YOPR: 23. Itsy Bitsy Spider
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: Bugs are scarier than moon monsters.
Why it matters: Zack shoulders the most weight in this episode, which begins as another “Petition Rangers” story before taking a turn; a cruel prank by Bulk and Skull (their meanest, by far, to date) leads to the reveal that uber-cool Zack is afraid of spiders. It’s another showcase for Walter Jones’ acting chops, and impressive that this episode didn’t lean on stereotypes to have one of the girls at its center. We get our first direct “Hip Hop Kido” mention in a while, and an on-screen lesson in the made-for-TV martial art. Zack’s interacting with the kids whom he teaches is delightful, and feels more organic than most of the Ranger-children interactions. It’s a simple choice, but Tommy mirroring Bulk and Skull’s prank from earlier in the episode is good writing and possibly a wink toward the on-set antics fans have heard about at comic conventions over the years.
Episode MVP: Props. Later in the episode, in an effort to better wed the source footage, cloth or paper “butterflies” stand in for their Japanese counterparts. They’re a good reminder of the resourcefulness that was required to make this show look as seamless as possible — particularly that of prop master Mark Richardson. It’s, of course, barely seamless at all to the eyes of a veteran watcher, but it doesn’t matter; it’s easy to just laugh at it and admire the effort. You’re watching an American show cobbled together from usable pieces of a program developed for Japanese children in the early 90’s; the fact that it functions at all is an incredible feat.
A good quote: “If they catch me it’s gonna be Rip Van Winkle Time.” — Zack
Rating: 4/5 lab rats