Last year I did a month long retrospective on Power Rangers, ranking each season from worst to best and giving my own thoughts on each one. Well, it's time to look over the latest season: Dino Charge.
After feeling so rightfully disappointed in Megaforce, I thought I was done with Power Rangers all together. I watched the first episode of Dino Charge, and while I thought it was okay, I couldn't bring myself to stay with it because I didn't want to be disappointed again. However, I had heard it was a significant improvement over both Samurai and Megaforce, but I decided to wait until the whole season had been completed and streaming on Netflix to watch it all at once. That's probably the best way to watch Power Rangers now, as a story spaced across two years and going months between new episodes kind of makes it hard to keep interest. Though that may just be me.
For the first time in years, I saw actual effort being put into a Power Rangers series. There was an engaging story and the overall acting from the main cast who know how to deliver their lines and makes the characters feel genuine for the first time since RPM.
While watching Dino Charge, I realized the main reasons why Samurai and Megaforce failed by comparison. With Samurai, Saban had just gotten the series rights back from Disney and had just a short time to get the show running before the premiere date. So some things like casting and writing (sometimes directly translating from the Sentai source, Shinkenger) were pretty set in stone. But with Megaforce, it was pure laziness. Any kind of character traits or development were slowly cast aside for constant action. Hell, the Ranger actors even pleaded to have more to work with, only to be shot down by the showrunner, Jonathan Tzcachor. Is it any wonder he was most likely fired? Thanks to returning Judd Lynn, in many ways, Dino Charge was a return to form for the franchise, particularly with a good story and characters we can care about and relate to.
The main plot of the season begins 65 million years ago, where an alien named Keeper is on the run from a bounty hunter named Sledge, whose ship has a crew and a cell block full of prisoners he aims to collect on. Sledge is after the Energems, items of immense power. A chase through space causes Keeper to crash on Earth, where he gathers 10 different types of dinosaurs and bonds the Energems to them. Sledge sends down his general, Fury, to find the Energems. Keeper feigns death and tricks Fury into taking capsule believed to contain the Energems, only to reveal it to be a bomb, which is powerful enough to send Sledge's ship deep into space. Sledge was also dragging a bunch of asteroids behind his ship, which get loose and crash to Earth, causing the dinosaur extinction. That means Keeper died too, right? Nope. He seemed ready for death watching them fall to earth, but he's apparently a tough little bugger. I bet afterward he thought "Wow. I was so sure I was going to die...Now what do I do?" As we cut to the present, Keeper has made an alliance with museum curator, Kendall Morgan, in order to find the Energems. The Energems can bond with brave individuals, turning them into Power Rangers and granting them their Dinozords. At the same time though, Sledge has finally made his way back to Earth still wanting the Energems for himself. When it comes to the aliens this season, they really don't age despite 65 million years going by. But given most Power Rangers villains are over thousands of years old, it's best not to harp on this.
The theme song this season once again includes "Go Go Power Rangers", but it's more in the vain of Zeo, having unique lyrics before the chorus, which itself adds more between the "Go Go Power Rangers" parts. I didn't like the theme song at first, mostly because I was annoyed that they used "Go Go Power Rangers" for the third season in a row, but it actually is pretty good in its own right. Plus I love the chanting at the beginning; it reminds me of the jungle drums at the beginning of Jungle Fury's theme.
On first glance, the suits this season have a lot happening on them. While this is more of a Sentai issue, this is a problem I've been seeming to have with every new team's suits since after Gokaiger. But once I see the Rangers in suits and in action, those thoughts go away rather quickly. Apparently pictures don't always do true justice. I do miss though that we don't have a Yellow Ranger this season, the first time ever in Ranger history.
When we first meet Tyler, the Red Ranger, he's searching for his father, James, who went missing ten years prior. Even when he joins the Rangers, this is still a goal in mind. This is his main arc for the series, which is completed when we discover that his father discovered the Aqua Energem, becoming the Aqua Ranger. Fury, who had fallen back to Earth after Sledge's ship was bombed, was still searching for the Energems and encountered James. Fearing for his family's safety in case Fury came after him again, James decided to stay hidden until he encountered his son and the other Rangers years later. After that though, the only other thing Tyler had going for him was his budding relationship with Shelby, the Pink Ranger. The two do pretty much become a couple by the end and almost kiss if not for being interrupted. It seems weird that throughout the show's history of couples, the only one ever shown to kiss was Tommy and Kimberly way in the beginning. I know boys are the key demographic, but I think they can handle a boy and girl kissing. I mean, even I had a girlfriend through grade school.
Speaking of Shelby, she's had a passion for dinosaurs ever since she was a kid, wanting to be an archaeologist. She's not really taken seriously by Kendall at first, but that just gives her more reason to prove herself. Her family apparently own a successful ice cream company, which her father wants her take over, but he laments when he realizes how passionate she is about dinosaurs, allowing her to follow her own path. Fun fact, her father is played by James Gaylyn, who played Scott's father on RPM. Hey, given alternate universes and doppelgangers, who's to say it's not the same character who took a different path? I guess that would make Scott and Shelby siblings, kind of. It's just a personal theory of mine. I don't really have much to say about Shelby, other than she's the most entertaining female Ranger since Summer in RPM.
Chase, the Black Ranger, pretty much plays the cool guy of the team. He reminds me a lot of Xander from Mystic Force, especially since he also uses his New Zealand accent (It's worth noting that since production of the franchise moved to New Zealand starting with Ninja Storm, most of the actors are from the country but use American accents). He has a charming personality and is apparently quite the marksman on the battlefield. He has a high opinion of himself and hits on the ladies a lot, but he does take his duties as a Ranger seriously, and has his own moments of humility. This is most evident when he gets a serious girlfriend, Kaylee, learning to think of her goals and feelings instead of talking about how cool he is.
In what's probably a good foil to Chase, we have Riley, the Green Ranger. Opposed to Chase with his blaster, Riley is a skilled swordsman. Riley's also the most intellectual of the team, but he's apparently not been the most physical person. He was bullied in school, and when he encounters his old bully in one episode and plans to finally outdo, the villains' plan of the day interrupts that and they actually have to work together, with the bully admitting he was always jealous of how smart Riley was. In a later episode, when Koda, the Blue Ranger, is snatched up by a baseball talent scout, Riley becomes Koda's manager, hoping to live his baseball dreams through Koda. The last example I can think of is when he and some of the Rangers go fishing with Riley's brother, with Riley wanting to outdo him, even though they're just supposed to be having fun. Riley does have insecurities, but he proves time and time again that he has skills in his own right.
What's unique this season is that we have two rangers from the past. The first is Koda, who is a caveman. I know, it may sound silly at first, but they actually make it work. Koda found the Blue Energem when he got frozen in ice after protecting his brother from a saber-tooth tiger, falling off a cliff in the process, later being found by Kendall in the present day. As you'd expect, a caveman like Koda does have trouble with modern technology or slang, adding some comedy but giving him some charm. His misunderstandings make me think of Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy. In a way, Koda has the purest heart of all the Rangers, which helps when they're against a monster that can sever friendships, with Koda unaffected.
Our other past Rangers is Ivan, a knight from Zandar. 800 years ago, he had been absorbed into Fury's body, unknowingly also absorbing the Gold Energem Ivan found. Ivan eventually breaks free from Fury and joins the team as the Gold Ranger. He pretty much acts like you'd expect a medieval knight to, being chivalrous and all that, but his actor really owns it.
For the first half of Dino Charge, Kendall works to equip the Rangers with whatever new technology they need, much like Miss Fairweather from Lightspeed Rescue. Eventually though, she bonds with the Purple Energem to become the Purple Ranger. While her character doesn't have much development or fights as a Ranger too much, her aid to the other Rangers makes her feel like a necessity to the show.
This season also what I would consider 'Auxiliary Rangers'. While there are three rangers in total this season, only seven of them are there regularly, while the other three are there when the plot needs it. This includes James, the Aqua Ranger, Phillip, the Graphite Ranger, and Zenowing, the Silver Ranger. They each have some strong introductory episodes, but don't really add much in their appearances afterwards. Out of all of them though, Phillip was my favorite. He sought out the Graphite Energem wanting to join the Rangers, but it wouldn't bond with him. Wanting to prove himself, he does a number of charitable acts, but it doesn't bond with him until he puts himself in harms way to save Chase's little sister during a monster attack, finally activating his Ranger form. You could say it's selfish that he only did those charitable acts to become a Ranger, but he was still wanting to help the Rangers in the big picture, so it shows he has a good heart.
Keeper acts as the wise mentor to the Rangers, and he does that quite well. He acts a lot like I would expect Zordon to if he had a physical form.
The zord system is a bit complicated this season. Aside from the Spinozord, each zord corresponds to a Ranger, but only select zords come with a cockpit for the Megazord purpose. Besides that, our first Megazord of the season only includes the red, pink, and blue zords as opposed to combining all of the core Ranger's zords, with the green and black creating another zord combination. Much like Wild Force, the zords have a lot of different combinations, but at least we know each zord has their own Ranger and we can keep track of things. Thankfully they don't all combine together, or we'd have another mess of a zord like other recent seasons.
On to the villains. Sledge was a great main villain. He made me think of a combination of Lord Zedd and Ransik from Time Force. He's intimidating, earning loyalty and fear from those around him. Since he's a bounty hunter, he's not all about seeking power or universal control. He has a job to get the Energems, and by the end of season is ready to just destroy the Earth all together. He does have a soft side though, as he has a fiance in Poisandra. He doesn't show it much, but he does seem to care for her. As for Poisandra herself, her main goal is for the series is finally marrying Sledge. Considering they were drifting through space for 65 million years, you'd think some kind of common law would be in effect; I'm surprised they didn't even have a kid in that time. She reminds me of Nadira from Time Force as well, being real girly but still knowing how to fight. Poisandra also has a best friend in Curio, who really has no purpose on the show other than to be comic relief.
Our main villain general this season is Fury, who I mentioned before. While he is intimidating, in my opinion, he really sucked at his job. He was on Earth for 65 million years looking for Energems, and utterly failed. Hell, he even absorbed an Energem into his body for 800 years and he didn't even realize it. After many failures, Sledge relegates Fury to janitorial services on the ship for a time. You would think that Fury would feel disrespected and want to go out on his own like many other villains who go rogue against their leaders, but surprisingly, Fury seeks to get back in Sledge's good graces. I think that really speaks to Fury's loyalty to Sledge.
The last of the initial group of villains is Wrench, who runs the ship's maintenance and develops weapons to use against the Rangers. He also knows how to fight, but it's not often.
During a time where Sledge is missing and believed dead, the villains are taken charge of by an alien called Heckyl, who has another form and personality called Snide (I believe the reference of the two is obvious). While we've had villains with split personalities before in Power Rangers (like Anton Mercer and Mesogog in Dino Thunder), both Hekcyl and Snide are villainous but have their own methods of doing things, putting them at odds with themselves. I don't really have much to say about Snide, other than he looks an awful lot like Zeltrax from Dino Thunder.
Seriously, they could be brothers.
Heckyl though is an absolute delight. What makes him a unique villain for the overall franchise is that not only does he look human, but he's not in some ridiculous outfit like past human looking villains. Granted he does have a unique fashion sense, which I can best describe as a steampunk hipster, but he's pretty much the first Power Rangers villain that can pass for human; he even tries to infiltrate the Rangers and act like their friend, but this only lasts a few episodes before he's caught for who he truly is. Looks aside though, his performances are very entertaining as well, being over the top while still being villainous. As it turns out though, he was a good guy trying to help his planet before he was corrupted (the Snide form being created in the process), even helping the Rangers against Sledge by the end of the season.
The monsters this season are being held in a cell block in Sledge's ship, as they were captured by him so he could earn the bounty on their heads. He uses them against the Rangers, promising to free them if they succeed in their tasks. If you think about, whether they succeeded or not (usually not), Sledge was going to be out on money. It's also worth noting that several monsters are revived multiple times thanks to a machine Wrench built. I don't think this has been really done since the original Mighty Morphin' days. That being said, I did question why they kept bringing back monsters that continued to fail them.
The foot soldiers this season, called Vivix, are unique for two reasons. First, they can conglomerate themselves to become giant monsters that can go toe-to-toe with the Megazords. Second, unless I've missed something from prior seasons, they actually have different genders. In one episode, one Vivix was designated as female and become the main monster for the episode after a makeover by Poisandra and Curio. So either it's just hard to tell the Vivix apart by gender, or this was a Smurfette situation and that was the only female Vivix; in that case, her destruction means the Vivix have become an endangered species.
In my retrospective last year, I talked about how there were some parallels between Mighty Morphin' and Dino Thunder given the dinosaur theme. Now that we have another decade pass and another dinosaur based team, there isn't really a direct connection like the previous two, but I still notice parallels in Dino Charge, which may have just been coincidental:
* The Rangers are powered by the Energems like the Dino Thunder Rangers had the Dino Gems. Seriously, it's hard not to just refer to the Energems as Dino Gems. I would have thought that the Dino Gems were probably a residual creation of the Energems, but as the end of this season shows (which I'll get to next), that is not the case.
* The Rangers' base is a cave under the museum, much like the hidden cave under Tommy's house in Dino Thunder.
* The Dinozords have camouflaged hiding places like the Mighty Mophin' zords.
* The best way to describe the Dino Charge zords is a bit of combination of the Mighty Morphin and Dino Thunder ones. They're mechanical in nature (like Mighty Morphin'), but the weapons used are actually built into the zords (like Dino Thunder).
* Tyler gets a mini-Battlizer power-up in the T-Rex Super Charge, similar to Jason being able to use the Dragon Shield and Dagger after Tommy lost his powers the first time, and Connor's Triassic Ranger mode.
If there's anything real negative I have to say about the season, it's the ending. I had heard minor details about the ending and how it kind of hurts things, but I didn't think it would be that bad. Turns out it's a real mess. The final episodes of the season deal with the Dark Energem, which was a negative after effect from the creation of the main ten Energems, being more powerful than all of them. When the Rangers destroy the Dark Energem, it creates a black hole that sucks up not only Sledge's ship, but the entire Earth. To prevent this from happening, Keeper tells the Rangers that the power of their Energems can create a time portal, which they use to go back to the day Keeper crashed on Earth 65 million years ago. There, they defeat Sledge and his crew before the entire series even happens. In the aftermath, each of the Rangers return to their respective time periods (including Koda and Ivan). However, since Sledge's ship never lost the asteroids it was carrying and they didn't crash to Earth, the dinosaurs never went extinct. So when the Rangers return to the present, they're shocked to discover the museum they worked at is now a dinosaur zoo...and that's how the season ends.
So unless the Power Rangers timeline has been completely overhauled, it's best just to consider Dino Charge set in its own universe, much like RPM is, making three official separate continuities across the television franchise. I mean, for the most part, Dino Charge could have easily fit with the main timeline had it not been for that ending. I honestly question why they went this route, making me think it was just for a shocking ending. I really liked this season, but that ending was just a giant mind-f**k.
On a scale of where I would place this season among the others, it would be at number 12 between Zeo and Wild Force. Much like Wild Force, there were quite a few silly elements, even going so low as to do fart jokes. But I found the overall story and characters better than Wild Force, although it seems that during the second half of Dino Charge, there was a strange mix of serious and silly, like one moment there would be a touching moment and then something quite silly would happen after that. I would have considered putting Dino Charge over Zeo, but the ending of the season brought up a lot of questions about time travel and its place in Power Rangers canon (As a side note, it seems time travel was a popular plot device in 2016, from The Flash TV show to films like Doctor Strange and Alice Through the Looking Glass). Zeo may not have had a proper ending, but its position in Ranger history isn't disputed.
After years of mediocrity (Samurai) and laziness (Megaforce), Dino Charge was a shot in the arm Power Rangers had needed since Saban regained the rights to the franchise. It didn't have quite the same impact on me compared to the transition from Operation Overdrive to Jungle Fury, but what I saw with Dino Charge showed the franchise is back on track, even with the crazy ending to the season.
Currently, Power Rangers has just began its current iteration, Ninja Steel, which will most likely last two years like the show has been doing since Samurai. Like Dino Charge, I will wait until the all of Ninja Steel is streaming on Netflix to watch it. If I'm still writing for this blog by then, I will give my thoughts on Ninja Steel after that.
If you missed my month long retrospective from last year and want to check it out, here's my ranking of the seasons, with the links of my extended thoughts attached:
18. Megaforce
17. Operation Overdrive
16. Turbo
15. Samurai
14. Ninja Storm
13. Wild Force
12. Dino Charge
11. Zeo
10. SPD
9. Lightspeed Rescue
8. Mystic Force
7. Lost Galaxy
6. Jungle Fury
5. Dino Thunder
4. Mighty Morphin'
3. In Space
2. Time Force
1. RPM
