The latest incarnation of the Power Rangers franchise, Dino Thunder, continues with this second volume in the series.  Kira, Ethan, and Conner are the newest protectors of the planet, the Dino Thunder Rangers.  With the help of their science teacher, Dr. Tommy Oliver, they battle the evil Mesogog who is trying to obtain the power of the Dino Gems for his own evil purposes.
 
This volume starts off with the 500th episode of Power Rangers.  In honor of this achievement, they spend the episode presenting a history of the Power Rangers, with the emphasis on the role that Tommy played.    This is a nice episode, a fun trip down memory lane, and a good synopsis of the convoluted story of the Power Rangers (the US version at least.)

The next episode, Back in Black, is one of my children's favorite shows from this series.  Tommy has been kidnaped by Mesogog, and the new Dino Rangers have to rescue him.  In order to get into the villain's island fortress, the Rangers get some new wheels, Raptor Cycles!  They manage to fight their way in, and free Dr. Oliver who takes a large crystal with him as they escape.  Zeltrax follows the quartet and in the following battle the crystal takes an energy blast which causes it to explode.  In its place is another Dino Gem that chooses Tommy to be the Black Dino Ranger.  Tommy is back, and in costume again.

After the major events in the last episode, the show goes over to some monster-of-the-day episodes.  In Diva in Distress, Mesogog send a monster that drains the youth of the inhabitants of Reefside.  The first victim a pop star friend of Kira's.  In the next episode, Game On, Ethan gets absorbed trying to be the first person to beat a video game.  But when the monster Demagneton transports him inside the game, it's a little more excitement than he bargained for.

The last show on the DVD, Golden Boy, ends this volume on a high note.  Zeltrax decides that all the creatures that have attacked the Rangers have been inferior, so he enters the Geno-randomizer himself.  When he exits, he's exactly the same, but he's created an offspring, Golden Rod.  He sends his 'son' to attack and destroy Dr. Oliver.  But can even the offspring of Zeltrax defeat the Dino Rangers?  This was a fun episode, with the mystery surrounding Dr. Anton Mercer, growing deeper.

Overall this was a fun set of shows.

This DVD contains an ample five episodes.  The beginning and closing credits are shown once, at the beginning and ending of the disc, they are not shown between the episodes. The title of each show is left on, so it's very easy to tell where one episode ends and the next begins.

Audio:

The show is presented in surround sound. It sounds fairly average for a TV show. The levels of the rear speakers are pretty low, and are not used much. The explosions are not loud or booming, but the dialog is clear. There are English subtitles available.

Video:

Presented in full frame, as it was originally broadcast, the show looks all right. The entire disc had a slight grain to it, but it is not a major defect. The colors are not bright and vivid, nor are they muted. An average presentation.

Extras:

This disc includes a series of "Virtual Trading Cards." I have no idea how you are supposed to "trade" them. When you select this option on the extras menu, you are brought to a menu with a series of cards, six of which are highlighted and can be selected. Selecting a card enlarges it and shows you a looped scene of that Ranger or monster fighting. There are button below the scene that allows you to see their abilities, weapons and statistics. The text portion is very sparse often only a couple of words. I got the feeling that they wanted to include a low cost extra, and this is what they came up with.

There is also a masked person performing a kata in the Ninja Moves extra. The Sensei from Ninja Storm talks over it, (I have no idea why they didn't get Jason Frank to provide the narration) and you can select watching it in real time, or one move at a time. It didn't do much for me, and I can't really see anyone trying to ape the moves, which are pretty basic.

Final Thoughts:

This is a good Power Ranger series.  There is a lot of action, a good amount of humor, and an interesting background story.  My two sons (aged 8 and 12) really enjoyed this DVD, especially when Tommy became the Black Ranger.  While I wish that they would release these as season sets, I'm glad that they are apparently not releasing them as 'best-of' discs anymore.  Power Ranger fans should get their money's worth.  Recommended.