[DreamSword]

Time Force

Pre-Show Preamble

Time Force is a show that went way over my head as a kid.

I've noticed that as Toku fans continue to grow up and have kids of their own, many of them seem to grow this attitude that kids are being "talked down to."

Heck, during one episode of Let's Talk Toku, one of the guests showed this sort of attitude; Putting the latest seasons of Power Rangers down while praising the comics, at one point noting "My kids are not dumb."

And you know what? He's correct. His kids are not dumb. But you know who was a dumb kid(and in many ways still is)? Me. I was a dumb kid. I often did need things blatantly spelled out for me. I didn't often pick up on more subtle clues on the first view. Heck, I still don't.

Going around acting as though something should be "smart people only" is a quick way of not only coming off as a snob, but excluding a lot of people. Because that's what a fandom needs: Gate keeping! Now, should a story act as though its audience is brain dead? Of course not. But there's something to be said about reaching a common ground, you know?

I bring this up because, while I do love Time Force, especially nowadays, I can't help but wonder, how well did it go over with kids my age back when it first aired? Personally I stuck with it despite me not understanding half of what it was getting at, but I could easily see many kids dropping the show due to having less emphasis on over the top action that previous seasons had, on top of its very sophisticated themes and messages.

But, if there was one message the season had that definitely did resonate with me, it was the overall lesson that just because someone is different, it doesn't necessarily mean that they're a bad person. Growing up as a rather unpopular Latino, let's just say that there was definitely a layer that I really appreciated. Many argue about whether Time Force managed to convey it properly or not, but personally? I think it did. But now that I'm older, I get to cover what I consider the biggest overarching theme of PRTF: The Cycle of Hatred.

Episode 27: Frax's Fury

Frax is tired of Ransik treating him and his robots like garbage, so he opts to release one of the most dangerous mutants at their disposal: Venomark.

Venomark holds incredible significance, because his bite causes the victim's' flesh to degenerate slowly and painfully, and is the reason why Ransik needs to take serum for the rest of his life.

Needless to say when Venomark is released Ransik isn't pleased.

We learn more about Ransik's backstory than what we were initially told in episode 4. After his past fight with Venomark, Ransik was saved by a scientist named Ferricks, who devised a cure for the bite, the serum Ransik takes now. Unfortunately, because Ransik is a mutant, he needs to drink the cure forever.

It's here that Ransik makes a decision that seems to cause quite the controversy in the fandom: He proclaims that robots are beneath him, and only good as mindless slaves. Ransik then proceeds to kill Ferricks and steal his serum, and goes on to become the criminal leader everyone would soon know him as.

Many a fan, especially nowadays, cries foul at this, saying that it removes any sort of redeeming factors Ransik had, and that it makes the anti-prejudice message of the season as a whole ring hollow. I disagree. I'll get into it at the end of this, but trust me, I'll do my best to argue a case for why the story isn't nearly as misguided as many like to claim.

When the Rangers deploy to stop Venomark, they are soundly defeated, with only Wes escaping being bitten. It's here we get to see Ransik just utterly brutalize Venomark, with Venomark only being saved thanks to Ransik's' infection flaring up. Wes realizes that the serum is a cure and takes it to the only person he knows who can mass-produce the liquid quickly enough to save all of the people being bitten in the city.

Wes' relationship with his father is the the sort of character dynamic many seasons of Power Rangers would try to emulate ever since, and, in my opinion, only the original has ever done it right. Because, and this is just my impression, you are never once expected to actually like Wes' father, and Wes most certainly doesn't like him very much.

One of the strikes I had against RPM was the character of Colonel Truman, the father of Scott. On top of coming this close to outright telling Scott that he wished his brother had lived and not Scott, what infuriated me the most was how Scott's' entire arc revolved around trying to win his dad's' approval, when frankly, Truman was never realistically going to give it nor did Truman deserve the attention. I always felt it would've been far more poignant had Scott told his dad off and found his own way, rather than getting berated constantly and asking for more.

With Wes though? In this entire sequence alone, you can tell that he hates having to ask his father for anything, and is only putting up with the greedy old man for the good of everyone else. He knows his dad will exploit the serum for money. He knows it'll only make the Silver Guardians look better than the Power Rangers, but he's willing to swallow all of that for the greater good. NOT because he's trying to impress or win over his trash fire of a father.

When the cure begins to get distributed, we get a quick but great scene with Eric where he prioritizes curing an old woman on the brink of collapse. Eric is a cold guy, but he isn't heartless. Despite his demeanor, he is still a defender of the city and the people in it, and does his best to uphold that.

His Battlizer is also ridiculous and I love it. It's what's used to defeat Venomark.

The episode ends with one final twist...

Ferricks survived, and used the last moments of his life to convert himself into a cyborg; Frax. Now, Frax seeks vengeance for what Ransik did to him, diving into the same mindset many humans of the year 3000 have. Frax destroys what's left of Ransik's' serum stash, and leaves him shouting at the heavens, slowly dying of the disease he relied on Frax to help keep in check.

I feel that this episode more than any other emphasizes what Time Force is all about. Yes, what Ransik did to Ferricks was wrong, but that doesn't change anything. The humans of the future are still prejudiced against mutants, and what Ferricks did in response is ALSO wrong. The hatred Ransik faced in the future is what taught him that you're worthless if you're not domineering over others. The hatred Ransik then placed onto Ferricks and his robots then gave birth to the insane cyborg known as Frax, who, let's not forget, HAS been an active criminal up to now. Hatred only begets more hatred. It is not a cure, it is not a solution, it's only a downward spiral that runs deeper and deeper until it's all-consuming.

And on a more personal note... I don't think anyone here would try to claim this, as none of you give me that impression, but I have seen others online make this claim: No, it is not unrealistic that a victim of racism would in turn be racist. Source? My own family.

Oh yeah. I hate to say it, but bear minimum half of my family members have the mentality of "It's not okay for people to be prejudiced against me for being Mexican but it is okay for me to be prejudiced against other races/LGBT etc." It's a very unfortunate and ugly truth, because here's the thing. At the end of the day, all it has to do with is people. That's all it ever is.

And for those who try to claim Frax is justified, no, he isn't. Not only does he still take his vengeance out on those who are entirely unrelated(like the entire populace of Silver Hills in this episode alone), but, cliche as it is, two wrongs don't make a right. Wanna know what I was told growing up whenever anyone was being racist against me or my family?

"Ignore them."

Short of anyone actually physically attacking you, taking out your anger on those who show ignorance toward you only turns them into a martyr, and "proves" to them that you're every bit as bad as what they're claiming you are. Instead, work to educate, and spread joy and kindness towards those who deserve it. Lead by example.

Hatred cannot defeat hatred. Only love can do that.

After-Show Bonus

Episode 4 has no less than four different cuts due to 9/11 happening at the time. The point of contention being the scene where Ransik declares war on the city, and has some buildings blown up as an example of his power. The Netflix version unfortunately doesn't restore the original bit of the buildings blowing up, instead showing a mountainside getting destroyed. While I'm sad they didn't restore the original, it is certainly much better than the other two censored versions, which replace the audio of half or the entire scene with the theme song.