Power Rangers Reviews Part 2: Original Power Rangers Pilot, "Day of the Dumpster" (1992/1999)

 Hey everyone! How were your weekends? Mine was crazy. Today I'm back with another Power Rangers review. This time I'll be reviewing the original unaired version of "Day of the Dumpster", which eventually got aired in 1999 as part of a 5th Anniversary retrospective special, Power Rangers: The Lost Episode, during a hiatus for Power Rangers Lost Galaxy (1999). So let's get into it.

Filmed in 1992, this original version of "Day of the Dumpster" is very different from what ended up being aired as the first episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers a year later in 1993. While Thuy Trang played Trini in the televised pilot episode, as well as the first season and a half of the series that followed, Audri Dubois played Trini in this pilot version of the episode. Though in the 1999 aired version, during the Megazord transformation sequence, you hear Thuy Trang for a second as she says, "Trini here, ready to rock!" before it switches back to Audri Dubois saying, "Come at ya!". 

Alot of the things in the non-Sentai footage was used in early merchandise for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Mostly in coloring books and the deck of playing cards, which I will talk about in my review of season 1. So I ended up not only seeing the version of the Command Center interior we see here, but also the outfits that the Rangers wear in their unmorphed forms. They also wear them in some promotional images used for the first season, including in one of the episode novelizations that were published by Parachute Press, though, again, I'll talk about those a bit more in the next few posts. 

By the way, there is no Zordon in this pilot. I mean, there is, but his name is Zoltar in this version. And unlike the TV version, where it's not known until later how Zordon got trapped in the time warp, here, Zoltar informs the teens when Jason asks why he doesn't fight Rita if she's so dangerous, that Rita was the one who trapped him in the time warp. If I remember correctly, they don't actually mention it in the show itself, just in the special Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Official Fan Club Video VHS tape that came with a membership to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Official Fan Club which began in 1994, as well as the prologue to all of the novelizations.

Other differences is that King Sphinx is known as Fly Guy and Goldar is known as Flydar, though his name isn't mentioned in the episode itself. It was in the script though. The Rangers hang out in a bowling alley and there's no Bulk & Skull. Though Paul Schrier, who would be cast as Bulk once the pilot was remade and it went to series, plays an unknown bully in this pilot.

In the original, unaired version the Zords are called Dinodroids and the Megazord is called the Mega Dinodroid. In the 1999 aired version though they're called Dinozords and Megazord, even though Zordon is still known as Zoltar in this version. I don't know for sure, but I don't know if the Power Rangers Theme was finished for this pilot or not. It's in this 1999 aired version, but, like the Dinozords/Megazord names being added instead of Dinodroids/Mega Dinodroid.

I don't have much else to say about this episode honestly. It's good, and I like it. Aside from the changes I mentioned, including Thuy Trang being hired to replace Audri Dubois as Trini, there isn't much difference between this version and what we would later see on TV in 1993. Plus there isn't much to say about the Rangers themselves at this point being that this is the pilot episode that wasn't even aired until 1999.

While Power Rangers: The Lost Episode never had it's own VHS release, it was included as a bonus feature on the Power Rangers: Seasons 4-7 DVD boxset that came out in 2013. Shout! Factory tried to put bonus features that coincided with the season included in the boxsets, and since The Lost Episode aired during Lost Galaxy, it got included in the Zeo to Lost Galaxy boxset instead of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Complete Series set. It's also on YouTube.

That's it for this review. Next time I'll be reviewing season 1 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I'm aiming for next week, but it might be in two weeks, depending on how long it takes me to watch the season.

Alright my friends that's it for me for today. I'll be back tomorrow for the next installment in my overview of the DC Comics Star Trek comic book line. So until then have a great evening and I will talk to you all later. Take care.