Season 15, Episode 1: Kick Into Overdrive, Part 1

"Kick Into Overdrive, Part 1"
Episode 1
Air Date: February 26th, 2007

Oooooo boy, here we go!!! I was dreading re-watching this season over again but maybe Operation Overdrive isn't the complete and utter garbage dump I remember it being??? O_O .....*A piercing, excruciating theme song that sounds like instruments being tortured; followed by one of the most embarrassing attempts at rapping on a kid's show I have EVER heard plays*  NOPE!!! Goodbye!!! Noooooooo!!! Not the worst theme song in history!!! O_O  How would kids even want to see this show after hearing such wretched noise such as this!!! Who approved this??? Amit Bahumik not being made show runner despite all his ideas??? Haim Saban secretly trying to sabotage the Disney Era out of spite??? Seriously, who were the composers of this travesty that they would want the ears of children to hear such worship of evil through "music"...if you can call it that.  Ok....wooooowwwww....I'm already missing Mystic Force...not a good sign so far!!! -_- Anyway, the series opens up with a narration from a young guy ex-positing about his adventure and it taking a sudden twist since he is Indiana Jones apparently.  Some villain cliche has tied him up and stolen a precious artifact which he clings to before jumping out of a plane that is quickly falling to it's doom... the Temple of Doom!!! Hey, if they want to do Indiana Jones rip-offs, then I'm making corny jokes about it!!! :P Anyway, hero guy tries to stop the plane but he can't and decides to jump after the villain guy.  He manages to catch up to him some how but he fails to get villain guy's parachute as he hilariously falls to his death!!! Hey, it was a dream anyone! You think I wanted him to die??? 0_o

The kid falling out of the hammock with the overzealous action adventure dream is named Mack as his butler, Spencer makes a snarky comment about his fall as well as fantasizing.  We learn his father is a billionaire named Andrew Hartford, who is archaeologist, who doesn't seem to want to bring his son with him on his dangerous digs.  Spencer, ever the charmer, just tells him to master the hammock first before he goes off globe trotting with his dad. Ha! I like Spencer already! :)  Then we cut to a scene of Andrew Hartford, coming upon the legendary artifact, the Corona..............(Wow, talk about bad timing to review this season when that word is a NO NO right now!!! O_O) Aurora, which was seemingly a myth until Andrew has just discovered it. Unfortunately, when he grabs it, he unleashes a massive earthquake that sends shock-waves throughout space where two creatures from two different planets rise and say, "the Corona Aurora has finally been discovered."  It's really gonna be hard for me to talk about Moltor and Flurious because I just can't help but start singing The Cold Miser/Heat Miser songs from "The Year Without Santa"...seriously, not a good thematic choice for contrasting enemies.  Yeahhhhh...also..during the Earthquake, a being called the Sentinel Knight appears to him telling him the Corona (I'm just gonna say Aurora from now on!) Aurora has been discovered and that he must prepare.  Six months later, we fast forward to Hollywood California where we are introduced to........*Insanity crying*....Dex Lo, a stuntman who clearly wants to be more than that..when he gets some cryptic message from Hartford from some holographic message thingy. O_o  Next we head to a NASCAR Race, where Ronnie Robinson has just one another race but as she's getting her trophy, she notices another one of those holograph thingies Hartford sent out.  Then we see a thief named Will Ashton, who is trying to steal some rare diamonds from a museum...especially when he just starts talking about it out of no where to himself when he sees the holograph thingy to in the safe.  Apparently, Hartford set this up so he could test his skills.  Lastly, we head to London where we see a machine shooting lasers at everyone when a very nonchalant professor named Rose Ortiz just...walking over, while chewing gum and dodges the blasts just casually turning it off.  She pretty much quickly dismisses the situation to a fellow lab worker before one of the holographs falls down and she picks it up to see Hartford's message.

Back at Hartford's mansion, the four soon unite, wondering what's going  when Mack just stumbles upon them.  As the question if Mack was invited here too, Andrew and Spencer quickly arrive to send Mack away while he tells them about why he has assembled them.  Apparently, 1,000 of years ago, the Aurora Crown, one of the most powerful artifacts in the world was being protected by the Sentinel Knight when two opposing brothers named Moltor and Flurious tried to steal it.  Rose knows all about this story and continues it as both brothers were cursed by being turned into hideous creatures that were sent off into 2 different planets.  To make sure that the Crown would never fall into the wrong hands again, he took the 5 jewels of the crown and sent them throughout the world where no one knew were they were kept.  Now with the two brothers back on Earth, they and who knows whatever evil forces will stop at nothing to get them; that's why he recruited them to help him find the jewels and keep them from harm's way as a new team of Power Rangers.  While Dex begins his mugging routine, Rose pretty much wraps up this whole show with one line: "You're rich! Buy an army!"  Omg!!! THANK YOU!!! Already the smartest ranger we've ever had!!! Hartford clearly has the money, science and resources to fund an entire army of soldiers to stop this right away and find the stones a lot faster than a handful of Power Rangers could.  Mind you, this is the same universe as Lightspeed Rescue, why not get the government involved since...you...there have been dozens of teams of rangers in the past so why not contact Lightspeed or some version of them now and tell them the situation so they can resolve this issue quickly and precise???  O_o  Also, why would Hartford even choose THESE people as rangers?? A thief, a stunt man, a NASCAR racer and a University Professor??!! Sure, Rose will prove to be the most useful because of her research in geography, technology and genius intellect, the other three...especially Dax...why Dax....why..DAX!!? :_( Anyway, the 4 are about to bail when the appearance of the Sentinel Knight stops them as he begs them that the fate of world lies in there hands, blah, blah, blah...hello, didn't you just hear the conversation and the army logic??? O_o Anyway, Mack and Spencer were listening in while Moltor and Flurious make themselves home on Earth; one staying in a volcano and the other in an ice cave in the arctic I'm assuming.  Makes sense given their element physics and the need to stay at the right temperature....what doesn't make sense is Norg...some Eskimo/Sasquatch looking who clearly will a comic relief character and pain in the a$$ for Flurious...yyaaayy....-_-

Back at the mansion, 100 feet below, Andrew brings the rangers to his secret base of operation where he has given the 4 uniforms as well is scrambling their DNA to give them individual powers and heightened knowledge.Now, see what I'm saying, if he can just take 4 people and turn them into super-powered Power Rangers, why not a bunch of soldiers??! Why even choose these 4 for their specific set of skills when you were gonna enhance them with super powers and increased intellect on top of their ranger powers??? I'm sorry but the writers have already made this series seem soooo non-sensical that what is even the point of these chosen rangers???  Jesus when Lightspeed Rescue, hell even the very first season where Zordon randomly choose a bunch of teenagers to fight Rita makes more sense than this, it's wrap folks, on to the next Sentai adaption much!!! O_o Anyway, after Hartford tells them he's gonna be the leader of the team as the red ranger, Mack just stumbles upon the lab and is all excited again (Seriously Hartford, what with the lack of maximum security if your son can just enter your top secret lab like this??? -_-) While, Mack and his father discuss why he can't be a ranger for some reason, the 4 rangers are outside when their civilian powers kick in.  Moltor saw where the drown was being held and sent an army of Lava Lizards (His foot soldiers) to get it.  As the 4 get their asses kicked, I can't help but HATE Will, especially after that "telescopular" exchange with Rose!!! Seriously, who wrote this episode??? O_O Anyway, Ronny gets all badass and activates her own power which is superspeed.  Dex gets super agility and Rose gets invisibility, which is not bad as they are using them pretty effective and turn the tide of the fight because of it.  After Spencer warns Hartford of Moltor's foot soldiers after the crown, he prepares to take the crown away from the mansion so they don't get it while Mack is continuously adamant about joining the team.  One wonders why Spencer and Hartford took him with them and the rangers but we need that surprise ranger reveal even tho in the opening credits we know it'll be Mack so....  Anyway, they get stopped by a squad of Chillers (Flurious' foot soldiers) and decide they need to morph while the 4 chosen rangers morph, Mack continues to beg his father to be a ranger.  Still glad you brought him along Hartford?? Would have made more sense of Mack followed them on his own and saw the opportunity to become a ranger when his dad was in trouble instead of how this plays out.

Anyway, the Overdrive morph is...chaotic to say the least.  I always liked when the morph sequence would show parts of the suit appearing on them piece by piece but this time, it's so fast paced and quick it's almost a blink in you'll miss it type of deal...yeah!  The Overdrive suits....ummm...more on that in Part 2 because this opening fight scene with the team is beyond obnoxious, I really believe Bruce Kalish is an obsessed Micheal Bay fan because this has got to be the worst usage of those slow motion, over the top explosions during this era of the show. Juxtaposed that to the Sentai footage the rangers summoning their weapons: a freakin' tire hammer, digging claws, a damn fan and a water geyser....sigh....at least Mack's weapon makes sense.  Oh yeah, Mack becomes the red ranger when he needs to save his father from the lava lizards who capture him and must save him.  Funny how he immediately jumps into action and has complete handle of his powers despite Hartford's reservations of  him being a ranger...and what's up with the over-dramatic slow speech when he morphs??? O_o Anyway, Moltor amanges to ger his hands on the crown from Spencer and causes a volcano to begin flooding the city nearby.  All things considered, good plan on the fly when the heroes are after what you want.  As he and foot soldiers leave, Mack asks his dad what they do as they all look in fear; ending part 1. Ummmmm, mediocre at best?? Liking one of two elements but the premise of this team of rangers and their mission is serious perplexing and lazy.  Hartford could have even gotten former rangers who lost their power to be a new team of rangers instead but whatever, I'm sick of looking at plotholes at this point and the premiere isn't even done yet. WOW! o_o

Final Morph: D+