Power Rangers Turbo is a television series and the fifth season of the Power Rangers franchise. The show was prefaced with the franchise's second film, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie. As with its predecessors, Power Rangers Turbo is based on one of the entries of the Super Sentai series; in Turbo's case, the source is the 20th series, Gekisou Sentai Carranger. The series introduced a child actor as the new Blue Ranger, and featured the departure of the long-running characters Zordon and Alpha 5, as well the veteran team of Rangers and introduced four new characters to take the place of the veteran Rangers. The fifth series also marked the final regular appearances of Johnny Yong Bosch, Catherine Sutherland, and Steve Cardenas, and also the last appearance of Nakia Burrise.
Plot[]
After Maligore's defeat, Tommy Oliver, Adam Park, Tanya Sloan and Katherine Hillard graduate from high school and prepare to resume life as normal people, while the new 12-year-old Blue Ranger, Justin Stewart, skips ahead two grades and gets to go to Angel Grove High. Seeking revenge, Divatox begins to attack the Rangers. Soon after, the Rangers’ longtime mentors, Zordon and Alpha 5 depart to return to Zordon's home planet of Eltar, making way for the spectral Dimitria of Inquiris and Alpha 6. Other changes are also seen as Ernie leaves the Power Rangers universe to do volunteer work in South America, and Lt. Stone takes over the Juice Bar. Also an ally, the Blue Senturion arrives from the year 2000, with a message for Dimitria and the Rangers that Lord Zedd, Rita Repulsa, The Machine Empire and Divatox will team up to destroy the universe, but fails to show complete message due to Divatox corrupting the end of it, although it is believed to be Dark Specter.
Later, Tommy Oliver, Adam Park, Tanya Sloan and Katherine Hillard all of whom are leaving for their new chapters, are asked to pass on their powers to students T.J. Johnson, Carlos Vallerte, Ashley Hammond and Cassie Chan as the new Red, Green, Yellow and Pink Rangers respectively with Justin Stewart being the only remaining member of the team. The new team of Rangers are also joined by another ally, the Phantom Ranger, a mysterious being from another world. The team eventually learns that Dark Specter has captured Zordon, though Zordon is able to warn the Rangers not to rescue him as it would leave Earth defenseless. A short while later, the Rangers lose both the Turbo and Rescue Megazords in a battle with Divatox's most powerful monster yet, Goldgoyle. As Dimitria and the Blue Senturion leave for Eltar to help Zordon, Divatox finds the Power Chamber's location. Her army of grunts and monsters infiltrate the Chamber, defeating the team and destroying the Power Chamber. However, before Divatox tries to finish off the Rangers, she receives a message that Zordon has been captured and under the order of Dark Specter leaves for the Cimmerian planet. The powerless Rangers then leave Earth and head for space to save Zordon, with Justin choosing to stay behind with his father, although Justin Stewart does make an appearance in an episode of Power Rangers in Space to help the Space Rangers. These events lead to the next incarnation of the franchise, Power Rangers in Space.
Casts[]
- Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver
- Blake Foster as Justin Stewart and Robot Justin
- Johnny Yong Bosch as Adam Park
- Nakia Burrise as Tanya Sloan
- Catherine Sutherland as Katherine Hillard
- Selwyn Ward as T.J. Johnson and Robot T.J.
- Roger Velasco as Carlos Vallerte and Robot Carlos
- Tracy Lynn Cruz as Ashley Hammond and Robot Ashley
- Patricia Ja Lee as Cassie Chan and Robot Cassie
- Robert L. Manahan as the voice of Zordon
- Richard Horvitz as the voice of Alpha 5
- Steve Cardenas as Rocky DeSantos
- Carol Hoyt as Divatox and Dimitria
- Hilary Shepard Turner (episodes 1-25) as Divatox
- Catherine Battistone as the voice of Alpha 6
- Lex Lang as the voices of Lerigot and Rygog
- David Walsh as the voices of Blue Senturion and Visceron
- Paul Schrier as Bulk
- Jason Narvy as Skull
- Gregg Bullock as Jerome B. Stone
- Alex Dodd as the voice of Phantom Ranger
- Derek Stephen Prince as the voices of Elgar, Flamite and Wild Weeder
- Scott Page-Pagter as the voice of Porto
- Carol White as Mama D.
- Richard Cansino as the voices of General Havoc and Clockster
- Tom Wyner as the voices of General Havoc, Electrovolt and Goldgoyle
- Bob Papenbrook as the voices of Amphibitor and Torch Tiger
- Ken Merckx as the voices of Shadow Chromite and Translucitor
- Tom Fahn as the voices of Demon Racers, Wicked Wisher and Count Nocturne
- Brianne Siddall as the voices of Big Burpa and Metal Mangler
- Ezra Weisz as the voices of Mouthpiece, Numbor and Lord Litter
- John C. Hyke as the voice of Pharaoh
- Richard Epcar as the voice of Blazinator
- Eddie Frierson as the voice of Terror Tooth
- Peter Greenwood as the voice of Wolfgang Amadeus Griller
- Michael Sorich as the voices of Shrinkasect and Voltmeister
- William Butler as the voice of Maniac Mechanic
- Kirk Thornton as the voice of Crash
- Dave Mallow as the voice of Mr. Goorific
- Michael McConnohie as the voice of Strikeout
Production[]
Starting with the Power Rangers Zeo episode "Scent of a Weasel", ratings were beginning to plummet for Power Rangers simply because different shows offered better material. Dragonball Z released in May 1996 in America and Pokemon came out in November, the former offering better fight scenes and the latter monsters vs. monsters and the writing was sharper. This led to the infamous inclusion of new character Justin Stewart (played by Blake Foster) as the Blue Turbo Ranger after Steve Cardenas left the franchise to open his own martial arts dojo. Justin remains the youngest human Ranger in the show's history and was basically designed to be a self-insert for the audience.
Divatox was created since the true main antagonist of Carranger, Reckless Dash Emperor Exhaus (whose empowered form became Goldgoyle), appeared in all of six episodes and was mainly seen looming over Earth and the secondary antagonist Gynamo (who was adapted as Rygog) as well as Zelmoda (Elgar) spent a lot of time around a very Japanese villainess named Beauty Zonnette. However, at the start of Turbo, Divatox's actress (Hilary Shepard Turner), was forced to step down from the series due to being pregnant and was replaced by Carol Hoyt (who also played Dimitria) although Turner would return for filming of the episode "The Darkest Day" and remain until season's end.
After Power Rangers Zeo, the original Ranger cast wishing to step away from the show, the producers had to convince them to stay on for another 20 episodes (in actuality only 19) so they could organize replacements for them. Jason David Frank was the first to want to leave, triggered by Saban initially refusing to let him leave for other jobs as Tommy was and still remains the most recurring Ranger in the show's history. The reason the rest of the cast left remains unconfirmed but the consensus seems to be a mixture of burnout from doing this for several years and wanting to opt out in a mass exodus mainly due to the poor conditions and pay. To this end, the writers planned to create a new plotline to reveal the new identities. The original new Ranger cast were going to be Michael (a T.J. prototype), Carlos (originally Carlos Chavez), Justin, Ashley (originally named Missy) and Ashley (what would become Jenny, Lt. Stone's niece). Oddly, Nakia Burrise (Tanya) and Johnny Yong Bosch (Adam) wanted to remain on with only Steve Cardenas, Jason David Frank, and Catherine Sutherland wanting to leave. However, the whole cast (besides newcomer Blake Foster) was let go after one of the producers (who is unclear) decided that it would be easier to start with a completely new slate. The reason they decided this is unknown but they may have simply wanted new characters and ideas to explore since they had been dealing with most of the other Rangers for at least a year and Justin was the only then new member.
At the beginning of the series, the producers were Ann Austen and Douglas Sloan, who had been the head writers since Season 2 when Ronnie Hadar stepped down. They were second only to executive producer Jonathan Tzachor and showrunners Haim Saban and Shuki Levy. However, whilst writing the episode "Rangers in Concert", Sloan and Austen left the series due to creative burnout and a new writing staff (led by new head writer Judd Lynn) came in and canned "Rangers in Concert" and decided to create all new plotlines. This led to the drop of the Millennium Message (which was originally meant to reveal the future Rangers during the ending of "Rangers in Concert") and, more infamously, a planned subplot where it would be revealed Divatox and Dimitria were long lost sisters (inspired partially by Hoyt playing both characters at the time). They also changed Michael to T.J., changed Carlos' last name from Chavez to Vallerte, introduced Cassie as the new Pink Ranger (having not been conceived before Austen and Sloan left, as the original Pink Ranger was Lt. Stone's niece, Ashley (whose name was changed to Jenny Hunter), and changed Missy's name to Ashley. The original Pink Ranger, Ashley, Lt. Stone's niece, evolved into a minor character named Jenny Hunter in the episode "Cars Attacks".
Comics[]
In 1997, Acclaim Comics published three one-shots based on Power Rangers Turbo. The first book was Power Rangers Turbo vs. Beetleborgs Metallix, featuring a crossover with the Saban-produced Beetleborgs. The other two were part of the Saban Powerhouse books called Power Rangers Turbo: Into The Fire & Other Stories and Power Rangers Turbo: Simple Simon Says & Other Stories.
In 2018, Boom! Studios published a back-up serial by Ryan Ferrier and Bachan in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #25–36. It featured a team-up between the Blue Senturion and Ninjor.
Home media[]
In 2012, Shout Factory announced that it had reached an exclusive distribution deal with Saban for shows such as Power Rangers and Big Bad Beetleborgs. Power Rangers Turbo was released on DVD in August 2012, as part of a Time-Life exclusive boxed set containing seasons 1–7. The show later became available independently of the boxed set in two volumes, the first volume consisting of first 23 episodes was released on April 1, 2014 and the second volume containing the remaining 22 episodes was released on June 3, 2014.
Trivia[]
- Power Rangers Turbo is the first season:
- To be themed after automobiles.
- To include an actor or actress playing a villain in the opening credits (not counting the Japanese dub of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which credited Machiko Soga in its opening). In this case, both Carol Hoyt and Hilary Shepard Turner appear in the intro as Divatox during their respective stints on the show.
- To feature a Ranger who only last as a main cast member for a single season; in this case, Justin Stewart.
- Not to feature Billy Cranston in any capacity.
- Not to feature any of the original five Rangers from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (not counting Jason and Kimberly's appearances in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie or stock footage of their scenes from the movie in "Shift into Turbo: Part 1").
- Not to feature its Sixth Ranger in its final episode, as the Phantom Ranger had made his final appearance in the episode Clash of the Megazords.
- Not to feature an Ultrazord combination.
- Not to feature Evil Space Aliens in any capacity, although only Rita and Zedd make small appearances in thefilm.
- Turbo is the only season to date to feature a child who can morph into a Ranger, the child in this case being Justin Stewart.
- Turbo is the only Power Rangers series to date that (starting with the episode "Stitch Witchery") uses eyecatches from its Super Sentai counterpart to lead into and out of commercial breaks. The eyecatches are edited out of the Netflix version.
- Turbo is the final Zordon Era season to feature Rangers who had previously served on the Mighty Morphin and Zeo teams; in this case, Tommy Oliver, Adam Park, Tanya Sloan and Katherine Hillard.
- With the introduction of T.J., Carlos, Ashley and Cassie, and the episode "Passing the Torch", the second iteration of the Turbo team is the first to be comprised of Rangers not featured in previous seasons.
- The first half of Turbo (before the transfer of powers) marks the final time the Rangers speak during the morphing sequence until Power Rangers Dino Charge.
- The season has the highest number of main cast changes and additions mid-season. Four new Ranger characters replacing the original Rangers, and Bulk and Skull actors return to the series in the main credits, by the episode "Stitch Witchery". And the original Divatox actress returns to the role by the episode "The Darkest Day".
v - e - d  | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|