The Energon Pub

Sat Nov 27, 2010 8:17 pm

Please do not troll me for this, but I really want to address it in my own topic. These are my honest thoughts so please don't be angry.

Transformers Prime is an awesome show... but I think people are already overblowing it.

Let me start with the positives, I like the voice cast. Optimus and Megatron have Cullen and Welker back... that's win enough. Josh Keaton, Steven Blum, Kevin Michael Richardson and others fit their roles nicely. The animation? Awesome. It took a while for the Movie-Animated merge to work unlike how the Windwaker-TwilightPrincess look of Skyward Sword kicked in automatically. It's nice and fluid and the backgrounds are neat. It's very much the best parts of Beast Wars meets the best parts of Animated and the best parts of the films together, making it a nice blend of past incarnations.

... that being said, I HATE that Bumblebee is relying on a radio to talk again. Admittedly I didn't mind this as much with the first film, mostly because he started talking at the end. One thing I disliked about Revenge of the Fallen, that I am a minority on, is Bumblebee is still using it to talk and it is STUPID. Every other Autobot and Decepticon has their own voice and it feels like he's been cheated without one. I like that we can read the feelings of both incarnations with their expressions, postures and the songs they use, but the idea of using a radio and beeping to talk instead of having to rely on a voice actor feels like a cop out. Using a radio makes me fear that he'll be mute if it gets removed or that he'll use the lyrics of a 50 cent song or something. I once heard a rumor that Keaton would voice Bumblebee, well why not? He would've been the second actor to voice BOTH Spider-Man and Bumblebee since Dan Gilvezan.
Another things I didn't like is the choice of characters. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I didn't like the characters, it is that... well... let me say this. Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Ratchet AND a lone wolf who turns into a motorcycle... what does this remind you of? This main cast feels like a rehash of that series to me. I would've liked seeing at least two different bots in the main cast or at least more than 5.
Also, I'm still upset they went with CG. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate it but we've seen CG enough in recent years with Pixar, Dreamworks along with other companies and we've seen plenty of Transformers in CG. Beast Wars, two shows of the Unicron trilogy, both films and the upcoming third film. One thing I loved about Animated was a return to traditional animation, I only believe that traditional would've been a better choice.

Still, it does look impressive with writing, voice cast and score... but nothing will ever top the first in my humble opinion. If you think it'll be the best, I can understand. They want to keep this show going for years, hoping more than the first. But even without these gripes of mine, while I think it WILL be a great series, I still say there are better.

News Credits: 3 · Sun Nov 28, 2010 8:59 am

I'll jump in and give my own opinion.

I think that the first 2 eps are a mixed bag, so I'll sum up my opinions so far:

Good:
- Having Starscream kill Cliffjumper in the first few minutes was awesome
- Arcee no longer transforms into Barbie's car
- Arcee actually kicks ass this time around
- The Autobots have limited technology and are essentially stranded
- There are hints of war with Megatron 3 years earlier, the US goverment was involved somehow (I'd really like to know more)
- The Decepticon ship has a kickass design
- The Decepticon drones look pretty menacing
- I like how the Autobots try to get out of "babysitting" duty
- Jack Darby seems pretty okay, his interactions with Arcee are pretty funny
- Miko Nakadai kinda reminds me of the Victory/Masterforce humans
- Ratchet's snarky remarks are pretty funny
- Lots of explosions

The bad:
- This version of Bumblebee annoys me to no end, he's the future Scrappy of this show
- I'm also annoyed with Raph, he's the Wesley , no doubt about it.
- The design's of the faces seem pretty wierd, it only seems to work for Ratchet and Arcee IMO.
- Where's the rest of the Autobots and Decepticons? Optimus and Megatron are the leaders of their respective factions not squadleaders.
- Miko is taking this all way too well
- I'm not too sure about Soundwave, his counterpart in Animated was far better written then this version

These are my current opinions, they'll no doubt change as the series progresses

Sun Nov 28, 2010 9:32 am

Everything is GREAT after re-watching it!!!

Still NO INTRO!!!

I hate shows without intros!!

And what's up with Frank Welker???

Why is he not doing the G1 Megatron's voice?????

I mean the voice is good.....BUT another actor could do that.

Where's the 1980's Frank Welker????

Sun Nov 28, 2010 12:40 pm

Here's what I didn't like:
Bumblebee not being able to talk is lame.
Soundwave - needs a personality.
The cast of characters is really small.
I was hoping for more of The Rock's sexy voice.
The dark story isn't really appropriate for small children.

Here's what I liked:
I liked the overall look of the show - good melding of Animated and the movies, backgrounds and special effects were really nice. I like that the animators didn't spend a lot of time trying to detail transformations - it was fluid.
I really liked the music in it - kinda reminded me of the new Star Trek movie. Wonder if it's the same composer?
Action packed from the very beginning! The story seems strong - there's also a background story built in - what happened before the setting of this story? Looking forward to finding out.
And...
The dark story isn't really appropriate for small children.

Sun Nov 28, 2010 12:43 pm

I've just watched the first 2 episodes and I thought they were great. Finally have what we've wanted since Beast Wars. I'm sorry, I like Animated but the crap humans villains really keep it from the top spot and no offence but I thought Animated Soundwave was terribly done. However, I always loved the G1 pilot and we saw how that show devolved with crap like Kremzeek and Alpha Trion. I'm hoping Prime won't follow in it's footsteps.

I do agree to a certain extent about the main cast choices. Bulk Head lacks the goofy charm of his Animated counterpart. I like my TF series as serious as possible but not at the expense of character. I'd have preferred to see Bulkhead get slagged and keep Cliffjumper. He kind of reminded me of the Ninja Turtle, Raphael which I like.

I will also agree on Megatron's voice. But overall, these first couple of episodes are showing a lot of promise and hopefully will deliver.

News Credits: 1 · Sun Nov 28, 2010 6:09 pm

Ive just watched the first ep thanks to some darling person putting them up on Youtube (I <3 them for this) and I do like what I see. Arcee is now my new fav what a kick ass chick she is. Bulkhead- cool. Kevin Michael Richardson is a cool mofo, Ratchet- great still has the grumpiness to him, Cliffjumper- OMG not the disaster I was expecting. Prime and Megs- Cullen and Welker enough said.

Mon Nov 29, 2010 12:49 am

havent seen it yet but I was dissapointed to see the cast choice.....as said above its not enough.

News Credits: 2 · Mon Nov 29, 2010 5:25 pm

One thing I do like is Bumblebee's radio speak.

Lots of things going on and I just have to keep telling myself its the first few eps, lots of characters being introduced as well as the main theme.

Frank as Cullen is win.

Soundwave has yet to speak in his own voice I am hoping that Frank is gonna do it.

News Credits: 1 · Tue Nov 30, 2010 8:30 am

I love it. This is the Transformers cartoon series i've been waiting for, for a long, long time.

I knew there were going to be things i did'nt like about it, but its really shale in comparison to what is being presented here. My major issue is the art style, but the story and presentation are good enough to over look it.

I know i'll be religiously watching this series until it ends, and hopefully it goes as many seasons as Beast Wars did, if not more.

News Credits: 37 · Tue Nov 30, 2010 11:05 am

IDK if I like it better than Animated, but I do like it better than the movies...slightly. I love that its dark. I've been waiting for a super dark TF show forever! Animated was dark in Season 3 and a few moments in seasons 1 and 2, but I wanted one that comes out dark. Like this one. The movies don't count, because I mean a cartoon thats dark. I want to see robot guts and crap flying through the screen! Robot decapitations (movie Optimus) and dismemberment! Thats what TF Prime seems to be like. And I hope it does scare the little kids away, and their parents. Because this...is how Transformers should have been from the start!

Things I don't like is how Bumblebee talks with that damn beeping! This isn't the movies let it go! Ratchet voice sounds wierd. I can't tell if hes pissed or happy, sad or glad, he just...has a voice. The characters are just Animated all over again. Would it kill you to have some damn creativity? But I love what they did with Megatron at the end. Looke like hes going to be INDESTRUCTABLE! Unicron will rise.

Tue Nov 30, 2010 3:12 pm

I love it. Granted, I do have a tendency to be blindly faithful to the things I love, but I really do think that Prime has started off really well.

I'm very happy with the voice acting. Prime isn't really Prime without Cullen, and I think Frank Welker's new Megatron voice is perfect. It's enough to be recognizeable as Megatron, but not so grating on the ears.
I am in agreement that Bumblebee's beeping is not a good idea. Bumblebee should not be R2D2.
I'm holding out for a great Soundwave voice... I hope he has one, and isn't just a sound effects/parrot bot.

I actually like the animation, for the most part. I wish Optimus Prime would put away his mouth, but the transformation and fight sequences are fluid and awesome.

I could care less about the kids at this point, but I am liking the interaction between Arcee and Aladdin Jack. Miko's voice drives me crazy for some reason, and I can tell that Raf is going to be very annoying, but as of now, it's not too bad.

I'm loving Arcee. It's about time we got a lady on the main cast, and damn, she is awesome. Her snarky dialogue, her anger, her asskicking skills... And as an added bonus, she's not pink! I predict great things.
On the downside, she did kinda hog the spotlight. I haven't seen enough of Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Ratchet, or even Optimus Prime to really have strong opinions yet.

The concept of Decepticon drones is a good idea, because it makes the Decepticon army huge and terrifying, but I'm hoping we'll see more than three real characters at some point. Of course, I'm already completely sold on Starscream. Points to him for being a badass murderer. I also love how he seems so jittery and nervous with Megatron around. It's like he'll toss out the sarcastic comment every now and then, but he's keeping his distance. I'm wondering how long it will take this Starscream to attempt a takeover.

Aaah, one more thing that drove me crazy. A lot of the music sounded SO similar to the music in the Star Trek movie. As a Trekkie, I actually found this to be distracting.

Anyway, I've only been a Transformers fan for about two years now, so I'm so thrilled to finally be able to follow a series as it develops. Whether Prime keeps up the momentum or totally fails, I'll be watching it.

News Credits: 14 · Tue Nov 30, 2010 6:46 pm

Finally got around to watching the first 2 parts of Darkness Rising.

All in all it was a pleasant experience.

I like the design, though they are little Movie-ish in some cases, and definitely Animated in others. But overall it works. I don;t ind the CG, I think it actually gives the characters a more mechanical look.

The Humans, well, it seems we have one of each here. The relate-able one, the know-it-all Wesley type, and the overwhelmingly annoying one. I'll let you decide who's who.

Cullen as always excels as Prime, however seems o have forgotten Megatron, hope he works a little into the character as the episodes progress.

I don't understand why Starscream knows exactly what dark Energon is, but Ratchet's never even heard of it.

Its good that they started off small in terms of cast size, but The Decepticons need more than just drones.

It was really dark and disturbing, the way Cliffjumper got offed. I liked it.

I think this show has potential at least for 3 or so full seasons. I just hope Megatron gets an alt mode that looks less like the movie's pile of parts, and more like a real vehicle of some kind.

Wed Dec 01, 2010 7:17 am

I love This Transformers comic series.I know some things I never like it to be but compared to what is proposed here that the true shale. My main problem is that art style but the stories and expressions are good enough to see it.

Wed Dec 01, 2010 7:20 pm

Laserbeak just showed up on Ep. 3

That little human girl is getting annoying in ep. 3

It's cool Soundwave just plays back what people say in a "SoundWave Effect" Voice

Wed Dec 01, 2010 10:12 pm

My thoughts from the very little I've seen (like 1 and a half episodes) animation would have been better, but the cg is surprisingly good. The action is too over the top to me, I have always felt that realistic fire fights like the ones in Beast wars and sometimes in g1 were the best. Seeing Arcee do a back flip and decapitate a iradicon just seems to me a way to ham-fist her as a bada$$. Miko is a terrible character (so far) she needs to be toned down. When ever she talked she might have well just said "hey! my character is supposed to be cool precocious really I'm just annoying". Now what I like is the relationship between Jake and Arcee, its kinda cute. I hope they build on that. Designs are cool, and I actually like soundwave. It makes sense to me that he a recorder. Voice overs are well, great! Overall as soon as they build the fiction I'm sure my small qualms will go away...I hope. Miko is very annoying.

Wed Dec 01, 2010 11:00 pm

TylerDante69 wrote:Laserbeak just showed up on Ep. 3

Was it Laserbeak? I kinda assumed it was Ratbat... I mean, it was kinda... batlike. :lol:

I dunno, hard to tell, and they didn't say.

The episode was awesome, though. Starscream is going to give me nightmares.

Wed Dec 01, 2010 11:31 pm

I liked the show but it was not the best. My fav is still gen 1.

Te cgi i dont like i mean they did a betteer job with it then i bought they would thought it would be some beast wars type cgi. But traditional animation would have been better. Te show is dark and yet its a cartoon. I miss the fun of the g1. I thin k maybe a combination of serious and some lighthearted would be great.
Bumblebee not talking bugs me.

Love that callen and welker are back doing voices. Would really love to see more robots and not just a few. I never did like the way the robots looked in animated and they seem to take some of that style in prime. Maybe im just old school but i will always hold a special place for gen 1.

I think prime could turn out to be good and im just glad to have another transformers.

News Credits: 3 · Thu Dec 02, 2010 12:52 pm

Just saw ep 3, gotta admit that I liked all the scenes with Fowler. I really wish that Fowler was the focus instead of the kids.

All in all, not a bad episode, gotta love the bit where Bulkhead rips the wireguts out of the drone.

Thu Dec 02, 2010 3:09 pm

I like Fowler too and the Japanese girl is getting on my nerve. Overall, I like the show and it has potential.

Thu Dec 02, 2010 5:51 pm

TP looks really awesome in the YouTube previews and I love dramatic music. It's really great to hear Peter Cullen voicing Optimus again after all these years. Sadly, I don't have cable, so I either wait for the inevitable illegal uploads or for it to come to DVD.

Thu Dec 02, 2010 6:27 pm

Ofcourse its no G1 but I think its the best thing since Beast Wars. It has something for everyone. For my nephews is borrows heavly from the movies. For my generation Cullen and Welker.

I actually like Miko, she reminds me of my niece. I can't put my finger on whats wrong with Welker's voice. At first I thought it was because its aged but Cullen sounds more or less the same. I think Megaton's voice lack the metalic "flanging" G1 had.

When he's super charged he kind of sounds like he did when he absorbed all the 'cons powers in the Original season 1 finally.

Thu Dec 02, 2010 8:46 pm

Does Bulkhead's head remind anyone else of Beast Wars' Rhinox?

News Credits: 2 · Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:19 am

ImmortalOptimus wrote:Does Bulkhead's head remind anyone else of Beast Wars' Rhinox?

He does. Only a bit more thick-headed, but like his Animated counterpart he's probably smarter than he looks.

Fri Dec 03, 2010 2:29 pm

Stormwolf wrote:
The bad:
- This version of Bumblebee annoys me to no end, he's the future Scrappy of this show
- I'm also annoyed with Raph, he's the Wesley , no doubt about it.

I do agree with you on those two points, and it seems like all future versions of Bumble Bee will be relegated to a non speaking, pet-like role.

The rest of the show is watchable (up to episode 3), I like the noticeably dark tone and I would go as far as to say that it is more coherent story-wise than both of the live action movies.

Fri Dec 03, 2010 3:40 pm

I would like to know who's smart idea it was to only have Bumble Bee communicate in only beeps. If I wanted to hear beeps and tones I would watch Star Wars and listen to R2-D2.