Power Rangers RPM Episode 1 & 2 "The Road to Corinth" and "Fade to Black" Review

I woke up at 5am and was pleasantly surprised there was no infomercial on WPLG 10 but the premiere episode of Power Rangers RPM. I doubt anyone else in Miami is up at this time to watch it, unless a diehard fan like me still exists. I am an Elementary school substitute teacher and I didn't hear any of the kids talking about this, most Power Ranger fans I have seen in Elementary school are in Pre-K to 1st Grade. Anyone else wouldn't be caught dead admitting they like it. Sidenote: Power Rangers has been at 5am in Miami since Mystic Force (2006).

It looks like they had no support from the font department because they use a generic font. The Black Ranger but not the Green Ranger is in the opening credits.

1st Episode Road to Corinth Summary
Three years ago the Venjix computer system (ala Skynet of Terminator) has taken over the world and has made it a wasteland. A signal has been sent out about the city of Corinth, the last hope in safety and everyone rushes into it before the dome closes, seemingly forever. Flynn, who happens to be Scottish, arrives on a bus FULL of people and he calls one of the footsoldiers (Grinders) a "worthless crap." Scott (Eagle 2) and Summer report to Colonel Truman that Eagle 1 is dead, Truman is upset and doesn't want to discuss it to his wounded son Eagle 2. One year later, the dome is closed and a mysterious man (with a pocket watch) protects a flower from footsoldiers and beats the 'crap' out of them.

He has a car and is assaulted by Ziggy, a talkative individual, claiming to shoot him in order to steal the car and go to Coronith. It seems there has been radiation because the compasses don't work. Anyhoo, Ziggy and the mysterious individual, who at first claims to not know his name or anything except for cars and then says to call him Dillon, they fight off robots and explosions as they zip into the dome. They must keep running because the car is almost out of gas and if Dillon shuts off the car... he won't be able to restart it again. Venjix releases a monster robot and the RPM team is sent, we are reminded of the three individuals we meet before. The bus driver Flynn is Blue, the pilot Eagle 2 is Red, and Summer is Yellow.

Second Episode "Fade to Black" Summary
Where we last left off, Dillon asks Ziggy what Power Rangers are. The 'drones' are sent, in other words, Bandoma from Go-Onger. Ziggy is scared of them but Dillon is not. The three activate their zords---which match their toy names (Bear Crawler, etc.). The putting the chip inside the zords is new footage instead of the Go-Onger footage. The grunts set a cannon that will waste Dillon's car, so he tries to gas it but can't... until he hits it and goes off. Unfortunately, he skids and luckily for him, he gets the cannon shot at the bad guys instead of at the Yellow Ranger. The Rangers form High Octane Megazord and destroy the giant monster.

Summer takes off her helmet and thanks Dillon. The guards take in Ziggy and Dillon, while Ziggy pretends he is a citizen and doesn't know who Dillon is. The two are in jail. Wow, two future Power Rangers in orange jumpsuits. Dillon has hardware inside him and he doesn't know why he does. Basically, he is a Bionic man. Summer asks to speak to him privately, he comments on how Yellow isn't her color (maybe a comment on how some Rangers don't look good in their color) and then she counters back if he practices the bad boy/brooding persona in the mirror.

She ends the conversation with that she doesn't care where he is from but where he is going, returning him his musical pocket watch. Meanwhile, Ziggy charms the guards and then the guards multiply... Ziggy doesn't shut up to the point that the guards are gone. We don't know if his stories are tall tales or not. Later, Venjix reveals the other two generals a scary new creation... the human-looking Tenaya 7. With the Rangers, Flynn and Scott are not all thrilled with Dillon, believing he is all machine and shouldn't be trusted. The mysterious Dr. K explains he is like Wolverine, just implants.

Ziggy is not loved in the jail, having enemies already. He tries to convince Dillon that they are a team and to bust him out. The convicts pin Ziggy down and give him a bulling speech. This gets on Dillon's nerves and he defies the leader of the crooks. Dillon beats them all up. The other Rangers are then impressed by what Dillon can do, via surveillance video. The Rangers come and offer him to join the team, he asks if he can choose his own color.

Review:
And it looks like the FCC did not review this because the Blue Ranger says 'Crap' in the first few minutes. What a way to go, Power Rangers!! The plot has been well thought out with the car's gas and the radiation effecting compasses. My favorite line: "Go shoot or something." Even though this series is more serious than any other, unfortunately it still has one Power Ranger tradition I wish was forgotten... the goofy voiced villain. Kitaneidas/General Crunch is now dumb and goofy, voiced by Charlie McDermott. Yogostein/General Shifter is delightfully British. It is also nice to see that RPM keeps Go-Onger motif of having the Rangers in suit but without helmet.

Funny how there is a jail in the city, seems they didn't want their convicts to perish, they still believe in justice and humanity even in the face of an apocalypse. Some fans may say that the series has shadows of Terraventure with its dome and faux-blue sky but it has its own spirit. The series has a good start, great effort, and promising start. The new writer/show runner Eddie Guzelian was real ambitious, around episode 15 or 18 was fired because of 'creative differences' with Disney. So they got Judd Lynn. So It might change in tone.

Related Topic: Road to Corinth Video | Fade to Black Video