Forever Red

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“Forever Red”
Power Rangers episode
The Red Rangers
Episode no.	Season Wild Force Episode 452
Guest stars	Austin St. John, Jason David Frank, Selwyn Ward, Christopher Khayman Lee, Danny Slavin, Sean Cw Johnson, Jason Faunt, Daniel Southworth, Paul Schrier, Jason Narvy
Written by	Amit Bhaumik
Directed by	Koichi Sakamoto
Production no.	Koichi Sakamoto
Original airdate	October 5, 2002
Episode chronology
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"Soul of Humanity"	"The Master's Herald"
List of Power Rangers episodes

Forever Red is an episode of the television series Power Rangers: Wild Force, commemorating the first ten years of Power Rangers. While airing a year short of the actual tenth anniversary of the show, Wild Force is the tenth series in the Power Rangers franchise. It was written by Amit Bhaumik and directed by Koichi Sakamoto. The movie version was made on October 8, 2006.

Forever Red unites all but one of the previous Red Rangers from the series. The only hold-out was Steve Cardenas, who had retired from acting. Danny Slavin, who originally had left due to a falling out with Saban, was convinced to appear as a personal favor. Unfortunately, principal photography had completed by the time he was able to do so. To solve his problem, digital insertion was used to put him in the episode. Aquitian Ranger Aurico appears, but only in morphed form, as his non-morphed actor was unable to appear.

This episode is often compared to the Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai special, which used a similar tactic in combining many unrelated characters and costumes,. Both were filmed in the same year, although Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai would go all the way back to the first sentai ever created, Himitsu Sentai Goranger.

The ten Red Rangers featured, in order of appearance in Power Rangers continuity were:

Jason Lee Scott (Austin St. John) of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Aurico (voice of Christopher Glenn) of Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers
Tommy Oliver (Jason David Frank) of Power Rangers: Zeo
T.J. Johnson (Selwyn Ward) of Power Rangers: Turbo
Andros (Christopher Khayman Lee) of Power Rangers in Space
Leo Corbett (Danny Slavin) of Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy
Carter Grayson (Sean Cw Johnson) of Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue
Wesley Collins (Jason Faunt) of Power Rangers: Time Force
Eric Myers (Daniel Southworth) of Power Rangers: Time Force
Cole Evans (Ricardo Medina, Jr.) of Power Rangers: Wild Force

[edit] Synopsis

Six years after the destruction of the Machine Empire, the surviving members of the empire have grouped together and are seeking to destroy Earth. Tezzla, Gerrok, Steelon, and Automon (and many Cogs) are all that is left of the empire, as well as General Venjix, their leader. They have recently learned that Earth's moon is the resting place of Serpentera, Lord Zedd's own personal war Zord, capable of destroying a planet. The location of Serpentera had remained a mystery for many years. Venjix discovered it and began using Cog soldiers to dig it up, refitting it with a Neo-Plutonium reactor to handle the power issues that plagued Lord Zedd when he piloted it.

General Venjix

Andros, the Red Space Ranger, discovered Venjix's plan after following him for several years. He quickly reported his findings to Tommy Oliver, the red Zeo Ranger. When Tommy learned of Venjix's plan, he asked Andros to gather all of the current Red Rangers and meet him at the NASADA space port on Earth. Although it was not explained how each Ranger would be contacted, many fans assume Carter used government connections to track down Cole and the Silver Guardians. T.J. was easily available as he also served as Andros' second-in-command, while Aurico and Leo were likely contacted by Andros himself. Tommy contacted his former teammate and the original Red Ranger, Jason. However, Jason didn't give Tommy a definitive answer as to whether or not he would show.

Cole, the current Red Ranger, was contacted by Carter as the Wild Force team were gathered at a park. The two proceeded to NASADA's spaceport, where they meet up with Andros, T.J., Wes and Eric. There, Tommy explains that he would be leading a team of Red Rangers. Jason pulls up to the group on a motorcycle, surprising Tommy. Jason explained that he didn't think the mission would feel right without the original Red Ranger. He then proceeded to rib Cole, "the new guy" of the group. Tommy, Jason, Wes, Eric, T.J., Carter, Andros and Cole board the Astro Megaship Mark II, created specifically for this mission, and proceed to the moon. A new Alpha robot, Alpha 7, with Alpha 5's voice and demeanor as well as Alpha 6's body and "lightning bolt" chest, is on board as well. While enroute, Andros informs Tommy that he contacted Aurico and Leo while Tommy further explained their mission to the other Rangers.

Venjix and his other generals prepare to board Serpentera, but they are then interrupted by the Rangers. Venjix sends Cogs to distract the eight Rangers while he and the others flee to Serpentera. The Rangers battle the Cogs unmorphed and easily defeat them. Eventually, Cole escapes the barrage of Cogs and chases the generals. Venjix fires at him, but Cole is rescued by Leo and Aurico on Leo's Jet Jammer. Then all the Rangers gather, morph with their respective morphing calls (except for Aurico, who does not demorph), and battle the Generals. The Rangers destroy four of the five generals, but Venjix manages to escape, climbing aboard Serpentera and taking off. The Rangers fear they have failed, but Cole calls upon his Wild Force Rider to battle Venjix. Cole uses the rider to fly into Serpentera and destroy it from the inside. Both Venjix and Serpentera are destroyed.

Afterwards, the Rangers part ways, and Cole remarks how Tommy appeared to be the "greatest Ranger," with the others good-naturedly refuting the claim.

[edit] Discontinuity

In all, Forever Red is considered one of the greatest Power Rangers episodes, however, many parts of the episode have become controversial in fan discussion. The following are the most notable issues:

How Bulk and Skull were able to reunite is unclear, as Lost Galaxy showed that Bulk was on Mirinoi while Skull remained on Earth. It must be kept in mind, though that the Galaxy Rangers return to Earth for the Lightspeed/Galaxy team-up, so the possibility of commercial intergalactic travel should not be ruled out, as later seen in Power Rangers S.P.D.

The Ranger powers of Jason and T.J. were both previously destroyed, and there is no mention of new or restored powers. Popular fanon explanations include the powers being recreated as prototypes by Tommy and Haley for the Dino Thunder powers, Jason having only copied his powers to Rocky after passing the title of Red Ranger to him, and Lightning Cruiser restoring T.J.'s powers (as Storm Blaster did for Justin in his In Space cameo). Some fans also speculate that Zordon's energy wave at the end of "Countdown to Destruction" may have somehow repowered or repaired Jason's coin, and Rocky may have returned the original Power Coin to Jason when he became a Zeo Ranger. Another fan speculated that Ninjor created a new power coin which is the original Tyrannosaurus power coin to Jason.

Serpentera is much smaller in this episode than in previous appearances, as previously, his head was larger than the Thunder Megazord, whereas in "Forever Red" Cole's Wild Force rider was about this size. Furthermore, it seems doubtful that something capable of defeating a Megazord with no trouble would be taken down so easily by a single weapon. However, the gap in power between the Thunder powers and the Wild Force powers must also be taken into consideration. In addition, it should be noted that the older power rangers never tried the strategy Cole used (flying through Serpentera's mouth and overloading it).

The Zeo Rangers say they destroyed the Machine Empire, but they just defeated them in the Zeo Finale, Lord Zedd and Rita blew them up only for them to be rebuilt.

[edit] Power Rangers references

In addition to the Red Rangers guest-starring in the episode, Forever Red, written by long-time fan and then-story editor Amit Bhaumik, makes many references to previous Power Rangers series, including:

In an extended version of the opening scene, Bulk & Skull list all the foot soldiers up to Wild force. In addition, talk about wacky moments in their lives from fighting the Machine Empire (which occurred in the Zeo episode, "King for A Day", as well as their stint as chimps (however, they said Divatox turned them into chimp; however, it was Elgar who turned them into chimps), which seems to effect Skull to this very day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hc27UvgcVQ
Alpha 7, a new Alpha robot that had the voice of Alpha 5 (provided by Richard Steven Horvitz) and the body of Alpha 6
Astro Megaship Mark II, a new version of the main command center from Power Rangers in Space. Similarly, a new version of the Lightning Cruiser (the alien sports car belonging to the Red Turbo Ranger) was introduced.
The return of the foot soldiers of the Machine Empire, the Cogs.
The return of Bulk and Skull, the comedic pair from early Power Rangers, and two of the most popular non-Ranger characters in the series.
The return of the Machine Empire, the main enemies in Power Rangers: Zeo, with former Power Rangers Ranger actors Walter Jones, Archie Kao, and Catherine Sutherland providing some of the voices; Sutherland's character, however, did not speak. (The other two Machine Empire generals were voiced by David Walsh and Scott Page-Pagter.)
The return of Serpentera, the powerful Zord operated by Lord Zedd in early Power Rangers.
Jason mentions Kimberly Hart ("Are you kidding me? I was the one doing all the work while he (Tommy) was in the juice bar kissing on Kimberly!").
Cole says "Morphenomenal!", a phrase which was originally coined by Kimberly in the early days of Power Rangers.
T.J. mentions getting baked into a giant pizza (Trouble by the Slice in Power Rangers Turbo).
Eric makes reference to his zord and Tommy's Dragonzord, saying, "My Q-Rex would eat his Dragonzord for lunch!"
Wes referenced the 1994 Power Rangers fan club with the quote "I've changed history! So why does he (Tommy) have a fan club and I don't?"
Andros says "Hey, I saved two worlds! What about that?" This refers to him saving planet Earth and KO-35.
Carter says "Well, at least his haircut regulations is it right."
Leo says "I discovered the Galaxy"
Bulk and Skull play a game of chess in which the pawns resemble the Psycho Rangers, matching the chessboard the Space Rangers used to plan their attack against the Psychos during the Psycho Ranger arc in Power Rangers in Space.

Power Rangers
Television series
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers • Alien Rangers • Zeo • Turbo • Space • Lost Galaxy • Lightspeed Rescue • Time Force
Wild Force • Ninja Storm • Dino Thunder • S.P.D. • Mystic Force • Operation Overdrive
Movies
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie • Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie
Characters
Rangers • Zords • Villains • Enemy grunts • Monsters • Other Characters
Related series from Saban Entertainment
VR Troopers • Masked Rider • Big Bad Beetleborgs • The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog • Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation
Other related series
Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad • Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills
See also
Fox Kids • ABC Kids • ABC Family • Toon Disney • Jetix • Saban • Disney • Super Sentai