iTunes Season Review: "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers": Season Three

Rated: TV-Y7 for fantasy violence
Starring: Amy Jo Johnson, David Yost, Karan Ashley, Jason David Frank, Steve Cardenas, and Catherine Sutherland
Released: 1995 - 1996 (original TV premieres)

Synopsis: This third season brings the Rangers' biggest challenges yet! With Rita and Zedd still stopping at nothing to overtake the Earth, it'll take everything they've got to keep our planet safe! Even with a new member joining their group, and allies from the deepest regions of outer space, it may be too much for Zordon and the Rangers to handle.

(Warning: Potential spoilers below!)

The Good: What a rush! I've been watching an episode of this pretty much every day over the past few weeks, and, I have to say, it kept my interest, despite the obvious low budget.  I especially liked the new character of Kat, an Australian girl who replaces Kimberly as the Pink Ranger.  There's plenty of fun to be had in this third season, but...

The Bad: Those expecting everything to come to a neat ending will likely be disappointed.  The season finale ends with the Command Center blowing up, not with a big defeat of Rita and Zedd.  If you followed the series to its end back in the day, you probably won't be surprised, but I was.  Now, I'll have to watch the next season to see how things end up.

Content Concerns:

• Sex: Kissing, flirting; totally innocent romance. 4/5
• Nudity: Shirtless guys; girls/women in swimsuits, including two-pieces. 4/5
• Language: Name-calling throughout, and quite often at that. 3/5
• Violence: As you'd expect, there is fantasy action violence throughout.  The Rangers, villains, and other characters kick, punch, shoot at, etc., each other countless times.  Slapstick humor is also present in many episodes. 2/5
• Drugs: None. 5/5
• Frightening/Intense Scenes: Some of the monsters could be scary for some kids, and the finale is a bit intense. 4/5
• Other: Some of the powers used smack of sorcery. 4/5

Conclusion: I may be nearly thirty years old, but, the kid in me still enjoys shows like this.  After watching the first three seasons in their entirety, I'm curious to see where the franchise goes from here, especially given the cliffhanger ending of this season.  One thing I wonder is: When do the special effects improve? I'll just have to wait and see.

Score: 4/5