In Volume 1, the new rangers were introduced as they fought off a new threat. This time, a computer virus named Venjix has released a horde of robotic minions upon the Earth and all but the domed city of Corinth has become a wasteland. As Venjix and its servant, Tenaya 7, regularly try and bring down the dome and destroy the city, the five rangers, along with the creator of their suits, weapons and Zord Attack Vehicles, Dr. K (Olivia Tennet), must stop the bad guys at any cost.
Anyway, the first five episodes introduced two new rangers to the already established team of Red (Eka Darville), Yellow (Rose Mclver) and Blue (Ari Boyland). These are Black and Green (Milo Cawthorne). Volume 2: Race for Corinth starts off with an episode called "Ranger Green" where we get a bit of insight into how Ziggy (the man behind the green mask) ended up meeting Dillon (Black's alter ego) before he happened to put on the morpher (do they still call it that?). We learn that Ziggy was trying to join one of Corinth's five crime syndicates, but his desire to do good actually upset all outlaw groups and he was forced to leave the city and foolishly attempts to carjack Dillon.
In the next episode, "Ranger Red", we learn that Scott and his brother were fighter pilots tasked with protecting the city while refugees tried to get inside before the shields were raised. In this episode, Scott must step outside of his fallen brother's shadow, disobey his father, Colonel Truman (James Gaylyn), and do what's best for the RPM Rangers.
The Yellow Ranger's backstory is a two-parter where we find out Summer was a rich socialite, that is, until the attacks started and she found herself all alone except for her butler who sees her as more than the shallow person everyone else (including Summer herself) does. It's because of her butler that she decides to become a Ranger, but what her teammates don't realize is that she had made a deal with her parents to let her become a Ranger for a year before she was to be married off to another rich family. This fact comes out in these episodes and Summer will find that there might be a few wedding crashers at her upcoming event.
The last episode focuses on Flynn, the Scottish Blue Ranger, who grew up loving comic books and always wanted to help save people. As we follow Flynn's life, we see several times when he tried to do this under more standard circumstances (becoming a policeman, a fireman, even a tree hugger), but his desire to save everything and always do right ends up getting him into even more trouble with each job.
Outside of the major character development events in each of these episodes are the standard fights, Zords and explosions that have made this series last some 17 years. While many of the aspects of this show seem like old hat and the same old formula, there was one moment in these five episodes that I really enjoyed. At the beginning of "Ranger Blue," the team is gathered around Dr. K while she tries to explain how it all works. When they get a chance to ask questions, they talk about everything from having to shout when they transform, to the large eyes on their Zords and even the massive explosions that inexplicably appear after they morph. Anyone who has seen any Power Rangers show before should get at least some enjoyment out of this segment.
But when all is said and done, it's all about what the kids want to watch, right? If your little ones enjoy the current incarnation of Power Rangers, then these five episodes shouldn't disappoint. Having not seen the first volume, I can say that you don't need to know what happened before "Ranger Green" to understand what is happening here. While I'm sure it's nice, since the focus of these episodes is to develop the characters and give you their histories, I would say Volume 2: Race for Corinth is probably the one your little ones wouldn't want to miss.
