Power Rangers RPM (2009-2010)

Power Rangers RPM was the seventeenth season of Power Rangers, based on the Super Sentai series Engine Sentai Go-Onger. It was the final series to be produced by Disney following the franchise's re-acquisition by Saban Brands and aired exclusively on ABC Kids.

It features the debut of Four Megazords Combination and also a sequel story to Power Rangers Beast Morphers where Young Nate uses Morph X and Snake DNA to revive Venjix as Evox.

Production[]

Power Rangers RPM was the first Power Rangers season since 2005 to have a fresh lead producer as Bruce Kalish departed in 2008 to work on Aaron Stone. Taking his place was Eddie Guzelian, former American Dragon: Jake Long executive producer and Kim Possible story editor (and it is not a coincidence. RPM was his first live action series. With Guzelian came two writers he had been associated with on various Disney Channel projects, Matthew Negrete and Madellaine Paxson. The three of them, along with RPM story editor John Tellegen and producer Jackie Marchand made up the writing team for the 32-episode season. An important thing to realize about RPM is that it was supposed to be the final season ever produced (in the same vein as In Space or Wild Force) for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the fact that New Zealand (where the series had been filmed since Ninja Storm) was putting up the price on filming permits.

A few months into production, Marchand left the show, seemingly fired given her message to the fans of "welcome from the peace conference", alluding to the situation in which Austin St. John, Thuy Trang and Walter Jones were written off the show. Not long after, Guzelian was fired mid-season by Disney executives due to reportedly going over budget twice and replaced by returning writer and producer Judd Lynn in July. Lynn was and still is the longest running staff member in the show's history excluding show-runners Haim Saban and Shuki Levy and became head writer during Power Rangers Turbo during the production hell that series went through and became executive producer by the time of In Space. Reports have Paxson and Negrete leaving the show in solidarity with Guzelian. Lynn's return to the series that he has been involved with since day one was not an easy one and there have been reports of difficulty with the transition between executive producers. Lynn left the series with Time Force, but a sudden rise in the quality of Jungle Fury writing caused rumors that he may have contributed a script under a pseudonym during the Writer's Strike. This was later proven to be true as he confirmed that he worked under the name Ally Mondera. However, one of Lynn's writing quirks has always been to discard past writer's ideas in favor of his own whenever he was brought on partway through. It's the reason that the Dimitria sister and Millennium Message subplots were dropped immediately after their introduction and why Finn's issues with his father in this season never get resolution. Even though Disney canned the franchise, Saban (now under the name Saban Brands) brought back the rights and became the Neo Saban Era.

Audition Process[]

Milo Cawthorne auditioned for the Green Ranger, but was originally left off the short list until Eddie Guzelian requested he be brought back. Daniel Ewing had auditioned for Power Rangers Jungle Fury before RPM had casting calls. He had auditioned for the Red Ranger part in a red tank top. Mike Ginn originally auditioned for the Green Ranger, but got call backs for Red and Blue though he was ultimately chosen for Gold. Ari Boyland had auditioned for many Power Rangers seasons before RPM and had a holding contract for Dino Thunder and one other. He had auditioned for Red and Black because Blue was not being auditioned because "He had no personality in the Sentai". They asked him to come in with any accent he wanted for Blue to which he did his New Zealand, Irish, and American accents including doing mime though he settled on Scottish. Adelaide Kane had moved to New Zealand on her own and this was one of her first major productions. For the episode Ranger Blue, the Aid Worker who is with Flynn was a boom operator that not only worked on RPM, but also worked on The Tribe when Ari was ten and on the show.

Filming[]

Koichi Sakamoto trained the cast in stunt fighting as lead up to filming. Shooting times varied on set with some days taking upwards of 12 hours of work. Scenes of the desert wastelands were shot in an actual desert, the majority of which involved Mike Ginn and Daniel Ewing. The most difficult scene shot according to the majority of the cast was the Go-Onger scene in which the team piled into a van in the hot sun, when asked to take off their jackets they were told no as it would ruin the shot.

Behind the Scenes[]

During Guy Fawkes Day while filming, Eka Darville threw some fireworks onto Adelaide Kane's balcony and accidentally burned her clothes that were being left out to dry.

Synopsis[]

In the not-so-distant future, the mysterious and sinister Venjix Computer Network is attempting to conquer and lay ruin to the entire planet. It had succeeded and nearly conquered the entire Earth. Fortunately, mankind has retreated from the threat into environmentally-shielded domed cities to protect against the pollution and machines unleashed by Venjix. In the shining city of Corinth, an elite force of Rangers must learn to drive and operate an arsenal of radically advanced biotech vehicles in order to battle the attacking machine army bent on world domination.

The events of the show were intended to take place in an alternate universe which was confirmed two years later in the Power Rangers Super Samurai team-up movie with RPM "Clash of the Red Rangers" when Scott traveled to the main universe. As such, the Morphin Grid took on a new name - the Bio Field. The only signs of previous characters are an Operation Overdrive helmet at Alphabet Soup and Jungle Karma Pizza appearing in "Ranger Green" although the presence of the former never gets explained.

Episodes[]

The Road to Corinth - Saturday March 7, 2009
Fade to Black - Saturday March 7, 2009
Rain - Saturday March 14, 2009
Go for the Green - Saturday March 21, 2009
Handshake - Saturday March 28, 2009
Ranger Green - Saturday April 4, 2009
Ranger Red - Saturday April 11, 2009
Ranger Yellow - Part I - Saturday April 18, 2009
Ranger Yellow - Part II - Saturday April 25, 2009
Ranger Blue - Saturday May 2, 2009
Doctor K - Saturday May 9, 2009
Blitz - Saturday May 16, 2009
Brother’s Keeper - Saturday May 23, 2009
Embodied - Saturday June 13, 2009
Ghosts - Saturday June 20, 2009
In or Out - Saturday July 4, 2009
Prisoners - Saturday July 11, 2009
Belly of the Beast - Saturday August 1, 2009
Three’s a Crowd - Saturday August 8, 2009
Heroes Among Us - Saturday August 15, 2009
Not So Simple - Saturday August 22, 2009
The Dome Dolls - Saturday September 5, 2009
And... Action! - Saturday September 12, 2009
Ancient History - Saturday September 19, 2009
Key to the Past - Saturday September 26, 2009
Beyond a Doubt - Saturday September 26, 2009
Control-Alt-Delete - Saturday October 3, 2009
Run Ziggy Run - Saturday October 3, 2009
If Venjix Won - Saturday December 19, 2009
End Game - Saturday December 19, 2009
Danger and Destiny - Part I - Saturday December 26, 2009
Danger and Destiny - Part II - Saturday December 26, 2009

Opening Credits - Part I[]

Eka Darville as Scott Truman
Ari Boyland as Flynn McAllistair
Rose McIver as Summer Landsdown
Dan Ewing as Dillon
Milo Cawthorne as Ziggy Grover
James Gaylyn as Colonel Mason Truman
Adelaide Kane as Tenaya 7
with: Olivia Tennet
Producer: Sally Campbell
Executive Producers: Koichi Sakamoto, Eddie Guzelian
Power Rangers RPM

Opening Credits - Part II[]

Eka Darville as Scott Truman
Ari Boyland as Flynn McAllistair
Rose McIver as Summer Landsdown
Milo Cawthorne as Ziggy Grover
Dan Ewing as Dillon
Olivia Tennet as Dr. K
James Gaylyn as Colonel Mason Truman
Adelaide Kane as Tenaya 7
Producer: Sally Campbell
Executive Producers: Koichi Sakamoto, Eddie Guzelian
Power Rangers RPM

Opening Credits - Part III[]

Eka Darville as Scott Truman
Ari Boyland as Flynn McAllistair
Rose McIver as Summer Landsdown
Milo Cawthorne as Ziggy Grover
Dan Ewing as Dillon
Mike Ginn as Gem
Li Ming Hu as Gemma
Olivia Tennet as Dr. K
James Gaylyn as Colonel Mason Truman
Adelaide Kane as Tenaya 7
Producer: Sally Campbell
Executive Producers: Koichi Sakamoto, Judd Lynn
Power Rangers RPM

Opening Credits - Part IV[]

Eka Darville as Scott Truman
Ari Boyland as Flynn McAllistair
Rose McIver as Summer Landsdown
Milo Cawthorne as Ziggy Grover
Dan Ewing as Dillon
Mike Ginn as Gem
Li Ming Hu as Gemma
Olivia Tennet as Dr. K
James Gaylyn as Colonel Mason Truman
Adelaide Kane as Tenaya 15
Producer: Sally Campbell
Executive Producers: Koichi Sakamoto, Judd Lynn
Power Rangers RPM

Closing Credits[]

Damien Avery as Corporal Hicks
Mia Koning as Vasquez
Gary Young as Ronin
Mia Koning as Vasquez
Andrew Stehlin as Hector
Taran Howell as Hulking Inmate
John Sumner as Fresno Bob
Ming-Jen Huang as Ventriloquist
John Sumner as Fresno Bob
Murray Keane as Benny
Brian Satterfield as Driving Instructor
Sarah Valentine as Nurse
Leand Macadaan as Scorpion Henchman
Fellis McGuire as Marcus Truman
Bruce Phillips as Andrews
Stephen Papps as Mr Landsdown
Angela Shirley as Mrs Landsdown
Stephanie Lee as Brie
Steven A. Davis as City Guard
Ella Edward as Little Girl
Sebastian Holland as Brainy Kid
Thomas Stoneman as Shy Kid
Adrian Boyd as Soldier
Faine Alexander as Mrs Winchester
Jos Hoetjes as Chaz Winchester
Patrick Morrison as Motorcycle Medic
Jason Hoyte as Mr McAllistair
Jake McGregor as Young Flynn
Corrin Ellingford as Well Intentioned Volunteer
Siobhan Nolan as Female Cop
Stacey Houghton as Young Girl
Angela Cheeseman as Mother
Bronson Steele as Military Transport Driver
Paige Waddel as Penny
Steven A. Davis as Mayor’s Son
Mike Ginn as Gem
Li Ming Hu as Gemma
Molly Standbridge as Young Doctor K
Jim McLarty, Cassandra Woodhouse as Government Worker
Steven A. Davis as Thug #1
Jonathan Gallia as Thug #2
Mia Koning as Vasquez
Mia Koning as Radio Voice
Andrian Boyd as Student Guy
Alex Twentyman as City Guard
Judy Rankin as Mayor
Douglas McCaulay as Thug
Joe Naufahu as Guard
Andrew Laing as the voice of Venjix
Mark Mitchinson as the voice of General Shifter
Charlie McDermott as the voice of General Crunch
Peter Ford as the voice of Water Hoser
Kelson Henderson as the voice of Sat-Bot
Simon McKinney as the voice of Dyna-Bot
Leighton Cardno as the voice of Kilobyte
Lori Dungey as the voice of Computer
Unit Production Manager: Carole Pagonis
Post Production Producer: Charles Knight
First Assistant Director: Craig Wilson
Production Designer: Miro Harre
Second Unit Director: Ken Ohara
Director of Photography: Neil Cervin
Edited by: Allanah Milne
Costume Designer: Jaindra Watson
Theme by: Stephen Hampton, John Adair
Music by: Leigh Roberts, Gad Emile Zeitune, Wayne Jones
New Zealand Casting by: Terri De’ath
Australian Casting by: Greg Apps
Stunt Coordinator: Mark Harris
Art Director: Petelo Vaihu
Second Assistant Director: Puti Ra Simich-Pene
2nd Unit Assistant Director: Rod Smith
2nd Unit Director of Photography: Andrew McGeorge
Sound Recordist: Dave Hurley
Camera Operator: Peter Janes
Make up/Hair Supervisor: Kevin Dufty
Mechanical Effects Supervisor: Richard Schuler
Creatures Supervisor: David Holmberg
Location Manager: Sally Sherratt
Visual Effects by: PRPVFX Limited
Visual Effects Supervisor: Carol Petrie
Visual Effects Coordinator: Giles Molloy
Post Production Sound: The Inside Track
Sound Designer: Chris Burt
Sound Effects Editor: Stefan Brough
Based on “Go-Onger” from: Toei Company Ltd
From the Japanese Series Originated by: Saburo Hatte
Filmed on location in New Zealand.
Any persons or events depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and unintentional.
This motion picture is protected under the laws of the United States and other countries. Unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.
RENAISSANCE ATLANTIC ENTERTAINMENT and TOEI COMPANY LIMITED
RANGER PRODUCTIONS LTD