Episode Title: The Rockstar
Original Airdate: November 4, 1993
Today we meet another member of the Power Ranger’s extended family. We’ve met uncles for both Kimberly and Trini, but now we get to meet Jason’s precocious cousin Jeremy. Little does he know he’ll end up at the center of a Power Rangers adventure in The Rockstar.
As we begin this installment, the Power Rangers are heading off on a weekend trip. Everyone except Jason, that is. He has plans to spend time with his young cousin Jeremy. Meanwhile, Rita has set her sights on getting a hold of the Mirror of Destruction…and object that will destroy anything reflected in it. Surely this item will take care of the Power Rangers once and for all.
Jason and Jeremy head down to the beach and, after an encounter with Bulk and Skull, start working on some martial arts skills. See, Jeremy wants to be a Power Ranger when grows up. Seeing all this, Rita decides to send down a putty attack, and Jeremy even joins in the fight and does fairly well. Later, while fishing, Jeremy ends up reeling in a bottle that when opened causes an earthquake. Inside the bottle is the map to the location of the Mirror of Destruction. So, Rita sends Scorpina down to nab it. Scorpina then creates a creature called the Rockstar. It’s basically a living pile of rocks. Jason tells Jeremy to run away while Jason deals with the monsters. He can’t give away his superhero identity, after all.
Zordon has the other rangers teleport to the beach to help out, but Jeremy still has the map. So, Billy heads off to find the kid while the other four battle Scorpina and her crew of baddies. Of course, Jeremy follows the map and ends up finding the Mirror of Destruction. He ends up using it on a putty who is about to attack him, and boom…no more putty. This draws the attention of the Rockstar, who ends up being destroyed by the mirror, as well. In the ensuing battle, the mirror ends up in several people’s possession, until it finally lands in Scorpina’s hands. She then grows, courtesy of Rita’s wand, which means the rangers must form the Mega Zord to do battle. Giant-sized Godlar also shows up to help Scorpina. Somehow, the rangers knock the mirror out of Scorpina’s hand and then use the Power Sword to destroy it.
One thing that is interesting to note about this episode is an absent character from this story. Tommy is nowhere to be seen! He isn’t even mentioned! I guess he was off teaching his karate class. Another bit of trivia is that this episode features the last appearance of the Rad Bug, the modified flying Volkswagon that Billy created earlier in the season. It was always a pretty goofy thing to have in this show…as goofy as it can be, sometimes. Not a big loss.
I did enjoy the monster in this episode, though he’s not used a whole lot. The Rockstar is interesting in its design. It looks a bit like a walking fish made out of rocks. It’s also unique that the monster was not made by Rita or Finster. Scorpina ends up using some sort of magical powers to bring some rocks together and create him right on the spot. The most unusual thing about this monster, though, is that he is not destroyed by the Power Rangers. Jeremy is the one who takes out the creature. Now, it’s not by any great skill of his, it was pure luck that he just happened to have that Mirror of Destruction. Still, it’s a nice change of pace.
I continue to be frustrated, though, with how Scorpina is used in these stories. She’s a villain that certainly has potential. When she’s in human form and fighting with the Power Rangers in hand-to-hand combat, it’s pretty cool. But for some reason, when Rita throws her wand, and she grows, she changes into a monster form that looks nothing like a scorpion. I’d rather see a giant woman fighting with the Mega Zord.
The episode does have a few awkward moments. The biggest is having to create a reason for Billy to exit the action, presumably because the Japanese fight sequence used midway through the episode is missing the blue ranger. The Billy thing is never resolved, though, since he never locates Jeremy and then somehow rejoins the other rangers with no explanation. Still, the episode is still fun…if you can get past all of Jeremy gushing over the rangers like the world’s biggest fanboy. Meeting the Power Rangers is the best day of his life, after all. Next time, though, Kimberly ends up having the worst day of her life in Calamity Kimberly. Join us next time!
Channel: Superhero 