In the 1990s, when Power Rangers was at its peak popularity in the United States, Dic Entertainment decided to throw their hat in the ring with a show with a rather long title of its own: Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters From Beverly Hills.
Set in Beverly Hills, California, the show centered on four teenagers chosen by an alien being called Nimbar to save the world from monsters, led by the villainous Emperor Gorganus, who seeks to control the Earth. Transforming into superpowered alter-egos, they take on various monsters and villains, all the while facing various supernatural plot-lines, like turning into a rat, switching bodies, and parallel realities where Zsa Zsa Gabor entered into politics.
10 It Wasn't Based On A Preexisting Show
Unlike Power Rangers, which often employed footage from the Japanese Super Sentai shows for the fight scenes, adding in original footage, usually produced in the United States or New Zealand, for the framing devices, this series mostly used original material. That said, the series was still likely inspired by the popularity of such shows.
Another attempt to produce a sentai-esque show in the West without using footage from a preexisting show that came out around this time was The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nóg, an Irish/American show based around Celtic mythology. Dic would also produce the similar Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad, which was itself based on Denkou Choujin Gridman.
9 There Were Likely Stunt Doubles, Though They Were Not Credited If They Were Used
Despite using original footage, much like with Power Rangers, it's believed two different sets of actors played the four main characters in their civilian forms and costumed aliases. One episode even had an in-joke about how much exercise the characters would need to "transform" without their powers.
Even though there were two sets of actors, the opening credits would credit the "civilian" actors alongside images of their character, transformed and untransformed, possibly to keep the illusion for younger viewers. Any stunt doubles were also left uncredited in the show's ending credits. Added to this, the transformed characters hid their faces with masks.
8 The Title Is Somewhat Misleading As Their Team Name Is Changed After The First Episode
While the main characters were presumably teenagers from California who fought evil aliens with the help of magical tattoos, the title itself seldom appeared in the show.
The group of teens is only called the "Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills" in the first episode. For most of the series proper, the team is actually called the "Galactic Sentinels."
7 The Sentinels Get Their Powers From Stars
The four Galactic Sentinels seem to base their alter-egos on constellations, which often doubled as characters from Greek mythology. Laurie becomes Scorpio the Scorpion, Gordon becomes Taurus the Bull, Drew becomes Centaurus the Centaur, and Swinton becomes Apollo, after the Greek god. Added to this, Drew's costume has the symbol of the constellation Sagittarius and Swinton's costume has the symbol of the constellation Aquarius.
Despite the names, the characters did not transform into literal animals or supernatural beings and were mostly defined by their different weapons. Laurie used a sword, Gordon used a staff, Drew used a battle axe, and Swinton had a double-bladed weapon.
6 They Could Also Fuse Together To Form The Knightron
When the heroes were almost defeated, they could also fuse together to form the powerful being, "Knightron." Fans of Power Rangers have compared the concept to Megazord. To accomplish this transformation, the Sentinels have to cross their hands in an interlocking square.
Knightron's powers are limited and so the characters tend to only use this form as a last resort. Added to this, conflicts between the four main characters could prevent them from completing the transformation.
5 There Were Other Sentinels But They Were Lost
There was also a fifth Sentinel, an alien being who goes by "Rick," with his supposed real name being unpronounceable, who draws power from Orion. He was given the tragic backstory of being the sole survivor of his planet and had also once been part of a group of four like the current protagonists, but his comrades were defeated by the villains. The loss of his loved ones caused Rick to be cold and distant, although he also served as a love interest for Drew.
Despite not being from Earth, Rick and his doomed teammates still drew their powers from constellations seen from the Earth's perspective. They were identified as Leo the Lion, Draco the Dragon, and Ursa the Great Bear.
4 The Show Relied On Recurring Villains
Unlike many Japanese tokusatsu shows, many of the monsters-of-the-day the heroes battled on the show were recurring threats. In the show's universe, the villains were capable of reconstructing the monsters, meaning they could even return after being defeated. Some of the more prominent monsters were Ninjabot, a samurai-like monster, and the Sorcerer, a masked wizard whose powers were implied to be an advanced form of science.
Fans suspect different reasons for this plot point. Some suspect it might have been because Western children were unfamiliar with a "monster-of-the-day" formula, which is more common in Japanese media, and expected there to be recurring villains. Others suspect that this was an attempt to save on resources, like costumes and hiring actors. That said, one episode poked fun at the trope: one villain nearly defeats the heroes by sending different monsters to attack, only to be recalled at the last second.
3 The Show Existed As A Parody Of Sorts Of Its Own Genre As It Often Poked Fun At Tropes
As mentioned, the show liked to poke fun at the nature of tokusatsu shows. Like many shows revolving around kid-heroes, the characters come from different cliques. Unlike similar shows, they openly dislike and insult each other because of their different personalities, and refer to having unseen friends off-screen. As mentioned, this is sometimes a plot point, as conflicts preventing them from fusing. One episode also had the team attempt to become friends, only to realize they simply just don't like each other by the end.
Added to that, background characters do seem slightly aware of the stranger happenings going on, especially when the Sentinels went missing. One two-parter actually revolved around Drew being sent to a psychiatrist after revealing the truth to her aunt.
2 It Was Put Back On The Air Years After Ending
Originally airing on USA Cartoon Express on USA Network from 1994 to 1995, the show surprisingly made a comeback in reruns a few decades later. From 2011 to 2012, it aired as part of Cookie Jar Toons on This TV.
The block was programmed by Canada's DHX Media, which had acquired programs from Dic Entertainment. It was notably one of the few live-action shows on the block.
1 It Was Mentioned In Dragon Ball Z Abridged
One reason the series has been remembered over the years is it getting a mention in the Dragon Ball Z Abridged web-series from Team Four Star. In the scene, Vegeta explains to Gohan that the plot is similar to a list of shows, from Power Rangers to Sailor Moon, which Gohan claims to have never seen until he finally mentions this show, which Gohan apparently recognizes. Due to the nature of the joke, many viewers unfamiliar with the show assumed the title was made up.
Added to this, Richard Nason once appeared on an episode of The Price Is Right as a contestant and actually brought up the show with Bob Barker.