Power Rangers Review: "Day of the Dumpster"

You know, I've been a hardcore Power Rangers fan since the franchise started all the way back in 1993. The series is still going on strong even now with its many incarnations, though like many fans, I often tend to look back at the classic episodes from the early years. I have written a few Power Rangers related stories on here, and I've been planning to write some episodic reviews for a long while now. It wouldn't be literally every episode, just the ones that stand out the most and feature some of the most historic moments.

Of course, it's always best to start at the beginning, and in this case, it's "Day of the Dumpster." It never fails: as an adult, I often think, "Wow! The Power Rangers series has lasted for 30 years. And to think, all of this started with a pair of astronauts who couldn't leave well enough alone." They just had to open that dumpster, didn't they?

And we all know the result.

Rita Repulsa. Where do I start? We all know the line: "After 10,000 years, I'm free!" It's a condensed version of the line, and it's played during the Season One intro, but it's still legendary. But yeah, the diabolical intergalactic sorceress, the very villainess who began my fandom and admiration for the wicked women of TV and film, was out of her dumpster prison. And what does one do after spending ten millennia in captivity? Why, try to conquer the Earth, of course!

As Rita's enacting her plans, the scene shifts to Angel Grove's favorite youth center, where we are introduced to the central quartet. Jason Lee Scott and Zack Taylor practice their karate moves. Trini Kwan does her breathing exercises, and Kimberly Hart is on the balance beam. Rounding out the quartet is Billy Cranston, who appears as a student in Jason's karate class.

That's not all, folks. The golden age of comedy gave us Laurel and Hardy, as well as Abbott and Costello, but when it came to Power Rangers, it was Bulk and Skull. The two characters, in their outcast look that was typical of the early/mid-90s, are schoolmates of the quintet, but as they would do for a good bit of the series, they served as bullies and comedy relief against the group. In the case of the pilot, Bulk and Skull attempted to enroll in Jason's class.. and they fell flat.

After an accomplished day of activities, there's a whole lot of shaking going on. The movement's caused by Rita, as she's getting her plan in motion. The people inside the youth center aren't the only ones feeling the boom, as nearby, we see Alpha 5 (with a teddy bear in hand, very cute and hilarious) panicking over the shaking to an interdimensional being known as Zordon, who knows that Rita has escaped. This leads to this very hilarious exchange between Zordon and Alpha:

Zordon: "Send to us five overbearing and overemotional humans."

Alpha: "No! Not that! Not teenagers!"

Zordon: "That is correct."

Alpha: "I was afraid you'd say that."

Meanwhile, as Jason tells the others to hang on, he and the rest of the quintet are teleported to the Command Center--and much like their attire, they're already color-coded. The group is bewildered by their surroundings, while Billy--the tech expert that he is--was enraptured by all of the technology, including Alpha 5. It's at that moment that Zordon appears and introduces himself to the quintet, and he informed the group that they were teleported to save the entire world from Rita Repulsa, who is shown to the group by Zordon via the Viewing Globe. Zordon adds that the five of them have been assembled together to battle Rita, and that each of them would be given extraordinary powers drawn from the dinosaurs.

Zordon presents the teens with their power morphers, which they would use to become the Power Rangers. Of course, to do so, they must raise their morphers and call out the exact name of their given dinosaur, while also each piloting their own special Dinozords. Jason, as the Red Ranger (and the team's leader), would command the Tyrannosaurus. Zack, as the Black Ranger, would command the Mastodon. Kimberly, as the Pink Ranger, had the Pterodactyl as her assigned Zord (beginning a trend where the Pink Ranger often had Zords that flew). Billy, as the Blue Ranger, commanded the Triceratops, and Trini, as the Yellow Ranger, had the Saber-Toothed Tiger. Teamwork and unity was the object for not only the Rangers, but their Zords as well, as the five Zords would align together to form Megazord.

The teens responded to all of this with disbelief. Well, four of them did; Jason was pretty deep in thought. He wanted in on this; he even told the others that they should have stuck around and heard Zordon out. Meanwhile, Rita was wasting no time plotting her attack, as she ordered her monster maker, Finster, to cook up a batch of Putty Patrollers to send after the group. The Putties appeared, and they were overmatching the teens. Jason and Zack were holding their own after Billy, Kimberly, and Trini were easily defeated, but even Jason and Zack couldn't last. Remembering what Zordon said about the morphers, Jason tells them that they should morph into action, and that's exactly what they did!

So with that, the Power Rangers are born, and after Alpha cheers during the morph, Zordon tells Alpha to teleport the Rangers to the city, as Rita had sent Goldar to try to destroy as much as possible. While the Rangers fight Goldar and the Putties, Rita complains to Finster that the Putties are losing to the Rangers, and she makes her Goldar grow later on. The Rangers call the Zords, and within moments, they bring the Zords together, forming a tank version of Megazord. After being blasted after firing a blast, the traditional Megazord is completed when the tank version stands, and Pterodactyl forms the chest. Megazord fights Goldar, but when things get a bit too hot, Megazord receives the power sword. Now the heat's turned to Goldar, who retreats.

As Rita laments over the defeat ("I've got such a headache!"), Zordon congratulates the group on a job well done. However, Zordon gives the teens three simple rules regarding their newfound powers:

1. Never use your power for personal gain.
2. Never escalate a battle unless Rita forces you.
3. Keep your identity a secret--no one may know that you're a Power Ranger.

So the Power Rangers were born, and the rest, as they say, is history.

"Day of the Dumpster," the very first episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, as well as the Power Rangers franchise as a whole, aired on Fox on August 28, 1993. The cast was as follows: Austin St. John played Jason Lee Scott, Walter Emanuel Jones played Zack Taylor, David Yost played Billy Cranston, Thuy Trang played Trini Kwan, and Amy Jo Johnson played Kimberly Hart. Regarding other characters, David Fielding played Zordon, and Richard Wood (who we know by his familiar name, Richard Horvitz) voiced Alpha 5. In addition, Paul Schrier played Farkas "Bulk" Bulkmeier, and Jason Narvy played Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch.

Japanese footage of their counterparts to Power Rangers was often mixed in with the American material, and that included the scenes of Rita's palace, the Zord battles, and the Ranger fights. Regarding Rita, footage of Machiko Soga playing the role of Bandora was used, while the voice on MMPR was provided by Barbara Goodson. Regarding the episode as a whole, I remember actually watching the pilot when it aired; I was in awe then and I still am to this very day. It was an amazing introduction to the Power Rangers, and now that the series is about to turn 31, "Day of the Dumpster," now serves as a great beginning to an immensely iconic franchise, and also serves as one of the greatest TV contributions of all time.

Thanks for reading my review; feel free to leave a comment below! If you like it, click the heart and click subscribe if you want more, and feel free to leave a tip or pledge (if you want)!

Check out my 30th anniversary story below!