‘RETURN OF AN OLD FRIEND’ (MMPR)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This is a two-part ‘Power Rangers’ story that features the return of Jason David Frank as Tommy the Green Ranger. Although he made a brief cameo in ‘Doomsday’, this is the first time Tommy returns to the TV series in a long while. The story also sees him getting his powers back as the Green Ranger.
In ‘Part I’ of this story, it’s Parents’ Day at Angel Grove. I found it rather nice to see the Rangers as teens reunited with their parents on Parents’ Day, albeit it is strange their parents would wear the same-coloured clothes as the Ranger suits, including Jason as Red, Zack as Black, Trini as Yellow, etc.
There is also a nice little character development on Kimberly’s part, since her parents are divorced and she’s anxious about seeing them again. Bulk and Skull also have parents that come on Parents’ Day. However, things don’t go according to plan, as Rita Repulsa kidnaps the parents at Angel Grove.
It happens when Jason, Zack, Trini and Kimberly fight some Putties outside the Youth Center. Rita also unleashes the Dramole monster, which burrows underground; kidnaps the parents and emits a toxic gas from its nostrils on its victims. This also happens for Billy, who turns up late at the party. 😮
Billy is overcome by the Dramole’s hypnotic gas and goes under the control of Rita. He then goes to the Command Center; shuts down Alpha; and steals the Dragon Dagger. The other four Rangers are told this by Zordon and they morph, heading off to the Dark Dimension where they confront Goldar.
Billy is also there with Goldar and is soon released from the influence of the Dramole’s mind-control. The five Rangers soon return to Angel Grove, just as Goldar uses the Dragon Dagger to make the Dragonzord attack the city. The Rangers use their Dino Megazord to stop the Dragonzord’s attack. 😐
By the way, this story features some new footage of the Zords being summoned, including for the Tyrannosaurus Zord, the Pterodactyl Zord and the Dragonzord. There’s also a new formation sequence of the Dino Megazord, which bypasses its tank mode. It was refreshing to see in this story. 🙂
But it’s not enough, and the five teens soon give up their Power Coins to Goldar in exchange for their parents’ safety. But Goldar tricks them and doesn’t give them back their parents. With the Power Rangers now without their Power Coins, there’s one person who can help them out. Enter Tommy. 🙂
In ‘Part II’, Tommy is at the Youth Center where he finds it deserted. I wonder what he’s been up to during his absence in the ‘Power Rangers’ TV series. Anyway, Tommy is soon teleported to the Command Center and is reunited with the Rangers. He’s told what happened and is willing to help. 🙂
In order to acquire the Power Coins back from Goldar and save the teens’ parents from Rita’s Dark Dimension, Zordon infuses Tommy with his own energy. Thus, it morphs him into the Green Ranger for a short time. He then goes to fight Goldar and some Putties before retrieving the Dragon Dagger.
Despite the risk of getting Zordon’s energy infused into him, Tommy manages to get the Dragon Dagger and regain the Dragonzord under his control. The Dragonzord soon fights Goldar and Scorpina (She’s back in this 😀 ) as giants. The Dragonzord gets weak in fighting Goldar and Scorpina.
Thankfully, Tommy gets the Power Coins and returns to the Command Center before he faints. Zordon has been drained of all life, but thankfully, the Rangers use their Power Coins to get him back. The Rangers soon go and fight Dramole in the rock quarry outside the city. It gets troublesome.
Dramole gets to use his hypnotic gas on Jason, Trini, Zack and Billy to turn against Kimberly during the fight. Very soon, Tommy’s body gets electrically-charged from recovering the Power Coins and he becomes the Green Ranger again. He goes off to help rescue the five Rangers and defeat Dramole. 🙂
Dramole soon becomes giant-sized by Rita and the Rangers fight against the monster using their Zords. First, Tommy uses the Dragonzord, the five main Rangers use their Dino Megazord before it becomes the Dragon Megazord and eventually with Titanus to become the Ultrazord. It’s all too fast!
Once Dramole is destroyed, the Rangers’ parents are returned to Angel Grove. All is well. Despite this triumph, there’s the possibility that Tommy will lose his powers again. But Tommy is keen to stay on as the Green Ranger. The episode ends with the Power Rangers reuniting with their parents.
It also ends with a food fight caused by Bulk and Skull, who get bored. It’s amazing how this exciting and action-packed two-parter featuring Tommy’s return as the Green Ranger ends on a silly note. 😀 All in all, ‘Return of an Old Friend’ is a great two-part story in ‘Power Rangers’ featuring Tommy’s return.
‘Return of an Old Friend’ (MMPR) rating – 9/10
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