Power Rangers: Operation Overdrive, Vol. 4

Rating NR Formats DVD Genre television series Starring James Maclurcan, Caitlin Murphy, Samuell Benta, Rhoda Montemayor Directed by Varies Publisher Walt Disney Video External Links Official Power Rangers Website

Welcome to the Power Rangers High School Reunion, where the old school shows the new school how it’s done. Seriously, I’ve never seen a Power Rangers team that I’ve had such a complete lack of relative respect for in all my years. These guys border on incompetent, especially in their flashy fighting technique. It was great to see that the second generation Black Ranger, Johnny Young Bosch (also known as Adam) has not lost his touch. He displays more fighting prowess and problem-solving skill in his brief appearance during the “Once a Ranger” two-parter than the entire Operation Overdrive team put together. Proof that “it may be old school, but it gets the job done.”

The great curve ball comes in the fourth volume. All of a sudden, there’s actual plot that’s worth anything. Why couldn’t these plot points have been interlaced since the beginning of the series? In a sense, there is hope. There is proof that the writers can present complex depth in a storyline. It just happens too little too late for my comfort. I suppose that even a faint glimmer of hope is better than nothing, only if the trend will carry over into the next Power Rangers incarnation.

Perhaps I’m asking too much of a “children’s show.” Maybe all kids want to see is slow-motion combat with fiery explosions and sound-bite dialogue. It’s not as if the North American exposure to Power Rangers was like this from the beginning though, but it seemed like there was more story involved, even if it was merely episodic. Maybe it was only my then ten-year-old mind that perceived it, but there was actual character development and a sense of general awesomness or something enjoyable. True, watching now what I liked then seems to have disastrous effects, so maybe I am not approaching this whole series honestly.

Here we are, walking the fine line between abysmal and acceptable. Most people call it mediocre. Maybe that’s what Power Rangers has become and will continue to be? I’m not asking for an Emmy-winning children’s series, but at the same time I am. However, I have seen improvement, and notable improvement at that. Much of my disappointment comes in the lateness of it in relation to the rest of the series, especially since there are hints that it will end.

Standard fare afterwards: another interactive DVD game and a mockumentaric file about the Operation Overdrive team. The writers are doing their part to bring a sense of interactivity to their target audience, which is the most successful component to anything relating to not-quite-teenage viewers. Children like to play and feel like they are playing along, and these DVDs have done a more decent job of that than most else on the airwaves today.