Time Runner

Time Runner

Year: 1993

Runtime: 90 mins

Language: English

Director: Michael Mazo

Science Fiction

When Earth is ravaged by an alien invasion in 2022, a solitary hero discovers a wormhole that propels him back to 1992. Determined to alter the course of destiny, he must evade relentless pursuers and survive countless attempts on his life, hoping his actions in the past can save the future.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – Time Runner (1993)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Time Runner (1993). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

2022, with a jump back to 1992

The plot starts with an alien attack on Earth in 2022, followed by Captain Raynor’s wormhole-induced leap thirty years into the past. He must navigate 1992 Earth while pursued by ISC agents, seeking to understand where and when he is. The narrative threads a future invasion with a past timeline, creating tension around changes to the course of events. The stakes hinge on manipulating time to alter humanity’s fate.

Location

Earth, Military Space Station, Capitol Hill, Indiana

The story unfolds across Earth, including a distant military space station in orbit, and ground locations tied to Capitol Hill and Indiana. Capitol Hill serves as the pivotal political battleground in the human defense against the alien threat. Indiana is referenced through an electronics company origin, grounding the sci-fi plot in real-world industrial roots.

🚀 Space setting 🌍 Earth 🏛 Capitol Hill 🏭 Indiana industry

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 14:37

Main Characters – Time Runner (1993)

Meet the key characters of Time Runner (1993), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Captain Michael Raynor (Mark Hamill)

A battle-hardened captain who survives an alien attack and is hurled thirty years into the past. He must evade pursuit, decipher the shifting timeline, and protect his unborn child while navigating a world that now challenges his sense of place. His resourcefulness and resolve drive the core mission as personal loss fuels determination.

🛰️ Captain 🧭 Time traveler ⚔️ Strategist

Karen Donaldson (Rae Dawn Chong)

A scientist who discovers Raynor’s pod and becomes entangled in the larger alien plot. Revealed as an alien sleeper operative, she faces a moral struggle between manipulation and protection. She ultimately chooses to shield the child from Neila, highlighting a conflicted loyalty.

🔬 Scientist 🛡️ Betrayal & protection

Senator John Neila (Brion James)

A political figure who is revealed to be an alien sleeper operative, later becoming Earth’s president. His manipulation of political and military systems helps the aliens gain the upper hand. His arc embodies the danger of trusted leadership corrupted by an otherworldly threat.

🏛️ Politician 👁️ Deception

Dorothy Raynor (Suzy Joachim)

Raynor’s wife whose fate is intertwined with the mission’s danger. She represents the personal stakes at the heart of the time-travel crisis. Her presence grounds Raynor’s choices in family and love during a time of existential threat.

👩‍❤️‍👨 Partner 💔 Risk & consequence

Arnie (Gordon Tipple)

A loyal ally within the resistance who collaborates with Raynor. He plays a crucial role in the conflict’s resolution, including decisive action against the alien-backed ISC agents. His involvement underscores human cooperation under pressure.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Ally 🗡️ Confrontation

Freeman (Mark Baur)

The lead ISC agent opposing Raynor. Freeman embodies the internal threat posed by those who should protect humanity but are aligned with the invasion. His actions set up a climactic confrontation with Arnie.

🕶️ Agent 🧨 Antagonist

Carl Withers (John Maclaren)

A government scientist/official involved in analyzing the escape pod and its origins. He represents the scientific lens through which the alien threat is understood and contested. His role helps connect the past and present investigations.

🧪 Scientist 🧭 Investigator

Simms (John Thomas)

An ISC operative whose role appears within the agency’s pursuit of Raynor. Simms contributes to the tension between pursuit and alliance as events unfold. His presence marks the ongoing conflict between humans and infiltrators.

🕵️‍♂️ Agent 🔎 Pursuit

Bryant (Barry W. Levy)

A member of the ISC, participating in the investigation and response to the pod incident. Bryant’s actions reflect the institutional response to alien infiltration. His character helps illustrate the scale of the operation against the intruding force.

🧭 Official 🛡️ Infiltration

Pod Scientist (Guyle Fraizer)

A scientist who analyzes the escape pod’s components, helping to reveal its future origin. This character anchors the scientific discovery that accelerates the plot. The pod analysis drives the understanding of time displacement.

🔬 Analyst 🧩 Discovery

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 14:37

Major Themes – Time Runner (1993)

Explore the central themes of Time Runner (1993), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🕰️ Time Travel

Time travel drives the core conflict as Raynor’s 2022 escape shatters the present. The jump creates a temporal battle where actions in the past echo into a different future. Characters must weigh the consequences of altering events against the cost of inaction. The film uses time manipulation to explore fate, choice, and the price of saving humanity.

🕵️ Sleeper Agents

The story reveals that key figures are not who they seem, with Neila and Karen revealed as alien operatives. Trust is repeatedly betrayed as the ISC leadership is shown to be compromised. This theme examines infiltration, loyalty, and the fragility of human defenses under covert invasion. It highlights how hidden enemies can operate within the system you rely on.

👶 Family Sacrifice

Personal stakes are intensified by Raynor’s family situation—the risk to his wife and unborn child. The past actions culminate in the birth of Raynor’s child and the death of his mother, underscoring the human cost of the mission. Karen ultimately protects the child from Neila, reinforcing the theme that sacrifice can be necessary to secure the future. The climactic confrontations tie family sacrifice directly to the survival of humanity.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 14:37

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Time Runner Summary

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Time Runner Timeline

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