 This article is about a/an series entry (the 17th) in the Power Rangers franchise.
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Power Rangers RPM[1] was the title for the 2009 season of Power Rangers. It is based on Engine Sentai Go-Onger. It was the last season of Power Rangers to be produced by Disney, as they had intended to cancel the series after Power Rangers Jungle Fury however decided to go ahead on a final season (it is believed this was due to having a contract with Bandai). Despite this, Disney dropped the show from its new 'Disney XD' channel leaving it to be aired on ABC Kids.
Eddie Guzelian took over as Executive Producer from Bruce Kalish at the beginning of the season. By his and John Tellegen's admission, Eddie fought a number of people to get his vision through: inspired by films like The Road Warrior. Tellegen said that he enjoyed the "freshness" of Guzelian's new take, which was wildly different to what the show had done before. [2]In contrast, RPM marked the departure of long-term writer Jackie Marchand, who has said she was not involved in the initial writing but "diplomatically" said she thought Guzelian's scripts were very strong.[3] Guzelian was then fired halfway through the show, rumoured to have used up the RPM's entire budget already and been responsible for allowing an unacceptable slowdown of the writing and production process due to perfectionism. He was replaced previous producer Judd Lynn who brought the series to its conclusion.
After the final episode aired, Disney announced that the following season would be a 'reversionised' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers however the long-term status of the franchise appeared to be in limbo until it was reacquired by Saban Brands who immediately announced the production of Power Rangers Samurai.
Synopsis
- "A computer virus has built armies of robotic soldiers and taken control of our world. But there is still one place where we can be safe. The domed city of Corinth. And the only hope we have left is..."
- ―Doctor K[src]
In the not-so-distant future, the mysterious and sinister Venjix Computer Network is attempting to conquer and lay ruin to the entire planet. It had succeeded and nearly conquered the entire Earth. Fortunately, mankind has retreated from the threat into environmentally-shielded domed cities to protect against the pollution and machines unleashed by Venjix. In the shining city of Corinth, an elite force of Rangers must learn to drive and operate an arsenal of radically advanced biotech vehicles in order to battle the attacking machine army bent on world domination.
The events of the show take place in an alternate universe; as such, the Morphin Grid takes on a new name - the Bio Field. Additionally, classic characters like Zordon, Alpha 5, and Kimberly Ann Hart are not mentioned.
Production History
Power Rangers RPM was the first Power Rangers season since 2005 to have a fresh lead producer, as Bruce Kalish departed in 2008 to work on Aaron Stone. Taking his place was Eddie Guzelian, former American Dragon: Jake Long executive producer and Kim Possible story editor. R.P.M. was his first live action series. With Guzelian came two writers he had been associated with on various Disney Channel projects, Matthew Negrete and Madellaine Paxson. The three of them, along with R.P.M story editor John Tellegen and producer Jackie Marchand made up the writing team for the 32-episode season.
A few months into production, Marchand left the show, seemingly fired given her message to the fans of "welcome from the peace conference", alluding to the situation in which Austin St. John, Thuy Trang and Walter Jones were written off the show. Not long after, Guzelian was fired mid-season by Disney executives, and replaced by returning writer and producer Judd Lynn in July. Reports have Paxson and Negrete leaving the show in solidarity with Guzelian. Lynn's return to the series that he has been involved with since day one was not an easy one, and there have been reports of difficulty with the transition between executive producers. Lynn left the series with Time Force, but a sudden rise in the quality of "Jungle Fury" writing caused rumors that he may have contributed a script under a pseudonym during the Writer's Strike.
Characters
Ranger Operators
From left to right: Ziggy, Flynn, Scott, Summer, and Dillon, Gemma, and Gem
| Color | Role | Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Ranger Operator Series Red | Scott Truman | Eka Darville |
| Ranger Operator Series Blue | Flynn McAllistair | Ari Boyland |
| Ranger Operator Series Yellow | Summer Landsdown | Rose McIver |
| Ranger Operator Series Green | Ziggy Grover | Milo Cawthorne |
| Ranger Operator Series Black | Dillon | Daniel Ewing |
| Ranger Operator Series Gold | Gem | Mike Ginn |
| Ranger Operator Series Silver | Gemma | Li Ming Hu |
Allies
- Doctor K - mentor and creator of the Ranger Series technology (Olivia Tennet)
- Colonel Mason Truman - Head of Corinth City defense (James Gaylyn[4])
- Samurai Rangers
Supporting Cast
- Benny (Murray Keane) [5]
- Mr. McAllistair (Jason Hoyte)
- Hicks (Damien Avery)
- Vasquez (Mia Koning)
- Marcus Truman (Fellis McGuire)
Villains
- The Venjix Computer Network
- The Cartels
- Alphabet Soup
Arsenal
Morphers
These morphers, like the Zord Attack Vehicles, are operated by the use of Engine Cells.
Zord Attack Vehicles and Megazords
- Legend:◆ 1-pilot zord, ❖ aux zord, ◀▶ 2-pilot zord, ◇ unpiloted zord
Zord Attack Vehicles System
- RPM Ultrazord ◆◆◆◆◆◀▶◆◆◀▶◆❖❖
- SkyRev Megazord ◆◆◆◆◆◀▶◆◆◀▶
- Zenith Megazord ◆◆◆◆◆◀▶
- High Octane Megazord ◆◆◆
- ValveMax Megazord ◆◆◀▶
- Tail Spinner ◆
- Wolf Cruiser ◆
- Croc Carrier ◀▶
- Mach Megazord ◆◆◀▶
- Zenith Megazord ◆◆◆◆◆◀▶
- PaleoMax Megazord ◆❖❖
- SkyRev Megazord ◆◆◆◆◆◀▶◆◆◀▶
- Road Attack Zord / Road Attack Zord Warrior Mode ◇
Additional Formations
High Octane Megazord
- High Octane Megazord with Tail Spinner ◆◆◆◆
- High Octane Megazord with Wolf Cruiser ◆◆◆◆
- High Octane Megazord with Falcon Chopper & Tiger Jet ◆◆◆◆◆
ValveMax Megazord
Mach Megazord
Episodes
RPM Episodes
Notes
- This is the first series to have the end credits run during the last scene of the show, although ABC did this during their repeat showings of Mystic Force and Operation Overdrive.
- This season reuses the word 'Venjix', the first one being Power Rangers Wild Force, who had a General Venjix as part of a splinter of the Machine Empire.
- This is the only season to appear only on ABC rather than Jetix or Fox Kids. This is because the show was dropped when Jetix was replaced by Disney XD. It did air on Jetix/Disney XD in other countries such as the United Kingdom.
- This is the first season where a member of the team is sent to jail while serving as a Ranger.
- So far this is the only season to directly mention their Sentai counterpart, in this case, Go-Onger. This is also the first season to use and state it as part of their arsenal.
- RPM is one of the few series not to source elements of its plot from the Sentai series it is based on. While Go-Onger settles on a Beast Racing theme, RPM's theme was set in a post-apocalyptic future.
- A "Jungle Karma Pizza" joint, the same restaurant where the Jungle Fury Rangers worked in, was seen inside Corinth (though it was obviously not the same location). This was seen in "Ranger Green".
- This is the first season in which there's an episode that tells about behind-the-scenes of Power Rangers, as opposed to a special such as the one Operation Overdrive had.
- At Alphabet Soup, Tenaya 7 found the Red Operation Overdrive Ranger's helmet worn by Mack Hartford in Ancient History. That, however is not the true helmet because of RPM being in a different timeline.
- This is the first season to begin in any other month than February since Turbo and also the first season since Mighty Morphin to air new episodes in the month of December.
- RPM was originally going to be the last season for the Power Rangers Series; however, this was changed when Haim Saban decided to buy the show back from Disney and decided to bring an 18th season called Power Rangers Samurai.
- Danger and Destiny, Part II marks the 700th Episode of Power Rangers.
- RPM was the last Power Rangers series to air in the 2000s.
- RPM is the only Power Rangers Season to be in a different timeline than the other Seasons.
- This season aired concurrent with the Super Sentai series Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, which would be adapted two years later as Power Rangers Samurai.
- RPM is also the first Power Rangers season to include both a Black Ranger and a Green Ranger as part of the core team of Rangers. This will be repeated in Power Rangers Dino Charge.
- This is the only season to end on a cliffhanger, and not have the next season resolve it.
See also
- Engine Sentai Go-Onger - Super Sentai counterpart . See comparison page.
- RPM (Toyline)
External links
References
- ↑ http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77521866
- ↑ [http://danstokurants.rangercentral.com/?p=3182 Toku Rants interview with Jon Tellegen
- ↑ Toku Rants interview with Jackie Marchand: 51:17 to 52:31
- ↑ http://www.kractors.co.nz/details.php?act_id=15 James Gaylyn as Col. Truman
- ↑ http://kractors.co.nz/detailsx.php?act_id=28
- ↑ http://johnsonlaird.com/assets/documents/1325/1325_actor_biography.pdf
Footnotes
