Power Rangers: Time Force (often abbreviated as PRTF) or Time Force is the ninth season of the Power Rangers franchise, based on the Super Sentai series Mirai Sentai Timeranger (Future Squadron Timeranger). It ran with a total of 40 half-hour episodes from February to November of 2001 and was the last full season to completely air on Fox Kids following the sale of Fox Family Worldwide, which included Fox Family, Fox Kids and Saban Entertainment being purchased by The Walt Disney Company. It is the last Saban-created season until the appearance of Power Rangers Samurai.

Time Force's plot and structure follows similar themes established by In Space and Lost Galaxy before it, employing what many fans considered to be "darker" and more "mature" themes (such as death, implied racism and morally gray characters). Because of this, it is often compared to the precedessor of the season before it. Time Force is also the first of many Power Rangers seasons to adapt the original plot of its Sentai counterpart almost to the letter, with only minor changes to suit its characters.



This was the final Power Rangers season that Judd Lynn collaborated on until Power Rangers RPM. His writing partner at the time, Jackie Marchand, likewise departed for a year before returning to work on Power Rangers Ninja Storm.



Synopsis

In the year 3000 humankind has evolved into a utopia where a police organization called Time Force has tracked down every single criminal - except for Ransik, who hijacks a prison full of cryogenically frozen convicts and escapes to the year 2001 in the hopes of altering the course of history, but not before fatally striking down the Red Time Force Ranger, Alex. The four Time Force officers responsible for Ransik's escape, including Alex's fiance, Jen, pursue him through time and end up in the fictional city of Silver Hills, where they are acquainted with the 21st century by Wesley Collins, the son of a rich industrialist and a dead ringer for Alex, due to him being Alex's distant, but still direct, ancestor. Despite Jen's initial reluctance, Wes eventually joins the team as the 5th member and new Red Ranger. The Time Force Rangers both defend Silver Hills from the onslaught of Ransik's Mutants and attempt to keep the original timeline from drastically altering.



Due to Wes' estrangement from his father, the Time Force officers instead move into an abandoned clock tower in the middle of the city and begin operating a business named A Nick of Time Odd Jobs in order to get by. Wes soon finds that his father's overbearing determination to have him follow his footsteps and take over his company has become too much for him to bear, and he abandons his father to go live with the other Rangers in the clock tower. Over time, Wes and Jen's relationship also blossoms and they begin to catch feelings for each other, although neither has the gall to admit it to the other.



Wes soon discovers that Ransik's deep-rooted hatred for humans is a manifestation of his origin as a horribly disfigured mutant shunned by the rest of the genetically perfect population. Ransik displays extremely impressive combat skills throughout the season, but his biggest weakness is his constant need to take a vial of special serum in order to prevent turning into a mutant permanently. Wes notes Ransik's potential capacity for kindness, such as his affable treatment of his daughter, Nadira, but the rest of the Time Force officers are fully committed to bringing in Ransik at all costs.



The Rangers' mission is complicated by the introduction of the Silver Guardians, a new business venture by Mr. Collins to protect customers who pay for the Guardians' services. At the same time, Mr. Collins discovers that Wes is a Time Force Ranger and tries to offer him the position as commander of the Guardians, which Wes refuses. One of the Guardians, Eric Myers, a former prep school classmate of Wes, discovers the Quantum controller box, becomes the Quantum Ranger, seizes control of the Q-Rex, and is put in command by Mr. Collins of the Silver Guardians. Long resentful of Wes' privileged position in life, he remains aloof and distant from the other Rangers and operates independently of them.



Ransik's robotic underling, Frax, grows deranged and breaks away from Ransik, destroying all of his vials of serum in the process. A desperate Ransik ransacks Mr. Collins' company, Bio-Lab, to acquire their supply of newly developed serum, and in the process severely injures Mr. Collins, leaving him in critical condition. This development causes the sudden arrival of Alex, who intends to "set history straight". He resumes command as the Red Time Force Ranger, informing Wes that his father will die the next day. Alex makes a series of questionable decisions battling Frax's powerful creation, Dragontron, while a resigned Wes briefly takes over command of his father's business. The Rangers, unable to stand Alex's leadership any longer, mutiny and force him to give Wes back the Red Time Force morpher. Wes leads the Rangers to a resounding victory over Dragontron, while Alex uses technology from the future to save Mr. Collins' life. Alex returns to the future, respectful of Wes' role as the leader of Time Force.



When Vypra of Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue lore revives a Super Demon named Quarganon, the Time Force Rangers briefly team up with their Lightspeed Rescue predecessors to take down the combined forces of Vypra, Ransik, and Quarganon.



Ransik eventually tracks down Frax and reprograms him to be his completely subservient robotic slave. Frax creates a new fighting machine, Doomtron, which reigns destruction on Silver Hills and sends most of the city's infrastructure spiraling into a time-space vortex. Upon hearing from Alex that their fate was doomed, Wes forcibly returns the other four Rangers back to the year 3000 for their own safety, leaving him and Eric to try to desperately defend Silver Hills from both Doomtron and Ransik. Eric is severely injured by a slightly damaged Cyclobot, and hands the Quantum morpher over to Wes, who is the city's last hope. Alex tries to wipe the memories of the year 2001 from the four officers, but they rebel once again and choose to go back in time to help Wes - which culminates with Jen returning to Alex their engagement ring. The reunited Rangers destroy Doomtron, along with Frax, but find themselves overmatched against the awesome power of Ransik. Ransik attempts to deliver the finishing blow to Jen, but accidentally strikes Nadira, an act which horrifies him and causes him to repent. He turns himself in, and the four Time Force officers, their mission complete, return to their own time, but not before Jen and Wes finally confess their feelings to each other. Wes agrees to his father's revised proposal to become head of the Silver Guardians - who now provide their services freely - with the condition that he have Eric working alongside with him as co-commander.

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A recurring theme in the series is that an individual controls his or her own destiny, as exemplified through Wes' character development - he continually refuses to adhere to the life his father has set for him as successor of the lucrative Collins business, remaining committed to traversing his own path, even when he is told by Alex that it is destiny for him to take over the company after his father's death. Other characters also fight against the currents of predetermined destiny, such as how Eric determinedly fights his way out of squalor and poverty to become head commander of the Silver Guardians, or when Jen and the other Time Force Rangers ignore the predetermined events of history and choose to return to the year 2001 and save Wes from dying. Even the penultimate clash of the season - Ransik with the Time Force Rangers - culminates with Ransik's choice to accept responsibility for his crimes and carve his own path in life anew.