Power Rangers was a fixture of TV for over 30 years, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t have its share of issues and challenges making that happen. Over the years, the franchise has had to make any number of adjustments and changes due to current events, public outcry, or the more adult nature of some of the original stories from Super Sentai. Sometimes parts of episodes were censored and changed, and other times the show was outright banned, like when it was banned in New Zealand until 2011 due to complaints from parents about the violence, which is ironic given that the show has been filmed in New Zealand for decades. That’s why we are breaking down the 5 controversial Power Rangers episodes and moments that were banned or censored, and we are starting with Mighty Morphin.
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5. Mighty Morphin’s The Power Stealer
There have been a host of scenes and elements in the original Sentai episodes that were censored for the US Power Rangers audience, and one notable example took place during Mighty Morphin Power Rangers‘ The Power Stealer. In this episode, the Rangers face the Octophantom, who manages to capture four of the Rangers and hold them captive until the remaining Rangers can free them, which is where the changes come in
In the original version, the captured Rangers are actually chained up on metal crosses atop the hill. Power Rangers then made some changes and reshot this scene entirely, so in the Power Rangers version, the four Rangers are all tied to poles and guarded by Z-Putties. The censoring was likely due to keeping their rating intact, but also to avoid any parental outcry, as the show already had to deal with parents’ complaints about violence throughout the first few seasons
4. Ninja Storm’s Snip it, Snip it Good
As we’ll see here in a bit, real-world events would have effects on Power Rangers episodes at times, and one such example was the Snip it, Snip it Good episode from Power Rangers Ninja Storm. In the episode, the Ninja Storm Rangers are attending and protecting a peace conference to help avert a potential war, but this wouldn’t exactly be what fans ultimately saw when the episode finally aired
That’s because the Iraq War had started around this same time, so the episode was delayed and pulled from the ABC Kids and ABC Family lineup so some changes could be made. When the episode finally did air, the peace conference aspect was substituted for an environmental conference, and the new version removed the war aspect from the plot entirely. This wasn’t the only show to make those sorts of changes due to what was happening in real life, and it wouldn’t be the only time that had to happen over the course of the franchise.
3. Time Force’s Ransik Lives
Another censoring came in Power Rangers Time Force, and specifically the episode Ransik Lives. In the episode, Ransik takes over the television airwaves and delivers a villainous speech about how he’s going to destroy the city. While that might not seem so extreme, the multitude of threats he made and the terrorist-style elements to the speech were in an episode that aired days after the terrorist attack on 9/11, so it was never going to air as originally intended
This part of the episode was then heavily edited before airing, which actually makes a lot of sense. What is interesting about this is also the method of editing this footage, as if you watch the episode, you’ll notice that part of the scene is still viewable, but it has the Time Force theme song playing over it to obscure anything he’s saying. It’s certainly an interesting way to get around completely taking it out, but it also can’t help but stick out like a sore thumb
2. Power Rangers in Malaysia
While Power Rangers was banned in New Zealand due to parent complaints, it’s not the only time an entire country has banned the show, and it’s also not close to the weirdest reason why. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers found itself banned once again, but this time in Malaysia, which is one of the stricter places in terms of what they allow on television. Surprisingly, though, the issue wasn’t with the show’s violence, but its name
Malaysia’s Film Censorship Board took issue with the Morphin part of the show’s name, as they felt that it could be confused with the drug morphine. That’s why they ultimately banned the entire show, with the deputy minister of home affairs saying that the show conveyed to kids that if they took heroin, they could become superheroes. If that sounds insane, that’s because it is, but the ban was held in place for a while. Even when the show returned to the air, it had to go by the title Mighty Power Rangers, eliminating the word entirely.
1. Mighty Morphin’s Green Ranger Saga
One of the most iconic storylines in Power Rangers history is the Green Ranger Saga, and it sent the series into the stratosphere. For as iconic as it is, it’s quite different from the story of the Dragon Ranger Burai in Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, and the Mighty Morphin version features substantial censoring of several major plot points across the story
Like Tommy, Burai would go from antagonist to hero, though he was also the brother of the Red Ranger Geki in this version. Burai would even have a limited time as the Dragon Ranger, just like Tommy, but things change substantially from there. While Tommy’s powers were tied to the green candle in Mighty Morphin, Burai had his life-force tied to it in Zyuranger, which meant that he would die once it ran out
When he had only hours left, he started having nightmares of his death, and Bandora used every method possible to expedite his death by forcing him out of hiding. While the team looks for an elixir to save him, it turns out it can’t help him due to Burai being revived once before (long story on that one). After their foe is defeated, Geki holds Burai in his arms as he passes away, and later, he is even shown heading into the afterlife
To say that was too much for Mighty Morphin would be an understatement, so all kinds of changes were made to the story, including the fact that Tommy continued on well past Mighty Morphin. This also encompasses the entire run with Tommy as the Green Ranger, which is why it’s at the top of the list
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