Hephaistion

For veteran Ranger fans, this series was the culmination of six years of an entire universe in itself. Following "Space", future seasons would be separate series in themselves, connected only to previous seasons by guest appearances of previous Rangers for one or two episodes.

"Space" was the final bow to the legacy of the early '90s. The powerless Turbo Rangers (minus Justin, gratefully) form the last continuous link to previous seasons by teaming up with Andros, who is by far one of the best written Red Rangers ever (aside from 'Whole Damn Show Tommy'). The brief appearance of a new Silver Ranger (a colour many fans had been waiting to see since Gold Zeo) added some new spice to the lineup.

But solid storywriting is what made this series come out on top. The writers were able to link the past with the present, give the villainess Astronema a deep connection to the Rangers instead of a paper cutout evil bitch role, and made viewers develop sympathy for both the good and evil sides. Spry and sweet Karone, once out of those ghastly coloured wigs, won the hearts of many fans as a villain of real substance who was worth turning good, akin only to Tommy. For a childrens' show it was an incredibly dark moment to see Karone manipulated into her cyborg form, no doubt a bow to the Borg of Star Trek, but still chilling.

The series also tied up all the loose ends of the past by reuniting all previous villains under a mastermind, Dark Specter, who not only desired to rule the universe but also bore vendetta against his own henchmen. The final episode arc saw the restoration of the universe and the elimination of all previous villains with one of the greatest sacrifices of the Ranger saga.

With the possible exception of "Time Force", no future Power Rangers series could ever rival "Space" in terms of depth or intrigue. With the Space Rangers left the legacy.

This prequel series to the Mortal Kombat games lasted one season.

Action is what drives series like these, and unfortunately, the main actors had such little experience in real martial arts training that stunt doubles were continually substituted (with the exception of Daniel Bernhardt, MATRIX RELOADED) and are visible in every sequence requiring acrobatic feats, except for Siro, who rarely flips.

The acting is medicore and the only ones who pull off memorable performances are: the handsome Paolo Montalban (CINDERELLA), whose quiet demeanour rarely gives him a chance to display full-fledged emotion; Adoni Maropis (SCORPION KING), whose reptilian but suave Quan Chi is the only convincing villain, and Kristanna Loken (TERMINATOR 3), who brings flair to Taja as much as she can. The rest of the actors need lessons in conveying emotion, but sadly the scripts are usually so awkward that this is never given the chance.

Masks, full-body outfits and hideous costumes disguise all stunt doubles (and there are many of them) so that you can easily pick out who has the real fighting expertise. This also applies to many of the male 'villains of the week'. Conversely, hardly ANY clothing is used on the female characters, adding insult to the misogynistic world that is the mythical city of Zhu Zin. I caught a glimpse of bare male torso about four times during the whole series, and the rest were scantily clad femme fatales in leather bikinis and cutoffs who would be cut to shreds in real fights for their outfits. Clearly, this series is geared towards diehard Mortal Kombat and action fans, whom the producers presume are largely heterosexual, homophobic, pubescent males. Male homoeroticism is suggested early on in the series but very quickly banished, while female homoeroticism abounds, including two characters (Kiri and Ankha) who spend their episodes doing little more than lying around in thongs giving each other massages, caressing each others' thighs and talking in suggestive innuendos.

The tried CGI effects round out MK CONQUEST, revealing its roots as a slipshod, half-hearted series thrown together in a hurry to make money off a popular name. It falls into the same vein as ANNIHILATION, the second MK movie which didn't come close to its well-crafted predecessor. The subplots within the series contribute little to the story fleshed out in the series of video games, bringing in popular fighters where available (Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Kitana and Quan Chi) while creating paper cutout supplementary villains (Qali, Mika, Master Cho and Kreeya). Even the finale's grim ending has absolutely no link to the official series whatsoever.

This is a sorry entry to the Mortal Kombat universe and its abrupt ending could be a mercy (hey, that's a finisher in the MK3 game!) blow. An MK fan, I watched the series as much as possible, but even I was grateful for its end. The producers should stick with their games, as the earnings from their successful titles over the last ten years ought to far outweigh the costs of this program.

Because this series pilot was never picked up, it was recycled into the storyline of the "Xena: Warrior Princess" fifth season episode "Lifeblood", which was rated one of the worst episodes of the series for its use of non-related footage to make up for lack of a plot.

Independently, "Amazon High" is an entertaining idea, combining elements of both the Hercules and Xena universes as it details the origins of the Amazon nation which was left unexplored on both series. For the choppy sequences that we receive, Selma Blair gives a good performance as the 20th century Cyane pulled back in time to lead the shattered Tretomlec tribe to its Amazonian glory. Danielle Cormack and Karl Urban, New Zealand actors who have collaborated on previous projects, also give brief but good performances, although Cormack's role as Samsara smacks too much of her Xena character Ephiny.

Plotwise, the story is a shameless recycling of "Back to the Future", and several of the sequences, particularly the initiation and the Spirit Dance, are notsomuch intriguing as goofy, the spirit kiss taking the cake. The battle sequences, though repetitive, are classic Xena-style girl-kicks-butt fights accompanied by a fantastic female choral piece by Joseph LoDuca.

I think the series did have a small chance of success, but with its emphasis on feminist willpower in a patriarchal world (the male characters are all made out to be vicious savages), it would probably have turned into what we've already seen before on Xena. Its replacement, "Cleopatra 2525", though combining the same plot elements but in a futuristic setting, was shortlived.

The Xena series is now over, so you probably won't get to see "Amazon High" unless it is re-released or a friend has a copy of the episode Lifeblood. It survives in the music track "Amazon Dance Party", available on the fifth Xena soundtrack, "Lyre Lyre Hearts on Fire".