POWER RANGERS TIME FORCE Is a Well Crafted Soap Opera
Well, I just finished watching Power Rangers Time Force, adapted from Mirai Sentai Timeranger, recently. The season is one of the more popular ones and for good reason. I would say that it takes the dramatic approach from Lightspeed Rescue and kicks them up a notch. I mean, come on, you’ve got Jen trying to figure out which version of Jason Faunt she loves. If that’s not a soap opera, I’m not sure what is. So, shall we really dive in?
The core episodes of Time Force are really good for the most part. I do feel that there are some problems with it though since they do bring in that meddlesome device called time travel. The main story is that Jen, Lucas, Katie, and Trip are members of Time Force in the year 3000 and go against orders to chase the evil mutant Ransik back to the year 2001. Ransik’s goal is to destroy humanity in the past before Time Force is a thing that can stop him. Once in the past, the four members of Time Force find Wes, who looks exactly like Jen’s fiance whom Ransik just murdered in the year 3000. Turns out his DNA matches and he’s able to become the Red Ranger and allow the others to become the Pink, Blue, Yellow, and Green Rangers respectively. They defeat Ransik’s mutants and eventually capture him.
Let’s talk about Ransik first. His real motivation is basically, humans in the year 3000 don’t like mutants and treat them poorly so the humans are scum. Granted, I guess he’s not entirely wrong. I just wish that we were shown actual cases of this instead of just seeing him as a mutant hobo in flashbacks. We’re repeatedly told that he was mistreated and therefore humans must pay the price. It’s okay motivation, I just wish there had been a bit more of his case built up. It just feels too generic to me. However, Ransik is played by Vernon Wells (Mad Max 2) who does give a good performance.
Continuing with villains, I hate Nadira, Ransik’s daughter. She is just annoying and extremely shallow. She has no growth until the 3-part finale and because it happens so late, I’m really left even more annoyed. All she cares about for 90% of the season is shopping/stealing stuff like clothes and jewelry. Then, in the finale she helps a woman give birth (how does she know how to help?) and suddenly she’s questioning everything she’s ever thought about humans. While this can be the case, it felt rushed at the very end. I know I give Lost Galaxy crap and don’t like it very much, but Trakeena showed a lot of real growth over time and was easily one of the best parts of the season. Seeing such a downgrade is disappointing to me.
Frax is the final villain to really talk about. This is an interesting one. I found his personal story interesting with his hatred for Ransik after Ransik almost murdered Frax as a Human which led him to become a robot. He then joined Ransik with the plan of betraying him later down the road. What I don’t get is why we never really got the Frax vs Ransik bout that was building up. Frax eventually leaves Ransik’s side to do his own thing, but is then found before then and brought down to be reprogrammed. This creates some interesting moments for him when he sees Nadira trying to change and not hate. However, Frax’s whole thing is that he is wanting to bring down Ransik, yet is constantly helping him. I feel like it would’ve made more sense at this point to have Frax not use the X-Vault mutants that would be very helpful to Ransik, but rather keep seeing Ransik fail with the weaker mutants. Then, defeat Ransik when he’s weak after fighting the Rangers.
OK, so what’s going on with everything else? Well, the filler episodes range from really stupid and dull to fun but not great. I will admit that I actually do enjoy “Nadira’s Dream Date” although that’s mostly for the way that Ransik acts. Also, “Movie Madness” was a lot of fun to watch. “Beware the Knight” is an example of a terrible filler though. Also, the crossover episode was a bit of a mess in my opinion.
The big problem with the main story, meanwhile, is the use of time travel. First, I don’t think they do enough time travel in general. There should’ve been more of that. However, you also keep having the weird paradoxes of them traveling back in time to save the future, but they use the Back to the Future logic where changing the past changes the future. However, they then have no changes that we’re aware of actually happening in the future? The future is set in stone, but they can still alter it? It doesn’t make a lot of sense. That being said, the overall writing, directing, and even acting are really good, especially for a Power Rangers season.
Another thing I don’t really like is that Alex somehow survived Ransik’s attack, to then become like the head of the Time Force operations with the Rangers. However, it seems at first that he’s having to act in the shadows and secretively with people not knowing that he is still alive and doing things, but then the Time Force captain acts like Alex is the one in charge. That was a bit of a disconnect. This is also all ignoring the fact that Alex is a tool.
Eric is another character I don’t like. He’s just a jerk, and they wait until the finale to actually explain what his motivation is. Throughout the season we see him putting on this stubborn and tough act while still (almost) always doing the right thing in the end. We could have and should have learned his motivation way earlier in my opinion without cramming it in with everything else happening in the finale.
OK, let’s stop being negative and go positive. I’ve already talked about how I enjoyed the core storyline, some filler episodes, and a lot of the acting. Well, I do also appreciate that the Megazord has two different modes. I like it when Megazords are versatile like that. I also love that their secret base is in a clock tower. That’s very on the nose and I love it. Another thing I really appreciated was that the Rangers were secret, but there were people who knew, like Eric and Wes’s dad (played by Edward Laurence Albert who gives possibly the best performance of the entire season). This gives the Rangers a little more freedom in some areas as far as what can be said/done but still restricted to help create drama. It’s also a way to help Mr. Collins undergo some serious character development throughout the season.
The finale, “The End of Time,” is pretty good as well. I don’t think it’s as good as some other finales due to the fact that it decides to cram in Eric’s motivation, Nadira’s whole character arc, and some big battles. However, I did really like the way that Wes and Eric team up and they become the last standing forces for humanity for a while. It really adds to the drama and makes sense. They’re the only Rangers from the year 2001 and they’re not going down without a fight. Of course, the other Time Force Rangers come back from the future to help them, but then they really struggle against Ransik, who only surrenders after hurting Nadira who’s trying to protect a human baby. It’s pretty cheesy.
Oh, also, the clip show wasn’t super dumb for once! That’s right, there’s a clip show episode, but when they’re not showing clips (which they keep to a minimum), they’re advancing the plot! It’s a miracle! I actually enjoyed “A Calm Before the Storm” because it was setting up “The End of Time” beautifully while doing a freaking clip show! Why couldn’t previous seasons be this smart?
If I had to pinpoint a theme for Time Force, it would once again be about destiny. However, instead of Lost Galaxy’s theme of fulfilling one’s destiny, Time Force is about creating your own destiny. Wes is constantly told that he can’t change destiny, but at every turn he and the other Rangers end up doing just that. They even inspire Alex to bend the rules and change history a little (see my earlier complaint about time travel not working well).
All in all, I did enjoy watching Time Force. It was fun to revisit after almost 20 years. Sure it has its flaws, but it does have quite a lot of positive things going on for it. While it’s not my favorite, I do understand why so many fans have it so close to their hearts.
Current Power Rangers Ranking:
Power Rangers In Space
Power Rangers Zeo
Power Rangers Time Force
Power Rangers Beast Morphers Season 1
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 3
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 2
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 1
Power Rangers S.P.D.
Power Rangers Turbo
Power Rangers Lost Galaxy