Season 13, Episode 1: Beginnings, Part 1

"Beginnings, Part 1"
Episode 1
February 5th, 2005

Well, well, well....look who finally has gotten to S.P.D.!!! :P  Yeah, yeah, life has been chaotic and busy so these reviews aren't gonna come as quick as you, not to mention, ME wants them to unfortunately. :( But I'm committing to this until I catch up with where the franchise is now because this show is a HUGE part of my childhood as well as my current adulthood apparently. O_o Anyway, S.P.D. starts off with the main villain making possibly the biggest first impression of ANY before him as he blows up a planet after declaring it's uselessness to him.  Yeah....you gotta admit, destorying an entire world in the first minute of an episode is probably the most badass debut of a new main villain considering usually, the main villain spends all season trying to destroy a planet so.....kudos on the writers making Emperor Grumm already a major force to be reckoned with by showing and NOT telling! <3  Meanwhile, back on Earth, we find we are in the future, 2025 to be specific, where the world is now peacefully inhabited by humans and aliens: now co-exist in some type of utopia thanks to the special polic force known as Space Patrol Delta aka S.P.D. We soon are introduced to 3 officers of S.P.D., Schuyler "Skye" Tate, Bridge Carson and Sydney "Syd" Drew, who are busy haunting down the bad aliens who who seek to corrupt and cause chaos in this new world we are in.  We quickly also see each of them have special powers like last season's rangers, Skye being about to create force fields, Bridge able to see the auras of various people, aliens and creatures and Syd being about to adapt to any material she holds in her hand, in this case, a piece of metal she uses to give her immense super strength.  Honestly, I think I like these "civilian powers" better than the Dino Rangers' last season.  I didn't talk about it in my overview but while their civilian powers were cool, they didn't use them much and didn't make much of a difference in the long run.  Jesus, I think even Tommy and Trent used their abilities very rarely actually. O_o  Anyway, as the 3 officers take down the threat in a very flippy action sequence (What is this? Xena??? :P), we soon see this is just a simulation as the officers are the B Squad cadets of the S.P.D. Academy and are being trained by Kat Manx (cause Power Rangers, shut up already!) who is in charge of the research and technology department of the school.  The 3 are eager to become Power Rangers but Kat feels as well as their Commander ( Commander Krueger, no relation to Freddy! :P) that they are not exactly ready to become rangers despite being the B Squad.

Yeah, apparently, the school works by a letter system where the A Squad are the main rangers in action while B Squad just pick up the slack for lesser missions of the academy.  I got to say, I love this system and right away sets of this new team to strive for more than just being the underdogs as they are not automatically seen as the top heroes of the show.  Very nice story arc structure and set up for the season! :) As we see more of the academy, we are introduced to Commander Krueger, who will be the rangers' primary mentor and he doesn't go easy on the enthusiastic three who are more eager about becoming rangers than earning it....especially Skye.  Yeah, as much as Bridge is a lovable but dim witted goof and despite Syd's vain, most cliche Pink Ranger archetype personality, Skye is the least likable of the three....for obvious reasons.  Sure, they set him up with him striving to be the Red Ranger/leader of the B Squad but clearly the guy is too arrogant and overconfident for such leadership as well as responsibility.  I really love how Commander Krueger already sees that in Skye and tests him by questioning if someone like Syd could be the Red Ranger.  Of course Skye, being such a charming guy, laughs it off since she's a girl which is funny since they've been female rangers for over 30 years at that point but whatever, a female can't be the red ranger because misogyny is one of Skye's other special powers apparently. -_- We also meet Boom, Kat's very over the top, comedic assistant, played by one of the franchise's most frequent character actors, Kelson Henderson and the sacred A Squad of the academy who are hilariously sporting the helmets of the Space Rangers while being sent off on a important mission to stop Grumm from reaching off.  As funny as it is, I love the show paying tribute to the past rangers by having a new generation have suits similar to past rangers.  Tho, I'm sure this was more of a cost saving measure than actually referencing the past. O_o Also, Bridge uses his speical powers to read the A Squad's aura and tells the others there is something "off" about them...hmmmmm??? o_o

Anyway, Commander Krueger sends the B Squad on another test mission to bring them closer to being rangers as he sends them into the city to stop a duo of thieves named Jack Landors and Elizabeth "Z" Delgado.  As the three go after the two thieves, they quickly realize the thieves possess special powers like they do as Z can create multiple clones of herself and Jack can phase through solid objects.  After an embarrassing defeat as the two thieves get away, the three return to S.P.D. disappointed and thinking their days as Power Rangers are even farther away.  Funny enough, Jack and Z are stealing for the poor of the city but while their Robin Hood antics are noble, Z inspires to do something bigger while Jack says what they've been doing for years is enough for him and if he finds something better, let him know.  Also, I have to say the acting already is very solid by the whole cast so far! :) Meanwhile, Grumm has reached a wormhole he will use to reach Earth while preparing one of his minions to head to the planet to steal a device that will help his Terror Spacecraft make it through.  So back on Earth, after giving away more to the poor Jack and Z run into an alien that hands Jack the proton accelerator and runs off where he is quickly destroyed by Grumm's minion while the two thieves drive away.  I mean he only said "the fate of the world is at stake" guys and the next day, Jack just throws it right into the trash....WOW! -_-  Luckily, Commander Krueger has come around and decides it's time to make the B Squad Power Rangers.  Kat introduces them to their Delta Morphers, which not only will transforms them into rangers but can capture potential criminals as it can scan for the guilty or innocent as Kat hilariously uses on Boom and it even transform the criminal into a trading card....awwww......weird.....O_o Anyway, the three are given the mission to capture the two thieves again and while this time the fight goes a lot better in their favor, the three cadets are soon surrounded by not only Grumm's minion, but the foot soldiers of the season, Krybots.  While the three prepare for a fight, the two thieves leave them to deal with the overwhelming forces as Part 1 ends.  Not bad at all.  Setting up a new timeline, characters, villains and small bits of character arcs, this is a very solid first half of the premiere without a doubt. :)

Final Morph: A-