Episode 5- Different Drum

First, QueenRiley would like to take a minute to apologize for the delay in posting. This should have been up last night, however QueenRiley has small people. Two of them, in fact. These small people are overall good small people, but last night was not a good night and required more Mommy-intervention than usual. So alas, this post had to wait until morning. Now, that out of the way...



We start this episode with a shot of Kim instructing a step aerobics class. She is surrounded by poorly dressed teenage girls while she has immaculate hair and a snazzy (for the early 90's) leotard workout outfit. It seems a bit unfair, really. Kim seems unaware or doesn't care about a particular unfair advantage as only some of her students actually have a step board in which to participate in the step aerobics class.

Jason is shown arm wrestling Trini. We have to wonder why he's doing so since he's obviously physically stronger than she is, what with having bench pressed over 2000 in one day just last episode. It does showcase Jason's arms, however, so we can't complain too much. Upon closer inspection, however, Jason is losing to Trini. Either he severely injured himself during that 2000 in one day bench press event or he's letting her win. His arm is as big as her head.

It took a second viewing to discover Trini winning, however, as the first go-round I was distracted by Zack's hat. It's oddly fascinating.

Ernie brings in some towels for the girls, how helpful of him, on a rolling cart. We can see Billy in the background attempting to keep up with Kim in her step aerobics class. He appears to be the only boy. Good for you, Billy!

But alas, being Billy, he trips over his step board and falls right into the cart of towels. Since it's a rolling cart, it takes off on a wild careening adventure around the room. Kim doesn't notice until Billy almost crashes into her. The other Rangers look away though we're not sure why. Moaning, Billy drags himself to the steps, while Kimberly insults him by telling him that's not the way to get girls. Gee, Kim, thanks for helping your injured friend. Just kick him while he's down. With friends like that, who needs enemies?

Billy is obviously injured since he can't stand up until Trini comes over to help him to his feet and minister her loving affection by... fixing his hair. Well, it's about as close as we'll get to a real relationship, so I'll just sigh contentedly and bask in the glow of my OTP. Yes, I'm highly Billy/Trini biased and no, I don't plan on attempting to keep that out of my reviews.

Meanwhile, in Kim's aerobics class, one girl twirls the wrong direction and bumps into another girl. There appears to be the start of a cat fight before the misdirected girl runs off without saying a word. Kim gives her students a break and goes to see what's wrong. It is here we find out the girl who mis-stepped is deaf. We give Kim major props for knowing sign, but then she makes her deaf (and thus far nameless) friend feel better by insulting Billy's lack of ability to dance. That's great, Kim. Point and laugh at your friend. Good job.

Finster has an awesome monster idea in a fire breathing hedgehog, but Rita refuses to listen to him and demands a pied-piper like musical monster. She should have listened to Finster. A fire breathing hedgehog would have been awesome!

Instead we see Bulk and Skull insulting Kim's students. What was once a step aerobics class has apparently turned into a dance class... using step aerobics moves. Mmkay.

We are five minutes into a dance episode before we see Zack dance at all. That should be illegal. Zack godes Bulk into copying his dance moves and Bulk does pretty well for awhile.

I feel the need to interrupt this stereotyping-overweight-bully taunting to comment on Jason's shirt. It's incredibly low cut. Like, down to his belly button. He might as well not be wearing a shirt at all. Frankly, we wouldn't complain.

And now back to our regularly scheduling cruel taunting of the "bullies". When Bulk manages to do most of the dance moves Zack challenges him with, Zack does a handstand. On a counter. As if that's somehow a dance move. Bulk, of course, can't do a handstand on a counter and falls over, hurting himself in the process and somehow getting covered in... some sort of food stuff. Everybody laughs. That's just a horrible way to treat people and I'm surprised the Rangers are modeling such bad behaviour. They further taunt him as the five Rangers leave the Juice Bar to go see a movie.

We cut to Rita demanding Finster show her his monster. He's created the Gnarly Gnome which isn't very gnarly and looks very little like a gnome. He more resembles a viking troll with an accordion than anything else. He manages to use his "music" to entrance a group of teenager girls on their way to the mall. The plan seems to be to use them as a trap for the Power Rangers. Luckily, the still-nameless deaf girl was with them. She follows the Gnarly Gnome to a cave where she is locked out by a rope net.

We have a particular fondness for this cave. This is the first episode we see people being trapped in it, but it's certainly not the last. This is the cave used just about every time and we can't help but feel a twinge of nostalgia when it's on screen.

Nameless Deaf Girl runs straight to the Juice Bar and finds Jason. Why he's not at the movie, I'm not sure. Clearly, Nameless Deaf Girl knows Jason is a Power Ranger because she bypasses lots of other people and goes STRAIGHT to Jason. She gets his attention and begins to sign for help but he doesn't understand. Ernie, standing right next to Jason, doesn't understand either. She's still signing directly at Jason, frantic for his help. Oh yeah, she knows he's a Ranger. She finally resorts to pen and paper and Jason gets with the program. She needs help!

The Gnarly Gnome makes the girls dance, saying they'll dance for Rita tomorrow. He's playing an accordion but nothing coming out of it sounds like accordion music. Mmkay. There is an awesome scene dancing with putties though, and we feel that ought to be the title of a Ranger autobiography. Dancing With Putties. I know I'd read it!

Meanwhile, Jason and Nameless Deaf Girl have gathered the rest of the Rangers and they hastily make way to the cave of captivity. Kim tells Nameless Deaf Girl to go hide behind the bushes and wait for them. They then morph and go call out the Gnarly Gnome. The girl may be deaf, but she's certainly not blind! They don't even wait for her to get behind a bush before they morph. If she didn't know they were Rangers before (and all signs point to her knowing), surely she knows now!

For reasons unknown, the Rangers give alternate names to their Power Weapons from what we know for the rest of the time they're in use. Zack says Cosmic Cannon instead of Power Axe. Kim says Battle Bow instead of Power Bow. Trini says either Dino Daggers or the correct Power Daggers, but she slurs it and it's hard to tell. Billy says Mighty Mace instead of Power Lance. Jason seems to be the only one to make sense with his Power Sword. Either way, they all combine to make the Power Blaster, so we'll give the weird names a pass.

Rita makes the Gnome grow and the Rangers call the DinoZords. We love this sequence. Best Zord summoning ever was in first season MMPR. They combine Zords into what they call Tank Mode, which means the Zords are together but not in the MegaZord yet. It seems pretty cool, though we're not sure they ever call this mode Tank Mode again. That doesn't last long, however, before they need the MegaZord and somehow the fight transfers from the valley to downtown Angel Grove. We'll nod and smile as we're not sure where that came from or how. It doesn't take long before they take down the Gnarly Gnome.

The Rangers, now demorphed, go and rescue the teenage girls held captive in the cave. They talk about how awesome the Rangers were, beating the monster, and Kim finally gives a name to Nameless Deaf Girl. Melissa. Her name is Melissa. Now why they couldn't have said that at the beginning of the episode, I'm not sure.

They run to the Juice Bar for some ice cream celebration and we discover Jason and Zack have somehow had time to learn some very poor sign language. Melissa asks Billy if he wants to dance and he nervously says no, yet everybody pushes him onto the dance floor anyway. What good friends. Somehow in the less than a minute on the dance floor with Melissa, Billy learns to break dance. Mind, going by later episodes, he forgets completely and can't dance again after this, but we'll just go with it this time since it allows David Yost to show off some of his mad gymnastics skills. And thus ends this episode.

Lists:
Covered in food: Bulk gets covered in... something... after being taunted.

Billy Speak: "I'm intrigued by the rhythmic modulations yet daunted by the coordinating movement of the appendages."
Trini Translation: "He can't dance."

Sightings: First sighting of the cave used for every captive-in-a-cave scene for the rest of the series and first use of Tank Mode with the Zords.

Fish scale: 3.5