega ranger Sam quickly turns into a ball of light and fly's away, kid Sam is happy to see Z and the rangers but he wanted to meet the new Omega ranger because he heard stories from the other cadets.
Z would later ask why he disappeared and Omega ranger Sam explains that he has to avoid any interaction with his younger self because he might accidently reveal to kid Sam that he is him from the future and that he will ultimately become a power ranger, which could result in kid Sam with this future knowledge accidently make a bad decision at some point in his life that could result in him never becoming a ranger.