Power Rangers Operation Overdrive
Power Rangers Operation Overdrive is the fifteenth season of the television franchise Power Rangers. The season uses footage and other material from the 30th Super Sentai series GoGo Sentai Boukenger, which celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of that franchise. In addition, this season's team-up episode, "Once a Ranger", commemorates the fifteenth anniversary of the Power Rangers franchise. The season premiered on February 26, 2007,[1] on Toon Disney's Jetix programming block. It was the first season to use high definition footage from the Super Sentai franchise, although this footage was scaled down to 4:3 aspect ratio.
| Power Rangers Operation Overdrive | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Based on | GoGo Sentai Boukenger by Toei Company |
| Developed by | Jetix The Walt Disney Company Toei Company |
| Written by | Bruce Kalish Jackie Marchand John Tellegen David Garber |
| Directed by | Mark Beesley Britta Johnstone Jonathan Brough Mike Smith Charlie Haskell Vanessa Alexander |
| Starring | James Maclurcan Caitlin Murphy Samuell Benta Rhoda Montemayor Gareth Yuen Dwayne Cameron Rod Lousich David Weatherley Kelson Henderson Gerald Urquhart Ria Vandervis Nic Sampson |
| Theme music composer | The Transcenders Herman van Doorn |
| Composers | Leigh Roberts Ry Welch Gad Emile Zeitune Wayne Jones Rhett Nelson |
| Country of origin | United States Japan |
| No. of episodes | 32 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Bruce Kalish Koichi Sakamoto |
| Producers | Janine Dickins Charles Knight Jackie Marchand (co-producer) |
| Production locations | New Zealand (Auckland) Japan (Saitama, Kyoto, Yokohama and Tokyo) |
| Cinematography | Simon Riera |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies | BVS Entertainment Renaissance Atlantic Entertainment Toei Company, Ltd. Ranger Productions, Ltd. |
| Release | |
| Original network | Toon Disney (Jetix) |
| Original release | February 26 – November 12, 2007 |
| Related | |
Unique among Power Ranger series, Operation Overdrive has the Rangers exploring, operating and fighting in many different countries around the world, rather than focusing only on their home city of San Angeles.
Pre-production
The early working title for the series was Power Rangers Drive Force, but was later changed to "Relic Hunters" and then "Operation Overdrive"[2]
In early pre-production, on July 26, 2006, the series' logo was posted on a fan message board called "Fuñaroboard."[3] This same logo was later featured on the Disney website, RangerSecrets.com, as part of the preview for the series.[4] The logo is very similar to that of the parent series Boukenger in the basic design and format.
On November 14, 2006, Disney had set up its official website for Power Rangers Operation Overdrive.[5]
Synopsis
Five brave, skilled, and adventurous individuals -Mack Hartford, Will Aston, Dax Lo, Ronny Robinson, and Rose Ortiz - are chosen and genetically enhanced by billionaire adventurer and Mack's father Andrew Hartford to become Power Rangers and travel the globe to find five magical jewels that were taken from a powerful artifact called the Corona Aurora before two villainous brothers, Flurious and Moltor, can.[6] Along the way, the Rangers encounter two additional villainous factions, Kamdor and the Fearcats, and are joined by an alien named Tyzonn.
Cast and characters
Overdrive Rangers
- James Maclurcan as Mackenzie "Mack" Hartford; The Red Overdrive Ranger.
- Samuell Benta as William "Will" Aston; The Black Overdrive Ranger.
- Gareth Yuen as Dax Lo; The Blue Overdrive Ranger.
- Caitlin Murphy as Veronica "Ronny" Robinson; The Yellow Overdrive Ranger.
- Rhoda Montemayor as Rose Ortiz; The Pink Overdrive Ranger.
- Dwayne Cameron as Tyzonn; The Mercury Ranger.
Supporting characters
- Rod Lousich as Andrew Hartford, the Rangers' mentor and Mack's father.[7]
- David Weatherley as Spencer.
- Campbell Cooley as the voice of Alpha 6.
- Nic Sampson as the voice of the Sentinel Knight.
- Beth Allen as Vella.
Villains
- Gerald Urquhart as Flurious.
- Mark Ferguson as the voice of Moltor.
- Ria Vandervis as Miratrix.
- Adam Gardiner as the voice of Kamdor.
- James Gaylyn as the voice of Cheetar.
- Lori Dungey as the voice of Crazar.
- David Weatherley as the voice of Benglo.
- Kelson Henderson as Norg and the voice of Mig.
- Glen Levy as the voice of Thrax.
Guest stars
- Johnny Yong Bosch as Adam Park; the second Black Ranger, and previously the Black Ninja Ranger, Green Zeo Ranger and the first Green Turbo Ranger.
- Sally Martin as Tori Hanson; the Blue Wind Ranger.
- Emma Lahana as Kira Ford; the Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger.
- Matt Austin as Bridge Carson; the third S.P.D. Red Ranger, following a promotion at S.P.D.
- Richard Brancatisano as Xander Bly; the Green Mystic Force Ranger.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 605 | 1 | "Kick Into Overdrive" | Mark Beesley | Bruce Kalish | February 26, 2007 | ||||||
| 606 | 2 | Jackie Marchand | |||||||||
|
Explorer Andrew Hartford finds the Corona Aurora, a mighty crown that could be used for good or evil when reunited with its five missing jewels. However, he inadvertently awakens Moltor and Flurious, who also seek the crown's jewels. Hartford recruits four talented but unwilling citizens to become Power Rangers, and he plans to become the Red Ranger. However, when the evil forces attack, it is soon left to Andrew's son Mack to take action. Mack wishes to continue as the Red Ranger; however, he is opposed by Mr. Hartford, who doesn't want his son to get involved. However, the situation worsens when Moltor steals the crown and kidnaps Mr. Hartford, forcing Mack to lead a rescue attempt. | |||||||||||
| 607 | 3 | "The Underwater World" | Mark Beesley | John Tellegen | March 5, 2007 | ||||||
| The search for the first jewel of the Corona Aurora begins when Andrew discovers Atlantis. Believing the first jewel to be hidden there, the Rangers travel to the undersea continent. However, problems arise when Will refuses to cooperate with the team. | |||||||||||
| 608 | 4 | "Heart of Blue" | Britta Johnstone | David Garber | March 12, 2007 | ||||||
| With the scroll from Atlantis, the Rangers need to find the other two to continue with the jewel quest. Meanwhile, Dax falls in love with a girl named Mira, but seeing her becomes far worse when it is revealed that she is Miratrix, another villain seeking the jewels. | |||||||||||
| 609 | 5 | "Weather or Not" | Britta Johnstone | John Tellegen | March 19, 2007 | ||||||
| As the Rangers prepare to head to St. Lucia to search for the first jewel, Moltor steals a weather machine and prepares to destroy Earth. Meanwhile, Mack questions his status as the Red Ranger when he puts a bystander in jeopardy. When the Weather Machine in its monster form defeats the Zords and traps the other Rangers in a chasm, Mack must put his doubts aside to pilot the newest Zord successfully, the Drill Driver. | |||||||||||
| 610 | 6 | "Pirate in Pink" | Britta Johnstone | Jackie Marchand | March 26, 2007 | ||||||
| The Rangers begin the final leg of the first jewel quest on St. Lucia; however, while the other Rangers worry about running into the Ghost of Brownbeard the Pirate, Rose refuses to believe in the supernatural spirit. However, the Ghost of Brownbeard does turn up also searching for the jewel; Rose finds herself forced to trust him while trying to keep it away from Miratrix. | |||||||||||
| 611 | 7 | "At All Cost" | Jonathan Brough | Bruce Kalish | April 2, 2007 | ||||||
| With Brownbeard's pearl safely in the Rangers' hands, the gang have some time-off. However, their fun is made sour due to Ronny's desire to beat the others no matter what. Meanwhile, Moltor holds a battle royale for his Lava Lizards to see which one is left standing. The victor of that battle royale is transformed into Volkan as he attempts to get a Dragon Scale to make him more powerful while the Rangers try to find the same scale that will allow them to wield the new Defender Vest and the overpowerful Drill Blaster. | |||||||||||
| 612 | 8 | "Both Sides Now" | Jonathan Brough | David Garber | April 9, 2007 | ||||||
| The gang's search for the Hou-ou bird leads to a dead end; however, they have more important things to worry about when Will is suddenly "fired" by Andrew and "sides" with Miratrix. While the other Rangers scramble to find him, Will assists Miratrix in releasing her Ninja Master Kamdor. | |||||||||||
| 613 | 9 | "Follow The Ranger" | Jonathan Brough | John Tellegen | April 30, 2007 | ||||||
| Mack misinterprets Andrew's concern over his status as a Ranger as a lack of confidence. Meanwhile, Moltor and Flurious team up to steal the DriveMax Megazord, capturing Mack in the process. While the other Rangers try to locate their leader and the Megazord, Mack finds that the key to his escape may be the rivalry between his two captors, with a little assistance from Norg. | |||||||||||
| 614 | 10 | "Lights, Camera, DAX" | Mike Smith | John Tellegen | May 7, 2007 | ||||||
| Miratrix and Kamdor are looking for the Toru Diamond using the parchment left behind by the Hou-ou bird. Moltor interferes with their search and uses the monster Scaletex against the two. Meanwhile, Dax wants to try out for a movie role, and when Andrew tells him no, he is forced to decide between his lifelong dream and his Ranger responsibilities. Things get complicated when Kamdor casts a spell on the ninja stuntmen. | |||||||||||
| 615 | 11 | "Face to Face" | Mike Smith | Jackie Marchand | May 14, 2007 | ||||||
| 616 | 12 | May 21, 2007 | |||||||||
|
The Rangers try to translate the parchment that was recovered from Miratrix and Kamdor, but is ambushed by monsters sent by Moltor. Mack discovers that one of the monsters, an alien named Tyzonn, may not be evil and tries to figure out the truth behind his actions. Mack and Tyzonn are ambushed by Bullox and a group of Lava Lizards as the other Rangers try to find Mack and claim the next jewel of the crown. Once that was done and Bullox is destroyed, the Rangers use the jewels they have to restore Tyzonn back to his true form at the advice of the Sentinel Knight. | |||||||||||
| 617 | 13 | "Man of Mercury" | Charlie Haskell | John Tellegen | June 4, 2007 | ||||||
| 618 | 14 | ||||||||||
|
When an expedition camp in Brazil finds the first clue towards finding the third jewel of the Corona Aurora, they are attacked by new villains known as the Fearcats. The Rangers attempt to stop them only to find their paths crossing with Tyzonn again. Flurious tests his gyros on the Fearcats, Mig and Benglo, turning them into powerful cyborgs. It is a race against time for the Rangers to save Tyzonn and stop the Fearcats from destroying San Angeles. | |||||||||||
| 619 | 15 | "Behind the Scenes" | Charlie Haskell | Jackie Marchand | June 11, 2007 | ||||||
| The Rangers are invited to perform an on-air interview for a popular talk show. Flurious, Kamdor, Miratrix, and the Fearcats join in an extremely shaky alliance, and while Kamdor and Miratrix target Tyzonn, the others start to hit the Rangers with several sequential attacks. With their Zords taken out by Flurious's robot, the Rangers must rely on Tyzonn and his new Zords to save the day. | |||||||||||
| 620 | 16 | "Just Like Me" | Charlie Haskell | David Garber | June 18, 2007 | ||||||
| The Rangers travel to Norway and race Moltor to the mystical hammer Mjolnir. Moltor retrieves it first, and the adventure is compounded by Tyzonn's sudden desire to emulate Will and Will's annoyance at this. Tyzonn is forced to learn the benefits of being himself as they attempt to take Mjolnir back. | |||||||||||
| 621 | 17 | "It's Hammer Time" | Vanessa Alexander | John Tellegen | July 2, 2007 | ||||||
| Tracing the connection between the Cannon of Ki Amuk and Mjolnir, the Rangers travel to Mexico and are ambushed. In the process, Loki appears, masquerading as Thor, and steals Mjolnir. To get it back, Spencer disguises himself as the Goddess Freyja even when the real Thor shows up to expose Loki's trickery. After the Rangers use the Cannon of Ki Amuk and Mjolnir to get the Piedra Aztec del Compás, it gets stolen by Moltor. | |||||||||||
| 622 | 18 | "Out of Luck" | Vanessa Alexander | David Garber | July 9, 2007 | ||||||
| After successfully getting the Piedra Aztec del Compás, Moltor sends Blothgaar to fight the Rangers. Mack is blasted by the Piedra Aztec del Compás and is overcome by a serious case of bad luck. The rangers give him their good luck charms. | |||||||||||
| 623 | 19 | "One Gets Away" | Vanessa Alexander | Bruce Kalish | July 16, 2007 | ||||||
| Using the Piedra Aztec del Compás, the Rangers finally find the Blue Sapphire, the Corona Aurora's third jewel. Will is entrusted to get it back to the base, but is ambushed by Kamdor and Miratrix and loses it to the villainous pair. With Andrew angry with him, he resigns only to have Spencer offer him another chance. Meanwhile, Moltor offers the Fearcats some invincible Super Armor. | |||||||||||
| 624 | 20 | "Once a Ranger" | Britta Johnstone | Jackie Marchand | July 23, 2007 | ||||||
| 625 | 21 | ||||||||||
|
Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa's son, Thrax, unites all four Corona Aurora-seeking villain factions into a new Evil Alliance. When they overwhelm the Overdrive Rangers, their connection to the Morphing Grid is severed, and their powers are destroyed. With the gems still needing protecting, Sentinel Knight assembles a team of replacement Rangers, made up of previous (or future) teams of Power Rangers. No longer having Ranger powers, the former Overdrive Rangers return to their civilian lives. All but Mack, who learns of Thrax's plans to destroy the Sentinel Knight, seeks out the only item capable of doing so, the legendary sword Excelsior. Meanwhile, their replacements, the team of Returning Rangers, head to Angel Grove to seek out the only being capable of repairing the Morphing Grid: Alpha 6. Guest Stars: Johnny Yong Bosch, Sally Martin, Emma Lahana, Matt Austin and Richard Brancatisano. | |||||||||||
| 626 | 22 | "One Fine Day" | Britta Johnstone | Bruce Kalish | August 6, 2007 | ||||||
| The Rangers get a day off and plan a relaxing picnic in the forest. Unfortunately for Rose, Tyzonn is obsessed with getting to know her better, which goes from flattery to annoyance very quickly. The Fearcats happen to be in the same forest, and while searching for the powerful Centurion Torch to use in their latest Giant Robot, they put up a Lamporean force field. Our heroes bump into it and despite Tyzonn claiming that forming a human chain with his Mercurian powers will allow them passage, they end up separated with Rose stuck inside the force field with Tyzonn. | |||||||||||
| 627 | 23 | "Ronny on Empty" | Mike Smith | John Tellegen | August 20, 2007 | ||||||
| 628 | 24 | August 27, 2007 | |||||||||
|
Ronny is captured by the Fearcats while Will disobeys orders to not go after her. Meanwhile, a clue from the Centurion Torch leads the other Rangers to Egypt. Will saves Ronny from having her energy drained, and the Rangers battle Moltor's new robot with a new Megazord. | |||||||||||
| 629 | 25 | "Things Not Said" | Mike Smith | David Garber | September 10, 2007 | ||||||
| The Rangers battle one of Kamdor's monsters that gives their system a virus. Mack is revealed to be an android made by Andrew. Mack then becomes enraged at his "father" Andrew convinces Mack to help the other Rangers. Mack then says he'll go, but he's taking Rose's new robot technology. He arrives at the fight and activates the Sentinel Sword, getting his battlizer and becoming the Red Sentinel Ranger, defeating all of Kamdor's monsters. Kamdor flees with the Star of Isis, but Ronny uses her super-speed to steal the jewel at the last second. | |||||||||||
| 630 | 26 | "Red Ranger Unplugged" | Jonathan Brough | John Tellegen | October 1, 2007 | ||||||
| Mack tries to find a new identity for himself and takes up the guitar. The Rangers battle a new Fearcat named Crazar while Mig and Benglo look for the Octavian Chalice. | |||||||||||
| 631 | 27 | "Home and Away" | Jonathan Brough | Jackie Marchand | October 8, 2007 | ||||||
| 632 | 28 | October 15, 2007 | |||||||||
|
Mig and Benglo access the Octavian Chalice's power and mix the different ingredients need to create Agrios. Agrios severely damages the Megazords in battle. Meanwhile after a battle with Kamdor and Miratrix, Tyzonn is knocked unconscious and awakes on his home planet with his fiance. Tyzonn begins to have doubts regarding his reunion with his fiance when he finds that she is actually Crazar in disguise. Meanwhile, Mack attacks the Fearcats in the Flash Point Megazord, willing to sacrifice himself to stop Agrios. The Rangers eventually defeat Agrios. The Fearcats try to escape with the Octavian Chalice, but the Rangers show up ready to finish the battle. | |||||||||||
| 633 | 29 | "Way Back When" | Jonathan Brough | John Tellegen | October 22, 2007 | ||||||
| The Rangers view Mack's memories on a video screen to remind themselves of the status of each jewel, to figure out who has them, and to try to figure out where to begin their search for the final jewel. They first view the four earlier jewels' locations, which proves fruitless, but thanks to Spencer's help, they eventually reveal the next location: Greece. | |||||||||||
| 634 | 30 | "Two Fallen Foes" | Mark Beesley | John Tellegen | October 29, 2007 | ||||||
| The Rangers travel to Greece, where they invoke an ancient ritual to find the next jewel. Kamdor, angry that Miratrix failed him again, berates her. Miratrix, seeking more power, intercepts the ritual, and becomes a giant owl-like creature. After being defeated by the Battlefleet Megazord, Kamdor then imprisons her inside the crystal where he was imprisoned. He now makes his final act: summoning a meteor with the power of the Blue Sapphire and challenges the Rangers. At the same time, the rest battle the meteor, Will battles Kamdor. In the end, Will defeats Kamdor, and the Rangers destroy the meteor. They then travel to Egypt and now need a key to open the Sarcophagus with Moltor on the trail. | |||||||||||
| 635 | 31 | "Nothing to Lose" | Mark Beesley | Jackie Marchand | November 5, 2007 | ||||||
| With the Blue Sapphire now in his possession, Flurious uses its power to start destroying Moltor's volcano. Meanwhile, the Rangers head to Japan to find the Tri-Dragon key needed to open the Tomb, which they hope contains the next jewel. Having decided he is the most expendable member of the team due to his android nature, Mack starts to place himself in more dangerous situations, which comes to a head when he decides to go to Moltor's volcano to retrieve the crown. Although he is unsuccessful, Moltor is severely weakened and travels to Flurious' ice lair with the crown. However, with both the crown and one of the jewels in his possession, Flurious quickly disposes of his brother and plans to take care of the Rangers next. Meanwhile, the Rangers learn that the Corona's fifth jewel may have been far closer than they could ever have imagined. | |||||||||||
| 636 | 32 | "Crown and Punishment" | Mark Beesley | Bruce Kalish | November 12, 2007 | ||||||
|
The Rangers retrieve the fifth jewel from the sarcophagus. However, they're immediately ambushed by Flurious, the only villain left, and he manages to take the four jewels that the Rangers possess. Now with all five jewels and the crown, Flurious plans to reassemble the Corona Aurora and unleash his wrath upon the world. But Flurious makes a big mistake by not destroying Mack earlier when he had the chance, leading to his destruction. Note: This episode aired in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2007, before the United States' broadcast. | |||||||||||
References
- "Rangersecrets.com". Retrieved 2007-02-09.
- The working titles for the series were "Power Rangers Relic Hunters" and "Power Rangers Drive Force".http://powerrangersrelichunters.com was registered by Disney in early 2005. In June 2006, "Power Rangers Operation Overdrive" was listed in an official press release Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine.
- "Power Rangers Operation Overdrive (LOGO INSIDE!)". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2006-07-26. (The original post featuring the logo.)
- "RangerSecrets.com". Retrieved 2006-11-04.
- "Home — Power Rangers Operation Overdrive — JETIX". Retrieved 2006-11-15.
- "DVD review: Power Rangers Operation Overdrive". BBC. July 14, 2008.
- "Rod Lousich Details". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
External links
