As we know, when it comes to anything on TV, movies, etc. First impressions are everything, and for the first episode of MMPR, this was no different. Of course, no one knew what to expect, and that at best it would be good for one season. Little did they know that to us kids in 1993, this was mind-blowing.
What was great about it back then and now is that while we get introduced to the main villain Rita Repulsa at the very start, we quickly get to the real core of the show which was the five "teenagers with attitude": Jason, Zack, Billy, Trini and Kimberly.
Seeing how each of the characters get introduced helped give you a sense of who they were. Yes, in hindsight they were portrayed as slightly stereotypical, but to kids who may have already seen shows like Saved By The Bell, this wasn't too much of a stretch and we didn't notice that part. But throughout the entire scene in the Youth Center you can see how they are very much everyday folks with their own interests and quirks, like Kimberly being a talented gymnast, Billy being the brains of the bunch yet socially awkward, Zack is more of a ladies' man and dancer, while Jason is a focused yet soft-spoken martial artist, and Trini is also this as well, with more emphasis on the spiritual side of martial arts.
But even with that you can see that the quintet are close friends and have been so for some time without needing to talk about it much.
So life goes on like normal, but then an earthquake happens - which Billy surmises isn't a typical one - and then he and the others find themselves transported to someplace else on Earth, which turns out to be a place not too far from the city. And there they meet two people who would change their lives forever: a robot named Alpha 5, and an inter-dimensional alien being named Zordon.
After introductions are made, Zordon explains to them about Rita and her plans and why he brought them to his command center.
"You have been chosen to form an elite team to battle Rita. Each of you will be given access to extraordinary powers drawn from the ancient creatures you call dinosaurs." - Zordon
But even with this explanation, most of the teens aren't buying this at all, with the exception of Jason and ultimately leave the Command Center to head back to the city. Of course, Rita gets wind of this and sends out her Putty Patrollers to intercept the new teens Zordon picked. At first the teens manage to hold them off but to no avail, and then Jason suggests they use the Power Morphers they were given. And once they do, they become the fighting force Zordon said they would be - The Power Rangers!
Once they teleport back to their home city via Alpha's help, the Rangers find themselves attacked by Goldar and an army of Putties, but this time the quintet are able to hold their own and take down Goldar's small army. Needless to say Rita isn't pleased by this and uses her magic wand to make Goldar grow which then in turn forces the Rangers to call their zords and we the audience get to see them in all their glory. But it only gets better because while we don't see the Dinozords in action individually, what happens next is better becuase we see the Zords first combine into a tank, then when Jason calls out the command for Megazord battle mode, and the Zords then begin to change once more, I knew something epic was going to happen. Then once the Pterodactyl zord attached itself to the chest and the Megazord horns locked in place, I was blown away by the look at of it, and the action that followed was nothing short of amazing.
So the final scene ends with Zordon explaining to them the basic PR rules and though Zack admits they may have been lucky this time around Zordon says that they assembled together as a true team, and as such it was never luck.
With a renewed resolve Jason and the others say that they're in, with Kim at first joking about "Helmet hair" but also agreeing with the others. And so from that point on, the rest was history, and the beginning of what would become a 30-year odyssey.
In all, it was a perfect way to introduce a new show with concepts and ideas never seen before, and the emphasis of teamwork which many audiences connected with.
In hindsight the show could not have come at a better time since Transformers had come and gone, and while TMNT was still ongoing, there wasn't much else aside from Batman: The Animated Series. Well, now thanks to Power Rangers all that was about to change. And for Fox Kids, this would become the flagship for everything the new kids programming would be.
Plus, aside from the first two Michael Keaton Batman movies there wasn't any superhero movies going on, so it was a perfect storm. And as someone who was nine-years-old when this show started it was a true childhood-defining moment.
So now that the party has begun stay tuned folks, for the next big defining moment in Power Rangers - in five parts at that - is next!
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