Truncated Power Rangers

Jason: Zordon, what the hell is going on?
Zordon: What always happens, Jason? Rita tried to kill people. You saved the day.

The Abridged Series of Power Rangers, specifically Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Created in August 2008, the series is notable for being one of the first live-action Abridged series and having its contributors recognized by real names instead of handles. While only one person does the voices, there is a team of writers behind the series.

Posted on blip.tv here.

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Tropes used in Truncated Power Rangers include:

• The Abridged Series: Duh. Lampshaded in Episode 10:

Bulk: Oh-ho! Someone's coming up with oneliners now! It's like you have your own videos on YouTube!

• Actor Allusion: Subverted. Zack's character is a parody of that other black Black Ranger's actor.
• Affectionate Parody: Who didn't love Power Rangers?
• Anything That Moves: Kim. Just ... Kim.
  • Rita, when they aren't making menstruation jokes.
• Artistic License Astronomy: Lampshaded in Episode 1, with the astronauts visiting the Earth's second moon. The show itself glosses over this.
  • This is the basis for the morph gag in Episode 25.
• As Himself: Ron Wasserman.
• Attack! Attack! Retreat! Retreat!: Tommy v. Dry Bowser in the movie.
• Big Damn Heroes: Bulk and Skull wind up saving the day during episode 17. The footage used? The scene where they morphed in to mock-Power Rangers.
• Bonnie Scotland: Haggis the Horrible in Episode 25.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Oh, lordy. Zedd is the executive producer of Power Rangers - of which Zordon is a producer - and the primary motive is to keep the show on the air.
  • Most episodes have at least one time this happens. At one point Alpha asks, "Is this meta enough for you?" before turning back to the viewing globe.
• Butt Monkey: Canary Gary from episodes 13 and 31.
  • Jason and Tommy with idiot jokes.
  • Kim with slut jokes.
• Call a Rabbit a Smeerp: Baseball is referred to as Stick-a-Stitch on Triforia.
• Call Back: The first few episodes serve as standalones, but after the writers took a break in the Spring of 2009, the following episodes (11+) began to heavily use these.
• Calling Your Attacks: Frequently.

Napalm Holocaust!
Mega Dragonzord Super Fighting Awesome Machine!
Serenity Slash!

• • Goldar finally calls Jason out on this in Episode 28.
• Catch Phrase: Subverted. The morph calls are usually different every episode, but a few phrases get repeated.

Zack, Episode 1: Elephant!
Jason, Episode 5: Do the super jump!

• • Bonus: If you know a lot of geeky things, the morph calls also count as Shout Outs to various things.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Most characters are guilty of this, but Jason is this in spades.
  • And Tommy. Dear god, Tommy.

Alpha: "I don't understand this Zordon, Saba doesn't talk!"
Zordon: "Tommy's turned his new superpowered weapon into something of an imaginary friend."
Alpha: "Isn't he like twenty?"
Zordon: "It's Tommy, he's mentally six."

• Combat Tentacles: Episode 28's Gordian Knob sure loves these.
  • And Does This Remind You of Anything?, lampshaded by *Jason* of all people.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Ivan Ooze.
• Cross-Dressing Voices: Toyed with in Episode 3. One could argue it happens in Episode 24 as well.
• Curse Cut Short: A few instances; namely, Episodes 7, 15, and 20.
• Designated Villain: Played for Laughs by the Simian Censor, who is introduced attempting to stop Alpha from having sex with a minor. Then he has to spoil it by attacking the city again.
• Drugs Are Bad: Episode 11's Steroid Sosa is an embodiment of this trope. In Season 2, Zedd uses HGH to make his monsters grow.

Alpha 5, Episode 23: Meth is a hell of a drug.

• • Not to mention when, two episodes in, Finster replies to Rita's command to "Screw with the Rangers in the non-literal sense" by replying "Oh, I already did. I put heroin in two of their breakfasts."
• Dumb Is Good: Lampshaded.

Zordon, Episode 1: Bring me five teenagers too stupid to understand the cosmic repercussions of their actions.

• • Played straight as well--while Zordon and Alpha are normal, as well as the villains, the heroes are stunningly idiotic.
• Editing Works
• Faster-Than-Light Travel: Gleefully subverted in Episode 31.
• Flat What: Zordon's reaction to Alpha breaking out multi-parters "out of freakin' nowhere" in Episode 33, particularly when three of the Rangers get trapped in a storybook.
• Fluffles the Terrible: Episode 16, when Finster creates Goldar's War Zord (Cyclopsis from MMPR) and names it Fluffles after the rest of Rita's crew can't decide on a name.
• Gag Dub
• Genre Savvy: Zordon. On the other side of the (Power) coin, Goldar.
• Gilligan Cut: Episode 10.

Jason: Let's sneak up on him!
(beat)
Jason: HEY UGLY!

• Godwin's Law: Invoked in Episode 24, and lampshaded via caption.
  • Also used in episode 32.
• Greek Chorus: Usually from Zordon and Alpha, but the rest of the cast get their moments.
• Hey, It's That Guy!: Ron Wasserman, the composer of most music on the show, provides the voice for himself in Episode 26.
• Hey, It's That Sound: Episode 4 features the infamous Gutsman sound from the Gutsman's Ass video.
• Ho Yay: Jason and Tommy. Just... Jason and Tommy. Granted, it's played off the rumor that Austin St. John was in a homoerotic video, but still.
  • Also Billy and whatever guy is nearby, occasionally Jason, since David Yost is gay.
• Hostage Situation: Episode 7's dance party is revealed to be one of these.
• Insufferable Genius: Billy, ramped up to eleven.
• Just Fine Without You: When Zordon warns that Jason may not come back at the end of Episode 28, the team cheers.
  • The team leaves Tommy stuck in Utah at one point. He then swims back via the Atlantic Ocean.
• Larynx Dissonance: All the female characters, but Rita stands out the most.
• Leitmotif: Youth Center scenes are accompanied by the Wii Sports theme. Bulk and Skull's are various Super Mario themes. When Rita is around, her palace scenes are accompanied by Ganondorf's theme; similarly, Zedd is always coupled with Dr. Wily's theme.
• Lens Flare: Lampshaded in Episode 7.
• Loud of War: The entire joke behind Episode 26 1/2.
• Mars Needs Women: Somewhat invoked in Episode 32, but this was more of a reference to Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.
• Mauve Shirt: Putty #6, notable for being a Butt Monkey in Episode 21, becomes this in Episode 22.
• Million-to-One Chance: Goldar has a really good day in Episode 28 and asks what the chances are of Jason coming and ruining them...

Kim: Uh ... pretty good, actually.

• Monster of the Aesop: Lampooned in Episode 20.

Horny Rhino: See, I punched! That's something they do in football!

• N-Word Privileges: Used in Episodes 13 and 17.
• No Indoor Voice: Jason and Tommy. Especially Tommy.
• Oblivious to Hints: The rest of the team is shocked when Tommy is revealed as the White Ranger.
• Offscreen Crash: Billy and Kim shove Waldo into one of these in Episode 3.
• Padding: The point of Episode 31.
• Queer As Tropes: Billy.
  • According to Episode 24, arguably Alpha.
  • According to the series, arguably everyone. At one point they imply Rita and Kim slept together, though Rita identifies as 'bicurious'.
• Reference Overdosed: Debatable.
• Rimshot: Episode 23 features one.
• Rule of Three: Episode 27 lampshades this with its plot device.

Tommy: Any questions, bitch?

• Running Gag: The Dragon Dagger plays different music each episode... except the episodes when Jason used it, and he couldn't get the thing to make any sound.
  • So far, Goldar's the only one who's played the Dagger's proper tune. This is at least partly because Jason and Tommy are idiots.
  • Jason's call during the morphing sequence is always something different.
• Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: Tommy loves doing this while being a suit actor in Episode 7.
• Science Is Useless: In Episode 31, Jason, Trini, and Zack are frozen by flower petals. Yup.
• Selective Obliviousness: Jason and his gay porn rumors.
  • Just so everyone's clear, Jason's actor never did that.
• Shout-Out: Too many to list here, so they got their own page.
• Special Guest: Mr. Mighty RAW himself, Ron Wasserman, voiced Episode 26's... Ron Wasserman.
• Start My Own: Invoked in Episode 25.
• Statler and Waldorf: Squatt and Baboo get reduced to this once Zedd hits in Episode 23, complete with "Do-ho-ho-ho-hoh!"
• Stock Australian Phrases: The Putties.
• Suicidal Overconfidence: Episode 30 features Sauron bragging how he can dodge anything. He can't.
• Suspiciously Apropos Music: The series' creator is a huge fan of this. It's difficult to find a viewer that can name all the musical references.
• Take That: Zack's character is a shot at Samuell Benta.
  • Episode 6 takes a shot at Mystic Force.
• Take That Me: Constantly.
• Talking to Himself: Since only one person does all the voices, this is obvious.
• This Trope Is Bleep: Invoked in Episode 24. Billy's hand is censored for a split second.
• Toilet Humour: Jason has an affinity for this. It tones down after the first episodes.
• Turtle Power: Episode 5.
• Vetinari Job Security: Baboo and Squatt try making a monster in Episode 5. This parallels what happened in the source show.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: Episode 24's Censor Simian.
• Where Da White Women At?: Alpha in Episode 7.
• Windows XP: Episodes 29 and 30 imply that the entire Command Center, let alone Alpha 5, run on this.
• You Have to Have a Jewish Stereotype: Started with Billy in Episode 3. Dropped for a different character direction for Billy. Lord Zedd (who was ambiguously Jewish in the real show) brings it back full force.

Lord Zedd, Episode 23: I am Lord Zedd of Nazareth. Identify yourself, you schmuck.