Saturday, July 10, 2010

The Zordon Arc vs. Post-Zordon Arc Argument

There has been some argument for some time between Zordon arc fans of Power Rangers and the post-Zordon arc to which is better. The problem can lie with this fact: In America, when a TV shows gets popular, they usually let it continue without changing much of the storyline which is in contrast to Japan that should a popular show really get a second season, much changes do happen. Most of the time, the shows only last one season and that's it with only a few extensions. For example, the popularity of Kamen Rider Black made a second season as Black RX but only the main character remained the same, almost everything else changed. On the other hand, U.S. standards keep stretching them including the villains which somewhat bores the Asian audience. YAWN.

That was exactly what the Zordon arc was. I mean, Haim Saban originally wanted MMPR to end after Doomsday with Rita and her minions being sealed off and get another season of Sentai to turn into Power Rangers. Unfortunately due to heavy fan demand, Toei created footages for Saban Entertainment for some time. The thing is the same characters kept getting carried over until for some reason, some cast members leave like how Austin St. John, Walter Emmanuel Jones and Thuy Trang left MMPR season 2 in the middle of the season. If I'm not wrong, Thuy Trang had some salary issues with Saban, gave up and quit the job when she had enough. In season three, Amy Jo Johnson left and thus went off the Tommy-Kim romance fans like myself loved. It was getting overdue for some that some Sentai fans gave harsh criticism while PR fans liked it while others didn't like the big changes especially when Turbo changed its cast save Justin who many considered was a big mistake. It ended with a big blast in Power Rangers in Space which killed off the surviving villains from previous seasons.

Eventually came the post Zordon arc having an entirely new season which was Lost Galaxy. The only connection it had with the previous seasons was Bulk and Professor Phenomenus. Lightspeed Rescue unfortunately suffered some criticism from some Zordon arc fans because it had little connection with the Zordon arc, eventually bashing it like they bash Sentai for being "too short". The thing is I'm not surprised of how people speak of Saban having a difficult decision to totally change the image of Power Rangers starting with Lost Galaxy as he ended the Zordon Arc in Power Rangers in Space. And another problem that soon surfaced was that Disney's seasons were just dying down and they were part of the post Zordon arc era.

Only if we could find some way out of this...

3 comments:

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  2. I don't know if it was so much that Saban wanted another Sentai season turned into Power Rangers instead of extending MMPR. I think originally he and Fox Kids thought MMPR S1 was going to be a one year fling that didn't go anywhere.

    Also, there were more connections to the Zordon Era in Lost Galaxy than just Bulk and Professor Phenomenus. Alpha 6 was there, as was the Astromegaship, the fact that Terra Venture contained mostly Angel Grove residents, the team up with In Space, Karone, exc.

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  3. I liked the Zordon Arc more than Post-Zordon. That's right, I said it. XD

    But anyway, I think the reason why The Zordon Arc is more loved than Post-Zordon and Disney era stuff is because, well, it's when Power Rangers was at it's campiest. Having comedy with the action, fillers, and among others. Like, if people wanted to watch a high drama with a dark tone, they would've watched it over Power Rangers. Because Power Rangers is supposed to be a kids show. Now, I got nothing against seasons like Lost Galaxy, Time, RPM, and others, but I'm just saying that's what people prefer.

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