When one thinks of a TV series with Longevity, several different ideas come to mind. The Simpsons in the United States for instance is in its 34th Season, and will have aired 750 episodes by the time the season ends. Dr. Who from the UK is one of the longest running series of all time. Star Trek certainly has to be in the conversation. What about Ultraman from Japan?
Yes these are all definitely examples of series that are multigenerational, and have a continuing Fandom. However
The Transformers I think, has earned a respectable spot as well. The Franchise is nearing 40 years, and with dozens of animated series, and films has reached a momentous occasion that most people probably didn't notice.
By *my* count at least *(which is subjective for multiple reasons), the latest Batch of Earthspark episodes put it over the 1000 (1/2 hour) mark for content. (Episode #13 Missed Connection) Now of course this gets a bit convoluted for various reasons.
1. In recent years episodes have been of varying lengths. Many could argue; could be just 2 episodes in a 30 minute time slot (22 mins without commercials), which is fair. But some of the shows that aired in Japan, and on Streaming services, dont fit quite as nicely in those buckets, so some adjustment has to be made.
In terms of mere episodes, TF passed 1000 a little while ago (well over 1100 now actually), but combining many of those shorter episodes is now why it just passed the 1000 milestone (if all episodes were the traditional half-hour time slot).
Also in Japan, many episodes of the Original Series as well as Headmasters, MF, Victory, BWII and Neo had what are commonly known as "recap" episodes. (Episodes that catch a viewer up on linear storytelling in lieu of airing re-runs). The consensus as to whether Recap episodes should be included or not is divided among the fandom.
But still a thousand, 1/2 hours of content is quite the accomplishment, no matter what! And it is nice to see Transformers continuing on, even if the content may not be able to be fully enjoyed by all generations at this point.
Just as a frame of reference, do you know when episode 500 occurred? Well appropriately, it was for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the brand.
The Transformers Energon episode "Distribution" aired on 11/4/2004 in Japan, however in it's original Super-Link translation, this was a "Special" episode outside of the normal series named: A
Must See! The Greatest Dream Matches it was purposefully made to be (more or less) the 500th episode overall
https://tfwiki.net/wiki/DistributionWhether or not someone officially at Hasbro or TT will be crunching the numbers to acknowledge the feat of 1000 is anyone's guess, but still, we as fans can acknowledge it!
Bucket/Want List: Botcon 2016 Customization Class Ratchet (G2 Deco), or Customization Class Ratchet (Marvel Comics Deco) **would also be willing to pay for an Unpainted Botcon 2016 Ratchet, TT Legends Fortress Head (only) with working Electronics
Wish List of Modern Combiners: Road Caesar, Monstructor & Dinoking (proper size to fiction), Landcross, Guard City, Battle Gaia, & G2 Defensor. Wish List of Titans:Metrotitan,Majin Zarak