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By Rick Bentley, The Fresno Bee, Calif. Aug. 30--PASADENA -- It's morphin' time! -- again. "The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," who exploded onto the children's television programming scene 17 years ago and instantly became a ratings and merchandising monster, are making a comeback. The program, a mix of action scenes from a Japanese series and new footage shot with American actors, followed the exploits of a handful of teens who would morph into brightly dressed heroes to fight weird creatures. An 18th season of the series is planned for Nickelodeon in 2011 and the original episodes will run on Nicktoons later this year. Fresno's Stewart St. John, a film and TV writer/director who graduated from San Joaquin Memorial High School in the early 1980s, was a big part of the show's early success. He wrote 30 of the original episodes and was the story editor the first season. Among his contributions was naming many of the characters and introducing the Green Ranger. St. John is certain another wave of "Morphin" mania is on the way. "I think the show is going to be just as big as it was that first year. It's obvious there are still plenty of fans," St. John says after speaking at the "Power Morphicon 2" convention last weekend. "Many of us were saying that we just can't believe what's happening with this whole 'Power Rangers' thing." Thousands of fans -- many dressed in the costumes of their favorite characters -- packed the Pasadena Convention Center to collect autographs, buy collectibles and share their passion for the Power Rangers. Toys based on the series go for as much as $200 and actual props carry price tags as high as $700. St. John says "Power Rangers" fans are as passionate and as knowledgeable as "Star Trek" or "Star Wars" enthusiasts. Chris Howell and his girlfriend, Laura Stinnett, drove 31 hours straight from Louisville, Ky. to attend the convention. Howell's dressed in an exact copy of the Green Ranger costume that he had made for $900. "I was not popular when I was a kid and the show was my escape," Howell says. "I just loved the show." The actors are amazed to see how much interest there is in the show. Tracy Lynn Cruz played the Yellow Ranger for three years appearing in "Power Rangers Turbo," "Power Rangers in Space" and "Power Rangers Lost Galaxy." "When 'Galaxy' ended I thought this was all over for me. I didn't know there was so many people still following it," Cruz says. "I had no idea about how much loyalty there was with the fans. When you see people here from as far away as England and Puerto Rico, it's very humbling."