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That was dumb.

On the series which I finished watching yesterday: Really lame. Bumblebee kills Magatron ? Cmon…And why did they even bother to go as far as Prime calling his crew the “Beast Hunters” when the beasts never actually materialized ? The toy line probally set a record for the most new molds created never to get an appearance in the TV series. I count at least 10 beasts not counting the repaints. I have a feeling at some point the whole script was re-written to accommodate the cancellation of a planned season 4. Maybe because Michael Bay had just scored a deal for 3 more Transformer films and Peter Culen can only do so much. That’s just my opinion.

Come on now, it's dumb yeah, but it's aimed at children. *he says after making a critique about the show in the appropriate forum*

Rated X wrote:The toy line probally set a record for the most new molds created never to get an appearance in the TV series. I count at least 10 beasts not counting the repaints.

Have you SEEN the Beast Wars/Beast Machines toy line?

Fires_Of_Inferno wrote:Come on now, it's dumb yeah, but it's aimed at children. *he says after making a critique about the show in the appropriate forum*

Rated X wrote:The toy line probally set a record for the most new molds created never to get an appearance in the TV series. I count at least 10 beasts not counting the repaints.

Have you SEEN the Beast Wars/Beast Machines toy line?

I wasn't collecting when those TV series were on the air, so no. How bad is it ?

But I honestly feel there was intention to include these characters in the script, but then something happened that forced a cancellation and script change. Maybe not Abominus, but the deluxes and that green voyager with the wings. Not to mention that blue lion character that was in the same wave with Skyquake. New molds cost alot, and the TV cast always sells better in stores and Hasbro knows that. Something had to go wrong in my opinion.

Rated X wrote:

Fires_Of_Inferno wrote:Come on now, it's dumb yeah, but it's aimed at children. *he says after making a critique about the show in the appropriate forum*

Rated X wrote:The toy line probally set a record for the most new molds created never to get an appearance in the TV series. I count at least 10 beasts not counting the repaints.

Have you SEEN the Beast Wars/Beast Machines toy line?

I wasn't collecting when those TV series were on the air, so no. How bad is it ?

But I honestly feel there was intention to include these characters in the script, but then something happened that forced a cancellation and script change. Maybe not Abominus, but the deluxes and that green voyager with the wings. Not to mention that blue lion character that was in the same wave with Skyquake. New molds cost alot, and the TV cast always sells better in stores and Hasbro knows that. Something had to go wrong in my opinion.

Quite bad. We're talking like, 40 figures for BW and 20 or more for BM.

http://www.seibertron.com/toys/index.ph ... type=exact

As for the blue lion dude. That was Thundertron. He was captain of the Star Seekers, a faction of space pirates who's home planet was destroyed by Cybertronians, so he hates all of them (Autobot and Decepticon). I believe he was actually supposed to be part of the Aligned Continuity line, but they released him in the TF:P:RID line for some reason.

Fires_Of_Inferno wrote:As for the blue lion dude. That was Thundertron. He was captain of the Star Seekers, a faction of space pirates who's home planet was destroyed by Cybertronians, so he hates all of them (Autobot and Decepticon). I believe he was actually supposed to be part of the Aligned Continuity line, but they released him in the TF:P:RID line for some reason.

Dare I..?

Aligned is the overall continuity, Prime is part of it. Thundertron has appeared in the continuity between the end of the games and the beginning of Prime, in the Exiles ..sigh.. novel. May feature in the upcoming novel, Retribution.

Va'al wrote:

Fires_Of_Inferno wrote:As for the blue lion dude. That was Thundertron. He was captain of the Star Seekers, a faction of space pirates who's home planet was destroyed by Cybertronians, so he hates all of them (Autobot and Decepticon). I believe he was actually supposed to be part of the Aligned Continuity line, but they released him in the TF:P:RID line for some reason.

Dare I..?

Aligned is the overall continuity, Prime is part of it. Thundertron has appeared in the continuity between the end of the games and the beginning of Prime, in the Exiles ..sigh.. novel. May feature in the upcoming novel, Retribution.

Same thing.

I'm not really into the Transformers novels. I prefer TV/Movie/Comic format when it comes to Transformers. This is off-topic however.

Rated X wrote:Really lame. Bumblebee kills Magatron ? Cmon…

At least it wasn't Optimus....*sigh* again.

And why did they even bother to go as far as Prime calling his crew the “Beast Hunters” when the beasts never actually materialized ?

They were hunting Predacon remains. What did you want them to call it? Fossil Hunters?

PrymeStriker wrote:

Rated X wrote:Really lame. Bumblebee kills Magatron ? Cmon…

At least it wasn't Optimus....*sigh* again.

And why did they even bother to go as far as Prime calling his crew the “Beast Hunters” when the beasts never actually materialized ?

They were hunting Predacon remains. What did you want them to call it? Fossil Hunters?

"Relic Hunter"

Mykltron wrote:If they'd published before the end of the series it would serve a purpose. Clearly Starscream is no longer trying to impress Megatron.

Up until Megs's death, he was.

Rated X wrote:On the series which I finished watching yesterday: Really lame. Bumblebee kills Magatron ? Cmon…

Bee's the one who deserved it the most, since Megatron took his voice from him and Bee finally got his revenge.

Rated X wrote:And why did they even bother to go as far as Prime calling his crew the “Beast Hunters” when the beasts never actually materialized ?

Cuz they were hunting beast bones. They made that perfectly clear in the show.

Rated X wrote:I have a feeling at some point the whole script was re-written to accommodate the cancellation of a planned season 4. Maybe because Michael Bay had just scored a deal for 3 more Transformer films and Peter Culen can only do so much. That’s just my opinion.

This would be incorrect. There wasn't a planned season 4, nor was this show cancelled. They planned to end the show with three seasons of 65 episodes from the very beginning, ever since they started working on the show. What we saw is exactly how they they wanted it to end.

Fires_Of_Inferno wrote:Come on now, it's dumb yeah, but it's aimed at children.

So was G1 (even moreso). What's your point?

Rated X wrote:But I honestly feel there was intention to include these characters in the script, but then something happened that forced a cancellation and script change. Maybe not Abominus, but the deluxes and that green voyager with the wings. Not to mention that blue lion character that was in the same wave with Skyquake. New molds cost alot, and the TV cast always sells better in stores and Hasbro knows that. Something had to go wrong in my opinion.

Nope. There was no cancellation. The show and the toyline were simply operating under different mindsets. Adding the beast theme to the show was a late decision that came as an afterthought.

The reason so few characters appeared in the show compared to the toyline is the obvious one: CGI is expensive. They can only afford to make an use so many models, hence why the vast Decepticon army consisted of Stormtrooper-type lookalikes. Had we gotten an army of beasts in the show, chances are they'd likely have all similarly been multiples of the same design.

And that lion was made to promote the novels, not the cartoon.

Va'al wrote:Aligned is the overall continuity, Prime is part of it. Thundertron has appeared in the continuity between the end of the games and the beginning of Prime, in the Exiles ..sigh.. novel. May feature in the upcoming novel, Retribution.

He will, yes.

Sabrblade wrote:

Mykltron wrote:If they'd published before the end of the series it would serve a purpose. Clearly Starscream is no longer trying to impress Megatron.

Up until Megs's death, he was.

Rated X wrote:On the series which I finished watching yesterday: Really lame. Bumblebee kills Magatron ? Cmon…

Bee's the one who deserved it the most, since Megatron took his voice from him and Bee finally got his revenge.

Rated X wrote:And why did they even bother to go as far as Prime calling his crew the “Beast Hunters” when the beasts never actually materialized ?

Cuz they were hunting beast bones. They made that perfectly clear in the show.

Rated X wrote:I have a feeling at some point the whole script was re-written to accommodate the cancellation of a planned season 4. Maybe because Michael Bay had just scored a deal for 3 more Transformer films and Peter Culen can only do so much. That’s just my opinion.

This would be incorrect. There wasn't a planned season 4, nor was this show cancelled. They planned to end the show with three seasons of 65 episodes from the very beginning, ever since they started working on the show. What we saw is exactly how they they wanted it to end.

Fires_Of_Inferno wrote:Come on now, it's dumb yeah, but it's aimed at children.

So was G1 (even moreso). What's your point?

Rated X wrote:But I honestly feel there was intention to include these characters in the script, but then something happened that forced a cancellation and script change. Maybe not Abominus, but the deluxes and that green voyager with the wings. Not to mention that blue lion character that was in the same wave with Skyquake. New molds cost alot, and the TV cast always sells better in stores and Hasbro knows that. Something had to go wrong in my opinion.

Nope. There was no cancellation. The show and the toyline were simply operating under different mindsets. Adding the beast theme to the show was a late decision that came as an afterthought.

The reason so few characters appeared in the show compared to the toyline is the obvious one: CGI is expensive. They can only afford to make an use so many models, hence why the vast Decepticon army consisted of Stormtrooper-type lookalikes. Had we gotten an army of beasts in the show, chances are they'd likely have all similarly been multiples of the same design.

And that lion was made to promote the novels, not the cartoon.

Va'al wrote:Aligned is the overall continuity, Prime is part of it. Thundertron has appeared in the continuity between the end of the games and the beginning of Prime, in the Exiles ..sigh.. novel. May feature in the upcoming novel, Retribution.

He will, yes.

Saberblade I can buy into most of what youre saying. But Im finding it a little hard to swallow that Lazerback and Ripclaw weren’t meant to be in the show at some point. I believe Lazerback was in stores before Season 3 even aired on TV. Granted it’s very Hasbroish for the toy line and the cartoon to be on different pages. But when has that ever affected wave 1 in any current toy line ? You usually start seeing the repaints and extras that didn’t make the cut by waves 3 and beyond. I can’t remember any wave 1 Bayformer molds that weren’t in one of the movies. (not counting repaints or video game figures) I believe the same thing holds true for wave 1 of the Animated series. I honestly believe there was a change after the toys were already in production, but before the TV series was finished. Naming an entire season after a 3 episode hunt for bones is lame even by Hasbro standards. And don’t forget the season 3 trailer where Shockwave was scared as s**t and said “The Beasts are Coming”. That doesn’t exactly go along with the plot we got.


And then to top it all off there’s this clip which seems to be official:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLz1B97rbAM

Rated X wrote:Saberblade I can buy into most of what youre saying. But Im finding it a little hard to swallow that Lazerback and Ripclaw weren’t meant to be in the show at some point. I believe Lazerback was in stores before Season 3 even aired on TV. Granted it’s very Hasbroish for the toy line and the cartoon to be on different pages. But when has that ever affected wave 1 in any current toy line ? You usually start seeing the repaints and extras that didn’t make the cut by waves 3 and beyond. I can’t remember any wave 1 Bayformer molds that weren’t in one of the movies. (not counting repaints or video game figures) I believe the same thing holds true for wave 1 of the Animated series. I honestly believe there was a change after the toys were already in production, but before the TV series was finished.

It's not so hard to believe when one considers that they weren't even going to have Predacons be in the show to begin with. That came as a late decision long after series finale was already planned out and set. The entire beast theme for season 3 was decided upon very late in the game, by which point there would have been little to no time to add in a whole other faction of new characters. Hence, all we got was Predaking, and later we'll get Darksteel and Skylynx (but none else) in the Predacons Rising movie.

Rated X wrote:Naming an entire season after a 3 episode hunt for bones is lame even by Hasbro standards.

I won't disagree with that, since it was indeed that subtitle that led people to believe that the Project: Predacon subplot would be anything more than that, a subplot.

But, Hasbro's reasoning for doing it was likely to create a look of uniformity and consistency between the show and the toyline, so as to market each better.

Rated X wrote:And don’t forget the season 3 trailer where Shockwave was scared as s**t and said “The Beasts are Coming”. That doesn’t exactly go along with the plot we got.

That's because it was never for the show to begin with. It was a clip from the "Hunt the Beasts" interactive game on Hasbro's website that let you explore Shockwave's lab.

Rated X wrote:And then to top it all off there’s this clip which seems to be official:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLz1B97rbAM

That too is a clip from the Hasbro.com game.


An even greater example of how the show differed from the toyline is in the toyline's "Tales of the Beast Hunters" storyline found in each toy's instruction sheets, in which it tells a story that uses all of the characters from the toyline, but drastically contradicts the events of the cartoon. The Autobots find their toy weapons in an old ship in space, Megatron goes missing and Starscream is framed for it, Shockwave creates every Predacon who has a toy, Lazerback has his own agenda, Predaking is tyrannical warlord, etc. etc.

Speaking of which, even Predaking in the show was nothing like how the toys presented him. The toy bios and story made him out to be this monstrous villain bent on death and destruction, whereas the cartoon made him out to be a noble and compassionate individual trying to find his place in the world and bring honor to his race. If anything, the cartoon version of Predaking is so different from how Hasbro envisioned the toy character that he makes Voyager Grimwing feel redundant and unnecessary, having basically the same personality as in Grimwing bio.

The official Transformers YouTube channel has uploaded their latest "Beast Bites" video, Meet Bulkhead. Check out the video embedded below.

Beast Bites! Bite size clips featuring all your favorite Transformers Beast Hunters characters. Meet Bulkhead! This brawny giant is the muscle of the Autobots. And while he's always ready to do battle, he's got a big ole' heart to go with that rough and ready attitude. For more Transformers Beast Hunters go to Transformers.com/beasts.

Soundwave

"Silent computer geek" is the most descriptive personality trait we've ever gotten of the guy.

The latest Transformers Prime Beast Bites Bio from the official Transformers YouTube channels focuses on fan favorite Soundwave. Check out the embedded video below.

Meet Soundwave! This silent computer geek puts his money where his mouth is, and substitutes speech for action. Watch out for the quiet ones! Beast Bites! Bite size clips featuring all your favorite Transformers Beast Hunters characters. For more Transformers Beast Hunters go to http://Transformers.com/beasts.

The official Transformers YouTube channel has just uploaded the latest in the Transformers Prime Beast Bites Bio series, "Meet Acree". Check out the embedded video below.

Didn't we meet her a couple of years back when the series started!?!

Whats next? Hey everyone, there's this new Transformers series and its awesome but we will kill it off just as its getting really good.

Ravage XK wrote:Whats next? Hey everyone, there's this new Transformers series and its awesome but we will kill it off just as its getting really good.

"Killing it off" would have been stopping the show before episode 65.

I honestly believe the Bay contract for TF 4,5, and 6 is what killed TF Prime. I have no proof, but Im not buying into the official explanations that we indeed got the original script as it was intended. No way are they gonna name a whole series after a term that was only used loosly for a couple episodes (Beast Hunters) Predaking was supposed to have an army and it was very suspect that they were killed off before they became relevant. Yet so many beasts were made in the toy line. And Im not buying the old "CG is too expensive" excuse people have suggested about Lazerback, Ripclaw, Grimwing, etc. Only having one Beast (Predaking) just doesnt seem to go along with any logical reason to call the series Beast Hunters. I honestly believe when they came up with the name, the idea was that the Autobots would be hunting actual Beasts most of the season, not bones for a couple episodes. I think Hasbro just told Peter Cullen, we got something more important for you to work on. Keep the check we gave you, and heres a bigger check. For those of you who believe Hasbro, more power to you. But in the real world, corporations improvise when a decision needs to be made. Then put out a carefully written statement that makes them look good but might not be the real truth.

Rated X wrote:I honestly believe the Bay contract for TF 4,5, and 6 is what killed TF Prime.

They stopped making episodes because they wanted to. The ending that we got is the ending they wanted all along. This isn't like what happened with Animated season 4 getting axed. There was never going to be more story to TF: Prime beyond the resurrection of Cybertron. The fact that we're getting an epilogue movie as a bonus is nothing short of a stroke of good fortune.

Rated X wrote:I have no proof, but Im not buying into the official explanations that we indeed got the original script as it was intended.

Why? What reasons could they possibly have for lying about how the business works when so many other shows that ended without cancellation have done the exact same thing?

Rated X wrote:No way are they gonna name a whole series after a term that was only used loosly for a couple episodes (Beast Hunters)

It wasn't its own series. It was season 3 of Transformers: Prime, with a subtitle forced upon it by Hasbro's wanting to promote a new sales gimmick, just like Armada's "The Unicron Battles", Energon's "The Powerlinx Battles", Cybertron's "Primus Unleashed", and more.

Rated X wrote:Predaking was supposed to have an army and it was very suspect that they were killed off before they became relevant. Yet so many beasts were made in the toy line. And Im not buying the old "CG is too expensive" excuse people have suggested about Lazerback, Ripclaw, Grimwing, etc.

Do you have any experience in the field of CGI development? Or have you researched any history of CG television shows? If so, you would know good and well and that CGI is an expensive thing.

Look at past fully CG TF shows. Beast Wars had a TON of toy characters, yet only had no more than 5 to 7 regular characters per faction each season. Same with Beast Machines. 4 to 7 Maximals, 3 to 4 Vehicons at at a time, and the only armies were duplicates of existing models.

Energon and Cybertron could get away with bigger casts because A) those shows were only half-CG, and B) their CG was utter crud by comparison to the fully CG shows.

Rated X wrote:Only having one Beast (Predaking) just doesnt seem to go along with any logical reason to call the series Beast Hunters.

Hence why the name led to many being fooled by its misleading nature.

Rated X wrote:I honestly believe when they came up with the name, the idea was that the Autobots would be hunting actual Beasts most of the season, not bones for a couple episodes.

More like the toy company wanted to do something that was forced upon the cartoon that already had its ending set in stone, and this is far from the first time the toy makers forced a major change upon the fiction to sell toys.

Rated X wrote:I think Hasbro just told Peter Cullen, we got something more important for you to work on. Keep the check we gave you, and heres a bigger check. For those of you who believe Hasbro, more power to you. But in the real world, corporations improvise when a decision needs to be made. Then put out a carefully written statement that makes them look good but might not be the real truth.

And yet, even when ROTF was being made, that didn't put a halt to Animated's production.

This whole idea that the movies somehow dictate whether a cartoon should or shouldn't continue just reeks of paranoia.

Stinkin' Rescue Bots is still gonna keep going with its cartoon despite TF4 taking center stage. Wouldn't one think that something as minor as that show would get the boot before TF: Prime? I mean, if the movies did have some control over TF cartoons' airing, wouldn't Rescue Bots be the easiest target for TF4 to shut down?

I guess were just gonna have to agree to disagree.

I don’t believe Hasbro owes anyone an explanation as to what factors led up to their decision and at what production stage of season 3 the decision was implemented. But just because a statement is “official” doesn’t make it truthful. Maybe you believe the official statements made by our government on Roswell and Watergate too. I don’t.

Some of Hasbro's choices with Season 3 defy conventional logic. It just screams "improvise".

Rated X wrote:I don’t believe Hasbro owes anyone an explanation as to what factors led up to their decision and at what production stage of season 3 the decision was implemented. But just because a statement is “official” doesn’t make it truthful. Maybe you believe the official statements made by our government on Roswell and Watergate too. I don’t.

What reasons do we have to not believe Hasbro Studios giving similar explanations to other non-TF cartoons that also run up to 65 episodes?

For that matter, if we were to disbelieve anything Hasbro says, then what's the point in us believing anything that's ever said officially? By this logic, we should distrust anything and everything Hasbro says, has said, or ever will say. And since Hasbro makes or has other people make the fiction under their authority, that means we should distrust all of the fiction by extension. Thus, every single Transformers cartoon, comic, movie, book, game, etc. have all been filled with lies and falsehoods. There is no truth in Transformers.

On a less extreme note, how is TF: Prime ending at 65 any different from how past TF cartoons have ended? Of all past TF cartoons, Animated is the only one that was canned prematurely, as it had a fourth season planned in developmental stages. Beast Wars had no non-BM season 4 planned, Beast Machines had no non-Transtech season 3 planned, RiD was made to be a standalone filler, Armada had Energon as a follow up, Energon had Cybertron as a follow up, Cybertron had no follow up planned, and Rescue Bots is getting a new season despite TF4's approaching presence.

If you can find any concrete evidence of a post-Cybertron's rebirth season 4 of TF: Prime having ever been planned, I will gladly come to see things in new light.

Rated X wrote:Some of Hasbro's choices with Season 3 defy conventional logic. It just screams "improvise".

Season 1 was practically built on the term "improvise", having no clear direction or objective until the last ditch minute with the hasty introduction of Unicron. Season 3 was clear in its objective, being crafted into three coherent story arcs (the Darkmount arc, the Project Predacon arc, and the Cyber-Matter/"restore Cybertron" arc).

It's just that darn subtitle tacked onto Season 3 that got people all worked up over it. Even the upcoming epilogue movie, which is called "Predacons Rising" of all things, is being even more misleading by not having any actual Predacons beyond a measely two more "rising" at all.

If I were in charge, I would have disposed of that "Beast Hunters" subtitle so as not to lead people on with a false sense of hope for something like a whole other group of all new characters that ultimately wouldn't come. Predaking was basically treated as the "Dreadwing" of season 3, with the prospect of more Preds coming being not just a tease to get us excited for something too much to ask for, but a plot device to further Predaking's character arc. This show didn't need Predaking, and if not for the upcoming movie, he was almost completely wasted material.

Well ive stated in every post that this is my personal opinion and i have no proof. I could easily flip your question and ask you where is your solid evidence that hasbros statement is 100 percent honest ? It all boils down to your level of faith in hasbro or any corporation for that matter. I think if there was a reason to cut certain concepts characters, it would be in hasbros best interest not to say. Thag might create fan backlash over what the show could have been. I never really suggested that a season 4 was cancelled. I suggested the script was changed and the beasts were cut from the show. But unlike the show, too much was invested in the toy line to completly erase the beasts from Existance. So they worked them in the script without actually showing them. Thats what i believe.who knows why ? But im sure it involved money or time in ione aspect or anothet.

But the show isn't the only piece of fiction to find promotion of the Predacon toys. Hasbro's own "Tales of the Beast Hunters" ongoing storyline (which itself is pretty much a proverbial middle finger to the cartoon) is all about the "Autobots vs. Predacons" conflict, having every single toy character being focused on and using all of the toys' gimmicks and features as plot devices. Even Dreadwing is featured in this, despite having died in the cartoon and being presented as though he never died at all. Who needs the show when Hasbro's got this storyline to give them all the Predacon exposure they need?

A hardcore fan might know about the alternate stotyline you speak of, but what about your average kid ? If one is only exposed to the cartoon and the toys they will definitely ponder why season 3 is what it is. Wasnt lazerback available in stores the same week season 3 premired on the hub ? Usually leftover molds are saved for final molds. Im just not buying into that these molds were just created for the sake of being created. Thats more along the lines of repaints. Hell even stealth bumblebee from that wave made it in the Cartoon. I believe the whole season 3 was done rushed. Time could have been a major issue. It just didnt seem well executed. At the prices spent, everything should make perfect sense.