[Androzani84]

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.


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.



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.



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)



He suggests that Tatsuya go to his father to ask for money, but the latter refuses to even consider it.



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.



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.



Tock then explains that he recognised her by one simple limit to her shapeshifting powers.



Back at Londarz, Rouge presents Lila with the stolen Moon King, promising to make her theft even better with her next target.



It turns out that Yuri has had Sion crunching the data and figured out where Rouge will strike next.



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).



(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.



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).



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.



Yuri in particular bumps into a lady in the bathroom... who then gets accosted and replaced by Rouge (missed her by that much).





Domon meanwhile has stopped to fix his appearance, which Ayase chides him for.



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)



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.



As for Tatsuya, he's sick of all the attention he's been getting from the rich mothers and fawning young men.





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.



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.



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.



The 4 drag Rouge off the boat, with all 5 transforming to do battle.



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.





This gives Tatsuya the will to speak up and announce he'll escape the fate of being an Asami by any means necessary.



He thus runs onto the deck to strip off his bow tie and dinner jacket to make an announcement, before leaving.



But he still takes the time to advertise his business before leaving.



As he goes, Asami Sr looks on, surprised that his son is going through with what he himself never had the nerve to.





Tatsuya goes to work, changing into his Chrono Suit.



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.



And unlike pretty much every other bad guy to grow giant, she doesn't want to do so, making her displeasure known.



Summoning Time Robo just gives her someone to complain to.





So, Yuri, Ayase and Tatsuya decide to make her an offer she can't refuse.







Rouge agrees, but gets terrified when Tatsuya begins brandishing the sword, due to her fear of getting hurt.



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.



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.




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.

[Androzani84]

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).



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.



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?)



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.



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.



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.



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).



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.



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).



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.



The target Tentaclaw chooses? Why, a school bus full of children, of course!



His head flies onto the bus and teleports the body inside so he can knock out the driver and seize control.



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.



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).



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).



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.



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)



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).



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.



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.



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).



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).



The fight begins in earnest after he leaves (read: they can switch to the stock footage), with Wes identifying and exploiting Tentaclaw’s weakness.



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)



But Tentaclaw’s now headless body proceeds to grow giant, declaring that he doesn’t need a head to destroy them.



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)!





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?)



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.



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).

[DreamSword]

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:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

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.

Okay, I don't know what planet you're from, but typically when one throws something into the garbage, it's with the intent of getting rid of it. For good. In other words, Mr. Collins was literally telling Wes "fuck them kids." And putting this right towards the proper start of the episode is important, as it showcases Collins' mindset when it comes to the episode as a whole.

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.

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

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).

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Okay, I don't know what planet you're from, but typically when one throws something into the garbage, it's with the intent of getting rid of it.

Well, frankly, I don't see any contradiction in both your statements. Mr. Collins was going to throw the ball in the trash; the child could have retrieved it. A perfectly clear demonstration of social stratification.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

Well, frankly, I don't see any contradiction in both your statements. Mr. Collins was going to throw the ball in the trash; the child could have retrieved it. A perfectly clear demonstration of social stratification.

Correction. He told Wes to throw the ball away, specifically. And this was after the kids in the park all started to leave, saddened. Even if the kids did eventually circle back and retrieved it, that doesn't change Collins' intent, which was to stick it to the kids via getting rid of the ball.

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Correction. He told Wes to throw the ball away, specifically. And this was after the kids in the park all started to leave, saddened. Even if the kids did eventually circle back and retrieved it, that doesn't change Collins' intent, which was to stick it to the kids via getting rid of the ball.

Oh, I'm not trying to justify Collins's action. Although I'm reminded of what you said about Ransik's evil being a product of the future system. I think it's perfectly logical to view Collins's evil as a product of the unjust modern world. I'm not sure the show was intentionally criticizing capitalism, but if you're willing, you can see this idea.

[Androzani84]

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.

[Androzani84]

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.