For the past several years, Buena Vista Home Entertainment has been releasing the first 25 episodes of each season of “Power Rangers.” Granted, these are not complete seasons as they actually run to about 36 episodes. However, this method of release has given home viewers a way to see the chronological evolution of the different Power Ranger teams.

With the most recent season of “Power Rangers Mystic Force,” the studio has changed its tune. Now, if you want to watch the entire season – or even the first 2/3 of it – you’re going to have to tune into Jetix on cable and catch them in their initial broadcast.

“Power Rangers Mystic Force” had an initial release several months ago, laying the groundwork for the season and introducing us to the different characters destined to become Power Rangers. However, with the second DVD release from this season, we only get a short series-within-a-series. Instead of a two-disc release, we get “Dark Wish,” a short-lived miniseries within the show that lasted only three episodes.

Since the last DVD, we’ve skipped ahead a few episodes. We’ve also gained a couple characters, including a cat-like genie in a bottle that helps the Power Rangers use their magic. This three-parter shows what happens when the Power Rangers rely on outside magic to do their dirty work. While calling upon the powers of the genie, the evil forces capture the genie.

Once the genie is in the hands of the bad guys, they wish that the Power Rangers never existed. This throws out team into an alternate reality where they don’t have morphers and become regular teenagers. Their only hope is to team with a previous enemy, who leads them to the Tribunal of Magic where they can plead their case and return things to how they should be.

In a way, it’s a shame that the studio had to pull back on the Power Rangers releases this season. I like this set-up pretty well. It’s got more imagination than the Dino Force series two years ago, and it taps into a different type of fantasy than the futuristic sci-fi version of S.P.D. last year. Still, the Power Rangers series has never been so complicated that you can’t follow it.

The DVD comes with a featurette about the forces of nature and how the Power Rangers use them to fight evil. There’s also a bonus episode of the new series completely unrelated to the Power Rangers. It’s an animated series called “Yin Yang Yo!” and it’s pretty hyperkinetic. Think “PowerPuff Girls” meet “Pokemon,” and you’ll have an idea what that’s all about.

For the Power Rangers fan, you can’t miss this disc. Or, you can watch it on Jetix, free with your cable service. Either way, it’s your only opportunity for a Power Rangers fix before the next DVD comes out in a few months.



Specifications: Dolby Digital Surround Sound. Fullscreen (1.33:1). English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.