Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 26, 1994 TAG: 9411280031
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
"Ordinary teen-agers have been chosen to save the world from evil space aliens. Using special power morphins, the teens call on the spirits of the ancient dinosaurs and transform into incredible Power Rangers with the ability to summon the power zords. When all else fails, the power zords join together to form even-more-powerful battle machines. Will they be strong enough to save us from destruction?"
It's gripping stuff.
Especially to kids.
So it's no wonder the box - containing a plastic action figure of Jason, the red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger - was snatched up quickly by a Christmas shopper at the Christiansburg Kmart.
Just a couple of hours into the biggest shopping day of the year, the Power Ranger aisle at the Christiansburg Wal-Mart looked like the scene of one of the Power Rangers' better battles.
Power Ranger paraphernalia is the hot item this Christmas.
"Mutant" is out and "morphin" is in.
"Anything with a Power Ranger label on it sells," said Randy Austin, the toy department manager at the Christiansburg Kmart. "Toys come in fads, and Power Rangers are at the top right now."
While checking out some Power Ranger gear, Justin Reed, 9, of Blacksburg said the Power Rangers are better than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because "they're more like real life."
Another young fan who was too busy to waste time talking to a reporter said he likes Power Rangers because "they fight a lot."
And stores are fighting to keep Power Ranger merchandise in stock.
Austin said stores such as Kmart are at the mercy of companies that make the Power Ranger toys.
If a company doesn't make enough product to meet demand, then ...
"The companies that make the stuff have to be sick that they lost millions of dollars," said Charlotte Ball, who works in the pet department at the Christiansburg Wal-Mart.
Ball said she's taken more calls about Power Rangers than pets.
Most of the callers inquire about the availability of the hottest Power Ranger item: the white tigerzord - a robot warrior - that includes a white Power Ranger doll, Ball said.
People are losing their gourds over the zord, said Marcelle Hanauer, who works in the toy department at the Christiansburg store.
"People start pulling them out of the crates before we can even get them on the shelf," she said.
The story was the same at Toys-R-Us in Roanoke and at the Rose's Store in Rocky Mount.
"We sell out of those as soon as we get 'em," said Sheila Housman, toy department manager at Rose's.
Rose's had a special sale Friday on Power Ranger figures, with a limit of one per customer.
"There's been a steady stream of people buying them all day," Housman said late Friday afternoon.
Big T's Sports Cards & Supply at Crossroads Mall in Roanoke bought selected Power Ranger inventory and began selling it two months ago.
"I know how popular it is, and we wanted to fill a gap" so kids would have another place to find Power Ranger items, said Tracy Ramey, who works at Big T's. "It's an unbelievable phenomenon."
Ramey said Big T's had some white tigerzords, but they're gone now, too.
Power Ranger merchandise includes talking dolls, electric toothbrushes - even trash bags with the Power Ranger insignia.
The Power Ranger fad followed the popularity of a Saturday morning television show about six high school students who use special powers to morph - that is, transform themselves - into battle-ready warriors, known as zords. With frequent scenes of violence, the show has come under scrutiny from parents and television watchdog groups.
The show - which uses actors instead of animation - has been pulled off the air in parts of Canada.
But the criticism hasn't influenced the cash register.
Asked if she'd heard anything about the publicity, Hanauer laughed and said, "The only violence that I know about comes from the parents who are trying to buy some of this stuff."
One of those parents was Margaret Capps, who knew her 4-year-old son, Ryan, wanted anything and everything with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers emblazoned on it.
"I don't really like them," Capps said, clutching a bright red robe with the characters' emblem. "But clothes can be practical. It's one of the little things you get so they won't karate chop their little sister."
"Power Rangers make my life miserable," she said, "but they also make me real popular."
Staff writer Claudine Williams contributed to this report.
by CNB