Power Rangers Lost Galaxy Review

Power Rangers Lost Galaxy (1999) was adapted from Seijyu Sentai Gingaman. Lost Galaxy was the second consecutive season that differed from its Sentai counterpart to use a completely different motif. After having success with the space travel motif during In Space, the producers decided to stick with it in Lost Galaxy as oppose to Gingaman's nature motif. Some fans have criticized Lost Galaxy's handling of the nature themed Gingaman footage and its use as a space theme. Some fans include Lost Galaxy as part of the Zordon Era, due to being the last season (other than Dino Thunder), to have connections to the Zordon Era such as Alpha 6, Bulk, the Astro Megaship, Karone, and the team up with the In Space team. Personally, while not a perfect season, Lost Galaxy is one of my favorite seasons, and my second favorite season during the "Judd Lynn era," (not including RPM) next to In Space.

The Good
Lost Galaxy really has a lot of good upside to it, despite some of its flaws and occasional spotty writing. This season was one of the darkest, with more casualties in this season than any other season, with notable casualties including Kendrix and the Magna Defender (first two rangers to be killed in battle), and the Magna Defender's son, Zika. Lost Galaxy has a strong cast with some very likable characters such as Leo, Kai, Kendrix, Karone, Maya, and the Magna Defender. While I typically don't like seeing copy and paste story arcs from the Sentai counterpart, I felt the story surrounding the Magna Defender, Mike, and Leo which was coppied from Gingaman, was well done and fit in really well with the Lost Galaxy story, especially considering Leo's character, how he cared for his brother, and snuck onto Terra Venture initially. Also adding to the story was the excellent team-up with In Space, the story surrounding Kendrix's death (unfortunate due to her actress Valarie Varone having leukimia), and Karone's story as her replacement. Many of the villains are awesome and sympathetic, such as Trakeena, Villamax, and Deviot. The final battle was pretty good as well. Fight scenes were awesome and even the American footage was good during this season. This season's theme song was also really cool. It was ashame that the theme music would start going downhill with Lightspeed Rescue.

The Bad
The handling of the Sentai footage wasn't that good but it certainly wasn't the worst. Turbo, MMPR S2, and Operation Overdrive were much worst. The writing at times was spotty, particularly the Lights of Orion arc and the "Lost Galaxy arc" which was originally planned to be longer, although the Lost Galaxy arc did have an excellent ending. However, the overall story does redeem the spottiness in the writing. The one character that came off as waisted potential was Mike. After giving a strong introduction to his character at the beginning of the season and having him gaining the Magna Defender's powers after his death, he was hardly used or had any focus episodes (except for The Rescue Mission). He was hardly ever seen with the team and seemed to show up only for battle, kinda like Burai from Zyuranger except without Burai's reason or purpose. Also, Kendrix's actress Valarie Varone underacts a bit, but she's not too wooden and nowhere near as bad as what would come in later seasons.

The Ugly
How the Lost Galaxy cast was treated on set. They were initially promised two year contracts and a reuinion movie and got neither. Also, Lost Galaxy was screwed over by Saban during the second half of the season. The first half had the highest ratings of any Power Rangers series, but the ratings went downhill during the second half due to being aired 4 months after the first half and Saban deciding to promote Digimon over Lost Galaxy

My Rating
B+: Despite some spotting writing and a lack of development for Mike, this season has all that you would want in a Power Rangers season. Good characters, good story, complex villains, good action and fight scenes, and another awesome theme song.

My Favorite Episodes/Arcs
Episodes 1&2 "Quasar Quest"- The openning of the series is very strong.
Episode 10 "Sunflower Search"- Reveals the origin of the Magna Defender
Episode 15 "Redemption Day"- The Magna Defender sacrifices himself to save Terra Venture and sets Mike free.
Episode 16 "Destined for Greatness"- Mike assumes the Magna Defender's powers.
Episode 18 "The Rescue Mission"- One of the best filler episodes ever that feels like a sci-fi horror flick.
Episode 21 "Heir to the Throne"- The rangers defeat the original lead villain, Scorpius, while we're introduced to a new villain, Villamax. Villamax helps beef up Trakeena into a tougher villain.
Episode 28 "A Red Romance"- A ship tease involving Leo and Ginger, a girl Leo saved from a bike accident. Unfortunately, they did nothing with this relationship.
Episodes 30-33- This 4 episode long story arc involves the team-up with In Space, Kendrix's death, Karone replacing her, and Karone facing her past to help Leo gain the battlizer.
Episode 42 "Escape from the Lost Galaxy"- The end of the "Lost Galaxy arc," which involved Captain Mutiny holding a slave camp and Mike sacrificing his powers to allow Terra Venture to escape the Lost Galaxy
Episodes 43-45 "Journey's End"- The final battle, which is one of the more intense ever in PR history. Not as good as Countdown to Destruction but still pretty good.