If you were a kid in the 90s, you know the excitement of turning on Fox Kids and watching all the thrilling adventures of that colorful team of spandex in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The show was everywhere and for a good reason.
From viewing the attacks of Tommy Oliver as the evil Green Ranger, to the arrival of Lord Zedd, and up to the Power Transfer, there was always something to get excited about. With the series’ third and final season, they introduced a lot of big moments, such as a crossover with the Masked Rider, Ninjor and the Rangers’ new ninja powers, the departure of Kimberly and the arrival of Kat, as well as Master Vile and the short-lived Metallic Armor.
The season ended with Master Vile reigning supreme and turning our team of Rangers into kids. This led directly into the Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers mini-series where we see our team of Rangers hunt for pieces of the Zeo Crystal as kids, while the Alien Rangers fight Master Vile’s monster army. That series would end with the Rangers turning back to their normal age, but shortly after, we saw the destruction of the Command Center, meaning the end of the Power Rangers as we know it.
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Kids around the country were shocked, the meeting place of the Rangers, Alpha 5, and Zordon, gone just like that. The ending was a perfect lead on to the next season, Power Rangers Zeo, which planned to half-reboot the show.
The Forgotten Power Rangers Zeo Serials
With there being a few months between the end of Alien Rangers and the start of Zeo though, in order to entice viewers to continue watching the show while they do this transition, promos started popping up advertising sneak peeks of the next phase of Power Rangers, being put onto repeats of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. This is known by the fans as the Zeo Serials.
These sneak peeks came in the form of thirty-second clips that would air in place of the usual “Today on Power Rangers” segment before every episode of the show and more specifically replacing those for season 3 as well as the mini-series. If you put all those clips together, it would make an almost 20-minute mini-episode prologue that had since been forgotten, only to be seen on some YouTube compilations, as well as a bonus feature in the Power Rangers Season 4-7 DVD Set.
These shorts follow a bunch of different storylines with different characters, with the first one being mainly about two scientists called Dr. Jewel and Dr. Kender who meet in an observatory as they discuss the discovery of the Machine Empire, as they have taken top-secret photos of one of their ships in the atmosphere. However, they decide to keep it a secret as they don’t know the true intentions of these aliens or even how many ships they have.
But, they weren’t the only ones who saw them. As Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa celebrate the destruction of the Power Rangers, their celebration is short-lived as Rita spots one of the Machine Empire ships, as well as Zedd, alarming the crew of the Evil Space Aliens, with Lord Zedd trying to maintain his composure.
Back at Earth, one of the janitors in the observatory spots one of these alien ships and calls in the news to state what he saw. That story would soon come on the air, with that news report being viewed at the Angel Grove Youth Center by Bulk and Skull, who decide to further investigate these aliens to impress Lt. Stone, who would take them to a field to properly observe.
However, in their usual comedic fashion, Bulk and Skull would fall asleep in a field and miss a ship flying right over them. That’s when we saw the first appearance of King Mondo and Queen Machina, who laughs at them and says how taking over the planet would be easy.
They would eventually wake up and come face to face with an army of Cogs, and they would flee cowardly along with Lt. Stone back to the youth center. Ernie would not believe the stories they would tell, but the governor would soon come on television, issuing a state of emergency, confirming the army of hostile aliens, who wishes for the Power Rangers to return.
Mondo and Machina watch the press conference, as they received word of their Quadrafighters finishing up their scouting of the planet, with Mondo boasting how the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, whoever they are, won’t be a match for them, and neither will Lord Zedd, Rita Repulsa, or any of the obstacles that decide to come their way.
As the events between the finale of Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers and the first episode of Power Rangers Zeo happened almost instantly between each other, it renders most of the events in this prologue to be considered non-canon by the fans of the show. Putting that aside though, this was just an interesting tease and introduction of what’s to come, as this is one of the biggest changes Power Rangers had at the moment. With new villains, as well as new suits and zords along the way, the Zeo Serials kept the attention of fans around the country, as they got ready for the start of something new, something stronger than before.
What do you think of this prologue? Why do you think they made it in the first place? Let us know your thoughts on social media, or in the comments below, and check out my video for more info on this forgotten piece of history, and keep following The Illuminerdi for more Power Rangers content.
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