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Post by Pinwig on Sept 6, 2015 9:10:23 GMT
1.04 - Transport to Oblivion
Transport to Oblivion has an important job in the continuity of the cartoon in that it has to establish the bedrock for the ongoing series. The self-contained pilot is left open-ended by showing Megatron’s survival, but is designed to work in isolation with a conclusion, so for an ongoing series the status quo needs defining to give writers reference points. Therefore the first thing this episode does is re-establish the Ark as being the Autobots’ base, and then tells us that the Decepticons have swapped their palatial mountainside castle for the wrecked hulk of their crashed spaceship, now on the seabed. This covert base of operations seems more fitting for the Decepticons than the previous very public display of might, even if it doesn’t reflect the majestic nature of Megatron’s mania as emphatically.
It’s a surprise that not only has Shockwave apparently been trying to contact Megatron for the last four million years, but that it’s no more complicated that making a telephone call to do it. Given the reason the Autobots left Cybertron in the first place was to find a new source of Energon, Shockwave staggering around here gives more the impression that only a few weeks have passed on Cybertron since the Ark took off (perhaps not coincidentally the time between the pilot episode airing and this one) rather than four million years.
Obviously the writers of the show thought it important to bring Cybertron back into the story very quickly, which seems to go against the basic premise of the ‘robots in disguise hiding on Earth’ toy pitch until you realise it’s a cheap way to solve the problem of how to bring new characters in whenever they’re needed. Other major developments also suddenly become givens - Shockwave has already built the spacebridge, an Earth equivalent mysteriously appears out of nowhere and all that’s left to do is find the energy to test them. While the comic went to great pains to create imaginative storylines to introduce new characters in the early days, here Shockwave provides the mechanism by which the cartoon can do this without any kind of fanfare because it seems the story editors want to give writers as much freedom for future stories as possible. As such it’s a moment that’s wasted in the cartoon lore - Cybertron has been out of reach for less than three episodes. The Transformers aren't stranded at all.
Cliffjumper’s character is kept consistent from the pilot in the way he rather rashly starts throwing punches at Megatron, and for a fourth episode in a row Optimus and Megatron come face to face in a brawl, almost like it’s on a weekly checklist of toy promoting essentials - compare that to the comic. What also seems intentional here is that the Autobots involved are mostly ones who didn’t get a lot of screen time in the previous episodes, most notably Prowl, explained by the odd line that everyone else is “out on patrol” (that is until Sideswipe and Sunstreaker appear out of nowhere in the middle of the end of episode fight). However, Bumblebee is once again used as the hapless spy who gets caught through his own ineptitude, already marking him out among the Autobots as special by giving him as much (if not more) screen time than Prime. He is already a 'lovable', focal character, showing characteristics and traits from his bio, whereas the other Autobots in this episode are sadly generic and don’t show any unique traits or abilities, as was done so well in the pilot. However, Prime does keep his reactive rather than proactive stance - at the start of the episode he seems sure the Decepticons aren’t actually dead, but doesn’t do anything about it.
In all it’s a solid episode with an interesting premise that despite the rushed nature of the revelations does move the story on. Megatron survives the trip across the spacebridge and ends up on Cybertron - it’s a nice cliffhanger that leaves several questions for next week. Will he get back? Is Starscream really now in charge on Earth? Will the Autobots capitalise on the situation?
8/10
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Sept 6, 2015 22:00:38 GMT
If we are going to rip off DWM's Time Team - let's do it right.  I'll do 1-3 and add them to my posts during the week. TRANSPORT TO OBLIVION It's the first of the regular Season 1 and the animation budget constraints kick in, while it's not AKOM level, there is less detail in quite a few bits here and some very dodgy depictions of characters. It's the establishing of what will be the status quo for the series and it does a fine job of it. We also get the first of the drastically reduced cast per episode, where we focus on a few key players on the Autobot side. Optimus gets a nice bit of character development when instead of pursuing the Decepticons he states the need to return to base as Ironhide was hurt bad. Although his medical officer was on the scene as well, so a wee bit of logic going out of the window. If Cybertron was bereft of energy, it's interesting that it can still power a space bridge, as it's clear from the dialogue it's initiated from Cybertron. Shockwave again, showing absolutely zero intiative. Indeed aside from Megatron and Starscream, there is no agency among any of the Decepticon troops whatsoever. Bumblebee is chosen to find the Decepticons, when we all know it should have been Hound and he wouldn't have been caught either! It's a solid episode and gives us the basis of what the series will be like going forward, but it definitely felt like a marked step down from the pilot episodes. |
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Post by The Doctor on Sept 7, 2015 19:10:01 GMT
EPISODES VIEWED TO DATE: 004 OF 098.
NUMBER OF DEACTIVATIONS SEEN ON SCREEN SO FAR: 025.
NUMBER OF TIMES DECEPTICONS RETREAT SO FAR: 003.
NUMBER OF TIMES CHARACTER STATES DESIRE TO CONQUER THE EARTH/CYBERTRON/UNIVERSE: 007.
NUMBER OF TIMES IRONHIDE EXCLAIMS: "PRIME!" SO FAR: 000.
NUMBER OF MANIACAL LAUGHS ON SCREEN SO FAR: 012.
NUMBER OF OPTIMUS PRIME'S 'MOMENTS OF CHARM' SO FAR: 003.
NUMBER OF MYSTERIOUSLY COLOURED DECEPTICON STRIKE PLANES SEEN ON SCREEN SO FAR: 023.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 13, 2015 13:19:23 GMT
I did watch last week's, albeit on Monday with Karl, but it didn't grab me.
Had Shockwave been trying Megatron on the space telephone every so often for millions of years or had they already been in contact off screen?
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 13, 2015 13:21:55 GMT
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Post by Pinwig on Sept 13, 2015 14:30:23 GMT
In terms of order we're safe for Roll For It this week, and then Divide and Conquer next week, but then we need a decision about which order we're following. I'm on the Rhino DVDs, and episode 7 is Fire in the Sky because it follows production code order, but on the DVD releases that follow the broadcast order it will be SOS Dinobots. Season two will get very messy unless we know what we're doing. What would be useful I think is if the first post in this thread was edited to include one of Phil's excellent indices that list the order we're following. Unless by chance we're all using DVDs that follow prod code order, I'd say go for broadcast as it feels more 'proper' to me. You can grab an easy list here epguides.com/Transformers/ |
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Post by Pinwig on Sept 13, 2015 14:43:01 GMT
1.05 - Roll For It
A title which has nothing to do with the ‘Roll Out!’ catch phrase associated with Optimus Prime, but the fact the latest addition to the cast is a super intelligent computer expert, who therefore has to be in a wheelchair. Chip Chase is more annoying than Spike because he makes everyone else look stupid, including Wheeljack, but it’s interesting to think that the producers of the show decided two young male leads were needed to drive the human side of it, differentiated by physical ability and intelligence; how else do we explain why Spike keeps his yellow construction worker helmet on for the entire episode? When you look at the human cast of the Transformers in relation to other shows, it’s a bit of an irregular extended family being a father/son combo with associated (but unlikely) best friend, and no female presence at all until Carly turns up in the second season. Was there a Mrs Witwicky? What did she make of it all?
Chip also debuts in this story without any formal introduction, Bumblebee treating him almost as an old friend, or perhaps more like a pet when patting him on the head. It isn’t until Dr Alcazar starts info-dumping that the viewer is let in on who he is. The fact he is disabled then becomes the theme for the episode as his computer skills allow him to take control of Prowl and live vicariously through the Autobot, which in turn then inspires Wheeljack to create the device that allows him to control Skywarp at the end of the episode. This shows the Autobots winning the day through use of intelligence, derived from Chip, rather than the brute force and trickery of the Decepticons. This is neat in that it helps pull back on overt use of violence by the heroes and teaches us that weapons aren’t the way nice people fight.
Was it coincidence that it’s Prowl whose battle computer is damaged, meaning he can’t make tactical decisions - the one thing his bio says he’s good at? It seems odd, as it’s more common sense that if someone’s pointing a gun at you that you get out of the way, rather than a decision needing military training. However the episode’s theme is about overcoming disability, so therefore Prowl can have empathy for Chip when he meets him, having been disabled himself.
That sequence also threw up a surprise in that it was odd to hear Prowl talking about needing to go ‘online’ for help in a 1984 cartoon. Etymologically speaking, ‘online’ was first used as a word to mean connecting peripherals to computers as far back as 1950 (according to the internet), but it’s odd to think it was in common enough usage in 1984 to appear in a children’s cartoon. That said, Matthew Broderick had already almost brought about World War III in the cinema (WarGames, 1983) and wealthy children already had access to services such as Atari’s GameLine, which allowed the already aging Atari 2600 (nee VCS) to download games to a special cartridge via a modem. In contrast, twice in this episode Transformers are shown to be able to transfer data through touch, even from organic matter; firstly when Megatron can feel that the anti-matter formula has been uploaded to another computer, and then when Soundwave extracts it from Chip’s brain.
The Decepticons themselves are in need of reunification in this episode. Starscream’s smash and grab style of leadership is impressing no one, and even Megatron is dispatched from Cybertron back to Earth with a bitterly sarcastic ‘safe trip’ from Shockwave, who seems surprisingly uninterested in showing Megatron what he’s done with the place over the previous four million years. No one seems to have any loyalty to anyone. The story also shies away from giving us a confrontation between Megatron and Starscream over leadership, which would on face value seem to be the obvious next step for the returning Decepticon leader. Instead the plot seems to divide Starscream and Megatron’s plans until Megatron’s tactical nous restores him to power without challenge, possibly because Starscream is out of his depth and can’t make necessary decisions. It’d have been fun to see Starscream call his troops to him, only for them to all back Megatron instead, but perhaps that’s a story for another day.
7/10
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 13, 2015 16:04:26 GMT
In terms of order we're safe for Roll For It this week, and then Divide and Conquer next week, but then we need a decision about which order we're following. I'm on the Rhino DVDs, and episode 7 is Fire in the Sky because it follows production code order, but on the DVD releases that follow the broadcast order it will be SOS Dinobots. Season two will get very messy unless we know what we're doing. What would be useful I think is if the first post in this thread was edited to include one of Phil's excellent indices that list the order we're following. Unless by chance we're all using DVDs that follow prod code order, I'd say go for broadcast as it feels more 'proper' to me. You can grab an easy list here epguides.com/Transformers/Here's TFWiki's list which I think is production order. tfwiki.net/wiki/List_of_The_Transformers_episodesMake a decision and I'll edit it into the first post. |
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Post by Pinwig on Sept 13, 2015 16:34:01 GMT
Yes, the wiki list is the production order - the codes are down the right hand side. What does anyone else think? it's not my decision alone, this was the Doc's idea!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 13, 2015 16:39:24 GMT
I've inserted a table including what date we're watching which episode in Broadcast order
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Post by Pinwig on Sept 13, 2015 16:57:30 GMT
Excellent! July 2017... woah.
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Post by The Doctor on Sept 13, 2015 16:58:40 GMT
Phil edited the post just as I was about to. Christmas Day 2016 will be fun! I shall watch this week's episode this evening.
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on Sept 13, 2015 17:14:37 GMT
I am actually now really curious - who has DVDs which follow the broadcast order? I've no idea what the perceived wisdom is as to which is right. I can imagine there is a 30 year argument somewhere about it.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 13, 2015 18:11:14 GMT
My s1 is production order.
Are there anything in the orders that contradict themselves? Characters appearing before they should or prior situations that haven't been seen yet being referenced?
I suspect, for us as primarily comic/toy UK fans it might have something to do with the cartoon not being our main focus whereas US fans might be more concerned...
I know with Doctor Who the production order or intended broadcast order makes far more sense for the last two seasons due to stuff with earings and talking about houses that scared you as a kid. And you can make an excellent case for Ambassadors of Death occuring after Inferno.
I know Space 1999 and The Professionals both have hotly contested running orders, but the consensus there is the original intended order is better.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 13, 2015 18:12:38 GMT
Excellent! July 2017... woah. Now you know how I felt when I drew up the original running order for Top 5 TFs! |
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Post by Pinwig on Sept 13, 2015 18:32:44 GMT
My s1 is production order. Are there anything in the orders that contradict themselves? Characters appearing before they should or prior situations that haven't been seen yet being referenced? I am by no means an expert on the cartoon, far from it, but quickly scanning through cast lists on the wiki it seems Skyfire is in The Ultimate Doom - Part 2, which means going by the broadcast order he would appear in that before his initial discovery in Fire in the Sky. In production order his intro episode would come first. So maybe we ought to do this in production order! Surely one of the websites must catalogue the differences somewhere, it seems an obvious thing to have done. |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 13, 2015 18:57:31 GMT
another advantage of production order is we get to watch SOS Dinobots at Swincon :-)
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Post by The Doctor on Sept 13, 2015 20:10:22 GMT
EPISODES VIEWED TO DATE: 005 OF 098.
NUMBER OF DEACTIVATIONS SEEN ON SCREEN SO FAR: 026.
NUMBER OF TIMES DECEPTICONS RETREAT SO FAR: 006.
NUMBER OF TIMES CHARACTER STATES DESIRE TO CONQUER THE EARTH/CYBERTRON/UNIVERSE: 009.
NUMBER OF TIMES IRONHIDE EXCLAIMS: "PRIME!" SO FAR: 000.
NUMBER OF MANIACAL LAUGHS ON SCREEN SO FAR: 014.
NUMBER OF OPTIMUS PRIME'S 'MOMENTS OF CHARM' SO FAR: 003.
NUMBER OF MYSTERIOUSLY COLOURED DECEPTICON STRIKE PLANES SEEN ON SCREEN SO FAR: 023.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 13, 2015 21:23:34 GMT
Back to the s2 titles this week. Rage knows no bounds!
Oh look a miscoloured Starscream already! First all grey, with black undercarriage and then like Air Raid. Apparently it's Thundercracker. except it's Skywarp when you see him stood. Oh no it's Thundercraker! More miscoloured jet nonsense and then those dreadful launchers from the MP cars on Bluerstreak!
Ooooo, a piece of BSG music as the spacebridge comes to life on earth
Where did Chip come from? He's just there! CVery pleased to get the interweb though!
What? Where's Soundwave's voice gone?
starscream's using his null ray as a hand gun
G2 Prime puts in an early appearance!
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Post by The Doctor on Sept 14, 2015 17:14:12 GMT
We are going in original US airdate order unless it throws up a mad continuity problem. I HAVE SPOKEN. FROM THE RUBY CRYSTAL MINES OF BURMA!
RE: Roll For It. Watching this week by week Chip hasn't annoyed me this time like he usually does. Perhaps it's because the Witwicky's are a bit bland and haven't done much yet. They don't quite feel like 'core cast' to me at this point.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 14, 2015 17:49:50 GMT
We are going in original US airdate order unless it throws up a mad continuity problem. I HAVE SPOKEN. FROM THE RUBY CRYSTAL MINES OF BURMA! Haven't we already found one with Skyfire appearing in Ultimate Doom 2 & 3 (episodes 9 & 10) before he's discovered in the ice in Fire in the Sky (episode 13) And Countdown to Extinction (episode 12) is meant to be straight after Ultimate Doom 3 (episode 10) because Megatron is still missing! |
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Post by Pinwig on Sept 14, 2015 20:38:44 GMT
Yep. It's true. If we go broadcast order we'll be in trouble. It's pretty clear the production order is the right order. Season two is absolutely all over the place in broadcast order. It's like they were drawing episodes randomly out of a hat to show them.
Which to be fair they probably were...
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 20, 2015 8:07:35 GMT
According to the table on p1 it's
20/09/2015 Series 1 Episode 6 "Divide and Conquer" today
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Post by Pinwig on Sept 20, 2015 8:51:43 GMT
I must say I'm really enjoying Sunday breakfast with a Transformers episode; this was a great idea Doc.
1.06 - Divide and Conquer
It seems as though a significant amount of time has passed between this episode and the last, as the Decepticon menace on Earth is now a given among humans, and they’re manufacturing weapons on a large scale to combat them. We don’t really get an impression of what the Autobots think about this, but given their reckless approach to letting Spike take part in their fights (to the point in this episode that he almost kills himself wielding a gun bigger than he is on the front line) it suggests they’re fairly blasé about the locals getting dragged into the war. This does seem at odds with their pretence of remaining on Earth to protect humans from the Decepticons, but then Optimus Prime’s motto is ‘Freedom is the right of all sentient beings’. Freedom to get dragged into an alien war perhaps, and get shot to bits in the process. Rationally, the human weapon production would be for defence rather than offence, but it seems odd the Autobots leave America to it when all the Decepticons need do is roll up whenever they like and raid the factories.
That is of course what they do here, but bizarrely ignore the benefits of confiscating the weaponry in favour of draining the power being used to create them. The battle for energy is still the big theme for the series, much more so than the already forgotten initial toy pitch of robots hiding among humans. Vehicle modes now are about transport rather than disguise. In contrast, round-a-bout this point in the comics the Transformers are still trying to keep their presence as quiet as possible, despite Shockwave’s antics on GB Blackrock’s oil platform, and Ratchet even goes as far as saying the Ark only gave the Autobots the ability to transform once they’d reached Earth specifically so they could hide.
This echoes how the thinner plots of the cartoons define the actions of the Transformers week to week, rather than the plots evolving from their characters and motives as in the comic. It makes each episode of the cartoon feel more isolated and unrelated than the comic’s desire to build month on month into a longer epic. Cartoon series with over-arching narrative structures are still some way in the future at this point.
The scripting demonstrates that, which has been economical at best in the series so far but in this episode reduces many lines almost to bullet points - far more concise even than comic writing. It’s true that with every frame being hand drawn there is no time in cartoons of this era for padding, but the end result is an almost entirely action focused 22 minutes that unfolds at a breakneck pace and gives no time for characters to breath, let alone develop.
Compared to something more modern like Transformers: Prime, where lengthy conversations over morals or back story can be produced much more cost effectively in rendered 3D, the original cartoon does pack more story into its running time, but at the cost of any chance of seeing the Transformers as rounded, believable characters. Prime’s noble sacrifice and Huffer’s pessimistic worrying are the only two moments in this whole episode where one robot can be differentiated from another by anything other than appearance (although at least Trailbreaker is placed in the excursion team so he can use his force shield ability).
The way the Autobot crew hijack the spacebridge, return to Cybertron, break into Wheeljack’s lockup and locate the required Cosmotron with dialogue used only to punctuate the action through the entire sequence highlights the frantic pace. This is the first return home for these characters in four million years, and even though they are in a hurry to save Prime, the moment is completely destroyed by the Wacky Races manner in which the bots tear back and forth past a bewildered Shockwave. Admittedly the Autobots were deactivated for most of the time they’ve been away, so it may not feel like four million years to them, but returning to Cybertron should have been an entire plot arc in itself. There is also the overlooked question of how Chip can breathe - do we assume that Cybertron has an oxygen atmosphere?
The Transformers’ homeworld also still seems to be staffed solely by Shockwave, like some disregarded caretaker left in charge of a school over the summer holiday, and the trio of jets left behind in the pilot. It feels too deserted. Of course at that point the planet couldn’t be teeming with life because the only toys available that weren’t already in the show had their own intro episodes coming up, and this again highlights what a poor decision it is to bring Cybertron back into the narrative so soon. In addition, the fact the planet is so easily accessible seems to make a mockery of the Transformers staying on Earth; they aren’t stranded at all. The Decepticons are just using it for fuel and the Autobots are hanging around vaguely hoping to be useful.
It is interesting how Megatron is shown to be more of a general in this episode. For the most part he sits in the background directing his troops from the Decepticon base, rather than leading them into battle as has been the case so far. This makes him look a little more powerful, so when he finally is drawn out for the essential weekly scrap with Prime at the end of the episode it carries a little more weight than the previous few bouts. Why after all that though, do the Autobots allow the Decepticons to just up and leave at the end? It’s almost like they want them to regroup and hatch another dastardly plan next week.
3/10
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 20, 2015 15:51:28 GMT
Yay, proper S1 titles again!
Yay, the Larson starfighter laserbolt noise!
I thought Skywarp was the teleporter? And Thundercracker's creating duplicates???
A pair of Starscreams!
It's the rainmaker jets!
BSG theme again!
Not the worst episode I've seen
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Post by The Doctor on Sept 20, 2015 17:30:14 GMT
EPISODES VIEWED TO DATE: 006 OF 098.
NUMBER OF DEACTIVATIONS SEEN ON SCREEN SO FAR: 027.
NUMBER OF TIMES DECEPTICONS RETREAT SO FAR: 009.
NUMBER OF TIMES CHARACTER STATES DESIRE TO CONQUER THE EARTH/CYBERTRON/UNIVERSE: 010.
NUMBER OF TIMES IRONHIDE EXCLAIMS: "PRIME!" SO FAR: 004.
NUMBER OF MANIACAL LAUGHS ON SCREEN SO FAR: 016.
NUMBER OF OPTIMUS PRIME'S 'MOMENTS OF CHARM' SO FAR: 003.
NUMBER OF MYSTERIOUSLY COLOURED DECEPTICON STRIKE PLANES SEEN ON SCREEN SO FAR: 026.
-Ralph
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Post by Shockprowl on Sept 22, 2015 18:25:44 GMT
I must say I'm really enjoying Sunday breakfast with a Transformers episode; this was a great idea Doc. Although I've fallen a few behind due to bloody Real Life time demands and My Little Pony watching, I also salute the Doctor for this excellent idea. And I also have to say I'm enjoying your reviews of each episode immensely as well, Pinwig darling! You should review professionally! |
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Post by Pinwig on Sept 22, 2015 21:06:50 GMT
Oh thanks! that's nice to know. I didn't think anyone would read such big posts. I'm just waffling really. I'll probably run out of things to say before long, but it's making me think about what I'm watching.
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Post by The Doctor on Sept 22, 2015 21:40:07 GMT
I'm still not annoyed by Chip Chase. Yes he is a super genious but at least he is distinctive. At this point in the show Spike is still pretty bland and not really contributing much of use. Chip has mad bastard computer skills. He is useful to the Autobots. Spike has a yellow hard-hat. Sometimes he also has a spare dad who also has a yellow hard-hat
-Ralph
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Sept 22, 2015 21:48:05 GMT
Roll For It
It's great that Chip is just presented as chap in a wheelchair, absolutely nothing is made of it. He's just there. It's an unusual move and one I approve of. Some nice rendering in some of the close ups but the budget constraints of the regular series versus the 3 part MTME are becoming much clearer. What would have happened if Chip was lacking in combat skills, and how did he get such practice as I am not sure there would be many first person shooters kicking around at that time.
Andy
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