So, after taking a look at Engine Sentai Go-onger, I was fairly unimpressed. It was completely episodic, and the events in one episode rarely left an impact on future episodes save for scant character development. Disney's last developed season of the Power Rangers franchise took a decidedly different approach than it did with shows like Dino Thunder and Mystic Force, not only in formula, but also in tone. Power Rangers RPM stars a cast of young adults, no younger than 17, and no older than 25 (though no ages are actually given, this is just based on personalities and roles and success/failures prior to donning a morpher). Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the main cast was supposed to be that old since Time Force. As an adult, I find it easier to believe this part about our central characters having passed those ages already. Buying that anyone other than Summer is under 21 would be a real stretch, and I think Disney understood that when this show was in pre-production. So, we are left to guess the character's ages. The only one we get a hint about is Summer, but we'll get to that later.
So, the series starts us off with something different than normal. We are treated to a monologue that gives us a little bit of information about the global events that lead up to the start of the pilot episode. A self-aware computer virus called Venjix, has taken over nearly all of man-kind’s machines that were connected to the internet. He’s used the machines to build foot soldiers and all sorts of nasty robots to remove the human imperfection from the earth. Why? Because he’s evil. Okay, whatever. Our narrator is begging anyone who hears her transmission to flee to the domed city of Corinth. Why? Well, it turns out that Corinth may very well be humanity’s last vestige against the super virus, Venjix, and his army. Protected by a force field dome, this city has grown and prospered, keeping the semblances of pre-apocalypse Earth civilization alive. It’s often stated in the series that Corinth holds the last of humanity, but we find out that that’s not exactly accurate later. So, the audience is left to assume that it’s the last standing city. I take issue with this, but I’ll keep my mouth shut on that for the time being.
Our Tommy of the series, Dillon, driving around in his old muscle car in a vast desert wasteland watering a single flower that has just started to grow. Already, we know he’s going to be a “rebel with a heart of gold”. And since no pilot episode can go by without a fight scene in the first few minutes, we see the grunts of the season, Grinders. Fight, punch, win, no surprise. As Dillon dusts himself off, he get help up at gunpoint from behind by a shrimp-ish dude in a ripped suit demanding a ride and some water. Dillon, already knows that the “gun” is actually a broken muffler, calls the little man out on his bluff, and stares him down. After an exchange where Dillon reveals he doesn’t remember his name, past or anything, and the would-be attacker calls himself Ziggy from the last known human city, Corinth.
So, that's the opening scene. To avoid going on too long, let's go through with the character studies and then summarize as much as I can.
Scott Truman: Red Ranger and former fighter pilot. He assumes the role of leader naturally due to his background in the military, influence to his father, and out of a sense of responsibility from the death of his brother (yes, that's right, we have an off-screen death in the first episode) who was his squad leader before the Ranger team was formed. He proves that he's not perfect, but tries to be level-headed and rarely loses his cool. Dillon is really the only one who knows how to push his buttons by thumbing his nose at authority.
Flynn McAllistair: Blue Ranger and team mechanic. This Scottish dynamo has a lot of heart and has always dreamed of being a hero to the people. The weird thing is, when he tries to be a hero, he fails miserably. When he just reacts to a dangerous situation, he always comes out on top. He twice tries to assist the team with his new inventions, both times meeting with failure and shame, but quickly fixes the problem and saves the day. Clearly he needs to do some more beta testing rather than rushing a product out the door. This actually fits in well with his personality. As mentioned, when he goes out of his way to try to do something it inevitably blows up in his face. When he has a knee-jerk reaction, he's spot on. His inventions and his childhood attempts of defending the public good are both evidence of this. His bluecollar auto-mechanic father, only shown a couple of times, plays a surprisingly large role in his development as a character. He feel obligated to make his father proud, to show his father he can make a better life for himself using the values taught to him as a child, but is ashamed that his fantastical dreams of herodom are a disappointment. It's this above all that I think is why his instincts are so refined while his critical thinking is lacking. However, once he visits his father to find him asleep in a rather comfy looking armchair with a scrap book filled with all of the news scraps of his (Flynn's) deeds as a Power Ranger, Flynn has a really powerful unspoken connection with his father, knowing he's made his humble father proud. This moment is actually one of my favorites in the whole franchise.
Summer Landsdown: Yellow Ranger and debutante turned rogue. Summer comes from a wealthy family who (unknown to her) has gone broke since the end of the world. When her butler and the closest thing to a true friend or father she ever really had dies in her arms (SHOCK!) during the major Venjix attack that drives humanity into seclusion, she is hit with the realization that she's a spoiled little brat with no direction in life. Being the youngest member of the team, the only female (for the first several arcs), and the only person with no real experience in the real world has forced her to mature the fastest. She develops as a solid character quickly, and proves her worth in the world, hoping to make her deceased friend proud. Her naivete has kept her from becoming too jaded and she's still able to see the good in people, and she's the most willing to support controversial decisions surrounding Dillon in finding his past. She makes a pact with her parents to be on her own for a year to find herself, if she agrees to wed a blue-blood to keep the family out of the streets. When the anniversary of the agreement passes, and her parents come-a calling, Summer mournfully agrees to hold up her end of the bargain rather than fight it every inch. During this plot, she shows her ingenuity by faking the wedding ceremony with an unlikely body double to lure out a villain. Her parents' financial troubles come to light, but they agree to call of the charade in the aftermath and share a tender moment with their estranged daughter.
Ziggy Grover: Green Ranger and former mafioso. Ziggy is a schemer who can't scheme, a mobster who can't follow protocol, and a Ranger who can't keep his head in the game. At least at first. He's nervous, twitchy, conniving, friggin hilarious. He actually becomes a Power Ranger trying to follow Dr. K's orders by keeping the Green Ranger morpher safe, and is force to permanently bond with it to keep the ranger technology out of villainous hands. His nonthreatening antics that first introduce him to Dillon seem to endear the leather rebel to this jokester, and they are largely inseparable, with Dillon always willing to stick up for little Ziggy whenever he gets in too deep. He's one of those characters who has a huge personality, and makes dozens of tiny character changes as the series progresses. It's clear a lot of care went into this character when he was written, which is good since characters like him walk a fine line between adoringly comical and obnoxious. One revelation about Ziggy that occurs about mid-way, that is kind of central to the series' closing scene, is not something I will discuss, as I want to keep the ending to this series as spoiler-free as I can, but I will say it may make your eyes well up a bit with how selfless it is.
Dillon: Black Ranger and the closest we get to a Tommy as the franchise has ever gotten besides more Tommy. This character is literally a rebel without a cause. He knows nothing about his past for most of the show, other than at some point he was essentially turned into a cyborg with experimental Venjix technology. While this plot device is used a lot, it has the added benefit of making him an angry ball of clay that the events of the series shapes. Again, a lot of care went into this character, as they were really careful not to over do it. He gradually develops a relationship with Summer, and even finds family. There isn't much else to say other than he has one of those faces you've seen before, but you can never place it.
Gem and Gemma: Gold and Silver Rangers respectively. These hyperactive siblings come into play and shake things up. Thought to be long dead, these relics of Dr. K's past burst into the scene ready to make everything explode. Seriously, these two have a severe hyperactive disorder and are obsessed with explosions. They also finish each other's sentences. They're creepy. Really creepy. Like those twins from The Shining. Thankfully, being exposed to so much stimuli lets them stop acting in tandem and they start to act like two individuals instead of a hive-mind. I don;t really start to like either of them until Flynn's attempt at constructing a "Road Attack Zord". Gemma bonds closely with Flynn, and they develop a sort of crush on each other, resulting in Flynn asking her out. Gem, knowing jealousy for the first time, expressing his dislike for the whole affair, guilt trips his sister offscreen and she declines. But, there's still a little spark from then on. Oh, and they die. It's sad and really dramatic. Fear not! They manage to come back to life after the big bad is beaten, so Flynn/Gem shippers can still hope.
Doctor K: The inventor of the Ranger technology and super short with a bad haircut. Much like Operation Overdrive's explanation, she taps into the morphing grid and makes cool stuff. Gem and Gemma were her lab rats for testing her tech in the thinktank they lived in. She was essentially kidnapped as a very young child and forced to create stuff and solve complex problems for a bunch of no-faced suits who kept her inside the bunker by explaining she was sick and allergic to the sunlight. When she finds a butterfly fluttering around and follows it, she passes by a tiny window/air vent thingy (it looks like an archer's barricade) and sunlight splashes on her face. Not bursting into flames and exploding in a pool of death, she realizes she's been made a fool of and unleashed the AI virus, Venjix, into the compound's security systems to try to flee. She is caught, and before she can launch the kill code to stop the virus from leaving the network and infecting the world, she gets busted. Gem and Gemma save her, and seemingly die in an inferno as the virus self-destructs the compound before heading off to be an evil computer virus. So, Dr K is responsible for the end of the world. Hey, at least she made a mark in the history books. Okay, more like a smoldering crater the size of North America, but still. So, to assuage her guilt, she improves on the Ranger Series technology to combat her evil brain child. More stuff happens, and she 's still short as hell.
Colonel Mason Truman: Scott's father. He clearly is proud of his son, but can't show it as he is essentially in charge of the safety of presumably the last city on Earth and his only living son is leading the charge against a nigh immortal threat bent on killing them all. He feels letting his emotions get the better of him could lead to humanity's end, which is kind of understandable. What's not understandable, is that he never gave himself time to grieve for his eldest son. One would assume that bottling something like that up would lead to an outburst at the wrong time or an easily exploitable weakness for the enemy. So, since he had to be all cold and stony, his son, Scott, felt he had to be as well. Eventually they reconcile, but that wall has been there for so long, I doubt their family would have ever recovered.
The Good:
This series is the most mature out of all of them. As the last Disney entry in the franchise, this was a real high note.The characters were great, the villain was threatening (until he got himself a face, meh), the twists were believable, and the cinematography was GREAT. I know a lot of people hate the civilian powers, and they did get rid of them for this entry in Power Rangers, though they did add a new power for the main five in their morphed state. There was so much new footage shot, that this could hardly be considered an adaptation of Go-Onger at all.
The Bad:
The fight with Venjix was a little weak. I do like it when the final battle isn't done in Zords, but this one felt lacking. It had such built up, only to have a mediocre release, that I keep expecting the villain to come out of the explosion all charred and cut up and try to chock Scott (as the leader, it's his job to be choked by the baddie) while everyone is high-fiving.
Summer's age is the only confirmed age we have. Venjix attacked on her 16th birthday, and a couple of days later, she arrives at Corinth and makes the pact with her parents for a year of freedom. Assuming her parents gave her an extra month or two, she would be a little over 17. She ain't no 17 years old. I don't buy that for one second. Nineteen, maybe. MAYBE. But not seventeen. If a seventeen year old girl who was raised to be a snob and only had a year to find her path could make THAT big of a change in character, I'll shave a penis in my chest hair. If she were 18 and forced with some responsibilities (like overseeing some small part of her parents' financial empire) by the time the world ended, then I could maybe see it. Early twenties would be more believable. But no, we're told she's 17, and before arriving in Corinth lived a life of ignorant indulgence. We're told this, and we're shown this, and I don't like it one bit.
The Ugly:
Do the writers really expect us to believe that when the domed city of Corinth was being engineered, that the blueprints were shared with NO ONE? Or that no one else thought of a similar safe haven? I find it hard to believe that Corinth houses the last humans on the planet outside of Venjix's guinea pigs. At times this notion can ruin an episode for me. In fact, being reminded of this during the opening sequence made me feel dour quite often, so I just skip it when I revisit this season.
Summary:
Engine Sentai Go-Onger is a nice show full of camp, but whatever substance it may have had is so bogged down by its extensive cast of characters and episodic format, that it's hard to remember much of a story. I'm surprised their camper didn't have a spotlight episode dedicated to it. Giving the mechs character roles was a mistake in my book, and made the show really hard to sit through.
Power Rangers RPM trimmed the fat from 24 featured characters down to 9 (I am counting Gem and Gemma as a single person). With a unique and entertaining story to the franchise, humor in all the right places, and most of the action being spot-on, this was a lot of fun to watch. Yes, I know I didn't write up a synopsis on Tenaya. I wanted to, but felt like it may lead to too much of a spoiler for that closing scene.
Versus Results:
If you have a kid who just likes bright lights and sounds, pop in some Go-Onger. However, if you are looking for a story befitting a post-college age group, you can't go wrong with Power Rangers RPM. It may be a little tame for adult audiences, but there's nothing wrong with that at all, and it's still age-appropriate for children. RPM is a great family show regardless of your age with more than enough elements to please viewers of all ages.
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