Power Rangers Operation Overdrive Overview

Power Rangers Operation Overdrive: Season 15
Episode Count: 32
Air Date: February 26th, 2007-November 12th, 2007

Sigh....you know that saying, "if you have nothing nice to say, don't say it at all!" -_-  Welp, I think in the writers room for this season, the writers truly had nothing worth writing in terms of a show for this season.  I find it funny how so much effort can be put into the production of Power Rangers: the action, the costumes, location, the fight scenes, etc. but when it comes to the story, sometimes if feels like the show has absolutely NOTHING to say.....or just nothing GOOD to say at all. Operation Overdrive is by far the show's worst attempt at telling a specific overarching story for a new team of rangers that I had the absolute displeasure of re-watching.  I think when I original watched the show for the first time back in 2014, I was very sick and was using my incredible nostalgia of Power Rangers to make me feel A LOT better.  Now into my early 30s, I still watch this franchise over and over to remind of simpler times when my childhood seemed forever and adulthood actually feeling like a strenuous, overly depressing journey.  No matter how dumb this show could get and before this season, it REALLY has! O_O  But at least there was an awful lot of good to counter the tremendous carelessness of the show's writing. Turbo improved immensely, Wild Force had some of the best villains and team-ups episodes of the series, even Mystic Force, despite being an overall desperate attempt at fantasy and almost hollow disappointment, had moments of epicness that utilized the story's theme of magic and tried to make the character genuinely grow as heroes.....but Overdrive tho??? O_o  It's like they completely dropped the ball and were just rushing through ideas before just going with 1 or 2 that were actually decent.  Maybe it's because of its Sentai counterpart, Boukenranger, wasn't that great to begin with either but my goodness, there is just too much to hate this season to make even the good be the saving grace most of the time.  I honestly, don't know where to begin as I feel like this will be once again more of a rant than an actual overreview as usual but I have no choice and will try my best to be as articulate as I can be with my criticizing.

The two part opener, "Kick Into Overdrive" isn't completely awful but you could already see the shocking red herrings of the atrocious characterizations, inept action, laughable dialogue and moronic choices in these team of rangers.  I will and I mean I NEVER will get over...well....Will's line about his power being "telescopular".....-_-  My goodness, did the writers feel that kids would find that amusing??? Cause last time I checked, children are in the highest state of learning than any other stage of life on this earth, so giving them dumb dialogue like that is like dumbing them down even if it is a kids show.  But whatever, why get into semantics about random moments of incompetent comedy when our heroes care more about chasing after the powerful item of universe conquering when an entire city of human beings are about to be killed by an erupting volcano!!!  Like I said, it's not just about priorities, you're the freakin' Power Rangers!!! Hundreds, if not thousands of people are about to die and the writers choose to paint our heroes like illogical, selfish a-holes in just the first two episodes!!! O_O I just.....even Mystic Force has some redeeming qualities but as a team chosen to save the world from multiple factions of villains, Overdrive just sucked more and more in terms of our heroes.  Ewwwww, I'm gonna have to start talking about them huh?? :( Sighhhhhhh.....*groan* -_-  I guess I'll start with...ummm...enney, meeny, minney, Rose!!! Rose was the brilliant researcher, professor, bio-chemist, whatever of the team, making her the most intelligent...at least compared to the others, not so much as an actual genius. Rose would usually be the best at debuking the clues and relics that would lead to a jewel by using her extensive knowledge to track them down.  In terms of her character, she learns to lighten up and have fun in "Pirate In Pink" when she gets possessed by Brown Beard as she forms an unlikely friendship....while fun yet nonsensical amounts to ultimately nothing but hey!!! Rose learned to have fun right?!  She has that episode with Tyzonn, "One Fine Day" which didn't pain each of them in the best light, especially when Rose makes one of the dumbest revelations in this show's history.  She wanted to learn everything there is to be special...and when Tyzonn asks her if she did, her answer is a big fat NO!!! Which my god, is a big ole insult to the character who's suppose to so passionate about her work but nope, it was all for nothing in her mind cause I still don't feel special.  Even at the end of the season, apparently her learning to be proud of her intelligence was this great conclusion to his arc.....bah!!!! Oh and for a supposed genius, how she and the rangers couldn't remember who had which jewels as well as the crown when they could have just kept track of that with their very advanced database...I mean come on people!!! I mean she does say Hartford could have bought an army and wrapped this season up in the first episode but nooooooo, Rose is just as inept as the others as it seems as her intelligence is so invaluable until she suddenly thinks it's something to continue doing....ewwwww. -_-  On to the next female ranger, Ronny was seen to be a competitive psycho in "At All Cost", a decent episode where she learns losing isn't so bad because it helps her mature and grow as a person aka thanks to Spencer's brilliant mentoring....more on that later! But besides that, Ronny is probably my second least favorite as he dialogue is some of the dumbest and most selfish of almost the entire team.  Wanting things for herself, expecting people to save her and having to be convinced of doing the right thing, like one of the rangers wanting so bad to go after the crown in the premiere when thousands of lives could be lost. WOW...again!!! -_-

The only time she seemed really selfless and decent was when she was convinces Tyzonn to stay on Earth to help the rangers on their mission despite his painful past with the Fear Cats.  She actually the most compassionate toward him and is probably the catalyst that led him to finally making the decision to become the Mercury ranger but unfortunately, outside the initial multi-parters with Tyzonn, there's no building on this.  Here you have two rangers who seem to have a deep connection that could lead them to helping them develop in their own individual arcs but NOPE! Ehhhhhhhh!!! -_- "Ronny On Empty", Part 1 and 2 sees her actually sacrificing herself for a fellow ranger to get away despite spending most of it captured.  Also, she just can't help but make Will feel bad for taking so long to save her.  Real nice Ronny! Could have just left it at thank you! -_-  By the end of the season, she just...wants to go back to race car driving....that's it.  Yup.....no change, no development, no enlightened character moment at the end that feels full circle....just Ronny being Ronny and not giving damn! Way ta go writers!!! Onto the male rangers, Will and Dax..............-_-........why.....why....WHY!!!??? Will is a tragically selfish, self centered jerk at the beginning of the season who's all about working alone and making up dumb words because apparently being an elaborate thief doesn't involve basic appreciation for real. WORDS!!! -_- I guess Will learns to be more selfless and work alongside his team but outside  1 or 2 moments, not really an arc for him at all as the rest of the team.  There was this ongoing rivalry between him and one of the villain factions because of what happened in "Both Sides Now" when he tries to infiltrate them to find the next jewel but I found that forced everytime they brought it up after.  Like why would the villains take it so personal when this seemed more like a grudge than actual vengeance??? If this was an actual plot point but NOOOOOO it wasn't, just bringing that up for the sake of more forced tension before certain fights.  Yeah, it led Will to destroying Kamdor on his own in a nice action sequence but there is no depth there like the writers want you to be invested in.  Not to mention, isn't it Will who help free Kamdor in the first place thanks to he and Hartford not letting the rangers know immediately they were only tricking the villain with a plan??? O_O  I mean he was well acted by Samuel Benta (who apparently is a smug piece of in real life too), but Will just never came off like a real good guy and always so self involved even if he wanted to save Ronny on his own and managed to do so in "Part 2" of "Ronny On Empty".  But enough about Will, let's get to the worst of the worst, the bad of the bad, the CEO of jittery, acting spasms that is Dax Lo!!! Oh Dax....sigh......I blame the writing, I blame the actor, I blame the directors and literally ANYONE on set who let this buffooney of a character make it to screens all across the world.  Dax is everything people mistake Bridge and especially Chip, but at least those two characters had extremely noble qualities to off set their erratically goofy behavior but DAX!!!??? The stupid one liners, the atrocious character decisions, the constant reminding of him dating Miratrix when it came to his jokes, leaving the rangers to battle while he is mopping around the mansion, saying he'll take a ranger's new zord if one of them doesn't make it with Ronny, taking acting over saving the world and pretty much saying, "naw, I want a starring role, even tho I am an adult and need to be told not to because I end up saying yes anyway!" Being insensitive toward Mack's revelation, needing popcorn to old footage of the rangers' being idiots and not knowing when to keep track of something as simple as who has what??? "Heart of Blue", "Light, Camera, Dax", etc. are some of the worst episodes I have ever seen because of these numerous moments of cartoon hijinks that even a cartoon would find over the top and unceremoniously silly.  He wants to direct by the end of the season after wanting to be an actor for so long and sick of being a stunt man.....wow....what led to this epiphany??? :)  Nothing....nothing at all....NOTHING!!! Like what's in Dax's head everytime he speaks. :) Worst ranger, worst character of ANY show I have ever seen so far!!! Please, don't top this any piece of fiction out there I haven't yet!!! -_-

Lastly, we have Mack, Hartford's son and the most enthusiastic about being a ranger.  Sure his love for cheesy adventure novels is kind of pathetic (especially given that opening fantasy he has....oh boy!!! O_O) but it gave him the drive and will to do the right thing and take up the Red Ranger mantle despite his father's serious reservations about it.  But it just goes to show how heroic Mack was initially, ready to help and save others like he always dreamed of because of who he is as a person (the irony huh?? :)  Of course, his father relents and lets him become the red ranger but it's not soon after we get these season's love of giving up with these characters as even Mack can't help but give up during "Weather Or Not", just a couple of episodes after he was dying to become the red ranger...the hell??? It's his father, who initially hated the idea that makes him want to continue being a ranger as....the rangers are you know....in immeniet danger.....and they're just...chillin' in their zords like they have nothing better to do.....wooooowww, this show is really something, I tell you with the laziness and lack of urgency man! O_O. Honestly, the only thing Mack had going for him was season long build to his reveal as a ndroid and the immense existential questioning it brought to his motivations and actions.  The drama between him and his father about his humanity were easily the best bits of emotional depth of the season and cared some episodes that continued to lack because of the already exhausting and boring main story.  I love how in "Nothing to Lose" he is willing to sacrifice himself and is angry at Moltor taking his humanity for granted in exchange for being a hideous monster.  Sure, "Red Ranger Unplugged" was gimmicky, but it was just a minor flaw in an arc that felt so heartbreaking and surreal for this show. Its Mack who nobly sacrifices himself to save the world from the corona aurora and destroy Flurious at the cost of his own.  As painfully cheesy and fairytale as the ending to Mack's arc was with the whole "I'm real boy" conclusion, it actually felt earned as Mack's humanity always shined through more than any of the others which is kind of a metaphorical surprise for such a dense show.  Although, I'd rather forget that bad luck episode "Out of Luck"!!! Yeessh!!! O_o  Omg, I almost forgot about Tyzonn, are resident Mercurian and 6th ranger! Tyzonn's initial episodes were pretty solid, especially the Man of Mercury two parters.  His backstory was surprisingly expertly written by bringing some stakes for him to overcome personally but outside of Tyzonn's backstory and how he was brought in to be another ally despite working for Moltor.....he was an obnoxious and overbearing idiot who didn't understand Earthly customs cause the rangers themselves were too dumb to tell him how to behave! -_-  If not humiliating himself while pretending to be Will in "Just Like Me", it was his creepy stalker phase with Rose in "One Fine Day".  Not to mention, the sudden revelation of his fiancee Vella being alive in "Home and Away", Part 2 is so rushed into resolution it makes his really tragic backstory seem like a complete joke when here she is, no need to look for her! And they lived happily ever after??? What!!??? O_o

Onto our supporting characters as Spencer was by far more than just an Alfred to the team in the end but more the unofficial mentor as Hartford didn't really do much of any of that.  Sure he helped with the jewel searching, tracking down relics and created the rangers' zords but meh...Hartford was rather a selfish, devious prick because he was always do some undermined stuff to either teach the rangers a lesson or form a plan that they weren't all apart of. The heck???  O_O  Spencer on more than one occasion sat down and gave the rangers some advice regarding their personal dilemma that
 episode and always made sure they kept fighting no matter what odds, emotional or otherwise were in their way.  His relationship with Mack in particular was heartwarming from the beginning in "Kick In Overdrive" right until the end when he is encouraging Mack to talk to his father again despite the secrecy of what he truly was.  Hell, he even made Hartford realize how much of a hypocrite he was for taking Will's sudden resignation in "One Gets Away" when he lost the crown so early on to Moltor.  Jesus, it's like all the best writing went to Spencer and the writers had no interest in any of the others, hero, villain, etc.  My goodness! Also him being a master of disguise had genuine moments of good hilarity, even tho it would make no sense in terms of the various shapes of the people he was disguised as bunch whatchu gonna do. Spencer was just awesome and brilliant! Hope he finally got that overdo raise from Hartford.  Speaking of him, like I said, not a great mentor by any means and despite being a billionaire genius/archaeologist, he really didn't bring THAT much to the show, especially when Rose filled that role.  He seemed only interested in mentoring and supporting Mack as the whole Will situation, like I said, was so uncalled for.  But it does make sense as he was so protective of Mack and always worried about him given the true nature of what he was.  Hartford honestly didn't become a character to me unless he had the gut wrenching talks about Mack and who he truly is despite being a machine.  Sure, he didn't always say the right thing, which showed he is human like any other father but I loved how in the finale we finally saw first hand, machine or not, Hartford was ready to potentially sacrifice even the world to keep his son safe and that really encapsulated what Hartford should have been all season: the paternal guide of not just Mack but of the group. At least by the end of the series, he decides to bring make with him on his adventures like he always wanted so I guess that was the full circle moment of the show??? o_o

Ahhhh it's villain time and while Overdrive did something that most seasons have NEVER done with the whole multiple evil factions (the closest we had was the United Alliance of Evil with Astronema and the first 5 seasons worth of villains working under Dark Specter but outside Divatox escorting Zordon and the finale where they simultaneous attack the universe, it wasn't really used to its potential in favor of of course more brilliant and bolder storytelling).  The thing is the writers really had the chance to use this new set of villainy for the show and really make some truly compelling connections between some of the individual rangers and one set of villains.  Unfortunately, like almost everything this season, the effort put here is about as good as pineapple on a pizza!!! Yeah, I said it!!! O_O :P Not to mention the potential in-fighting between each faction like Moltor and Flurious who are brothers and both have armies of foot soldiers they could literally overwhelm each other with and while we do get some fight scenes between them, the reason behind their rivalry is something out of a rainy day children's novel.  Flurious broke Moltor's sledge when they were kids.....that's the reason behind their rivalry as we learn in "Follow The Ranger".  A broken sledge people!!! The villains were suppose to fear and be so intimated by are still holding a grudge about a broken toy from their childhood!!! Once again, wasting potential with the dumbest writing. The Fear Cats are easily the most powerful in terms of sheer strength against the rangers and always built incredibly formidable giant machines to fight them as well.  You would think their initial connection wit Tyzonn would strike some sort of rivalry between them as well but it's not until Crazasr appears that we get anything close to that and it only seems she was just a set for Tyzonn to search for his supposed, thought to be dead fiancee in the two episodes she was in....but only for Norg to save her and bring her to Tyzonn in the end...no effort what so ever.  Makes it so easy right!!! All that heartbreak and tortuous guilt for NOTHING!!! -_-  Great set up, rushed resolution cause the writers just can't follow through anything outside of Spencer's personality and Mack's android issues.  Miratrix and Kamdor seemed like the most interesting of the villains coming straight out of no where but again, even with this subtle backstory with him saving her from death and teaching her as his pupil....only to betray her at the end comes out of nowhere!!! What the hell was the point??? You're telling me Kamdor was using her the whole time?? Which makes no sense given how much they both seemed to care about each all the time but yeah, you were just a pone my female alien warrior apprentice!!! You know, at least Zeltrax and Elsa had depth to their dynamic even if in the end he betrayed her and went against Mesagog, but enough about great seasons when we have THIS! In conclusion, there is just nothing to these villains, Moltor was the most active but ended getting killed by his own brother by making the dumbest sacrifice imaginable; when he should know full well he'd betray him, the Fear Cats go down in a fierce battle but they were ultimate you're "typical crush, kill, destroy" baddies and while Flurious ends up with the crown and all 5 jewels at the end; it's mostly out of convenience and other characters messing up; not the fact he actually DID anything really to obtain them.  He was the laziest villain and I guess the irony of him being the last villain standing was the point but he certainly was probably always the dumbest.  Always sending Norg to do things for him and track things down when he would ALWAYS fail and he just keeps sending him out there to do these important tasks!!! OMG!!!  And I guess I'm suppose to talk about Norg, the random, idiotic minion of Flurious when all he does is bring the most inept comedy to the show but manages to do two useful things at the end to redeem himself but nope, Norg was just laughable, embarrassing and my gawd, that running nose...NIGHTMARES!!!

I guess I should talk about the zords and the thematic setting of the series.  Honestly, I don't know how construction vehicles are the answer to a globe trotting/treasure hunting show but it was Sentai's fault for that.  I mean the globe trotting wasn't bad in theory but it just got more obvious that overtime these locations were just other parts of New Zealand.  Don't get me wrong, we got some moments like the rangers in Istanbul or Egypt but for the most part, it seems the budget for the series just couldn't execute the concept to it's full potential.  Then again, the main story runs out of steam so fast.  It's just find clue, leads to relic, relic leads to another jewel (maybe/maybe not!), that's it!!! Clue, relic, jewel, clue, relic, jewel, wash, rinse and repeat with bits of suppose character development sprinkled throughout.  God, even Sentinel Knight is a HUGE misstep despite but a major player in the story.  The Guardian of the crown itself and seemingly this powerful warrior in corporeal form but Mack did more damage when he was a sword or his battlizer.....seriously.  Even the 15th anniversary episodes were a dreadful piece of horrifying, borderline parody of the show; showcasing the rangers at their collective worse in terms of courage and common sense.  Sentinel Knight just brings back these veteran rangers' powers when he is suppose to be weak and can't reverse what Thrax did.  Speaking of Thrax, what a sorry excuse at fan service!!! Terrible design, worse force, mediocre at all hell! Gah!!! Not to mention....that theme song......I just stopped listening to it after the first 2 episodes.....that's how bad this show is people!! Even the theme song is a grotesque piece of audio misery that last 50 seconds longer than it EVER needed too.  Kill it with fire and dispose of anything resembling it may have existed with it! o_o  Jesus, have I covered everything??? I'm just done....I'm never watching this season again...not even if something worse came along....oh I shouldn't have said that! O_O


Pros:

• Spencer......The saving grace in a season full of loathsome, awful characters!!! O_O
• The Mack/Android twist and resolution of it (even if it felt terribly fairy-tale because of its ownership by Disney at the time....they look like they couldn't help themselves doesn't it?) -_-
• Tyzonn's backstory and initial storyline.
• An overall, solid and strong finale despite the rest of the season's severity in quality.
• The globe trotting/treasure hunting theme having its (very rare) moments of legitimacy. 

Cons:

• The worst team of rangers of ANY season so far.  Selfish, lazy, greedy, overacting, condescending, moronic and my god, do they LOVE to give up and NOT give a damn! -_-
• The 4 villain factions, while a new concept for the show entirely, was an ultimate disappointment.  Literally none of them are memorable, menacing, etc. in the least.
• "Once A Ranger", Part 1 and Part 2
• The horrendous looking suits and the lackluster thematic concept behind them.
• Some of the most idiotic dialogue of the show right here and that's saying a lot! O_O
• Dax....just......DAX!!! -_-
• The Kalishplosions going from gratuitous and over the top to just random massive explosions out of nowhere during some fights. I mean....my goodness, Micheal Bay would be jealous!!! 
• The dumbest clip show in the history of the show so far, "Way Back When".  It wasn't hard to figure out people!!! OMG!!! -_- O_O
•  Thrax...just....THRAX!!! -_-
• Alpha's .....voice for "Once A Ranger, Part 2".......earth shattering torment! :_(
• Sentinel Knight's inconsistency and being an overall useless ally unless he's Mack's battlizer or a sword. I mean...come on! lol
• Last but NOT least in any sense, the absolute, most ear covering theme song I have ever heard!!! O_O

Best Episodes:

1. "Home and Away", Part 1 and 2-A tremendous shock of unforeseen greatness for this terribly written show.  Great stakes, awesome action and even psychological warfare within Tyzonn's mind.  Ooooooooo I love! :)
2. "Crown and Punishment"-Despite the crown's hype being your standard final boss battle, the final showdown is helped by the emotional wrap up of Mack's android identity crisis and his father's heartwarming love for his son. Also, the mansion brawl was action packed and so well choreographed.
3. "Ronny On Empty", Part 1-I just prefer Part 1 as it just seemed to come out of nowhere how great the episode was.  The rangers are busy either being heroes or focusing heavily on their mission while the totally screwed make this their toughest battle so far.
4. "Things Not Said"-Mack's android twist was so well built on and foreshadowed but even the final reveal is terrifying and jaw dropping.  Wonderful performances and touching dialogue, also Mack's head on a table!??? Yikes!!!
5. "Man of Mercury", Part 1 and 2-Tyzonn's debut episodes as the Mercury Ranger is helped by some great bits of tragic storytelling and Ronny's incredible moment of motivation for him to reclaim his fighting spirit (ha! :P) to aid a team of rescuers again......well, maybe not rescuers. 0_0

Worst Episodes:

1. "Once A Ranger", Part 1 and 2-The pinnacle of Overdrive's most offensive attributes comes unfortunately with this 15th anniversary joke that makes our current team look the worst any team has ever had and the veteran rangers stealing the spotlight because...anniversary!
2. "Just Like Me"-An incredibly butchered piece of obnoxious sequencing!!! Tyzonn at his worst all season; making me even take Will's side! What!!!? O_o
3.  "Way Back When"-A clip show based off the rangers severe lack of memory and ability to just write things down to keep track of them. I just....only this season!!!! LOL
4. "Lights, Camera and Dax"-Dax is a selfish moron who gets himself into trouble and ultimately screws over a movie production and his own friends.....sounds about right!
5. "Heart of Blue"-Dax....and his sulking over Miratrix! Letting her get away with the scroll! Oh it was a fake! Then why did he....AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! *Into the depths of space*

"As the 15th season of this kid's superhero phenomenon series, "Operation Overdrive" is by far the worst written, bizarrely trivial and aggressively annoying season of this franchise at this point with a team of rangers that truly are the anti-thesis of the moral heroism and serious spirit of the show to begin with in favor of some harsh humor and terribly unfunny characterizations that harp on putting these characters down and making them look like the biggest jerks to be ever in charge of saving the world.  Besides the welcomed cleverness and loveable Spencer and very few moments of genuine drama mixed with some heartbreaking twists, the season almost fails on every level, especially the now infamous 15th anniversary two parter that emphasized the worst aspect of this laughable entry in the rangers' legacy."

Season Verdict: D