Power Rangers Zeo is a television series and the fourth season of the Power Rangers franchise, based on the 19th Super Sentai series Chouriki Sentai Ohranger. It is the continuation of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which aired in 1996.
Power Rangers Zeo is the first season of Power Rangers to follow the Super Sentai practice of annual Ranger suit changes.
Plot[]
After witnessing the destruction of the Command Center, the powerless Rangers discover the Zeo Crystal intact in the rubble—apparently dropped by Goldar and Rito Revolto. The Crystal guides them to a portal, which takes them deep underground to the Power Chamber where they find Zordon and Alpha 5 waiting for them. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers become the Zeo Rangers, a new team of Rangers powered by the Zeo Crystal. The four remaining Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Tommy Oliver, Adam Park, Rocky DeSantos and Katherine Hillard become Zeo Ranger V — Red, Zeo Ranger IV — Green, Zeo Ranger III — Blue and Zeo Ranger I — Pink respectively and Tanya Sloan joins the team as Zeo Ranger II — Yellow, while Billy Cranston chooses to become their technical advisor rather than continuing as a Ranger.
The Machine Empire, led by King Mondo and Queen Machina, enters Earth's solar system, seeking to conquer Earth, with the Zeo Rangers serving as the only opposition. Many, even Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, are forced to flee to the M51 Galaxy under the threat of destruction. Unbeknownst to anyone, Rito and Goldar – now amnesiac – are left behind on Earth. They are taken in by Bulk and Skull, who have them serve as butlers. Meanwhile, Bulk and Skull continue to be members of the Junior Police Force until Lt. Jerome Stone is dismissed, when Bulk tries winning the heart of the chief's daughter. Quitting as a show of respect for Stone, they join him at his new detective agency.
Over time, the Machine Empire wears down the five Zeo Rangers, but they are rescued by the mysterious Gold Ranger. Though his identity is unknown, it quickly becomes clear he is there to help the Rangers. After he is injured in battle, it is revealed that the mysterious Gold Ranger is an alien, Trey of Triforia. Split into three separate selves, Trey is forced to temporarily pass his powers to a worthy warrior while healing. They attempt to transfer Trey's powers to Billy, but as Billy acquired excess negative energy during the Command Center's destruction, he is unable to do so. The ultimate successor is Jason Lee Scott, the original Red Power Ranger and team leader. This event also sees the introduction of the more powerful Super Zeo Zords, which were used against a tougher generation of machines. The Super Zeo Megazord is powerful enough to later destroy King Mondo, creating a power vacuum in the Machine Empire.
Secretly returning from the M51 Galaxy, Lord Zedd and Rita seek to become top villains again. Operating out of an RV with Finster, they restore Goldar and Rito's memories, retrieving the pair in the process. After King Mondo's death, they launch their first plan, to use Louie Kaboom to take over the Machine Empire. Though he succeeds, he breaks free of Zedd and Rita's control. He embarks on his own plans to conquer Earth and destroy the Zeo Rangers. Louie is eventually killed by King Mondo's first-born son Prince Gasket and his wife Princess Archerina, who rule until King Mondo's reconstruction is complete, which causes them to flee.
When Billy begins rapidly aging as a side-effect of restoring his proper age before undoing Master Vile's spell in the last series, the Zeo and Aquitian Rangers race to help him and fend off monsters from King Mondo as well as Zedd and Rita. Billy leaves Earth for treatment on Aquitar and chooses to stay to be with Cestria. Soon after, it is discovered the Gold Ranger powers are leaving Jason and draining his life force in the process as the alien powers were not meant for a human. Trey is still in recovery, but a risky gamble with the Zeo Crystal heals him, restoring his powers. Rita and Lord Zedd finally get revenge on the Machine Empire by crippling their leaders with a bomb.
Casts[]
Zeo Rangers[]
- Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver
- Johnny Yong Bosch as Adam Park
- Steve Cardenas as Rocky DeSantos
- Nakia Burrise as Tanya Sloan
- Catherine Sutherland as Katherine "Kat" Hillard
- Brad Hawkins (voice) and Tim, Ted, and Tom DiFilippo as Trey of Triforia
- Austin St. John as Jason Lee Scott
Supporting characters[]
- Robert L. Manahan as the voice of Zordon
- Richard Horvitz as the voice of Alpha 5
- David Yost as Billy Cranston
- Richard Genelle as Ernie
- Paul Schrier as Bulk
- Jason Narvy as Skull
- Gregg Bullock as Lt./Det. Jerome B. Stone
- Lesley Tesh-Pedersen as Emily
- Erik Frank as David Truehart
- Derek Stephen Prince as the voice of Auric the Conqueror
Villains[]
- David Stenstrom as the voice of King Mondo
- Alex Borstein as the voice of Queen Machina
- Barbara Goodson as the voices of Prince Sprocket, Orbus and Rita Repulsa
- Oliver Page as the voice of Klank
- Lex Lang as the voice of Louie Kaboom
- Douglas Sloan as the voice of Prince Gasket
- Melora Harte as the voice of Princess Archerina
- Robert Axelrod as the voices of Lord Zedd and Finster
- Ed Neal as Lord Zedd
- Carla Perez as Rita Repulsa
- Kerrigan Mahan as the voice of Goldar
- Bob Papenbrook as the voice of Rito Revolto
- Michael Sorich as the voice of Squatt
- Dave Mallow as the voice of Baboo
Guest Stars[]
- Rajia Baroudi as Delphine
- David Bacon as Aurico
- Jim Gray as Tideus
- Karim Prince as Cestro
- Alan Palmer as Corcus
- Paul St. Peter (voice) and Koichi Sakamoto as Tritor
Video Releases[]
- Power Rangers Zeo: Zeo Quest
- "A Zeo Beginning, Part 1 & 2"
- "It Came From Angel Grove"
- Power Rangers: Holiday Specials
- "A Season to Remember"
- Power Rangers Zeo (Complete Season) [German RC2]
- Power Rangers: From Mighty Morphin to Lost Galaxy
- Power Rangers Zeo: Volume One (Shout! Factory)
- Power Rangers Zeo: Volume Two (Shout! Factory)
Comics[]
Image Comics began publication of a Power Rangers Zeo comic in August 1996. It featured scripts by Tom and Mary Bierbaum, and art by Todd Nauck and Norm Rapmund. Four issues were drawn but only one was released before Image Comics lost the license.
Characters have been featured in Power Rangers comics published by Boom! Studios.
In 2018, the Zeo Rangers appeared in "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 Zeo story by Kyle Higgins and Marcus To was published in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2018 Annual as part of the crossover.
"Beyond the Grid," the follow up to "Shattered Grid", was published in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #31-39. It saw Tanya joining a new team alongside the Ranger Slayer, the Magna Defender, Cameron, Andros and the Dark Ranger.
Trivia[]
- Power Rangers Zeo is the first season:
- To have completely different Ranger suits from the previous season. This was done to match the annual suit change of the Super Sentai series.
- To have its Japanese-created footage be exclusively from one Super Sentai series.
- Not to feature Billy Cranston in every single episode. It is also the final season to feature the character altogether.
- To feature a female Yellow Ranger (Tanya Sloan) whose gender matches that of her Sentai counterpart (Juri Nijou).
- To end with the Rangers' powers and arsenal almost intact. None of the Zords, weapons, or base powers themselves are seen to be destroyed; only the Zeo Jet Cycles were. As it stands, Zeo is the only season so far to hold this distinction, as every other season features at least part of the arsenal destroyed, be it weapons or zords, or the team retiring at the season's conclusion.
- However, according to Johnny Yong Bosch, the script for Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie originally had a scene where Adam and Tanya would attempt to rescue Kimberly and Jason, only to have their Zeo powers destroyed underwater.
- To feature an appearance by at least one Ranger from a previous team. This trend would continue until Power Rangers Ninja Storm.
- To feature background songs from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as pure instrumentals without lyrics.
- To feature no single episode featuring the destruction of the Ranger base.
- International airings outside of the U.S. and Canada, along with the original intro for "A Zeo Beginning", used an alternate logo in the intro that simply featured "ZeoRangers" in the style of the normal logo's "Power Rangers".
- It is the only season to have a title with a word that is entirely made up (i.e. Zeo).
- Episode 45, "A Mystery to Me", is the series' 200th episode.
- This season and the first two Mighty Morphin seasons are the only three seasons to date where the episode counts exceed those of their Sentai counterparts.
- Power Rangers Zeo originally was planned to have two new segments that were aired right after the episodes called "Power Word" and "What it means to be a Power Ranger"; however, this decision was scrapped.
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