Originally recorded on May 21st and August 15th, 2023.
It’s time to Ranger Up with your hosts as they talk all things Power Rangers on the Four Eyed Radio Network with RANGER COMMAND POWER HOUR!
In newest Extra Episode, brought to you by our supporters on Patreon, Eric is joined by Theresa (@Thetgb17 & @thet_thinks) to review Anime Central 2023, which happened on May 19th-21st.
Anime Central (ACen) is the largest anime, manga and Japanese popular culture convention in Chicago and the Midwest. Anime Central started in 1998. As part of its mission, ACen brings fans together with guests from the Japanese and US sectors of the anime and manga industry, as well as gaming, cinema, and Asian culture personalities. The event includes a huge exhibit hall, a massive video game room, concerts, dances, educational panels and workshops, premiere screenings, autograph sessions, 24-hour video rooms, tabletop gaming and much, much more!
Then, Eric interviews Tony Oliver. Tony Oliver began his career over 40 years ago as an actor on stage and on camera, performing in several feature films and dozens of plays. He found success as a voice over artist, lending his voice to one of the first foreign made animated features to receive wide release (“The Sea Prince and the Fire Child”). His first foray into television was as the lead voice in the popular animated series “Robotech”. Following that, Tony turned his attention to writing and was soon working as a freelance writer on several cable series for children.
In 1988 he joined the staff of Saban Entertainment, story editing the long running Nickelodeon series “The Noozles”. He quickly rose through the ranks, producing, story editing and voice directing numerous broadcast and cable series as well as promotional pieces and sales presentations.
In 1992, Haim Saban (CEO of Saban Entertainment) asked Tony to help him and development executive Ellen Levy-Sarnoff create a new kind of children’s television show. The result was the mega children’s hit, the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers“. Tony not only served as the development producer but also wrote the pilot episode, produced the network presentation and story edited the first season. As Supervising Producer, Tony took on the additional responsibilities of writing, producing and directing the Power Rangers live appearances including the February 1994 appearance at Universal Studios, Hollywood, which drew an estimated 50,000 people on a single day.
In early 1994, Tony was named Supervising Producer of “Saban’s VR Troopers”. Later in the year he co-developed and wrote the script for the international sensation “Mighty Morphin Power Ranger – Live Tour“. He then spent several months in Sydney, Australia consulting on the 20th Century Fox summer release “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers – The Movie“. In 1995 Tony was named Co-Producer of “Power Rangers”. Following that he produced a number of short run series, PSA’s and specials for FOX Kids Network and Fox Family Channel.
Tony produced a Power Rangers retrospective special, which earned significant Saturday morning ratings among kids and was the top rated program on FOX Kids the day it aired. In 1999 Tony left Saban Entertainment but has continued to develop, produce, voice and direct numerous projects for TV, Film, and Video Games.
Bio from: https://animecons.com/guests/bio/905/tony-oliver
Listen now: Ranger Command Power Hour Extra Episode 093 – “Ranger Command at Anime Central 2023”
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Timestamps:
- 0:00:00 – Intro and Anime Central 2023 review
- 0:15:52 – Interview with Tony Oliver
- 0:34:08 – Social Media Plugs and Outro
Links mentioned in show:
