Power Rangers Zeo Information

Power Rangers Zeo is an American television series and the fourth season of the Power Rangers franchise, based on the Super Sentai series Ch?riki Sentai Ohranger. It is the continuation of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which aired in 1996.

Power Rangers Zeo is also the first season of Power Rangers to follow the Sentai practice of annual Ranger suit changes and also the last series to use "it's Morphin' Time" until the Neo-Saban era of Power Rangers returns with it as a pre-start command.

Plot

Power Rangers Zeo begins immediately after the events of Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, where Tommy and the other Rangers (Adam, Rocky, Tanya, Katherine and Billy) witness the destruction of the Command Center. After recovering, the powerless Rangers discover the Zeo Crystal intact in the rubble"?apparently dropped by Goldar and Rito Revolto. The Crystal guides them to a portal, which takes them deep underground to the Power Chamber where they find Zordon and Alpha 5 waiting for them. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers become the Zeo Rangers, a new team of Rangers powered by the Zeo Crystal. The four remaining Mighty Morphin Rangers, Tommy, Adam, Rocky and Kat become Zeo Ranger V "? Red, Zeo Ranger IV "? Green, Zeo Ranger III "? Blue and Zeo Ranger I "? Pink respectively and Tanya Sloan joins the team as Zeo Ranger II "? Yellow, while Billy chooses to become their technical advisor rather than continuing as a Ranger.

The Machine Empire, led by King Mondo and Queen Machina, enters Earth's solar system, seeking to conquer Earth, with the Zeo Rangers serving as the only opposition. Many, even Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, are forced to flee to the M51 Galaxy under the threat of destruction. Unbeknownst to anyone, Rito and Goldar - now amnesic - are left behind on Earth. They are taken in by Bulk and Skull, who have them serve as butlers. Meanwhile, Bulk and Skull continue to be members of the Junior Police Force until Lieutenant Stone is dismissed, when Bulk tries winning the heart of the chief's daughter. Quitting as a show of respect for Stone, they join him at his new detective agency.

Over time, the Machine Empire wears down the five Zeo Rangers, but they are rescued by the mysterious Gold Ranger. Though his identity is unknown, it quickly becomes clear he is there to help the Rangers. After he is injured in battle, it is revealed that Gold Ranger is an alien, Trey of Triforia. Split into three separate selves, Trey is forced to temporarily pass his powers to a worthy warrior while healing. They attempt to transfer Trey's powers to Billy, but as Billy acquired excess negative energy during the Command Center's destruction, he is unable to do so. The ultimate successor is Jason Lee Scott, the original Red Power Ranger and team leader. This event also sees the introduction of the more powerful Super Zeozords, which were used against a tougher generation of machines. The Super Zeo Megazord is powerful enough to later destroy King Mondo, creating a power vacuum in the Machine Empire.

Secretly returning from the M51 Galaxy, Lord Zedd and Rita seek to become top villains again. Operating out of an RV with Finster, they restore Goldar and Rito's memories, retrieving the pair in the process. After King Mondo is destroyed, they launch their first plan, to use Louie Kaboom to take over the Machine Empire. Though he succeeds, he breaks free of Zedd and Rita's control. He embarks on his own plans to conquer Earth and destroy the Zeo Rangers. Louie is eventually killed by King Mondo first-born son Prince Gasket and his wife Princess Archerina, who rule until King Mondo's reconstruction is complete and causes them to flee.

When Billy begins rapidly aging as a side-effect of restoring his proper age before undoing Master Vile's spell in the last series, the Zeo and Aquitian Rangers race to help him and fend off monsters from King Mondo as well as Zedd and Rita. Billy leaves Earth for treatment on Aquitar and chooses to stay to be with Cestria. Soon afterwards, it is discovered the Gold Ranger powers are leaving Jason and draining his life force in the process as the alien powers were not meant for a human. Trey is still in recovery, but a risky gamble with the Zeo Crystal heals him, restoring his powers. Rita and Lord Zedd finally get revenge on the Machine Empire by crippling their leaders with a bomb.

Characters

Zeo Rangers

• Jason Lee Scott
  The second Gold Ranger and the original Red Ranger. When Trey of Triforia had to return to his home planet, Tommy went and found Jason to take the place of the Gold Ranger while he was gone. Jason became second-in-command upon his return and was portrayed by Austin St. John.
• Thomas "Tommy" Oliver
  He was Zeo Ranger V Red as well as the Green Ranger and the White Ranger. He found his Zeo Crystal in the American Southwest. He is the leader of the Zeo Rangers. Tommy wore a red suit with a star-shaped visor on his helmet and was portrayed by Jason David Frank.
• Adam Park
  He was Zeo Ranger IV Green as well as the second Black Ranger. He found his Zeo Crystal in Korea. Adam wore a green suit with a rectangular visor and was portrayed by Johnny Yong Bosch.
• Rocky DeSantos
  He was Zeo Ranger III Blue as well as the second Red Ranger. He found his Zeo Crystal in Mexico. He was second-in-command until Jason returned. Rocky wore a blue suit with a triangular visor on his helmet and was portrayed by Steve Cardenas.
• Tanya Sloan
  She was Zeo Ranger II Yellow and the only new member of the core group. When Aisha, the former Yellow Ranger, went for her Zeo Crystal in Africa, she decided that she wanted to help the animals who were sick; she sent Tanya back with the Zeo Crystal in her place. Initially returning as a young teenager, the Zeo Crystal made Tanya the same age as the other Rangers, which she gradually got used to. Tanya wore a yellow suit with two horizontal lines for a visor on her helmet and was portrayed by Nakia Burrise.
• Katherine "Kat" Hillard
  She was Zeo Ranger I Pink as well as the second Pink Ranger. She found her Zeo Crystal in her homeland of Australia. Kat wore a pink suit with a circular visor on her helmet and was portrayed by Catherine Sutherland.
• Trey of Triforia
  He was the original Gold Ranger and also the prince of planet Triforia, a place where everyone had identical triplets. He gave the Zeo Rangers their Super Zeozords when he had to return for his planet. Trey of Triforia wore a black suit with a golden vest and had a visor shaped like the kanji for "king". He was portrayed by Ted, Tim and Tom DiFilippo and voiced by Brad Hawkins in his first appearances.

Allies

• Zordon
  The Zeo rangers' mentor. Zordon serves as a source of vast wisdom and knowledge for the team. Voiced by Robert L. Manahan.
• Alpha 5
  Zordon's robotic assistant, in charge of keeping the Power Chamber working. Voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz (credited as Richard Wood).
• Billy Cranston
  The former Blue Mighty Morphin Power Ranger and Blue Ninja Ranger, Billy has retired from being a Power Ranger, electing to instead assist Alpha. Portrayed by David Yost.
• Alien Rangers
  Rangers from the planet Aquitar, who helped protect Earth from Zedd and Rita during the events of the previous series. They seek Billy's technological expertise at one point to help defeat new foes, and teach him about their own technology in return; thus the creation of the Red Battle Warrior came about.
• Emily
  Portrayed by Lesley Tesh-Pedersen.
• Ernie
  Portrayed by Richard Genelle.
• Farkus "Bulk" Bulkmeier
  Portrayed by Paul Schrier.
• Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch
  Portrayed by Jason Narvy.
• Lt./Det. Jerome B. Stone
  Portrayed by Gregg Bullock.
• David Truehart
  Tommy's brother, who was adopted by the very same Native American (Sam Truehart) Tommy met while retrieving his piece of the Zeo crystal. Portrayed by Eric Frank, Jason David Frank's real-life brother.
• Cestria
  Serves as Billy Cranston's love interest.
• Auric the Conqueror
  An ancient tiki that had been dormant on the tropical Mysterio Island for countless years. Voiced by Derek Stephen Prince (uncredited).
• Tritor
  Portrayed by Koichi Sakamoto and voiced by Paul St. Peter (both uncredited).

Villains

Machine Empire

• King Mondo
  Voiced by David Stenstrom.
• Queen Machina
  Voiced by Alex Borstein.
• Prince Sprocket
  Voiced by Barbara Goodson.
• Orbus
  Voiced by Barbara Goodson.
• Klank
  Voiced by Oliver Page.
• Prince Gasket
  Voiced by Douglas Sloan (uncredited).
• Archerina
  Voiced by Melora Harte (uncredited).
• Louie Kaboom
  Voiced by Lex Lang (uncredited).
• Cogs

Evil Space Aliens

• Lord Zedd
  Portrayed by Edwin Neal (credited as Ed Neil) and voiced by Robert Axelrod.
• Rita Repulsa
  Portrayed by Carla Perez and voiced by Barbara Goodson.
• Finster
  Voiced by Robert Axelrod.
• Goldar
  Voiced by Kerrigan Mahan.
• Rito Revolto
  Voiced by Bob Papenbrook.
• Squatt and Baboo
  Voiced by Michael Sorich and Dave Mallow.

Identity of the Gold Ranger

During the middle of the series, the identity of the Gold Ranger was a constant teaser and a central plot theme. After many episodes of speculation, with other characters like Billy Cranston, David Trueheart, and even Eugene Skullovitch suspected, it was revealed the Gold Ranger was in fact Trey of Triforia, a new character. Former Red Ranger, Jason Lee Scott, obtained the powers of the Gold Ranger after Trey lost the ability to transform. Actor Brad Hawkins, who played Ryan Steele on VR Troopers, voiced the Gold Ranger early on. Saban had supposedly planned to use him after the end of VR Troopers as Ryan and put that series into the continuity of Power Rangers. However, for unknown reasons (believed to be scheduling conflicts), he was not used as the identity of the Gold Ranger, and instead Ted, Tim and Tom DiFilippo portrayed the three parts of Trey.

Episodes

See List of Power Rangers Zeo episodes for more information

Home media

In 2012, Shout Factory announced that it had reached an exclusive distribution deal with Saban for shows such as Power Rangers and Big Bad Beetleborgs. Power Rangers Zeo was released on DVD in August 2012, as part of a Time-Life exclusive boxed set containing seasons 1-7. The show later became available independently of the boxed set in two volumes, each containing 25 episodes.

Comics

Image Comics began publication of a Power Rangers Zeo comic in August 1996. It featured scripts by Tom and Mary Bierbaum, and art by Todd Nauck and Norm Rapmund. Four issues were drawn but only one was released before Image Comics lost the license.

See also

• Chouriki Sentai Ohranger