**************************************************************************** THE MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS NEWSLETTER THE NEWSLETTER OF THE POWER RANGER CLUB ISSUE #54 -- MARCH 5, 1996 "WARTSVILLE!" **************************************************************************** INDEX TO MMPR NEWSLETTER #54 1: SENTAI CREATOR INTERVIEW What does the creator of Sentai think of "MMPR"? 2: TODAY'S MMPR TOP 10 LIST Ten monsters that were too embarrassing to show on TV. 3: CONFESSIONS OF A POWER RANGER JUNKIE! "Hello, my name is MissAmyJo...and, I'm a Power Ranger Junkie!" 4: DID YOU KNOW...? Bet you didn't know *this*! 5: MMPR: A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD'S POINT OF VIEW Let's see what the *teens* have to say about the show! 6: MMPR SIGHTINGS! Double take! That guy's from Power Rangers! 7: ALMIGHTY or are they? Now that MMPR is popular, we want something new... 8: MMPR POLL #3 Which is better? The originals or the replacements? 9: WHAT HAPPENED TO MORPHINOMENAL? One minute it's here...the next minute it's gone! 10: MUSIC BOX Come on, and take a free ride... 11: NICE TO MEET YOU Richard Schauer's MMPR profile. 12: TODAY'S TRIVIA Do *you* know the answer? 13: ASK MAX Eight answers to your questions! 14: THE MMPR BULLETIN BOARD Post a message, read the board, and help some of us out. 15: POWER RANGER B-DAY ANNOUNCEMENTS! Wish some of our fellow Rangers a happy birthday. 16: EPISODE BIRTHDAYS Happy birthday...to the episodes of MMPR??? 17: NEXT ISSUE! A sneak-peak at Issue 54. **************************************************************************** SENTAI CREATOR INTERVIEW sent by Ray Calderon (zyuray@nyc.pipeline.com) Ako Sasaki interviews Mr. Susumu Yoshikawa, the producer of the original sentai series on which The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was originally based. He created the sentai series and was in charge of the shows from Goranger (1975) to Goggle-V (1982), the early sentai series which defined the form of the genre to this day. The interview took place at the Toei Company in Tokyo, one of Japan's major movie studios, in May 1995. The Japanese sentai shows turned into the Power Rangers: AFX: Mr. Yoshikawa, I am really curious to know how this typical Japanese show turned into the most popular childrens' TV show in the world right now, the Power Rangers. How did it happen? SY: It goes back more than 10 years. In 1981, Toei International in LA tried to produce the American version of Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan (Solar Task Force SunVulcan, the 5th sentai series), because it it was thought that the series seemed quite popular in the US. (Some of the sentai series were shown on local UHF channels in the US, and at the same time, there was a certain popularity among fandom, which might have contributed to this idea.) There was even a suggestion that I might go to the States and supervise the whole project. But the whole idea unfortunately faded away because they couldn't sell the show to the US TV stations. In 1987, Mr. Haim Saban of Saban Entertainment approached us, saying he wanted to produce a US version of Chojinki Metalder (Ultra Humanoid Machine Metaldar, Toei's action-packed kids robot TV show. later turned into the US version known as VR Troopers). But despite this effort, later the project faded away again. In 1992, Mr. Saban approached us again, saying that he wanted to produce the US version of Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger (Dinosaur Task Force Zyuranger). We thought that it was good thing if it happened, but on the other hand, we thought it might be just another failed attempt, because it was the third time for us. But more than ten years worth of effort was finally rewarded. As a matter of fact, it was a team effort by our vice president Yoshinori Watanabe (who is the real driving force behind the Toei kidie shows, a powerhouse of energy), Toei International and Mr. Saban; and I am certain it was really thanks to Mr. Saban's passion for our show and his willpower. I guess he was pitching around from station to station in the US by himself, and I can imagine he might have spent an awful lot of money on his efforts. I really admire his enthusiasm. As you know, in the end the show was on the air from September 1993 on Fox TV, a network of 135 stations. This was the birth of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and now the show is being broadcast in more than 30 countries all over the world. To be honest, none of us would have even dreamed of this scale of success. Even Mr. Saban didn't, initially. AFX: Why do you think the show was not sold iinitially? SY: The main obstacle was the actors. The idea that all the characters are played by Japanese can alienate the American audience, which is really understandable. So when Saban made the US version, they replaced the Japanese with American actors. AFX: Whose idea was that? SY: Mr. Saban's idea. The casting of power Rangers reflected the multi-racial society in the US, which was good. The further Toei/Saban live action series: AFX: Do you have any further plans for co-productions with Saban? SY: As you know, VR Troopers has already aired from September 1994 in syndication in the US. (As most of you should know by now, this show is edited from Toei's Chojinki Metalder and Jiku Senshi Spielvan, or Warrior in Time and Space Spielvan). And from this autumn, September 1995, there'll be a new series, the Masked Rider, based on our show Kamen Rider Black RX. (This was the tenth series of Japan's most famous kiddie action show ever, Kamen Rider. The Black RX series originally aired in 1988 in Japan.) We went to America last February to discuss what kind of show it will be, and we took Shotaro Ishinomon (a famous Japanese sci-fi manga artist. who created the original character and concept of the Kamen Rider shows) with us to the meeting with the Saban team so that we could consult him and get his input. We also talked over how Toei could offer help in terms of actual production, and how Bandai, the major Japanese toy company which works closely with Toei on projects including the sentai shows, could be involved this time. And of course, the Power Rangers feature film opens on June 30th in the US. It's going to be a 6 billion yen mega budget movie. Initially, the budget was around 2-3 billion yen, but the people in Hollywood said that if the movie was guaranteed to be a hit, more money would be invested. First it increased to 4 billion, and now 6 billion. However, we haven't decided yet whether we are going to release this feature in Japan or not. That's because there are some cultural differences, and because Japanese children might not always have the same tastes. (Note: the Power Rangers TV series itslef has not been shown in Japan, so even the name of the show is completely unknown amongst Japanese kids.) So we'll see the preview of this feature and then we'll decide. And the same goes for other Asian countries, since Toei has the distribution rights in Japan and other Asian countries. The working relationship with Saban: AFX: How do you work with Saban Entertainment? SY: Basically, Toei as the original work's copyright, and has the right to consult on the actual plans and production of the Saban Entertainment version, because we have our own policy concerning the content. So you cannot mess up the content or just take liberties- in other words, the US versions are being made in the spirit of not invading the original work's essence. As for VR Troopers, reportedly they even mimicked (or, you might say, respected) the original order of shots, exactly the sam way in some scenes. When it comes to the Power Rangers, we shot some of the additional fighting footage and FX footage for them here in Japan. Also, we provide them the monster suits. The Toei team is really good at that, so our crew make them, and sometimes supervise how they do it. In any way we can, we back them up 100% to make their show work. What kind of man is Haim Saban? SY: Well, for me, to make a piece of work, whatever it is, you need to be crazy. That's the reason why I like Saban. I'm doing things in a crazy way here in Japan, and Saban is also Mr. Crazy in America. I think it might be that he's Jewish; his enthusiasm and vitality are just beyond imagination. He's been trying to make this thing happen for ten years, you see? I really admire his energy. He also watches these kinds of TV programs with with much more attention than I do. He sometimes explains to me that this thing happened and that thing happened in such and such an episode, which I don't remember exactly. As far as I understand it, he used to be a music producer in Paris, and he won two gold discs there. He had a huge hit with Mazinger-Z records (featuring music from Toei's robot TV animation) and then he used that money to to move on to Hollywood. I truly recommend you to cover him as well. He's really quite a guy. Definitely not one of those run-of-the-mill people! How is Bandai involved in the project? AFX: How do you design characters in the show? Are you heavily concerned about merchandising toys from the early stages of each project? SY: In the early days, like when we did Goranger, for instance, Mr. Ishinomori and Toei discussed it together and decided which designs were the final ones. Popy, the toy coompany which used to be a subsidiary of of Bandai and specialized in merchandising toys, became one of our show's sponsors, roughly just before Kamen Rider started (1971). Then gradually our working relationship grew. (Initially, Popy was only one of the show's advertisers, then gradually, they started suggesting some alterations in the design of characters and gadgets in the show.) Popy was acquired by Bandai as its most profitable main section, and in recent years, they started initiating their own ideas, saying things like "We are thinking of launching such and such a type of robot, couldn't you put that into the show?" In this way, after more than twenty years of experience, Bandai and Toei have built up a strong business partnership, so now their role in the show is quite vital to its success. *************************************************************************** TODAY'S MMPR TOP TEN LIST by Dave (Rushnrulet@aol.com) Here they are! The Top 10 rejected monster ideas... 10: Zitmaster - had the power to make female Power Rangers get huge cases of acne and no longer care about fighting evil until they could get their old complexions back. Was nixed when the producers couldn't get permission to use the stridex-blaster (TM) to defeat it. 9: Happy Joy Lady - had the power to make the Power Rangers so euphoric that they didn't want to fight her. Was yanked when test audiences kept asking why the Rangers were fighting Ms. Appleby. 8: Shtickmeister - told really corny jokes in a henny youngman voice in an attempt to make the Power Rangers groan themselves into oblivion. Writers couldn't come up with a weapon for him that could be made into a toy so he was dropped. 7: Lizardman - big green lizard with scales on his back and fire breath. Had a high pitched battle roar as well and was good at smashing cardboard buildings. Not used due to threatened lawsuit by Japanese company. 6: Miss Blackwell - put down the Rangers' clothes in an attempt to make them doubt themselves. Canceled because *Mr.* Blackwell didn't have a sense of humor. 5: The Irritator - had the power to make each Ranger's annoying qualities (Zack's homeboy routine, Kimberly's ditziness, Tommy's hair, etc.) drive a wedge between the team. Viewed as redundant by the producers. 4: Timewarp - had the power to afflict the Rangers with problems common to most high-school students (drugs, gangs, suicide, pregnancy, etc.) instead of the problems the Rangers usually have. Canceled for obvious reasons. 3:. Superbrain - made the students at Angel Grove High smart enough to realize why Tommy and co. talk to their watches. Not used because Rita and Zedd aren't smart enough to think of such a thing. 2: Mr. Real World - fixed it so that the Rangers would have to graduate and either go to college or find jobs so they wouldn't have time to fight evil. Discarded five minutes after Saban figured out what it would do to his net worth. And, the number one monster idea that was rejected is... Spandex Worm - ate holes in the Rangers' costumes in an attempt to make them unable to appear in public without violating decency laws. Put on hold for a prime-time airing during sweeps month. **************************************************************************** CONFESSIONS OF A POWER RANGER JUNKIE! by Amy Michaels (formerly known as MissAmyJo@aol.com) I am a typical semi-adult female (I'll be 20 in August). If you looked at me, you would never ever guess what my one little addiction is: the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Yes! I'm 20 years old and addicted to a children's show! When I first saw the show, I laughed. I couldn't believe *I* was watching the Power Rangers. I mean, please! It's a children's show! But I was shocked! I loved it! The first thing I noticed about the show was that Lord Zedd was scary! And after I got over Zedd, I decided Amy Jo Johnson was great! I think it was because we had the same name. ;-) As time passed, I *had* to watch FOX everyday at 4:30. I didn't tell anyone of my addiction though... I didn't want to be laughed at. Well, I did tell my best friend.. she laughed at me. My best friend told a few of our close guy friends and to my shock, they watched it too-- though it was for Amy Jo. Go figure. :-) It was right around this time I got the nickname Miss Amy Jo. I went to McDonald's and bought all the little Zord toys, I went and saw the movie at the theater (only once though--I bought the video tape), and I bought some of the movie toys. I spared all the cash I could on the Power Rangers. Then I stumbled onto the Newsgroup. I was in heaven! A bunch of other MMPR people I could talk to. In the end scheme of things, it was MMPR that made me have to cancel my AOL account. I spent hours upon hours talking to TriProphet, Marx Okman, and Tien CO. And gosh, do I miss you guys! All of you, the people on the Newsgroup. But these are *my* confessions, because I can admit now, I am a Power Ranger Junkie. Are there any 12-step programs? ;-) **************************************************************************** DID YOU KNOW...? ... that Karan-Ashley is the first replacement to have a replacement. ...that Mighty Morphin Power Rangers will be titled "Power Rangers Zeo" on April 20th. ...that Walter Jones (the original Black ranger) is on a show called "Space Cases"? ...that a Taco Bell commercial featured a superhero called Masked Bean? **************************************************************************** POWER RANGERS: A THIRTEEN YEAR OLDS POINT OF VIEW by Nicole Watson (ILvJnyBsch@aol.com) [This paper was one of Nicole's assignments and she decided to share it with us] We've all heard of The Power Rangers, those teen-aged super heroes faced every episode with a problem to solve and a monster to fight. Sure, that's the only part that the kiddies like, but what about us? Every weekday afternoon I tune in to Power Rangers, and, usually, am not disappointed that I did so. The show is packed full of small jokes, not caught by the watchers just there for the soul purpose of seeing fighting scenes, or by the Power Ranger haters. (I admit, there was a point where I thought that the show was almost as dorky as Barney. But then, I actually sat down and watched it one day, and discovered that it wasn't all that bad. So, I made it a habit to watch it as often as possible. And, since then, I've been a loyal watcher to the show.) To me, unless Johnny Yong Bosch (Adam) is fighting, or a big happening is about to occur, like one of the Rangers getting kidnapped, or Lord Zed and Rita putting a spell on one of them, the fighting scenes are just another snack break. Of course, just like any show, this one has it's downs. But I never worry, I know that they'll always win their audience back. (Which, by the way, I will always be a part of). Many of my piers say that Power Rangers are stupid, and that they never watch it. Well, it just recently occurred to me that they were following along in the shows story line, and, unlike most people, were caught up with all of the new Rangers, including the Pink Ranger. They all claim that their little siblings watch it, and they happen to catch a glimpse of it every now and then. Yeah, right. Apparently the show isn't as widely hated as I thought. **************************************************************************** MMPR SIGHTINGS! --The 189th episode of "Full House" (Episode 821), titled "Leap of Faith" was about Rebecca deciding to bungee-jump or not. Near the end of the episode, Jesse talks to Rebecca and says that Joey gave him some advice. Rebecca replies, "Honey, you're talking about a man who sleeps in Power Ranger pajamas." --"Space Cases", the Nickelodeon show that Walter Jones stars on, aired last Saturday. --A Taco Bell commercial featured a superhero called Masked Bean. **************************************************************************** ALMIGHTY Or are they? Though sales of Power Ranger product indicate the franchise is a force to be reckoned with (last year, totaled $1 billion worldwide), there's a growing perception that the Mighty Morphins have peaked. "The feeling in the industry is that the movie is a year too late," says Byrne. "The core audience is getting older and the new audience wants something new." (Fast-food tie-in: McDonald's Happy Meal) [Mighty Morphin Power Ranger action figure] **************************************************************************** MMPR POLL #3 Here's the new poll? 1. Who do you like better? Zack, Adam, or neither? 2. Who do you like better? Trini, Aisha, Tanya, or none of the above? 3. Who do you like better? Jason, Rocky, or neither? 4. Who do you like better? Kimberly, Kat, or neither? 5. Who do you like better? Green Ranger, White Ranger, or neither? Answer all five of them, please. The results will be in the next issue!!! **************************************************************************** WHAT HAPPENED TO MORPHINOMENAL? by Marx Okman (marxokman@aol.com) As Power Ranger fans, morphinomenal was instantly added to our vocabulary. Everytime we *wanted* to say cool, we incognizantly changed the word to "morphinomenal". Of course we did -- morphinomenal was used excessively in the first two seasons of Power Rangers. Beginning on "Switching Places", when Kimberly mentioned that Billy's mind-reading machine was "morphinomenal", it's been a hit-sensation on both the series and for fans of the show. As the show got more and more popular, "morphinomenal" got to be more and more well-known. You could actually say it on the streets without getting weird glances (well, if you were lucky). It became a symbol of Power Rangers and a precious expression among anyone who was head over heels in love with the show. But, that's when something terrible happened... After waiting three months for hiatus to end and third season to begin, we were expecting for bigger and better things to begin -- and although they did, something terrible happened. "Morphinomenal" disappeared from the show and was soon forgotten by many people. Since morphin has to do with "Mighty Morphin" and the show will change to "Power Rangers Zeo" without the word "morphin" in the title at all, we have to wonder if the word will *ever* be mentioned on the show again. If only we had known it would have disappeared, we could have said goodbye. But, which episode was the last to feature the infamous word? Let's all take a moment of silence to remember "morphinomenal" before it banishes forever... **************************************************************************** MUSIC BOX by Jenn Harmer (sthj@maristb.marist.edu) "Free Ride" (Dan Hartman) (Opening Instrumental) Verse 1- The mountain is high, the valley is low, and you're confused on which way to go. So I come here to give you a hand and lead you into the promised land. So... Chorus- Come on and take a free ride, (free ride) Come on and take it by my side. Come on and take a free ride. (Instrumental) Verse 2- All over the country I've seen it the same. Nobody's winnin' at this kind of game. We've got to do better, it's time to begin. You know all the answers must come from within. So... *Chorus* Just ride along, (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah) (Instrumental solo ad. lib) Free ride. Get yourself a free ride. (8 times) Verse 3- All over the world, a new kind of thing. People are sayin' the times have changed. Well that may be true but the feelin's the same. We're havin' a good time. The free ride still remains. (echo "remains") Spoken- This ride is hot, just get on top. (7 times) Come on, take a free ride. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. (6 times) **************************************************************************** NICE TO MEET YOU INTERNET ADDRESS: rws@ais.net REAL NAME: Richard Schauer BIRTHDATE: 8/19/78 CURRENT RESIDENCE: Union, IL FAVE EPISODE: "Foul Play in the Sky" FAVE QUOTE: "What? You spent two thousand years looking for a tub of SNOT?" **************************************************************************** THE MMPR BULLETIN BOARD! If you have an announcement you'd like us to print, send it to "BULLETIN BOARD" at marxokman@aol.com! --- The answer to last week's quote was "Been there, done that!" was said by Goldar in "Rangers In Reverse" when he hears the "reversing time" plan. RanmaRo and rws@ais.net got this right. --- Today's quote is the subject title. Who announced "Wartsville!"? --- ILvJnyBsch@aol.com has a Green Ranger flip-head for sale. They are not in stores anymore and are *very* elusive. She needs to sale it to go on the Angel Grove Journey. If you're willing to buy it, e-mail her! --- Meiche@teleport.com is looking for contributions for the "Your Obsession With MMPR has gone too far when..." guide. --- Rushnrulet@aol.com is looking for the following cards: series 1: 26, 32, 37 series 2: 74, 96, 115, 122 series 3: 6, 33, 58, 59, 61, 64, 71 --- marxokman@aol.com is looking for the following people: --someone to find new members --someone to print out each newsletter --someone to help make a MMPRTM web site **************************************************************************** ASK MAX Q "Do you know the Rangers' last names?" -- tabrock@postoffice.ptd.net A In alphabetical order by last name: Farkus "Bulk" Bulkmeier, Aisha Campbell, Billy Cranston, Rocky De Santos, Kimberly Hart, Katherine Hillard, Trini Kwan, Jason Lee (Scott), Tommy Oliver, Adam Park, Eugene "Skull" Skullovich, and Zack Taylor Q "How many PRZ Rangers will their be? What will their names be?" -- Planeteer7 A Six (Red, Green, Yellow, Pink, Blue, and Black). Their names will be Tanya, Kat, Rocky, Billy, Adam, and Tommy. Q "Does Tommy have a dad?" -- AmiRee A Good question. Most likely, he does. I doubt his parents are divorced or it would have been mentioned already. But, no, we have not seen Tommy's family at Parent's Day or anything else for this manner. My guess is that he has a mom and dad who don't like to leave the house. But, there's no way to prove any theory at this point. Q "What is SenSurround about?" A bryand@cadvision.com told me that an analysis can be found at the following: http://www.tmbg.org/interp/s-sens.html Q "Where can I get good pictures of the Rangers?" -- LLinkJr A Go to the webcrawler and look up "Power Rangers". If you have America Online, go to keyword: Hollywood. I'm not giving any specifics at this time. Q "Do you have a WAV file or a picture of you scanned?" A Yes and no. My WAV file can be found at my ftp site (see below for the address) but I don't have a picture scanned yet, but I do have a non-working scanner. Q "Where can I get back issues of the newsletter? Can I buy them from you?" A You can get them at my FTP site (ftp://users.aol.com/Marx Okman/MMPR). If you don't have Microsoft Works and can't open them, I'll think of something else to make up for it. Q "What did the Rita wanted sign say on 'Ninja Quest'?" A It said "Wanted: Rita Repulsa. If found, please approach with caution as suspect is highly dangerous. If you have any information, call the police at..." Q "Will Catherine Sutherland or Amy Jo Johnson be in the second movie?" A Catherine Sutherland will be the Pink Ranger, of course. **************************************************************************** TODAY'S TRIVIA!!! Here is "MMPR" trivia question for today.... Name at least four of the hobby clubs from "Sign-Up Club Week". Last week's trivia question was "What was the name of the Rangers' beetle car in the first season?" The answer was "The RAD BUG!" It stood for Remote Activated Drivingzord for Basic Ultra Geomorphology". TienCO got this right first. Acmeeko, rws@ais.net, Rushnrulet, XSentaiX, trouter@ix.netcom.com, Echen13, RanmaRo, KimmyHeart, Mesia13, Kibaranger, terrynl@roanoke.infi.net, and DGuidry@popalex1.linknet.net got this right. * DID I FORGET TO INCLUDE YOU? * I lost a bunch of my files and if you didn't get included, please inform me! The scoreboard is: Acmeeko: 1 point Darlene613: 1 point DGuidry@popalex1.linknet.net: 2 points Echen13: 1 point FalconCJ: 1 point Herndons: 2 points ILvJnyBsch: 4 points JRovang@netcom.com: 2 points KibaRanger: 8 points KimmyHeart: 1 point KRWKarate: 2 points Mesia13: 3 points mhenry@mindcrime.ax.com: 1 point RanmaRo: 3 points RushNRulet: 1 point rws@ais.net: 6 points terrynl@roanoke.infi.net: 4 points TienCO: 2 points trouter@ix.netcom.com: 1 point USABlab: 3 points XSENTAIX: 3 points Vanvelzn@mhd1.moorhead.msus.edu: 3 points Send your trivia responses to marxokman@aol.com under the subject heading of "TRIVIA." If you have any suggestions for tough trivia questions send them also! No fair bringing out the VCR's or cheating in any way! **************************************************************************** POWER RANGERS B-DAY ANNOUNCEMENTS! Welcome to the first edition of the MMPR Birthday Announcements! It works like this: We'll list your name, either your real or screen, your e-mail address directly after, and then the month and day of your birth. Happy birthday to these MMPR Newsletter members, from March: Ann VanVelzen (vanvelzn@mhd1.moorhead.msus.edu)........3/10/77 Patrick Fritz (Patri56297@aol.com)........3/21/80 Mike Jones (XxUGKXx@aol.com)........3/24/77 Rachel Herndon (Lunette339@aol.com).3/26/79 Scott Fabel (sfabel@redrose.net)...........3/26/71 Jason Narvy..........................................3/27/?? **************************************************************************** EPISODE BIRTHDAYS (for the week of March 4-March 10) No episodes aired today. Do you want to know which episode has the same birthday as you? E-mail me and I'll let you know. However, some people don't have episode birthdays. Especially, if you're birthday falls during hiatus season (December, January, March, June, July, and August) **************************************************************************** NEXT ISSUE! Next time.... the 55th newsletter, with a new Top 10 list on MMPR crossovers, an interview with two of the Rangers, results to the third poll, some more information on "The Angel Grove Journey", and other kewl stuff! I NEED YOUR HELP! Can you send me any articles or reviews or games or anything on Power Rangers? I'm running out of stuff to use! Thanks! Don't forget: To write a review on Power Ranger merchandise (Keep me detailed before you begin) To write a Top 10 List To point out the newsletter to MMPR fans I have to take the time to say thank you to Leroy a.k.a. LLinkJr@aol.com, for being a big help! THANK A LOT! Mark "I'm a Frog" Oxman President of the MMPR Fan Club (Visit me on my FTP site at ftp://users.aol.com/Marx Okman/MMPR) **************************************************************************** SEND REPLIES & CORRESPONDENCE TO marxokman@aol.com ***************************************************************************