Masked Rider (TV series)

Masked Rider is a 1995 live action television series produced by Saban Entertainment and Toei Company, Ltd. It is an American adaptation of the 1988 Japanese television series "Kamen Rider Black RX", and also serves a spinoff of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers". It aired on Fox as part of the Fox Kids program block from September 16, 1995 to August 31, 1996 and then in syndication from September 9, 1996 to August 1997.
Story.
The series began with the main character, Prince Dex, escaping the Plague Patrol with a small group of Edenoite rebels. Dex for Earth, the next target of his sinister uncle Count Dregon, who ruled Edenoi with an iron fist after displacing Dex's grandfather King Lexian. King Lexian had given Dex the Masked Rider powers (where the powers came from is a mystery, although they have been kept for some time by Edenoi's champions), which Dregon desires for himself. Arriving on Earth in a massive crater, Dex finds himself in the care of the Stewarts, a multiracial family consisting of a white father and adopted daughter (named Hal and Molly respectively), an Asian wife (Barbara), and their adopted African-American son (Albee). The addition of an extra Stewart was not noticed by anyone (although, according to Albee, he and Molly are adopted) in Leawood, the town where the series took place in. Dex defends the town as Masked Rider from Count Dregon and his vicious Insectovores.
Edenoi was featured in "Power Rangers" as the planet where Alpha 5 was created by Lexian, the Edenoites' leader. (Although the continuity between "Masked Rider" and "Power Rangers" is unclear based on the differences in the origin story Dex tells the rangers compared to what is shown in "Masked Rider")
Dex was dispatched to Earth by his grandfather in order to keep Count Dregon from taking over it. The scene in which Dex is given his powers by King Lexian (a scene which differs from the televised version) remains in the title sequence, possibly one of the few remaining aspects of the original pilot.
Dex's Masked Rider armor was also eventually given upgrades to change into "Masked Rider Super Gold", a gold-and-black variation equipped with a powerful laser gun, the Ecto-Ray, and "Masked Rider Super Blue", a blue-red-and-grey variation with the power of liquified teleportation and a powerful sword, the Blue Saber.
Edenoites are descended from insects, instead of apes. Dex is not aware that humans did not evolve from insects (as he discovered in "Pet Nappers" where he gives a report about how humans evolved from insects). Edenoites also possess telepathic abilities that are focused through a gem on their foreheads called mind crystals, which can be hidden telepathically, though in times of stress can become visible. The gem is capable of focusing mental energy, as well as creating mental imagery that can be shared with others. Dex apparently possesses the knowledge needed to detoxify Leawood's rivers using solar-powered lasers.
Dex had a furry friend named Ferbus, a small bear/duck-like creature that followed him to Earth. Ferbus was kept hidden by Molly and Albee because Hal was allergic to fur. Ferbus is eventually revealed to the entire family during the course of the series.
Dex is a loquacious individual. In the first episode, Molly and Albee told him to speak like a regular person, and that he could learn how to do that by watching TV. Sadly, Dex misunderstood and spoke what words he heard in the way that he heard them.
Production.
The series is a co-production of Toei Company and Bugboy Productions. Though an adaptation of a Japanese series, the series is also a spinoff of the Power Rangers Franchise, and the series has a much lighter tone compared to the original version. The series also marks the first American debut of two Toei staff veterans, Kenyūkai Ōno (the suit actor for Masked Rider) and unit director Michi Yamato.
The show was launched with a 3-part "Power Rangers" episode, "A Friend in Need", with part 1 airing on September 2, 1995 and the other two airing on September 9. The Rangers themselves were never mentioned in the "Masked Rider" television series, however, as Saban reformatted the series to sever links with "Power Rangers". The Rangers did, however, make a guest appearance in "Masked Rider"'s short-lived comic book adaptation from Marvel Comics, as well as clips from "A Friend in Need" exclusive to the VHS release of the episode "Super Gold".
Like "Power Rangers" and "VR Troopers", "Masked Rider"'s battle and villain scenes, with few exceptions, were taken from Japanese stock footage – primarily "Kamen Rider Black RX", but also two Japanese "Kamen Rider" movies, "Kamen Rider ZO" and "Kamen Rider J". Robo Rider (episode "Super Gold") and the first form of Hydrasect ("Stranger from the North") were the only two of Count Dregon's Insectovores to appear in American footage throughout the show's run.
On May 7, 2010 the copyright for Masked Rider was transferred from BVS Entertainment and ABC Children's Entertainment to Saban Capital Group.
Home video releases.
In the U.S., two VHS tapes were released in April 1996: "Escape from Edenoi" and "Super Gold". Another VHS tape ("Ferbus' First Christmas") with a bonus episode ("Ferbus Maximus") was scheduled to be released, but was cancelled. In the United Kingdom, Maximum Entertainment released both parts of "Escape from Edenoi" and "License To Thrill" on DVD in 2005.
Reception.
Shinichi Moriyasu, the former president of Bandai stated that the series was a commercial flop in the United States, and said that sales of the toys were low.