Random Weird Rant: Nearly Everyone's First Pink Ranger Crush And Perhaps The Most Exploited Pink Ranger Actress?

 It's simply an overstatement to call Amy Jo Johnson as everyone's first love or not. In my case, it was with Michiko Makino from Chodenshi Bioman - back when the horrible English dub also named her Kimberly! Though, I ended up getting enamored with Kimberly's beauty for some time. I mean, I may dislike the Power Rangers franchise but I would always keep stating my bloated view that Kimberly is hotter than Mei. Sure, I'd still watch Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger over Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. I would confess that Kosoku Sentai Turboranger also makes me no longer want to rewatch Mighty Morphin'. I could talk about who could be ( in my view) was the most exploited pink ranger in history. In fact, that alone probably derailed her and her character of Kimberly.

I could remember how Mighty Morphin' in itself was probably the thing back then. It was the 1990s when Toei Ltd. legally gave the Krusty Krab Saban Entertainment the permission to use Japanese stock footage and mix it with the latter's fight scenes. It was supposed to end at 40 episodes but it became such a hit. Toei got greedy and decided to film 25 extra sets of footage to use until they all run out. Eventually, it resulted in messy editing of the "Zyu2" footage with the Dairanger footage when Lord Zedd arrived. I felt it was so unplanned like they could've introduced Lord Zedd shortly after episode 40 when Rita failed in her final mission. The whole show was supposed to have its finale but instead it went ON AND ON.

Season 2 was now full of issues behind-the-scenes (BTS). There were disputes between Saban Entertainment and Austin St. John, Walter Emmanuel Jones, and the late Thuy Trang. I felt the three of them wanted O-U-T because of the way the show went and presumably due to being underpaid. After some time, the three LEFT the show though Austin ironically came back every now and then. I felt Amy Jo wanted to leave to but was "too valuable" to leave. Amy Jo felt like the show icon so the staff decided to keep her around. She was kept for another season. However, I felt Amy Jo wasn't happy and I felt she was held against her will. Amy Jo was probably overworked, underpaid, and was used for easy money for the Krusty Krab. I guess she kept viewership high for some time. I confess I tend to watch the show only for HER. I feel like she was probably pissed off with how Kimberly got treated in "A Friend in Need" arc which introduced Saban's Mashed Rider. Eventually, she was able to get out of Season 3 to pursue her own thing. However, it wasn't without her doing the non-canon Mighty Morphin' movie and she somehow came back for the FAILED Power Rangers Turbo movie.

Amy Jo got free as a bird. I do have a silly speculation behind the stupid "Dear John" letter in Power Rangers Zeo. Later, it was confirmed that a deleted scene in Power Rangers Turbo had Jason and Kimberly kissing. IMHO, I think Mighty Morphin' missed the chances to come up with a Jason/Tommy/Kimberly love triangle. The "Dear John" letter felt as OOC as any amateur fanfic writer (and yup, I wrote a lot of OOC myself to feed my crazy imagination). I wonder if Amy Jo was actually offered to return and maybe they were planning to lay off Catherine Sutherland? However, Amy Jo refused which was probably why a deliberate dirty finger was written. However, Amy Jo made the right choice NOT to return because the Krusty Krab is no place for her already. She was doing better outside Power Rangers. It's like how I'm better off NOT watching Power Rangers.

I felt that every moment of her outside the Power Rangers franchise gave her better opportunities to grow. Chances that were diminished because Mighty Morphin' was treated more like a cash cow. I may hate to admit it that that while Kimberly is hotter than Mei from Zyuranger - Mei was given a proper introduction and exit. Rin from Gosei Sentai Dairanger was given a proper introduction and exit. Kimberly just ended up as a wasted character IMHO for that reason. In fact I confess that it's also how the franchise treated the character that made me back out. I even want to assume that Amy Jo's meeting with Reiko Chiba probably made her think about how the other actress had better opportunities after just one season. The fact she still shows up to such events is SOMETHING to think about though. 

It would be interesting that Amy Jo had some big roles in Felicity in the first three seasons and in Flashpoint from 2008-2012 - she did have a temporary leave due to her pregnancy. I did watch Flashpoint and I must confess she can DO BETTER than Reiko. Reiko didn't seem much after Toku unlike her "clone" Erina Nakayama. It was more entertaining to see her grow beyond the Power Rangers franchise which introduced her to the world of show business though she had theater experience. 

I felt like that somehow - Toei probably gave her a tribute in 2009 in the form of Mako Shiraishi in Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. I think that Toei also gave a tribute to Thuy in 2007 in the form of Ran Uzaki in Jyuken Sentai Gekiranger. I don't know how Rin Takanashi landed on her role as Mako. Though, like Amy Jo, Rin herself had some previous acting experience and she probably had theater experience too. I felt that Mako was an intentional tribute to Kimberly in many ways. Fortunately, unlike Kimberly, Mako stayed healthy during the crossover with Kamen Rider Decade. Rin was fortunate enough to have stayed a whole year with Shinkenger, came back from the Goseiger crossover, and then pursued an acting career and is still involved (in some way) even after her marriage in 2018. 

For me, I think this probably one of those times when I think that a good actress was wasted for three seasons. Until now, I still use the overextension of Mighty Morphin' as one of the many reasons why I ended up disliking Power Rangers even if Toei is also behind it.