Power Rangers S.P.D. is the thirteenth season of the television series, Power Rangers, and is based on the 28th Super Sentai series Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger. The initials in the title stand for "Space Patrol Delta"; in Dekaranger, it stood for Special Police Dekaranger. The season debuted on February 5, 2005 as part of Jetix, originally airing on ABC Family; beginning with "Messenger, Part 2", the series moved to Toon Disney.
A Japanese dub of S.P.D. started airing on Toei's digital television channel in Japan starting in August 2011, with two DVD volumes released on August 5. It features the original Dekaranger cast members dubbing over the voices of their American counterparts (with the exception of Mako Ishino, who is the series' narrator rather than voicing her character's counterpart).
Plot[]
The story takes place in the year 2025, 21 years after the events of the previous season when Earth has welcomed alien beings to live peacefully with the human race. However, peace is short-lived as the planet-conquering Troobian Empire and its leader Emperor Gruumm turns its destructive attention to Earth. When the Earth's first line of defense, the Space Patrol Delta A-Squad mysteriously vanishes without a trace, the protection of the planet falls to their replacements: B-Squad Rangers Schuyler "Sky" Tate, Bridge Carson and Sydney "Syd" Drew, under the guidance of their dog-like alien commander, Anubis "Doggie" Cruger. When reformed thieves Jack Landors and Elizabeth "Z" Delgado join the team as the Red and Yellow S.P.D Rangers, tensions threaten to tear them apart. With the alien threat growing stronger every moment, the Rangers must put aside their differences and go into action as one.
During B-Squad's attempts to hold off Gruumm's forces, including pictomancer Mora and bat-like Broodwing, the team discovers that Cruger used to be a Ranger himself, but fled to Earth and swore off his Ranger duties after failing to protect his home planet and the apparent death of his wife Isinia; however, attacks by old enemies reveal that Isinia is actually alive and in Gruumm's clutches, forcing him to return to active status as the Shadow Ranger. They are later joined by the Omega Ranger, a future version of a kid they saved sent back in order to prevent B-Squad's destruction from having a negative effect on his time.
Things come to a head when A-Squad returns and reveals they had not disappeared but in fact defected upon believing that fighting against Gruumm's forces was a losing battle, resulting in both Cruger and B-Squad being captured, though they quickly escape. As B-Squad subdue their rogue teammates and route the Troobian's invasion, Cruger attacks Gruumm and rescues Isinia. However, Gruumm survives his army's destruction, leading to a final battle between him and Cruger and his arrest. Afterwards, Jack, having becoming disillusioned by the direction his life is going as a Ranger, abruptly quits the team, prompting Cruger to promote Sky as the replacement Red Ranger.
Casts[]
Power Rangers[]
- Brandon Jay McLaren as Jack Landors, the S.P.D. Red Ranger.
- Chris Violette as Sky Tate, the S.P.D. Blue Ranger.
- Matt Austin as Bridge Carson, the S.P.D. Green Ranger.
- Monica May as Z Delgado, the S.P.D. Yellow Ranger.
- Alycia Purrott as Syd Drew, the S.P.D. Pink Ranger.
- John Tui as Anubis Cruger, S.P.D. Shadow Ranger.
- Brett Stewart as Sam, the S.P.D. Omega Ranger.
- Michelle Langstone as Kat Manx, the S.P.D. Kat Ranger.
- Antonia Prebble as Nova, the S.P.D. Nova Ranger.
Supporting characters[]
- Barnie Duncan as Piggy
- Kelson Henderson as Boom
- Beth Allen as Ally Samuels
- Tandi Wright as the voice of Isinia Cruger
- Paul Norell as Supreme Commander Fowler Birdie
- John Tui as Sergeant Silverback
Villains[]
- Rene Naufahu as Emperor Gruumm
- Olivia James-Baird as Mora
- Josephine Davison as Morgana
- Jim McLarty as the voice of Broodwing
- Derek Judge as the voice of Blue-Head Krybots
- James Gaylyn as the voice of Orange Head Krybots and Zeltrax
- Geoff Dolan as the voice of Omni The Magnificence
A-Squad[]
- Gina Varela as Charlie, A-Squad Red Ranger.
- Nick Kemplen (voice) as A-Squad Blue Ranger
- Thomas Kiwi and Nick Kemplen (voice) as A-Squad Green Ranger
- Allan Smith and Gregory Cooper (voice) as A-Squad Yellow Ranger
- Motoko Nagino and Claire Dougan (voice) as A-Squad Pink Ranger
Guest stars[]
- James Napier Robertson as Conner McKnight, the Red Dino Ranger and Triassic Ranger.
- Kevin Duhaney as Ethan James, the Blue Dino Ranger.
- Emma Lahana as Kira Ford, the Yellow Dino Ranger.
- Jeffrey Parazzo as Trent Fernandez-Mercer, the White Dino Ranger and the voice of the Black Dino Ranger.
Production[]
Power Rangers S.P.D. was a milestone series behind-the-scenes and for the fanbase, but also one of the most controversial among fans.
After two years on the series, Doug Sloan and Ann Austen departed as the primary writers and producers of PR, paving the way forward for Greg Aronowitz and Bruce Kalish to take over, with Jackie Marchand staying on as a writer. Joining Kalish were several of his colleagues from Hollywood, including David Garber. Kalish's resume includes shows such as Mork and Mindy, The Incredible Hulk and The Fall Guy.
Kalish and Aronowitz's combined effort on the early portions of SPD gained instantaneous praise from the fanbase, as SPD proved to be one of the more ambitious PR shows ever attempted, with a rare cast of strong actors portraying each character with gravitas and investment, as a result, the cast became hailed as perhaps one of the best in the show's history. It was also at this time that the production crew opened communications with the fandom, which Sloan had previously done, enabling fans to conduct interviews and have conversations with the cast and the producers.
Even the first set of episodes were superb due to the quality backstage talent. After the two-part opener, each Ranger got an entire episode devoted entirely to their character development (episode 3 was Jack's, episode 4 was for Sky, 5 for Syd, 6 for Bridge, and 7 and 8, which were a single, two-part episode, for Z). Sam, although still a child, entered the show with a very well-received two-part episode (which he shared the spotlight with Z), and the Shadow Ranger was introduced, once again, through a very well-received two-part episode.
As the series continued, it became obvious S.P.D was struggling with its own status quo and storylines, as more filler episodes translated storylines from Dekaranger to push the series towards a conclusion (including the episode Samurai which is set in Japan). A brief reprieve for this complacent writing came when Jackie Marchand's two-part storyline "Reflection" resolved Sky's struggle with his personal demons, but it wouldn't last. By the time the Dino Thunder/S.P.D crossovers "History" and "Wormhole" aired, the latter was crucified for not being able to properly accommodate Jason David Frank, as he was back in the States.
The interaction with the cast and crew gradually minimized as Kalish later admitted his own children had browsed Rangerboard and were horrified by the crass, derogatory criticism and humorous anecdotes made about him. In a second interview, Kalish defended his dependence on Sentai material, insisting his crew were simply "paid to translate, not tell original stories."
Video game[]
There was one game produced for the Space Patrol Delta series, a side-scroller on the Game Boy Advance by THQ. The 6 rangers fight minor enemies until they encounter the main boss. There are racing levels which involve piloting the Red, Yellow, or Pink Delta Runners, a Space Invaders style targeting game with the Green Delta Runner, a racing level involving R.I.C. (the Rangers' robotic dog), and Megazord battle levels.
Comics[]
A new monthly comic strip based on the series appeared in every issue of Jetix Magazine in the UK in 2005. Jetix Magazine is the official magazine of Jetix, the channel that showed S.P.D. in the UK in 2006. The strip was the first Power Rangers strip to be written by Transformers writer Simon Furman, collaborating for the first time on the PR strip with equally popular TF artist Andrew Wildman, who had previously done artwork for other Power Rangers strips under Jetix Magazines' previous banner of Fox Kids' Wicked.
During the strip, a running subplot involving a rogue Krybot who had become self-aware and rebelled against Grumm gradually unfolded, he would resurface to warn SPD of Grumm's invasion attempt in the final story and supply Jack with a device that once inserted on the Terror, would incapacitate the Krybot fleet.
The strip ended with its own conclusion to the SPD series, the first time any comic strip version of Power Rangers has done a different take on a PR finale. In the strip, A-Squad is brainwashed instead of corrupted and turn against their superiors. The B-Squad regulars deal with them and help Cruger defeat and overcome both Grumm and Omni, before being promoted to A-Squad status.
In 2018, the SPD Rangers appeared in Boom! Studios's "Shattered Grid", a crossover event between teams from all eras commemorating the 25th anniversary of the original television series. It was published in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #25-30 and various tie-ins. A Power Rangers SPD story by Caleb Goellner and Patrick Mulholland was published in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2018 Annual as part of the crossover.
Release[]
Home media[]
- Power Rangers S.P.D. (Complete Season) [RC2]
- Volume 1: Joining Forces (Episodes 1-5)
- Volume 2: Stakeout (Episodes 6-10)
- Volume 3: Wired (Episodes 11-15)
- Volume 4: Boom (Episodes 16-20, 35)
- Volume 5: Zapped (Episodes 21-25, 35)
- Power Rangers S.P.D.: The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
Trivia[]
- It is the first series to feature Pink Rangers that did not have skirted uniforms and also the first time that a female Yellow Ranger had no skirt and has a female Sentai counterpart.
- It is the first series to have an episode take place in Japan, the country from which the Power Rangers' source material, Super Sentai, originated.
- It is the first series in which one Ranger morphs using their teammate's powers. There have, however, been previous instances of powers being passed from one Ranger to another.
- It is the first show to have more than two women on the team.
- This is the first Power Rangers series to feature a female Red Ranger (Red A-Squad Ranger). Bruce Kalish has said that he and the producers of the show had to convince Disney to use a female Red Ranger and that while it may be a small step now, it may one day lead to a full-time female Red Ranger on the show.
- Near the ending of the last episode, the possibility of another female Red Ranger was posed when Cruger suggested to Sky that he appoint Syd as Red Ranger.
- It is the first series to have members promoted to a new color. At the end of "Endings, Part 2", Jack leaves S.P.D. to be with Ally. Sky is promoted to Red and Bridge becomes the Blue Ranger.
- S.P.D. is a rare occasion where the setting is not set during the year it was released, taking place in 2025 but being released in 2005.
- The first series to feature an entire team of American-created Rangers, the A-Squad Rangers.
- It is the first series where the monsters do not consistently grow to large sizes, but instead retreat to the cockpits of Zord-sized robots for the final battle.
- However SOME monsters still grow to giant size, such as T-Top who is made giant by Broodwing's Growth Bat.
- This season is known for and sometimes criticized for the overuse of recycled costumes, props, and material.
- While early promos said S.P.D. was set in 2020, the date given in the show is 2025.
- "Katastrophe", "Missing", "History" and "Impact" were aired out of production order.
- S.P.D. is somewhat infamous for two airing mistakes.
- In Canada, on July 30, 2005, Wormhole, the second part of the S.P.D./Dino Thunder teamup, was aired instead of the scheduled Messenger, Part 1. Wormhole had been slated for a strictly-DVD release.
- Also, the episode Impact (Production #1533) was aired 28th in the series, accompanying a "previously on Power Rangers: S.P.D.", which featured scenes from History, slated to air after Impact.
- S.P.D. is the only series to have all the titles of their episodes consist of one word. This is an in-joke by producer Bruce Kalish as he had previously worked on Black Hole High, a fantasy series that also consisted of one-word titles.
- In "Dekaranger", the Rangers' weapons, Zords, and even enemies used guns that shot bullets. Production digitally added 'laser beams' over any scene of a bullet being shot during clips of Sentai footage. In a similar edit, in 'Dekaranger', the Rangers would point their fingers in a gun shape, aim at the screen, and then bullet holes would "hit" the screen. This scene was replaced with a similar scene at a different camera angle with the bullets removed.
- It is the first, and so far only, series to have a team of Rangers with a morphing sequence, but no morphing call. The A-Squad Rangers, in their fight with the B-Squad, had a puff of smoke surround them and morphed instantly, with no words being spoken.
- Both KO-35 and Onyx are mentioned in S.P.D.. They are both planets visited in Power Rangers in Space.
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