 This article is about a/an episode in Power Rangers Universe.
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The Little Android That Could is the fifth episode of Power Rangers Universe. It features the debut of Joi as Ranger Series Pink. It also features the debut of Aquilla Voyager 8, the Crab and Scope Sector Keys, and the Ranger Lottery.
Synopsis[]
Russell, the Destiny's chief researcher, dreams about Joi, the Destiny's first officer, fighting alongside the rangers, but the others believe that Russell's dreams are too much of a risk and could potentially leave the station vulnerable to an attack. As a Commandant attacks a colony of Earth survivors, Russell tries to encorage Joi, who does not feel confident in fighting, that she too can join them on the field.
Plot[]
In his lab, Russell is having a dream of Joi coming to Arthur and his entourage's aid, and getting into a fight with Volstagg. After he wakes up from a nap, he finds out that there is now increased press speculation that Joi could be next to join the S.B.F. Ranger Program as its Pink Ranger, just as Joi gives him some lunch. Russell, who resumes work on "something important", tells Joi that since they found that Pink Sector Key somewhere, there is now widespread speculation aboard the Destiny's passengers that Joi should put herself forward, but Joi herself has low self-esteem, as she was not programmed for combat. Russell says he will explain to the others later on about this, and see what they think. On the Destiny's bridge, Moose is obsessively searching for Dimitri on the computers, as Arthur, Ryan, Megan and Wild Bill are discussing Moose's obsession with bringing Dimitri to justice over the past five days; though Arthur and Bill would like to back up Moose on having Dimitri redeem himself and join, Megan and Ryan are still firm on arresting him for his theft of Star Battleforce property. As this happens, Florian and Bronzee are attempting to experiment with certain Sector Keys, and when Florian uses the Crab Key, a crab claw is mounted on his hand, and is unable to lift it because of his weight, and ends up knocking stuff over, just as Ryan, who he just happens to be near, yanks the key out of Florian's Uni-Controller - reverting his hand back to normal. Just then, Colonel Xiao enters and confirms that there are survivors on Earth from the Arkeyan invasion, who are attempting to rebuild, and the Arkeyans have recently taken notice. Joi then reports that there are several A-Drones on Earth, each with a commandant. They wonder why that is the case since the planet’s Planesium would likely be fully drained by now with so many.
Amid the discussion, since there are now seven rangers too many, and sending them all out at once could lead to potential destabilisation amid the ranks, Colonel Xiao introduces his rangers to the Ranger Lottery, designed by Russell to determine which five rangers will be sent out on a mission, by having rangers insert their Sector Keys; Russell also notes that each ranger has a different rate of being chosen via the lottery - and claims that Arthur has a 90% chance of being selected, jokingly noting it's a given because he's the Red Ranger. Colonel Xiao spins the wheel, and Arthur and the four other members of his entourage are chosen to investigate one such incident at a community restored by Earthling survivors, leaving a confused Florian to ask what he and Bronzee are supposed to do, to which Colonel Xiao replies by saying they are to remain on the bridge and watch the action unfold. Florian is happy about it, because he is starving, so Russell and Joi escort them, so they can do some "Earth Shopping". Arthur and his entourage arrive on Earth to see a city restored by survivors overrun by the Arkeyans with all the people attempting to fight back. Ryan notices that Joi has seems very down as well, but she says nothing’s wrong, while Moose insists that it could be something to do with the recent buzz about Joi joining the team's ranks - and that the color gives it away. Wild Bill hears screaming and they hurry over, where Dreamin' Weave, the commandant who has assumed Arkeyan dominion over the city, is going around eating people's dreams. As Russell and Joi leave to do some shopping as planned, the five rangers morph and take on Weave, who is flanked by a horde of Roswells. While Russell looks for the nearest grocery store, Joi cannot stop watching the others fight, with comments about speculation regarding her place among the rangers ringing in her head. Weave, seeing this as an advantage, reads her mind, and approaches her. She tries fighting back, but gets knocked down. Before Weave can eat her dream, the others step in and he steps out.
Afterwards, Arthur approaches the young boy whose dream of a big meal Weave just ate, but the boy’s father swats him away and gives the rangers a dirty look. In a change of plans, Ryan, speculating that the commandant may be having negotiations to enslave survivors, suggests they should search the town for any more of them, and has Russell and Joi come along with them as well. Moose, however, suggests they should probably go for food, seeing as he’s always wanted to try “Earth Food” out. With that, they go to a bistro, where Arthur, Wild Bill, and Moose appear to be having a good time trying food out. They meet with Felipe, the owner of the bistro, who recognises them all from Star Battleforce, and owes them for making sure he survived the invasion. As they enjoy meals freshly made by Felipe, Russell reveals the speculation regarding Joi potentially joining the Ranger Program as its Pink Ranger; while Arthur and Bill seem to like the sound of it a little bit, Moose, Megan and Ryan are against it, with Moose pointing out that she doesn’t even have the combat experience or physique to join them on the field, and Ryan stating that she is weak in combat and will likely be easily targeted, and to make matters worse, if she was not on board the Destiny’s bridge to oversee operations, the Destiny would be very much vulnerable to an Arkeyan attack. Megan, while agreeing with those two, asks Russell if he asked Joi about joining or not, so Russell asks Joi if she likes the idea of herself joining them in battle. Joi is quick to reject, stating that she is not programmed for combat purposes, and does not know if she is capable of surpassing her programming. Sensing this discussion is not going anywhere, Ryan orders the others to leave; as they leave, Moose takes the last slice of pizza Felipe saved for him, and decides to stay around for a bit. He sees Joi and Russell have some sort of a “special bond”, and asks him about it. So, Russell reveals that Joi is his adpotive sister-of-sorts. Prior to joining Star Battleforce at the age of five, he always wanted a sister, and asked for Colonel XIao to grant him his wish, by visiting the headquarters of the Tyrell Corporation - the galaxy’s leading manufacturer in robotic assistants, in the Aquilla Sector, as Colonel Xiao had been long looking for a deputy. When Russell purchased his Joi, she was immediately welcomed to his family, all while running day-to-day operations on board the Destiny from that point on. Moose finds this very touching, and after Russell gives Moose the pink Sector Key for safety, leaves to see what the others are doing, and reminds him the runabout is parked near a convenience store, if he wants to head back home.
At Xibalba, Weave is stumbling the halls, and overhears Volstagg, Gazla, Z'Aezoth and the O'Neils reminiscing over the Arkeyan enslavement of earth. He enters' His Magnificence's throne room where Gazla welcomes him in, claiming that Volstagg was talking about him. Weave states that there are survivors rebuilding their communities on Earth, something which the senators, nor His Magnificence, take lightly; His Magnificence orders Weave to launch a final assault on the survivors, by eating their dreams, and contaminating them, as well as another O'Neil Brother - Norman, to escort him. Joi and Russell arrive back on the Destiny; on the bridge, Florian and Bronzee rejoice at Russell's arrival, and wonder where the others are, to which Russell says they're still looking for Weave. When asked about their opinion about Joi, Florian, referring to her as that "chick who picks up the Xiao-Xiao's litter", claims he wouldn't mind seeing how she'd fare, but Bronzee advises him to speak to Colonel Xiao, since he's the one who makes the big decisions, according to Ryan. Florian, however, wryly notes that Colonel Xiao had to take his leave to have some words with the council, so he'll have no chance. Russell, dejected, buys some cans, and arrives back at his lab, where Joi is stressed over the bad publicity she has received due to speculation she may become the Pink Ranger. Russell mentions he had those dreams on purpose, stating that he knew when he found that sector key, it was tailor-made for Joi, as she had a love for wild birds, and that she may not know it yet, but there is a will to fight somewhere in her programming. Enlightened, Joi thanks Russell for his encouragement, and decides to return to Earth to help the others. Back on Earth, the crew is at their base camp near Arthur's voyager, where Ryan is having trouble locating Arkeyans, while Bill finds another Uni-Controller container, which entices Arthur enough, as they have the Pink Sector Key, which Ryan notices is the Aquilla Sector Key. Suddenly, Russell communicates with Arthur other the radio, revealing that Joi has finally been convinced to join, and is on her way to assist them; when Arthur, a bit surprised about the revelation about Joi, brings up about the spare Uni-Controller, Russell orders Arthur to bring the Uni-Controller to her, while Ryan hopes Arthur knows what he's doing.
As Weave returns to devour more dreams, Arthur and the others push their way through the parents and morph. They take on the Roswells - while Arthur drops the Uni-Controller container, which Ryan picks up, while Weave sees Joi and remembers she had a huge dream, while Ryan steps in to protect her, and figures out Arthur was right as to what Russell told him, to which Joi replies that Russell gave her the confidence to fight on their side; he then gives her the container, which contains the Uni-Controller and the Aquilla Sector Key, and she morphs into Ranger Series Pink for the first time. After the the six rangers do a roll call, they fight together to take on the Roswells; back on the Destiny, the Saint Denis duo figure out that this was what Russell was talking about earlier. Russell, himself proud to see Joi finally fighting alongside the rangers. Joi takes the lead and has the Scope Sector Key and uses it to blow Weave's stomach open to release all the children’s dreams. The six rangers then then deliver an All-Star Sector Blast, but Weave pushes two Moonbillies in front of him to absorb the attack. Weave then hops into his A-Drone, which switches to battle mode, moments before Norman appears out of nowhere. While Megan takes on Norman, the rest of the rangers summon their Voyagers With Raptor for the first time, they form the Voyager Squad Megazord. As the other rangers, in the megazord, fight Weave, Megan and Norman fight, she questions him regarding Dimitri's whereabouts, but Norman claims it is confidential. After Joi and Ryan wear Weave down, the rangers then deliver a Universal Arrow Strike to destroy Weave and his A-Drone for good. However, Norman bests Megan and flees; when Megan reports this to them, Wild Bill is left fuming.
In the aftermath, on the Destiny's promenade, Russell, Arthur, the Saint Denis duo, and Moose are celebrating Joi's induction to the team. A short distance away, Megan is thinking about the human survivors' negative words towards them, and the way they view them as responsible for the near-destruction of humanity. She then tells Bill about what the O'Neils know about Dimitri and where he and Volstagg are; Wild Bill wants to confront all nine O'Neil brothers in person one day so they can pay for the role they played in laying waste to his home, but Megan thinks that they may be less of a priority for them for now, since they should not only focus on liberating as many sectors as they can, but attempt to either arrest Dimitri for his crimes - but realises Arthur may have a good point if he was to join them instead. Meanwhile, at Xibalba, Volstagg and Dimitri report to His Magnificence about the Star Battleforce Power Rangers being on Earth. His Magnificence orders them to kill the rangers before they find out the secret of Earth. Unbeknownst to Dimitri however, Volstagg appears to consider double-crossing Dimitri.
Cast[]
- N/A as Arthur Morgan (Star Battleforce Red)
- N/A as Megan Sawyer (Star Battleforce Green)
- N/A as Ryan Torres (Star Battleforce Yellow)
- N/A as Moose (Star Battleforce Black) (voice)
- N/A as Wild Bill (Star Battleforce Blue) (voice)
- N/A as Bronzee (Star Battleforce Gold) (voice) (unmorphed only)
- N/A as Florian Hebitsuvic (Star Battleforce Silver) (unmorphed only)
- N/A as Joi (Star Battleforce Pink) (voice)
- N/A as Dimitri Skorpirov (Star Battleforce Orange) (unmorphed only)
- N/A as Colonel Xiao Longbao (voice)
- N/A as Russell Cubowski
- N/A as His Magnificence (voice)
- Paul Harrop as Z'Aezoth (voice)
- N/A as Gazla (voice)
- N/A as Volstagg (voice)
- N/A as Dreamin' Weave (voice)
- N/A as Norman O'Neil (voice)
Sector Keys[]
- Ranger Series Red - Leo (Leo Voyager 1), Leo (All-Star Sector Blast)
- Ranger Series Orange - N/A
- Ranger Series Blue - Lupus (Lupus Voyager 3), Lupus (All-Star Sector Blast)
- Ranger Series Gold - N/A
- Ranger Series Black - Taurus (Taurus Voyager 5), Taurus (All-Star Sector Blast)
- Ranger Series Silver - N/A
- Ranger Series Green - Chameleon (Chameleon Voyager 7), Chameleon (All-Star Sector Blast)
- Ranger Series Pink - Scope, Aquilla (All-Star Sector Blast), Aquilla (Aquilla Voyager 8)
- Ranger Series Yellow - Dorado (Dorado Voyager 9), Crab, Dorado (All-Star Sector Blast)
Notes[]
- Voyager Squad Megazord Combinations:
- ◆◆◆◆◆
- The title of this episode is a reference to the 1991 animated film The Little Engine That Could.
- This episode reveals that Joi is Russell's adoptive sister.
- General Sawyer does not appear in this episode.
- Bronzee, Florian, and Dimitri do not appear morphed in this episode.
See also[]
- Space.4: Dreamy Android - Super Sentai counterpart in Kyuranger. (fight footage & story)
- Space.8: Secret of Commander Shou Ronpo - Super Sentai counterpart in Kyuranger. (Norman O'Neil's full debut)
