The Energon Pub

Just wondering about your views on various Transformers continuities and if you could almost pinpoint where the series or continuity jumped the shark.

Just in case, link to wikipedia 'jumping shark' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark (If I did that right).

Any wisdom?

HK, who ceremonially jumps shark every finals week, when I am officially no longer sane.

In G1, it was definitely the killing off Optimus Prime in the animated movie as well as the rest of the main characters from season one.

Actually, I think this is kind of a tough topic in regards to Transformers. "Jumping the shark" usually only applies to series that were cancelled.

In the Dukes of Hazzard TV show, it was when they introduced Coy and Vance Duke (the infamous cousins). The Dukes never recovered from their 5th season.

While Smallville hasn't been cancelled, I have always felt that the "jumping the shark" moment also happened in Season 5 with the death of Clark's father, Jonathan Kent. After he went, the other older adults have all been systematically removed from the show. I still enjoy watching the show but not as much as I did prior to the middle of season five.

G1 is the only Transformers show that was ever truly cancelled. They've always gone on to the next series which is planned prior to the last season's shows airing.

With so many different storylines, I'm not sure how this is relevant...There have been several completely separate continuities...

Unless you're just talking about G1, in which case I personally think it began with Rebirth, and everything that followed after in Japan...

In my opinion, the Armada, Energon, and Cybertron shows all jumped once they made human kids the main roles in the show. Sari on Animated isn't quite as annoying...yet.

Seibertron wrote:Actually, I think this is kind of a tough topic in regards to Transformers. "Jumping the shark" usually only applies to series that were cancelled.

G1 is the only Transformers show that was ever truly cancelled. They've always gone on to the next series which is planned prior to the last season's shows airing.

Interesting point--who does call the shots on whether a show gets cancelled or not? The network or the show developers? I think it's case-by-case, but that doesn't mean the show isn't past its prime at some point. It pains me to say this, but _House_ has jumped a few sharks--it's at the point where you know precisely at what minute he's going to stare meaningfully at nothing and realize what they've all been missing thus far; and you know the episode likely going to end with some mawkish musical montage. It's still, apparently, going strong though, because 'formula' can equal 'comfort food' to viewers.

When I posted this question, I was really thinking of Beast Wars. In my opinion, Dinobot tripped over the shark on his way to his death. He got all Shakespearean and glum along the way. And the whole 'Transformers teach early man the use of tools'? The series had its moments after that, but it never quite recovered its energy.

Though those Maximals never had a nice word to say to Dinobot while he was a live, and seemed to get over his death by the next episode. And why are they the 'good guys' again?

HK

The call for ending a show either on time or cancelling it outright can fall on a number of hands.

In the case of Mainframe they have three shows that can show three differing reasons.
-- In the case of Reboot:
As Reboot was an inhouse labor of love for Mainframe it came down to if they could make as much off of it as they could making other series, so it was more or less finalized and then followed up with a couple TV movies to give fans a proper ending.
-- In the case of Transformers:
There isn't really a question of how well Beast Wars did, and it's no surprize that Beast Machines didn't do as well. But their run with the series ended because Hasbro choose to pull the plug not only on their next season but the entire Transtech concept the season would have followed as it was cheeper to just import Car Robots as R.I.D.
-- In the case of Shadow Raiders/War Planets:
The saddest case in where the War Planets toys were doing ok but Trendmasters wanted a show to move product. Seeing they didn't have a story plan they handed complete control to Mainframe. The storyline, characters and ideas presented in the show exceeded expectation and in a bold move Trendmasters shelved the toyline, and completely altered it to reflect the show better by changing the scale of the figures and focusing on characters. In hand they promiced Mainframe that once the toys hit the market, they would be able to fund the third season. However their timing sucked and the toys hit the market less than a month after the first Star Wars Episode 1 toys did, ruining the market for War Planets. TM never made the profit earmarked for the show, thus Mainframe shut production.

So, one company. Three shows. One cancelled due to lack of funding, One cancelled as the property holder wished to go in a different direction. And one shelved so the company could spend time on other projects.

And those don't even cover network interferance, the reason Star Trek only originally lasted 3 seasons, why Firefly got grounded, and many other shows die, when the network they are shown on, choose not to keep them on for a number of possible reasons.

typh0id wrote:With so many different storylines, I'm not sure how this is relevant...There have been several completely separate continuities...

Unless you're just talking about G1, in which case I personally think it began with Rebirth, and everything that followed after in Japan...

Yeah, but, if you take Transformers in general, I think you can figure out a time when the franchise jumped the shark. If we look from 1984 until 2009, was there/when was there a time when the whole idea jumped? That's how I'm reading the thread at least, so 'ere's my two cents.


IF the franchise in its television show format jumped the shark, I would have to say that it was in the early stages of the Energon series. G1 was classic (however you want to define that), BW/M are what they are (however you want to define THAT), Armada was alright but was clearly a transitional point. Energon not only furthered the supposed importance of human characters, but also was slapdashedly thrown together in a most disorienting pastiche of crap. Tidal Wave merely repeats his own name endlessly, voices and the speaking characters don't match up, characters are called by a few different names for episodes at a time (Micha/Mika/Mischa). The idea that Optimus is a military leader (they always call him 'sir') but is viewed as a friend to his troops (so that they don't have to call him 'sir') is furthered as well, and most of this transfers over into Cybertron and a series and a half of decent shows turn out to be piss. Along wtih the 'need' for transformation/powerlinking sequences four times per epsiode (that's understandable though) really drags it down for me. There's an episode in Energon, although I can't recall which one off the top of my head, where Prime superlinks with his little vehicles and they don't even bother trying to make the dialogue work. He says something and then it ends with "Optimus Prime, super mode", but what he says is assinine, like in Step Brothers when the Billy Joel cover band singer says "sometimes it's hard to ....Keeping the Faith." Like they tried to shoehorn the dialogue in there but just failed like hell.
Energon, for me, is the big shark jumping moment.

Transformers shows can not 'jump the shark' because of the way they are created.

'Jumping the shark' refers to a show or series that has been around long enough to resort to a gimmick, introduced later on, which alters the course of the show.

Hence, Fonzy is no longer a part of the show, but the focus of the show as he does ridiculous things like, 'jumping a shark on water skis'.

The Dukes of Hazard reference was applicable, but TF series are all pretty much planned out ahead of time, fire and forget TV.

If Animated were to take Bulkhead and suddenly make him 'poppin' fresh hip and radical' because he is popular with kids. The focus of the show towards Bulkhead and not the story element would constitute 'jumping the shark'.

Transformers shows don't 'course correct', they don't adapt. That's why I don't believe an individual series can JtS.

(also, I don't think Prime's death counts, that was movie and the third season was clearly differently focused. Rodimus wasn't even all that hip and the season did not focus on individuals for very long)

Correction:
Transformers has jumped the shark at least once.

G1, in my oppinion, should never have veered from the Autobot/Decepticion war. Episodes like Nightbird and stories with alien races (with the exception of the Nebulans) should not have been made. That's why I like the Beast stuff so much - from BW season 3 onwards it is mostly one long story.

Mykltron wrote:G1, in my oppinion, should never have veered from the Autobot/Decepticion war. Episodes like Nightbird and stories with alien races (with the exception of the Nebulans) should not have been made. That's why I like the Beast stuff so much - from BW season 3 onwards it is mostly one long story.

I think the nebulans should have been left out too Should have just left those things as toys...