Mighty-Morphin Power Rangers

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (abbreviated as MMPR) is an American live-action children's television series based on the 16th installment of the Japanese Super Sentai franchise, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger.^[3] Both the show and its related merchandise saw unbridled overnight success, catapulting into pop culture in mere months.^[4][5][6][7] Under the original name Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the series ran from 1993 to 1995 and spawned the feature film Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie.^[8]

The second and third seasons of the show drew on footage and elements from the Super Sentai series Gosei Sentai Dairanger and Ninja Sentai Kakuranger respectively, though the Zyuranger costumes were still used for the five main Rangers and several regular villains. Only the mecha and the Kiba Ranger costume (worn by the White Ranger) were retained from Dairanger for the second season, while only the mecha from Kakuranger were featured in the third season. However the five Kakuranger costumes were later used for the title characters of the mini-series, Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers. The series was produced by MMPR Productions, distributed by Saban Entertainment, and aired on Fox Kids. The show's merchandise was produced and distributed by Bandai Entertainment.

In 1996, the series was rebranded as the Power Rangers franchise; renaming the series every year after and using costumes, props, and footage from subsequent Super Sentai series, as well as changing the cast and storyline. While an overarching storyline would continue untilPower Rangers Lost Galaxy, subsequent series after MMPR are not sequels or spin-offs in the traditional sense.

In 2010, a re-version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, with a new logo, comic book-referenced graphics, and extra alternative special effects, was broadcast on ABC Kids, and Bandai produced brand new toys to coincide with the series.^[9][10][11]

 The series takes place in the fictional town of Angel Grove, California.^[12] On an exploratory mission, two astronauts discover an extraterrestrial container (referred to as a dumpster as a result of its smell) and breach the unit, inadvertently releasing the evil alien sorceress Rita Repulsa from 10,000 years of confinement. Upon her release, she and her army of evil space aliens set their sights on conquering the nearest planet: Earth. When the wise sage Zordonbecomes aware of the release of the evil he was responsible for capturing so long ago, he orders his robotic assistant Alpha 5 to select five "teenagers with attitude" to defend the Earth from Rita's attacks. The five teens chosen are Jason Lee Scott, Kimberly Hart, Zack Taylor, Trini Kwan, and Billy Cranston. Zordon gives them the ability to transform into a fighting force known as the Power Rangers, providing them with an arsenal of weapons at their disposal, as well as colossal assault machines called Zords, which can combine into the Megazord.^[13][14][15]

The series begins with five teenagers combating Rita and her seemingly endless array of monsters. However, consecutive failures lead Rita to adopt a new method for conquering Earth and destroying the Power Rangers: by attacking them with one of their own. Using the Green Power Coin, Rita kidnaps and brainwashes a local teen whose fighting skills prove to equal that of Jason's in a martial arts contest held in Angel Grove. The new teen, Tommy Oliver, passes Rita's tests, becoming the Green Ranger. Entrusted with Rita's Sword of Darkness, source for the continuance of the evil spell he has fallen victim to, Tommy comes dangerously close to defeating the Power Rangers, especially when Rita causes a Solar eclipse that temporarily drains the Megazord's power. However, the Green Ranger is ultimately defeated, and the Sword of Darkness is destroyed by Jason. Now free from Rita's spell, Tommy chooses to use his Green Ranger powers to assist the other Rangers in defeating the evil that gave them to him in the first place. His Zord, the Dragonzord, is reconfigured to enable it to help form more powerful Zord combinations alongside the other Dinozords.^[16]

As time goes on, Rita focuses her plans on eliminating Tommy in order to regain the powers that she believes belong to her. Using a special wax touched by Tommy when he was evil, Rita uses a magic Green Candle to sever Tommy's link to the Morphing Grid and slowly remove his powers, returning them to her. In the end, Tommy loses his powers, but he is able to prevent Rita from reclaiming it by transferring the remains to another Ranger who can operate them based on their own link to the Morphing Grid. Tommy chooses Jason who, feeling guilt for failing to protect Tommy's powers, accepts them. However, Tommy later returns to the team when the other Rangers' Power Coins are handed over to Rita in exchange for their kidnapped parents. With Zordon's help, Tommy regains his Green Ranger powers and successfully retrieves the other Rangers' Power Coins. However, Tommy's regained powers are only temporary and must be frequently re-charged by Zordon, who makes no attempt to hide the fact that the Green Ranger's powers will ultimately fail. Despite this, Tommy remains determined to continue assisting the other Rangers as long as possible.^[17][18]

Lord Zedd, emperor of all that he sees, arrives at Rita's Moon Palace, where he takes her place and throws her into a space dumpster again. He then begins his own campaign to conquer Earth. In order for the Power Rangers to compete with Zedd's monsters, which are superior to Rita's, Zordon and Alpha upgrade the Dinozords into the more powerful Thunderzords. However, Tommy is forced to retain use of the Dragonzord, due to his powers being too weak to support a new Zord.^[19]

After several defeats, Zedd focuses his attention on eliminating the Green Ranger. He eventually does so with a special Green Crystal, using it to take away the Green Ranger's powers permanently. The crystal also powers up Zedd's Dark Rangers, but when Tommy smashes it, the Dark Rangers powers are transferred back to the regular Rangers. Following the permanent loss of the Green Ranger's powers, Zordon and Alpha create in secret a new White Ranger to aid the other Rangers in battle. The White Ranger is revealed to be Tommy, who in addition receives a new Zord, the Tigerzord, and also becomes the new leader of the Power Rangers.^[20][21]

During the Team Ninja Trials in Angel Grove, the Rangers become friends with three teenagers from Stone Canyon: Rocky DeSantos, Adam Park, and Aisha Campbell. During an ensuing battle with Zedd and a magical serpent, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha discover the Rangers' identities and, having been entrusted with their secret by Zordon himself, the three newcomers become allies of the Rangers.^[22]

Later on, Jason, Zack, and Trini are selected to represent Angel Grove at the World Peace Conference in Switzerland, and the Rangers are faced with the task of finding replacements, but in order to transfer the powers of the Red, Black, and Yellow Rangers, they must find the Sword of Light, which is located on the Deserted Planet. However, Zedd pursues them across the galaxy in Serpentera, his massive personal Zord, which destroys most of the Deserted Planet. Fortunately, Serpentera runs out of power before being able to finish the Rangers, and they return to Earth safely with the Sword of Light. Zordon then chooses Rocky, Adam, and Aisha to replace Jason, Zack, and Trini as the Red, Black, and Yellow Rangers, respectively.^[23]

Some time before the power transfer, Rita had returned to Earth when Tommy made his debut as the White Ranger, and fell into the hands of Bulk and Skull, but the Rangers sent her back into space. She later returns to the Moon while the Rangers are in Australia, and with the help of Finster, she gets a special "makeover" to gain a younger and "prettier" face. She then uses a love potion on Zedd, who is in a deep sleep during his centennial re-evilizer, and he falls in love with her when he wakes up. They get married and thus join forces to make an even more terrible threat for the Rangers, but not even this can prepare them for what is to come.^[24]

Rito Revolto, Rita's skeletal brother, later comes to Earth and, with the help of a group of monsters, manages to destroy the Rangers' Thunderzords and the Tigerzord, which as a result damages the Power Coins beyond repair. Undaunted, they seek the aid of Ninjor, alleged creator of the Power Coins, who gives them new Ninja Coins, providing them with the even more powerful Ninjazords and the Falconzord.^[25]

Later, an Australian girl named Katherine Hillard moves to Angel Grove. She befriends Kimberly, and displays an intense affection for Tommy. Later it is found that Rita had captured Katherine and put her under a powerful spell. As a result, she steals Kimberly's Crane Coin, vastly weakening the Pink Ranger, whose life force, like that of the other Ninja Rangers, is connected to her Ninja Coin. It is during this time that the Rangers acquire their most powerful Zords ever: the Shogunzords. Eventually, Katherine overcomes Rita's evil spell and returns Kimberly's Crane Coin to her. A short time thereafter, Kimberly gets a chance to pursue her personal athletic dreams. With Zordon's blessing, she leaves to train for the Pan Global Games, choosing Katherine to replace her as the Pink Ranger. Though her initial fear and hesitation keeps her from contributing fully to the fight against evil, Katherine eventually becomes both comfortable and capable of fulfilling her duty as a Ranger.^[26][27][28]

After several more battles, Zedd and Rita are joined by Rita's father, Master Vile. Following his failed attempts to defeat the Rangers, he reverses time, turning the Rangers into powerless children. These events culminate in the mini-series Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, which leads to the next incarnation of the Power Rangers franchise, entitled Power Rangers Zeo.^[

The Power Rangers

Jason Lee Scott

The original Red Ranger, as well as the original leader of the Power Rangers; portrayed by Austin St. John.

Zack Taylor

The original Black Ranger; portrayed by Walter Emanuel Jones (credited as Walter Jones).

Billy Cranston

The Blue Ranger and Blue Ninja Ranger; portrayed by David Yost.

Trini Kwan

The original Yellow Ranger; portrayed by Thuy Trang.

Kimberly Hart

The original Pink Ranger and original Pink Ninja Ranger; portrayed by Amy Jo Johnson.

Tommy Oliver

Originally the Green Ranger and later the White Ranger then White Ninja Ranger; portrayed by Jason David Frank (credited as Jason Frank in Season 1).

Rocky DeSantos

The second Red Ranger and Red Ninja Ranger; portrayed by Steve Cardenas.

Adam Park

The second Black Ranger and Black Ninja Ranger; portrayed by Johnny Yong Bosch.

Aisha Campbell

The second Yellow Ranger and Yellow Ninja Ranger; portrayed by Karan Ashley.

Katherine "Kat" Hillard

The second Pink Ranger and second Pink Ninja Ranger; portrayed by Catherine Sutherland.

(all the information about this article was taken by http://en.wikipedia.org)