DaHeckIzDat wrote:I just found out that Battlebots is on HBO Max and have been binging it. I don't know if it's considered a sport, but it gets me pumped the way football does for most normal people. Also, Faruq is a national treasure.
Oh yes, Faruq is one of the many things that makes it memorable! My favorite Battlebot is Witch Doctor, originally the British Warhead until the dome head shattered, though I loved the T-Rex head configuration.
Anyway, here's what I've seen recently: Dark, emotional, mature, not words to come by when you think of a silly franchise like "Power Rangers", but here's one series that ticks all the boxes: Power Rangers - Lost Galaxy. Though not the first to be dark (that honor goes to the previous series In Space, but this one ups the ante in darkness and emotional power by bringing a bunch of things to the table, an emotional edge, themes of death, a character with shades of grey, needs of many vs needs of one, and so on. What makes this dark is a few good characters actually perish, though one comes back, one of them is an actual ranger (because she was diagnosed with leukemia). The character with shades of grey is the Magna Defender who has a lot of emotional baggage, from having his planet ravaged to having his own son killed by an antagonist, he then vows revenge at any cost, even if it means harming innocent people.
Adding to it are many sci-fi references from Star Trek, Starship Troopers, even an episode that feels like Alien for the young ones with just the right amount of lighting and atmosphere.
We also get some of the sexiest rangers in the franchise: for the girls there's Leo, and for the guys we get Maya (played by Cerina Vincent of "Not Another Teen Movie") as a sexy jungle girl, then later a redeemed villain Karone (formerly known as Astronema) clad in black leather, trying to atone for her sins.
At one point we get a crossover of past and (then) present rangers against an old foe: the most evil of evil rangers, The Psycho Rangers who REALLY live up to their name!
Overall whether you're a longtime fan of the show like I am, or looking for something different, check this out, even with the usual schtick, but forget about the campiness of the Mighty Morphin Era, this is the real deal.
