YOPR: 38. A Bad Reflection on You
On April 19, MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: ONCE AND ALWAYS premieres on Netflix. I’m writing about all 60 episodes of MMPR’s first season in the lead-up to that premiere.
If you’d like to follow along on this rewatch, entirety of MMPR’s first season is available for free (with ads) on YouTube.
One-sentence synopsis: Why aren’t doppelgängers ever nice?
Why it matters: It’s not uncommon for the Rangers to interact with Bulk and Skull throughout the series – most episodes open and close with banter between the parties – but this is the first time (of surprisingly few) that the groups are paired for a lengthy period of time. Their differences are apparent, but here we’re reminded that all of these characters are high schoolers with lives, routines and concerns. We’re readily familiar with the Rangers cutting away in the middle of the school day to save the world, but what of regular underclassmen like Bulk and Skull? These two are detention regulars who’ve committed to who they are, too, as unsavory as it might be at times. We see the Rangers engaged so often with younger children that it’s easy to forget they’re in high school at times; Bulk and Skull might be poor students, but they’re the best classmates viewers could ask for.
Episode MVP: Fantasy elements. There’s a storybook feel from the jump – we open at the Moon Palace, a rare first setting, where Rita’s devised a good ol’ fashioned doppelgänger scheme. The Putty Rangers’ water fountain teardown, Bulk’s Mary Poppins-like lunch box, the absurdity of the Rangers morphing in front of a clueless comedic duo – it’s a ridiculous episode, even for early MMPR, that only really makes sense if you pretend everyone wakes up from a dream at the end. And, yet, it’s a damn delight.
A good quote: “Wanna catch the submarine races tonight?” – Skull
Rating: 4/5 live TV reports
