Gonna call it right here: this may well end up regarded by fans as one of the all-time great series of Power Rangers. It compares well, not just to the mostly-abysmal series of the Neo-Saban era that preceded it, but to the high points of the franchise such as In Space, Time Force and RPM. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it got so many things right!
Family has often been a recurring theme in Power Rangers, but Beast Morphers puts it front and center with easily the strongest expression of the theme we've ever seen. All of the Rangers' parents are important supporting characters in this, except for Nate, whose parents' absence is an important part of his character. (Which only makes the episode where they come back that much more poignant!) Even this season's obligatory goofballs, Ben and Betty, are brother and sister. (And their father is an important supporting character!)
They finally got Zords right! From the very beginning it's always felt like, with a few rare exceptions generally involving the Red Ranger's or Sixth Ranger's Zords, that the only reason Zords exist is to combine and form a Megazord. It's always felt like massive wasted potential, until Beast Morphers, which probably gives us more individual Zord action than the entire franchise up till now put together. Not exaggerating. And it was glorious!
They finally got legacy right! The latter half of season 2 is... well... without giving any spoilers, let's just say it's what Super Megaforce should have been. When they run into a problem that the franchise has done many times before, they actually acknowledge it and look at how past Ranger teams dealt with it. When a villain hacks their systems and adapts to their weaponry, they retrieve past Ranger weapons from their vault. And that's not even getting into the crossover arc, or the shocking Reveal in the finale finally that wraps up a Rangers cliffhanger that's been hanging there for over a decade!
Oh yeah. There's a crossover arc! While most crossovers in Power Rangers history have been somewhat underwhelming due to budget constraints and limited time, this devotes several episodes to building up the crossover with all threedinosaur-themedpast Ranger teams. Between this and a surprising amount of original footage, Beast Morphers sets a higher standard of production values than we're used to seeing, giving the impression that Hasbro is willing to spend money on producing a quality product.
One good series isn't going to instantly wipe away years of neglect, but it's enough to make a lot of fans cautiously optimistic for the future. Hopefully they can maintain the momentum going into Power Rangers Dino Fury!
Series The Hasbro Era gets off to an amazing start!
Gonna call it right here: this may well end up regarded by fans as one of the all-time great series of Power Rangers. It compares well, not just to the mostly-abysmal series of the Neo-Saban era that preceded it, but to the high points of the franchise such as In Space, Time Force and RPM. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it got so many things right!
One good series isn't going to instantly wipe away years of neglect, but it's enough to make a lot of fans cautiously optimistic for the future. Hopefully they can maintain the momentum going into Power Rangers Dino Fury!