The episode that started it all.
The evil Rita Repulsa and her minions have been released from their 10,000-year-old prison in a space dumpster. Learning of this, Galactic Wizard Zordon recruits five young teenagers to become a new team of superheroes: The Power Rangers.
Tropes
- Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole: The episode apparently kept the element from Zyuranger of the astronauts finding the dumpster on a wandering planet. But nothing else was said about it, except to have the villains be released. Though the unaired pilot stated that the dumpster crash-landed on the moon, and the Reversion seems to do the same.
- Adaptational Personality Change: Between the pilots for Trini. Audri DuBois' Trini was rougher, aggressive, and had shades of being a Blood Knight. Thuy Trang's Trini is far more reserved and feminine, but still has a bit more bite than Kimberly. Both incarnations share a friendship with Billy and are the only ones able to understand his Techno Babble.
- Artistic License – Biology: Zordon grants each of the new Power Rangers the abilities of their own "dinosaurs". However Zack is given the Mastodon and Trini is given the Saber-Tooth Tiger, which are both mammals that existed after the dinosaurs went extinct.
- Behemoth Battle: Dino Megazord vs. Goldar.
- Big Brother Mentor: Jason appears to have this dynamic with Billy during the martial arts class (ironic given that David Yost is six years older than Austin St. John)
- Big "SHUT UP!": Because Rita has a headache.
- Boyish Short Hair: The original Trini played by Audri DuBois had this (DuBois herself commented that it was a haircut accident while chatting with a friend on the phone). The Trini we know today averts this.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The teens are on the receiving end of this from the putties. Justified as they've obviously never fought aliens before then. In the original pilot, it was even worse where the putties barely even flinched from their attacks.
- The Dissenter Is Always Right: When Zordon offers the original five "teens with attitude" the chance to become Power Rangers, Jason is the only one who seriously considers it, while the rest of the team walks away in disbelief. Of course, by the end of the episode, all five of them are in, or there wouldn't be very much of a series.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- Alpha is shown with a teddy bear that has the same head like him. What that was about is never brought up.
- Goldar's voice is much higher and raspy rather than the deep gravelly tone he is well known for. Kerrigan Mahan didn't know at the time that Goldar was a recurring character and when he found out he began to struggle with the voice until around the Green Ranger arc where he finally settled into the voice we know him for today. Some fans even went so far as to assume it was a different actor at the start voicing Goldar!
- Speaking of Goldar, the issue surrounding his wings is shown as early as here. According to Lord Zedd in “The Mutiny”, they were taken away (presumably by Rita; it was never shown or spoken of until that point).
- Falling into the Cockpit: Both Trini and Billy comment on how piloting their Zords is second-nature to them.
- Gang of Bullies: The pilot had Skull as the leader (played by Bob Vavla instead of Jason Narvy) of a gang of four punks, one who was played by Bulk's actor, Paul Schrier. The female punk played by stuntwoman Stella Angelova was retained for the series and was named Sharkie before being quietly dropped after three appearances. note The other punk (Trey Alexander) was dropped and replaced with a black guy played by another stuntperson, Erik Betts. Unlike Sharkie, Betts' character only got one appearance and was never even named.
- Gut Feeling: Billy senses that the earthquake is nothing ordinary.
- Have a Gay Old Time: "Oh, don't leave! You'll miss my coming-out party!"
- Jumped at the Call: Jason is the only one who thinks that they should have accepted Zordon's request. He's also the one to suggest that they use their Power Morphers.
- Make My Monster Grow: Done by Rita to Goldar.
- Naïve Newcomer: The Rangers fight against a group of Putties. They get their asses kicked because, even though at least three of them are trained in martial arts, none of them have any actual fighting experience.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Rita got the teens into becoming Rangers after all - it's entirely possible they'd never have morphed had she not sent down her Putties to attack them. Though presumably, she wasn't willing to take that chance.
- Refusal of the Call: Most of the teens, except for Jason. Though Zordon is confident that they'll come around.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The Rangers' reaction to Zordon's exposition.Zack: It's been real, but I've gotta go.
- Also, Goldar when the Rangers summon the Power Sword.
- Small Role, Big Impact: It's a safe bet that had it not been for the hapless astronauts opening the dumpster and releasing Rita, a near three-decade long dynasty would've never formed. Austin St. John summed it up best in the Lost Episode:Austin: "She (Rita) remained there until two unsuspecting astronauts opened the dumpster and changed the world forever."
-
Stock Footage Failure: Variation; Billy can be seen with his communicators on his wrists during Jason’s karate lesson, despite the fact that he wouldn't invent them until the next episode. This is because it was originally shot for a later episode, "Dark Warrior"; it was substituted for the original opening scene
because of issues with the Fox Kids censors (parts of that scene were instead reused for the ending of the episode "Big Sisters"). It also explains why Kimberly and Trini's clothes have changed in the shot where they're watching the lesson. - Team Hand-Stack/"YEAH!" Shot: The newly-commissioned team does this at the end of the episode, cheering "POWER RANGERS!"
- Too Dumb to Live: The astronauts, even assuming they weren't killed like in Zyuranger, don't even bother to consider radioing their superiors that they found an alien object and decide at the drop of a hat to open the dumpster. What resulted was the 10,000-year-old aliens being loosed on Angel Grove and the rest of the world for at least three years (and that's not counting the events of future seasons that this would be responsible for).
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The astronauts that freed Rita and her henchmen.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The astronauts. In Zyuranger, they were blown away from the moon by Bandora (Rita). In the unaired pilot, she did blow them away, but not enough to be sent into space it seems, she may have just let them go to tell the world about them.
- What Is This Feeling?: Alpha 5 experiences humor."What a concept!"
