Last time, we saw the Rangers overcome their greatest obstacle to date, save the world once again, and vow to continue the fight against Rita and the forces of evil as long as they are needed. It was supposed to serve as the end of the series, and would've been a good closer. But the show's popularity prevented that, and after some wrangling with Toei for new footage, more episodes were created. Meaning that the last 20 episodes of this season are all probably filler. It goes all downhill from here, so let's get going.
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So we start off at the park during Angel Grove's annual "Adopt A Pet Day". I'd make a snide comment here about possibly shoving messages down our throats, but I don't see a downside to giving pets a happy home, so we'll just move on. Of course, our heroes are volunteering at this event, which leads them to meet an old lady with a pig. If you're surprised by this, you obviously didn't read the title of this episode. She overacts like a mofo as she begs the Rangers to help find a home for her pig Norman. Naturally, our heroes agree, though as expected, Kim is reluctant.
I probably should've mentioned that Zack was missing from the group. We find out that this is actually important, as we see him running to the park, late for the event. He sees the old lady from earlier, who turns out to be a Putty in disguise. More Putties arrive and gang up on Zack. Rita hints at what her new plan is as Zack fights off the Putties, and damn does he put up a good fight. I really like how the Rangers are now given the chance to show that they've improved with their fighting skills over time, and can actually hold their own against groups of Putties. After Zack takes them down, he finds some strange device that one of them was carrying, and immediately decides to take it to Billy. After all, he is their resident Nobel Prize worthy genius.
We go back to the group as they're finishing up, when Bulk and Skull come running towards them. They want a pet too, Bulk asking for something "cool and different". Which leads to him adopting Norman. He seems a little confused at first, but then actually seems happy. We see just how happy the next day at school, as Bulk is proudly showing off Norman to a group of people. We get a funny bit as Bulk tries to get Norman to do some tricks:
Bulk: Norman, roll over!
Norman: *ignores Bulk*
Bulk: ...Norman, play dead!
Norman: *grunts*
Bulk: ...Norman, stand there and ignore me!
Norman: *does so*
Bulk: See? Pretty smart, huh?
Awww, isn't that just adorable?
After some more hinting from Goldar, we move to Billy's garage as he and Trini fiddle around with the device Zack found. Billy explains that it's a device with a timer on it counting down to zero, though he doesn't know when that is or what it will do. Uh, why did no one think "OH SHIT BOMB"? Zack tells them about the Putty and they put two and two together and get Norman. They head to the school faster than Sonic the Hedgehog (seriously, Billy must live right beside the school, and near the second floor of it, no less), and meet up with Jason and Kim to explain further. Billy and Trini go back to the garage to tinker with the device more as the others go to look for Bulk and Skull.
Speaking of which, we cut to the Juice Bar where the duo is hanging out with Norman. A cute girl walks over and we get this exchange.
Girl: He's so cute. What's his name?
Skull: Bulk.
Bulk: Not me, you dolt, the pig!
What are you complaining about, Bulk? That's a perfect set-up!
Rita then uses her magic spell or whatever, and the device shuts off while Billy is working on it. Back at the Juice Bar, Ernie yells at Bulk and Skull for bringing a pig in, which just then turns into...the Pudgy Pig?! Are you serious?! They're re-using a monster! This is just...what?!
Look, it's one thing to bring back a whole army of monsters that you've used before, because the viewers focus more on the fact that there are so many of them. But reviving just one? I already know that we're going to be seeing new monsters soon enough, but if I hadn't known this ahead of time, I would not have high hopes for the episodes after this.
So anyway, everyone runs off as the Pudgy Pig does what he does best: eat any bit of food it can grab. It chases Bulk and Skull around, because the former is holding a sub, just as Zack walks in. The duo tries to talk sense into the Pig, but no luck. They, albeit reluctantly, feed the Pig the sub and run off, which disappears before Zack can pick a fight with it. Zack contacts Zordon and teleports to the Command Center, where the others are waiting.
Zordon suggests just destroying the Pudgy Pig like last time, but the Rangers explain that it's a real pig under Rita's spell. Zordon changes gears and tells the Rangers to just bring the Pig under control before it eats the world's food. I'd comment on Zordon's willingness to just kill it if it was a monster, but that would involve getting into a long, long paragraph, so let's just skip it. The Rangers morph and head out.
They meet up with the Pig and we get...the exact same fight scene from the original episode. Well, slightly worse, actually, since they have to add in new dialogue and cut out the bits of the Pig eating the Rangers' weapons. This is terrible. I'm going to assume they still needed to get the new footage, so they reused old stuff for a new episode to kill time. Using filler for filler. That's a new low. The Pig gets away and Zordon teleport the Rangers to its new location.
We learn that the Pig's return is only for a distraction, while Rita sends Goldar to destroy Angel Grove. Weeeeeak. Goldar goes giant while the Rangers look for the Pudgy Pig. I didn't comment on this in the last few episodes, but it is interesting to see the Ranger outfits used in non-Sentai scenes, if only for Saban's attempts at matching voices to the suit actors' movements. We find the Pig dancing around in a pigpen, and courting what's apparently a young female pig. I actually like how the Rangers are trying to hold in their laughter at this craziness. This does prove, as Billy puts it, that it is indeed Norman deep down, and not just another one of Rita's monsters. Since the Pig is more or less occupied, Zordon contacts the Rangers and tells them of Goldar's attack.
The Rangers teleport to the attack site as Scorpina and some Putties arrive. They fight for a bit, with Scorpina and the giant Goldar quickly getting the upper hand. The Rangers summon the DinoZords and form the MegaZord, as expected. The fight with Goldar is a nice back-and-forth fight, and worth watching if you aren't tired of this battle by now. Sadly, I am. They summon the Power Sword...oh, wait, it's the Mega Sword this week. Whatever. Of course, just as the MegaZord is about to finish Goldar off, he disappears, as always. Rita gets pissed at Goldar for running off, but Goldar promises he'll get 'em next time, Gadget! Uh, I mean...yeah.
Back on the farm...no, seriously, the Rangers run back to the farm, where the Pudgy Pig is still trying to get with the female pig. Billy tinkered with the device enough to reverse the transformation, turning the Pudgy Pig back to Norman. Kimberly finally warms up to him by saying that he and the female actually look cute together. The next day at school, Trini tells the group that the farmer who owns the farm Norman was at decided to adopt him, giving him the happy ending he deserves. Of course, the good feelings are soon gone, as it turns out Principal Douchelan is substituting for Ms. Appleby. Skull, your thoughts?
Skull: *mimes hanging himself*
My feelings exactly.
Douchelan, being a douche, says that he has a "live specimen" for their science class. If you guessed that said specimen was a pig, pat yourself on the back for not being an idiot. Bulk and Skull piss themselves and run for it, leaving the group laughing and ending the episode.
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This episode only further supports my theory that Saban wasn't ready to make new episodes, so they just threw something together while waiting. Just the fact that they re-used a monster and put little thought into how to use it is proof enough. I can't bring myself to like this episode, but I can't bring myself to hate it either. It has its moments here and there, enough to not make it a piece of crap. It's somewhere in the middle, which is what filler is supposed to be, I guess.
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