The appeal of Tommy

[Tommy Hater]

Can someone explain to me just why so many people love and adore him? I just don't get the appeal?

[Blue Ranger Gone Bad]

Because a lot of people grew up watching the show with him. Tommy was the cool new kid who had all the cool weapons. Not to mention the Dragonzord. Also ypu had the whole soap Oprah around his powers. And JDF just had an alpha male on screen presence.

[Ranger Master]

Its hard to see why fans wouldn't like him in his debut run.

[Miki1988]

Here's my take on this:

When MMPR first came out, it was instantly a hit show. It's just that the producers weren't ready for what's to came back then as they were only set out to do Zyuranger stuff and end the show after 40 episodes. However, nobody counted on PR sticking for more than originally planned, so when it was decided to change the originally intended ending, Power Rangers BEING WITHOUT Tommy became a problem because the Green Ranger had all the good stuff and all the good fight scenes.

So when the fans got their way, season 1 was extended. But the fans also wanted Tommy back, so Saban had Zordon re-charge the powers. They wanted some more of the guy in the gold shield. Then MMPR got a 2nd season renewal and a movie deal and it became clear to the producers that the show was going to stick around some more. With "Green No More", the Green Ranger was done. So was Tommy. Then JDF did the pilot for what become VR Troopers (Cybertron) so fans, once again, wrote to Saban about wanting Tommy back.
So they ditched the actor that was supposed to be the White Ranger and brought Tommy back as White.

Now I don't know if all of the above is 100 % accurate (I might have left something out), but it looks like - at least to me - that the MMPR producers realized that they needed an already established character if they wanted to keep the show going for a longer period of time. JDF definitely left a big mark during his time as the Green Ranger on the show and a memorable character behind, so the producers just did what they had to do and built up upon what actually GLUED the show to the TV world and made it ultra recognizable - and that was Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver. So keeping the character in the show (and the actor) was the way of making sure that the show and the franchise stuck around.

[MattEmily]

Originally Posted by Miki1988

Here's my take on this:

When MMPR first came out, it was instantly a hit show. It's just that the producers weren't ready for what's to came back then as they were only set out to do Zyuranger stuff and end the show after 40 episodes. However, nobody counted on PR sticking for more than originally planned, so when it was decided to change the originally intended ending, Power Rangers BEING WITHOUT Tommy became a problem because the Green Ranger had all the good stuff and all the good fight scenes.

So when the fans got their way, season 1 was extended. But the fans also wanted Tommy back, so Saban had Zordon re-charge the powers. They wanted some more of the guy in the gold shield. Then MMPR got a 2nd season renewal and a movie deal and it became clear to the producers that the show was going to stick around some more. With "Green No More", the Green Ranger was done. So was Tommy. Then JDF did the pilot for what become VR Troopers (Cybertron) so fans, once again, wrote to Saban about wanting Tommy back.
So they ditched the actor that was supposed to be the White Ranger and brought Tommy back as White.

Now I don't know if all of the above is 100 % accurate (I might have left something out), but it looks like - at least to me - that the MMPR producers realized that they needed an already established character if they wanted to keep the show going for a longer period of time. JDF definitely left a big mark during his time as the Green Ranger on the show and a memorable character behind, so the producers just did what they had to do and built up upon what actually GLUED the show to the TV world and made it ultra recognizable - and that was Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver. So keeping the character in the show (and the actor) was the way of making sure that the show and the franchise stuck around.

basically based on what we know it's pretty accurate.
Fox Kids ordered 40 episodes. Saban shot an alternate ending closer to the Zyuranger finale in case the show crashed and burned but when it became a hit the network ordered 20 more episodes so Saban opted to go to Toei and Rainbow Productions for help since the Zyuranger footage was nearly exhausted they only had 2 Dora Monsters left so on Saban's paycheck Toei and Rainbow went to work on creating new monsters and filming them in the style of Zyuranger but then Saban decided to order Dairanger since he wanted new merchandise to market and yes that's indeed true in regards to Tommy.

[Zordon's Legacy Exposed]

Didn't the Cybertron pilot happen before "Return Of An Old Friend"?

[Goldar's Revenge]

Miki is mostly right . But the fan write in stuff and Cybertron happened before Tommy's first return. " Green No More " was meant as a write off for the Green Powers, not Tommy. Once they brought Tommy back, Jason Frank was brought back as a full timer. Who just had to transition to new powers.

There was supposedly a point where Brad Hawkens was in the running for White Ranger. But that came from Frank whose memory is known for not being very good. The timeline for that is more hazy. But Tommy was sticking around indefinitely by the Zyu 2 episodes.

[MattEmily]

Originally Posted by Zordon's Legacy Exposed

Didn't the Cybertron pilot happen before "Return Of An Old Friend"?

Originally Posted by Goldar's Revenge

Miki is mostly right . But the fan write in stuff and Cybertron happened before Tommy's first return. " Green No More " was meant as a write off for the Green Powers, not Tommy. Once they brought Tommy back, Jason Frank was brought back as a full timer. Who just had to transition to new powers.

There was supposedly a point where Brad Hawkens was in the running for White Ranger. But that came from Frank whose memory is known for not being very good. The timeline for that is more hazy. But Tommy was sticking around indefinitely by the Zyu 2 episodes.

not according to both JDF and Brad the Cybertron/VR Troopers stuff was in Season 2 of MMPR's production that's why Brad had been cast as the White Ranger but things had to be switched around because of kids starving themselves.

[Goldar's Revenge]

Originally Posted by MattEmily

not according to both JDF and Brad the Cybertron/VR Troopers stuff was in Season 2 of MMPR's production that's why Brad had been cast as the White Ranger but things had to be switched around because of kids starving themselves.

That is strange. Since it felt like JDF was already set to be a regular. I mean there wasn't a lot of time between " Green No More " and "White Light". Plus I thought the protest was for when he was written off in "Green Candle"

[Usagi Reborn]

People can dislike him. But you can't argue with how popular was and what he still means to the franchise today.