Episode 275 - Always A Chance

OH MY GOD YOU GUYS, IT IS TIME TO RECAP MY FAVORITE EPISODE!!!!!!

No, seriously. This is my favorite episode. Out of what, 720+ episodes? Yeah, this is my absolute favorite. The one that I have seen more times than any other episode. The one that cemented every single bit of fanon I have about Adam (and you were spared my thoughts when we did Mirror of Regret, although I did go into it a little when we did It Came From Angel Grove

So, I have a lot of fanon about Adam. I know not everyone agrees with my fanon about him, and I've written about some of my thoughts on Adam and power addiction before but hey, any excuse to talk about it again. There will probably be a lot of meta and theories in this, and since this is me discussing this episode, it's going to touch on depression and suicide. So, consider yourself warned.

Anyway, are you excited? Because I'm excited. (No, seriously, I emailed QR this morning in all caps about happy Always a Chance Day. I am possibly a little bit ridiculous.)

So, episode.

We open in some sort of warehouse/science lab thing, where a really ugly monster is sucking the life or something out of scientists and computers. Or stealing their knowledge with his tongue. The Rangers look in the windows and then go in and yell at him. They discover that he can switch places by licking. Um. Ew?

Cue theme song. And what's this AFTER the themesong? OH YES, THAT IS JOHNNY YONG BOSCH'S NAME. I remember waaaaay back when I first saw this episode, I literally fell off the couch when that happened. I mean, yeah, this was 98 so I had internet, but I wasn't in fandom or anything, and I had NO IDEA that JYB was returning. So yeah, there is something to be said about surprises, especially when it gets the actually fell off a couch reaction.

Anyway, Cassie tries to shoot the monster but he tongues her. Carlos tries to help her by attacking, but the monster switches places and thanks Carlos for his help. Cassie apparently has injured her shoulder. Carlos, meanwhile, has the saddest sad in all the land, and that's something, for a season that contains Andros.

Back on the megaship, Cassie is playing checkers with Alpha, and Carlos comes in to apologize to her again, and she's like "look, this sort of thing happens. We're Rangers," and Carlos is having none of it, because he's busy blaming himself for everything. It is possible that I overidentify with Carlos a lot.

They do a really good job with Carlos' guilt here - the Rangers have a lot riding on them, and the pressure not to screw up has to be incredible, especially as everything they're doing is really a matter of life or death. Sometimes we forget that at this point, they are still teenagers. I couldn't handle that amount of stress. But they fight monster after monster without breaking. No wonder they have so many fits of emo.

Some other stuff happens with Astronema and sending a monster down and blah blah. Ugly monster goes after Bulk, Skull and the Professor. Carlos is standing on a bridge posing dramatically and having flashbacks of how he hurt Cassie, when he sees Bulk and the others get attacked. He has a quick freakout, which you can tell by his shaking hand, but he yells at himself to get it together. Also, Carlos is super hot in this episode. He morphs, and tries to beat up the monster, who mocks him again. Carlos is losing pretty badly, and he's going down into a spiral of second guessing everything he does, and then someone flips in and saves the day.

AND LOOK WHO IT IS WHY YES I THINK THAT IS JOHNNY YONG BOSCH. FAVORITE.

EXCEPT ADAM YOUR HAIR WHAT IS THAT I CAN'T EVEN.

So Adam fights the thing UNMORPHED, because he is freaking BADASS LIKE THAT and meanwhile Carlos is being emo but whatever, the monster runs away from Adam. The monster mocks Carlos again about not having friends, and Carlos is just like "YAY MY BOYFRIEND IS BACK."

Carlos explains to Adam that he's been needing a lot of help lately, which um, is not what happened earlier in the episode, but whatever, because EPISODE. Carlos asks Adam for help and how he's second guessing himself, and Adam gives him a lot of good advice about taking chances and believing in yourself, and then explains that he had the same doubts, and then he offers to train him.

The fact that Adam is the one who comes back is super powerful, actually. Of the four Rangers who left in Passing the Torch, he's the only one who really didn't have something major waiting for him. Kat had dance school, Tommy had racing, Tanya has had a recording contract offer since mid-Zeo, and Adam... was working at a stunt show. He was the one who didn't seem as ready to leave, which of course also has to do with JYB and his not being ready to leave. Plus, Adam is the one with the canonical self-esteem issues (thanks, Mirror of Regret, and reasons why I overidentify with Adam for one million.)

Adam still isn't quite ready to give everything up - I mean, why is he in Angel Grove anyway? Why is he hanging out in the abandoned warehouse district where monsters are known to attack?

Anyway, training montage.

Have I mentioned how much I love training montages? And this is an unpopular opinion, but I think Adam is super hot when his hair is pulled back. SUPER HOT. THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR MY LIFE.

Adam and Carlos are sparring while Carlos is blindfolded and hi, Carlos's arms. Those are pretty nice, you should show them off more often. Carlos is having a lot of trouble with thie, but he's blindfolded and fighting Adam, so you know, to be expected.

Unfortunately, it looks like Adam hurt more than he helped, because Carlos gives up completely, says that he's no Power Ranger, and runs off. Adam says Carlos can make his own decisions, but he's clearly going "this is who I gave my powers to?"

Then he asks Alpha if his old morpher still works, because sometimes he wishes he was still a Power Ranger, and Alpha freaks out and is all "Morphing could DESTROY YOU" and Adam laughs nervously, but he rubs the morpher possessively a few times and looks sad.

So. Why does Adam have the morpher? It's been nearly a year since he gave up the powers in show time, and he's still carrying it around? Why would he even think about using something that could kill him.

I have a few theories on that (I am sure you're shocked). First, Adam just wasn't mentally prepared to stop being a Ranger. Holding onto the broken morpher was a way of still being a Ranger, even after he knew he couldn't. And training Carlos just sent the nostalgia and the desire to belong to a team and the desire to feel like he's doing something with his life overboard.

And then there's the other theory, which... is my favorite, personally, but I like angst. I really like the idea of power addiction and power withdrawal, and some sort of depression that hits after you give up the power. The longer you hold the power, the harder it is to give up (see Billy, Kim, and Tommy for other examples).

With Adam, and the ramped up version of what I mentioned earlier about his identity being tied to the power, this was a way to still be a hero, and to go out like one. Not knowing what to do with his life, Adam was ready to die in battle, die a Power Ranger. Whether or not he was fully conscious of it, the way I tend to write him at least was that he was in a serious depressive fit, and then there was the chance to make a difference again. Why would he pass it up? Which was more important, his life, or feeling alive?

I did warn I was going to be ridiculously meta, right?

Back on the megaship, Carlos has quit, because he's afraid of hurting someone again. Oh, honey. Self doubt is a really powerful thing, and Carlos is not doing well at all. In the park, Carlos tells Adam that he quit, and he rubs his wrist where the communicator should be. Nice powerful gesture there.

Adam is like "shit, what did I do?" when they get attacked by the LizWizard. More unmorphed fighting on Adam's part, because he is GREAT. Still, they're a little overwhelmed and Adam does the only thing he thinks he can do.

He grabs his broken morpher, ignores Alpha and Carlos when they're yelling at him not to, and he morphs.

Seriously, that's my favorite moment in Power Rangers.

Carlos warns him again that he'll be destroyed, and Adam is like "get out of here" because protecting the civilians is what they do, and that's what Carlos is now. Luckily, that is when Carlos changes his mind and stops.

Look, there's really only one interpretation for someone clutching their arm like that, and that's heart attack. Even if you don't buy the suicide attempt theory (which not everyone does), there is definitely some sort of lasting effect from him using the morpher. Which means... all the post-episode hurt/comfort fic in the world!

Adam is clutching his arm and looking in pain as his morph starts to fade in and out, and he's clearly having a lot of trouble since broken morpher that is DESTROYED and all, but Carlos finally decides to start acting like a Ranger. Of course, at that exact moment the other Rangers show up, and Cassie throws Carlos his morpher, and he morphs.

Adam fights the monster, and Carlos jumps at them. The monster tries to do the same thing with Adam as had happened with Cassie. Except this time Carlos manages to actually hit the monster.

This is the real passing the torch moment. This is when Carlos is basically acknowledged as being Adam's successor, and where Adam is ready to pass the power on. Not that episode in Turbo. This.

Then the monster grows, etc, fight. Back in the park, everyone comes to check on Adam, who still seems to be in pain and clutching his arm, but he tells them that he's fine, so instead it's all group hugs for Carlos time!

Fish: 1.5 BEST EPISODE EVER

Fic we want: EVERYONE YELLS AT ADAM AND THEN THERE ARE HUGS.

Important questions I did not get to address: So um. Zeo morphers? WHERE ARE THEY? (Okay, yes, so color issues, and it wouldn't have been as dramatic if he used the green, or do the Zeo ones not work any more? Was the crystal destroyed with the destruction of the Power Chamber? Is it somehow related to his psyche? YOU TELL US. Or write me fic.)

Episode 219 - A Drive to Win

YOU GUYS, IT'S CARLOS AND ASHLEY!!!!!!

I um, possibly ship them. JUST A LITTLE. Or a LOT

So, Adam is apparently coaching a soccer team. One that happens to have Carlos as the star player. Aww. However, Carlos hasn't even become a Ranger yet, and he still needs to learn the lesson about teamwork. He seems to be forgetting that soccer is a team sport, so he doesn't really pass to anyone. Winning is the most important thing, so when Adam gives him the speech about making sure everyone gets a chance to play and teamwork he seriously looks at Adam like he's from another planet. It's great.

Meanwhile, Ashley is off being a cheerleader. The cheers are horrible and one of the girls on the squad is complaining about how if she had known it would be this much work, she'd have joined the army instead. Cheerleading is hard work.

Back at the Juice Bar, Kat and Tanya are practicing with Tommy, which in this case means that they're mostly practicing judo and throwing him to the ground. I approve so hard. They also seem to be getting revenge for him spending so much time at the racetrack - Kat in particular is not impressed.

Divatox has a plan - she sends down some Pirahnatrons to annoy everyone at the soccer field, and we get an unmorphed fight. Except not just Adam - Carlos and Ashley fight as well! In fact, for some reason it seems as if Divatox is concentrating on them. Hmmm. Afterwords, Carlos offers to walk Ashley home, and she accepts, although she tells him that she doesn't need his protection. He agrees, but says he needed an excuse to talk to her. SHIP THEM SO MUCH.

Also, I maintain that the reason that Angel Grove's economy runs on martial arts is that 90% of the people take some sort of self defense class. I mean, if you lived in Angel Grove, that's probably a good idea.

Divatox plants a detonator at the soccer field, and it will activate when Angel Grove's team scores 4 goals against Stone Canyon - something Divatox is counting on Carlos to do. The bad guys cheering for Angel Grove is hilarious and awesome - they should do it more often. Carlos continues to play a very self-centered form of soccer, and when he tries to brag to Ashley, she tells him off, and he feels bad.

Of course, midway through the game (tied at 3-3) communicators go off, and Adam has to be the worst coach ever and leave in the middle of a game. There's some sort of ridiculous fight that makes no sense at all that involves the monster and Elgar on motorcycles that are shooting electricity or something? Then there are Zords, and wow, do I not care. MORE CARLOS AND ASHLEY.

Back at the soccer game, apparently nobody has scored at all while the Rangers were gone. Either there was halftime, or Stone Canyon seriously stepped up their game. Meanwhile, Justin has detected the Turbo Navigator, because he is SMART and carries his around with him. Which frankly, all the Rangers should be doing. He gets it from behind the scoreboard and deactivates it, just as Carlos remembers that teamwork exists and passes the ball to the teammate he'd been previously mocking. The teammate scores the 4th goal, and Angel Grove wins.

Ashley invites Carlos to walk her home, Divatox is sad, and Bulk and Skull are cheerleader!monkeys. Oh, and Divatox pretty much explicitly says that she was after Carlos and Ashley because of the Millenium Message. :D

I love this episode.

Fish: 2.5. How did Adam not get fired for LEAVING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GAME???

Episode 215 - Glyph Hanger

Hey, it's an Adam episode! Sadly, it sucks.

We begin at the stunt show, and man, I approve of that SO HARD. The theme of this stunt show is apparently ancient Egypt, so we've moved on from Grease. We briefly wonder if this time the stunt show cast will be convinced that they're the Pharaoh's guards, but no such luck. Instead, we find out that Divatox used to date some monster named Pharaoh (who is sadly not a Goa'uld) who has the same staff that is used at the stunt show. Divatox calls up her ex, who owes her a favor, and he goes to plant a detonator at the stunt show. Adam confuses the monster's staff for the one used at the stunt show, and takes the monster's staff home. It turns all writing into hieroglyphics.

I don't know why Adam apparently builds his own props for the stunt show. I guess they should hold a fundraiser or a martial arts expo or something, because this town is cheap.

One important thing - Pharaoh gets beaten up by some children. I know they're trying to make the monsters less scary or something, but that's just pathetic.

After all the writing is turning into hieroglyphics AND Piranhatrons have stolen back the monster's staff AND some old guy from the stunt show returns Adam's actual staff to him the Rangers figure out something is wrong and go to the stunt show. There's a "comical" sequence where the old guy proves he knows all the items at the show, and they figure out that the detonator is a pyramid. But before Adam can blow it up with a cannon monsters show up, and there's a fight, and then the monster grows, and if Divatox's big plan was to make children cry by blowing up the amusement park, why doesn't she just have a monster step on it?

The fight lasts a long while, so we get a night!Zord battle, which was pretty great.

Oh, and Bulk and Skull monkeys thought that they could tell their story by painting it on the side of the Youth Center. Monkey paintings are pretty awesome.

Fish: 4. Nothing about this makes any sense.

Covered in: Lt. Stone is covered in paint

Episode 212- Built For Speed

It's an Adam episode! It's... a really bad Adam episode.

So apparently the radio station is putting on some play/stunt show/thing. It's set in the 1950's and has cast a bunch of local teens in the stunt show. All the bad kids apparently also had to play the bad kids in the wild west show. And every other show. They're totally typecast and not at all happy about it. So a fight ensues and Tanya gets all mad they went off script. Apparently this happens a lot because the two groups cannot get along. Outside, they challenge each other to a drag race. Adam tries to talk them out of it.

Guys, it's just a play! But they wear clothes in the stereotypical "bad boy" 1950's style and they drive 1950's cars and they apparently really are like that or something? Is Angel Grove stuck in a time warp or something? THIS MAKES NO SENSE.

Meanwhile, some super speedy racer monster has planted a super small detonator on one of the cars. Adam chases him and manages to blow him up. Porto made a second one, however, and they all have to go fight it. They did a really BAD job of splicing the Japanese footage with the US footage. It looks like a completely different show set in a completely different country BECAUSE IT IS. Adam blows up the guy again. And then they have to fight him again and Tommy shows a stunning moment of character development, however brief, by allowed Adam to take charge and destroy the monster for good.

At the drag race: Bulk and Skull hide in the back of the cars in hopes to bring attention to themselves. As the drag racers manage to head off towards the cliff, the chimpanzees cover their eyes and they go right off the edge. Luckily the Megazord is there to catch them... except at those speeds and that sudden a stop, there would have been MAJOR damage to both cars and people. Adam gets rid of the detonator in the car and lectures the kids about drag racing. They apologize to each other once back on solid ground. Lt. Stone shows up to get the chimps and actually starts to think they might be Bulk and Skull, except they drive off in his car before he can say so.

5 fish. What the hell is up with the stupid time warp going on????

Episode 181 - Game of Honor

Oh look, two Adam/Tanya episodes in a row! I am so happy! *does a little dance*

So, the episode begins with Adam running through the forest in a sweatshirt. A sweatshirt. Really? Look, I understand that he probably has some body armor on underneath, but a sweatshirt? He has NICE ARMS.

Anyway, Adam is being attacked by ninjas, and he fights them, and beats them all. Because frankly, he is that amazing. He finds some weird glowy disc on the ground, and the ninjas stop attacking. That's right, Adam just beat all the other Rangers. Because he is that awesome. (Personally, I feel that Billy should have been allowed to join in on the attacking. Turns out that this is Adam's version of training for a kung fu tournament. Hell yeah. :DDDDD

They discuss the device, and Tommy suggests that they take it to Billy. That is one of the smarter things that Tommy has ever done. The device apparently has some sort of energy, but they aren't quite sure what it is.

On the beach, Adam is showing off with swords! I'm not sure why he's using swords for a sparring competition, but I appreciate the sight. So does Tanya, who is clearly enjoying the view. Her asshat ex-boyfriend shows up, along with Veronica from the Angel Girls Club. Turns out Shawn is competing in the competition as well, and Tanya says "we're" training for the tournament. I'm sorry, Tanya, I find couple speak annoying as hell. I love you, but no. Adam is training. You are watching. Shawn claims that he has a secret weapon, one that will let him win the tournament and become a Ranger. Tanya says that Adam does too - it's called honor. And Shawn, you will never become a Ranger. Sorry, no asshats allowed. (This season.)

At the detective agency, Bulk and Skull are in suits, and they look pretty great. Detective Stone says that some trees in Angel Grove Forest are disappearing, and Skull suggests beavers. Beavers! That is great. But they go investigating, and we get some more shots of Adam showing off. Bulk and Skull keep investigating, and then they see some more of the shiny things. They go investigate, and a monster promptly shows up. Bulk and Skull get themselves kidnapped. Again. We should probably get a tag for this.

Up at the Power Chamber, Billy shows off what the medallion can do - it turns someone invisible! This lets them figure out that Mondo is hiding an armada in the forest. I don't know why he's doing it in Angel Grove when he has a moon base, but whatever. Oh, and it turns out that Shawn has a medallion as well, and that's his secret weapon. I don't see why he thinks this will work - so the judges aren't just going to immediately disqualify him when he vanishes? REALLY? REALLY? Logic, it does not work like that. Everyone is failing today.

Bulk and Skull are still being held captive, and Skull is playing the harmonica. It is adorable. Bulk tells him to stick to the piano. I love them. :D

Adam has made it to the finals, but he's summoned back from the tournament to go fight. They rescue Bulk and Skull (who are sleeping, since they are clearly used to this by now) and then there's a Zord fight and I don't actually care that much. Billy fires a laser at the moon and destroys the power source for the invisible things. "They sank my battleships."

At the tournament, the finals are Adam vs Shawn. Bulk and Skull explain to Detective Stone that Bulk covered himself in poison ivy when they disguised themselves as trees, but that they escaped from the Machine Empire using brute force. Their fake!Daddy is so proud of them.

Shawn decides not to use the medallion, and Veronica is so confused by this. For some reason, Adam doesn't instantly beat Shawn. I guess he's worried about looking bad in front of Tanya or something. Tanya wishes Adam luck, and calls him sweetie! Most adorable couple ever. In the fight, Adam is red, and you guys, AU where Adam is the red ranger. Make it happen! Adam wins, best 2 out of 3! Shawn apologizes for being a jackass, and Shawn tries to hug Tanya, and Adam is all "break it up." FAAAAAAAAAAAVORITES.

Fish: 2.5

Fic we want: Red Ranger!Adam! And more Adam/Tanya. I always want more Adam/Tanya.

Episode 178 - It Came From Angel Grove

This is probably in my top 5 favorite episodes of Power Rangers. There are not enough words to describe how much I love it. Why? Because a) it's hilarious and b) it's a pretty detailed look into Adam's subconscious. In other words, it's pretty much written for me.

Spoilers - the whole thing is a dream. I'm getting that out of the way now, so I can talk about what it says about Adam's psyche. Because clearly, that is why I love this episode. Also, there will probably be ALL THE CAPS. (You think I'm bad now, just wait until we get to Always a Chance.)

So. Let us begin.

It was a dark and stormy night. Adam and Tanya were having a "study session" after hours at the school. For some reason, the school is open and they haven't been kicked out yet. I have no idea why. Tanya is ready to give up, but Adam says he wants to stay at the school and study some more. Really, Adam? Cram sessions are not good for you. Go home with Tanya and get some rest!

Bulk and Skull are supposedly on night patrol of the school, and we're briefly wondering if they even go to school any longer. We're guessing no, and they graduated. They offer to escort Tanya home because of the storm, but she sees right through them and instead offers to walk them home, while Adam stays at school without letting his parents know what's going on.

A few hours later, he needs a break and turns on the tv, where what looks like an amazing bad movie is playing - The Bride of Hackensack. It apparently features a witch, a vampire and a werewolf teaming up to stop a mad doctor and his evil bride, and I would watch the hell out of this movie. He falls asleep while watching the movie, only to wake up when a black cat jumps on him. Awww, kitty!

He follows the cat and immediately runs into Rita and Zedd. They inform him that while he was asleep, Mondo and Machina have conquered the Earth and captured all the other Rangers. This sucks for them, because they can't win, and they don't think that's fair. Oh, and all of his friends have been transformed, and his zeonizers and communicators are missing. DUN DUN DUN.

I love that Adam's worst nightmare is that he wasn't there to help save the world. Oh, Adam, you have so much angst, and I love you so much for it.

Anyway, if he goes to find some powerful wizard and gives him the cape of a vampire, a catseye, the hair of a werewolf and the wrapping of a mummy, he can convince the wizard to fix things. It's like the plot of Into the Woods, but BETTER.

As the scene changes Adam finds himself in the juicebar, but all the color has vanished, leading to the best line. "Who turned off the color?" Oh, Adam, you are my favorite forever. He immediately recognizes Tommy, who offers him a drink (served by Ernie). Adam turns it down, and ahahah TOMMY IS A VAMPIRE. HE WANTS TO DRINK FROM ADAM.

Um. Here's the thing. Vampires are a metaphor for sex. SO YEAH. ADAM/TOMMY FOREVER, YOU GUYS.

... alternately, Adam thinks that Tommy sucks. Take your pick.

Mondo shows up and sends down some cogs, and we get one of the few unmorphed fight scenes of the season. Oh, Adam. You are so awesome. He easily beats the cogs, and then tries to steal Tomacula's (no, seriously) cape. Tomacula lunges after him, but suddenly a rope appears, and Rocky's voice calls down "make haste, lad!"

Um. Rocky should talk like that all the time. And I would like to thank whoever filmed the gratuitous ass shots as Adam climbed up the rope. A++++ good job.

So Rocky is in a suit and is really hot and calls Adam "old chap." He's apparently Lord Henry of Henry Hall, and I want this to exist as a bad romance novel so badly.

They get chased by wolves, but Rocky is obviously a werewolf. There is shirt ripping, but not nearly enough of it. Fail, show!

Werewolves are also a metaphor for sex. And masculinity. And passion. And wolves mate for life.

Yeah. *has a ship*

Rocky!Wolf runs off, and Adam grabs some of his hair (and I'm not even going to comment on that, okay? I'm being good) and then Lt. Stone shows up with the worst accent I've ever heard claiming to be the Burgermeister, which allows Adam to figure out that he's in the movie. The Burgermeister tells him there's a professor who might be able to help him, so Adam goes off in search of Billy.

Except it isn't Billy. It's Skull. Because deep down Adam totally knows that Skull is smart. This is more proof that Skull should totally have been the mentor in DT. Professor Skull is about to cast a magic spell, but the mummy of Prince Bulkenhotep awakens.

This is so freaking amazing I can't even comment.

Anyway, the mummy gets unwrapped, and Adam steals a piece of the wrapping, and Professor Skull and the Mummy are clearly going to be together forever, and I am dying forever.

The next room contains the mad scientist, who is Billy. Or rather, William Von Hackensack. Who has created his bride - Tanya.

This actually really works for me. In a really creepy way. Tanya replaced Billy so in some weird way could be a creation. Look, apparently this makes sense in my head, and Adam's, and the writers.

Of course, the part that really works for me is when Billy asks Adam if he likes Tanya. GEE, I WONDER WHAT THAT IS SUPPOSED TO SIGNIFY.

*has another ship*

Adam follows the cat out and the cat transforms into, well, Kat. The witch.

Possibly Adam has some unresolved issues about the whole park cat thing. He takes her catseye necklace, and ends up in the Wizard's Chamber, and the episode turns into a giant Wizard of Oz parody, and it is everything I love. Oh, and all the Rangers are encased in the tubes where the Mighty Morphin suits usually are. AMAZING.

So, Zordonicus, the great and powerful, lets Adam know that there's more to the test, and he has to choose one of his friends to fight a monster, since I guess we have to use some sentai footage.

In the stupidest line of the episode, Adam actually asks "What would Tommy do?" I guess so he could figure out what not to do? But instead, this counts as him choosing Tommy.

At least he didn't choose something that could never ever possibly destroy us.

Long boring fight featuring Tommy follows, and wow, am I glad this episode exists, because otherwise we would have had another one that just featured Tommy. So Tommy wins, but it turns out that Zordonicus was actually Mondo, and Adam's REAL nightmare is that he accidentally did something wrong and helped bring about the end of the world.

Oh, ADAM. SO MANY HUGS. SO MANY.

Tanya wakes him up, and it turns out that he was there all night. I guess his parents really don't care where he is at night, which I'm sure that Rocky and Tanya appreciate.

The movie is still on, and Adam has the and you were there moment, and the other Rangers are all excited for the movie and suggest they watch it at Tanya's later. (Except um, isn't she living with Kat?)

Adam says no, he's had enough of horror movies, and then the cat shows up, since it's apparently been living in school for weeks.

How Adam does on the test, we will never know.

Fish: 1. It was all just a dream, the fish do not count.

Fic we want: ROMANCE NOVEL.

BEST EPISODE EVER.

174- Challenges

Last time on Power Rangers- the world is relying on Tommy's brainpower to save it. We're all DOOMED.

So in the Youth Center, now cleared of Native American works of art, Ernie has decided to bring in Lt. Stone, aka "The Rock", to give free boxing lessons. Adam is all "Free boxing? I'm there!" and Rocky is all "Boxing? Really? But your pretty pretty face?". But Adam goes to sign up anyway, with Tanya's encouragement. They start with the basics... jump rope. We now want a massive crossover with Jump In. We must wonder why he always wears sweatshirts (okay, TSB wonders... me, what do I know of fashion? He looks fine to me. :P) Is it because JYB did his own stunts and they were trying to cover the bruises? Such is the rumour...

Meanwhile, Tommy is on his spirit quest. He keeps trying to touch that flying falcon. Apparently nobody has told him they fly TOO HIGH for a person to touch from some rock outcrop. Oh well. He is also chasing the mysterious PRETTY PRETTY YOUNG MAN that appeared out of thin air on the MAGICAL HORSE. Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE this show?

Adam is walking home by himself when he's accosted by the Monster of the Week. Prince Sproket has taken up boxing and they have now sent down a boxing monster... dressed entirely in blue, so clearly he's obsessed with Rocky. He attacks Adam to fight for Rocky's affection. Ranger Rule number 23, after all, applies to non-rangers after rangers too.

Adam calls for help and Rocky, Tanya, and Kat try to sneak off to go help him. Ernie passes them by with boxing gloves and gives them a look that says he clearly knows what they're going to do, but he's pretending otherwise for their sake. Aw, Ernie. Bless. So they join the fight but they still can't beat this guy. Boxing Monster and Sprocket turn Adam into an action figure sized Power Ranger trophy. Sprocket tells them if they win, they'll get Adam back unharmed in his normal size. If they lose, well. We all know what happens then.

They can't do this without Tommy (or rather, without Zords and Tommy has the only working Zord, so... yeah), so he has to leave his spirit quest to go help out. Tommy's Zord fights the Boxing Monster (who's name I cannot for the life of me remember, and I watched the episode all of five minutes ago). It's very Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots. Ah, the memories of my childhood. Anyway, they win. Of course. And for some reason, Sprocket lets Adam go and he becomes actual size again.

Tommy goes back to his spirit quest where there is an earthquake. Oh, Tommy. Stop following your heart. He hears a cry for help and rushes to save the Mysterious Pretty Magical Stranger who is falling off a cliff. The falcon lands close enough to touch, but if he stops to touch the falcon, Pretty Stranger will leap to his doom fall to his death. I do love this about Tommy... he doesn't even hesitate. He doesn't angst. He doesn't question. He just dives and grabs hold of the Pretty Magical Man.

Pretty Magical Man knows all about Tommy. He shows Tommy his own half an arrowhead and, gasp, they match! The tinfoil arrowheads magically combine into one unbroken arrowhead as we learn that David is Tommy's brother. Dun dun dun!

We do not learn anything else about Adam and boxing, which this episode led me to believe it was about.

2 fish. This was also surprisingly low on fish for a Tommy episode!

Fic we want: that crossover, but also a Mystic Force crossover! Or an excerpt from Once a Ranger because... well... Adam and Xander! They can bond.

Episode 168- Mean Screen

Before we start, I wanted to link everybody to some of the best fics in the fandom! Alpha's Magical Fic Exchange recently came to a close and all the fics were posted yesterday. And they are AWESOME. (can also be found on the prfication community on dreamwidth)

Now, to the episode. I don't like this episode. I didn't like this episode when it aired the first time and I haven't watched it since. Why? Because the WHOLE EPISODE is a science fail. Or rather, a computer fail of epic proportions.

Basically, the Rangers discover the internet! Which is always referred to as The Internet, making it sound as if it's capitalized and stuff. So Token Jewish Friend, aka Raymond, is showing Adam the ropes. He knows All About Computers and so he gets to tell everybody else what to do. I really like Raymond. I wish he had been a ranger.

Anyway, Tanya clicks a "Read Me" link with a cute smiley (facepalm) and a virus pops up saying they have 45 seconds to stop it before it infects everything. Uh... that's... not how it works (I'm going to be saying that a lot). Raymond tries to fix it from Tanya's computer, but can't, so he goes to use his laptop and fix it. Adam and Tanya are flipping out and giving the countdown and Raymond saves the day. Which is not how viruses work. But anyway. Adam finds a chatroom. He's very excited.

Mondo creates a computer monster to go to the Computer Center and hack into the the computers of Angel Grove. He absorbs the information through a cord he wrapped around the monitor, not the tower, and COMPUTERS REALLY REALLY REALLY DON'T WORK LIKE THAT. He gets all the ranger information because apparently Zordon wasn't smart enough to put up a firewall or leave those plans on computers with no attachment to the internet or a network. This monster inserts a virus that affects everything from desktops to ATM machines to store automatic doors to the blockade on a street. It's apparently highly contagious. AND COMPUTER VIRUSES DON'T WORK LIKE THAT.

The rangers try to fight Mean Screen, but his virus has gotten into their weapons, despite science NOT WORKING like that. In order to save the day, Adam teleports to the school and asks Raymond for the anti-virus he created. Raymond has an obvious crush on the green ranger. He hands over his untested virus (on a floppy, oh dear g-d we are so OLD) and then mutters that nobody on the internet is going to believe this. OH RAYMOND HOW I LOVE YOU. You are the best part of this episode.

So they use MAJOR COMPUTERS DON'T WORK LIKE THAT fail and beat the monster. And things start working again. Because Raymond created an awesome anti-virus software.

Meanwhile, Billy contacts them. He's coming home! Everybody missed him. Rocky is VERY excited to see Billy! Daw.

Mondo plans to foil Billy's attempts at coming home. But that's for next time.

This episode? This was 5 fish. This was 5 fish before we were even 8 minutes into the show. Record? Maybe not, but it sure is close. And stinky.

And did I mention that SCIENCE DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT????

Episode 167 - Instrument of Destruction

Double recap tonight! To try and make up for being so behind.

There are not enough words to express how much I love this episode. It has so many things I love! Adam is a writer! Bulk and Skull have character development! The cogs are completely hilarious! Basically, the only way it would have been better for me would be if Adam made out with either Tanya or Rocky. (Or both.)

So! The episode begins with skipping Cogs, who are doing their best to replace the Zputties in my heart. They are skipping to the beat of mysterious piano music. Apparently the only other person in the school is Adam, who chases them through the school, trying to figure out a) what they're up to and b) what's with the music. It turns out that they've been sent by Sprocket, since it's Queen Machina's birthday, and he and King Mondo need a present. Clearly, some people appreciate good music. The Mysterious Cloaked Piano Player runs away, and then the Cogs run away from Adam.

Later, the Worst Guidance Counselor Ever (Ms. Rodriquez) confronts Adam in the hallway, and says she wants to make some changes to his schedule. It seems that he's already taken creative writing twice (and he points out that he got an A in it both times) and she wants him to be more well rounded, so she's changed his schedule so he's taken classical music. Adam does not look too pleased, and Bulk starts mocking him, and Skull joins in at Bulk's urging, CLEARLY overcompensating for something. Tommy and Kat defend Adam (who really looks annoyed - I would be too!) and say it's good that he's branching out. Except it wasn't his choice.

I'm not really sure why Worst Guidance Counselor Ever is changing his schedule in the middle of the semester, or why she gets to do it without consulting him, but that is why she's the Worst Ever.

By the way, this episode is entirely responsible for my fanon that Adam's real career is scifi/fantasy writer, and that he just runs a dojo in his spare time because he can.

Anyway, it turns out that Skull's schedule is also changed, so he shows up in the classical music class, and gets to play the drums, while Adam plays the piano. I find it necessary to point out that Jason Narvy is ridiculously hot in this episode. We get to meet ANOTHER new teacher named Mr. Hams, but he keeps managing to mix up his word order, so I'm just going to call him Mr. Music. He says that there will be a recital that they can go to for extra credit after school that day, and then tells them to play around with their instruments. Adam plays chopsticks. For some reason, everyone is really impressed.

Later, Adam turns down a chance to go to the youth center with Tommy and Kat because he has to go practice the piano. Except then he hears the same music and the Cogs show up, so they all morph in the middle of the hallway, and a hilarious fight scene occurs. Adam dances with a cog! Then he surfs on one! It's amazing. But The Mysterious Cloaked Piano Player gets away again.

I'm not sure why they morphed in the middle of the hallway though. I mean, there have to be a ton of people around. And doesn't Angel Grove have security cameras, or did Billy set up a program to delete the evidence? Who knows.

Adam goes to play the piano, playing something way too advanced for a beginner, and then finds a note in the keys that says piano lessons at the symphony at 4:30, so he assumes it's The Mysterious Cloaked Piano Player, and goes chasing after him. Jackpot! The Mysterious Cloaked Piano Player is there, but he's surrounded by Cogs. So, as The Mysterious Cloaked Piano Player faces him, Adam morphs. He is so bad at this secret identity thing. He defeats the cogs, and goes back to the school, where he unmasks The Mysterious Cloaked Piano Player. It's Skull.

There is some seriously amazing acting on the behalf of Dr. Jason Narvy here. (Speaking of him having a doctorate, I so want the AU where he's the mentor for the DT team, but more of that waaaaaaaay in the future.) Skull didn't tell anyone because he doesn't want anyone to laugh at him! He's afraid that Bulk won't love him anymore! Skull needs ALL THE HUGS. ALL OF THEM. Adam encourages him, and it's completely adorable, and they should totally go make out a lot.

Anyway, Skull goes to his piano lessons, and Mondo turns a piano into a monster, and there are some awful music related puns, and there's a fight where Adam gets captured and Tommy has to rescue him, and then they call the Zords. And the Defender Wheel. And their jet cycles. I guess they were really trying to plug all the toys this week. Monster is defeated, so we're going back to the important part, which is how Bulk and Skull are freaking awesome.

That evening, all of the Rangers are attending the recital, even though Adam is the only one who is getting extra credit. Mr. Music announces that there's a late addition to the program, and then can't believe that Skull's name is on the list. Everyone in the audience is completely horrible, except for Adam, who starts clapping. Skull comes out, and he's all dressed like Liberace, making him my favorite forever. Everyone is shocked at how awesome he is, and they keep talking during the concert. FAIL.

Then Bulk comes in, asking who the dork is, until he sees it's Skull. He's practically moved to tears. When Skull finishes playing, he let's out his trademark laugh, and then gets a standing ovation, which he totally deserves.

Bulk comes up to Skull, and Skull looks terrified. Bulk asks why Skull didn't tell him, and Skull says that Bulk said that music was for dweebs. Bulk tells him that if he said that, he was wrong, and oh my god, so much character development. Bulk grew as a person! Because he loves Skull!

Seriously, this episode is amazing, and they need ALL THE HUGS. ALL OF THEM.

Fish 2: Worst Guidance Counselor Ever. Also, that was some major secret identity fail.

Episode 152- Along Came a Spider

I hate the Zeo Quest. No, I really really HATE the Zeo Quest. Epic fail, show!

So Billy is hanging out in his garage lab at his house with Cestro and Tideus. Unfortunately, the device he's working on... isn't working. He can't figure out how to get the sub-crystals to come together. Tideus suggests they find a more powerful device and Billy explains that Earth just isn't that far along. NASA and MIT might have one, but there's no use trying them. He suggests asking around Angel Grove University since it has one of the best science programs in the country (and here I burst out laughing because really? Angel Grove's education? MUST be it's own country... only explanation). Billy heads off, but first he gets snarky and winks at them. Oh Billy and your alien fetish.

Baby!Adam has made it to what it supposed to be Korea but... well it's about as much Korea as the last episode was Mexico. Everyone he encounters speaks English. He knows he's in the past and he's where his grandmother was born. He also is seeking some wise man. How he knows this, we don't know. We're assuming the fish are strong with him this episode. Baby!Adam is met with the WORST ASIAN STEREOTYPES EVER and the rest of our encounters with him this episode leave us both in CAPS mode... rather much like the last episode did with the Mexico Fail, and rather like the next three episodes will do.

Under the Command Center, Rito and Goldar are still lost. They try to draw a map on the wall with chalk and end up playing Tic Tac Toe instead. Clearly they learned Global Thermonuclear War was a bad choice. Perhaps they'll try a nice game of chess next? Rito totally outwits Goldar and wins.

Back in CAPSLOCK, Baby!Adam is a horrible little troglodyte to an old man that is trying to help him, even if he speaks in riddles. Baby!Adam is an idiot and cannot figure out that this crazy, yet wise, old man is the man he is seeking, and so he goes around asking other people and telling crazy old guy to go away. Because Baby!Adam is a douche.

Only good thing about it is the crazy old guy keeps calling him Little Frog. Awwwwww.

Billy ends up at Angel Grove University, where he talks to a very attractive young science professor. She is pleased he's taking such an interest in science and is sorry to hear that his high school lab is ill-equipped to help him with his experiment. So she lends him THE UNIVERSITY'S PHASE MODULATOR. Dude, it REALLY doesn't work that way, okay?

So Tideus is whiny and can't wait for water, so he drags Cestro out of Billy's lab and they track water. They find it at a car wash. Somehow they miss all the water in all the pipes in the entire city, and resort to walking through a car wash. *headdesk*

Rita and Zedd send down a monster. Billy comes back to his lab to discover the power out and he's attacked by the monster, except he's in his lab and the footage of the monster is clearly it in a LARGE abandoned warehouse. Splicing FAIL! Billy is encased in spider silk and I suddenly declare him Frodo (Trini is his Samwise, Rocky is totally Pippin, which makes Adam Merry... and maybe we spent a little too much time talking about a PR/LotR AU). The Aquitian Rangers all come back and fight the spider thing. It's very boring.

Meanwhile, Baby!Adam finally figures out that Crazy Old Guy is the wise old man he's seeking. Crazy Old Guy directs him up a very small waterfall, where Baby!Adam reaches into the water and pulls out the green crystal. Really? That's it? That's all he had to do? He talked to a few people, was a butthead, and then reached into a gently flowing small waterfall. Baby!Rocky had to climb into a freaking active VOLCANO and pull his from lava... some quest this is.

So the Aquitian Rangers are fighting, and the monster grows, and they call the zords, and they win. Surprised? I didn't think so.

All the spider silk magically disappears and Billy is free. He ends up at the Command Center, where he hangs out with Baby!Rocky until Baby!Adam shows up. Rocky is excited to see him and proclaims "He shoots, he scores!" and yes, he will score, one day, when you're both grown up. Ahem.

Billy informs them the Aquitian Rangers are at the car wash again. Really? There is such a thing as a FAUCET in Angel Grove, I'm sure. It's this magical thing that drains water from pipes. It's the same water as the car wash, so they really could have just shoved the Aquitians under the showers in Billy's house and it would have the SAME EXACT effect. *bangs head against wall*

Did I mention how much I HATE the Zeo Quest?



Five fish. Just... enough with the stereotypes, okay show? Two down, three to go.

Billy speak: "I can't align the Zeo sub-crystals into a cohesive matrix, so even if we do get all five crystals, we'll never be able to combine their energies."
"Well I've always been interested in crystal energy coherence, but unfortunately the phase modulator at my high school lab wasn't advanced enough for my experiment."

Best line of the episode: Goldar: "I'm thinking!" Rito: "You must find that painful."

Fic we want: LotR/PR AU y/y/mfy?