The Energon Pub

[ScottyP]

Got my DVDs for season 1 yesterday. Glad it's actually being released on physical media, but so sad it's only on the ancient DVD format.

[Mechanurgist]

Earthspark reminds me of TF Prime in many ways, but is somewhat worse.

Pros:
Bumblebee can talk.
Good TF designs, a nice blend of simplicity and flare.
Mostly good voicework and facial animations that convey emotion well.
Atypical post-Great War stories that go beyond the standard Autobot/Decepticon fights.
Bumblebee can talk.


Cons:
Megatron's personality and voice are completely wrong and jarring.
Too much focus on humans and their family issues... and transposing those on TFs.
The environment/background design is a bit too clean and bucolic, and looks like bad 2010s CGI or some mobile farm sim game.
The "kiddy" Earth-born TFs were a mistake.

Overall a 6.5/10 from me.

[Sabrblade]

It seems EarthSpark may not be ending as soon as we originally thought.

Nick Roche has made a couple of tweets that say he's currently doing some work for EarthSpark ("On the Earthspark treadmill") and, when asked which season of the show he's working on, he cryptically answered "Cannot confirm which season I'm working on... !"

That exclamation point at the end also sounds like he's pretty excited for what this might be.

[bluecatcinema]

Glad to hear it. After the way the latest batch of episodes ended, I'm eager for more.

[Glyph]

Next batch of Season 2 episodes to hit Paramount+ on October 25, apparently:
https://x.com/ToonHive/status/1838697722099986542

[Sabrblade]

Next batch of Season 2 episodes to hit Paramount+ on October 25, apparently:
https://x.com/ToonHive/status/1838697722099986542

And just so everyone's on the same page, while it says "Season 3", we know it's really "Season 2 Part 2", like how Season 1 was divided into three batches.

[#1 Signal Lancer fan]

Back when season one came out, I watched the first episode and wasn't all that interested in the series.

For those who have caught up, is it worth the time investment to jump back in? Does it get better from there, or if someone doesn't like the first episode is that pretty telling?

[Sabrblade]

Back when season one came out, I watched the first episode and wasn't all that interested in the series.

For those who have caught up, is it worth the time investment to jump back in? Does it get better from there, or if someone doesn't like the first episode is that pretty telling?

Season 1 gets really good as it goes on.

The jury's still out on how Season 2 will rank in the long run, since its first batch of episodes haven't wowed as much so far, but there's more to come so we'll have to wait and see.

[#1 Signal Lancer fan]

Season 1 gets really good as it goes on.

This is encouraging. I feel like I've been starving for a good animated Transformers series since Prime ended, as I wasn't thrilled with Prime Wars, RID 2015, Cyberverse, or the WFC trilogy.

So if this show gets really good, I might just have to buckle in for the watch.

[Sabrblade]

Season 1 gets really good as it goes on.

This is encouraging. I feel like I've been starving for a good animated Transformers series since Prime ended, as I wasn't thrilled with Prime Wars, RID 2015, Cyberverse, or the WFC trilogy.

So if this show gets really good, I might just have to buckle in for the watch.

Cyberverse was amazing by Season 3.

[william-james88]

Cyberverse was amazing by Season 3.

Yup, by then that show was better than Prime

[william-james88]

Prowl is coming to Transformers Earthspark in Season 3. While it was first seen as the second half of season 2, it has since been rebranded as a third season to the show. Nickelodeon and Paramount Plus have revealed the poster and trailer to this third season and both feature Prowl prominantly. You can check out the trailer, poster and description below.

In season three, a giant-size Dome divides the town of Witwicky and traps the Decepticons inside, but it can’t hold them forever. The Malto family and the Autobots must figure out a long-term solution, and help arrives from an unlikely place. While doing all they can to get life back to normal again, a mysterious saboteur threatens the Autobots, and Robby and Mo face a ruthless foe who challenges their right to wield the power of Quintus Prime.

New to the series are Emmy® winner Eric Bauza (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, DORA, Looney Tunes Cartoons) as Prowl, an old-world Autobot detective who follows his instincts and trusts the facts. He’s highly suspicious of Optimus’ new alliances, but Prowl always finds the truth he seeks. And Betsy Sodaro (Glitch Techs, Big Nate, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) as the Quintesson Judge, Commander of the Quintessons (the first “sons” of Quintus Prime), and she feels it is her birthright to possess the power of the Emberstone. She’s wise, dangerous, and her ego is so large that it’s no wonder she has five heads.

Previously announced guest stars, "Weird Al" Yankovic as Cosmos, Zelda Williams (The Legend of Korra) as Spitfire, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea as Aftermath and Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd) as Fairmaestro return to the series to lend their voices.

TRANSFORMERS: EARTHSPARK stars Sydney Mikayla (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts) as Robby Malto, Zion Broadnax (Day Shift) as Mo Malto, Benni Latham (Cornerstones: Founding Voices of the Black Church) as Dot Malto, Jon Jon Briones (Ratched) as Alex Malto, Kathreen Khavari (Dead End: Paranormal Park) as Twitch, Zeno Robinson (Big City Greens) as Thrash, Danny Pudi (Community) as Bumblebee, Alan Tudyk (Resident Alien) as Optimus Prime, Rory McCann (Game of Thrones) as Megatron, Cissy Jones (The Owl House) as Elita-1, Diedrich Bader (Better Things) as Mandroid, Cyrus Arnold (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) as Jawbreaker, Z Infante (Dead End: Paranormal Park) as Nightshade and Stephanie Lemelin (Dawn of the Croods) as Hashtag.

[bluecatcinema]

Prowl does look pretty cool. And is that a new version of the Hate Plague?

[Seibertron]

Cyberverse was amazing by Season 3.

That is definitely a matter of opinion. My experience with Cyberverse varied greatly from yours. I appreciated the fan service and nods, but the show was definitely not for me mostly due to the animation style, the light-heartedness, the short episodes and the incorrect Autobot symbol. I preferred RID 2015 over Cyberverse.

[Seibertron]

Cyberverse was amazing by Season 3.

Yup, by then that show was better than Prime

I definitely didn't experience that feeling at all with Cyberverse. Prime is one of my favorite go-to Transformers shows. It's not perfect, but I like it a lot. The art style of the humans in Prime has always seemed "off" to me, the "barren" Earth, and perhaps it's on the other end of the spectrum by being a little too dark, but it's much more inline with what I'm looking for from Transformers fiction.

[Bumblevivisector]

While it was first seen as the second half of season 2, it has since been rebranded as a third season to the show.

The dreaded curse of RID 2015 strikes again! Will any wiki ever be truly accurate?!?

[kuhlio]

This just really makes me disappointed the Takara deluxe Prowl was cancelled now....

[o.supreme]

While it was first seen as the second half of season 2, it has since been rebranded as a third season to the show.

The dreaded curse of RID 2015 strikes again! Will any wiki ever be truly accurate?!?

More like just taking a play from something Netflix started, and other streaming services are doing. Breaking up the episodes into shorter "seasons". They can define it any way you want, but in the end, saying a show had "more seasons" only makes it sound better if you dont look beyond the surface.

[o.supreme]

I definitely didn't experience that feeling at all with Cyberverse. Prime is one of my favorite go-to Transformers shows. It's not perfect, but I like it a lot. The art style of the humans in Prime has always seemed "off" to me, the "barren" Earth, and perhaps it's on the other end of the spectrum by being a little too dark, but it's much more inline with what I'm looking for from Transformers fiction.

I dont think it got too "dark" at all, but I agree with all your other sentiments for sure. I just did a rewatch of Prime yet AGAIN, and there's still nothing in the past decade that comes close to as entertaining and satisfying TF wise. This was mostly spurned by the fact that I was watching the TF streaming channel on Amazon. They seemingly just keep playing the same Season 1 episodes over and over, and I needed to see S2 and 3 and the film to finish it. so I pulled down my BRD and enjoyed.

[Sabrblade]

Next episode batch drops tomorrow.

Here's a preview clip featuring Prowl:

[Sabrblade]

I forewent sleep last night to stay up and binge watch all eight episodes. This batch is a definite improvement over the last batch of eps.

While Paramount+ labels it as "Season 3", it definitely feels more like how season 1 was split up into three episode batches, with this being the Part 2 of the season 2 episodes, as it directly continues off from where the last of those episodes concluded, unlike how episode 1 of season 2 picked up long after the finale of season 1. The two part climax of this batch also feels like those of the first two season 1 episode batches, as there are still a few loose ends left open and it did not feel like a true series finale like how the season 1 finale could have been.

Without spoiling anything, watching the previous episode batch and this one back to back really shows how the Decepticons turning bad back in those episodes now feels like it was a red herring meant to throw us off from suspecting the true main antagonists who appear in these new episodes. In that sense, I no longer find the Decepticons going bad again as regressive in storytelling as it originally seemed to be.

Of these eight episodes, only one of them felt pretty lackluster to me, and all but one other one move the plot forward in a serialized direction, and I'll always be for serialized storytelling in Transformers cartoons.

All in all, I'd say this was a pretty good batch of episodes. The writing feels stronger again, more like the middle and latter thirds of season 1. Thankfully, the previous batch of episodes was not a sign of things to come, quality-wise, but were instead just setting things up for this batch in ways we didn't expect it to do.

Granted, there was one big plot twist in these eps that I could see coming a mile away, but the precise details of how the twist was done was something I did not see coming at all. So even though I knew that twist was coming, I was still surprised by how it was done.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

I'm home sick today, and got to watch the new episodes myself. One was kinda cringy to me, but the rest were pretty solid, even if the animation has definitely taken a huge downgrade.

Prowl showing up ended up being pretty good, i think they balanced his personality well, and made him interesting as well.

[Sabrblade]

The first 18 episodes of EarthSpark are now on Netflix, and they're all normal-length. Meaning the two-parters that Paramount+ has smooshed together as double-length episodes are the individual versions.

[william-james88]

One of the main obstacles with the Transformers Earthspark was that it was behind Paramount +, which is not one of the main streaming services a family has. Well, if you have Netflix instead, then we have great news for you. The first 18 episodes of EarthSpark are now on Netflix, and they're all normal-length. Meaning the two-parters that Paramount+ has smooshed together as double-length episodes are the individual versions.

Hopefully this is a much easier way for more people to have access to the show around the world and for younger fans to discover it.

[cloudballoon]

One of the main obstacles with the Transformers Earthspark was that it was behind Paramount +, which is not one of the main streaming services a family has. Well, if you have Netflix instead, then we have great news for you. The first 18 episodes of EarthSpark are now on Netflix, and they're all normal-length. Meaning the two-parters that Paramount+ has smooshed together as double-length episodes are the individual versions.

Hopefully this is a much easier way for more people to have access to the show around the world and for younger fans to discover it.

Great news! Everyone...

Too bad this move by Hasbro to have it on Paramount+ first (or the unfortunate "lock in" to Paramount+ from whatever contract obligations Hasbro might be in with Paramount... I don't know so I don't want to lay blame without knowing the behind-the-scene machinations) did zero benefit to create buzz for toys sales. And worse, the needless non-controversy about "gender woke-ness" hurt the show & sales even more.

The main Warrior & Deluxe ES lines got some pretty great figures, they were an improvement over Cyberverse over-all if you disregard the carry-overs imo. But many people just didn't bother because they couldn't see the show.