Anniversary Season for the Fans

[Fury Diamond]

After watching Gokaiger, I got a lot of respect for the production team and their beautiful work for giving back to the fans. I have limited Super Sentai exposure but the show got me interested in watching more seasons. Power Rangers Megaforce will be the anniversary season.

Will we see the same love giving to the Power Rangers season? Does the productive team have knowledge of particular concepts that would excite new and veteran fans? There is a lot of work being put into the season, so I'm eagerly waiting to see the results. This season has the potential to be epic for the fans and their product line. It's a matter of how they execute the show as well as what they are willing to do for the fans.

What would you like to see in the anniversary? What cast members would you like to return to the show? Which season and/or character quotes and concepts would you like to see in the season?

Let's have fun with this thread! Please respect opinions of others.

[Digifiend]

Ninja Storm needs to get all three main actors back because there's a team-up in the Sentai footage. All the other tributes could use anybody but here's some specifics:

• Jason David Frank for what was originally the Dairanger tribute. The Megazord finisher in that episode was based on MegaTigerzord, so Tommy, the former White MMPR, is the best choice here.
• RPM's tribute probably needs Doctor K because she'd be the one who creates Machalcon. It doesn't matter which ranger accompanies her, but Ziggy would be the logical storyline wise.
• If the scene in which GokaiSilver recieves his powers is kept, they need Jeffrey Perazzo to refilm unmorphed Dino Thunder White. They could also give Quantum Ranger and MMPR Green voices.
• Timeranger's plot is unadaptable, since TimeYellow was gender swapped and the baby left behind plot therefore was not adapted originally. So it doesn't matter which ranger they use here.
• Lightspeed Rescue has a problem. Gokaiger used GoPink, who was a paramedic, but Time Force established that Dana no longer does that and is now a Doctor. They may need to replace that plot, even if Dana's the one they bring back.
• US footage needed for MMPR, since Zyuranger didn't have a proper tribute.
• SPD's tribute needs almost completely refilming due to Doggie's suit being different.
• In the finale, replace GorenGokaioh with MagiGokaioh, because Gorenger was never adapted.
• In the Legend War, they could maybe recycle footage from Shinkenger's (and presumably Samurai's) finale, which shows the Samurai Gigazord blasted, losing some zords each time until it's reduced to Samurai Megazord. This replaces the scene from 199 Heroes in which GoseiGreat was shown downed.

[Hears All]

I loved Gokaiger, and not for the reasons most fans might. I loved the cast, I thought Gokaiger had the most interesting, well acted and fun cast I've ever seen in a Super Sentai series. So that core allowed me to enjoy the show, so I wish PR's version starts with that strong cast. One idea I like was to tie all the seasons together by having the cast visit the various settings of Power Rangers (Mariner Bay, Angel Grove, etc.) and have some characters from those seasons help the team out

Other than that I don't expect anything, and would be happy with just a great season

[MegaBlue]

I'd love to see some genuine nods to things that have happened over the past 20 years both on and off of the show. By "off of the show," I mean parodies, the anti-violence crusade back in '94, the explosion of the internet fandom-at-large, and production issues that changed the series as it progressed (I'm looking at you, Lost Galaxy). Just some passing mentions here and there that, while newer fans might not catch on, older fans will pick up on almost immediately. Have the Ranger teens walk into a bowling alley, take one look around, and decide to visit the Youth Center down the road instead. Have an episode where the villains send down one-off grunts with giant bullseyes on their chests (which would lampshade the Z-Putties and their obvious weakness). Do an episode with an unused monster from a past Sentai, badly edit it together with Gokai footage, and use the Megazord footage in traditional Season 2 fashion. Have a monster have a higher-pitched voice in an original run of an episode on purpose, with the intent of adding the necessary vocal effect later. Someone comments on it, and the monster replies, "we'll fix it in post!" Have someone mention fan fiction in passing. "Remember that time when we...?" "That never happened." "But, I read it online!"

Things like that, while not being blatantly obvious, would be good nods to longtime fans.

As far as returning cast members go, the concept of Tommy Oliver needs to die. I'm sorry, but Tommy is not the embodiment of everything Power Rangers. (I also felt the same way when Jason came back in Zeo back in 1996.) Sure, anybody that comes back for the anniversary would be a treat, but I don't want to see an entire episode or five centered around how 'awesome' Tommy Oliver is.

One thing that I *would* enjoy is an all-Blue-Ranger teamup. It's basically the only color that you could pull off a colossal teamup for and have every single team represented (heck, you get two of 'em for Ninja Storm, plus the BLUE Senturion from Turbo!) in some capacity. If it takes 10 Reds to defeat some repurposed Beetleborgs and Serpenterra, why not have - oh, I don't know... Gluto - come back and need 20 Blues to defeat him? (At least, I think there are 20... Billy, Cestro, Rocky, Justin, TJ, Kai, Chad, Lucas, Max, Tori and Blake, Ethan, Sky, Madison, Dax, Theo, Flynn, Kevin, Blue Senturion, and [PRGokai]Blue... Yep, that's 20!) Gluto, after all, had a 'conclusion' of "I'm going to confinement-freeze myself before I get destroyed" in Time Force. (Speaking of, did that prison get destroyed in 2001, shipped back to 3000, or is it just chilling in the forest?) If not Gluto, then what about Gasket and Archerina? They ran off in Zeo and had no definite conclusion.

[Digifiend]

Original MOTWs? Rebuilt monster suits that weren't in Gokaiger? Not gonna happen.

[Mr. CD]

- Try to get back as many past actors as possible. It doesn't just have to be just past Rangers, even supporting cast members should count too. Also, don't just limit their returns to Tribute episodes, have them even make guest appearances or even cameos in non-tribute episodes. Someone like Kelson Henderson had a role in almost every Disney season, so it shouldn't be hard to have him reprise any of his roles.

- Probably never happen, but try to get back as many past writers to on the staff.

- MAKE THE TRIBUTES MATTER! One of the worst things about Gokaiger was that most of the "tributes" were pointless. Really, sometimes, in spite of all the work they've done bringing back original actors, it seems like whoever created Gokaiger's basic story didn't actually want to make it a crossover/tribute season.

Gokaiger basic storyline involving the Gokaiger and Zangyack is completely unrelated to any of the tributes, they're basically just "obstacles" in the path for the ultimate treasure. Gokaiger could easily be rewritten to eliminate the tributes if you replace the "recognition from past Sentai members" with something else. Even AkaRed in his Gokaiger background role, seemed to be unrelated to his origins as the spirit of the Red Rangers. It seems like they tried to think of a way they could make the returning old Rangers most irrelevant while making Gokaiger's premise...

Avoid doing that PR.

[Fury Diamond]

They should bring back as many actors as they can. I agree with CD's notion on supporting cast members. This can also be extended by writing particular concepts around those supporting cast members. The season should be like an on-screen Power Morphicon. The final credits on Gokaiger was quite nice with the a few past cast members getting their Ranger keys. If they can bring back multiple cast members from a season, they should also acknowledge the age or time differences. The best example is Blake Foster being the youngest Ranger on the show.

Blue, your suggestions on locations is a great one. If the production team is able to restore the Command Center, Youth Center, or other popular locations, I'd be happy. It's really about the subtle touches that can make a fan "giddy like a schoolgirl".

The fight scenes should be awesome and filled with pure nostalgia through instrumental and past songs, including Ron's classic songs used in the original Saban area. For example, use the "Green Ranger", "White Ranger", and "Gold Ranger" songs during their appropriate fights. The season instrumental can also be incorporated. PROO "Once a Ranger" is the ideal example for this concept. Gokaiger morph scenes incorporated the past season morphs. This would require a good amount of Cg work for Power Rangers but would be a fantastic touch.

There should be fandom or fan(s) mentioned in the season. This concept would be greatly appreciated in the fandom. There could be subtle concepts like fans wearing t-shirts with their favorite sites or boards, or a fan visiting a site, or even the "Megaforce" Silver being nothing more than a translated fanboy. Gokaiger showed decent interactions with the Rangers and thei citizens / fans. This concept could easily be ported in favor of the fandom. If the show doesn't want to promote fandom sites, they could spruce up PowerRangers.COM to make it an actual site and a portal for show interaction.

"Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger". I'm hoping that this quote is used once in the show. This could work nicely in an episode when an old team has the opportunity to morph again.

"Never Give Up". This quote should only be used ONCE...even though we all know that it will be used multiple times.

It's a shame that AJJ and JDF won't be in the show because I would've loved to hear a "Tommy!"

[Rovang]

I would like smart, original stories with likable, complex characters played by competent actors, and I'd like to have a really hard time trying to find ways the show puts down and/or stereotypes girls. A bad show will still be a bad show even with cameos and tributes.

[Dalek]

^

Oh, this made my post so much shorter. Basically this.

Except perhaps for the likeable characters thing, I'm more then happy to watch a team of *******s, so long as they're amusing *******s.

[Fury Diamond]

The heart of the show has to be a solid, standalone product. Gokaiger had a bunch of hit and miss moments but the primary cast members were solid and enjoyable. Fans loved Basco's actor and would love to see him ported to the anniversary.

This is how I see it...every single episode should have a moment where the fan goes nuts at least once. Subtle concepts like music, special appearances, or even dialogue will go far. A mere translation will not work for this season.

Gokaiger has proven that it is possible to write a great "fan" season. Saban Brands, this season is the opportunity to make serious money based on proper execution. This would be the one season that you throw budget out the window and hire some fans for research consultation.