This is Part Three of the ORIGINAL Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Frequently Asked Questions File, written by Terri Ann Guingab. The most up-to-date version of this file is stored at the following location: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/3875 You may also obtain recent copies by e-mailing me at tguingab@capaccess.org VIII. _SEALED WITH A KISS_ If you have a burning desire to write to the Power Rangers, here are a few addies that might be helpful: Power Rangers Fan Club P.O. Box 222 Hollywood, CA 90078 According to a sales representative of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Fan Club, the Club will be discontinued in February 1996. No future plans for a fan club were revealed at that time. The representative I spoke with says the above address is still valid if one wants to reach the Ranger actors. Here's another address given to me by the MMPR Fan Club. This address was given to me before I learned of the fan club's demise: Actor's Name P.O. Box 10277 Van Nuys, CA 91410 And here are more addresses to try out: (Name of the Actor) c/o Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Saban Entertainment 10960 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90024 ***NOTE! Saban Entertainment's address has changed! They are no longer located at the 4000 W. Alameda Avenue address. Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers c/o Fox-TV 10201 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90035 The Saban address might be a little better to use, since it's a more direct route. However, none of these addresses are guaranteed to work. IX. _I WANT MORE..._ You mean, this guide wasn't enough? Sheesh, aren't _we_ a little greedy for info today, hmm? :) Luckily, there are just oodles and oodles of Internet resources for Info-hungry Power Ranger fans out there. First of all, here's a listing of the MMPR documents that I know exist on the Internet. Most, if not all, will be found on Manny's MIT site. The URL is listed later on. If you have trouble finding any of them, e-mail me and I'll try to send them to you ("try" being the operative word). Power Rangers FAQ -- what you're reading right now. Season One Episode Guide -- Self explanatory. Season Two Episode Guide -- Ditto. Season Three Episode Guide -- Guess. Power Rangers Cultural References Guide -- A guide to all the "in-jokes" found in MMPR: The Movie, also a guide to MMPR references found in other media. Power Rangers Biography FAQ -- A FAQ containing mini- biographies on MMPR folks, both fictional and non- fictional. Yup, the section got so big it now deserves its own little FAQ. Power Rangers Drinking Game -- This Game is currently being maintained by Jenn Harmer (STHJ@maristb.marist.edu). Power Rangers Toy FAQ -- For all you parents who just love to spend money on your kidlets. Authored by Pam Green (pkgreen@u.washington.edu). Power Rangers Movie FAQ -- Pretty cool, especially since the movie is out now. Paul has also authored other documents related to the making of the MMPR movie. You can download these and exclusive pictures from the set, plus blueprints of the Zords from Manuel Perez's MMPR Site at http://ic.www.media.mit.edu/Personal/manny/power. The MMPR Movie FAQ was authored by Paul Matthews (paulmat@ibm.net). Power Rangers Collectibles FAQ -- For all you kids who love to spend your parents' money...this covers pogs, comics, cards, etc. Authored by Li-Ming Fong (lfong@hsc.usc.edu) and Eric Schmidt (eschmidt@scudc.scu.edu). Power Rangers Monster FAQ -- Lists all of the monsters in each episode. Authored by Robert B. McKeone (MooTant@aol.com). "You Know You're Obsessed with MMPR When..." file -- A list for those who aren't quite sure if they are fans or fanatics of the show. Written by Aaron Eiche (meiche@teleport.com) and now available at: http://www.teleport.com/~meiche/thatfile.html "MMPR Newsletter" -- This is a fan-written Internet newsletter created by Mark Oxman. The newsletter goes out 2-3 times per week via e-mail and is usually about 25k in length. Back issues are available at ftp://users.aol.com/maxmouze/MMPR. Contact maxmouze@aol.com for subscription information. MMPR Known Powers FAQ -- Authored by Joe Rovang (jrovang@netcom.com), this file details all the powers the Rangers/Ninjetti have possessed these past few years. It is currently housed on Manny's site. MMPR Purity Test -- Authored by Joe Rovang Joe has compiled a list of 200 or so questions, with one single goal in mind...to find out if you have the stuff that Power Rangers fanatics are made of. E-mail him at jrovang@netcom.com for a copy. And before you ask, I'm not sharing what I got on the test (bloody toys did me in). --WORLD WIDE WEB-- Unless you're reading this document at that site right now, you may or may not know that there are some wonderful WWW pages dedicated to the Power Rangers. The first one (which is the first known MMPR page on the Web) is located at: http://marge.phys.washington.edu/tv/mmpr.html Located on this site is this FAQ, the Episode Guide for the first season, and a listing of all the Season One monsters. There's also a link to the Tokusatsu Page, which is worth checking out. The second WWW page is located at: http://ic.www.media.mit.edu/Personal/manny/power This site has much more to offer...digitized images, snippets of the new Power Rangers soundtrack album, bios of the actors and actresses, and documents galore (including this one). This is by far the most comprehensive MMPR WWW site there is on the net. For those interested in tokusatsu, Eugene Glover has created a Tokusatsu Page, located at http://www.primenet.com/~gridman/toku.html. Cool stuff galore can be found here, including lots of images and info on the other sentai shows out there. There are two sites dedicated to the fourth season, known as "Power Rangers Zeo". For the best and most recent information on what Our Heroes have in store for the during the Fourth Season, this is the place to go. These sites are located at: http://www.users.nyc.pipeline.com/~zyuray/prz.htm and http://www.inforamp.com/~mpitt/zeo/zeo.htm There is also an "official" (as in, sanctioned by our friends at Saban) WWW site located at: http://www.delphi.com This site is dedicated mostly to the movie, and it includes pictures, sounds, film clips, interviews, and also a place where you can e-mail the Power Rangers (note: this does not connect you to the actual actors...more than likely, it connects you to a machine that bounces back an automated reply). I haven't had a chance to look at it on a graphical Web browser yet (darn this school and its dinky Lynx!), but from what I've read, it looks promising. :) Along with these pages, two other sites have been created that are specifically tailored to "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie". Both contain audio and video sound clips, pictures, biographies... just a whole bunch of cool stuff that I can't see with my dinky computer. They are: Hollywood Online -- http://www.hollywood.com/movies/power/bspower.html MovieWeb -- http://movieweb.com/movie/powerranger/index.html There is a Fan Fiction Archive, maintained by Maria Platonova. This contains stories that are either G or PG only. You can contact Maria at maria@platosha.com about including your Fan Fic in her archive. The archive is located at: http://www.best.com/~serge/mmprarc1.html On top of all that, several MMPR fans have created web/ftp sites of their own. TienCo@aol.com has put together a number of home-made MMPR sounds. You can download them from her FTP site, located at: ftp://members.aol.com/tienco There is also an incredible web site dedicted to Miss Pink herself, Amy Jo Johnson. Compiled by Scott Garrett, this features tasteful pictures (in other words, it does *not*, nor will it ever have, any AJJ nudes on it), facts, and more. The page is located at: http://eddie.beve.blacksburg.va.us/~sgarrett/pink/pink.htm And finally, to get the most up-to-date versions of the FAQ, the Episode Guides, the Biography FAQ and the Cultural References File, I now have my own Web page, located at: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/3875 --FTP-- Older versions of several of these files can be downloaded from the Tardis FTP site, located at: SRC.DOC.IC.AC.UK (or if that doesn't work) SUNSITE.DOC.IC.AC.UK under the directory: pub/media/tv/collections/tardis/us/childrens/PowerRangers Located in this directory are the FAQ, the Episode Guide, Pam Green's Toy File, and also a MSTing of an *ancient* version of the FAQ, for all you Mystery Science Theatre 3000 fans out there. --USENET-- There are currently three newsgroups where MMPR discussion pops up occasionally: alt.fan.power-rangers (yes, it exists!) alt.tv.sentai rec.arts.anime These are all unmoderated groups...a.f.p-r is pure Power Rangers discussion, a.t.s has some, but not a lot, and r.a.a. has very little (but you never know). While all contributions are welcome, we ask that you do _not_ post any binaries to a.f.p-r or a.t.s. I'm not quite sure what the policy for r.a.a. concerning binaries is...please ask before you post. If you must share your dexterous scanning abilities with the rest of the world, post your binaries to an appropriate alt.binaries.* group, and then post a pointer to said binary in a.f.p-r or a.t.s. --MAILING LIST-- Well, it seems like Zedd, Rita, and their combined dark forces have overrun our attempts to run a mailing list yet again. Everytime I modify this FAQ to announce the brand-spankin' new lists that we set up...the list decides to fart on us. Oh well, I give up. There usually is a mailing list for MMPR floating around somewhere on the net, so if you're interested, e-mail me at tguingab@capaccess.org and I can send you the current location. X. _THE REST..._ No Frequently Asked Questions list would be complete without a list of, well, Frequently Asked Questions. The following are questions that I couldn't find a home for in the last 100k or so worth of FAQ. Hopefully, this will put to rest that whole Dynaman/Voltron/blah-blahRanger controversy. Then again, I'll probably make a complete idiot of myself (as if I haven't done so already :]) by screwing this whole mess up. Any other questions or corrections, please send them to me at tguingab@capaccess.org 1. Where did the Old Rangers go? Who else will be leaving? On the show, Jason, Trini, and Zack where chosen to represent Angel Grove at a World Peace Conference. Since world peace is something that'll take forever to achieve, Our Departing Heroes will be gone for quite some time. How convenient. In the real world however, several stories exist concerning their reasons for leaving. The official line is that the three actors left to pursue other acting roles. The rumour is that they wanted more money, and were canned for it. According to folks "in the know", the three original actors left because of a bad decision by a common manager. They were gone by September, before the movie was cast.. Amy Jo Johnson left for other reasons. Jeff Toschlog (toschlog@houston.Geco-Prakla.slb.com) sheds light on the subject: An informed source, who wishes to remain anonymous responded to the rumor of Amy Jo leaving: "Well, I'll go out on a limb just to keep the rumor mill in check. You didn't hear it from me, but yes, Amy Jo is just plain worn out. Remember, these guys haven't had more than a week off in over a year, what with the series and the movie, and they're gearing up for the second film. Amy Jo, as I understand it, has gotten enough exposure to land a couple of non-MMPR features, and she'll be leaving to do those. Don't worry, this isn't a "peace conference" scenario; the writers have worked up a truly gripping storyline for her leaving, and the new Pink Ranger, an Australian actress (her name escapes me), joining the cast. The storyline will last about half the season. The main reason I'm telling you this is damage control; I don't want any vicious rumors that she was fired, pregnant, killed in a motorcycle accident, or abducted by aliens. She's just worn out (it is a grueling job), wants to do features, and has the looks, talent, and exposure to do that now. It's her choice, and probably a good one. She's at the height of her popularity, so why wait 'til the show is cancelled to expand her career?" It's no wonder that she and others would want to leave. In a recent interview, Amy Jo mentioned that their work schedule runs from 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM, five days a week. However, it really is a 7 day a week job, since the actors have to come in on the weekends for ADR sessions that can run late into the night (for which they are not paid extra). Although their per season salaries are pretty hefty (they're paid on a flat per show rate), this 7 day a week schedule for 16 weeks straight can be extremely tiresome. The joys of being a non-SAG show. Folks behind the camera are leaving as well. Bob Manahan, the voice of Zordon has left Modern studios, and no longer does post-production work for the MMPR. He will continue as the voice of Zordon, however. The original sound editors for the show have moved on as well. Ken Kobett now works on Mad About You (for which he received an Emmy nomination) and Doug Latislaw now works for V.R. Troopers and Masked Rider. Along with these folks, Ron Wasserman, aka Aaron Waters, aka MightyRAW, has also left MMPR. Ron was responsible for the wonderful background music featured in the show, and he also produced and performed all the music on "MMPR: A Rock Adventure" (the television soundtrack to MMPR). In Augustish/Septemberish of 1995, he wrote the following in an open letter to the Internet (reprinted here with his permission): Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag. Yes, it's true. I'm leaving this Friday night. All of this is being done on very good terms. It's simply time for me to "expand" a bit, and lately I've been getting swamped with other projects. I guess, just like Amy Jo, I'm just burned out and very run down. Unfortunately, the only other person that worked on the music end of the show, Nick Carr, who does all the music editing meaning that he uses my library of cues to underscore parts of the show, is also leaving on Friday. We did not plan it this way. He just got an offer from Warner Bros. and also wants a change. I doubt there will be any noticeable change for a while. I've scored about 6 episodes of season 3 and they will have new music editors edit the existing library into the show. As for the songs, I finished 3 new ones called Tenga bye-bye, Gonna Make It Right, and Down to Me. When those are exhausted, I would assume that the guy who writes the V.R. songs will take over. Sweet Valley High also has a new singer and again, the V.R. songwriter. Kathy did not want to do the second season of the show. This is not a completely closed door situation with Saban. There is always a possibility that in the future we will work together on a few things. Sorry about this. Mighty RAW So there you have it. Kathy (Fisher) is the young lady who sings the Sweet Valley High theme song. She is also the wife of Ron Wasserman, and can be seen in the third season episode "The Potion Notion", in the final scenes. Ron will be working with Yes on a new album. 2. Was it a pretty divorce between Saban and the Original Rangers? Have you ever seen the words "pretty" and "divorce" used in the same sentence? Actually, it did get quite dirty for a bit. From what I've heard, Saban still represented the Rangers in the show, hence their appearance in the credits for the first two months of the second season. At the same time, however, The Powers That Be were quickly trying to buy out their contracts. The first thing the original Rangers did was to stop showing up for ADR (Additional Dialog Recording) sessions. This is why the first noticeable change was in the voice-overs during certain battles and putty fights. Trini's voice was done by an unknown actress named Judy. Jason's was done by associate producer Paul Rosenthal. Zack's was done by Bob Manahan's second engineer, Joel Rogers. [As an aside, ever wonder why Golder seems to have 20 different voices? Well, it's because when Kerrigan Mahan is too busy to do the voice of Goldar, he's replaced by Tim Harsh.] To top it all off, when word came out that Austin St. John was going to release an instructional karate video, production was rushed to get Jason Frank's karate video out in the market before Austin's was released. Perhaps that explains why not much time was spent on a script (Is it a kata or a form?). Can't we all just get along? 3. How were the new Rangers chosen? In July 1994, a national casting call was held for actors who were 18+ years old, of all ethnic backgrounds, males being under 5-foot-11 and females under 5-foot-7, with skills in martial arts, gymanstics, or hip-hop dancing required. The auditions were held in Los Angeles (on July 25, 1994), New York (on July 29), Orlando and Dallas (both on July 30). The Dallas audition turned out to be the one to be at -- all three new Rangers hail from Texas. (Bash, Alan. "New Kicks for 'Power Rangers'". _USA Today_ 21 July 1994: 3D.) 4. Where are the original Rangers now? What other work have the MMPR actors done? "They're off on "'other projects'" -- is the official word. Walter Jones has been spotted on the shows "Step by Step", "Family Matters" and "Parent'Hood". Both Thuy Trang and Austin St. John have been spotted around the country making appearances at car shows. Austin recently released a karate training video of his own. I believe it's called "Karate Masters". Amy Jo Johnson was spotted guest hosting an episode of "Princess Tenko and the Guardians of Magic", as well as guest starring in an episode of "Campus Cops". As for the other Rangers, David Yost made an appearance on "Circus of the Stars" which aired in late 1994. Also, Erik Betts, one of the stunt people on the show, made an appearance in "American Gladiators". He won, btw. (thanks to platosha@netcom.com for submitting the latter info). Although they don't count as Rangers, Bulk and Skull (Paul Schrier and Jason Narvy) have been busy bees as well. Paul Schrier does one of the voices on the cartoon "Teknoman". He's also working on a short film he directed. Jason Narvy is the voice of Combat Chopper on "Masked Rider". He recently appeared in a Made for TV movie called "Prince for a Day". It was your basic Prince and the Pauper story, with a Joey (Whoa!) Lawrence twist. Jason was also recently (January 12-21, 1996) seen on stage as "Tybalt" in _Romeo and Juliet_. The author attended three of the performances, and she was absolutely amazed at the talent overflowing from Mr. Narvy. But enough ego stroking... And as for other voice actors on the show, Bob Manahan has worked on Beakman's world as Ray the Cameraman! Check out his picture on the "You can with Beakman and Jax" page located at http://www.nbn.com/youcan/beakworld/sound.html. ABRAMS53@spotvb.potsdam.edu spotted the voices of Barbara Goodson and Kerrigan Mahan in the credits of "Vampire Hunter D" (an excellent movie, if you don't mind my saying). The stunt folks keep busy as well. Erik Betts has been seen on "WMAC Masters", as has Bridget "Baby Doll" Riley. Speaking of Ms. Riley, she's also a successful kickboxer, with three titles under her belt. Karan Ashley guested in another television show recently. She was seen on "Hanging with Mister Cooper" in the role of Monica, a young lady who dies because of gang violence. I haven't seen this myself, but I've heard that Karan was absolutely excellent in this episode. Nicholes@aol.com adds: Oh and I have some info about Trini, if you're interested. A friend of mine was an extra on the pilot for a new show she is going to be in. It's called "Tracy Z", and it's for kids. Apparently, she is in college and is some kinda detective, like Nancy Drew or something. From bgperkin@eos.ncsu.edu: Some trivia for all you Amy Jo Johnson fans: Anyone remember the old kid TV game show "I'm Telling!"? It still comes on some old cable TV channel. Anyway, a young aspiring actress was on it. She looked about 12 or 13, with the name "Amy Jo" on it. Puberty didn't change her much. I guess it's the gymnastics... From ranger4@village.ios.com: Well, after watching "I'm Telling" everyday for months I saw the supposed show with Amy Jo. The girl's name was Amy Levy. She did look like A.J. and wanted to act. Unless her name was changed for the show, which I doubt (there is no reason), it was not her. From AVICENTE@uhhnovcs.uhh.hawaii.edu: At the local video store in my city, there was a poster of Austin St. John, Thuy Trang, and Walter Jones wearing all black tight clothes. The caption of the poster said "Cyber-force, Watch out for it". From jsjuno01@homer.louisville.edu: Cyber Strike (what used to be Cyber-force) is now in post production. It will co-star Walter and Thuy, and should be out by the end of the year (this was submitted in 1995). From rbarrow@CCTR.UMKC.EDU: Saban's other show, Sweet Valley High, had the Red Ranger on it. The story went sort of like one of the girls wanted to audition for a part or something...I don't know. It's still airing in reruns. From amyb@ozemail.com.au: [In] a cartoon show called Tecknoman the voice of Sabre is listed as Paul L. Schrier, II. It is likely it is the same Paul Schrier from MMPR because Tecknoman is produced by Saban. From STHJ@maristb.marist.edu: The guy who plays Mr. Caplan was on an episode of Burke's Law. He was playing a butler. I've also seen the guy who plays Ernie (Richard Genelle) on Night Court. I don't know what episode it was, but I believe he was playing the defendent. From dalek@io.com: (this comes from a post written by Peter David) Just to let you folks know, SPACE CASES -- the SF TV series I co-created with Bill Mumy -- has been picked up by Nickelodeon to be part of their "Snick" line-up on Saturday nights, starting next January. SPACE CASES is about a group of Space Academy rejects stuck on board a mysterious alien vessel, accompanied by their teacher (a burned out reject space commander) and an assistant principal (a cross between Miss Jean Brodie and Dr. Smith). It stars Walter Jones, better known to younger viewers as Zack the Black Power Ranger. I'd also like to add that "Space Cases" *finally* debuted on Nickelodian on Saturday, March 2, 1996 (Yaaay!). It currently airs Saturdays at 9 PM. Check it out! MAXMOUZE@aol.com also adds that Austin St. John is currently working on another movie called "Children of Merlin". 5. What was Power Rangers like before it became the show we all know and love today? Did the movie script change from the original to what was eventually released? Ahh, Power Rangers -- What Could've Been. Yes, the show and movie are quite different from what was originally intended. Let's start with the movie first, shall we? First of all, the opening dialog of MMPR: TM... The Actual Text (submitted by OShaun@aol.com): "Centuries ago, a legendary interdimensional being, known as Zordon, came to the city of Angel Grove to establish a Command Center for his neverending struggle against evil. With the aid of his trusted assistant, Alpha 5, the noble master sought out six extraordinary teenagers and gave them the power to transform into a super human fighting force. In time of great need, the young heroes could use their powers to call upon colossal assault vehicles, known as Zords. The identities of the six remained a guarded secret. Today that tradition continues..." What was in an earlier draft of the script (submitted by paulmat@ibm.com): "In a time of great strife, a legendary interdimensional being known as Zordon came to the city of AngelGrove to establish a vanguard in the never ending struggle against evil. With the aid of his trusted assistant, Alpha 5, the noble master sought out six extraordinary teenagers and gave them the power to transform into an unstoppable fighting force. In time of great need, the young heroes could now call upon colossal assault vehicles known as "Zords". While the identity of the six remiained a guarded secret, their courageous exploits soon became the stuff of legend, earning them the title... The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!" And that's not the only difference. Paul compiled a list of differences between the actual movie and a earlier draft of the script. I believe it is now available at Manny's Web site (see the "I Want More" section for details) But what about the show itself? Jeff Deckman, first season writer, shed some light on the Power Rangers that could've been. Originally, the character of Trini was to be a Mexican-American, like the actress who was to portray her. She eventually had to move to Arizona (or it could've been New Mexico) for personal reasons. And then the world was introduced to Miss Thuy Trang. Paul Schrier originally played a different, unnamed punk. He and two to three other punks were to have one scene in a bowling alley in the pilot. Paul was eventually hired for his ability to play a punk, and that character eventually evolved into the Bulk we all know and...um...know today. :) Speaking of Bulk (and Skull), their characters were originally more violent than what was ever shown. Their mission in life was to beat up the Ranger teens, causing them to fight back. This idea was quickly poo-poo'ed by Fox TV Executives, and the plot was re-worked so that Bulk and Skull would still beat up on the teens, but said teens would retaliate using non-violent means (such as ketchup bottle attacks and the like). Finally, the entire "beating up on someone else" idea was scrapped to create the Bulk and Skull we see in Power Rangers. Finally, "Dark Warrior" was originally entitled "Ninja! Impossible". The title was changed because of a law in England banning the sale of martial arts weapons. Because of that, any mention of weapons, etc. (such as the ninja are famous for...throwing stars and the like) is strongly discouraged by The British Powers That Be. In fact, the unstated rule of not mentioning all things ninja-related is so strong that "Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles" had to have its name changed to "Teenaged Mutant Hero Turtles". Go fig. 6. How is each episode created? There are generally three writers that write the majority of the basic shooting scripts. An idea for the show is proposed after watching a few episodes of the Japanese source tape to be used. If it's approved by TPTB (the Powers That Be), the writer writes an outline, which also has to be approved by TPTB. They suggest changes, and then send it along to more TPTB at Fox. Fox suggests more changes, and then the writer writes a first draft. This repeats until the final draft is written. The episodes are then filmed, with the majority of interior shots filmed at Saban Studios in Valencia. The outdoor "Angel Grove Park" shots are filmed at Castaic Lake which is 20 miles north of Los Angeles. The putty fights are filmed by the second unit -- this takes about two or three days. Each stunt scene is choreographed (much like a dance) by a stunt choreographer, with every move timed and practiced. What results is a bunch of raw footage that now has to be pieced together in post production. Ever wonder why there have been so many two part episodes? Sometimes, the director does not follow what is in the shooting script. It may be because of time constraints, budgetary reasons, or perhaps the director gets an idea that s/he thinks would look great in the show. This may lead to the scenes being overshot. Normally, the extra footage would be wasted, but this is Power Rangers -- Ruler of the Recyclable. The storyline is re-written and expanded to include the "waste" footage; this forms the basis of the multi-part episodes. The responsibility for creating these two/three/four/five new episodes from one original script falls into the hands of the wonderful and talented post production crew (yes, folks, I'm brown nosing here. :]). One of the tricks to expand 5 extra minutes of show time into a 25 minute episode is to lengthen the putty fights (and now we know why the putty fights have gotten longer). It's pad, pad, pad all the way until it's time to do the voiceovers. The Japanese footage is edited in, comprising about a third of the show. A lartec is written (a lartec being a blueprint that the ADR -- Additional Dialog Recording -- writer follows to write the ADR. It details where more dialog should be written covering the Japanese footage and fight scenes). The ADR writer watches the online (edited version of the show but without ADR, sound effects and music). Then s/he writes any extra dialog that's needed. The extra dialog is recorded with the actors in a studio and then edited in to the video. And voila', you now have a new episode(s) of Power Rangers. (Oh yeah, one of my sources wanted me to mention a name -- Scott Page-Pagter (ADR Supervising Producer). Hi Scott! :] Also, my sincere apologies to anyone who's involved in the production end of MMPR...y'all do a great job, and my hatchet-job description of the production process doesn't do any of you guys justice. 'Course, you're more than welcome to e-mail me with corrections (and any other juicy bits of info you'd like to share about the show). No pressure, of course... :]) 7. How do I submit a MMPR spec script to Saban Entertainment? First, for those who are not in the know, a "spec script" is the short way of saying "speculation script". It's a script submitted by a writer who is not in the regular employ of the television show he or she is writing to. Basically, it's a "Well, if I were writing for your show, here's the scrpt I'd like to see you guys ('you guys' being the show's Powers That Be) turn into a reality" script. Now that you know what a spec script is, here's the quick answer to "To whom do I submit a Power Rangers script?" -- You don't. Like most production companies, Saban Entertainment DOES NOT accept unsolicited scripts. So in other words, if you're not a Saban employee, and/or you don't have a contract to write scripts for any of the Saban Entertainment shows, don't bother. This is mainly for legal reasons. Think about it (it's not that hard). If everyone who had an idea about the show submitted it to Saban Entertainment, they'd be flooded with mail. No one would be able to go through every single piece, so a lot of mail would go unread. Now let's say that, by chance, Joe Blow Staff Writer comes up with a script that will revolutionize the field of children's television. The script eventually becomes the greatest episode of all MMPR-time, and more importantly (well, to certain higher-ups, at least), merchandise sales go through the roof. Not a bad scenario, eh? Oops, forgot to mention one little problem. Suzy Cue Fan sent in a script to Saban Entertainment months ago that sounded a lot like Joe Blow Staff Writer's. But because of the volumes of mail sent in on a daily basis, no one ever read it. Ms. Fan could easily sue Saban Entertainment for stealing her idea and not paying her for it, but Saban Entertainment could also easily say that they had no idea her script existed. No one wins in this situation. Well, okay, maybe the lawyers would win, but other than that, no one wins. There's another, more practical reason as to why it's not a good idea to try and send in a script. Scripts are actually written months in advance. As those of us who've tried to sit through the continuity hell that is the Third Season know, things change quickly -- overnight, sometimes. It's impossible to predict the direction Power Rangers is heading in, so why try? But, for those who are persistent enough to try and write a script, the best thing to do (I've heard this from people who are professional writers) is to find a writing agent. The agent is the only outsider that can legally present the script to Saban Entertainment, and if TPTB like the idea, they just might turn it into a reality (heck, they might even hire you as a staff writer, in which case, you don't have to go through a writing agent). The agent is your safe-guard against idea theft by production companies. And if anything, s/he would be a great resource for revising and rewriting the script. So, to sum up, don't send me, Saban Entertainment, or anyone connected to MMPR that you meet either in real life or on the net any sort of script ideas. Let me double stress a part of that point -- PLEASE do NOT send me script ideas (!). As I've told many would-be script writers, I am in no way, shape, or form affiliated in any official capacity with anyone associated with Saban Entertainment or its employees (I know, many of you have heard me say it before, but so many people have come to me about this that I feel it's necessary to make a public statement). Unofficially is another matter, of course. But that's besides the point. Don't send me script ideas...all I'll do is delete them when I see them. 'Kay? 'Kay! 8. How can one tell the difference between the Japanese footage and the American footage? It's tricky, but do-able. The first season Japanese and American footage is very easy to delineate. The film quality of the Japanese scenes is notably different from the American scenes (the Japanese scenes tend to be granier). Most of the morphed scenes and most of the Zord/Monster battles are Japanese footage. Another easier (but not always present) way to identify Japanese footage is too look for the scenes with tons of Japanese people in them. :) Of course, it could just be that the entire Japanese population of Angel Grove likes to hang out in all the same places...you never know... It's much harder to say what comes from where in the second season. According to Paul Matthews, Toei Company shot scenes to be used exclusively by MMPR in Japan. Hence, the grainy quality is there, even though it never appeared in a Japanese sentai show. Because of the mixing of costumes (Zyuranger costumes with Dairanger monsters), most of the battle scenes were filmed entirely in the US, with Japanese footage reserved for the Zord/Monster scenes. This tradition continues in the third season. The hand-to- hand combat looks to be entirely American made now, with Japanese footage used exclusively for Zord battles. However, some of the monsters from the second season have made their way into the third season in one incarnation or another (Repellator/Silverhorns comes to mind), therefore, not all Zord fights are Japanese. Finally, a word must be said about the "case latch" method of determining Japanese from American footage. In this method helmets with case latches = American footage and helmets without = Japanese footage. This method is completely unreliable, as case latches can be seen in both the American and Japanese footage (and not just the Japanese footage shot for American use). CONTINUED IN PART FOUR Copyright 1994-1996, Terri Ann Guingab