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I've been wanting to do this for a while for this site. I'm an old-school G1 fan, as in 1984 and having my dad buy me Transformer toys and watching the cartoon when it premiered. Ah, memories... So, here it is. Episode by episode. DOn't expect deep deep analysis. I'll leave that to others more intelligent than I.

Images are from the TF wiki or my own captures.


More Than Meets the Eye part one

Yeah, saw this when it first aired in 1984. Five years old, going on six. That opening is iconic. Faction symbols sweep by... and he transforms. Optimus Prime. He's running at me! This song is seared into my brain. When I'm old and senile, I'll be humming it.

"Autobots wage their bat-tle to des-troy the e-vil forces of-the Decepticons!

The seekers transform and land-with Thundercracker in the lead! Wheeljack, Mirage and Bumblebee transform to head them off, transformations... remarkably smooth with no stock footage. Take that, Unicron Trilogy! Jazz and Skywarp duke it out, with Jazz showing how to use transforming effectively as a combat tactic. Soundwave ejects these things called 'cassettes'. Megatron uses his gun mode... without anyone holding him! He fires at Prime, Sideswipe, Prowl, Mirage and Wheeljack. And I either own or have on pre-order all five of their Classics-style toys. The two factions fly behind a mountain... for some reason.

And the episode proper starts in deep space, with Victor Caroli expositing. Basically intelligent robots existed on a planet named Cybertron-and that shot of the planet is effin' gorgeous, by the way. Very alien and otherworldy. They were Autobots and Decepticons, locked in war. We see smoke, fire, explosions and torn landscape. And I can't get over how incredible those landscapes are.

"The Autbots, on the verge of extinction, battle valiantly to survive!"

.. Wait, what?! They're the good guys... And for the most part, not warriors. This is... rather realistic, if you think about it. Look at the crew of the Ark. Not many with the 'warrior' function.

We pan down to some grating and see our first two characters, Wheeljack and Bumblebee. Whelljack has no mouth but flashing ears. Bumblebee is small and yellow. They're collecting energy conductors, but they 'won't last a quartex', according to Wheeljack. Bumblebee's glad they found those, at least. "And when these run out?" Long-term and short-term planning, there. With logical pessimism mixed in.

Wheeljack transforms, thankfully into a non-Earth vehicle. Excellent touch there. It fits him, too. They speed off down what looks like the mail delivery system from Omashu, and down a rather deserted road. Cybertron is... empty. And damaged. And lonely. They're heading to Iacon, the Autobot capitol. But all is not well as we now see the antagonists, the Decepticons.

I should note now that, unless it's bad, I'm not commenting on animation errors. I'd be here all day if I did.

We see Starscream-with a deep voice-Thundercracker and Skywarp. Curiously, they remove their arm cannons before firing them. Wheeljack has some sort of shield go up over his upper body and skids to a halt. Very 'alien' sounds again. Bumblebee gets out, shoots at... something to the right and hides. "Prime told me there'd be days like this!"

"And you didn't believe him?"

"I do now!"

A purple seeker shoots a ring of flame around them, and Wheeljack decides to beat repulsor lifts-small Star Wars joke-and Bumblebee transforms into a small car/flying saucer hybrid. Wheeljack pops out little fans and the two blow through the blockade. A Megatron-like voice shouts, "After them!" and we see Skywarp and Thundercracker transform into the most famous Cybertronian mode-the tetrajets. The Autobots pass under this clear tube... thingie-seriously, no idea what it is-and Bumblebee is hit! Wheel gets blown off, but in a legit good driving feat, Wheeljack opens his pod bay door and gets Bumblebee inside.

Wait, the good guy gets hit and damaged? What is this?! So they escape underground. And the seekers report back to Megatron. Insert ominous music, here.

Seriously, Cybertron is empty. It's probably the most effective way to show the damage wrought by the Great War.

Wheeljack approaches Iacon, a domed city. He drives past... a friggin' lamppost. It's Soundwave, who transforms by... straightening up. Lame! He sends Laserbeak to report, who almost makes up for Lamppostwave there. *Sigh* Creepy monotone and synth voice. Laserbeak flies up and lands, little sensors extending. Another vehicle speeds by-Jazz, we later see. Who seriously should've seen the Decepticon. Failed a spot check, did we?

Jazz reports to Optimus Prime, Prowl and Trailbreaker. This is one of the only times we see 'defensive strategist' Trailbreaker in position to fulfill his duties. And we learn the entire north side of Cybertron is 'blacker than the inside of a drive shaft'. Holy slag! They've killed their planet! So time to blast off, in search of more energy. "Unless a new supply of energy is found, nobody is going to win this war. So, time to start the search.

Soundwave retrieves Laserbeak and flies off. Interesting how he transforms into a tape about four million years before it's invented. :p And now we see... HIM, the slagmaker, the Emperor of Destruction, the Decepticon leader... Megatron! This is presumably at Kaon, retconned into usually being Megatron's first base in G1.

Soundwave reports that the Autobots are set to launch, and what a wacky coincidence, so are the Decepticons! We also see Starscream and Shockwave. Shockwave has two hands, which some people call a continuity error with how he has a laser cannon in place of his left hand... four million years later. Yeah, no change in four thousand millennia. *Headdesk* Shockwave's put in charge. "Cybertron shall remain as you leave it." Oh, you have no idea...

Oh, and Shockwave's... cranium. Just a flashing optic sensor, hexagonal-shaped. So creepy! "Now it's merely a matter of time until Optimus Prime admits defeat." Hmm, interesting wrinkle there. And now Starscream makes his first onscreen bid for power! Admittedly, some people have hypothesized this was his first. It does explain why Megatron hadn't killed him yet. And there is a hint of surprise in Megatron's voice. "Never... NEVER!"

For the longest time, it looked to me like Megatron was looking at the camera. We cut back to Iacon as the transparent dome retracts, then the upper walls, revealing the Ark! Pan across the bridge, and we see Prime sitting at a console. He presses the button and engines fire! Nice sequence, too. We sweep... possibly a little ways away, hard to judge based on the size, to the Nemesis. And Megatron on a throne. Subtle contrast.

There's a cut back to the bridge, some people thinking there's an FTL jump between the shots. And two asteroids collide. The TF wiki makes a big deal about this being so improbable... but this is a show about giant robots. Big deal! The Ark seems to weather it better than the Nemesis, actually. And we see Ironhide for the first time. "Leakin' lubricants!" Soundwave sounding panicked is rather amusing, too.

Jazz gets knocked out of the pilot's chair and Prime takes control, ordering Ironhide to fire the laser and blast a path through. The Nemesis follows. We get a good line by Prowl. "Viewtrex report-we are being followed." So they weren't completely clueless about the giant Decepticon cruiser on their tail. Starscream says to blow them away, but Megatron wants to know what they're after. It... makes sense. Are the Autobots heading to a specific destination? The Nemesis pulls up and locks two tractor beams onto the Ark. Prime calls to fire the laser... which would do nothing to the Nemesis at the angle the ships are at.

The Decepticons board, and one error here. Prime calls to 'prepare for battle!' and then Megatron shouts, 'attack, attack!' Using the same Prime footage. Whoops... It was supposed to be a shot of Megatron on his throne, though. Just one of the many animation errors the show has. *Sigh*

Soundwave kicks ass, taking out Sideswipe, Prowl and Jazz but Ironhide dropkicks him from behind. We then cut to Soundwave recovered and taking out Ratchet, despite being hit so hard electricity erupts from his chassis! We pan to Prime and Megatron fighting... but the Ark is caught in a planet's gravity well, oh noes! Prime pulls a lever, but it's no good. The Nemesis's tractor beams are torn away as the Ark augers into the side of a mountain at apparent full speed... and is not instantly vaporized!

"Diecast construction... it's a lost art."

FIND THE ART AGAIN!!!!!!!

We have a fade from a desolate landscape to one with vegetation, showing the passage of time. Rather nice, there. And the caption 'four million years later'. The volcano-Mount Saint Hillary in most G1 fiction but unnamed here, but It's always been my name for it too-erupts. The gist is supposed to be the volcano uncovered the Ark... but that's not how it is. We apparently missed the giant ship sticking out of the mountain. We pan across the Arks' bridge-with some good scenes of the carnage-as Teletraan-One boots up and launches a satellite. This being before the age of the 'modern' internet, it can't really 'hack' anything for useful info.

The sky spy scans an F-15 and Skywarp is reassembled. He drags Megatron into the... healing beam? Some sort of re-energizer? "Megatron, my leader. We are alive again." There's a rather good shot of Skywarp having to help Megatron to his feet. Subtle, but good. The rest of the Decepticons are revived and they fly out. Why, I have no idea. The Ark is a perfectly usable base. But, oh well. Megatron notes the passage of time. A somewhat sad line. "How do we know Cybertron still exists?" Oh, ouch. Still, optimism! Megatron presses on and first mention of ultimate weapons!

Starscream... fires at the mountain. "I'm just saying goodbye!" Write a postcard, you nitwit! Okay, it's again supposed to be him sealing the Ark up. And there's no way he'd know he'd knock Prime into the healing beam...

The sky spy scans a tractor trailer and, "Thanks!" I love the thumbs-up there. The Decepticons walk into an open desert area which looks like the American Southwest, but I could and am probably wrong. They'll set up base, there. Soundwave is tasked to prepare plans for a new space cruiser-like the 'new'-while Starscream has to get the area ready and materials... which makes sense, as we'll see later on. "What about materials?" "Use your imagination."

Soundwave points out what looks like a power station... and now we see what I consider to be the start of the ultimate kicks to the nether regions of the Masquerade and I LOVE IT! I love the LA movies, but this is one area the G1 series did so much better.

Rumble flies off with Starsceam and Soundwave, and we cut back to the Ark. Earth has a lot of resources, and the Decepticons know it too. Thanks, Prime! He's got his arms crossed, which is kinda cute. He sends Hound and Cliffjumper to find them. Back to Starscream as he says how he'll lead the Decepticons. Not in front of Soundwave, yah moron! Rumble uses his piledrivers to 'shake things up a little'.

Back to Hound and Cliffjumper, as Hound begins falling in love with Earth. "We won't be staying that long!" Ah, Cliffjumper. Wanna talk about being two days to retirement and sailing off with your wife too? :p They find the Decepticons and da-yum, they're going quickly! The outer shell is almost complete and there's some conical structure in the middle. How much time has passed, again? Down at the base, we listen in as Megatron does standard evil overlord 101 and we see a rather neat use for Soundwave's chest screen as he shows the space cruiser schematics. He also says they can concentrate their energy into 'energon cubes'. More on those iconic items later.

Back to Hound and Cliffjumper... as Cliff has pulled a gigantic bazooka from nowhere! First subspace dimensional pocket use? He fires, but misses. And the Decepticons realize the Autobots survived. Laserbeak is sent off, now in spiffy condor mode, as the two drive off in retreat.

Kinda cute how they don't recognize Laserbeak. They split up, but Laserbeak launches a drone after Cliffjumper. "Eat my dust, birdbrain!" "You couldn't hit an Autobot with a moonbeam!" Trashtalk point goes to Cliffjumper, this round. He fires off his glass gas which takes out the drone, but Hound is blown off the road down into a ditch. Ouch.

After the break we see Cliffjumper, Ratchet and 'Hauler'-Grapple's design-drive up, and a rare appearance of Ratchet's repair bay. Hound has no hard feelings, but Cliffjumper apologizes. Aww. "You shouldn't have missed, you mean." We cut to a cliff and the Reflector trio and Thundercracker. They spot a dust trail and Reflector transforms and combines... into a polaroid camera. That takes actual photographs. Right... "Okay, Reflector. Let's see what you can see." Heh.

And now we have the first contact between humanity and the Trnasformers... and it's them first surveying the destroyed power station, then Ravage attacking them and them barely escaping with their lives. For the record this is one of the weakest Decepticons. We're ****, aren't we.

Back at the Ark, and Hound tells them about 'some kind of cube'. A battle unit is organized and roll call! "Autobots, start your engines! Ready, Prime." Rather calm, there.

Laserbeak flies over the Decepticon base... which looks even more built-up. Nice sense of time-change, there. He's found a source of energy and we fade to an oil rig. And we see... them, two of the best human protagonists in TF history. Spike and Sparkplug Witwicky.

Seriously, they are. a father and son, both with technical skills who can teach the Autobots about humanity and Earth without being too annoying. But before SPike can get the baler, the Decepticons land. "Dive, dive, DIVE!" The humans throw.... wrenches at them. It goes about as well as you'd expect. -_- One thrown pipe and most of them are swept into the ocean. Rumble throws Sparkplug against a wall. Spike tries, bless his heart, but an incredibly casual swipe from Rumble and he's knocked into the ocean! Sparkplug uses a rather clever leverage move on Rumble and dives after his son.

Energon cubes are laid out and the oil is transferred in. How do these things work?! Starscream prematurely celebrates... odd, too. And he also spots the Autobots on approach. :p Flying in. Ah, early kinks in the series, how I love you. Megatron transforms into gun mode... being wielded by Starscream. Who thus far has only said he'd take over. Meh, some posturing but nothing big. Yet.

"Don't interfere, Prime." ... Uh, he was interfering for about five million years before you landed on Earth. I think it's a might beyond a habit by now! They tussle a bit and we see other shots of fighting. Skywarp and a Reflector begin scooping up energon cubes, but Prowl and Jazz shoot at them. Looks like they even get some cubes, too! Laserbeak flies over and interferes, letting Megatron escape. "So long, Prime. Have a nice swim!"

Two fusion cannon shots and the oil rig breaks apart. "Here's something to keep you warm!" And the oil is ignited. Not. good. Ooh, somewaht creepy shot of Megatron and the flames superimposed over him. *Shiver* Spike and Sparkplug call for help, as they're trapped by the wreckage. Prime tries to lift the wreckage... and to be continued!

Thoughts
This... is still rather good, actually. Cybertron so empty and desolate like that is just sad. Good moments for the characters, too. MTMTE is one of the 'highlights' of the franchise, not just G1, and it does show here.

Wow... Really had fun reading that. (How long did it take you to type that anyway?) MTMTE is one of my favorite episodes. It seems to set the stage for about all the Transformer universe stories and backgrounds. I mean Cybertron, the war between the Autobots and Decepticons, searching for energon,coming to earth. These are elements found in all Transformers plot lines. MTMTE is an important episode. Well that is getting a little off subject... Good review/summary. You put alot of work into that. I hope there is a part 2? (Don't forget the part about the Burmese ruby crystals! that's the best part.)

Sailor Destron wrote:Wow... Really had fun reading that. (How long did it take you to type that anyway?) MTMTE is one of my favorite episodes. It seems to set the stage for about all the Transformer universe stories and backgrounds. I mean Cybertron, the war between the Autobots and Decepticons, searching for energon,coming to earth. These are elements found in all Transformers plot lines. MTMTE is an important episode. Well that is getting a little off subject... Good review/summary. You put alot of work into that. I hope there is a part 2? (Don't forget the part about the Burmese ruby crystals! that's the best part.)

Thanks! It took not as long as it seems. An hour or so of watching the episode, pausing and writing. Yeah, MTMTE sets the bedrock-the foundation, if you will-for just about all that is to come. And it's cracking good, too!

Part two? Or there's... every episode from G1.

More Than Meets The Eye part two
We're back and we see Huffer has his arm trapped. Brawn swims over and his hand retracts, revealing a torch. Ah, the oil? Right... "There's two things I really hate, Brawn." "What's that?" "Fire... and water!" Hah! Ah, Huffer. The eternal pessimist. He gets loose and they fly off. Technology marches on!

Prime is busy working on the wreckage holding Spike and Sparkplug while he orders Trailbreaker to use his force field on the fire. We see Trailbreaker helping to rescue oil workers. Which will be a big boon to Autobot/human relations, no doubt. Wheeljack helps out. It's rather nice teamwork as the force field holds the flames back and Wheeljack extinguishes it.

I would also be remiss if I didn't point out that Wheeljack actually does have the ability to fly.

Prime rescues the humans and Jazz tows him in with his cable and hook. Seriously, his Generations figure needed that. Little glow when his hand retracts. Subspace switching? Prime introduces himself.

"We're Autobots. We're from Cybertron, a planet far from Earth." Spike is... enthused. As I would be. He's taking the whole assault and near death thing rather well. Prime also exposits about the Decepticons. He stands up and his eyes glow... for some reason. "Can we help?" "We are the only ones who can stop the Decepticons." And we get a reason why Sparkplug and Spike hang around.

"But my son Spike and I know more about Earth than you do."

Oh, thank you! Thank you SO much! A reason! And a good reason, too! No internet-at least not one recognizable to us. Two humans, one adult and the other around 14-15 years old who is relatively mature and responsible for his age and knows how to fix stuff! Spike, Sparkplug, come back! We need you!

*Ahem* Sorry. Back at the Ark, we see Spike writing in a journal. Damn, I wish they kept that. But then we see Soundwave spying on him. He turns into a tape deck-which is a good disguise for him-and Spike... picks him up and brings him in. To be fair, the Decepticon symbol is a bit distorted. And as far as I can recall, this is the only time Spike does this. And Spike wonders who left it here, so it's... I'll be quiet now.

He heads in and we shill some toys meet some of the Autobots. He asks Trailbreaker why they transform. "Simple, disguise! Besides, it sure beats walking." Nice, easy. You get a good feel for Trailbreaker with those few sentences. We cut to a bulding outside the Ark, looks like it was put up recently. Ratchet fixes Huffer's arm-seriously, it's the little things like that-and we see Spike with Trailbreaker, Mirage and Hound.

Hound shows off his holograms, amazing Spike. I don't believe holography was widely known back then. And Mirage confuses the tech spec readers by using a cloaking device. Hound takes him for a drive.. but there's trouble as Soundwave has Ravage hook into Teletraan-One. Hmm, his missile launchers flash before disappearing as he transforms.

How did the Ark get this info, sky spy satellites?

Hound is... sad, kinda. He likes Earth, but this little exchange. "Earth must be a nice place to live. "

"It's okay, but tell me about Cybertron!"

"Before the War with the Decepticons, it was quiet and peaceful."

"Do you miss it?"

"Sometimes. Hold tight!"

Hound's running. He doesn't wanna go back to Cybertron! Hell, I bet a number of the Ark crew wouldn't want to go back! Their world is dead! This world, for all the troubles we had, have and will have, is paradise compared to how it was when he left.

When we get back, Spike sees Soundwave downloading-uploading?-the files. So... no one else noticed? Soundwave transforms and Spike... is scared, but dodges and attempted swipe. And hits the alarm button. Good panic in Soundwave's voice as he calls for Ravage. Ravage slips into the shadows, but more toy shilling Prime calls for Gears to use infrared beams. "Fire the net!" Wait, the net? Prowl and Jazz fire two halves of a net... which seems pretty ineffective, to be honest, and Ravage is captured.

Back at the Decepticon base as Soundwave plays back info on Sherman Dam... although the alternate name was Boulder Dam, which was an early name for Hoover Dam! We learn the dam can generate one million, seven hundred fifty thousand kilowatts. Megatron praises him, but Starscream busts in. "But that's not enough electrical power to make the energon cubes." And we get some alpha-mech posturing between the two. Actually, Megs has a plan. A tidal wave. "We attack the dam at sunrise!"

They land at the dam, and it does look early in the morning. Rumble goes into the water and begins rocking the place. LOL at Soundwave making an actual wave motion with his arm there. Inside the control room, the indicators begin going wild. We even get a grizzled-sounding-yet-young-looking man shouting, "The river's rising! Man your emergency stations!"

Back at the Ark... and they've somehow received a warning about Sherman Dam? Spike can apparently also read either Cybertronix or badly-done English. And the Decepticons bursting into the dam's control room. Megatron blows a hole in the roof... hey. Who's gonna tell him no? Brief shot of the Autobots rolling out and back to Megatron. The workers are worried, though. We even see the top of the dam cracking.

They try warning Megatron, but that's what he wants! Starscream uses his null ray-sort of an ion cannon-to freeze the generators. And energon cubes are filled. The Autobots pull up. "Do you think the Decepticons did this? And a half-second later... BOOM!"

"You're too late, Prime!"

"There's your answer, Prowl. Autobots, to the air!" Spike and Hound go to the heart of the tidal wave and Hound goes down. Hmm, he puts on a mask first. Neat touch, there. He bobs! Down below there's some good water fighting. Bumblebee and Ironhide head off the overflow. Again, more good public relations with the humans! Movie-Prime, take some notes here!

"Stop talking, tighten your shock absorbers and get in. We're gonna make a new river!" Ah, Ironhide, how awesome you are. Oh, and the laser inside looks rather like the one from his toy. Nice. They cut channels and save the town. Yay!

"Autobots, to the power plant." They take to the air and storm the place, blasting two Starscreams-it was a bad one, okay? As Megatron prepares to depart, "Stick it in neutral, Megatron! You're not going anywhere!" "Try and stop me, Prime!" We get some good fighting while Sparkplug leads the workers out of there.

One nice scene of Mirage helping to save Cliffjumper. "For someone who doesn't like to fight, you're not bad Mirage." Aww. We fade to Megatron standing on some ledge... for some reason. Prima attacks but is knocked off, hanging by his fingers. Then we get a weird scene of Starscream firing a slingshot at a bank of control... and Megatron is pissed... yeah. I don't get it, either. Prime tackles him outside... and ow the scene, atop Sherman Dam. Prime deploys his energon axe, while Megatron utilizes a mace.

"You destroy everything you touch, Megatron!" "Because everything I touch is food for my hunger-my hunger for POWER!" "No! I'm going to end your hunger once and for all!" They fight, and it's pretty damned good. "You're old, Megatron! Yesterday's model, ready for the scrap heap!" "We'll see who's ready for the scrap heap!" "Junk-that's what you are! Junk!" "SILENCE!" It's back and forth, which is how it should be.

Back to the river as Spike gets worried. As he should be. Rumble emerges and brushes Spike aside... who tackles him, but the Decepticon roughs him up. Again, as it should be for non-military humans. Prime's distracted and gets knocked into the river. The Decepticons fly off, a bunch of energon cubes in hand.

Jazz rescues Prime and Spike jumps in after Hound, rescuing him but needing to get rescued himself. "Easy, Spike. You almost flooded your engine." "Thanks, Hound. You saved my-" "Leave it, okay?" "Okay!"

The Autobots regroup and we get another reminder of how they cared when making the series. Mirage wants go go back to Cybertron, but Prime reminds him about the energy here. While we get this line from Huffer. "But we're not fighters like they are, Prime!"

No, they're not. They're civilians, engineers, merchants who have to fight, but don't want to. You know if the Decepticons willingly and sincerely surrendered, there'd be relief and just... yeah.

Prime understands-he's been in Huffer's shoes. "We must have courage, Huffer. We can't ignore the danger. We must conquer it."

We get a montage of Decepticon energy raids. Here's a topic of discussion-what was the public's reaction to this? This isn't anything that can be covered up, after all. Soundwave reports they need one more run, and according to Soundwave, the ruby crystals of Burma. I don't remember ruby crystals being like that, but then again I'm not a giant robot from outer space. Go fig.

But then we see Starscream using them to blow up a mountain with them. Testing them, according to Starsceam. Which... makes sense, if you ponder it. Now they need two strikes. "What's the difference? There's plenty here for us!" "The difference is time, you fool!" Soundwave pipes up with info on rocket fuel, and we fade to Trailbreaker, Spike and Sparkplug spying on them. Love them drinking coffee like there. They drive off as Starscream and Megatron engage in a lubricating contest. "Time makes all things possible. I can wait." Oh, how prophetic those words are...

They fly off while the Autobot spies drive off. But two seekers track them down. Sparkplug calls in for help. "I may not be fast, but I'm tough!" Sideswipe and Sunstreaker pull into view, doing some nice driving. The seekers are generic violet, btw. They hit Sunstreaker, or lightly scorch him. "Hey, that's a new paint job!" A laser cannon pops out of his trunk and he nails one. "I'm heading in for repairs." And I think... "I'll settle you back." "Thanks for your help, brothers!" Ah, so that's where that came from! "What about my paint?" "Don't worry, nobody will notice. Just make left turns!"

At the crystal mine, the Decepticons are mining while Megatron seems to do a Scrooge McDuck in one of the carts. According to Soundwave, there's enough there to power... the entire planet of Cybertron. I raise an eyebrow at that. Outside, the Autobots plan. Wheeljack has an explosive powerful enough 'to bury 'em forever!' as he turns southern, apparently. But they know they're inside, not where exactly. Sparkplug's worked the mines, and Bumblebee's the smallest. So they drive off. Prime doesn't want them to risk too much, but Sparkplug...

"There won't be any problem, Prime. This one's for Cybertron and Earth!" That's... wow. They drive to the entrance and enter. Bumblebee's in legit awe, but dodge Skywarp and Thundercracker. "You know, Skywarp, I can't wait to get back to Cybertron. Earth's so flat!" "Yeah, I know what you mean Thundercracker." Ah, mooks with personality! They plant the bomb, but the two seekers find them and knock them around a bit. Outside, Ironhide wants to go, but Prime says no. He won't risk his other Autobots. Because dammit, he's Optimus Prime! Inside the mine and Thundercracker and Skywarp finish pantsing Bumblebee. "Let's give Megatron a little present!" "Heh, maybe we ought to wrap it up and put a little bow on it." Ouch...

Prime deploys Roller, part of the R-series from the sound of it. But the bomb blows up and the interior collapses! It also sends Prime tumbling down the cliffside. What will happen next?

Thoughts
Another good, solid episode. Great touches and character moments, even when they didn't need to happen. Interesting that for Megatron, Earth is a means to an end-he's got bigger Sharkticons to fry than this little ball of mud. He's got the galaxy to conquer!

[quote="RK_Striker_JK_5
According to Soundwave, there's enough there to power... the entire planet of Cybertron. I raise an eyebrow at that. [/quote]

I love it when Soundwave says that! It always makes me laugh. Considering rubies are just alumimun oxide, (AO2) I find that amusing...umm I really like gems and minerals okay? Another great review! I had to read this one too, so thanks for writing. (I'm glad you can type so fast, I have to think about what I'm going to say first... so I'm slow, ha, ha...

Sailor Destron wrote:[quote="RK_Striker_JK_5
According to Soundwave, there's enough there to power... the entire planet of Cybertron. I raise an eyebrow at that.

I love it when Soundwave says that! It always makes me laugh. Considering rubies are just alumimun oxide, (AO2) I find that amusing...umm I really like gems and minerals okay? Another great review! I had to read this one too, so thanks for writing. (I'm glad you can type so fast, I have to think about what I'm going to say first... so I'm slow, ha, ha... [/quote]
It's TF logic. I can forgive it. I'm doing these for another message board, so it's mostly do it there and then copy/paste here. Thanks again.

I just hope someone else responds...


More Than Meets The Eye Part Three

We begin where we left off-Prime rolling down a hill. The Autobots land from flying in-yeah, whatever at this point-and nice bit where he lands and shock absorbers bounce. Prime's first concern? Roller, his soldier. As it should be. Roller comes back out. "Down, but not out." As an aside, some good close-ups of Jazz's and Ratchet's faces.

Prime transforms, a slow process this time. So a blast powerful enough to collapse the interior of a mountain... strips Prime's transformation gears. And again, his first thought is to others. A drill pops up out of Ironhide's arm and they 'start digging!' Eventually Jazz finds them. Spike runs to hug his father. Aww. At first they think the Decepticons are finished...

BOOM! The entire top of the mountain blows up. "It worked! W'ere free-we can get out." Ah, Skywarp. Nothing gets past you, eh? "We are indestructible!" And to top it off, the energon cubes are still intact. "Scramble!" Megatron said that a lot during this miniseries.

Ironhide wants to go after them, but, "Save it, Ironhide. They're too fast for us in the air." And the retcon begins... Ironhide's not having any of it, though. "Well, I'm tired of sucking their vapor trails! I'll stop them!" Bluestreak takes off after him, though.

Fun fact-G1 Bluestreak was my first ever Transformers. Good times.

Ironhide has a missile launcher sticking out of his back-well in certain shots-and he hits Skywarp in the tail fin. And now we see why he's named Skywarp in a good little battle. He teleports behind the two Autobots and blasts Ironhide out of the air. "It's like fighting a shadow!"

I should note Skywarp misses the half-dozen or so rockets before he finally nails them-after they begin dodging! Ironhide crashes into the lake and Jazz fishes them out with his grappling hook. And now we get another great character moment. "I can't move."

"At least you can still talk, old buddy."

Ironhide gets loaded into Ratchet in ambulance mode while he and Prime talk. "You gave us all a pretty good scare."

"It's been worse. I remember the time on Cybertron-"

"Save the war stories, hot shot. Just remember there's a thin line between being a hero-and being a memory." Jazz teases him, and Ironhide is grumpy. They roll out and we cut to Spike on the mountain with his journal. "Optimus Prime cares a lot for his fellow robots. And he doesn't want anything to happen to them. I think he'd make a neat president!"

Admit it-you'd vote for him. I know I would. Prowl as vice president, Jazz as secretary of the funk. Elita-One as first lady.

We're back to Hound and Mirage guarding Ravage-remember that? Ah, continuity. How I love thee. Hound's taunting him and he and Mirage wax philosophical about Decepticon conduct. "You know I'm surprised the Decepticons haven't tried to rescue him."

"I'm not. They don't care about anyone, not even their own." Hound then creates a hologram of Megatron to, again, taunt Ravage. "Hound, when we get back to Cybertron will you make me a big house with a four-car garage? Holograms look so real nobody would know the difference!" Hound gets to thinking and goes see Prime about making a hologram... a big one. Something that would lure the 'Cons in for a fight.

Back at the cage, Hound talks about a rocket base 140 kilometers due west of the Autobot base... in front of Ravage. Sounding so sincere. He... 'drops' the key, saying they'll go see Ironhide. Yes, I love this show. Can you tell? Anyway, Ravage eventually gets the key. looking oh so cute using his paw. He jumps and the Autobots give up the chase.

Hound, Mirage, Prowl and Jazz report he escaped, to which Prime says, "perfect." And for some reason they all look shocked... okay, that's a big error there. Only one who has any right to look shocked is Mirage. *Sigh* Back at the Decepticon base, Ravage says his only line in the whole series. It's the last resource they need.

And we get Starscream's first overt attempt on Megatron's life. Starscream's made his first mistake-making his desire known. He then fires on Megatron, but Soundwave warns him and he puts up a shield from his fusion cannon. "It's empty!" One blast, Screamer? Load up before you attempt a coup!

"You failed to dispose of me when you had the chance, Starscream. Mistake number two." Starscream begs but gets shot and kinda... shuffles over on his knees. And the image is just kinda wrong.

The next day Hound creates his hologram and it's huge! Megatron fires off both his fusion cannon and the laser on his back. I love that thing. The Autobots are in lab coats... which shouldn't really disguise them but okay, we'll roll with it. They fight-but the Decepticons come apart faster than the plot for Fate of the Jedi! "Scrap! Springs! Junk." "We've been had."

Yeah, turns out the villains didn't fall for it and are off attacking the real rocket base. This is why I love this show. The only real one is Megatron... who should've been tackled by all the Autobots there, but isn't.

"That's right, Prime. I was onto your little scheme from the start. Did you really think you could fool me by allowing Ravage to escape? Did you?"

At Cape Carlson, the military is basically steamrolled. It's not even funny. Oh, and from the sounds and visuals, no lasers. Actual rifles. One shot and the artillery is blown up. Megatron arrives... even though he didn't have to. Back at their base, the energon is loaded. "Course back to Cybertron charted. Space cruiser fueled and ready for departure. What are your orders Megatron?" They're simple. "Prepare for blastoff!"

Back at the Ark, the Autobots ready for a direct assault. Prime asks for volunteers. "Jazz?" "Volunteers, step forward!" They all do, even Spike and Sparkplug. Good bots, all of them. "Ready, Prime!" Jazz does it a lot more forcefully than last time. They roll out, a rather neat sequence where Prime heads for the camera, covers it and the back of the trailer suddenly pulls back.

At the Decepticon base, they're getting ready but the Autobots pull up and 'encircle the base!' Autobots, transform!" Lovely shot of the Decepticons backing up as the Autobots advance. Megatron transforms and lands in Skywarp's hands. Hmm, not trusting Starscream this time? Soundwave ejects his tapes. "Operation: Warfare!" The final 'eject' is pretty damned forceful. Rumble and Hound tango again. "I owe you one from Sherman Dam, Rumble!" Cute little factoid-they reused some of the earlier footage from Sherman Dam, hence the 'dust clouds' there. Hound just picks him up, chucks him against a rock and pounds him!

Skywarp and Thundercracker transform in this gorgeous sequence and join Laserbeak on a strafing run. Prime's trailer unfolds and fires at Megatron. There's some confusion, but the trailer and Megatron do fire at the same time, blowing up the trailer and knocking off Megatron's gun. "It's just you and me, now, Megatron." "Then you'd better get some help, Prime!" "Oh, no. I've been waiting for this chance!" They grapple. "Only one of us is going back, Megatron!" "It won't be you, Prime!"

Starscream readies his weapon... but Spike knocks it off with a rock. To be fair, it is the same arm Megatron blasted earlier. Love Prowl running it over. Back at the fight, Prime gets the upper hand but Ravage makes the save! And the Decepticons beat feet. An interesting little bit where we see Megatron making sure all his soldiers are aboard! They blast off...

Wait, the bad guys won?

Prime takes Sideswipe's rocket pack and flies off after them. "Sideswipe, give me your rocket pack." "My rocket pack?" "NOW!" Whoa, pissed off Prime is pissed off! He flies off while Megatron gloats. Not for long as Starscream spots Prime. A laser cannon fires, hits Prime dead on and he tumbles back to Earth from what looks like the edge of the atmosphere. "Soundwave, full throttle. We're going home-our home!"

Prime crashes... and is apparently all right. Ho-ly shit. "Im fine, I'm all right." "Let Ratchet check you out." "I said I'm fine!" Sparkplug tries to reassure him, but he's still down on himself. He also notes Mirage's absence. And aboard the cruiser, Starscream tries another coup attempt.

"Beware, Starscream. If you dispose of me, there will always be someone waiting to dispose of you." Decepticon philosophy in in one sentence, folks. Suddenly Mirage appears and shoots a console! Starscream shoots him... and Megatron shoots Starscream. "Extinction to all traitors!" There's a lovely shot of him with his fusion cannon... but seriously, he's a dumbass there. Skywarp tries to put out the fire, but the cruiser loses power and control.

Mirage parachutes out. "I'll say hello to-to Prime for you, Megatron. Happy landing!" Megatron wants him stopped, even as flames billow up around him. The Autobots hop up to a rock to see the cruiser plow into the ocean. Prime declares them finished... ah, remember four million years ago when the Ark hit the side of that mountain? Yeah.

Prowl spots Mirage and he's hailed as the hero he is. "We knew you were anxious to get back to Cybertron, but at least you could've waited for us." "Sorry, Prime. The ship was... full." Ha!

Spike and Sparkplug wanna go to Cybertron with them. The reality might be a bit... different than the fantasy. Back at the Ark, we see some tanker trucks with hoses hooked up to the Ark. Spikes exposits that the governments of the world are giving Prime the energy needed to revitalize Cybertron. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that meeting. Prime tells him it's almost time to go, and Spike writes he's glad Megatron's gone. Go, how? We'll see the Ark's never flying again in later episodes/

...

And we cut to the space cruiser and Megatron escaping out of a hatch, naturally.

Thoughts
Oh, this was glorious! A wonderful three-parter woth great action, characters and the like. A shame this only lasted three episodes and thet's-

Wait, what?

What do you mean the G1 series lasted three full seasons, an aborted fourth and the franchise is still going on today after almost twenty-seven years? What do you mean I've got so much more to watch?

Fasten your seatbelts, folks. Time to roll out.

Okay... continuing on.



Transport to Oblivion
Okay, time for the meat of the series. Autobots versus Decepticons. Status quo now so...

Wait, no? The Autobots still think the Decepticons are dead from the climax of last week's episode?! Is this... continuity??? Ye Primus, it is!!!!

Prime and Ironhide are looking at the sunset, a sight they either have never seen or haven't seen for eons. Cliffjumper-the panicky one-spots a rock formation and shoots it, thinking it's a Decepticon. Ironhide scoffs. "We sent those over sized tin cans to the bottom of the sea months ago!" Months? I had forgotten that bit! Whoa, that explains so much too! Ironhide tempts fate, but Prime is wary.

We fade out to the Decepticon cruiser, at the bottom of the Atlantic. And in those months they basically built an underwater city. And... back to Cybertron and Shockwave. Remember him? He fires at something offscreen and transforms, now sporting a laser for a left hand. And he is rundown, too. His walking is more like stomping. "Losing power. Must try... to communicate with Megatron." He's been trying to call up the boss for four million years? Talk about loyalty!

He finally gets through. And Megatron is shocked. "It can't be! Shockwave, guardian of Cybertron!" Status is bad. Energy is low, but there's a new teleportation system... that I guess they talked about before leaving?

At some solar power plant-there were a lot of those in G1 Earth-some worker complains about a tape deck being too loud. But it's not anyone's... it's Soundwave! Who glows as he transforms and enlarges. He launches Laserbeak, who just flies around and fires. Megatron, Starscream and Skywarp go in and they begin plundering the place.

In some city-probably in the northwest-Jazz and Spike are tooling around. But they hit a traffic jam. Everyone's leaving the buildings, apparently. Back at the Ark, Prime puts in some computer work because he's that kind of leader. He gets a reading on all local power stations... I guess they're hooked into the grid. A sky spy is launched and his worst fears are confirmed. "Megatron lives!" Great closeup and voice work by Peter Cullen, there. Also, they managed to make him look shocked with his mask. He calls for the Autobots, but, "Over half our force is out on patrol." Patrolling what, though?

He rolls out with Ironhide, Ratchet, Prowl, Gears, Cliffjumper and Bumblebee. At the plant, the Autobots blow through a skylight and the Decepticons scatter. Cliffjumper takes on Megatron... and it's kinda funny how the slag maker owns him. "You will take care of me?!"

"I will, Megatron." Three guesses as to who says that line. "Ah, a pleasure to see you, Prime." They fight and there's some good action. Outside, Skywarp transforms and the energon cubes go inside of him. Neat. Starscream puts up a good fight outside and gets away. Back inside, Prime's losing. Megatron transforms into gun mode, but Ironhide takes the fusion blast! Megatron and Soundwave leave and... the Decepticons won. Prime has them get Ironhide back to headquarters.

At the Ark, Ratchet and Sparkplug are working on Ironhide. Heh, it's great seeing humans being useful like that. Great shot of Ironhide's guts. Prowl, Jazz, Bumblebee and... Spike are confabbing about the Decepticons' victory. They got the cubes, but how to get them to Cybertron? No ship anymore, after all. Oh, what a legit good line there. Prime sends Bumblebee out to scout and SPike tags along, regrettably sounding almost as bad as the Unicron Trilogy kids. *Sigh*

"Hey, I wanna go along. Can I, Bumblebee?" No, Spike! Stay and use your technical knowledge to help repair stuff! Oh, lord... "Sure, just leave the driving to me." And they speed off. Back at the Decepticon base, there's some exposition about the new 'space bridge' that will connect Earth and Cybertron. Some neat graphics. But it's only operable for eleven minutes. No reason why, though.

We cut to Bumblebee and Spike who... have no clue where they're going. Spike suggests they drive down into a dry riverbed. oh, lord... Spike! But plot contrivance lets them find the Decepticons and their space bridge terminal! It's a car, track and a metal circle. The car goes along the track into the circle, which lights up and rips a hole in time and space, letting the Warp through-sorry, wrong franchise.

We see the vehicle go up-along with a lot of debris. Back at Cybertron, though, no go. Starscream does some posturing, but Megatron thinks all it needs is a pilot and calls for someone unlucky a volunteer. Soundwave suddenly hears Bumblebee transform-which makes sense-but Bumblebee skids down the bank. Starscream wants to kill them, but Megatron has other... plans.

Spike and Bumblebee are loaded onto the next test vehicle. "How're we gonna get out of this?" "By the skin of our teeth!" "I didn't know human teeth had skin." Hah! Ah, you wacky Autobots and your limited knowledge of our anatomy. The space bridge suddenly opens, though! I guess it was a timing issue?

The space bridge can't be opened for three thousand astro-seconds. "Three thousand? This is intolerable!" Makes me wonder how long an astro-second is... barring DW's conversion chart in issue eight of their MTMTE guide. SPike wishes their luck would change... and Bumble transforms and bursts out of the canopy! Spike jumps after him. Bumblebee, slow down so SPike can get in! Ravage gets away. "Don't worry about me, Bumblebee. Wheel out!"

Some nice driving action by the bug and good animation. He goes into a cave, but is trapped. He goes further in and finds a hole in the top, but Skywarp and Starscream get him. Megatron arrives and Starscream gets pissy. "I told you I could deal with this Autobot myself!" A tentacle emerges from behind Megatron's Deceptibrand and he gets to work mindwiping Bumblebee. "He will lead the Autobots to their doom!"

Back at the Ark, Sparkplug is beside himself with worry. Bumblebee pulls up and is immediately off. He tells them about the space bridge and Sparkplug nearly blows a gasket. Prime asks where the bridge is and these weird... black dots show up around Bumblebee's head as he sounds mechanical. He tells him about the cave. Laserbeak is spying on them, and he'd better get used to that job.

He flies off and a rather cool docking tower comes up from the base. I love that thing so much. Man, I guess three thousand astroseconds is a long time if Megatron can go back to base!

At the cave, Prime is suspicious because of no guards. But Bumblebee insists. They move in, but nothing there. "No nothing." Suddenly attack! The cave is sealed up and the Decepticons open fire! Prowl is taken out, and Bumblebee. Starscream fires again... and Jazz uses a hunk of rock to hit the plasma charge back. Huh. "You're out!" Prowl gets taken out-again-but Ratchet uses a net on Laserbeak. Sadly, this isn't Marvel Comics Ratchet. Otherwise he'd be able to solo the entire force! Soundwave goes for Ravage, but Ironhide does the incredibly obvious and holds the tape deck shut! Megatron fires at him, but Prime gets him out of the way. Prowl... goes 0 for 3, basically. No wonder it took only one shot to kill him in the Movie!

Prime's leg gets caught in debris. And Megatron fires off some sort of saw blade that... cuts Prime free and obscures Megatrons' vision. Smooth... But the little blue dot on Megatron's torso flashes. "The space bridge is about to open!" Oh, and Prime is stalking Megatron with laser rifle at the ready. Megatron runs up to Starscream, calling for what is a legit tactical withdrawal. "Starscrem, retreat? NEVER!" *Headdesk* The one time... Starscream blasts the entrance open and the Decepticons exit. So Megatron reseals the entrance. "That's the end of Prime-and the Autobots!" How? They're not dead and they're quasi-immortal robots.

The Autobots take stock of their injured. Ratchet finds Bumblebee with his torso open. He notices the altered memory chips and he remembers! And of course they blow the entrance open and roll out.

This time the space bridge will be open for only four minutes. Spike is in an energy cage and Soundwave approaches. "Well, I guess I served my time and I'm free to go?" Soundwave looks **** creepy as he speaks. "Free to go... to Cybertron!" He's strapped in and does not look happy. He's basically told to focus on the space bridge beam or be lost forever in space. The cart goes off just as the Autobots pull off a big slagging heroes move. "Autobots! Take cover before they-" "Attack!' Smooth, Prime!

Ironhide goes to blow up the cart but Sparkplug points out Spike there. Bumblebee goes for some redemption as Prime blows off the canopy and shoots the harness apart without harming Spike! Megatron goes to get the cubes across into the Earth terminal, but the cubes are shot and he's blown into there. And the bridge activates, sucking him up.

"Return tobase. Megatron is dead I'm the leader now!" And we get our Starscream refrain for the rest of the series. The Decepticons fly off and Bumblebee is happy. "He's lost forever!" "I wish I could believe that."

Back at Cybertron... Megatron enters Shockwave's headquarters.

Thoughts
I'd have to call this a draw, actually. No energon was transported to Cybertron-this time. But the space bridge was proven to be a viable technology.

I consider this and the next episode almost to be parts four and five of 'More Than Meets The Eye'. Season one is a semi-serial with fairly strong continuity even by today's standards. They could've just gone into a status quo fight-but didn't.

Well, okay. New episode!


Roll For It
We open with Starscream, Soundwave and Thundercracker flying along... for some reason, Starscream declaring himself the new leader of the Decepticons. Because, you know, continuity! He also cuts off Soundwave in midair. Smooth... They go raid a power station. "Those jets sound like they're gonna land in our laps!" "That's becaue they are!" The workers know they're Decepticons... and a there's apparently a line set up specifically for energy raids by them. Heh. Some security guards pull pistols on them... And put themselves up for Darwin Awards. "We've got you covered." Right...

"My transistors are trembling." And yeah, their cover is blown away and they're knocked around. Prime pulls up with some Autobots and get ready for fighting. "Can the chat and start kicking pig iron!" Cliffjumper rushes Thundercracker and gets knocked aside for his troubles, bouncing off Brawn. For the record we need at least a Scout-Class toy of Brawn NOW. Starscream and Prime tumble, with the energon cubes blowing up and Soundwave channeling his allegedly dead leader. "Decepticons, retreat!" Soundwave... stumbles out, gets caught in a net and run down by Bluestreak, getting knocked into the air. Both Starscream and Thundercracker get shot and messed up badly. Bluestreak and Prowl get sent after them.

Back on Cybertron, Megatron contacts Starscream. "You two look like Optimus Prime ran you through a laser-powered trash compacotr." How'd he know it was Prime? He exposits about a laboratory and an antimatter formula and Thundercracker sucks up, with a predictable response by Starscream. "Leadership my sine function!" They go off to get repairs before getting this formula in five billion astroseconds. How long is an astrosecond again? And while Megatron goes to the space bridge terminal, we get Shockwave's only nod to his comic personality. "Have a safe journey, Megatron." With ominous shadowing!

Back on Earth, Laserbeak and Rumble meet up with megatron, the former perching on Megatron's forearm as denoting of his position. And we cut to a lab in the middle of a desert! Bumblebee drives up with Spike and a bespectacled young man named Chip Chase. They drive in and Chip is in a wheelchair. Bumblebee transforms and startles the guard, who does not pull his sidearm. "Well, I never met an Autobot before." As the guard punches in a security code, Reflector records every keystroke. "That was the last bit of info I needed," all three say. Man, Reflector is... weird. He-they fly off.

Turns out Chip is the one behind this antimatter formula. The professor there gives Chip a floppy disk that will let his home PC talk with the lab's computer. And they drive off. That's it? While leaving, Laserbeak attacks. They head for an underground parking lot and Laserbeak... leaves? that's it? He flies off to Megatron, who attacks the lab without waiting for Starscream. Dude, it's a human lab. You would be enough!

Bumblebee drops chip off at his house and goes to warn Doctor Alcazar-the guy at the lab, and Prime's been contacted already. nice, proactive thinking. They contact Bluestreak and Prowl, but they're busy tracking down thundercracker and Starscream. Screamer's wary of Megatron getting the formula because he can't be trusted. And you can?! Thundercracker-colored like Skywarp-comments they don't have Prime and Brawn to pail them out. Funny... Brawn didn't do anything last fight. Ravage is ejected and leaps onto Bluestreak while Prowl is blasted.

Megatron goes for the lab while Chip plays Worold of Warcraft, beta version .000009. He tries contacting the doc, but Megatron... yeah. No resistance as I predicted. The doc presses some buttons and erases the formula. Megatron places his hand on the console and it glows blue. Blackout pre-movie, apparently. And Megatron lets him live. Offscreen, though, we know the Reflectors used him as a human bouncy ball. :p

Back at Chip's house, he gets the antimatter formula. We then cut back to the battle. Prowl shoots off Ravage, but Soundwave guns him down. His battle computer is damaged and there's some good voice work of pain. Bluestreak is left to fend for himself while Prowl extends antennae from his head crest boots up his modem. he contacts Chip, who probably has the only PC capable of interfacing with an Autobot.

Chip... controls Prowl with his PC that makes Penny's computer book look like an abacus. He has Prowl do some fancy flips-no idea how-and jump onto a jet. Bluestreak shocks the hell out of Starscream with one shot while Prowl maneuvers the jet around-don't they have keys or something? He launches missiles and the Decepticons retreat.

Back at the lab, Megatron completes a trace on the computer and directs Starscream to its location in a rather nice segue where they land as he's telling them. Ravage bursts through the front door while Chip, after memorzing the formula, RIPS A FLOPPY DISK IN HALF WITH HIS BARE HANDS!!!!!!! Holy shit! Ravage grabs him and jumps through a window, Chip first. Chip is not sliced into ribbons by the glass. Is he human, I ask only semi-jokingly?! Oh, and Soundwave's voice actor, Frank Welker, is channeling Doctor Claw today.

The Autobots roll for the lab, but the Decepticons are there and holding Chip as a hostage. "If you try anything stupid, your little friend is doomed!" "And even if they don't, you're doomed." The Autobots transform as Prime concocts a plan. inside the lab, Soundwave uses his telepathy to read Chip's mind and get the formula. Outside, Mirage and Hound get ready to fool Rumble. Not... that hard.

inside the lab, antimatter is produced inside a large tube and put into energon cubes. Chip, bless his heart, tries to stop him but Ravage uses him as a chew toy. Thundercracker goes to shoot him, but Mirage and Hound intervene. Bumblebee and Spike rescue Chip, Bumblebee somehow transforming around the pair. He, Mirage and Hound beat wheels outta there, driving down corridors large enough for cars. Rumble's still confuse.

Prime blows through the wall, knocking Rumble aside-seriously, this is not his episode and the trailer opens up. There's a neat, "Autobots, roll!" from several Autobots. They go to attack Megatron, but, "It is too late!" as he tosses a cube at them and BOOM!

The Autobots leave, all busted up. There's some pretty bad damage on all of them as they roll for the Ark. Ratchet and Sparkplug have to get into gear while Chip's down on himself. Wheeljack taps him for a little project, hopefully not including catapults. A short scene of Megatron gloating later and we cut back to the Ark and Sideswipe and Sunstreaker doing some arm wrestling with background chatter going on. Teletraan-One spots the Decepticons and prime makes a speech, his eyes flashing to his words. Very... disturbing.

"I don't have to tell you what's ahead of us. They've got to be stopped and we're the only ones who can do it." Sideswipe and Sunstreaker transform and go out to attack, both... flying up to attack Skywarp and Thundercracker, utilizing 'jet judo'. Stacrscream knocks them off and they deploy parachutes similar to the one Mirage utilized in the pilot. Megatron calls Thundercracker over to deliver the antimatter cubes and he pushes them into his chest, not causing his chest to explode or... something. It's cartoon physics, I guess. He flashes and transforms into gun mode, blowing up rock formations and trapping the Autobots. "I am invincible! No one can stand against me!" To be fair, the Evil Overlord list hadn't been compiled when the episode aired.

Prime transforms and rolls for it, getting a boost from Brawn in a trench. Megatron is knocked out of Starscream's hands-who refers to his leader as 'the antimatter gun-but Skywarp recovers. Spike attacks him with a jackhammer... for some reason, and he's quickly captured. Chip rolls over and places Wheeljack's device on his ankle, allowing Teletraan-One to override Skywarp's controls and have him shoot the Decepticons.

Megatron transforms and his antimatter... reaches ignition temperature. It doesn't have one. The Decepticons retreat and Chip is hailed as a hero. Yay!

Thoughts
I like Chip! If I don't, he'll rip me in half. No, good episode here. I love them following up with the events of last episode. So awesome. Great fight between Prowl, Bluestreak and the 'Cons, too.

I love G1. It gets to me nerves when people say the ONLY way to like it is being nostalgic. I´m sure that´s true for many, and there´s nothing wrong with that, but in my case there´re several things I like and that I think are superior no newer shows.

One, for instance, is the introduction of new characters in the first episodes. Got to love Bumblebee and Wheeljack from the start, and one just have to see more of Thundercraker and Skywarp.

Some people have a problem with the Status Quo, the question of "why is Starscream second in command?" always pops up. I like that the answer is very obvious, he´s a genious, a young, impatient, arrogant genious. Who else could be second in command? the rest of the Decepticons aren´t quite the same as him.

Janus Prime wrote:I love G1. It gets to me nerves when people say the ONLY way to like it is being nostalgic. I´m sure that´s true for many, and there´s nothing wrong with that, but in my case there´re several things I like and that I think are superior no newer shows.

Thank you. And yes, there are some bad episodes... and some that have yet to be surpassed by any later product. There's a reason it's still thought of so fondly.

One, for instance, is the introduction of new characters in the first episodes. Got to love Bumblebee and Wheeljack from the start, and one just have to see more of Thundercraker and Skywarp.

The intros are.... natural, for lack of a better term. Going with the action.

Some people have a problem with the Status Quo, the question of "why is Starscream second in command?" always pops up. I like that the answer is very obvious, he´s a genious, a young, impatient, arrogant genious. Who else could be second in command? the rest of the Decepticons aren´t quite the same as him.

There are changes, though. We'll get to them later on.



Divide and Conquer
We open with one of the coolest scenes in the entire G1 series-a factory making weapons for the military while Victor Caroli exposits these are for attacking the Decepticons. oh, and there's anti-Decepticon propaganda on the walls.



Masquerade? Screw the masquerade! The Decepticons are dangerous and we're not infants! We have the right to aid in the fight for our survival!

Chip is there to help with efficiency issues. But the Decepticons attack! Soldiers try to fight them off with what appear to be actual rifles. Which goes about as well as you'd expect. "Foolish insects." "Humans run funny, don't they Starscream." They're on an energy raid... but Chip contacts the Autobots.

Back at the Ark, and Prime is scouting out possible locations where the next space bridge might appear... from the riverbed it first showed up at. Spike's there, too. They're interrupted by Chip's SOS and roll out, Sparkplug marveling at their transformation. At the plant, Starscream banters with Megatron. It's the tone of their voice that sells their conversation. Prime interrupts by driving right through their pile of energon cubes.

Starscream... blows him through a wall. Where'd the whole 'Decepticons can't shoot straight' thing come from again? Thundercracker and Skywarp take off for alternate attack angles, ganging up on Prime. And Chip displays his awesomeness by noting a missile is heat-seeking by just looking at it.

You gonna mess with him? Thought not.

He deflects it with his wrist, the warhead not detonating. Starscream tackles Prime into a wall and he drops his rifle, the rifle going off and blasting the mainframe of the plant's computer. Prime shields Chip and the foreman from the blast, then all three seekers shoot him at pretty close range. Ho-ly crap! The Decepticons take off with the energon, leaving Prime... heavily damaged. Whoa.

He grabs at Wheeljack weakly and this is pretty damned scary for a kid, methinks. Prime got trounced by numbers. He transforms and rolls, Ironhide and Ratchet towing him along. Chip and Spike are... downbeat.

At the Decepticon base, Starscream reports Prime's demise. "We saw him fall." Okay, fairly genre savvy there. "Fall, yes. But can you guarantee his spark chamber laser core was extinguished?" Megatron shows more savvy, there. He has Soundwave send Laserbeak for scouting, but fitst he perches on Megatron's forearm. Cute. Laserbeak flies off, transforms into tape mode... and lands on Brawn's shoulder. *Headdesk* Brawn! You're tough, not stupid!

He flies off-Brawn still not noticing-and there's a fairly good non-magic camera angle from him. Prime's in bad shape while Huffer depresses the Pit out of everyone. "I can feel it in my databanks!" "Nuts to that!" Whoa, Spike! Language, there. Laserbeak takes off and fires eye beams into Prime's chest... which blows up.

Yeah, Prime's chest blows up. There's smoke and debris all around. There's a bad energy drain... and possibly a metric ton of internal damage. He needs a cosmotron, which is actually a RL device. Prime's is a lot smaller, natch. Wheeljack has one... back at his lab. On Cybertron. Worse, there's a lock on the door. Huffer complains more but Ironhide covers his mouth. There's one person who could get through the lock-Chip. "I always wanted to visit another planet."

Back at the Decepticon base, Megatron rallies the troops while Starscream asks why they don't attack. Turns out Megatron's waiting for the space bridge, which will open in 72 billion astroseconds. There's an odd symbol when Shockwave transmits.

Back at the Ark, Chip uses Teletraan-One to figure out the space bridge's next location. "Just like Sherlock Holmes with floppy disks!" Actually, having just read the entire Doyle Canon... that's kinda true. At the space bridge, they load cubes into the car... and he tosses a Reflector clone into the car to act as a pilot. "Say hi to the old gang on Cybertron!" And he... makes it up. With the energon. That's kind of a victory for the bad guys, there.

The Autobots find the space bridge. Reflector uses his flash to blind them while rain starts up. Starscream goes to attack them, but Megatron tells him to let them go. Ironhide freezes him... while Bluestreak blasts the Reflectors, who touch each other and merge. Sure, why not? They transform and roll into the bridge, going back home.

On Cybertron, Ironhide conveniently finds a backpack of liquid nitrogen... maybe for firefighting purposes? He uses it to freeze part of the wall and blow through it, then uses adhesive on Shockwave and the Reflector. Back at Earth, Megatron commands the a group of neon-colored seekers who are known in fandom as the rainmakers to use "Acid rain!"

The Autobots find Wheeljack's lab and Chip gets the door open. Huzzah! They find the cosmotron as the rainmakers hit sudden clouds overhead and red rain falls. Sorry, no Peter Gabriel song here. Oh, and Chip's not affected by the rain. Did you expect him to be? Megatron now gets the troops ready for battle. "For once, Starscream, we agree!" Back at the Ark, they've done all they can.

On Cybertron, Chip rallies the Autobots. "Failed, Chip. Acid storm... disabled cir-cuitry." "No one is ever really disabled as long as he has courage!" Trailbreaker tries for a force field while Bluestreak shoots the clouds. They roll for the space bridge and for Prime's life. Shockwave and the Reflector get free just as they roll in... but the Autobots get back to Earth. Now it's a race to get the cosmotron to the Ark.

Back there, it's dire. ""I'm sorry, Spike. Sometimes nothing you do makes any difference." Harsh. Spike looks shell shocked, almost. "Optimus Prime, dead. Just then Teletraan-One picks up Megatron's attack force. "Oh, we're doomed!" Shut up, Huffer! It seems to snap Spike out of his funk as he grabs Jazz's gun and rallies them. "Well, are you with me, or do I fight this battle alone?!"

And the first Autobot to join him... is Huffer. "We get your message, Spike." Finally! They transform and roll out, Wheeljack and Ratchet staying behind to guard Prime. Hound detects them as they swoop in and the fight is on. It's actually fairly brutal. Ravage attacks Spike, still using Jazz's gun. "Ravage, bad kitty!" And Ravage takes him out. Starscream says they're using too much energy, so Megatron starts shooting. Ironhide, Bluestreak and Trailbreaker join the fight as Bumblebee gets the cosmotron to Prime!

Megatron gloats. "Is there anyone in the universe who will challenge the might of Megatron?" And one voice calls out. "There is one, Megatron! I, Optimus Prime, challenge you!"

Starscream... hehe, calls him out on it. "He accepted your challenge, leader. The battle code requires you to engage him in combat-alone." Megatron fires, but Prime falls off and tackles him! And it turns out Megatron used up too much power. Oh, the irony! Starscream calls him out on it. Prime... uses eye beams. "Megatron, do you yield?"

Starscream is just loving this. "Retreat, and take our leader back for repairs." The Autobots celebrate, but Chip, Sparkplug and Spike are... worried. "I guess that takes care of the Decepticons." "Uh, uh. They'll be back. I just know it. Thay'll be back."

Thoughts

This was pretty damned dark. Not as dark as some later episodes, but wow. Prime almost dies. The Decepticons... manage to pull off some minor victories and almost kill all the Autobots.

But the big thing-the HUGE thing is at the beginning. That weapons plant. Obviously the first part of the Autobot/Earth treaty of 1984. Weapons technology for energy. Signatories include Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Yuri Andropov, Pierre Trudeau, Francois Mitterrand, and others.

And now... one of those episodes I point to whenever someone asks, "Why do you like Transformers?"

Fire In The Sky
It's... snowing at the Ark. Rather heavily it looks, too. Spike comes upon a rather large snowman, but it turns out to be Jazz! How'd the hell he get covered like that? There's some bad puns that still make me smile, simply at the sight of the Autobots having fun. It's a big snowball fight. Spike gets hit by a snowball, rolls down a hill... and encases the other Autobots in snow. Oh, it's July in the middle of the desert, too. Prime, thank Vector Sigma, is actually worried.

Teletraan-One reports that temps are 40 degrees below normal and falling. "Entire planet, freezing." Prime postulates the energy from the core is being drained. Gears thinks it's the Decepticons... and we go to the North Pole, and a large green crystal. A Reflector plugs in an energy conduit and they're filling up energon cubes. It's a shaft leading right to the Earth's core. Hmm, must be where Santa plugs in for power.

Rumble is pounding out a tunnel when Skywarp appears and mocks him. Rumble hits is... and causes a cave-in. Rumble sees a metal hook protruding out of a wall, rather well-drawn too. Starscream shows up and sees it... it's a one-second shot but his expression is one of pure shock. He's also rather agreeable with Megatron and... the voice. It's his, but no screech. This is such good work. He melts more ice until we get a clearer look at it. "With its size and probable strength, he will make an excellent Decepticon."

Back at the Ark, they detect energy readings at the Arctic Circle. And the Sky Spy finds the crystal and the Decepticons. They roll out! "Arctic Circle, here we come!" Yes, they drive there. I guess they don't have to stop for gas.

Back with the Decepticons, they have the chassis out. "Whatever it is, being on ice kept it fresh!" "But not perfect. Impulse centers down." They start trying to boot him up... and here it comes. "Starscream, why are you concerned about this creature?" "Because I knew him once, a long time ago on Cybertron."

Soundwave spins his arm... and it turns into a large drum, which he uses to give 'Skyfire' a larger jolt. And again, Starscream's voice... no screech. There's a monitor coming out of Skyfire's forehead that shows what happened to him. "Skyfire and I were both explorers from Cybertron." We see an image of he and Starscream transforming. Sadly, Screamer's an F-15... but no faction symbols on his wings.

"That must have been shortly before our final falling out with the Autobots." Ooh, interesting tidbit! They were exploring Earth when Skyfire got caught up in a polar storm and they were separated. "I circled half the globe searching for him, but he was gone." And now, millions of earth years later, you have found him." And he stirs...

He sees his old friend. "You have... rescued me. But where am I? This is not Cybertron." Starscream fills him in a bit, but Megatron buts in and gives... his version of events. Well, nothing dishonest.

We cut to the Autobots driving up and they see the Aurora Borealis. "Very pleasing to my optic sensors." So... they drove there. And back to Skyfire receiving his brand. He's hesitant at best. "And destruction to all Autobots!" "Destruction..."

He talks to Starscream, who reassures him. It's awkward at best. Skyfire doesn't know what to do! He goes on patrol and encounters the Autobots. "It seems the time has come for me to make the change from science to war."

How many Transformers made that statement during the opening salvos of the Great War?

Prime accidentally IDs them as Autobots and it's on! Skyfire fires and blasts them. Spike and Sparkplug go running... with Spike falling into a crack in the ice. He's not dead from hypothermia?! They're stranded, but no go. They're pinned down. Skyfire... goes to rescue them! "I'll try to communicate with them." He picks them up. "I will not harm you." He says just as we see his Deceptibrand. "Then why are you wearing the Decepticon symbol?" Spike tries to talk to him... but Skyfire takes him to Megatron. Ho, wow. He's just walking off and Prime can't do anything!

Back at the Decepticons, Spike and Sparkplug are imprisoned. Skyfire's confused and doubtful. Megatron and Starscream chastise him-and Starscream shoots him in the hand, calling the flesh creatures useless.

"My function is to further science and learning, not to destroy innocent life forms." Oh, wow. We cut to the Autobots getting ready to strike. They move out, but several of them fall down a collapsing ice floe. They drive along a tunnel while Prime and his group hear Spike's cries for help. Cliffjuimper gets them out while Ironhide finds the Decepticon's operations. Megatron is.. pleasant. "Ah, the work goes well." He also spots Ironhide's group.

Ravage goes on scouting and finds Prime's group. He tackles Cliffjumper while Prime shoots him. Then gets buried by ice. "One Decepticon down and a whole mess to go. On the surface, Starscream and Skyfire are there. Starscream... doesn't get it. He wants Skyfire to kill them, but he won't. "I'm a scientist, not an executioner." Insert McCoy joke here. He won't, so STarscream shoots him. And the screech is back. He shoots the Autobots and they blow up!

He walks off, but it was simply Hound's hologram. Then you are functioning, good." Skyfire then passes out. Hound is rather... sympathetic. "Yeah, we're functioning. I sure hope we'll be able to say the same for you." Ratchet fixes him up. Cliffjumper's confused to why Starscream blasted him. Natch. Laserbeak reports and Megatron's chest flashes... which I guess is a signal or something? He throws a cube at Starscream's head. They scramble and attack the Autobots. Ratchet stays by Skyfire's side but is blasted. Prime transforms and deploys his combat deck. It blasts Skywarp... who crashes right into Thundercracker. Slag!

Megatron tries to ambush Prime and we get a rather good fight, including one part where they grapple, Megatron jumps up, his midsection rotates around and he lands, spinning his upper body around to hit Prime from behind. Prime spins his wrist to deflect a jump. Skyfire approaches and Megatron doesn't know what happened. Skyfire rips off his brand and puts on an Autobrand. All right! Starscream attacks and they fight in the air. "Time to even the score, friend." Oh, this is sad. Starscream gets clipped and crashes, but Skyfire also goes down.

He has enough energy for one last shot and buries the crystal before crashing, being buried. Later, the Autobots hold a memorial. It's a series of concentric circles where he crashed.

The energy drain was stopped, the Earth will heat up and the Decepticons were defeated... "But Skyfire is... is gone."

"He won't be forgotten, Spike. He will live forever, so long as freedom exists. We shall remember you, Skyfire."

"We shall remember."

Thoughts
Starsceam and Skyfire, two friends torn by war. This... they didn't have to make this episode. But they did, and I'm glad. Fairly serious, somewhat compressed but...

This is what war does. It tears people apart. It's wrong.