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Destroy All Podcasts DX Episode 111 - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Green with Evil

Comments

27 comments posted
From what I've seen of

From what I've seen of Zyuranger the tank thing only got used like twice. It's pretty much the standard Sentai formula that component mecha are used by themself once when they make their debut, then they just go straight for the combination. At the time of Zyuranger it was also the norm not to introduce the main 5 part combination until about episode six, so the individual parts would get a bit more use (and the red mecha would usually be able to hold its own in a fight against the early monsters).
Nowadays the norm is episode two, sometimes episode one if the writers can't be bothered to come up with a story about learning to work as a team!

I completely agree about the story. I watched Power Rangers as a kid up to 'Zeo' and 'Green with Evil' was always my favourite part of the show. Watching it as an adult I can't believe how padded out the whole thing is. I'd love to see the equivalent story from Zyuranger to compare the two - hearing how the two stories played out differently was what got me interested in Sentai in the first place.

James O's picture
Posted by James O on 28 September, 2009 - 10:59
Really-? They waited that

Really-? They waited that long to introduce the first hero combo mecha??? I'm stunned! I thought it was always the first-or-second episode for all of them, and that that was the norm!
You are right, though, about the red mecha usually being a little stronger/tougher than the others. I mean, look at the RyuuSeiOh from "DaiRanger"- it's really the only red mecha that could transform when the others in that line couldn't. Gougou Dump from "Boukenger" was also highlighted a few times.

I'm downloading the podcast as I type this...
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 28 September, 2009 - 12:14
Red-Handed

"Really-? They waited that long to introduce the first hero combo mecha??? I'm stunned! I thought it was always the first-or-second episode for all of them, and that that was the norm!
You are right, though, about the red mecha usually being a little stronger/tougher than the others. I mean, look at the RyuuSeiOh from "DaiRanger"- it's really the only red mecha that could transform when the others in that line couldn't. Gougou Dump from "Boukenger" was also highlighted a few times.

I'm downloading the podcast as I type this..."

AH-HAH! Caught you RED-HANDED Poddy-Basher. I knew it! I knew you listen to DAP-DX when you vowed never to do it again due to it's adult content & controversial subject matter. You just couldn't resist the urge to listen ... It's in your human nature as of we all; because deep down inside you're loving the edge.

Foul language & filthy dirty lies stained on your hands.

Excellent! Now you're starting to become a man.

-r78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 29 September, 2009 - 00:56
"Oh, shut up..."

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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 29 September, 2009 - 13:58
To this day, the Dragonzord

To this day, the Dragonzord (i.e. Dragon Caesar) is one of my favorite mecha. If I had a chance to go to Japan, and view only one of the stunt suits from across the entire franchise, it would be that one without question (even though there are a few others- the MagiKing, Gao Hunter, GouRyuujin).
It is, also, an acknowledged homage to Godzilla, intended to look like a mecha version of him (though not, necessarily, an homage of MechaGodzilla).

I would watch UFC ONLY to see Jasen David Frank (guy with three first names for his name? O.o;) in it just because he was in PR.

The casting of the Black and Yellow Rangers was a serious racial issue at the time, which was quickly remedied the following season. (This I learned years later, mind you.) The reason the Asian female (Thuy Trang, who died in a car accident on September 10, 2001... which you brought up later on) was cast as Yellow was because she was physically smaller like TigerRanger (who was always a guy, BTW) and they could insert a second female into the cast without anyone noticing. (In other words, she was flat as a board, and no one would notice the difference because, um... Asian females are always small? Not my thinking on the matter, I'm just parroting the stereotype.)
...Oh, you guys talk about that later too.

The Daizyujin/Megazord is actually rare among combining Super Sentai robos for its second combo. The DaiBouken used it's second mode (Gougou Trailer) only once just before the first opening titles of the series, and we never saw it again save for always in said opening credits (FAIL).
Though we didn't see it in MMPR, the Daizyujin could actually quick-change back to the DinoTanker mode to evade a head-shot, and then bounce back up for an uppercut of its own. Quick-changing was only used to exploit a weakness in the "not-the-finale!" finale-type episode where they battled Goldar's personal Zord, the Cyclopsis.

Nowadays, I get all nostalgic when I watch the vids of the Zords appearing, and that guitar stuff comes on, and my eyes just well up. I swear to Christ, even with the bad editing they had to do, it is still awesome! Now, when they tried to recreate that moment in later series, it just wasn't the same. ;_;

I LMAO when you guys talked about what Ranger you would be and your Zords.

That Sword of Darkness sucked. But, dude, don't bash on the Dragon Dagger. I still want one of those. ;)

Thank you very much for bringing up the comic book physics. *sigh*

Years ago- and my younger sister beat me to the punch on this, believe it or not- we got an official Power Rangers Fan Club video, which basically had early clips from MMPR, and a lot of "questions from the fans", and the characters are there in-character to answer them (*sigh*), and they talked absolutely nothing about the Zords (which I was really disappointed about, stupid producers...) Anyways, in-character, Zack says that his fighting style is called- I sht you not- "Hip Hop Kido". ...yeah, I know, I know.
WHY we still have that video on our shelves, I have no idea...

Truthfully, "ZyuRanger" is pronounced with a "J"?

In "Power Rangers Dino Thunder", a returned Tommy cracks that he's gonna have to get a new wardrobe after he becomes the Black Ranger. I laughed so hard at that moment because I knew EXACTLY what he was talking about.

The last 3mins were funny as hell... and then the podcast got cut off.
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 28 September, 2009 - 13:26
The Last 3 Minutes

So actually the stuff from the good thing/bad thing was in the middle of the podcast and we just kept going for like 20 minutes. Right after the point where it cuts off continues on in the center of the podcast. Mike started going on about censorship in Power Rangers or something. Glad my edit was seamless though! Haha.

Destroy All Podcasts DX's picture
Posted by Destroy All Pod... on 28 September, 2009 - 16:51
My mommy made me a Green

My mommy made me a Green Ranger costume for Halloween when I was like, 6. I still have it :D

Prometheum5's picture
Posted by Prometheum5 on 28 September, 2009 - 13:34
Yes, a lot of older Sentai

Yes, a lot of older Sentai shows didn't introduce the first gattai for a few episodes. Zyuranger definitely took its time, episodes one and two only featured the tyranosaurus, three and four introduced the other four mecha but were mostly about the rangers' quest for their signature weapons, finally five and six introduced Daizyujin and gave it A LOT of build up. By the way it was the King Sphinx/Dora Sphinx battle in which Daizyujin debuted, the whole Power Crystal thing from the corresponding Power Rangers episode was a much bigger deal in the original because the crystals were actually required for the gattai. Dairanger played things more-or-less the same. RyuuSeiOh was around from the start but it didn't transform until episode two, it then spent a while as the only mecha before a bigger threat required them to awaken the other four mecha and form DaiRen-Oh.

Yep, Zyuranger is pronounced "jurenjaa" based on the katakana form ジュレンジャー. It's complicated to explain but there are several different approches to romanising Japanese. The most common approach is to just romanise everything as it sounds (except the combined l/r sound where it's common just to go for an r), however there's an outdated school of thought that has certain sounds romanised differently. Thus "ji", "ja", "ju" and "jo" become "zi", "zya", "zyu" and "zyo". I know it probably doesn't make sense, as I said it's really difficult to explain without going into Japanese phonetics in more detail but the gist of it is that "ju" is the correct pronounciation and they just went for "zyu" for stylistic reasons (so they could plaster the letter Z over everything).

James O's picture
Posted by James O on 28 September, 2009 - 14:20
He's been referred to as

He's been referred to as such for so long now, that I don't quite get the joke... Why is Tommy Oliver called "Jeebus"(sp?) in the various PR forums?
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 28 September, 2009 - 16:14
Dunno.

I don't know. I've never been to a Power Rangers forum.

Destroy All Podcasts DX's picture
Posted by Destroy All Pod... on 28 September, 2009 - 16:49
It's kind of funny that when

It's kind of funny that when Power Rangers came out,I didn't watch it,because it was a "kid's show",yet today I'm a huge fan of anime and even some tokusatsu.

Eva,I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the forum posters you're talking about are calling Tommy Jesus because he always "miraculously" saves the day. Pronouncing it "Jebus" is a Simpsons reference that,like all Simpson references,used to be funny until it was run into the ground online by children too young to even know what show it was originally from. You know,like,"I for one welcome our new alien overlords."

kidnicky's picture
Posted by kidnicky on 28 September, 2009 - 21:51
Oh,I can't believe I forgot

Oh,I can't believe I forgot to put this in my earlier post.
I have never watched,nor will I probably ever watch,Power Rangers or sentai besides one or two episodes here and there,and yet I absolutely hate PR for bastardising the original show. I have no vested interest in sentai,but it's just like the principle of the matter,I guess. It just bothers me when shows are butchered up for different audiences. I understand violence or swears would have to be cut,but do they really have to replace all the actors and totally change the plot?
In a way,it kind of does affect me,since allthough I'm not a sentai fan I am a Kamen Rider fan and PR's success has led to two different bastardised KR shows.

kidnicky's picture
Posted by kidnicky on 28 September, 2009 - 21:57
Maybe.

Maybe so, but Zyuranger is TERRIBLE. Jetman is pretty cool, but Zyuranger is really, really bad.

Ginrai's picture
Posted by Ginrai on 28 September, 2009 - 22:29
Worse than "CarRanger" or

Worse than "CarRanger" or "GaoRanger"?
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 28 September, 2009 - 22:56
Kids

How much do you like shows where 90% of the screentime there are shrieking five year olds who can't act hanging on the main characters? Because it's like a non-stop barrage of screaming children.

Also everyone in the show is a horrible actor and the show is just dripping with poor slapstick humor.

But don't take my word for it...

http://www.freeforum101.com/grownupsinspand/viewtopic.php?t=96&sid=85ffde508f9103aaa007c15947fe4184&mforum=grownupsinspand

Ginrai's picture
Posted by Ginrai on 28 September, 2009 - 23:15
Okay, I gotta step in now.

Okay, I gotta step in now. "Kamen Rider Dragon Knight" is not a bad show. Bastardization, perhaps, but considering their budget and the American producers' loyalty to the franchise, IMO it's doing very well. It's still about two KRs against the forces that formed them, and how it affects their personal lives. It's dramatic, dark even, and I am rooting for the next one to come out. KRDK is much closer to the source materials than PR ever was to its own [save for a few]. Considering it's the first KR to come to the US since... yeah- I think it's doing very well.

I don't know why it is more CDXers aren't enthusiastic about KRDK like I am; like they might be for the Japanese KR.
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 28 September, 2009 - 22:55
You don't know why?!? It

You don't know why?!? It might be because they removed and replaced enough scenes that it's a totally different show!

How can you talk about "the American producers' loyalty to the franchise" when it's obvious they have none?
As far as "considering their budget" goes,I'm aware they have to work within the limitations of a budget when filming new scenes,but you know what would be even cheaper than that? Just dubbing the damn thing like they should have been doing the whole time!

I -promise- you that an American child can in fact see a Japanese person on television without falling down dead. I used to watch dubbed foreign movies as a kid all the time,and I lived through it. If anything,it only served to make me more tolerant of other cultures,which isn't such a bad thing.

kidnicky's picture
Posted by kidnicky on 28 September, 2009 - 23:44
No producer today would be

No producer today would be dumb enough to bring a straight-dub to America, particularly after what happened to "Ultraman Tiga". Subtitles would not catch anyone's attention either, including kids today. Maybe in the 70s & 80s, but not today. Substituting in their own footage [I assume] makes it easier on the viewers and the writers.

I think that KRDK is certainly a reduced-quality version of the Japanese franchise, not a replacement. I have not- nor do I intend to- see "Kamen Rider Ryuki". One of the reasons now is that I would immediately set to comparing it to KRDK... which you are NOT supposed to do! KRDK is its own show. I have seen all of "KR Blade", "Kabuto", and "Den-O", so I think I have a small grasp on the franchise even if not an all-encompassing view. And from what I've seen of those shows, and then comparing it to how Super Sentai was brought over as PR, IMO there is a huge difference, and this new show has withstood many of the errors of PR in transitioning over.
The next show (please don't fk that up now, 4KidsTV!), I hope, will be a little more refined.
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 29 September, 2009 - 13:58
I agree that a dubbed

I agree that a dubbed version is really not the way to go. It actually seems a lot more faithful to use the action scenes in a brand new show than to produce a dubbed show and claim to be showing the original. As Eva said Dragon Knight is its own show inspired by Ryuki, it makes no claim to actually be Ryuki.

To be honest I've not seen any of Dragon Knight and have no plans to do so, certainly not until after I've watched Ryuki. Mostly I'm rather indifferent to the whole endeavour, as a 20-something British Japanophile I'm not really the target audience anyway. If the creators are doing their own thing and using the original creatively then that's a good thing and I wish them the best of luck for the future.

James O's picture
Posted by James O on 29 September, 2009 - 16:10
"One of the reasons now is

"One of the reasons now is that I would immediately set to comparing it to KRDK... which you are NOT supposed to do! KRDK is its own show. "

In what way is it it's own show? It's at least 25% Ryuki footage,isn't it?
On the plus side,if little kids eat this up,they might f**k around with Blade next,which would mean I could get an action figure of that cool guy from Blade. Garren I think his name was.

kidnicky's picture
Posted by kidnicky on 29 September, 2009 - 19:24
It is its own show in that

It is its own show in that it uses the materials from "Ryuki", but does not follow the same story, locations, and characters.

Yes, I would like to see "Blade" adapted, since I liked most of the suits and monsters in it. (Granted I only want the Garren Rouser and Buckle as far as toys go, but...)
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 29 September, 2009 - 21:12
Its its own show due in part

Its its own show due in part to having an original storyline and the characters motivations for fighting are different that Ryuki's. I've seen all of Kamen Rider Ryuki and loved it.
I watched Kamen Rider Dragon Knight when it debuted and enjoying that as well. Truth be told it comes off as a modern day VR Troopers to an extent.

kusanagi02's picture
Posted by kusanagi02 on 29 September, 2009 - 21:13
I don't remember much of

I don't remember much of VR Troopers enough to form a comparison. But the difference there was that VRT was a combination of three different shows to form one, rather than being one-to-one like KRDK is.
But I suppose this is a trivial matter, making an argument like that to say that KRDK is better than VRT.
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 29 September, 2009 - 21:35
Oh naw man I wasn't trying

Oh naw man I wasn't trying to compare those two shows.
I mean i enjoyed VR Troopers even though it never got the wide spread recognition like Power Rangers did.

kusanagi02's picture
Posted by kusanagi02 on 29 September, 2009 - 21:58
In Blade I only made it up

In Blade I only made it up to where they started fighting werewolves. It was a good show,though.

kidnicky's picture
Posted by kidnicky on 29 September, 2009 - 23:14
Ode

"There is an imdb style database for porn called the iafd. There are also porn movie listings in the regular imdb."

Are you talking about the thing you've heckled out with your foot in Disney's grave?

Does this serve any purpose for the Power Rangers?

Not at all because it serves nothing. It's only the stinch of the belch from where you drink & speak.

The thing you drank from is nothing but a thick, black-n-white liquid. That liquid is the blood of Mickey Mouse and we all know that he's only a martyr of whom we've chanted and died over 12.

It's the Mouseketeer way; all for one & one for sum.

"Speaking of nickelodeon, I remember ol' 9 Fingers, AKA Zack the Black rangers turning up in some sci-fi kids show on Nick. Good Times."

Yeah, that show was called 'Space Cases' and it was so tacky that it coated over the sentence of which it whacked because it's nutty.

"You guys know that the Blue Ranger dude came back for a later series? I don't know if that was a good thing for the actor or an embarrassment."

It was a tough job but somebody's gotta pay the bills. I'm just glad that he didn't pay yours, mine, nor ours or he would've gone on a fan-kill spree, and that would been a bad thing...except for the press.

"Before I disappear, I would like to share my crazy conspiracy theory about 9/11. You know what really caused it? The death of Thuy Trang. Those secrets died with her. RIP"

Now you've layed yourself down to fate
I've payed the good lord for
your soul too late
If you should die before you stink
I've payed the good lord for
your soul to sink

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 9 November, 2009 - 03:46