I first got into Power Rangers when it first aired in the UK in the early 1990’s! I was fascinated by the show and was an enthusiastic viewer of the show from the first episode I watched. I used to play Power Rangers in the school playground with my friends, and even received a Power Rangers Megazord for my fifth birthday. Then I sort of drifted away from it!
I don’t know exactly why I stopped watching it, or when I stopped watching it, I just remember there was a time when I was an enthusiastic fan, and then someone who just didn’t care. I think it was around the second series, just after the first movie came out. I didn’t see the movie at the cinemas, the first time I saw any great detail of the movie was about ten years after it was released. Saw bits of it here and there, and well…yes, it’s pants! But the Movie didn’t enforce my viewing back then to stop watching the series!
So yeah, basically, I watched it, then didn’t care for it. But then weirdly, around the year 2000, I started watching it again. The time of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers had ended, and the show focused on one season story arcs with no relation in story or cast to the previous series. I wasn’t a huge fan once more, but something about the shows was fun again to watch and discover, I think it had a fun level of nostalgia to them. So, I watched the next five seasons with enthusiasm, and then I stopped around S.P.D., because I just couldn’t take it seriously.
This period of watching Power Rangers is fun to look back on though, as the show’s themes were so varied in styles. Some focused on the futuristic, whilst others leaned more towards fantasy. So I thought I would do a post on this period of Power Rangers by choosing my Top 5 Series out of the 5 series I watched. So, here are my Top 5 Favourite Power Rangers Series that I watched the second time round; Enjoy!
5. Time Force – Power Rangers Time Force had an interesting setup in Power Rangers coming from the future into our time to stop a major criminal. It was an interesting idea, with some cool and unpredictable plots, plus an interesting team dynamic with the Pink Ranger taking the lead, at least outside of main costume. The show though was a bit, plain. It wasn’t bad, it was just alright, and got pretty samey very quickly. So, it was just alright really; but it did have one major standout amongst other entries in this list, a very rocky and catchy opening theme tune!
4. Ninja Storm – Much like Time Force above, this show was pretty alright. Not much to shout out about. the opening theme was pretty generic, and most of the stories were very…forgettable. But one thing that did work in it’s favor, was it’s new dynamic. The usual dynamic is there are five Rangers, and others join later. In this instance though, we start off with just three, and add more later. This new focus allows the show to really think about how it’s stories and characters are developed over time, plus it created some interesting results when the Zords combined!
3. Lightspeed Rescue – Lightspeed Rescue was the show that regained my interest in the franchise. It was sort of an accidental viewing at first, but then I just wanted to find out and watch more. It was an interesting setup with a focus on rescue rather than, well, whatever they normally are. The Zords were cool, the characters were interesting, and the stories created were pretty fascinating. The show hasn’t aged well I’ll be honest, but it does hold a special place to me as it was the show that brought me back to enjoying the series once more, plus that whole Cobra Tattoo idea was really cool!
2. Wild Force – Power Rangers Wild Force is easily one of the strongest entries in the franchise. It has a great setup, with characters you really care about, and some cool ideas, plus the animal Zords are really funky designs. It starts out interesting, but then gets even more interesting. New Zords are introduced, and then Zen-Aku enters the mix. Zen-Aku is not your ordinary villain, he is a character with a dark past, and once he enters the show, become the anti Power Ranger, someone who seemingly cannot be defeated, and even brings his own Zords to the fight. It was a really cool entry in the series (which, like the entries above; I did not get to see finish as ITV/GMTV stopped airing it part way through)!
1. Dino Thunder – Dino Thunder took Ninja Storm’s three Ranger dynamic, and really ran off with it. This focus on three Rangers meant that there was more time to focus on a smaller cast and really develop them into a team you really care for. Once all the necessary setup was done, then the show could introduce more characters and really develop those too, as the founding characters are nicely anchoring the show to a point, and then could really experiment with story ideas. This focus on character development served Dino Thunder well, but it also had a little bit of nostalgia with the reintroduction of dinosaur Zords. Combine all of this together with a good theme, cool story ideas, and a great series story arch, and you have a mega series of Power Rangers, and that’s what we got!
Things I Like 
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