In the 90’s, many kids would sit in front of the television as Jason, Billy, Zack, Trini, Kimberly, and Tommy pulled out their morphers, yelled “It’s Morphin’ Time!” and transformed into Japanese stock footage where a giant Megazord would fight off guys in rubber monster suits created by Rita Repulsa and her nefarious dark magic. It was cheap.. it was cheesy, but oh my God, did we love it. We loved it so much that Saban Entertainment made a lot of money off of the American market because it was over the top, it was something America hadn’t seen before, and it was just too damn good.
The audience Power Rangers reached out to were kids, obviously, but what about those kids who grew up and became adults who still hold Power Rangers and its memories near and dear in their hearts? Well, Adi Shankar and Joseph Kahn looked to please adult appetites and released a dark, gritty, and very R-Rated version entitled Power/Rangers.
* This is not rated E for Everyone *
The story focuses around the former red ranger, Rocky, played by Dawson’s Creek’s James Van Der Beek. He has sworn allegiance to the machine empire, which fans may remember from the Power Rangers Zeo series. Rocky has Kimberly, played by Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoff, held captive and wanting to know where Tommy Oliver is. Through this information probing session, we receive a lot of backstory as well as learn of the grim fates of the other rangers.
There are obvious liberties taken here with the story, but since this is not considered canon in any way, shape, or form, it’s okay that they did take some liberties. If they followed the actual story then Zack, Jason, and Trini would be in Switzerland attending the peace conferences, the rangers would have had their Zeo powers as the original power coins would have been destroyed by now, etc, etc… but it doesn’t mean they ignored the history of the rangers completely as Rocky points out the entire backstory of the Green/White Ranger. By doing so, it boggles the minds of the canon faithful, but again, this isn’t canon.
Meet your Green Ranger: Tommy Oliver
This was widely different from what we are accustomed to seeing, but in a good way. Adi Shankar and Jason Kahn had a vision that they brought to life and it shocked and surprised many, but in the end, it left us wanting more. This is the adult Power Rangers we have been waiting for and even if nothing comes from this short film, at least we have it to watch over and over again!
Power/Rangers Short Film
