Day of the Dumpster

Season 1, Episode 1, Aired

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9.1
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Following the accidental release of long-imprisoned evil space-sorceress Rita Repulsa, a benevolent sage known as Zordon drafts a group of five teenagers to help protect the planet as dino-powered warriors of goodness.
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Fan Episode Reviews (12)

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  • The episode that started it all! In the very first episode of Power Rangers, five teenagers from different ethnic groups team up to defend the world against the recently released sorceress Rita Repulsa and her army of Putties, led by her general Goldar!moreless

    6.4
    "Fair"
    By Yanatox, Jun 25, 2011
    Why do I watch Power Rangers? From ever since I first saw the show way back in 1997, it was always a fascination to my sight. It wasn't the zords or the gadgets which amazed me. It was mainly the awesome battles, the colorful array of treacherous villains, and the development of the heroes which lured me to the television screen every Saturday morning. I waited after my little brother had finished acolyte practice at church, and we'd race home in time to catch the latest episode. Though it wasn't suspenseful, in the sense that Power Rangers never kept me on my toes, wondering what was going to transpire next, it gave me the action I was craving; and the fact that it was tamed made it all the more entertaining. Shows like Star Trek and Mortal Kombat were insufferably serious that it took the fun out of watching it. The stiff Captain Jean-Luc Picard always struck me to be nothing more than a boring hero with his equally boring crew. I wanted something less serious than that. I wanted something colorful, engaging and action packed and loyal. Mortal Kombat was all those things but never loyal, for its live action series only lasted one season. Power Rangers has lasted seasons upon seasons and, at the time of this writing, continues to last. It refreshes the fans with a brand new season every year, breathing life into diverse characters, new dramatic storylines and, my favorite, new villains. Surprisingly, I am not an avid viewer of the show. I only watched the very first episode just a few days ago. And I must admit that I was disappointed with the way in which the producers and director filmed what was the episode that started it all. To me, it was too fast paced and rushed. I felt little depth in any of the characters. For instance, when Rita Repulsa found that the nearest planet was Earth, the planet Zordon was residing in (her later reaction to Zordon's teenagers proved that she had to have known Zordon occupied Earth), the camera should have been fixed on her face grinning at the thought of besting her motal enemy. The Zords should have been introduced in the second episode, not the first. However, it was the character of Goldar which impressed me. His first appearance isn't that threatening as he kept mute when his fellow idiotic comrades conversed in idle talk. It is his second appearance which came across quite threatening. His deep low voice is menacing when he promises to "make the Earth yours, Empress". I liked the earthquake which alerted Zordon of Rita's attack but his selection of the teens seemed way too simple. For someone who is set on world domination, Rita Repulsa didn't seem the least diabolical. I liked her screeching laughter though. The rangers had some entertaining lines. Insecure Billy's "its second nature to me" as he piloted his zord was nice. Also, when the rangers found themselves teleporting again, it was Jason's "we're going to save the world" line that brought chills up my spine. It remains to be seen, though, how his character develops. This brings me to my next concern with this episode. As I stated earlier, the episode seemed too rushed. They brought the main characters together too quickly, as if they were always the best of friends. This was unconvincing, even given Jason's attempt to build Billy's confidence by showing him a few karate lessons. Bulk and Skull's entrance, where they attempt to pounce on Kimberly and Trini, was surprisingly great, considering the ground level opinion I always had of them. The friendship shared between the teens of diverse ethnicity was too... say it with me people... rushed. It gave little potential for growth, as though there was no beginning to their bond. In other words, the five of them all mashed together left little room for exploration. The only solace is seen when all five are thrown in heap as they lay defeated in their confrontation with Rita's foot soldiers. This scene was the only scene done excellently with the teens, for it showed that they only had to rely on each other. The villains struck me as a bunch of weaklings walking to and fro the moon palace. It made me wonder why Zordon even bothered to summon five rangers when it clearly seemed that only one ranger was necessary in dealing with Goldar and the putty patrol. Goldar's lack of speech in his encounter with the rangers was disappointing. Just a simple threat or two would have been satisfying. Anyway, despite not giving me much to root for, the episode does leave a tingle of suspense in the air. Questions such as: what exactly is Rita Repulsa's relation to Zordon?, Will Billy overcome his nervousness?, What will Rita unleash in her quest for enslavement?moreless

  • Boy did this show change my life that Awesome

    10
    "Perfect"
    By dragondude4, Jul 24, 2009
    This episode aired around the day I was born so it means a lot to me. In starting the show Rita and her gang got out of the dumpster and start evil things and Zordon told alpha to get 5 teenagers with attitude and he got Jason,Zack,Billy,Trini,and Kimberly. Then Zordon give then the power morpher to became POWER RANGERS then he give them the Zords I like these better and the wild Zords. Then they got a attack by Putty Patrollers so they fight they Goldar got big and they got the Zords out and form the Megazord but the fight wasn't long then Jason,Zack,Billy,Trini,and Kimberly stick to being POWER RANGERS so this is how it all startedmoreless

  • Exciting.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By tenn99_23, Mar 25, 2008
    It's When a strange planetoid appears near the moon, two astronauts are sent to investigate. They discover an ancient space dumpster, and mistakenly open it, freeing the Evil Space Aliens trapped within for the past 10,000 years. Intergalactic sorceress Rita Repulsa and her goons (Goldar, a golden armored Ape/Griffin; Baboo, a blue-furred flying monkey; Squatt, Baboo's stout blueberry-colored pal; and Finster, a white dog-like inventive creature) set their sights on the nearby planet, Earth. Luckily, the mystical sage behind Rita's original imprisonment, Zordon of Eltar, has remained there (trapped in a Time Warp, limiting him to appearing as just a transmission of his head inside of a large plasma tube), awaiting her eventual escape. At his Command Center building, he has his robotic assistant, Alpha 5, seek out a group of five brave teenagers with attitudes to combat the aliens. Alpha plucks five friends from a Juice Bar in the town of Angel Grove, California. They're reluctantly given Power Morphers, which enable them to transform their bodies into magical suits empowered by the spirits of dinosaurs. After facing Rita's foot-soldiers, the Putty Patrollers, the five teens are convinced of the danger, and agree to become the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Jason, the Red Tyrannosaurus Ranger; Zack, the Black Mastodon Ranger; Billy, the Blue Triceratops Ranger; Trini, the Yellow Sabertooth Tiger Ranger; and Kimberly, the Pink Pterodactyl Ranger.

    Together, they can call forth massive fighting machines based on their respective dinos, and combine those into a single huge humanoid robot Megazord. They use the Megazord to run off Goldar, who attacks Angel Grove and with Rita's magic, soon grows gigantically. After the successful battle, the five teens agree to help Zordon & Alpha 5 defend the Earth for as long as it takes.moreless

  • cvbh

    10
    "Perfect"
    By silviu9090, Feb 16, 2008
    a fdg df gf dh g h gf h ty j yu ki y iyt i u y i ot ui o uyi yt i yti jyt uh rt gtr hg ty u ui y i uyo yu i y uh t ht h ty hu rth tr u yt u t yiu tyu ty u tu r tyg tr gr yu t uy i ty oi uo u yu ity u rt yre g re g t g tr ge5r gf rg ergreg re g reg r gr ey tr ye r y tu yt u yt uy ti yt u tr umoreless

  • Day of the Dumpster - the very beginning of the Power Rangers phenomenon. A very well written episode that doesn't feel rushed, but falls foul of it's own continuity episodes later.moreless

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By Adoboros, Sep 01, 2007
    All series need a pilot episode - something that sets up all the characters, the backstory etc. This is something that is handled very well in this episode.

    At the start of this episode, we're introduced to the main villain of the series, Rita Repulsa, as well as her warrior Goldar, her clever monster maker Finster and her other two bumbling henchmen, Squatt and Baboo. During the course of the episode, these personalities are fleshed out slightly but still leave a lot to explore.

    We're also introduced to the five teens that will become the Rangers almost straight away - the confident Karate instructor Jason, the cheerful and energetic Zack, the graceful gymnast Kimberly, the relaxed and focused Trini and the smart but confidence lacking Billy.

    Straight away all of the characters personalities are easily distinguishable from each other, even more apparent with the introduction of the comedian-like bullies Bulk and Skull.

    Zordon and his robotic assistant Alpha 5 are also introduced. Zordon is set up well as a wise character who is well suited to being the Rangers mentor. Alpha's unique personality is also explored here, particularly in the fact that he has emotions etc.

    The doubts of the Rangers originally was well written and seemed reasonably believable.

    The battle sequence towards the end of the episode was well planned out, with good use of footage and a reasonable length. It also sets up Goldar's character as a bit of a coward - despite appearing to be winning, he fled as soon as the Power Sword was called. It's a shame the ending of the fight wasn't handled slightly better.

    Overall, the episode fulfilled it's main aim - to set up the backstory, characters etc. - very well, fitting in a lot of information in 20 minutes, but still managing to feel like a very solid episode that wasn't rushed.

    However, it loses a few points slightly for not sticking with it's own continuity - some things set up here will be disproven in later episodes, such as being able to say all those lines before teleporting, teleporting with Ranger colors before recieving powers, morphing without a morphing call etc.

    Overall, a very good start to the season.moreless
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  • TRIVIA (11)

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    • The three basic rules for being a Power Ranger are mentioned for the first time in this episode: 1. Never use your power for personal gain. 2. Never escalate a battle unless Rita forces you. 3. Keep your identity secret. No one may know you are a Power Ranger.

    • The Rangers morph by shouting, "It's Morphin' Time!" (starting with "High Five"), and then holding their Power Morphers forward (usually removing them from behind their back, as if they're stored on the opposite side of their belt from the buckle), and calling out their respective Dinozord's dinosaur name within the Morpher-framed morphing sequence.

    • When Rita and the other villans are on the moon they are clearly shooting on Earth because there is a blue sky. On the moon the sky is always black because there is very little atmosphere (O3 and Nitrogren).

    • When Zordon introduces Rita Repulsa to the teens, in the viewing globe, right before Rita appears, you can just see Barza, the equivalent of Zordon in the Super Sentai show.

    • After they morph, Zordon has Alpha teleport the teens to Angel Grove to fight Goldar, leaving the Putties right outside the Command Center.

    • When Goldar grows, his wings disappear. According to the story, however, his wings were removed for being defeated by the rangers. I doubt Rita would have had the chance to remove them during the grow spell, considering Goldar didn't even fight the rangers before he grew (she only made Goldar big because the putties were being defeated, she said so herself.)

    • In this episode and most other Season 1 episode where the Megazord is formed, there is a shot from behind the Rangers in the cockpit. However, in this shot, the Pink and Yellow Rangers are seated in front of the Black and Blue Rangers when they are always seated behind in regular cockpit shots.

    • The Ranger teens, in the second scene, are wearing Communicators, which they won't get from Billy until the next episode (this is because that scene was filmed with a much later episode, as you can see from the notes).

    • Zordon says that each ranger will draw power from the beings they call dinosaurs. The saber-tooth tiger and mastadon aren't dinosaurs, merely pre-evolutionary forms of the tiger and elephant (I think). Therefore the term "dinozords" shouldn't apply to all five zords.

    • The Rangers had their Power Crystals as joysticks in the Dinozords and the Megazord, but the crystals were not yet introduced until "A Pressing Engagement"

    • The Putties had human eyes in the US footage but red eyes in the Sentai footage.

  • QUOTES (11)

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    • Jason: Alright, I'm in! Zack: Me too! Billy: Affirmative! Trini: You can count on me! Kimberly: I don't know you guys, I mean the outfits are cool and everything, but my hair gets all tangled inside the helmet. I don't think I can do it. Trini: Oh no, Kimberly. Alpha: Kimberly, no! Kimberly: NOT!

    • Alpha: (After Kimberly says she won't be able to be a Power Ranger he starts smoking) System overload! System overload! Ayiyiyi... Kimberly: Alpha! I was kidding! Alpha: (Suddenly calm) Oh, humor... what a concept.

    • Squatt: Rita, wake up! Wake up! We're free! (Rita rises from the dumpster) Rita: Ahh! Squatt: Uh-oh! Morning breath! Let me give you a mint!

    • Finster: Oh, it's good to be free after 10,000 years!

    • Alpha: Danger! DANGER! It's the BIG one! I know it! We'll all be destroyed! Zordon: Calm down, Alpha! It's Rita. She's escaped, and she's attacking the planet. Alpha: Ay-yi-yi! What do we do?! Zordon: Teleport to us five overbearing and over-emotional humans. Alpha: No, not that! Not teenagers! Zordon: That's correct, Alpha. Alpha: I was afraid of that.

    • Kimberly: (About becoming a Power Ranger) I don't know guys, the outfits are cool and everything, but my hair gets all tangled up inside the helmets. I don't think I can do it.

    • Kimberly: This day is too weird!!

    • Billy: (On Alpha) A fully sentient, multi-functional automaton!

    • Zack: We were talking to a giant floating head!

    • Baboo: Here, your evilness. Let me help you. (helps Rita out of the dumpster) Walk with me. Talk with me... Rita: (falls slightly, irritated growl) You made me step in a puddle, you nit-wit!

    • Jason: Back off, fang-face! Zack: The good guys are here! Billy: Get off our planet! Trini: Cause we're the Power Rangers! Kimberly: And we're not backing down!

  • NOTES (8)

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    • An entirely different first-Ranger-Teen scene was produced for this version of the episode, and replaced before broadcast due to the network considering it to be "too violent". It wasn't shown publicly in any medium until the official fan convention, Power Morphicon 2007, where it was screened by series developer, Tony Oliver. As it turns out, part of this scene ended up used in the later episode, "Big Sisters" (the "Bulk gets covered in veggie chili" scene). For the record, it also featured more of Bulk & Skull's unnamed fellow punks.

    • An alternate shot of the Rangers being teleported from the Youth Center for the first time can be found in the opening credits.

    • The second scene of the episode involving the five teens, with Billy, Bulk & Skull in Karate class, was actually shot for the "Dark Warrior" episode. Hence why the teens wear the Communicators here they don't actually get until the next episode!

    • Two long shots from the original Pilot are present in this episode. The first is when the Rangers walk out of the the Command Center, and the second is when the teens are ambushed by the Putty Patrol. If you look closely you can tell that they are wearing different clothes and that Audri Dubois (who played Trini in the pilot) is present.

    • Goldar is the first evil space alien to make a US footage appearance, in close-up face shots in Rita's lunar palace.

    • The Command Center is better known as the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, a Jewish college that has also been used in many other shows other than Power Rangers, such as Star Trek: The Next Generation.

    • The majority of the Yellow Rangers that were female on Power Rangers are male in the Sentai Version (generally, the only ones with skirts were female in both).

    • First episode of MIGHTY MORPHIN' POWER RANGERS.

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