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don't forget
dinobot helped
http://www.bwtf.com/albums/beastwars/aaa.sized.jpg

Fantastic! I hope they release a robot with a realistic alternate mode for the consumer market. This could be bigger than...erm.... those stupid robo sapien creatures we got at christmas.

It's better than the stupid auto-transforming Armada Optimus Prime. For those who have never seen it, the trailer transformed by itself and became the legs for Super Optimus Prime. Unfortunately, the mechanism is dog slow, sounds like an aircraft taking off, and is completely dull.

I'm not sure how a post that reads like a parody got modded to +5 Insightful. (At least I hope it's a parody. I've certainly seen parodies that are almost identical.)

He starts out saying how awesome the original series was, then questions why the recent shows which are clearly set in a different continuity aren't just like the old show, and then "reminisces" about the show by half-remembering a few things and misremembering a few others. And he decries the "90's Armada version", which began in 2002.

It's like saying, "Man, I hope they get this new Superman movie right. I loved in the old stories how Clark Kent was all suave, getting all the ladies, like that reporter chick he worked with sometimes. And then he would go off and fight a really brilliant and cunning villain like Mr. Mxyztplk. If they stay true to those stores, it will be a delight for all of us who watched them."

Honestly, I don't care if people can't remember anything about their childhood cartoons aside from liking them. I don't care if people haven't re-watched these things as adults and seen their flaws firsthand. But if they haven't, then their opinions on these things are uninformed ones, and they should present those opinions accordingly.

When a new line of TRANSFORMERS comics was first announced a few years ago from the now-bankrupt company Dreamwave, their president, Pat Lee, made a similar comment. He explained how Sideswipe had always been his favorite character, and how upset he was when he died in the movie. Except... Sideswipe isn't IN the movie. He doesn't appear in a single frame. He was never heavily featured in an episode of the cartoon, or in the comic book. His entire "character" is that he's brash, and he wears a jetpack. Oh, and that one time he made a tunnel with his pile drivers. This is what passed for character development in those days.

"I really liked that show when I was a kid. I hope I like the movie, too," is a perfectly reasonable wish. But that is not the same thing as hoping they make it just like it was in 1984. The animation is a mess of errors, every other episode involves the invention of a new and powerful device which gets destroyed and never rebuilt, and practically every character, including (if not especially) Prime and Megatron is a complete dumbass.

When Megatron made a clone of Prime, he carefully explained his plan to Soundwave, then brought the clone out. Soundwave exclaimed, "It is Optimus Prime!" and cowered in fear. When the Autobots realized that there were two Primes, they couldn't tell them apart even though one of them didn't know any his troops' names. They decided to discover the real Prime BY HAVING A RACE.

"Transformers" was a great children's program, and it has a lot of heart, and a lot of fun ideas. I still enjoy it, but for its nostalgia value, campiness, and lighthearted goofiness; not because it's some sort of perfect series of yesteryear that those cartoon makers today can't match. I watch a *lot* of cartoons, and have since I was young, and in my opinion the programming being produced today is better than ever before. At least, in terms of my current tastes. If I were 10, I don't know whether I would prefer the new TMNT to the old one, or Justice League Unlimited to Superfriends. Young-me *might* like the older shows better, but, I would guess not.

For anybody who is serious about wanting to reminesce about the Transformers cartoon, I recommend The Cybertron Chronicle, by far the most thorough TF cartoon website there is. As well as transcripts of every episode and an extensive character guide, it also has a bunch of interviews with voice actors, a producer, and the voice director. Nice sites for an overview of all of Transformers history (and in considerably less depth than the Chronicle) are Unicron.com and Ben's World of Transformers.

> the original projected release date was 2005

Not quite. The projected release date has always been 2006. 2005 was just a date picked by the fans to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the first movie. On the web forum, Don Murphy mentions they were shooting for a summer 2006 release. More information on the movie can be found on the TF - The Movie roundup page. If the first movie is successful, they plan for Unicron to make an appearance in the third one.

Though many people do not realise it, over 500 episodes of Transformers have been made in their various incarnations.
Here is a brief rundown of the various Transformer shows that have aired in the last 20 years.

American shows
Transformers Generation 1 TV show (American written show, set during 1985-86 and 2005-06)

2) Transformers Generation 2 TV show (modified version of the G1 series that added an annoying 3D space cube animation.

Japanese only series
Transformers: Headmasters (Japanese). Available as an official or partial fandub.

Transformers: Masterforce (Japanese). Available in official dub or sub-titled versions.

Transformers Victory (Japanese series) Available as an official dub, fan dub, or subtitled.

Transformers Zone (Japanese). Available in subtitled or dubbed versions.

Though transforming robots remained popular in the East, the Transformers line was 'rested' for a few years.

The Beast Era
In 1996 the toy line was relaunched. After the disappointing sales of the Generation 2 series, vehicle modes were abandoned and animal forms introduced. Optimus Primal transformed into a gorilla and Megatron became a dinosaur. The Beast era was set years after the original series 300-1000 years, depending upon your source) and introduced two new factions - the Maximals and Predacons.

Beast Wars - The Autobots and Decepticons are gone and the Maximals and Predacons have made peace. This peace is broken by Megatron (a namesake, not the original), who travels back in time in an attempt to change the course of history. In most episodes he is thwarted by Optimus Primal and a small band of Maximals. The animation shows its age, but it is probably the most intelligently written TF show made (season 2, in particular).

Beast Machines - The Beast Wars are over and the Maximals return to Cybertron. They find that Megatron has captured the sparks (soul) of every Transformer on the planet and created an army of mindless drones called Vehicons. Best remembered for the strong religious overtones, huge explosions and scenes of the Maximals running away.

Japanese Beast series
While the US got the second and third season of Beast Wars, Japan received two spin-off series that focused upon other planets.

Beast Wars 2 (Japanese). Leo Convoy (lion) Vs Galvatron (dragon).

Beast Wars Neo (Japanese) - The Maximal leader, Big Convoy (a wooly mammoth) faces against the evil Magmatron. Unlike earlier Convoy/Prime toys, Big Convoy has a removable matrix in his chest.

Autobots and Decepticons return
Hasbro's initial plan was to create a followup to the Beast Machines series called Transtech. This would feature vehicle TFs with animal moulding. However, it was later abandoned and Hasbro made a deal

> the original projected release date was 2005

Not quite. The projected release date has always been 2006. 2005 was just a date picked by the fans to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the first movie. On the web forum, Don Murphy mentions they were shooting for a summer 2006 release. More information on the movie can be found on the TF - The Movie roundup page. If the first movie is successful, they plan for Unicron to make an appearance in the third one.

Though many people do not realise it, over 500 episodes of Transformers have been made in their various incarnations.
Here is a brief rundown of the various Transformer shows that have aired in the last 20 years.

American shows
Transformers Generation 1 TV show (American written show, set during 1985-86 and 2005-06)

2) Transformers Generation 2 TV show (modified version of the G1 series that added an annoying 3D space cube animation.

Japanese only series
Transformers: Headmasters (Japanese). Available as an official or partial fandub.

Transformers: Masterforce (Japanese). Available in official dub or sub-titled versions.

Transformers Victory (Japanese series) Available as an official dub, fan dub, or subtitled.

Transformers Zone (Japanese). Available in subtitled or dubbed versions.

Though transforming robots remained popular in the East, the Transformers line was 'rested' for a few years.

The Beast Era
In 1996 the toy line was relaunched. After the disappointing sales of the Generation 2 series, vehicle modes were abandoned and animal forms introduced. Optimus Primal transformed into a gorilla and Megatron became a dinosaur. The Beast era was set years after the original series 300-1000 years, depending upon your source) and introduced two new factions - the Maximals and Predacons.

Beast Wars - The Autobots and Decepticons are gone and the Maximals and Predacons have made peace. This peace is broken by Megatron (a namesake, not the original), who travels back in time in an attempt to change the course of history. In most episodes he is thwarted by Optimus Primal and a small band of Maximals. The animation shows its age, but it is probably the most intelligently written TF show made (season 2, in particular).

Beast Machines - The Beast Wars are over and the Maximals return to Cybertron. They find that Megatron has captured the sparks (soul) of every Transformer on the planet and created an army of mindless drones called Vehicons. Best remembered for the strong religious overtones, huge explosions and scenes of the Maximals running away.

Japanese Beast series
While the US got the second and third season of Beast Wars, Japan received two spin-off series that focused upon other planets.

Beast Wars 2 (Japanese). Leo Convoy (lion) Vs Galvatron (dragon).

Beast Wars Neo (Japanese) - The Maximal leader, Big Convoy (a wooly mammoth) faces against the evil Magmatron. Unlike earlier Convoy/Prime toys, Big Convoy has a removable matrix in his chest.

Autobots and Decepticons return
Hasbro's initial plan was to create a followup to the Beast Machines series called Transtech. This would feature vehicle TFs with animal moulding. However, it was later abandoned and Hasbro made a deal

> the original projected release date was 2005

Not quite. The projected release date has always been 2006. 2005 was just a date picked by the fans to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the first movie. On the web forum, Don Murphy mentions they were shooting for a summer 2006 release. More information on the movie can be found on the TF - The Movie roundup page. If the first movie is successful, they plan for Unicron to make an appearance in the third one.

Though many people do not realise it, over 500 episodes of Transformers have been made in their various incarnations.
Here is a brief rundown of the various Transformer shows that have aired in the last 20 years.

American shows
Transformers Generation 1 TV show (American written show, set during 1985-86 and 2005-06)

2) Transformers Generation 2 TV show (modified version of the G1 series that added an annoying 3D space cube animation.

Japanese only series
Transformers: Headmasters (Japanese). Available as an official or partial fandub.

Transformers: Masterforce (Japanese). Available in official dub or sub-titled versions.

Transformers Victory (Japanese series) Available as an official dub, fan dub, or subtitled.

Transformers Zone (Japanese). Available in subtitled or dubbed versions.

Though transforming robots remained popular in the East, the Transformers line was 'rested' for a few years.

The Beast Era
In 1996 the toy line was relaunched. After the disappointing sales of the Generation 2 series, vehicle modes were abandoned and animal forms introduced. Optimus Primal transformed into a gorilla and Megatron became a dinosaur. The Beast era was set years after the original series 300-1000 years, depending upon your source) and introduced two new factions - the Maximals and Predacons.

Beast Wars - The Autobots and Decepticons are gone and the Maximals and Predacons have made peace. This peace is broken by Megatron (a namesake, not the original), who travels back in time in an attempt to change the course of history. In most episodes he is thwarted by Optimus Primal and a small band of Maximals. The animation shows its age, but it is probably the most intelligently written TF show made (season 2, in particular).

Beast Machines - The Beast Wars are over and the Maximals return to Cybertron. They find that Megatron has captured the sparks (soul) of every Transformer on the planet and created an army of mindless drones called Vehicons. Best remembered for the strong religious overtones, huge explosions and scenes of the Maximals running away.

Japanese Beast series
While the US got the second and third season of Beast Wars, Japan received two spin-off series that focused upon other planets.

Beast Wars 2 (Japanese). Leo Convoy (lion) Vs Galvatron (dragon).

Beast Wars Neo (Japanese) - The Maximal leader, Big Convoy (a wooly mammoth) faces against the evil Magmatron. Unlike earlier Convoy/Prime toys, Big Convoy has a removable matrix in his chest.

Autobots and Decepticons return
Hasbro's initial plan was to create a followup to the Beast Machines series called Transtech. This would feature vehicle TFs with animal moulding. However, it was later abandoned and Hasbro made a deal

> the original projected release date was 2005

Not quite. The projected release date has always been 2006. 2005 was just a date picked by the fans to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the first movie. On the web forum, Don Murphy mentions they were shooting for a summer 2006 release. More information on the movie can be found on the TF - The Movie roundup page. If the first movie is successful, they plan for Unicron to make an appearance in the third one.

Though many people do not realise it, over 500 episodes of Transformers have been made in their various incarnations.
Here is a brief rundown of the various Transformer shows that have aired in the last 20 years.

American shows
Transformers Generation 1 TV show (American written show, set during 1985-86 and 2005-06)

2) Transformers Generation 2 TV show (modified version of the G1 series that added an annoying 3D space cube animation.

Japanese only series
Transformers: Headmasters (Japanese). Available as an official or partial fandub.

Transformers: Masterforce (Japanese). Available in official dub or sub-titled versions.

Transformers Victory (Japanese series) Available as an official dub, fan dub, or subtitled.

Transformers Zone (Japanese). Available in subtitled or dubbed versions.

Though transforming robots remained popular in the East, the Transformers line was 'rested' for a few years.

The Beast Era
In 1996 the toy line was relaunched. After the disappointing sales of the Generation 2 series, vehicle modes were abandoned and animal forms introduced. Optimus Primal transformed into a gorilla and Megatron became a dinosaur. The Beast era was set years after the original series 300-1000 years, depending upon your source) and introduced two new factions - the Maximals and Predacons.

Beast Wars - The Autobots and Decepticons are gone and the Maximals and Predacons have made peace. This peace is broken by Megatron (a namesake, not the original), who travels back in time in an attempt to change the course of history. In most episodes he is thwarted by Optimus Primal and a small band of Maximals. The animation shows its age, but it is probably the most intelligently written TF show made (season 2, in particular).

Beast Machines - The Beast Wars are over and the Maximals return to Cybertron. They find that Megatron has captured the sparks (soul) of every Transformer on the planet and created an army of mindless drones called Vehicons. Best remembered for the strong religious overtones, huge explosions and scenes of the Maximals running away.

Japanese Beast series
While the US got the second and third season of Beast Wars, Japan received two spin-off series that focused upon other planets.

Beast Wars 2 (Japanese). Leo Convoy (lion) Vs Galvatron (dragon).

Beast Wars Neo (Japanese) - The Maximal leader, Big Convoy (a wooly mammoth) faces against the evil Magmatron. Unlike earlier Convoy/Prime toys, Big Convoy has a removable matrix in his chest.

Autobots and Decepticons return
Hasbro's initial plan was to create a followup to the Beast Machines series called Transtech. This would feature vehicle TFs with animal moulding. However, it was later abandoned and Hasbro made a deal

Yes. As a transfan I go to TRU a lot and collect transformers. I'm sad to see them failing; they have a lot of good exclusive toys like scourge and all those generation 1 reissues.

Yes. As a transfan I go to TRU a lot and collect transformers. I'm sad to see them failing; they have a lot of good exclusive toys like scourge and all those generation 1 reissues.

You won't have to imagine when the DVD comes out. I've heard they're doing an English dub for the rental market and inclusion on the disc. There was another computer-animated show with lipsynch that was redubbed for Japan, by the way. Mainframe's Transformers: Beast Wars had excellent lipsynch, but they didn't bother rerendering or anything when they redubbed for Japan. They just dubbed. (And for that matter, they even changed the gender of one of the characters, because female toys don't sell well in Japan!)
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