Written by Becca Barnes And Alwyn Dale
Directed by Charlie Haskell
Zach: "Like I said, Minh. We always save the world."
Well, this was something of a nostalgia trip. Like a lot of kids in the early to mid 1990s, I was obsessed with Power Rangers but eventually grew out of it. It was the Mighty Morphin range that was for me and I haven't really paid too much attention to subsequent shows if I'm being honest.
A couple of years ago for the 25th anniversary some of the original cast appeared in the current show and some even had briefly appeared in the 2017 reboot movie, which despite being a fun entry didn't do enough to warrant a sequel. For this 30th anniversary special, the focus was on the first show with Billy Cranston/Blue Ranger (David Yost) effectively leading the team here.
Billy was leading the team against their most iconic enemy - Rita Repulsa (Barbara Goodson) in a new robotic body and her minions, Snizzard (Daniel Watterson) and Minotaur (Ryan Cooper) but it's an encounter that led to the death of Trini Kwan/Yellow Ranger (Thuy Trang). It also left both Billy and Zach Taylor/Black Ranger (Walter Emanuel Jones) in the position having to tell Trini's daughter, Minh (Charlie Kersh) about her mother's death.
A year then passed and Minh was determined to follow in her mother's footsteps by becoming the new Yellow Ranger. Except for the fact that both Billy and Zach were against the idea and the morpher wouldn't accept her either. Meanwhile Robo Rita kidnapped a few favourites and had her own plans for revenge against the group that consistently thwarted her past schemes.
With certain Rangers taken off the table, others were added into the mix. Not other Black and Yellow Rangers - Adam Park (Johnny Young Bosch) and Aisha Campbell (Karan Ashley) as they were stuck up in space but other Pink and Red Rangers - Kat Hillard (Catherine Sutherland) and Rocky DeSantos (Steve Cardenas). With the team reassembled and the assistance of Alpha 9 (Richard Horvitz), the Rangers decided to strike before Robo Rita could complete her plan.
Siphoning energy from the Rangers she kidnapped, Robo Rita was going to go back in time and contact her younger self (Machiko Sogo, archive footage) so the latter would be prepared to take out the Rangers before they even became Rangers to begin. It was a plan that nearly worked, until a heroic sacrifice from Minh was enough to get her to take on her mother's legacy, help Billy and company defeat Minotaur and Snizzard before taking Robo Rita out of the equation to boot.
A good portion of this special felt like pure build up with a bit of a rushed final battle between the ,ix of older and new Rangers but it mostly worked nonetheless. Trini's legacy was honoured through Minh and her scenes with Billy and Zach (who basically became surrogate dads to her) were the highlight and I was happy to see Rita, even if she was a robot for this one. I am surprised that she didn't try to take a younger human body for herself though.
- The episode ended with an In Memory card for Thuy Trang and Jason David Frank (Green & White Ranger/Tommy Oliver). We also saw archive clips of them as well as Kimberley Hart/ Pink Ranger (Amy Jo Johnson) and Jason Lee Scott/Red Ranger (Austin St. John).
- Billy has his own tech company, was trying to find Zordon and went back to space as well as having an old fashioned flying car. Zach was in Congress and Cat had a son with Tommy named JJ.
- A little bit of gay representation here as Minh managed to save a gay couple from bring attacked by Putties.
- Chronology: Archive clips to 1993 but mainly set in 2023. Well, it is the 30th anniversary special.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once And Always was a satisfying nod to the past, present and future and honestly, it feels like the exact same show from my childhood. Cheesy as hell, silly puns, daft monsters but also amusing fight sequences and a great sense of family. This was definitely a diverting nostalgia trip.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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