Power Rangers Turbo (1997)

⚡ Power Rangers Turbo (1997)⚡️

“From cars to chaos — buckle up… or maybe don’t.”

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🎵 Let’s Start by Showing Y’all the Opening Theme, Shall We?

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📜 Spoiler-Free Rundown

Power Rangers Turbo picks up right after Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, where our favorite spandex heroes upgrade to shiny new car-themed powers to take on the space pirate Divatox. Sounds fun, right? Unfortunately, the season often feels like someone took the fun engine out of the car, replaced it with a lawnmower motor, and called it a day.

The show starts with the veteran Zeo Rangers (Tommy, Adam, Tanya, and Kat) at the wheel… but this is the season of goodbyes. By midseason, the OG team members leave, passing their keys — err, morphers — to a new, younger crew.

Oh, and this is also the season where we get the infamous kid Blue Ranger. Yeah, we’ll talk about him.

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🎭 Character & Actor Breakdown

Tommy Oliver – Red Turbo Ranger (Jason David Frank)

The legend himself… for half the season. Tommy exits around the halfway mark, with his departure handled in a very “and now I’m gone forever, bye” kind of way. Replaced by: T.J. Johnson (Selwyn Ward).

Adam Park – Green Turbo Ranger (Johnny Yong Bosch)

Still reliable, still likable, still criminally underused. Leaves alongside Tommy. Replaced by: Carlos Vallerte (Roger Velasco).

Tanya Sloan – Yellow Turbo Ranger (Nakia Burrise)

Another solid ranger who deserved more. Exits midseason with the others. Replaced by: Ashley Hammond (Tracy Lynn Cruz).
Fun fact — Ashley became the new “crush character” for a lot of 90s fans. Me? Nah. Didn’t grow up with Turbo, so nostalgia goggles aren’t doing any heavy lifting here.

Katherine Hillard – Pink Turbo Ranger (Catherine Sutherland)

Kat hangs on until right before the others depart.

Justin Stewart – Blue Turbo Ranger (Blake Foster)

Ah yes… the kid ranger. A literal 12-year-old who morphs into an adult-sized Ranger.

Good: Brings a “kid wish-fulfillment” angle for younger viewers, and he’s actually competent in fights.

Bad: The whole “instant adult morph” visual is awkward, immersion-breaking, and never really explained.

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🤖 Zordon & Alpha 6 – The Downgrade Duo

When Zordon leaves for Eltar, we get Dimitria of Inquiris (Carol Hoyt) as the “mentor.” In theory, she’s wise. In practice?

Example Conversation:
Ranger: “Dimitria, how do we stop Divatox’s monster?”
Dimitria: “Is the answer not within you already?”
…Ma’am, this isn’t philosophy class — there’s a giant robot worm flattening the city. She’s less of a mentor and more of a glorified fortune cookie.

And then there’s Alpha 6. Oh boy.
Alpha 5’s “Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi!” might’ve been slightly annoying, but it was endearing. Alpha 6? Brooklyn snark machine. Instead of charm, we get:

> “Yeh-yeh-yeh-yeh-yeh, it’s me!”
It’s grating, and it never stops.

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👮‍♂️ Bulk & Skull – Why Are You Still Here?

Once the comic relief kings, now reduced to slapstick filler that doesn’t even connect to the main story. At this point, they’re background noise with punchlines that land maybe once every five episodes. Then they become monkeys and stay that way for most of the season, yeah don’t ask.

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🏎️ Pros

The car-themed Zords look sleek.

Selwyn Ward’s T.J. is a solid Red Ranger once he takes over.

Some cool stunt work despite the season’s issues.

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🚧 Cons

The midseason cast swap is jarring, especially losing Tommy, Adam, Tanya, and Kat all at once.

The Justin “kid ranger” gimmick is awkward more than it’s fun.

Dimitria’s “answer a question with a question” mentoring gets old fast.

Alpha 6’s voice and attitude are nails-on-a-chalkboard levels of grating.

Bulk & Skull have officially lost their purpose.

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💭 Final Thoughts

Power Rangers Turbo had the unenviable task of following Zeo and transitioning into a new team, but it does so with clunky writing, strange creative choices, and less charm than before. It’s not unwatchable — but it’s not a season I’d revisit for nostalgia.

Rating: 3/10 — shiny cars, sputtering story.

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⚠️ Spoilers Ahead – You’ve Been Warned ⚠️

The season kicks off right after Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, with Divatox setting up shop on Earth after failing to conquer the planet in the film. The first half keeps the Zeo lineup — Tommy, Adam, Tanya, Kat, and the new Blue Ranger Justin — fighting her monster-of-the-week schemes.

The Big Shift: Midseason, Tommy, Adam, Tanya, and Kat all step down, each “passing the torch” to a new Ranger. T.J. becomes Red, Carlos takes Green, Ashley takes Yellow, and Cassie (introduced shortly after) becomes the Pink Ranger. Justin stays as Blue.

From here, the tone shifts — not necessarily improving. Divatox’s antics grow more cartoonish, and the villains rarely feel like a serious threat. The Rangers do still pull off some good battles, but the stakes just aren’t there compared to past seasons.

The finale, however, does shake things up:

The Turbo powers are destroyed.

The Power Chamber (command center) is completely blown apart in an invasion by Divatox’s forces.

Dimitria and the Blue Senturion leave for Eltar, hinting at trouble there.

With no Zords, no base, and no powers, the Rangers decide to chase Divatox into space — directly setting the stage for Power Rangers in Space. Also they leave the blue ranger behind because he wants to hang with his dad.

It’s one of the few PR seasons to end with the heroes in total defeat, which is bold… but by that point, the road getting there had so many potholes, it’s hard to celebrate the drama.