The Last Race

This article is about an episode in Power Rangers Time Force.

The Last Race

Power Rangers Time Force, Episode 9x21

Air Date(s)

July 7, 2001

Production Information

Written by

Judd Lynn
Jackie Marchand

Directed by

Isaac Florentine

Episode Guide

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Quantum Secrets	Lovestruck Rangers

The Last Race is the twenty-first episode of Power Rangers Time Force.

Synopsis[]

Lucas' old friend Dash, a mutant criminal ex-racecar driver, teams up with Nadira for a rash of thefts. After a race between the two nearly turns fatal, Lucas gets Dash to see the error of his ways and Dash decides to turn himself in. Unwilling to accept this, Nadira puts him under her control and makes him grow to giant size. The Rangers quickly summon the Time Force Megazord and Lucas breaks Nadira's control with a blast from its saber. Having regained control, Dash turns himself in and asks Lucas to be the one to arrest him. Lucas, proud of Dash, fulfills his wish and believes Dash will one day be free and a great racer again. A flash-forward shows a redeemed Dash a racer once more and winning a race.

Plot[]

While riding in a car that Lucas is driving, the other Rangers squabble over a box of donuts that Wes is holding in the front seat. They bump into Lucas and obstruct his vision, which causes him to drive all over the road until they are pulled over by a police officer. The police officer tells Lucas that he has to go traffic school, much to his dismay.

Later that night at the Cryo Prison, Frax tries to convince Ransik to unfreeze a mutant he likes, but Nadira wants to unfreeze a mutant who was a racecar driver, so he can take her on a shopping spree. Ransik then allows his daughter to unfreeze the racing mutant, much to Frax's annoyance. After Nadira robs a jewelry store, she has the mutant, Dash, to help her make her getaway. Dash's driving skills help them evade the police; they are even able to jump over a car that is in their path. After they escape from the police, Nadira, impressed with Dash's driving, rewards him with a new car and makes him her personal chauffeur. The next morning, the Rangers read the story about how Nadira robbed the jewelry store and the driver jumped over the car. Wes comments to Lucas that there is someone else who drives like him, which Lucas is stunned to hear.

Later, after Nadira and Dash rob another store, they are stopped by the Rangers. When Nadira tells Dash to lose them, Dash first confronts Lucas, who is an old racing rival of his. Lucas is disgusted with Dash for being Nadira's chauffeur, but Dash doesn't listen and escapes with Nadira. At the Clock Tower, Lucas explains to the others that he used to race against Dash, who was the only one who could ever beat him. Dash had caused a terrible accident when he was racing around the streets for fun one day. Lucas had testified against Dash in his trial, and Dash was subsequently frozen.

At the prison, Nadira gives Dash some stolen jewelry, before he assumes a human form to explore life in 2001, and she joins him. However, when Nadira is distracted, Dash ditches her. At a diner, Lucas confronts Dash and tells him off for working for Nadira. Dash tells Lucas he's doing it as revenge for Lucas testifying against him in his trial. Lucas tells him that he needs to take responsibility for his actions. Dash doesn't listen and challenges him to a tie-breaker race (in the past, they had raced against each other six times and they had each won three times). Lucas agrees, on the condition that if Dash loses he has to turn himself in; Dash accepts. Lucas receives a call on his Morpher from Trip, telling him that he got a letter and that he has to go to traffic school, then Lucas finds Dash has escaped.

At Silver Hills Driving School, Lucas, distracted by his challenge, is confronted by his stern instructor Mr. Graves for not paying attention and reckless driving. He is forced to drive with Graves. Lucas does well until he gets a call from Jen that Nadira and Dash robbed another store close to him, and races to them. After a scared Graves gets out of the car, Lucas tries to convince Dash to stop what he's doing, but Dash still refuses and tells Lucas that their race will be in the streets, despite Lucas' protest that it's too dangerous.

Lucas races after him and Nadira until he stops the cars to keep Dash from hitting some kids trying to get their soccer ball that landed on the streets. Dash, realizing he would have hurt the kids like the people in the accident, finally sees the error of his ways and forfeits the race to Lucas, much to Nadira's fury. After Dash tells Nadira he quits, she blasts him with a device that causes Dash to be equipped with armor that makes him attack the other Rangers when they show up. Lucas then morphs and immobilizes Dash. However, Nadira then blasts the Rangers and Dash which causes the DNA patch to fall off and make Dash grow.

The Rangers then call for their Time Flyers and form the Time Force Megazord Mode Red and then destroy the armor. Dash, now free from the armor's control, willingly gives up and asks Lucas to bring him in, which he agrees to. After Lucas shrinks Dash with the Time Force Megazord Saber, he places Dash into a capsule and promises him that he will be a champion again someday. Then a flash-forward shows Dash racing again and winning first place. After Lucas places Dash in containment with the other mutants, he's visited by Graves. Lucas assumes Graves is going to tell him that he failed the test, but Graves tells him he's the best driver he's seen and he wants Lucas to give him a lesson as Graves has always wanted to be a race car driver himself.

Cast[]

Jason Faunt as Wesley "Wes" Collins (Red Time Force Ranger 2)
Kevin Kleinberg as Trip (Green Time Force Ranger)
Michael Copon as Lucas Kendall (Blue Time Force Ranger)
Deborah Estelle Phillips as Katie Walker (Yellow Time Force Ranger)
Erin Cahill as Jen Scotts (Pink Time Force Ranger)
Daniel Southworth as Eric Myers (Quantum Ranger) (credit only)
Brianne Siddall as Circuit (voice)
Edward Albert as Mr. Collins (credit only)
Vernon Wells as Ransik
Kate Sheldon as Nadira
- Asami Kuru as Nadira (Sentai Footage)
Eddie Frierson as Frax (voice)
Neil Kaplan as Gluto (voice)
Riley Schmidt as Dash
Wade Williams as Officer Cruller (as Wade Hunt Williams)
Minae Noji as Saleslady
Charles Walker as Mr. Graves

Errors[]

TLR005 — Lila! You're not supposed to be here!

If one looks close enough when Dash jumps the car during the robbery, it is not Nadira in the passenger seat, but Lila.
In fact, much of the Timeranger footage used for the car chase scene depicts Dash and Nadira driving with the flow of traffic on the left side of the road (like in Japan) instead of the right (like in the U.S., where Silver Hills is located). The footage couldn't have simply been flipped to show them on the right side since Dash's Timeranger counterpart was originally driving an American-style car (with the steering wheel on the left side of the car) instead of a Japanese-style car (with the steering wheel on the right side).

Notes[]

Interestingly, when the three boys Lucas stopped Dash from accidentally running over go across the street to retrieve their ball, the boys looked at Lucas and Dash and simply said bye before leaving, having no reaction to Dash at all despite his full mutant form. This is interesting because usually in the PR universe when civilians see monsters, even good monsters with no malicious nature, they get scared and run in terror.
Daniel Southworth (Eric) does not appear in this episode due to the fact that the Timeranger episode was based off which it took place before the debut of Eric's counterpart, Naoto Takizawa.
This marks the second time that Lucas ends up going to driving school.