Series Re-Watch: My 'PR Wild Force' Review

Power Rangers Wild Force (Season 10)


When I was a kid, by Time Force, I started watching Power Rangers less and less. By Wild Force, I was completely put off by the series! Originally, I thought this season was the worst!! The awful theme song, the CGI zords, the boringly bland cast, the whole guardians of the earth thing seemed beyond preachy, etc. That was it for me! But! I wanted to go through the entire franchise no matter what season I thought was bad and since I haven't seen these shows since I was a kid, those first opinions are obviously gonna change. Considering this was the 10th season, there are some obvious fan favorite episodes and some fans of the series include it in the fandom proclaimed "Golden Era" (Season 6-10). Wild Force, while still badly acted, terribly preachy with a mostly forgettable team, isn't as bad as I remembered it! I'd say the most interesting aspects of the season are the villains, mostly Master Org, the main villain. There's some good build up with Jindrax and Toxia (his minions and Duke Orgs) trying to uncover his true origins, eventually discovering he's human. That story culminates in "The Master's Last Stand", a pretty awesome backstory on how this Master Org transformed himself into an Org to get revenge on Cole's parents for falling in love. Okay...a tad soap opera-ish for a kid's show, but it's kinda twisted in an obsessive, homicidal way! Not to mention, the guy murdered Cole's parents, which is tragic considering Cole was searching for them. The fight between Cole and Master Org is also one of the best from the series.


You also have the Zen-Aku arc, probably the best stretch of episodes in the whole season. "Curse of the Wolf" is an excellent introduction of the character that leads to a great conclusion in "The Ancient Warrior". The writers manage to add a lot of layers to Zen-Aku and when it comes to the rangers, he hands them their a$$es everytime to the point where it becomes rather pathetic. Hard to route for a team that continually lose and we never see the rangers really come up with new ways to actually beat him until it's the curse that breaks and Merrick is freed. Merrick, of course, fills the 6th ranger spot in "The Lone Wolf" and seems more competent as a ranger than the core 5. Although, once again, there's not much the writers do with him. Merrick wants to be a loner yet eventually helps the other rangers for no reason, he spends most of time playing pool at a bar because...3,000 year old ancient warriors like pool? He has a past romance with Princess Shayla but we only get brief mentions and flashbacks with no real development from that. Speaking of Princess Shayla, you can put her in the category of worse mentor ever! She spends most of the time either getting kidnapped or just being useless. I guess she provides the occasional good advice but her characterization just feels completely off all season. Not to mention, her sudden fight skills in "The Master's Herald", Part 1 is the dumbest plot twist I've ever seen from this show. Either she's some otherworldly pacifist or not! Why didn't she use these skills the other dozen times she got kidnapped!? The. HECK!! Once Master Org disappears for a while, we get a new villain in Mandilok, a horrible follow up who can't chose between being male or female. Jindrax and Toxia are a mixed bag. I liked their banter sometimes and at other times they just stand around not doing much besides commenting on Master Org and the rangers or throwing those damn peas to make monsters grow.. After resurrecting Toxica, they decide to aid the rangers and then leave peacefully....ok!


Of course, I can't talk about this season without talking about the various team up episodes. The first being "Reinforcements from the Future", Parts 1 and 2, the BEST team up episodes since "To The Tenth Power" by far! The writers actually manage to reintroduce the Time Force rangers, continue the Time Force storyline in terms of Ransik's past as well as Wes and Jen's romance, develop a nice romance between Taylor and Eric and give use a final battle that sees both teams at their best before defeating the enemy. They even manage to spend a lot of time together post battle. Then there's "Forever Red", the 10th anniversary episode that features all 10 red rangers from the first 10 years. Jason, Tommy, T.J., Andros, Leo, Carter, etc. They're all here and more badass than ever!! We have great unmorphed fights, tons of references to the past 10 years, all original morphing sequences from each season were used and the final battle is filled with Hollywood style slow mo kicks, crazy wire work and camera work that's beyond impressive for a kid's show! Sure, Cole destroying Serpentara was pretty anti-climatic but it's a minor flaw in an otherwise epic episode! While both team-ups are some of the series' finest episodes...they only highlight how mediocre the rest of the season is. Don't get me wrong, for the first official season owned by Disney, I'm glad they at least stayed true to the feel and tone of Saban's previous seasons but once again, there was a good amount of things lacking this year. Once again, I couldn't really route for the Wild Force rangers, not enjoying them as a team or individual characters. "Lionheart" is an otherwise good opener but Cole's introduction is odd, especially the whole "raised in a jungle and sent off into the real world" angle. The fact he adjusts to modern day society so quickly is a stretch but it's a kid show, so I'll ignore that I guess. Like I said, at least the writers give him a nice arc with him searching for his parents and he does have some touching moments throughout. I just wish Cole would stop shouting during those villain confrontations (Ricardo Medina, Jr. really HAMS it up during a lot of episodes! ) Taylor is the most interesting of the group I suppose, given before she became a ranger she was a pilot for the Air Force but there isn't much development there besides how she first landed on the Animarium. Max is the youngest and constantly teased about it but I don't really get why as all the rangers seemed relatively in the same age range! There's a bit of his backstory shown in "The Tornado Spin", but I just didn't care for it. Danny is a gentle giant and has a crush on a girl named Kendall all season. "Three's a Crowd" is okay but is a bit over the top when it comes to the characterization of that romance, just don't buy it. Max and Danny's friendship is kinda fun and has it's moments, but the constant shouting of "never give up!" from them nearly ruins every episode! Lastly there's Alyssa, another standout in the "acting who?" department. Her character just comes off too sweet and sincere, the writing for her feeling the weakest. "A Father's Footsteps" sees her father coming into town and being disappointed in her before she proves herself by revealing her family's sacred martial arts prowess....yet I don't buy it again because her characterization! Ok, enough about the characters! Let's NOT talk about the whole Kit/Animus arc cause it's plain infuriating and that kid actor is beyond awful! "The End of the Power Rangers", Parts 1 and 2 luckily end the season on an strong note, despite more unbearable speeches and posing from the rangers. Seriously, the whole "Guardians of the Earth, United we Roar!" gets old...FAST! Overall, some good episodes, a solid villain and unforgettable team ups mixed with a weak cast, worse acting than usual, an overly preachy ancient megazord and monsters named "Bowling Org"......seriously!!? Did they run out of monster puns already!?



Best Episodes


1. Reinforcements From the Future, Parts 1 and 2


2. Forever Red


3. Curse of the Wolf


4. The Master's Last Stand


5. Unfinished Business


Final Morph: C-


So there goes the first half of the franchise and I'm currently getting through the second half. If I could rank the first 10 season so far:


1. In Space
2. Time Force
3. Lost Galaxy
4. Zeo
5. MMPR Season 1
6. Lightspeed Rescue
7. MMPR Season 3
8. Turbo
9. Wild Force
10. MMPR Season 2