Remembering Jason David Frank and his Power Rangers Tenure

This past week was quite the emotional one. Folks that have followed me through Social Media whether it's Twitter, YouTube, or Instagram would know how huge of a Power Rangers fan I am. Recently, Jason David Frank best known for his role as Tommy Oliver had passed away at the age of 49. What started out as a rumor on a late Saturday night became a reality I did not want to imagine. The very next morning, I looked up at my Instagram feed and saw Walter Jones posting an image of him along with his ranger co-stars including JDF. The R.I.P acronym as listed in the caption just left me speechless in terms of my reaction. It really caught me off guard in a way. 

Growing up, Tommy was one of my favorite Power Rangers. Just to admire his fortitude and his ability to hold his own when times were tough was what solidified my appreciation of the character. When he debuted in the 5 part miniseries Green With Evil, this would mark the Power Rangers' first of many challenges they had to overcome. Before that, the core five would manage to plow through any creature Rita sends out to cause havoc in their city. The Green Ranger's introduction would be a turning point for the upstarting franchise. Throughout the saga, Tommy under Rita's possession would resort to infiltrating the Command Center, home of the Power Rangers' headquarters. He'd be destroying console boards and cutting off any communication with their mentor Zordon; It didn't help that the rangers would be unable to teleport as a result of the excessive wreckage scattered throughout their headquarters. For the next few episodes, Tommy and the rangers fought on and off again while figuring out ways to undermine the strength of the Green Ranger. In the end, they managed to do just that, and with the Sword of Darkness dispelled, the rangers would free Tommy from Rita's spell.

From this point forward, Tommy would align with the Power Rangers to defend the Earth from a revolving door of villains that have come and gone. There would be multiple occasions when he would be stripped away of his powers only for Zordon to transfer a bit of energy needed to morph into ranger form. Eventually, Tommy would acquire new powers as he became the White Ranger in seasons two and three, the Red Ranger in Zeo and Turbo, and the Black Ranger in Dino Thunder. He would continue to return in a series of one-off comebacks in the anniversary team up specials, the most recent being "Dimensions in Danger" to commemorate the franchise's 25th anniversary. 

I was heartbroken by the news of his passing. While I never knew JDF personally, I've seen the occasional panels he would attend discussing about his experiences working on the show. Forty-nine is such a young age to die. I can't imagine what it must be for his family members and colleagues that have collaborated with him over the years. I watched Amy Jo Johnson's Instagram live feed and it was very touching knowing how close she was to him; She even performed a handful of songs to pay tribute to Jason. I don't get into much detail about my personal life but my father died in his 60s after a battle with lung cancer. Take it from me, I know what it's like to lose a loved one. Grief is not easy to overcome. The best thing to do is to cherish any memory or experience you may have of them. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends that have supported him throughout the years. 

To quote Austin St. John, "Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger."

Thank you for the memories Jason David Frank. May you rest in peace. 

JimmytheTVFanatic

Ideal Fantasy Card for AEW Full Gear 2022

The past couple of months have been crazy in the world of professional wrestling. Whether if it involved the recent sex scandal of Vince McMahon that led to him abdicating his position as chairman of the WWE, or the recent All Out media scrum that saw CM Punk sabotaging his employer in AEW, 2022 is a very newsworthy year in the business as we know it. An altercation ensued backstage between the Best in the World and the Elite members Kenny Omega, Nick, & Matt Jackson (the latter two brothers being the Young Bucks) that has been the buzz throughout the wrestling community. As a result of their actions, both parties have been suspended from the company and have been off television for the foreseeable future.

With Punk not only sidelined but on the verge of his contract being bought out and terminated, the company has since been in a healing process that will determine fan perception behind the company's new direction. This brings me to discuss in today's blog in regards to All Elite Wrestling's upcoming PPV, Full Gear.

What is the purpose of this proposed fantasy card?

Referring to the title of this post, Full Gear is AEW's annual November PPV with its inaugural event dates back to 2019, the year that the company had launched. As the event is just around the corner, I've been taking a look at some of the matches announced so far; To be honest, it's a little meh aside from the main event of Moxley vs. MJF for the AEW World Title. It's a shame because they've had quite a track record when it comes to structuring a card from top to bottom.

Full Gear also holds their annual Eliminators tournament in a sense where the winner would receive a World Championship opportunity at a later date. It hadn't been long ago they did a tournament to crown a new AEW Champion - that was in light of CM Punk being stripped of the belt due to a torn triceps injury that will leave him sidelined until the summertime. Given the situation, I feel it's too soon to book another tournament bracket when they should be rebuilding their under-card as a demonstration to showcase the best that AEW's talent pool has to offer. Like I addressed about the company undergoing a healing process, they've had a knack of cramming so many matches onto their PPVs (this past year's All Out had about close to 15 or 16 matches) which can potentially lead to crowd fatigue. When WWF had over ten matches on a Wrestlemania or Summerslam card even then they were short, sweet, and to the point. Not every match has to be a marathon unless it involves a title on the line or if it's meant to put an end to a feud. Therefore, I'd do away with the Eliminators tournament and look to revive the concept for the following year's Full Gear.

As we transition over to the ongoing feuds and storylines, they're definitely going through the motions in terms of consistent storytelling. For instance, why are the Blackpool Combat Club still going after the Jericho Appreciation Society when they should be joining the fight with their leader Jon Moxley against the Firm? How come they didn't fight back when the latter group laid out the World Champion from the previous week's Dynamite?

The BCC have been showing signs of dissension between Bryan Danielson and Wheeler Yuta. Last night on Rampage announced that there would be a 4 Way Dance for the ROH World Championship between Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Sammy Guevara, & the reigning champion Chris Jericho.  Where is Yuta in the picture and is he even booked for the show? How is that conflict not being emphasized or followed up on? I know I've rambled but those were my grievances with the feud that started off hot (it stemmed from Jericho's program with Eddie Kingston) but now has gotten to a point where it has run its course. 

In this topic, I'll be cooking up my take on this year's event. The alteration of this booking goes into effect after the events of All Out. I'll run down my proposed match card with a brief explanation of how some of these matches came to be. Some may have little buildup while others will be more in-depth as to how we got here in the first place. Enjoy.

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Season 2 Morph Sequence Remastered

 

I've been customizing and enhancing screen caps as of late. Awhile back, an Instagram user named ListenAnyway posted some rendered images of Power Rangers characters, including closeups and re-digitized versions of blurry quality photos. This inspired me to do the same. As you can see below is a series of headshots of the Mighty Morphin' team circa season two. I would continue to post them on IG, but given the likely chances of potential shadow banning (meaning posted photos won't appear on your listed hashtags, thus preventing followers from discovering), I figured it wouldn't be worth the risk. It was quite a load of fun with an photo app I was using, and I am happy with how they turned out:

Just a sample of what I've cooked up. I may post more like these down the road so be on the look out. Have a good day.