Weekday Afternoons in the 1990s Part 1

Monday already, huh? Time flies pretty quickly, these days.

Doesn't it feel like Time meandered at his own pace when we were young ? That you'd see him, the good-ol' friendly Time, waving 'hi' to you in a neighborly sort of way? When did that bastard start stealing your gawd-damn yard tools?

More and more it's like watching rapidly falling sands through an hour glass, reaching ever closer to that last micro-stone to fall. Yes, so too are the days of our lives... wait, am I starting to quote daytime television?

Screw it.

In golden days of youth - blah - blah - blah - clever transition:

Power Rangers.

Those of my generation would've been hard-pressed to avoid this clever attempt to weave narrative using stock footage, foam-rubber Godzilla suits, and toy robots. Though I would later follow Sailor Moon more closely (for reason's I'll likely get into in another article), I'll grudgingly admit this show was a guilty pleasure.

Can you blame me? The show had a killer rock sound track and I'd never seen anything like it before (of course, the Japanese had been enjoying it since the 70's). And heck, if you could wade your way though the filler episodes, there were a few surprisingly compelling story lines.

Of course even as a young-un the formula started to wear thin fairly quickly. I lasted for two seasons, off and on, before entirely becoming disinterested. But it was enough to get a taste.

It was enough to plant that little germ that will never entirely go away. At random moments that damn theme song will pop into my head uninvited and overstay it's welcome.

Last year I even made a tribute/parody of the show in the shape of a PSA (Public Service Advertisement). It never aired, but I like it.

PARODY RANGERS
(please excuse poor upload quality)

Of course I'm far from the only one to parody the show. A simple search will provide a good 2,000 video results. My advice? Skip 'em all and jump to this one:

ROLLING BOMBER SPECIAL

That film's an absolute blast. I love the touches of philosophy thrown in. I'm a little ashamed to say I'm unfamiliar with this director's other work.

Well, that's really all I have to say for now. If you're unfamiliar with Power Rangers, or if you just want a quick refresher on the series, there's a decent look at the history of the series by internet persona 'Linkara'.

INTRO
SEASON 1
SEASON 2
SEASON 3

Until next time, I'm the Trenchcoat Anti-Critic.