`RANGERS' FIGHT WAR FOR GOOD

What exactly is "Power Rangers" about? Listen carefully.

The Power Rangers are involved in an age-old battle between the forces of good, led by Zordon, and the powers of evil, led by Lord Zedd and his evil underling Rita Repulsa.

Zordon enlists six California teen-agers through his robot, Alpha 5, and then Zordon trains them and gives them fighting machines modeled after dinosaurs and called Zords.

When called upon to save the Earth, these teens use their Power Coins to "morph" -- metamorphose -- into the familiar monochrome costumes and kick butt.

Just when parents have found nearly all the original series of toys, Lord Zedd became disgusted with Rita's lousy job of trying to destroy the earth. He shrank her, placed her in a cocoon and blasted her into space.

Assuming command, Zedd shot a bolt that jammed the Zords' controls. Since the Zords were then useless, Zordon presented each Power Ranger with a brand new Zord and parents with a brand new toy hunt.

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How did a Japanese children's show entitled "Zyn Rangers" morph into the No. 1 pre-adolescent obsession in America?

Credit -- or blame -- Haim Saban.

It was Saban, originally a music promoter in Israel, who thought up the idea of taking action sequences from the Japanese show, dubbing them with English (the Rangers wear masks; you can't see their lips), and interweaving the fights with new footage filmed in the United States with American actors.

He tried to sell the idea to the networks for eight years, but perhaps they were blinded by visions of Godzilla -- they said no. In the end, it took a former president of Marvel Comics -- Margaret Loesch, head of children's programming for Fox, -- to see the possibilities.