Ranger Celebrities: Tips for Con-goers
With a slew of Power Ranger actors appearing at Anime Expo this week as well as next year’s Power Morphicon 2, it is a great time for fans to meet their favorite rangers, attend panels, get autographs, take pictures and dress up in elaborate costumes.
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.
Even More Guests for Power Morphicon 2010
Power Morphicon is at it again with updating guests. Really hope that people don’t cancel one by one though. At this rate, everyone from the show in the past 17 seasons is going to show up!
NEIL KAPLAN
Known to PR fans as the voice behind Diabolico and Gluto, Neil Kaplan has had an illustrious career in voice acting, including numerous roles on Digimon and being only the second person to voice Transformers’ Optimus Prime!
BRUCE KALISH
The executive producer from PRSPD to PRJF, Bruce Kalish is a second-generation television writer who has been working continuously since the 1970’s. More recently, Bruce created the hit Disney series Aaron Stone.
KARAN ASHLEY
Best remembered as Aisha Campbell, the fashionable second Yellow MMPR Ranger (and Earth’s first Yellow Ranger, Miss Alicia), Karan has had a variety of entertainment roles, from leader singer of the group “Krush” in the early 1990s, to producer/editor/co-writer/actress of the movie Devon’s Ghost alongside fellow PR alums Johnny Yong Bosch and Koichi Sakamoto.
RPM Synopsis – Episode 21
More Guests for Power Morphicon 2010
Power Morphicon has updated with even more guests to the list:
ROBERT AXELROD
A vocal auter supreme for decades, Robert is the one and only voice of Lord Zedd, the emperor of all he sees. In addition to his role as Finster in MMPR, Robert has also starred in countless classic Saban Entertainment programs and even lent his voice talents to PR’s spiritual ancestor Robotech!
JASON NARVY
Perpetually beloved as the multitalented Eugene Skullovitch, Jason Narvy is a riveting performer and teacher who can compel an audience with equal parts vaudevillian shtick and Shakespearean oratory.
WALTER JONES
Best known as Zack Taylor, the original Black Ranger, Walter Emanuel Jones has also charted a memorable television career with such roles as Harlan on Space Cases. These days Walter tears up the dance floor as a salsa instructor.
ED NEIL
The skinless physical half of Lord Zedd, Ed Neil began his career on Power Rangers as part of the show’s original stunt team. He continued for almost ten seasons in a number of roles from the morphed Red MMPR Ranger, to Deviot’s suit actor, and out of costume as the recurring Lost Galaxy trooper Jasper.
DAVID YOST
(tentative)As brainy Billy Cranston, David Yost was one of the original “teenagers with attitude” who propelled MMPR to monumental success around the world. David also spent one of the longest unbroken tenures on Power Rangers for main cast members.
“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie” on Hulu
Did I mention that Hulu is awesome? Seriously, it is. You can check out Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie on Hulu right now! There may be a limited amount of time that it’ll be shown, so live in the nostalgia now! (Funny, I just watched Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time, and my friend who has watched it 93494 times never knew that Paul Freeman was Ivan Ooze in MMPR:TM. Start educating your Power-Rangers-Gentile friends!)
(Courtesy: R5Central via Twitter)
Blast from the Power Past – Masked Rider with Mighty Morphin
Really cool behind-the-scenes pictures have popped up from the shoot of the Masked Rider/Mighty Morphin Power Rangers crossover.
Power Morphicon 2 in Summer 2010
The official Power Morphicon site is back up and with great news! The first (and only) Power Rangers convention is coming back in the Summer of 2010 in Los Angeles, and already has a pretty good guest list so far:
CHERYL SABAN
An acclaimed author, philanthropist and children’s advocate, Cheryl Saban was one of the earliest writers for Power Rangers, penning such classic episodes as Food Fight and Grumble Bee.
DOUGLAS SLOAN
Beginning his work for PR as Jason Frank’s acting coach, Doug Sloan charted a number of roles over the series including Kimberly’s Uncle Steve and Prince Gasket, as well as writing and directing several classic episodes before returning to helm PR’s first two seasons under Disney stewardship.
SCOTT PAGE-PAGTER
The man behind the mic for PR’s first ten seasons, Scott Page-Pagter was PR’s ADR director and coordinator as well as the voice of such memorable monsters as the Peckster, Pirantishead, and the indominable Porto.
RAJIA BAROUDI
Rajia is best known for her roles as Delphine, the White Aquitian Ranger in MMAR and PRZ as well as Jara on Big Bad Beetleborgs.
PAUL SCHRIER
Known most as the rotund half of Bulk and Skull, Paul played the role of Farkas Bulkmeier for 7 solid seasons, from MMPR, through PRZ, PRT, PRiS, PRLG, and not to mention both movies. He’s also the show’s first and only actor to also direct whole episodes of the series.
STEVE CARDENAS
Ow, his back! Steve has the distinction of being, as Rocky DeSantos, the second MMPR Red Ranger, the only PRZ Blue Ranger, and as the role of Rocko, the first Red Ranger of Earth. An accomplished martial artist, Steve especially loves pachinko, which is, as he refers to it, “Too fun!”
JASON DAVID FRANK
Over the course of two feature films and more than two hundred episodes, Jason Frank has played the longest tenured Ranger in series history, Dr. Tommy Oliver. For those unfamiliar with the character, welcome to Power Rangers!
And if you’re wondering who made the fabulous PMC logo, then that’ll be me! ^_^
(Courtesy: IvyDraken via Rangerboard)
Anime Expo’s Final Ranger Lineup!
If you’ve been living under a rock (not that there’s anything wrong with that!), Anime Expo is having ranger guests this year, and the list is huge! And final! Hopefully, no one else cancels! Here’s the full list:
1. Karan Ashley – Aisha, the Mighty Morphin Yellow Ranger.
2. Robert Axelrod – The voice of Lord Zedd and Finster on the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”.
3. Nakia Burrise – Tanya, the Yellow Power Ranger – Power Rangers Zeo and Power Rangers Turbo
4. Steve Cardenas – Rocky, the Mighty Morphin Red Power Ranger
5. Dan Ewing – Black Power Ranger – Power Rangers RPM
6. Blake Foster – Blue Power Ranger – Power Rangers Turbo
7. Barbara Goodson – Empress Rita Repulsa – Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
8. Walter E. Jones – Zack, the Mighty Morphin Black Power Ranger
9. Patricia Ja Lee – Pink Power Ranger – Power Rangers Turbo and Power Rangers in Space
10. Monica May – Yellow Power Ranger – Power Rangers SPD
11. Amy Rolle – Trakeena – Power Rangers Lost Galaxy
12. Reggie Rolle – Green Power Ranger – Power Rangers Lost Galaxy
13. Dan Southworth – Quantum Power Ranger – Power Rangers Time Force
14. Catherine Sutherland – Kat, the Mighty Morphin Pink Power Ranger
15. Roger Velasco – Green Power Ranger, Black Power Ranger – Power Rangers Turbo, Power Rangers in Space
16. Cerina Vincent – Yellow Power Ranger – Power Rangers Lost Galaxy
17. Chris Violette – Blue and Red Power Ranger – Power Rangers SPD
18. Selwyn Ward – Red Power Ranger, Blue Power Ranger – Power Rangers Turbo, Power Rangers in Space
VAMPS Cover “Trouble”
The J-Pop/Rock band VAMPS has recently done a cover of Shampoo’s “Trouble”. Doesn’t sound familiar? Think Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie and that catchy pop tune off the soundtrack.
(Courtesy: ShadowNightWolf via Starpoints Rangercrew)
RPM Synopsis – Episode 20
Blast from the Power Past – K.R.U.S.H.
Before reaching Power Rangers, in 1992 Karan Ashley was part of the R&B group K.R.U.S.H. Produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (of the Janet Jackson fame), their song “Let’s Get Together (So Groovy Now)” was on the Mo’ Money soundtrack. The group had big plans, big dreams, big futures! And then they didn’t. Never heard of them since. But what would be a rise and fall without VIDEO? Gosh, I just love YouTube.
Below is an interview from a “Saturday morning teen variety show called ‘Scratch’”, and Karan…uh, I mean Ashley Jackson in this clip, is all over it!
Correction – Ultraman Movie
About that Ultraman movie, yeah, Japanese movie that is. Not in the US. I should have known better, lol. It’s still cool, but I was really looking forward to a US version. Oh well!
Rangers Supporting NOH8
Emma Lahana (Kira from Power Rangers Dino Thunder), Monica May (Z from Power Rangers SPD), Greg Aronowitz (Executive Producer from Power Rangers SPD), and some guy Michael Maize (Psycho Black from Power Rangers in Space) have recently participated in the NOH8 Campaign.
Erin Cahill on “Saving Grace”
Erin Cahill (Jen from Power Rangers Time Force) has a recurring role on TNT’s Saving Grace as “Kendra, a TV reporter and Butch Ada’s (Bailey Chase) fiancee”. Check out the show on Tuesdays at 10pm ET.
(Courtesy: kalenabear via Rangerboard)
Ultraman Comes to the Big Screen
According to this screenshot (and someone who speaks Japanese), Ultraman the movie will be coming out December 2009. I’m unusually ecstatic for this movie. Do not disappoint!
(Courtesy: Ryoutarou via Rangerboard)
Ultraman Coming to the US?
At this year’s Licensing show in Las Vegas, Tsuburaya’s booth is getting the word out that they are looking to get Ultraman licensed for the US and other countries. The reason? The upcoming 50th Anniversary. This includes ALL of the Ultraman franchise and the rights to create new Ultra characters. Could a new American Ultraman adaptation be on the horizon?
Roger Velasco Appearing at Anime Expo
Roger Velasco (Carlos from Power Rangers In Space) will appear at Anime Expo July 2-5 in Los Angeles, CA. See site for details.
No English on PRLG DVDs
Earlier we reported that the German DVDs for Power Rangers Lost Galaxy were coming out soon, and every boxed set up until In Space has had both German and English tracks for the episodes. Well, here’s the quote from MarioRanger at Rangerboard. Read it and weep:
Sorry for the late answer, I got the message today: Power Rangers Lost Galaxy DVD-set has NO english audio on it. I really don’t know exactly why, but there was a problem with Disney.
For those who may not know, he’s been working for CoK (the company who produces the boxed sets), so he would know for sure. Although, with so many audio problems and missing English tracks from episodes, I’m not surprised. Why is the Power Rangers archive of episodes treated as such in the first place? It’s getting unnerving.
(Courtesy: MarioRanger via Rangerboard)
Blast from the Power Past – Old MMPR:TM Interview
Ha! Remember that line? Back in the day? No? Crap, I’m old. Anywho, here’s a 1995 interview with the cast of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. The audio is pretty horrible, but you can still hear what they were prepped to say them talk about the movie. But what is Jason David Frank wearing? Here’s a clue: ARRRRRGG!
Nakia Burrise in “Between Kings and Queens”
Nakia Burrise is shooting a movie called “Between Kings and Queens”. Here’s the synopsis:
The story of Kalu, a young prince from Africa, who seeks to escape his royal duties by fleeing to America. Torn between love and free will, his immigrant experience in the land of liberty quickly unravels as he finds himself running for his life…