Me and my Lord Zedd Plushy - February 2009
Well, what's to know? My name's Grace Francis, I'm 24 years old and from Lincoln, England. I like drawing, writing various fanfics and maintaining my websites. I'm currently a student at the Nottingham-Trent University, doing a foundation degree in Animal Studies, and I enjoy training and showing dogs in my spare time. You might have got the hint that I also love Lord Zedd. XD
Two of my greatest interests are mythology and history (Tudor and Third Reich, in particular) which both help to inspire my writing. My favourite actor is Australian legend Geoffrey Rush, and my favourite films include the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Elizabeth, Quills, 300, The Lion King, Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Ghost and Mrs Muir, and many others. ReBoot, the first series of the new Doctor Who and Torchwood are some of my favourite television shows, and Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy X, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and G1 Jockey are a few of my favourite video games. I have a lot of varied interests. :)
Me and my Lord Zedd Plushy - February 2009
But more to the point... let's talk about me and Power Rangers. What's a woman like myself doing making and maintaining a Power Rangers fansite?
I am of the first generation of Power Rangers fans, having first started to watch the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers when I was nine years old (oh so long ago). I remained loyal to the show for several years, and was once a very enthusiastic - practically obsessed - fan. But there reached a point when I was getting too old for the inanity of the show, and I could no longer deny that it was no good anymore. And so I walked away from the programme during the (IMO) terrible Turbo series, which aired around 1998, and thought that that would be it - that Power Rangers and I were history.
But this was not to be so. I still harboured a great fondness for the original show - namely the first two seasons - and my favourite characters stayed with me, but the ones that endured in my mind most were the villains. My original favourite had been Goldar, but he was superceded promptly by Lord Zedd in season 2 (and it was Zedd with whom I became rather infatuated, strange child that I was). These "bad guys" inspired me more than the heroes and I drew and wrote about them a lot during my time as a fan, making up stories of what they did when they weren't aimlessly battling the Power Rangers, and asking questions like "Where are they from?", "What's their history?", and "How did they get to know each other?". I wondered where their rivalries come from, their injuries, their feuds and dislikes, and, when I got older, I pondered upon why the Hell they would want planet Earth in the first place! (Take it, "Evil Space Aliens"! It's f***ed!)
And so, with all these flights of fancy firmly ingrained into my psyche, all it took was a small catalyst to set things in motion again. That catalyst came in 2001 when, during my GCSE exam period at school, I re-watched some of the old Mighty Morphin episodes on Fox Kids UK (now "Jetix") and this encouraged me to dig up all my old drawings and stories from my era as a fan. I was then inspired enough to begin to re-write some of my fanfiction, and to make this website, dedicated to the villains and to the golden era of the Rangers - the Mighty Morphin seasons!
"Chamber of Command" is now over seven years old and holds a special place in my heart because it was my first website and I love it dearly. It's not for kids, and it's not even really for fans of the Power Rangers themselves - it's a site for those of you who, like me, rather like to indulge in the darkside and take a wander into unfamiliar territory and consider, at a long stretch of the imagination, what a more "real" Power Rangers universe might possibly entail.
Yes, but I don't watch Power Rangers much any more. I do watch the classic episodes every now and then for nostalgia and some inspiration for my fanfics, but I don't lose sight of the fact that these shows are made for children. The newer series don't entertain me much and I haven't been drawn to any of them since Ninja Storm and Dino Thunder, which were both pretty good . It's generally because I watched and enjoyed Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as a kid that I am so fond of Power Rangers now, and I just enjoy re-hashing the classic stories to suit me now I am older. I don't need to justify myself for that, do I? (I'm still happy to confess to my own weirdness. I have a Lord Zedd plushy on my bed - what more do I need say?)
My old "Serpy" toy from 1996 (flying the Aussie
flag - I backpacked over there last year) with the kick-ass "Super Legends"
Zedd toy from 2007.
(My God, a Zedd toy which actually looks like him!)
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ran for three series, but I have no problem in saying that, as raw and badly edited as the first couple of series were, they were superior in terms of atmosphere, and sometimes even plot, when compared to the rather comical and cluttered series 3. Don't get me wrong, the third season had some great moments, and I appreciated the clever wit and humour that was its hallmark, and I liked the fact that the series attempted to incorporate a story arc, with Katherine Hillard's stint as an evil pawn lasting for a fair few episodes - but, overall, it didn't feel like Power Rangers any more. It was almost soap-like, and I much preferred the slightly darker tone of seasons 1 and 2, which between them gave us episodes like "Green With Evil", "The Green Candle", "Doomsday", "The Mutiny" and "The Power Transfer". Sure, series 1 and 2 had their fair share of mediocre and ridiculous episodes, but the villains had more integrity and possessed some semblance of a threatening aura (Goldar was unbeatable in series 1, and Zedd in series 2; even Rita was a force to be reckoned with initially).
There was even a kind of charm to the cheapness of the original show! :D Series 3 clearly had more funding but, bar the excitement of "Changing of the Zords", when Kimberly's life was in danger and Zedd remembered he was a bad-ass (albeit, briefly), there was nothing very remarkable about the third run. There was too much clutter (Ninja Ranger forms, Shark Cycles, Ninja *and* Shogunzords, Metallic Armour -- argh!!), and the threat of the aliens was gone, with them pretty much sending themselves up every episode. (And speaking as a Zedd fan, much of that was downright degrading!)
Mighty Morphin perhaps began to fall apart when we lost Zack, Trini and Jason, who some might say were three of the original and best Rangers. They were never quite replaced by their successors, Adam, Aisha and Rocky. Then, when the incredibly popular Kimberly left, it was little wonder that the foundations of the programme began to crumble. Add to the formula the fact that, by the end of series 3, Zedd was hardly a force to be reckoned with, the Zords lacked any of the power or "charisma" of the Dino' or Thunderzords, Goldar was an idiot, Rita's family were suffocating the Lunar Palace, and that we were treated to some rather pathetic "Alien Rangers" to make use of the Japanese Kakuranger footage, then MMPR's fall from grace is well understood.
But I digress - what were my favourite moments of the Mighty Morphin saga?
One of my favourite moments:
Lord Zedd proved he could still kick-ass as he bartered his way into the Command
Centre in series 3!
Not literally. ;) But if you want to read more about my obsession with this character, teleport over here.
Maybe I should also mention that I'm a typical Brit, and can be both sarcastic and cynical. Please don't take all that I have written on this site overly seriously. I have a very dry sense of humour and some people find it hard to distinguish between when I'm being serious and when I'm joking! Even though I've picked a million holes in Power Rangers on this website, I don't hate it - I'm simply of an age where I can look back and laugh at its faults, whilst holding its memory close to my heart, with fondness and nostalgia. (And classic PR writers... I don't really hate you, but what you did to Lord Zedd broke my heart and ruined my childhood. ;) Heheh. j/k)
Wahoo! So close to Zeddy (and Vile for that matter! Boo!), but I'll quite happily be a loyal servant with wings! :D I'm not sure I'd actually want to *be* Zedd, anyway. Take the Quiz!
If you would like to get in touch with me, or ask a question, feel free to drop me a line at jurious @ lordzedd.com (Heheh - I love my email addy!), or drop by at my MySpace page or visit my LiveJournal. I am on Facebook but only add people I truly know well.
