Season 2, Episode 9: The Beetle Invasion

"The Beetle Invasion"
Episode 9
Air Date: September 21st, 1994

I feel like the series is on auto-pilot again with this season. We started strong with Lord Zedd's arrival, the introduction of the Thunderzords and the loss of Tommy's powers being teased but still, there's no follow through on the later. The episode begins with Ernie playing what he calls broom ball when the guys notice what he's doing. Apparently, Ernie is getting ready for the broom ball competition coming up and needs a team of players to face Stone Canyon's Beetles. The guys aren't really interested until two players from Stone Canyon come over to talk trash and suddenly they're in. Oh the power of peer pressure! lol Meanwhile, Tommy is worried if they can learn how to play in time to beat the other team while Lord Zedd is watching and starts monologue-ing about how Tommy should be more worried about his powers as he plans to wipe out all of Rita's failures by making Tommy lose his powers... for GOOD!!! So the rangers and Ernie are practicing playing when Trini notices a handsome young man who catches their ball. Turns out he's a new kid named Richie who will just being there for Trini to in over for the next couple of episodes. With no more players needed on the team, Ernie makes him his assistant coach....yeah....

As Tommy and Kimberly run in the park, Zedd sends down his Puttie Patrol after them...but not before uses his staff to create the Stag Beetle from a poster of the opposing team's mascot. At the park the Putties surround Tommy and Kimberly as Tommy reminds he about the Z weakness.  We get a good Puttie fight full of acrobatics from Kimberly and some nice moves from Tommy. Then Stag Beetle appears to Kimberly discuss and they both moprh. They begin to fight the Putties but when Stag Beetle becomes impatient he sends the Putties to hold Tommy so he can drain all of his powers. As he does so, Kimberly contacts Zordon for help from the other rangers. Kimberly does some cool moves that knocks out all the Putties to the ground. Meanwhile outside the Youth Center, the teens notice the other team's mascot is missing from the poster when Zordon contacts them. They morph and head to the park to fight the Putties. When Stag Beetle is finished draining Tommy's powers, he and the Putties disappear. The other rangers check on Tommy as he feels weak.

Back at the Command Center, Alpha analyzes Tommy as he says he feels fine, just weakened. Alpha and Zordon conclude that the monster has drained Tommy of all his powers as Billy and Alpha say they must build some energy transducer to collect Tommy's energy back. Before the rangers can head out and face Stag Beetle, Zordon warns them not to defeat the monster until Tommy's powers are regain. They head back to action to the quarry when the Stag Beetle also arrives. They fight but the Stag Beetle is clearly too much for them, especially with Tommy's powers. With Tommy's powers, he is able to shoot green lightning and energy blasts that easily defeat the rangers.  Jason then gets the idea to lure the monster out in the open while the other rangers tell him to wait. They finally follow him as Stag Beetle and a squad of Putties follow them. Meanwhile, Zordon asks if Alpha is down with the transducer yet as he is almost ready; letting Tommy know what he has to do to regain his powers.  Back at quarry, the rangers out run some blasts until they end up on a edge of a cliff.....I honestly don't see the danger of this situation!! O_o So the rangers are cornered by the monster and the Putties when he decides to blasts them with more of Tommy's powers. Tommy arrives to tell them to duck and they do as the energy passes them and he uses the energy transducer to get most of his powers back. The rangers being dense, finally realize it must have been Tommy, prepare their weapons as they can finally destroy the monster. They form the Power Blaster and fire; seemingly destroying the Stag Beetle but Lord Zedd summons a bomb and throws it at him. He catches it as the rangers realize the fight isn't over and the monster grows. They summon their Thuderzords in another cool summoning sequence and we get another decent zord battle. Of course the editing is shoddy and we don't see the monster or megazord hit each other but we'll see worse along the way this season. Sigh. The Mega Thunderzord finishes off the Stag Beetle with it's Thunder Saber.

The next day, the teens are playing boom ball with the opposing team and win!!! No kidding!!! O_o The other team congratulates them and finally show some humility while Bulk and Skull fail again at finding out who the Power Rangers are. Give it up idiots!!! God!!! Anyway, the episode ends with Tommy realizing that his run as the Green Ranger is almost up and I wish we would just get there already. Stop teasing and just do it!!! Overall, it was an average episode doing more stalling on the Tommy losing his powers front.

Final Morph: C