This article is about a/an episode in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Day of the Dumpster
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Season 1), Episode 1x01
Air date August 28, 1993; January 2, 2010 (reversion)
Written by Tony Oliver Shuki Levy
Directed by Adrian Carr
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"Day of the Dumpster" is the first episode of the first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and the series premiere of the Power Rangers franchise. It was initially broadcast on August 28th, 1993 on the Fox Network, as part of the Fox Kids programming block.

Plot

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 dino powered warriors of goodness.

Synopsis

A space shuttle makes a trip to moon, where the astronauts find a "dumpster" that they foolishly open, releasing the monsters Goldar, Squatt, Baboo, Finster and their master, sorceress Rita Repulsa. At the Angel Grove Youth Center, five youths, Jason, Zack, Billy, Trini and Kimberly, are practicing their gymnastics and martial arts skills. Two jerks, Bulk and Skull, walk in and hit on Kim and Trini, who flip them. Bulk and Skull later look foolish in Jason's karate class.

An earthquake starts, and Jason, Zack, Billy, Trini, and Kimberly are teleported to the Command Center of Zordon, a being trapped in a time vortex. He tells them that they are needed to save the world. He gives them their Power Morphers and explain how they have powers and gear related to the ancient spirits of dinosaurs. But they are skeptical and leave.

As they walk through the mountains, they are ambushed by Rita's goons, the Putty Patrollers. The fight goes badly, and, in desperation, they use the Power Morphers. They are immediately teleported to a rooftop where they confront Goldar and more Putties. Now the Rangers easily dispatch them, but Rita uses her staff to enlarge Goldar. The Rangers call their Zords, which combine into a tank. It then converts into a giant robot, Megazord, which then summons a Power Sword that forces Goldar to retreat. Zordon lays down the rules for using their powers, and that they must keep their identities a secret.

Cast

• Austin St. John as Jason Lee Scott (Red Ranger)
• Walter Jones as Zack Taylor (Black Ranger)
• David Yost as Billy Cranston (Blue Ranger)
• Thuy Trang as Trini Kwan (Yellow Ranger)
• Amy Jo Johnson as Kimberly Hart (Pink Ranger)
• Paul Schrier as Bulk
• Jason Narvy as Skull
• Richard Genelle as Ernie
• David Fielding as Zordon
• Romy J. Sharf as Alpha 5
• Richard Steven Horvitz as Alpha 5 (voice)
• Machiko Soga as Rita Repulsa
• Barbara Goodson as Rita Repulsa (voice)
• Danny Stallcup as Goldar
• Takashi Sakamoto as Goldar (Sentai Footage)
• Kerrigan Mahan as Goldar (voice)
• Minoru Watanabe as Squatt (suit)
• Michael J. Sorich as Squatt (voice)
• Hideaki Kusaka as Baboo (suit)
• Dave Mallow as Baboo (voice)

Behind the Scenes

Production History

The was the first episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to air in the United States. The footage of Rita escaping from the space dumpster (as well as some basic story elements) was taken from episode 1 of Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger, titled "Tanjou" (The Birth). The battle between Megazord and Goldar was taken from episode 6 "Tate!! Daizyujin" (Arise!! The Great Beast God).

The premiered version of "Day of the Dumpster" was actually 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 US, 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.

This new version of the pilot 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. Also changed from the second pilot was the morphing sequence. 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 familiar 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 (or subsequent ones) never explicitly state where her dumpster was located. In fact, there are several contradictions between the moon and where her dumpster was found. While the moon has no atmosphere, a clear blue sky is seen when Rita escapes. Also, when the planet is first shown, the astronauts are clearly seen bypassing Earth's moon and heading to a large desert planet with some traces of water. In real life, the closest analogue to the planet seen would be Mars, but it is worth noting that in Zyuranger, Rita's counterpart, Bandora, was actually on a planet whose slanted orbit would cause it to come near Earth once every 230,000 years.

Notes

• Jason in his Karate class uses the words "Choombi" and "Paro", which are 2 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. This clip of Goldar flying may have been before his wings were taken from him.
• After first leaving the Command Center the Rangers' Morphers are on their belts with the Power Coins facing out. Once they've fallen during the fight with the Putties and decide to morph their Morphers are reversed.
• Rita's tricycle that she can fly on can be seen hanging on a wall in her palace
• This episode was deemed as the "Red Ranger"s episode for the original VHS Line.

See Also

• Ep. 1: The Birth - Super Sentai counterpart in Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger. See comparison page.