YOPR: 30. The Rockstar
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: A rocky adventure.
Why it matters: Power Rangers isn’t touted enough for its additional dialogue recording. It was pitched as something of a live-action cartoon, and especially in the early-going, it was closer to one in reality than in metaphor. The quality of the voice work ebbs and flows, but it’s generally consistent – mostly because it’s used to dub over existing footage. Here, though, the voice-over of Jason’s cousin Jeremy – whose lines are mostly spoken on a windy beach – is abhorrent. Jeremy, portrayed by Richard Lee Jackson (now part of the indie rock band Enation), is voiced over by Brianne Sidall, who eight years later would become better recognized by fans for her work on Power Rangers: Time Force. Sidall’s performance is fine – there’s hints of Circuit in the voice, too – but the dubbing is just not good. The volume, the syncing, the lines themselves – all rough. It’s a disservice to Jeremy’s character, because as far as random kids who never appear again, he’s on the upper end of the “interesting” scale. He doesn’t get kidnapped, is highly involved in the episode’s goings-on and has glowing things to say about all the Power Rangers – and some legitimate questions.
Episode MVP: Discontinuity. The ADR isn’t the only wonky thing about “The Rockstar.” It is the 30th episode but the first to have dedicated focus on Jason, the Power Rangers’ leader. I wonder, though, if this story wasn’t at some point intended to air amid the first 10-12 episodes. There’s no mention nor appearance of Tommy outside of the credit sequence. There’s a “small kid in danger” plot driving the episode. Footage using Scorpina would be slightly out of step before “Green with Evil,” but that’s something that easily could have been written around …
Set: Command Center interior Zordon: Rangers, Rita has sent Scorpina, one of her longest-serving warriors in the battle against good, to Angel Grove Beach. Jason: We’ll stop her stinging. It’s morphin time!
A good quote: “Hey Jason, where were you all that time?” – Jeremy
Rating: 2/5 sloppy joe pizzas