Hello everyone. I hope everybody who is at Power Morphicon is having a good time. Obviously, I’m among the fans that couldn’t go. However, when there is a third PMC held in in California, I WILL be there. And also, the convention is not the only thing that falls on the weekend.

In fact, this is a very special day. A special day that would that probably would have been more tragic if not for the Saban purchase earlier this year. Of all the days that the Reversioned Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, with all its superfluous bell whistles and incorrect captions, chose to come to an end, it chose August 28th, 2010.

Seventeen years to the day (and for some lucky ABC affiliates, the time) that “Day of the Dumpster” aired on Fox Kids.

If it wasn’t for the sale, this day would have been the bookend for the Power Rangers.  It would have been our childhood’s end, the last vestiges of both Fox Kids and the pre-E/I Saturday morning lineup gone.  There would be no question that the celebration going down in Pasadena would be muted.  It would have been a wake for the 90′s icon, a funeral for franchise that was once the best-selling toy brand in North America.  The Power would be gone.

Instead, we celebrate only the end of a era and turn the page to a new chapter in Power Rangers history.  The Disney Era of Power Rangers for all it hits and four-letter word-inciting misses is now over.  In a little under a month, the classic episodes we love and cherish, along which Disney’s contributions will air in October in Nicktoons.  The cast for the 18th season are now in New Zealand, training for their addition which will air on Nickelodeon in February.

Instead of mourning the end, we look to a new beginning.  And with that, I say Happy Birthday, you (Mighty Morphin) Power Rangers.

Cue the Zeo ending guitar riff.

Bandai has posted a short blog post answering some questions about the current Mighty Morphin Reversioned toyline as well as when the theme and name of the new toyline will be revealed.  The fall line of the MMPR 2010 toys have been released to Walmart, Meijer and Toys ‘R’ Us locations across the US.  The post also goes into detail describing how the toyline gets planned, designed and produced.

The “bonus” question about the theme of the new season and toyline gives the date as “late 2010″ with the toys on shelves in conjunction with the new season’s premiere on Nickelodeon in 2011.

And now, the waiting game begins.  Bandai also announced itself as the main sponsor for Power Morphicon next weekend in Pasadena, CA.  Possible reveal on August 27?  August is a late 2010.

Another recent bit of production news involves where in Auckland will season 18 be filmed.  Correspondence from Rangerboard member RangerWisdom has revealed that this season will be filmed at Studio West, twenty minutes from downtown Auckland.  The studio was also the previous home for Disney-owned Ranger Productions from Power Rangers Ninja Storm until Operation Overdrive.

Obviously, a lot has happened since my last post and my first brief chronicle with the reversioned Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. For one thing, Dan Evans turned a fun, cheesy, awesome show into a less fun, cheesier, not-so-awesome show with the added special effects, labels and transitions. Secondly, like Power Rangers RPM, half the country was unable to see it, due the E/I requirement which left the non-E/I PR out to dry. After finding the reversioning would end on Labor Day weekend, the Power Rangers fanbase was in mourning.

And then, a second wind came. From the company that started it all.

Haim Saban’s repurchase of the Power Rangers franchise was a shock to everyone. And with the new deals made with Nickelodeon to air the new 40 episode season based on Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, the (unedited) re-airings of seasons 1-17 on Nicktoons, as well the intentions of DVD releases, online content and a third movie, Power Rangers may be in for a  second coming, following the footsteps of Transformers and the Marvel Universe in the past couple of years.

Personally,  I’m looking forward to what will be going down later this year starting from the reruns premiering in the fall to the new season coming in 2011.  Already we gotten the casting sides for this year with one thread on Rangerboard featuring what could be our new Rangers.   Who will don the spandex as Reese, Ava, Perry,  Baron, Sadie and Wesley?   What other plans do the people at Saban Brands and SCG Power Rangers LLC. have planned for the future of the Power? Will we finally see that third movie?  Will your blogger here finally have a site that lasts more than to two weeks?   Find out in the coming months as Valencia Road covers everything about Power Rangers season 18!