Season One: Episode Two: High Five.

 

                                High Five. 

       The First Monster Battles.

Sentai Notes:

    The Zyurangers had no wrist communicators. This is completely a Power Rangers thing, which also allowed for the use of teleportation. Here too, the Zyurangers had no counterpart. They got from point A to point B by walking, running, or using their motorbikes. The Zyurangers often sent telepathic thoughts to one another as a way to communicate over great distances, and to also communicate with the spirit world.

    Episode two gives us not one, but two monsters. The first is Bones, a walking, talking skeleton who transports the Rangers to another dimension. The second is a giant that appears out of no-where and takes on the Tyrannosaurus Zord. Bones is called Dora Skeleton in the original show and the giant is Dora Titan (monsters made by Pleprechaun are given Dora for a title, in honor of his superior). 

    In Zyuranger, the episodes titled "The Birth" and "The Revival" contain a plot where Bandora holds a shuttle containing two child astronauts (don't ask) hostage, snatching it away in the former before the Zyurangers can rescue, and then having it go through the streets of Tokyo to bring their attention, as part of a trap to make them face the two monsters. The footage of the shuttle going through the streets is used in Power Rangers under the idea of it containing the time warp device (since Rita wants to trap the Rangers that way as she did with Zordon). The subplot with the children was dropped, for a good reason. The bomb to destroy the time warp was actually to destroy the shuttle with the kids inside.

   Lastly, in the original show, Dora Titan appeared in the end of episode one and returned in episode two, unlike in Power Rangers. They appear in the same episode here, but never in the same frame. The Tyrannosaurus Zord's counterpart does show up in the climax of episode two, appearing to wrestle with Dora Titan in what we can call "Clash of the Titans." One thing the two shows have in common is the second episode is when the public became aware of their respective teams of super heroes. Unlike the Power Rangers, the Zyurangers never hid their identity. 

Strategy Notes: 

   Rita's plan of attack is set around a diversion and infiltration. She sends in the time warp device resembling the shuttle to Earth, while having a puttie attack happen in another location. The latter the Rangers take on quickly. It turns out the diversion was another diversion, for when the Rangers find the putties, another pair sneaks up behind them, with Billy spotting them quickly. Jason then makes a move of his own by making the Rangers retreat out of a trap and then regroup, then split up to confuse the putties. This allows Trini to face her fear of heights. 

   In the first putty fight of the episode, Jason advices everyone to not morph but fight on their own. This act of not becoming too reliant on their powers is also a way to trick the enemy: basically avoid becoming too predictable by using the same tactics. Unfortunately, later episodes will have the Rangers fight the putties constantly unmorphed, rarely morphed. The thing with the human chain near the end is to show ingenuity to use one's strengths. Jason is strong enough to hold two rangers, while Zack and Kimberly balance each other. 

    When facing Bones, the Rangers attempt to destroy him with their blasters. However, Bones pulls himself together. Billy finds the weak spot by going for the skull, which he grabs, then tosses to the others, and they throw it into the chasm. 

Biblical and Mythological Homage: 

     In ancient myths, titans were an ancient race of immortals who commanded the elements, as children of Earth. Greek Titans are best known. Chief among them is Cronus, who became ruler of the universe by warring with his father, Uranus. Ancient Greeks referred to Cronus' reign as the Golden Age, though there was a dark side, since Cronus is also show a despot who swallowed his children, the gods. His wife, Rhea, secretly hid the youngest son, Zeus, who later grew up and got Cronus to vomit out his siblings and together they overthrew the Titanic regime. A few did side with the gods, such as Prometheus, who later stole fire from them, but those who supported Cronus included Atlas, who wound up punished by being made to hold up the sky. 

    The Giant (Dora Titan) allows us a kind of rematch of Zeus and his siblings against their father, with the Power Rangers as the gods. Instead of any them swallowed, the gods are simply placed in the dimension of Bones and they are blasted out instead of vomited. As with Greek Mythology, the Power Rangers have an ally of gigantic stature, with the Zord. 

    The Giant becoming dust reminds one of Genesis: "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

Misc. Notes:

    Episode title is a reference Trini getting over her fear of heights. It's also a hand gesture where the arm is raised and the palm touches the palm of another, with a clap sound. It's often done between friends. 

    This is the first episode anyone says, "It's Morphin' time!" It's said by Zordon. 

    Kimberly says, "Morphenomenal" when the wrist communicators are introduced.

   Gotta hand it to the professionalism of Walter Jones. His character lands above Amy Johnson's in the Command Center, with an arm over her back, making it close enough to have Zack touch Kimberly's butt, yet he is able to move his arm to prevent that. 

    How it was the aerobics class instructor didn't see the color blobs of the Rangers morphing or heard the sound of them, I do not know. Maybe she was so focused on the class she had no idea. Just the same, with the Rangers out in the open like that, someone could have seen it and there goes their identities as Power Rangers. 

  When the Rangers teleport in, Alpha has a brief and funny way of greeting them: "Welcome, homeboys, homegirls, what brings ya to da 'hood?" Remember how when Hip-Hop was the rage and it wasn't cultural appropriation to use terms like "homeboy." 

    Another old school device is seen in connection to the plot. Jason and Trini get to climb the rope. It used to be common in PE to have kids climb the rope. The kids never reached the top, or stayed there for long, as their weight and the way the ropes looked caused them to come back down, often sliding in the process. By the nineties, the rope was already fading out of schools largely due to concerns that such activities encourage humiliation (something Adam Corolla wrote on in his book) and the rope has been removed. So, if this episode was made today, the rope wouldn't be used. 

    The funny moment in the Sentai footage is kept, where Bones greets Rita as his queen by removing his hat, only to take off his head in the process. Finster remarks he should have set it on low power, which is a great line for the late Robert Axelrod. 

    Watch carefully in the montage of the shuttle going down the street and you may notice a few things Japanese on the streets. The cars, the road lines, the fact one shot has a car on the wrong side of the road, and even the shuttle itself has the red dots for the Japanese flag instead of the Old Glory. There's even a blink and you'll miss moment where Japanese construction workers are fleeing from the shuttle. 

    Bones' dimension also includes a cherry blossom tree. 

    When the Rangers line up for the first "It's Morphin' time!", Trini is front and center, with Billy to her right and Kimberly to her left, and Jason and Zack stand behind her. This is the only time I recall where the order is set that way. Normally, Jason is in the center, with Zack and Trini to his right and Kimberly and Billy to his left. 

    Jason says, "Let's kick some giant." Apparently, they couldn't use the word "butt" and it was edited out. Ironic in such a show. 

   Trini says, "This is so nineties" near the end in a tone of Gretchen Weiner saying, "So fetch." Of course, no one could have stopped the nineties from happening, because they did. Tough luck, Regina. 

Thoughts. 

    I will be in more detail now we are in the second episode. "High Five" makes a good story, with the premise being that Trini is climbing a rope and fears heights. This becomes part of the conflict where Rita sends down the time warp device with the intent to trap the Rangers, as she did with Zordon. 

    Trini faces her fears during the putty attack, during which Billy runs up a hill. It's tense, especially with the fact he is the only Power Ranger thus far to never defeat the putties. He is soon trapped and Trini must rescue him. Unfortunately, that requires her to have to climb up the hill, going over rocks, and facing putties, before she can stand beside her ally. The boldness rewards her and Zordon commends her. It proves a woman doesn't need to be overpowering to be strong (looking at you, Captain Marvel). She can have fears and obstacles to overcome, and they can be challenging, but a brave woman is the woman who faces them head on and battles through the tough fight. 

    The dimension that Bones sends the Rangers to does look like Spirit (a Halloween themed store with costumes and props), and his skeleton assistants are obviously men in costumes, plus the whole thing of the device looking like a shuttle, do make the episode jarring. But then, we are in the early days and some things are going to seem weird. 

   Bulk and Skull are about the same, but it's hilarious to watch Bulk try to climb the rope and accidentally pull the whole thing down. Critics of the rope likely applauded that. Another funny moment is when Jason slips and winds up on Billy's shoulders. But the climatic fight between Tyrannosaurus Zord and the Giant is the best part of the episode. A literal clash of the titans, we see T-Rex return to North America as a robot and face the monster on its own, while the Red Ranger pilots it. It's the greatest display of the T-Rex since Fantasia. If there is one problem with it, it's that it distracts from the main plot, which is Trini getting over her fear of heights.