After finishing Power Rangers: Time Force, I was in the mood for some more Power Rangers goodness, so I decided to search for another show to watch. Judging from fan reception, it seemed like S.P.D. became a favorite among the fandom. After asking a few friends about it, I decided to bite the bullet and check it out. I had seen Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger a few years prior and it became one of my favorite Super Sentai series. So, S.P.D. couldn't be too bad, despite it was from the often-dreaded Disney era. So, let's dive right in. (I will try not to spoil as much as possible, but, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!)
The basic setup for the story, which is set in the year 2025, is that the Space Patrol Delta (S.P.D.) Rangers (B-Squad) are part of a task force who defend the universe from evil. B-Squad is told to step up to the plate when A-Squad mysteriously disappears on another planet while on a mission. The original team consisted of Sky Tate as S.P.D. Blue Ranger, Bridge Carson as S.P.D. Green Ranger, and Sydney "Syd" Drew as S.P.D. Pink Ranger. The first episode immediately introduces two new Rangers, Jack Landors and Z Delgado as S.P.D. Red and Yellow Rangers, respectively. They were criminals who basically stole in order to help the poor, but were recruited as Rangers by Anubis "Doggie" Cruger after being captured by the other Rangers. The Rangers finally band together to foil the plans of Emperor Gruumm, who has his sights on the destruction of Earth as well as settling a score with Doggie Cruger.
Alright, so let's get down to business, shall we? The story for S.P.D. definitely kept me interested in the show. It wasn't just a Monster-of-the-Week type of show, though it did seem like it a lot of the time. There were certain themes and plotlines that stemmed through many episodes, sometimes stringing through the entire series. One example is the feud between Cruger and Gruumm and what happened when Gruumm attacked Cruger's planet. This animosity is seen throughout the show and results in many great battles between the two arch enemies. Another theme that lasted the show was Sky having to live with not being the Red Ranger and being second-in-command. It gave the characters a bit of conflict with one another and also helped to define their friendship. This, coupled with the action and characters themselves helped win me over.
The characters of S.P.D. did have a sense of individuality amongst themselves, giving them a sense of identity and something to relate too. It may not have been as deep as other shows. But, for me, it definitely helped in getting immersed into the story. A lot of shows, for example Time Force, tend to have characters that do little to nothing to advance the story. For Time Force, it was Lucas and Katie. They were the least developed, in my opinion, and since the show was focused so much on Wes and Jen, that these two characters sort of fell to the wayside. In S.P.D., the character that comes close to this for me is Syd. All the other characters bring something to the table. Jack struggles with being the leader, Sky struggles with not being the leader, Bridge is the brains and comic relief of the group, and Z is the member that is the most genuine about being a part of something that will help others. Syd definitely has her good traits, as well as having some focus on being a rich kid who is sometimes spoiled but ultimately wants to do good. But, it felt like she brought the least to the table. Actually, i may have to back-track, since Omega Ranger seems to only be there to help with battles. So maybe he's the weakest link as far as characters go.
Doggie Cruger was a very interesting character, to me. He was strong and focused, the kind of commander you would want to lead you to victory. But, he also had a lighter side and had a knack for inserting humor once in a while, even in tense situations. Those moments, along with his amazing battles as Shadow Ranger, made him one of my favorite characters. Kat, on the other hand, was a basic tech expert. She dealt with all the technology behind the Rangers' weapons and Zords. She ultimately becomes a Ranger herself, but for some reason, just felt "there" for me. She was important, but didn't jump out at me too much as a character. Boom was another comedic character pretty much tasked to test out the various devices used by the Rangers. Gruumm, the villian of the show, seemed very odd to me. He could be menacing and fearsome when he wanted to be, and often tried. But his interactions with Morgan, who annoyed me to no end, seemed very out of place. He would sometimes, especially in the beginning of the season, fold over to her tantrums just so she would create a monster for him. And then sometimes he'd threaten her in order for her to do his deeds. It was kind of hit or miss for me till he started battling with Cruger. That's when his true colors began to show.
Speaking of battles, the action and fight scenes in S.P.D. were pretty awesome. Even though there were no Ranger actors with actual fighting and martial arts training, the action scenes seemed interesting and creative enough to keep me intrigued. I mostly enjoyed the in-suit fight scenes more. With those scenes, I knew that they were stunt actors and could freely enjoy the spectacle. With the out-of-suit fight scenes, it still felt distracting to see the actors try their best at looking tough while pulling off basic moves, than to see it cut to the stunt doubles who pull off these amazing moves while covering their faces. Took some time to get used to it, but I eventually enjoyed the fight scenes for the most part. And for some odd reason, even though I tend to not like mech battles and usually skip past the Zord battles, I found myself watching more than usual even though they were mostly stock footage used over and over again.
In the end, Power Rangers: S.P.D. surprised me. Going in, I thought that the only good Disney era show was RPM, seeing as its the only one I could watch all the way through and genuinely enjoy. And seeing as how every season between S.P.D. and RPM were pretty much horribly done, in my opinion, I was shocked to find S.P.D. so enjoyable. The cast was fun to watch, the story was entertaining, the action was done very well. It was all around a very good show. Makes me wonder what in the world happened during the next 3 years to bring the quality of the show down soo much. It also gives me hope for other shows that may have a chance at being good, such as Ninja Storm, which I haven't finished, and Wild Force, which is another show that seems to have mixed reviews among the fandom. We'll just have to wait and see, maybe I'll do another review when I get to those seasons.
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