Why was Power Rangers originally titled "Phantoms"?

[AFPR-DragonRanger]

The only discussion I could find about this was a thread that died out in 2009 (www.rangercrew.com/forum/showthread.php?11293-PR-seasons-pre-production-titles/), and as far as I see all that really came out of it was people doubting the unsourced claim.

I've been watching/listening to panels and interviews from the past couple years, so I can provide some attribution. JDF says it all the time; at 6:58 in this No Pink Spandex interview he repeats it a few times in a row: http://awwman.com/nps/main/2010/02/episode-103-interview-with-jason-david-frank/ ("I remember doing Power Rangers and startin' the audition for Power Rangers; it was horrible. Power Rangers at that time was called Phantoms. I auditioned for a show called Phantoms, which was Power Rangers but it was called Phantoms.")

Jason Narvy also mentioned it at PMC 2010: http://youtu.be/kpA81ZH8N_8?t=4m53s ("The original pilot was called Phantoms. Did you know that? That's what they were calling it was Phantoms.")

I don't know that anyone else has ever said it, though in that video Paul Schrier nods when Narvy asks if he knew that.

Assuming they remember correctly, where would that name have come from? Is it common for pilot shows to use an inexplicable codename like movies sometimes do, or was it really planned as the title?

[Ryan Steele]

that's very interesting. Never heard it before

[Captain Platypus]

I have. It actually went through a few working titles if I recall. Names are generally one of those things that can still be changed till the last minute

[Digifiend]

Yeah, another working title was Dino Rangers. Operation Overdrive had the working titles Relic Hunters and Drive Force.

[Cmdr Crayfish]

They had to call it something in the interregnum between "Dino Rangers" and Margaret Loesch telling them they had a multi-year deal and thinking up a better franchise name. Tony Oliver says the name was finally hammered out on the set of the original pilot. That doesn't COMPLETELY fit the timeline (the recast of Trini was simultaneous to the casting of Tommy), but it's close enough Phantoms may have just been a Blue Harvest-esque filler name.

[Citrus]

I seem to recall someone saying, in a panel video, that the name Phantoms was an attempt to be inconspicuous and avoid use of the Ranger name during auditions (likey those for Green & Yellow). I can't speak for the veracity of this, but it's been the explanation bobbing around in my head for a few years now. I'm assuming there's no truth to it, since the show had not yet been aired and thus carried no name recognition, but I thought it worth a mention regardless.

[Cmdr Crayfish]

The documentary on the DVD set answers this, yes. Between the lines, it appears they didn't want anyone else to know they were optioning Sentai.

[Citrus]

Always a relief to hear I'm not crazy, although I have no idea how I missed mention of that on the DVDs. I suppose I should watch Morphin Time again. I'm assuming it's Tony who brings this up?

[Ryan Steele]

so that's how Phantom Ranger came out,lol