The Transformers (TV series)
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- ''This page is about the original Transformers animated series. For information on other Transformers animated series, see Transformers series.
Background
The Transformers cartoon depicted giant robots, each of which had at least two modes. In one mode, the Transformer often resembled a humanoid, or in some cases (Ravage, Sky Lynx and others), an animal. In their alternate mode, they were disguised as vehicles (Bumblebee turned into a Volkswagen Beetle), creatures (Swoop turned into a pterodactyl), or objects (Soundwave turned into a cassette player). The Transformers were divided into protagonist Autobots and antagonist Decepticons.The series, which originally aired from 1984 to 1987, was produced by Sunbow Productions. All the Transformer characters were based on toys in the Transformers toy line, produced by Hasbro.
After the three-part pilot, More Than Meets the Eye, the series went into full production, with another standard season's worth of 13 episodes produced, bringing the total for the first season up to 16. In order to bring the show up to the required number of episodes for syndication, the second season consisted of 49 episodes, making 65 in total.
Between Seasons 2 and 3, (1986) was released in theaters in the United States. The events depicted in the movie were recognized in the television cartoon plotline. However, the movie was not shown in Japan until 1990. A special episode, titled Scramble City, was written and animated to bridge the gap between the two seasons for fans in Japan.
Season 3 was 30 episodes long, and reflected the changes depicted in (1986). These changes were substantial (see "Plot" below), and were the reason the Japanese series was renamed. Season 3 premiered with a five part episode titled Five Faces of Darkness, which would further transition viewers into the new series.
In the United States, Season 4 consisted of only one three-part episode, titled Rebirth. However, in Japan, the series continued with more full length seasons.
Plot
- For the purposes of plot, (1986) is considered part of the series. This plotline reflects only the events depicted in this cartoon series, and in the accompanying movie.
With both sides running low on energy, the Autobots, aboard the Ark, sought out a new source, but the Decepticons, aboard the Nemesis, ambushed them in hopes of gaining a decisive advantage. The ensuing space battle resulted in both the ships crash landing on a pre-historic Earth, the Ark crashing into the side of a dormant volcano, and the Nemesis crashing in a remote region of South America. (The fate of the Nemesis is subject to retcon. For the full story, see the Nemesis article.)
Four million years passed while the Autobots and Decepticons lay dormant aboard the Ark. In 1984, the volcano housing the Ark erupted, reawakening the ship's computer, Teletraan I, which then modifed the Transformers so as to give them alternate modes that could blend in on Earth.
The Autobots and Decepticons, now on Earth, continued their war more ferociously than ever. The Decepticons wished to drain Earth of all its resources, converting it into energon for their use, while the Autobots were committed to stopping them, and to protecting the human race. This era would later be referred to by Transformers as the "Great War." The war was almost ended as soon as it began, as the Decepticons gained an early lead, and were even able to build a space cruiser to leave Earth, however Autobot intervention prevented them from escaping orbit.
Despite wild gimmicks on both sides, including attempts to build better weapons, to undermine history through time travel, and even a temporarily successful attempt to warp Cybertron into Earth's orbit, neither side gained an overwhelming advantage. In the long run however, the Decepticons took the lead in the Great War, creating a Space Bridge that allowed them to warp individual Transformers to and from Cybertron at any time. This allowed them to claim rule of Cybertron, which gave them the winning edge for many years.
All of this changed in 2005, over 20 years after the start of the Great War. The Decepticons launched a surprise attack on Autobot City, on Earth. Countless Transformers lost their lives in the battle for Autobot City, but the Decepticons were repelled thanks to Optimus Prime's victory over Megatron, a victory that came at the cost of his own life.
Megatron and the other wounded Decepticons were abandoned by the stronger members of the team, in part due to Starscream's desire to usurp Megatron as leader. The God-like Unicron found them drifting in space. He rebuilt Megatron as Galvatron, and sent him on a quest to destroy the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. The Autobots' new leader, Rodimus Prime, was able to stop the Decepticons however. In his first battle as leader, he destroyed Unicron, reclaimed Cybertron for the Autobots, and excised Galvatron into deep space.
The Decepticons, without focus and dangerously low on energon, retreated to the burnt out world Charr. It was there they waited, until Cyclonus discovered Galvatron was simply excised and not killed. Upon rescuing Galvatron, the Decepticons reiterated their intentions to vanquish the Autobots and to reclaim Cybertron.
Both the Autobots and Decepticons soon learned they had a common enemy. A secretive race known as the Quintessons plotted the destruction of both Autobots and Decepticons. Rodimus Prime learned that these "new" Quintessons were no strangers to the Transformers at all. Rather, the Quintessons were the original creators of the early Transformers. Cybertron was a Quintesson factory before it was ever the Transformers' "home." The Quintessons went so far as to destroy their own home world in an attempt to vanquish the Transformers. In the end, the Quintessons, who relied on thorough probability analyses, were outdone by a now adult Spike Witwicky whose actions, unlike those of the robotic Transformers, the Quintessons were not able to predict.
The Great War continued, this time with the Autobots controlling Cybertron, and enjoying the advantage. The war was no longer waged primarily on Earth. Now, the whole universe was their battlefield.
In 2006, a disease called the Hate Plague was released upon the universe. This disease, which infected human and Transformer alike, threatened to destroy everything. With their leader Rodimus Prime infected, the Autobots rebuilt Optimus Prime, who was able to reclaim the Autobot Matrix of Leadership from Rodimus Prime and use it to erradicate the Hate Plague, draining the Matrix of all the power it had possessed.
Optimus Prime retains leadership of the Autobots. While the Decepticons continue to pose a threat to peace, Optimus Prime vows to resist Decepticon rule forever.
The comics produced by Marvel between 1984 and 1991 tell a substantially different version of the story. Both versions were equally authorized by Hasbro.
- For information on other Transformers continuities, see Transformers universes.
Episode list
- ''For a list of episodes, see List of Transformers episodes
Characters
- ''For a list of Characters from the original American Transformers cartoon (1984-1987) , see The Transformers (animated series) characters.
Supplemental sequences
Opening sequence
The opening sequences for each of the first three seasons were entirely unique, with no episode footage being reused, and each of the three had their own version of the famous Transformers theme tune. Additionally, the third season story Five Faces of Darkness had its own specialized opening sequence for all five parts, depicting events that occurred in the miniseries. The fourth season of the show, however, did not feature any new animation in its opening sequence, instead combining together footage from the third season opening and various clips of animation from 1987 toy commercials, alongside the third season opening theme.Ending credits
Like the opening sequences, the ending credits sequences changed every season. However, these sequences were clip reels of scenes from episodes of that season.Transition sequences
A brief sequence was used frequently to transition between scenes. The symbol for either the Autobots or Decepticons would be seen being replaced with the other symbol (or in some cases, the same symbol again). Which symbol was shown initially depended on which Transformers faction was being chiefly depicted just before the transition, and likewise, the latter symbol was for the Transformers faction that was to be depicted immediately after the transition.This transition technique, reminiscient of the one used in the original Batman T.V. show, became a hallmark of the series. It was used throughout the entire four year run.
Mini-documentaries
Several mini-documentaries aired at the end of certain Season 3 episodes. Mini-documentaries were made on each of the following subjects:- A detailed history of the Autobots
- A detailed history of the Decepticons
- A detailed profile of Ultra Magnus
- The story of a Decepticon subclan, the Predacons
- The history of the Quintessons
- The history of cassette Transformers
- The stories of the Transformer cities: Metroplex and Trypticon.
PSAs
Five proposed PSAs were created for the second season of the series, but never actually aired on television (they appear as bonus features in Rhino's Transformers season 3 DVD set). These PSAs were based on the PSAs produced by the G.I. Joe television series (which was also produced by Sunbow Productions and also based on toys made by Hasbro). They even reused the catchphrase "...and knowing is half the battle," which was popularized by the G.I. Joe PSAs. These PSAs included:- Bumblebee advising children not to run away from home
- Tracks catching kids in the act of stealing cars
- Red Alert reminding us to wear reflective gear when riding our bicycles at night
- Seaspray showing us why it's important to wear life jackets when boating
- Powerglide standing up against gender discrimination
DVD
Seasons 1-4 were released on DVD in the U.S. between April 23, 2002 and March 9, 2004. The Season 1 DVD was a best seller for Rhino Home Video and it led to the release of more season DVDs until the last season box set was released in 2004. In 2005, Rhino lost the rights to make more transformers DVD's. Since 2005, the Transformers Season Box Sets are rare to find.
Metrodome Distribution released Seasons 1-4 in the UK (Region 2) between November 17, 2003 and October 11, 2004. The seasons were released in 4 box sets: Season 1, Season 2 Part 1, Season 2 Part 2 and Seasons 3 & 4.
Madman Entertainment have released the four seasons in 6 box sets in Australia (Region 4): Series 1, Series 2.1, Series 2.2, Series 3.1, Series 3.2 and Series 4. Series was the only set that contained any extra material.
DVD Criticism
Rhino's DVD boxsets have suffered from extreme criticism. The episodes as seen on the Rhino DVDs are based on incomplete 35 mm film masters, as opposed to the original 1" broadcast master videotapes aired on television. Although the film masters are very detailed and colorful, many of the episodes contain alternate or incomplete/missing animation that was originally corrected/completed for the broadcast versions. As a result, the DVD versions of the episodes are less "finished" than the versions that aired on television. Rhino attempted to fix some of the "new" errors, with lackluster results. Most of the errors are in the Season 1 box set with "Heavy Metal War" being the worst episode in terms of incomplete animation and bad attempts by Rhino to fix the errors.Further, the Rhino versions of the episodes have a plethora of newly-added sound effects from a stock sound effects library (which many fans have said are annoying and/or distracting), sound effects that did not appear in the episodes as originally produced and broadcast. It wasn't until the Transformers Season 3, Part 1 boxset that Rhino bowed to the fanbase and added an "original broadcast audio" option. These new sound effects were also applied to several European releases of the Transformers series, as well as to : Reconstructed DVD (although it should be noted that Rhino's own version of TF:TM does not have the added sound effects).
Other complaints aimed at the Rhino sets include incorrect main/end titles for some episodes, and bonus features that have little or nothing to do with the original series (such as footage of Transformers fan conventions).
Generation One comics
The cartoon was produced in tandem with a comic book series, also referred to now as "Generation One." Hasbro has given both the cartoon and the comic equal footing in canon, even though some details are contradictory.The name "The Ark," referring to the Autobots' ship, is in fact only used in the comic book. In the cartoon, the ship remained nameless throughout.
Controversy
Optimus Prime
The character Optimus Prime was killed off during , sparking outrage from parents who felt the character's death adversely affected their children. As a result of the outcry, the writers brought Optimus Prime back to life for one episode, "Dark Awakening", and brought him back for good in the episode "The Return of Optimus Prime". It is worth noting that in Japan, despite the same revival occurring , Optimus was killed yet again in the 1987 Japanese-exclusive Transformers: The Headmasters series , and was not brought back until 4 years later in the magazine-exclusive "Transformers Battlestars: Return of Convoy" story, in which he was reborn as Star Convoy.Carbombya
In the episode Five Faces of Darkness (Part 1), the character Abdul Fakkadi was introduced as the "Supreme Military Dictator, King of Kings, and President For Life of the Socialist Democratic Federated Republic of Carbombya." This was an obvious play on tensions between the United States and Libya. Fakkadi's name is a near anagram of Libyan President Muammar al-Qaddafi's name. Reportedly, voice actor Casey Kasem, who voiced the character Cliffjumper and the Autobots' computer Teletraan I and who is of Lebanese descent, objected to the parody, and quit the show when it was not removed from the episode. Cliffjumper, despite having survived , was phased out as of that episode, and Teletraan I was destroyed with the Ark in the episode Five Faces of Darkness (Part 5).See also
- (1986)
- Transformers: The Headmasters (1987 - 1988)
- (1988 - 1989)
- (1989)
- (1992 - 1996)
- Beast Wars: Transformers (1996 - 1999)
- Beast Wars Neo: Super Lifeform Transformers (1999)
- Beast Machines: Transformers (1999 - 2001)
- (2000)
- (2002 - Present)
- (2004 - Present)
- (2005)
- Transformers (2007 film) (2007-07-04)
Lists
External links
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