History YMMV / PowerRangersDinoThunder

* EvilIsSexy: Elsa is a menacing figure who oftentimes wears a tight leather top. Also makes for a HotTeacher in the form of Principal Randall.

** "Fighting Spirit" has Tommy fighting his past three Ranger forms in what appears to be a dream. The comic ''[[ComicBook/MightyMorphinPowerRangersShatteredGrid Shattered Grid]]'' has an evil version of Tommy killing different versions of himself across the multiverse. Lord Drakkon could also be considered a terrifying look at how much death and suffering Tommy and all evil Rangers we've seen across the series could have done if they weren't either turned good or destroyed before they became far more dangerous.

** The Dino Thunder teens meeting Tommy's previous teammates is probably the most popular Dino Thunder fanfic plot.

** Hey remember the Mighty Morphin line, [[MemeticMutation "Too much pink energy]] [[{{Narm}} is dangerous?"]] Well, turns out that there's a ''reason'' that you might not want two rangers of the exact same color and powerset using the morphing grid at the same time.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-TJuQOvDQw The theme song]] is a stirring, distinctive piece of rock-and-roll. Funnily enough it's also the only one in the franchise' 3 decade long history to never mention the word "go" in any capacity. '''DINO RANGERS ROAR, POWER RANGERS SCORE, SAVE US FROM THOSE EVIL FORCES, WIN!!! ([[TitleDrop POWER RANGERS DINO THUNDER]])'''

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-TJuQOvDQw The theme song]] is a stirring, distinctive piece of rock-and-roll. Funnily enough it's also the only one in the franchise' nearly 3 secade long history to never mention the word "go" in any capacity. '''DINO RANGERS ROAR, POWER RANGERS SCORE, SAVE US FROM THOSE EVIL FORCES, WIN!!! ([[TitleDrop POWER RANGERS DINO THUNDER]])'''

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Hey remember the Mighty Morphin line, [[MemeticMutation "Too much pink energy]] [[{{Narm}} is dangerous?"]] Well, turns out that there's a ''reason'' that you might not want two rangers of the exact same color and powerset using the morphing grid at the same time.
* HarsherInHindsight:

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** Those who have complained about [[Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm Lothor's]] status as a villain being a mere joke have warmed up to Mesogog, a genuinely terrifying villain with a lot of depth.
** [[BrokenBase Depending on who you ask]], the series as a whole can be seen as this with the re-introduction of Tommy.

* HilariousInHindsight: Tommy's morpher this season is a two-piece device that requires him to insert a key into a wrist brace. This is the same setup as in ''Series/GoseiSentaiDairanger'', which only got one of the six Ranger suits in ''Power Rangers''. Guess who wore that suit?
** It's also the same setup for the Turbo Morphers.
** In "Fighting Spirit", three Rangers, one red, another white, the other green, gave their powers to someone in a near-death experience. The same thing happens to [[SixthRanger Gai]] in ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger''. Bonus points for the Green Ranger being the same one in Gokaiger.

** Kira's sonic scream and a love of music prompted [[WebVideo/HistoryOfPowerRangers Linkara]] to compare her to DC's ComicBook/BlackCanary. In 2015, DC launched a Black Canary solo book where Dinah was part of a rock band.
** This season has a ShipTease between Trent, a male White Ranger and Kira, a female Yellow Ranger that went nowhere. However, ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaSteel'' has a male Yellow Ranger and female White Ranger as an OfficialCouple. Not only that, but they are the first couple and so far only couple in ''Power Rangers'' history to be in a relationship from beginning of their season all the way to the end. Oh and the name of the female White Ranger? [[OneSteveLimit Hayley]].

*** Kira's line of "You're alive" when Tommy was simply just in a coma is now harder to listen to, seeing that Creator/JasonDavidFrank passed away in real life. Not helped by the fact that Tommy’s Red Zeo Ranger self said “he got a lot of fight left but wonders whether it is enough” during the test and “he was not fighting them but for his life” after the test reveal whereas Tommy's White Ranger self said that Tommy’s "will to live is stronger than any Ranger power" after the character test reveal and lastly Tommy's Green Ranger self told Tommy to "give up" before the character test reveal. [[CharacterOutlivesActor Tommy did not give up but Jason David Frank unfortunately did and lost his will to live after losing his fight against life due to his depression, lawsuit by Shayla Frank’s biological father and his divorce with his now ex-wife Tammie Frank]].

*** Kira's line of "You're alive" when Tommy was simply just in a coma is now harder to listen to, seeing that Creator/JasonDavidFrank passed away in real life. Not helped by the fact that Tommy’s Red Zeo Ranger self said “he got a lot of fight left but wonders whether it is enough” and “he was not fighting them but for his life” whereas Tommy's White Ranger self said that Tommy’s "will to live is stronger than any Ranger power" after the character test reveal and lastly Tommy's Green Ranger self told Tommy to "give up" before the character test reveal. [[CharacterOutlivesActor Tommy did not give up but Jason David Frank unfortunately did and lost his will to live after losing his fight against life due to his depression, lawsuit by Shayla Frank’s biological father and his divorce with his now ex-wife Tammie Frank]].

*** Kira's line of "You're alive" when Tommy was simply just in a coma is now harder to listen to, seeing that Creator/JasonDavidFrank passed away in real life. Not helped by the fact that Tommy’s Red Zeo Ranger self said “he got a lot of fight left but wonders whether it is enough” and “he was not fighting them but for his life” whereas Tommy's White Ranger self said that Tommy’s "will to live is stronger than any Ranger power" and lastly Tommy's Green Ranger self told Tommy to "give up" before it was revealed that it was a test. [[CharacterOutlivesActor Tommy did not give up but Jason David Frank unfortunately did and lost his will to live after losing his fight against life due to his depression, lawsuit by Shayla Frank’s biological father and his divorce with his now ex-wife Tammie Frank]].

*** Kira's line of "You're alive" when Tommy was simply just in a coma is now harder to listen to, seeing that Creator/JasonDavidFrank passed away in real life. Not helped by the fact that Tommy’s Red Zeo Ranger self said “he got a lot of fight left but wonders whether it is enough” and “he was not fighting them but for his life” whereas Tommy's White Ranger self said that Tommy’s will to live is stronger than any Ranger power. [[CharacterOutlivesActor Tommy did not give up but Jason David Frank unfortunately did and lost his will to live after losing his fight against life due to his depression, lawsuit by Shayla Frank’s biological father and his divorce with his now ex-wife Tammie Frank]].

*** Kira's line of "You're alive" when Tommy was simply just in a coma is now harder to listen to, seeing that Creator/JasonDavidFrank passed away in real life. Not helped by the fact that Tommy’s Red Zeo Ranger self said “he got a lot of fight left but wonders whether it is enough” and “he was not fighting them but for his life” whereas Tommy's White Ranger self said that Tommy’s will to live is stronger than any Ranger power. [[CharacterOutlivesActor Tommy did not give up but Jason David Frank unfortunately did and lost his will to live after losing his fight against life due to his depression, lawsuit by Shayla Frank’s biological father and her divorce with his now ex-wife Tammie Frank]].

*** Kira's line of "You're alive" when Tommy was simply just in a coma is now harder to listen to, seeing that Creator/JasonDavidFrank passed away in real life. Not helped by the fact that Tommy’s Red Zeo Ranger self said “he got a lot of fight left but wonders whether it is enough” and Tommy's Green Ranger self said that “he was not fighting them but for his life”. [[CharacterOutlivesActor Tommy did not give up but Jason David Frank unfortunately did]].

*** Kira's line of "You're alive" when Tommy was simply just in a coma is now harder to listen to, seeing that Creator/JasonDavidFrank passed away in real life. Not helped by the fact that Tommy's Green Ranger self said that he was not fighting them but for his life. [[CharacterOutlivesActor Tommy did not give up but Jason David Frank unfortunately did]].

* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Kira. She is not just the only female, but the only ranger ''period'' to fight with 2 veteran rangers (Tommy and Adam), the first Yellow Ranger to appear beyond her core season without her teammates, and has shared screentime with more rangers than any other female ''in the entire franchise''. Not bad for a Disney-era ranger! Especially when you consider she operates under the same team with Tommy... [[JustForFun/ComeForTheXStayForTheY Come for Tommy, stay for Kira]] is pretty much a proper description here.
** Hell, to an extent, ''all'' the rangers are some of the most loved in the franchise, especially as a team. There's a reason many fans consider either this or ''SPD'' the ''[[Series/PowerRangersTimeForce Time Force]]'' of the Disney Era, and many were subsequently annoyed when no Dino Thunder actors were brought back for ''Super Megaforce'' (Tommy only wore his Green Ranger outfit).
** Mesogog is one of the most beloved villains since Ransik. His complete monotone behavior for the majority of the season combined with his sheer creepiness factor helps out.
** As of now, Cassidy and Devin are seen as the only comedic-duo in the franchise that have come close to living up to [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers Bulk and Skull]] since they go through a lot of CharacterDevelopment and aren't just cardboard cutouts of the characters they were based on. It also helps that they're the only ones who have successfully captured the rangers secret identity on their own ([[TookALevelInKindness though they chose to turn it down for the sake of the team]]).

** A lot of fanfics explore the effect that being BrainwashedAndCrazy and hurting innocent people against his will would have had on Trent's mind.
** Tommy as a flawed man whose mentorship is shown to be imperfect is also a very common plot for Dino Thunder fics given his hand in the creation of the Tyrannodrones and the Fossilator. The implications of this for his relationship with his previous teammates is also addressed. (Oddly, ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' would later partly do this plot for real with Doctor K, a flawed doctor mentor whose inventions were used by the series BigBad).
** The Dino Thunder teens meeting Tommy's previous teammates is also a favorite fanfic plot.

* FanPreferredCouple: Kira/Conner and Kira/Tommy are more liked than Kira/Trent

** Early on in the series, Conner expressed a disinterest in being a superhero and wanted to leave to continue pursuing a career as a soccer player before saving a little girl made him realize how important the Power Rangers are. In real life, James Napier admits he took the role to pay for film school and, sometime after the SPD team up, left acting in general to pursue a career as a director and writer. He has since then made it no secret he doesn't think fondly of his time on the show and has had no involvement with fans since.
** This season [[Series/PowerRangersRPM would not be the last time]] that ''Power Rangers'' featured a doctor mentor whose inventions were used by the series BigBad. [[spoiler: But Doctor K's role in actually ''inventing'' the BigBad itself -- and her resulting guilt over the fallout -- was [[ApocalypseHow a million times worse]] than Tommy's]].

** The ShipTease between Trent, a male White Ranger and Kira, a female Yellow Ranger. ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaSteel'' has a male Yellow Ranger and female White Ranger as an OfficialCouple. Not only that, but they are the first couple and so far only couple in ''Power Rangers'' history to be in a relationship from beginning of their season to the end. Oh and the name of the female White Ranger? [[OneSteveLimit Hayley]].

** His adopted son, Trent, qualifies as well. He loses his biological parents in a cave-in, his relationship with Anton is shown to be rather strained. He falls under the influence of the evil white dino gem which nearly destroys his friendship with the Rangers and when his father's secret is revealed Trent faces being forced to give up his morpher. It's really hard to watch him go though all this, especially given how much he wanted to be a superhero himself.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The Replicantzord. It is unceremoniously summoned out of nowhere by Mesogog, easily defeated when the Rangers' Zords throw their finishers at it, after which it turns into a giant version of the previously defeated Ugly Monster. The fact that Mesogog summoned a copy of the Rangers' Megazord isn't mentioned throughout the rest of the battle. This is in part due to the mecha in question being the main threat of ''Abarangers's'' TheMovie and its appearance in the series being a small cameo. As the movie was never adapted, the small cameo makes up the entirety of its screen time.

* HoYay: Ethan/Trent, also known as [[PortmanteauCoupleName Trethan]].

* {{Narm}}: The stereoscopic scenes in Drawn into Danger, which only makes the fight scenes somewhat worse if you watched the original source material.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The Replicantzord. It is unceremoniously summoned out of nowhere by Mesogog, easily defeated when the Rangers' Zords throw their finishers at it, after which it turns into a giant version of the previously defeated Ugly Monster. The fact Mesogog summoned a copy of the Rangers' Megazord isn't mentioned throughout the rest of the battle. This is in part due to the mecha in question being the main threat of ''Abarangers's'' TheMovie and its appearance in the series being a small cameo. As the movie was never adapted, the small cameo makes up the entirety of its screen time.

* DesignatedVillain: Frigida from "Drawn Into Danger". She isn't associated with Mesogog or Zeltrax, only wanting to defeat the rangers for intruding her Kingdom.

** Kira. She is the not just the only female, but the only ranger ''period'' to fight with 2 veteran rangers (Tommy and Adam), the first Yellow Ranger to appear beyond her core season without her teammates, and has shared screentime with more rangers than any other female ''in the entire franchise''. Not bad for a Disney era ranger! Especially when you consider she operates under the same team with Tommy... [[JustForFun/ComeForTheXStayForTheY Come for Tommy, stay for Kira]] is pretty much a proper description here.

* FanWank: How Tommy got that [=PhD=] in archaeology in the first place. A theory goes that when he had his brain scrambled by Prince Gasket in ''Series/PowerRangersZeo'', he gained the ability to detect temporal anomalies and (briefly) see into the future. Thus, the ability to see the future also allows him to see the past, giving him near-perfect historical knowledge as well as just generally boosting his intelligence.

** The Dino Thunder teens meeting Tommy's previous teammates is also a favorite fanfic plot.

* FoeYay: Elsa/Principal Randall, with Tommy.

** Tommy as a flawed man whose mentorship is shown to be imperfect is also a very common plot for Dino Thunder fics given his hand in the creation of the Tyrannodrones and the Fossilator. The implications of this for his relationship with his previous teammates is also addressed. (Oddly, ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' would later partly do this plot for real with Doctor K, a flawed doctor mentor [[spoiler: who played a role in creating the series BigBad]]).

** This season [[Series/PowerRangersRPM would not be the last time]] that ''Power Rangers'' featured a doctor mentor [[spoiler: who played a role in creating the BigBad. But Doctor K's role -- and her resulting guilt over the fallout -- was [[ApocalypseHow a million times worse]] than Tommy's]].

** Tommy as a flawed man whose mentorship is shown to be imperfect is also a very common plot for Dino Thunder fics given his hand in the creation of the Tyrannodrones and the Fossilator. The implications of this for his relationship with his previous teammates is also addressed. Oddly, ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' would later do this plot for real with Doctor K, another doctor mentor [[spoiler: who played a role in creating the series BigBad]].

** Tommy as a flawed man whose mentorship is shown to be imperfect is also a very common plot for Dino Thunder fics given his hand in the creation of the Tyrannodrones and the Fossilator. The implications of this for his relationship with his previous teammates is also addressed.