Top 20 Power Rangers FAILS
Oh no Power Rangers! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the biggest blunders across the entire “Power Rangers” franchise. Some spoilers may be ahead.
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00:00 I can't believe it, but I think they're...
00:02 It's the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
00:04 Yeah!
00:06 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the biggest blunders across
00:11 the entire Power Rangers franchise.
00:14 Some spoilers may be ahead.
00:16 To answer your question, I can't de-morph, because I don't know if I can breathe the
00:18 air here.
00:20 Number 20.
00:21 I'm dreaming of a White Ranger.
00:24 Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.
00:25 In this holiday episode, the Power Rangers have to rescue Santa's workshop from Rito
00:30 and Lord Zedd.
00:31 I am Rito Rivalto.
00:32 I know who you are, and you've been a very naughty boy this year.
00:38 How would you expect this Christmas-themed Power Rangers episode to go?
00:41 Well, if you expected some awesome action with the Rangers in their morphed glory, then
00:46 we've got news for you.
00:47 Sure, this isn't a terrible special, as it has lots of charming moments.
00:52 But the lack of the iconic costumes and awesome weapons, in favor of snowball fights, really
00:57 hold the special down.
01:00 Also, the plot with Zedd wanting to have the elves make brainwashing toys is definitely
01:09 an inspired choice.
01:11 This Christmas special ultimately reminds us that the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
01:15 are the coolest when they actually get to do some Mighty Morphin'.
01:19 The whole thing gives me the whizz.
01:22 The lackluster crossover.
01:24 Power Rangers, Clash of the Red Rangers, the movie.
01:28 A crossover between the RPM Power Rangers and the Samurai Rangers should have been an
01:32 exciting spectacle for the fans.
01:36 Now that's how it's done in this century.
01:41 Unfortunately, this movie really skimped on that whole concept.
01:44 The only real crossing over is with RPM Red Ranger Scott, who gets transported into the
01:49 world of the Samurai Rangers.
01:58 Hardly anything else from the RPM side meets up with the Samurais, besides Scott and Evil
02:04 Vengeance's General Professor Cog.
02:06 Having Power Rangers from different shows meeting up can be epic, but unfortunately,
02:11 this team up fails to do more than just the bare minimum.
02:22 Uninteresting Morphers, Power Rangers Jungle Fury.
02:25 Power Rangers are defined by their morphers.
02:28 These stylish gadgets turn everyday average Joes into the colorful heroes we love.
02:34 So with something that's such a revered staple of the franchise, it's sad that the
02:38 morphers in Jungle Fury were so lackluster.
02:45 The show's morphers were called "solar morphers" and they were essentially just
02:49 a pair of glorified sunglasses.
02:52 These weren't exactly fan favorites, and we can see why.
02:58 They look like something you'd regret buying at Sunglass Hut.
03:01 We're not saying they needed to make them completely over the top like flip phones or
03:05 belt buckles, but there was barely anything that made them actually stand out.
03:09 Hopefully, these morphers are good at shielding the wearer from the shade we're throwing.
03:18 The unlikable Red Ranger, Power Rangers Mystic Force.
03:23 Given they're usually the leaders of their respective teams, Red Rangers are incredibly
03:27 important fixtures of the Power Ranger franchise.
03:30 But not all Red Rangers have been hits.
03:32 Nick Russell from Mystic Force happens to be one of the most disliked Red Rangers of
03:36 all.
03:43 Belonging to a magical lineage and fated to become the light against all darkness, Nick
03:48 was destined for a lot.
03:50 But this chosen one ultimately fell flat.
03:52 He was often lazy, reckless, and kind of a big jerk.
03:56 Not exactly qualities that your savior should possess.
04:03 The Power Rangers don't need a leader who's perfect, but they should have someone who's
04:07 heroic and always willing to lead by example.
04:10 And Nick didn't exactly fit that bill.
04:17 Morpher Mystic, Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue.
04:20 Remember folks, continuity is important.
04:23 In Lightspeed Rescue, the Titanium Ranger Ryan Mitchell, who was taken in by Diabolico,
04:28 believes his real dad abandoned him.
04:34 But when Ryan learns that Diabolico essentially stole Ryan from his dad, the news horrifies
04:39 him.
04:40 Caught in a whirlwind of emotions, he lets his Morpher sink to the ground.
04:47 The entire scene is a dramatic one, but a production error in the immediate aftermath
04:52 unintentionally contradicts it.
04:54 When he goes to face his demonic captor, the Morpher is still on his wrist.
04:58 Sure, they make being separated from the Morpher an interesting plot point in later episodes,
05:03 but this mishap is hard to ignore.
05:10 Throwing a Child into the Mix, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
05:13 Sure, insert a kid into the middle of a battle.
05:16 That won't turn any heads.
05:18 When the Megazord clashes against Tickle Sneezer, a child nearly the same size as the Megazord
05:23 appears next to it.
05:28 The explanation?
05:29 Mighty Morphin extensively used footage from Zuro Ranger.
05:32 And in this case, the Sentai material used had a story beat involving a kid turning into
05:37 a giant.
05:41 But that plot wasn't carried over for this Mighty Morphin episode.
05:45 So this editing botch kind of makes it look like there's an unsupervised gigantic child
05:50 with front row seats to a dangerous fight.
05:52 They probably should have fixed that up in post.
06:00 A show about outer space that didn't do anything cool with the concept.
06:04 Power Rangers Lost Galaxy.
06:06 With a name like Lost Galaxy, this show could have, you know, placed the Power Rangers across
06:11 the galaxy battling exciting intergalactic threats and hopping planets.
06:16 But this series did hardly any of that.
06:19 You told them where we're going.
06:22 No, I didn't.
06:24 I told you to.
06:26 It's actually a lot like Time Force, the Power Rangers time travel show with barely any time
06:30 traveling in it.
06:31 What is it with these Power Rangers shows and false advertising?
06:35 All Lost Galaxy really did was follow the Rangers on a space station slash colony called
06:39 Terra Venture.
06:47 Having it take place there is fine, but not really enough to justify all of the galaxy
06:51 branding.
06:52 The marketing for this show was truly a failure of cosmic proportions.
07:01 Number 13.
07:02 Originally producing the movie costumes without visors.
07:06 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers the movie.
07:08 The 1995 Power Rangers movie had an infamously turbulent production history.
07:14 Even the choices that ultimately improved the movie had some unwanted side effects.
07:19 Let's do it guys.
07:20 Right.
07:21 When the fight scenes were filmed, initially the helmets didn't sport the iconic visors
07:25 or mouthplates.
07:27 Since the entire thing looked pretty odd to say the least, they thankfully decided to
07:31 correct this fashion fail.
07:33 Where'd they go?
07:34 Unfortunately, though, production in general had experienced many delays.
07:38 So the addition of new reshoots that they had to do certainly didn't help things.
07:43 We're glad that they never went with the original visorless footage, but the reshoots were one
07:47 of the many issues that made the movie such a production nightmare.
07:52 What's going on?
07:53 Number 12.
07:54 Goldar's Mask.
07:56 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
07:58 Mobility in costumes is very important.
08:00 Sure, you can have some incredibly rad designs, but what good are they if the actors can barely
08:05 work with them?
08:07 Such is the issue with Goldar's Mask.
08:13 In the first season of Mighty Morphin, the villain's mask proved to be a real challenge.
08:18 The only portion capable of any movement was the jaw's upper half, and even that wasn't
08:23 always guaranteed.
08:27 With how difficult the mask proved to be, it shouldn't be a surprise that they went
08:31 back to the drawing board.
08:32 By season two, the mask was replaced completely.
08:36 Given all the trouble it caused, it looked like retiring it was for the best.
08:40 How does it feel to be stripped of your powers forever?
08:44 Number 11.
08:45 The 2017 movie reboot, Power Rangers.
08:48 With the craze of superhero movies and other franchise films taking over, it only seemed
08:53 fitting that Saban would try to corner that market too.
08:57 It's Morphin time.
09:00 They took a gamble and brought the Power Rangers to the big screen in 2017.
09:05 They hoped to use the movie as a launching pad for an entire new wave of Power Rangers
09:10 movies.
09:11 Unfortunately, this didn't really work out when the 2017 movie tanked.
09:19 The reimagining fell short due to a variety of issues, like the limited budget, which
09:24 meant less screen time with the iconic weapons, and only having one big action sequence.
09:30 We're all for more Power Rangers, but the blockbuster S 2017 reboot just missed the
09:36 mark.
09:43 Number 10.
09:44 Green Ranger's shield, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
09:52 When watching a mashup of footage from Power Rangers and Super Sentai, fans can usually
09:57 overlook the differences, unless it's a glaring prop error.
10:01 While most of the props and costumes were shipped from Japan for Mighty Morphin Power
10:05 Rangers, American prop makers were left to make a substitute shield out of thin cloth.
10:11 This not only made it painfully obvious which scenes were American filmed, but the shield
10:16 in the US version also looks like it can barely protect Tommy at all.
10:24 Later, they mercifully remade the shield with the proper material for Green Ranger's return
10:29 in Dino Thunder.
10:30 However, they also altered his helmet by adding a silver stripe.
10:34 So they fixed one aesthetic issue, but created another.
10:42 Number 9.
10:43 The abrupt shift from Zio to Turbo.
10:45 Power Rangers Zio, Power Rangers Turbo.
10:52 Moving from one season to another can feel like a natural progression if done right.
10:58 Unfortunately, that was not the case for the Zio-Turbo transition.
11:02 The gap between the finale of Zio and the Turbo movie brought with it unexpected visual
11:06 changes, continuity errors, and unfulfilled promises from the finale.
11:21 Perhaps the biggest question left unanswered was, why was it necessary to trade in the
11:25 Zio powers for the Turbo ones?
11:28 There were rumors about a cereal called Scorpion Rain that would have supposedly answered some
11:32 of these questions, but it was debunked as a hoax.
11:36 And sadly, this sudden move wasn't the last hasty change made in Turbo.
11:43 Number 8.
11:45 Jennifer L. Yen as Vipra.
11:47 Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue.
11:54 Arguably the weakest links in Lightspeed Rescue were the villains.
11:59 But while most of them could at least act, there was one notable exception, Vipra.
12:07 Sure, actress Jennifer L. Yen definitely looked the part.
12:17 However, her skills as a thespian were another story.
12:21 In nearly all of her scenes, her inflection is all over the place, and she delivers her
12:25 lines with very unconvincing enthusiasm.
12:32 In fact, the only time it looked like she could actually act was when her character
12:36 was being killed off.
12:38 Even when she returned as a zombie, her performance was deader than she was.
12:43 This wasn't the last characters fans felt was miscast, but it did prove the consequences
12:47 of playing a part without any real passion.
12:55 Number 7.
12:56 The Peace Conference Incident.
12:58 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
12:59 Jason, Zack, and Trini were originally slated to appear in the 1995 movie.
13:05 However, with the show's rising popularity, their actors hoped Saban would go union so
13:09 their salaries could improve.
13:11 Saban didn't concede, so the three walked off set halfway through filming the season.
13:22 And their departure didn't go unnoticed.
13:24 They rarely appeared un-morphed outside of stock footage or body doubles, and stand-in
13:29 actors provided their morphed voiceovers.
13:32 Or tried to, anyway.
13:36 Eventually, the three Rangers were shipped off to a "peace conference" and replaced
13:41 by Rocky, Adam, and Aisha.
13:43 And while unfortunately Trini never returned, Jason did make a comeback in Zeo, and Zack
13:48 would return decades later in the once and always Netflix special.
13:57 Number 6.
13:58 Cal Explosions.
14:00 Power Rangers Disney Seasons.
14:06 Did you ever notice that, starting with Power Rangers SPD, the explosions in the show suddenly
14:11 started becoming gigantic and less practical?
14:14 They'd erupt way behind their targets, sending them into the air unrealistically.
14:19 Then the shot would be repeated again zoomed in.
14:26 This is a case of the Kalish Explosions, a process named after then-executive producer
14:31 Bruce Kalish.
14:33 What's worse is that this increase in over-the-top explosions coincided with the reduction in
14:37 the number of unique martial arts fight sequences the series was known for, likely to tone down
14:43 the violence.
14:44 But in doing so, the fight scenes became incredibly repetitive, to the point where they were a
14:48 mangled mess of laser blasts flying everywhere and hitting nothing.
14:57 Number 5.
14:58 Justin as the Blue Ranger, Power Rangers Turbo.
15:06 A preteen fighting alongside teens with attitude?
15:09 Not exactly a perfect match.
15:11 At the time, Power Rangers was losing at the ratings game, so the studio thought it would
15:16 be a good idea to bring in a younger Ranger to appeal to a newer audience.
15:25 Enter Justin, a preteen genius taking on the mantle of the Blue Ranger after veteran Rocky
15:31 injured his back.
15:32 Justin himself actually made a decent Ranger, taking action the minute trouble arose.
15:37 However, someone his age seemed out of place with the rest of the Rangers, and his central
15:43 episodes tended to feel silly and pandered to younger audiences.
15:47 Needless to say, this audience-grabbing experiment was a washout.
15:51 Number 4.
15:57 Overambitious Operation Overdrive, Power Rangers Operation Overdrive.
16:07 If you can get past the abysmal theme song, there's no turning back.
16:12 Originally, the plan for Operation Overdrive was for a grandiose and adventurous season,
16:17 similar to its Super Sentai counterpart, Bokenger.
16:20 Unfortunately, the low budget caused a lot of cut corners that affected almost every
16:25 aspect of the show.
16:27 According to fans, the season's pacing was off the wall, the potential for the multiple
16:32 villain factions was wasted, and many of the main characters were incredibly unlikable.
16:45 Not even a crossover with fan-favorite past Rangers could redeem the season, as the special
16:51 made the legendary heroes look incompetent compared to this unlikable team.
16:56 Seriously, go watch those episodes again.
16:59 The retro Rangers don't kill a single monster.
17:08 Number 3.
17:09 20th Anniversary Seasons, Power Rangers Megaforce, Power Rangers Super Megaforce.
17:20 Considering it was a 20th anniversary season, Megaforce ultimately failed to celebrate the
17:25 occasion.
17:26 To start, they split the season in half, so that by the time the actual anniversary content
17:30 came into play, it was a year too late.
17:33 As for the actual series, fans are quick to point out that our heroes lacked any depth
17:38 or backstory, and their acting was extremely bland, with Troy, the Red Ranger, easily being
17:44 the worst of the bunch.
17:50 They may have had a much better season planned, but executive meddling thwarted those plans,
17:55 leaving fans with two seasons filled with shallow and out of touch fanservice, rather
18:00 than telling an actual story.
18:07 Number 2.
18:08 Driving David Yost away, Power Rangers Zeo.
18:14 Billy is one of the most iconic Blue Rangers, and the longest lasting member of the original
18:19 five, eventually stepping down and becoming a tech assistant in Zeo.
18:24 But near the end of the season, he departed the show a few episodes after his actor, David
18:29 Yost, resigned.
18:34 There were rumors about a pay dispute, but the real reason was actually much worse.
18:39 Yost has since claimed he was regularly harassed by several crew members about his sexuality,
18:44 with some even deeming him unworthy of being a superhero.
18:48 As a result, Yost opted to walk, and wouldn't return until the 30th anniversary special,
18:54 once and always.
19:15 Number 1.
19:24 Since the beginning of Megaforce, Power Rangers had been foreshadowing a legendary event for
19:29 the finale, an epic battle featuring every Ranger from the previous two decades.
19:34 For the next two years, fans endured what they called lackluster writing, bland characters,
19:40 and dissatisfying tribute episodes, with only two veteran appearances.
19:45 Finally, the big battle arrived, and boy, was it a letdown.
19:50 A handful of veteran Ranger actors actually accepted the last minute invites, and only
19:55 a fraction of them had any dialogue at all.
19:58 And sadly, the battle itself is just as disappointing, with a heavy reliance on stock footage, the
20:04 Megaforce Rangers' annoying commentary, and aggravating plot holes.
20:13 To sum it all up, it was a battle that was hyped up for two years, and it barely lasted
20:18 two minutes.
20:19 Talk about a super mega fail!
20:24 Is there a more phenomenal fail we missed?
20:26 Let us know in the comments.
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