All the times 'Power Rangers' has appeared on 'Jeopardy!'
A quick post inspired by the book that inspired my book.
Answer: What is 10? (More on that in a second).
If not for Claire McNear’s incredible deep dive on Jeopardy!, my forthcoming book about Power Rangers probably wouldn’t exist. I read Answers in the Form of Questions while on a Florida beach the summer of 2021, and returned to Kentucky inspired. Within a few months I was conducting the earliest interviews and cobbling together the proposal for what would become Morphenomenal: How the Power Rangers Conquered the World.
I’ve watched Jeopardy! on and off my entire life, and lately it’s become an irregular habit for my wife and I as we prepare our son for bed (he LOVES watching the categories get revealed). It was so awesome recently to watch Harvey Silikovitz, a man who spent over two decades auditioning for the show and about whom McNear wrote in her book, finally get a spot on one of the three podiums.
We also have started to keep up with Pop Culture Jeopardy! I like the the quirks of the show more than I anticipated, though — at least in the early-going — it seems like it’s much easier for contestants to score runaway victories once they get on a roll. Maybe that’ll change later in the tournament?
While Power Rangers hasn’t been involved in a clue in Pop Culture Jeopardy! up through the episodes I’ve seen, it was mentioned by episode five. In it, one team, “The Stage Names,” shares that none of the names they use in day-to-day life are their government names. One goes by Rocky, “because he was my favorite Power Ranger when I was 5-years-old.,” he says. Bet you wouldn’t have had a Season 2 replacement on your bingo card as the first Power Rangers mention on a TV show aired in 2025!
J! Archive is an incredible resource for potential contestants and anyone else interested in learning about Jeopardy! It contains every historical clue from the show as well as information pertaining to its value and whether it was answered. Through it, we can see how many times Power Rangers has been mentioned.
The first time Power Rangers appeared in a Jeopardy! clue was on the episode broadcast on Sept. 19, 1994 (episode No. 2,306). “Popular group of heroes seen here,” with the picture below displayed.
That clue — valued at $200 in the Jeopardy round’s “Sci-Fi TV” category (equivalent to a $400 Jeopardy-round clue in modern gameplay) — was the board’s sole Daily Double. Warren Fletcher, a substitute teacher from California who won the previous game, wagered $500 and answered correctly with “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.” The late Alex Trebek asks, “Be honest with me, Warren: if you didn't have a young son at home, would you have gotten that one right?” Fletcher’s response: “Not a chance.” Notably, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was the only program made for children referenced in the category.
After that, Power Rangers wasn’t mentioned again for two years. It’s next involvement was in a category dubbed “Toys & Games” on the Oct. 30, 1996 show. “These characters are now called Zeo Rangers, so there’s a whole new set of toys.” A little more than a year later on Nov. 11, 1997, they showed up in a category dubbed “TV That’s Not As Good For You” along with Jerry Springer and and Walker, Texas Ranger, among others. The clue: “When these heroes need help, they summon robot vehicles called Zords.”
That was it for Power Rangers mentions during the 20th century. Their next Jeopardy! appearance came in Sept. 26, 2001’s “Daytime TV” category. That clue referenced the colors of the first season and, notably, Amy Jo Johnson — the only original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers face actor1 ever named in a clue. About three years later on June 6, 2003, in a category involving answers seeking words with “Power” in the name, Zordon and Alpha got shout-outs in the clue.
The most esoteric clues seeking “Power Rangers” as an answer in Jeopardy! history came in 2005 and 2006, respectively. On Oct. 12, 2005, a clue in the “Movie & TV Monsters” category says, “This ‘Mighty Morphin’ group battles against monsters & demons unleashed by Queen Bansheera.” Ignoring the ‘Mighty Morphin’ of it all — placed there, I suspect, to actually give the contestants a chance to answer it — this clue came five years after the broadcast of Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue, for whom Queen Bansheera is a primary villain. Even worse, the ‘Mighty Morphin’ assist didn’t help; it was a triple-stumper in the Double Jeopardy round. Trebek ponders afterward that the Power Rangers may no longer be in favor; a year later, a contestant quickly rung in with the correct answer for a more difficult clue featured in the Double Jeopardy round: “The phoenix, thunderbird, mermaid, minotaur & butterfly are the symbols for this group's ‘Mystic Force.’
Since then, Power Rangers has been sought as a Jeopardy! answer just one other time: in Sept. 2017, a few months after the release of the 2017 feature film. In the Double Jeopardy category “Let’s Stay Home,” the clue says, “Let’s stay home & do cosplay; I’m the pink one of these superpowered teens who fight Elizabeth Banks in a 2017 movie.” The show’s most recent mention was in 2019, but as part of a category seeking specific “strong” words. The clue: “Adjective for a great-sized oak or Morphin Power Rangers. Becoming a Jeopardy! answer is a sign that something’s had an impact, but having persisted long enough in cultural memory to be casually referenced in a clue is a true sign of lasting resonance. That 2019 reference is small but, like the answer, mighty.
Wait, I thought you said there were 10 mentions? Ah, I did! Jumping off that last point, June 11, 2007’s “Other Power Rangers” category is another reflection of the show’s last impression. Almost 14 years after it debuted (and in the midst of its 15th season’s original airing), the Power Rangers anchored an entire category seeking answers about or related to other “Rangers,” including The Lone Ranger, the Texas Rangers (the law-enforcers, not the baseball team) and the invasion of Normandy (Rudder’s Rangers are named in the clue).
All-in-all, Power Rangers has had a solid showing on Jeopardy! While it hasn’t been referenced anywhere near the amount of times as the kids property that inherited its throne — Pokémon has been mentioned 34 times, including once in a “sounds like a” category and another time in an entire category dedicated to the franchise proper — it also didn’t just show up on the show during its meteoric heyday and fall out of favor with Jeopardy! writers when the ’90s ended.
Other Jeopardy tidbits
Rose McIver, who’s probably the most recognizable alum from the Power Rangers TV universe not named Bryan Cranston, has appeared in just one Jeopardy! clue, in an April 2020 category about TV theme songs (This CW show starring Rose McIver used the appropriate theme "Stop, I'm Already Dead"). Cranston has appeared in 23 — 17 as the answer or part of the clue, and six as a presenter.
It honestly surprised me that the word “tokusatsu” has never been used in a Jeopardy! clue. It did not surprise me that Godzilla has been mentioned oodles of times, including once as the answer to a fun Final Jeopardy clue: “In 2015 this character was made an honorary citizen of Japan after over 60 years of residence there.”
Super Sentai has never appeared in a Jeopardy! clue or category. Neither Kamen Rider nor Ultraman has, either, though the later was obviously the inspiration for the April 18, 2003 category “‘Ultra,’ Man,” seeking answers with the word “ultra” in them.
Coming soon…
Lots of promo related to Morphenomenal: How the Power Rangers Conquered the World, including a giveaway exclusive to Ranger Reader subscribers. If you follow me elsewhere, you’ve probably seen some videos and other social-media posts I’ve made that are about or related to the book’s development. Expect a lot more of that over the next two months. This is the most vital time in the book’s life cycle, as far as sales and whatnot are concerned. If you’re at all interested in Morphenomenal and can spare the dough, please pre-order from your preferred retailer as soon as you can!
A March Madness bracket ;-)
A breakdown of Power Rangers viewership on Netflix in 2024.
Bryan Cranston voiced monsters in Season 1.