[Androzani84]

New week, new reviews. Let?s go (especially since I?ll be short on time for reviews next week).

Timeranger Case File 24: Yellow and Sometimes Blue 30/07/2000

We open at Tomorrow Research, where Domon gets another email from his not-really-a-love-interest Honami, who recently prayed for him at a shrine to traffic safety (aka, the Carranger museum). He?s prevented from replying by a cleaning job. Elsewhere, Dolnero releases the Assaulter Borg, who was serving a 10 year sentence for a random rampage. And for some reason, Dolnero decides to put Gien in charge of managing his conduct.

As it turns out, Honami is at the place the Timerangers are cleaning, taking pictures of a politician running for election. The two groups notice each other and turn away nervously, with the heroes hiding their Chrono Changers, because they don?t realise she knows their faces, before leaving separately while she?s debating how to approach Ayase (who she thinks is TimeYellow). As luck would have it, Honami falls off her bike and breaks her ankle in front of Ayase?s van, requiring him to give her a lift (even as he insists she should go to a hospital). Her attempts at conversation go about as well as a conversation with Ayase can go, with her trying to get him to confess.

Ayase: Why am I babysitting Domon?s fan?

They then just happen to run into Borg, with Ayase giving the others an emergency call, before hastily exiting his van before it gets exploded. The others arrive and begin cutting through the Zenits, with Domon getting clingy when he learns that Ayase is with Honami. As Borg grumbles about how he hates the job he?s been given, Ayase bandages Honami?s ankle and tries to reassure her that TimeYellow will come? as Borg shoots in their direction while stating his desire to move from assault to murder.

Ayase escorts Honami through the ruined city, with her realising he might not be TimeYellow based on his grip. With little option, Ayase decides to equip? only to realise he lost his Chrono Changers in the explosion. So he instead acts as a distraction, Foghting Borg hand to hand, even if he does get overpowered. It?s then that Domon appears, seemingly confirming Honami?s fan theory, and giving Ayase a chance to get away. Elsewhere, the other three take care of the remaining Zenits, with Tatsuya getting more use out of the Assault Vector. But then they get overwhelmed by a second wave, much larger than the first. As Ayase retraces his steps, Domon begins to lose to Borg, with the latter wrecking a house to bring him out. Honami is distraught, until she sees Ayase run past and calls out "TimeYellow". This distracts Borg long enough for Ayase to find his Changer when Tatsuya calls it, and for Domon to recover and counterattack. But Honami is blasted into near unconsciousness, as she?s glad he?s ok.

Domon sets his unconscious pen pal aside before engaging Borg once again. Ayase hen joins in, who the pair using Accel Stop to hit Borg at high speeds. He then removes his seal to trigger a Rebound, with the others arriving in time to trigger a giant battle.

The Timerangers form Alpha to fight Borg, using the Virtual Boomerang technique to let Time Shadow use the Jiku Sword. They then combine into Shadow Alpha, which tanks Borg?s attacks, before using the Virtual Net and Blizzard Slash to recapture the criminal.

But despite this, there?s still 7 minutes left in the episode counting credits, so we cut to Honami being escorted away on Domon?s back into the sunset. Meanwhile, Dolnero uses his human disguise from a few episodes ago to buy all of Ooyama Town and sell it to a big shot CEO, with the profit being used for Dolnero?s real goal this week: using the destruction to buy the land for cheap and sell it off. Back with the heroes, Sion realises that Domon never replied to Honami, but he?s now not so sure about involving himself with her, and decides to go and hand out fliers. Ayase realises what might be happening, while Domon notes he?s not keen to get serious, since he?ll have to return to the 30th Century someday, and she?ll never see him again, to which Sion gives him a pep talk about valuing the time they have now. Elsewhere, Honami realises that if TimeYellow?s stopped sending emails, she might?ve been getting too close, though she has a strange feeling. The episode ends with the pair walking past each other.

Next time: The heroes confront each other, both figuratively and literally, in Timeranger Case File 25: Broken Trust.

Final thoughts: This was a pretty fast paced episode, but that?s not to the detriment of the episode. I?m finally feeling something for Honami, even if it is the starcrossed lovers plot after a fashion.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

And we?re back. I should hopefully have time to catch up over the next week. But if not, then at least I?m doing so this week. Here?s?

Time Force episode 13: Quantum Quest

Honestly I kinda don't really have a whole lot to say about this one.

It's just sort of a really fun episode all the way through, and serves it purpose of fully integrating our 6th Ranger into the cast.

There's plenty of solid character beats(heck, even Mr. Collins gets one), sewn amongst all the high energy action of the episode to keep things feeling fresh throughout. And the episode never once loses its brisk pace.

And really, that's kind of all you need for any given episode of Power Rangers to work. Not saying every single episode should have the exact same structure, but it's the sort of baseline formula that's just shown itself to work out time and time again. And if nothing else, Eric makes for a very unique side of the franchise.

Fun stuff.

[Androzani84]

Okay, I?ve got just enough time to get this review in before I take a trip away tomorrow. So here?s?

Time Force Episode 14: Clash for Control, Part 1

We start shortly after the last episode, with the villains fretting over this new Quantum Ranger guy.



But as Ransik points out, they might not have the Quantum Ranger powers, but they can still get the Q-Rex, which is 150 million years in the past (okay, but given the Morpher survived that long underground, then surely it?s associated Zord should also have survived. Unless whats about to happen creates a time loop). For that reason, they release Commandocon, since he?s capable of travelling through time.



Meanwhile, the Rangers meet with Eric as he?s done training, and he?s unusually happy to see them.



Despite their pleas, he makes clear that he?s keeping the Quantum Ranger powers, and has full intent to take the Q-Rex as well. As if on cue, a beam is fired into the sky, opening a vortex.



It?s Commandocon, preparing to head back in time for his mission. Eric prepares to give chase and we get to see his morphing sequence after the insta-change from last time.



He then summons this jet thing, which he got from? somewhere (Gotta sell those toys, I guess).



Before the TF-Eagle travels to the past, Wes jumps onboard for the ride.





The pair crash in the past, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth (and random fact, this is Dan Southworth?s favourite episode, since they were riffing on Land of the Lost, a show I am only vaguely familiar with).



After Wes disturbs some baby Tyrannosauri, their mother appears to chase the two Rangers (and the props used to play it are pretty good, except for the fact the fully body version clearly isn?t using its legs).





As Wes is knocked off a cliff, Eric actually cries out in concern (our first real hint he?s not a truly bad guy, methinks).



Eric then hides from the T-Rex inside a cave where it?s too small to reach into.



And conveniently, it comes with cave drawings showing that the Q-Rex is buried in a nearby volcano (Wait, who drew these? Human ancestors hadn?t evolved yet).



Meanwhile, Wes wakes up from having fallen off a cliff (dude must be made of steel. He wasn?t morphed or anything) and sees that the volcano is about to erupt.



Back in the present, the others are unable to find the two Reds within a radius of 40,000 millennia (4 million years). Meanwhile, Wes falls into a pit? which turns out to be a T-Rex footprint.



He then sights the Q-Rex making its way to a cave (so, he got to the volcano in record time then), and kicks Commandocon down when the latter shows up to claim it.



Wes morphs to battle Commandocon, and gets overwhelmed by Commandocon, who proceeds into the cave, wherein he brainwashes the Zord into obedience by firing a blue chip from his staff. Outside, Wes is unable to give chase because Eric shows up to stop him (#priorities).



As the two waste time fighting, Commandocon raises the Q-Rex from the Earth and orders it to travel to the present.



The two Rangers stop fighting when they see the portal begin to close now that both Commandocon and the Q-Rex have travelled back to the present.



The two subsequently make for the TF-Eagle before the portal closes. But get menaced by (stock footage of) a volcanic eruption (and the sound effects they apply really do little to enhance the mood, compared to other places where I?ve seen this stock footage).



Wes ends up falling into the CGI cracks in the ground.



Fortunately, this causes Eric to have a change of heart and save him. Unfortunately, Commandocon arrives back in the present to unleash his new toy.



As he sends it on a rampage, the two Reds return, with Eric dumping Wes (in the literal sense, not the way some people are probably thinking).



Eric finds that he?s unable to command the Q-Rex with his voice ID.



The episode ends with the Rangers powerless and Ransik?s group teleporting in to assert dominance. To be continued in part 2.

Final thoughts: I don?t really do these for first parts of multi parters, but what we got here was nice. An out of genre trip to Jurassic Park, some really high quality dinosaur miniatures (I can see why they had to move to New Zealand given the stated reason was inflating budget costs) and a bit of hidden depths to Eric get introduced.