Samurai
Some fans and non-fans alike rejoiced when Saban reclaimed the Power Rangers franchise from Disney back in 2010, expecting a return to form. Considering the ‘Zordon era’ is widely regarded to be the pinnacle of the whole series, it wasn’t too far-fetched to expect greatness, perhaps even rivaling that of the original Mighty Morphin’ gang. Regarding the theme song, well, people got about as close to MMPR as they wanted, since Samurai’s opening is just the tried and true ‘Go Go Power Rangers’ song again, but this time with some new lyrics about Rangers being together and samurais forever. A roll-call was also added which just makes the whole thing even harder to bear. I’m putting this one higher than the ones below because its instrumental bits do sound cool.
Favourite line: Skipping this one too. Not really much outside the ‘Go Go Power Rangers.’
Megaforce
Okay, look. I can tolerate using ‘Go Go Power Rangers’ as a way of hooking back those nostalgia-hungry fans and kids the first time, but using the same song AGAIN? The shame of it. I prefer the instrumentals in this one though, and I will admit the chanting of ‘MEG! A! Force!’ is pretty cool. I still hate the roll-call. To make matters worse, there are times in the show when the Samurai theme is played instead. Whoops.
Favourite line: ‘ME! GA! FORCE!’
Operation Overdrive
Operation Overdrive is often regarded as the worst of the Disney era, and I would have to agree. It’s not helped by its theme song which features aggressively off-putting rap vibes and an annoying backing track. The lyrics are full of gems such as ‘Five heroes walkin’ through the sun for five days,’ which are an unfortunate reminder of the original plans for the series to feature a more globe-trotting adventurous plot than what we ended up with. Still, at least it was original and coherent. I find it weirdly catchy after a while, too. It’s so bad it’s almost good.
Favourite line: ‘Power Rangers Overdrive is the number one team!’ (Just for the sheer audacity)
Mystic Force
The franchise’s first attempt at incorporating a more hip-hop flavour fared better than Operation Overdrive’s flop. I’m not a big fan of the singer’s voice, so I’m not sure if that would have fixed it. Ron Wassermann’s demos are a fun listen, and I wish they would have gone with one of those instead. The lyrics actually make sense this time, though.
Favourite line: ‘Fight evil, Ranger’s powers standing strong, we got it going on’
