Tommy Oliver went from a “punch first, ask questions later” Ranger inMighty Morphinto a wise, resourceful mentor who even had his own secret Batcave inPower Rangers Dino Thunder. Set seven years after Tommy and the rest of theMMPR/ZeoRangers left the team midway throughTurbo,Dino Thunderwas not as self-contained as the other Disney seasons.While the 2004 show was a standalone story, it also worked as alegacy sequel toMighty MorphinPower Rangersthanks to the return of Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver.
Although Frank had appeared in 2002’sWild Forceas one of theveteran Red Rangers from the Forever Red crossover, Tommy had not been a recurrent character in the series since 1997. WithPower Rangersmoving production to New Zealand and Disney moving toward standalone seasons, it seemed like there was no room for a character like Tommy to return in a large capacity. However, not only didDino Thunderbringthe original Green Rangerback, but it also delivered a more mature version of Tommy that was quite different from what we had seen in the 1990s.
Tommy Was Now Operating From Behind The Scenes After Years Of Being A Ranger
When Conner, Kira, and Ethan start to suspect that their high school teacher, Dr. Oliver, is hiding a secret, the soon-to-be Blue Ranger suggests that Tommy might have a secret base hidden under his office. Conner thinks this is absurd and says“The guy’s a teacher, not Batman.”Funnily enough,Tommy did have a secret base, the Dino Lab. There, the former Power Ranger, who was now a paleontologist, was hiding not only his research and other valuable items but also the Dino Gems. Once Conner, Kira, and Ethan became Power Rangers, the Dino Lab became their headquarters.
Conner was played by James Napier, whose grandfather, Alan Napier, played Alfred in the 1966BatmanTV show.
The idea of Tommy going on solo adventures and setting up a secret base for him to operate alone while watching over potential threats and eventually mentoring a new team of heroes was incredibly exciting. It was also very different from what we had seen from the original Green Ranger in the Zordon Era.While Tommy had been the leader of the team since he became the White Ranger inMMPRseason 2, he never felt like the “brains” type of character– a role that was usually given to Billy.
Tommy Becoming A “Zordon” In Dino Thunder Was Great Character Development
Tommy Made For A Great Mentor Despite Not Being A Great Leader In The 1990s
Dino Thunder’s Tommywas a more experienced, refined version of the character, which was expected since the iconic Power Ranger was now older. That said, it is curious how much Tommy evolved and matured in only seven years.Tommy graduated high school at the beginning ofPower RangersTurboin 1997. By 2004, he was already a paleontologist with a PhD and teacher position at a high school. Tommy also sounded and acted much wiser inDino Thunder, which better reflected Jason David Frank’s age than when he and the other actors were in their late 20s playing high schoolers.
Trent Fernandez
White Ranger
A common criticism of Tommy’s character in the Zordon Era is that he was not cut out to be a leader, even though he was an inherently cool and powerful character. Tommy was also criticized for getting all of the attention, especially after he became the Red Ranger inZeo.Dino Thunderfixed both of these problems by making Tommy the “Zordon” of the season – someone who would use his experience to guide the “teenagers with attitude.” Even though Tommy became the Black Ranger in episode 4, he never outshined the main trio of young Rangers.
We Still Don’t Know Much About What Tommy Was Doing Between Turbo And Dino Thunder
Tommy Must Have Been Very Busy Between 1997 And 2004
Perhaps the most curious thing about how much Tommy changed between 1997 and 2004 is that we do not know much about what happened in those seven years. Apart from Jason David Frank’s cameo inWild Force,Power Rangersnever showed what Tommy was up to afterTurbo. Naturally, we know that he went to college, got a PhD, and became a teacher at some point.Dino Thunderalso established thatTommy and Anton Mercer worked together on dinosaur DNA research years before the events of the show.
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Tommy must also have found time for action since he had his Zeo powers in “Forever Red,” suggesting he either got a hold of his Zeo crystal or was already using the Master Morpher – a concept that would only be introduced in 2017’s “Dimensions in Danger” but that could retroactively explain a lot of things. Regardless of the timeline confusion, we can assume that Tommy was quite busy after finishing high school, and that everything he went through in those seven years forged the man we saw inPower Rangers Dino Thunder.
Power Rangers Dino Thunder
Cast
Power Rangers Dino Thunder is a television series that premiered in 2004, serving as the 12th season of the Power Rangers franchise. The show follows three high school students who become superheroes known as the Dino Thunder Power Rangers, tasked with saving the world from the evil Dr. Tommy Oliver and his minions.
