It’s happening! The new Power Rangers movie is here and, try as I might, I can’t contain my excitement. Now that producers are breathing new life into our favorite teenage heroes, it’s time to delve into the past to take a look at the original series and uncover some of the coolest facts about the team we knew and loved.
19 Morphtastic Things You Never Knew About The 'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'
1. The show was inspired by the Japanese superhero show, Super Sentai.
The American show incorporated action sequences from the Japanese series to provide the fight scenes for each episode. In season one, most of the scenes featuring the Rangers in their power suits are taken directly from the Japanese show.
2. Zordon's mouth doesn't sync with his words because they only filmed him once.
Rather than go to the expense of filming him for each episode, they simply had David Fielding come to the studio to record dialogue.
3. You can actually visit the Command Center!
The building is located on the campus of the American Jewish University in Simi Valley, California. The school uses the building as an event space and art museum.
4. The original cast did many of their own stunts!
Every one of the original 6 rangers had a background in either martial arts or gymnastics that helped them handle the rigors of the action scenes.
5. Their blaster weapons were never used in the second season because parents complained that they were too realistic.
6. Jason David Frank was originally only a temporary member of the cast.
He was only supposed to have a short guest role, but after his first appearance, fans made it clear they wanted him to stay.
7. Thuy Trang was not originally the Yellow Ranger in the pilot episode.
Before they settled on Trang as Trini, Audri Dubois landed the role. The producers decided to recast the role, giving way to the Trini we know and love.
8. The Yellow Ranger in the original Japanese series was male.
That's why only the pink ranger had a skirt. In the original sentai series there was only one female ranger.
9. You could take karate lessons with the Green Ranger.
At its height, Power Rangers had an official fan club, merchandise, AND an official karate club led by none other than Jason David Frank himself.
10. Before he broke bad Bryan Cranston lent his vocal talents to the show.
He played Twinman and Snizard. Rumor has it that Blue Ranger Billy Cranston got his last name from Bryan.
11. In the first season, Austin St. John (Jason) was only 18. He was the youngest ranger.
Every other ranger was actually college-aged or older.
12. Alpha 5 was the only character to appear in every episode.
Richard Steven Horvitz proudly donned his Alpha 5 digs in all 155 episodes of the ENTIRE Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series. That's a hard working man.
13. The juice bar almost didn't exist.
Tell the truth, you can't imagine the show without wise old Ernie.
14. Walter Jones (Zack) improvised his fight scenes.
Jones created his own style of fighting, blending elements of dance and martial arts together instead of listening to the choreographer.
15. Austin St. John and Jason David Frank don't like each other.
Their beef seems to have no end in sight!
16. The original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was voted the best version of the series by fans in 2004.
Despite there being over 20 seasons and different iterations of the team, the original show came out on top in a 2004 ABC Family poll.
17. Famous people loved to stop by the set.
Mike Myers and Jean-Claude Van Damme among others visited the Power Rangers set often..
18. The Pink Ranger was written as a stereotypical "dumb blonde."
Amy Jo Johnson added her love of gymnastics skills and music to flesh the character out. Thank goodness she did or else boys everywhere might not have had such a huge crush on her.
19. The show wasn't guaranteed to be picked up for a second season.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was not an instant hit. The cast and crew shot a second ending for the first season to give fans closure just in case the network decided to ax the series. Thankfully, it never aired.
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