Jason David Frank | Geekscape

Watch ‘Sirens,’ the Failed TV Pilot Starring the Green Ranger and Fergie

by Eric FranciscoFebruary 16, 2015

What you’re about to see is nothing short of the greatest thing you will see all day, courtesy from our friends at Dan’s (Toku) Rants.

A failed TV pilot pitch, Sirens was to be a modern sci-fi/fantasy show similar to Buffy the Vampire Slayer but way more bizarre and awesome in the most ridiculous of ways. The premise? A trio of pop singers that are secretly mermaids THAT KNOW KARATE must stop an aquatic alien invasion. Have your eyeballs exploded from reading that sentence? Did you go into shock at “karate mermaids”? Just wait, because the pilot stars Brad Hawkins (VR Troopers, Richard Linklater’s Boyhood), Jason David Frank (“Tommy” from Power Rangers), and Fergie.

Yes, THAT Fergie.

You need to see this right now.

How this wasn’t picked up is beyond my comprehension.

Long before Fergie sang about her lovely lady humps, she was Stacy Ferguson in the R&B/pop group Wild Orchids. They were moderately successful: they released four studio albums, toured with *NSYNC and were named by US Weekly as the #18 Best Girl Group of all time in 2013. But at some point during the group’s lifespan, they almost went into television and Sirens was to be their ship. A little ironic, no?

The project was helmed by Power Rangers producers Doug Sloan and Ann Austen, which explains Frank and Hawkins’ involvement. For a particular brand of geek, seeing these two share a screen is downright fascinating: it’s the leader of the VR Troopers fighting the leader of the Power Rangers! And the Power Ranger is a bad guy! Seriously, if Sirens was picked up, everyone’s childhood hero could have had a run at being the ruthless, cocky muscle for a villain several notches below Lord Zedd. This is the real loss of Sirens. “Get the hell off my car!” could be the next meme in the Power Rangers fandom if this goes viral.

Also involved was renowned effects director Steve Wang. His work is on display with those creature designs. Wang is renowned in certain circles, and you’ve seen his work: He created the Predator. Elsewhere, Wang directed the cult classic Guyver 2: Dark Hero and the Emmy-winning series Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. You might think I’m kidding with that Emmy, but I’m not. He also directed one of the most popular and unique Power Rangers episodes of all time, “The Rescue Mission,” from the Lost Galaxy series.

The creation of Sirens is bizarre purely because of the talent involved. It was put together like any other show normally is, but the cross section of boys’ action TV and pre-teen/teen pop is unlike anything seen before and since. Imagine if the Marvel movies had a project involving Iggy Azalea. Who is it for? But hey, that was just Billy Clinton’s carefree ’90s.

Full disclosure: I have seen this before. In 2012, I went to No Pink Spandex Live! in New York City which was an intimate meet-and-greet with Jason David Frank. It was really cool being just inches to JDF, who at the time was just getting into the convention scene. At NPS Live, Frank provided a screening of this very pilot pitch, and for the life of me I wish I remembered more of what he said about it. There was nothing scandalous or controversial in the creation of this pilot, as I recall it was very run of the mill. It’s just noteworthy because of who’s in it. (Although I do recall Frank discussing a strained relationship after Sirens with Sloan and Austen, his Power Rangers producers.)

Sirens isn’t a secret, it’s just obscure of the highest order. Brad Hawkins, the male lead of this awesomely woman-dominated show, has talked about it in an episode of the Dan’s (Toku) Rants podcast:

“Yeah, Fergie. I was actually really excited about that. She was in a band called Wild Orchid … I just knew there were three hot chicks in this series and me and Jason get to fight a little bit and that’s kinda fun. But it was awesomely terrible, it really is. It’s terrible. But the girls did good. I mean we used the same stunt team from Power Rangers so it was a lot of spinning and kicking, martial arts and stuff. But it just didn’t get the green light and you know Fergie was so depressed she got in a band called the Black Eyed Peas and they just kinda made a zillion dollars and became super stars. So you know, it all worked out.”

The road less traveled will always be the road that fascinates me the most. I hold no delusions: even if Sirens was picked up, its strange premise would have cornered it and it could have been just as quickly forgotten and as obscure as VR Troopers is now. That’s not a knock on Brad or anybody from that show, because even Brad knows how little that show is remembered.

But Sirens remains a delightful anomaly. At the time Sirens was being produced, the audience for Power Rangers were growing up into their teens. At that age, all kids look for something darker, edgier and sexier, so Sirens could have had a real audience. It had all the action those kids were used to, but turned up a notch by virtue of just not being Power Rangers. It had beautiful women, so the puberty kickstarted by Pink and Yellow Rangers (and Kaitlin Hall, because come on, VR Troopers!) just goes into overdrive.

Probably most important, these were ass-kicking MERMAIDS. This was an action-heavy show starring girls whose target audience were probably girls right from the start! It’s honestly hard to tell that from the pilot, but akin to Buffy, Sirens had a magic formula that could have made it appealing across the youth demographic quadrants.

Also at the height of this era were pop bands, those boy and girl groups of yesteryear that dominated the charts. Clearly this show had no shortage of that. It’s so weird and goofy, but if it had the chance maybe Sirens really could have been big.

Who knows what other projects featuring similarly polarizing figures in pop culture have fallen by the wayside?

Even the Former Green/White Ranger Doesn’t Know Much About the ‘Power Rangers’ Movie

by Eric FranciscoJanuary 19, 2015

Every so often I’ll write a small throwaway line about the upcoming Power Rangers movie in any given news I post here. Because with every film that announces a release date in late 2016 or after, by then I will have seen a fully-realized, big-budget Power Rangers movie. A film that, I personally hope, stands to compete against DC, Marvel, and the big, noisy nostalgic tentpoles like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (It won’t, but just let me hope.)

It’s still so bizarre to me that the movie is happening. The way the franchise was handled by Saban and Disney past its heyday, it looked like Power Rangers could never have a place in the larger pop culture zeitgeist again, even when the nostalgia wave first hit with Transformers. It’s proof that I can never work as a psychic, because now you’ll see former Power Rangers stars in nearly every comic book convention, you can buy expensive, fully-articulated figures, the complete series on DVD, fanfilms, and now the looming big-budget movie.

As far as us peasant consumers go, we know nothing about the movie. It has two well-known writers, it had a well-known (and hate magnet) executive producer, and that’s it. No cast. No director. Who else doesn’t know much about the movie? Former Power Rangers star Jason David Frank, aka “Tommy,” the Green/White/Red/Red again/Black Ranger.

From a recent interview with comicbook.com:

The movie is definitely set for this year. Everything is in place. They won’t give me specific details because it’s all like hush-hush. Even me, I try. I email Saban and ask them kind of what you’re asking me, but they do feel that I’m going to be part of it, because they feel there’s no movie, at least, without me. The funny thing is, one way or another, whether it happens or it doesn’t, I’ve been great to Lionsgate and I’ve been loyal to Saban. It’s not like they owe me, but if I want to ask for a personal favor, I’ve invested into their emotional bank account. I feel like it’s fair to have that withdrawal with them, because I’ve done nothing but support them for the last 10 years, 20 years in fact.

So when that happens, I don’t need to cash in any favors. I believe it’s going to happen anyway, but when it does, I’ll keep my fans involved, but I will tell you it is being filmed this year.

I know that for a fact. It’s going to be great when it is.

Jason David Frank has become a polarizing figure amongst the Power Rangers fandom in recent years. Whether it’s because he blows up his Instagram so much or what he’s actually saying in those posts that creates his enemies. His effort to ride CM Punk’s coattail a few months ago didn’t help his image much either.

I still don’t know what to think about the movie. Am I excited? Yes. Do I hate being left out? Yes. I will work as the director’s towel boy if it means I can participate, but if I can’t then I’m more green with envy than Jason David Frank’s spandex.

We have nothing else to report about the movie, but we will for sure when we learn more. Believe me.

If you’re hungry for more Jason David Frank, you can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can even see him in Bat in the Sun’s Super Power Beat Down. After all that you should be like the gluttony victim in Seven.

CM Punk vs. Jason David Frank in UFC: Will It Happen?

by Eric FranciscoDecember 7, 2014

As you may have already heard, former WWE Superstar and disgruntled professional CM Punk will be joining the UFC in his debut match in 2015. While CM Punk isn’t the first professional wrestler to step inside the octagon, his history and personality are unlike anything the world of MMA has seen. He made this announcement last night at UFC 181.

After the announcement, Jason David Frank threw his name into the possible list of candidates. The internet has been abuzz over the possibility of seeing Frank — an iconic TV superhero from their childhood turned MMA fighter and Comic-Con staple — fight CM Punk, pro wrestling revolutionary who walked away from an illustrious career.

I tried to avoid writing about this story because of the absurdity and, let’s be honest, complete unlikeliness to occur, but something I read on Fox Sports completely changed my tune.

From Fox Sports:

UFC president Dana White stated on Saturday night that Brooks’ first fight will come against someone with equal footing in the fight game, most likely a fighter with one or two professional fights on their record.

Could CM Punk actually fight Jason David Frank in the UFC?

Let’s back up.

Who is Jason David Frank?

Jason David Frank practiced martial arts since childhood, and at 18 he used those talents to star in TV’s Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers on the FOX Kids network. He was the central character to the defining five-part episode, “Green With Evil” that introduced the evil Green Ranger, which I think alone cemented Power Rangers as the ’90s icon as it is fondly remembered today.

He had his own unique costume. He had his own unique weapon. He had his own unique giant robot. He had his own unique theme song. Twice.

Kids loved Power Rangers because of Tommy, and it was because of Tommy they loved Power Rangers. It was a feedback phenomenon that fueled each other to become the great merchandise machine of the early ’90s. But at the cusp of that success in season two, the Tommy character was to be written off. Jason David Frank was set to star in a brand-new series from Saban Entertainment, tentatively titled Cybertron. An adaptation of the Japanese series Metalder, the show was primed for Frank to star as a solo act. It was also to star in a minor role, I’m not kidding, Jamie Kennedy.

This is noteworthy because this was 1994, and not 2014 when you can influence consumer products with a single hashtag. In 1994, parents called in by the truckload, by the sheer thousands on behalf of their kids to keep Tommy on the show. The plans were quickly changed, with Tommy later becoming the equally iconic White Ranger and actor Brad Hawkins taking over Jason David Frank’s departed role. (Cybertron would later be retooled as VR Troopers, which at this time you can watch in its entirety on Netflix.) Frank did a total of five and a half seasons of Power Rangers, plus two Hollywood movies and two direct-to-video instructional karate videos that all kids had, all under the Power Rangers banner.

For a generation, he was a superhero.

In later years, Jason David Frank started his own chain of martial arts schools, Rising Sun Karate, across the country. In 2003, he was inducted into the World Karate Union Hall of Fame. By 2010, Frank would go on to a buzzworthy MMA career, with an undefeated amateur record at 4-0 and a professional record of 1-0. That is impressive, considering MMA did not become both the refined sport and phenomenon it is now until well into the mid-’00s. But after 2011, Frank was comfortable traveling to comic book conventions, selling off his name to 8×10’s, DVDs, and whatever new anniversary-edition toys Bandai releases. That’s not a knock on him: His age caught up with him, and if he can still maintain an undefeated record but still make a comfortable living selling his image, that’s not a bad business plan. Also, I know he’s well off because one look at his very active social media will tell you that.

http://instagram.com/p/vjxbJWjssy/?modal=true

Currently, Jason David Frank continues to operate his martial arts schools, has a YouTube reality series My Morphin’ Life (yes, really), and travels frequently visiting fans at conventions. He’s a mainstay at the Wizard World convention circuit, where he once met the man named CM Punk.

F5wD8 — CM Punk and Jason David Frank in 2012.

Who is CM Punk?

CM Punk, real name Phil Brooks, is a former professional wrestler who started in the backyards of Chicago to headlining sold-out arenas worldwide. He gained notoriety and crossover appeal — the first for pro wrestling since the days of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin — for letting his true feelings known about his employers on a crazy Monday night in June 2011. Disgruntled about his place in the hierarchy, CM Punk took a live microphone and unleashed a barrage of harsh words, “a lifetime’s worth of frustration” to a live audience in Las Vegas.

He would later hold the WWE Championship for an unprecedented 434 days. I was there for night one in Madison Square Garden.

For one moment, CM Punk defined a wrestling generation.

For a generation, CM Punk started a revolution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ms0DFxpptk

For the less-familiar it might come off like a guy who is just sour he wasn’t the star he thought he was, but longtime fans know how deserving CM Punk was at that time. He was legitimately the people’s choice, and the WWE refused to let that happen until Punk began to speak. Years removed and you will find people’s opinions change. Such is the inevitability of these things. The WWE-produced 2012 documentary, CM Punk: Best in the World, is required viewing (it’s pretty great) and will give you a complete understanding of who CM Punk is and was.

But just know: For a generation, Punk was a revolution.

In January 2014, CM Punk left the WWE without warning. He opened up his feelings about this in a much-talked about recently episode of Colt Cabana’s (also a friend and former WWE Superstar) Art of Wrestling podcast.

https://soundcloud.com/coltcabana/aow-226-cm-punk

Since leaving the WWE and the pro wrestling industry, CM Punk married, worked with Chris Hardwick’s The Nerdist, and is set to make his Marvel Comics writing debut with Thor Annual #1 early next year. Fans noted how happy and cheerful he was in these environments compared to the grouch he was during his time in the WWE.

And yes, CM Punk does have legitimate fight training. He is close friends with the Gracie family, the name in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He trained with them on and off during his wrestling career, and almost non-stop since he retired. Has he ever fought an MMA-sanctioned match? No. But I wouldn’t underestimate him either.

After making a second appearance on Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling, any potential of CM Punk returning to the WWE went from slim to now near impossible. And if you were to ask him, CM Punk probably wouldn’t mind. This past Sunday night, CM Punk showed up at UFC 181 to make his announcement.

Will CM Punk vs. Jason David Frank happen?

Nah.

Probably not.

For the last year and a half, Jason David Frank has egged CM Punk into fighting under MMA rules ever since some fans decided to make that dumb connection at Wizard World.

We are at a point, culturally, where worlds colliding happen more than ever by absurd circumstances. I remember in the early ’00s distinctly how much people blew up when Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Madonna performed at the MTV VMAs. Not that that was a pinnacle moment in our pop culture, but in the last decade we have gotten used to seeing strange bedfellows.

Jay and Silent Bob attended Degrassi. Freddy fought Jason. James Bond escorted the Queen to the Olympics. The fucking Avengers. The professional wrestling world above all, even more than comic book fans, should be used to these things. From the Invasion storyline of 2001 (where WCW and ECW wrestlers waged war with then-WWF stars, to mediocre results) to the Big Show fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr., it is now just kind of a thing to happen. People attending comic book conventions are used to fighting games which almost always feature a crossover character, so of course someone would bring up Jason David Frank fighting CM Punk like as if life was a video game. It’s not, but don’t tell them that.

Jason David Frank has milked the buzz for as long as he could. You could say it’s Jason David Frank trying raise his own stock — and again, I wouldn’t fault him for it, if I were him I totally, 100% would. He’s done everything from posting photoshops made by fans to creating his own ripoff t-shirts.

Weirdly, Frank’s efforts may have paid off. After reminding his 600,000+ Facebook followers, 98,000+ Instagram followers and however many watch his YouTube show about his desire to fight Punk for over a year and a half, it hit a fever pitch starting last night when Punk announced his intentions to step into the UFC octagon. As of now, social media is buzzing about the potential (I say that word cautiously) bout. People are actually picking up on the story now.

But will it ever be a story?

CM Punk, since meeting Frank at Wizard World, has largely ignored Frank’s taps on his shoulders. Beyond the Wizard World comment of “Yeah, sure, why not?” when asked if he’d fight Frank, there has been nothing but silence. No acknowledgement, no reference, no funny tweets. Speculatively, CM Punk simply does not see Jason David Frank as a legitimate competitor. Is it age? Is it Power Rangers? Is it fight experience?

The whole of UFC is eyeing CM Punk, thinking he isn’t one either. Once again, MMA has a wrassler who thinks he can fight. While Brock Lesnar bore the brunt of the “wrestlers can’t fight” paradigm and nearly shifted that whole by himself, there are still a lot of doubters against Punk. Many believe that he never earned his UFC slot, no matter how big his profile. But since the impossible has happened, he now needs a competitor on his level. And, despite odds, I don’t think Jason David Frank is that guy.

Jason David Frank’s MMA background more than qualifies him for a UFC debut alongside CM Punk, and decades of martial arts experience to prove otherwise, but people simply can’t get over the Power Rangers thing. Power Rangers occupies such a weird fucking place in our culture that the mere mention of it can spook people silly. I recall speaking to several Power Rangers actors at Power MorphiCon this year, and they told me about their struggle of finding work after the show when casting directors see it listed on their resume. Jason David Frank milks his Power Rangers past to financial benefit, but it may have killed his chances at earning legitimacy in the world of combat sports.

It’s unfair, for him and maybe for many of his fans, but I do not believe the UFC would like the absurdity of a TV actor fighting a wrestler in their arena. No matter their legitimate fight experience, Dana White isn’t the kind of guy to bill a fight purely for the LOLs. It sounds harsh, and as a fan of pro wrestling, martial arts, and yes, Power Rangers, I also know that Dana White is not a circus promoter.

So nah. It probably won’t happen.

I eagerly look forward to CM Punk’s first UFC fight next year and seeing Jason David Frank at Comic-Con.