Tales from the Morphing Grid: The Best and Worst Moments in POWER RANGERS History

For a quarter of a century, Power Rangers has established itself as a mainstay in pop culture. Even though there have been a number of changes in order to keep up with the times (from costumes to theme songs), the franchise has remained consistent in its core message of good triumphing over evil. With that in mind, we take a look back at some of the series’ most memorable moments throughout its 25-year run.

Best Season Opener: “Force from the Future”, Power Rangers Time Force

This two-part season opener has everything–action, suspense, a tragic love story, Dan Cortese (…okay, that last one isn’t true). All jokes aside, “Force from the Future” took inspiration from different genres along with its Super Sentai counterpart Timeranger and made it work so seamlessly. Considering the fact that kids were the show’s primary target market, “Force from the Future” set the tone for the season as the overall tone was darker and more mature compared to past seasons.

(Honorable mention: “Prelude to a Storm”, Power Rangers Ninja Storm)

Best Mini-Series: “Green With Evil”, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 1

For the first time ever, the world was introduced to Tommy Oliver. It was already a surprise to see a sixth Ranger in the franchise. But for him to start out as evil? Man, it blew kids’ minds! Fans closely tuned in as the Rangers fought Tommy and eventually helped him turn to the side of good. It definitely was one of the better ways to introduce a sixth Ranger. And it was the beginning of an illustrious tenure for the franchise’s most seasoned veteran.

Best Team-Up: “Reinforcements from the Future”, Power Rangers Wild Force

No team-up had ever been as intense as this two-parter. The story was a remarkable follow-up to the events of Time Force. And it was also a nice touch to see last season’s main baddies Ransik and Nadira join the Rangers as they sought redemption for their past crimes. Though some questions may still be raised by the end of the episode (such as how Ransik managed to get rid of his mutant genes without killing himself), it doesn’t take away the fact that this particular team-up special was aces across the board.

(Honorable mentions: “To the Tenth Power”/”The Power of Pink”, Power Rangers Lost Galaxy; “Thunder Storm”, Power Rangers Dino Thunder)

Best Anniversary Special: “Forever Red”, Power Rangers Wild Force

Is there any other Power Rangers anniversary special that comes close? Despite the short amount of time for a landmark moment, it still holds up as one of the best episodes of the entire franchise. No anniversary special has ever come close to “Forever Red” since, even up to now.

Best Finale: “Countdown to Destruction”, Power Rangers in Space

This two-part finale marked the end of the Zordon Era and the turning point of the entire franchise. As this was written to be the end of the entire series, the writers went all in. Past Rangers and villains appeared in battle, as well as the single most important moment in franchise history–Bulk and Skull finally stepping up and leading the charge as the citizens of Angel Grove assisted the Rangers in battling Astronema’s forces as they invaded Earth.

The strong reception for “Countdown to Destruction” ultimately saved the series from completely fading away and classifying itself as obsolete.

(Honorable mention: “End of Time”, Power Rangers Time Force)

As no 25-year journey is free from its share of sidetracks and mistakes, we’ll also take a look at a few instances in the series that would give fans a Rita Repulsa headache.

Worst Season Opener: “Mega Mission”, Power Rangers Megaforce

There’s an homage and then there’s a blatant ripoff. In the case of “Mega Mission”, it’s the latter. This modified retelling of the Mighty Morphin opener “Day of the Dumpster” was one of the biggest examples of how bad the Neo-Saban Era was at that time. And the worst part is this was just the start of an impending trainwreck.

Worst Mini-Series: “Arrowhead”, Power Rangers Zeo

Without a doubt, Tommy is the most popular character in Power Rangers history. So it wouldn’t be a surprise that the producers at one point decided to shove it down our throats. And no example was more evident than with Tommy’s over-development throughout Zeo. Out of all episodes that put Tommy in the spotlight (and believe me, that’s quite a lot), this four-part mini-series felt like the most blatant example of pointless filler intended to capitalize on his popularity with kids. The only thing missing was Tommy singing “Colors of the Wind.”

Worst Team-Up: “Trakeena’s Revenge”, Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue

Out of all the team-ups in franchise history, this crossover between Lost Galaxy and Lightspeed Rescue was the most underwhelming. The biggest problem with “Trakeena’s Revenge” was using a little girl as the plot driver instead of developing the connection between the Galaxy Rangers and the Lightspeed Rangers. No wonder Amy Miller (Trakeena) and Danny Slavin (Leo, the Red Galaxy Ranger) walked away from this team-up.

Worst Anniversary Special/Finale: “Legendary Battle”, Power Rangers Super Megaforce

Looks like we have ourselves a double whammy. “Legendary Battle” had two years worth of hype and may have been the only reason why some fans managed to power through a more-often-than-not painful Megaforce and its “super” sequel. But when the time came for all of the Rangers to come together and take on the Armada, the actual battle lasted less than five minutes and tanked harder than the Philadelphia 76ers during the start of the Process. The Extended Edition didn’t do the episode enough favors either.

Was Power Rangers perfect? Far from it. But despite its flaws, it’s hard to deny that the series has inspired generations of passionate fans over the years. And with Hasbro stepping in as its new home, it opens up the opportunity for the franchise to create new memories. We don’t know for sure what’s in store for our multi-colored superheroes in the years to come, but we can only hope that it’s bound to be morphenomenal.