3. Power Rangers - Changing The Cast
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was one of the most popular shows of the nineties, but by the time of Turbo the franchise was in a different place. Mighty Morphin ran for three seasons and was followed by Zeo and then Turbo; though there had been changes in the cast they hadnt been wholesale. Though it was still popular, Power Rangers wasnt the phenomenon that it had been, it was on the third show and there had been two movies. It was clear- even too children like me- that the cast were getting too long in the tooth to be rangers. The decision was taken for a new cast to take over the role of the Power Rangers midway through Turbo. Exactly how this decision came about is unclear, some have said that the cast wanted to move on and others say the Saban was looking to hire younger and cheaper options, the truth probably lies somewhere in between. Either way changing not only the cast but virtually everything in the show became a staple of the Power Rangers from this point on, though like the show itself it isnt an original concept. Power Rangers is an adaption of the long running Japanese series Super Sentai, which itself changes to a different show after each season. Making this change in format gave Saban, (then Disney and back to Saban again) a lot of creative freedom with the Power Rangers, at least as much as you could get with an adaption. They no longer had to work out a way to give the rangers new powers when the Sentai footage ran out, and if a specific cast wasnt a hit with the viewers then they would be replaced within the year. It also made good business sense as by changing the cast every season, no one cast member would be able to gain any real power. It wasnt always great from a viewers standpoint as when great shows like In Space and Time force came around, it sucked to see them go so soon. Though my Power Rangers viewing days are far behind me, I believe that Sabans current model of two seasons per cast is a far better way to handle the franchise and long may it continue.