[Official HJU Discussion Thread]

Remember the Power Ranger crossovers that took place in Power Rangers Wild Force and how they were arguably the greatest the franchise has ever seen? Remember that feeling you got as the Power Ranger mythos started to feel like a real epic universe? Well.. Amit Bhaumik did. He’s the uber producer that brought us Forever Red and Reinforcements From the Future. If you haven’t seen any Power Rangers, those are some of the finest episodes the franchise has ever produced. And Amit Bhaumik wanted more like the rest of us. How’s this for Christmas surprise? Amit wrote up an essay of the saga we almost got that had Tommy Oliver heading up a super Power Ranger organization called, THE HEXAGON. Hit the jump for a taste and then hit Amit Bhaumik’s Blog for the full AWESOME story of the Power Ranger Saga we never got, but could have been.

[From Amit Bhaumik’s Blog]
The “Hexagon” was the original plan for the 11th season of Power Rangers to adapt the Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger season of Super Sentai for the season after Power Rangers Wild Force. The plan intended to continue some of the ideas and storylines from the Forever Red team-up episode of Power Rangers Wild Force as well as wrap up all loose ends from MMPR-PRWF. Just as PRIS essentially brought together and wrapped up the five or so preceding seasons of Power Rangers (MMPR-PRT), the intention was for the 11th season to bring together and wrap up all the preceding seasons.

As writing for the PRWF season finished and production was wrapping up, I began researching and drawing up plans to adapt Hurricanger for an 11th season expected to start filming in LA. Bear in mind that this was a plan in the very rough stages and should not be treated with undue importance. It was birthed during a rocky time of transition when the direction and even continued existence of the show was in doubt. This is just one of many potential visions for a season of the show; one that ultimately went unused.

By late 2002, the new owner of the Power Rangers franchise, Disney, decided to replace (almost) the entire crew and move production for the show to New Zealand, ending the idea of the Hexagon. Instead, Hurricanger would be adapted into what was the Power Rangers Ninja Storm season.

The unused ‘Hexagon’ plan, as it has come to be called, revolved around the idea of an umbrella organization unifying most of the various Power Rangers teams we had seen over the years. The name ‘Hexagon’ came from the idea that the base of operations for the season’s Power Rangers would be a giant building like the Pentagon, except with six sides to symbolize the number of Power Rangers on most teams. Imagine a much larger version of Zordon’s Command Center except with its location and purpose known to the public. An impregnable fortress staffed by hundreds, if not thousands, and far too well-defended for any of the villains of the Power Rangers universe to try attacking.

The power dynamic typically seen between heroes and villains in the show would be flipped for this season. Instead of an invasion of a vast army of evil against a few heroes operating in secret, this time the good guys would have the apparent advantage in terms of numbers and infrastructure.

The Hexagon was to be led by Tommy Oliver, who would act as the mentor for the season’s Power Rangers like their Zordon or Captain Mitchell. As Forever Red illustrated, Tommy had been keeping in touch with various Rangers in the years since the episode Passing The Torch, Part 2. No longer the ponytailed, wifebeater-wearing teenager of MMPR days, Tommy would now look more like a federal agent in a suit. Think similar to Marvel’s Nick Fury. In Forever Red, Tommy deliberately used several Zordon clichés from the “I was afraid this day would come.” to “May the power protect you.” All foreshadowing that he was on his way to inheriting Zordon’s position in the universe.

[EPIC Essey Continued at Amit’s Personal Blog.. CHECK IT OUT!!!]