Truncated Power Rangers
Jason: Zordon, what the hell is going on? |
The Abridged Series of Power Rangers, specifically Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Created in August 2008, the series is notable for being one of the first live-action Abridged series and having its contributors recognized by real names instead of handles. While only one person does the voices, there is a team of writers behind the series.
Posted on blip.tv here.
- The Abridged Series: Duh. Lampshaded in Episode 10:
Bulk: Oh-ho! Someone's coming up with oneliners now! It's like you have your own videos on YouTube! |
- Actor Allusion: Subverted. Zack's character is a parody of that other black Black Ranger's actor.
- Affectionate Parody: Who didn't love Power Rangers?
- Anything That Moves: Kim. Just ... Kim.
- Rita, when they aren't making menstruation jokes.
- Artistic License Astronomy: Lampshaded in Episode 1, with the astronauts visiting the Earth's second moon. The show itself glosses over this.
- This is the basis for the morph gag in Episode 25.
- As Himself: Ron Wasserman.
- Attack! Attack! Retreat! Retreat!: Tommy v. Dry Bowser in the movie.
- Big Damn Heroes: Bulk and Skull wind up saving the day during episode 17. The footage used? The scene where they morphed in to mock-Power Rangers.
- Bonnie Scotland: Haggis the Horrible in Episode 25.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Oh, lordy. Zedd is the executive producer of Power Rangers - of which Zordon is a producer - and the primary motive is to keep the show on the air.
- Most episodes have at least one time this happens. At one point Alpha asks, "Is this meta enough for you?" before turning back to the viewing globe.
- Butt Monkey: Canary Gary from episodes 13 and 31.
- Jason and Tommy with idiot jokes.
- Kim with slut jokes.
- Call a Rabbit a Smeerp: Baseball is referred to as Stick-a-Stitch on Triforia.
- Call Back: The first few episodes serve as standalones, but after the writers took a break in the Spring of 2009, the following episodes (11+) began to heavily use these.
- Calling Your Attacks: Frequently.
Napalm Holocaust! |
- Goldar finally calls Jason out on this in Episode 28.
- Catch Phrase: Subverted. The morph calls are usually different every episode, but a few phrases get repeated.
Zack, Episode 1: Elephant! |
- Bonus: If you know a lot of geeky things, the morph calls also count as Shout Outs to various things.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Most characters are guilty of this, but Jason is this in spades.
- And Tommy. Dear god, Tommy.
Alpha: "I don't understand this Zordon, Saba doesn't talk!" |
- Combat Tentacles: Episode 28's Gordian Knob sure loves these.
- And Does This Remind You of Anything?, lampshaded by *Jason* of all people.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Ivan Ooze.
- Cross-Dressing Voices: Toyed with in Episode 3. One could argue it happens in Episode 24 as well.
- Curse Cut Short: A few instances; namely, Episodes 7, 15, and 20.
- Designated Villain: Played for Laughs by the Simian Censor, who is introduced attempting to stop Alpha from having sex with a minor. Then he has to spoil it by attacking the city again.
- Drugs Are Bad: Episode 11's Steroid Sosa is an embodiment of this trope. In Season 2, Zedd uses HGH to make his monsters grow.
Alpha 5, Episode 23: Meth is a hell of a drug. |
- Not to mention when, two episodes in, Finster replies to Rita's command to "Screw with the Rangers in the non-literal sense" by replying "Oh, I already did. I put heroin in two of their breakfasts."
- Dumb Is Good: Lampshaded.
Zordon, Episode 1: Bring me five teenagers too stupid to understand the cosmic repercussions of their actions. |
- Played straight as well--while Zordon and Alpha are normal, as well as the villains, the heroes are stunningly idiotic.
- Editing Works
- Faster-Than-Light Travel: Gleefully subverted in Episode 31.
- Flat What: Zordon's reaction to Alpha breaking out multi-parters "out of freakin' nowhere" in Episode 33, particularly when three of the Rangers get trapped in a storybook.
- Fluffles the Terrible: Episode 16, when Finster creates Goldar's War Zord (Cyclopsis from MMPR) and names it Fluffles after the rest of Rita's crew can't decide on a name.
- Gag Dub
- Genre Savvy: Zordon. On the other side of the (Power) coin, Goldar.
- Gilligan Cut: Episode 10.
Jason: Let's sneak up on him! |
- Godwin's Law: Invoked in Episode 24, and lampshaded via caption.
- Also used in episode 32.
- Greek Chorus: Usually from Zordon and Alpha, but the rest of the cast get their moments.
- Hey, It's That Guy!: Ron Wasserman, the composer of most music on the show, provides the voice for himself in Episode 26.
- Hey, It's That Sound: Episode 4 features the infamous Gutsman sound from the Gutsman's Ass video.
- Ho Yay: Jason and Tommy. Just... Jason and Tommy. Granted, it's played off the rumor that Austin St. John was in a homoerotic video, but still.
- Also Billy and whatever guy is nearby, occasionally Jason, since David Yost is gay.
- Hostage Situation: Episode 7's dance party is revealed to be one of these.
- Insufferable Genius: Billy, ramped up to eleven.
- Just Fine Without You: When Zordon warns that Jason may not come back at the end of Episode 28, the team cheers.
- The team leaves Tommy stuck in Utah at one point. He then swims back via the Atlantic Ocean.
- Larynx Dissonance: All the female characters, but Rita stands out the most.
- Leitmotif: Youth Center scenes are accompanied by the Wii Sports theme. Bulk and Skull's are various Super Mario themes. When Rita is around, her palace scenes are accompanied by Ganondorf's theme; similarly, Zedd is always coupled with Dr. Wily's theme.
- Lens Flare: Lampshaded in Episode 7.
- Loud of War: The entire joke behind Episode 26 1/2.
- Mars Needs Women: Somewhat invoked in Episode 32, but this was more of a reference to Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.
- Mauve Shirt: Putty #6, notable for being a Butt Monkey in Episode 21, becomes this in Episode 22.
- Million-to-One Chance: Goldar has a really good day in Episode 28 and asks what the chances are of Jason coming and ruining them...
Kim: Uh ... pretty good, actually. |
- Monster of the Aesop: Lampooned in Episode 20.
Horny Rhino: See, I punched! That's something they do in football! |
- N-Word Privileges: Used in Episodes 13 and 17.
- No Indoor Voice: Jason and Tommy. Especially Tommy.
- Oblivious to Hints: The rest of the team is shocked when Tommy is revealed as the White Ranger.
- Offscreen Crash: Billy and Kim shove Waldo into one of these in Episode 3.
- Padding: The point of Episode 31.
- Queer As Tropes: Billy.
- According to Episode 24, arguably Alpha.
- According to the series, arguably everyone. At one point they imply Rita and Kim slept together, though Rita identifies as 'bicurious'.
- Reference Overdosed: Debatable.
- Rimshot: Episode 23 features one.
- Rule of Three: Episode 27 lampshades this with its plot device.
Tommy: Any questions, bitch? |
- Running Gag: The Dragon Dagger plays different music each episode... except the episodes when Jason used it, and he couldn't get the thing to make any sound.
- So far, Goldar's the only one who's played the Dagger's proper tune. This is at least partly because Jason and Tommy are idiots.
- Jason's call during the morphing sequence is always something different.
- Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: Tommy loves doing this while being a suit actor in Episode 7.
- Science Is Useless: In Episode 31, Jason, Trini, and Zack are frozen by flower petals. Yup.
- Selective Obliviousness: Jason and his gay porn rumors.
- Just so everyone's clear, Jason's actor never did that.
- Shout-Out: Too many to list here, so they got their own page.
- Special Guest: Mr. Mighty RAW himself, Ron Wasserman, voiced Episode 26's... Ron Wasserman.
- Start My Own: Invoked in Episode 25.
- Statler and Waldorf: Squatt and Baboo get reduced to this once Zedd hits in Episode 23, complete with "Do-ho-ho-ho-hoh!"
- Stock Australian Phrases: The Putties.
- Suicidal Overconfidence: Episode 30 features Sauron bragging how he can dodge anything. He can't.
- Suspiciously Apropos Music: The series' creator is a huge fan of this. It's difficult to find a viewer that can name all the musical references.
- Take That: Zack's character is a shot at Samuell Benta.
- Episode 6 takes a shot at Mystic Force.
- Take That Me: Constantly.
- Talking to Himself: Since only one person does all the voices, this is obvious.
- This Trope Is Bleep: Invoked in Episode 24. Billy's hand is censored for a split second.
- Toilet Humour: Jason has an affinity for this. It tones down after the first episodes.
- Turtle Power: Episode 5.
- Vetinari Job Security: Baboo and Squatt try making a monster in Episode 5. This parallels what happened in the source show.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Episode 24's Censor Simian.
- Where Da White Women At?: Alpha in Episode 7.
- Windows XP: Episodes 29 and 30 imply that the entire Command Center, let alone Alpha 5, run on this.
- You Have to Have a Jewish Stereotype: Started with Billy in Episode 3. Dropped for a different character direction for Billy. Lord Zedd (who was ambiguously Jewish in the real show) brings it back full force.
Lord Zedd, Episode 23: I am Lord Zedd of Nazareth. Identify yourself, you schmuck. |