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HalfFaust Since: Jan, 2019
#6976: Dec 28th 2024 at 8:31:42 AM

The MMPR movie was very much of its time, really trying to ride the boom of popularity they had going.

If we somehow do get another big PR movie, I fear it would just go the same way as the 2017 one; reboot the original, make some attempts to 'modernise' it, fail to capture a lot of the spark people actually like about it. And then, unless it somehow miraculously manages to make very good money, drop the franchise again. I liked the 2017 movie more than most PR fans, but it is something of a cautionary tale.

Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#6977: Dec 28th 2024 at 8:44:11 AM

fail to capture a lot of the spark people actually like about it

I feel this statement is kind of missing the point. Coz like, what's "The spark" here?

MMPR as a show was for the most part poorly written, poorly acted, with grainy footage and editing worthy of a chainsaw.

The "spark" that made MMPR big was that in the west, there was nothing like Power Rangers at the time. That's how Power Rangers killed the monolith that were the ninja turtles. There had never been an action, stunt heavy show in live action aimed at kids in the west. And even animated action shows tended to have very little in way of fight choreography and generally just had more slapstick fights.

It's also why no subsequent PR shows, event the ones who are better shows than MMPR on all metrics (which is, frankly, most of them), never reached the level of popularity and cultural zeitgeist that MMPR ever did. It's why if you walk to a rando and you ask them about Power Rangers, they think of Tommy or Jason or Billy or any of the MMPR crew, and not, like, Carter or Jen or Dillon.

You can't recapture "the spark" because "the spark" was a once in a moment thing. It's not recapturable without a time machine. A Power Rangers movie has to live in the same space as MCU films, and countless other action PG films and compete with them for the audience.

I actually think the 2017 movie chose a brilliant approach by trying to focus on the "group of disparate teenagers" aspect with a sort of The Breakfast Club approach. That's the best part of the movie. Coz that's what you don't get from other movies. The Power Rangers part, where they get into costumes and fight a monster? That part you can get from countless movies.

MMPR works best as a tv show where there's still very little competition in the "Action stuff aimed at kids (Especially in live action)". You also have time to build up the villain and have the monster of the weeks fight and introduce the Rangers' arsenal. Though nowadays its facing competition from the fact that animated shows tend to have way more engaging action (and PR's reliance on often dodgy CGI means the line between animated and live action got a lot more thin)

Edited by Ghilz on Dec 28th 2024 at 12:00:31 PM

ShiningStardust Since: Jun, 2017
#6978: Dec 28th 2024 at 9:11:19 AM

I wonder if they just keep rehashing MMPR because they are chasing that impossible repeat of a spark.

Even though, to capture a (new) spark, it's logically more likely to happen with a new show than a rehash of the same show again and again. That's why Sentai works - they aren't afraid to try new things every year. Compared to now, Power Rangers as a franchise was doing just fine back when they are still doing continuous 35+ episodes seasons of proper Sentai adaptation.

Edited by ShiningStardust on Dec 29th 2024 at 12:14:02 AM

Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#6979: Dec 28th 2024 at 9:19:53 AM

I think they keep rehashing MMPR because MMPR is the one people know.

Non PR fans don't know about Time Force, about RPM, about Dino Charge.

They know who Tommy, Jason, Zack, Billy, Trini and Kimberly are.

They know who Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa are, they don't know who Mesogog or Ransik are.

If you're trying to make a big expensive special effects heavy movie and you want to cash in on as huge an audience as possible, you're going to go for the nostalgia factor.

Compared to now, Power Rangers as a franchise was doing just fine back when they are still doing continuous 35+ episodes seasons of proper Sentai adaptation.

Was it though? All the way in the disney years, there were complaints about how much the show cost to make, and how they should try to minimize original footage. All the way back to Wild Force. This doesn't speak to a franchise that was doing particularly well and seeing huge numbers.

The fact that the franchise keeps getting sold also sort of speaks to it not being particularly profitable. If it was a cash cow, people wouldn't keep handing it off.

Sentai exists in completely different cultural context. It's a show that's for one, much older, and who never was just one continuity. From the get go, all Sentai shows were their own thing - heck, the franchise was born retroactively. They were 3 shows deep when they decided "Okay, this is a franchise now"

Meaning PR committed to the one ongoing story for the entirety of the Zordon Era, like, the first half a dozen seasons.

Edited by Ghilz on Dec 28th 2024 at 12:24:16 PM

HalfFaust Since: Jan, 2019
#6980: Dec 28th 2024 at 11:33:18 AM

I don't think the average non-PR-fan even knows that much about MMPR. If they watched it as a kid they might remember those details sure, but if they didn't or they've just forgotten enough they're unlikely to have anything more than looking at the suits and recognising "Power Ranger". Even then, I think part of the reason people remember it is the significant push the owners made for nostalgia baiting - it didn't really break into mainstream culture at all (does a Macy's Thanksgiving balloon count?), but there was enough content in comics, games, etc to keep it faintly relevant in 'geek culture'. Also parents of kids watching the then-current shows, to some extent.

"Spark" is perhaps an exageration, but it is fundamentally an action franchise. Cool looking suits, zords, villains, etc are all part of the charm. PR needs a good dose of that to feel like PR. I don't object to the whole "teenagers with actual attitude" part; it actually meshes pretty well with the whole power of friendship theme - but there's a limit of how much of that people want to watch without sufficent contrast.

I ultimately don't think PR is a great fit for a mainstream movie adaptation, but that really doesn't seem to stop a lot of companies.

Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#6981: Dec 28th 2024 at 11:58:47 AM

I don't think the average non-PR-fan even knows that much about MMPR.

Obviously, sample bias, but I have plenty of people I know who have never watched anything Power Rangers related but MMPR, if even that, and they absolutely recognize stuff like the name "Zordon" or the OG Megazord on sight. So I definitely see those as having a presence outside the fandom. MMPR at its peak was huge in a way childrens shows just aren't anymore.

I would also again on the "it's an action franchise. Cool looking suits, zords, villains, etc are all part of the charm" I point to the 2017 movie. That's by and large the stuff people didn't resonate with. It's generally regarded as when the movie gets bad. And it's not because it's particularly badly done, it's just... not interesting. The suits and robots are interesting to fans, but to a general audience... you can get something similar anywhere. Half the MCU is guys in suits fighting monsters. What makes PR exceptional on that front? Nothing. It's remarkable on a TV format in the 90s. And in the modern day it's barely remarkable on TV, and not at all in movies.

I ultimately don't think PR is a great fit for a mainstream movie adaptation, but that really doesn't seem to stop a lot of companies.

That I agree with. I do think it's foolish for Paramount to hitch their hopes on Power Rangers lol.

Edited by Ghilz on Dec 28th 2024 at 3:10:13 PM

Mizerous Pet Owner from Hell Since: Oct, 2013 Relationship Status: Brewing the love potion
Pet Owner
#6982: Dec 28th 2024 at 2:38:41 PM

Rehashing MMPR especially Zedd and Rita is like using Bowser and Ganon sure they're well known but that's not much variety.

Just Makima.
AegisP Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man
#6983: Dec 28th 2024 at 2:42:24 PM

To be truly fully honest, there HAVE BEEN mighty popular seasons not named MMPR, Samurai was a huge hit, no matter how much the old guard hated it. The problem is that everyone in charge of PR wants nothing more than just regurgitate MMPR. There have been big hits on PR.

As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.
Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#6984: Dec 28th 2024 at 3:31:18 PM

I think Big Hits is relative.

Samurai was a hit, compared to most seasons of PR, sure.

But like, Samurai didn't really penetrate outside its core audience or existing PR fans who still watch the show.

And I'm not calling it a failure. It did fine. But have it this way: You have one season that became a cultural touchstone. And one season that did okay numbers with kids. Which one are you going to adapt? You gotta convince a bunch of investors to drop a few millions on your project, it's gonna be a lot easier to sell them the cultural touchstone one than the one that did okay numbers (and we got one of the comic relief guys from the cultural touchstone season back and he's the best part of the did good numbers season)

And you might say "Oh, how can you say Samurai wasn't as big as MMPR?" Well, when Death Battle picks to do an episode with Power Rangers, they sure as fuck didn't pick Samurai. When Batinthesun decided to make a live action Ruy Vs Power Rangers fight, they picked Tommy, not someone from Samurai.

You might say "Oh the franchises rehashes MMPR only" but I'll point out that by and large, non fans also default to referencing MMPR. It's a measurable fact. Go in AO 3, Power Rangers Samurai has 498 hits. MMPR has 1763.

Edited by Ghilz on Dec 28th 2024 at 6:32:52 AM

Blueace Surrounded by weirdoes from The End Of the World Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Surrounded by weirdoes
#6985: Dec 28th 2024 at 3:38:15 PM

It is a superhero show. The suits, robots and monsters are baked in. If they couldn't think about how to make that interesting, well, it is on them.

Wake me up at your own risk.
EmeraldSource Since: Jan, 2021
#6986: Dec 28th 2024 at 3:38:28 PM

It's the nature of First Installment Wins, later works can and often do surpass the original in overall quality but the engagement becomes "that was a really good update of the original." As good as shows like In Space or Time Force could be, it was just one season in a franchise based off switching out the entire cast every year, which is WHY MMPR stands out. Not to mention that the appeal of something like Time Force is partially because it's a twist on the Power Rangers / Super Sentai baseline. I think the broad baseline is probably animal themes and technology themes, like MMPR and Zeo, and everything after that is just a remix. Turbo was "Power Rangers with cars", In Space was... "Power Rangers in space", Time Force was "Power Rangers who time travel", etc.

The Gundam franchise has a similar problem, the original series was quite good in its' own right but was surpassed in quality by a large number of following works. But there is a serious issue with them returning to the One Year War era, let alone related characters in the Universal Century, for no other reason than that is what started the franchise. Star Trek managed to squeeze out of that just a little, as TNG proved a show could be popular and successful without being a slavish follow-up in story and characters, but they still lean back into the Kirk-era for the nostalgia kick.

The 2017 movie was really just very uncertain what it was trying to be, I remembering the audience snickering at the bland Power Rangers title card after a dramatic car accident. Most people agree it was well acted and the character dynamics were engaging, but there was just such a hard edge between the character drama and "Go Go Power Rangers" third act that it didn't quite land.

Really the boldest thing they could do would be to just make a completely original Power Rangers movie, not based directly on any previous show. Have fun with a Remake Cameo and include loads of Mythology Gags, but focus on selling the concept to a fresh audience. I honestly feel the first Transformers film is the platinum standard of how to make a cinematic update to a silly kids franchise, and that's by delivering on big budget spectacle and taking things at least a little seriously.

Comics are just words and pictures. You can do anything with words and pictures.
AegisP Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man
#6987: Dec 28th 2024 at 3:43:22 PM

I know obviously, MMPR is the bigger hit. What I meant is that it was a success, and "It didnt penetrate outside its core audience" doesnt matter because it is a kids show. The kids show is succeeding at being a kids show, is the intended thing. For that matter MMPR also didnt penetrate outside its core audience, the real difference is that Samurai had 4 million viewers total viewer, with only 2 million being the 2-11 demographic. Well MMPR did 4 million SOLELY on that one demographic, scoring even higher with total viewers into account (6 million!). So what MMPR is just REALLY succeed at being a kids show, with the "Adult Fans" being just those kids grown up.

I am not saying that Samurai is a misunderstood masterpiece, but that it is the biggest hit of the modern era, and that it is the sort of success that is ACTUALLY POSSIBLE for Power Rangers to achieve again. It will never reach MMPR again, but it doesnt need to. It needs to be a hit with kids.

Edited by AegisP on Dec 28th 2024 at 3:45:41 AM

As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.
HalfFaust Since: Jan, 2019
#6988: Dec 28th 2024 at 3:59:02 PM

Yeah, ultimately MMPR wasn't that successful. It has a reasonable core of nostalgic adult fans who watched it as kids, and who seem to buy quite a bit of merchandise. Beyond that, it's a pop culture reference that's very easy to make without needing more than a surface-level understanding of the franchise. None of that really translates to mainstream commercial success at this point.

MMPR is dinosaur themed. It's... loose, functionally feels more like a space theme than anything else, but it's very much there. Given that dinosaurs are one of Sentai's frequently recurring themes, I think you could definitely argue that was part of the appeal for kids and starting with a 'blander' season may not have been as succesful. See also: the inclusion of all the ninja stuff.

Mizerous Pet Owner from Hell Since: Oct, 2013 Relationship Status: Brewing the love potion
Pet Owner
#6989: Dec 28th 2024 at 4:01:23 PM

Sentai doesn't just repeat Zyuranger either for the same reason it would get repetitive.

Just Makima.
AegisP Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man
#6990: Dec 28th 2024 at 4:01:58 PM

To be truly honest, that's a thing that IS hitting a lot of "Kids Shows" lately. The adults are just way more profitable nowadays. Me TV Toons and Adult Swim airing kids shows, but no, kids arent the main demographic. Adults are.

Anime also went from a kids thing to aggressively adult, no kodomomuke or even kid friendly shonen are a thing in the west anymore. They have to aim at adults.

EDIT: Half Faust also rocked it hard with their explanation.

Edited by AegisP on Dec 28th 2024 at 4:03:04 AM

As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.
windleopard from Nigeria Since: Nov, 2014 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
#6991: Jan 15th 2025 at 7:03:30 AM

Vernon Wells is among those affected by the L.A. wildfires.

“(Our firefighter) neighbour stayed waiting for the fire trucks to come,” Wells told Michael Usher and Monique Wright on Sunrise.

“While they were coming, he started spraying the houses down with a garden hose.

“He rang us and he was in tears and he said, ‘I am so, so sorry to tell you — I tried so hard to save your house and it’s gone. Everything’s gone’.

“He said, ‘The other five houses, including mine, have gone as well, and that was the start of it’.

“About 150 houses went up. So far, they’re saying 10,000 homes in the Pacific Palisades area have been burnt.”

AegisP Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man
#6992: Feb 8th 2025 at 4:16:36 PM

[up] And I think Patricia Ja Lee is a fire fighter fighting the fire.

As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.
gjjones Musician/Composer from South Wales, New York Since: Jul, 2016
Musician/Composer
#6993: Feb 8th 2025 at 7:15:42 PM

So, what are your thoughts on the music for the MMPR movie as composed by Graeme Revell and performed by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra?

Edited by gjjones on Feb 8th 2025 at 10:23:16 AM

He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.
AegisP Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man
#6994: Feb 15th 2025 at 1:41:34 PM

I have confirmed it. Samurai is the biggest hit of the Neo Saban era. It has to be since the second team transformation managed 103 million views on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyksM-u3jU8

As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.
Akirakan Since: Feb, 2015 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#6996: Mar 1st 2025 at 5:51:06 PM

Considering the last time they remastered MMPR how badly that was recieved, and that was before the blight that is AI, I see this going well.

Bullman Enid Sinclair Since: Jun, 2018 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#6998: Mar 1st 2025 at 6:04:20 PM

Putting the AI bit aside (hard as it is), if you're really aiming to get new fans, why would you remaster MMPR? MMPR by the standards of today, is kinda awful? Like, kids have access to way better TV. Better acted, better written. The only reason you'd remaster MMPR is for old fans, who, based on the last remaster, aren't keen on watching you butcher their show.

MightyMatilda Mr. Clueless from New Jersey, USA Since: Jan, 2015
Mr. Clueless
#6999: Mar 1st 2025 at 8:39:17 PM

[up]My favorite series is In Space, but that might not be good for new audiences because it's a pretty close sequel to Turbo.

De Romanīs, lingua Latina gloriosa non fuī.
Ookamikun This is going to be so much fun. (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
This is going to be so much fun.
#7000: Mar 1st 2025 at 10:50:34 PM

You would think they'd pick Samurai. But man it's still awful.


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