Episode Title: Welcome to Venus Island
Original Airdate: September 24, 1994
Well, as we know from the last several episodes, all Lord Zedd can focus his gross exposed brain on these days is stealing all of the green ranger’s powers. Things have not changed this week as he turns to child abduction and a weird walking piece of lettuce to try and achieve his evil goals. Let’s take a look at this week’s episode, Welcome to Venus Island.
As this episode begins, Tommy, Kimberly and Trini are spending time at the beach with Haley, a little girl who lives next door to Trini. They all help the little girl build a sand castle, though Trini does get a bit distracted when that new studly guy Richie happens by. Also briefly grabbing their attention are Bulk and Skull disguised as putties in an attempt to draw out the rangers and discover their true identities. Our heroes aren’t fooled, but soon Goldar and a real gang of putties show up and kidnap Haley. They take her off to Venus Island, a strange floating landmass that nobody but Zedd knows the location of.
When Zordon briefs the rangers, he instructs Billy to start building a device that will help track the winds and point the direction to the island. With the island located, the rangers hesitate about whether to let the still weak Tommy go with them. However, he agrees to transport back if his powers are in danger. When our heroes arrive on the island, they encounter a creature known as the Invenusable Flytrap. It’s whole body is made up of flytraps…but most of the time it looks like walking lettuce. Still, it manages to get the jump on the rangers. When it opens up it’s chest, Jason, Billy, Kimberly and Zack are zapped inside. Only Tommy and Trini now remain, but with Tommy getting weak, they transport back to the command center.
Time is quickly running out. Zedd has Haley trapped in a cave and is using some sort of red lighting to turn her evil. However, he plans to let the girl and the other rangers go if Tommy will surrender to him. Though Trini is willing to go and fight on her own, Tommy decides that he will turn himself over to Zedd. However, at the last moment, Alpha notice a weakness in the Invenusable Flytrap. The other rangers trapped inside need to created heat inside to escape. They put their power points together and then start pummeling the beast from the inside. The trapped rangers are then burped up before using the power blaster to get rid of the nasty plant. They then rescue Haley, who later tells everyone at the juice bar how awesome the Power Rangers were.
Okay, Lord Zedd’s continued fixation on stealing the green ranger’s powers is really really getting old. This has been his big focus for the last several episodes and so far he’s not getting anywhere. I mean, maybe he should just focus on smashing a few buildings with a giant monster. That usually works. I know that they say that if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again…but this getting ridiculous.
Ultimately, there’s not all much to get excited about in this episode. A lot of time is spent having Billy invent a tracking device, which then needs to be sent up into the air with balloons so it can follow the wind. So, we get science projects and balloons but not even a putty battle in this episode. Kinda boring, if I do say. Though, in lieu of an actual putty battle, we do get to Bulk and Skull doing bargain basement putty cosplay and smashing a kid’s sand castle. It’s actually one of the funnier Bulk and Skull moments we’ve had this season.
As for our monster, this one is a doozy. Instead of making a monster who is a giant venus flytrap, they come up with a creature whose body is made up of several flytraps. It’s head is a flytrap, it’s chest is a flytrap, each arm and leg is made up of multiple flytraps. Strangely, we only see the chest flytrap actually open, so most of the time this things just looks like something that dropped on the floor from the salad bar at Shoney’s. It doesn’t even have a face, which succeeds in giving the beast no personality whatsoever. This is one of the lamest monsters we’ve had in a while.
This really is a generally weak episode. Perhaps we’ll have a better time next week as we leave behind evil lettuce and battle…(wait for it)…a giant bug with a guitar. I’m totally serious there, folks. Join us next time for The Song of Guitardo.
Channel: Superhero 