The Energon Pub

But the G1 cartoon wasn't mature or well-scripted. It's quite a hard pill to swallow, I find. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a number of episodes, but I certainly don't find any of the characters to be well-rounded or engaging. Galvatron and Cyclonus were interesting, and Rodimus Prime was well done, but that's about all I can think of.

Well scripted and mature for a cartoon show aimed at 10 year old boys, I guess is a better way to put it. Though, when you think about the episode with Blaster and Tracks busting Screamers & Soundwave's dance club, you are dealing with all kinds of 'shades of grey' behavior not normally seen in a kid's cartoon.

Sure, there are lots of cheesy moments, (I can't watch the episode where they all got shrunk in the alien kid's toybox) and while not well rounded, there was at least some character development.

I guess, I think G1 gets more of a following is because it's a genuine show, full of all the faults of an 80's cartoon, and the A/E/C stuff is nothing but bad copies.

Most people with a happy childhood tend to revere the carefree years of their youth, especially the ages 5 to 15. Later, as an adult, nostalgia kicks in and people are attracted to what they loved when they were young because in some way it brings them back to that time period.


When a person first sees my TF collection, I usually get the question "why Transformers"? Usually all I have to say is I had them when I was a kid and they understand.


It also explains why many people's taste in music doesn't change much from their early teens. My wife, and many others, are big fans of eighties music - the music from their youth.


In the future, many kids today will revere what they loved when they were young. Whether it be TF Armada, Star Wars Ep 1, or whatever - that is what some collectors of the future will return to later in life.


That being said, there is something special about G1. Even my four year old prefers playing with my G1 toys over his Energon/Cybertron toys. Part of that is because they are "Daddy's Transformers" and part of it is because G1 Transformers are just plain cool.

Leonardo wrote:But the G1 cartoon wasn't mature or well-scripted. It's quite a hard pill to swallow, I find. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a number of episodes, but I certainly don't find any of the characters to be well-rounded or engaging. Galvatron and Cyclonus were interesting, and Rodimus Prime was well done, but that's about all I can think of.

Yea, I am the same. Seasons 1 and 2 were a bit silly to me. I mean the old Scooby Doo's from the 60's and 70's were darker than G1 seasons 1 & 2. And with exceptions of perhaps Soundwave and Wreck-Garr, I don't get that tingly feel with a G1 toy as I do with some of the others, like Beast Wars or Energon.

Okay time to settle this. I am 15 and I proudly say that I am a transformers fan because of Transformers Armada. Sure, I saw a couple of episodes of beast wars and I got a Transmetal Optimus Primal but it just wasn't enough to get me into collecting them. While Armada was what got me into collecting I have to say I enjoy G1 the best of any transformer series. When I watched transformers:the movie it had the same lasting impression of which most of you who saw the movie when it first came out had. I didn't know anybody from the movie besides Megatron and Optimus and by the end of it I knew everybody and each of their own distinct personalities. So while the new cartoons do bring new transformer fans, there will only be one G1.

GetterDragun wrote:I don't think they'll be remembered as fondly as G1. Primary reasons is the attitudes of kids today, they grow up too fast and don't have the fantasy that we used to have as a kid (or because we didn't have computers).

I also think the problem is is that the toys change so quickly, kids don't have the opportunity to say "Oh, I can't wait for Christmas to get that toy" when it is still June. I remember the same TFs being on the shelves for over a year. I guess it is playing to the attention span of kids now a days, two months and it's gone and the series only last a year.

I totally AGREE. I can't speak for anyone else, but I was so in love with the transformers that I couldn't wait to get home and sit through gi joe and the smurfs to watch optimus. In chicago when there was a cubs game WGN would cut programming to broadcast the game. I still hate the cubs. I watch my nephew and he has so much media thrown at him, internet , 24 cartoons, incredible video games, I mean look at pixar. He's smarter than I'll ever be, but he doesn't have to imagine very much. It's all done for him. It's sad to me really. Maybe I'm sad. ok that's it, I'm going to the bar...and I'm taking tracks with me.

unicron129 wrote:Okay time to settle this. I am 15 and I proudly say that I am a transformers fan because of Transformers Armada. Sure, I saw a couple of episodes of beast wars and I got a Transmetal Optimus Primal but it just wasn't enough to get me into collecting them. While Armada was what got me into collecting I have to say I enjoy G1 the best of any transformer series. When I watched transformers:the movie it had the same lasting impression of which most of you who saw the movie when it first came out had. I didn't know anybody from the movie besides Megatron and Optimus and by the end of it I knew everybody and each of their own distinct personalities. So while the new cartoons do bring new transformer fans, there will only be one G1.

Well put, you are wise beyond your years..

Thank you, I try...

Hmm, this is gonna sound kinda strange, but maybe the AEC trilogy isn't as appealing to kids cause it's too built around continuity, and not enough around stand-alone episodes. Plus, it's on at a crappy time(HUGE factor), but anyway, allow me to elaborate:

Back in the day, most of the episodes were self-contained, and a kid could watch an episode without waiting till the next week to find out what happened. For example, I didn't have satelite till '97, and my Fox station didn't air Beast Wars till around Beast Machines, but my bro taped me some Beast Wars episodes. It was only a handful of episodes, around ten or so, but it was enough for me to get to know the characters and the general Beast Universe. I also only had a very few episodes of G1 and the movie when I was a kid, but that along with some random figures must have been good enough, cause I'm here now, and collecting Transformers .

I also feel that most of the characters had a lot more screen time. Sure, some characters like the Dinobots didn't appear every episode, but when they did, it was memorable,

Duke of Luns wrote:Hmm, this is gonna sound kinda strange, but maybe the AEC trilogy isn't as appealing to kids cause it's too built around continuity, and not enough around stand-alone episodes. Plus, it's on at a crappy time(HUGE factor), but anyway, allow me to elaborate:

Back in the day, most of the episodes were self-contained, and a kid could watch an episode without waiting till the next week to find out what happened. For example, I didn't have satelite till '97, and my Fox station didn't air Beast Wars till around Beast Machines, but my bro taped me some Beast Wars episodes. It was only a handful of episodes, around ten or so, but it was enough for me to get to know the characters and the general Beast Universe. I also only had a very few episodes of G1 and the movie when I was a kid, but that along with some random figures must have been good enough, cause I'm here now, and collecting Transformers .

I also feel that most of the characters had a lot more screen time. Sure, some characters like the Dinobots didn't appear every episode, but when they did, it was memorable,

Some good points there!