Episode 125 - Stop the Hate Master Part 2

Previously, on Power Rangers - we seriously need a Care Bears crossover. Also, we hate rapping monsters.

The episode begins with Alpha scanning Aisha with a giant magnet to try and figure out why she's immune to the Hate Master's spell. The answer is clearly just that Aisha is that awesome, except it turns out that Aisha's necklace has just absorbed all of her family's love over the generations. So Aisha comes from a family of awesome. We approve of this. Just as they're figuring it out, someone hacks the Command Center, shutting down all the power and cutting off their access to Zordon.

Damn, Billy is good at this being evil thing. (He also refers to Kim as a snippy little upstart and tells her to go find a mall. I'm assuming that there's just been hatesex.) Even though they all hate each other, the Rangers are still hanging out together. (Rocky's contribution to the hate is leering at Adam.)

Up on the moon, Zedd comments that the Rangers are almost cute when they're nasty, and we have to agree. Rita wants to know when they'll be done destroying the Rangers so that they can go on their honeymoon, since apparently Goldar crashed it last time. She's a lot more friendly to Zedd right now.

At Ernie's, Bulk and Skull are posing as waiters to try and solve the graffiti bandit case. They're really bad at being waiters, and end up spilling food all over some poor woman.

While all this is going on, Aisha realizes that they do have one power source left - Alpha. So they use just enough of Alpha's power to get the teleporters up, so that she can go try and turn off Billy's blocking device. She also leaves her necklace behind so that once the power is back, Alpha can use it to power the care bears stare and remove the spell. This is not quite as good a plan, because she really shouldn't give up her only means of protection, and once the power is back she could just teleport back and give Alpha her necklace. But I guess they didn't think of that.

Alpha still doesn't have enough power to teleport her directly to the Juice Bar, but he does get her to the park, where she is promptly attacked by tengas, and then the Hate Master. (Somehow she went from the park to the lake in the process) Aisha beats the Hate Master's spell by remembering her grandmother's words of wisdom to her about how hate is a bad thing, and the Hate Master runs away, totally undone by the power of Aisha's awesome.

At the Youth Center, Adam tells some random guy to move, because he's going to work out there. He's all forceful. ♥ Tommy laughs at Adam, and tells him that he'll be the one working out. Then Adam tells Tommy that he's way better than Adam is, and then they're about to fight for control of the Rangers. We are (unsurprisingly) rooting for Adam. Unfortunately, at this point Aisha shows up and manages to knock them out of the spell just enough that Billy hands over the blocker and Aisha restores power to the Command Center, and then Zordon and Alpha send out the Care Bears Stare to destroy all remnants of the spell. Which means we don't get the Adam vs Tommy fight.

The Rangers all morph and go summon their Zords to fight the Hate Master. This is an awesome Zord fight, and we don't say that very often. But they fight the monster individually! The Frog Zord has an army of tiny Frog Zords that electrocute the monster! And then the Frog Zord spits fire! The other Zords all shoot lasers or whatever, but it's pretty cool. Also, for some reason Titanus is there.

At the end of the episode, Bulk and Skull (also free of the Hate Master's spell) announce that they've solved the graffiti bandit crime. Turns out that Skull sleepwalks. (Oh, Skull) Ernie makes them clean it up. You would think that they would open the envelopes before they make big announcements.

Adam apologizes to Tommy, who tells him to forget about it. Nobody else bothers to apologize, and instead there's a love fest.

Fish: 3! Not too bad overall.

Covered in: Poor random lady was covered in food.

Fic we want: Besides the care bears thing, we're still in favor of hatesex. Also, Adam challenging Tommy for control of the Rangers. :D And Aisha's family!

Episode 124- Stop the Hate Master Part 1

Oh god it's another rapping monster. *headdesk*

So at the start of the episode, Kim and Aisha are pushing through a crowd of girls to see a list of new members for the Angel Grove Girls Club. It's basically a sorority... for high school. Kim made the list, but Aisha did not. They apparently didn't want her. Kim tries to comfort her, telling her she'll figure out what's going on, but Aisha says it's okay, it's not a big deal, and walks off all sad. Poor Aisha!

Kim pulls Veronica, leader of the club, aside and asks why Aisha didn't make the cut. It takes some prompting for Veronica to even remember who Aisha is, and then she says Aisha was lacking the "proper qualifications". Which basically means Aisha isn't rich enough.

In the Youth Center, Aisha is working out on some weight training equipment. Kim tries to talk to her some more, and then demands she scoot over so they can share the narrow bench and talk out their problems. Kim swears she'll talk to Veronica again and really figure out what's going on, and get Aisha in the club if she can. She kisses her on the cheek and skips away and I flail from the absolute ADORABLENESS of the two of them together.

So somebody has been graffiting the Youth Center and the Ranger boys are outside cleaning it off. Bulk is hiding in the shadows trying to discover the culprit, but he has no luck, so he tries to contact Skull on their headsets. Ernie thanks the Rangers for their help. Meanwhile, inside, the first meeting of the sorority Snobby McSnobersons Club comes to a close. Kim once again asks Veronica exactly why Aisha didn't make it. Veronica flat out tells her Aisha's parents don't make enough money. Kim questions why she was let in when her family is in the same economic bracket, but apparently her mother came from money and was involved, so Kim gets an automatic "in". What a disgusting club. Kim refuses to be a part of something so vile and quits. Because she's awesome.

But the whole time they were stepping on poor Skull. He was hiding under the table to listen to conversations, pulled out the most awesome shoe phone when he couldn't get ahold of Bulk, and then ended up getting each and every one of his fingers stomped on by the girls. Poor Skull! Alas, neither he nor Bulk have anything of importance to report.

Aisha is still kind of bummed, but not because she's in the club, just because it hurts to be rejected. She feels a little better when Kim tells her she quit, though. She can't stay long, however, because her Grandma of Sheer Awesomeness is in town.

Meanwhile, Rita and Zedd decide this Snobby McSnobersons Club has the right idea. They love the hate and ask Finster to make a monster. So Finster takes all the hate from all the monsters he ever made, and combines it all to make one nasty Hate Master monster. Who makes me feel plenty of hate every time he opens his mouth. Because he raps. Horribly.

So Kim finds the boys and tells them about what happened with Aisha. Adam agrees that it's a nasty club, but he understands why Aisha is upset, because "no one likes to feel rejected". We feel you, Adam. We really really do.

They are walking through... the park I guess? It looks more like a deserted dirt road. But anyway, they get attacked by Tengas and Squatt follows them around with a little vacuum doing... something? The Tengas grab Kim and she immediately screams for Tommy while we imprint out foreheads with our keyboards. He rescues her, of course, and the Tengas quickly fly away. The Hate Master shows up and raps horribly while Squatt hands him all the Hate Dust he collected. That's right. Hate Dust. Apparently the rangers shed hate dust when they fight. It... I don't even have words for how little sense that actually makes.

So the Hate Master puts them under a spell and they all suddenly hate each other! Oh noes! Billy questions why he's hanging out with people of sub-par intellect. Kim wonders why she's hanging out with a nerd. Tommy is just generally grumpy. Rocky and Adam have an homoerotic face off over... absolutely nothing at all, but I swear, they were seriously about to kiss there.

At Aisha's house, we meet her Grandma of Sheer Awesomeness. She knows immediately something is up with Aisha and gets her talking with what is essentially a snap of her fingers. Because she's just THAT awesome. She reassures Aisha, makes her feel better, and then gives her a necklace that has been in the family for generations.

Zordon FINALLY notices something is amiss when Alpha detects an unusually large amount of hate in Angel Grove. It's like he has his own Care-o-Meter! Anyway, the Rangers are being overcome with Hate Particles (really show? I mean... really?), and they decide to contact Aisha as she's the only one unaffected thus far. She tells her Grandma of Sheer Awesomeness that the beeping of her communicator is an alarm to remind her of a meeting she has. Best excuse EVER used on this show, seriously. She talks to Zordon and decides she is going to talk the others out of the Hate Master's spell.

And she DOES! She goes to them in the park, tells them they are under a spell, and just like that the spell wears off and they're all fine. Well okay then, show.

Y'know, this whole episode is eerily similar to the entire first Care Bears Movie, right down to a monster wanting to spread hate throughout the city, only the monster in the Care Bears movie was an awesomely evil book and not an aggravating rapping monster.

Anyway, they go to fight the Hate Master, which has grown, and end up all under it's spell again. They give up mid-fight and make snarky comments, including Billy's "I'm outta here" (link opens best in IE) which he says repeatedly and yet.. never actually leaves. So they all teleport to the Command Center, where they all throw down their communicators and tell Zordon they're done with his old, wrinkly self, by YELLING at him. It's AWESOME.

Aisha doesn't know what to do, but she's determined to stop it. Zordon is going to scan her to figure out why she's not affected by the Hate Master's spell.

To be continued!

Fish: 4

Billy speak: "Why am I hanging out with the intellectually challenged?" Oh evil, hate-filled Billy. You're so damn sexy.

Fic we want: a crossover where THE CAREBEARS SHOW UP TO FIND OUT WHY THE RANGERS HAVE STOPPED CARING because it would be OMGSOAWESOME! No, seriously, I can see it all in my head now! It should exist!

And also, we want hate!sex while under the monster's spell fic. Because it would also be awesome.

Episode 71- The Song of Guitardo

I admit, I remembered absolutely nothing about this episode except for the title. For some reason, that stuck with me over 15 or so years, but the details of the plot just floated away. And part of me is very glad to have discovered this episode, and very mad at the same time. How an episode can be both rage inducing AND sickly sweet I don't know, but this one is. My poor brain, it's so befuddled.

Anyway, we start the show with Kim playing guitar in the Youth Center. Aw, a Kim episode! Zack is with her and compliments her music. She is writing a song, apparently, and in the best friendship acting of this show, she asks him for help with the lyrics. People, it is ADORABLE.

Zedd is spying, as he always does, and decides the guitar is the perfect thing to make a monster. Except, well, as Exposition Monkey Goldar points out in the only thing he says or does in the entire episode, Zedd can only make monsters out of living things. And guitars are made of wood which is no longer living. Zedd waves him off saying where there is wood, there are insects and he can make a monster out of those. Mind, guitars don't generally have insects in them, so where he came up with that, I don't know, but okay then. He somehow determines a cicada would be likely to be in a guitar (nod and smile, people, it makes this show SO much easier) and devises a spell to make Guitardo, the cicada monster.

In the park the following day, the rangers are having a picnic. Initially Intended Jason Replacement Ritchie, dressed ALL IN RED as usual (I don't think we've ever seen him NOT in red... real subtle there show), rides by on his bike. Trini invites him to join, but he has to unpack from moving. Sad.

Meanwhile, Bulk and Skull are just around the corner attempting to draw the attention of the power rangers. Bulk is dressed like a dragon/monster thing and Skull looks absolutely ravishing in a pink princess dress. He does the most amazing voice, too! Anyway, they run around screaming, attract the unmorphed rangers, get a lesson on crying wolf, and then blow them off and continue to run around screaming. It's amazing.

Just in time for the fakest insect ever to land on first Skull and then Bulk, Zedd's spell is ready! So he mumbles a bit and turns the insect into a monster, which lands right on Bulk's shoulder. Poor guys, the monsters always seem to materialize right on them.

In an unprecedented fit of actually paying attention, Zordon notices the monster IMMEDIATELY and calls the rangers! It's unheard of, this actual "looking out" business! So apparently they've analyzed the monster and are going to tell them all about it, but first Tommy has to step off to the side with Alpha to be evaluated for power levels. What, they wait until a crisis to worry about this? So much for planning. Way to ruin your moment of Win, Zordon. So apparently this monster can control minds. And has turned Kim's guitar into his weapon of mind control, as he uses music to do his evil thing. Tommy's powers aren't up to a fight, so he gets left behind so he doesn't endanger the other rangers.

So the others morph and go confront Guitardo. They try to concentrate on their own thoughts and block out his mind control powers, but they fail. Zack goes first, followed quickly by Billy, Jason, and Trini. They end up floating in the air for some reason. Because apparently this isn't really mind control and is just... um... levitation? I don't even know. My best theory is they're standing on large invisible piles of fish.

Anyway, Kim is left on her own to fight this monster. This really oughtn't be a problem seeing as she's fought solo and taken down monsters singlehandedly before. But no, instead she freaks out, Tommy morphs, and comes to her rescue. He pulls her out of the way just in time. Out of the way of what, I'm not sure, since mind control isn't really directionally based like that? But okay.

We wonder why Tommy then leaves Kim alone to go fight Guitardo on his own, because Tommy is THE MOST PRONE to mind control. He's PROVEN he's susceptible in the past. And Kim is too awesome to stand around and twiddle her thumbs! She can solo a monster and Tommy is weak and losing his powers! What the hell, show? We capslocked this for a few minutes in chat because, really? Continuity!Fail like woah. So Tommy goes to some fair thing to fight the monster, only he kind of gets taken over pretty quickly. But wait! He uses his dragon dagger and figures out music breaks the spell, so he'll fight music with music!

The mind control affects him anyway and this somehow makes him fall into an ever deepening hole in the ground. Um... mind control? How is it making a hole in the ground? Cement is not sentient. It's not even alive. It doesn't have a mind to control, so how is the hole being created? We decide it's a bunch of fish drilling into it and move on. Kim finally runs up and uses her bow as a harp to stop the monster from further sinking Tommy. She tells Tommy music will defeat Guitardo and we have to wonder how she knows this. Was she standing around watching? We like to think she was as that would hint to her being in on Zordon's plan to sabotage Tommy. We like this theory.

So Kim beats the monster by using Tommy's tiny little dagger as an arrow in her bow. I... don't even want to know how that works? Because physics? Really doesn't work like that. Like, at all. But the dagger destroys the monster and all is well, and we didn't even have a zord fight, so I'm okay with it!

Back at the Youth Center, the rangers are completing their picnic. It's apparently pouring down rain now and Ernie just let them into his food service establishment with their own food and drink, and invited them to spread out and enjoy themselves... without purchasing a thing from him. That's not the way to make money and keep your business open, Ernie. But way to be nice. Bulk and Skull come in and Bulk has his helmet stuck to his head. Billy offers to help remove it if they promise not to pretend to be in danger anymore. They promise (with fingers crossed) and Billy genuinely and nicely helps them. They barely have time to walk away before Tommy starts talking about losing his powers. Loudly. In the middle of the crowded Youth Center. Secret identities. I thought they had them?

Anyway, he fails at being Emo Ranger, and then Kim pulls out her guitar and cheers him up by singing a song she and Zack wrote for him. Aw! It's about the sweetest thing EVER, especially when Zack JOINS IN THE CHORUS! OMGSOADORABLE! I melted. The only thing that could have made me go "DAWWWW" any harder is if they'd somehow had a bunch of kittens frolicking about.

So it was both rage inducing and adorable at the same time and my head is going to explode from the contradiction.

Lists!
3 fish. Much less fishy than yesterday, though some big continuity fails there.

Billy speak: none really, though he does mention focusing on your own thoughts to block out Guitardo's mind control.

Covered in food: Nobody, but Bulk does get a monster materializing on his shoulder

Episode 54 - Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween! In honor of tomorrow's festivities, we're watching a Halloween episode! (Okay, so it was next on the list anyway.)

Today on Power Rangers - Kimberly and Skull participate in the world's most ridiculous game show, nobody knows what a trick question is, and everyone tries to rap!

The episode opens with Kimberly on the balance beam, and her outfit is adorable and so incredibly early 90s. She's got a giant pink headband and a pink hoodie and leggings. Oh, Kimberly. Never change. ♥ She gets off the beam when she sees Trini and Tommy and tells them that she has some news for them. I honestly thought her news was going to be that the three of them should all hook up, but instead Kimberly tells them that she's going to be on a game show called Trick or Treat. This is apparently the highest rated game show in the country Angel Grove is so its own country and millions of people will see her. Apparently if she wins, she'll get a new car.

The show will apparently be next Saturday, and Tommy sadly tells Kimberly that he won't be there, because there's an inter-city karate tournament. I guess he needs to do his part to support Angel Grove's economy, but his girlfriend is going to be on a gameshow! He should go support her! Tommy is a faily!boyfriend.

Kimberly wonders who her opponent will be, and Bulk and Skull walk in. Apparently she'll be up against Skull. If I was Kimberly, my reaction would be "yay! The car you win as a prize is totally mine!" but she doesn't say that. However, Skull ends up covered in guacamole.

Up on the moon, Goldar suggests to Rita that they grow a Pumpkin Rapper monster. I start getting flashbacks to the Almost Got 'Im episode of Batman: The Animated Series. Which is possible, since Batman exists in the Power Rangers universe. (If I point this out often enough, will someone eventually write crossover fic?)

Apparently while Rita is planting pumpkins without Zordon noticing, it's Saturday! Trick or Treat is the weirdest game show ever. The rules make no sense. Everyone is in costume (the Rangers have all gone Ren Faire, although the SCA would be horrified by their costumes). Skull is a prisoner escaped from detention, and it says 24601 on his chest, and I start flailing. Oh, SKULL. The point of the game is to ask trick questions, except nobody has ever heard of trick questions. Instead it's really just stump the host.

Kimberly's first question is "Can you tell me the identity of the Power Rangers?" Since the host obviously cannot, she gets a pumpkin point and then gets to participate in a bonus game, which involves getting strapped to the Wheel of Misfortune, which has nothing to do with the episode of the same name. Really, I don't think spinning her around on a wheel is the best idea when she's wearing a skirt.

Skull's turn. His question is "What is the name of my best friend?" Seriously, how is this a trick question? I feel that they don't know what that phrase means. The worst part is that Skull needed Bulk's help with that! He was cheating to come up with that question. Seriously, Skull, if you can make a Les Mis joke, you can do better than this. But he gets his pumpkin point, and then does some weird mini game involving a spider.

Meanwhile, Tommy is walking through the park to get to his karate tournament, and he comes upon a field of pumpkins. He gets attacked by putties. How awesome is the Green Ranger themesong? If only Tommy was as awesome as his song. He actually calls Zordon on his communicator after, and is told to go onto his tournament, and the Rangers will call him if they need him.

Alpha is sad, as he was cheering on Kimberly. If Kimberly gets one more point, she wins the game. Unfortunately, she looks into the audience and sees the other Rangers tapping their communicators urgently, so instead of just asking her last question and then winning, she fakes fainting and then the others carry her off. Skull wins the car. Amazingly, nobody tries to call a doctor after Kim faints, they just let her leave.

Okay. Here's the thing. They could have left her there to win and then called her in later, like they were doing for Tommy. Or they could have given her another 30 seconds to win the game. There was no need for her to forfeit. Fail, show!

Anyway, the Rangers all teleport to the Command Center, and Zordon fills them in about the Pumpkin Rapper. They go to the pumpkin patch, and as soon as they pick pumpkins up, four of the Rangers get pumpkins over their heads! Billy and Jason use that opportunity to end up in a fairly compromising position. Kimberly, who was unaffected by the pumpkins, shoots Jason in the head, and the pumpkins fall off. Jason makes a comment about cutting his off, and I fall over laughing.

Meanwhile, we get a fight with pumpkin putties! They are so awesome. More putties like this! After beating the pumpkin putties, they find a giant pumpkin, which they assume will be the pumpkin rapper, and they decide to wake it up. With the worst rap I've ever heard.

Kim: "T-t-t-trick or treat"
Billy: "You're incomplete"
Jason: "Til the Power Rangers you can beat"
Trini: "All you are"
Zack: "is pu-pu-pu-pumpkin meat"

Owwwwwwww.

This wakes up the Pumpkin Rapper, who I really feel should have been more like Jack Pumpkinhead. The Rangers need help, so they call Tommy just as he's about to participate in the tournament finals. Instead, he leaves, forfeiting his match to go help. Too bad for the economy. He charges at the Pumpkin Rapper while the other Rangers summon their weapons, and then they blow him up. I do love the power weapons.

The next day (we guess) Kim is sad about the car. I would be sad too! Tommy is also sad about it, we assume because he wanted to spend time in the backseat. Bulk and Skull drive up in their new car I will not make a joke about them being boyfriends when someone from the show comes and busts them for cheating. They lose the car. Part of Bulk's mummy costume gets stuck in the door. You can guess how this ends.


Fish: 4.5 I love this episode, but it makes no sense. I mean, just the rules (and I use the word loosely) for the game show. And then Kimberly not getting to finish. Seriously, fish.

Billy speak: "She seems to have experienced a slight cardiac infarction"
"It sounds as though they are devoid of any internal substance"

Covered in food: Skull gets covered in guacamole. Also, the spider spits something on him.

Pumpkin Rapper speak: "Oh you rangers make me mad, waking me up with a rap that bad"
"You think that's something you can do? Well I've got some friends who'd like to meet you!"
"Welcome to my pumpkin patch, perhaps you'd like to play some catch?
"Be the first ones on your block to feel the mega pumpkin shock"
"You cut my vine, but you're still mine"
"Better run fast or you'll feel the blast"

Quotable quotes: "Hasta la pumpkin, squash brain."