Power Rangers in Space is a television series and the sixth season of the Power Rangers franchise, based on the 21st Super Sentai series Denji Sentai Megaranger.
In Space was a turning point for the Power Rangers franchise, as the season brought closure to six seasons of plot, and it ended the practice of having regular cast members act in consecutive seasons which had been in existence since 1993. The theme of this series, and its successor, the Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, bears little similarity to their Sentai counterparts. The sixth series also marked the final regular appearances of Tracy Lynn Cruz, Patricia Ja Lee, Roger Velasco, and Selwyn Ward, as well as the conclusion of Zordon's story that has been significant in every six seasons.
Plot[]
Picking up where Power Rangers Turbo left off, Dark Specter has captured Zordon and is beginning to drain his powers. An assortment of old and new villains praise his victory, but an unexpected figure uncovers his plan: the Red Space Ranger, Andros. Dark Specter orders the Princess of Evil, Astronema, to eliminate Andros so he can't jeopardize his plans.
Meanwhile, four of the former Turbo Rangers (T.J. Johnson, Carlos Vallerte, Ashley Hammond and Cassie Chan) and Alpha 6 are traveling in a NASADA space shuttle with the intent to save Zordon. They are pulled aboard the Astro Megaship and later encounter Andros. Though initially suspicious and dismissive of the four former Turbo Rangers, Andros realizes he'll need their help to save Zordon and gives them each an Astro Morpher. Additionally, modifications allow the NASADA space shuttle and the Astro Megaship to combine into the powerful Astro Megazord. The new Space Rangers team then returns to Earth for repairs and supplies, but are followed by Astronema.
The Space Rangers alternate between searching for Zordon and protecting Earth. From the Dark Fortress, Astronema seeks to eliminate them via Ecliptor (who raised her), Quantrons and a variety of monsters. Elgar has also been added to her team, but he remains a comedic bungler. Over time, allies (such as Phantom Ranger, Justin Stewart and Adam Park) offer the Rangers invaluable aid, with Zhane (the Silver Space Ranger) emerging from cryo-sleep and joining the team. New Zords are also introduced. Meanwhile, Bulk and Skull become assistants to wacky scientist Professor Phenomenus and join him in searching for aliens.
While dedicated to finding Zordon, Andros has another quest: finding his sister, Karone, who was kidnapped when they were children. Over time, Andros discovers his sister was kidnapped by Darkonda, the arch rival of Ecliptor who has multiple lives. Much to Andros' surprise, it turns out that Karone is Astronema, who was raised by Ecliptor to be evil. Andros is able to convince Astronema of the truth and she defects with Ecliptor's help. Unfortunately just as quickly, she and Ecliptor are both recaptured and reprogrammed to follow Dark Specter.
The reprogramming of Ecliptor worked excellent at first in returning him to being completely hostile to the Space Rangers, but the reprogramming also seemed to fade a tiny bit towards the end of the season. On the other hand, Astronema had become more evil than ever, as she not only wants to destroy the Space Rangers, but also Dark Specter. To that end, she unleashes the Psycho Rangers. The five robotic and borderline insane villains possess great power, which secretly comes from Dark Specter. Every time they fight, Dark Specter is drained of power and grows weaker. Individually, each Psycho Ranger is too powerful for their Space Ranger equivalents. But the Psycho Rangers are not as good with teamwork, and the six Space Rangers are able to overcome them with a great deal of effort and teamwork. Soon after, the Rangers suffer setbacks that see two Megazords destroyed, which are the Delta Megazord and The Mega Voyager.
Everything culminates in the two-part finale, "Countdown to Destruction", where Zordon is nearly completely drained and Dark Specter orders the villains under his command to attack the entire universe. Across the universe, the Alien, Gold Zeo and Phantom Rangers, the Blue Senturion, and KO-35's rebels are defeated and captured. The Space Rangers struggle to defend Earth, but are overwhelmed and forced to retreat. Even Zhane and his Zord, the Mega Winger, are no match, with the Mega Winger ending up destroyed. The treacherous Darkonda kills Dark Specter, who returns the favor before his own death, leaving Astronema in command as the Queen of Evil. While Andros boards the Dark Fortress to appeal to his sister, the remaining five Space Rangers engage in one last fight for Earth and are joined by the citizens of Angel Grove, with Bulk and Skull leading the charge.
On the Dark Fortress, Andros finds Zordon, who requests his energy tube be shattered. Doing so will release good energy that will destroy the forces of evil and save the universe, but also kill him. Following battles with Astronema and Ecliptor, Andros has no choice but to comply. The many monsters are subsequently turned to dust by the energy wave (including Ecliptor), while Lord Zedd, Rita Repulsa, Divatox and Astronema are changed into normal, non-evil humans. With the universe now safe, T.J., Cassie, Carlos, Ashley and Alpha 6 intend to settle down on Earth. Though initially intending to remain on KO-35 with their people, Andros, Zhane and Karone decide to join their friends on Earth.
Production[]
Early production material for the season, dated May and August 1997 when production was concurrently underway for the Fall 1997 episodes of Power Rangers Turbo, was placed online in June 2011. The first half includes synopses of the first twenty-seven episodes of Megaranger, with a mix of Japanese names and intended US names, and a breakdown of how much footage was "usable"; there is a list of weaponry and Zords introduced, how often they appear, and the monsters and how they are destroyed. It then goes on to set out initial plans for the in Space adaptation.
Both Astronema and Andros are absent, with the Phantom Ranger uncovering Dark Specter's plan instead, and Justin is identified as the Blue Ranger. Instead of losing their powers and base at the end of Turbo, the Rangers would be given their Space powers by Dimitria (the Turbo mentor) so they could head into space and save Zordon. Their spacecraft would have had a limited power supply and could only be recharged by the Power Chamber on Earth, forcing them to keep returning; otherwise, they would hop from planet to planet, encountering new and returning villains, and picking up clues for Zordon's whereabouts. Divatox was still going to be the main recurring villain, with Ecliptor as her new second-in-command. Bulk and Skull formed a volunteer Citizen Force Group to try and protect Angel Grove while the Rangers were away.
In Space would have seen Carranger villain Exhaus used as Dark Specter - he would instead be the monster Goldgoyle for the end of Turbo. The Rangers were going to have a base in Earth orbit called the new Power Dome: it was to be realized by "a giant pyramid made of silky material... the walls of silk will change constantly with special effects lights creating the different moods". The "Space Station" (Astro Megaship) interior was going to recycle as much of the Power Chamber set as possible; footage would be shot for the villain's "Evil Platform" set ahead of time and used as recurring stock footage.
This would be the last season to feature the character Skull (Jason Narvy) as Narvy himself chose to leave the Power Rangers universe to continue his college education.
Cast[]
- Christopher Khayman Lee as Andros
- Roger Velasco as Carlos Vallerte
- Selwyn Ward as T.J. Johnson
- Tracy Lynn Cruz as Ashley Hammond
- Patricia Ja Lee as Cassie Chan
- Justin Nimmo as Zhane
- Wendee Lee as the voice of Alpha 6
- Julie Maddalena as the voice of D.E.C.A.
- Aloma Wright as Adelle Ferguson
- Paul Schrier as Bulk
- Jason Narvy as Skull
- Jack Banning as Professor Phenomenus
- Michael Reisz as the voice of Leonardo
- Derek Stephen Prince as the voices of Elgar, Raphael and Tankenstein
- Ezra Weisz as the voices of Donatello, Fearog, Body Switcher, Destructoid and Lizwizard
- Tony Oliver as the voices of Michelangelo, Crocovile and Frightwing
- Tifanie Christun as the voice of Venus de Milo
- Blake Foster as Justin Stewart
- Melody Perkins as Karone/Astronema
- David Walsh as the voice of Blue Senturion
- Alex Dodd as the voice of Phantom Ranger
- Robert L. Manahan as the voice of Zordon
- Johnny Yong Bosch as Adam Park
- Christopher Grey as the voice of Dark Specter
- Lex Lang as the voice of Ecliptor, Jakarak and Rygog
- Kenny Graceson as Elgar
- Steve Kramer as the voices of Darkonda and Darkliptor
- Patrick David as Psycho Red
- Michael Maize as Psycho Black
- Wally Wingert as the voice of Psycho Blue
- Kamera Walton as Psycho Yellow
- Vicki Davis as the voice of Psycho Pink
- Blake Torney as the voice of Electrotramp
- Kim Strauss as the voices of Clawhammer and Barillian Bug
- Kirk Thornton as the voices of Voltage Hog and Power Driller
- Michael Sorich as the voices of Elephantitan and Crocotoxes
- Ken Merckx as the voices of Waspicable and Lionizer
- Bob Papenbrook as the voices of Sting King, Lunatick and Spikey
- Mike Reynolds as the voice of Destructipede
- Richard Cansino as the voices of Behemoth, Batarax and General Havoc
- Jackie Marchand as the voice of Mamamite
- Dave Mallow as the voices of Termitus and Praying Mantis
- Brett Walkow as the voice of Mutantrus
- Brad Orchard as the voices of Horror Bulls and Owl Monster
- Tadahiro Nakamura as the voice of Coralizer
- Richard Horvitz as the voice of Datascammer
- Richard Epcar as the voice of Vacsacker
- Ed Neil as Lord Zedd
- Robert Axelrod as the voices of Lord Zedd and Finster
- Carla Perez as Rita Repulsa
- Barbara Goodson as the voices of Rita Repulsa, Prince Sprocket and Orbus
- David Stenstrom as the voice of King Mondo
- Brianne Siddall as the voice of Queen Machina
- Oliver Page as Klank
- Hilary Shepard Turner as Divatox
- Scott Page-Pagter as the voice of Porto
Home media[]
A VHS release for Power Rangers in Space contained the "Psycho Rangers" arc.
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 in Space 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 22 episodes was released on August 5, 2014 and the second volume containing the remaining 21 episodes was released on October 7, 2014.
Comics[]
Characters have been featured in Power Rangers comics published by Boom! Studios.
In 2018, the In Space 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 in Space story by Adam Cesare and Hyeonjin Kimwas 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 Andros joining a new team alongside the Ranger Slayer, the Magna Defender, Cameron, Tanya and the Dark Ranger.
A story by Trey Moore and Da Jung Lee, featuring Karone and both the In Space and Lost Galaxy Rangers, was published in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 25th Anniversary Special #1.
In 2019, Saban's Power Rangers: The Psycho Path by Paul Allor and Diego Galindo was published. An original graphic novel taking place after the events of the Power Rangers in Space television series, it features both the return and origin of the Psycho Rangers.
In 2022, Power Rangers #17-22 featured Andros, and later Zhane, in a story taking place before the events of the Power Rangers in Space television series.
Reception[]
Most critics gave the show a positive reception.
Trivia[]
- Power Rangers in Space is the first season:
- To be space-themed, which would carry over to Power Rangers Lost Galaxy.
- To feature the Battlizer mode, which would carry over to many subsequent teams, as well as other American-made equipment not used in its Super Sentai counterpart, to better help market the toys that were being sold by Bandai America. Prior to this, the only Power Rangers media to feature American-made non-Sentai equipment was Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, which gave that team weapons and other items not seen in Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger.
- To use an orchestral music score, in lieu of the rock music that had been used in the previous seasons.
- To had its theme song composed another key (in this case, A minor) instead of E minor, used in the previous seasons.
- To utilize a 30 fps framerate, largely in scenes aboard the Astro Megaship.
- To feature a Ranger as a blood relative to a lead villain, as Andros and Astronema were siblings.
- Not to feature any kind of power transfer, as each of the previous seasons featured at least one such moment.
- To have Rangers wearing uniforms when unmorphed.
- Where the Rangers do not have a mentor to help advise them.
- To feature the Rangers revealing their identities to the public, something the previous teams were specifically instructed by Zordon never to do. This occurs in the final episode "Countdown to Destruction".
- Not to feature Tommy Oliver.
- Power Rangers in Space is also the final season of the Zordon Era, and features several differences in comparison to the previous Zordon Era seasons:
- This is the only season from the Zordon Era that does not feature the Youth Center. Instead, the Surf Spot serves as the Rangers' new hangout. This is the only season in which it appears.
- This is the only Zordon Era season, and the first season in general, in which Alpha 5 is neither seen nor mentioned. His final appearance was in the Turbo episode "Passing the Torch".
- The characters of Mr. Caplan, Jerome Stone and Miss Appleby are completely removed from the franchise from this season onwards, as they were written out in several episodes of Turbo due to no longer being relevant to the series.
- This is the only Zordon Era season that does not feature the Command Center/Power Chamber as the base of operations. Instead, the Astro Megaship serves as the new base, and would continue to appear in Lost Galaxy.
- This is the final season to take place in Angel Grove. The city would make an appearance in "Quasar Quest", the first episode of Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, before disappearing from the series until Operation Overdrive's 15th anniversary special "Once a Ranger".
- This is the final season to feature bloopers in the ending credits.
- This is the only season to feature a crossover with another franchise, with the episode "Shell Shocked" seeing the Rangers meeting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from fellow Saban series Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation.
- Prior to the second half of Power Rangers in Space, several Megaranger monster costumes would make their debut in the special Power Rangers Funniest Moments.
- Although Bulk and Skull remain members of the main cast, they only appear in 13 of the 43 episodes of this season, due to their overall reduced relevance to the story.
- This is the final season to feature the original communicators introduced in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season 1.
v - e - d  | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|