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Name_Violation wrote:*slow clap*

good stuff.

Hearing about the Dinobots pre-season 3 always makes me nostalgic.

Thanks! And yeah, the Dinobots were pretty badass and cool before season three...



And now... the followup to the three-part Ultimate Doom.

Countdown to Extinction
Gee, there's a cheerful title. We open with scenes of devastation. Smoke rising from a plain, a wrecked city. Victor Caroli narrates. "By bringing Cybertron into Earth's orbit, and harvesting the unleashed energy, Megatron leaves the world in ruins." More destroyed cities and volcanic eruptions. "But Optimus Prime and the Autobots fight back and destroy Megatron's starship, releasing enough energy to knock Cybertron out of Earth's orbit. And now the Autobots begin the repair of the shattered planet."

Wheeljack's leading the Dinobots in construction. Prime's acting as a support for Ratchet as he repairs a bridge. Ironhide's filling in holes and others are helping with a dam. It's excellent to see this! Consequences of what happened.

At the Decepticon base, it's not much better. There's major damage that has to be fixed. *Looks at crew* Not gonna happen any time soon. Skywarp and Rumble fight, the latter being tossed into a console. Thundercracker tries to mediate... or argue. Then Soundwave joins in for the pit of it. "Look who's talking, Thundercracker!" We also get our first onscreen appearance of Frenzy! "I didn't volunteer for this geeky assignment! I want Skywarp's job!" Is 'geek' the highest form of insult on Cybertron? He emerges from a pit and Skywarp tries to step on him, but Frenzy tosses him aside and Rumble... jumps on Skywarp's face in a totally wrong manner.

Megatron walks in, looking a lot better than last time we saw him. "Silence!" They all fall into line, Skywarp thinking he was dead. "I've only lost a starship, not the War!" He's looking for Arkeville, but he and Starscream are gone. Laserbeak flies in, transforms and slides into Soundwave's chest. It's Starscream's voice. "Now that Megatron has been destroyed, I am leader of the Decepticons. Understand, Doctor?" He wants Arkeville to take him to a secret lab. Megatron rallies the troops... leaving behind months or repair work. We cut to the Atlantic... and them just flying above.

Back at the Ark, Teletraan-One is back online. Just in time, as it or a Sky Spy spots Megatron. Prime rallies his own soldiers-probably on a short break from repair work. Or just rotating shifts so no one gets worn out. We then cut to Arkeville and guiding Starscream to his lab. Nice bit where Starscream transforms, ejects Arkeville and grabs him with his arm. It's a large, obvious-looking boulder with actual steps craved in the front. Real hidden. "My lab is an impenetrable fortress until I activate the front portal with a voice command."

"Then activate your mouth!"

"I Doctor Arkeville, genius of science, say open sesame!"

"How original..." Okay, a thousand points for them pointing out how dumb the password is. The boulder moves aside slightly, but Starscream grabs it and chucks it down the side of a cliff. So much for impenetrable... "A small example of when anyone tries my patience. Especially you!" Inside, the lab is huge. One wonders how long Arkeville's been operating. Starscream finds an exponential generator.


It's apparently the ultimate power source. Arkeville's scared stiff. If the generator goes, so goes Earth. Starscream... doesn't care.

Back a ways, the Decepticons are flying overhead and Rumble just spots the Autobots rolling out below. Skywarp and Thundercracker attack. How long were the two groups not noticing each other?!

Back at the lab, Starscream's rigged the generator with a timer. It'll explode and blow up Earth. In seven hours, fifty-eight minutes and twenty seconds it'll blow up. Arkeville's horrified, but Starscream doesn't care. He'll be on Cybertron, ready to collect the resulting energy. Arkeville volunteers to... stay behind to make sure nothing goes wrong. Screamer's not a fool-this time-and takes Arkeville with him. Arkeville boards and Starscream takes off for interplanetary flight. He tries to talk him out of it, but Starscream brushes him off. "Compassion, from you? Spare me your concern!" it's kinda true, actually.

Starscream then goes on a major rant. "Once we're on Cybertron, nothing will interfere with my plans! Before long, I shall be Lord Starscream, tyrant of the firmament!" And he flies up to Cybertron, still close enough to Earth and possibly settling into an orbit around the sun.

Holy shit we've gained a tenth planet here!

Back on Earth, Bumblebee's buried. Brawn digs him out as the Autobots take cover. Wheeljack is.... itching for a fight. "I wanna fight in the clear!" He fires off a missile and takes out Skywarp. The Decepticons land... Megatron sneaking up on Prime from nowhere. One toss and Megatron... calls it quits. "These Autobots are too hero-programmed to know when to quit." The Autobots follow.

Back on Cybertron, Starscream talks to Shockwave. Arkeville's banned from Headquarters, per Megatron's orders. Starscream informs him Megatron's dead and flashes a badge... and that's enough to get him leadership?


Okay, it is a nice badge. Shockwave's incredulous, and can't get through to Earth. Starscream orders him to not contact Earth, then shoots at him. He wants energy collectors set up. In less than three hours Earth will blow up. Hey, passage of time. Good to see. He gloats over Arkeville. "You will be the only member of your species to survive the end of your world!" Arkeville has a moment of redemption for his crimes and tries to stop Starscream's energy collection, but the controls electrocute him. Harsh. Some Reflectors take him to 'repair bay'.

Back on Earth, Megatron is leading the Decepticons to the 'valley of no return'. I'm guessing that's not the real name. They lead the Autobots into an area of instability. Quicksand. Obviously formed by the geological and meteorological catastrophes that happened. They transform, but can't pull themselves out. Megatron, in a moment of genre savvy, has Laserbeak stay behind to make sure they sink. He mentions they've wasted time on them.

Ironhide tries to get an arm free to fire some nitrogen into the quicksand. Laserbeak attacks, but Mairage nails him with a missile and he transforms into cassette mode. Jazz catches him while Ironhide's arm gets free and his hand retracts. He fires super-cool nitrogen at the quicksand... freezing it, I guess.So they can climb out of the holes. I have no idea if that would work.

Jazz holds up Laserbeak. "Hey, Optimus. How'd you like to hear number one on the Decepticon hot cassette chart?" Ah, Scatman. I miss you. Prime is... groovy. "As the Earthlings say, lay it on me man." He transforms and plays back the message Laserbeak played for Megatron. Prime has them roll for Arkeville's lab... How do they know where it is?

Megatron arrives and finds the generator. "Your destiny is to serve me, my potent beauty." Creepy as all hell closeup of his eyes as they're lit by the generator, too. Rumble comes in to inform Megatron that the Autobots arrived... and the Decepticons show up out of nowhere. They exit the lab as-the hell?!

Prime's fist comes out of the bottom of the screen and pops Megatron in the chin, knocking him into the cliff. Megatron grabs a rock up there and chucks it at Prime. "Here! Have a ton of fun!" Oh, that hurt. Prime dodges and it nearly kills Rumble. Prime laughs, which is disturbing in its own right. "Your aim's improving, Megatron!"

back at Cybertron, we see the horror as Arkeville's been worked on in the repair bay. He's been Borged, basically. "You've turned me into a mechanical freak!"


Yeah, sleep tight folks.

"Be grateful you exist at all!" "But I can't move!" Ooh, that is just wrong.

On Earth, Prime's found the generator. Megatron tries to stop him, but Prime stands near the generator and taunts Megatron. He also informs him that the generator's unstable. Megatron has the others leave, but Shockwave finally gets through. "Call back later. I'm busy!" Shockwave tells him about the generator, Prime overhearing. Megatron finds the timer and crushes it. "Everything is under control, Shockwave." He asks where Starscream is and learns the plot. Speaking of which, Starscream realizes there was no earth-shattering kaboom. He thinks it's a malfunction in the timer. "You will go back to Earth to check it, Doctor." "And how do you propose I get there, on my roller skates?!" He plies Starscream with some flattery, getting him to go to Earth.

Megatron's disconnected the exponential generator... and acting kinda weird. It turns out the generator's melted his armor plating! He orders Prime out of the way, but Prime grabs the generator. They fight over it. And it bounces a bit. Megatron grabs it and runs out, followed by Prime. And we get the first-but not the last-bit of cooperation between them.

Megatron hands the generator to Prime and transforms into gun mode, letting Prime fire it into... space. Wow. It explodes... just as Starscream crosses paths with it. He crashes and Megatron looms over him, backlit and looking scary as all hell. "Welcome home, noble voyager." Starscream oils himself.

The Autobots drive away and contemplate what's gonna happen, laughing at the imminent pain. Ah, the good guys!

Thoughts
It was great seeing that first bit, the destruction. Well, good in the whole 'continuity' sense. We do get the sense of massive loss of life and damage.

So, Arkeville. Methinks his fate on Cybertron is not a happy one. I... wish I could feel sorry for him, but I can't.

And now...

We see the ABC news logo once more. The same anchorwoman is sitting there, still no makeup but her hair is done up a bit fancier. She clears her throat and looks to the camera

"Good evening. We've just received word that President Reagan has announced a massive rebuilding and recruiting program for the United States. Soviet Premier Konstantin Chernenko has issued a similar call.

"Across the world, anti-Transformer protests have sprung up, mostly around city ruins and devastated areas. However, in areas not heavily damaged, counter-protests have begun. Authorities urge calm, but it's not known if either side will listen.

"In other news, Delta-Six leader General Clay Abernathy and Oktober Guard leader Colonel Ivan Brekhov have pledged to work together and merge their respective teams under a new international command, unnamed so far. They held a press conference in Geneva to announce their goals."

Time to get a bit biblical as we experience...

A Plague of Insecticons
And sell some new toys, too!

We open on the island of Bali. Victor tells us of 'Demon Swamp, where a new form of robot now stalks. Boatmen are sailing by when new Decepticons attack, each in the form of giant insects. The stag beetle repeats the last word of every sentence, which is nice. The boatmen escape while the robots feast. The grasshopper is named 'Kickback' while the boatmen go to radio for help. The others are named Bombshell and Shrapnel.

Back at the Ark... they receive the SOS. Hopefully wired to them through proper channels. Spike and Sparkplug take the message while Skyfire takes some Autobots and Spike along. We cut to Laserbeak flying above the Decepticon base and sending the info to Megatron. He, Soundwave and Thundercracker go to Bali as well. In the swamps, they quickly land. Ravage is ejected and tracks down a large hut.

Megatron peels away the outer layer and reveals metal and the Deceptibrand. Said brand is red, but we'll assume it faded. Turns out this was an escape pod from their own ship back in MTMTE! Holy cow, that is so cool. Thundercracker puts it together rather quickly, actually. And we pull back to the Insecticons observing a settlement. They transform and attack the farm!

We cut to Prime and some other Autobots driving along what appears to be an empty riverbed. How'd they get to Bali, the waterskis or surfing? I say surfing! Unfortunately, they come across a local festival. Sideswipe finds an alternate route around. Sunstreaker needles him. "Since when did you know anything about this countryside?!"

"Listen, I've got search instincts like a proton-powered pathfinder." Sideswipe, you are a geek! Wheeljack ribs him, and Sideswipe decides they can go under the villagers! We cut back to the farm where the Insecticons are wreaking havoc. "I knew we should've sprayed!" says one farmer. Skyfire shows up, doing a brief gerwalk as he lets everyone out.

the Insecticons fire, but Brawn takes it like nothing. The Autobots are rather overconfident. Bombshell blows up the farm equipment while Shrapnel somehow animates them with electricity into Insecticlones. O-kay...

Brawn's still confident. "Ah, they're probably just optical illusion. I hope." And they fire. Skyfire gets snarky. "Still think they're optical illusions, Brawn?" The real Insecticons charge, forcing the Autobots back. They're hoping Prime and the others got the message. "They should be here by now!" And... we cut to Sideswipe pounding out a tunnel. "You and your shortcuts!"

Back to the farm, the Insecticons launch a shrapnel bomb, destroying the wheat. Windcharger uses his magnetic powers to repel them, and Skyfire can't transform. Kickback's... kick jammed his transform circuits. And to top it off, Megatron's flying in!

Megatron approaches them. They don't remember Megatron, but he feels... familiar. Some people think this means they weren't aboard the Nemesis, but come on! It's been four million years. And memory loss isn't unknown amongst the species. I rather like it.

Shrapnel asks for help with taking out the Autobots. Megatron's response? "With pleasure!" And they aim... and back to the tunnel, Prime has basically had it. "Stand back, Sideswipe. It's my turn!" "I'm not really tired, but if you insist." And Prime blows through, and they arrive at the battle.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker tackles Megatron... and are disposed of in literally two seconds. Prime transforms as Sideswipe is tossed back, being caught by Skyfire. The Autobots attack and the Decepticons leave for an oil refinery.

Wheeljack repairs Skyfire and he transforms, taking off for scouting missions. Prime tells him to be careful as they roll out. In the air, Soundwave reports that Skyfire's following them. The Insecticons double back to take him on. Shrapnel and Bombshell clamp onto his wings, forcing him down. Spike spots his crash. Wheeljack-one of the few Autobots who can fly-takes off and helps him out, but Kickback... yeah. Kicks him out of the sky. Prime catches him on his trailer. "Thanks, Prime. Keep on trucking!"

'Cause we got a great big convoy, rolling through the night. We got a great big convoy, ain't she a beautiful sight?

Back at a rather impressive refinery, the Decepticons attack. Soundwave begins cube production while Thundercracker begins pouring. We cut to the Autobots and Insecticons. Shrapnel using some sort of 'override waves' on SUnstreaker and Sideswipe, forcing them to play chicken with the Autobots. Trailbreaker activates his force field and saves them. Brawn... is fastball specialed up to the Insecticons by Prime. I have actually done a screen capture of this:



"Go get 'em, Brawn!" he grapples with Shrapnel, but Kickback... yeah. "That's what I call going down to defeat... from 'de feet." *Groan* Skyfire saves him. "Thanks, Skyfire. I don't mind the takeoffs but the landings are murder!"

The Insecticons go to the refinery. There, the refinery's being drained dry. Megatron is simply leaning against the wall, fusion cannon off. He directs the Insecticons to an oil tanker and to drink their fill. There's some good animation of them 'eager'. They leap up and drink. Megatron notices Skyfire coming and they shoot at him. He returns the favor by knocking the Insecticons off the tanker. Megatron... says something odd as the Autobots roll up. "Soundwave, activate the Ravage cassette!" The what? Never heard it uttered like that before.

The two sides fight, Kick back sneaking up on the Autobots and firing shrapnel. They're blown into the oil-slicked water... and Thundercracker ignites it. They dive, come up under the dock where he is and burst through. Ah, strategy!

Ironhide is ordered to douse the tanker flames. I had forgotten he was there. Storm clouds roll in and Kickback declares the day is won! Shrapnel fires a missile into the clouds and begins generating lightning, directed down... and this is gonna hurt. He blows them back. Bumblebee and Spike hide, but Spike realizes how to defeat the lightning! He has Bumblebee transform and drive at them. Shrapnel fires... and nothing.

Rubber tires. I... am no expert. I'm not an expert on many things. But I don't think rubber tires would be enough to shield them from that amount of lightning. So they transform and roll out! And we get another awesome Prime moment.



How much win is this guy smelted from?!

There's some great animation of him shooting the Insecticons. Megatron flies over, shoots the tanker and pushes it to the refinery. Prime sees it, dives in and wrestles with it.

Back on land, Trailbreaker's force field disrupts the Insecticlone control and they vaporize.

Megatron suddenly emerges from the water and readies his fusion cannon, but suddenly...

"Megatron... CATCH!"

...

SO! Moving on, here. The Insecticons decide to distance themselves from the Decepticons. They eat some energon cubes while Megatron waddles to the shore, angry at them. "We befriended them and now they steal our power source!" And we have a brief civil war as the Insecticons flee and the Decepticons chase after them. Bumblebee sums it up best. "For once I wish megatron the best of luck!"

Prime notes they'll probably be back together, due to similar engineering. Wheeljack has a rather interesting observation. "And with the same engineering, they won't stay enemies for long."

... So is that why Megatron's never killed Starscream?

The Insecticons will be back, but the Autobots will be ready for them. And Prime... hugs Spike and Bumblebee. Kinda creepily, too. "Spoken like a true Autobot, Spike!" And Wheeljack ponders designing a "vehicle transform" for him. Maybe a motorcycle. Spike has the perfect comeback.

"Maybe we'd better wait until I'm old enough to drive?" "You've got yourself a deal!"

Thoughts
Not the worst. Pretty much a 'buy my toys!' episode, but the Insecticons are a rogue element here. Skyfire got his butt kicked... literally by Kickback.

So, one more episode until season two!

The ABC news logo flashes on the screen. The same anchorwoman, still no makeup and hair in a semi-plain bun, looks up to the screen

Good evening. Repair work on the interstate highway system continues unabated as Route 66 is reopened. A small ceremony was held before workers resumed their work. It is unknown how long before full repairs are made, but progress is astonishing.

"Over in Europe, tensions cooled between Warsaw Pact and NATO as their first joint-allied wargame scenario was held. Although details are scarce, it appears some rather... interesting new technology is being used by the soldiers. Our correspondent has more..."

And now we end the first successful season of Transformers! Appropriately, with more toys! some new characters!

Heavy Metal War
So... Metallica fights Black Sabbath?

We open on a long shot of a city in a background, then panning over to a construction site. Industry! The driving heart of America! This is undoubtedly part of the ongoing reconstruction process. A foreman drops that 'energy discs' are being installed that'll allow power to be tapped directly from Earth's magnetic field. Suddenly, green and purple-colored construction vehicles pull up. They have no drivers... and Decepticon brands on them. "Right! No one drives us, stupid human.We are the Constructicons! We drive ourselves!"

The foreman shouts out to stop them and the humans... show some savvy by using their vehicles. Unfortunately the Constructicons, being more than just vehicles, are also packing heavy weapons. The power convertors and energy discs are stolen. The workers approach. "Foolish man of flesh! If you interfere with us, you will be terminated!" The foreman's picked up and simply tossed into the throng of workers. And they fly off.

We cut to a temporary Decepticon base and we get part of the Constructicon's origins. "They were worth the time we spent building them in these caverns." We'll get back to that... later. We get a roll call and pan across for maximum toy-buying advertising!



"Scavenger! Mixmaster! Long Haul! Bonecrusher! Hook, and myself." The last is Scrapper, the apparent leader. There's no 'real' leader with this group. Megatron asks if they have the energy components. Long Haul transforms and they appear in his bed. Ah, I love this series. They're unloaded and hooked up to equipment. Megatron boasts it'll give him the power to vanquish the Autobots. Starscream snarks.

"Forgive me, but I believe your boast sounds vaguely familiar." Not through any fault of mine!" Now that I ponder it... most of the time it wasn't Megatron's fault! "This device will enable me to strike at the Autobots through Optimus Prime's only weakness-his overdeveloped sense of honor!" And we get a badly-drawn shot of his profile as he laughs.

At the Ark, Ironhide's chest is showing a graphic. Spike points out it's one... but one too many as it's Megatron! Cliffjumper fires a freezing substance from his wrist sockets, but Megatron blows through the resulting snowball. Wheeljack tries out his 'shockblast cannon'... which blows up in his hands. ""Ugh, that's a shock all right."

Ironhide fires energy blasts from his fists, kinda like the Gobots. Megatron dances around them. Prime taunts him and Megatron responds. Oh, he doesn't even have his fusion cannon! He lands and explains himself. "I have come about a matter of Cybertron law, Optimus Prime." He challenges Prime to single combat, the loser's faction exiling themselves to deep space for eternity. Cliffjumper doesn't trust him, but it'd end the war and he can take him! Prime decides.

"Also, it is the law of our native planet. Very well, I accept."

"Somehow I felt you would, Optimus Prime. You have such a strong sense of honor!" Megatron takes off once again for the base. There he stands inside a large chamber. He orders an 'energy transfer' to begin. Scrapper pulls some levers and a slot opens. The Decepticons put in their power chip rectifiers-apparently these chips are what allow them to manifest their special powers. We also learn that challenge is supposed to be between among unmodified champions.

There's some electrical flashing and glowing. "I now possess all your powers, in addition to my own." Starscream tells him Teletraan-One could detect the powers, so Megatron in a fit of genre savvy sends the Constructicons a digging beneath the Ark to destroy Teletraan-One. Damn, he's got it together!

We cut to the Ark. Spike's worried and points out the obvious. "I mean they don't call those creeps 'Decepticons' for nothing!" Prime reassures him that the code specifies a fair battle, and points out Teletraan-One. The Autobots roll out to a large hole in the ground-a literal large hole in the ground. The Decepticons fly in. "Hail Optimus Prime, and welcome to defeat!" Confidence, eh?

Everyone slides down to sit. Chip is being supported by Ironhide. "Doesn't this remind you of the gladiatorial combats in Ancient Rome?" Ironhide is... rather on par for a giant robot probably not interested much in ancient history. "Maybe it would, if I knew what you were talking about." "It's Earth history, Ironhide. Skip it!"

Soundwave ejects Ravage and Laserbeak... and stroke's Ravage's head. He's an adowable widdle kitty of doom!

Prime and Megatron approach each other. They shake hands, Megatron applying electricity and tossing Prime. He uses Starscream's cluster bombs, null rays, Rumble's earthquake generators, Skywarp's teleporting... it's not good.

We cut to the Constructicons digging and reaching the underside of Mount Saint Hillary. Scavenger's shovel extends and he's picking up Teletraan-One... who is picking them up too.

Back to the fight, Prime fights back. But Megatron's chest emits bright flashes from Reflector. He also emits high-frequency sonics from Thundercracker. "You were good, Optimus Prime. But not good enough to fight Megatron! And so the battle ends!" And he shoots Prime. Ouch. He declares victory...

Okay, an aside. I'm sorry, but no. There's no way the Autobots wouldn't be able to tell Megatron's been enhanced up the wazoo here. No. Way.

Spike, Sparkplug and Chip go to him, Prime blaming himself... for not seeing the obvious there. *Sigh* The Autobots are ready for a fight, but Prime stops them. He lost... the irony is, of course, if they had attacked they might've destroyed most of the 'Cons right then and there.

Prime and the rest transform, Huffer volunteering to take the trailer. Aww. They roll for the Ark. And we get a rather sad line, too. "Autobots, roll out... perhaps for the last time." Good use of music, too.

At the Ark, the Constructicons break through the floor. Teletraan-One summons the Dinobots to defend.

The Constructicons aim their weapons. "There's Teletraan-One! For Megatron, destroy it!" "No destroy Teletraan-One! Dinobots destroy you!" And there's a fight that blows a hole in the side of the mountain! "Sludge not see these Decepticons before!" "Not see again either, because we dynamite them to pieces!"

The Dinobots transform and proceed to whoop the Constructicons. "It's bad news, Scrapper. They've brought out the heavy artillery!" Scrapper decides on something... "Then it's time we did the same, only heavier!"

The Constructicons transform, not quite vehicle and not quite robot. It is a strange conglomeration, their bodies merging together along with their minds. It is large, terrifying... it is Devastaor!



The first-but not last-combiner in the show, and if you think about it, terrifying to behold. The Autobots pass the battle... and keep right on rolling. Even though the Dinobots are getting their butts handed to them. Ironhide wants to help... but Prime says no. "Remember the law!" You have got to be kidding me!

In the Ark, Prime's repaired. Wheeljack wonders about Megatron and Chip Chase is the one to figure it out. Teletraan displays the graphics of the Decepticons. "Then Megatron cheated, and we can ignore the agreement with them!" NO FRIGGIN' DUH!!!!!!!!

Outside, Devastator is gloating when a huge Autobot appears, taunting him. It's a hologram from Hound. The Autobots shoot through it, causing Devastator to disassemble. The Dinobots counterattack and the Constructicons go into lava.

The Autobots drive the Decepticons back. Ironhide is once more bloodthirsty. "Nail 'em, guys! Turn 'em to scrap!" And there's a rather good shot of him aiming. The Decepticons are also driven into the lava.

All that's left is Megatron. "No, Megatron! You will not have to fight all Autobot powers at once-just me!" And he's sent into the lava below. "It is ended." Spike wonders if the Great War is finally over. "Have we seen the end of this War, forever?"

"Who can say, Spike? In this vast universe, is anything truly forever?" And Megatron emerges from the lava. Closeup of his face. "We shall rise... again!"

Thoughts
There are some big flaws here. Two stand out-the Autobots not being able to tell Megatron was enhanced and not helping the Dinobots out against Devastator. Sorry, but no. It's just too stupid. Suspension of Disbelief, broken!

Overall thoughts on season one
This... holds up surprisingly well. Some great continuity, good fights, rather deep characterization. And the Decepticons were hardcore bastards! No wonder GI Joe never tangled with them-they'd be wiped out!

The Transformers as a species are quite tragic. Torn by millions of years of war, driven almost to extinction. I see the Autobots indulging in Earth culture simply because having fun is almost nonexistent back home. Cybertron, as I pointed out, is empty...

For us humans, this is a shock and puts to shame the Masquerade bullshit I almost always hate. "We're not ready"? When the hell are we gonna be ready, when the doors being kicked in and we can't defend ourselves?! Not for Optimus Prime and the Autobots! They're working with us so we're not wiped out. And dammit I love them for it!

So tomorrow begins season two. Transform and roll out!

And now begins season two with...


Autobot Spike
New title sequence! New version of the theme! logos sweep from behind a planet to Cybertron! Mount Saint Hillary erupts with orange and then violet energy... for some reason. The titles are clenched by steel jaws-and we pan out to Grimlock chomping on Thrust as the Dinobots transform and fire on Blitzwing, who triple-changes and fires on Omega Supreme... who transforms and steps on Blitzwing. Scrapper scoops him up as Astrotrain transforms from robot to steam engine to space shuttle! The Insecticons swim through lava! The lava changes to a grid-not that Grid-and Prime leads some season-two Autobots against Megatron as the grid spirals down, sucking them in!

We open on a shot of the Ark. Victor Caroli informs us of a strange experiment inside. We cut to the interior as Sprakplug is tinkering, with wires hooked up from Teletraan-One to a bed. Wheeljack and other Autobots wander over. The bed rotates over, revealing a mish-mash of Autobot parts built into some Frankenstein's Monster of a giant robot. He wanted to see what would happen if he applied a little human ingenuity to the spare parts.

That's great, Sparkplug. Now put it away...

Spike thankfully refers to it as Frankenstein monster and not erroneously as Frankenstein itself. Bumblebee's confused. Ah, the days before the internet as we know it! "Ah, it'd take too long to explain, Bumblebee." The Autobot powers up and Ratchet... says something rather dumb. "Another Autobot? Even if it works, who needs it?" Ah, gee. Maybe to replace your dying population and/or more soldiers to fight the Great War?!

It begins moving and the eyes light up. "You see, Wheeljack. You're not the only mad scientist around here!" Has Perceptor shown up yet? It steps off, growls and... begins trashing equipment. And I mean trashing. Sparkplug can't control him and Prime calls for it to be stopped. It takes out Ironhide and Prowl, but Trailbreaker's force field reflects its blasts back at it. They fire and it drops, shorting out. They decide to put it in storage, Wheeljack deciding pretty much out of the blue he'd like to try to figure out how to "direct mental impulses to Autobot X." Well, at least there's a good excuse for it-transfer an Autobot mind to it while their body's being repaired. Only question is... when have we ever seen a need for that?

They get a call that Decepticons are in the vicinity of a new Air Force rocket base. Apparently Teletraan-One has an alarm for just that occasion. The Autobots transform and roll out-even with roll call! At the base, an Air Force officer is giving a speech to the press when the Decepticons fly in. "It takes much energy to launch these rockets, General. That energy now belongs to us!" Megatron fires and shoots in front of the grandstand... I think I saw some soldiers disappear in the fire! I'm counting those as deaths.

The Autobots arrive and transform, the two sides fighting. Irnohide, Ratchet and Windcharger are taken down, but Soundwave is kicked by Brawn... into one of the rockets. There's mass destruction everywhere as the rockets and fuel blow up. And then we see Bumblebee and Spike driving along the rocket debris. Spike... was not the one to get Bumblebee to bring him along. "You sure we did the right thing by coming here, Bumblebee?" "No, but we could hardly stay behind either!"

Okay, maybe you could've gone along Bumblebee... but leave the wise human behind!!!

Soundwave reports to Megatron. "Energy supply, inadvertently destroyed. "There is nothing left to take!" Just as Megatron says that, one of the rockets blow up. That's one of the most unintentionally poignant lines in Transformers, methinks. The Decepticons retreat, but he transforms into gun mode and shoots Bumblebee, making sure the Autobots don't follow. Pretty smart. Spike's pretty banged up. Ratchet transforms into ambulance mode while Prowl escorts him there.

Spike is operated on and the doctor... makes an obvious remark that gets Sparkplug thinking about Autobot X. Bumblebee's repaired while Spike's readied to... have his mind transferred into Autobot X. The transfer is performed... and Autobot Spike begins to move. Sparkplug is beside himself with worry, being held back by Prime. "Spike, do you know me? It's your Dad!" "Dad? I'm Spike?! Me, no!" And he begins rampaging. "Spike, son. WHat have we done to you?!"

Spike rampages some and Sideswipe and Sunstreaker try to stop him. Prime orders low power shots only and Spike's taken down. Spike says it's hard to think. "Like something's telling me to do bad things!" They think it's a side effect of the mind transfer... but I don't think so. Autobot X rampaged before. Maybe that's it, not Spike himself.

Prime tells them they've got to go back to the Air Force base to help with repairs. "Every comfort will be provided to you here." And... we see Laserbeak spying on them, flying back to report to Megatron. He makes plans to try to twist Spike to his side. Starscream reminds him he's tried this before-and he has! With the Dinobots. "What surpeme irony! Turning their friend into their foe!"

Back at the Ark, Bumblebee is still being worked on. Spike's watching a movie on Teletraan-One... and it's a version of Frankenstein. Gee, this isn't a recipe for disaster, nosiree! Spike, predictably, goes nuts and begins trashing things again. Wheeljack, Sparkplug Ratchet try to stop him but he blasts off with rocket boots! Bumblebee rolls out to track him down, his radio still not fixed.

We cut to the Reflectors with their last lines in the series-no, seriously. This is the last time he/they speak. "Reflector to Megatron. I have him in my sights and will maintain watch until your arrival." He's watching Spike as he sits on a cliffside. He ponders helping the world like Prime... then says screw it. "I'm not like Prime! I'm a monster!" "With enough power to conquer mankind!"

Bumblebee arrives and tries talking him down, but nope. He's knocked off the cliff and hangs on for dear life, seeing the Decepticons fly in. Spike starts attacking, doing some damage. The seekers dive in, hitting Spike and taking him down. They land and Spike tries to act tough, but Megatron lands and begins bargaining, talking him down a bit. "Together we will punish those who did this to you." That'd be you.

""I-I don't know! It's getting harder and harder to think!" "Then let Megatron think for you, Autobot Spike!" Gee, that's always gone well! Spike joins him and shakes his hand. "Pay reall bad!"

At the rocket base, the Air Force manages to launch some rockets. The general's naturally excited. "Look at 'em go! Aren't they a gorgeous sight?" Prime is... subdued. "Very impressive... for primivite rocket technology." Ouch! Bumblebee pulls up, blowing through a guard post. He tells Prime what's going on and the Autobots follow. They arrive at the cliff and try talking him down.

Turns out Spike's got Megatron in gun mode behind his back. He starts ranting and fires at Prime, blowing him into a rock and the rock crumbles. Prime tries again to talk him down and Spike uses Megatron, the Decepticons coming in from behind. A firefight breaks out, but the Autobots are trapped in the middle. Prime dodges Spike's blasts, still trying to talk him down. Wheeljack rolls up with Sparkplug, who tries to help his son.

Sparkplug asks what's going on-but is blasted off the cliff. Spike snaps out of it for a brief moment and launches a grappling hook, saving his father. Megatron implores him to use his power. And Spike... uses him against the Decepticons. Yay! Megatron gets free, transforms and leads a retreat. Spike's contrite and makes up with Sparkplug.

Back at the Ark, Spike's mind is transferred back. The transfer device sparks and shorts... but Spike's back! Spike and Bumblebee share a high-five.

"Hmm, I wonder-I wonder what'd it be like for a robot mind to be transferred... to a human?"

Wait a few years, 'Bee.

Thoughts
A fairly good episode, here. Kinda meta with the mind transfer. I loved them getting Fraknenstein and the Monster right.

And from the TF Wiki, here is a list of the parts used for Autobot X.



* Prowl's forehead crest and right chest/front bumper
* Bluestreak's left door
* Sunstreaker's left shoulder
* Hound's shoulder-mounted missile launcher and right fender/shoulder
* Trailbreaker's arm cannon, left chest, and left thigh
* Optimus Prime's left wrist and parts of the right leg
* Jazz's photon rifle, mounted on his right arm
* the back of Jazz's left leg
* Jazz's crotch

And that line about nothing left to take... wonder how many times that happened during the Great War.

And now time for an episode that focuses on a character not many think about...

Changing Gears
We open on some miners pushing out a cart laden with gold. Another runs up and... the Decepticons attack. Ooh, the tunnel is collapsed and buries one of the miners! Soundwave pumps his arms when he ejects Ravage... Laserbeak's ejected and grabs one of the minders while Ravage digs out the other one, apparently not buried but simply blocked. The remaining miner's radioing for help, mentioning the Decepticons by name. I always love that. Starscream goes to blast him... but Megatron stops him. He wants them to call for help.

At the Ark, Prime answers the call! "Autobots, assemble at once!" Related to Steve Rogers, perhaps? The Autobots run along, all save Gears who ambles at best. "Aww, wouldn't you know it? Every time I get set to lube my cable relays something happens." Bumblebee mounts and does a flip over him in a rather cool bit.

It's not your squeaking that.s the problem-it's your squawking!" Prime leads them to the mining camp and they quickly pull up to the edge of a cliff. He... shushes them. With his finger to his mouthplate. It is adorable.



Ironhide does the 'okay' sign back and they get down on their bellies. They see the Decepticons and human prisoners and Prime directs everyone around. Prime fires and there's a fight. Megatron transforms and blasts the prisoner cage open and the humans... wander right into the Autobot's midst. "Autobots, don't fire!"

Megatron shoots some boulders and we get some more wonky TF physics. "Megatron energized those boulders!" They fall down and begin bowling over the Autobots-quite literally. Gears is shot into a hole formed by Megatron's blasts. Kinda cool, there. Starscream goes to kill him, but Megatron prevents it. "Fool! That Autobot is the key to my plan-the plan that will bring us final victory!" Skywarp takes off with him as Prime wakes up.

We cut to Africa and a Decepticon installation-a solar needle. Gears will somehow help Megatron draw power from the sun. Gears snarks off and STarscream stuns him with his null ray. Megatron opens up his chest. "A secret sensor scan of all the Autobots reveal that you alone have the special circuit I need." Gears is suddenly... nice?! "I feel so good-natured!" Oh, dear Primus... The circuit modulated his personality.

The solar needle activates and shoots a green beam at the sun, energizing towers all around and causing lightning. We cut to Pisa, Paris and New York City as tremors start up. At the Ark, the ground's shaking too. They were about to formulate a rescue plan, but Bumblebee spots solar flares. Rocks tumble from Mount Saint Hillary. "Megatron is behind this. I'd bet my titanium torsion bars on it." Safe bet, Prime.

Back at the solar needle, Megatron boasts. "Nothing in the universe can stop me!" Dude, don't take lessons from Cobra Commander! Starscream bosses around Gears, who takes it rather well. Megatron notes it won't be long for Prime to find him. We pan up to the sun and it's not looking healthy. Back at the Ark... "Teletraan-One has confirmed my fears. Someone has tapped into the heart of the sun, creating a dangerous instability. Unless this process can be stopped, the sun will explode in slightly less than two hours." Da-yum! The beam is coming from the geographic center of Africa... how they gonna get there, Skyfire?

Although when the beam launched, the origin point was Africa, so kudos there.

Back at the solar needle, the ground quakes. Starscream's concerned, but Megatron brushes him off. Makes sense he'd notice that, being the scientist. We cut to a stampede of zebras at the Autobots... have made it to Africa.

Skyfire, Skyfire, Skyfire....

Jazz and Sunstreaker cut a swath through the jungle on Prime's flanks. Back at the needle, Gears is... Gears. "I should be very angry with you, Megatron. You are an evil son of a retrorat. But for some reason I just can't get too upset." Starscream shoots at him, but Megatron deflects it. It slings Gears into Soundwave, causing a cube to hit an energy arc which almost vaporizes Starscream. Gears glances back at his circuit as we cut back to the Autobots. They jump a canyon, Bumblebee almost not making it. Wheeljack goes back and hauls him up.

They reach the needle. Bumblebee doesn't wanna risk Gears getting hurt, but Prime knows they have to take the risk. They fire, but there's a reflective energy shield up! Clever, Megatron. Prime notes the only hole in the shield is... where the sun's energy enters. He gets ready to block it, but Ironhide stops him. Cliffjumper suddenly transforms and jumps into the way of one of the beams, disrupting the force field! Megatron calls the Decepticons to battle while the Autobots advance.

Cliffjumper's still alive, a little dizzy. They come upon the solar needle and advance. Gears tries to get his circuit back, but Starscream stops him... sounding like Skywarp. Bumblebee rams Starscream from behind, saving Gears. Laserbeak and Ravage are ejected and gang up on Bumblebee. Gears is... chipper. "Isn't this a fun fight?" I miss the old Gears...

At the control station, Megatron and Prime fight. Prime tries to reason with Megatron, but no go. We cut to the sun destabilizing. Megatron gets the upper hand and tosses Prime at one of the energy arcs! Gears retracts his hand and a gun appears. He shoots at one of the pylons. Prime's gun is destroyed-and doesn't reappear for the rest of the episode!

Energy arcs all over. Megatron transforms and blasts Gears. The Decrpticons advance and Megatron calls for the Autobots to surrender. "Don't listen to him! Destroy the solar needle!" Alas... they drop their weapons. The ground shakes as Prime pleads with him again. Megatron orders Gears to repair the solar needle. Prime tries to order him not to, but Megatron knows psychology! "Gears, I asked you for a favor!" Dude, not like you're asking him to go to a seven-eleven and get you an energon shake!

Irnohide's irate. "What did you do to Gears, you monster? You-yah turned him nice!" Gears uses that hooked welder seen before. Megatron orders the Decepticons to prepare to kill Prime. "Megatron, would you give a condemned mechanism one last request?" "Yes, but be quick about it!" "Gears, I wonder if you'd do me a favor now?" So Gears shoots the pylon. Prime rushes Prime and the rest of the Autobots rush the Decepticons.

Megatron calls for battle stations... but they simply scatter. Ratchet channels his Marvel Comics version...


Everybody was kung-fu fighting...

Wheeljack pummels Skywarp. Starscream shoots at Gears but Gears grabs him, spins him around and tosses him into a jimk pile. Soundwave gets Ravage and Laserbeak back and the Decepticons retreat without even being ordered to!

At the control station, Prime kicks Megatron's butt. And then kicks him into the air! Ironhide calls for them to go after them, but no go. Wheeljack and Ratchet-the latter kicking a boulder so it deflects a falling pylon away from Wheeljack-are called in to stop the solar needle. Ratchet goes to unscrew a panel, but Prime just rips it away. They've got the standard 'which wire is it?', the caveat this time is both wires look the same. Prime pulls out the left wire... and the solar needle is shut down. And it also restored the sun's equilibrium.

Gears reminds them to get his circuit. Trailbreaker announces, "We took a vote and, well, we decided we like Gears the way he is now." Ooh, that is subversive! Gears threatens them and they give him back his circuit. They blow up the solar needle and Gears is back to normal.

Thoughts
Interesting focus on a character we see very little of. Also rather subversive in that they preferred the nice Gears! Also, Ratchet kicketh much ass.

And now for one of.... those episodes. The ones where you just kinda go... huh?

City of Steel
We open on New York. We see the Twin Towers, the Statue of Liberty-and Laserbeak buzzing by said Statue. He flies around and shoots a manhole cover with eye beams. Said cover... levitates up, allowing him egress into the sewers. Maybe it was a transmission beam? He flies up to some doors, shoots again and they open too. At least it's consistent?

Scavenger of the Constructions is being raised up on a platform while Hook acts snooty. And sounds snooty, too. Scrapper snaps back that the plans were the hard part and that the others botched them up. Megatron takes it in stride. "SILENCE! I want you working, not nagging at each other like hyper-driven chatteroids!" Soundwave reports no Autobots in the vicinity, so Scavenger whacks at the roof of their underground base. Long Haul bitches that he's hauling debris. "I didn't join this outfit to be a dump truck!" Where's that shot of Pinkie Pie with the trombone again?

Mixmaster rolls up and does his syllable repetition. "Right-right-right, Mega-mega-megatron!" He squirts acid at the base... and a large block of rock falls on the platform. We cut to aboveground... and it's the Empire State Building?!

We cut to the Ark as they see a news report of the Empire State Building's sinking. Prime surmises it's Megatron, natch. "If we don't get to New York City soon, there won't be a city left to get to!" Bumblebee takes off, forgetting Spike. Prime radios Sparkplug to tell Wheeljack to meet them in Central Park. And we cut to Wheeljack and his group using hydrofoils to asss by the Statue of Liberty. Laserbeak passes by, too.

Back to Prime and his group, and then to the Decepticon base. L:aserbeak reports them heading to Central Park. How did Laserbeak know that was where they were headed? Megatron orders Scavenger and Long Haul there. At the park, the Autobots roll up when Rumble, Frenzy and Soundwave show up and do this rather neat little pre-battle taunt.

Rumble. "Don't you tourists know hanging out in Central Park-"
Frenzy. "-can be hazardous-"
Soundawve. "-to your health?"

Bumblebee's blasted in the rear and blown off his tires. Rumble and Frenzy utilize piledrivers while underground, Scavenger uses his sensors to track Prime. He bashes the ceiling so hard, cracks form on the screen. :p Okay, a layering problem with the cells. On the ground, Prime tosses Soundwave before the ground gives way. He lands in Long Haul's bed and Megatron does something... clever. "I've severed your motor relays, Prime. Welcome to the wonderful world of suspended animation!" He flies up out of the hole, orders the Autobots out of New York City and declares it to be his!

We cut to... some time later, when Megatron shows off his new headquarters. I... guess it's the Empire State Building. Oh, and the Autobots are still there. A bit... odd.

How flippin' quickly did it take for the COnstructicons to rebuild the building?! I know they can move fast, but da-yum!

We cut to the Brooklyn Bridge as humanity begins a mass exodus. The Autobots are stuck in a traffic jam, but Spike has an idea. They take an offramp. Back underground, Megatron boasts that North America will soon fall. He also goes slightly paranoid over Prime's chassis. Understandable since Prime's eyes are flashing. He has Hook disassemble him. "With finesse, and pleasure!" He transforms and uses a lightsaber, so obvious I'm not gonna even use striked script.

We cut to after and Long Haul dumps out the remains of Prime. Cre-epy! Megatron pulls some wires trailing from Prime's skull and Prime... talks. Well, no 'throat', just a speaker behind the mask-possibly. He sends out telepathic radio waves and his arms... float over and grab onto Megatron's shins.



They... somehow knock Megatron over. He orders the COnstructions to dispose of the parts, "But the head is mine!" He's got a trophy room back on Cybertron with Sentinel Prime's head, methinks.

We cut to... Spike swimming in the East River. He is superhuman. No, he's on Bumblebee's shoulders. They wade to a storm drain. The Autobots enter it and... it's really spacious. Mirage scouts ahead, invisible. Fortunately Hound can track him. In another part of the sewers, Scrapper, Long Haul and Hook gloat about what they've done with Prime's chassis. All except for his right arm and laser rifle. Scrapper gropes for words and Hook helps him out. Scrapper tosses the arm into Long Haul's bed as they transform and go topside.

Back with the Autobots, Ratchet grouses. "I feel like I'm in some messy swamp, not under the biggest city in North America!" I'm fairly certain that's Mexico City, but I can't vouch for 1985. Hound's sensors suddenly indicate Prime's behind them... and a large alligator-like robot appears. With Prime's colors, and chest windows. They can't fight him without risk of alerting the Decepticons, so they trap him on an abandoned subway car. Ratchet hotwires it and it rolls on the tracks. "Train leaving for Madison Avenue, Park Avenue Lexington Avenue... and the River!"

Topside, the city's being converted into a neo-Cybertron. Skywarp just shoves a car into Mixmaster's feeder and out pop a lot more girders than what's put in. Subspace? Mass shifting? Something? Starscream even... agrees with Megatron's plan! "The place is finally starting to feel like home!"

That's actually kind of a sad line if you think about it... which I will.

Underground, Hound locates Prime's head... sitting on a shelf. They're horrified. Ratchet pulls his wires and he can sense his legs. He sends out waves and they... float over. And they realize the alligator was part of Prime! They track it down and Ratchet, Mirage and Hound wrestle him over. Prime sends out telepathic waves and it stops. Okay, that made sense. We get an awkward, "This Allagiatacon is big and heavy!" No, really?!

One scene change later and Prime is almost himself again. "Thanks for helping me... pull myself together." He tracks his arm aboveground and has Mirage radio the others. We cut to Ironhide's group as they're walking down the street. Bluestreak spots Prime's arm, hooked up to the top of one of the towers. It turns...

We cut to Megatron at the Empire State, seeing Prime's together again. He orders Soundwave to fire and the arm... well, it fires! Soundwave presses the same button over and over, which somehow aims the arm and fires it. It does quite a bit of damage, but then again it is Prime's gun.

The Autobots retreat, transforming and rolling out. But Bluestreak and Hound fall down a hole. Rumble's driving a train at them. A closeup and... it's Frenzy. And it's Frenzy throughout the rest of the scene. They blast at it, eventually blowing the car up. Did I mention there was no visible weaponry on the train?

We cut to Bumblebee and some more Autobots as 'battle taxis' approach, this time deploying weaponry. Okay... this is kinda cool and makes sense. Megatron could also overhear what Spike says... from the screen. And inside Bumblebee. "Not anymore. More Constructicon handiwork coming up!"

"Right you are, human!" Bumblebee, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker drive right over the taxis while Prime transforms. The Autobots roll right to some gun emplacements manned by the Constructicons, but they miss. Prime rolls around a corner and crushes the battle taxis, then swipes the gun emplacements, taking them out. He rolls up to Ironhide and where his arm is. The two run up to the tower and Ironhide deploys a grappling hook and pulley. Hey, that's Jazz's ability! Ratchet goes up, too.

Spike thinks they need help. No they don't, kid. Soundwave notes they're out of cannon range. i think he means they're out of the firing zone. Megatron calls in the seekers for an air strike. They transform and buzz the tower. Ratchet and Ironhide are glass half-empty and fell, respectively. "They can't miss!" "Neither can we!" And... yeah. Ironhide and Ratchet are hit, but so are the seekers, who crash through the tower. Skywarp calls to land but Starscream calls him a coward. Pot, this is kettle. You're black.

Sideswipe flies up and lands on Starscream's back. "Say uncle or I'll shove your nose in your afterburner!" "Uncle!" And Sideswipe manages to wrestle Starscream into the river. "Gee, I didn't know Decepticons had uncles!"

Megatron calls for Devastator. The Constructcons transform into vehicle mode and then combine. There's pretty neat shot of Wheeljack rounding a corner, seeing them and then freezing in terror. Devastator knocks over some buildings and climbs the tower. At the same time, Bumblebee and Spike... somehow have entered the control room? Well, if Laserbeak and Ravage can do it to the Ark...

Soundwave... spazzes. "Intruders, INTRUDERS!!!" Megatron shoots at them, chases them... and manages to shoot the control console. The arm's now inoperative. Soundwave launches Laserbeak and Buzzsaw to chase after them.

Outside, Devastator has Prime. And he simply uses Prime to knock Ratchet and Ironhide through the outer wall. Awesome! "Devastator says your end is near!" On ground level, Wheeljack is operating some helicopters. "I saw this once when I linked my databank to an old Earth televison transmission. I think it was celled... King Kong." Okay, points lost for the last bit, but still cool that Autobots are watching the classics. The choppers fire missiles at Devastator, but they do no damage and knock the helicopters out of the sky. Hound comforts Wheeljack. "Don't let it get to you, Wheeljack. Maybe Devastator saw the same picture!" A thousand points and an energon cookie for that.

Inside the tower, Ratchet and Ironhide wake up... and hear Megatron above them, shouting orders. They fire at the ceiling and Megatron and Soundwave go tumbling. "Nice shooting, sport."

Bumblebee and Spike reach the top of the tower and shout out that the arm's not under Decepticon control anymore. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw fly out of nowhere and fire, sending them scrambling. Prime sends some radio waves to the arm and it blasts Devastator, sending him tumbling down-with Prime. Ratchet hangs Ironhide out a window and Prime's saved. Devastator... crashes and reverts back to the COnstructicons. Rather battered, too. Megatron swears vengeance as he flies off.

We cut to Prime, trying out his arm. It sounds like squeaky hinges on an old gate! We see New York, restored to its former 'glory'. How long did that take?! The Autobots transform and roll out, the last shot being Bumblebee's bumper and an 'I love NY' bumper sticker.



Thoughts
Meh, not the best episode. Not the worst, but not the best. And either there's some massive time jumps or Transformers can build stuff like 'that'. *Snaps fingers*.

Good to see the rebuilding of New York going well, too. Must've been spared the damage inflicted on the Mid-Atlantic States.

Attack of the Autobots
Gee, there's a promising title... We open on the Ark's exterior, then inside. Prime, Ratchet and Prowl are working on some... gear when Teletraan-One reports Decepticons approaching from the southwest. Three blips. Prime calls for the Autobots to transform and roll out! The seekers attack from the air while Soundwave, Laserbeak and Rumble attack from the ground. Thundercracker sends some debris falling down. Prowl hits it, jumps into the air, transforms, keeps going up and up... and Laserbeak sends him crashing down. "I'll be ready for you next time, bird brain!" He readies a bolo whip which snags the Cassetticon.

Prime's... warning diode is pulsating. Just then, Thundercracker and Starscream go in for a strafing run. He knocks Ratchet out of the way, but right into Rumble's path as his piledrivers open a fissure. We cut to Starscream and Megatron. "This is the moment I've been waiting for! Now, Starscream." Starscreeam sprays him with some gas and... he's invisible. Or rather we see outlines. He sprays down Starscream and they enter the Ark. Inside, they acces the Autobot's recharging chambers-basically pods that rotate out of the floor. Starscream gives Megatron a personality destabilizer-and there's a neat bit where he opens his chest and the interior is visible. And Megatron places it in the control console.



Outside, Rumble's wondering why Prime and Ratchet didn't hit bottom.... when they 'float' out of the chasm. Megatron flies overhead and calls for the Decepticons to retreat. Rumble transforms into tape mode, getting out of Ratchet's grip, then transforms back to robot mode and flies out. And people say he's dumb.

The Autobots are confused, and Prime is wary. The next day, the Autobots are recharging. Prime orders everyone to the chambers. We've got a big day ahead!" Teletraan-One reports about a rocket launch at Harding Space Center. It's a satellite that'll beam solar energy to Earth. And Prime knows the Decepticons will want it. "We've got to get to the launch site and protect... guard... defend..." His voice deepens and his eyes change color to red!

Brawn complains of feeling very strange. Teletraan-One reports of an evil presence infiltrating Headquarters. Megatron's voice comes from... nowhere. Or some comm link installed in the personality destabilizer. Oh, this thing is gonna come up! Megatron gloats.

"Very good, Teletraan-One! The personality destabilizer I placed inside YOUR recharging chamber has converted your Autobot friends from sentimental fools to MY kind of mechanisms."

We pan across the Autobots as their eyes are all glowing red. Which in TF terms means EVIL! Teletraan-One argues back... which is kinda advanced for the computer. "Autobots are noble. Your plan can never succeed."

"Oh, it can't, eh? Autobots, obey my first command. Silence that annoying computer." Prime slams his fist through the console as Teletraan shows... fear? "Optimus Prime, no!" And Teletraan-One shorts out. Megatron gives them orders.

We cut to the desert and Spike, Sparkplug, Bumblebee and Jazz. Jazz is tooling around, ready to test out his new sound system. He stops, almost causing Bumblebee to rear end him. Jazz's speakers extend-and they are monsters. Bumblebee drives off while the speakers rumble. Headquarters is empty as Bumblebee pulls in-except for Bluestreak. "You look tired. Perhaps you'd like to recharge!" But the 'Bee notices the hole punched through Teletraan-One. Bluestreak manhandles him. Oh, no!

Back at the desert, Spike and Sparkplug have had about enough. The mountain begins crumbling! "Rock and roll with real rocks!" "It's called an avalanche!" The humans get in as Jazz turns off the music and drives off to Headquarters. there, they see Bluestreak forcing Bumblebee into the recharge chamber. Bluestreak shoots at him. "be careful with that thing! Somebody could get messed up!" Bluestreak fires more, sending Jazz scurrying for cover. Jazz tosses what looks like a barbell at him, knocking him out. Sparkplug notes with a visual inspection his reset realy was hit. Wow, he's good. Spike gets Bumblebee out of the chamber.

Sprakplug gets Teletraan-One repaired and we see Megatron doing the deed... outlined. Did the camera capture the outlines?! They also learn all of the Autobots were changed from good to evil. We cut to the Autobots barreling through a checkpoint at a base and transforming. Prime starts tearing through Air Force jets. Back at the base, Teletraan-One reports of the attack. Bumblebee and Spike tear off after them. To do what, exactly? Ratchet and Hound pull up to a building to steal the plans for the satellite mentioned earlier. A few floors up, the designer, Doctor Harding, receives a call informing her the satellite will be launched. She gets the plans, but alarms go off. "A party of enemy Autobots is attacking this building." That's... an odd turn of phrase. How'd they know they were 'enemies'? Harding quickly deduces they want the plans. Hound and Ratchet waddle through the hall in a hilarious and rare concession to scale.

[img][IMG]http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab196/RK_Striker_JK_5/Waddle.jpg[/img][/IMG]

Harding breaks a window as they break through and jumps out, fortunately landing on a canopy below. We cut to Prime channeling Megatron at the Air Force base. "Let none stand against us!" And back to Bumblebee and Spike as they approach the checkpoint. Bumblebee's aghast at the destruction. He tries to stop Prime, but is knocked aside and it's kinda traumatic to see them like this.

We cut to ground control as they're about to abort the launch. Megatron rips through the wall. "This operation is now under my control!" He shoots up the computers and has Soundwave reprogram the main computer. He uses a jack extending from his finger, like a mini-Robocop. He's gonna use the rocket to fly to Cybertron with the satellite!

Back at the Ark, Sparkplug has built an attitude exchanger. It will drain the destabilizing energy and recharge him with purifying ions. Bluestreak wakes up and begins firing. Ah, a volunteer!

Sparkplug lays it out. "First, drain evil. Second, recharge good." Jazz has one more addition. "Let's hope it don't finish up with third, bury Jazz." He distracts Bluestreak with a light show as Sparkplug uses the attitude exchanger. And of course, it works! He tells them Megatron's orders about wrecking the jets and capturing the plans. Speaking of which, we cut to Doctor Harding as she continues to evade Hound and Ratchet. She jumps into a dumpster. Hound... merely crushes the first one. Pragmatic, there. He goes for the second one, but Jazz distracts him.

Hound grabs the dumpster Harding's in... and tosses it. It breaks apart and she si somehow not crippled. Sparkplug uses the attitude exhanger on Hound, then on Ratchet. He looks... stoned as it's used.

At the base, the military's trying to blockade Prime, but he simply rips through their equipment. It's rather sobering seeing his raw power. He simply kicks through a truck while Prowl and Brawn flank him. Bumblebee tries again. He leaps onto a jet. "Listen to me, Prime! If you're gonna destroy these aircraft, you'll have to destroy me with them!" Prime's answer is succinct. "As you wish, Autobot! Prepare for termination!" He close in on his chest windows and Bumblebee's reflection, rather nice shot.

We cut to an aircraft as Skyfire shoots it down. Interesting they knew him by name. The Autobots catch up to him, but he's a mile high according to Sparkplug. Hound notes it's magnetic, so he uses his particle beam gun and has Bluestreak get his attention. Hound's aim is true and Skyfire's free! The Autobots board and fly for the air force base.

Back at said base, Prime catches Bumblebee and holds him up, about ready to rip him in two. Spike runs forward, but Skyfire and the other Autobots arrive. Hound shoots the attitude exchangers, catching all but Prime. Prime transforms and his trailer opens up into Combat Deck! Roller rolls off, too. Combat Deck fires!


It also resembles the toy, here.

Hound hits Combat Deck and it stops firing, then shoots Roller. There's only one attitude exchanger left. Bumblebee grabs it and runs for Prime, who's crying out. He breaks a jet in two. Bumblebee tries talking him down again. "I know you're not evil! I believe in you!" As all children did in the 80's. Prime begins fighting it, probably aided by his two other components being restored. Bumblebee places the exchanger on his leg and he's restored. Yay!

Prime learns of Megatron's plan. Harding reminds him the satellite needs to go into orbit.


Prime leads the Autobots onto Skyfire as he blasts off for the launch pad. There, the Decepticons board the rocket. Megatron rips a panel off-not smart-and the board it. Skyfire arrives and Prime and Ratchet jump out, landing on the nosecone. Ratchet goes to disconnect the satellite, but Megatron tries stopping them with more dakka! Sparkplug says they've gotta disable the rocket so they can't use it to escape to Cybertron... ah, space bridge? Most of them can reach it under their own power at the moment!

Well, Jazz climbs onto Skyfire's wing and crawls to the nosecone. He transforms and uses his light and sound show, disrupting the rocket. and rupturing the fuel tanks! The Decepticons abandon the rocket as Prime gets the satellite off. Skyfire catches them and Prime orders him to take them up, "Way up!" And he tosses the satellite into orbit. Because he's Optimus Prime, dammit!

Back at the Ark, Ratchet shows off the destabilizer. Prime thanks Bumblebee and Ratchet grouses, since he was the one to save the satellite! Sparkplug joins in because he made the attitude exchanger. Jazz interrupts by reminding them of the 47 jets destroyed. Prime reminds them they'll be repaing those aircraft as Bumblebee and Spike hand them tools. "Lift that wrench, tote that retro-charger!"

Thoughts
This raises some... interesting questions. Was this simple brainwashing, reprogramming? How much of the Autobots were 'changed' here? Are they mere machines or more than meets the eye? How much of it was hardware and how much software?

I do wish Harding was used more. She had spunk! And the satellite... obviously this is the beginning of the movement to Earth we'll see in season three.

2 more of my favorite episodes. I cant wait til you get to a few more.

I'm warning you, if you dont finish I'm gonna hold an interwebz grudge...

...INTERWEBZ GRUDGE......

Just sayin...

Good stuff so far. keep it it.

srsly interwebz grudge...

jst sayin

best thread going

loving the stuff

Name_Violation wrote:2 more of my favorite episodes. I cant wait til you get to a few more.

I'm warning you, if you dont finish I'm gonna hold an interwebz grudge...

...INTERWEBZ GRUDGE......

Just sayin...

Good stuff so far. keep it it.

srsly interwebz grudge...

jst sayin

Aww, I'm shaking in my transistors. Thanks for posting. What episodes? And it's just a bit... discouraging to not see anyone else posting.

shamone wrote:best thread going

loving the stuff

I wouldn't say that... but thanks.




And now an episode that casts light on the Autobots... in perhaps not the most flattering light.

Traitor
No, not the NJO novel that had me frothing at the mouth.

We open on a laboratory and two scientists working on devices known as electro-cells. One boasts they'll solve all of Earth's energy problems. At least until Doctor Harding's satellite is fully transmitting power. But they still need to be stabilized. Skywarp blows a hole in the roof. "I just love opening presents!" The hole's widened and Starscream grabs the cells, brushing the scientists aside. Megatron arrives. "Those electro-cells are too ticklish to withstand your heavy-handed mauling!" He grabs the cells and lifts, but the scientists hang on. They warn him, but are brushed off, fall fifty feet... and don't die. The bald one says if they explode, they could take Earth with them.

Megatron says to... exercise extreme caution. He also blows up the lab to prevent more cells being made. The scientists flee, but other workers probably perished in the explosion. At the Ark, Cliffjumper pulls up and reports he's located the cells. Prime asks where. "In the same area Mirage patrolled yesterday." mirage is aghast that the Decepticons were there. Cliffjumper jumps to a massive conclusion, because apparently the Decepticons not being there yesterday means they'll never be there again. Prime chastises him and calls for them to transform and roll out!

At a Decepticon base, Starscream is bitching that the cells aren't being used. Megatron is... making sure they don't explode. Hmm, that's rather intelligent of him. Starscream powers them up and the two verbally spar. STarscream thinks the energon cubes are stable, but nope. The energy drains and the cell... shorts out? I don't think it exploded. And he's a scientist? Megatron threatens to kill him... but the Autobots pull up to a cliff edge overlooking their equipment. Cliffjumper flings more baseless accusations around. They jump down and Laserbeak spots them, flying to Soundwave and reporting. Apparently the Insecticons are nearby and he has Soundwave contact them.

The Autobots move in for attack. "Try and remember which side you're on, Mirage!" Prime chews him out. "Keep your mind on the Decepticons, Cliffjumper!" "That's just what I'm doing!" Ouch! He runs up and tries to grab a cell, but STarscream shoots him. Cliffjumper... actually does the, "Jump him, Prime!" bit and Screamer falls for it! "Poor Starscream, the oldest tricks only work on the biggest jerks!"

Mirage tussles with Skywarp. I saw a fanart of the two fighting. Teleportation against cloaking. He tries to punch Skywarp, but misses and gets caught in a full-nelson. Mirage flips him and tackles Skywarp to the ground, but the Insecticons fly by and shoot Mirage. He rips off Skywarp's Decepticon brand, though. And we get a closeup.


Foreshadowing!

Prime and Megatron fight, arguing about legal technicalities of ownership when Kickback attacks from behind, surprisingly not kicking him! Megatron kicks at him and taunts him while the Insecticons shoot at Cliffjumper, also damaging the equipment and sending feedback through the cells. Megatron rushes over, bowling over one STarscream while another looks on.



He shoots nitrogen from his fusion cannon... somehow. And smothers the flames, although it was more electricity shooting off. Prime calls for a retreat. At the Ark, Mirage is fixed up by Ratchet. Cliffjumper is a giant ass, accusing Mirage of not reporting the Decepticons being there. Prime calls for proof and orders him to the ridge for surveillance. "You can depend on me, Prime!" Ratchet tells Mirage to get rest, but he doesn't need rest!

We cut to him driving up to an Insecticon base. They're pissed that the 'reward' megatron promised was only two energon cubes. He turns invisible and walks in, grabbing the cubes and dropping Skywarp's brand. He leaves and drives off... to the Decepticon base with the cells. Ooh, clever! Unfortunately, Cliffjumper spots him and aims his pistol at him. "I could never fire on a fellow Autobot, but Mirage is no longer one of us." And the shot of him is gorgeous, btw.



He aims, but the Insecticons fly over, thinking the Decepticons took their cubes. Ooh, this is a perfect plan! He played the Decepticons against each other. Cliffjumper aims at him, but Starscream ambushes him. He's distracted by the Insecticons and Cliffjumper runs him over. Megatron chews him out and aims for Mirage, hits the Insecticons and it's on. Mirage cloaks himself and runs off.

There's a brief civil war between the factions, but Mirage is caught in the crossfire. Bombshell implants him with a cerebro-shell and turns him into a mind-controlled slave. He has him fire a missile at Skywarp and there's some creepy closeups of his and Bombshell's faces.

Back at the Ark, Cliffjumper pulls up and accuses Mirage of treason, pointing out the cubes. Ratchet asks where he got the cubes and Cliffjumper... brushes him off. Prime chews him out and reminds him of Mirage's side of the story before ordering them to roll for it. Back at the base, the Insecticons are still fighting the Decepticons. Megatron and Bombshell meet during the firefight and they beginc omparing notes. "I know this will be difficult for you, Bombshell, but think! Put two and two together and it will equal an Autobot trick!"

Bombshell comes to the same conclusion. "You wouldn't cheat us. You need us to get rid of the Autobots. Maybe after that you'd rob us blind, but not now!" They call for a ceasefire and everyone realizes it was Mirage. Bombshell goes to kill Mirage, but Megatron realizes he'd be useful... in other ways.

The Autobots pull up and Cliffjumper gets a taste of his own medicine as Prime asks him where everyone was! Mirage shows up and reports he got rid of them. By now Cliffjumper's about ready to get a Red Lantern ring as he points his pistol at Mirage while Prime is there! Prime wants to hear him out and Mirage tells him of their plan. The original plan at least and intended conclusion. Prime decides to try for the cells and Mirage leads them down to the base. The Decepticons and Insecticons attack and Mirage joins in the fight!

Cliffjumper punches him and throws him around. Bombshell orders him to stand up, but he's out. Ratchet chases him off and is aghast at Mirage's behavior, but also finds the shell. Cliffjumper overhears and realizes he's been a colossal jerk. We cut to the Autobots about ready to make a final assault on the cells. The Autobots provide cover fire while Prime goes for the cells. Megatron cuts him off inside the base and... decides to start firing for NO reason, blowing up the base. Seriously, he just goes nuts and shoots up the place. The Insecticons fly off and the Autobots roll out, Prime ridiculously tiny compared to his trailer.

Megatron's left in the ruins of his base, babbling incoherently.


"The electro-cells, they were meant for me! BRGGHGHGHHHH!!!" Dude, blame yourself!

Back at the Ark, Prime apologizes to the scientists for the cell's destruction. They're rather... forgiving, glad the cells didn't destroy Earth and that the Decepticons can't use them.

Ratchet fixes up Mirage and Cliffjumper apologizes in his own... unique way. "Move over!" "Hey, what's up?" "I... think I have a hole in my head that needs repairing, too!" And they laugh at Cliffjumper's unreasoning accusations.

Thoughts
I am of two minds of this episode.

1. It was refreshing to see tension in the Autobot ranks. It adds flavor to them and makes them a bit more three-dimensional. Also nice to see the Decepticons using reason to stick together. Mirage's plan was also incredibly clever and simple. It made sense.

2. Cliffjumper's accusations came out of nowhere. Although he can be hotheaded. Still... a bit much.

It's a good episode, very good and bordering on great. Just... the whole accusations coming out of nowhere bit.

The ABC news logo fades and we cut to our anchorwoman. Still no makeup and only slightly fancy hairstyle.

Good evening. Last month a solar power satellite was launched from Harding Space Center. Today, power from the satellite was transmitted to receiving stations for the first time. It marks the dawn of a new age of energy production.

"Meanwhile, the newly-named Earth Defense Command acted in their first anti-Decepticon mission today, fighting off Rumble and Ravage..."