Christmas in July Special - Alpha's Magical Christmas (1994)

Ever since i was a kid, I thought it was odd that people sometimes celebrate Christmas in July. I know December is a summer month in Australia but that's because of the climate. I'm talking about other countries like America, in which we watch Christmas specials and sometimes listen to Christmas songs in the summer. I figured if some people review holiday specials in December, why not July. For this Christmas in July special, the subject is the 1994 Power Rangers Christmas special, Alpha's Magical Christmas.

Before I begin, here's a little history. Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers was based on a long running Japanese superhero show called Super Sentai and some of the action scenes were actually taken from that show. The show focuses on six teenagers chosen by a wise wizard named Zordon, to be his superheros so they can save the world from the evil sorceress Rita Repulsa and her husband Lord Zedd. The show is crap. The heroes are goodie-goods, the special effects are cheap, the story-lines are thin and preachy, yet somehow, it's entertaining for what it is. A goofy, dumb, fun TV show. Now how and why do they make a Christmas special out of that?

To solve the problem, they focused on Alpha 5, Zordon's robotic assistant who sometimes feels lonely when the Power Rangers were off fighting evil. This was an idea from co creator Haim Saban's wife, Cheryl Saban, who seeks a desire to sell Alpha 5 toys to increase the character's popularity with very young children. Alpha 5's voice actor, Richard Steven Horvitz, believed that the special was a smart marketing idea. However, Alpha 5 toys were never manufactured until 16 years after the special. Is the special worth watching, or was it made because the show was so successful? Let's take a look!

It's Christmas time and Alpha feels lonely and friendless when the Rangers are at work. This time of year, the Rangers are helping Santa Claus deliver toys to children throughout the world instead of fighting monsters from Rita and Lord Zedd, who for some reason decided that ruining Christmas isn't worth the cost. (There is an episode in the show which they tried to ruin Christmas but i'l discuss that when i review more Christmas specials.) Realizing Alpha is bored, Zordon decides to have children from around the world to celebrate Christmas at The Command Center, Zordon's secret base for The Power Rangers.

There are so many things wrong with this plot, I don't know where to begin or end. First of all, if you seen the show, you should know that no one has access to The Command Center without a Power Coin, the source for the Ranger's powers. How is it possible that Zordon and Alpha let these kids in without power coins? Second, they took these kids without their parent knowledge. The parents would freak if their kids went missing and there would be a worldwide search for them. Third, how do these kids know Zordon and Alpha, considering the fact that this is their first time in The Command Center and yet they know them by name? And lastly, The Command Center is not the place to celebrate Christmas. It's a very secret base for the Rangers to have meetings on what Rita or Zedd were up to and Zordon told them to keep their identity a secret. These kids would already know who the Power Rangers are and they could easily tell their parents on who they are and where they work. Nice job blowing your own cover Zordon.

Anyways, there isn't really much of a story, just Alpha and the kids singing classic Christmas songs, baking cookies, decorating The Command Center etc. This special is just filler and padding and the constant singing and overly happy and cutesy tone panders to young kids, young kids who enjoy the show for all the action, adventure, and creativity that made the show popular in the first place. It's also very ironic that the special acknowledges that love for one another is the true meaning of Christmas yet the special's main purpose is to sell Alpha 5 toys.

The special ends with Alpha 5 and the kids singing "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and we get to see a clip show of previous and future episodes of the show featuring the Rangers, the kids went home through a vortex, Tommy (The Green Ranger, which makes no sense because in the clip show we saw footage of Tommy as the White Ranger and replacements of the Red, Black, and Yellow Rangers in the second half of Season 2) Kimberly (The Pink Ranger) and Billy (The Blue Ranger) visiting the Command Center to wish us a Merry Christmas, and they lived happily ever after.

So this is Alpha's Magical Christmas. This is an example of when you make a holiday special just for marketing reasons, it ended up being a corporate product that falls flat in it's face. The plot is ridiculous and makes no sense, the tone is too cutesy and saccharine, and it doesn't do the Power Rangers justice thanks to the constant singing and padding. The special may have it's fans, but if you think that making a Christmas special about The Power Rangers is a bad idea, it's better if you don't see it and watch the show instead.