About Heroes

Written by: Douglas Sloan
Directed by: Isaac Florentine

“Stronger than before! Go Zeo! Powered up for more! Go Zeo! Even up the score! Zeo, Power Rangers!” Man the PR Zeo theme song is great; it really captures the transition from MMPR to PR Zeo. After three years and one movie, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers has come to an end. But the saga of PR is far from over, thus the Zeo series is born. The story opens with the command center a pile of rubble, the Zeo Crystal missing (Goldar and Rito stole it) and Alpha 5 and Zordon presumably dead. Tommy brings the audience up to date with this scene of carnage and destruction---
“The events that have transpired over the last few moments were almost beyond belief. Somehow, Goldar and Rito were able to penetrate the security of the command center and plant an implosive device. And to make matters worse, they were able to steal the Zeo Crystal, the only thing capable of restoring our powers! But little did we know how soon our world as we knew it would come crashing down, and our lives as Power Rangers would come to an end!”
As our powerless heroes stand in shock and awe, on the moon and Rita and Zedd are celebrating their victory. Still, their celebration is short lived when Rita and Zedd come under attack by the forces of King Mondo and Queen Machina. The Machine Empire arrives and sends Rita, Zedd and crew running away to Master Vile’s home in a distant galaxy. Zedd is infuriated with this development, he hates Master Vile and he hates having to run and hide from King Mondo. Zedd promises that he will return one day and reclaim his throne. King Mondo and Queen Machina arrive with their machine empire and quickly set up shop on the moon. Along with their son Prince Sprocket, and their minions Klank and Orbus, the Machine Empire prepares to target Angel Grove as their first target on Earth.
Back at the ruins of the command center, the rangers discover the Zeo Crystal amidst the rubble. It seems Rito and Goldar didn’t steal it after all. The power of the Zeo Crystal sends the rangers into the tunnels running below the command center. On the surface, the power of the Zeo Crystal rebuilds the structure of the command center. As the rangers walk through the deserted tunnels, they hear a familiar voice—Alpha Five’s! Alpha tells the rangers to walk through a green portal. The rangers follow Tommy through the portal and are shocked not only to see Alpha alive, but also to see the Interior of their new Power Chamber. The Power Chamber has always been hidden below the command center in case there was ever an attack on their base. Alpha tells the teens that Zordon is fine as well, and everything seems to be working out for our heroes.
At the machine skybase, King Mondo begins to manufacture his cog army. He sends a squad of Velocifighters and Cogs to Angel Grove to test the Earth’s defenses. At the power chamber, Billy tells his friends that there are only five Zeo sub-crystals, thus he must step down from being a ranger. Billy agrees to continue building and manufacturing weapons in the new Power Chamber in order help the team and also keep contributing to the good fight. Zordon then informs his team of the Machine Empire. As the rangers learn of their new enemy, they also learn of their new powers. The rangers are given their Zeonizers in order to call upon their new Zeo powers. The Zeo sub-crystals appear over the five power teens. Zordon informs his rangers of their new colors and powers---
“Katherine, you shall become Zeo Ranger 1, Pink. Tanya, you will now become Zeo Ranger 2, yellow. The remaining sub-crystals will bestow upon you new powers and colors. Rocky, you shall become Zeo Ranger 3, Blue. Adam, the power of Zeo Ranger 4 Green shall be yours. Finally, Tommy you shall become Zeo Ranger Five Red.”
As the rangers remove their helmets they are thrilled with their new powers. The PR Zeo theme music plays in the background as the original MMPR suits and Weapons appear on display in tubes on the back wall of the Power Chamber. Zordon once again congratulates his team---
“Rangers, the power of the Zeo Crystal now resides within you. It shall bestow upon you powers beyond your wildest dreams. As power rangers, you served your planet well. But the power rangers as you knew them are gone forever. You have now become the Power Rangers Zeo, the next step in the fight against evil!”
Billy and Alpha run a test to make sure the Zeo powers are fully functional and then the Zeo Rangers morph into action against a fleet of Cogs. The rangers quickly make short work of the cogs and realize they are back and stronger than ever. King Mondo is not upset at this loss; it has been centuries since someone has given him a fight. He vows to crush the rangers and claim Earth as his in future battles. Meanwhile, Rito and Goldar have amnesia and run into Bulk and Skull. Bulk and Skull trick the duo into being their personal maids in return for a place to sleep and some food. Back at the juice bar the rangers tell Billy it isn’t the same fighting without him, but Billy tells his friends he is still helping out even if he isn’t fighting beside his friends. The Zeo Rangers are born and ready to protect the Earth from King Mondo’s forces.
Thoughts/Comments:
Wow! I never ever thought PR would change so drastically. During this time I knew nothing about Sentai so this just blew my mind. I mean, MMPR was over. This was the next step, Zordon even claimed so in part two. Everything was new from the command center to the costumes and even villains. But despite this huge change, it still worked. Tommy and crew were still there despite having new colors and powers. I have to admit at first I didn’t care for the Machine Empire but they really grew into a serious threat as the series progressed. My biggest complaint was Billy not being a Zeo Ranger. Yes, I know there were only five zeo crystals but I still thought Billy would be the Blue Ranger. I thought Tommy would become the green zeo ranger and thought Rocky would be the red ranger. Boy, was I surprised when Zordon announced the new colors and powers. Also, one of my all time favorite bloopers was from this episode. When Zordon tells the rangers to guard and protect their Zeonizers like they did their power coins, Jason David Frank states, “But we didn’t protect our power coins! We lost them!” All in all, this two-part episode receives a solid A. The saga of the zeo rangers begins with a bang!