Morphers, Monsters and Mayhem

Morphers, Monsters and Mayhem

What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? On this occasion, poet and storyteller Jim Hirtle sits down with Emmy-nominated writer and producer Douglas J. Sloan to talk about his book *Morphers, Monsters and Mayhem: My Travels Through the Power Rangers Galaxy* and the wild ride behind one of the biggest kids’ franchises in history. Rather than a dry industry chat, this conversation feels like swapping stories over coffee.

Doug explains how a forgotten script on a coffee table led to his first big break, and how a show everyone thought was "a terrible, piece of junk" suddenly had kids’ focus-group dials "all the way to the right and never left there." He recalls the shock of the Power Rangers mania, from jammed motorways to toy shortages, and admits he never believed his boss’s prediction: "Power Rangers… it's going to be an evergreen.

It's going to last forever." The episode also goes deep into personal cost and resilience. Doug talks openly about being fired from the show and how "everyone gets fired, everyone screws up, everyone loses their job at least once," yet careers and lives can grow from those low points. He shares tender memories of his friend Jason David Frank, the original Green Ranger, and the pain of seeing emotional struggles that, in the 1990s, nobody really talked about.

Jim and Doug then shift into the craft of storytelling: turning chaotic behind-the-scenes years into a book, balancing honesty with kindness, and wrestling with long word counts, repeated edits, and audiobook recording. They even wade into the heated debate around AI art and writing, bringing some grounded humour to a tense topic.

If you enjoy honest creative war stories, are curious how childhood heroes are made, or just need a reminder that setbacks don’t have to define you, this one’s worth your time. What unfinished chapter in your own life might be asking to be written next?