ZeroWolf wrote:I see your view now, I disagree with it but I understand better. As I said treat this as different from what you know, like beast wars etc. As for the focus? Well G1 nostalgia (remember season 3 and the rebirth are not remembered fondly for different reasons) is key, but overtime IDW has shown a willingness to change hence we have brand new characters taking centre stage like windblade, brand new takes on character's like starscream which evolve well beyond what G1 would of let them. You mention Thundercracker, well he's come a long way, playing a key role in several arcs.
For what it's worth though I would recommend More than meets the eye/lost light as hot rod takes center stage along with a host of other not well known characters and several new ones. It's also the series that most focused on autobot megatron, really delving into his mind set .
See the thing about G1, when you go back and re-watch it. Season one and two aren't great. Just the pilot alone, with Megatron cackling "excellent" over and over again like a mechanical Mr. Burns, is quite cringe inducing now. See at least in The Movie, Megatron is genuinely intimidating.
As I've said elsewhere, I never really paid all that much attention to the Pre-Movie seasons and so actually watched them properly when they were re-released on DVD about 15 years ago. For all the rose tinted nostalgia, Season 1 & 2 are aimless. Aside from the occasional cliffhanger there is no overall progressing narrative. The serialised nature of Season 3 however, is a noticeable improvement instantly.
The Five Faces of Darkness was more engaging a story than any plot from before The Movie. True, Season 3 did also have the single worst episode of G1 ever ( B.O.T.) but no TF series has ever had all winning episodes IE BW 'The Low Road'. At the end of the day the people who didn't like Season 3 & 4 because "_____" wasn't in it, having died in the Movie, that comes down to fans unwilling to accept change,as opposed to any fault of the Seasons themselves.
The characters of Season 3 & 4 looked more like they are supposed to also. Futuristic alien robots, which is the entire point of Transformers. Countless writers and creators seem oblivious to the fact that the Cybertronians aren't just 'people in robot suits' they are a sentient alien race.
So they get dumbed down and humanised instead. A mark I actually hold against MTMTE and Lost Light, from what little I read in Phase Two. Vol.1 of the HC Collection. If you can't write about alien robots as alien robots, write a book about people instead.
Simon Furman gets these characters. The -Ations in particular parallels the alien nature of the Transformers with relateability, without retreading the characterisation of his previous G1 series.
Giving them understandable personalities without forcing human feelings and behaviors upon them. That's what the human supporting cast is for after all, not the Bots themselves.
His Hot Rod Spotlight perfectly encapsulated everything about his character, both as Hot Rod and the doubts that drove him as Rodimus Prime.
A
good writer adapts their style to a pre-established series, they don't change a series to suit them. That is how you end up with the Costa run...
End of off topic Rant.