Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Season 1, Episode 11, "No Clowing Around"

Why is Kimberly on the box?  Shouldn't it be Trini? Oh well.

So rounding out the series of "episodes I watched on VHS and are therefore classics," we've come to No Clowning Around.  It's an episode that's notable for nothing much other than that we finally get to see the Ranger teens A.) not fighting in another friggin' rock quary and B.) hanging out in a place other than the Juice Bar.  And don't get me wrong, I like the quarries and Juice Bars, but I still need a change of scenery once in a while.  And we get a good one here; a carnival, featuring a creepy, child-napping clown that can turn people into cardboard cutouts.  I take what I can get.  Bottom line? It's an enjoyable episode that actually generates some tension and some creepiness, courtesy of none other than Pineapple the Clown.

Creepin'

 The Ranger teens are having fun at the local carnival, playing on stilts and enjoying the rides.  We are introduced to Sylvia, Trini's younger cousin, who makes fast friends with Pineapple the Clown.  Little does everyone know that Rita has set a trap; the carnival is littered with Putties disguised as clowns and Pineapple is actually (in Finster's own words) the horrible Pineoctopus.  He leads Sylvia away from the others and turn her into a cardboard cutout before Trini can get to him.  The other clowns assault the Rangers, which leads to some theme park-style fights.  When Pineapple shows off his true form, the other Rangers morph and try to take him down.  Can Trini get her cousin back to normal and take down the Pineapple with pedophile-like undertones?

"Clown, back off."

I'll say this for No Clowning Around, there's no shortage of imagination when it comes to the utilizing the carnival setting.  Clowns, rides, and cotton candy all integrate themselves perfectly into the episode, giving us great visuals (the famous credits scene with Bulk and Skull, the clowns turning into Putties), a story with actual tension (the scene where Trini can't find Sylvia amid the chaos is really well-edited), and fight scenes that utilize the setting (my favorite being Jason turning on a upside-down swinging ride with a putty on the outside, but there's no doubt that the whole Putty fight is the best we've seen so far).  Hell, even the Zord battle is entertaining!  We finally get to see the individual Zords get to do some damage, with the Mastodon doing some freeze-ray steam and the Triceratops launching horn grappling hooks.  I want more of this!

The episode paints carnivals as a frightening place, full of optical illusions and chaos.  And when you're a little kid, you may see it that way.  I really liked the creativity on the part of the American writers and production crew; it was like all the budget saved from the last 10 episodes went to this episode, and it shows.  I love little things like Pineapple suddenly jumping fifty feet away from Billy in the span of a cut, Trini's panic as she searches for Sylvia in the park, and even the silliness of the cardboard cutouts.  It may not make much sense, but it is pretty original.  And let's talk about Pineapple for a moment; in short, I love him.  He's probably the most charismatic of Rita's monsters we've seen so far, and his mannerisms are a touch disturbing.  Even the way he melts into the Pineoctopus is unsettling, at least for Power Rangers.  And come on, the "stranger danger" metaphor? I thought it was pretty well done, and am surprised even to this day that Power Rangers was able to incorporate a theme while blending it seamlessly into the episode's story.

 While I usually detest the child actors on this show, I must admit that Sylvia isn't too terrible.  I'm glad she's out of commission for the last half of the episode just the same, but we're not talking Maria levels of terrible here.   I've said it before and I'll say it again: in Zyuranger, the child characters were introduced so randomly and their relationship to the other Rangers was inexplicable.  In Power Rangers, there's always an explanation for why they're hanging out with Sylvia: she's Trini's cousin, and they took her to the carnival.  Done. Simple.  And what's better is that the episode isn't about Sylvia, it's about Trini.  We get to see how she acts in a parent-like situation and how she can protect the ones she loves.  It also helps that Thuy Thrang does a great job with portraying the horror of seeing her cousin turned into a cardboard cutout. 

 "I think she's a bit... board..."

I get the feeling that this episode was originally going to feature Bones, since his Sentai footage shows him gallivanting at a carnival exactly like the one the Rangers are at in this episode.   I'm guessing something happened with the scheduling of the carnival or something and the writers just had to adapt whatever footage was next when the park was available, but it does seem a shame.  As soon as the Rangers morph, they're at some outdoor theater that's nowhere near the fair to have a Putty fight that I'm pretty sure we've already seen.  Not a great transition.  Also, is the whole carnival Rita's trap?  It continues afterward, so I guess the only ones in on the attack were the clowns.  It's muddled, but its negligible.

"It won't hurt a bit! But it might hurt a lot."

 No Clowning Around is, in many ways, a Season 1 filler at its best, and probably the best episode the series has seen since the premier.  I liked seeing the teens play on the stilts ("My big, strong hero! Mwah!"), and something about the way the setting and story interacted was just so natural.  I know it must seem like I'm giving the episode tons of credit for getting the bare minimum amount of content right, but honestly, that's been a problem for Season 1 thus far.   It's taking its sweet-ass time finding its tone and flow, and with Clowning, I'm seriously hoping it's gotten close to finding it.

Mighty Morphin' Score: 9/10

Power Rangers Score: 7/10

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Season 1, Episode 10, "Happy Birthday Zack"

"Do I look any older to you today?"

So were you starting to worry that Zack wasn't going to get a focus episode? I mean I wasn't, because I use to rent the Happy Birthday Zack video tape from the library once a week.  Well finally, here it is: an episode that is quintessential Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers not for being particularly dramatic, but simply for being a solid execution of nearly all the things I love about the show.  I've mentioned before that as a young kid, I only saw the show's first season via those video rentals, so is it nostalgia talking or is this episode just too much fun to resist?  I think it's a combination.  Yes, I can recall fond memories of Billy and his foam-spewing cake machine, but I also recognize some solid cast chemistry and a slightly-better monster-of-the-week than usual when I watch the episode with adult eyes.  After so many episodes that are awkward and uninteresting, it was nice to see one that made me smile.

The Ranger teens are busy at the Youth Center after-hours decorating for Zack's surprise birthday party the next day.  Bulk and Skull come in to cause problems and do other bully-like things, but the teens know how to handle them.  The next day, everyone acts like they forgot Zack's birthday, which understandably bums him out.  Rita sees an opportunity to give Zack her own birthday present; the Knasty Knight, armed with a super-powered sword.  On his own, Zack fights the monster and Goldar but loses badly.  Zordon and Alpha get the other Rangers in there, but they can't beat him either.  The Knight fries their weapons and deflects their energy blasts, and before the Rangers can even stand back up, Rita makes him grow. Can they defeat the Knasty Knight in time for Zack's surprise birthday party?!

I like this episode a lot for several reasons, but chief among them are the character interactions in the first half.  Sometimes early PR drags a bit during the civilian scenes and then things get more interesting in the battles, but here I really liked how the rangers played off each other in the juice bar (especially Amy Jo, who's starting to show that she's the best actor on the show).   The teens' scenes may be a bit goofy, but they're also very charming.  Plus, Bulk and Skull got to be a bit meaner than usual, with Bulk blowing his nose in Trini's banner and picking Billy up like he was a toy. When Kimberly tells Zack that she forgot her poodle's birthday, I just liked his reaction.  It may be a childish reaction, but it was still well done.

The Knasty Knight is a solid monster as well, and it was nice to see that Finster had to put more effort into creating him than any previous clay creature.  Rita doesn't even wait until the Rangers get the upper hand before she makes him grow; quite a rarity.  The plan to defeat the Knight might not make a whole lot of sense, but at least it's Zack who comes up with it.  Similarly to the Pudgy Pig, it was cool to see a villain actually give the Rangers a good fight since the Rangers can usually whoop monsters and putties without breaking a sweat.  Speaking of putties, there was no putty fight in this episode.  Honestly, I think it helped with the pacing, plus we got to spend more time with the characters.

For the most part, the show is holding up in terms of its aesthetics (music, Sentai fights, zord battles), but one thing I cannot stand is that "comedic" fast motion.  It was kind of funny when Gilligan's Island did it, but it doesn't work here.  As far as the writing goes, I think everything came off pretty naturally.  Although we shouldn't expect much character development (it's a cartoon, remember?), it still might have been nice to learn something new about Zack.  I didn't like him whining about no one remembering his birthday, but I suppose giving him some vanity could be considered a character flaw.  I'm really stretching here, I know, but there's not much to work with.  It fits with his cocky personality anyways.

 It was fun to watch the Ranger teens dance at the party at the end while Billy deals with the deadly cake-o-matic.  Just watching these people hang out and have a good time with that cheesy birthday song in the back is a perfect encapsulation of what Mighty Morphin' is: innocent, fun, and likable.  When you compare this episode one to others that focus on random people (or have no focus at all), I think the quality difference is noticeable.  It's just a better show when it focuses on the main characters, like most television shows.  Happy Birthday Zack is pretty much the standard for a Power Rangers filler episode that keeps tight pacing, lets the characters be themselves, and has fun with every aspect.



Mighty Morphin' Score: 8/10

Power Rangers Score: 6/10

Also, as a side note: Batman confirmed as part of the Power Rangers Universe.  Thanks Ernie... thanks...