Power Rangers: Once & Always' Deepest Easter Egg Requires An Explainer
The "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always" anniversary special is a pure treat for the fans. Unlike the previous crossover specials, which had the current generation of Rangers team up with older ones for some emergent threat, this special focuses solely on the first show — the titular Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and its two generations of Rangers that actually met and interacted 30 years ago. Because of this, "Once & Always" has the ability to go more specific in its references, and its loving tributes.
Indeed, this is a love letter to the franchise as a whole, as the script considers the entire canon of "Power Rangers," both the multiple iterations of the show — like Aisha and Adam now being part of the predecessors of Space Patrol Delta from "Power Rangers S.P.D." — to even the expanded canon like the mention of J.J. Oliver from the comics. That being said, the best Easter eggs are the ones that call back little moments from across the entire canon of the show, ones that simply make the special feel like part of a 30- year-old saga like bringing back hip-hop kido or the RadBug.
Case in point, what is arguably the smallest and deepest easter egg in "Once & Always," which requires either a full rewatch of the original "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" show, or an explainer. If you're too short on time for the former, fear not, because we're going to explain who the hell is Harvey Garvey.
RIP to a legend
Early in the special, a fight against Rita Repulsa breaks out in the Angel Grove cemetery on the anniversary of the murder of the Yellow Ranger Trini Kwan. The ensuing chaos leads to the Green, Red, and Pink Rangers getting captured by Rita's forces. Most importantly, one of Rita's monsters, RoboMinotaur — a new version of one of the very first monsters the rangers ever fought — busts up a gravestone which reads "HARVEY GARVEY 1953-2022."
First introduced way back in the season 2 episode "Lights, Camera, Action," Garvey was a talk show host who brought the Rangers to their very first live TV appearance to talk about the importance of education. In the episode, the Rangers' appearance gets cut short by one of Lord Zedd's minions, and they are called to duty. As for Garvey, he simply disappeared, never to be seen again.
Well, it seems Garvey passed away shortly before the events of "Once & Always" of unknown causes, but why dedicate an easter egg to a rather small character? Well, that's because Garvey is quite big in the world of "Power Rangers" — or at least the actor who portrays him is.
You see, Garvey is played by Kim Strauss, and even though he only ever appeared in the flesh once on the show, Strauss is a voice actor with several characters on the show, from Ninjor in "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" season three, to Scorpius, Decibat, and Teska in "Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy," and Jinxer in "Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue." Thankfully, the real Strauss is still alive and well, but he will sadly not be returning as Garvey any time soon.