Power Rangers Review: "Doomsday"

As I mentioned in a past review, when I was a kid, I actually didn't like the group of episodes that aired after "The Green Candle" and before "Return of an Old Friend." The reason, for me, was simple: the Power Rangers felt empty without Tommy. I did grow out of that attitude as I got older, and I would enjoy that group of episodes again, as they definitely had their moments. However, if there was one episode from that brief period that I loved even back then, it was definitely "Doomsday."

"Doomsday" wasn't like any of the other MMPR episodes at that time. Even for a two-parter, there was that extra dramatic oomph that a lot of episodes didn't have. More on that later. On to the review!

Part I

It's a big day the Power Rangers, as Kimberly reads to her friends to open Part I. Angel Grove is celebrating the Power Rangers with "Power Rangers Day," in honor of the many, many times that the group has saved not only Angel Grove, but the entire world. Kimberly, Zack, Trini, Billy, and Jason are all excited, but elsewhere, Bulk and Skull decide to take this opportunity to upstage the Rangers by showing them that they, not the Rangers, are Angel Grove's true superheroes. Yeah, good luck with that.

On the moon, Rita Repulsa decides to bring out the big guns, in the form of the diabolical war Zord known as Cyclopsus. She casts her spell to pinpoint the Zord's location, which happens to be buried on Earth. That's not all, the plan also includes moving her palace to Earth, as to dig up Cyclopsus, she has to be where its located. Meanwhile, as Power Rangers Day is commencing, we see Zack approached by Angela, a girl Zack has a thing for. Angela says that she would date Zack if he were a Power Ranger. Zack wanted to morph on the spot, but Jason stopped him. Leave it to Zack to be so hard up that he would give away his Ranger secret just for a date. Yikes.

Speaking of "yikes," we see Bulk and Skull with their own superhero outfits, introducing themselves as "Bulkster" and "Super Skull" to the crowd. All the while, Rita makes her landing on Earth, which immensely alarms Alpha and Zordon, as they know that Rita's power will greatly increase on Earth. This is shown when Rita uses her power to send the entire city of Angel Grove to the dark dimension--sans the Rangers, who alert Zordon.

The Rangers teleported to the Command Center, where Zordon briefs them on what's going on. Via the viewing globe, the Rangers witness the unearthing of Cyclopsus, the war Zord piloted by Goldar, and Zordon orders the quintet to morph and summon Megazord, which they do. Cyclopsus vs Megazord does not go well for the latter, so Jason takes out the Dragon Dagger and calls Dragonzord. Even two-on-one, Cyclopsus is still ahead, and Goldar is boasting. The Rangers form Dragonzord in Fighting Mode, but even that doesn't work. Finally, Zordon calls out Titanus, and Ultrazord is formed. Ultrazord fires all weapons, Goldar abandons ship, and Cyclopsus is destroyed.

Or so they thought.

A furious Rita fires a blast that causes a sinkhole to open, which leads to Titanus sinking. MegaDragonzord's attempt to save their Carrierzord is thwarted by Rita, who later summons Lokar to restore Cyclopsus. The Rangers retreat back to the Command Center, and in response to the Rangers' questions about what they could do, Zordon stated that they could do nothing: they cannot fight Lokar until their Zords are fully energized. In addition, the people of Angel Grove are safe, but trapped in Rita's dimension, and as Jason stated, the Rangers are their only hope.

Part II

Part II begins with the Rangers being forced to wait it out inside the Command Center, while Cyclopsus remains on the loose. Jason's told by Billy and Alpha that the Zords still need another 12 hours to be fully energized, but Jason, not wanting to risk waiting that long, decides to take the even bigger risk of running the Zords at half power. Both Billy and Zordon warn Jason about the risks, but Jason insists on going through with this, with the other Rangers (including Billy) agreeing to do so.

The Rangers morph into action, and enter the battle against Cyclopsus very half-cocked. It goes about as well as one expects. Cyclopsus makes mincemeat out of the Zords; chopping one of Megazord's arms, and later cutting part of Dragonzord's tail. Finally, Lokar fires a blast that leaves them all ready for Rita to take down, and we see Rita blast the Zords with her wand. The Zords suddenly come apart, bit by bit, forcing the Rangers to abandon ship.

The Rangers land on the Power Rangers Day display, now demorphed and having lost contact with Zordon. Regarding the Zords, Billy explains that they are not destroyed; their fail safe security system was operated in case the Zords lose in battle. The group heads to Billy's garage to fix their communicators, but at that moment, Goldar decides to appear and further threaten the Rangers. Billy does manage to fix their communicators, and they teleport back to the Command Center.

Prior to the Rangers' arrival, Alpha managed to gain access to Rita's secrets and her spells, which could be used to (at least) weaken Rita, if not stop her altogether. Once the Rangers arrive, Zordon gives them the secret to defeating Cyclopsus: they have to change forms rapidly. Quick changes would throw off Cyclopsus' concentration and weaken the war Zord, and after this, the Rangers morph and go for Round 3 against Cyclopsus. They try the method. First, fighting as Megazord, then bringing in Dragonzord, then forming Dragonzord in Fighting Mode, and finally, Ultrazord. As expected, Cyclopsus overloads and weakens, and after Goldar abandons ship, Ultrazord's weapons destroy Cyclopsis for good this time.

Rita laments over her failure, and all of the minions shirk the blame, with Finster saying that this loss was actually Goldar's fault. Goldar shouts at Rita to get them out of Earth before Ultrazord blasts them, which she does, and afterwards, the people of Angel Grove return to the park, as they are rescued successfully. Power Rangers Day commences and we see four kids argue over who the best Ranger is. One boy says Red, another says Black, a third says Blue, while a girl enters and endorses Pink and Yellow. Finally, we hear from someone who knows a bit about the Rangers:

"I'll let you in on a little secret: they're all pretty awesome."

That someone was none other than Tommy Oliver, who showed up to congratulate his friends--in secret--on this very special day. Tommy was mentioned briefly in Part I, with Kimberly fearing that he wouldn't be in attendance, but as this moment showed, Tommy appeared and participated with the crowd in celebrating the Power Rangers. At the Command Center, the Rangers are congratulated by Zordon, who later gives the quartet a choice to actually return to their everyday lives as ordinary teenagers, or to continue being Power Rangers. They didn't even have to think about it: the Rangers were here to stay. Or as Zack humorously put it, "You can't get rid of us!"

"Doomsday" aired on Fox on November 29 (Part I) and 30 (Part II), 1993, and here's a fact that many Power Rangers fans know: this two-parter was originally planned to serve as the actual series finale. Yes, you read that right. The two-parter served as the 39th and 40th episodes of the entire series, but the plan was set to end the entire series there, as they were out of material from their Japanese counterpart, Zyuranger. The original ending would have seen the Rangers storm Rita's palace and seal Rita and her minions in a jar, but once MMPR became a big hit, Fox ordered 20 additional episodes, and the Toei Company filmed more material for Saban to use in future episodes.

I loved "Doomsday" mainly because of the episodes' immense dramatic storyline. The Rangers had to deal with an even more powerful Rita, faced off against an evil war Zord, and served as the only hope for the people of Angel Grove. This was a very, very crucial battle for the Rangers, and the tenseness of the story and their quest was played out so well. All of these factors are why I watch this two parter a lot; it was absolutely thrilling and gripping!

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