MMPR: A Friend in Need and My thoughts about Masked Rider.

So, guys. I watched Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and every other Power Rangers series up to Wild Force when I was growing up. It's no surprise, but I loved them. Recently though, my love for Power Rangers has changed into a love for Kamen Rider and to a lesser extent, Super Sentai. One of the episodes I didn't get to watch as a kid, or at least don't remember watching (I do remember having a Masked Rider and Masked Rider Super Gold figure, though.) was the "A friend in need" 3 parter for MMPR. So, I decided to watch it. Now, i'm going to do a quick review of the episodes, then give my thoughts about what the Saban's Masked Rider series could have been, instead of the garbage we got.

I have to admit, this was an epic moment for me.

I haven't actually watched Power Rangers since I was about 12. So this is the first time since then that I have watched it. It wasn't as good as I remember it being back then, that's for sure. But it was still entertaining for a fan like myself, but I do wonder if it could still appeal to the new young Power Rangers fans of today.

A Friend In need starts with the Rangers heading off to Edenoi, Alpha 5's home planet. There, they meet Dex, the prince of Edenoi with the ability to become Masked Rider! Dex is the Prince of Edenoi, which is currently being attacked by Count Dregon (i'm not sure if that's the correct spelling). In all honesty, these episodes were kind of dull. The most fun I had with them was probably Bulk and Skull's antics and Kimberly's cute sneezes. They weren't really good episodes. That's about all I can say. They were actually kinda tilting towards the scale of being bad episodes, but hey, I watched them. So that means they were at least entertaining.

Now, the real reason I wrote this article was because I wanted to talk about what I think Saban's Masked Rider could have been. I Think it actually had the potential set up in these episodes to be a great series. "A Friend in need" ends with Count Dregon heading to earth. This is where the problem starts. They already had a perfectly good and established environment for the series to take place, Edenoi. I think the series would have been better if it had taken place in a War Torn, or even After War era Edenoi, with Count Dregon trying to completely conquer the planet with Masked Rider defending it. Since Saban has severed the links with the Power Rangers with Masked Rider's own series, I think this would have worked well.

I think that with all connections Masked Rider had with Power Rangers cut, they should have just done that. Since they went the going to earth route though, I think they should have either. A. Had Power Rangers show up in some Masked Rider episodes and Vice Versa or B. Not make Masked Rider at all. The only reason I found Masked Rider enteratining was in those A Friend in Need episodes, and that was only because of his interactions with the Power Rangers. I could just imagine Dex, being all arrogant and proper interacting with Bulk and Skull.

There's another thing. On Edenoi, Dex was kinda..arrogant, and like, a proper, "elegant" Prince. Why make it so he has to fit in on earth instead of keeping that character? That was an awesome character, I actually liked that Dex.

So, ultimately, I think Masked Rider could have been a great series.If they had kept it on Edenoi, in an after war, destroyed environment, where everyone is trying to survive to the best they can with Masked Rider protecting them, the series could have been good. But instead, we got Dex going to earth to try to fit in and become a normal human while secretly fighting as Masked Rider and a Ferbie.