Power Rangers: Almost Canceled?

The following are speculations and rumors and nothing confirmed, the only one that was for sure was that Disney was quitting on Power Rangers by 2010. These are rumored instances of when Power Rangers was 'almost canceled.'

By Season 3, Power Rangers' ratings started to decline but Toy sales remained high enough to make the show profitable to all the companies involved. It was said that Big Bad Bettleborgs beat PR in the ratings for a short time. They then decided to change the name, suits, everything except most of the cast for Zeo and ratings were better.

The first half of Turbo had low ratings and sequel got mixed reviews and not a whole lot of profit, leading the crew to think their time was almost up. But the second half of Turbo had better ratings and led them to do In Space. They got Judd Lynn to lead the way for the second half, old plots were abandoned (like Divatox/Dimitria), no more Lerigot, and 4 new castmembers. I don't know if Fox Kids threatened them to cancel them or not.

A lot of evidence leads fans believe the crew thought Power Rangers in Space was the final season was because of the bringing together of old villains, the search of Zordon and of course the finale--that brought together Blue Senturion, Phantom Ranger, Gold Ranger and the Aquitar Rangers and the destruction of all known villains. But because of high ratings, the crew was led to make another season. I think by this season, they were expecting to just close up shop and wasn't threatened to be cancelled. Bandai did help with the budget for the Battlizer and continued to do so.

Lost Galaxy was also thought to be the last season, Saban was only producing Mystic Knights. Mystic Knights, the first live-action Saban did that had no existing Japanese Tokusatsu footage was to have a second season but they opted not to do it and all the budget was allocated to the second part of Lost Galaxy. Ratings were passable for Lost Galaxy so they continued. They had a lot of budget for Lightspeed, ratings were great for Lightspeed and Time Force. To give you an idea of the budgets, I made the chart above. 1995-1996 was the only time they had 3 shows filming at the same time: Season 3 of MMPR, VR Troopers Season 2, and Masked Rider. While Turbo, Space and Lost Galaxy ran in the course of one year and not between two years, Beetleborgs and Mystic Knights ran between two years, from September to Spring. Also, Beetleborg monsters were used for seasons of Power Rangers starting with 'In Space' and also Mystic Knights.

Rumor is that Jungle Fury was going to be the last season because it was the last one Disney really promoted and it was the last one to air on Toon Disney. When Toon Disney became Disney XD, Power Rangers was knocked out and new episodes only aired on ABC. RPM got no promotional photos like past Disney seasons, almost no promotion, very little merchandise (save for the toys) and it was rumored that the only reason they did RPM was because Bandai released the toys. Judd Lynn swears Disney did care about PR during RPM, I believe at least at a production standpoint. Even though not officially 'canceled' since MMPR reversion aired in 2010, production did stop in New Zealand and Disney was in conversations to sell it back to Saban. It is rumored Bandai helped with the budget, not for new Rangers or Battlizers, just for budget all together. So Power Rangers was never officially canceled but ratings did get low and there was rumors of it being 'the end.' The closest thing to being 'canceled' was the 5 months between the reversion being off the air (in September) to when Power Rangers Samurai premiered in February.

Non-Color Ranger Names

I was kinda bored, I meant to do this before:

Phantom Ranger
The first 'Ranger' to have a name without a color and just another word. Phantom obviously is not a color, but meaning a ghostly apiration (sp).

Magna Defender

No matter if he was a Ranger or not, but he took the spot and even when Mike donned the armor, he still had the same name. I still have no idea what a Magna is and why it would need defending.

Titanium Ranger

Titanium is a chemical element and transition metal with a silver color.

Quantum Ranger
In physics, a quantum (plural: quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity involved in an interaction. He is the first Red Ranger to not have 'Red' as a title.

Lunar Wolf Ranger
He is the first and not last Silver Ranger to have a non-color name. This in my own opinion that was the first name to be accurate.

Triassic Ranger
Just a power-up but treated toy-wise as a sixth ranger. The Triassic is a geologic period that extended from about 250 to 200 Mya (million years ago). Styracosaurus was from the Cretaceous Period and his megazord was called Mezodon for some reason.

Omega Ranger
Omega is from the Greek Alphabet meaning 'Last.' My bad, I said Latin.

Shadow Ranger
How was he shadow-y? Because of his dark colors?

Kat Ranger
It has orange but considered to be a White Ranger, she had orange, white and black. She was obviously called 'Kat' for her character Kat.

Nova Ranger
Maybe because she only appeared in one episode. Omega is a Latin symbol, Nova is not, Nova is an astrological phenomenon.

Solaris Knight
Solaris clearly meaning the sun. With 'Knight' it is debated if he was a Ranger but he indeed was one.

Mercury Ranger
The Mercury they refer to is a chemical element that is silver-y.

Elephant, Bat, and Shark Rangers
All the Jungle Fury Rangers had animal names including Wolf Ranger and Rhino Ranger.

How Rangers related to Selected Extra Heroes?

Lavender Ranger here, I chose to do only cover a few of the Extra Heroes, not all of them.

SUPER SENTAI
Ninjaman and the Kakuranger
I have no idea how they related because I haven't seen those episodes. Anybody know?

Signalman and the Carranger
This alien dude comes out of nowhere and gives Red Racer a ticket. he was a nuisance but eventually accepted as a friend. He briefly became evil and they had to fix the situation.

VRV Master and the Carranger
He appeared out of nowhere for just one episode or two, they didn't know what to make of him. He didn't really join the team, he just showed up and then disappeared.

Original Bull Black and Gingaman
He had his own agenda and the Gingaman were confused on what was going on, it came to conflict when it came to the Lights of Ginga. Eventually Bull Black did the right thing.

Hyuuga and the Gingaman
They accept them instantly, he still had remorse. He was kinda of a Sixth Ranger but officially counted as an Extra Hero in Gokaiger. Just for the record, he was counted as a Sixth Ranger in Bandai Museum (he was with the other Sixth Rangers) and was also included in a Sixth Ranger Stageshow event years ago (I think it was in 2002 or something).

Doggie and the Dekaranger
He was their boss and they had no choice but to follow him but yeah they accepted him. He is believed to be the Sixth Ranger by fans as he came sixth. As for Swan, they had no problem with her joining, she only transformed in 2 eps.

Miyuki and her kids
She shocks them by transforming in the first episode and then she dies, she always accepted her. But she left the heavy lifting to them. She doesn't really count as a sixth ranger.

Wolzard Fire and Magiranger
He was evil first but not by choice and then when he was good, he protected his children in a new form. Of course they accepted him.

Rio and Mele and Gekiranger
They were evil, then remorse and weren't accepted by Ran and Retsu. They then wanted them to kill them, they did kamikaze attacks saving their friends and dying for a good cause.

POWER RANGERS

Blue Senturion and the Turbo Rangers
Uncharted terrority with extra heroes in Power Rangers realm, he wasn't exactly a Sixth Ranger but he did become evil for a brief time. They accepted his help.

Original Magna Defender and the Galaxy Rangers
He had his own agenda and the Rangers were confused on what was going on, it came to conflict when it came to the Lights of Orion. Eventually Magna Defender did the right thing.

Doggy and Kat and the B-Squad
Doggy was their boss and a rough one at that, but when he became Shadow Ranger, they instantly accept him so much that they depended too much on him. As for Kat, they had no problem with her being a Ranger but she chose to just be one for one episode.

Udonna and the Mystic Rangers
They accepted her as she was their teacher and boss, but she lost her powers, she left the heavy duty to them. She didn't count as the Sixth Ranger.

Koragg and the Mystic Rangers
He was evil first but not by choice and then when he was good, he then got a recolored a form. Of course they accepted him.

Jarrod and Camile and the Jungle Fury Ranger
They were evil, then when Dai Shi was expelled from Jarrod, they reformed and fought for a good cause and were accepted by the others.

Related: http://henshingrid.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-sixth-rangers-related-to-other_13.html | http://henshingrid.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-sixth-rangers-related-to-other.html

How the Sixth Rangers related to the other Power Rangers?

Here I compare how the Sixth Rangers got along with the main team and if they were accepted or not. It's much different to how the Sixth Rangers were accepted in Super Sentai.

Tommy and the Power Rangers
This is my opinion and with the first Sixth Rangers, the first season writers didn't want to much arc-related stuff, just and alone episodes so kids could pick up on what was going on, so having too much conflict would be confusing but once they realized the multi-parters made ratings go up, they made more. So yeah Tommy got along with the gang. And like said by Linkara, just because he lost his powers, it didn't mean he had to disappear from school. And where did he go? We know in Season 2 from between he lost his powers and he became the White Ranger, he was at his Uncle's. Green Ranger's powers were limited.
Evil, instantly joined: 1

Jason and the Zeo Rangers
Trey and the Zeo Rangers
Since he already knew the gang, he instantly joined and they had no conflicts. Jason had to give his powers back to Trey, who was a mysterious helper.
Trey--Mysterious Helper: 1
Joined team instantly: 1

Phantom Ranger and the Turbo Rangers
He never really gave his real name and the gang called him 'Phantom Ranger.' All they knew was that he came from Eltar. He was fairly friendly with them, even as much to help them when they are Space Rangers. Where in Sentai VRV Master is not considered a Ranger and seemingly not going to get a Ranger Key for Gokaiger, he was marketed as a Sixth Ranger and giving the 'Ranger' title in Power Rangers. His powers were limited because of the Power Ruby.
Mysterious helper: 2

Zhane and the Space Rangers
They instantly accepted him as he was Andros' old friend. There was some time that they had to get know him. He got friendly with Ashley, which made Andros jealous. And Andros hearing that Zhane had a thing with Karone, his sister, wasn't exactly stellar. But other than that, he instantly joined with no problems. His powers were limited for a while.
Joined team instantly: 2

Mike and the Galaxy Rangers
Even though confirmed as just an Extra Hero in Super Sentai, Mike was treated as a Sixth Ranger, even given a Morpher, Mike was instantly accepted. Strangely enough, in the two-parter, Damon barely knew him and was shouting out for him. He had to give up his power at the end.
Joined team instantly: 3

Ryan and the Lightspeed Rangers
The Titanium Ranger was the first non-Sentai Ranger, he was evil for a brief time and then accepted, he then went on his own mission to find out how to stop the demons, probably because he had no footage, so lots of money to make new footage. Anyway, he was fully accepted to the team. With maybe only conflict with his dad, as he had a cobra that would kill him as he morphed and didn't tell his dad. He had limited powers because of the cobra curse.
Evil, instantly accepted: 2

Eric and the Time Force Rangers
Antagonistic towards Time Force, he wasn't an evil ranger but he didn't want to join the team. He was looking out for himself. Well, if the four Rangers joined the Silver guardians, he would've be okay with being their leader then. Even though Wes liked him, he didn't, not until the end where they became a duo. His powers weren't limited like past Rangers, it was more of a moral and dramatic choices that led to him not being in every single episode since his debut or be part of the team.
Antagonistically, didn't want to join: 1

Merrick and the Wild Force Rangers
He was part of the original team and was cursed to be Zenaku. When the current Rangers saved him, he became Lunar Wolf Rangers but felt bad about all he did so he didn't want to join the team. He later ended up wandering the Earth with Zenaku of all people. His powers weren't limited like past Rangers, it was more of a moral and dramatic choices that led to him not being in every single episode since his debut or be part of the team.
Lone wolf: 1

Thunder Rangers and Wind Rangers
Instead of having the Goraijer's backstory, they were duped into being 'evil,' and were told the Sensei killed their parents but it was Lothor. Once this was cleared up, they instantly joined the team and almost had zero conflict, save for one episode with Shane.
Evil, then joined eventually: 3

Cam and the Ninja Storm Rangers
Unlike Shurikenger who was a mysterious helper, Cam was already part of the team. His powers weren't limited like Rangers before Time Force. They did conflict with Cyber Cam.
Joined team instantly: 4

Trent and the Dino Rangers
Even though there was just four Dino Rangers and Triassic is not counted as a sixth ranger but an upgrade, AbareKiller is consider a Sixth Ranger by Gokaiger. Trent was under evil control and was evil against the Rangers, then cured and instantly joined the team, but that didn't mean there still wasn't conflicts. He kept secrets from them. And then there was the evil clone, made to excuse the footage of AbareKiller still being antagonistic against them.
Evil, then joined instantly: 4

Sam and SPD
When Sam came in as Omega Ranger, he came with an attitude that future stuff was better. Fans found him annoying.
Joined team instantly but some head butts: 1

Daggeron and Mystic Rangers
Xanderis a bit jealous and upset at Daggeron but later turns around. Nick butts heads with Daggeron occasionally (even to the point that Snow Prince downgraded Daggeron and had him follow Nick.
Joined team instantly but some head butts: 2

Tyzonn and the OO Rangers
Mac instantly likes Tyzonn. Tyzonn doesn't want to join the team because of guilt of loosing friends in a team before. But once he gets the powers, he does join the team and with zero conflict, the only conflict he had with Will was that he followed him around, copying him.
Joined team eventually: 5

RJ and the Jungle Fury Rangers
They all knew RJ before as he was the teacher but he did butt heads with Casey when he became a Ranger because Casey felt like he was stepping into the leader role.
Joined team instantly but some head butts: 3

Dominick and the Jungle Fury Rangers
He wanted to be accepted but wasn't for his laziness and arrogance, it took Casey to kind of accept him.
Wasn't accepted instantly: 1

Spirit Rangers and Jungle Fury Rangers
Evil, but eventually joined, sort of: 5

Ziggy and Dillon and RPM Rangers
Unlike Go-Onger, there was mass amounts of conflict with Ziggy and Dillon and the others. Dillon conflicted with everyone. Nobody wanted Ziggy. But we all know how that turned out.

Twins and RPM Rangers
Instantly joined, the main 5 didn't get them but they were part of the team.
Joined team instantly: 6

Antonio and Samurai Rangers
He wanted to join but wasn't accept by the Samurai Rangers. He was quickly accepted by three of them but not much by Kevin and Jii. Jayden and Jii later accepted him but it took an episode for Kevin to accept him.
Wasn't accepted instantly: 2

Joined team instantly: 6
Wasn't accepted instantly: 2
Evil, but eventually joined: 5
Joined team instantly but some head butts: 3
Antagonistically, didn't want to join: 1
Lone wolf: 1
Mysterious helper: 2

Related: http://henshingrid.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-sixth-rangers-related-to-other.html