Lightspeed Rescue (Carmel's Hope)

Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue (often abbreviated as "PRLR") was the eighth incarnation of the Power Rangers TV series, based on the Super Sentai series Kyukyu Sentai GoGo-V (Emergency Squadron Go Go 5). It was the first incarnation of Power Rangers to have the Rangers' identities be known to public from the onset, as opposed to previous incarnations where a Ranger's identity was to be kept secret, revealed only in extreme circumstances, and the series is unique in the fact that it was the first where the Rangers' powers, Zords and weapons were man-made and had no mystical origin whatsoever (both of these traits would be repeated in Power Rangers: SPD and Power Rangers: RPM). Lightspeed Rescue also had, for the first time, a Power Ranger with no Super Sentai counterpart in the Titanium Lightspeed Ranger, as there was no 6th Ranger at all in GoGo V.

Synopsis
Lightspeed Rescue takes place in the fictitious city of Mariner Bay, California, which was built on an ancient demon burial ground. When the demons threaten to rise again, a government organization called Lightspeed, headed by one Captain Mitchell recruits four civilians and his own daughter to defend the city. Each of the four civilians chosen had a special area of expertise: Carter Grayson, the Red Lightspeed Ranger, was a fire fighter in the local fire department; Chad Lee, the Blue Lightspeed Ranger, worked as a lifeguard and marine animal trainer at a local marine amusement park; Joel Rawlings, the Green Lightspeed Ranger, was a stunt pilot; Kelsey Winslow, the Yellow Lightspeed Ranger, was an extreme sports athlete; and Dana Mitchell, the Pink Lightspeed Ranger, was a nurse and practiced medical arts. The five Power Rangers were aided by a team of scientists and engineers led by Miss Angela Fairweather, and operated out of the Lightspeed Aquabase, an underwater military compund that also served to deter the hydrophobic demons from attacking the base directly.

The five Rangers would be joined by Captain Mitchell's (long thought to be dead) son, Ryan Mitchell. Together, the six Rangers would prevail against the demon forces time after time, culminating in a final showdown where, in the Power Rangers tradition, much of the weapons and other equipment that was used by the Power Rangers over the series was destroyed.

In addition, Lightspeed Rescue featured a cameo reappearance of characters from Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy, when the villainess Trakeena comes to Earth to destroy it and the Lightspeed Rangers team up with the Galaxy Rangers

Rangers
Note: Each Ranger number corresponds with their respective Zord number

Allies

 * Aquabase
 * Captain Mitchell
 * Angela Rawlings
 * Neptune
 * Marina
 * Other Rangers
 * Lost Galaxy
 * Time Force

Villains

 * Queen Bansheera
 * Prince Olympius/Impus
 * Jinxer
 * Diabolico
 * Vypra
 * Loki
 * The Gatekeeper
 * Batlings

Guest Villains
 * Trakeena
 * Ghouls

Zords

 * Lightspeed Rescuezords (not to be confused w/t the Rescuezords of Power Rangers Turbo)
 * Pyro Rescue 1 (Carter/Red)
 * Aqua Rescue 2 (Chad/Jessie/Blue)
 * Aero Rescue 3 (Joel/Green)
 * Haz Rescue 4 (Kelsey/Yellow)
 * Med Rescue 5 (Dana/Pink)
 * Lightspeed Megazord (combination of the Lightspeed Rescuezords)
 * Rail Rescues/Supertrain
 * Rail Rescue 1 (Carter/Red)
 * Rail Rescue 2 (Chad/Jessie/Blue)
 * Rail Rescue 3 (Joel/Green)
 * Rail Rescue 4 (Kelsey/Yellow)
 * Rail Rescue 5 (Dana/Pink)
 * Supertrain Megazord (combination of the Rail Rescues)
 * Max Solarzord (Ryan/Titanium)
 * Lightspeed Solarzord (combination of Lightspeed Megazord & Max Solarzord)
 * Omegazords
 * Omegazord 1 (Carter/Red)
 * Omegazord 2 (Chad/Jessie/Blue)
 * Omegazord 3 (Joel/Green)
 * Omegazord 4 (Kelsey/Yellow)
 * Omegazord 5 (Dana/Pink)
 * Omega Crawler/Omega Megazord (combination of Omegazords)
 * Lifeforce Megazord

Production/Reception
Lightspeed Rescue was the first Power Ranger season to be truly independent of previous seasons and unlike its predecessor (Lost Galaxy, which is often described as a "in between" season because of its characters connections to the "Zordon Era"), did not include any familiar staying characters such as a unit from the Lexion Alpha line, Bulk, Skull or NASADA, with the exception of its Team Up episode with the Galaxy Rangers.

Fan reception of Lightspeed Rescue was initally one of sheer derision, however, cases made by some of it's more passionate fans, coupled with former critics becoming more respectable of it through repeated viewings, have helped to redeem the season's reputation. Several fans and critics of the season also agree that The Fate of Lightspeed' is one of Power Rangers's'' most gripping finales.

Trivia

 * This is the first Power Rangers series in which the Green and Blue Rangers, not just the Red Ranger, receive battlizers or equipment very close to one.
 * This is the first Power Rangers team that was composed entirely of adults over the age of 18 and not of teenagers. (This can be argued due to the fact that the Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers were all over the age of 18 at least in human years.)
 * This was the first Power Ranger series where the individuals had professions before becoming Power Rangers.
 * Although, three of the Lost Galaxy Power Rangers had jobs prior to becoming Rangers: Kai worked on Terra Venture's defense force, Damon was a maintenance worker on the Astro Megaship, and Kendrix was a science officer for Terra Venture. Furthermore, while not professions per se, Both Zach and Jason of MMPR1 taught martial arts classes. Lightspeed Rescue is however the first season where this is true for all 5 of the core Rangers.
 * This series is also notable for being the first to use the practice of all of the Rangers wearing the same set of civilian clothes in their unmorphed forms in every episode; this trend would continue until Power Rangers: Ninja Storm.
 * It should be noted that the rangers of Power Rangers In Space also wore uniforms, when unmorphed, but did not do so in every episodes. Also Kendrix, Kai, Damon and Mike wore uniforms appropriate for their civilian duties on Terra Venture in Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, but Leo, Maya and Karone did not.
 * This series is the first to feature siblings (Dana and Ryan Mitchell, the Pink and Titanium Rangers) serving as Power Rangers simultaneously; this would be repeated in Power Rangers: Ninja Storm with Blake and Hunter Bradley as the Navy and Crimson Rangers, in Power Rangers Mystic Force with Madison and Vida Rocca as the Blue and Pink Rangers, and in Power Rangers RPM with Gem and Gemma serving as the Gold and Silver Rangers.
 * It should be noted, though, that Andros and Karone (who are brother and sister) have been Rangers before. However, they were Rangers in seperate series (Andros in In Space, Karone in Lost Galaxy).


 * Lightspeed Rescue was the second and last known series to use Sentai teamup footage for the Power Rangers teamup. The footage "Kyukyu Sentai GoGo-V VS Gingaman", was used as the base for Trakeena's Revenge Part 1 and 2, One major change though was that due to the removal of the Magna Defender because of the loss of his powers and zord at the end of Lost Galaxy, any footage of his Sentai counterpart BullBlack was removed, though it should be noted that the Torozord is BRIEFLY seen behind some sparks in a clip of the footage.
 * Amy Miller did not reprise her role as Trakeena for the team up episodes. The voice of the Red Galaxy Ranger was also dubbed by someone other than Danny Slavin at some points throughout the two episodes.
 * Titanium Ranger is the first American-made Ranger. This trend would repeat in S.P.D. when they created the A-Squad Power Rangers and repeated in Jungle Fury with the creation of the Bat, Elephant, and Shark Spirit Rangers.
 * The reason behind Titanium Ranger's long absence was the lack of footage, since he didn't exist in GoGo V, and making new footage only for him during the whole season would have caused the series to go over-budget.
 * This season holds the record of Battlizer Armors, with 3: the Mega Battle Armors (Green and Blue) and the Trans-Armor Cycle.
 * Lightspeed Rescue is one of the few Power Rangers series to keep the Sentai term for part of the Rangers' arsenal. In this case, the term "V-Lancer" was brought over from GoGo V.
 * GoGo V featured scenes in which the heroes' faces could be seen through their visors, though most of these scenes were removed, there are rare moments in which you can see one of the Tatsumi siblings' face.
 * This is the second season that did not open with a multi-part episode. The first one was season one of MMPR, with the episode "Day of the Dumpster."
 * This is the first season where the Rangers identities were known to the public, and this would be repeated on S.P.D., Operation Overdrive, and R.P.M.
 * This is the first season taking place on Earth which gives a reason for the villains attacking Mariner Bay frequently (Second to do so is RPM).
 * This is the first season wherein the team member's full names are credited. This would repeat in RPM.
 * This is the first season to have a Silver Ranger who is not called the color by name, this is also the second series to have a Silver Ranger. The Silver Rangers not to be called the name are Ryan Mitchell, Merrick Balton, Nova, and Tyzonn.
 * This the first series that the Rangers team's opaque visor can be open followed by Power Rangers: Ninja Storm.
 * In the episode "Curse Of The Cobra", a scene features the Rangers passing by a building that had flames coming out of it. Later in 2003 due to 9/11, Disney cut the scene during their reruns of the episode.
 * At the beginning of "Up To The Challenge", Chad is trying to teach Kelsey how to do Tai Chi at a temple-like building. This building shows up in the first episode of another of Saban's works called VR Troopers.
 * Lightspeed Rescue had a similar team to that of the previous season, Lost Galaxy, which was clearly noticeable in "Trakeena's Revenge". Both teams consisted of a Caucasian Red Ranger, an Asian Blue Ranger, an African American Green Ranger and two Caucasian females as the Pink and Yellow Rangers who were blonde and brunette respectively.
 * It is the first season to not include the character Bulk.
 * This is the first series to have trains for zords, this would be repeated in Mystic Force (the Solar Streak Megazord), and in RPM (the Paleozords).