Masked Rider (TV series)

Did You Know?

• Two VHS tapes were released in April 1996: 'Escape from Edenoi' and 'Super Gold'.
• In the United Kingdom, Maximum Entertainment released parts of the series on DVD in 2005.
• The Rangers made a guest appearance in the Masked Rider comic book adaptation from Marvel Comics.

Story

The series begins with Prince Dex escaping the Plague Patrol alongside a small group of Edenoite rebels. He heads for Earth, the next target of his sinister uncle Count Dregon, who has taken control of Edenoi after displacing Dex's grandfather King Lexian. King Lexian had given Dex the Masked Rider powers, which Dregon desires. Arriving on Earth in a massive crater, Dex is taken in by the Stewarts, a multi-racial family consisting of a white father and adopted daughter, an Asian wife, and their adopted African-American son. The addition of Dex is not noticed by anyone in the town of Leawood. Dex defends the town as Masked Rider from Count Dregon and his Insectivores. Edenoi was featured in Power Rangers as the planet where Alpha 5 was created by Lexian, though the continuity between the two series is unclear due to differences in origin stories. Dex was dispatched to Earth by his grandfather to prevent Dregon's takeover. The scene of Dex receiving his powers from King Lexian, which differs from the televised version, remains in the title sequence. Dex's armor later gains upgrades into Masked Rider Super Gold and Masked Rider Super Blue. Edenoites are descended from insects, a fact Dex is unaware humans are not. Edenoites possess telepathic abilities focused through a mind crystal on their foreheads.

Characters

Prince Dex, portrayed by Ted Jan Roberts, is an Edenoite hero and grandson of King Lexian. He is sent to Earth as Dex Stewart to stop his uncle Count Dregon. Dex can materialize a crystal on his forehead to transmit thoughts, scan, and sense danger, and has superhuman strength, speed, light wave generation, and telekinetic abilities. He transforms by shouting 'Ectophase Activate!'. Ferbus, portrayed by Verne Troyer and voiced by Paul Pistore, is Dex's furry bipedal alien pet with a beak. Ferbus has a big appetite and often gets into trouble. In the episode 'Pet Nappers', Nefaria states Ferbus' species is Monotomonax. The puppet was created by Chiodo Bros. Productions. Hal Stewart, portrayed by David Stenstrom, is Dex's adoptive Earth father, a full-time handyman and part-time inventor. His workspace is filled with junk and recycled parts. Hal invents useful items with Dex's help, including an alien detector alarm. He was once allergic to animal fur but developed a tolerance around Ferbus.

Production

Masked Rider was a co-production between Toei Company and Saban's Bugboy Productions. Although it adapted a Japanese series, it also functioned as a Power Rangers spinoff, featuring a much lighter tone than its source material. The show marked the first American appearances of Toei veterans Kenyūkai Ōno, who suited up as the Masked Rider, and unit director Michi Yamato. The series launched via a three-part Power Rangers episode titled "A Friend in Need" in September 1995, but Saban later reformatted the show to remove any direct links to the Rangers, who were never mentioned in the Masked Rider series itself. In May 2010, the copyright for the series was transferred from BVS Entertainment and ABC Children's Entertainment to Saban Capital Group.