SUMMARY:
Somewhere on planet Earth, in a
desolate desert likely near Egypt, a group of three nomadic travelers wander around. With
their trusty camel named Dolores, they search for shelter amid the battering sandy winds.
Only two of these guys are named, Taru & Haba, while the third and masked face one
i'll just call "Chiblit" for lack of anything better. The three suddenly spot
what they think to be a mirage, and rush off to investigate further. No mirage, but a rough oasis, consisting of half-buried ruins,
appearing to have been there for thousands of years! Chiblit & Haba peer down a
well, looking for water while Taru sits down on some ruins and relaxes in the shade.
Suddenly, the ground begins to quake, Taru's lard butt moved one of the ruin columns over
and unsealed a hidden tomb! It that wasn't enough, Taru leaps up only to face a huge crack
that forms in the ground, he pulls a Mike Corbett and falls in! Chiblit & Haba call
down for their pal, who's perfectly fine, and even better for the drop, as he finds
himself surrounded by various items of gold as far as he can see! Taru tells the other two
to light up torches and come down, they come down and Taru soon is seen lighting the
torches himself. Chiblit & Haba land safely in the ancient tomb, via a rope, Chiblit
ends up falling over comedically. Taru grabs a handful of gold coins, just as Haba points
him to a sarcophagus nearby. The cobweb covered coffin may hold great treasures, so Taru
shoves aside the robe wearing skeleton of the Warlock who has presided over it for many
years, the bones shatter against the floor.
Taru places his hands near the seal of the coffin, which spins around and unlocks, causing
the wall statues of snakes to come alive with smoke from their mouths. More quaking goes
on, Haba wants to get out of there, fearful for their lives, but Taru orders his pal to
help open the coffin or get out of the way. Chiblit, Haba & Taru shove aside the lid
to the large stone slab, and once it's off, they lean in and take a look at what
illuminates from within. A sudden blast of energy and mist explodes upwards past their
faces, blasting the three bumbling bums backwards as a group of evil spirits are released!
The strange entities float around, scaring the life out of the nomads and escaping out of
their prison by flying up and exiting from the way the likely now-dead travelers got in.
[opening credits! Featuring the
whole main cast, including Monica Louwerens As Ms. Fairweather,
who doesn't appear this show. The usual mix-match of GoGoV footage, with bits of American
stuff throughout, as well as the new theme song. Lightspeed Megazord & SuperTrain
Megazord also shown! And, a PR first, every Ranger character's last name!]
The demonic spirits have escaped to
the city of Mariner Bay, zipping around the skies over the town. They swoop down at
bystanders as quick as a breeze, leaving everyone puzzled, stunned, and a trifle bit
fearful of the evil poltergeists. Meanwhile, deep underwater in the Lightspeed Aquabase,
Dana Mitchell walks into a conference room and stands at attention. She addresses her
father, Captain Mitchell, in a strict militaristic manner, telling him something has come
up. He takes a look at the expression on her face and immediately tells the three people
he was meeting with that they will finish this later. As the Lightspeed employees depart,
Dana whispers to her father that "they've" escaped. Capt. Mitchell asks if she's
sure, and next thing we see is the Captain opening a locked safe and removing a stack of
five files, commenting it's time to bring them in. Breaking the confidential seal on the
first file, revealing a picture of the Sky Cowboy, Joel Rawlings, inside, along with a
dossier on him.
Elsewhere in Mariner Bay, ace pilot Joel Rawlings entertains an audience by zooming in the
air in his small plane, performing minor stunts. Soon he's on the ground, signing
autographs for fans of the self-proclaimed Sky Cowboy, giving a wink as the cowboy hat
wearing gent hands another picture to another fan. He continues doing so, as the announcer
is heard announcing the people up next at the air show (Chico Page, then The Doug &
Paul Pipercub Wing Riders). Two mysterious men in black approach Joel, cutting him off
from his groupies (most of whom seem to be single women). He seems to reluctantly go with
the two strange men, lead over to a car that contains Dana, who closes the green striped
file of Joel's. Meanwhile, on the side of a mountain somewhere, Kelsey Winslow climbs the
cliffs. This Yellow-wearing female isn't afraid of heights at all, slowly working her way
to the peak, where she finds the men in black! They ask her to come with them, she asks
who in the world they are, but gets no answer. Elsewhere, at Sea World, Chad Lee performs
for a crowd, riding a killer whale named Daisy. Another wet and wild show finished, Chad
swims out, only to bump into the men in black waiting for him. Dana is in the car, closing
yet another file, this time the blue striped one of Chad's.
Finally, somewhere in Mariner Bay, a fire rages in an apartment building! The two men in
black (or Dark Suits, as the end credits call them), pass by the frantically rushing
Firefighters, eventually approaching one of them and asking where Carter Grayson is. He's
up on the ladder, getting hoisted up into the blazing inferno, leaping into the top floor
of the building. Dana steps out of the car and watches this, also scoping out his red
striped file, which like all others, contain 8 by 10 glossies. Carter has his mask down
and is calling out for anyone who can hear him in the fiery area. He soon finds a blonde
girl lying on the floor, whom he helps up, wraps in a blanket and leads out, telling her
to stay close to him. She coughs and does as he says, Carter looking around for a way out,
and discovering something worse than the fires scorching down the hallway. The image of a
large creature is seen amid the blaze, Carter can't believe his eyes, but is frozen in his
tracks by the mere sight of it.
[commercials]
The fire creature lets out an evil
laugh, and then spews a wave of fire through the hallway! Carter grabs the girl and rushes
her in the opposite direction of the flames. Scrambling for life, Carter leaps with the
girl through a window, just as the blaze rips past them. They fall safely into the arms of
the firefighters below, who were waiting with precautions for just such a rescue. Carter
inspects the girl to see if she's okay, when Dana quickly moves him aside and says she's a
paramedic. Dana places an oxygen mask over the girl's face, and shouts for the other
medics to get her to an ambulance. Carter walks over to the Firetruck, gazing up at the
burning building and breathing a sight of relief, just another day of saving lives. Dana
appears, with the men in black backing her, saying that she knows this is a bad time but
she needs him to come with her.
Speaking of bad times, the multicolored spirits are still floating around the cityscape of
skyscrapers. Without warning, the sky becomes filled with dark thunder clouds, revealing
(to us, at least) a large skull-encrusted temple within the
lightning strikes! Most of the spirits converge on this hidden dimension, entering the
palace and becoming solid creatures. Standing in a foggy room with a large mouth seen
prominently in the background, the monsters are named Loki, Diabolico, Vypra, and a baby
dragon called Impus! Loki exclaims that they're free to reclaim the palace of Queen
Bansheera, Diabolico notes she isn't here, and tells Vypra that they must care for her son
Impus (who sucks on his pacifier on a pedestal nearby).
Diabolico asks Loki who did this, he blames humans who built their city right on top of
their palace! Loki aims his finger on the ground and proves such, revealing an image of
their temple long ago, and how their sacred ground now looks as the "ugly" city
of Mariner Bay. He laments about having no palace, queen or
ultimate power (apparently, the place they're in now isn't quite the palace they desire).
Diabolico states they will have their palace back once they destroy this miserable city,
brick by brick!
Over Mariner Bay, a small helicopter flies over a submarine in the middle of the bay.
Inside are the four new recruits, Carter spots the submarine and figures out that Dana has
brought them there to get inside the seagoing vessel. Kelsey seems excited, hopping up out
of her seat and looking at the sub from above in anticipation. Soon, the sub is full of
the draftees, and has submerged into the depths of the bay, where the Lightspeed Aquabase is revealed in all its Aquitian-esque glory!
One of the main domes opens and houses the sub in a dry-dock. The recruits are lead into
the inner complex by Dana, passing by the civilian crew and authorized personnel who work
in the huge command center. Dazzled and confused, Chad asks where they are, Kelsey smiles,
saying she doesn't know but calls it cool. Joel stops and takes a look at one of the
consoles, curiously pressing a few buttons and setting off the alarms! He tries to hit
some more and turn them off, but Dana spots him, gives him an angry look, turns off the
alarms and drags him off to join the others by the grip of his leather vest.
[commercials]
The draftees finally reach the main
conference room, where they meet Captain Mitchell, who steps out from the shadows near his
fishtank and welcomes them to the Lightspeed Aquabase. Carter looks like he's about to say
something, or not, doesn't matter since Joel gently shoves him aside and heads right up to
the Captain. Joel says he doesn't know who he is but this is illegal, calling what they've
done kidnapping. The Captain introduces himself as Capt. William Mitchell (which was
Billy's full name in some fanfics, I might add), informing them that none of them are
being held against their will and are free to go. Joel quickly tells the Cap that he'll
see him later, storming off only to be stopped by a guard, Captain Mitchell finishing his
statement by commenting they can go after he hears them out. He offers them a seat at the
conference table, Joel cools his heels and sits with the others. The Cap explains the
backstory for us, 5000 years ago this part of the Earth was inhabited by evil spirits,
demons if you will, whose only purpose was to destroy and conquer. Luckily, there was a warlock who was strong enough to conquer, capture and entomb them (as we saw earlier, his body remained watching over
the tomb ever since!). The Captain says they always feared that one day the demons would
escape and return to Mariner Bay, and their fears came true a few hours ago as nomads
crossing the desert discovered the tomb and released the spirits back into our world.
Lightspeed (the company name, apparently) has developed technology and highly
sophisticated weapons that they believe can stop them! Because of their skills, they've
been chosen to use these weapons to defend the city and become Lightspeed Power Rangers!
Dana hands each of the recruits their files as he speaks, which contain dossiers that
include each of their Ranger Symbols. Kelsey tries to understand the situation, saying
that they built this whole Aquabase just so the four of them could fight off a bunch of
angry demons. Captain says that's putting it simply, but it's exactly the series premise.
Joel smiles and says he heard him out, he thinks he's nuts and is out of here! Joel gets
up and begins to leave, when Carter tells him to wait, mentioning that this explains it.
Carter explains that when he was saving that girl in the fire he saw someone in the
flames, realizing it was one of the demons. Dana & her father seem a bit disturbed by
this news, and more of the same bad news is coming as the communications link beeps.
Captain Mitchell heads over to the console, is told he needs to see this, and tells them
to bring it up on the monitor. Images of buildings getting blown up and fires raging
through the streets, as well as the spirit jamboree above the city, is shown. The footage
is viewed by the draftees, who seem to not take lightly the scenes of destruction and
people pinned beneath debris. Captain Mitchell tells them that the city needs them, Carter
arises and says he's in, Kelsey is too, Chad finally talks and says he wants to help. The
three turn to Joel, who only asks what they will do first. Dana & the Cap smile to
each other, and he walks to the table, opening the Lightspeed Symbol covered silver box,
which contains their Rescue Morphers. Kelsey, Carter, Chad
& Joel each pick one up (apparently, which one taken doesn't matter by color), Cap
says they are worn on their wrists, which is good for him to tell Carter who probably was
planning to wear it on his ankle. Morphers strapped on, Dana notices the fifth one in the
case, to which her dad mentions she is the fifth Power Ranger. He says that for eighteen
years he's been training her for this, and it's hers if she wants it, showing her the
final file, which contains her pic and dossier (on the dossier: "Our data has chosen:
Dana Mitchell", "name: Pink 5", etc). Dana smiles and nods, grabbing the
Rescue Morpher and accepting her drafted destiny! She stands with the makeshift team, as
Captain Mitchell tells the Rangers that it's time to get to work.
The five Rangers rush off into another room, which contains their jackets. Dana tells them
each to grab one (of course, she fails to say "grab the one that matches your color,
number and symbol", but while they have to be told to wear Morphers on their wrists,
they don't need to be told this). Once our heroes are wearing the specially made
Lightspeed Rescue design coats, they enter another room, finding lab technicians and a
yellow (or is it beige?) Humvee with the word "Lightspeed" on it. Joel calls it
"hype", Kelsey is wowed and Carter is tossed the keys by Dana. They hop in, the
local lab boy punches up something on the computer and gives a thumbs up, the floor around
the Humvee is lowered into another chamber. This chamber leads to a long tunnel stretching
out from the Aquabase, across the ocean floor and into city, through a specially made
tunnel. In the city, the monster Carter saw in the flames is revealed as Ghouligan (who
has no Island, sorry), a repaint of Psycho Red's Monster Form, or for continuity purposes,
another of that monster's race. He's accompanied by the foot soldiers of the season, black
demon creatures with swords, called Batlings! Ghouligan states
they've waited a long time for this, and orders the Batties to destroy the humans,
citizens quickly run away screaming. The Lightspeed Humvee zooms onto the scene, and
finally reaches a halt in the middle of the empty streets. Joel stands up and lifts his
hat, watching the monsters along with his teammates, in relative horror.
Carter says for them to come on and help those people, the team gives a unison
"Right!" and all jump out of their Hummer to save the city. Joel grabs a Batling
who is harassing a group of civilians, knocks the demon down but gets gut kicked by
another. Kelsey kicks one but is pushed over by another, she lands at the foot of a
stairway, shouting for the people standing above to get a move on it! Chad rushes people
along, as he does a few swift kicks at the Batlings surrounding him. Ghouligan is still in
the streets, perfect target for Carter, who races the Humvee towards him! The monster
spews off some flame breath at the firefighter, causing him to lose control of the
steering and veer around. When he stops, he's stunned long enough for Ghouly to head over
and yank him from his driver's seat! Carter's body is slammed into a lightpost, Joel gets
the snot kicked out of him, Kelsey takes a beating, Dana can't really do much but stand
there and be grabbed by Batlings (though those heels of hers might be deadly for their
feet), and Chad gets slapped around. Carter covers from his fall, stating they're too
strong for them.
Captain Mitchell is monitoring their
progress from an area in the Aquabase (with other employees around pressing buttons.
What're their jobs, anyway?), he calls our heroes up on their Rescue Morphers, and tells
them to use their Morphers. The five nod and regroup in the street. Carter leads the way,
yelling at the hot tempered Ghouligan, telling him that if he wants to destroy Mariner Bay
he'll have to go through them to do it. The monster will gladly do so, the Batlings rejoin
him and prepare to kick human tail, when suddenly the five teenagers position and cross
their arms, shouting "Lightspeed... Rescue!"
The Morphing scene begins, each of the recruits presses their Rescue Morpher, opening the
secret panel lock. This causes the powers within to spew out in the form of a colored
& white-striped symbol, corresponding to each Ranger. The symbol then grows amid the
digital-like tunnel surrounding them, passing over each Ranger and covering their bodies.
The symbol-engulfing passes through them, leaving behind each morphed into a Lightspeed
Power Ranger! The Power Rangers then leap over the monsters, and land closer to the
slightly wrecked Humvee. The bad guys are shocked, the nearby civilians are ecstatic, and
our heroes are amazed. Chad can't believe it worked, Kelsey says it feels incredible, and
Carter calls this just what they needed. Red Ranger says "Let's get to work!",
and the team of Rangers each do their own special pose, ta-da.
Ghouligan sends his Batlings to destroy the Lightspeed Rangers, who all salute and say
they are "Rescue Ready". The battle begins, each Ranger uses their Rescue
Blaster in each of the various weapon forms. Red Ranger fights two Batties, kicking one
and firing upon another. The Batlings put up quite a fight, but their small swords are
really no match for futuristic firepower. Green Ranger blocks the sword attacks of two
Batlings on him, but has his hands full. He kicks his foot up, knocks his Blaster from the
holster, into the air, distracting the Bats, allowing him to hit them off, leap for the
Blaster and blast away. Blue Ranger does quite a few martial arts moves on some Batlings,
while shouting out Kaiis in a way we sure haven't heard on PR before. Yellow Ranger is
fighting a few herself, fending them off with elbow punches and such. One is taken down,
he strikes at her feet with his sword, she flips over, lands on his back, bounces off him
and grabs another's neck, taking him down with her. Pink Ranger jumps into the air,
wielding her Rescue Blaster Saber Mode (or whatever it's called) like a pro, taking care
of the sword-slicing Batlings with ease.
Red Ranger gets Ghouligan's attention, the creature calls Carter burnt toast and charges
up for another scorch-attack! Red Ranger rolls out of the way, fires his Blaster at the
monster when he's open, Blue & Pink Rangers jump over Carter and fire as well.
Ghouligan falls backwards, as the Power Rangers regroup and await Ghouly to get up. Our
heroes take aim with their Rescue Blasters, Ghouligan remarks that they ain't got the
guts, just as they unload five streams of red blaster energy into his recycled psychoass!
The Lightspeed Rangers then turn around, spin the blasters in their hands like cowboys,
and reholster them. Ghouligan drops, explodes in a huge fireball, sending one last
flame-wave in his destructive wake. The Rangers pose victoriously amid the debris, and
immediately Lightspeed Power Down. Demorphing seems to jerk their bodies a bit, but leaves
the five smiling at their first successful rescue. The citizens of Mariner Bay are very
thankful, cheering them on and rushing towards the five Rangers. No secret identities in
this small town!
[commercials]
Later in the Lightspeed Aquabase,
the Ranger teens (Dana's eighteen, which is good enough for me, since "Ranger
adults" doesn't sound right) return to a heroes' welcome. The employees of the base
cheer and shake their hands, the five very humbled by this experience. Joel especially,
who revels in the attention most of all. He's walking backwards, boasting to one of the
staff that he'll show them that move he did, urging the monster to show up again and see
what happens! The Rangers stop suddenly upon reaching a room containing Captain Mitchell,
Joel bumps into Dana & Kelsey and quickly turns around to stand at attention with his
teammates. The Cap says that there is a time to celebrate, but this is not it. Diabolico
knows the Rangers exist now, and if they think this fight was tough, they'd better just
wait to see how the next one is. Kelsey addresses Captain Mitchell, commenting that they
just destroyed Diabolico, didn't they? Captain tells her no, that was just one of his
monsters, but if they want to defeat the big bad main man they've got a lot of work to do.
Dana salutes her father like a good solider, the entire crew in the vicinity does as well,
followed soon by Chad, Kelsey, Carter and Joel (the four a little unaware of the military
proceeders, but seem to be getting the hang of things). Mission Complete... for now!
[scenes from "Lightspeed
Teamwork"; end credits]
