By Joseph "Skull Vault" Walter
In short, Adam is studying late into the night, and falls asleep while a scary movie plays on TV. When he awakens, he finds himself in a very different version of Angel Grove, one that greatly resembles the plot of the scary film Adam fell asleep to.
It's not just familiar places that went through this metamorphosis, either, but familiar people, too.
Indeed, the rest of the Zeo Rangers (including Billy, Alpha and Zordon), along with a slew of other series regulars (i.e. Bulk & Skull), are all transformed into characters from "The Bride of Hackensack," and the results are rather monstrous for some...
This already impressive (and fairly ambitious) set-up is made even better thanks to actual plot of the episode, which genuinely took me by surprise:
When Adam first wakes up, he's quickly greeted by Lord Zedd and Rita, who let him know that the Power Rangers lost the fight against the Machine Empire, and that they are the only allies he has left. Making matters worse, the fallen Rangers now fight for the side of evil! Now, with the freedom of the Earth at stake, along with the fate of his friends, it's all up to a lone Green Ranger to carry out a desperate mission to set things right.
Wait... lone Green Ranger? An Adam-centric episode? Not Tommy?
But what about our Lord and Savior? Does he make an appearance?
To be fair, Tommy really is (surprisingly) sidelined for nearly the entire episode, and his greatest moment isn't as a Ranger, but rather the vampiric villain "Tomacula" (I wish I were kidding), whose awfully cheesy, yet deliciously entertaining, ""Transylvanian" "accent"" practically borders on the surreal.
Tommy isn't the only "monster" around, though. As I mentioned earlier, the other Rangers have all taken on the roles of other spookytime favorites, like werewolves, witches, mad scientists and more.
(I'm particularly fond of Tanya's performance as the "Bride of Frankenstein"-equivalent!)
Most surprisingly, though, is the sheer amount of effort exerted for the production. There was some serious ambition here! Everyone went above and beyond, regardless of their role.
Power Rangers is a franchise built on being as cheap as possible, so seeing the crew, cast and creative team going as far they as they do in "It Came From Angel Grove" is a joy to behold. It really seems like everyone was passionate about this episode, and it truly shows.
Oh! And I'd be remiss if I failed to mention the unexpected (but seasonally appropriate) ultra-dark twist ending. It's awesome!
... but I'd also be remiss if I failed to mention the extremely weird, borderline-random inclusion of various Wizard of Oz plot points and/or entire scenes, both of which are liberally distributed throughout the script, like giving out a bunch of bad candy on Halloween. It's not awesome.
Overall, "It Came From Angel Grove" is a fun, ambitious and rather impressively well-done Halloween episode. While it isn't the greatest episode of Zeo, and it doesn't have a particularly potent/high level of "Halloween Spirit" (like the kind you'd find in the Rugrats' "Candy Bar Creep Show"), the incorporation of the whole "old horror movie" concept, the black and white visuals, and the truly bizarre sight of the Rangers looking and acting like classic monsters still make for a far greater seasonal viewing experience than the abysmal "Zedd's Monster Mash."
In other words, "It Came From Angel Grove" may not be a "true" Halloween Special, but it'll still make for some good autumnal viewing. The spooky atmosphere. The old time-y horror. The spine-tingling feel. The hammy monsters. The season-appropriate fun. It's all here.
And Tommy doesn't save the day.
... Well, actually, he kinda does. Sort of. Because of course he does. Whatever.