Ranger Station Guest

I’d say I came to love Power Rangers probably around when I was 7 years old. It was during the franchise’s run of its first season, but I’m honestly not sure exactly how long it had already been airing at the time. All I know is I turned the channel to Fox Kids one afternoon, saw all the bright suits, martial arts & explosions, and I was instantly hooked!

If I had to say I had one season that was my favorite in particular, it would definitely have to be In Space. Looking at how it was the first season with a progressive plot, thematic writing, and characters that were given depth to the point that you could sympathize with the villain, In Space became the new gold standard in what makes a great season of Power Rangers to me! That, and the fact that it was the season that saved the franchise overall, thereby allowing new fans to continue discovering Power Rangers in its current form, and its fairly obvious why I hold this one in such high regard.

My favorite Ranger-related cosplay(s) is/are absolutely my namesake: the Putty Patrol. It’s lightweight to wear, easy to see, hear & move around in, and super comfy. On top of that, Putties are just plain fun! I’d say my favorite part of watching any episode in the first 2 seasons of MMPR was when the unmorphed Rangers would fight the Putties and beat them down with occasionally humorous results. Having met and made friends with a few people from the show’s stunt team who played Putties has also helped give me a greater sense of appreciation for them, so it’s when I’m in costume that I’m extra happy to hear fans say they just have to punch me (plus it’s always a good excuse for me to have some fun and mess around with them a bit lol)! In general I enjoy cosplaying minions, which is I’ve also done the Quantron from In Space and the Skug from VR Troopers, but Putties will always be my favorite.

My favorite Ranger has been a bit varied to be honest. At first it was Billy because I felt I could relate to him what with having a stronger focus on academics over athletics at a young age. At the same time it didn’t take long for me to get caught up in joining the Tommy/Green Ranger bandwagon like everyone else at the height of the craze, but eventually I got around to noticing girls and then my focus turned much more to Kim, Trini, and the pinks and yellows that came after them lol. But it wasn’t until I became a devoted Space fan that I found my all-time favorite: Zhane, the Silver Ranger. Being a Star Wars fan as well, it was easy to see all the homages and parallels they were trying to pull with this season, and everything about Zhane just screamed Han Solo. Besides, how could you not love a guy who could totally turn the charm onto an ultra-hot villainess???

In case you couldn’t tell from my previous answer, my favorite villainess has to be Astronema. "Why?", you might ask? She’s Astronema. And if you still need to ask, I’m afraid we don’t have enough time for that answer lol. But a solid second is absolutely Rita Repulsa. As to why that is, well the short-short answer is you really can’t enjoy being a Putty without having any devotion to Rita herself, plain and simple.

Ranger Station is something that I’ve been thinking about for a while now. I suppose it for the simple reason that there hasn’t been an event like it anywhere in the northeast as of yet, though there’s plenty of Ranger fans here as well. There’s the big one, PMC, but that’s in California and only once every 2 years, while Rangerstop has been a yearly thing in Florida. They’re both great shows and quite popular, but the fact is there’s always people out there who want to go yet aren’t able to for one reason or another. For that reason, having another centralized event in this region seemed like a good idea and also an opportunity for highlighting what there is to offer around here. Besides, the Power Rangers protect all of Earth, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to see them show up anywhere as well, right?