power rangers

CoZ Entry #010 – Ziggy Grover

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I believe it was TJ Johnson of Power Rangers Turbo who said something to the effect of, “What kid wouldn’t wanna grow up to be a Power Ranger?” There’s probably some universal truth to this. Every kid thinks they want to be a Power Ranger. It seems like the coolest job in the world, right? But if you were to actually do it, you’d probably get your ass kicked in ways it’s never been kicked before, because they go up against some very mean monsters.

But when it’s the apocalypse and you have to protect a Morpher from falling into the wrong hands, you gotta do what you gotta do. And that very person is Ziggy Grover.

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CoZ Entry #009 – Sky Tate

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Team hierarchy rarely means jack squat in Power Rangers. The Red Ranger is always the leader (okay there’s a few mild exceptions but whatever) and everyone else is generally on the same level. There’s a few instances where one Ranger tends to become the de-facto leader when the actual head honcho isn’t around, such as Billy and Kim in the later seasons of Mighty Morphin. In most cases that just means that they’re the ones who get to yell the morphing call so it’s really not all that serious.

When you’re dealing with Rangers that also happen to be a police squad, though, the chain of command becomes a major focal point of the series. Never has this concept been more significant – and personal – than in the mind of Sky Tate. Continue reading →

CoZ Entry #004 – Scott Truman

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Earning our parents’ acceptance is a bitch. All we want is to be loved and acknowledged, and that desire is even more pronounced during childhood. Too often we find that we’re comparing ourselves to our siblings, and we have to imagine that our parents are doing the same thing. Sometimes if you don’t perceive yourself as “the favorite,” you might start to doubt yourself a bit.

Now imagine you have to deal with all of that, but you’re also a military brat. And also your older brother is the kickass fighter pilot you want to be. And also your dad is your commanding officer.

This is Scott Truman.

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CoZ Entry #003 – Dustin Brooks

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The turn of the 21st century was a weird time. The world was far from the utopian wonderland that optimistic science fiction media had predicted decades before. Instead, the early 2000s saw the rise of the “dude-bro.” The once underground culture of the “skateboarder” had suddenly poked its head into the mainstream. It was finally cool to be a doofus who rode around on a dangerous plank of wood or a dirt bike for fun.

Extreme sports. Dude talk. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. X-Treme X-Men. Xtreme Jell-O Sticks. Aside from Rocket Power, nothing seems to embody this bizarre turn-of-the-century more than Waldo – I mean, Dustin – Brooks. Continue reading →

CoZ Entry #002 – Chad Lee

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Back in the day, the casting direction for Power Rangers seemed to make it a point to prioritize athletic skill over acting experience (in case that wasn’t obvious). The original 6 were all martial artists, dancers, or gymnasts in one form or another. This was presumably to make the unmorphed fight scenes as believable as possible by having the actors do many of their own stunts while showing their faces. Sure, their line delivery may not have been Oscar-worthy most of the time, but they could at least kick some ass. As the show went on, stunt doubles became more heavily utilized. Thus, not as many Rangers got as much unmorphed fighting focus. In that respect, Chad Lee is an exception to the new rule.

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