T5W#386-Top 5 Power Rangers Series

Welcome to the first Top 5 Wednesday of 2023.  It was almost 30 years ago that a team of “teenagers with attitude” was recruited to face off against the forces of Rita Repulsa as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.  Utilizing American storylines mixed with Japanese Sentai footage, the series blew up the airwaves and started a juggernaut franchise with new Sentai series (and sometimes older ones) being adapted into new seasons for the last thirty years.  And with the cast of Power Rangers: Dino Fury teaming up with the original Mighty Morphin team in the forthcoming Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury, the 30^th Anniversary is amping up to be truly the stuff of legends this franchise deserves.  We’ll be spending the first couple of First Impression Fridays this year with those classic Sentai Series but today I’m gonna look at the thirty years of Ranger history to pick out my Top 5 Power Rangers Series.  Grab your Morpher of choice and say it with me, “ITS MORPHIN TIME”.
 
#5-Power Rangers Zeo

When the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series ended on a massive cliffhanger, everyone was wondering, “What the heck is gonna happen now?”  The answer came a few months later when Tommy, Kat, Adam, Rocky and newcomer Tonya, all got a pretty kick ass upgrade when they inherited the powers of the Zeo Crystal theyd spent the better part of the last season finding.  With new suits, new abilities and a kick ass new theme song (arguably the best one ever but I think that’s for another Top 5 down the line), the team took their next steps into a larger world.  It was the sequel we never knew we wanted but were so happy to see.  Our favorite crew was back and better than ever.

 
#4-Power Rangers RPM

It’s not often you see a show intended for kids taking on matters involving a Mad Max style post apocalyptic wasteland with little to no hope.  And yet that’s what Power Rangers RPM set out to tackle as the RPM Rangers fought hard to defend the last human city from an evil AI that’s basically Power Rangers answer to Terminator’s Skynet.  While RPM has great action and a great cast (several of whom have gone on to bigger mainstream project like IZombie and Jessica Jones), the series truly belongs to the Rangers mentor figure Doctor K.  After seeing her origin story, you wont look at everything that’s come before it the same way again.  The emotional weight it carries elevates RPM onto many a fans Best of Lists just for Doctor K alone.

 
#3-Power Rangers Time Force

While there may not be as much Time Travel as the show might imply (keeping things between two time periods, past/present and future), Time Force is still incredibly freaking awesome for a number of reasons.  For me, the chief of them is Time Force’s sexy no nonsense leader Jen.  Not only does she have a solid story arc but she’s also the first female Power Ranger to lead the team…also did I mention she is totally gorgeous?  But yeah you also have Wes who is an equally solid lead hero, more great action and chances for the other Rangers to show off their unique skills, and the lead villain is the guy who plays Bennet in the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic, Commando.  Plus, maybe the second best theme song after Zeo…really might have to think about that Top 5 Theme Songs list.
 

#2-Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

The one that started it all.  In the mid 90s, there wasn’t a kid who didn’t know who Jason, Tommy, Kimberly, Zack, Trini and Billy were.  These six teens with attitude changed the world of TV entertainment forever blending American teen antics with Japanese Super Sentai footage.  It was such a huge hit that new footage had to be commissioned from Japan before trying to integrate other shows into the mix to keep things fresh.  So much about MMPR is still iconic from the suits to the battle crys to the villains to the theme song (yep went there again).  No one could have ever dreamed such a show would last three years before spinning off into new chapters for the next three decades.  But it did and MMPR is the clearly the kind of show that gave birth to Legends.
 

#1-Power Rangers In Space

For many, In Space is a crucial chapter in the Power Rangers saga, mainly that it concludes six years of story arcs begun in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.  The former second team of Turbo Rangers get ample time to grow and shine better than their controversial intros in Turbo, alongside fan favorite newcomer and bad ass Red Ranger, Andross.  In Space is a fast paced space opera that takes things to the next level for what many assumed would be the last season of Power Rangers (how wrong they were).  There’s family drama, conflicting emotions amongst the baddies, real end of the world stakes and even a fun romance between Andross and Yellow Ranger Ashley (one of my all time fav Power Rangers personally).  This was the end of an era for Power Rangers and In Space, appropriately, sent it out with the biggest bang while setting the stage for decades of stories to follow.