I know what you are thinking, dude aren’t you too old for Power Rangers? Well, I guess if you wanted to make that argument you could but where is the fun in going that route? Actually my recent rediscovery of the series is more or less rooted in my original discovery in the first place. On the surface it is a kids show. Now I admit it certainly has flaws in production and terrible acting. That doesn’t deter me though. I realized it’s not that different than something like Doctor Who, which I have been watching semi regularly for a while now. At the end of the day it’s a super hero science fiction series. Okay that’s a bit of a stretch maybe I could argue its a super hero B-sci-fi series at best. However as a fan of b-movies I can’t exactly say it’s all that bad.
I first discovered Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers during it’s original run. It was a combination of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers/Voltron and it was live-action. Somehow it was the perfect show to catch my interest. I kind of struggle with admitting I liked it at first though. You see I discovered it right around the time I turned 12. I was in middle school and facing that period where I had to justify holding onto anything too “nerdy” from my childhood while also looking to discover my interests as a budding teenager. So I watched the show in secret fighting off the nerd guilt as I was told constantly it was not for me. I would occasionally flip through the channels and see an episode playing. Even though I hadn’t stayed current with the story lines, I would keep peeking in from time to time out of morbid curiosity.
It took the reboot live action series before I would let my curiosity, coupled with a growing nostalgia for the 90’s, encourage me to give in and begin re-watching the original series on Netflix. I continued my curiosity by signing up for Amazon Prime so I could check out a few of the episodes of the original Japanese show the series was based on.
After getting through the first season of the original series I made a few revelations. First, I continued to enjoy Saved By The Bell and Boy Meets World all these years. That was precedent for me to justify enjoying a show from my youth. Second, there was Doctor Who. As campy as that show was I continued to get into it. Sure it has far better acting and infinitely superior special effects, it’s still laughably cheesy most of the time. Third, there was my growing resentment for all those people over the years who judged me for being different, liking things they didn’t or just pretending to be into things I wasn’t or hiding the things I was into. I can say it’s not the biggest secret I have hidden from people. So why should I care now? I guess as I get older I start to realize I don’t care as much what people think of me. Is the series bad, sure, is it cheesy you bet, so why am I finding myself enjoying it despite knowing I shouldn’t? I guess part of it is just not caring what people think any more. There is also a part of me that has to accept things as they are and not worry about how they could be. I mean don’t get me wrong it’s not great entertainment but when it’s all said and done, it is what it is and as far as I am concerned the series has a certain appeal I can at least accept for what it is. It’s a science fiction show with a low budget, bad acting and very basic plots. It’s not very deep and the special effects make it an easy target for criticism. On a certain level if the rest of the world can get some enjoyment out of a Full House remake why can’t I reconnect with a show from the 90’s I enjoyed?
Stephanie Bri 