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Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue

Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue is the 8th season of the popular Power Rangers franchise, which began in 1993. This series (which bagan in 2000) focuses on five young adults who are chosen to become part of an elite rescue squad known as Lightspeed. Their mission is to stop evil demons from terrorizing the (fictional) California city of Mariner Bay. With this, they are each given special powers to morph into an incredible fighting force - and are henceforth known as the "Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue". Two episodes during this season revolve around the romance between the ocean-loving Blue Ranger, Chad Lee (Michael Chaturantabut) and a beautiful mermaid princess named Marina (Kamera Walton).

Marina makes her first appearance in the episode "Ocean Blue", where she immediately steals Chad's heart after rescuing him from an underwater rockslide near the Aquabase (the Rangers' headquarters). Little does she know that she is part of an evil plan set up by demon villainess Vypra, who plans to use the innocent mermaid as bait to kill Chad. Marina later returns in "Neptune's Daughter" (now granted the ability to temporarily walk on land). This time, she need Chad and the Power Rangers' help in retrieving her father, King Neptune's trident; which had been stolen by the demons in order to drain Mariner Bay's water supply. In both episodes, Chad and Marina's romance blooms, with such topics arising as to how they can continue their relationship in being from different worlds.

The overall plots of the two episodes are fairly good, and Chad and Marina's mermaid/human romance is very heartwarming. it is somewhat like your typical mermaid story - with a few twists and turns. It's not every day that you hear about a mermaid amongst a group of people in spandex fighting giant monsters! (This is one of the only exceptions.) Here, the mermaid is depicted as sweet, naive, and innocent - while also at times being helpless, and even a bit awkward. But through it all, Marina still remains a loveable character. As does Chad with his kind nature, bravery, and love of the ocean.

Though not as popular or groundbreaking as other Power Rangers episodes (such as the one following "Ocean Blue" - "Trakeena's Revenge"), this mermaid saga still remains a substantial fan favorite.