"Power Rangers Beast Morphers" Season One Talkback (Spoilers)

veemonjosh

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Hope it's alright I post this a few hours early. This new 8am timeslot is brutal.

639

In the near future, a secret agency has combined a newly discovered substance called "Morph-X" with animal DNA to create the Power Rangers Beast Morphers team. This new Ranger team must fight off an evil sentient computer virus bent on taking over the source of all Ranger power, the Morphin Grid itself.

An adaptation of Super Sentai 36, Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters, and the first installment produced by Hasbro Studios, Power Rangers Beast Morphers is exclusive to Nickelodeon and NickToons.

---Season One (2019)--
1 - "Beasts Unleashed" - 3/2
2 - "Evox's Revenge" - 3/9
3 - "End of the Road" - 3/16
4 - "Digital Deception" - 3/30
5 - "Taking Care of Business" - 4/6
6 - "Hangar Heist" - 4/13
7 - "A Friend Indeed" - 4/20
8 - "The Cybergate Opens" - 4/27
(Episodes 9 onward TBD)

Previous Power Rangers Premiere Talkbacks:
Jungle Fury
RPM - Part 1 / Part 2
Samurai - Season 1 Part 1/Season 1 Part 2/Season 2
Megaforce - Season 1/Season 2
Dino Charge - Season 1/Season 2
Ninja Steel - Season 1/Season 2
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (Reversioned)
Lost Galaxy (Vortexx)
 
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Fone Bone

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Power Rangers: Beast Morphers "Beasts Unleashed"

People who've read my withering Power Rangers reviews are going to be surprised by this one: But Hasbro Studios was the best thing to ever happen to this show. It is only the first episode back, but the first episodes of Mega Force, Dino Charge, and Ninja Steel sucked, so I think the upgrade might stick. But there is clearly a bigger budget, as the sets are larger and more elaborate, as are the stunts. And while the show still engages in goofy slapstick, I don't think the Rangers are actually square for once. Devon is a jerk to both Blaze and his father, and I like that he's not perfect.

Also liked the shout-outs to Rita Repulsa, Galvanax, and Sledge.

I think the change of studios is going to help this show immensely. That was a great first episode back. And readers of my reviews may be shocked that I say so. ****1/2.
 

Mandouga

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Well, I didn't really like the whole "Cassandra Truth" thing they did with Devon when he tried to tell everyone about Evox (the evil virus). It felt kind of forced to me, but it didn't have a bad effect on the episode, so it was still good. OTOH, I did notice that Devon was "Brilliant, but Lazy", but they stopped focusing on that later on.

I also suspect that those two who originally were going to be the Red and Blue Rangers will eventually...(spoilers just in case)

...become those two extra rangers that appear in Go-Busters later on.

So, from what I can see, "Morph-X" is the equivalent to Enetron from Go-Busters. Oh yeah, instead of spandex, both versions have them wearing leather costumes.

Also, this show officially establishes the Power Rangers multiverse (which had only been implied before), since Devon's father, the Mayor (who may be one of those "I don't want you involved because I don't want you to get hurt" fathers) mentioned other dimensions. I'm guessing Ninja Steel is the most recent series from the original continuity* (i.e., the one that began with the first season back in 1993). OTOH, it's possible that anything goes from here. I mean, they could only briefly mention what ever ToQger, Zyuohger, Kyuranger, and "Lupinranger Vs. Patranger" equivalents the Power Ranger series has in order to catch up faster (Ryusolger is the most recent series in Japan, so that can't be mentioned just yet, especially since it premieres this month). Still, we'll see what happens. With Go-Busters as the first Super Sentai series to be adapted out of order, who knows what they'll do next...

*As I understand it, Wild Force may be an alternate universe since it has a distant finale (I'm unsure, to be honest). S.P.D. is an alternate universe for sure. RPM is another one (S.P.D. and RPM are both set in "the future"), along with Dino Charge (because of it's ending).
 

Storm Eagle

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I also suspect that those two who originally were going to be the Red and Blue Rangers will eventually...(spoilers just in case)

...become those two extra rangers that appear in Go-Busters later on.

So, from what I can see, "Morph-X" is the equivalent to Enetron from Go-Busters. Oh yeah, instead of spandex, both versions have them wearing leather costumes.

Also, this show officially establishes the Power Rangers multiverse (which had only been implied before), since Devon's father, the Mayor (who may be one of those "I don't want you involved because I don't want you to get hurt" fathers) mentioned other dimensions. I'm guessing Ninja Steel is the most recent series from the original continuity* (i.e., the one that began with the first season back in 1993). OTOH, it's possible that anything goes from here. I mean, they could only briefly mention what ever ToQger, Zyuohger, Kyuranger, and "Lupinranger Vs. Patranger" equivalents the Power Ranger series has in order to catch up faster (Ryusolger is the most recent series in Japan, so that can't be mentioned just yet, especially since it premieres this month). Still, we'll see what happens. With Go-Busters as the first Super Sentai series to be adapted out of order, who knows what they'll do next...

*As I understand it, Wild Force may be an alternate universe since it has a distant finale (I'm unsure, to be honest). S.P.D. is an alternate universe for sure. RPM is another one (S.P.D. and RPM are both set in "the future"), along with Dino Charge (because of it's ending).
First, you mean the ones who were going to be the red and YELLOW rangers, and what you say you're thinking will happen to them, actually will not.

Nate will most likely be the Gold Ranger, and the Silver Ranger will be the alter-ego of a Beast Bot that he creates.

Also, it's just RPM and Dino Charge that are set in their own universes. All the others are in the same universe, and Beast Morphers might be in the same universe as those as well.
 

veemonjosh

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Episode 2 - "Evox's Revenge"
Air Date: March 9th, 2019

When Grid Battleforce’s Commander needs to select a leader for the team, the Power Rangers are at odds over who should get the job.
 

Fone Bone

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Power Rangers: Beast Morphers "Evox's Revenge"

Dumber than last week but still better than the other recent Ranger seasons.

Jacks is totally supposed to be Gilbert Gottfried.

I thought the freezing when looking at dogs weakness was dumb. Cheetahs wouldn't be afraid of dogs if they met them. They'd be their lunch.

I like that the klutzy comic relief this season aren't simply bullies being punished for sucking. That makes it much easier to laugh at things going wrong if there isn't the sadistic streak that was present for Victor and Monty. Although let's be honest: They still aren't actually funny.

The franchise has done much worse. ***1/2.
 

RDG

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Looks like there won't be a regular morphing sequence for this season; the scenes where the Rangers morph look like they came straight out of Heisei Kamen Rider shows (and KR Dragon Knight); then again, Go-Busters had no regular henshin sequence, either; it also looks like the theme song will play AFTER the first act of the show in every episode and the episode's title will be displayed at the very start of the episode, meaning no cold opening (previous PR seasons starting with Turbo did this, except for the Disney seasons).
 
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Scrappy-Fan92

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These first two episodes certainly feel pretty interesting. We've got a fair deal of overlap with the production crew from Ninja Steel, so it feels like a Wild Force scenario where most of the on-set crew was retained from the previous series even if there was an actual switch production studios (and that's not even getting into the fact that Haim Saban and Brian Casentini are still credited as producers on this series).

Scattered thoughts from the episodes:

"Beasts Unleashed"
-The theme song taking seven minutes to kick in is weird. The only credited actors being just the three Rangers is weird as well
-Ben and Betty are odd as security guards. Honestly, their shtick reminded me of Victor and Monty's enough that I almost wonder why those two weren't retained for this series. They do seem like the kind of people to randomly luck into a job that they're clearly not equipped for.
-I like all the family relations we have in this episode.
-Zoe is plucky, and I'm curious to see where the writers go with her.
-Blaze and Roxy being duplicated/corrupted into a duo of evil pseudo-Rangers reminds me of Jarrod/Dai Shi and Camille in Jungle Fury. Wouldn't be surprised if they show up a lot to cover for any older Go-Busters footage that can't be used for this show.

"Evox's Revenge"
-Kelson Henderson voices one of the Battle Bots.
-Ravi seems rather upbeat for someone who saw his girlfriend go into a cyber coma one episode ago.
-Devon eventually proves himself leader material, even if he kind of gets distracted himself. I appreciate that quality in him, honestly:. Flawed, but he'll rise to the challenge (even if Zoe had to kind of prod him along at the end).
-Devon gets a Zord that for all intents and purposes becomes its own Megazord, and this is before Commander Shah designates a leader. If it weren't for Sentai footage/Red Ranger Privilege, I'd call shenanigans.
-Ben and Betty being revealed to just work whatever odd-jobs Cmdr. Shah designates to them gives her an almost hilariously irresponsible detachment to proper staffing.
-...With that said, the two prove their mettle on the field by bailing Devon out when his suit freezes up, so maybe Shah knows what's up.

So far, so good. I won't declare this the "return to good Power Rangers" (especially because that's a really fluid and subjective statement) because I've seen series that started with decent episodes and kind of stalled. The first one or two episodes of a PR season tend to be a bit more flexible (and occasionally heavier on original footage) before the season settles into formula anyway.
 
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Mandouga

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I find the whole "first segment before the opening" idea to be suspicious. Is this really it, or is Nickelodeon doing this on purpose for some reason? It doesn't really affect the show that much, but I do wonder.

I will admit that the "dogs are afraid of cheetahs" thing was kind of stretching it a little, but again, it doesn't really hurt the show that much. On the other hand, I think this is the first series where ranger powers even have weaknesses...as far as I can tell, anyway.
 

Storm Eagle

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I find the whole "first segment before the opening" idea to be suspicious. Is this really it, or is Nickelodeon doing this on purpose for some reason? It doesn't really affect the show that much, but I do wonder.
What's to wonder? They're just doing something different. I prefer the old way myself, but I'm sure there's no conspiracy behind this.
 

Fone Bone

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I find the whole "first segment before the opening" idea to be suspicious. Is this really it, or is Nickelodeon doing this on purpose for some reason? It doesn't really affect the show that much, but I do wonder.
Suspicious? Seriously, dude. Knock it off.
 

Mandouga

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What's to wonder? They're just doing something different. I prefer the old way myself, but I'm sure there's no conspiracy behind this.

I never said there was. It just looks like the network may be reversing the first segment and the opening for whatever reason. It is possible that it was Allspark Pictures' idea, but to me, it's unlikely. That's all I'm saying.
 

Storm Eagle

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I never said there was. It just looks like the network may be reversing the first segment and the opening for whatever reason. It is possible that it was Allspark Pictures' idea, but to me, it's unlikely. That's all I'm saying.
Still, "suspicious" is kind of a strong word in this case.
 

Spideyzilla

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Back on topic, everyone. Future disruptions will result in infractions all around.
 

Storm Eagle

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I enjoyed the episode, but I don't care for how the rangers have these weaknesses. Zoey bites into a carrot and all of a sudden, she's energized again. I recently learned that carrots are actually like junk food to rabbits and greens are actually what's better for them, and that cheetahs get so stressed out in zoos that several have gotten therapy dogs to hang out with. Anyway, I wonder how these weaknesses will play out.
 

RDG

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Well, guess I was wrong about there being no morphing sequence in this season:
 

Mandouga

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I must not have noticed it before, but it seems these Power Rangers do use secret identities, which means the Mayor doesn't know that his own son is a Power Ranger.

Oh, dear...

As for the first segment coming before the title, assuming it was in fact Hasbro's idea, the question is why? If it was a cold opening, which Power Rangers has done in the past, that would be one thing, but clearly it's the first segment, since it tells us the name of the episode and stuff. If it was Hasbro's idea, then why do they feel it would be necessary, and do they plan on doing that in later seasons*?

*Which there probably will be, but at this point, it's uncertain what will happen when the deal with Nickelodeon expires 2021. Moving it to a streaming-first release (like the website Collider claimed it would do with what turned out to be Ninja Steel) would be a bad idea, IMO, but that's for another thread.
 

veemonjosh

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Episode 3 - "End of the Road"
Air Date: March 16th, 2019

Zoey tries to convince the citizens of Coral Harbor to use Morph-X powered bikes instead of cars, but Blaze uses this opportunity to execute an evil plan.

No new episode next week due to the Kids Choice Awards.
 

Fone Bone

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Power Rangers: Beast Morphers "End Of The Road"

That was pretty bad. Come to think of it, I gave the first couple of episodes of the season a LOT more slack than I probably should have if they were just gonna give us this. But you know what they say: Hindsight: 20/20. That would make a good presidential campaign slogan while I'm thinking of it.

This show has the worst environmental messages for kids. It's not quite as bad as Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy which actually botches safety tips, and it's less damaging to the franchise because environmental messages aren't central to the premise, but it still always bugs me. It strikes me as very ill-advised that whenever the show explores a real-world environmental problem (in this case deforestation) it offers fantastical cartoon solutions that are not available in the real-world. See, if I were in charge of this show, I would be saying that the kids in the audience can make a real-world difference with their actions, and that they don't have to settle for a fictional difference from made-up Power Rangers. I feel as long as the show isn't showing kids they actually DO have the power to change the world, Power Rangers isn't actually very empowering for the toddlers it is aimed at. Which is a shame.

Real question about the morphing sequence: Did the Yellow Ranger's bunny just roar? Was that for real, or was that bit of ridiculousness all in my head? If it was the former, it's going to be tough to watch that every week with a straight face.

Any good things? I think one thing is very good: Using human villains. I don't think either of the actors for the humans baddies as are gifted or as fun as Ryan Carter as Heckyll from a couple of seasons back, but they are good for the show for the same reason: It's personalizes the conflict with the Rangers. The seasons with human villains tend to be better than those without them. How else to explain that Dino Charge was a non-stop suckfest and only became watchable once they made Carter the Big Bad? It's weird how it's tiny things like that which make or break the show. And it's weird the show still doesn't quite get the value of that, or they would have human villains every season.

That was not good. *1/2.
 

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