Series Re-Watch: My 'PR Time Force' Review

Power Rangers Time Force (Season 9)

Time Force is one of those welcomed surprises while re-watching the franchise. I heard a lot of good things about this season and I was excited about watching it again considering this was where my interest in power rangers as a kid started to fade. I was shocked to find how engrossing the story was, not to mention the acting was unbelievably above average, even great at times! Both the new team of rangers and villains are excellently introduced in "Force From The Future", Parts 1 and 2. Erin Cahill makes an immediate impression as Jen and her relationship with Alex, the Red Ranger, sets up some future drama. Katie is super strong and has a feisty personality to match, Trip is the loveable, innocent yet slightly naïve member of the group who can occasionally see into the future and Lucas...well....he's supposedly a champion race car driver and a ladies man but the poor soul delivering his lines unfortunately sticks out as the weakest actor cause everyone else is actually good. Anyway, there are great action scenes throughout and continuing the dark tone of the seasons like "In Space" and "Lost Galaxy", we see a ranger die in battle, giving the other rangers a new mission to go back in time and follow a group of evil mutants to the past to capture them. I have to say, I love Ransik! While I don't think he's as sympathetic as the writers make him out to be, his motives are pretty justified considering he was the first of his kind and was oppressed by humans for being a mutant. The whole mutant angle is interesting, especially considering the rangers don't kill them as they are criminals and they simply capture them after they defeat them in battle. "Jen's Revenge" is a great episode that explores that idea of killing mutants instead of capturing them when Jen's anger over losing Alex leads her to almost cross that line.

The moral ambiguity continues in "Trip Takes A Stand", which like In Space's "A Wasp With A Heart" explores the idea that monsters, or in this case, mutants, aren't so black and white. Some criminals can be pretty harmless and even wanting a peaceful existence. But can I go back to Jen and how awesome she is! Not just because of Erin Cahill's good acting but the idea of a Pink Ranger as the leader of rangers was actually refreshing and worked so well. From her emotional turmoil over losing Alex to her own backstory as a Time Force officer being well written in episodes like "Time Force Traitor", Jen is one of the finest female rangers (if not one of the most memorable rangers ever!) Also, her relationship with Wes is possibly the most romantic of the series. They start out the season constantly bickering and distrusting each other. "Trust and Triumph" finally sees them putting aside their differences and actually becoming friends before seeing them showing signs of having strong feelings for each other. Speaking of Wes, outside of his relationship wit Jen, his character is another highlight of the season. Initially a cocky, childish rich kid, Wes' character development is well done with him leaving his father's wealth behind to actually make a difference as the Red Ranger, sharing leadership with Jen at times. I also enjoyed the relationship between Wes and his father. By the end of season, both men find a whole new level of respect for one another, expressing their love for each other and show just how much they have matured. Then there's Eric, 50% d!ck %50 badass! As Wes' former boarding school rival, Eric is always setting out to prove himself in a world he ultimately knows he doesn't belong in. At times, you feel sorry for Eric yet he seemed to have a stick up his you know what, even dismissing Jen and the others just for their association with Wes. He does make for an awesome Quantum Ranger though and like the Magna Defender, is the anti-hero of the season. The Q-Rex is pretty badass too! That whole arc is great actually! I also loved the 3 part episodes "Dawn of the Destiny", "Fight Against Fate" and "Destiny Defeated". Alex comes back (from the dead and the future) and forces Wes to give him back his Red Ranger powers do to changes in timeline...that are never explained...but it's these episodes that drive home the main themes of the season about free will vs. the predestined. Lastly, I want to address Frax, who has the best villain backstory so far of any season! The fact he was previously human and was forced to become a robot because Ransik nearly killed him is beyond tragic and kinda heartbreaking. "Frax's Fury" is a superb episode and that moment where he finally gets his revenge against Ransik had such great build up. It's even more saddening when during the finale Ransik strips what's left of his humanity and turns him into a mindless robot.

Once again, this is a season full of consistent episodes whether for characters like Katie ("Future Unknown"), general fillers ("Full Exposure") and arc episodes ("The Time Shadow") The weaker aspects of the season? Nadria being aggressively annoying until some last minute but welcomed character growth at the end of the season, most episodes centered on Lucas (although "Nadria's Dream Date" was pretty hilarious), some glaring unanswered questions about the changing future Alex talked about, the ridiculously random "Beware The Knight" aka an excuse for another stupid Red Ranger battlizer and "Time for Lightspeed", while an improvement over "Trakeena's Revenge", is still a pretty disappointing team up with the Lightspeed Rangers. But the season's end with a great penultimate episode in "The Calm Before The Storm", working as both a clip show and a lead into the 3 part finale. "The End of Time" is another awesome conclusion to a season, if not one of the best with more great acting, cool plot twists and impressive fight scenes (the last one between Ransik and the rangers is especially brutal and well choreographed!) I also find it interesting that Ransik beat the rangers and the only reason they won was because he surrendered which is a nice change in terms of an ending given previous finales. Also, the ending between Wes and Jen is definitely a highlight of the series yet the lack of a kiss is kinda frustrating. Overall, a superb year for the franchise with the best acting of any season so far and a collection of mostly successful storylines (the Silver Guardians, Jen and Wes' relationship, the villains, etc.) I really enjoyed the later years of the Saban era and considering this was his final production of the franchise before he returned for Samurai, this was an exceptional exit for him and his team!


Best Episodes

1. Frax's Fury


2. The End of Time, Parts 1-3


3. Destiny Defeated


4. Trip Takes A Stand


5. The Quantum Quest


Final Morph: A-