Vanishing Act

Power Rangers Turbo, Episode 24

Original Airdate: 09-18-1997

Bulk and Skull are trying to get a job from what appears to be Don Corleone. We also learn that their resume is full of lies, such as bringing the house down at Carnegie Hall. They get hired. Well, I guess the writers have never ended an episode with Bulk and Skull getting there legs broke before. Down at the basketball court, T.J., Carlos and Justin are playing basketball against another team, Justin is about to make the game-winning shot when the basketball and basket disappear, as if the objects themselves wanted no part of such a scenario. T.J. is confused, and Selwyn Ward may have some sort of acting disorder. The other team also disappears. Justin figures out that Divatox is behind this sudden outbreak of vanishings, but doesn't know what to do beyond that. Credits!

Down at the juice bar, a monster named Translucitor shows up and starts disappearing people. This episode is actually an allegory about Latin American dictatorships in the 1970s. In the Power Chamber, Dimitria explains that Translucitor is apparently transporting Angel Grove piece by piece into an alternate dimension. Alpha 6 routes T.J. to the juice bar. In that very same juice bar, Cassie and Ashley are staring at a guy with dyed green hair. You know, one of those guys that a socially-acceptable punk or something. Ashley cannot in good conscience lust after such a man, but Cassie has no such qualms. Apparently all the girls in her band had green hair for weeks at some point. There are a number of jokes I want to make her, but I'll stick with saying that Cassie's band was big in Northampton, Massachusetts. Anyway, Cassie's comment leads to more girl talk, and, we learn that she like tall, dark, mysterious men whose faces are constantly hidden behind an opaque visor and whose names rhyme with Mantom Changer.

Bulk and Skull enter, wearing pink bunny suits. They've apparently been hired to deliver cake-o-grams. It must be truly dispiriting to be Bulk and Skull. Translucitor makes the cake disappear. Bulk and Skull are puzzled, but decide to leave before anyone recognizes them. Translucitor makes their costumes disappear. What did Bulk and Skull ever do to Translucitory, anyway? Bulk and Skull get laughed at, as is the tradition. Only then does Translucitor make the pair disappear, followed by everyone except for Ashley and Cassie. Cassie is confused. Translucitor makes the entire juice bar vanish, and Cassie is even more confused. The other Rangers drive up in Carlos' convertible. Wait, Carlos has a convertible? And here I thought he liked soccer because of his heritage, when it was really due to his status as a member of the nouveau-riche. Alpha 6 starts to explain what's happening, but gets cut off. T.J. doesn't understand. Justin of all people figures out that the Power Chamber has also disappeared.

Translucitor starts laughing in the distance. Cassie: "Someone's got a bad laugh." Oh, Cassie. The rest of Angel Grove disappears. The Rangers are shocked. Cassie: "There goes the neighborhood." The Rangers try to teleport to the Power Chamber, but find that it has also disappeared. But, in a shocking twist, they are in the Power Chamber, the just can't see or feel it. Alpha 6 is concerned. Carlos is convinced that they just teleported to the wrong place, and so they decide to teleport to Angel Grove Lake.

Down in the space-sub, Divatox threatens Porto that Translucitor better work out. She's also commissioned some invisible Piranhatrons. At the lake, the Rangers manage to spot the Piranhatrons even when they're invisible and morph. The invisible Piranhatrons beat up the visible Rangers. Unfortunately, this much invisibility has drawn the attention of the Phantom Ranger, who beats up the invisible Piranahtrons. The Piranhatrons know when they're beaten, and flee. Cassie flirts with ol' Phantom. He does not reciprocate and disappears. The other Rangers wonder who the hell the Phantom Ranger is. The Rangers are somehow able to see the reflection of the invisible parts of Angel Grove in the lake. I have no fucking idea how that's supposed to work, I mean, the key part of being invisible is that light passes through an object making it....eh, let's just roll with it.

In invisible town, Divatox and goons are walking around blowing stuff up. They notice the Rangers, who still can't see them. Translucitor decides to confront the Rangers, even though the Rangers aren't wholly incapable of stopping Divatox's plan. He quickly thinks better of it and disappears. The Rangers, out of ideas and seeing toy sales lagging, call forth Lightning Cruiser and Storm Blaster. Translucitor leads them on a bizarrely inconclusive chase scene. T.J. manages to crash Lightning Cruiser into Storm Blaster. T.J.'s probably not the best leader in Power Rangers history. Translucitor beats up T.J., Carlos and Justin, and then traps them in a cage. Ashley and Cassie hang back so they don't get captured as well. Carlos and Justin suggest that maybe instead of killing them, they could help Translucitor with his magic act. Transluctior makes them disappear.

Cassie and Ashley try to use the Turbo Navigator to find Translucitor. They find the monster getting beaten up by the Phantom Ranger, as the moral of today's episode is that girls are basically useless without the strong, guiding hand of a man. Translucitor flees, and the Phantom Ranger follows. Cassie is still infatuated with mysterious loners who spend most of their time invisible. Elsewhere, Translucitor has T.J., Carlos and Justin strapped to a rocket, and lights the fuse. Cassie and Ashley show up to rescue them, but still can't get a handle on Translucitor. Ashley turns the Turbo Navigator into a gun, because apparently it has always been able to do that. She fires a laser that hunts Translucitor down and hits him. Translucitor tries his invisibility thing a few more times, and gets how for his trouble. The Rangers combine T.J.'s blaster with the Turbo Navigator gun to create a double-gun. Translucitor goes down, and Angel Grove reappears. Torps fly! The Turbo Megazord is summoned, and, in accordance with contractual obligations, Blue Senturion and the Robo Racer also show up! Robo Racer gets knocked down by Translucitor. He's never going to make detective like that. The Rangers have figured out the whole invisibility thing, and hit Translucitor for a while before finishing him off. Divatox fumes.

Back at the Power Chamber, Carlos and Justin are happy that the city's back. Carlos: "The Phantom Ranger (five second pause) He was a big help." The Rangers continue to debate the merits of the Phantom Ranger. Much like all things related to the Phantom Ranger, it doesn't go anywhere. At the juice bar, Ashley has figured out that Cassie likes the Phantom Ranger. Cassie tries to deny it, mainly by wondering about who the mysterious Phantom Ranger is and mooning over him. Bulk and Skull walk in dressed like superheroes. They've managed to fuck up their jobs again. Inevitably both of their costumes are destroyed and they are left wearing only t-shirts and boxers. All present laugh at their misfortune. Show Over!