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Before we resume WCC, it's time for this weeks Snark of the Week. Apologies for this being later than advertised. I decided to catch the Argentina Vs Mexico game and had to numerous things yesterday. But, better late than never.

Fitting that the 6th edition of Snark of the Week is devoted to the original 6th Power Ranger. But yes, dear friends, the tragic news of the passing of Jason David Frank hit a lot of us 90s kids pretty hard. Some may know him as "that buff guy from UFC", but to me, he'll always be Angel Grove's finest: Tommy Oliver. The Green Ranger, the White Ranger, Zeo Ranger 5 Red, the original Red Turbo Ranger and finally the Black Dino Thunder Ranger. If only he came back for one more colour and we'd have a team of Tommy Rangers.

To many PR fans, Tommy WAS Power Rangers for a good chunk of the show's history as he pretty much became the benchmark of what a Ranger should be. His debut as the evil Green Ranger was a fasinating concept for seeing a potential rival to the heroes do a 180 and join their team was amazing back then. It's something we see a lot of these days, but it was one of the earliest examples I can think of. Some might say Piccolo from Dragonball Z did it first, but I didn't see that show well into the 2000s.

When he returned as the White Ranger, the series became jokingly named by fans "the Tommy Oliver Show" because the show decided to capitalise on Tommy's ever increasing popularity. Tommy was made the leader (for some reason), Jason and co were pushed to the background (though that was for a different reason) and Tommy's Zord should have been a vaccuum cleaner for he hoovered up all the screen time and character developement. As iconic as the White Ranger suit is, I've always got a soft spot for the original Green Ranger design for it basically was a slightly modified version of the Red Ranger suit. Kinda like how War Machine, Venom and Shadow are edgy versions of Iron Man, Spider-Man and Sonic respectively.

Power Rangers Zeo was the first big shake up that retired the original Zyuranger/Dairanger costumes and the 5 original actors (who all but Tommy had been replaced at that point) as we moved onto the Ohranger costumes and 5 new "people in their mid 20s playing teenagers with attitude." I never understood that with the 90s that characters had to have *attitude.* I mean, Sonic was marketed in the UK as "the Hedgehog with attitude." What the fuck does that even mean? "Oh better watch out for this guy, he has attitude!"

The only difference now is that Sonic is "the Hedgehog with bad video games" (Hiyo!)

Rather than being the 6th Ranger, Tommy was now one of the main 5 as the Red Ranger. This is where I feel the magic was starting to fade with Power Rangers as as worn out at this point. It was an okay run, as Tommy did get some brilliant moments here, but it's no surprise he left the series at the beginning of Power Rangers Turbo.

Many years later, he came back for Power Rangers: Dino Thunder and it gave us probably the greatest episode in the show's entire run. Yes, even better than Forever Red. I've mentioned this before, but Fighting Spirit was the main inspiration of Identity Crisis Chapter 3. Watching Tommy essentially fighting for his life in a coma by battling his former Ranger powers was sheer brilliance.

He also had a prominant career after Power Rangers with his MMA/UFC background that saw a number of victories and scaring CM Punk away (had to be done).

But, just recently, came the tragic news of Frank's suicide. Still not sure what to make of this news after the passing of Kevin Conroy a few days prior. I am aware the man was struggling mentally due to some personal demons and real life issues. Like a lot of PR fans, I am deeply saddened by the news.

Rest in Peace, Jason.

Thank you for the memories.

Honorable mentions.
World Cup 2022. Russia's war is crumbling. Everyone Vs Qatar.

Description
Before we resume WCC, it's time for this weeks Snark of the Week. Apologies for this being later than advertised. I decided to catch the Argentina Vs Mexico game and had to numerous things yesterday. But, better late than never.

Fitting that the 6th edition of Snark of the Week is devoted to the original 6th Power Ranger. But yes, dear friends, the tragic news of the passing of Jason David Frank hit a lot of us 90s kids pretty hard. Some may know him as "that buff guy from UFC", but to me, he'll always be Angel Grove's finest: Tommy Oliver. The Green Ranger, the White Ranger, Zeo Ranger 5 Red, the original Red Turbo Ranger and finally the Black Dino Thunder Ranger. If only he came back for one more colour and we'd have a team of Tommy Rangers.

To many PR fans, Tommy WAS Power Rangers for a good chunk of the show's history as he pretty much became the benchmark of what a Ranger should be. His debut as the evil Green Ranger was a fasinating concept for seeing a potential rival to the heroes do a 180 and join their team was amazing back then. It's something we see a lot of these days, but it was one of the earliest examples I can think of. Some might say Piccolo from Dragonball Z did it first, but I didn't see that show well into the 2000s.

When he returned as the White Ranger, the series became jokingly named by fans "the Tommy Oliver Show" because the show decided to capitalise on Tommy's ever increasing popularity. Tommy was made the leader (for some reason), Jason and co were pushed to the background (though that was for a different reason) and Tommy's Zord should have been a vaccuum cleaner for he hoovered up all the screen time and character developement. As iconic as the White Ranger suit is, I've always got a soft spot for the original Green Ranger design for it basically was a slightly modified version of the Red Ranger suit. Kinda like how War Machine, Venom and Shadow are edgy versions of Iron Man, Spider-Man and Sonic respectively.

Power Rangers Zeo was the first big shake up that retired the original Zyuranger/Dairanger costumes and the 5 original actors (who all but Tommy had been replaced at that point) as we moved onto the Ohranger costumes and 5 new "people in their mid 20s playing teenagers with attitude." I never understood that with the 90s that characters had to have *attitude.* I mean, Sonic was marketed in the UK as "the Hedgehog with attitude." What the fuck does that even mean? "Oh better watch out for this guy, he has attitude!"

The only difference now is that Sonic is "the Hedgehog with bad video games" (Hiyo!)

Rather than being the 6th Ranger, Tommy was now one of the main 5 as the Red Ranger. This is where I feel the magic was starting to fade with Power Rangers as as worn out at this point. It was an okay run, as Tommy did get some brilliant moments here, but it's no surprise he left the series at the beginning of Power Rangers Turbo.

Many years later, he came back for Power Rangers: Dino Thunder and it gave us probably the greatest episode in the show's entire run. Yes, even better than Forever Red. I've mentioned this before, but Fighting Spirit was the main inspiration of Identity Crisis Chapter 3. Watching Tommy essentially fighting for his life in a coma by battling his former Ranger powers was sheer brilliance.

He also had a prominant career after Power Rangers with his MMA/UFC background that saw a number of victories and scaring CM Punk away (had to be done).

But, just recently, came the tragic news of Frank's suicide. Still not sure what to make of this news after the passing of Kevin Conroy a few days prior. I am aware the man was struggling mentally due to some personal demons and real life issues. Like a lot of PR fans, I am deeply saddened by the news.

Rest in Peace, Jason.

Thank you for the memories.

Honorable mentions.
World Cup 2022. Russia's war is crumbling. Everyone Vs Qatar.