Power Rangers Zeo Overview

Power Rangers Zeo: Season 4
Episode Count: 50
Air Date: April 20, 1996-November 23rd, 1996

"You gotta see it, it's coming!" "You gotta see it!!!" "You gotta see it, it's coming!!" "You gotta see it!!!" "Unleashing the POWWAAHHHHHHHHH!!! GOOOOO ZEOOOO!!!" "It's COMING!!!"

Oh how I remember that particular Zeo Serial back in the fall of '95 after "Mighty Morphin" for 3 seasons captivated young kids with it's massive appeal of action, camp and morality. But at the end of the mini-series, "Mighty Morphin' Alien Rangers", this era of the show saw a shocking and abrupt end with the Command Center as well as Zordon and Alpha seemingly destroyed. I mean Zeo had already been in the works for months, as following the release of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie, the show's pop culture phenomenon status was beginning to slowly fade. The writers took a risk by finally moving on from the Zyuranger suits by completely adapting Super Sentai's Ohranger. And it couldn't have come at a better time!!! While I love or liked all 3 seasons of Mighty Morphin', it was definitely time for a serious change and not just in some aspects of the show but the majority of it and with Zeo, we got that. New base of operations (The brand spankin' new and very spacious Power Chamber), new villains (The wide spreading galactic menace that is the Machine Empire), new character in Tanya and for the first time, the main cast in new ranger suits. Finally Power Rangers was evolving and the two part season premiere, "A Zeo Beginning, Part 1 and 2" did a fantastic job introducing us to not only the new status quo but a whole new saga of the franchise. I LOVE everything about the presentation of the new Zeo powers: the Zeonizers, the bestowing of each rangers' colors and the new incredible morphing sequence. I already talked about how much I love the Zeo/Ohranger suits, so I'll just talk about the theme song again because it really is exceptional music for a kids show with lyrics that rightful represent how powerful these new powers are as well as the grander that come with them.

One thing I am disappointed about this season was how episodic it was. After such a strong story arc with Katherine's manipulation of the rangers and especially Kimberly's departure during Mighty Morphin's final season, Zeo sort of went back to the mostly filler aspects of Season 1 and 2. Not that it was a bad thing but I just wished there was more of a story to tell besides what we got. As far as the main cast this season, this was a nice set of rangers. Tommy, of course, was a great leader as always and it was good to get more story for his character since Season 3 of MMPR was mostly about Kimberly.  I'd say Tommy didn't get much development as a character but shine through even in the most despairing of situations and dumb plot twists.  "There's No Business Like Snow Business" was terrible!!! 3 boring, overlong episodes that seemed to last forever because the basis of the episode were stupid. Kimberly, at the Kimberly we knew, would NEVER break up with Tommy like that. So cold hearted and abrupt like that. All this non-sense with a ski trip and Heather, the lost VR Trooper just to set up a romance between Katherine and Tommy. BLAHK!!! What is a decent to good run of episodes dealing with Tommy's past as he goes through a vision quest that leads him to finding his long lost brother, David (Found and Lost). David was a decent character but only seemed to be there for misdirection of who the Gold Ranger might be. More on that latter. But these four episodes did show Tommy's willingness to sacrifice for the safety of his brother and really tested him as a ranger. So I guess there was some development after all. And yes, if we HAVE to talk about it, his new relationship with Katherine was cute if not still forced. I mean at least he realized he had feelings for her but God, did we have to suffer through some BS to get there.

Speaking of Kat, I liked her more in Zeo than in the last half of Mighty Morphin' Season 3.  While I loved her story last season, her being the original Zeo Pink Ranger aka Zeo Ranger 1 Pink help give her time to develop her character more without having to live in Kimberly's shadow. I mean her time as the second Mighty Morphin' Pink Ranger was so short, so it was nice to see her once again getting a chance to play an original ranger all on her own.  We learn more things about Kat this season like her training with dogs ("Every Dog Has His Day")  and she is also a ballerina instructor ("The Ranger Who Came In From the Gold").  But most of all, we see more of Katherine's caring and compassionate side over Tommy's broken heart over Kimberly. She's willing to sacrifice her happiness of being with Tommy just to see him happy with Heather, so that was nice.  It was also nice to see she can come up with plans for the team like in "Rangers of Two Worlds, Part 2". Kat was just a well rounded character here, not too perfect, not too annoying, just sweet and sincere. Now for Zeo Ranger 2 Yellow aka Tanya Sloan, the newest addition to the ranger team. I LOVED Tanya!!! Right off the bat, she's shown to having a sense of what is right in "The Shooting Star" when her boyfriend Shawn wants to cheat on a test and she wants no part of it.  She stands up for herself easily when Shawn once again gives her a hard time in "Rangers In The Outfield". Not to mention, when she learns are parents are alive in "The Lore of Auric", she risks her own life to go to Mysterio Island at the possibility of seeing them again and ends up saving them in a very brief, TOO brief -_- but touching reunion. She even gives up at a chance at a music career because of her ranger duties and friends in the painfully average "Song Sung Yellow" but still decent development for her character. Everytime the spotlight was on her, I just LOVED her as we always good a great sense of who Tanya was as a person. Nice!!!

On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, you have Adam and Rocky! -_- Two ranger stand ins who continue to bored me to no end either because the writers don't know how to use them or the acting from Johnny Young Bosch and Steve Cardenas is mediocre at best. "Target Rangers" and especially "Trust In Me" were good episodes but not because we learned things about Rocky....I mean he's into overbearingly bitchy females apparently and can be a bit naive.....what I guess those are characteristics, so there you go. He also is highly prone to jealousy in "Mondo's Last Stand" when Jason's return makes him ironically feel like he's going to be replaced!  Not exactly a good character trait but something is something I guess. Adam...sigh....."It Came From Angel Grove" was a really fun episode but NOT because of Adam but because the story was silly yet funny.  I can't think of an episode where we learn anything new from Adam or the writers develop his character??? Ummmmm....yup drawing a blank. The funny thing is, the character that got the most development this season was even a ranger but still a veteran character of the show and that was Billy.  In "A Zeo Beginning, Part 2", he steps down as ranger to be more of a help in the Power Chamber,  graduates early in 'Graduation Blues" which leads to him nobly helping the Aquitians and shows he can still be a geius under pressure in "Mr. Billy's Wild Ride".  Billy was just such a asset this season, showing how his technical expertise was so invaluable to the point even Alpha wish on many occasions that Billy was there to help. For such strong and relentless character development, to complete shaft his character with his departure in "Rangers of Two Worlds, Part 2" was terrible. Once again, I know David Yost left the show abruptly (for good reasons again!) but the writers could have at least given an exit on par with Kimberly's at least by organically give the character the write off they deserved. One of my favorite rangers and he will be missed.

Anyway, on to the Gold Ranger arc because it had it's moments. At first, we have this badass introduction of this new 6th ranger in "The Power of Gold" yet the constant misdirection of who he might be got annoying...fast! It's Billy, no it's David, no it's Skull, no......it's a new character named Trey of Triforia.  A character who while very noble in helping the rangers, was very minor and was only there to transfer the Gold Ranger powers to Jason. Jason's return was SWEET!!! Reinvigorated some excitement and energy into the season again and it's it funny how he's only around for a handle full of episodes but it's the fact we have such a strong character back we don't need see him develop like Adam and Rocky that's great. Sorry, no more bashing those two....they suck! *Cough* 0_0 I liked his established relationship with Emily that started in "Bomber In The Summer"and naturally progressed until the finale. Speaking of the finale, it was kind of weak for such a good season like I said. Sure we saw the wrap up of the Gold Ranger powers and the Zeo Rangers defeating King Mondo, but it didn't feel as big and epic as it could have been. Because of that, "Good As Gold" is a bit anti-climatic as the set up for Turbo is really bad and will continue to get worse!  I mean what will happen to the all the Zeo Zords and Auric the Conqueror....oh right...be COMPLETELY forgotten!!! -_- Errrrhhhh!!! In favor of.....we'll get there very soon!!! :).....-_-

Lastly, the villains this season for the most part were refreshing, even if by the end they proved themselves to be a bit incompetent and gullible.  The Machine Empire were very impressive visually and aesthetically!!! It was no wonder Lord Zedd and Rita ran for their lives at the start of the season as the thing was freakin' enormous. How could their magic compete with an endless army of machines and spaceships??!! O_O The writers did an excellent job of setting up the villains this year despite how the outcome may have turned out. Sure, the royal house of gadgetry wasn't as joyfully evil and cunningly charismatic as MMPR villains but they had their moments as we got to see a new family dynamic in a group of villains. Though like I said, Queen Machina was the worst villain of the bunch, with the most idiotic plans. Yes, worse than Louie Kaboom and yes, I'm not going to talk about him and how pathetic he was or how his tenure as the leader of the Machine Empire was hard to sit through! The best villains by far this season were Prince Gasket and Archerina, a evil duo of married machines who come out of no where to get ride of Louie to reclaim the throne and destroy the Power Rangers. Not to mention, they came the closet to defeating the rangers and I loved their dynamic. A shame they just left and didn't fight until the end but whatever. What we got from them was good! :)

Oh and if I HAVE to talk about Bulk and Skull, fine! I liked how we had more moments of them being decent human beings this season. Even if they still sucked and were beyond annoying at least we had episodes like "Instrument of Destruction" and "Bulk Fiction" to show they can be nice guys and true friends to each other. Heck in "Scent of A Weasel", Skull proves to be understanding and caring at times to a pretty little model. They proved to have moments of even doing things right like catching that thief in 'Rock-A-Bye Power Rangers" and completing their detective exam during a monster attack in "Rangers of Two Worlds". They also show that they are very loyal to Lt. Stone when he gets fired from the Junior Police Patrol and they quit along with him to become detectives for his Detective Agency. Only to then leave him for jobs in France in "Good As Gold", so that just kind of undermines everything don't it!!? -_-  Anyway.....I love the zord arsenal this season as it had to be one of the largest in the show's history: the Zeo Zords, Red Battlezord, Super Zeo Zords, Warrior Wheel and Pyramidas. Hell, I'd even put Auric in there despite being a Ninjor-esqe ally.

Pros:

• Awesome presentation of new powers from theme song to zord arsenal
• Great new character in Tanya!
• Jason's well deserved return to the show
• The Gold Ranger arc, despite mishandled misdirection
• Decent villains overall
• A nice mix of American fight footage and Sentai action footage

Cons:

• Some lousy episodes like "There's No Business Like Snow Business"
• Louie Kaboom and Queen Machina
• More underdevelopment for Adam and Rocky
• Too episodic and very little story arcs
• No proper end to the Zeo season and powers

Best Episodes:
1. "Mondo's Last Stand"-Rocky's jealous over Jason's return was just so hilarious to me!!! Plus Mondo taking on the rangers himself for once was one of the most awesome moments of the show. I loved the Super Zeo Megazord intro and it's awesome finisher as well. :)

2. "A Golden Homecoming"-The return of Jason, the original Red Ranger, becoming the Gold Ranger and the awesome introduction of the Super Zeo Zords??? What's not to love about this great, great episode! :)

3. "Mr. Billy's Wild Ride"-Love seeing Billy and the rangers working together to free him from the clutches of the Machine Empire. All around, it was just a fun and intense episode.

4. "A Zeo Beginning, Part 1 and 2"-A very excellent start to the season with one of my favorite new status quo and the intimidating presentation of the Machine Empire.

5. "The Power of Gold"-The was one of the most memorable 6th ranger introductions as Trey coming out of no where to save the rangers was pretty badass as well as the initial mystery surrounding him.

Worst Episodes:
1. "A Season To Remember"-Such an excruciating bad episode and possibly one of the worst episodes of the franchise. Nothing more needs to be said about these forced and unwanted early holiday episodes!

2. "There's No Business Like Snow Business, Part 1-3"-The writers turn Kimberly into a straight bitch and force us on the most boring run of episodes this season. I can't stand these episodes!!! Ewww!!!

3. "Invasion of the Ranger Snatchers"-Just terrible!!! Didn't find it fun and amusing as it should have been. The movie set idea was kind of wasted honestly!

4. "Rock-A-Bye Power Rangers"-What can I say, it really did put me to sleep!!! lol"

5. "Mean Screen"-Time has just not been kind to this episode, it just feels really tacky and dated! O_O

"As the first official season to carry on without the Mighty Morphin' name and change the main cast's superhero attire, "Power Rangers Zeo" promised a grand and new adventure for the show after 3 seasons of morphenominal action. It has decent villains, great action, solid episodes and an impressive arsenal of zords as well as weapons. But the loss of a strong overarching narrative like last season hurts an otherwise good season of the franchise."

Season Verdict: B