How long has it been since the DVD killed the VHS? Nearly ten years? And what Mighty Morphin DVDs do we have to show for it here in the UK? Zip, excluding the couple of "White Light" episodes thrown onto the "Best of Power Rangers" DVD compilation.
But, lo! What is this? Mighty Morphin Power Rangers *is* actually available on DVD! And I'm talking official copies, too! It's just not available in any English-speaking countries yet. Boo. Why is this? I haven't clue. It makes no sense to me! (I would have thought that the USA, being the home of MMPR, might at least have seen DVD releases first! But no... it was not to be.)
Anyhoo, if you can't wait for America, Australia and/or the UK to catch up, and would like some official DVD copies of the classic show to watch at home, here's what you might want to look for.
(By the way, I know it's tempting to buy those unofficial, pirated copies which are available on certain internet sites, but by doing so you're not supporting the show, or the industry - you're simply putting money into the pocket of an individual who can burn DVDs and make them look pretty. Even Lord Zedd doesn't approve of that. XD Heheh. Sorry to be a stiff, but we need to stand behind our show, even if it doesn't always reciprocate the support. Yes I mean you Disney/BVS.)
The best DVD releases to date are available in Germany, where seasons 1, 2 and 3 are sold complete in 6-disc boxed sets (with some fairly nice cover art). They come with German and English language track options, so you can either go for the novelty of hearing Lord Zedd speak in Deutsch (and it is a very brief novelty, let me tell you!) or simply watch the episodes with the original soundtrack. They retail at about €30 each. (I own all three Mighty Morphin boxsets at present and I'm very impressed with them. The discs are nicely presented in lovely boxes and have animated menu-select screens. There are no extras, except a lil Jetix trailer on the season 3 set, but then I didn't expect any for these kind of prices!)
Some other "classic" complete series are also available: Zeo and Turbo, with In Space due for release in April 2009. Please note these are PAL Region 2 DVDs - if you live outside Europe and buy them, make sure your DVD player is multi-region.
France also has a huge list of MMPR DVDs available (again Pal Region 2), but buying all those volumes soon adds up! Plus, I don't think any of the French DVDs have English language tracks, so you'd better like watching the Power punks speaking en Français!
They have a series 1 boxset of episodes 1-10 available, but it is expensive at about €40, especially considering what episodes you get. (You know... "Food Fight" and "Day of the Dumspter" and all that... cute, but not particularly riveting!)
Season 1: Episodes 1-10 - French Box Set
The individual volumes work out at better value, containing 5 episodes each and retailing at about €10 per DVD. These still end up costing a lot more than the German editions if you plan to collect them all (there are 31 volumes!), so I'd personally advise you buy the German sets if you want to own the entire series. The French DVDs are good if you only want certain episodes (and speak French). Plus, when you stack them together, all their spines form the MMPR logo, just like the classic VHS tapes used to! Cool!
Examples of the cover-art for the individual French MMPR
DVDs
(I'm also aware that there might be other MMPR DVD releases in various European countries, and I'll add any details as soon as I come across them. Feel free to send me some if you're in-the-know!)
It's worth checking eBay once in a while, though sellers do tend to pile a significant profit-margin on top of the price (and make sure you are buying the real deal! It's not always easy to tell on eBay).
I recommend, if you have a credit card such as Visa/Electron or Mastercard, that you buy direct from Amazon.de or Amazon.fr (search for "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers"). You know you're getting brand-new, genuine products in this case.
There may be other European companies who sell DVDs online and ship worldwide, but I haven't had a good look for them - if your French or German skills aren't too bad, it might be worth your having a look around the internet yourself - but always bear in mind postage costs on top of the price of the DVDs, especially if you're ordering from the USA, Asia or Australasia!
(Keep Freetranslation.com handy if you're not bilingual. It's a lifesaver. Also use a currency converter to get an idea of how much you're spending. With the current worldwide recession, exchange rates are better for some than others.)
Well, email me, then!
I don't bite! (Hard.) XD