Craterite Invasion

Power Rangers in Space, Episode 9

Original Airdate: 4-3-1998

Last Time: Shit, what didn't happen last time? Megatank! Phenomenus accidentally creating a nuclear weapon! Of Mice and Men-style blackmail!

At the park, Carlos and Cassie are cleaning up after a youth soccer practice. I thought I was done with these soccer episodes, but apparently they weren't done with me. A kid is bragging about being bitten by a bear, and has the scar to prove. Unfortunately, his mom comes by and wipes the fake scar off of his arm. We follow the kid and his mom home, so we know that he's going to be a guest star in this episode. It's like the producers are daring the viewers at home: Come on assholes, let's see you make fun of a four year-old! Anyway, the kid apparently has a history of crying wolf, so today's lesson is probably going to be to not cry wolf. The kid shows us his chops by telling a police officer walking by that a bank is being robbed. The officer isn't completely hopeless, though, and doesn't bite. Up on high, T.J. and Ashley decide to use the simudeck to summon up some Craterites, who are apparently the mooks from the Japanese footage that the producers didn't want to use. Unfortunately, Andros has decided to fly the Astro Megaship through a lightning storm. Why? Apparently to get some storm data. As for what happens...take a wild fucking guess. Lightning strikes the Megaship and the Craterites come to life. Credits!

On the simudeck, power cuts out, but the Craterites remain. Andros, Cassie and Carlos are on the bridge and notice the Craterites trying to escape, and they go after them. Incidentally, the Craterites look pretty stupid. They wear pink suits, and have these weird face plates that kind of make them look like they're half smiling. You know what, let me put it to you this way. The producers of Power Rangers, who have always been known for putting cost savings first, and allowed the Rangers to be baked into a pizza last season because they didn't want to waste Japanese footage took a look at these guys and said, "You know what, I'd rather film new fight scenes for every episode rather than use the Craterites." The Craterites escape and perform what can only be described as a mass parachute drop over Angel Grove.

Down on Earth, Phenomenus has invented some sort of ear-noculars that will allow himself and Bulk to hear the aliens coming. They see the invading Craterites and freak out. On the plus side, the ear-noculars did seem to work. The little kid from before also sees the Craterites.

The next day, the Rangers decide that it's probably time that they dealt with the Craterites and head down to Earth. Little kid goes next door to get his ride to school, but notices that the house has been taken over by Craterites. He runs away only to realize that everyone in his neighborhood has been replaced with Craterites. The kid runs to a police officer to explain, but then notices that the officer is secretly a Craterite too. I'm not exactly sure how not crying wolf would have prevented this particular turn of events. The kid, apparently being a very slow learner, goes up to his soccer friends to explain the situation that they're in. The other kids don't believe his tales of aliens because of his habitual lying. Although, had they, I don't exactly know that it would've really helped. Little kid is sad.

Elsewhere, Team Phenomenus is preparing to hunt down and capture an alien. Phenomenus has built a new gadget to help them in that endeavor, and, knowing him, it probably runs on smallpox. Carlos and Cassie aren't finding anything, but they see little kid, still moping around. Cassie and Carlos come up and try to cheer him up, and offer to walk him home. They do, and he asks them to come in with him because he doesn't want to be alone. Cassie and Carlos decline, because of the Craterite invasion and all, but encourage the lad to have faith in the Power Rangers.

At a construction site, Ashley, Andros and T.J. are also not finding the Craterites. They're not doing a good job, because everyone at the construction site has already been replaced by Craterites. Ashley hears some noise from a van, and goes to investigate. She sees the real construction workers tied up inside. The Rangers realize that the Craterites can look like people now, and the Craterite-construction workers start heading on over. The Rangers morph into some Japanese footage and fight. It turns out that the creatures who were creating with the sole purpose of getting beaten up by the Power Rangers are easily beaten up by the Power Rangers. Alpha alerts the Rangers to the existence of some Sentai footage showing the Rangers fighting the Craterites at a beach. Another fight happens!

Downtown, a mass of Craterites is having a rally. They're lead by their revolutionary hero, Craterite-with-black-helmet. The Rangers decide to retrieve little kid, and do so, but must have more meaningless confrontations with Craterites on the way. The Rangers realize that there isn't any Sentai footage of them fighting Craterites in a neighborhood, and so retreat into a forest. Cassie, Carlos and T.J. show up in Megatank to save the day. Nothing can stop the mighty Megatank! The revolutionary leader Craterite shows up in the forest and beats up Andros a bit. Carlos, Cassie, and T.J. show up sans Megatank, but with some sort of juiced-up blaster for Andros. Andros: "It's time to send you back to the world of computer simulation....where you belong!" Not exactly the greatest taunt that ever was. He blasts then. The Craterites respond by piling on top of each other, which merges all of the Craterites together to form a giant Craterite. The Astro Megazord is summoned, and punches a hole straight through the giant Craterite, but the monster can regenerate. The Astro Megazord summons a giant blaster, but it too has no effect. The Rangers see the leader on the monster's chest, and shoot him with the giant blaster. That kills the monster dead. The Rangers win!

At the Surf Spot, the Rangers are hanging out with little kid. The officer from earlier shows up and little kid announces that he has learned his lesson. I guess the lesson was to not to cry wolf, although the only people that the little kid tried to tell were either monsters themselves, or five years-old, so even if little kid hadn't ever cried wolf, I fail to see how it would have helped him. Bulk and Skull rush in with Phenomenus' completed invention. Inevitably, Bulk and Skull somehow destroy there own clothing. All present laugh at their misfortune. Show Over!

Next Time: The Rangers learn a lesson in tolerance!