Power Rangers: The Audio Drama

I’ve been listening for years and every time I get the notification a new episode is out I drop everything and listen to it. The reimagining of the story and characters is fantastic!

This is the Power Ranger content I never knew I needed. The quality is great and the voice actors do such a good job. Love the darker take on the story. Absolute 5 stars.

The best way to describe Power Rangers The Audio Drama is as a reimagining similar to Marvel’s “Ultimate Universe.” Between the excellent use of the old show’s sound effects, theme song, & incredible voice acting (especially Joey Sourlis’ Tommy Oliver & Shane Chocran’s Saba), there are many peppered moments of teen angst/drama, scenes of the government reacting to the changing status quo, a reduced camp factor, & the rangers dealing trauma from fighting a war they didn’t start. This makes more sense when you realize that the other, more famous Audio Dramas by Karl Dutton (creator of Scyther Audio Productions) include faithfully excellent adaptations of “Batman Hush” & classic “X-Men” stories by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Chris Claremont, etc.The only difference between those projects & this one is that story beats from Power Rangers are being adapted rather than wholesale plots, resulting in the Mighty Morphin’ team dealing with harsh reality far more than the old show. While it feels weird to see the rangers going through seemingly harsher growing pains than the X-Men, the show is still recognizably Power Rangers. Just because the rangers don’t shake a battle off like it never happened doesn’t mean they don’t win. As a result, the show feels like a spiritual spinoff from the 2017 reboot, which I appreciate. I’d even go as far to say that the Season 1 Finale up to the penultimate episode of Season 2 could be a great movie with how it reinvents the show’s lore (The Thunder Powers, the White Light, Zedd’s Dark Rangers, etc.). Honestly, nothing would please me more than to give this show a whole-hearted recommendation.. However, what’s kept me from talking about this show until now has been Season 1, Episode 7, “Heart of the Dragon.” The episodes’ Apple Podcast summary (but not Youtube link, as of 1/14/23) contains a content warning for “a scene of an implied sexual nature that some may find disturbing.” IMHO, it is one of the only plot threads in the show I would outright call bad. Never in my wildest dreams would I naturally think of Power Rangers & Invincible #110 in the same sentence. Admittedly, this is a fan project (not an official product), the party involved is a man rather than a woman, but the scene itself accomplishes nothing not already achieved by prior story elements. So, why am I finally writing about the show now? That would be Karl’s openness to feedback & criticism. In August of 2022, after asking for feedback on whether the scene went too far on the Scyther Audio Dramas Discord, I brought up my issues with the scene, mostly how there wasn’t a respectful follow-up on it. In December, I got my wish in Season 3, Episode 4, “The Assault.” While I personally thought the follow-up was in good taste, you’re mileage *will* vary. Still, the fact that the scene exists makes me feel comfortable talking about the show outside its Discord server. I understand if, after reading all of that, you want nothing to do with this Audio Drama. However, if you’re still curious, start with Season 1, Episode 4, “The Search” (where the show finds its stride, imo), & hear for yourself if the show builds up enough good will for you to continue. If nothing else, that episode has Nick Ericksen’s Jason give one of the funniest lines I’ve ever heard in a Power Rangers project, and that’s not nothing.

I’m enjoying what I’ve listened to so far. The reworking of the mmpr lore to not only mix some Sentai stuff as well as flesh out some of the characters and their interpersonal relationships is great. Modernizing(from the 90s to the 20XX) was a great choice. The actors and actresses also some times sound like the original actors and it gets that nostalgia tingle...well tingling.I love it guys keep up the great work and may the power protect you!!