''Power Rangers Operation Overdrive'' is the fifteenth season of the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

franchise

Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...

. The season uses footage and other material from the 30th ''

Super Sentai is a Japanese superhero team metaseries and media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company, and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi ("Sentai" is the Japanese word for "task force" or "fighting squadron"). The sho ...

'' series ''

GoGo Sentai Boukenger is the 30th series in Toei Company, Toei's Super Sentai series, a metaseries of Japanese language, Japanese tokusatsu programming. It was the first installment to be broadcast in the 16:9 aspect ratio. It premiered on February 19, 2006, at 7:30 ...

'', which celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of that franchise. In addition, this season's team-up episode, "Once a Ranger", commemorates the fifteenth anniversary of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise. The season premiered on February 26, 2007, on

Toon Disney Toon Disney was an American multinational pay television channel owned by Disney Channels Worldwide, a subsidiary of Disney-ABC Television Group. The channel's target audience was children ages 2–11, and children ages 6–13 during the Jetix ...

Jetix Jetix (stylized as JETIX) was a children's entertainment brand owned by The Walt Disney Company. The brand was for a slate of action/adventure-related programming blocks and television channels. Jetix programming mainly originated from the S ...

programming block. It was the first season to use high definition footage from the Super Sentai franchise, although this footage was scaled down to 4:3 aspect ratio. Unique among Power Ranger series, ''Operation Overdrive'' has the Rangers exploring, operating and fighting in many different countries around the world, rather than focusing only on their home city of

San Angeles San Angeles is a fictional futuristic concept of Southern California typically configured by U.S. commentators and film producers to include the areas of Los Angeles to San Diego and sometimes even San Bernardino to Riverside County, Riverside. Al ...

Pre-production

The early working title for the series was ''Power Rangers Drive Force'', but was later changed to "Relic Hunters" and then "Operation Overdrive" In early pre-production, on July 26, 2006, the series' logo was posted on a fan message board called "Fuñaroboard." This same logo was later featured on the Disney website, RangerSecrets.com, as part of the preview for the series. The logo is very similar to that of the parent series ''Boukenger'' in the basic design and format. On November 14, 2006, Disney had set up its official website for ''Power Rangers Operation Overdrive''.

Synopsis

Five brave, skilled, and adventurous young people are chosen to search for several magical

jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

that were long ago taken from the Corona Aurora (also known as "

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

of the Gods"), so as to prevent them from coming into the possession of Moltor and Flurious, who are brothers connected to ice and fire banished long ago by the Corona's guardian for having attempted to steal it. When the billionaire explorer Andrew Hartford discovered the Corona Aurora, they escaped their exile and rallied their allies. In response, Andrew Hartford selected the talented youths and modified their DNA so as to grant them exceptional physical powers by which to combat the evil. Although Moltor and Flurious initially attempted to work together, they soon became rivals. The Corona Aurora fell into Moltor's hands; yet without its jewels, it could not grant the owner universal power. Later, the evil warriors Kamdor and Miratrix began hunting for the jewels, as did the extraterrestrial 'Fearcats'. Now the Rangers, joined by a Mercurian named Tyzonn who joined their ranks as the Mercury Ranger, are forced to fight multiple villains and travel worldwide in the effort to capture the jewels before their enemies can. In order to accomplish this purpose, the members of Operation Overdrive are equipped with futuristic technology similar to that featured in previous ''Power Ranger'' continuities, which improves in sophistication and power with successive episodes. Each time a new Ranger, new weapon, or (in one subplot, if not more) new reason for battle is introduced, that Ranger, weapon, or reason produces the decimation of one major enemy (such as Kamdor and Miratrix) or a host of foot soldiers. Thereafter the odds resume their former state. The physical powers granted by genetic modification are seldom used, seen, or mentioned, except when one or more Rangers is rescued by their use. Throughout the series, legends are included or invented to give a feeling of antiquity: these include Thor's Hammer, Atlantis and Poseidon, who is mentioned under the Roman name, Neptune.

Cast and characters

Overdrive Rangers * James Maclurcan as Mackenzie "Mack" Hartford; The Red Overdrive Ranger. * Samuell Benta as William "Will" Aston; The Black Overdrive Ranger. *

Gareth Yuen Gareth Yuen is an Australian actor who portrays the character Dax Lo, the Blue Ranger on the 2007 television series '' Power Rangers: Operation Overdrive''. He appeared at the Power Morphicon in June 2007. He is a graduate of Sydney's National ...

as Dax Lo; The Blue Overdrive Ranger. * Caitlin Murphy as Veronica "Ronny" Robinson; The Yellow Overdrive Ranger. *Rhoda Montemayor as Rose Ortiz; The Pink Overdrive Ranger. *

Dwayne Cameron Dwayne Cameron (born 28 October 1981) is a New Zealand actor, writer, director and producer. Cameron is best known internationally for playing the lead roles of Bray on the teen drama series '' The Tribe'' and Tyzonn in ''Power Rangers Operat ...

as Tyzonn; The Mercury Ranger. Supporting characters * Rod Lousich as Andrew Hartford, the Rangers' mentor and Mack's father. *

David Weatherley David John Weatherley (born 1 March 1939) is a British-born New Zealand actor and voice artist known for his role as Barliman Butterbur in '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''. Weatherley was born in London and moved to Canada ...

as Spencer. *

Campbell Cooley Campbell Cooley is an American voice and television actor based in New Zealand, best known for voicing prominent villains in the ''Power Rangers'' franchise. Biography Early life He attended the University of Louisville where he received a Bach ...

as the voice of Alpha 6. * Nic Sampson as the voice of the Sentinel Knight. *

Beth Allen Elizabeth Grace Nell Allen (born 28 May 1984) is a New Zealand actress. She has been acting since an early age and has appeared in several small productions and commercials since 1993. Her first major television role was in Cloud 9's '' The Le ...

as Vella. Villains *

Gerald Urquhart Dr. Luke Louis Demonte Durville is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' who was played by Gerald Urquhart from the character's first appearance in September 2007 until January 2013. The character appeared on a ...

as Flurious. *

Mark Ferguson Mark Ferguson (born 28 February 1961) is a New Zealand-based Australian actor and television presenter. Biography Born in Sydney, Australia, Ferguson attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and graduated in 1981. In 1982, he p ...

as the voice of Moltor. *

Ria Vandervis Ria Vandervis (born 5 July 1984) is a New Zealand actress. She is most known for her role as Harper Whitley in ''Shortland Street'' and Miratrix in ''Power Rangers Operation Overdrive''. Career From 2002 to 2006, Vandervis acted in multiple UNIT ...

as Miratrix. * Adam Gardiner as the voice of Kamdor. *

James Gaylyn James Gaylyn (born January 9, 1954) is an American-New Zealand actor. He is best known for his appearances in the ''Power Rangers'' franchise. Biography Gaylyn moved to New Zealand with his New Zealand-born wife in 1981. As a blues singer and dr ...

as the voice of Cheetar. *

Lori Dungey Lori Dungey (born 1957) is a New Zealand actress. Dungey was born in Canada and came to New Zealand when she performed in an arts festival during the Commonwealth Games in Auckland in 1990. Dungey subsequently became the artistic director of the ...

as the voice of Crazar. *

as the voice of Benglo. * Kelson Henderson as Norg and the voice of Mig. * Glen Levy as the voice of Thrax. Guest stars *

Johnny Yong Bosch Johnny Yong Bosch (born January 6, 1976) is an American actor, musician, singer, and martial artist. His first major role was the portrayal of Adam Park, the second Black Power Ranger and later, the Green Zeo Ranger and first Green Turbo Ranger i ...

as Adam Park; the second Black Ranger, and previously the Black Ninja Ranger, Green Zeo Ranger and the first Green Turbo Ranger. *

Sally Martin Sally Erana Martin (born 28 May 1985) is an actress from New Zealand. She has appeared in a range of television series, including ''The Strip'', ''Shortland Street'' and in ''Power Rangers Ninja Storm'' as Tori Hanson, the latter two co-starri ...

as Tori Hanson; the Blue Wind Ranger. *

Emma Lahana Emma Kate Lahana (born ) is a New Zealand actress. She is known for her roles as Kira Ford, the Yellow Dino Ranger, in ''Power Rangers Dino Thunder'', Jennifer Mason on '' Haven'', and Brigid O'Reilly in '' Cloak & Dagger''. Career Lahana play ...

as Kira Ford; the Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger. * Matt Austin as Bridge Carson; the third S.P.D. Red Ranger, following a promotion at S.P.D. *

Richard Brancatisano Richard Peter Brancatisano (born 29 October 1983), also known by his stage name Richie Branco, is an Australian television actor and musician, best known for his roles as List of Power Rangers Mystic Force characters#Xander Bly, Xander Bly, the ...

Xander Bly Xander is an abbreviated form of the name Alexander and pronounced like "Zander". Alexander is the Latin form of the Greek name "Alexandros". The name's meaning is interpreted from "alexein" which means "to defend" plus "andros" which translates to ...

; the Green Mystic Force Ranger.

Episodes

References

External links

Official Power Rangers Website

* {{Boukenger Operation Overdrive 2000s American science fiction television series 2007 American television series debuts 2007 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming American action television series American adventure television series American fantasy television series American prequel television series Androids in television English-language television shows Television series about genetic engineering Television series by Disney Television shows filmed in New Zealand Television shows set in Africa Television shows set in Asia Television shows set in Europe Television shows set in South America Television shows set in Oceania Television shows set in North America Television shows set in Auckland Television series about size change Treasure hunt television series