The Energon Pub

Steven Melching recently appeared on an episode of the Geek Cast Radio podcast and revealed several details about the next season of Transformers Prime. For those unfamiliar with Melching, he wrote several episode of Beast Machines ("Forbidden Fruit", "Revelations Part III: Apocalypse", "End of the Line", "Sparkwar Pt. III: The Siege", "Endgame Pt. II: When Legends Fall") and Transformers Prime ("Darkness Rising, Part 4", "Con Job", "Sick Mind", "Operation: Breakdown", "One Shall Rise, Part 3", "Toxicity"). Click here to listen to the full podcast. Seibertron member Sabrblade has provided a detailed outline of the interview below:

• Each episode of the show includes some element that’s important to the overall show, whether it’s part of the plot development, a character’s development, the emotional growth of the show, etc.
• It wasn't a mandate for the show to homage all the past series like has done so far, but they did try to abide by Hasbro’s plan for the show be in an Aligned Continuity with the video games and book (but not the movies, he says). They weren’t beholden to any past continuity, but did want to be respectful to them. Though, they did use Wikis and reference books to look for something that they could homage when they felt like doing so.
• At first, they toyed around with Bumblebee doing radio clips like the movies instead of beeps, but it proved to be too complicated decided to let him speak through contextual beeps.
• Regarding Shockwave, since it’s very expensive to create these CGI designs, they tend not to let things go to waste. So it might be safe to say that we’ll see Shockwave again.
• Unicron being inside the Earth’s core was a very early idea from the first week of the writer’s room meeting in 2009. They knew from the beginning that they wanted to do that.
• Budget restraints and the story concept prevented them from creating a wide variety of diverse core characters. Melching ran into this problem with the 90’s X-Men cartoon, having so many unique characters with little for them to do in the span of 22 minutes, making it difficult to manage them all. However, there WILL be more new characters, both Autobot and Decepticon, coming in season 3.
• It is not yet known when season 3 is going to air.
• Hasbro sent over a chart of about eight or ten different color types of energon for the show to use (including something that sounded like “Chronogon”, a time-displacement energon), but they’re pretty much done with the different energon flavors in the cartoon for now. What we’ve gotten thus far is it, but we have not seen the last of Dark, Synthetic, or Red Energon.
• Season 3 will be shorter because a total of 65 episodes is the magic number for TV shows to strive for, and was the goal this show was going for. They came into the show knowing how they wanted to end the series and weren’t rushed into anything, so Melching feels comfortable if season 3 were to be the end of the series itself. But he als ocan’t confirm any of what’s to come after season 3.
• Back when they were thinking of Unicron being the core of the Earth, they imaged how he’d emerge from the planet like if a giant hand the size of half a continent rising form out of the ground, but they figured that was too ridiculous (and too quick a way to end the series) and so scrapped it.
• The season 2 finale is titled “Darkest Hour” (which was made known thanks to Zap2it.com) and is sort of an “Empire Strikes Back” ending for Team Prime. Season 2 does not end well for Team Prime, and will hopefully build enough hype for season 3, which will have the Autobots trying to get out of the tight situation they’re caught in.
• Melching has heard the fan complaints about the show continuously resetting to status quo, and he has no doubts about it that they are in a whole new place season 3. Status quo will no longer be an issue in season 3.
• Repeating classic lines of dialogue is something that they have tried to be careful about since they know it can be groan-inducing if not handled properly. They admittedly overdid the classic quoting in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series and have tried to make things work better in TF: Prime.
• Melching wrote next week’s episode, “Inside Job”, and the season 2 finale “Darkest Hour”. He also wrote five episodes of season 3, while Marsha Griffin wrote five other season 3 episodes.

end after 3 seasons? how about last a few more seasons
3 is too short

Call me selfish, but I eagerly await a cast that's not heavily influenced by the style of Bayverse or Animated. Sooooooooo, unless there's an intense redo following season three (highly unlikely) I say go ahead and end the series. Superficially, it's a good series, but not entirely epic enough to continue.

Ultra Markus wrote:end after 3 seasons? how about last a few more seasons
3 is too short

Don't worry, there is a season 4 coming. They're just making season 3 end in a way that could work for a series finale in addition to a season finale, but there is still a fourth season coming.

so what does "status quo" mean? no boring episodes? i take it that it means something thats happened a few times with the show but yeah....me no understand.

hopefully it means no more children and characters die once in a while.

Hehe, it will not end well for the Autobots?

Shockwave returns?



Best, show, ever.

I listened to the whole interview and took some notes on the portion specifically pertaining to TF: Prime. Here's what I wrote:

• Each episode of the show includes some element that’s important to the overall show, whether it’s part of the plot development, a character’s development, the emotional growth of the show, etc.
• It wasn't a mandate for the show to homage all the past series like has done so far, but they did try to abide by Hasbro’s plan for the show be in an Aligned Continuity with the video games and book (but not the movies, he says). They weren’t beholden to any past continuity, but did want to be respectful to them. Though, they did use Wikis and reference books to look for something that they could homage when they felt like doing so.
• At first, they toyed around with Bumblebee doing radio clips like the movies instead of beeps, but it proved to be too complicated decided to let him speak through contextual beeps.
• Regarding Shockwave, since it’s very expensive to create these CGI designs, they tend not to let things go to waste. So it might be safe to say that we’ll see Shockwave again.
• Unicron being inside the Earth’s core was a very early idea from the first week of the writer’s room meeting in 2009. They knew from the beginning that they wanted to do that.
• Budget restraints and the story concept prevented them from creating a wide variety of diverse core characters. Melching ran into this problem with the 90’s X-Men cartoon, having so many unique characters with little for them to do in the span of 22 minutes, making it difficult to manage them all. However, there WILL be more new characters, both Autobot and Decepticon, coming in season 3.
• It is not yet known when season 3 is going to air.
• Hasbro sent over a chart of about eight or ten different color types of energon for the show to use (including something that sounded like “Chronogon”, a time-displacement energon), but they’re pretty much done with the different energon flavors in the cartoon for now. What we’ve gotten thus far is it, but we have not seen the last of Dark, Synthetic, or Red Energon.
• Season 3 will be shorter because a total of 65 episodes is the magic number for TV shows to strive for, and was the goal this show was going for. They came into the show knowing how they wanted to end the series and weren’t rushed into anything, so Melching feels comfortable if season 3 were to be the end of the series itself. But he als ocan’t confirm any of what’s to come after season 3.
• Back when they were thinking of Unicron being the core of the Earth, they imaged how he’d emerge from the planet like if a giant hand the size of half a continent rising form out of the ground, but they figured that was too ridiculous (and too quick a way to end the series) and so scrapped it.
• The season 2 finale is titled “Darkest Hour” (which was made known thanks to Zap2it.com) and is sort of an “Empire Strikes Back” ending for Team Prime. Season 2 does not end well for Team Prime, and will hopefully build enough hype for season 3, which will have the Autobots trying to get out of the tight situation they’re caught in.
• Melching has heard the fan complaints about the show continuously resetting to status quo, and he has no doubts about it that they are in a whole new place season 3. Status quo will no longer be an issue in season 3.
• Repeating classic lines of dialogue is something that they have tried to be careful about since they know it can be groan-inducing if not handled properly. They admittedly overdid the classic quoting in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series and have tried to make things work better in TF: Prime.
• Melching wrote next week’s episode, “Inside Job”, and the season 2 finale “Darkest Hour”. He also wrote five episodes of season 3, while Marsha Griffin wrote five other season 3 episodes.

Dude, Season 3 is going to stomp on all of our feels. It's going to be great.

I just don't hope they mean "It won't end well for the Autobots" by saying that Smokescreen dies or something. I don't care if anyone else dies, just not Smokescreen (or Wheeljack).

Also, things didn't turn out so well for the Autobots in the Season 1 finale either.

I hope Smokescreen dies because he's not even remotely a Smokescreen, he's a bloody Hot Shot/Hot Rod/Cheetor/etc.

Really hope Prime does end with season 3 and we get a new, better show.

Downbeat wrote:I hope Smokescreen dies because he's not even remotely a Smokescreen, he's a bloody Hot Shot/Hot Rod/Cheetor/etc.

Really hope Prime does end with season 3 and we get a new, better show.

I smell a Geewunner.

I don't know what to think anymore. To me, he sounded like season three was it, but then you have Jeffery Combs saying there IS a fourth season. Then of course there's the whole "Beast Hunters" thing, which hasn't been "officially" announced by Hasbro, even though it seems incredibly likely to be Transformers Prime- related. UGH. Lets hope NYCC explains some of these things

starscreamprime1010 wrote:I don't know what to think anymore. To me, he sounded like season three was it, but then you have Jeffery Combs saying there IS a fourth season. Then of course there's the whole "Beast Hunters" thing, which hasn't been "officially" announced by Hasbro, even though it seems incredibly likely to be Transformers Prime- related. UGH. Lets hope NYCC explains some of these things

Maybe Beast Hunters is season four, or a direct sequel to Prime, but with season 3 having a finale that could work as a series ender, but isn't. Remember, he said he couldn't confirm anything that's to come after season 3 (and Beast Hunters wasn't brought up in the interview). All he said was that season 3 is shorter in order to reach the magic number of 65 episodes. Doesn't mean there won't be more. While 65 was their goal, they could go beyond their goal with another new season or sequel series.

starscreamprime1010 wrote:I don't know what to think anymore. To me, he sounded like season three was it, but then you have Jeffery Combs saying there IS a fourth season.

As he said Season 3 was the end of Prime, and then later said there is a fourth season, my theory is that Jeffery Combs is leaving the cast after Season 3. Ratchet's death? Wouldn't be the first time.



Maybe he'll get replaced by First Aid?



or a beast themed medic... or engineer?

Then of course there's the whole "Beast Hunters" thing, which hasn't been "officially" announced by Hasbro, even though it seems incredibly likely to be Transformers Prime- related.

I think it is going to happen. We've got the Rage of Dinobots comic bridging the second and third seasons, and I noticed that the Insecticons are slowly and steadily replacing the Vehicons.

PrymeStriker wrote:I noticed that the Insecticons are slowly and steadily replacing the Vehicons.

So far, has there been any explanation as to how the Insecticon hive manage to end up on earth? The episode that introduced them left me so confused.

roBROmanceFTW wrote:

PrymeStriker wrote:I noticed that the Insecticons are slowly and steadily replacing the Vehicons.

So far, has there been any explanation as to how the Insecticon hive manage to end up on earth? The episode that introduced them left me so confused.

Nothing so far. Maybe season 3 will tell us.

So do we have a date for the season 3 series premier Me and my son love watching this and we are just now almost thru to season 2 I find the new take on this classic cartoon refreshing and sad at the same time.

starscream28 wrote: So do we have a date for the season 3 series premier

No, we don't. It's either Spring or Fall of 2013, that's about all we know.

this is killing me i have to know what happens\

starscream28 wrote:this is killing me i have to know what happens\

I can make an approximate guess, based on all the information given so far.

Megatron wants to find the Autobots but is too lazy to hunt them down himself, so he hires Shockwave's Predacons, probably bounty hunters, to do it for him.

Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen are shipped off all across the U.S. When the reunite, Ratchet isn't with them. This is because he left Team Prime (he has no hope left), attended to a severely wounded Wheeljack and runs off with him. Together, Ratchet and Wheeljack find the Dinobot's leader, Grimlock, and the duo aid their beastly friend in finding the rest of his team here on Earth.

Meanwhile, Ultra Magnus (crashed on Earth while looking for the Dinobots) takes the four stranded Autobots (and their human friends) in as his own. When they learn of the Predacons hunting them, Magnus gives all the Autobots upgrades from his crashed ship so they can defend themselves.

And Optimus returns at the end to advertise his new toy.

The End.

not a bad summation I cannot wait me and my son are so hooked on this show we have watched every other transformers series together and the cycle kinda continues I watched it when I was a little girl with my dad. Thank you so much.

There's also the upcoming Rescue Bots season 2 to look forward to.

There is that there is always some transformer show to watch just love the prime series

starscream28 wrote:There is that there is always some transformer show to watch just love the prime series

Yeah, Prime's number one for me, right in front of Animated (I actually like it now) and G1.