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Axed: Power Rangers

No more morphin' time. The US superhero franchise, filmed in NZ, is winding down.

rangersI think we can all start by saying “Who knew?” (or possibly “who cares?”). Who knew this show was even still on air?

After 17 years Disney has decided Power Rangers television franchise is dead in the water. Maybe somebody sent them the memo.

It began as The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 1993 and since 2003 it has been filmed in New Zealand.

“It’s a bit of a bummer. These big-budget American companies have got millions and they’re using our studios. I’d say it would be the actors who lose out the least. It’s all the camera guys, the sound, editing suites …” said actor Charlie McDermott.

“But [the Americans] are used to paying a lot more than they pay us, that’s why they come here, their dollar goes a lot further. And they have it down pat. Once you’ve been here for a while you really refine your processes and make some money.”

The Power Rangers contract is worth a substantial amount to post-production company Digipost, which edits the video, and Inside Track, which produces all the sound effects.

Former Home and Away actor Jason Smith played Red Ranger Casey in Power Rangers Jungle Fury (2008) and Underbelly‘s Anna Hutchison also played the Yellow Cheetah Ranger.

Source: NZ Herald

16 Responses

  1. I used to watch Power Rangers in Chile in Spanish. I think that they are still Cool and I hope that they do not die just like that because Disney decided that it must be uncool for people today. I wish Also to know where in Australia TV I can watch Power Rangers. Thanks

  2. I cant believe power rangers has been axed. When it first came out me and my cousins thought we were power rangers for about 4 years. lol.
    It all went down hill after the film. the Ninja series was ok, but after that was rubbish.
    If its axed, does that mean they wont show the old episodes anymore? Surely they cant cut off the originals!

  3. Awww…. end of an era. Even if, like Dan pointed out, it lost it after “In Space”.
    PR was my favourite show, and all I could ever talk about, until I was about 7 or 8 years old.
    I actually think it helped me learn how to talk properly, which is a bit embarrassing.
    On another embarrassing note, it also was the source of my first ever crush – Amy Jo Johnson (Kimberly, the original Pink Ranger)!

  4. I used to be a massive fan of this show, and even I agree that it’s about time that it ended! It went downhill after Power Rangers In Space, which in my opinion was the best season of them all.

  5. I remember watching this as a kid and I thought it was the bees knees. When I saw the first movie which was set in Sydney I thought it was great.

    It’s great remembering those kid shows in the 90’s like Power Rangers and Captain Planet.

  6. Ianblair23: the constant “reinventing” of the show actually has to do with the way the show is produced.

    Each episode of Power Rangers actually features action and special effects footage and production assets borrowed from a very long running Japanese TV series called Super Sentai. New scenes shot with English speaking actors are then used to complete this new “reinterpretation”.

    The catch is that every series of SS changes each year, with a completely new plot, new characters and robots, which is why subsequently there’s also a new series of Power Rangers each year.

  7. I can’t believe this was on for that long, I know there were a few different series after the original, but 17 years wow!

    When I was a kid I loved the original show with Tommy the Green Ranger – I caught a rerun sometime ago though, show is lame, can’t believe I used to be the fan, I even used to play power rangers as a kid with friends, the tree we used to climb used to be the big robot thing that came together at the end of every episode hahaha, good ol’ days. Wish I could easily entertain myself like that now.

  8. Hey Kuttyswood,

    As a PR fan since 1992, this show has lasted & endured much far longer than any other American cartoon series!!. It has been American’s highest rating Kids Action show for 16 years!!.

    Here in Australia, PR was shown on FTA from 1992 to 2001. The 9th season called “Light Speed Rescue” was shown on fta on saturday mornings in 2001.
    In 2002 to 2006, Series 10 to 13 (Time Force, Wild Force, Ninja Storm, Dino Thunder, Space Patrol Delta) was shown on Foxtel’s Fox8 Channel. In 2007, Ch 7’s HD channel, screened series 14 & 15 (Mystic Force & Operation Overdrive”. In 2007, PR celebated 15 years running, a feat no other cartoon or animated shows hasn’t achieved yet. From seasons 11 to 17, the cast has consitsed of both young aussie & kiwi actors that have played the rangers. ‘Jungle Fury’ was shown on american screens last year, & will be screened in Australia soon.

    The show has fans from not just within America, but also in Australia, the UK, Asia, etc. Dvds for seasons 1,2,3,4,5,6, 11, 12, 13,14 & 15 are now available to buy online, via amazons. Season 17, PR RPM just premiered this week in the states.

  9. I had absolutely no idea that Power Rangers was still running. None whatsoever! I was 10 when he the first season premiered and watched it every afternoon. But it was far from my favourite show. They have the five original rangers, Red, Blue, Black, Yellow and Pink. Then a green one, then a white one. Evenutally all of the original actors were replaced except Billy (the original Blue ranger) who stayed on for a long time. And that is just about all I remeber of the show. It looks like they kept reinventing themselves for all these years.

  10. The day they made the first feature film (the original series of course) around a decade ago, was when the program “jumped the shark” in my eyes…

    Or maybe Disney realized the franchise has “lost it’s cool”…

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