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Icon-mightymorphinThis article is about an episode in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Day of the Dumpster is the first episode of the first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and the premiere of the overall Power Rangers franchise. It aired on August 28th, 1993 on Fox Kids.

Synopsis[]

Following the accidental release of long-imprisoned evil space-sorceress Rita Repulsa, a benevolent sage known as Zordon drafts a group of five teenagers to help protect the planet as dinosaur-powered warriors of goodness.

Plot[]

Somewhere in the Solar System, two astronauts are surveying the landscape when they find what looks like a dumpster. When they open the dumpster, the astronauts are knocked to their feet as Evil Space Aliens come out of it. Goldar, Squatt, Baboo, Finster, and their leader, the evil sorceress Rita Repulsa, exclaim their gratitude to the astronauts for freeing them after 10,000 years of imprisonment and announce their plans to celebrate by conquering the nearest planet, Earth.

In the city of Angel Grove, California, teenagers Zack Taylor, Kimberly Ann Hart, Billy Cranston, Trini Kwan, and Jason Lee Scott are at the local Youth Center. Jason, who teaches karate classes, and one of his students, Zack, are sparring in front of their other students, including the intelligent, but less athletic Billy. Kimberly is practicing gymnastics and Trini is demonstrating breathing exercises, but they are interrupted by a pair of rude bullies named Bulk and Skull, who try to hit the girls up for a date. When they start getting physical, the girls flip the bullies to the floor and leave them out cold.

High above Angel Grove on Earth's Moon, Rita and her monstrous allies have taken over an ancient Moon Palace as their lair, where Rita sets up her telescope and eagerly anticipates her conquest of the blue, defenseless planet as she observes its beauty. To facilitate her conquest, her loyal servant Finster has established a laboratory where he is at work molding clay into humanoid dolls called Putty Patrollers. By running them through his Monster-Matic machine, the dolls come to life as human-sized soldiers.

Back in Angel Grove, Bulk cuts into Jason's class and demanding that he be taught how to beat people up. Jason explains that karate is not about violence, but he nonetheless demonstrates to Bulk and lands him on the mat again. The class over, Jason meets up with his friends at the adjoining Juice Bar. Suddenly, a large earthquake created by Rita rocks the Youth Center and everybody panics. Before any of the five friends can react, they are teleported out of the Youth Center in colorful beams of light.

As their vision recovers, the teens find themselves in a high-tech facility unlike anything they've seen. A strange humanoid robot comes out, which amazes Billy at how technologically advanced he is, but their attention is then turned to a booming voice coming from a glowing head in a nearby tube. He introduces himself as Zordon and his robot aide as Alpha 5, then explains to his guests of Rita Repulsa and her plans to conquer Earth. Though Zordon had defeated Rita long ago, he is no longer able to fight due to her sorcery and thus has chosen five "overbearing and overemotional humans" (teenagers, in other words) to become Earth's defenders in his stead. The teens are incredibly skeptical at this information, but Zordon grants them Power Morphers that will allow them to summon the incredible power of the dinosaurs and fight Rita's forces.

Jason, the bold and powerful, will be the Red Ranger, and control the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord; Zack, the clever and brave, will be the Black Ranger, with control of the Mastodon Dinozord; Kimberly, the graceful and smart, will be the Pink Ranger, with control of the Pterodactyl Dinozord; Billy, the patient and wise, will be the Blue Ranger, with control of the Triceratops Dinozord; and Trini, the fearless and agile, will be the Yellow Ranger, with control of the Sabertooth Tiger Dinozord. And the five Dinozords can combine to form the mighty Megazord. Still skeptical about all of this, the five depart.

Leaving the Command Center, the teens are still unable to fully believe what they had just seen, but their attitudes change when Rita's Putties arrive to destroy them. Though they are able to hold their own with their fighting talents, the clay creatures prove too much and they are forced to gamble their lives on their Power Morphers. As this power is summoned, the teens are given colored costumes and helmets, and their strength increases, allowing them to defeat the Putties.

They are then teleported back to Angel Grove, where Rita's warrior Goldar awaits them with more Putties. As the Putties fall, Rita throws her Magic Wand down to Earth and uses its power to make Goldar grow to colossal size. Driven by inherent instincts granted through their powers, the young heroes summon giant robots in the shape of the dinosaurs, the Dinozords, and use them to fight Goldar. They eventually join their Dinozords together into a single robot, the Megazord, which overpowers Goldar and forces him to retreat. On the moon, Rita comes down with a sudden headache over her loss and blames Goldar for it.

Back in the Command Center, the teens have now fully accepted Zordon's request to protect Earth from Rita's evil plans. As per Zordon's rules, they are required to never use their powers for personal gain, to never escalate a battle with an opponent unless they are forced to do so, and to keep their identities as a secret from all. With Zordon and Alpha guiding them, a new team of superheroes is born, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Cast[]

Behind the Scenes[]

Production History[]

This was the first episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to air in the United States. The footage of Rita escaping from the space dumpster was taken from episode 1 of Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, titled Tanjou (The Birth). The footage of the battle between the Megazord and Goldar was taken from Arise! Daizyuzin, The Sixth Hero and Daizyuzin's Last Day.

The premiered version of Day of the Dumpster was the third version of the episode produced. The original version was produced in late 1992 and was Saban's second attempt at bringing Sentai to the U.S., after a failed attempt in the 1980s. After being turned down by various networks, the pilot was picked up by Margaret Loesch at FOX Kids. However, the network ordered revisions, and after some casting and cosmetic changes, another version of this episode was produced.

The script also underwent scrutiny. It was felt that the cast was being too mean to the bullies during their initial introduction so these scenes were re-shot. Paul Schrier is now playing Bulk, the leader of a punk gang instead of "Punk #5" - as with the pilot, Bulk is menacing Kimberly after she gets food on him, but he and his gang are defeated in slapstick ways rather than violence. Bulk is more menacing in the pilot than in the series proper, physically hurling Skull and a female punk when they get in his way and having Kimberly (who sounds afraid of angering him) grabbed.[1] This scene was cut and part of it used for the end of "Big Sisters".

The morphing sequence was changed from the second pilot. In the second pilot, the Rangers called out their respective avatar while the color of their Morpher would overlap the screen. The aired version changed this to the lightning bolt sequence.

Fandom[]

A common misconception among fans of the show is that Rita's space dumpster was located on the Moon. While her palace is on Earth's Moon, this episode never explicitly states where her dumpster was located.

Adaptation[]

In the Boom! Studios continuity, the equivalent events to Day of the Dumpster: the return of Rita Repulsa and the debut of the Power Rangers, are known as Arrival Day. Starting with Issue 1, the comic series Go Go Power Rangers immediately follows Arrival Day.

Gallery[]

Availability[]

  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Day of the Dumpster (1993) VHS
  • Power Rangers Power Playback: Classic Ranger Edition - Red Ranger Adventure (2000) VHS
  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Complete Series (2012) DVD
  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Season 1, Vol. 1 (2012) DVD
  • Power Rangers Legacy: The First 20 Years (2013) DVD
  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Complete Series [25th Anniversary Limited Edition Steelbook] (2018) DVD
  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Season 1 [Limited Edition Steelbook] (2019) DVD

Errors[]

  • When Rita blasts at the Power Rangers after they had left the Command Center, the Rangers are wearing a different set of clothing. This shot is recycled from the original pilot as Audri Dubois can be seen instead of Thuy Trang.
    PILOT03
  • Jason knows about the Megazord's Power Sword weapon without having ever been told about it before.
  • When Goldar double kicks the Megazord, the cockpit shot shows the Rangers in the Dragonzord Battle Mode cockpit.
  • Jason in his karate class uses the words "준비(choombi)" and "바로(paro)", which are Korean terms, not Japanese which is where karate originated from.
  • Goldar is shown flying with Rita, although he did not receive his wings until Lord Zedd arrived in the second season episode "The Mutiny part 1." Zedd states that he restored to him what was once taken away.
  • The Battle Bikes are briefly seen when the Rangers are about to summon their Dinozords.
  • After first leaving the Command Center the Rangers' Morphers are on their belts with the Power Coins facing out. Once they have fallen during the fight with the Putties and decide to morph, their Morphers are reversed.
  • The Power Rangers are able to form the Megazord from the first episode prior to the acquisition of the Power Crystals, the American equivalent of the Dinocrystals which are instrumental in merging the five Guardian Beasts into Daizyuzin in Zyuranger. These would not be gained until the episode "A Pressing Engagement." Since they had to use the Power Crystals every time afterwards, this is an inconsistency.
  • After King Sphinx is destroyed, when Goldar teleports away, a tree disappears along with him. This error comes from Zyuranger Episode 6 and will be repeated in the episode "A Pressing Engagement".
  • When Zordon tells the Rangers to observe the Viewing Globe for the first time, Barza can be seen in the Viewing Globe.
  • During Billy's time in Jason's karate class, the Power Rangers are wearing their communicators before being given their powers.
  • Goldar left the Megazord battle for no apparent reason, as all the Rangers did was summon the Power Sword.

Notes[]

See Also[]

External Links[]

References[]

Footnotes[]


Icon-mightymorphin List of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Episodes
Season 1

0: Day of the Dumpster (pilot) • 1: Day of the Dumpster • 2: High Five • 3: Teamwork • 4: A Pressing Engagement • 5: Different Drum • 6: Food Fight • 7: Big Sisters • 8: I, Eye Guy • 9: For Whom The Bell Trolls • 10: Happy Birthday, Zack • 11: No Clowning Around• 12: Power Ranger Punks • 13: Peace, Love and Woe • 14: Foul Play in the Sky • 15: Dark Warrior • 16: Switching Places • 17-21: Green With Evil • 22: Itsy Bitsy Spider • 23: The Trouble with Shellshock • 24: The Spit Flower • 25: Life's a Masquerade • 26: Gung Ho! • 27: Wheel of Misfortune • 28 & 29: Island of Illusion • 30: The Rockstar • 31: Calamity Kimberly • 32: A Star Is Born • 33: The Yolk's on You! • 34 & 35: The Green Candle • 36: Birds of a Feather • 37: Clean-Up Club • 38: A Bad Reflection on You • 39 & 40: Doomsday • 41: Rita's Seed of Evil • 42: A Pig Surprise • 43: Something Fishy • 44: Lions & Blizzards • 45: Crystal of Nightmares • 46: To Flea or Not to Flee • 47: Reign of the Jellyfish • 48: Plague of the Mantis • 49 & 50: Return of an Old Friend • 51: Grumble Bee • 52: Two Heads are Better than One • 53: Fowl Play • 54: Trick or Treat • 55: Second Chance • 56: On Fins and Needles • 57: Enter… The Lizzinator • 58: Football Season • 59: Mighty Morphin' Mutants • 60: An Oyster Stew

Season 2

1-3: The Mutiny • 4: The Wanna-Be Ranger • 5: Putty on the Brain • 6: Bloom of Doom • 7: The Green Dream • 8: The Power Stealer • 9: The Beetle Invasion • 10: Welcome to Venus Island • 11: The Song of Guitardo • 12 & 13: Green No More • 14: Missing Green • 15: Orchestral Maneuvers in the Park • 16: Beauty and the Beast • 17 & 18: White Light • 19: Two for One • 20: Opposites Attract • 21: Zedd's Monster Mash • 22-24: The Ninja Encounter • 25: A Monster of Global Proportions • 26: Zedd Waves • 27 & 28: The Power Transfer • 29: Goldar's Vice-Versa • 30: Mirror of Regret • 31: When is a Ranger Not a Ranger? • 32: Rocky Just Wants to Have Fun • 33: Lights, Camera, Action • 34: Where There's Smoke, There's Fire • 35: Scavenger Hunt • 36: The Great Bookala Escape • 37: Forever Friends • 38: A Reel Fish Story • 39 & 40: Rangers Back in Time • 41-43: The Wedding • 44-46: Return of the Green Ranger • 47: Best Man for the Job • 48 & 49: Storybook Rangers • 50 & 51: Wild West Rangers • 52: Blue Ranger Gone Bad

Season 3 & Alien Rangers

1-3: A Friend in Need • 4-7: Ninja Quest • 8: A Brush with Destiny • 9: Passing the Lantern • 10: Wizard for a Day • 11: Fourth Down and Long • 12 & 13: Stop the Hate Master • 14: Final Face-Off • 15: The Potion Notion • 16: I'm Dreaming of a White Ranger • 17 & 18: A Ranger Catastrophe • 19-21: Changing of the Zords • 22: Follow that Cab! • 23-25: A Different Shade of Pink • 26: Rita's Pita • 27: Another Brick in the Wall • 28: A Chimp in Charge • 29-31: Master Vile and the Metallic Armor • 32: The Sound of Dischordia • 33: Rangers in Reverse • 34 & 35: Alien Rangers of Aquitar • 36: Climb Every Fountain • 37: The Alien Trap • 38: Attack of the 60' Bulk • 39: Water You Thinking? • 40: Along Came a Spider • 41: Sowing the Seas of Evil • 42 & 43: Hogday Afternoon

Movies & Specials

Alpha's Magical ChristmasMighty Morphin Power Rangers: The MoviePower Rangers (2017)Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always

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