Like any self-respecting child of the 90’s I loved The “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”, perhaps it was their incorruptible spirit, their unshakeable friendship, or maybe it was the fact that they got awesome colour coordinated-dinosaur themed mechs…. It was probably that last one. But like anything popular it wasn’t long before the imitators started pouring in. Some were better than others, I was personally a big fan of “Masked Rider”, but none of them had the staying power (heh) of “Power Rangers”. With that in mind, here are “5 Power Ranger Knock-offs You Forgot Existed”.
Big Bad Beetleborgs
I’d be willing to bet that people will be more familiar with this one, mostly because it was also created (well, not so much created as Frankensteined together from combat footage from old Japanese “Metal Hero” shows) by “Saban Entertainment”. It followed the adventures of “three typical average kids” who enter a haunted house, are chased by real monsters and accidentally release a phasm who looks like “Elvis”, “The Genie” and “Jay Leno” had a magic baby! Who in turn grants them the powers of their comic book heroes. It sounds silly, and it is, which is what allowed it to succeed. As far as “Power Ranger” Knock offs go, it ran closer to a sitcom than a villain of the week show, but managed to take the best elements of both and make a pretty decent superhero kids show.
Los Luchadores
Okay, this one is utter shite, I don’t deny it, but this list is about Power Ranger knock offs you forgot existed not, forgotten classics. But I suppose an argument could be made that we, as a society, purged this unrepentant horse piss from our collective minds. For those that are unaware (i.e. everyone who didn’t have to research it) “Los Luchadores” is about a team of “lucha libre” who fight to protect “Union City” from a cavalcade of different enemies. If you want a more in depth explanation, then go watch the show, because I couldn’t get past the Wikipedia entry, theme song and first 2 minutes of the first episode. In researching this show, I came across the term “failed to find its audience” a lot, which I very much believe, because who the fuck wants to watch a trio of thirty somethings, play a group of 20 somethings running around as masked fucking wrestlers? They didn’t even have the decency to include giant robots!
Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad
You may not be familiar with this show, but you have definitely heard the theme song, which is about the only thing worth remembering. Okay, that’s unfair, it was an okay show, it revolved around “Sam” a high schooler and leader of a band named “Team Samurai”. Obviously he gets zapped into the digital world and is turned into his video game creation “Servo”, oh that’s right, as well as being a guitarist in a band, in his spare time he creates video games. And quite coincidentally his classmate (Malcolm Frink), who creates video game monsters, has decided to team up with a monstrous A.I. (voiced by the fantastic Tim Curry who just eats the role up) to force a girl to be with him….Jesus Christ! “Frink” creates a new monster every week and “Sam” becomes “Servo” to stop it, rinse repeat!
Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters From Beverly Hills
Okay, I admit this one is indefensible, it is utter shite, and I’m not just saying that as an adult, I remember watching this bollocks as a child and until a few days ago, was convinced I had hallucinated it in some mad fever dream. But no, this did not emerge from the delirious mind of a small child, this…”show”, about a group of teens who are each given a special tattoo based on a constellation (there by gaining superpowers) by touching a “blobby alien’s slimy finger” (that is literally how it is described on Wikipedia BTW) was created by an adult. Who was then presumably paid for it…somehow! You know the drill, bad guys want earth, good guys stop them in colour coordinated costumes, the day is saved, the end, which is as much as a description as this show deserves to be honest.
Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog
I’d say a fair few 90’s kids do remember this one, mostly because it was actually fantastic. It was a swords and sorcery adventure show set in ancient Ireland and draws a lot of its inspiration from Celtic mythology. It followed the adventures of a group of warriors, who wield elemental powers given to them by the King of “Tir Na Nog” so that they may battle the evil forces of “Queen Maeve”. The writing was solid, the acting was pretty good and the special effects…okay, the special effects were pretty naff, but in a “we’re still figuring things out” kind of way. In fact, it was all set for a 2nd season, the only problem was that it wasn’t cost-effective enough for “Saban’”. Unlike, “Power Rangers”, “V.R Troopers” and “Big Bad Beetleborgs” “Saban” didn’t have any combat footage from Japanese shows to use in “Mystic Knights” because it was a completely original show. And despite the good ratings and toy sales, “Saban” decided it was too expensive and shut it down. Thanks you arseholes, a show set in Ireland, based around Irish mythology and with Irish actors no less, and you couldn’t let me have that? You total and complete bastards!
Well, those 5 Power Ranger Knock-offs You Forgot Existed . What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below. Also don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel and if you’re feeling generous feel free to donate to our Patreon, thanks for reading.
