I recently heard that the Power Rangers franchise is ending after the latest season called RPM. Not only was I surprised it was ending but I was surprised that Power Rangers was still on the air. The Power Rangers franchise is based off the Japanese Super Sentai franchise about 5 teenagers given special powers to defeat various evil forces throughout the world and the universe. While Super Sentai began all the way back in the mid-70s, it wasn't adapted for the U.S until 1993. In many ways, the franchise was more of a success in the U.S. than in Japan! Back in the early 90s when the series debuted, to say it was a phenomenon would be an understatement! I mean if you were a child in the 90s, then mostly likely you were obsessed with Power Rangers and had at least 1 toy from the franchise. When the first season came out I was 5, the perfect age to be drawn in by this epic looking kids show. But as with adolescence, I lost interest around the early 00s and moved on. But looking back on the franchise that spawned 17 seasons, 2 motion pictures and millions of merchandise sold, you can see why Power Rangers was a cult classic for children between the ages of 5-12. I will show the high and low moments of the PR history but mostly drawing my opinion of the first 10 seasons out of 17:

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993-1996)

Season 1 Line-Up: Jason, Zack, Billy, Kimberly and Trini. Tommy followed.

Season 2 Line-Up: Tommy, Kimberly, Billy, Aisha, Rocky and Adam

Season 3 Line-Up: Tommy, Billy, Aisha, Rocky, Adam and Kat

Villians: Rita Repulsa (Season 1). Rita Repulsa/Lord Zed (Season 2 and 3)

Hightlights of the Seasons: The pilot episode, the Original Dinozord (simply freakin' cool), The Evil Green Ranger arc, the Thunder Megazord, The Ninjor arc and The Introduction of the White Ranger.

The Lows of the Seasons: The consistent replacing of cast members (Jason, Zack, Trini and Kimberly for Rocky, Aisha, Adam and Kat). The Alien Ranger Mini-Arc (very lackluster, even when I was a kid).

Overall: Season 1 of Power Rangers will always be legendary, it's the most remembered season and what generated the entire craze for Power Rangers. Season 2 and 3 were great, not as good as the first as Aisha, Kat, Adam and Rocky were mostly in the shadow of the original rangers they took over for. The only other real weak spot is the Alien Rangers mini-series as the show was in the middle of a transition between incarnations of the Power Rangers and felt like it had to stale until Zeo started. Anyway, Rita is without a doubt the best villain of the series and Lord Zed probably the most badass, even having to be toned down because parents thought he was too scary for kids. This is my favorite incarnation and the best seasons as Mighty Morphine brings out the most nostalgia out of me.

Power Rangers Zeo (1996-1997)

Season 4 Line-Up: Tommy, Kat, Adam, Rocky and Tanya. Jason followed.

Villains: The Machine Empire

Highlights of the Season: Cool new villains, new exotic costumes, The new command center aka Command Chamber, The Gold Ranger arc and Jason returns to become the new Gold Ranger.

Lows of the Season: Billy is no longer a ranger and there's no real ending to the Zeo powers.

Overall: Zeo is a hard season to remember for me, not because it was bad, it actually was a great successor to the first 3 MMPR seasons. What I do remember was the awesome theme song which I still remember to this day. Also, I can't forget Jason coming back as the Gold Ranger; it was so cool having him back as he is probably the best ranger of the entire series. Although I wish this season gave Billy more to do as he became more of a second Alpha and by season's end abruptly left. Even so, what I do remember was really cool, the new morphers were nice and the new costumes were excellent being inspired by Egyptian mythology. Also, Tanya was as Aisha replacement was expectable even thought I wonder how an African girl from a tribe could quickly adapt to American life so smoothly, lol.

Power Rangers Turbo (1997-1998 )

Season 5 First Line-Up: Tommy, Kat, Tanya, Adam and Justin

Season 5 Second Line-Up: T.J., Cassie, Carlos, Ashley and Justin

Villian: Divatox

Highlights of the Season: The Turbo Megazord, the Graduation episode, the Vampire episode, the robot rangers episode and season finale.

Lows of the Season: Justin, Zordon and Alpha 5 leave, Dimitria and Alpha 6 enter and mid-season replacements.

Overall: Besides MMPR, this is the season I remember the most. The Turbo saga started with the release of the second Power Rangers movie, which wasn't as good as the first and sorta bombed. The transition between Zeo and Turbo was probably the weakest transition of power rangers as there was no real ending to the Zeo powers and there was never really an explanation as to where the Turbo powers came from. Anyway, the Turbo Rangers were another cool version of the power rangers and the Turbo Megazord has to be my favorite among zords as the turbo megazord was the first power rangers toy I bought as a kid. Divatox, while not the most sinister villain, was among the funniest or probably the funniest villain of the series. While the abrupt replacement rangers mid-season were hard to get use to as they really don't become their own until the following season in space, but they weren't terrible. Now as for Justin, looking back, he was quite annoying. It was cool seeing a kid getting to be a power ranger but seriously, sometimes it felt like the other 4 were babysitting him throughout the whole saga. But this was def a fun installment in the franchise.

Power Rangers In Space (1998-1999)

Season 6 Line-Up: Andros, T.J., Carlos, Ashley and Cassie. Zhane followed.

Villains: Astronema. Darconda followed

Hightlights of the Season: Andros, whole new setting, cool concept, Zhane/Silver Ranger arc, the Zhane/Astronema romance, the Psycho Rangers episode, TMNT crossover episode, Andros' lost sister storyline, the revelation of who his sister is, Darkonda and the season finale.

Lows of the Season: End of the Zordon Era

Overall: In Space has to be the best season since the first up to this point. In retrospect, it has some of the most mature storylines of any season and the new setting in space was a refreshing change for the series. The replacement turbo rangers are more likeable and cool here because they come into their own and Andros has to be the best red ranger/leader after Jason and Tommy. Andros is tough, had a tough life, especially losing his sister at a young age. I really liked this storyline as it's the most thing I remember looking back on this season. It was a nice reveal with Astronema being his sister as it's the first time the hero and villain were connected on a personal level. It was original (ish) stuff like that made this season really standout. I also loved the introduction of Zhane, the Silver Ranger as he was a great addition, especially the back story of the character, the brother like relationship he had with Andros and his little romance episode with Astronema. Drakanda was one of the best villians to come from the series as he was much darker than the others and loved how he tied into Andros' storyline. This season of power rangers also marks the end of the Zordon era as Andros kills Zordon whose essence destroys all the evil in the universe. It's a very epic finale which brought the first 6 seasons full circle as past villains were defeated for good and the war that Zordon was fighting for had finally ended.

Power Rangers Lost Galaxy (1999-2000)

Season 7 Line-Up: Leo, Kai, Damon, Kendrix and Maya

Villians: Scorpius. Trakeena followed.

Highlights of the Season: The premiere episode, The Psycho Rangers return, the Manga Defender, the lights of Orion, the force field episode, Karone returns and the season finale.

Lows of the Season: Kendrix's death

Overall: After pretty much rapping up the first 6 years, Lost Galaxy was the first power rangers season to start from scratch, a whole new set of rangers with new different missions. I really liked lost galaxy and remember watching the premiere like it was yesterday. The concept was cool with the Quasar Sabers being like 5 swords in the stone that chose 5 people to become power rangers. Also the Tera Venger setting had a nice "Star Trek for Kids" feel. Leo was a cool rebellious character and I how he's thrown into becoming a power ranger after losing his brother, Mike. It's because of his brother's sacrifice that he dedicates himself fully into becoming a Power Ranger. I liked the Manga Defender, especially the storyline with his son, which was pretty sad. I also liked how they connected his story with Mike's sacrifice. It was also great watching Mike become the Manga Defender. This season also marked the tradition of old rangers from the last season teaming up with the current rangers. Watching the Space rangers and Galactic rangers team-up against the Psycho Rangers was awesome but ultimately sad how it led to Kendrix's death. At the same time, it gave the opportunity for Karone to return and have redemption as the new Pink ranger. In the end, this was a good season with another awesome finale and those galacta beasts were some badass zords.

Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue (2000-2001)

Season 8 Line-Up: Carter, Joel, Chad, Kelsey and Dana. Ryan followed.

Villains: Diabolico. Olympius followed.

Hightlights of the Season: The Ryan/Titanium Ranger arc, the Galaxy Rangers return, Olympius rises to power, Joel's crush on Ms. Fairweather, the amnesia episode, the Cyborg Rangers, the Supertrain Megazord and V-Lancers.

Lows of the Season: the season finale

Overall: I think what's so unique about this season was it was the first season where there were no alien villains, no mystical or extraterrestrial powers for the Power Rangers and no secret identities. The Lightspeed Rangers' powers and zords were man-made and the villains were demons this time. Again, this was a nice change for the series and it was nice seeing Earth actually more involved with the evil that threatens them. I think my favorite part about the series was Ryan's storyline and the intro of the Titanium Ranger. While it was a rehash of the original Evil Green Ranger storyline, it was slightly different as Ryan was the son of Captain Mitchell and was the brother Dana, the Pink ranger. It was a touching little storyline with the Captain losing his son and I loved how father/son/daughter reunite. Also, Joel had some hilarious moments when chasing after Ms. Fairweather and her always some how shutting him down. The demonic villains were cool, especially Olympius once he took over Diabolico. Not as good as Lost Galaxy and especially not In Space, but the Ryan story was another mature storyline for the series which made it very watchable and man, did I love that Supertrain Megazord!

Power Rangers Time Force (2001-2002)

Season 9 Line-Up: Wes, Jen, Lucas, Katie and Trip. Eric followed.

Villain: Ransik

Highlights of the Season: The Time Travel concept, the costumes, Eric the Quantum Ranger, Wes' father issues, Jen as the leader, The Lightspeed rangers return and the season finale.

Lows of the Season: The Silver Guardians

Overall: What I liked most about this season was the time travel angle and the year 3000 setting. The way the season began was pretty cool with Ransik escaping in the future going to the past to change history. It kinda made the Power Rangers mission in this season much greater as the consequences of them losing would literally change the world for the worse. I also loved Jen, as she was the first female power ranger to really take charge and was the leader of the group. I also loved how her fiancee's death triggered Jen's attitude throughout the whole season and lead to her romance with Wes. Wes was a good character and his struggling relationship with his father was played out well. Also Wes's rivalry with Eric was fun to watch, even if the character was a bit of d!@k. My only problem was the rest of the Silver Guardians were useless considering Eric was the only ranger among them. Ransik wasn't the most sinister villain but was the last real tolerable villain of the series. Time Force is also the last season I truly watched and enjoyed as what's to come saw the Power Rangers franchise taking a horrible plunge into garbage.

Power Rangers Wild Force (2002-2003)

Season 10 Line-Up: Cole, Taylor, Max, Danny and Alyssa. Merrick followed.

Villain: Master Org

Highlights of the Season: The Time Force Rangers return and the Forever Red episode.

Lows of the Season: Everything else!

Overall: I watched very few bits and pieces of Wild Force aka the two moments I just mentioned. Why? Because this is where power rangers completely fell apart, I really didn't like the concept for this season or much of anything else, even the theme song irritated the hell out of me. Cole was probably the worst red ranger ever at this point and the rangers' personalities as a whole starting feeling flat. Also this season is where they started using too much of the CGI instead of more of the Japanese footage. But what makes this season worth watching is because it's the 10th anniversary season which lead to return of the past 9 rangers from the past 9 seasons. It's one of the best episodes of the series as fans get to see some of their favorites like Jason and Tommy fight again with their old costumes from the early years of the series. It's definitely a power rangers' episode I loved watching over and over again til this day and shows just how great this series began but ultimately how lackluster it became, starting with this very season. Not to mention, this was the season where Disney took over the franchise and they obviously are to blame for why the series took a turn for the god awful!

Power Rangers Ninja Storm (2003-2004)

Power Rangers Dino Thunder (2004-2005)

Power Rangers SPD (2005-2006)

Power Rangers Mystic Force (2006-2007)

Power Rangers Operation Overdrive (2007-2008 )

Power Rangers Jungle Fury (2008-2009)

Power Rangers RPM (2009)

Updated at 3:15 p.m.: Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told The Times.]

[Updated at 2:46 p.m.: Jackson is in a coma and his family is arriving at his bedside, a law enforcement source told The Times.

Jackson was rushed to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center this afternoon by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics.

Fire Capt. Steve Ruda said paramedics responded to a call at Jackson's home at 12:26 p.m. He was not breathing when they arrived. The paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and took him to the hospital, Ruda told The Times.

[Updated at 2:12 p.m.: Paramedics were called to a home in the 100 block of Carolwood Drive off Sunset Boulevard. Jackson had rented the Bel-Air home for $100,000 a month. It was described as a French chateau estate built in 2002 with seven bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, 12 fireplaces and a theater.

The home is about 2 1/2 miles, about a six-minute drive, from UCLA Medical Center. An earlier version of this post incorrectly described the time to travel between the home and hospital as two minutes.]

The news comes as Jackson, 50, was attempting a comeback after years of tabloid headlines, most notably his trial and acquittal on child molestation charges.

In May, The Times reported that Jackson had rented the Bel-Air residence and was rehearsing for a series of 50 sold-out shows in London's O2 Arena. Jackson had won the backing of two billionaires to get the so-called "King of Pop" back on stage.

I don't think I've ever been hit this hard by a celebrity's death since Health Ledger. But Michael Jackson wasn't just a celebrity, he was a phenomenon! No matter what you think about his appearence, personal life or his public behavior, this man was one of the greatest entertainers of our time! The biggest selling album of all time, the best dancer of all time and a lifetime of countless achievements, it's an understatement to say he will be missed! The world of music literally won't be the same ever again!

#5-Exile

Season 3, Episode 1

Jonathan-"He wasn't ready! But you, you had to keep pushing him anyway, didn't you? What kind of a race are you people? No wonder you destroyed yourselves." "Exile" is one electrifying episode! Right from the start you're fully engaged in the story as Clark has become a big player in Metropolis and Lex has been pronounced dead! After an emotional and moving opening, enters the best action set piece the series ever did! A masked Clark takes down a bunch of bank robbers and unleashes his powers on the police of Metropolis. It's a shocking development for Clark but a truly fantastic sequence! It almost feels like a movie as you can tell the series got a major budget increase after Season 2. The show looks more polished with scenes look more vibrant and colorful. The whole cast really took it up a notch this episode and each character brought something to the table. Tom Welling is great showing Clark struggle between being a young criminal and emotionally overwhelmed by his decision. Kristin Kruek does some great work as Lana tracks down Clark and tries her best to bring him home. Allison Mack is spot on as Chloe tries to keep Clark's whereabouts a secret. John Glover's Lionel is vicious and brilliantly evil as always. Annette O' Toole and John Schneider really show here why they are probably by favorite version of the Kents as their parental concern for their son was so moving. John Schneider in particular gets a powerful scene where he and Jor-El finally meet and discuss the fate of their son. It's this scene that eventual leads to his tragic death Jonathan but to one of the most explosive endings to an episode. When Jonathan and Clark confront each other, it's just full of tension, especially when Clark send him flying into a wall. When Jonathan gets back up and super speeds toward Clark as they fall from Luthorcorp, my jaw dropped!

Rutger Hauer as Morgan Edge is probably my favorite villain from the early years. As the infamous DC villain, Morgan Edge is a mob boss and plays an excellent mentor to Clark's criminal prodigy. Of course, he quickly becomes Clark's enemy but it's a same the character wasn't used more throughout the series, but a great villain would have been overused by the writers anyway. "Exile" is one of the most action packed and emotionally engaging episodes of the series that excites me every time I watch it!

#4-Rosetta

Season 2, Episode 17

Dr. Swann-"You won't find the answers by looking at the stars. It's a journey you'll have to take by looking inside yourself. You must write your own destiny, Kal-El." Do I even have to explain why this episode is on my list? "Rosetta" is not only the one of the best episodes of the series, but one of the finest moments in TV history. Who would have thought one guest star could truly make an episode a must see event! But this wasn't just any guest star, this was the legendary and sadly late Christopher Reeves' first appearance on the show. Hard to believe Reeves doesn't appear until the end of the third act but it was so worth the wait! I can't tell you how many chills I get when Clark first meets Reeves' character, Dr. Virgil Swann and both discuss his origins with Superman theme music soaring through the background. It's probably the most powerful scenes of the series as both Welling and Reeves gives amazing performances as it feels like a passing of the torch (or cape as I should say) type event. Dr. Swann was the perfect role for Revees and his presence on the series really brought Smallville to a level of television it hadn't been to at that point!

The scenes before and after Swann's debut are actually very strong as well. The opening dream sequence is some of the best direction from a TV series I've ever seen, the scene where Clark burns the Kryptonian symbol on the side of the barn is chilling, there's great character development for both Lana and Chloe and Lex gets a terrific sub-plot with Dr. Walden. Not to mention, the final moments of "Rosetta" are nothing short of epic. Clark and Jonathan finally open Clark's spaceship and read Jor-El's last message to his son. It's incredible moment for both Clark and Jonathan as while Clark questions his purpose on Earth, his father confidents reassures his son that he's a force for good. Both father and son embrace as once again, amazing Superman theme blasts in the background! "Rosetta" is a real achievement for the series and hard to believe Christopher Reeves almost didn't accept the offer to be on the series! While I cherish this episode with every ounce of my heart, there are 3 episodes that I believe are slightly better than this magnificent episode.

#3-Shattered

Season 3, Episode 8

Lex-"Well, when people think you're insane and you're holding a rifle to their head, they, uh, tend to do what you ask." For me, "Shattered" is one of those episodes that get better every time you watch it. It's probably the most perfect episode of Smallville and that's saying a lot. There's nothing really bad I can say about the plot, the writing, acting, direction etc. The way the whole story of Lex's insanity unravels is so organic and thought-provoking; it's this episode that made me realize that this representation of the Lex Luthor might be the best ever! What an sensational idea to have Lex's descent into madness be apart of the reason why he eventually becomes the evil mastermind he's destined to be. I knew Michael Rosenbaum was up to the task and this was by far his best performance of the series! I still wonder to this day how he never got at least an Emmy nomination for his surreal performance. Is Lex really losing his mind? Is someone truly trying to make look crazy? The way Michael portrays this is simply profound. The rest of the cast are in top form as they deal with Lex's state of mind, especially Clark who finally shows how much Lex's friendship means to him. Again, I'm getting nostalgic for the early years as this was probably the best depiction of Clark and Lex's friendship. Even though something is seriously wrong with Lex and he could in fact have been insane, Clark sticks by Lex, even when he loses it on him several times. Than you have that memorable scene between Lex and Lionel as Lex delivers some of the best lines of the series and Lionel seems scared sh!tless.

I especially love the whole conspiracy angle of the episode with Lionel and Morgan Edge setting up the perfect crime of making Lex look delusional while both getting what they want. Morgan Edge returns with literally a new face as Patrick Bergin now takes on the role. He brings his own menacing twist to the role and does a fine job. The best scene of the episode is when Clark saving Lex's life by getting hit by Edge's car as Lex witnesses all this. It's the moment Lex has been waiting for since he met Clark but ironically, it only makes him look crazier as he's taken to Bell Reeve to stay locked up for how long, love how the writers played that scene out! "Shattered" is too amazing for words and one of the many reasons why Season 3 is without a doubt the best from this series.

#2-Arrival

Season 5, Episode 1

Jor-El-" Kal-El, you have traveled far. One journey has ended. A new journey is about to begin. Welcome home, my son!" If there is one thing that lost as a series throughout it's soon to be 9 year run is that it can't live up to the hype it sets up for certain eventful episodes. But exceptions like "Arrival" and it's superior predecessor, Smallville proved that it could live up to that hype and prove that it was the best Superman interpretation outside of the comics and iconic Christopher Reeves films! "Arrival" sees the series achieving half of what it set out to do: to make Clark Superman. There are aspects of this episode that pay tribute and even rival the first and beloved Superman film of 1978. First, the sequence of Clark watching the Fortress of Solitude rising from the frozen ground of the Arctic is a glorious moment for the series as well as when Clark slowly enters the Fortress and Jor-El welcomes Clark to the next phase of his destiny. Second, back in Smallville, the black ship that Lana just discovered, opens up and 2 powerful Kryptonian rise to wreck havoc on the police of Smallville. The scene where Nam-Ek and Aethyr using their heat vision to destroy everything in sight is one of the best action/special effects sequences I've ever seen for a TV series. It didn't feel like I was watching a series but an actual Superman film and it feels epic on every level. Both disciples of Zod was wonderful villains and I love ruthless they are on their search for Clark.

We also get a major milestone between Clark and Chloe, as Clark tells Chloe the whole truth about his powers and alien origins. Chloe accepts Clark completely tells him she thinks he's a superhero. It's this episode that began the great superhero/sidekick dynamic between Clark and Chloe that fans would come to adore, but it's also a moment that made them better friends. Lex continues to develop a cold hearted attitude as when he and Clark reunite, the animosity between them is so apparent. They aren't really close friends anymore and it's a great development. Another great scene is the wonderful Phantom Zone prism that Nam-Ek and Aethyr get trapped in. The end of the episode marks a new beginning for the series as Clark is left mortal with his destiny being murkier and a mysterious man rises from the black ship...is that Zod!? Fans as well as I went crazy! "Arrival" was a bold new chapter of Smallville that truly shows the series' greatness and set up the second half of Smallvile perfectly. But "Arrival" would not be as perfect as it was without...

#1-Commencement

Season 4, Episode 22

Jor-El-" If you don't unite them at once then you, my son, will be seared by a fire from the sky even you can't survive. The future of mankind rests in your hands, Kal-El." "...Commencement!' There is no greater episode of Smallville then the longest and most mind-blowing episode that this was. "Commencement" is everything Smallville is about, which is taking that next step to achieve your destiny which Clark did! The final entry of the high school years and almost feeling like a series finale, the writers pulled all the stops for this episode. Every scene is perfect, full of character development for every character. We had a somewhat of a closure scene between Clark and Lana, a great foreshadowing scene of Clark and Lois' iconic future, the last time Clark and Lex were truly friends, Jonathan telling Clark that raising him lead up to this moment and a second meteor shower arriving in Smallville bringing the series full circle. This is the first really big Superman-like mission for Clark as he not only has to saving the day but save the world from destruction. The episode is fast paced, despite it's longer than average run time and gains more intensity. The second meteor shower is better than the first one in the pilot and the special effects never looked more convincing. The best scene to come from this sequence is when Clark saves a little boy from getting him by a meteor rock. It's the Supermanliest save Clark ever did! Then you have Lex completely giving into his dark side and telling his father that he would grow up to be the son he wanted. It was a frightening development that really pushed Lex's development. I also loved how Chloe came to Clark's aid through all of it and would literally protect him to the very end without him knowing it.

But what makes this the greatest episode of Smallville are the final moments as after finally combining all 3 stones, a crystal forms that sends him to the Arctic. Even before Clark throw the crystal and the Superman theme began playing, we all knew what was about to happen and I was overjoyed as it seemed Clark was on the verge of becoming Superman. "Commencement" showed why Smallvile was a visionary series and why Superman has been an international legend for 70 years!