Once & Always

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always premiers today on Netflix and I was happy to watch it while doing my morning exercises. The special is meant to serve as a 30th anniversary of the series reunion... and it's exactly that. Without going into spoilers, the special reunites much of the MMPR cast in a new adventure to stop Robo Rita Repulsa's newest plan. What's that? Rita is a robot? Go watch the show... you'll love it. I did.

I'd say it's hard to believe it's been 30 years since Power Rangers debuted... but no, it's totally been a long time. For me, I was a kid who liked Godzilla and Transformers when discovering Dynaman late one Friday night on the USA Network. A few years later, MMPR started airing on Fox Kids... and I kinda wondered why they weren't playing Cheap Trick during the fights. Regardless, I loved the cheesy jokes and super hero action. All these years later and I still love classic MMPR better than the series that followed (not knocking those either, mind you).

It's a little bittersweet with the recent passing of Jason David Frank that the series got such a perfect love letter. However even with his and Thuy Trang's unfortunately leaving us much too early, the special honors their memory and treats the cast lovingly. I'm admittedly in post show glow still, but that was great. While playing to nostalgia, it still feels like a brand new episode of MMPR and I guess that's what it really is. I also appreciate how it's very much a modern tokusatsu production. I'd almost have expected this to have been airing on Tokushoutsu during a special event. I'm gushing, it was really that great.

Weekly Halloween- Ghost Army

Kyuukyuu Sentai GogoFive S1 E23- The Ghost Resuce Mission

Tomb Profanation Psyma Beast Zombeast or Zombeast as his friends call him (he has friends?) is a very unique monster. He takes control of a cemetery and uses the dead as his own personal army. Before long the town is overrun with murderous ghosts attacking citizens. The Rangers come to stop Zombeast only to meet a young boy who's recently deceased Grandfather is among the Ghost Army. Things are not what they seem in this spooky edition of Weekly Halloween.

Weekly Update 11/7/22

It's a new week in what feels like a new world here on Planet Zone! I know it's weird now that Halloween is over, but don't you worry, every day is Halloween on Zone Base! There's our weekly spooky Wednesday posts and random frights throughout the year keeping things scary even when Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem is over. I spent my weekend taking down all the decorations here at the homestead and preparing for Christmas. Good thing I like that holiday too. 

As far as toys go, I didn't buy a lot. It's getting close to the Christmas season and I tend to taper off my spending as it's not the time to think of myself. I did pick up Playmates Godzilla Ultima from the Singular Point cartoon. I was honestly surprised to find him as I wasn't aware that version was getting a new toy. It's a neat figure to own though, that's for sure. 

My mother randomly got me the Lanard Aliens Xenomorph Drone figure. There's been some new Predator figures by Lanard and I've been seeing the Aliens restocked as well. Cool, low cost action figures will be showing up more often at stores for the Christmas shopping season. Don't turn your nose at these there are some really good things among them.

I've got a fun week planned for you all. Thanks for continuing to read Zone Base. I am planning to stretch out my social networking for the site as the landscape looks to be shifting around. I'm still mulling around possibilities and kinda just waiting to see how things work out as well. However, it'll still be the same old place about robots and monsters. If you like what I do here, please share with your friends. It's all I ask!

Weekly Update: 9/19/22

It's a new week here on Planet Zone and with it a whole new week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! Does the place look different? Or does it look familiar? Well, the 'new' Zone Base look never quite sat right with me. So, no time better than to go back to the classic look than Halloween! Bio week was fun, but also gave me a little extra time to rework the site. It may look like it used to, but I made a few more improvements while at it. Hope you all like the return to the Zone Base of yesterday! We're halfway through Halloween already (somehow), but don't worry, there's still half a season of Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem to go! I've got a fun week of spooky shit to go along with the regular content that's sure to be a lot of fun! Make sure you share with your friends so they can wonder what's wrong with me too!

This I lucked out as far as toys go. Saturday brought this years Halloween Hot Wheels set and a bunch of Eternia Minis I'd been looking for. I only intended to get the Mrs some exclusive Squishmallows at that Kroger and walked away happily. Super Powers Superman and two Micro Galaxy Squadron blind boxes were bought at Walmart. While running out to get some cat food Sunday, the Mrs picked up Jhiaxus and Perceptor from Target. Overall a pretty good haul! Now that I finally found those blind boxes, I can let myself buy the full sized toys. Don't ask me why I set that rule for myself, I just did and it was a fun mission to partake.

Oh, the boxes wielded The Mandelorian with the speeder bike he had in episode 2. Guess it was a speeder bike kinda day, because the other box had a Biker Scout with a Speeder Bike. Super cool! I wasn't sure if I wanted to complete the new Super Powers line... but I just might. Two figures in and I'm super happy. Eternia Minis are allegedly ending and that makes me sad. Hopefully I'll find more like I did this weekend. I'd been looking for Perceptor and Jhiaxus, so its nice to finally have them. Specially an accurate Jhiaxus, I was ok with his other toys, but it's great to have the one I've wanted all this time. I've always really liked Perceptor, so it's only natural to want this figure. I get the Halloween Hot Wheels set every year and was happy to this year as well. It's a simple tradition, but a fun one. 

Ultra Christmas

Dino Fury, The Idea Was To Bring Together a Group Of Teenagers With Attitude

Dino Fury has pretty much taken me by surprise. It didn't seem to have the buildup Beast Morphers got, so it was a little off my radar. I knew it was coming, but that was it. I went in with no expectations and ended up really liking it. Maybe more than Beast Morphers. I was aware of Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger (the Super Sentai series Dino Fury was adapted from), but didn't get a chance to watch any of it. Kinda glad about that as that allows me to go into Dino Fury fresh and just enjoy it on the surface level. 

As far as the toys go, so far I've gotten the Red and Blue Rangers as well as Boomtower (one of the monsters). Like Beast Morphers before it, the standard Power Ranger figures by Hasbro have a surprising amount of articulation. When Hasbro first took over, I initially thought the basic toys would be similar to the basic Marvel figures they produce and was glad to be wrong. These are some pretty dang nice toys. Boomtower doesn't have the wide range of movement that the Rangers have, but he's much bulkier. I mainly got him because I love his weird design.

Each figure comes with a Dino Fury Key. These little keys look like basic mini figures of the character it comes with that inserts into the Dino Fury Morpher role play toy. Doing so unlocks extra sounds exclusive to each key. Fictionally these allow the Rangers to morph into their Power Ranger forms. There's also Boost Keys that give the Rangers power ups. While I don't plan to get the Morpher, I do like the little mini figures. I'm mainly bidding my time until the Megazord comes out, it looks pretty awesome.

King Sphinx Is A Pretty Fly Guy

 

With a little Christmas gift card money, I picked up the MMPR Lightening Collection version of King Sphinx. I had completely forgotten this toy was coming out, but jumped on him immediately. King Sphinx has always been one of my favorite monsters from MMPR. He was heavily featured on merchandising in the series since he was in the unaired pilot. However they called him Fly Guy in that pilot and frankly, I don't 100% hate that.

In Zyuranger he was known as Dora Sphinx. The differences from Super Sentai to Power Rangers is really clear in these episodes. King Sphinx is a big threat for the Rangers, but an even harder obstacle in Zyuranger. I'm not saying one is better than the other, that's up to personal tastes. I find the differences very neat.

Despite being all over the place merchandise wise, he's only in his particular episode and I've always been a little let down by that. King Sphinx is just so cool looking, I've always wanted him to be a regular character. He's paired with Goldar during the big fight of his episode and they make a good team.

This figure is pretty nice like most Lightening Collection figures are. He has articulation in ways that never would have occurred to me before. The arms just don't rotate or swivel and the shoulder, but they also move outwards. Fancy figures with a billion points of articulation are hardly a new thing, but I'm still a little amazed by them sometimes. 

You've probably noticed just how good looking this figure is from the pics. Or you're looking at my living room closet door. We keep our jackets in there. King Sphinx is better sculpted and painted than the actual costume used to portray him in his episode. I said what I said. The paint job is downright immaculate and I'm still blown away by the details. The toy is around $30 at Target, but looks like it should have cost way more.

King Sphinx comes with his scepter and one of those special effect thingies. The special effect represents his magic spell and fits over the scepter nicely. It has question marks which work well to represent his riddles. I literally have nothing bad to say about this figure. It's freaking awesome.

Wicked. Ass. Pumpkin.

It's the first week of January, hard to believe it's already Halloween time. No it's not, this is Zone Base where everyday is Halloween! Speaking of Halloween, boo! Another of the Christmas gifts from my wife (there is going to be a bit of these posts for awhile) was the new Pumpkin Rapper figure from the Power Rangers Lightening Collection. I probably don't have to tell you this but, I've always liked him.

Pumpkin Rapper hails from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Which as boring as that may be to some Power Rangers fans, is my favorite era of the show. However the character isn't from original Super Sentai footage. Instead from the new footage Toei had made for Saban as they had burned through Zyuranger episodes and needed more content.

Like Frankenstein, Pumpkin Rapper is another Halloween episode monster... and the coolest one in my opinion. He appeared in two different Halloween episodes. In 'Trick or Treat' as the main villain and returning in 'Zedd's Monster Mash' which takes place in a haunted forest!

There's been a few figures of the guy. The newest being this Lightening Collection figure, which is a super nice representation. In the box you get the Rapper, three pumpkins, two vines, a magic doo hickey, and 2 sets of hands. One set can hold things, like the vines. The other is in dramatic positions for dramatic posing with one hand in a fist and the other open. Dramatically.

The two vines can be held as weapons to be used a whips and lassos. The pumpkins can be placed over the heads of Rangers or the Putty Patrol to recreate the big battle in 'Trick or Treat'. The magic doo hickey can be placed over his arm to show him casting those spooky spells. You can put a pumpkin in it as well, it's neat.

The figure is very well articulated with all sorts of joints that move all sorts of ways. I think the only thing keeping you from putting him into any pose possible would be that giant noggin.

It's an awesome higher grade figure of one of my favorite Power Rangers monsters. I love a pumpkin headed freak and he fits the bill with that specific flair that comes from a Japanese production.

From various shows, cartoons, and games, I've always loved the Japanese style of portraying monsters. That specific style on something that represents my favorite time of year is impossibly irresistible.

Halloween is quite a ways away, even with the way I celebrate it. Throughout the year I'll watch random specials and commercials, because I just love it in general. Something like this is another fun way to experience the season all year long. It doesn't hurt that it's a excellent figure either.

Ooh, you Rangers make me mad; waking me up with a rap that bad.