Rick Medina is no more on Facebook. Rick Medina is gone. He has forever left us without a trace. He will be missed…until he shows up on Power Rangers Samurai.

Who is Rick Medina? Don’t you know he’s the superstar Ricardo Medina, Jr. (Cole from Power Rangers Wild Force)? How dare you not know about his follies with his co-stars Hector David, Jr., Najee De-Tiege, and Brittany Pirtle? How dare you call yourself a fan by not saving every single one of their New Zealand excursions captured digitally for our enjoyment? How dare you sit there and not parse every Facebook status that led us closer and closer to the Promise Land that is…Ricardo. Medina. Jr.!? Sorry, I have misspoken. Rick Medina.

Rick Medina graced us with his wit and charm, and after he burned every single shirt he ever owned, he is no longer with us. In cyberspace. What will we ever do without Rick? I can hear him now, warning me to “STOP!” from a mile away after he’s taken his time to stop as well. I can see him now, riding majestically through the anus of a giant serpent. That’s how it’s done. I grieve for my loss, but not for long.

Rick Medina, you will rise again and give forth your excellence to the masses. You will surpass your predecessors. You will triumphantly look down upon the weak. So until you return, I will disseminate to the laymen and let them know of your legacy thus far. No matter how much they try to fight the inevitable, Rick Medina will never give up.

For most of you though, August 28th, 1993 was the day that blew your mind. You saw the promos. You probably already saw the toys. And then it was finally time to witness the best show ever! So instead of being our normal jaded selves, lets reminisce on the show that brought a generation together.

This is a fun time for all involved. Having been to Power Ranger appearances at Youmacon in 2005 and 2008 as well as Anime Central 2008, as well as countless other conventions to meet other actors, I can tell you I’ve seen my fair share.

To be honest, I’ve seen some awkward reactions when fans are in the presence of their favorite Power Ranger cast members. Although they may not realize it, these reactions may not only be embarrassing for the fan, but also for the actors and the fandom in general. The following are some tips for when you get to meet your favorite star at a local convention.

Starstruck

You’ve grown up watching them. You’ve followed their career for years. And when you finally meet them… you turn into a pile of incoherent goo. You’re a mess, you can’t speak and you’re shaking. Guess what? The actor you’re meeting might be just as nervous to meet you!

At Youmacon 2005, there was a Rangerboard room party Saturday night of the convention. And guess who crashed it? Chris Violette, Alycia Purrott, Monica May, Bruce Kalish, and Greg Aronowitz. Shortly after being ambushed by their adoring fans, Chris found his way to a less congested part of the room where my fiancee, Leyann, initiated a conversation with him. This led to the three of us having a good 20-minute discussion filled with topics concerning where we were from, what we did for a living, goals for the future, etc…

The flow of the conversation was easy, we joked around and we had a good time. He admitted that since it was his first convention, he wasn’t prepared for the fanbase that awaited him at the con. He was a little taken aback, not just by the number of people who came to see them, but also that these fans were much older than he initially expected. When it came right down to it, he was just as nervous to meet all of us as we were to meet him!

• Remember, actors are people just like you and me when you come right down to it. They have the same fears, ambitions, emotions as the rest of us.

Towards the end of the conversation, a few more people decided to join in. And quickly the topic reverted back to Ranger-related antics: “Hey remember in episode 13 where blah blah blah…” and “Your character did yadda yadda yadda…” At one point Dino Thunder was even referenced, a season Chris had not seen or participated in. It was then noticeable on Chris’ face that Power Rangers was not the only thing he wanted to talk about that evening, after a long day of Ranger panels and Q&A.

• Do not bore actors with over the top fandom terms and analysis, especially in a clearly SOCIAL situation. They know they work they did, you know the work they did… leave it at that unless it naturally comes up in conversation.

Hygiene

Anime cons and other conventions in general have become known as places where the personal cleanliness of its attendees has become an issue. For years, anime cons have done everything to encourage good hygiene, from selling shirts with taglines such as “Got Soap?” to actually providing free bars of soap to all con-goers.

I honestly don’t know what compels people to go three or more days without showering at conventions. But it’s obviously a large enough problem where even convention guests have begun to take notice.

Case in point: Last year at Youmacon, I got to meet Walter Jones and Paulie Schrier. The setting was very casual; they were just standing around on the second floor by the autograph area and the line of fans was quite orderly. I was the last in line with my fiancee. After getting an autograph and picture with Walter, we approached Paulie. He got to chatting with us, thanking us for waiting so patiently. After taking a picture with him, Paulie turned to me and said, “Wow man, you smell really good!”

I thanked him for the hilariously flattering comment and he was quick to add that he too had experienced the horrors of convention B.O.

• People, you heard it here first, Power Ranger actors don’t want to smell your fanboy funk! At cons: shower, rinse and repeat!

Politeness, Autographs and Pictures

My parents taught me to always say “Please” and “Thank You”. Even after standing for two hours in a line, I still ask PR cast members if they could “Please sign this…”, and I thank them immediately. I also ask if it would be alright if I could take a picture with them. Every time, they are more than happy to, and sometimes that can lead to some small talk or an overall better reaction than if I were to just shove something in front of them.

There have been few times where I’ve seen a total lack of respect towards both the guest and to other fans waiting in line, by people who have more items than are usually allowed to be signed, taking one too many pictures or even shoving their camera to another fan expecting the picture be taken for them without even asking. The guests are not there to help drive up your eBay sales or add to your wall of collectibles.

• Stick to a convention’s autograph and photography policies, if there is no limit, use good judgement. There are many people waiting for the same opportunity as you, don’t be greedy.

• Kindness gets you a lot more than being a greedy fan! Make the experience fun for not only yourself, but the guests themselves. If they like the experience, there’s a getter chance of more convention appearances.

Panels

Panels are a great opportunity to hear stories from behind the scenes, see the personalities of guests, and to find out facts you may have never heard of before. Almost always there is a time for Q&A at the end of the panel, where you get a chance to ask the guests specific questions. Of course, you don’t want to waste the precious time of the guests and other con goers who might have equally burning questions.

• THINK before you ask a question. Is it relevant to the season the guests were on? I know this my seem like common sense, but I’ve witnessed a few questions that go right over the guest’s heads, simply because they don’t know what you are referring to.

• LISTEN to what people have asked before you. Don’t get so wrapped up in thinking of what you are going to ask that you miss what is going on and end up repeating a similar question.

• GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR QUESTION. Try to ask a question that gets all the guests involved, this really adds to the discussion and can lead to interesting stories and interactions.

• GIVE OTHERS A CHANCE. Stick to asking one question, don’t disguise it with a ‘two part question’. And don’t raise your hand a second time, there’s a great chance that another person wants to ask the same question your forgot to ask.
  

I hope these tips help you to have a memorable convention experience, meeting your favorite star can be exhilarating and a lot of fun. Just remember that there are others who want to have a great a time as you do!

Do you care? No seriously. Do you care about this show? I may be going on a limb here, but most people only care because it’ll subconsciously be compared to Power Rangers. Sure, there are legit people who like Tokusatsu (say that crap 5 times fast) and who want to see how this version of Kamen Rider will be translated. Fine. But really, most folks are going to watch this show expecting, “A better Power Rangers” or “Power Rangers, but darker” or “Power Rangers, but [insert adjective here]“. It’s not going on its own merits. People just want a better Power Rangers show.

I think that’s unfair to Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. What KRDK would have to do in order to break the comparisons would be in the acting, and unfortunately, Matt Mullins (Len from the show) is still there…as a lead….in the show….still! Maybe he’ll pull a Jason David Frank and get better over time…maybe.

But we don’t have that kind of time. KRDK needs to stand on its own from jump. It needs not be “Power Rangers but ______”. For their sake, I hope it does well. And let’s stop pussy-footing around. I hope the toys sell well, because that’ll keep the show around. I’ll even buy some! Why? Because I want a better Power Rangers show.

Yes, I’m one of the people who does not care about Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. Curious? Yes. Can’t wait to see it? I really can wait. It doesn’t look that great to me. The only thing that does intrigue me is the cinematography, and that’s why I’ll watch it. Other than that, don’t care. Eventually I’ll care more because I want the show to stick around. That way, the folks running Power Rangers will be challenged somewhat to do a better show. (Although, Disney would just stick to their game plan of dumbing everything down because it’s a different demographic than KRDK. They would so do that crap.)

Still, I think Kamen Rider Dragon Knight will at least ignite some fire over in the Power Rangers camp. It has to.