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TokuNation
(https://www.tokunation.com/forums/index.php)
- Tokusatsu Show Discussion
(https://www.tokunation.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=20)
- - Androzani?s Compare and Contrast: Mirai Sentai Timeranger vs Power Rangers Time Force
(https://www.tokunation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99761)
Androzani?s Compare and Contrast: Mirai Sentai Timeranger vs Power Rangers Time Force
So I’m doing a watch thread again, after 5 years, with the same rules as last time (ie. The episode will have no photos of there are no new toys or developments and you?ll have to settle for reading a synopsis). But this time, there’s a twist.
Inspired by LittleKuriboh’s Super Kuriboh Time video series (in which the eponymous YouTuber reviews both Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger and Mighty Morphin? Power Rangers simultaneously), I’ll be doing two reviews a week. One for an episode of Mirai Sentai Timeranger and one for an episode of Power Rangers Time Force. Though there will be a period where I only do the former, as a measure to make sure both series finish at the same time. I may need some help acquiring screenshots for Power Rangers though. Not because I can?t find the episodes, but because gathering screenshots for one episode is hard enough. So I?d appreciate the help in lightening my load. As for what subs I’m using for the former series, since Shot Factory doesn?t distribute Sentai in the Uk, and Over-Time’s videos are mkvs, which won’t play on my iPad, I?ll be using TV-Nihon for Timeranger. Watch out for the reviews of both episodes soon enough. Since I don?t have a good teaser image to end this on, I?ll just end his first post with Timeranger?s opening narration. “People from the future of the year 3000 meet a man from the present in order to forge a new destiny.” And due to the forum’s coding issues, the thread title is now stuck with a question mark instead of an apostrophe. Seriously guys, it’s been 5 years since this problem began recurring. At least give us the option to edit thread titles. |
I'm always down for Power Rangers content.
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Great start. Timeranger is one of the top three Super Sentai shows for me. And Time Force, more or less, ranks right up there in Power Rangers. I'll be following this thread with interest.
P.S. This might just be my headcanon, but it makes much more sense to compare MMPR to Turboranger, then Zyuranger. Yes, the costumes are different and there's no official connection, but the plot is much more similar. |
Timeranger Case File 1: Fugitives from Time, 13/02/2000
Starting off with the one I’m going to need more screenshots for. We open on a little girl playing in the park, as doves fly by. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4DsLW...jpg&name=small Captions inform us that the date is the 13th of February, and the year is 3000 (oh good, I’ll be getting ready for my 1000th birthday by then). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4DsVW...jpg&name=small As a narrator tells us by that point, humanity has travelled to space, met alien life and has recently invented the Time Machine, we cut to the offices of the Time Protection Bureau. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4DsKW...jpg&name=small The Captain, Ryuya, addresses a crowd of new recruits, informing them that the TPB was set up in response to an accident 10 years ago to monitor and prevent unauthorised use of time travel. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4EfZX...jpg&name=small Elsewhere, at Londar Prison (the name being a play on the English word “launder”), Don Dolnero (a play on dollar and dohneiro, the Spanish word for money) is led into the building by armed guards. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4EfcX...jpg&name=small Inside, second class criminal D.D Ladis is sentenced to freeze-compression - that is, being transformed into a 5 inch doll and placed in a cryogenic capsule. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4EfUW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4EfVX...jpg&name=small Back at the TPB, new recruit Domon tries his luck with Yuri, the sole female human from the rest of the class, and gets turned down. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4FO2W...jpg&name=small Fellow new recruit Ayase then offers Domon some advice on how he could ever get a girl. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4FO8X...jpg&name=small But before Domon can turn to violence, fellow new recruit Sion recognises him as a former pro-fighter (evidently, some form of futuristic wrestler or boxer) and asks for an autograph (glad to know pens are still used in the future). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4FO2W...jpg&name=small Back at the prison, Dolnero is fitted with a sticker on his thigh, as the guard in charge of the freeze-compression machine mocks him. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4FO3X...jpg&name=small He states that for his crimes, Dolnero has been sentenced to spend 1000 years in freeze-compression. But the other guard knocks the main one out before the sentence can be carried out, revealing himself to by Dolnero’s right hand robot, Gien (a play on yen and the Japanese word for “donations”), who has been working on a scheme involving time travelling to evade the law. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4GA9W...jpg&name=small Noting that they’re waiting for their ally Lila (a play on liera, the official currency of Turkey) to do her part, the pair proceed to beat up the guards that enter to detain them (one of whom is a robot, that Dolnero lays out with one punch). Meanwhile, back at the TPB, Sion is watching an instructional video. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4GA8X...jpg&name=small The class gets interrupted from their break as an operator reports on the situation, thanks to an alert from their sister service, the Intercity Police. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4GzkW...jpg&name=small Ryuya visits the class in person, and against the advice of his superiors, recruits Ayase, Sion and Domon to capture them as they head back in time. Before he can select a fifth person, Yuri volunteers. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4GzgX...jpg&name=small The group learn that Dolnero will be heading for the year 2000, and board the time ship Igrec (the etymology of which eludes me). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4GzlW...jpg&name=small Inside, the group pick out suitable clothes, as they get decontaminated for microbes discovered since then and a computer injects relevant information into their brains. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4HiOX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4HieW...jpg&name=small They then take their seats, and after a computerised warning to focus on their mission, a giant robot named Providus prepares to slingshot them into the past with a punch (no, really). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4HiHW...jpg&name=small The new recruits then meet their co-pilot. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4IQLX...jpg&name=small Igrec is then launched into the Time Gate by Providus… only for the Londar Prison to appear on the runway, resulting in a collision. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4IQKX...jpg&name=small As a result, the ship ends up crashing on a beach on the other side of the portal. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4IQSX...jpg&name=small Once everyone recovers, Ryuya disables Tock and then beats up Ayase, Sion and Domon, only for Yuri to subdue him, revealing her true identity. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4IQVX...jpg&name=small She explains that the Intercity Police caught wind that Dolnero would try to escape to the past using the Time Protection Bureau’s resources, so she was sent undercover to find and stop the plan. Unfortunately, Ryuya is revealed to be Lila in disguise, who subdues the group. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4JDVW...jpg&name=small Lila then meets up with Dolnero and Gien, who crashed in the woods and subsequently assumed they landed in an even more primitive era than what they were aiming for. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4JDfX...jpg&name=small Back aboard Igrec, as the self-destruct Lila set counts down, Sion is able to use his robotic skills to repair Tock. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4JDYX...jpg&name=small But it’s too little, too late. The ship explodes, with the fireball being witnessed by a jogger, who heads over to help. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4JyIX...jpg&name=small Once at the beach, he finds that everyone is alright (indeed, the only thing the explosion seems to have destroyed other than the ship is their bonds), and they see that he has the same face as the Captain. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4JyFW...jpg&name=small Back at the prison, Gien unveils his new creation, a set of bolts that transform into junk droids known as Zenits (a play on… look, you probably get the whole money naming theme by now), with which Dolnero embarks on a crime wave. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4KgKW...jpg&name=small And as for our heroes? They’ve tied their would-be rescuer up, assuming him to be Lila, come back to finish the job. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4KelX...jpg&name=small His lack of knowledge of what they’re talking about convinces Domon, who proves he's not quite the dumbass Casanova wannabe we saw earlier and concludes that Tatsuya is the Captain’s ancestor. But then Tock interrupts to inform them of Dolnero’s robot parade, prompting Yuri to open the equipment box (that luckily enough survived the total destruction of the ship without a scratch), revealing 5 Chrono Changers and the Time Flier. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4LQ9W...jpg&name=small Tock talks her through using the Chrono Changers (essentially, they can equip the Time Suits and become Timerangers by simply saying “Chrono Changer”)… but there’s a drawback: The 5 Chrono Changers can only be activated simultaneously with all 5 at once. And so, Yuri recruits a reluctant Tatsuya to help by pointing out the damage and destruction that will happen if he doesn't help. And thus, we get our transformation for the season. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4L-cX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4L-bW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4L-cX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4L-jW...jpg&name=small Yuri then enlarges the Time Flier so they can ride it into the city (it’s basically an equivalent to the motorcycles previous Sentai used). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4MttX...jpg&name=small They land in front of Dolnero’s gang, and Yuri gives him a short and to the point speech. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4MtwW...jpg&name=small A fight then breaks out between the Timerangers and the Zenits, with the heroes quickly getting the upper hand. And then, at Tock’s instructions, they use Chrono Access to summon weapons, with Yuri, Tatsuya and Ayase wielding the Vector Harley, Domon wielding the VolVulcan and Sion wielding the VolPulsar (and since I never clarified who was who, Tatsuya is TimeRed, Ayase is TimeBlue, Domon is TimeYellow and Sion is TimeGreen). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4MtyW...jpg&name=small Dolnero?s trio then joins the fray, with Dolnero attacking by… farting. Yeah. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4MtxX...jpg&name=small But our heroes prevail, and Yuri finishes the villains off with the Vector End: Beat 6 attack. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4NfkW...jpg&name=small Unfortunately, they all survive. Fortunately, Dolnero decides to withdraw for today. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4NfkW...jpg&name=small With the day saved, Tatsuya is left wondering what the hell is going on (I don’t blame him. No-one’s told him anything). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4NfpW...jpg&name=small And then the episode gets bookended with a shot of a dove flying by. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9u4NfjX...jpg&name=small Final thoughts: For a first episode, there’s a lot happening here. Granted, that’s probably because they spend much of it on world-building, and less so on giving the characters some development. At most, we’ve got that Yuri is an undercover cop, Domon is a former wrestler and Sion’s good with machines. Tatsuya is your standard Kobayashi protagonist and we don’t have much for Ayase yet. And the villains seem fun enough, but they’re also stuck with this being the first episode, and not having much to go on. Join me later in the week for the Time Force debut. |
Time Force: Force from the Future, Part 1
(I know it’s the opposite case for long time viewers, but as someone who grew up on the Disney era, that title reminds me of the Omega Ranger’s introduction) Anyway, on with what some of you are here for… We open in the year 3000, with some narration. Only here, the narrator talks about how a peacekeeping group known as Time Force has eradicated all crime from the world (which actually seems impossible). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sIV1bX...pg&name=medium Well, all except Ransik, played by the Road Warrior himself, Vernon Wells (how Saban and/or Koichi Sakamoto got a guy of his calibre to do Power Rangers, is a mystery I may never know the answer to). Ransik has a thing that will allow him to conquer the world by travelling back to before Time Force existed and conquering it then. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sIV1WX...pg&name=medium But before he can use it, he gets accosted by Time Force’s Red Ranger, Alex, who engages him in battle in order to arrest him. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sIV1eW...pg&name=medium In the midst of the battle, Ransik reveals the ability to generate and pull bone swords out of his legs (I imagine he must have some kind of fast acting healing factor to be able to walk after that without any inconvenience) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sIV1fW...pg&name=medium As the fight goes on, Alex’s girlfriend Jen arrives, unaware of what's going on. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sIWvTW...pg&name=medium But her worry turns out to be for nothing, as Alex emerges from the building with Ransik and his device in custody. He then hands the latter over to his superior, Captain Logan, with the two of them discussing how bad it would have been if Ransik had used it. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sIWviX...pg&name=medium At least a few hours later (it’s not made clear how much time has passed, but one would assume they’d put some time in to arrange things), Ransik goes before the courts, sending a meaningful look to a pink haired witness (who the opening credits identify as Nadira). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sIlreW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sIlrjX...jpg&name=small In the stands, Time Force officers Katie and Lucas provide a Greek chorus to the proceedings, with the former hoping Ransik gets put away, while the latter cynically notes that they might let him off (which is probably the most realistic thing about this future so far). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sIlrhX...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, their fellow officer Trip tries to get his robot owl Circuit (who is the same prop as Tock, but their characterisations are different. Tock is the wise old owl archetype, while Circuit is more of an Alpha 6-esque little brother) a good view of the proceedings. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sIlrlX...jpg&name=small Elsewhere, just before the recess ends, Alex decides that now he and Jen are out of a job with Ransik and his Mutants (great name for a rock band) behind bars, that he’s upgrading her from girlfriend to fianc?e. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sI_uFX...jpg&name=small The judges appear via hologram to announce that Ransik has been found guilty and will be sentenced to life in cryogenic suspension (given that cryogenic means he'll be frozen, and thus won’t age or die unless there’s a malfunction in the equipment, how the hell is this an enforceable punishment? At least Dolnero would've been let go after a millennium). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sI_uMW...jpg&name=small Every named character except Alex is charged with safely transporting Ransik back to jail… but Nadira, who turns out to be Ransik’s daughter, tricks them with the old “unconscious woman lying in the road” gambit and springs Ransik. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sI_uFX...jpg&name=small And to add insult to injury, Ransik’s robotic minion Frax (the counterpart to Gien) reveals he stole back the time core Ransik was experimenting on earlier, essentially making this whole arrest all for nothing. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sI_uKW...jpg&name=small As Captain Logan fires the quartet for screwing up, and Lucas decides to blame Trip because he’s an alien with psychic powers (racist, much?), Ransik and his crew travel to the prison. Ransik: It’s my first time here as a visitor. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sJ6_VW...jpg&name=small Inside, the guards are in the process of throwing criminals into the machine to cryogenically freeze and shrink them, including this random monster suit. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sJ6_cW...jpg&name=small The next would be victim is Gluto (who uses Dolnero’s suit, but not much else), who is being imprisoned for apparent shoplifting (he insists he was framed, yet they found all the stolen goods in his car). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sJ6_dW...jpg&name=small But he gets saved when Nadira enters and straight up murders the guards (as in, she shoots them with a laser gun and they drop down on the floor. They may not say it, but those guys are dead), causing a grateful Gluto to swear loyalty to her. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sJ6_WX...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, Trip’s psychic powers kick in to show that Ransik’s crew are retrofitting the prison into a TARDIS (it even has the console in the centre), while Nadira kills the rest of the guards. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sKgDSW...jpg&name=small Wanting to redeem her failure, Jen pulls over a passing motorist (Reuben Langdon, making him the sole actor to be in Power Rangers and Metal Heroes), and angrily demands he hand over his car. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sKgDXW...jpg&name=small Katie chides Jen for her lack of tact… before proceeding to literally throw the guy out of his car and steal it (so our protagonists so far are a rabid cop, a racist cop and a carjacker. Yay?). Meanwhile, Alex engages Ransik in a rematch at the prison? and somehow loses. Alex: You may defeat me, but you'll never escape the Time Force. Ransik: Where I’m going, there is no Time Force. Jen’s team arrives just in time for Ransik to kill Alex by slashing him down the back (and people say Sentai is the darker franchise?). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sK4Y1W...jpg&name=small As Ransik makes his escape into the past with the prison, a dying Alex passes his Morpher on to Jen, telling her that there are 4 others stored within the time ship, making her promise to stop Ransik with his last breath. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sK4Y4X...jpg&name=small The 4 then proceed to steal said time ship (with Jen deciding to have Lucas and Circuit drive it), and against Captain Logan’s orders, fly off to the past, as the episode ends. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9sK4YyX...jpg&name=small Final thoughts: Now I’m not here to say whether the Sentai or the Rangers episodes are better, but the whole point of this review is comparing and contrasting the two. Most notably, there’s a lot more brisk pacing to Timeranger. Whereas the Time Force team have just set off for the past, by the same point, the Timerangers have transformed and had their first battle (Nadira slashing Lucas and Trip doesn’t count). There’s also some differences in characterisation, which can be chalked up to cultural differences. Most notably, the Timerangers are three rookies and an undercover cop, all of whom are operating by the book as much as they can. Meanwhile, the Time Force team are your standard mavericks going against orders to take down the bad guy out of pride. Though in terms of the episode on its own, it’s a lot like the Timeranger one. Namely in that everyone appears (except for our Red Ranger for the season, even if his actor does appear as Alex) and we only get a mild glimpse at their personalities. As it’s the first part of a two parter, I’m reserving judgement on the whole thing until I get to the end of the second part. |
Quote:
1) This likely means total Time Force control over all aspects of the population's lives. Moreover, this is a case where "Big Brother" is not only constantly watching, but also never blinking. 2) This only applies to organized crime. Crimes of passion, various dangerous psychopaths, and lone criminals will still exist. In fact, Gluto is a prime example of the third type. |
Alright, here we are, in week 2. Let’s get started with…
Case File 2: The Future Beyond Sight, 15/02/2000. We begin with Dolnero smoking mad over last time. Literally, since he has a cigar as part of his suit in this scene. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiVTeX...jpg&name=small Specifically, he’s annoyed at being defeated by Timerangers, but not letting that get him down. Meanwhile, we cut to a cave where the Timerangers have made their hideout, where Tatsuya is finally told that they came from the future. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiVTfX...jpg&name=small Yuri reveals that they had to tell him because he’d already seen too much for them to lie to him. She then takes away his Chrono Changer without any violence. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiVTmW...jpg&name=small Tock explains that they only needed him to get past the “5 people required” lock, and they can’t let him keep hold of future technology that could alter the year 3000. Meanwhile, Gien has seized on a plan to increase Dolnero’s flow of money. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiWDeX...jpg&name=small To do this, he’s rejigged the freeze-compressor to work in reverse, testing the process by releasing a man who was imprisoned on a 120 year sentence for blowing up an “aerial city” (whatever that is). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiWDZW...jpg&name=small A grateful Jecker agrees to join the Don Dolnero Family, but its namesake decides they could do with a rebrand to symbolise their fresh start. And thus, at a suggestion from Gien, the Londarz Family are born. Jecker is then sent out for two tasks: gathering money and causing destruction. Meanwhile, the Timerangers explain their mission statement to Tatsuya, who decides to head home. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiWu1X...jpg&name=small Nobody’s particularly sad to see him go, but they still have a problem on their hands beyond Dolnero. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiWu1X...jpg&name=small As the Timerangers try to call for help, night falls with Jecker flying into the city to plant explosive crystals on skyscrapers. Meanwhile, at Tatsuya’s family manor, we see that his attitude stems from a reaction to his overly controlling father, the head of the Asami Group. Namely, 4 years ago, Tatsuya entered a karate tournament where the prize was a scholarship to a prestigious college, and Tatsuya and his old man bet on whether he’d win it. Tatsuya lost, so Asami Sr. forced him to attend a college the latter had picked out, and is now expecting him to take a job at his business, the Asami Group, specifically an affiliate company. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiWu6X...jpg&name=small The next morning, Tatsuya wakes up to find that Jecker has blown up a few buildings, and the richest people in the city (including his dad) are being ransomed to prevent their buildings from being destroyed. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiXcRW...jpg&name=small And it turns out that while he’s a lousy father, President Asami is a good boss, since he decides to pay the psycho to prevent his employees from dying. He prepares to deliver the money as Jecker engages in a gunfight with outmatched police officers. But then Tatsuya makes him an offer. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiXcNW...jpg&name=small If Tatsuya can return the briefcase, and prevent the buildings from blowing up, then his father has to let him go to live his own life. But if he doesn’t do it in one hour, then Asami Sr will send out more money and take full control of his life, with Tatsuya shutting up about it. Tatsuya thus runs off to find the Timerangers. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiXcOW...jpg&name=small It turns out that they’ve made contact with the future… but to prevent further damage to their era, the Time Protection Bureau won't be sending anyone else back, nor will they let the first 4 return home until they’ve recaptured Dolnero’s entire prison’s worth of criminals. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiXcSW...jpg&name=small Tatsuya has overheard this and then begins his offer. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiYKoX...jpg&name=small He suggests that if they can’t change the future, they can alter their individual tomorrows. And to do that, they can make him their fifth member and help arrest the criminal. Some time later, Tatsuya delivers his briefcase. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiYKuX...jpg&name=small It turns out that Jecker lied when he said he wouldn’t blow up the buildings, and he prepares to do so. But then Tatsuya reveals a coincidence: he lied too, and if Jecker tries to detonate his bombs, he’ll only kill himself. Which makes him check the briefcase. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiYKpW...jpg&name=small The others appear, with Yuri revealing they figured out his identity and MO by looking him up in Tock’s prisoner files, allowing them to find all of his explosives and make the switch. We then get our first group change, but I’m gonna cut it down to just Yuri’s to avoid taking up space. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiYKsW...jpg&name=small And Yuri gets a different line to last episode. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiY5dX...jpg&name=small Jecker initially gets the upper hand, but Tatsuya uses Chrono Access to equip himself with the Double Vector (the Vector Harley as two separate swords), and attacks Jecker with his own variation of Yuri’s Vector End: Beat 6; Vector End: Beat 3. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiY5eX...jpg&name=small Doing this knocks a sticker off Jecker similar to the one they tried putting on Dolnero in the last episode… and it causes the former to enlarge, as a side effect of the freeze-compression process known as “Rebound”, which Tock explains the seal is meant to shield against. Jecker on the other hand sees it as an opportunity. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiY5vW...jpg&name=small With the Timerangers even more ill-equipped to deal with a giant monster, Tock tries calling Provider Base to request the use of the Emergency System. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiZj2W...jpg&name=small Despite getting no response earlier, Captain Ryuya actually authorises Tock to invoke the Emergency System, allowing him to call for 5 TimeJets. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiZj6W...jpg&name=small And thus, Providus prepares to launch them back in time. https://youtube.com/watch?v=loqSpHbb--o After a protracted sequence of the TimeJets being launched and travelling from prehistory up to the present (the effects director noted it made no sense, but was cooler looking than going backwards through different futuristic eras), they arrive in the present through a portal opened in a Ferris Wheel (Bridan’s gonna be annoyed). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiZjtX...jpg&name=small The Timerangers board their respective TimeJets using the Time Flier, whereupon the data is downloaded into their brains via their helmets. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiaQkX...jpg&name=small Using the images downloaded, they combine the 5 TimeJets into one Time Robo. Tatsuya: 3-D Formation! Time Robo Beta! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiaQjX...jpg&name=small The combination is completed by having the Time Flier turn into a gun for the robot. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiaQjW...jpg&name=small Time Robo and Jecker thus engage in an epic 3D aerial battle, which the heroes ultimately win by knocking their opponent out of the sky. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FiaQnX...jpg&name=small At Tock’s command, now that the battle’s on the ground, they use the robot's other mode to finish the fight. Tatsuya: Change Formation: Time Robo Alpha! The mecha recombines and summons a sword from its chest. https://youtube.com/watch?v=8imWuCVSAmU https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-Fia7nW...jpg&name=small Tatsuya then synchronises the Ziku Sword with his Control Stick to finish the fight with Time Robo’s Press Blizzard. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-Fia7fX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-Fia7jW...jpg&name=small Defeated, Jecker explodes and shrinks back into a doll, which Yuri contains within a freeze-compression capsule. A few minutes later, Asami’s executives discover the briefcase with the money they sent out… along with a note. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FibmfW...jpg&name=small Thus Tatsuya invites everyone to live with him in a condo he picked out as his personal castle. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FibmeW...jpg&name=small Unfortunately for him, Yuri, Ayase and Domon all hate it. Fortunately, Sion loves the place. As Tatsuya and Shion celebrate, Tock ends the episode with a pertinent question (Which I already answered because, if you’re able to see the pictures, it should be obvious who it is). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-FibmeW...jpg&name=small Final thoughts: I am starting to get more of a feel for these guys. We get a bit of a look at who Tatsuya is, and why he’s like that through the lens of his overbearing dad. And we also get our theme for the series of changing our tomorrows, in addition to introducing the Sentai formula elements that weren’t in the first episode (beyond the roll call). All in all, things are going well so far. Come back tomorrow or Wednesday, where we’ll be looking at Time Force episode 2. |
Time for part 2 of this week’s feature with…
Time Force: Force from the Future, Part 2 After an obligatory recap, we open on a modern day cop waking up to see thunder appearing out of nowhere. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P3_p3X...jpg&name=small He goes outside to see Ransik’s gang have landed the prison ship outside the police station (how no-one sees it, I don’t know). And to complete the Terminator knockoff, Ransik asks for the date. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P3_p1X...jpg&name=small The guard gives the date as 2001 (that’s a year, not a date), which makes Ransik happy that he’s travelled to an era without Time Force to conquer. Speaking of whom, our titular force from the future have somehow crashed their ship on the beach. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P3_p4W...jpg&name=small Trip awakens from whatever knocked them out and threw the crew out of their seats, before waking everyone else up and getting them out before their ship inexplicably explodes (seriously. At least in Timeranger, it had been sabotaged). With no way home, Jen hands everyone a Chrono Morpher and they head out to search for Ransik. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4Aj4X...jpg&name=small And the search consists of... the four striding into the town of Silver Hills, in full futuristic clothes (which no-one but the visible extras in the picture reacts to). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4Aj2X...jpg&name=small And to add to the ridiculousness, everyone presses a button hidden behind their ears to cause a set of sunglasses to appear over everyone’s eyes via CGI (they're probably AI generated), so they can search more effectively (apparently). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4CmlX...jpg&name=small During the search, Jen bumps into a random biker, whose face is conveniently obscured by the camera angle and the fact she only sees him wearing a helmet. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4CmsW...jpg&name=small At a jewellery store, Nadira decides she wants to leave with the whole shop, and summons some Cyclobots (the equivalents to the Zenits) to cause chaos. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4CmpX...jpg&name=small The Rangers quickly arrive and prepare to morph… only for it to fail completely (Aren’t these guys professionals? How are they so bad at this?), forcing them to use their hands and feet. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4D0uX...jpg&name=small But when things look bleak, the mystery biker from before returns and single-handedly fends the Cyclobots off, causing Nadira to flee. He then takes off his helmet, introducing himself as Wes (the guy from the opening titles). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4D01W...jpg&name=small As you?’probably guessed, he looks like Alex, though they don’t go as far as to state he’s the latter’s ancestor like Timeranger did. As he goes on his way, Circuit reveals that the Morphers failed because all 5 need to have the correct user to be activated, and they have a DNA lock which limits their options, forcing Jen to find Wes again on the small chance he's related enough to Alex for it to work. And talking of Wes, it turns out he’s a rich playboy who still lives with his father (played by actual award winner Edward Lawrence Albert, who I’m less surprised to see here than Vernon Wells, since he did a lot of kids shows towards the end of his career). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4D0kX...jpg&name=small Mr. Collins, as he’s so credited, expects Wes to attend a board meeting that night, but when Jen appears and Wes passes her off as his date, Mr. Collins lets him go (That’s all it took? He already seems like a better father than Asami). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4FDWX...jpg&name=small Jen explains the unlikely situation she and her friends are in, and Wes says that he believes… that she’s nuts. She then has to leave to confront Ransik and his cronies as they engage in an all out attack on the city. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4FDVW...jpg&name=small But when all hope seems lost, Wes appears, having had a change of heart, to help the Rangers, with Nadira and Ransik confusing him for Alex. Nadira: Daddy, didn’t you already get rid of him? Ransik: I destroyed you once, and I will destroy you again! Wes: What is he talking about? But instead of answering, Jen has everyone morph with the command “Time for Time Force!” (Which always sounded like they were saying “Time Force Time Force” in what little I saw of the Time Force crew as a kid, but which I mean Forever Red). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4FDZW...jpg&name=small We then get the morph sequence, which… I find less impressive visually and technically than its counterpart. I’m sorry. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4GGiW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4GGhW...jpg&name=small The fight commences with the Cyclobots firing on the Rangers, who use bullet time to dodge the shots... except for Wes, who gets hit directly by multiple bullets (this scene was probably in the Sentai version of the fight, but I didn’t take much notice of it). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4GGbX...jpg&name=small And so they can fully use the stock footage, Ransik teleports away, despite being more than a match for all the Rangers (and for some reason, his teleport sound effect is him evilly laughing, as if leaving partway through a fight was the funniest thing ever). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4GGeX...jpg&name=small The fight then proceeds to play out like the Sentai episode, beyond weapon names (the Double Vector is the Chrono Saber, the VolVulcan is the V4 and the VolPulsar is the V3, but that’s about it in terms of changes), with the Rangers winning when Jen performs the Time Strike on Gluto, Frax and Nadira. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4HWqW...jpg&name=small After Gluto gets bored of being humiliated, Frax teleports them all away. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4HWoX...jpg&name=small After powering down, Jen beats up Wes and takes the Morpher back from him, since his purpose in unlocking it has been fulfilled, ending the episode. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-P4HWnW...jpg&name=small Final thoughts: At the point we’re at, I’m leaning more towards Timeranger in terms of writing and world-building. Not that Time Force isn't trying, but there isn’t really much to the characters that makes them stand out, and in all honesty, I’m finding Jen a lot less likeable than Yuri at this point. But one thing I can give this episode is them having Wes change his mind and join the fight of his own accord, rather than having to be forced into it like Tatsuya was, even if the ending does sour that by having him accept being kicked out of the group a lot more easily. |
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DreamSword is using this thread as a means of rewatching Time Force! Just to be upfront, I have no intention of watching Timeranger. So while I'll only be able to really comment on about half the content of this thread, I will still be trying my best to follow along. With that out of the way, I rewatched episodes 1 and 2 as one big premiere, as I am one to do with Power Rangers multi-parters. And while it's not my favorite premiere in the franchise, it's still a dang good one. There's alot of small subtleties sewn throughout it that never fail to impress me. From character stuff like how Alex speaks very prim and proper while Wes is far more casual, to visual like the lenses of the sci-fu sunglasses matching the colors of each individual ranger when equipped. A nice treat for older fans is the many little subversions that the premiere has in terms of the Ranger formula, even if we're talking about back when the show aired. The Red Ranger outright being rejected by half the team, the big bad initiating the huge explosion onto a Ranger(something usually used to signify the defeat of a monster), and Pink being the leader for once are all cool to see. But of course, this is still Power Rangers, so despite all of the drama that fills the premiere, there's still a nice sense of whimsey and fun that goes along with it that never fails to make me smile. Reuben Langdon getting carjacked on gets funnier as time passes and one gets more meta context into his career, Gluto T-posing to assert dominance during his fight with Jen, and the tiny character interactions with Wes in general. There's alot of likability in these two episodes! A very strong start, and I'm looking forward to what is about to be my 4th watch of Time Force. |
Here we are, on week 3 of this project. Let’s get started.
Timeranger Case File 3: the Acceleration of a Dream, 21/02/2000 We start where the last episode set up an ending, with Tatsuya doing some prep work for his plan for income (which involves driving his stuff in with a truck), while Sion sets up a computer for Tock to interface with. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol2Zrb...jpg&name=small Domon points out that Tatsuya is a rich man’s son, and wonders just how much of his wealth he actually has access to, which results in Ayase calling him out for being a snoop. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol2ZVW...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, at Londarz HQ, Gien decides they need a better class of criminal to obtain money, and thaws out a prisoner who received 50 years for stealing 30 billion in cash (so physical money still exists in the future. Okay). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol2Zsb...jpg&name=small Keys reveals that despite what you might be inclined to think, freeze-compression isn’t just going to sleep and waking up when your sentence is up. He was awake and aware the whole time, but unable to do anything https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol3ITa...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol3IZa...jpg&name=small But Gien and Lila stop him from tearing it off, by warning him of the Rebound effect (and every time I think of rebound, my mind defaults to “blowback” as the name), and Dolnero sets him to work. Meanwhile, Yuri puts the frozen Jecker into storage as Tatsuya prepares to present his big idea. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol3H3W...jpg&name=small Namely, he’s proposing they start a service that does work for commission in order to pay the bills. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol3IPa...jpg&name=small His idea is that he’ll do a karate class, Sion will be a handyman, since he’s technologically proficient and Yuri will do detective work. Call that latter decision sexist all you want, but she’s onboard with it (not that she’ll actually show it). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol33tb...jpg&name=small As for the other two, Sion suggests that Domon teach self-defence (which given the karate class Tatsuya intends to run, feels a little redundant), reminding us that he’s a former pro-fighter. Domon takes the chance to reveal why he’s a “former” pro-fighter: he was banned for life. Why? https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol33GX...jpg&name=small Ayase then proves that either you don’t need to be Yuri to figure out why he missed that match, or that he’ll never pass up an opportunity to zing Domon. Probably both. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol33JX...jpg&name=small When asked what he’d like to do, Ayase insists that anything’s fine, before running off. But Tatsuya sees that he was looking at a drawing of a futuristic car, and then sees Ayase admiring a similar vehicle in the parking bay. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol4lab...jpg&name=small Elsewhere in the city, Keys and a gang of Zenits proceed to rob a car delivering money to a bank. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol4k6X...jpg&name=small This of course, makes the news, which the Timerangers are watching. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol4lSX...jpg&name=small Tock identifies the likely culprit as Keys, who was prisoner number 0032 at the prison (is there any significance to prison numbers, or are they random? Someone let me know), and has the ability to interface with any technology. To stop him, the group takes up a security job at another bank, with Tatsuya and Ayase in charge of transporting the briefcase in a regular car. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol5Rkb...jpg&name=small To facilitate this, the other three disguise themselves as security guards, sat in the actual transport trucks. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol5Rka...jpg&name=small Unfortunately, Keys learns about the switch thanks to one of the bank workers discussing it right next to a computer he’s interfaced with (does he do that to get a high? Or is it a lazy way to move the plot forward? I’m going with the lazy way). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol5RDX...jpg&name=small Soon enough, Keys appears to attack Tatsuya’s convoy. But he gets blown off by Tatsuya accelerating, requiring that he send some Zenits to give us a car chase. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol5Rma...jpg&name=small Keys himself merges onto a car so he can give chase. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol5-Ka...jpg&name=small Despite being injured, Tatsuya insists on continuing to drive, even as Keys comes within ramming distance. But the pair manages to escape him and blow up the other car (I hope whoever owned it had insurance). Ayase then insists on taking the wheel, since he can tell that Tatsuya is too injured to keep driving. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol5-Da...jpg&name=small Once they’ve given him the slip, Tatsuya and Ayase have a talk, in which Ayase admits he was scared to take up the wheel again, which was why he never mentioned being a pro racer before. But Keys soon catches up with them by hijacking a truck, which proves a short lived option to give chase. Ayase resumes by mentioning how Tatsuya’s “changing your tomorrows” speech really stung him, before Keys corners them in a quarry, with Tatsuya taking the chance to try and help Ayase get over having given up what he loves as it drives him to try and commit a heroic death. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol5-Qa...jpg&name=small The other three arrive, already transformed, to blast the attacker with their guns (Yuri’s being introduced as the VolSniper). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol6vCX...jpg&name=small And it turns out the case that Tatsuya and Ayase were carrying is full of the All-Star Batman diet for healthy child growth. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol6qcW...jpg&name=small It turns out that Tatsuya and Ayase were the real decoys, while Yuri and the other two transported the money through normal procedures. The whole point of this exercise was to distract Keys long enough to deliver the real bills to the bank safely. And now that that’s over with, Tatsuya and Ayase equip their suits, before giving us our first roll call. Tatsuya: TimeRed! Ayase: Blue! Yuri: Pink: Domon: Yellow! Sion: Green! All: Timeranger! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol6rDa...jpg&name=small But Keys refuses to come quietly and summons the Zenits, forcing a fight after Tatsuya and Ayase Chrono Access their Double Vectors. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol7YQW...jpg&name=small Tatsuya deals with the Zenits he’s fighting using his new Heat Up: Spark End technique to blow them up, with Ayase doing likewise with his Vector Hurry attack. The two then team up to strike at Keys with a double attack known as Vector Around, before Tatsuya performs the Beat 3. When Keys survives this, Tock radios with more information. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol7YSW...jpg&name=small And so, Tatsuya and Ayase debut their own gun weapons purely to introduce our team cannon for the season. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol7Y7a...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol7YVX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol8Kgb...jpg&name=small Keys tanks the Press Refreezer blast by triggering his own Rebound, figuring he has nothing left to lose. Tock then summons the TimeJets with the Emergency System, and the Timerangers form Time Robo Beta. When Keys tries to jack it, Yuri has them separate and reform into Time Robo Alpha, which is able to defeat and refreeze Keys. The Time Jets return to the future, as Sion takes note of their ongoing mystery. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol8KFX...jpg&name=small Later, back at the apartment, Tatsuya fully debuts his new service by revealing their brand name. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol8Kja...jpg&name=small And he reiterates what they’ll be doing: Tatsuya will run a karate dojo, Sion will run a repair shop, Yuri will be a detective, Domon will teach self-defence (again, sounds redundant when you're also running a karate dojo) and a now more onboard with things Ayase will be a driving agency. Yuri points out that his 30th century license is probably well before the date valid. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-ol8J-X...jpg&name=small The episode then ends with Tatsuya trying to convince a reluctant Domon to wear their new crew jackets (which you’ll have to wait until next week to see), while Tock worries over the future. Final thoughts: After a first episode introducing the future characters and a second episode focused on introducing Tatsuya, we’re clearly in the “introduce everyone one at a time” territory. Granted, we don’t get a detailed look at just why Ayase gave up driving for suicidal depression, but we're only 6% of the way into the series. We also get an interesting action sequence in the form of the chase scene (which actually goes on longer than a lot of bike scenes in Kamen Rider, to beat a dead horse), and a rather clever plan to defeat him. |
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Time for our second review of the week with…
Time Force 3: Something to Fight For We open at the prison the mutant gang teleported back in time, which is now inexplicably on its side in the woods, despite being shown to land in the city upright in the previous episode (the Watsonian reason being that they switched to depicting the exterior through stock footage from Timeranger). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0RVEMX...jpg&name=small As Nadira counts up the cash she managed to steal, Ransik sits in his office or bedroom or whatever, as what appears to be liquid Mercury oozes out of his skin. (Eurgh) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0RVEHX...jpg&name=small Fortunately, he packed a medicine for whatever he’s suffering from (judging by how many vials he has on hand, and he drinks it rather than injecting it it's more likely to be a medicine than a straight up antidote or vaccine). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0RVERW...jpg&name=small The next day, at the beach, the 4 Rangers scrounge the remains of the time ship for anything useful, and Trip finds something under a piece of rubble that Katie lifts one handed thanks to the magic of… I want to say, a crane? https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0RVEJW...jpg&name=small Inside is Time Force’s counterpart to the Time Flier, the Time Jet (how Trip knew it would be there, I can’t say, since Alex never mentioned it). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0Rd3lW...jpg&name=small Nearby, Jen and Lucas manage to fix up a communicator to speak with Captain Logan. He seems to have forgotten he fired these guys and entrusts them with capturing Ransik’s gang. And instead of being trapped there by themselves because of rules, the reason Time Force can’t send help is because the ship the Rangers stole and blew up was their only Time Machine (then why are you called Time Force?! Time Fraud sounds more like it). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0Rd3eX...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, Wes is being driven through the city to a meeting, and for some reason, his tie isn’t tied. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0Rd3hX...jpg&name=small But when he sees Nadira robbing a bank, Wes tells the chauffeur Phillips that he’s cutting out of the meeting and moves in to try and stop them. An attempt that gets derailed both because of his lack of powers or fighting prowess, and the fact Gluto took hostages along with the money. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0RqXZW...jpg&name=small Wes is quickly overwhelmed and cornered by Nadira in a fight. The only reason he doesn't die is that the other Rangers appear to save him by shooting one of Nadira’s nails off (Vanity! Her one weakness). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0RqXZW...jpg&name=small In the aftermath, Jen calls Wes out for his reckless heroics, telling him he’d be a horrible Ranger because he’s a silver spoon trust fund brat who’s never struggled in his life (Apparently, wanting to genuinely save lives counts for nothing with this bitch). Meanwhile, Nadira whines to Ransik about her broken nail, which makes Frax decide they should defrost a mutant to destroy the Rangers, choosing the Jerata (the use of a definitive article makes it seem like that’s a species or stage name). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0R6n-X...jpg&name=small Back at his house, Wes gets introduced to his father's business associates (and the latter seems remarkably blas? about Wes skipping out on a meeting, despite what Phillips implied earlier) as the heir to the latter’s company, Biosynth. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0R6n2W...jpg&name=small He then gets a chance to opt out of an awkward conversation with some old farts when he sees Trip hiding in the bushes. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0R6n1X...jpg&name=small Trip explains that Jen’s seeming hatred for Wes stems from the fact he looks like her dead fianc? Alex. And we get a cut to Jen back at the beach with a prominent focus shot of her ring. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0R6n_W...jpg&name=small Wes ducks out of the house to join the others at the beach, gently speaking to Jen to persuade her to grant him one last chance as a Ranger. Meanwhile, Ransik unleashes Jerata (portrayed entirely by stock footage of Jecker) to destroy the Rangers… which he does by flying to the docks and attacking a load of randomly gathered, suspiciously Asian cops. (I’ve noticed the series struggles when they have to work with the Sentai elements, but I’ll go into more detail in the Final Thoughts) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0SEpZX...jpg&name=small Sensing this, Circuit warns the Rangers, and Jen gives Wes the Red Morpher again. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0SEpZX...jpg&name=small After Morphing, the group enlarge the Time Jet to seamlessly blend with the footage - I mean, get there quick enough to prevent loss of life. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0SEp-X...jpg&name=small They arrive, and we get the TimeRed vs Jecker battle footage getting used, even down to Wes hitting the seal on Jerata's shoulder. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0SPUTW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0SPUNX...jpg&name=small Here, the growth is explained as a result of mutant DNA being exposed to air (which is pretty nonsensical and makes me wonder if the writers even know what DNA is). And whereas Captain Ryuya had to wait through a whole impassioned plea from Tock to grant permission to use the 3D Formation System, Captain Logan immediately sends the Rangers the Time Fliers (so the Time Flier becomes the Time Jet and the TimeJets become Time Fliers. Because that’s not gonna get confusing).. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0SPUOX...jpg&name=small , which thanks to data uploaded to their visors, can combine into the Time Force Megazord Mode Blue, which is helpfully labelled as a Time Robo with a big b to indicate it’s Mode Blue. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0SPUoW...jpg&name=small (I am of course, making this crap up as it’s a relic of the Timeranger footage) After an aerial battle with Jerata, the Megazord splits apart and reforms into the Time Force Megazord Mode Red, which is able to finish off the mutant and shrink him back down to the size of a doll. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0SYiUW...jpg&name=small After the battle, the episode ends with Jen allowing Wes to keep the Morpher this time, accepting him as part of the team. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-0SYjTW...jpg&name=small Final thoughts: A much stronger offering than the first two episodes, that gives the characters on the heroes’ side more to them, after they came off as slightly one note in the pilot (right now, the villains are still a bit one-note). I’ve noticed this show does better when it’s working with its own elements, rather than the ones from the Sentai, with this episode in particular getting weaker once we got to the battle with Jerata. |
Koichi Sakamoto has said in interviews that a big inspiration for him when it came to directing Power Rangers was Jackie Chan movies. And I feel like you can definitely see that in episode 3 of Time Force.
That civilian fight with Wes towards the start of the episode? It's shot like an action sequence right out of one of Jackie's' movies. Just played more for drama rather than comedy, given that it's a sequence meant to humble our new Red Ranger a bit. And while this episode is primarily focused on Wes(with a bit of Jen), I just wanna make it known now that Trip is my favorite character this season, and this episode shows a big reason why. As an empath, he's got alot of empathy for others. Shown here by him going out of his way to try and build a bridge between Wes and Jen. I also gotta note that rewatching this show now, with alot more knowledge of tokusatsu in general is proving to add an extra layer of fun for me. Like how I now notice that this episode's' monster of the week is made in reference to Gamera. Or, even internally with Power Rangers itself, how Time Force would either establish or codify various tropes that fans online would have quite mixed feelings on in the future. Lastly, a warning for anyone who wants to watch along via the official YouTube uploads: The official playlist is WAY out of order, so be careful with that. Still having a blast, as always. |
Alright, let's get on with week 4, starting off with...
Timeranger Case File 04: The Hostage is an Alien 05/03/2000 Unusually, we open not on the heroes, or the regular villains, but our escaped criminal for the week, Kidnapper-Murderer Nabal, as he uses invisibility to stalk a pair of kids (No, I am not going there... yet). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8nHgW...jpg&name=small Nabal shifts into his human disguise and approaches the two kids, who are looking for a fun game to play. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8nHhW...jpg&name=small And now I can make that joke, as we cut to one of the kids' mother receiving a phone call in the dead of night, having not seen her child all day. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8nHZW...jpg&name=small He demands a ransom in exchange for their safe return. Elsewhere, we cut to Londarz, where Lila is counting their gains. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8n58W...jpg&name=small As she and Dolnero wonder when they're going to get more money in, Gien reveals that he's already sent out Nabal. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8n6WW...jpg&name=small He reveals that Nabal was locked up for 200 years for kidnapping and murdering (well, duh), after which Dolnero reveals his grand goal in collecting money is to build an enormous solid gold castle which only he and the Family will live in. Meanwhile, Sion is opening for business and we get our first look at the Tomorrow Research uniforms (with Sion's being sleeveless). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8ouDX...jpg&name=small He then goes inside to try and see if he can help the others, but Ayase is memorising motor terminology (apparently, speed limits aren't a thing in the year 3000)... https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8ouDW...jpg&name=small Yuri is watching a news report on kidnapped children (how convenient)... https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8ouCW...jpg&name=small And Tatsuya is writing a sign for his business using calligraphy. Which Sion proceeds to accidentally ruin, before deciding to go and help Domon. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8ouBX...jpg&name=small As Tatsuya watches Sion goes and basically thinks ?That boy ain't right?, Yuri's news channel viewing gets some focus. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8pd-X...jpg&name=small Domon, as it turns out, is trying to recruit women to join his self-defence class. Unsurprisingly, they aren't into a guy insisting they look like they could use some lessons from him. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8peIW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8pd8W...jpg&name=small Sion tries convincing Domon to teach him self-defence, but since the latter isn't a woman (at least out of suit), Domon pays him no mind... until Sion's declaration of love causes the woman Domon was trying to hit on, er I mean recruit, to storm off in disgust. Domon's response? Throw Sion over a fence! And then leap down to save him, because he's not that bad a guy. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8qQwW...jpg&name=small As Domon leaves Sion to fend for himself, he stumbles upon Nabal (though he doesn't know this, obviously), once more trying to lure kids with promises of candy. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8qQwW...jpg&name=small But these kids are too smart to fall for that, so he has to settle for the friendly green-haired guy looking for his friend. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8qQwX...jpg&name=small As Domon returns to the apartment to reveal he basically left Sion in the lurch, Yuri has reached a break in the case. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8qQ3X...jpg&name=small As if on cue, Nabal calls them with his ransom demand for Sion (so was his captive carrying one of those bracelets with an emergency number, or is Tomorrow Research improbably already in the phone book?) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8rFAX...jpg&name=small Tock can tell it's not a prank, because the voice matches that of Nabal, a known child kidnapper. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8rE-W...jpg&name=small Elsewhere, Nabal lets Sion know he's been kidnapped and reveals his true face. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8rFHX...jpg&name=small But fortunately for the others, when Sion calls to let the others know he has been kidnapped and that there are two children there, Tock tracks his location, while Tatsuya voices his thoughts. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8r4vX...jpg&name=small Tock clarifies a big bombshell in response. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8r4kW...jpg&name=small Tatsuya is shocked to learn that Sion is an alien (me personally, the title was a bit of a giveaway), which leads Domon to reveal that "alien" is a slur by the 30th Century. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8r4lW...jpg&name=small And Ayase points out the obvious fact that should've been staring Tatsuya in the face (I mean, what did Tatsuya think those guys were if not aliens? Yokai?) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8r4vW...jpg&name=small Tatsuya: Oh wow! So aliens exist? Domon: Like I told you, stop calling them aliens! Tock finds Sion's location and the others head out to rescue him, as Tock explains Sion's status as the last of his species in the known universe, thanks to a war in the year 2984. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8sohX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8sodW...jpg&name=small Tock continues to explain that Sion was treated more as a curiosity as the only known survivor of his species and for his super-intelligence, so one day he ran away. The other Timerangers are the first friends he ever had, which makes Domon feel even guiltier. Meanwhile, Nabal decides to up his game. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8tTBX...jpg&name=small But Sion stops him from killing the kids and attempts to fend him off without using his Chrono Suit. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8tS5W...jpg&name=small But the others arrive in time to prevent Sion from meeting a grizzly end and assure him that they're his friends. And thus, they strip down to their futuristic bathing suits to transform. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8tTDW...jpg&name=small Domon: TimeYellow! Sion: Green! Yuri: Pink! Tatsuya: Red! Ayase: Blue! All: Timeranger! Domon: Londarz, You're under arrest for violating the Time Protection Law! Domon decides he's going to take Sion's offer up and beat up Nabal by himself. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8uA7X...jpg&name=small But Nabal declares he's no pushover as he's able to fight back effectively. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8uAzW...jpg&name=small And we get our first insert song for the season, Chase Timeranger. And unlike the Hurricaneger thread, I will be providing karaoke for the songs, courtesy of my chosen subbing group. https://youtube.com/watch?v=dFClbWQq...7xgLVmkw7mWaVq The exciting battle of the century has begun! Rise up in the light... ...you invincible five! That conspiracy to twist the future Violently punch it out with that fist of justice! Chase those lawless punks to the end of times! That evil lurking in the pitch-black darkness Cut it up! Slice it cleanly with twin blades! Now! Chase! Chase! Chase! TimeRanger! With that strength that protects dreams! Oh! Fight! Fight! Fight! TimeRanger! Tear down that wall of time! Sion gets invited to join in after a brief grapple, and ends up defeating Nabal with his own Vector End variant. Vector End: Beat Nine. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8uA6X...jpg&name=small The 5 summon and fire the Voltech Bazooka... but Nabal triggers a rebound to escape it, resulting in our giant battle. Nabal tries tossing TimeRobo Beta away, but they're able to bounce back by USING THE SKY AS A TRAMPOLINE! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8uA9X...jpg&name=small They then switch into TimeRobo Alpha, and defeat Nabal with the Press Blizzard, with Domon debuting our "post-victory catchphrase" for the season. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8uruX...jpg&name=small Sometime later, Yuri puts the frozen Nabal alongside Jecker and Keys in her cabinet (now helpfully labelled "Do not disturb"). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8uruW...jpg&name=small Everyone is now fussing over Sion, as Domon proves an actually quite capable medic. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8urrW...jpg&name=small Tatsuya notes that now he knows Sion isn't human, he can stop wondering if his green hair is dyed (the IRL answer: it was and it wasn't, since the actor didn't want to dye his hair green for a whole year. So it's actually colour corrected blonde hair)? only for Sion to reveal that it IS dyed. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8urnW...jpg&name=small The episode proper ends with Tatsuya and Domon getting weirded out by their Hubbardian team mate again... but the preview for next episode is notably different, not only for using different music, but being almost entirely narrated by Yuri. https://convert.vxtwitter.com/render...YjWcAEMXgg.jpg Will Yuri choose to arrest this criminal, or execute him? Find out in Timeranger Case File 05: The Third Formation. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_M8wGyW...jpg&name=small Final thoughts: A slightly darker episode than usual, given our criminal's M.O, and his willingness to murder children for money. But it also gives us some extra context towards Domon and Sion, and gives them a bit of a bond that will hopefully pay off in later episodes. |
And on to our second feature of the week, with...
Time Force Episode 4: Ransik Lives (I didn't even know he'd been dead up until this point) We open on our foursome from the future, who are still living on the beach (and I?m wondering how much time has passed in this show). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gaqQSX...jpg&name=small Trip is trying to fish up something for them to eat, but all he succeeds in catching is sole. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gaqQXW...jpg&name=small And then Wes pulls up on his bike with a solution to their housing problem. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gaqQRX...jpg&name=small Trip expects something fancy, given the place Wes lives in... only for the four to discover that Wes has set them up in an old clock tower from the Wild West days (either that, or some architect really envied Big Ben). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gaqQRW...jpg&name=small Even worse, the building doesn't seem to have been cleaned since whoever owned it last died/moved out (probably the former). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_garN8W...jpg&name=small But Jen decides they should stay in the old abandoned building that would realistically be either a historical landmark or condemned because... it has a window (so do Travelodge hotels, but I wouldn't recommend living in one). And so, the Rangers clean the place up quickly and Trip somehow finds a stand to mount Circuit on. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_garOCX...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, Nadira is getting her nails done while watching cartoons (like most grown women of 30 do), in particular the "we don't have to pay the copyright for this" channel. (This is either a Saban owned toon, or public domain. Someone let me know) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_garN6X...jpg&name=small This ends up giving Ransik the idea to go on tv to announce his future rulership of the world, for which Frax unfreezes Fearog (who uses the Nabal costume), who instinctively attacks the Cyclobots, mistaking them for Time Force (why, I don?t know. There?s no indication anyone other than Ransik uses these robots) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gasDYW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gasDfW...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, the Time Force team have finished renovating the clock tower into the main set for the season. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gasDYX...jpg&name=small Wes shows up with a briefcase of colour coded clothes so they're not stuck in the same white leather uniforms all season. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gasvKX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gasvZW...jpg&name=small And then Wes forces Trip to wear a hat on top of his chosen outfit to cover his distinctive crystal (sure, but wouldn't a headband work just as well and be less conspicuous?). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gasvZW...jpg&name=small Wes: I don't know if the public are quite ready for a Xybrian yet. And then we cut to Jen getting dressed with the standard male gaze shot (if you?re about to blame Sakamoto, this episode and the next were directed by a guy named Kaizō Hayashi). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gasvhW...jpg&name=small Wes and Jen go downstairs to meet with an old man (named by the credits as "Ivan"), who assumes they're moving in to reopen the odd jobs business that used to be based there (and if you think the Rangers living in a clock tower wasn't unsubtle enough, look at the name of the place). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gatctX...jpg&name=small Jen takes the job, and so we cut to the two Rangers repainting Ivan's tv studio pink. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gatcMW...jpg&name=small Jen ends up leaving to get more paint after Wes accidentally knocks the can over... just in time for the Cyclobots to appear to take over the studio. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gatcFW...jpg&name=small He manages to deflect attention from himself by claiming to be "an average, ordinary painter. Love to paint"... until one of them checks again and sees the Morpher on his wrist. One fairly poorly choreographed fight later, Wes is captured and turned into part of the audience for Ransik's TV debut. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gauSCW...jpg&name=small Ransik demands they surrender to him by having Fearog blow up a rock in a quarry (not even the whole quarry. Just one rock. Are we sure Ransik is dangerous?), and threatening to do worse. Meanwhile, Jen gets informed of the situation by the others (who she didn't tell where she was going. Some leader she is) and soon finds where the Mutants are holed up thanks to a set of footprints they left in the spilt paint (What I want to know is who made those footprints? And why did they step in the paint to begin with). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gauRwW...jpg&name=small Back in the studio, Ransik decides to share his backstory with Wes so he has both sides. Namely that in the future, scientists created a way for people to give birth to whatever kind of babies they wanted (which sounds an awful lot like eugenics. Not really the sort of topic you'd expect a show created by Jews from a nation founded on the back of the Holocaust to promote). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gavEgX...jpg&name=small But what they'd surgically extracted developed sentience and smashed its vial, pouring itself into the sewers, where it merged with everybody?s pee-pee and poo-poo to evolve into Ransik. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gavEYX...jpg&name=small Ransik tried living among humans, but was rejected for his grotesque appearance, so he formed a gang of mutants to overthrow society and gain acceptance (where'd these other mutants come from? Never explained). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gavEWX...jpg&name=small Wes states that though he sympathises with Ransik's backstory, he doesn't agree with his methods of going back in time to before Time Force existed and killing innocents in misguided revenge. So Ransik departs, leaving his captive at the mercy of Fearog. But the other Rangers soon show up for the save. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gav1kW...jpg&name=small Wes is untied and morphs, before the battle moves outside. It's an abruptly executed sequence in which Wes kicks Fearog through a wall and everyone pulls out some Star Trek reject props to shoot him. (I can see why Hayashi never did any Toku beyond these two episodes. His fight choreography is terrible) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gav1iW...jpg&name=small Fearog exposes himself and grows giant, with the Rangers summoning the Megazord for a battle. While we don't see them trampoline off the sky, the Megazord does change modes (albeit it didn't do anything in Mode Blue as a result of the edit) and Katie gives our one liner of "Your time's up", despite not doing anything in this episode. Tl;DR is that Fearog is defeated and arrested. Some time later, Ivan pays the Rangers for a job well done, making them decide to open Nick of Time as a legitimate source of income. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gawnfX...jpg&name=small Wes then admits to Jen that he's starting to feel sympathy for Ransik, to which she proceeds to shut down any idea that Ransik is supposed to be sympathetic. Jen: Look, don't let him try and fool you. People did try to help him, but he turned them away. He wants power, and he'll do anything to get it and we;ve gotta stop him. He's evil, through and through. But this serious conversation is derailed by everyone having a pizza party. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gawnhX...jpg&name=small And rather than end on that note, we, for no apparent reason, cut to Ransik in the flashback yelling "No!" to end the episode. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_gawnhX...jpg&name=small Next time: Lucas takes Wes for a drive and Nadira embarks on a career in bank robbery, so we get some car chase action. Final thoughts: You may be expecting a compare and contrast, but to be honest, there's little to compare. Beyond the Megazord battle and the Nabal/Fearog costume, these were very different episodes. As for the episode itself, while well written and adding some much needed depth to Ransik (even if, as Jen says, it does nothing to make him any kind of Magneto/MLK figure), it suffers from some contrivances (the idea that there was an odd jobs shop based in a clock tower, just so we can have an equivalent to Tomorrow Research), things that seem there to be cool (a clock tower would be an awful place to live. No electricity or running water, for one) and atrocious fight choreography. And given how little Sentai footage there is in the episode, I imagine that is the only reason this lack of effort help up in the finished programme. |
So, I wanna note something about this episode that used to be one of, if not its most famous aspect, but nowadays some viewers might not even be aware of(if Androzani's' post is any indication). It's that due to the events of 9/11 happening soon after this episode aired, episode 4 of Time Force has no less than four different cuts. Namely in the scene where Ransik declares war on the city.
In the original cut, Ransik has Fearog blow up one of the buildings in the city. In the second cut(which is the one the official YouTube upload uses), Fearog instead blows up a mountain. In the third, they added the Time Force theme song to the background track(which is some serious mood whiplash given the subject matter of the scene), and in the four cut, they outright removed all of the dialogue in that scene. From everyone. Ransik, the Rangers, Circuit, everyone. With that out of the way, yeah, episode 4 tends to be one of the stand out episodes for most people, and it's easy to see why! It definitely shows that Time Force itself is going for a much darker and more dramatic approach than what Power Rangers had been known for at that time, and it was the first time that the big bad of the season was given a sympathetic backstory. To which people's' attitudes towards has shifted over time. It's mainly due to the approach of a certain internet critic of whom I refuse to name, but the short version of his argue as to why he thinks Ransik's' backstory is bogus is, in short, "Because Ransik does bad things, he therefor cannot be sympathetic." Which is quite the take. But as someone who's experienced and witness prejudice and its effects first hand, I get where Ransik is coming from, and the episode itself seems to side with him too. Especially given what we've seen so far. Because one aspect of Time Force that many seem to forget is the idea that the year 3000 isn't so great. Eugenics is commonplace. Casual racism is still very much a thing(as seen with Lucas in episode 1). And if Frax is to be believed TV doesn't even exist. You have alot of implications of a a system that looks squeaky clean on the outside, but yet has a very dark underbelly. Ransik is an example of just how hate begets hate. Sure, Jen can claim people tried with him all she wants, but not only is she not exactly an unbiased source, Ransik really didn't have any reason to make such a specific lie with Wes. And very smartly in terms of direction, not only is it clear that Wes is still unsure about the entire situation despite what Jen says, but that final scene of Ransik screaming really does highlight what the focus is here: The beginnings of a man rejected by society, and thus fought back in order to survive. Ransik's' methods aren't good, no, but it's entirely understandable how he came to be. I really liked this episode. |
At a slightly later time than normal, let's begin week 5.
Timeranger Case File 05: The Third Combination, 12/03/2000 We open at Londarz Prison, in the dead of night. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtnyXX...jpg&name=small While the others sleep, Gien awakens a prisoner of his own volition. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtnyZW...jpg&name=small Blast assumes that Dolnero has had him thawed out to eliminate a witness to his dirty dealings (I guess he hadn't noticed they're a thousand years before most of those took place, despite somehow knowing that the guy unfreezing him was an associate of Dolnero), but Gien sets him straight. Dolnero has forgotten he even existed, which Blast is glad for, since he prefers to kill for the fun of it rather than for money. To which Gien makes him a proposition. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtnyPX...jpg&name=small The next day, Sion is playing a flash game on the computer (if this is a real game, somebody tell me. Though it likely is, since I doubt the CGI budget amounted to creating a scene like this). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtpJxW...jpg&name=small Tatsuya and Domon come in having just woken up. Tatsuya is amazed that Sion is already up, only for Domon to tell him that Sion never went to bed. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtpJvX...jpg&name=small As Ayase gets up, Sion reveals that Yuri left early to take up a cleaning job, to Ayase's concern. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtpJnX...jpg&name=small Domon blames Tatsuya saying they'd do anything on the job poster, which the latter justifies by pointing out that they can't make a living wage off only 5 jobs. Meanwhile, at the Downhills, Yuri has actually made strong progress with the mopping. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtqDNW...jpg&name=small But then the men show up, offering to help her. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtqDKX...jpg&name=small Soon enough, the men are doing all the work, and Domon has decided that Yuri's tomboy tendencies make her the one type of woman he wouldn't want to do (If you think that's an issue, it's still less of a grievous one than the fact someone coloured Sion?s hair blue in this scene). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtqDOW...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, out in the town, Lila goes out to do some shopping with the money Londarz have acquired, wearing a disguise (which does nothing to cover up her cotton candy pink hair, but maybe they assume it's dyed). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtqy7X...jpg&name=small Nearby, Blast begins his rampage, indiscriminately gunning people down with his gatling gun arm, and tearing a Rolex off one of his victims. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtqy0W...jpg&name=small The Tomorrow Research gang realise there's a commotion when people come running into the building they're cleaning, and head out to investigate. Nearby, Lila's attendants - actually Zenits - are gunned down and her wares destroyed, making her made enough to drop her disguise and kill Blast on the spot. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtrfhW...jpg&name=small But then Timeranger show up, and she decides to let them handle it, vanishing from the episode. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtrffW...jpg&name=small But during the fight, Yuri gets a very good look at a bangle hanging from Blast's body, a trophy from one of his previous kills. And the sound of his footsteps echoes in her mind. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtrfdX...jpg&name=small Yuri proceeds to drop her emotionless demeanour and charge towards Blast, her thoughts filled with murderous rage. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtsKWW...jpg&name=small After ruthlessly beating Blast to the floor, Yuri summons her VolSniper and sets it to full power, before preparing to fire. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtsLVW...jpg&name=small But the others step in and stop her, allowing Blast the opportunity to get away. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtsKUW...jpg&name=small As the others chide Yuri for losing her cool, the last thing she should be doing as a detective, she reveals why she's so seemingly willing to murder this particular scumbag over the arsonist, the bank robber or the child killer. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xttaIX...jpg&name=small Later back at the loft, Yuri refuses to elaborate on her tragic backstory beyond the dead family consisting of her father, her mother and her younger sister Mei. So Tock explains. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xttaEW...jpg&name=small He then notes that Yuri's life took a turn for the worse when she was 10 years old, in 2988 (so that makes her 21-22 during the events of the series. Not necessary to know, but still a fun fact). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xttaIW...jpg&name=small Yuri was heading to meet up with her family (I assume she was heading home from school, since no other options make sense)? https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtuOEX...jpg&name=small But then a mysterious figure emerged from the shadows and gunned down the whole family. Yuri survived, because she was hidden beneath her father?s corpse after he?d run forward to shield her from being the first to die, realising what had happened when she climbed out from beneath him. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtuN6W...jpg&name=small But Tock points out that despite Yuri's opinion on the matter, there's no proof as to who committed the crime. Least of all, if it was Blast. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtuN5X...jpg&name=small (Judging by the date in his arrest record, he got busted shortly after the murder of Yuri's family. So he clearly wasn't competent at much other than killing). But Yuri insists that it was him, because she recognised his voice and the sound of his boots from the killing. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtu5eW...jpg&name=small She then notes that she didn't become a detective to avenge her family. Her father and her made a bet that if she became an Investigator for the Intercity Police and did better at it than her old man, then he'd let her inherit his bracelet... the same bracelet she saw hanging from Blast. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtu5iW...jpg&name=small And since her father was also an Anti-Mafia Investigator, she's sure that Blast was the hitman, and he was hired by Dolnero. But Tock points out that jumping to conclusions and using them to justify murder is poor etiquette. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtvlUX...jpg&name=small And Domon then suggests she sleep on the matter. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtvlfW...jpg&name=small But Yuri is haunted by visions about her family vanishing from around her, while Dolnero laughs at her. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtvlfW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtvlcX...jpg&name=small As the others try to think of how they can help Yuri shoulder her burdens, Yuri thinks back on the promise she made to her father shortly before she died to become a great investigator. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtvlWX...jpg&name=small The next morning, Blast attacks a theme park, an act that Sion wakes everyone up to relay. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xty-_W...jpg&name=small But this causes Yuri to charge on ahead, equipping her Chrono Suit and heading off alone in the Time Flier. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xty_BW...jpg&name=small She arrives at the amusement park to stop Blast from killing the clientele, beating him down once more, and pointing her VolSniper at him, once more increasing its output. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xty_DX...jpg&name=small The others arrive and beg Yuri not to kill Blast, since doing so will make her a criminal. Yuri seemingly doesn't listen, once more insisting that Blast murdered her family. And he actually confesses to the crime, but notes that he wasn't a lone agent. (The moral here? Probably that police brutality and vigilantism is a great way to extract a confession) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtz0WW...jpg&name=small The ring turns out to contain a holographic message from Dolnero (who amazingly, hasn't changed much physically in 12 years). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtz0YW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xtz0hX...jpg&name=small Yuri then drops her apparent murderous attitude and returns to her normal demeanour. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xt0oRW...jpg&name=small It turns out the reason she was acting like a maniac was a gambit to force a confession out of Blast. The fact he had evidence was a major plus. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xt0oSW...jpg&name=small She thus gets back to business and faces Blast in a straight fight, using her Double Vector to hit him precisely enough that she can reclaim her family heirloom. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xt0oYX...jpg&name=small But as is the formula by now, Blast triggers a rebound, necessitating the Emergency System to call in Time Robo. But Blast's gunfire renders both Alpha and Beta formations worthless. Luckily, Tock has a workaround. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xt1Z-W...jpg&name=small And thus, they change into the titular third combination, Time Jet Gamma. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xt1aEX...jpg&name=small And this is what gets them to debut our Robo insert for the year. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Tz4E8_je...aPGHI7XrglazSF The future is coming, crossing over space-time These five winds are faster than light Now, calling out to the skies are... Bravery, love and hope That's our 3-D Formation OK, let's go! Alpha, Beta, Jet Gamma Aim toward eternity... ...with the combined TimeRobo! Demolish the barrier of infinity! They are able to work around Blast's gunmanship using the Gamma Tornado, which... I think the name is self-explanatory. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xt1Z6W...jpg&name=small They reform into TimeRobo Alpha, and Tatsuya allows Yuri to use the Control Stick so she can personally recapture Blast. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xt1aDX...jpg&name=small With Blast once more in cold storage, Yuri stares at the bracelet, vowing on the spirits of her parents and sister to take down Dolnero and avenge their deaths. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xt2CuX...jpg&name=small And we end with Domon admitting that even if Yuri is a tomboy, now he's more willing to tap that. Especially when Yuri tells everyone they're still contracted for another day of cleaning that building and thanks everyone for their help. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_xt2C2X...jpg&name=small Next time: Tomorrow Research deals with a cat burglar criminal named Rouge and Tatsuya confronts his father in Case File 06: Imposter Invitee. Final thoughts: A good look deeper into Yuri's psyche, that gives us a more concrete reason as to why she's so focused on Dolnero, and showing her moving beyond her stoic tendencies. We also get some good hints that Gien is up to something of his own, given he released Blast of his own will, and we didn't get the usual bad guy theme for that scene. |
Time for the second part of this week's feature, with...
Time Force 5: A Blue Streak We open at Nick of Time Odd Jobs, where the future guys have finished setting up shop, just as Wes pulls in in a fancy car (I imagine that ate into the budget, unless it belonged to one of the producers). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkPduW...jpg&name=small As Wes admires their handiwork and hears that Ransik's been quiet (which is ironic, given how he's one of the most talkative characters in the show), he finds that Lucas has a desire to take the car out for a spin, since apparently he's a former championship race car driver (and we never learn why he quit, unlike Ayase.) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkPduW...jpg&name=small After some quick instructions on how to drive a 21st century vehicle, Lucas speeds off down the road, and ends up pulled over by the police for speeding, changing lanes and running a red light. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkPduX...jpg&name=small Lucas presents his license for inspection, but being a futuristic license with included hologram, the cop believes it's a fake, and demands Lucas go to driving school. After writing tickets for his violations (in a more realistic show, Lucas would've got all three strikes at once and gone to jail). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkQyBX...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, Ransik wonders how he can conquer the world since demanding the city surrender was ineffective. Frax suggests that they starve humanity, but Nadira shuts it down with an idea of her own: stealing money (translation: we needed to incorporate some Sentai footage of the bad guys robbing banks and not have it seem incongruous with the usual world domination). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkQyAX...jpg&name=small For this plan, they unfreeze Mantamobile (who uses the Keys suit and footage from Timeranger 3), a master car thief (how that helps with stealing money, I don't know, but I'm glad we're finally getting some explanation as to why some of these guys were locked up. It's one of the small details about Timeranger this show's been missing so far). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkQyHW...jpg&name=small Back with the Rangers, Wes helps Lucas study for the driving test by memorising road signs. (I'm guessing much like Timeranger, road laws are drastically different in the future) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkRjxX...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, Mantamobile uses his tendrils to upgrade two random cars into more toyetic and evil models (look how black they are), so he and Nadira can begin their bank robbing scheme. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkRjzW...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, Lucas shows up for his driving test (wow, that was a fast learning period), where he gets paired with Mr. Picketts, an instructor who looks like Bill Nye, sounds like Michael J. Fox and acts like he should be teaching a kindergarten rather than a driving test. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkRjyW...jpg&name=small Lucas actually does well under him, to the point he passes the test... but then Nadira shows up to rob an armoured car (or as she calls it, a bank on wheels), and Lucas zooms off in pursuit, leaving the poor man screaming for dear life (In real life, he could simply use the brake on the instructor's side of the car to stop anytime, but then we wouldn't have to endure his Sheriff J.W. Pepper-esque antics), until the villains get away. Lucas returns to the clock tower to report back on the problem. Fortunately, Trip has a solution, in the form of the Vector Cycles (just how much Ranger gear was on that ship? And how did it survive the explosion?). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkSXUX...jpg&name=small At an input from Trip, the bikes are all grown to human size for the Rangers? use (ok, but how are they gonna get them out of the building? As established last time, they don't have an elevator). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkSXVW...jpg&name=small Anyway, within a few minutes they're able to ride the machine give chase to Nadira's crew and stop their next heist from succeeding. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkSX_X...jpg&name=small They eventually corner Mantamobile at the quarry, leading to the fight footage of Keys seeing use. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkSXQX...jpg&name=small Jen debuts her new weapon the V5 (the VolSniper's equivalent) and does a double attacks with Trip to take out some Cyclobots. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkTJrX...jpg&name=small After Wes and Lucas beat down Mantamobile with their Chrono Sabers, Circuit calls to reveal they can combine their V Weapons to for the Vortex Blaster to freeze him (and again, due to relics of the Japanese footage, the readouts call it the Voltech Bazooka). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkTJrX...jpg&name=small They do so, but Mantamobile exposes himself, leading to our Megazord battle, with Keys? attempt to hijack control repurposed as Mantamobile launching an electric attack of some kind. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkTJsW...jpg&name=small They defeat him be decombining and then recombining as Mode Red, before slashing Mantamobile down and re freezing him. And since we aren't doing the mystery of who's helping them in the future, Katie and Trip have different dialogue to Domon and Sion's. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkT-kW...jpg&name=small Katie: Why do they have to go back every time? Trip: Unfortunately, we don't have the technology to refuel here. Not yet, anyway Sometime later, we cut back to the driving school, where Mr. Picketts is now in a sling, a neck brace and a bandage on his head as he passes another driver (I assume the injuries are from another driver, since there's no way Lucas was driving anywhere near dangerously enough to cause injury, even with the need to tone down any potential danger). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkT-kX...jpg&name=small And when Lucas comes back, because apparently he was failed for his attempted chase of Nadira (which given he had passed the test before that, is rather blatant unfairness, which would be grounds for Picketts to be fired)... which means the episode ends with Picketts running away for dear life. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAFkT-mX...jpg&name=small Next time: Nadira ransoms some children for money? and plans to kill them anyway after being paid. Final thoughts: On one hand, it's good to get some focus on anyone other than Jen and Wes, and that little bit of world building from Trip towards the end is a nice little touch. On the other hand, we get saddled with a rather thin plot blatantly designed to sell toys, the annoying driving instructor, who comes off as way too desperately trying to be funny, and Nadira's weird habit of referring to money as "cash" consistently, which comes off as awkward. |
Episodes like "A Blue Streak" make me wonder just how kids felt about Time Force back when it aired.
I mean, I get it, I should already know the answer to that, given that I saw the show when it aired(like every PR season), but in hindsight, I was(and still am) hopelessly in love with all things Power Rangers, so I'm probably an exception. Because like, "Lucas has to go to the DMV to get a driver's license" isn't exactly at the top of my list for things that kids would find most exciting, ya know? Combine that with PRTF's' generally slower pacing than the seasons that came before(and after), I wouldn't be surprised if some kids at the time just tuned out. But then, there is the fun car chase stuff, so maybe that held kids over. As an adult, not only can I enjoy such driving stunts, but there are also some little things I get a kick out of too. Such as the subtle acting that Lucas gets throughout the episode thanks to his actor, Michael Copon. You can tell via his expressions that he loves messing with an unassuming Wes, and that he's totally annoyed by his driving instructor but puts up with it because he has to. Sure, in terms of personal character establishment and growth, it's a bit weaker compared to what Wes and Jen have gotten so far, but it is just the first gear that our Blue Ranger kicks off on, and I don't think it's a bad one by any stretch. |
Here we go with week 6, starting off with...
Timeranger Case File 06: The Imposter Invitee 19/03/2000 Once more, we open with the Londarz, who are in the middle of a fancy dinner (how does Gien eat? Damn if I know), while Dolnero and Gien wonder how to stop the Timerangers from cutting into their profits by recapturing their recruits. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkxi_lX...jpg&name=small Lila is in an unusually good mood, she explains because she already thawed and sent out a criminal. And then we meet said criminal as she comes across a businesswoman heading home. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkxi_yW...jpg&name=small Rouge freezes the woman in place, before assuming her appearance and heading into the jewellers the woman is manager at, sending the guard away so she can take a diamond. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkxi_hX...jpg&name=small The next day, the staff of Tomorrow Research is sitting down to a breakfast of bread and ham. (I?m guessing that's the Japanese version of a cheapskate's meal) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkxq3iW...jpg&name=small He suggests that Tatsuya go to his father to ask for money, but the latter refuses to even consider it. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkxq3hW...jpg&name=small Then Yuri brings up a news story about how the Moon King diamond was stolen by a woman who looked exactly like the manager (presumably, the fact the manager was found lying nearby with no diamond or idea what they were talking about was enough of an alibi). But Tock takes note of a tattoo on the imposter's neck, and recognises her from her jewel theft cases in 2991, 2994 and 2998. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkxq35X...jpg&name=small Tatsuya is surprised that minor crimes are worthy of being freeze-compressed, but Yuri points out that once you've committed a crime enough times, it stops being a minor crime. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkxq34W...jpg&name=small Tock then explains that he recognised her by one simple limit to her shapeshifting powers. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkyJw4X...jpg&name=small Back at Londarz, Rouge presents Lila with the stolen Moon King, promising to make her theft even better with her next target. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkyJxVX...jpg&name=small It turns out that Yuri has had Sion crunching the data and figured out where Rouge will strike next. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkyJxXW...jpg&name=small The Moon Queen (wow, creative naming there, whoever found those diamonds) is about to go on display at a fancy upper class wedding anniversary held by its owner. And luckily, the team has one member who just so happens to be part of Japan's elite (and unfortunately, doesn't have any better ideas compared to Yuri?s). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkyJxfW...jpg&name=small (Why Yuri went with a leather jacket and skirt over something fancier... I've got nothing) Fortunately, Tatsuya just has to mention that he's an Asami and the guards at the gate let the group in. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkyQxLX...jpg&name=small And for even further embarrassment for our Red, even the party's host joins a group fawning over him (despite looking old enough to be his mother). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkyQxMW...jpg&name=small Someone explains to the other 4 that the Asami name is just THAT respected within Japan. But Yuri simply sees it as an opportunity to look around and check the necks of every woman to make sure that Rouge isn't already there. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkyQxLX...jpg&name=small Yuri in particular bumps into a lady in the bathroom... who then gets accosted and replaced by Rouge (missed her by that much). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkyYJ0W...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkyYJ3X...jpg&name=small Domon meanwhile has stopped to fix his appearance, which Ayase chides him for. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkyYJ1W...jpg&name=small Sion comes across the disguised Rouge, but she stops him from getting close to her scarf covered neck. Meanwhile, Tatsuya's dad arrives at the boat for the party? accompanied by his wife! (That's right, PR fans. The "all mothers are never mentioned" rule is not in effect here) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkygMVW...jpg&name=small The two head to the houseboat, where Asami Sr. learns that his son is on the boat from the doormen. Meanwhile, the Timerangers report back to each other on their lack of progress. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkygMXW...jpg&name=small As for Tatsuya, he's sick of all the attention he's been getting from the rich mothers and fawning young men. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkygMnW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkygMwW...jpg&name=small With the excitement over, the host starts her speech, at which point Sion singles out the woman he failed to search before, who Yuri recognises because she didn't have a tattoo when they met... but she also didn't have a scarf either. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkyt3HW...jpg&name=small Having cornered a prime suspect, the Timerangers head to investigate... except for Tatsuya, who gets caught up in an unwelcome reunion with his father, who chews him out for supposedly abandoning his attempts to be independent. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkyt3GW...jpg&name=small But even without him, they're able to successfully expose Rouge by getting wine spilled on her, causing her to show off her neck... and the tattoo. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkyt3HX...jpg&name=small The 4 drag Rouge off the boat, with all 5 transforming to do battle. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkzILFW...jpg&name=small Back on the boat, Tatsuya's dad continues to chew him out, and tries gently persuading him to own up to his heritage and come back, as if nothing happened. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkzILVW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkzILWW...jpg&name=small This gives Tatsuya the will to speak up and announce he'll escape the fate of being an Asami by any means necessary. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkzILZX...jpg&name=small He thus runs onto the deck to strip off his bow tie and dinner jacket to make an announcement, before leaving. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkzQUjW...jpg&name=small But he still takes the time to advertise his business before leaving. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkzQUgX...jpg&name=small As he goes, Asami Sr looks on, surprised that his son is going through with what he himself never had the nerve to. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkzQUcX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkzQUbX...jpg&name=small Tatsuya goes to work, changing into his Chrono Suit. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkzfk3W...jpg&name=small His showing up doesn't do much to turn the tide, as the fight continues as it was proceeding before. Until Domon accidentally shoots Rouge's compression seal, triggering a rebound. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkzflRX...jpg&name=small And unlike pretty much every other bad guy to grow giant, she doesn't want to do so, making her displeasure known. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkzflQX...jpg&name=small Summoning Time Robo just gives her someone to complain to. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkznaOX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkznaNX...jpg&name=small So, Yuri, Ayase and Tatsuya decide to make her an offer she can't refuse. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkznaOW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkznadW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkzwViX...jpg&name=small Rouge agrees, but gets terrified when Tatsuya begins brandishing the sword, due to her fear of getting hurt. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkzwVlX...jpg&name=small With Rouge's co-operation restored, Tatsuya slashes her gently, freeze-compressing her. Meanwhile, Tatsuya's parents leave the party, with his mother having picked up the business card he left behind. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkzwVqW...jpg&name=small Back at the dock, Tatsuya contains Rouge, staring longingly at her, before insisting everything?s alright. And the episode ends by revealing that the tux Tatsuya was wearing is a rental, with the others making him get the jacket back so they can get a return on their deposit. Next time: Domon reverts to his old, pro-fighter persona after getting amnesia in Timeranger Case File 07: Domon is Hospitalised. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAkz2gNX...jpg&name=small Final thoughts: Not the most action packed episode, but it more than makes up for it. There's a bit of amateur spy work, a greater look into Tatsuya's psyche and we see that his dad isn't just some controlling curmudgeon, but that he fully expects Tatsuya to grow as a person now that he's independent and actually has some sympathy for his son leaving the Asami name behind, since he tried doing the same. And Rouge was fairly fun for a one off villain, especially the very unique premise of a monster not wanting to grow big. |
And now for the second part of our weekly feature, with…
Time Force 6: A Parting of Ways I was going to open on a Doctor Who gag, but I haven’t seen that episode in anywhere near long enough to describe it for the purposes of a joke. But talking of openings, the Rangers are already battling a mutant, namely the one from the first episode (who the credits name Flamecon). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqprcKb...jpg&name=small After Wes single handedly takes him down in a choppily edited fight with the speed you’d expect from a Mary Sue character, Flamecon grows giant, and the Rangers summon the Time Fliers to combine into Jet Mode (so we’re just dropping that in here with no buildup? Great) and use their tornado attack against him. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqprcUb...jpg&name=small After they defeat Flamecon with the Megazord, we cut to Wes, moping in the clock tower, with no reference at all to what just happened. (Seriously, what the hell was the point of that? Did Lynn and Marchand really want to use that footage, but couldn’t come up with an episode for it? Or was this episode significantly under running?) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqprcha...jpg&name=small Why is he mopey? Because he immediately afterwards heads to meet with his dad, who intends to pay his son’s way into Harvard(!) so he can take over the company (now renamed from Biosynth to Bio-Lab). But the talk gets derailed when a kid throws a ball at the old man’s car while playing baseball. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqpzb2W...jpg&name=small Mr. Collins decides he’s going to keep the ball to teach the poor kid a lesson (to be honest, this is standard old people behaviour). But he makes the mistake of handing the ball to Wes, who gives it back to the kid. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqpzb6X...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, in a reversal of roles, it’s Ransik who’s in the middle of a pampering session, as the Cyclobots give him a massage. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqpzcja...jpg&name=small And whereas Nadira’s antics slightly irritate the Cyclobots, Ransik full on beheads one (and in a subtle bit of acting and an unusual amount of nuance not usually seen in even the more sympathetic PR villains before and since, Frax goes to help the poor robot put his head back on). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqpzcqb...jpg&name=small And then Nadira enters, still desperate to get her hands on “cash” (Seriously, why does she consistently use that? It’s just awkward. They’re not trying to match any lip flaps), unleashes a new mutant (not one of Marvel’s The New Mutants) to do so. Only he’s missing a head. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqp7MKb...jpg&name=small Because this guy’s mutation is that his head is a separate being to his main body (that must be a nightmare to live with on a day to day basis). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqp7L2X...jpg&name=small After the two halves rejoin, Nadira introduces him as Tentaclaw, who was arrested back in the future for kidnapping the Mayor (the Mayor of where? London? Hamburg? Paris? Rome? Rio? Hong Kong? Tokyo? L.A.? New York? Amsterdam? Monte Carlo? Shard End? Okay, I’ll stop). Her plan is to kidnap someone important and extort a ransom for their safe return. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqp7L0X...jpg&name=small The target Tentaclaw chooses? Why, a school bus full of children, of course! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqE3Cb...jpg&name=small His head flies onto the bus and teleports the body inside so he can knock out the driver and seize control. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqE3Pb...jpg&name=small Circuit takes note of this and the Rangers soon appear to give chase, but Tentaclaw is unfortunately able to drive the bus and fend them off at the same time. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqE20X...jpg&name=small And so, Tentaclaw gets away with his spoils, leaving behind a ransom note made up of letters cut out of magazines (I understand the normal reason this is used is to prevent the police from matching handwriting, but why do they do it here? Nadira’s not going to have any records for another thousand years). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqE3Va...jpg&name=small Wes takes the note to his dad, who is in the middle of a business meeting to buy the companies from two failing rivals for $10 million altogether (What a coincidence). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqOUXX...jpg&name=small When Wes reveals the ransom demands and insists his dad pay it, the latter is overwhelmed, and in a rather good bit of acting from Edward Albert, regretfully declines, telling Wes to take the note to the police. And instead of doing this, Wes chooses to mope until his family’s resident Jeeves gives him a pep talk about doing the right thing. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqOUva...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, Nadira begins to regret sending Tentaclaw to find a hostage when she has to put up with the children crying, but refuses to let Gluto eat them. Not out of moral standards, but because she hasn’t been paid up. (I am starting to suspect that it wasn’t just shoplifting Gluto was accused of) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqOU8W...jpg&name=small Wes proceeds to get the money by lying to one of the business clients to get him to hand over the cheque he was given for his company (I guess this man’s 3 starving children can suck it, Wes). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqWHRX...jpg&name=small Wes then trades the cheque for a briefcase full of bills (Did the bank teller not check who the money was made out to? Or did Wes cross out the name of the beneficiary to write his own? Because given how unheroic he’s being so far, I wouldn?t put it past him), which he takes to a rendezvous point. And when he learns that Nadira has no intention of giving the kids back, he fights her to reclaim the money. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqWHbW...jpg&name=small And then it turns out that actually paying the ransom turned out to be unnecessary, as Jen and the others have found Tentaclaw’s hideout and the kids. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqWH4b...jpg&name=small But it’s not until Wes shows up that the kids are freed from their forcefield (and as it turns out, the kid from earlier is among the kidnapped). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqWHtW...jpg&name=small And then after a meaningful echo of what Wes said to the kid earlier, he stops to stare as the Rangers begin to do battle (It’s probably meant to hint that the kid figured out Wes is the Red Ranger, but it’s not entirely clear). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqfgoW...jpg&name=small The fight begins in earnest after he leaves (read: they can switch to the stock footage), with Wes identifying and exploiting Tentaclaw’s weakness. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqfg2X...jpg&name=small The Rangers then form the Vortex Blaster and successfully(!) shrink Tentaclaw’s head. (That’s the first time in either show this thing has actually worked) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqfhaa...jpg&name=small But Tentaclaw’s now headless body proceeds to grow giant, declaring that he doesn’t need a head to destroy them. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqfhHW...jpg&name=small The Rangers face him in the Time Force Megazord Mode Blue and instead of freezing him as per normal, they summon the Time Jet and use a charge attack to blow up Tentaclaw’s body (I guess the message of this episode is clear: kidnapping children means you deserve to die)! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqmdNb...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqmc_a...jpg&name=small Later, Wes’s dad chews him out, having found out that he stole the money, which gets interrupted when reporters enter the room to congratulate Mr. Collins for supposedly being willing to save the children. (How did that bit of gossip leak out?) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqmdua...jpg&name=small And to add insult to injury, Wes forces his Dad to donate every penny of the ransom to childrens’ charities live on air. Mr. Collins: Anything for the little tykes! And Wes, having decided he doesn’t want to turn out like his dad, leaves the house behind (with only the butler watching him go), with the episode ending on him moving into the clock tower with the others. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAqqmdgb...jpg&name=small Next time: The villains actually wise up and deprive the Rangers of their Megazord, before sending out a giant monster. By which I mean, they break Circuit after stealing him from under Trip’s nose. Final thoughts: The episode was supposed to show Wes seeing his dad as a greedy, amoral businessman and leaving that behind, but that just doesn’t come through at all. The only reprehensible thing he actually does is steal the kid’s ball (and the fact he tells Wes to throw it in the trash indicates that he would have let the kid pick it back up anyway). He seems reasonably overwhelmed when told about the ransom, and his suggestion to leave it to the police isn’t a particularly terrible or close-minded one. Meanwhile, Wes steals money that was being used for a legitimate business transaction, one that must’ve taken weeks or months to be agreed upon, despite being told not to, all for the purposes of acquiescing to a demand he has no reason to acquiesce to, and he’s supposed to be the good guy here. But aside from that, the episode isn’t bad. Tentaclaw has a fairly unique gimmick (and as mentioned above, a very notable demise), they work well with what would otherwise be a rather standard stock plot (only in a series mostly focused on special effects and action scenes does a mundane hostage situation feel fresh), and we actually have a guest child actor who can convincingly act (at least, by Power Rangers? low standards). |
Before I get into this post, let me say a few things.
I've not really been replying to Androzani's' Time Force posts directly, because while there is stuff I disagree with or details he's gotten wrong, it's been mostly minor stuff that doesn't really affect much of anything. That is to say, this here post is about to be an exception, because I feel like Androzani sort of missed the entire fundamental showing of the episode itself. And if it's one thing the internet and its relationship with review(er)s has taught me, it's that having such a misleading representation of a story can infact be very damaging, especially when it comes to people who don't plan on experiencing said story for themselves. So, let's get into this: Quote:
Him telling Wes to leave things to the police isn't because he's being particularly level headed, it's because he's selfish and hates kids. This is even further hammered in at the episode's' end, wherein he's disgusted at the thought of him giving any of his money to any of the children, and only goes along with what Wes says because he knows it'll make for good public relations. Collins couldn't care less if the kids ended up dead. That's the whole point. Oh, and that business transaction? The fact that he's able to casually throw $10 million at acquiring two companies at once; guess what that means? He's already loaded. He's not some dude just starting out, he's a multi-millionaire tycoon. And he's had Wes under his thumb for Wes' entire life. We've seen glimpses of this throughout the show so far, and that this episode alone has him ordering Wes around at the start, and how Wes has to refer to him as "Sir" really speaks volumes. Yeah, Wes stealing the money wasn't good, but Collins ain't exactly innocent of all accounts. Now, as for my personal viewing of the episode, I think it's handled rather well at the story it wishes to tell. It shows that Wes isn't some spoiled rich kid with no conscience like what Jen accused him of early on, and he's taking his new found job as the Red Ranger rather seriously. Really, my only "critique" would be that I think I'd've liked the story even more if this episode were even just a few more spots down the line, as it'd give even more credibility towards both Wes coming into his own as well as Jen and the others fully coming around to liking him more. Oh, and the one scene with get with Ransik is some rather nice foreshadowing, in hindsight. |
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Seventh week, so let's commence it with...
Timeranger Case File 07: Domon is Hospitalised, 26/03/2000 As stated before, I am deliberately not taking screenshots for episodes that don?t introduce a major plot element (be it a new character, a new toy or a new song) or development. This is not any indictment of the episodes in question. I will still be treating them like any other review. Our episode begins with Domon despondent about how different things are to the 30th Century, such as the sky (I have to wonder what in both franchises caused the sky to turn pink in a thousand years). Tatsuya takes him out for ramen, where he reminisces about living with his grandparents and 6 siblings (Time Force may be focusing more on characterisation, but this one throwaway line gives Domon more going for him in 30 seconds than Katie?s got in 7 episodes), along with his pro-fighting days. Meanwhile, Dolnero discovers that his current coffers are empty, due to Lila using their money to buy a fur coat that doesn't exist in the 30th Century (Is the animal it came from extinct or something?), while Gien ponders his latest criminal. In the middle of the night, Domon gets up, insisting he has to be at the stadium, since he has a match to take part in. After he heads to the stadium's location and finds only a back alley, he collapses and Tatsuya sends him to the hospital, signing him in under the alias "Taro Domon" (which makes me wonder what aliases he's cooked up for Ayase, Yuri and Sion in similar situations), and sticks with him. But by bad luck, Gien's latest villain has taken over the hospital and brainwashed the doctors into his service. When Domon wakes up, Tatsuya explains his confusion as "data drunkenness" as a side-effect of having information about he era downloaded into his brain, a brainwashed nurse comes in and hands him a bill? for 100 million yen (that's roughly $651,346). Domon is taken into surgery and meets our criminal for the week, a Villainous Murderer Doctor by the name of Doku (har har), who Domon identifies as a "living robot" (whatever that means), which doesn't help his condition. Tatsuya calls in the weirdness of the hospital to the others, and Tock identifies the likely suspect of Doku, who received 500 years in freezer-compression for murder by medical malpractice (meaning that that crime is far more severe than arson, bank robbery, kidnapping and murdering, bar brawling and three strikes put together. Bear that in mind)., through mangled surgeries. Doku proceeds to knock Domon out before taking him to surgery. Using a chainsaw! (Maybe 500 years was too lenient a sentence for this guy) Fortunately, Tatsuya is saved by the others arriving and they burst into the surgery before it can begin. But Domon has regressed even further to childhood, worrying about being late for school. Tatsuya drags him after the others in chasing Doku, before losing patience and deciding to implore him to remember. And Domon does remember... that Tatsuya's face is that of the guy who dragged him back here, resulting in his first thoughts being to turn to violence. Tatsuya stays behind to try and knock some sense into him, while the others go on. Doku retreats to a warehouse near a quarry, where he gets found in no time at all (I?m guessing he spent precisely zero time at all finding a hiding spot. The three transform and engages in battle - much like Tatsuya is doing with Domon, who?s annoyed that he?ll probably never see his family again. Tatsuya tells him he has a right to be homesick, which actually succeeds in restoring him to normal. Domon then stares at the setting sun, being tearfully reminded of the scenery he could always see from his house. Meanwhile, Doku gets the upper hand with the aid of his exploding syringes, and prepares to kill Ayase through a lethal injection of "medicine". But Tatsuya and Domon show up, having pre-stripped to their stock footage onesies, before equipping their suits to join the battle. Domon beats Doku back with his Vector Harley, before he and Tatsuya perform a double team "Vector Hurricane". Domon then finishes Doku off with his Vector Dividing attack, before the group blast him with the Voltech Bazooka. But being a doctor, Doku isn't afraid of side effects, and triggers a rebound to grow giant (The Timerangers really need to get their money back on the Voltech Bazooka. It hasn't worked once). Tock calls for the TimeJets, and the heroes face Doku down in TimeJet Gamma (and we get a rare night battle as they do so, even though clouds are visible in the Gamma Tornado stock footage), before shifting to TimeRobo Alpha to finish him off. As Doku is freeze-compressed, Tatsuya explains that Domon's actual affliction was homesickness, which Tock notes negatively affected his data drunkenness, with the episode ending with Domon about to comically beat up Tatsuya, only to comically injure himself. Next time: Yuri has to deal with an artist Tomorrow Research are hired to help protect from Lila, and her own trampling of his self esteem, in Timeranger Case File 08: An Artistic Explosion. Final thoughts: It took seven episodes to get a story focused on Domon. Was it worth it? Well, kind of. The emotional core is there, but the criminal this week felt detached from the plot of Domon's homesickness-induced hysteria. But I do appreciate them not going for any obvious cracks (if they'd even exist) at the expense of the Japanese healthcare system. |
Second half of week 7, same as the first (literally, since they use the same fight footage), with...
Time Force Episode 7: Short-Circuited No pictures this time. I don't think it's worth reposting the same paragraph from the last post for the readers only checking out this half of the thread, so I'll direct you to scroll up and read the second paragraph of that post, before moving on. We open on the Rangers once more mid-battle with a mutant, who my sources name? Rabbitcon (truly a terrifying nomenclature), while Nadira watches on. After Trip defeats Rabbitcon, he grows big, with Nadira assuming the Rangers are helpless? forgetting until he shows up that the Rangers have a robot owl who summons their Megazord. During the ensuing battle, Nadira tries to steal Circuit (who somehow fails to hear her evil laugh right behind him), who flies away before she can grab him, causing her to comically crash into a bar, while the Rangers recapture Rabbitcon. (Well, it's slightly more well-integrated than last episode's cold open) Some time later (by which I mean, the opening credits roll), the male Rangers are playing poker at the clock towers. Trip uses his mind reading to learn that Lucas has four of a kind, resulting in the latter banning the former from using his psychic visions for a whole day (which he enforces by slapping a bandage over Trip's forehead crystal). Meanwhile, Nadira gets Frax (who is starting to sound slightly less like a generic robot) to defrost Medicon (1. Who uses the same costume as Doku from this week's reviewed episode of Timeranger and B) Why are so many of these mutants named ?something-con?? Did whoever name them expect them to be criminals? Which would make sense of some things, but still), despite the robot's misgivings, for her latest plan. Trip goes out on the town with Circuit, where they see a woman fleeing from Cyclobots. After saving her, Trip removes her hat, scarf and glasses to reveal Nadira, who's apparently not all that evil and is merely being forced by her evil father to do villainy. Without his powers, Trip falls for this long enough to buy her a hot dog (and either they're no longer a thing in the 30th Century, or mutants don't eat human food, since Nadira finds it disgusting) and make off with Circuit while they?re not looking. Before Trip can warn the others, Medicon tampers with Circuit so all he can do is spout gibberish (I'm guessing they gave him the name Medicon because he's clearly themed around a doctor, rather than any role they had planned for him in the episode), before going out to attack a quarry (I can?t really blame 9/11 for this one, because the Sentai fight happened in a similar location). It's only after Katie's taken down Medicon and he's grown giant that Trip is able to share the bad news. Lucas then tears the bandage off Trip, telling him that this is a situation that requires his powers (I feel like he could've just made that point from the start). And as the Rangers fend Medicon off as he heads to the city, Trio uses his powers to locate Circuit. He finds Nadira and the robot owl at an abandoned warehouse, and after beating off the grunts, Nadira flees in annoyance. Trip manages to fix Circuit by replacing his damaged parts, and then using the time honoured tradition of "hit the damn thing to make it work". He then returns to the city with Circuit to summon the Megazord. (He could've done that remotely, but whatever) They fend off Medicon with the Cyclone Defence, before turning into Mode Red to defeat and recapture him. In the aftermath, Trio apologises for getting Circuit into the proceeding mess by being too trusting. Circuit: I tried to tell you, but nooo! The other Rangers assure him that his trusting nature and honesty are nothing to be ashamed of, and Lucas clarifies that Trio should only use his powers to inform the others of important matters? meaning that he ends up stepping in dog poop because he isn't looking where he's going, which is the note we end on. Next time: One of Ransik's cronies offers to sell him out to Jen. Final thoughts: It's definitely got a good premise behind it (the villains try to stop the Rangers from summoning the Megazord) and a lesson in not using your gifts for trivial things. Though the plot is fairly barebones (Lucas basically tells Trip he can use his powers without so much as an "It's all my fault" reaction in the dialogue. I suck at reading body language, so there might've been some there though) and the idea that apparently you can disable psychic powers with a band-aid kind of strains capability (if it was lead lined, then I might let it slide). But to prove I'm not made of stone, I thought both Kevin Klineberg (Trip) and Brianne Sydall (the voice of Circuit) gave it their all here. |
Man, Lucas is such a douche in these early episodes.
And he's really the main sticking point I have with this one. Because while I feel like the overall idea is nice, the setup(and payoff) is kinda weak? Lucas basically gets off scot-free in terms of accountability here. And I get that Trip is too nice to lash out in any sort of way, but Lucas not even offering so much as an apology really doesn't make him look any good. That aside though, I did still have a nice time with the episode, even if I felt it might be the weakest one so far. Nadira's' actress really does seem to be having fun with her role, and Trip continues to show why he's my favorite character in the season with his continued empathy and kindness. Also, shout out to those two random civilians who somehow managed to tank lazer blasts from a giant Medicon. Power scalers would go nuts over them. |
Commencez-vou week 8, with…
Timeranger Case File 08: An Artistic Explosion, 02/04/2000 And whereas Time Force has the same two people (Judd Lynn and Jackie Marchand, namely) doing every epusode, this is our first episode of Timeranger not written by Yasuko Kobayashi. Instead, it’s written by Ryota Yamaguchi, better known for show-running Sailor Stars and DokiDoki Pretty Cure. And no, I don’t consider a new writer a significant enough plot beat to justify including pictures on an otherwise unimportant episode. We open with Yuri having got everyone a new job searching for the landlord’s missing dog, John. Unfortunately, all they have to go on is a poorly drawn doodle, that in the eyes of everyone but Yuri looks nothing like a dog - Sion compares it to a “nuug” from “the 4th Galaxy” (Home of the Drahvins?). But then they see our Londarz of the week, Hijacker Nabokov, flying to the park to menace a street artist named Kenji Toba and steal his painting, before kidnapping him. Fortunately, the heroes show up to thwarts the kidnapping. Unfortunately, Nabokov is practically immune to everything but Yuri’s Vector Harley, which makes him annoyed enough to retreat. As Tatsuya, Domon and Sion dig Kenji out of the pond he was thrown into, Tock updates Yuri and Ayase with information on Nabokov. Namely that he’s prisoner no. 53. As Kenji regains consciousness, he gets a good look at Yuri and “gets hungry”. The group take him home (with Tatsuya covering Tock up with his jacket), whereupon Kenji admits he?s an artist living on the streets, due to having no luck selling paintings (I’m pretty sure Sailor Moon SuperS did this plot. At least Nabokov can’t go out complaining that he hasn’t even done anything). Yuri checks the police servers for similar cases, but Kenji is more concerned with taking mental nudes and gets flustered when she turns to notice him. It then turns out that Kenji is a famous artist in the future, whose painting are worth trillions of yen, and Lila hired Nabokov to kidnap him to paint a picture of herself (which Gien feels is a waste, since Nabokov used to hijack aeroplanes in the future), to memorialise her beauty. Meanwhile, Tomorrow Research eagerly visit Kenji’s house, which is typically low income (with the only other inhabitant being the landlord’s missing dog). Tatsuya is prevented from taking a painting for free, since it will change the future. But this makes Kenji reiterate his desire to give up painting and look after his elderly parents. Tatsuya and Domon convince him to keep going, and he agrees? provided he gets to draw Yuri. And to everyone’s shock, she accepts. Going outside, the men wonder if Yuri likes Kenji, while inside, she’s going along with it while waiting for the Londarz to show up, to the point of getting jumpy at the mails goofing off while waiting. And then since Tatsuya loses at Rock-Paper-Scissors, he goes inside to check on everything. But Kenji is still unable to draw Yuri, since he feels he can’t see her soul. It’s at this point that Nabokov returns to kidnap Toba, with Lila showing up to gloat. In a fancy upscale building (okay, this is exactly like the SuperS episode), Lila informs Kenji that he’ll be a great painter in the future and bribes him with food and art supplies to paint her. Meanwhile, Yuri blames herself for this kidnapping, since she only agreed to model to be next to him when the Londarz attacked, to which Tatsuya calls her out for disregarding his feelings. Meanwhile, Kenji finds himself unable to draw Lila for her offers, causing her to decide to kill him. But the Timerangers have found her, due to the dog recognising Kenji’s scent. And we get this exchange. Lila: You’re that stupid Ranger Captain from the Time Protection Bureau! Tatsuya: I wish people would stop saying that. Yuri apologises to Kenji, before vowing to protect him, with the group transforming to battle Nabokov and Yuri going first in the roll call this time. His inspires Kenji to draw again, as Lila summons Zenits to join the fray. The fight begins, with the Rangers making short work of the enemy robots at an industrial site, before Lila shoots Yuri down (which means only one thing: girl battle). As Kenji finally finds his inspiration, Yuri and Lila engage in a shoot out, which ends with Yuri disarming her form, before trying to strike with Vector End: Beat 6… only for Nabokov to get in the way to cover her escape. The Rangers all use their Vector Harley to strike Nabokov’s weak spot in his mouth, before hitting him with the Voltech Bazooka. (Well that was anticlimactic) But this just pisses Nabokov enough to trigger a rebound, after which Tock gets the jacket off him and summons the TimeJets. They combine into TimeRobo Beta and shoot and kick Nabokov, before breaking apart and reforming into Alpha to finish off the alien. Some time later, the boys watch as Yuri waves Kenji off, with him giving her the portrait he drew of her as a parting gift, but the train’s imminent departure prevents Yuri from being overwhelmed by a love confession, so she just waves him off. The episode ends with everyone laughing at Yuri having crushed Kenji’s feelings for the second time, while she refuses to let them see the painting. Next time: Dolnero gets wistful as an old friend is released from freeze-compression, alienating his current allies, in Case File 09: The Don’s Depression. Final thoughts: For our first epusode under a guest writer, I suppose it wasn’t a bad first crack. There’s some differences in style to be noticed, such as the show discussing the regular time travel plot of “meeting someone who’s a celebrity in the future”, and what Nabokov got arrested for gets glossed over beyond a cryptic reference. The plot was recycled wholesale from a Sailor Moon episode, but I liked that particular episode, so I’m not going to be too harsh on this one for the reuse. Though I did like the return of characters noting Tatsuya’s resemblance to Ryuya. |
Week 8 continues with…
Time Force Episode 8: Jen’s Revenge My interesting fact about this episode is that Erin Cahill, who played Jen, named his as her favourite episode of the series because she got to be more aggressive. How much more? Let’s find out. As Trip checks on the 7 Mutants the Rangers have captured so far (hooray for continuity), which are being held in a freezer (probably in case the capsules malfunction, but that’s just my interpretation. I’m half sure someone will disagree with me). Wes then wakes up to his alarm and falls out of bed, with the others telling him that it’s not early (despite the clock reading “6.45” and the sun looking like it was rising or setting in the establishing shot). He notices that Jen isn’t there, and learns she?s “training as usual”. By which I mean, she’s out by the lake, punching a tree with a rope wrapped around it with fingerless gloves, before staring wistfully at her engagement ring. Wes then arrives, offering to work out with her… only for her to throw him flat on his ass. Jen: Someday, if you get up early enough, maybe you can keep up with me. (That quote isn’t that important to later in the episode. I just thought it was distinct enough to stand out) We then cut to Casa de Ransik, where Frax defrosts the unfortunately named Fatcatfish (adapted from Mad Blast from Timeranger 05), with the latter tasked by Ransik with taking out the Rangers in exchange for half a briefcase full of money. And Frax loses the mechanical delivery to mock him for his surprise. Frax: Surely a bounty hunter of your reputation will have no problem going after them. Fatcatfish: Of course not. I’ll pulverise them. He demonstrates by using his gatling gun arm to take out Nadira’s entire entourage. Which she’s oddly ok with, laughing at the robot carnage. But Frax fails to see the humour in Fatcatfish’s Robo-racism, and vows revenge - and implies that robots share the same discrimination and goals that mutants do (which would explain how Ransik got him to join the gang - playing on that). But before Fatty (Nadira’s nickname for him, which I’m adopting to spare my spell checker) can go and kill the Rangers, Nadira Shanghais him as a valet while she goes shopping, forces him to pay for all her purchases and then deserts him once he goes broke. Predictably, he goes on a rampage in response. The Rangers arrive on the scene to stop him. And in a divergence from the Timeranger episode, Jen does recognise him… Alex arrested Fatty alongside her back in the year 3000 (and somehow, Fatty recognised Jen beneath the helmet. Does he remember her voice from their one meeting?). And when he insults her over Alex’s death (How did her learn about that? Because the only way he could know is if Nadira told him during her shopping splurge), which is what prompts her to stock footage mandated “he must die” rage (I know we couldn’t do a gunned down parents story in a show aimed at PR’s demographic, but they probably could’ve come up with a stronger motivation to replace it). And Fatty chooses to withdraw when the other Rangers stop Jen. (And apparently, the V5 has a “destroy” setting, despite being made to capture criminals. That invites a lot of questions) Fatty comes across Frax, who proceeds to mock him for his cowardice and forge a friendship… purely so he can make a copy of his likeness and voice, which he uses to send a bogus surrender message to Jen (So deepfakes still exist in the future. Ok) offering to hand over Ransik in exchange for clemency at an old warehouse. That night, Jen sneaks out to said warehouse on her Time Force uniform, where Frax has arranged for Fatty and Ransik to meet up at said warehouse to sell the ruse (with the former even reassuming his robot voice to deny involvement). The ruse goes off with Ransik shoving Fatty aside, before Jen finds herself dealing with an ambush of Cyclobots. After a fairly well choreographed and creative fight, Fatty runs away, and Wes discovers Jen went out on her own. The other Rangers arrive in time for Jen to need saving from Ransik… somewhat redundantly, as his mutation disease flares up before he can land the final blow, with Ransik being helped to safety by Frax. The next morning, a badly bandaged (for kids tv) Jen wakes up to find Wes has been sleeping with her all night. Meanwhile, Faty had realised Frax’s deception and tries to shut him down… only for the regular villain to be saved by Jen reappearing to settle things with the monster of the week. But Wes notices her absence and alerts the others, with the 4 rushing to the scene just as she’s preparing to “give (Fatty) the same mercy that Ransik gave Alex”. Wes manages to get through to Jen by pointing out that while she’s justified in wanting to kill him, Alex wouldn’t have wanted it, causing her to decide to bring him in “by the book” (kind of anticlimactic, but whatever). Fatty then recovers his courage, in time for Jen to deliver a sword strike to defeat him. But Fatty grows to giant size, with the Rangers summoning the Time Fliers and combining into Jet Mode to hit Fatty with the Cyclone Defence, before reforming as Mode Red. Wes gives Jen the honour of finishing off Fatty, allowing him to be recaptured. Later, as Trip adds their latest prisoner to the freezer that is Time Force’s Hotel California, we end on Wes and Jen having a heart to heart, with the latter admitting she like Wes because he isn’t Alex, resulting in a hug… and everyone else proving that the Scooby-Doo method of spying on people by stacking on top of one another sideways doesn't really work in real life. Next time: Frax steals a crystal powder that he uses to fuel a robot that defeats the Megazord, forcing Mr. Collins and a mysterious party to send out their own giant mecha. But that’s going to be about two weeks off, since here’s where I announce a schedule change. To overcome the 10 episode difference in length between Timeranger and Time Force, I’ll be spending the next three weekends and the next two scheduled update days covering episodes 9-18 of Timeranger, before resuming the simul-review with episodes 19 of Timeranger and 9 of Time Force. If it proves sustainable, I might make that my new update model. But now, onto the final thoughts. Final thoughts: Now I’m not saying this is a bad episode - it’s well acted, we get a bit of development for Frax, who up until now has been rather static (and no, that’s not a pun) and some development of the Wes/Jen ship. But I will say that the title is rather misleading (what exactly is Jen taking revenge on Fatcatfish for? Mocking her? Because if so, her reaction is, as pointed out, rather overblown) and the resolution to the plot feels like they’d written themselves into a corner when working with the footage. Plus Jen getting angry and trying to murder a criminal had slightly less impact than when Yuri did it, because as ShiRanger pointed out, shouting is Erin Cahill’s default mode as Jen, whereas Mika Natsumura normally plays Yuri as stoic and business first, which made for a greater contrast. So, it’s not an awful watch, but I feel it could’ve been made stronger. How, I don’t know, but it could’ve. |
This is an episode that I can see being very necessary for younger viewers.
As it essentially answers the question of "Why is Jen in such a bad mood alot of times?" for those that didn't piece it together with the first two episodes. And really, it is all about her personal vendetta in this entire war with Ransik that's been going on, and how desperate she is in seeking vengeance for Alex. It causes her to act out and put both herself and others in danger. Not only does it make it very easy for Frax to lure her into a trap, but she almost ends up smoking a criminal into dust just through sheer guilt by association. Sure, it was also a criminal she'd arrested in the past, but given that opening where Ransik is on her mind, it was clear who she was really lashing out at. It's a pretty solid character piece for our Pink Ranger, with some surprising development for Frax added to the mix too. That said, the most surprising thing to me on this rewatch was that the censors allowed Jen to be shown bloody and bruised; a very rare occurrence in the world of Power Rangers. Not to mention Jen's' use of the world "death" during the climax. I liked it. Though it might've maybe been nice to see this episode slightly sooner in the lineup. |
As promised, we're doing two bonus reviews this weekend and the next. If the stress is manageable, then I?ll probably make it the regular schedule. But anyway, let's get on with the show
Timeranger: Case File 09: The Don?s Depression, 15/09/2000 We open with a bit of reality sweeping in, as the Londarz are exposed to the public by a tabloid magazine. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_aNT_W...jpg&name=small Discussing this over breakfast, the Timerangers agree that this turn of events was inevitable. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_aNT_W...jpg&name=small But they'll have to be on their guard. After all, who knows what these journalists might uncover? https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_aNUMX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_aNT9W...jpg&name=small But that gives way to everyone heading to their jobs... except for Ayase, who goes to take his driving test (so I'm guessing those documents Tock and Sion were forging just allowed him to take the test?). Cue a montage of Timeranger at work. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_abHVX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_abHfX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_abHtW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_abHoW...jpg&name=small But then we cut to Casa de Dolnero, where Lila is sick of the Sentai trope of carrying on with their operations as if the heroes don?t exist and won't stop them every time (I know how she feels). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_andyW...jpg&name=small Gien then gets an idea after finding one of the criminals they have frozen is a police officer, and decompressed him, with the name being a bit of a hint as to what he was busted for. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_andxX...jpg&name=small And by ?brother?, he means in the street sense (apparently, that?s universal enough to exist in Japan). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_and7W...jpg&name=small He reveals that he used his position as a police officer to help pass hints to Dolnero's gang back in the future. And as Gien points out, he obviously didn't do a very good job since he was arrested. Despite being dismissive of his "Brother's" new crew, Arnold willingly goes out to gather money, as Dolnero returns to his apparent craft model building hobby. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_avInW...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, back with Ayase, unlike Lucas during his test, he has a competent and appropriate instructor. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_avIiX...jpg&name=small But the lesson comes to a screeching halt when Arnold attacks motorists, demanding they hand over exorbitant fines for alleged infractions. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_avIjX...jpg&name=small Ayase sends the instructor away, before transforming and moving to battle Arnold. The others arrive, and battle Arnold until he decides to withdraw and regroup, leaving the heroes to escape the paparazzi. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_a3DEW...jpg&name=small Back at the prison, Arnold talks with Dolnero, getting an answer as to what the model he's building actually is. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_a3C_X...jpg&name=small Arnold then flaunts his old friendship with Dolnero to insult both Gien and Lila, causing both of them to leave and grumble about how much they hate the smug bastard. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_a_LGW...jpg&name=small And then as they agree they're going to kill him, Dolnero overhears this, and decides to take action. So he provides Arnold with an upgraded weapon (wait for it). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_a_LHW...jpg&name=small Arnold proceeds to go on the attack again, with the Timerangers finding out about it from Sion's hacking the police radio, of all things. They face Arnold, and Tatsuya gains a palpable advantage over him, forcing him to use his new weapon. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_bGtiW...jpg&name=small But before Gien can take a shot and finish him off, the new weapon explodes, weakening Arnold, much to the shock of even the two regular villains. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_bGuOW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_bGueW...jpg&name=small Sou Arnold weakened, Timeranger take the opportunity to blast their foe with the Voltech Bazooka, which... look, you all know the drill at this point. But the giant battle does stand out, because Arnold turns invisible to ambush TimeRobo. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_bNu0W...jpg&name=small But they're able to come back from behind and win. Meanwhile, Dolnero confirms to his lieutenants that he sabotaged Arnold?s weapon. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_bNuzX...jpg&name=small He explains that while Arnold is his friend, the other two are his family, and keeping harmony within the family comes first. Meanwhile, the heroes finish freeze-compressing Arnold, before the same paparazzo from earlier comes back, successfully taking photos for her editor. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_bNu4X...jpg&name=small Unfortunately for her, they refuse to answer any questions and leave. Meanwhile, the heads of the police decide they need to do something about all those questions about whether the Timerangers are affiliated with them (They're already getting flak for talk that one of the Unidentified Lifeforms they're supposed to be neutralising is somehow stealing police equipment to slaughter his fellows). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_bNu2X...jpg&name=small Their solution: Produce an article that confirms the rumours as "truth". https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_bTMHX...jpg&name=small Yuri doesn't mind the lie, since it'll help them operate in secret. But then Tatsuya changes the subject with some good news: Ayase passed his driving test and got his license. (And all it took was not having a biased instructor who took a minor injury too seriously) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_bTMUX...jpg&name=small But during the celebration, Ayase's hand shivers, as he drops his wine glass, and he stumbles out, unnoticed by all but Tatsuya. The episode ends with him collapsing outside Tomorrow Research. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_bTMiW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HB_bTMhX...jpg&name=small Next week: Ayase explains the truth to Tatsuya: He's dying from Osiris Syndrome. This and more in Timeranger Case File 10: The Escape to Tomorrow. Final thoughts: I like the Dolnero plot with him being torn between his old friend and his new family (even if "Depression" doesn't really fit as a title), and the hook with Ayase is interesting, even if the trailer spoiled it. But I wasn't too keen on the subplot of the news reporting on the Timeranger's battles. Realistic? Probably. Interesting? I wasn't too thrilled. |
Second verse, same as the first. Let?s go forth with?
Timeranger Case File 10: Escape to Tomorrow 16/04/2000 (Incidentally, the day before I was born) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhoEsW...jpg&name=small We begin where the last episode left off, with Ayase collapsed outside Tomorrow Research. This time, we follow up with Tatsuya finding him and taking him back inside, as Ayase insists he?s fine. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhoFRb...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, at the prison, Dolnero and his gang are thawing out someone to take care of the Timerangers for them (who goes conspicuously unseen, for maximum dramatic effect). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhoE0W...jpg&name=small The next morning, back at Tomorrow Research, Tock has detected a rare and unusual phenomena known as a dimensional pulse. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhpg-W...jpg&name=small Realising that this could be a case, Yuri suggests that they check it out. But not all of them. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhpg9W...jpg&name=small Yuri plans to check it out with Ayase, but Tatsuya, seeing the chance to get some answers, volunteers to take her place. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhpg9X...jpg&name=small One frosty car ride over to the docks later, Tatsuya and Ayase find the source of the dimensional pulse within a box. Touching it renders their Chrono Changers non-functional. Ayase has an Admiral Ackbar moment as a result. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhqc-W...jpg&name=small They then get trapped within the building itself. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhqdBX...jpg&name=small And to make things seem even more hopeless, they can?t call for help on Tatsuya?s old timey cell phone because he forgot to pay his phone bill. And then they almost get blown up when the box emitting the pulse explodes on them. Fortunately, Tock?s monitoring lets them realise that something is clearly amiss. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhqc9W...jpg&name=small With no contact possible, Yuri and Domon thus head off to provide backup, with Sion left behind so he can pay the phone bill. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhrMYb...jpg&name=small Back with Tatsuya, he makes known his annoyance at Ayase throwing him out of the way of the exploding box before. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhrL0X...jpg&name=small Hey then finally come face to face with our criminal for the week, Mercenary Ogre. (Nothing to do with the Ogres from the next show, though that hasn?t stopped both being romanised as ?Org?) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhrL2W...jpg&name=small Ogre explains that Dolnero has hired him to take out the Timerangers, with Tatsuya and Ayase being his first targets. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhr4cX...jpg&name=small The pair escape and lead the enemy a-chase, but not before Ogre takes the chance to injure Tatsuya?s leg, forcing Ayase to carry him. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhr4eW...jpg&name=small Eventually, they run to what seems to be a storage area? only for it to turn out to be a freezing machine. Which Ogre locks them in, before turning it on. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhsm1X...jpg&name=small It?s at that point that Yuri and Domon appear, which Ogre takes as his cue to have something to do while he waits. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhsm8X...jpg&name=small Elsewhere, Dolnero?s gang celebrate the Timerangers? impending end, with Gien depositing that Ogre is a hardened mercenary who?s committed war crimes and Dolnero wishing his enemies luck in their next life. (Let it not be said that he cares) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhsm1X...jpg&name=small Back in the freezing room, Ayase once more gets self-sacrificial, giving up his jacket to keep Tatsuya warm, but he refuses it. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhta8W...jpg&name=small Tatsuya finally asks Ayase why he?s so seemingly unconcerned for his own life, to which he actually decides to answer. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhta8W...jpg&name=small He reveals that he had to give that up because he got afflicted with a disease that has no known cure. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhtbwb...jpg&name=small He explains that it?s not been discovered yet, because it?s caused by a specific kind of cosmic radiation. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhuI8W...jpg&name=small Tatsuya asks the obvious question. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhuI_X...jpg&name=small Ayase answers in the negative. When he first found out, he was too worried to tell his parents, and fell into self-destructive behaviour. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhuIpW...jpg&name=small But that convinced him that he didn?t want to die, making him want to go on and his self-sacrificial behaviour is so they wouldn?t have to deal with the weighty subject he?s burdened with. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhuJhb...jpg&name=small He then reveals that his affliction is why Tatsuya?s ?change your tomorrows? speech resonated with him. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhu1tW...jpg&name=small The roles then briefly get reversed, with Tatsuya giving up and waiting for death, while Ayase implores him to stay alive. (And ignore that I forgot to crop a large black rectangle off the bottom of the image. I done goofed there) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhu1uX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhu2Ga...jpg&name=small And with Yuri and Domon preoccupied, it?s ultimately Sion who saves the day, by paying the phone bill and calling them. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhu1lX...jpg&name=small It takes him no time at all to find the pair and free them, and even less time for him to fix their Chrono Changers (man, he is a good mechanic). They?re ready to face Ogre in a rematch after he?s beaten Yuri and Domon down. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhvjXX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhvjbW...jpg&name=small The ensuing fight has both Tatsuya and Ayase hit Ogre with their Vector End attacks, but he mercifully saves us the use of the Voltech Bazooka footage by triggering his own Rebound. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhvjcW...jpg&name=small They summon TimeRobo and in another display of rapidly quicker pacing, the whole fight is decided with a single stroke battle? which TimeRobo wins, freezing Ogre. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhvjXX...jpg&name=small As they put Ogre away with the others, Tock and Yuri warn the others that Dolnero won?t stop trying to take them out because one assassin failed. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhwVaW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCPhwVYW...jpg&name=small And the gag we end on is Yuri asking Tatsuya to pay off his own phone bill - 23, 864 ? - and him frantically trying and failing to get everyone to split it with him. Next time: The Timerangers do battle with an anarchist cult and deal with the same paparazzo from the previous episode in Case File 11: Town of Deadly Fighting Final thoughts: Honestly the things that make the episode are the conversation in the freezer and the running gag with the phone bill. Not that the rest is bad, but those two scenes stand out and elevate what would otherwise be a pretty ok episode at best. |
I haven't watched this since passing my driving test many years ago, but the thought of a fatal disease stealing away that freedom is scarier than the fatal disease itself, so I admire Ayase's strength and courage to continue living.
|
Week 9 begins with our continuation of the unusual update schedule.
Timeranger Case File 11: Town of Deadly Fighting 23/04/2000 In an unusual moment, we open on the staff of a restaurant, who are dealing with some unusual customers that terrify them. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYYp8W...jpg&name=small It turns out they?re talking about Dolnero and Lila, who are out having a fancy dinner for fun. And the reason Gien isn?t there is surprisingly not ?he?s a robot and doesn?t need to eat?. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYYp9X...jpg&name=small As it turns out, Gien is selecting this week?s criminal, according to his standards. Namely, his love for chaos and destruction established a while back. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYYqGX...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, back at the restaurant, the same paparazzo from two weeks ago snaps pictures of Dolnero and Lila in the middle of their meal. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYYp9W...jpg&name=small The next day, the woman, here named as Moriyama Honami, hands the picture over to her editor (if this show were made three years later, I guess he?d be a parody of JK Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson), in exchange for a blank cheque. She then promises an even greater scoop: the identities of the Timerangers (Oh boy, here we go). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYZiuX...jpg&name=small Later that day, a signal is sent out into the town, with all who hear it being driven to commit violence and destruction. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYZiuW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYZisX...jpg&name=small The next day, at Tomorrow Research, the heroes receive word that 38 people were injured in the riots last night, and the people identified as taking part in the mayhem have no memory of doing so. Yuri, being the resident detective, figures out a lead. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYZipW...jpg&name=small And the answer is, perhaps unsurprisingly, yes. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYaYlW...jpg&name=small The riots lasted three days and resulted in mass property damage. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYaYkW...jpg&name=small But fortunately, they managed to capture the one responsible and locked him away in Londar Prison. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYaYlW...jpg&name=small Domon assumes that he went around and hypnotised those people, but the others correctly guess that he just sent out a hypnotic wave. Meanwhile, Honami sees the police setting up a blockade to keep people out of danger. So of course, she runs right into it, knowing that the Timerangers will show up and she can use that chance to photograph their identities (Saying it now. I really hate plots focused on nosy reporters who see dangerous stuff going down and run towards it because ?What a scoop?, instead of doing the smart thing and running for the hills). Meanwhile the heroes they have to find the source of the wave and stop it before tonight, or someone might actually die this time. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYbqeX...jpg&name=small Later, the Timerangers have also snuck into the affected area thanks to Tatsuya and Domon disguising themselves as officers (that?s a criminal offence, you know), and begin looking around. Tatsuya soon finds himself surrounded by the uncanniness of the whole place. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYbqcX...jpg&name=small He then comes across brainwashed townsfolk, one of whom throws an EXPLODING DOLL at him (What and how?). Domon, Sion and Ayase likewise escape from a falling potted plant, a lady with a bat full of nails and a reckless driver respectively. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYbq4a...jpg&name=small Yuri?s search proves just as fruitless, but she does come across Honami under attack. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYbqUX...jpg&name=small After saving her, she tries getting the woman to leave, but despite Yuri making some very good points as to why she should, Honami refuses, insistent on getting her scoop. Especially once she realises there?s only one reason her rescuer would be running into the town she?s warning the other woman away from. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYcV1X...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYcV1X...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYcV-W...jpg&name=small The group reunite, just in time for Sion to detect Gougan?s machine. They reach it by sunset, as the criminal returns to the scene of the crime to reset the device. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYcV7W...jpg&name=small And for once, they have a clean victory. Yuri just has to set the VolSniper to its lethal settings and shoot the hypnotic transmitter, allowing everyone to go home. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYdKga...jpg&name=small Unfortunately, Honami chose a nearby spot to take photographs, meaning that they can?t carry out the plan without killing her. And she ends up giving herself away to Gougan. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYdJyW...jpg&name=small As such, the Timerangers are forced to leap into the fray. Which unfortunately, Gougan was expecting, allowing him to trap them in a barrier, before leaving to behold the carnage. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYdKLW...jpg&name=small The heroes escape by shooting the barrier?s weak spot twice, before Domon punches it to death (I shoot you not). But by then, it?s too late, as Yuri points out by slapping Honami as she resumes taking pictures. The sun goes down, and the carnage resumes. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYd2FX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYd1_W...jpg&name=small Honami has a breakdown over how all this is her fault (It really was) after a brainwashed kid scratches her hand with a fork. But as the others head off to stop Gougan?s path of destruction, Domon stays behind to comfort and reassure her. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYd2AX...jpg&name=small The Timerangers are able to stop the carnage before it begins by using the Time Flyer to explode the transmitter, which inexplicably also extinguishes the mob?s torches. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYd2AX...jpg&name=small Domon, despite not doing anything of note in the episode so far, faces Gougan in one on one combat while the others destroy his Zenits, defeating him with the Vector Dividing attack. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYeimW...jpg&name=small As Honami gushes over how cool he is, Gougan Rebounds, and proves himself a surprisingly better fighter at giant size, managing to fight Beta on even terms. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYei0W...jpg&name=small But the heroes get the upper hand by changing into TimeRobo Alpha after using the Time Flyer as a distraction, and managing to freeze Gougan. As they walk away with him, Honami, who clearly learned very little from this experience, photographs the group as they walk away, now guessing correctly that they?re the Timerangers. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYfLjW...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, Lila scoffs at Gien?s choice in criminal, purely because he didn?t bring in much cash. But he counters that unlike his compatriots, his idea of fun isn?t centred around getting money. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYfMNa...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYfLpW...jpg&name=small And following that creepy note, we cut to next morning, where Domon reveals that he?s glad that the reporter lady expressed interest in him. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYf8va...jpg&name=small But then Yuri arrives in the middle of Ayase?s latest attempt at sniping, havong discovered she?s the reporter taking photos of their shenanigans. She warns Domon to stay away from her, lest he risk the exposure of their secrets. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYf8UX...jpg&name=small Fortunately for the heroes, Honami has guessed TimeYellow?s identity from nothing but the picture she took. s/ https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCWYf9Ca...jpg&name=small Next time, Sion meets another alien on Earth who?s befriended a child and fallen foul of a bullying Londarz in Case File 12: A Wish Upon a Star. Final thoughts: Honestly, between the obnoxious reporter and the rather uninteresting criminal, this was probably the first major dud I?ve come across in this thread. And as you can probably tell by the fact I took pictures for it, this isn?t one you can skip, unfortunately. |
Way later than usual, but here?s Tuesday?s review.
Timeranger Case File 12: A Wish Upon A Star 30/04/2000 And it?s our second episode by Yamaguchi. We open on Sion trying to show Tatsuya his newest construction, when a kid shows up, wanting Tomorrow Research to help him meet an alien. The kid takes Sion to a man performing the disappearing/reappearing coin trick, which he attributes to being friends with a UFO, which only the kid introducing this plot believes. (And ironically, Sion is the one tasked with proving aliens exist) The man walks off, deciding to give it up, but Sion gets his address from the kid, Hayato. In the factory, a golf ball gets launched at the man by Sion, which he phases through himself, proving that he?s an alien, which the man denies before demanding Sion leave. Elsewhere in the city, several valuables disappear from different locations, such as a necklace, an antique vase and a stack of money. They get given to Dolnero by this week?s criminal, Blackmailer Gemark (who was adapted as Rabbitcon in Time Force 7). Tomorrow Research get on the case, with Tock not finding a match in the prisoner manifest for the powers required. Sion asks Yuri what she?d do if aliens were on Earth in the 20th Century, to which she answers that such an alien would certainly be in danger. Sure enough, Gemark turns out to be blackmailing trench coat man into stealing for him, under threat of being exposed. Sion arrives to behold the scene, with Gemark sweetening the deal by promising to never come near his victim if he pulls off one last heist. It?s then that Sion intervenes, getting into a one on one battle, which ends quickly with the reveal that our alien?s name is Argo. Argo reveals that he deserted a war on his home planet Arctuus, due to being sick of fighting. He made an emergency landing on Earth, whereupon Hayato found him and treated him with kindness. He was forced to use his powers to save the kid from a car accident, which alerted Gemark to his existence. Sion?s pleas to give up his blackmailer?s location falls on deaf ears, with Hayato saying he hates Sion and pushing him away. As Argo and Hayato discuss the latter potentially leaving, Gemark kidnaps the kid be posing as a friendly alien to use as leverage. So Argo heads for the Yamagami Museum of Oriental Art to steal a giant statue of Kanon, finding Sion there to once more ask for help. Argo blames Sion for Hayato being kidnapped, with Sion?s appeal being that he?s also an alien and will make sure Hayato?s safe. Hearing that Sion understands Argo?s loneliness due to his Superman-lite backstory, along with the other Timerangers showing up to tell Sion that he?s not alone, convinces him to lead them to Gemark?s location: on top of a skyscraper. As Gemark summons the statue, Gemark proves to be not as good as his word, summoning Zenits to force Argo into compliance. But the Kanon statue turns out to be Sion?s machine from earlier (pretty good foreshadowing there). As Argo rescues his friend, the Timerangers appear to battle the Zenits, before Sion engages Gemark. Gemark gains the upper hand, before Argo reappears, using his powers to disarm the blackmailer, before being blown back (and apparently, his species are similar enough to humans that they have red blood). Sion is so annoyed, he single-handedly beats Gemark with the Vector End: Beat 9. But the criminal is smart enough to trigger a Rebound before he can be shot with the Voltech Bazooka, sparing us the stock footage for a third week in a row. As the second verse of the TimeRobo insert plays, the Time Jets combine into Time Jet Gamma to buffet Gemark, before turning into Time Robo Alpha (no side plot of Lila trying to kidnap Tock here). After overcoming Gemark?s whip, the Timerangers defeat and capture another one. All the stolen goods are returned to their rightful place, before Argo sets off on the road, with Sion showing Hayato his ship, taking off for the stars (No idea where he?s going though), with Argo using his powers to gift one of his coins to Hayato, as Yuri reminds Sion that their mission is to defeat the Londars who bully the weak. Next time: Tatsuya enters an underground fighting tournament run by a mysterious cloaked figure to find a missing person, in Case File 13: Battle Casino. Final thoughts: A bit more slice of life than the usual fare for this series, but I hint it worked. I like how Yamaguchi is willing to play with the otherwise unremarked on aspects of the series, such as the characters coming from a future period who history yet to happen, or the idea that if aliens exist in the future, they must?ve existed in the past. |
Once again, slightly later than intended due to unforeseen complications. But anyway, let?s get on with?
Timeranger Case File 13: Battle Casino 07/05/2000 We open at the eponymous venue, in which people bet on fights between two opponents in fighting tournaments, with one being ?Red (name of animal)? and the other ?Black (name of animal)?. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0ICvW...jpg&name=small What does this have to do with the Timerangers? Well, Tomorrow Research are asked by a woman named Mami Hosoki to find her husband Shinji, who started frequenting the establishment so often he never came home one night. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0ICtW...jpg&name=small Their solution? Send Domon in with the disguise of a tuxedo. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0IC0W...jpg&name=small As it happens, Hosoki has been invited to join the casino?s manager in placing bets. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0IvMW...jpg&name=small Unfortunately, his guy, who he bet the last of his money on against the Black Panther (This clearly predated anyone having heard of the Marvel character), gets defeated. Referee: Down! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten! Knockout! (And yes, that entire line is in English. And you?ll be hearing it a lot throughout the episode) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0IvVX...jpg&name=small With all of his money gone, Hosoki is dragged off by security. Domon tries to intervene, but security throws him out. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0IvSX...jpg&name=small But the heroes anticipated this, and go to plan B: Have Tatsuya go in disguised as a yakuza thug and audition to become a fighter. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0JY_a...jpg&name=small As Tatsuya gets accepted (man, the hiring standard is lax at that place), Domon shares what he managed to suss out from the strength of the guards. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0JYnX...jpg&name=small Inside, Tatsuya meets his fellow fighters, who embody every martial artist stereotype under the sun. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0JYiX...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, Hosoki is taken to the boss, who shows his face (who got adapted for Tentaclaw in Time Force) purely to order the poor man be taken away to be punished for blowing all his money. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0KD6W...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, Tock identifies the Londar prisoner most likely to be running a casino (and since the higher ups aren?t in this episode, he explains what he was sentenced to freeze-compression for). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0KDuW...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, Tatsuya enters the ring for his first battle. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0KDsX...jpg&name=small And unfortunately, his first opponent is the woefully underprepared Hosoki as the Red Octopus, as the Red . https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0KEfa...jpg&name=small During the fight, Hosoki admits that he blew all his money gambling at the casino, and his only way to get it back is to win his match. Tatsuya offers to take a dive? before a tendril appears to increase the force, costing Hosoki the match. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0KuDb...jpg&name=small Berith, once more in the hood, leaves to confront his losing client, while Tatsuya must face the Red Grizzly. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0KuCb...jpg&name=small After Berith roughs up Hosoki and demands the latter pay him double what he lost, Hosoki laments to Tatsuya that the money he lost was going towards gifts for his wife. He also blames his gambling addiction (See parents, it?s educational too) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0LbjX...jpg&name=small As Tatsuya vows to get Hosoki?s money back, the others set to work on a plan to bring down Berith?s operation. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0LcNa...jpg&name=small To signify his resolve, Tatsuya picks up Hosoki?s headband and puts it on. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0MLtb...jpg&name=small So, presumably the next night (either that, or everyone?s a massive insomniac), Yuri sneaks into the casino as a wealthy visitor. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0ML9b...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, Ayase and Sion pose as wait staff (after knocking out the two Zenits serving that function? somehow) to add something to the drinks. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0ML_a...jpg&name=small The Foghting starts, with Yuri betting on the Red Tiger (Tatsuya) and getting a winning streak going, starting with the Black Falcon. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0M99a...jpg&name=small Eventually, Yuri gets invited to join Berith in betting, as Tatsuya goes up against the Black Temple (the dude in the Chinese robes). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0M9YW...jpg&name=small The tentacles reach out to strike Tatsuya, but he isn?t knocked down, and attacks the referee. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0NxjW...jpg&name=small Sure enough, the referee turns out to be Berith??s body. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0NxkX...jpg&name=small As for the guy in the cloak? He?s Berith?s head. (To be fair, he doesn?t do anything but walk in the cloak, so it?s not too unbelievable) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0NxiX...jpg&name=small As Ayase takes back the dirty money and Domon effortlessly knocks out Black Temple, Sion?s reveals the powder he spiked the drinks with was a sedative. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0NxzW...jpg&name=small Realising the 5 are Timerangers, Berith reunites with his body and turns to flee, only for the Timerangers to catch up with him. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0OdFW...jpg&name=small During the fight, Tatsuya destroys Berith?s tentacles, before Yuri shoots his head, and like in the Time Force episode adapted from this, the Rangers get their first palpable capture with the Voltech Bazooka. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0OdDW...jpg&name=small Using the last of his energy, Berith enlarges his body for the giant battle in a manner similar to a Rebound. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0Oddb...jpg&name=small As the Timerangers enter the Tome Jets, Tock clarifies the nature of their opponent (meaning I can?t reuse the same ?do x and die? joke from the Time Force episode). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0PHSb...jpg&name=small So, the heroes end the fight quickly be transforming into TimeRobo Beta, summoning the Flier Magnum and exploding the robot. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0PG3X...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0PHRa...jpg&name=small Later, as the casino is closed as part of an anti-gambling campaign, Hosoki reunites with his wife and all the money he lost. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0P6SW...jpg&name=small Their job done, our heroes end the episode by heading home (with a surprising lack of jokes). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCp0P6pb...jpg&name=small Next time: Ayase has one last race with his old racing rival turned Londars criminal Baron, in Case File 14: Dead Heat. Final thoughts: In all honesty, I thought this was a better version of what episode 11 was going for with a more mature and violent plot, but without Honami and the lack of any serious onscreen violence dragging it down. And in all honesty, I was surprised by Berith also being the referee, despite having seen the episode and knowing about his gimmick from the Time Force episode. That?s a well done twist if I ever saw one. |
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Alright, back at a more normal time for?
Timeranger Case File 14: Dead Heat 14/05/2000 And this one adds another new writer to the menagerie, in the form of our old friend Toshiki Inoue. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your opinion of him), he only writes one other episode for this series, due to also doing Kamen Rider Kuuga at the same time. I considered adding pictures to this with the reasoning that ?It?s Inoue, everything he does is an event?, but I felt that would be taken too seriously. So anyway, let?s get started. We start with the Timerangers driving a rental car, with Domon, Sion and Yuri cramped into the back (and Domon attempts to push his way into the front, so you know who?s writing this). But because of this incident, Ayase goes over the speed limit and gets his license suspended (and he just got it too). Meanwhile, Dolnero is sick because he hasn?t made any money in a while (yes, really), whiel Lila selects a new Londars prisoner to be her getaway driver for robberies. And proving this isn?t a trivial use of the guy?s talents, he manages to outspeed the police in the ensuing car chase, causing a traffic pileup in the process. After the excitement?s over, we get some trippy visuals before we meet our new monster: Mad Race Baron, who offers to show off his real techniques. The next morning, Yuri learns about the robberies from the newspaper, which Tock can?t match an M.O to. But Ayase gets suspicious when they mention the thief must be an incredible driver. And so, as Lila and Baron speed down the road, the Timerangers appear to stop them. And as indicated by last week?s trailer,Maron and Ayase are old acquaintances, with Baron claiming he?s helping Lila because of his weakness for strong women. He then declares ?we must have a race?, before laughing when he learns that Ayase got his license suspended, and leaves after claiming the latter had him arrested out of jealousy for his talent (yeah, he?s an Inoue character alright), while literally driving circles around the non Ayase heroes. Back at Tomorrow Research, Ayase reveals that he and Baron both aspired to be racers, but Baron caused an accident that injured another driver by going too fast, and Ayase reported him as a witness (as for why he was freeze-compressed? The victim was the son of a wealthy and powerful individual). But Baron holds a grudge against him for testifying. Meanwhile, Lila gives some of her spoils to Baron, and Dolnero has recovered as a result of the jewels. But Baron then transforms into a human form so he can enjoy the 20th Century, with Lila joining him. The two go out on the town, where Baron promptly ditches Lila to do his own thing, namely buying and eating a bowl of cherries with salt on top (apparently, that?s the stock diet on his home planet of Kanal). Ayase soon finds him, Havong been watching the place (okay, but how did he know he?d head for that cafe in particular). Baron admits that he?s helping the Londars because of his grudge against Ayase dominating his mind while he was frozen, making him join up with them to have one last race to break their 3-3 tie. Ayase accepts the challenge, on the condition that Baron quits the Londars if he loses. But they get delayed, due to Ayase needing to attend a lecture over his suspended license (and partially answering my question from 7 episodes ago, Tatsuya gave him the forename ?Shinnosuke?). At the license center, Ayase?s mind is wandering as the officer gives the lecture about safe driving, getting himself a free practical lesson on traffic safety. After a sped up montage of Ayase going through the motions, Lila and Baron commit their next robbery, forcing Ayase to take the car out and pursue Baron, while the officer is left flailing for his life. Catching up to Baron, Ayase for ally challenges Baron to a race. During the race, Ayase tries appealing to Baron?s better nature, but he refuses to listen. Ayase then knocks Baron off the road jsut before they hit some kids playing in the street, which Baron takes as Ayase willing over him. But Lila doesn?t allow resignations, and activates a device in the jewels that turns Baron into a mindless, armoured berserker. As the others deal with the Zenits, Ayase fights with Baron, imploring the latter to remember him. When this doesn?t work, it turns into a sword duel between the two, which Ayase narrowly comes out on top of. But Lila then breaks Baron?s compression seal, triggering a rebound. In the following giant battle, TimeRoboAlpha destroys Baron?s mind controlling armour, at which point he admits he was jealous of Ayase?s talent the whole time and begs to be freeze-compressed so he can start over. Ayase performs the Press Blizzard himself, imploring Baron to turn his life around when they return to the 30th Century, with a fantasy sequence/flash forward (it?s not clear which) showing Baron winning a race. Next time: Honami once more gets caught in the crosshairs of the Timerangers and Londars in Case File 15: Find the Sniper. Final thoughts: Inoue?s scripts are best analysed through the guest characters and how they act in turn with the regulars. In this case, Baron is a well executed concept of someone who got an unnecessarily harsh sentence for something he refuses to take responsibility for. And we get another side of Ayase as he has to deal with his own roll in his rival?s arrest. The ending is slightly more uplifting than most of Inoue?s scripts, but I find it ambiguous enough to fit into his usual mould for bittersweet tales. |
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