Star Trek Episodes 1-3 (excluding the original pilot)

(Spoiler warning for a show older than my parents!!)

Although I was always aware of Star Trek, I never really took the time to get into it. I think it was because by the time I learned about the franchise, the "Kelvin Timeline" was kicking off in 2009 and I originally thought that it would be a Star Wars copy. Shows how little my nerd cred really matters, doesn't it? I've watched the Kelvin-verse and enjoyed it fine (Into Darkness, notwithstanding), and when I finally sat through Wrath of Khan I really enjoyed it. I knew nothing of the original cast beyond a few cameo appearances in Simpsons and Futurama, but I found myself enjoying what I had seen nonetheless.

So, when I heard that Star Trek: Discovery was coming out, I felt a compulsion to finally check out the original series... then that compulsion disappeared until a week ago where I found all of the shows (but none of the films) available on Netflix and wrote down the chronological order of which to watch. The first, of course, would be the original in 1966 starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly:



This will just a brief recount of the first three episodes (again, excluding the pilot) and keep in mind, this is from a fresh perspective of someone who isn't the biggest fan of the franchise (as of right now, at least). So, if I say anything about a story point not making sense or wishing more could be done with it, don't bother saying if it makes sense in another show or is expanded upon because as of right now, I just do not care. I want to be able to experience the show as is and give my critiques as I go along. No idea if I'll do this for every 5 episodes, but I do at least want to cover the series up to "Space Seed" if only to see how Khan was introduced.

With all of that said, let us begin with:

"The Man Trap!"



Yes, those are really the legit effects of the time. I still defend it due to the show having a shoestring budget.

Anyways, this episode first sees the crew of the Starship Enterprise doing a routine medical check on planet M-113 with Dr Crater and his wife Nancy, whom was originally an old flame for Dr Leonard McCoy, only for a random crew member to get killed off (a running gag so famous even Trekkies make fun of it) by an unforeseen creature. They learn he died from having his sodium chloride levels sucked out, which leads the crew to believe that Crater and Nancy are hiding something.

As first episodes go, this one was fairly decent. I enjoyed seeing the personalities of the cast bounce off of each other, especially McCoy's cynical attitude complimenting Kirk's cockiness and confidence. The mystery behind the deaths of the crew members, while somewhat predictable, was engaging with how no-one was shown to be stupid, though it does get personal when Nancy gets involved and McCoy gets defensive on her behalf. While it is very easy to poke fun at the acting in this show, particularly Shatner with his odd inflections, the performances from the entire main cast is still solid and we can see the beginnings of the defining traits these characters would possess during their time. Frankly, my main complaint is that the twist is a bit too predictable. Without getting into spoilers, you can tell what the twist is as soon as Nancy finds the first dead body. Otherwise, a decent start to the show.

A pity that it is then followed by an awful episode with a broken premise:

"Charlie X".



Oddly, that's the same face I made for the entire episode.

As for the plot, the crew of the Starship Antares--



-- No relation to him, drop off a 17 year old boy, Charlie Evans, in the hands of the Enterprise, happy to just get rid of him. As the episode progresses, we VERY quickly understand why; the boy has psychic powers, and he has been using them on people without any remorse or hesitation. He was apparently raised and educated by a computer, which has left him so socially inept, that he hates the idea of someone not being friends with him and would use his powers to torture them, just because they weren't nice to him; doing so to the Antares by making it explode off-screen later in the episode.

And thus, why this premise does not work; they try to make us feel sorry for Charlie because he hasn't had a normal upbringing and hasn't, supposedly, been taught right or wrong. I argue, however, that he clearly DOES know the difference between right or wrong, with how he uses his powers with unfiltered joy to fuck around with the very fabric of reality itself; chiefly by turning people he doesn't like into animals, muting Uhura when she sings, forcing Spock to recite human poetry to amuse him, teleports people into space, thus likely killing them, and forcing Kirk to keep a ship on course just so he can meet new people to torment. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that doesn't read at all like a kid with social anxieties and an uncontrollable power, but a relentless sociopath who takes pleasure in the torturing of others. He may has well be a descendent of Onision, because that's all I got out of it.

I'm sorry if I don't talk much else about this episode, but I seriously cannot express enough why this episode pissed me off. So, if it's okay, I would like to move past it now and talk about the next one:

"Where No Man Has Gone Before".



"Come play with us, Shatner."

Upon finding a damaged recorder from a lost ship and after going through the same magnetic storm that caused it to be lost in the first place, Helmsman Mitchell and psychiatrist Elizabeth are both affected and end up with incredible ESP powers, the former becoming insane from his new godlike abilities. Thus, Kirk has to decide whether to kill this old friend that is only now being introduced and is never mentioned again, or save the entire crew from the same phenomenon that killed the previous one of the lost ship.

Frankly, while this episode is better than the previous one, it's still kind of boring. Most of it is just having Mitchell and Elizabeth laying around in the med-bay doing nothing, while occasionally cutting to the crew just pondering on what to do next. Really, most of the episode could be summed up like this:



Well, minus the part about them being idiots, but you get my point. Very little actually happens during the episodes length to really justify being 50+ minutes long. We don't really get to know Mitchell or Elizabeth as people, either, so I don't really care for their ultimate fate by the end. It's still competently written so it doesn't annoy me, but it still could've been a lot better.

But for now, I will still keep watching the series as is. No clue if I will keep updating and giving my raw thoughts on the episodes as I go (I'm up to episode 7, mind you), but it'll still be an interesting ride nonetheless.

If you liked what you've read, then please consider following me on Twitter, as this will be retweeted to get it out there. If you have any thoughts, please leave a comment; I'd love to see you defend Charlie as a character.

So until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!

What I want to see in a new Transformers movie series

(Spoiler warning, I guess?)

No matter how I much I am trying to keep this blog diverse, I just keep coming back to Transformers. I guess Bumblebee really did reinvigorate my love for the franchise as a whole.

That said, I think most fans can agree that the film series that we have gotten prior to Bumblebee has been pretty... divisive, shall we say. In spite of each film after the first getting worse critical reception, even from audiences, there were still people who suckered up and kept giving the films millions, if not billions, at the box office with each release. That is, until The Last Knight came along and people just got sick of these films constantly popping up every 2-3 years to bash their brains in with a Bay-coated sledgehammer. And as I have brought up before in several of my posts on Transformers, even I, the guy who used to defend these movies with every fibre in his body; even I got sick of defending the films with how they would get disastrously worse with each rewatch. It was basically the antithesis of watching Hot Fuzz (or any of the Cornetto Trilogy, for that matter).

This is why I am happy that Bumblebee was a hit with audiences and actually turned a profit as well, which is also allowing for a new cinematic universe to start from scratch. All of the lingering plot threads from the Bayverse are now completely gone and the series can reset with a new take that is more faithful and honest with the fandom. I am legitimately pumped to see an entire film take place on Cybertron, or having a film dedicated to Optimus Prime that isn't showing him as a murderous psychopath. I want to see these characters that myself and many others have come to love over the years, and for the films to really give the fans what they deserve.

That said, I still have my own ideas as to what I want in the new series of films. This isn't so much a prediction of what MAY come, but rather just a general list of things that I would love to see done in love action. And I suppose the obvious place to start would be:

1.



Keep in mind, while Beast Wars and Beast Machines was airing while I was growing up, I was born in 1996, the same year that Beast Wars premiered. Thus, I was far too young to get into watching Transformers. But of course, as a modern Transformers fan, I eventually found the entire series on YouTube (before copyright took it down and I refuse to get the Region 1 coded boxsets on Amazon [because they are stupid expensive and Region Coding is a fucking joke]) and fell in love with the story, and the characters, and the voice acting, and the references to G1, and the anima-- actually, not so much the animation, but I still loved watching Beast Wars the whole way through. This is probably why I really want to see a new version of Beast Wars brought to the big screen. Not so much a reboot or just the same thing with prettier CG animation; rather, a re-imagining of the series that still uses the elements that made Beast Wars worked so well. Besides, it also works as an ample chance to expand on the cinematic universe they are now building and the business opportunity for brand new toys based on timeless characters.

Just bring back Scott McNeil for either Rattrap, Dinobot or Waspinator, and a Beast Wars film could work in this new series of films.

2. Incorporating elements from other series.

While people may have their favourite Transformers seasons and while others simply refuse to watch anything that ISN'T G1, I am still hoping that this new line of films will incorporate elements from other seasons while still remaining faithful to the heart of the overall franchise. When you get down to it, the original G1 cartoon had very little in terms of actual lore until season 3, and even then it was more about exposition details of how the Transformers were made, less so any historical lore or mythos behind it. Other versions like Prime or the Marvel Comics added more to the mythology and took things in a newer direction, while still being influenced from past works. Even the Bayverse tried this with Age of Extinction and, to a lesser extent, The Last Knight. They botched it, yes, but they still did it nonetheless. I want to see this new lines of films do the same. Maybe include stuff like combiners, or the mythology of Unicron, Primus and the Original 13.

Heck, with how storytelling has evolved for the franchise as a whole, one could easily do a newer interpretation of Megatron and how his cause started, maybe even draw on the version from the IDW comics as a mistreated lower class miner who had no choice but to resort to violence when his words were never enough. That would automatically make that Megatron FAR more interesting than what was seen in all 5 Bayverse films put together. The same could easily be done for the whole Orion Pax/Optimus Prime backstory to help give the character more nuance in film and make the conflict between Optimus and Megatron more personal.  Maybe even do what other material from IDW has done and have both Autobots and Decepticons who walk a morally grey path, or even ones who never wanted war in the first place. That would be an interesting talking point for the films, maybe have one focused on a group of Neutrals who try to remain out of the conflict. That is something that is almost NEVER addressed in any Transformers media.

3. Shattered Glass.

Anyone familiar with the "Mirror, Mirror" concept from Star Trek knows the possibilities that arise from such a simple setting; a universe where the roles are reversed between the heroes and the villains. While not explored as often as one would think, the Transformers equivalent, Shattered Glass, still opens the potential for a fascinating story-telling engine to be brought to the franchise outside of the comics for the first time. And from what I have heard, we almost had that in 2010. Before Transformers: Animated was confirmed to be cancelled before Season 4 could be put into production, one of the episode ideas would've focused on Bulkhead and Sari being transported to an alternate universe where they have to hid from the dictatorship set up by the Autobots, while forming an uneasy alliance with the rebellious Decepticons. The possibilities from such as set-up basically writes itself.

Really think about it: a universe where Optimus demonises Megatron and his friends as terrorists and starting a civil war for the sake of becoming a Prime; where Starscream is a caring, compassionate, honour bound warrior who believes that Megatron deserves to lead Cybertron to a new Golden Age; where Drift could finally embrace that he is the Transformers equivalent to Deadpool; where Michael Bay makes Oscar-winning political dramas. Okay, that last one requires a miracle that only Primus could grant, but my point remains. They have the free reigns to do what they want with this setting, so they can go all out with it. It's gotta more interesting than most Fanfics that just retell the same story just with the roles reversed.

4. Creating a new mythos.

While I would love to see these classic stories brought to the big screen, part of why the franchise has lasted for almost 35 years is how the best seasons bring something new to the table. The Marvel Comics took the same story as the cartoon and put a different spin on it. Beast Wars/Machines brought in the idea of techno-organics and the descendants of both factions continuing the struggle.  The Unicron Trilogy, even with as bad as Armada and Energon got, established the Mini-Cons as a new faction and expanded a bit on the mythology of Unicron and Primus. Animated was a celebration of the franchise and put new spins on classic legacy characters. War For/Fall of Cybertron was a darker retelling of G1 that focused more on how Cybertron fell apart by the seams, as well as the escalation of Megatron as a threat and a truly powerful presence as a villain. Even the IDW comics had the beginnings of the war based on political struggles and the Decepticons being more of a fanatic cult than a terrorist faction.

Each of the best series, even when they tell the same story over and over, was able to bring something fresh and creative, whether it was new addition to the mythos or a different spin on an old concept. These new films could do the same if they keep it up and use the Bumblebee movie as a starting point. Again, they could go all out with these ideas and bring something new to the movie-going audience that will, ergo, keep bringing them back film after film.

The main point I am making here is that I want the series to keep growing and evolving, whether it's in the cartoons, the comics, maybe some games, and, of course, the films. For the longest time before Bumblebee got to the big screen, people were getting tired of the movies just doing the same thing again and again, to the point where The Last Knight lost the studio $100 million at the box office and the critical reception was at an all time low for the films. So, seeing Bumblebee get the films out of the gutter and breathe life into the series was exactly what fans needed to feel in any way optimistic about the future of the franchise. I want to see them do something new and bring fresh ideas to the films to keep things going. Don't go back to the way things were when Bay was in the directors chair; let the fans feel like they're getting what they asked for and the respect that they deserve.

Still, this is what I hope could happen with the films. It might happen, it might not. If anyone reading this has their own ideas for what could done with the movies, please let me know. And if you like what you've read, please follow me on Twitter; I share these reviews on there all the time and I always appreciate a retweet.

So until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Ep 1: Que Boom!!

(SPOILER WARNING!!)

You would think someone who keeps saying he doesn't watch Sentai would stop talking about Sentai. But with new seasons for Power Rangers and Super Sentai now airing at the same on both sides of the planet, and both getting a lot of attention from fans, it would make sense to talk about what Japan cooked up after cops and robbers (not really). This year, we now have dinosaur knights and YouTube vloggers... wait what?


Okay, there is more to it then that, so let's break it down. In present day, a trio of... teenagers(?) are chosen after years of training to carry on the legacy of their masters; the descendants of the Ryusoul tribe from 65 million years ago. In the past, the knights of the Ryusoul tribe faced off against the Druidon tribe, only for the asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs to force the the Druidons off planet. The modern day trio, consisting of Ryusoul Red Koh, Ryusoul Blue Melto and Ryusoul Pink Asuna, are more than ready to defend their home from any threat, only for the Druidon to return and wreck havoc, leading to the deaths of the trios masters, the destruction of their original source of power and a giant monster begins attacking their valley. With this threat now looming over them and through the power of their own souls, the new team of Ryusoulgers must find their mechs, the Kishiryu, and reunite with Ryusouls Green and Black so that they may stand a chance of saving the world.

Oh, and Koh becomes associated with a YouTuber named Ui Tatsui who seems to be a mouthpiece for calling out Logan Paul for going into the Aokigahara forest to find a dead body... more on that later.

This first episode already has the makings for a pretty good series; one that focuses heavily on the true valour and nobility that comes with being a knight, with the heroes explicitly said to draw their power from the strength of their souls. And thankfully, unlike Zyuranger, the use of the "super ancient civilisation" troupe doesn't really break the setting (though one could certainly make the case of how it conflicts with Kyoryuger's setting), but instead helps to reinforce the idea of the continuation of a lineage of warriors who swear to protect the innocent like the knights of Arthurian legend.

On a side note, am I the only one who finds it strange that this show is themed around knights while Kamen Rider Zi-O has it's main "hero" trying to become a king at the same time (the latter is dumber in this regard)?

Aesthetics wise, I really enjoy the costumes and effects for this show thus far. The suits take a little while to get used to after seeing them, but they really did grown on me once I saw them in action. I dig how each of the helmets, though differently shaped, still have that same grilled visor look common with medieval knights that helps to sell the idea of this group being valiant heroes. I especially appreciate how the knight theme is carried over to Kishiryu-Oh, being much sleeker and more dynamic than most giant Sentai mechs and using this really cool system that allows endless variety of the design of the base robot. Compliment this with great music and action direction, and the episode already has some pretty strong footing.

With that said, I still feel that some of the characterisation could've used some work. This may be due the writing or it could be how the characters are presented through their performance, but something still feels off. Koh, for instance, is characterised in his bio as something of a genius and a responsible leader. But with the way the character is portrayed in the episode, he seems a bit blunt and forefront with his actions. He's not written to be an idiot, which I am extremely grateful for, but he otherwise present any real leadership qualities, which is often normally established in the first episode of the good Sentai seasons. Sadly, not much is given on Melto or Asuna either, aside from Melto apparently being good with strategy and Asuna being insanely strong (kind of a reversal of Nobuharu and Amy from Kyoryuger, now that I think about). Again, none of the characters are shown as idiots or otherwise incompetent at their duties, which I appreciate, but I do wish more time was devoted to their characterisation so we could understand their pain when their masters are killed.

And this brings us to a massive crux I have with the first episode; Ui Tatsui. From the get-go, she already seems like a bit of an airhead, which is not the best way to introduce a evidently popular YouTuber with their own style of Vlogging.  It does not help the fact that when we first meet her, she's faking a trip to the Amazon... by filming in the Aokigahara Forest, no doubt as an intentional parody of the incident with Logan Paul in January 2018. Look, I'm all for calling out either of the Paul brothers for being reprehensible dickheads, especially with a touchy subject matter like suicide. But the way it is presented makes it seem as if they're making a farce out of the whole thing, almost like it's saying "it's okay to film silly internet vids in a forest known for being a suicide hot spot in Japan, so long as you're not Logan Paul, because there won't be ANY consequences either way".

THIS. IS NOT. OKAY!

This is made even worse when you realise that Ui is supposed to be the audience surrogate and moral support for the team in this series. And the first time we see her, she's being a farcical parody of an already farcical jackass who showed a dead body to 12 year old viewers for the sake of getting more subscribers. This scene just made things extremely uncomfortable for me to watch, with how it was played up for comedy, but the cultural context just makes it feel really forced and unnecessary. This scene could be cut from the episode, or even rewritten to have Ui trying to uncover a potential myth of a hidden temple on Mount Fuji, and the episode would have turned out better in my opinion.

As a whole, Ryusoulger's first episode is pretty decent overall. There are plenty of good ideas present within the narrative and I do enjoy the themes of legacy and power through ones determination and spirit. I just wish the characters had more time to shine and the less I saw of Ui in this episode, the better. Much like Beast Morphers, I'm giving this show the "First Five" judgement call, meaning that if I'm not fully hooked by the end of the fifth episode, I won't be regularly checking the show out. I really do hope that the characters get a better chance to shine, especially since this is the writer's first time heading a Sentai series.

Overall rating: 6/10 (pretty decent).

So until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!

Captain Marvel (2019)

(SPOILER WARNING!!)

Just a little disclaimer before we begin; I do not want to hear any hate-filled comments about the film having a "femnazi agenda" or being "SJW bait". I am not here to discuss the social or political relevance of a superhero movie with a female lead. I am here to look at the film as it was intended; as a superhero movie that was made to entertain audiences. All I'm going to say in regards to this film's "controversy" is this; James Cameron, Captain Marvel had nothing to do with Alita: Battle Angel being a commercial flop. Stop being a condescending smeghead and start making GOOD Alien and Terminator movies.

With that said, I'm not acting like there weren't any concerns that I had in regards to the films release. Chiefly, it was based on a character I was not very familiar with and was thus unsure of what to expect, especially with the constant "Captain Marvel/Brie Larson will ruin Marvel" clickbait bullshit I keep on seeing online. Also, to anyone still saying "it will be a disaster":

"[...] the movie made $153 million in the United States and Canada, with a further $302 million coming in from international markets [...] $455 million dollars for its first weekend despite an otherwise slow start [...]" -- Gamespot, March 11th 2019.

Grow. The fuck. Up!

Anyways, story synopsis.

The film is set in 1995, with the amnesiac Kree warrior Carol "Vers" Danvers (played by Larson) fighting alongside the Starforce captain Yon-Rogg (played by Jude Law) in the conflict against the Skrulls, a race of alien who can mimic the appearance of other bipedal beings. During a mission, however, she gets captured by the Skrulls, lead by Talos (played by Ben Mendelsohn), which ends up in a fight that sends them to Los Angeles on Earth. leading to Carol meeting a young Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) whom she convinces to help her in stopping the Skrulls from invading the planet. As she and Fury travel, however, things she uncovers about her past and her relation to Earth make her question as to who to side with in the Kree-Skrull conflict, while also learning more about the scientist Dr Wendy Dawson. Oh, and a cat. Don't forget about the cat.

Very simple premise, very simple execution. Which, in turn, makes for the main issue I have with the film.

While I prefer it when the story is easier to comprehend, the best Marvel films are the ones that can throw the audience for a loop while still having a coherent narrative. This is part of why the Captain America movies worked well for me. While there was much to unravel, it was still straight forward enough to keep the audience engaged while still treating them with a sense of respect and intelligence.

That's not to say that this film treats the viewers as idiots, but it doesn't really do anything new with it's narrative or it's characters. You recognise the set-up almost immediately, with the film jumping just as quickly into that set-up. It's a generic buddy-cop-go-on-an-adventure movie mixed with the hero-can't-remember-their-past narrative, just with superpowers and aliens. But by this point in the MCU, nothing surprises us anymore. Even the (SPOILERS) reveal of the Kree being the bad guys and the Skrulls as victims of the Kree's aims to rule the universe is not that surprising, especially if you're watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D where they are an antagonistic presence in Seasons 3 and 5, so we're not shocked when they suddenly appear guns blazing to try and kill the Skrulls. The story is still consistently written so it never comes off as stupid, but it doesn't throw any surprises and comes off as a bit bland.

Speaking of bland, and I really do hate saying this; Brie Larson was not at her best in this film. She sort of just plays the role fairly straight forward with very little emotional nuance in her performance. She does at least try to come off as a bit of an adventurous tomboy, but she never has any real stand out moments where I really believed her as Carol Danvers. I'm hoping that the Russo brothers are able to reign her in and get her to really embody the character, as she isn't really selling me on her acting in these films.

Thankfully, however, the rest of the film worked out pretty well. The action scenes, for instance, are a lot of fun. They're shot well and the actors do a great job with the choreography, which is complemented by the film having some pretty decent special effects to back it up. I'll give Larson this much; she definitely looks great in her hero outfit and can pull off some cool fight scenes. And in spite of her minimalist performance, Larson does have a lot of great chemistry with Jackson in the film. Also, I love how they made Jackson look young again, same with Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson. It is a simple use of CG, but it looks like fucking sorcery. Good on you, special effects team.

Frankly, I can't think of much else to say. Captain Marvel is, at the very least, a fun time if you want to find one. It's not a spectacular movie, but it is certainly not the trainwreck that a lot of close minded jackasses thought it was going to be. I only wish that Larson's acting and the storytelling was handled better and if there was more to the overall plot. Oh, and the cat. I fucking love that cat.

Overall rating: 7/10 (pretty good, just a little bland).

So, until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!

Power Rangers Beast Morphers Ep 1 (Beasts Unleashed)

(SPOILER WARNING!!)

So, it seems I had my dates mixed up and Beast Morphers' premier episode, "Beasts Unleashed", released only yesterday (2nd of March, as of writing this) and next weeks premier for heroes in multi-coloured spandex was for Ryusoulger. It was just an honest mistake.

But yes, another year, another Power Rangers season. I wasn't planning on checking this season out, due to myself admitting to not being the biggest fan of Power Rangers or Super Sentai. I was just gonna let this show pass by and see how the fans would react to it by the end of the day. But the reactions to just the first episode were BEYOND crazy. People are already declaring it one of the best seasons in the franchise and the best since RPM.

And what do I think of it?



Maybe it's the lowered expectations or my lack of interest in the franchise, but I still walked away with little to praise and yet little to gripe about. But I suppose I should give more context behind my opinion beyond the use of a Simpsons joke.

The setting is Coral Harbour in the future of... the future. Scientists have somehow been able to tap into the near limitless amount of energy emanating from the Morphin' Grid, and are currently planning to use it as a conduit for a stable and clean energy source to power their technology. Grid Battleforce, however, sees an opportunity for experimentation, combining the substance "Morph-X" from the Morphin' Grid with strands of animal DNA to create a new team of Rangers. How convenient, then, that a new threat seeking to control the Morphin' Grid has arisen; the sentient computer virus known only as Evox, who can manipulate Morphin' Grid energy to create his own avatar doppelgangers of real people. Enter our teenagers with attitude, Devon, Ravi and Zoey, as they pretty much get drafted into battle against Evox and his minions; the Blaze Ranger and Roxy, avatar doppelgangers based on the original candidates for the Red and Yellow Rangers respectively.

One thing I will definitely credit the show early on for; the editing in the action scenes are FAR better than the last several years, which relied too heavily on quick jumpcuts and slow-motion to hide the fact that the choreography was terrible. This is helped by the fact that I could actually follow what was happening instead of feeling lost during the action. I suppose it also helps that the directing this time around doesn't feel as shaky or isolated as to allow a wider look at the fights and thus I can better appreciate the choreography and energy.

This also can be said for the sound editing. No longer is the music far louder than the dialogue, so you finally have the chance to understand what the characters are saying. The music is still terrible and in no way fits the scene that they are used in (thanks, Noam Kaniel), but at least it isn't blasting with endless amounts of superfluous noise that ultimately accent nothing and does little more than annoy you. This also works in the shows favour with how there is little unnecessary dialogue during the fights and the ADR dubbing for the cast doesn't sound like it was recorded in the janitors closet.

The acting for most of the cast is about on par with Dino Charge and Ninja Steel, and you get to see some decent characterisation very early on. Zoey's determination to solve any problem no matter the difficulty; Ravi having issues with balancing his friendships with his responsibilities as a soldier; Devon's quick thinking even when he can be somewhat obstinate at points (such as sneaking into a government facility just to test out a training simulator against his fathers wishes, despite his father being the mayor). There are still some stupid things, however. Ravi and his broken romance with Roxy is given very little attention and kind of ends up feeling a little "fridge-ish" with how she is forced into a comatose state and this acts as Ravi's motivation to make amends for when she wakes up. Frankly, this just felt unnecessary as we know nothing about Roxy beyond the fact that she and Ravi used to date before they joined GB and can't date because "Rangers don't date other Rangers".

MMPR, Zeo, Dino Charge,Ninja Steel and, to an extent, RPM beg the differ there, Ravi.

I also felt that the callbacks to previous seasons, even ones that explicitly take place in alternate dimensions, were not needed to sell the setting, especially when those callbacks don't seem to really get some past shows. Namely, citing Rita Repulsa as an evil force who wanted to steal the Rangers powers to take over the universe. It's been a while since I've seen the original, but I don't recall that being her motivation for fighting the Rangers. She was a one-note villain, yes, but she didn't want the Rangers' powers. She simply wanted to kill Zordon and take over planets as revenge for being sealed away in a dumpster for 10,000 years. Heck, she could obviously recreate her own Power Coins, as evident with the "Green With Evil" saga that introduced Tommy Oliver into the show as the Green Ranger, so she wouldn't need to steal the Rangers' powers anyways.

Also, citing Sledge and Galvanax from Dino Charge and Ninja Steel respectively, when those shows take place in different universes from the mainstream canon Power Rangers has had until RPM?



Also, I was hoping that Hasbro wouldn't repeat the whole "daddy issues" thing from Dino Charge and Ninja Steel and transplant it onto Devon and his dad, Mayor Daniels. I swear, every time this happens it just feels like an excuse to write in a child-parent conflict for no adequately explained reason. It didn't work for Dino Charge, because James Navarro was simply an awful dad who abandoned his son at a young age and never bothered to explain himself. And yet his dickhead conduct is never addressed or his absence ever called into question, especially when he would just keep on leaving for narrative contrivance. And it's not like Dane Romero from Ninja Steel was much better at this, as he too would constantly just leave his sons on occasion despite reuniting with them after spending several years trapped inside of a rock. They might actually address the strained relationship between Devon and his dad this season, but I'm not counting on it due to how poorly it was done the last two times they did the whole "I gotta X my dad" thing.

As a whole, the premier episode is just okay to me. There is nothing in it that is outright awful, but nothing really sticks out as groundbreaking like so many fans are saying. I will still give the standard "First Five" judgement call before I may up and abandon it, but I really hope that the season at least gets better from here on out. And please, Hasbro, fire Noam Kaniel already. His awful music has caused enough damage to Des Shinta's (and my) ears as it is.

So until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!

P.S: I just realised I've gone through a blog without swearing. Huh.

My position with Power Rangers Beast Morphers

(SPOILER WARNING!!)

In the same vain with Super Sentai, I'm not the biggest fan of Power Rangers. I am more or less familiar with the story of the original Mighty Morphin'  days and have sat through all of the Zordon era series (MMPR-In Space), but much of what I know about the franchise is through word of mouth and Internet Reviewers, specifically Linkara with "History of Power Rangers" and Des Shinta with his reviews of MMPR, Zeo, In Space and Dino Charge (as well as their Sentai counterparts). Thus, while I am certainly not the most qualified to talk about the subject of today's blog, I still feel that I know enough about the franchise and how it's been treated in recent years to, at the very least, comment on it and give my overall thoughts.

I think the best way to describe modern Power Rangers is; problematic. Not in the sense that it caused major, government conspiracy level controversy, but rather with how the franchise has been managed when Saban Brands got their hands on the series again. Much of the time, the series that have been created under Saban's watch (that being Samurai, Megaforce, Dino Charge and Ninja Steel) have been behind the scenes disasters, most notably when Jonathan Tzachor was show-runner from Samurai through Megaforce. The man is not solely responsible for much of Samurai and Megaforce's failings, but his inability to let go of his "Sentai Purist" attitude to his handling of those shows is still a large contributing factor to said failings. Specifically, his tendency to just transcribe Sentai episodes with an American format (despite Shinkenger being excessively rooted in Japanese lore and cultural trappings) and using the company funds to spend it on recreating sets that didn't need to be recreated. It's probably the main reason he was straight up fired after Super Megaforce proved to be disastrous in ratings, viewership and toy sales and replaced by Judd "Chip" Lynn for Dino Charge and Ninja Steel.

But even with Lynn coming back as show-runner and producer, that didn't stop Dino Charge and Ninja Steel tanking the franchise even further, with the writing for those shows being insipid and lazy and the toyline reaching unheard of lows, due to most of Dino Charge's toys being unnecessary repaints and Ninja Steel having far too many items that don't even appear in the show (or, in the case of Surfermaru, not even appearing the toyline at all). While the cast and acting were far more than the shows themselves deserved and Ninja Steel is still FAR superior to Ninninger in virtually every aspect, it wasn't enough to keep the franchise afloat or allow for a better sitting with the fans.

Oh, and Noam Kaniel's music. It's awful. The composition is lazy and repetitive (as, it's all the same no matter how you slice it) and it never fits the tone or scene where it is used. It really makes me wish that the co-composer for the series, Youssef "Joe" Guezoum, would handle the music and theme song instead of Kaniel, as even though it can be loud at points, the compositions are still less painful to listen to for those with sensitive hearing (such as myself). And I know this from experience, as his music is used for Hell's Kitchen and it has proven to be far more soothing to the ears than anything from Kaniel's entire body of work.

Which, of course, brings me to the next series; Power Rangers Beast Morphers, which will be adapted from Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters. This series was announced when the rights to Power Rangers was bought out from Saban and end up in the hands of the company responsible for Transformers; Hasbro. And just from the preview images of the toyline, I can already see that things have taken a massive step forward. No more of the superfluous repaints, overly muscular Rangers, Zord-only armour toys or underpainted gimmick figures; instead, just straight forward, screen accurate action figures with better articulation and more plastic being used for their accessories, along with coming with an item that would work to unlock a variety of lights and sounds used in the Beast-X Morpher. And the 5-inch action figures would cost the same price as those underpainted, overly muscular Ranger figures that Bandai would just toss out on a monthly basis.

That said, I'm still not sure how well this series would turn out. It's premiering next week as of writing this blog, and I'm not terribly excited for it. For one thing, while not in direct control, Haim Saban still has a say in how this series will go. And given much of what he has done is what has alienated even the die-hard fans of Power Rangers, I'm not sure whether or not Hasbro would learn from Saban's mistakes and try not to repeat them. And to the chagrin of anyone who hated Kaniel's music, he's back too. And the theme song is... well:



Will the nostalgia pandering EVER stop?

So, once again, speaking as someone who isn't the biggest Power Rangers fan, I'm still unsure as to whether or not Beast Morphers will work. Then again, this is just me speaking, so I'm unsure as to anyone else feels about Beast Morphers. If you have any thoughts, please let me know.

But until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!

P.S: STOP. GOING. TO. NICKELODEON!