Power Rangers Dino Thunder/Awesome

• This troper remembers tuning into the first episode, knowing absolutely nothing about the series or who was starring in it other than the fact that its theme was dinosaurs. He watches the intro, finds the theme song kind of catchy, and then sees "And starring: Jason David Frank." At first, things didn't click for the troper. The name sounded familiar, he just couldn't place it. Then the troper sees the first part of the episode, and hearing the familiar "Hiyah" this troper shot up in his seat. Is that, could it be... Tommy? He's BACK?!? For this troper, bringing back one of the quintessential faces to the series was a crowning moment of awesome in and of itself.
  • Also in the first episode, a hungry T-Rex is staring Tommy (who, remember, at this point in time, has no Dino powers yet) in the face. Tommy's reaction? Do a spinning kick into its face before running for it. Let's say that again. He did a spinning kick into the face of a T-Rex.
• Leading up to "Back In Black", when he morphs for the first time (in this series):

Tommy: There's two things you need to know about Dino Gems -- one, you can't chose them; they choose you.

Elsa: What's the other?

Tommy (flicks wrist to reveal Dino Morpher): They go real well with Dino Morphers. (integrates Gem into his morpher)

Elsa: Hmph. Aren't you a little old for this, Tommy?

Tommy: I may be old, but I can still pull it off. (fires up morpher) DINO THUNDER, POWER UP!

• This Troper would nominate the episode "Fighting Spirit," where Tommy is left comatose as an entire episode of CMOA for Tommy Oliver. Having beaten three previous incarnations of himself, he wakes up, heads for the battle, unlocks his Super Dino Mode and proceeds to utterly own the bad guy single-handedly.
  • Let's not forget that he beats his three previous incarnations WITHOUT morphing!
    • Not quite. Watch again, he doesn't actually beat any of them. He scores a few hits on the first two, impressing the Red Zeo and White Rangers enough to let him move on to the next challenge. And he actually loses the fight the to the Green Ranger pretty handily, never once scoring even a single hit. When the Green Ranger hold him at daggerpoint, it's Tommy's willingness to go on anyway, knowing full well he's probably about to be die, that allows him to pass "the test". Crowning Moment of Awesome indeed, but for a whole 'nother reason.
    • To add to this episode, Conner, Ethan, and Kira showed what they had by going Super Dino Mode while in the Thundersaurus Megazord, giving it a major power boost to slay the MOTW.
      • For this troper, it was Connor, Ethan, Kira and Trent standing up and being willing to fight without their powers. In that one gesture, they accomplished a level of awesome that a season full of repeatedly shouting 'Never give up!' couldn't match.
• After being unbrainwashed in "The Missing Bone", Kira rides into battle on the Pterozord. Unmorphed. Badass.
• The first part of "Thunder Struck" was pretty much a Crowning Moment of Awesome for just about everyone.
  • Not least of which is Trent, who has just spent the past couple of episodes receiving flak from his teammates for not telling them that his father was the Big Bad of the season, single-handedly infiltrating Mesogog's lair and then proceeds to trick him enough to get the others onto the island. Bonus points for the Ironic Echo. "You should know by now you can't trust me." He then proceeds to grab the Dino Gems, run through a self-destructing building simultaneously dodging electric sparks and fighting Mooks to get his father and himself out safely. Made even better by Ethan's lines while waiting for the two of them to come out.

Ethan: "It's not like they're going to fall out of the sky and land in front of us." He then not-so-subtly checks the sky for Trent and Anton.
Kira: Were you knocked on the head or something?
Ethan: What? Last time I did that it worked! (Fridge Brilliance here: The "last time (Ethan) did that"? Kira was the one who fell out of the sky.)

• • And of course, Trent and Anton pick that moment to come tumbling out of the sky. AWESOME.
• Conner climbed onto a moving truck to fight Tyrannodrones while Hayley, the normal one of the team, powered up a laser to destroy Mesogog's fortress and then jumped off the moving truck just as the laser fired.
  • And Hayley ends up being the one to destroy Mesogog's fortress despite being the only Muggle on the mission.
• This troper humbly presents the first appearance of the Thundersaurus Megazord. When facing an enormous airship, the new rangers grab the ship's cable, swings Tarzan-style to get above it, then promptly displays proper drilling technique to tear through its body and shred its engines. Entirely deserved dramatic explosions ensue.
  • When this is the first Megazord battle of a season, you know you've got something good.
  • Even better when you realize that it's almost identical to a Giga Drill Breaker. Now if only their drill grew in size before they applied it...