Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (season 1) facts for kids

Two astronauts find a strange dumpster on the moon. They open it, accidentally releasing Rita Repulsa and her minions Goldar, Squatt, Baboo, and Finster. Rita then sets her eyes on the nearest planet: Earth. Meanwhile, at a local youth center in Angel Grove, California, we are introduced to "teenagers with attitude" Jason Lee Scott, Trini Kwan, Zack Taylor, Kimberly Hart, and Billy Cranston. Within the California desert, at the Command Center, Zordon and Alpha 5 are alerted of Rita's escape and teleport the five to the Command Center. After receiving Power Morphers, the teens morph into the Power Rangers and take on Goldar and the Putty Patrol. Also making their debut are the bullying but laughable Bulk and Skull, and Juice Bar proprietor Ernie.

After seeing Jason climb a rope at Ernie's Juice Bar, Trini reveals to the other Rangers that she is terrified of heights. Billy unveils his latest invention: wrist communicators with which they can contact Zordon and also teleport to the Command Center. On the moon, Rita decides to trap the Rangers in a time warp the same way she did Zordon. Squatt and Baboo send a rigged toy rocket to Earth that activates the time warp. Rita has Finster create the zombie-like Bones monster to control the time warp. Zordon sends the teens to defeat a small band of Putties. During the fight, Billy gets chased to the top of a cliff, and Trini must face her fears to save him.

Kimberly and Trini attempt to close down a hazardous waste dump. Little do they know Rita is behind the dumpsite and plans to destroy the Earth by pollution. The Putty Patrol soon ambushes the two girls. Rita unleashes the powerful Mighty Minotaur onto Earth to keep the others busy. The boys are forced to morph and confront the Minotaur first. He proves to be an overwhelming opponent, and Rita uses her wand to make him grow. Trini and Kimberly defeat the putties, and the Rangers summon their Dinozords. Predicting defeat, Zordon calls them back to the Command Center and awards the Rangers special weapons: Jason the Power Sword, Trini the Power Daggers, Billy the Power Lance, Kimberly the Power Bow, and Zack the Power Axe. Working as a team, and combining their new arsenal into the "Power Blaster," destroys the Mighty Minotaur.

At the Juice Bar, Jason is trying to break Bulk's bench-pressing record, but is unable to. Doubting his ability, Kimberly and Zack try to comfort him but have mixed success. Rita decides to isolate Jason from the others by sending King Sphinx to Earth. With his mighty wings, the monster blows Kimberly and Zack away, leaving Jason alone. After teleporting himself and Jason to a desert, Sphinx is joined by Goldar. After regrouping with Billy and Trini, the teens arrive at the Command Center and witness first-hand Jason's struggle with a grown Goldar and Sphinx.

Kimberly teaches a dance class at the juice bar. Melissa, a young deaf girl, starts to run into the other girls. Embarrassed because of her impaired hearing, Melissa leaves. Rita decides that music is the perfect way to conquer the Rangers. She summons Gnarly Gnome, a garden gnome with a magical accordion, and sends him to Earth. Gnarly Gnome's music hypnotizes some girls from the dancing class, and they are lured to a cave.

Ernie hosts a Cultural Food Fair at the juice bar, and the Rangers help, offering foods from around the world to people. When Bulk and Skull arrive, they turn the peaceful fair into a full-on food fight. Rita is inspired by this madness and generates Pudgy Pig, a wicked monster that is always hungry. Pudgy Pig will deplete the entire world of its food supply in 48 hours unless the Rangers can thwart him. The Rangers battle the pig, but problems arise when the villain eats their Power Weapons.

Kimberly and Trini become "big sisters" to a mischievous little girl named Maria. At her palace, Rita discovers a chest containing the Power Eggs, magic eggs with the power to conquer all. None of Rita's henchmen, however, can open it, and nor can Rita. It is discovered that only the innocence of a child will release the eggs. Rita kidnaps the bratty Maria, with the intent of using her to open the chest. The Rangers face Chunky Chicken to save her. All of this, plus, Billy unveils his specially modified Volkswagen Beetle, which he calls the RADBUG.

Billy's young protege, Willie, has created his best invention yet: a hologame, which he enters into a science fair. Bulk and Skull happen upon the science fair and cause trouble. While the teens resolve the situation somewhat humorously, the commotion leads Willie to be disqualified. Disheartened, Willie flees but is kidnapped by Eye Guy, a monster who plans to steal his vast intelligence. The teens morph into action but soon find out Eye Guy will not be easily defeated. Even the combined Power Blaster cannot destroy him.

Trini brings her favorite doll, an elf named Mr. Ticklesneezer, to Angel Grove High for Hobby Week. This catches the eye of Rita, who has the doll stolen and turned into a real monster. Ticklesneezer goes around shrinking everything, from buildings to trains, even Billy and Trini, and collecting them in bottles. Can the Rangers rescue their friends and bring an end to this nightmare?

The Rangers and Ernie plan a surprise party at the Juice Bar for Zack. The secrecy leads him to believe that they have forgotten his birthday. Rita shows that she cares--about seeing to it that he never again lives to celebrate another, that is--by sending down a special treat, a vicious black-armored monster known as Knasty Knight. Zack soon finds out he is way over his head. Happy Birthday indeed.

The Rangers attend a fair at Angel Grove Park, with Trini's cousin Sylvia. One particular clown, named Pineapple, lures Sylvia away from Trini when she is not looking. When Trini catches up with Sylvia, she witnesses Pineapple turn Sylvia into a cardboard cutout. The fair proves to be a trap for the Rangers, as they find out when the Putty Patrol arrives. Trini takes Sylvia to Billy's lab to return Sylvia to normal. When the Putties are dealt with, the Rangers confront Pineapple, who reveals himself as Pineoctopus, Finster's latest creation.

The gang is playing volleyball when Baboo appears above the field. Without being noticed, he slips an odd potion into their water glasses. Kimberly and Billy drink the water and start acting like real punks. Rita plots to use the divided Rangers to allow her latest monster, the Terror Toad, to destroy the town. Alpha must journey to another dimension to find a unique singing squash, as only its juice can restore Billy and Kimberly to their right minds. Alpha must hurry, though, as the Terror Toad devours Trini and Zack, leaving Jason to fight the monster alone.

The teens are preparing for the school dance, and everyone has a date except Billy. He then bumps into a brainy girl named Marge, and the two hit it off immediately. But Rita's ally, Madame Woe, mistakes Marge for a Ranger and captures her. The actual Rangers come to her rescue, but can they save her, or will Billy remain dateless for the upcoming dance? Meanwhile, after Bulk crashes into the cake for the dance, he and Skull use disguises to sneak into the Youth Center to keep a low profile, but Ernie quickly catches them, and they are forced to pay for the cake if they want to return.

Kimberly goes flying with her pilot uncle Steve, with Bulk and Skull tagging along. Rita's henchman Squatt spikes Steve's drink with a sleeping potion, which kicks into effect while in the skies over Angel Grove. Kimberly nervously takes over flying the four-seater plane, but even with a little guidance from Alpha 5, can she land safely? Meanwhile, her teammates face the dreaded Snizard. To make matters worse, Kimberly's Power Bow is the only means of destroying Snizard.

Fed up with being picked on by the likes of Bulk and Skull, Billy decides to re-enroll in Jason's Karate class. Meanwhile, Trini's Uncle Howard arrives to visit. Howard is a scientist and a very experienced martial artist. Rita, meanwhile, is more interested in Howard's new invisibility formula and sends Putties to kidnap Trini's uncle and hold him for ransom. Rita's latest monster, the Dark Warrior, is dispatched to fight the Ranger teens.

Billy has invented a machine that reads minds, which he tests out on himself and Kimberly. Unknown to him; however, Squatt has tampered with the device, and as a result, Kimberly and Billy's minds are swapped, driving the two at each other's throats. Rita sends down the Genie to further complicate things. With Kimberly and Billy's minds boggled, how can they work as a team to bottle up this fiend? In A B-Story, Bulk and Skull attempt to exploit Billy's mind-reading machine, but their minds switch as well.

The new kid in town, Tommy Oliver, has martial arts skills that rival Jason's. This catches Rita's eye, and she prepares her master plan to destroy the Power Rangers once and for all. She kidnaps Tommy, puts him under her spell, and by giving him a power coin, transforms him into the Evil Green Ranger. After infiltrating the Command Center and disabling Alpha and Zordon, Tommy beats the Rangers in battle, sending them to retreat back to their damaged headquarters.

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With the Command Center still incapacitated from the Green Ranger's attack, and reeling from their first real defeat, Billy and Trini attempt to restore operations with Zordon to learn some answers about their mysterious foe. Meanwhile, Rita gives Tommy the Sword of Darkness, which acts as a catalyst for keeping him under her spell permanently. After he meets with Jason, Tommy teleports the Red Ranger to the Dark Dimension. Trapped, with no way out, no way of morphing, and no way of contacting his teammates, Jason faces Goldar alone. Back on Earth, the remaining Rangers face the Green Ranger again.

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Jason continues his struggle with Goldar in the Dark Dimension, and eventually, the Green Ranger as well. Luckily, in the nick of time, Billy locks onto his signal and teleports him to safety. But with Zordon still lost, the victory is bittersweet. To make things worse, Rita summons Scorpina, a female warrior with a nasty sting. She fights the Rangers but is recalled by Rita as she reveals her master plan for permanently ridding the Rangers of their Zords. Phase One: Lure the Rangers out by unleashing a fully-grown Goldar.

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Watching Goldar demolish the city via the viewing globe, the Rangers have no choice but to morph and activate Megazord--all part of Rita's plan. A spell eclipses the sun and cuts off Megazord's solar power reserves. Using her magic wand, Rita grows Scorpina and, soon after, the Green Ranger. The Megazord soon falls to the evil trio. The Zords separate and scatter into a fiery chasm opened by Rita. With their fighting spirit diminished, the Rangers return to the Command Center, where the true identity of the Green Ranger is revealed.

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Tommy is revealed to be the Green Ranger, and Jason plans to break the spell holding him under Rita's control. Her endgame now realized, Rita brings forth the ancient Dragonzord from Angel Grove bay. It begins to rampage through the city, while the helpless Rangers watch the destruction unfold. Zordon's transmission is finally reestablished. The Megazord is recovered and victoriously faces the Dragonzord. With the Zord incapacitated, Tommy is confronted in a climactic swordfight by Jason.

On the moon while Rita naps, Baboo and Squatt take charge by making a monster, a turtle with a stoplight on his back named Shellshock. This monster, when dispatched, proves to be a terrible menace to the Rangers and uses his "go" beam to put Trini in perpetual motion, speeding her away. Flashing his "stop" beam freezes Billy, Zack, and Kimberly, leaving Jason to stop Shellshock. Fortunately, he is not alone, as newcomer Tommy and his Dragonzord join the fight.

Trini and Billy petition to save the Forest Spirit Statue from demolition. It supposedly protects the woods from nasty bug infestations. Rita swipes the statue and replaces it with a lookalike, which hides her Spidertron monster. Zack brings his young Hip-Hop Kido class to the park to work out nearby, and all but Zack are put under a sleeping spell by Spidertron, who soon reveals himself. Alas for Zack, he has a deathly fear of bugs, especially spiders. The Rangers morph, and the eight-legged menace grows. This results in the need to employ a new zord combination in this fight, Dragonzord in Battle Mode.

Kimberly designs a flower float for the big Angel Grove parade. But Putties drop by the Juice Bar and trash it before she can turn the design in. Kimberly soon has to face the evil flesh-eating, blossom-spewing Spit Flower monster. To make matters worse, the Rangers' Zords fail in stomping it, and even Tommy's powerful Dragonzord is useless in wilting this flower.

A costume party is in progress at the Youth Center. Rita uses this distraction to mine a special clay on Earth, from which she plans to create Super Putties. She sends her own version of the Frankenstein Monster to the party, and he is immediately mistaken for Tommy. Billy, dressed as Sherlock Holmes, investigates and finds that Franken is no Tommy. This means that the time has come to morph.

Jason and Tommy team-up for an upcoming Team Ninja competition at the Youth Center. However, they have trouble working together, as both are used to sparring one-on-one. Rita unleashes the Super Putties. As the other Rangers fight the nigh-invincible clay soldiers, Zordon sends Jason and Tommy to retrieve new weapons. They face a strange creature known as Titanus, and must learn teamwork in the face of adversity...or both of them will be killed.

The Rangers are involved with a play of Rumpelstiltskin at Angel Grove High. An antique spinning wheel that had belonged to Kimberly's grandmother is used as a prop, which leaves it in a position to be captured by Rita's goons, who turn it into the evil Wheel Of Misfortune. The Rangers have to bring a stop to the giant wheel without ruining Kimberly's family heirloom.

Before an upcoming dance competition, Zack, despite his usual smooth moves, has a massive case of self-doubt. Rita is inspired and aims to send the six Rangers to her very own transdimensional island, where a person's worst fears become a reality. She summons the celestial being Lokar and his wicked Mutitis creature, either the Megazord has to prove to be a match or the Rangers will be island-bound.

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Trapped on the strange Island of Illusion, each of the Rangers comes face to face with their own worst fears. The island's only inhabitant, an elf named Quagmire, appears and offers them rhyming reminders of self-confidence, but whether he is friend or foe is not immediately apparent. Even if they can get off the island, the team will still have to face a second round against Mutitis...and they may not last that second round.

Jason and his young cousin Jeremy become embroiled in a plot by Rita and Scorpina to capture the powerful Mirror of Destruction, while Zack takes the others on a driving trip outside Angel Grove. A Rockstar monster rounds out the cast. Jason is pummeled to the ground by this lobbing rock, and the others are recalled from vacation to rescue him. Jeremy finds the mirror, and, to his amazement, he finds that it can shatter Putties. This, however, also makes him a target for Scorpina.

Kimberly wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and begins to have a terrible day. It becomes worse when Rita sends the Samurai Fan Man to Earth. He traps the bad-haired, ratty-clothed, annoyed Kimberly inside an urn, connected to another dimension. The Rangers race against the clock to free her before she is permanently lost inside it.

While Tommy is competing with Bulk for a role in a Karate commercial, the other Rangers take to the beach for some fun in the sun. Rita takes a day off, leaving Goldar to send a double threat: the cocooning menace of Scorpina's pet worm, and the baseball-fevered Babe Ruthless.

Finster creates the Fang monster for Rita's birthday. The new beast becomes enraged, however, when Baboo and Squatt eat his delicious rare "Gooney Bird" eggs. Goldar lies to Fang, pinning the blame on the Rangers, turning his anger toward them, and it is no certainty whether they stand a chance without Tommy, whom Putties captured while he was on the way to Angel Grove High's big talent show.

Rita plans to use a magic candle, which, once burned out, will drain Tommy of the Green Ranger powers. Goldar kidnaps Tommy and holds him in the Dark Dimension. The other Rangers arrive at the Command Center, trying to devise a plan to rescue Tommy. However, a monster in disguise as Dragonzord called the Cyclops becomes the focus of their attention. They battle the impostor. Meanwhile, Tommy manages to escape and calls for the real Dragonzord, and the monster escapes. Back at the Command Center, Zordon explains the whole situation to the Rangers. While still under her spell, Tommy came into contact with the wax. Once the candle burns out, his powers will return to Rita.

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Zordon explains that someone must enter the Dark Dimension and retrieve the candle if they are to save Tommy's powers and Jason volunteers. With Billy's help, Alpha discovers a doorway between dimensions. The Rangers find the location and set up a device to open the door, Jason enters and encounters Goldar. Rita sends the Cyclops back to Earth to lure Tommy out. With the Rangers detained, Tommy battles the one-eyed giant himself, and in his weakened state, he is soon overpowered. Jason is forced to abandon the collection of the candle, and the Rangers morph to Tommy's aid. The Rangers succeed in destroying Cyclops, but the victory is bittersweet as the candle has burned out.

Rita sends down the deadly 40-story-tall Hatchasaurus, commanded by Cardiotron. The Dinozord manages to defeat this large bird/dinosaur hybrid. But he reforms, and in reforming, he becomes more deadly, easily trashing the Megazord. To make matters worse, Rita also casts a binding spell on Dragonzord, disabling it. Jason decides to confront Cardiotron by jumping inside the Hatchasaurus. Now possessing the Dragon Coin and by calling for the Dragon Shield and Dagger, Jason armors up and attempts to break the hold over Tommy's former zord. Bulk and Skull attempt to use Biff to intimidate Kameron at a karate tournament, but the boy learns a valuable lesson in respect and being a good sport.

Angel Grove City is polluted, and so the Rangers come together to form a Clean-Up Club. Rita decides to end the Rangers' plight and releases the Polluticorn. Jason uses the Dragon Shield in defeating this mythical terror. Skull attempts to film Bulk in a positive light but ends up embarrassing him in front of their class after watching their tape.

Rita sends a special type of Putty designed to impersonate the Rangers in both of their forms to Angel Grove. Once there, the doppelgängers cause trouble and our heroes are sent to detention. With the real Rangers in punishment, their doubles are free to wreak havoc.

Angel Grove is hosting a celebration in the park called Power Ranger Day, honoring the superheroes. The teens plan to make an appearance, but before they can morph, Rita abducts Angel Grove's citizens, relocates her palace to Earth, and launches a new attack using a War Zord called Cyclopsis with Goldar piloting. The Rangers summon the Zords, but Cyclopsis proves to be a tough opponent, and Megazord is soon struggling; calling for the Ultrazord, the Rangers destroy Cyclopsis. However, Rita deals a savage blow by burying Titanus and then summons Lokar to rebuild Goldar's war machine. Up and running, Cyclopsis is stronger than ever, and with the Zords damaged, things look bad.

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Cyclopsis continues to wreak havoc in Angel Grove, and the Rangers' Zords are only at half power. Nonetheless, they return to the battlefield. Cyclopsis proves too much and severely damages both Megazord and Dragonzord. Rita delivers a significant surge of energy from her wand, and both zords fade away. Although this is a safety measure to prevent the zords' destruction, the teens are still in full retreat. They fall back to Billy's lab to regroup, where Goldar greets them. After trashing Billy's garage, the teens scramble to the Command Center, where Alpha 5 has some exciting news about the War Zord's main weakness. Tommy returns in a cameo at the end of the episode.

For a school project, the Rangers spend the afternoon planting trees in the park. But Rita has some seeds of her own and sends Squatt down to plant her latest monster, the Octoplant. Jason returns to the park to investigate, but the vines of this latest creation soon have him tangled. Bulk and Skull attempt to remove the trees the Rangers planted and move them elsewhere, but goes awry, and they spend a day being stuck inside a portable toilet.

Our heroes spearhead a drive to find homes for stray animals, including an old lady's pig named Norman. But Norman is no ordinary pig. At Rita's command, he transforms into the infamous Pudgy Pig--an enemy whom the Rangers fought before. Now the Power Rangers have to stop the reborn Pudgy Pig without harming Norman. Bulk and Skull attempt to take on raising Norman themselves, but after a frightening encounter with Pudgy Pig, they both find themselves scared of pigs.

Jason, Trini, and Zack are looking forward to their scuba diving trip, but Billy refuses to accompany them, as he has a massive fear of fish. Kimberly stays behind to keep him company. Rita decides to use Billy's fear to her advantage and tells Finster to send down the Goo Fish. With the other Rangers down under, Billy has to learn to control his fear if he is to can this fish.

The Rangers and their friends win the grand prize at the annual Oddball Games: the Noble Lion Trophy. Rita and Goldar plot to transform the trophy into Goatan the Storm-Bringer. Meanwhile, Zack has a date with his long-time crush Angela, leaving only four Rangers to deal with this illusion. Bulk and Skull steal the Noble Lion Trophy for themselves but end up being caught by the Angel Grove PD.

In preparation for a big upcoming exam, the Rangers go up to the mountain to study together at a cabin belonging to Billy's uncle. Rita devises a plan to activate the Crystal of Nightmares to break the Rangers' self-confidence. While they sleep, Goldar is sent to Earth to use the crystal. With our heroes stripped of their confidence, are the Power Rangers finished as well? Bulk and Skull attempt to cheat on their test from the Rangers, but wind up with Fs and extended periods of detention in Mr. Caplan's office.

The Juice Bar is in trouble, and the kids' rally to help Ernie. Meanwhile, Rita makes a fierce Fighting Flea monster and plants it on a lost dog as well as Jason. Bulk and Skull manage to steal the lost dog from Jason, but find themselves affected by the fleas and are forced to wear dog collars for a week.

The kids of Angel Grove High prepare a time capsule for future citizens. But Squatt and Baboo try and steal the capsule for Rita. Rita sends the Jellyfish to challenge our heroes. With its dimension-warping umbrella and corrosive acid spray, this Jellyfish proves to be the utmost terror.

Trini is learning a new style of Kung Fu. Meanwhile, Rita sends down the mighty Mantis monster to challenge Trini's new skills. Bulk and Skull attempt to open up their own brand of Kung Fu called Cockroach Kung Fu, but end up embarrassing themselves.

At the Youth Center, everyone celebrates Parents' Day, including the Rangers' parents. Rita has a brilliant scheme: trap the parents in her Dark Dimension and hypnotize Billy to steal the Dragon Dagger from the Command Center. He gives it to Goldar and makes the Rangers choose between their parents and their Power Coins. But Goldar double-crosses them and teleports away. When everything seems hopeless, Jason pulls out the Green Power Coin and reveals his own deception.

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Tommy arrives at the Youth Center but is puzzled to find it empty. Then he is teleported to the Command Center. Zordon plans to re-energize the Dragon Coin and bring the Green Ranger back. The transfer is successful, and Tommy confronts Goldar and retrieves the five power coins. The Power Rangers, back in action with Tommy by their side once again, face the latest of Finster's creations, Dramole.

Billy is shocked when he gets his first B ever. This gives Rita an idea: she sends Putties to trap some of the Rangers, leaving Billy and Trini to fight the ominous Grumble Bee.

Jason and Tommy are teaching self-defense classes to mothers in Angel Grove. Rita sees that they work well as a team when they put their heads together, so Finster makes a two-headed parrot monster. The Rangers are disappointed when they find that this creature is nearly invincible. Billy points out that since parrots like fruit, they could use that against it. All but Tommy distract the monster while he seeks a specific kind of fruit. Furious, Rita sends Putties to steal all the fruit in the area. A desperate Tommy must think quickly to find a solution before time runs out. Fortunately, Ernie has a specific type of fruit that Tommy needs to distract the parrot monster.

Zack helps out by teaching magic to some day-camp kids, which works a bit of magic on Angela. But Rita makes some magic of her own and creates the Peckster to terrorize the city.

Kimberly is chosen to compete against Skull on the hottest TV game show in Angel Grove. Things go well for her until Rita starts a new offensive, and the Rangers are called into action. This time they face the Pumpkin Rapper, a hip-hopping terror who takes our heroes to the end of their rope.

Jason and Zack help Roger practice for a soccer team and are finding it challenging to teach the discouraged boy. To "help" Roger, Rita sends the Soccadillo monster to attack them in the park. Meanwhile, Tommy's communicator is taken from him, making it impossible to reach him.

Jason and Tommy volunteer to teach kids the value of teamwork and martial arts. But their teamwork is undermined as Rita casts a spell that turns them against each other. Rita sends down the Slippery Shark to split the Rangers up permanently.

Kimberly helps her young cousin Kelly try to make the junior high cheerleading squad. But Rita plans to use Kelly to lure the Rangers into a battle with the muscular Lizzinator.

Tommy wants to try out for football but knows nothing of it. Ernie teaches Tommy how to play and helps him train for tryouts, but Tommy can't seem to get the hang of it. Rita decides to help him in the form of Rhinoblaster and some Putties that imprison all the Rangers but him. Knowing that his powers will not last much longer, he challenges the monster, but to no avail. Zordon tells him what he must do to release the Rangers, but this is easier said than done. In the end, Jason, Billy, and Zack make the football team, along with Tommy as the star quarterback.

Rita plans to use the badges of darkness to turn some Putties into Mutant Rangers. Goldar trains six of them at the beach. Five of them pass, but the sixth fails miserably and is sent away. The other five Putties become the Black, Blue, Yellow, Pink, and Green Rangers. Since no one is worthy enough to become a Red Ranger, Rita has Finster create a leader, Commander Crayfish. The Rangers have faced doppelgängers before; however, as Kimberly and Tommy soon find out, this will be no walk in the park.

Zack is so madly infatuated with Angela that he wants to impress her with a pair of pearl earrings but can find none that are affordable. Just when he gives up, an unexpected opportunity presents him with precisely what he sought. Little does he know that Rita has plans for his date with Angela, especially when the earrings cast a spell on all but Tommy and Zack. Both must face the Oysterizer, who shoots acidic goo from his stomach.