Power Rangers SPD - Zapped (Vol. 5) (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Out of the whole S.P.D. series, I must say that Volumes 3 and 4 run a tie for the best. In volume 5, the powers rangers seem to have weakened a bit. When Grumm finally turns Morgana into her adult self, she is determined to become a child again, but she has to defeat the power rangers first. So she gets morphed up and seems to be able to take on all of them by herself. The power rangers seem to be taking one beating after another. Even Cruger is geetting his tail kicked.
And then comes Omega. He is actually a ranger sent from the future to help them out. If you have seen Vol 2 he was Sam, the boy who could make stuff disappear. He was also the little sparkly ball in Volume 4 that took out all the Krybots in "Perspective". Anyway, he is incredible, with all kinds of powers that they don't have. He is also a little arrogant, and has his own hero complex. Of course since his is the new guy, and can kick [...] the others, especially Sky, are jealous.
There are five episodes: "Messenger" Parts I and II, "Zapped" and "Reflection" parts I and II. The messenger episodes deal with the arrival of Omega on the scene who saves the day and then the other rangers get to help him out. He basically told them to stay out of his way with their outdated equipment which ticks them all off. Morgana enlists the help of two new creatures. "Shorty" and His brother "Devastation" who are hard to beat, not including her. In Zapped, Morgana enlists the help of a crooked magician to help her take down the PR, but is foiled again by omega and the others. The rangers get into trouble for disobeying Cruger and going on a stakeout that was assigned to omega. "Reflections focuses on Sky a little more. We find out why he wanted to be the red ranger so badly: His Father was a red ranger. For some reason, a bunch of theives that they have already battled seem to keep popping up, but they are still contained. Cruger sends Sky to question a criminal mastermind who is able to travel through any reflection. The criminal keys Sky in on who the real criminal is, and in exchange Sky must tell him his saddest memory. Sky tells him about his father who was killed in battle. When he starts crying, one of his tears hit the floor and the criminal is able to escape. Cruger left out an important factor about the criminal: he is the one responsible for killing Sky's father. Meanwhile, Jack has some new equipment that turns him into this ultimate unstoppable warrior that he lets Sky borrow to take the criminal down. If you saw the bonus episode "Wormhole" on vol 4 the you have seen this stuff. There was also a totally lame part about Piggy pledging his allegience to Grumm, he was been helping both sides and Grumm forces him to choose. Grumms new plans sort of leave you hanging. Like I said, not as good as the others, but a must have in the collection

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Everything is on the line when a message from the future forces our fearless team to stand tall! All seems lost when the Power Rangers encounter two alien rogues ready for action. In their hour of need, a mysterious Ranger from the future arrives onto the scene with the miraculous Omegamax Cycle. And, while an outlaw is on the loose, jealousy of the new Ranger threatens the team. In action-packed adventures that go to the mega-morphing extreme, only courage and determination will keep S.P.D. flying high!

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Power Rangers SPD - Joining Forces (Vol. 1) (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Let me start this review off by saying that if you've been disappointed in the past with the lack of Power Rangers DVDs, their content, and the quality, you have no need to fear any longer.
The plot: The year is 2020 and Earth is now home to humans and aliens alike. While 99% of the aliens live in peace, there's always 1% that can't. To deal with them, Earth enlists the help of a "Galactic Police Group" known as S.P.D., or "Space Patrol Delta." Early on S.P.D. is faced by an invasion force, and sends their A-Squad to the front lines, leaving only their B-Squad cadets to defend Earth.
As one would assume, the B-Squad Cadets are then given Ranger powers and the real story begins...
The show is well done from both a technical and artistic point of view, especially for a Power Rangers series. In the first episode simply titled "Beginnings" which is an hour long, we see three cadets who are still green behind the ears. These guys are not your perfect little Power Rangers the way they were in the older shows. One is fairly nervous, one is a bit ditzy, and one is naïve and obnoxiously arrogant. Likewise the final two Power Rangers aren't even your standard "goody-goody civilians" as in past years - they're street thieves! Clearly this group has its' vices, and they make the character's seem more realistic.
Following "Beginnings" (a 2-part episode) we see episode #3 which is called "Confronted." This episode is probably one of the weaker entries into the series, but it does have some high points, such as the Red and Blue Rangers' constantly locking heads. I mentioned an arrogant and naïve character before; that's Sky, the Blue Ranger. While his counterpart in Red isn't quite perfect either, he's far less obnoxious.
The next episode is called "Walls." While I find the episode interesting, and highly enjoyable, I repetitively find myself wanting to scream the words "SHUT UP SKY!" at my TV. Apparently this was the director's intent as the final scene of this episode has him scrubbing the outside of the Ranger's base with a toothbrush a la boot camp. I enjoyed that scene quite a lot, especially after Sky's constant kvetching about not being the Red Ranger.
The last episode on the disc is titled "Dogged." While it had the potential to be the worst episode of the season, it's just the opposite. It's funny, it's tragic, and it's one of the most well filmed and well-written episodes in the shows' history. The moral too the story is done in a very subtle way and looks more like a plot from "Star Trek" than from Power Rangers.
Technical Features: The menus on this DVD are better than that of past Power Rangers DVDs. Last season's menus were probably the worst I've seen in awhile. Disney owed us and they came through. The motion menus on this disc rival those of major motion pictures, including the new Star Wars Trilogy DVD Box. The average DVD Collector would be pleased.
In addition the Disc is encoded with Dolby Surround Sound. Playback on my TV through an S-Video cable using 4.1 THX Certified Speakers really pulls the surround sound to the foreground and shows how well this disc was made.
Extras: If you bought the early Power Rangers Ninja Storm DVDs, you probably scoffed at the extras, which were a bit of a joke, even for the target demographic. If you bought the Power Rangers Dino Thunder DVDs you probably felt the same way and wondered why two episodes of the previous season were deemed "extras" rather than a new disc. With Power Rangers S. P. D. however, the extras are pretty good. The first is based on those old "Join the ARMY" PSAs, and relates to joining S. P. D. - Disney includes a website URL for anyone interested. This is fairly humorous and I confess, I did enjoy it. The second extra is a "Zord Simulator," which is similar to an arcade style video game. Most people will probably complain that we still don't have deleted scenes, or "standard" extras, but given the target audience, this is probably a nice extra, and it beats the Dino Thunder virtual trading cards that couldn't be traded with anyone.
Packaging:
This is admittedly this DVDs weak spot; the packaging isn't even on par with what some fans have done for their collections. It looks like a five minute Photoshop job and for such a well-done DVD I would have expected better. In addition my first copy of this Disc (I purchased two of them.) was loose in its' case, a common problem with Buena Vista Home Entertainment DVDs. Especially Power Rangers DVDs which I've had to return on five occasions due to the disc not being pushed all the way into the center hub and being scratch upon purchase. Disney should fix this on future releases. Shake the case when you get the disc or you may find a nasty surprise when it's all scratched up as you open it. (Disney will replace the Discs for free though if you call them and pay for the shipping as well so it's not so much a loss as it is a nuisance.)
Additional notes:
When watching this DVD, long-time Power Rangers fans should be ready to look for some serious "in-jokes" - younger fans will appreciate them too if they view the Power Rangers Generations block on ABC Family. Here are a few things to watch out for:
- The A-Squad Power Rangers have the helmets from Power Rangers in Space with a slight modification made to them.
- Fans of the shows' Japanese counterpart will recognize the character of "Doggie Cruger" as a nod to his Japanese counterpart, "Doggie Kruger."
- The same man who wrote the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers theme song, Ron Aaron Wasserman, composed the theme song.
The Good: Five episodes on the first DVD for once. The show is excellent, and the DVD is better than I expected.
The Bad: Disney is still making "Mini-movies" rather than standard episode. The opening and ending credits have been lifted from every episode with the exception of Beginnings (opening credits) and Dogged (ending credits) having one set of credits. This is really a style issue, but it annoys me.
The Ugly: A packaging issue that has been a problem since Prelude to a Storm was release is still plaguing Power Rangers DVDs. I seriously hope Disney is trying to fix this, as it's a pretty common flaw.
Final verdict: If you're a Power Rangers fan, buy this DVD. If you're a parent, you won't be disappointed and you may find yourself enjoying this disc as well. DVD Collectors will most certainly have mixed feelings on this disc though, while young children and teenagers will most likely enjoy it. This is the best Power Rangers DVD release to date, satisfying younger and older fans alike. If you like this series, I recommend checking out Power Rangers Time Force which amazon.com also has for sale. It's only on VHS, but it's similar in style to Power Rangers S.P.D.


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AnimatedStudio: Buena Vista Home VideoRelease Date: 06/07/2005Run time: 110 minutes

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Power Rangers - Operation Overdrive 3 (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been a fan of Power Rangers since the begining and Operation Overdrive is one of my favorites. Volume 3 introduces Tyzonne and the Mercury Ranger is a pretty Kewl Ranger..

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Studio: Buena Vista Home VideoRelease Date: 11/27/2007Run time: 161 minutes

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Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)Ranger David Martell (Dylan Neal) has committed a horrid offense - staying alive. The Ranger code strictly states that at no time shall a Ranger back down from a fight. But with his ship out-gunned, David doesn't force a fight, thereby living to fight another day.
A funny thing happens on the way to his court marshal. Saner heads prevail, and he is allowed to stay in the Rangers. He was in line to be given command of a new ship just coming off the assembly line. He does still get to command a ship, but he is given command of a 20-year-old Minbari ship rumored to be haunted.
His first assignment is to provide support for a larger ship taking a group of delegates to an undisclosed location. Even with all the secrecy, they still fly into an ambush, and David and his crew must use every trick up their sleeve if they are going to survive this encounter with an ancient race.
I had only watched this movie once, the day it first aired. I was less then impressed. I bought it mainly so I could complete my Babylon 5 collection. The movie was actually better then I remembered.
The story presented here is entertaining. It had been long enough since I had seen it that I couldn't remember much about it and was pulled into the action again. The acting by a group of unknowns is top notch, and the characters are interesting enough that I wish the series had been picked up so we could learn more about them. Fan favorite Andreas Katsulas (who unfortunately passed away recently) returns as G'Kar, the only character from the original series to appear. His performance, as always, is great. And the dialog is witty. I was laughing out loud at many of the lines. This is some of the sharpest writing series creator J. Michael Straczynski (JMS) has done. This is all supported by great special effects.
Unfortunately, the flaws I remembered were still here. If this had been the pilot for a new series, it would have worked well. It introduces us to a new danger and sets a potentially interesting story in motion. However, since this was all we got, it feels empty. Adding to this is the sense we've done this before in the original series. I'm sure a series would have gone in a new direction, but here "The Hand" just felt like a retreat of original series villains The Shadows.
The almost fatal flaw of this movie, however, is the weapons systems. I mean, seriously, what was JMS thinking. In order for this ship to fire, the ammunitions officer must go into a virtual reality chamber and use Kung Fu moves. I'm not kidding! She has to punch and kick at pictures of the ships in order to fire the weapons. While the visuals are unique and interesting, the idea that a ship would have a weapons system like that is laughable. It pulls me right out of the movie.
This movie was never popular with fans, and in keeping with that, this is a bare bones release. We get the movie in widescreen and surround sound with nothing in the way of extras. I'm a little disappointed. I would have loved to hear JMS attempt to explain the stupid weapons system.
This is not the place to get introduced to Babylon 5. If you are interested in a great science fiction show, start with the season sets. This is a movie only a fan will love, and even then, most fans don't.

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Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers is a two-hour television movie created by J. Michael Straczynski (original creator of the Babylon 5 series) for the Sci-Fi Channel. The telefilm takes place in 2264 after the wars are over and a new age of space exploration has begun. The Interstellar Alliance has been organized to establish and maintain peace among its member worlds, including Earth. The Rangers are an elite military force made up of hand-picked young, smart, dedicated human and alien members who combine the high-tech elements of space travel with the idealism and honor of the knights of old. They encounter a previously unknown alien race whose lethal power is far greater than any force previously known to Earth or any other world in the Interstellar Alliance.

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