Netflix The Toys That Made Us Transformers Episode in Post Production Coming Soon #TTTMU
Wednesday, January 3rd, 2018 5:43AM CST
Category: Digital Media NewsPosted by: Va'al Views: 21,875
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The Transformers episode, which along with with Star Trek, LEGO, Hello Kitty will form the second half of season one, is currently in post-production - and will feature not only our very own Seibertron / Ryan Yzquierdo, but also movie director Michael Bay, and a whole roster of Transformers-related people, such as Cullen, Budiansky, and more! Additionally, we have an interview with show creator Brian Volk-Weiss explaining more in detail his intention with the show, and how he chose what he did for the series, courtesy of Fatherly. Stay with Seibertron.com to find out more about the actual release date of the next four episodes, and read an extract of the interview below!
You focus on the history of a different toy for each of the eight episodes. What did the process look like for picking which toys to focus on?
In picking the toys, we sort of created four categories that we would pay attention to when we were asking whether or not a toy belonged.
Category one: Are the toys still being made today? We didn’t want to look at a toy that was great for three years or even ten years and then went away. We wanted to be covering toys that were relevant 30, or, in some cases, even 50 years ago and are still relevant today.
Category two: If there was a Mount Rushmore of toys, would this toy be selected? Could Optimus Prime be up there? Yeah, so that makes the cut. It means there needs to be a personality or a face.
Category three: Does the toy have a fanatical following? I wanted to find out the history of toys that had conventions where people were dressing up.
Category four: Is there a good story to tell? If there was a toy that became a hit and that was that, we didn’t want to cover it.
Why do you think toys can play such a strong role in shaping us even as adults?
Everyone has an imagination and toys allow you to utilize your imagination more than watching TV or reading books ever could. When I was a kid, there were no toy versions of the ships in Star Trek so I would make my own out of LEGOs. And eventually, I started designing my own Star Trek ships with LEGOs. When I started drawing Star Trek ships in eighth grade, I’m drawing the ones I designed as well as the ships from the show. I wouldn’t have done that without LEGO. Toys allow us to manifest our imagination in a physical way.
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Posted by Emerje on January 3rd, 2018 @ 7:28am CST
Emerje
Posted by no-one on January 3rd, 2018 @ 8:47am CST
What if you were born in the 70's?Emerje wrote:This series is actually very good. Highly recommended if you were born in the 80s or are curious about how these companies were run back in the day. Looking forward to the next round of episodes. The G.I. Joe and He-man episodes are my favorites so far, but even the Barbie episode was pretty fascinating.
Emerje
Very excited for the next batch of episodes. They were not what I expected, but exceeded those expectations. Nice little documentary/history lesson. Mostly I just like looking at toys
Oops, meant to drop this here (cause my wife was born in the 80's):
Posted by Scrounge1984 on January 3rd, 2018 @ 9:21am CST
Posted by shajaki on January 3rd, 2018 @ 11:22am CST
Highlight so far: the origin of Battlecat
I can't wait for the TF episode. At least give us a release date!?
Posted by no-one on January 3rd, 2018 @ 11:25am CST
It was cool to find out just how half assed the origins to all these "iconic" toys were. Seemed like they were just tossing ideas at walls to see what would stick.shajaki wrote: so far: the origin of Battlecat
I hope they do a second season. I'd love to see some Voltron and Thundercats, or even GoBots
Posted by o.supreme on January 3rd, 2018 @ 11:32am CST
best line ever!If a guy rides up to a bar on a 12-foot tiger, you aren't going to mess with him..
Posted by Burn on January 3rd, 2018 @ 2:19pm CST
carytheone wrote:I hope they do a second season.
Same, though I really want these last four episodes NOW.
I wouldn't mind seeing them delve into the likes of TMNT, Power Rangers, and of course Voltron and Robotech.
Posted by o.supreme on January 3rd, 2018 @ 3:23pm CST
Burn wrote:carytheone wrote:I hope they do a second season.
Same, though I really want these last four episodes NOW.
I wouldn't mind seeing them delve into the likes of TMNT, Power Rangers, and of course Voltron and Robotech.
1. A release date for the second wave of four episodes would be nice so we have something to anticipate. Perhaps in February around Toy Fare? Merely speculation, but it would be neat.
2.A Second season would be nice. But if they stick with the formula of toys that have a long-lasting legacy, I fear things like Voltron and Robotech wouldn't quite fit. (Although I myself am a huge fan of the series, the toys were relatively short lived). Although they could probably be lumped together with perhaps Shogun Warriors and a few other minor toy lines for a combined "It came from Japan" type episode, That would be cool.
In a similar vein, I'd love to see episodes about MASK, Thundercats etc... but the toy lines themselves really didn't last long enough to make a show of this scale. Future episodes I could see:
MEGO, Hotwheels, TMNT, Care Bears, My Little Pony, Garfield, additionally maybe 2 episodes dedicated to all the Marvel and DC comics toy lines over the years.
Posted by Burn on January 3rd, 2018 @ 3:35pm CST
The likes of Voltron and Robotech most certainly have legacies, Voltron has a new series (on Netflix no less) and new toys. Robotech/Macross is still getting churned out in Japan. Both also have comics, along with other brands you listed.
I guess it depends on how they really define what they deem worthy to cover.
Posted by no-one on January 3rd, 2018 @ 3:42pm CST
So far I'd say we have a pretty good wish list going though.
M.A.S.K. btw...
I'd bet quite a few people here wouldn't mind a Diaclone episode. I'm sure the TF episode will touch on them, but why not take a deep dive.
Posted by o.supreme on January 3rd, 2018 @ 3:51pm CST
Burn wrote:I guess it depends on how they really define what they deem worthy to cover.
True. I'd love to see episodes dedicated to those lines...It's just that looking at this purely from the perspective of toys released, I'm not sure there'd be much to talk about. Voltron had toys in 1985, 1998, and now in 2017/18 (are they even making any new ones??). That's it. And of course while Macross has a great and continuing legacy in Japan, that's not really Robotech... (Though I'd love to hear the story about how Exo Squad and Robotech got integrated, most people don't even know about that). . Not trying to be a downer, and I hope I'm wrong, I'd love to see episodes dedicated to these lines, just trying to look at things objectively.
Posted by primalxconvoy on January 3rd, 2018 @ 9:41pm CST
And why no Pixel Dan in the He-Man episode?
Posted by Burn on January 3rd, 2018 @ 10:24pm CST
Hopefully the show has proven popular enough for a second season.
Posted by primalxconvoy on January 3rd, 2018 @ 11:21pm CST
However, yes, I couldn't sit through Bright. It was lie watching an even worse version of "Underworld"...
Posted by Va'al on January 4th, 2018 @ 2:28am CST
Going to try getting through GI Joe today, but the opening already had my eyes rolling so hard I scored a critical hit.
Posted by o.supreme on January 4th, 2018 @ 9:15am CST
Burn wrote:Does Netflix ever release their viewing figures? Or do they keep that to themselves to help justify **** like saying how awesome Bright was?
Hopefully the show has proven popular enough for a second season.
The numbers are mostly kept private. I heard a radio show on the way to work a couple of months ago talking about how Nielsen ratings was somehow able to *hack* Netflix and release some viewing numbers, but I don't know if there is any truth to that or not. ...
Posted by Va'al on January 4th, 2018 @ 9:34am CST
o.supreme wrote:Burn wrote:Does Netflix ever release their viewing figures? Or do they keep that to themselves to help justify **** like saying how awesome Bright was?
Hopefully the show has proven popular enough for a second season.
The numbers are mostly kept private. I heard a radio show on the way to work a couple of months ago talking about how Nielsen ratings was somehow able to *hack* Netflix and release some viewing numbers, but I don't know if there is any truth to that or not. ...
Almost - though of course they're incomplete, and Netflix is denying they are accurate at all.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/nielsen-of ... 1508320800
Posted by cruizerdave on January 4th, 2018 @ 12:41pm CST
Overall though, I've enjoyed every episode of this show. It's fun to see some of the personalities and the stories of how stuff was done. It also has a fun sense of humor about it. I can't wait to see what they do with TFs.
Posted by shajaki on January 4th, 2018 @ 8:10pm CST
Posted by primalxconvoy on January 4th, 2018 @ 8:17pm CST
Posted by Big Grim on January 8th, 2018 @ 9:41am CST
Posted by Burn on January 17th, 2018 @ 2:07pm CST
Posted by no-one on January 17th, 2018 @ 8:43pm CST
I do love the action figure card back cut-out they used though. I hope I see girl in sling chair on antiques road show one day.
Posted by WreckerJack on January 23rd, 2018 @ 9:10pm CST
Posted by Burn on January 23rd, 2018 @ 9:14pm CST
WreckerJack wrote:The girl in a sling chair weirds me out. Her eyes look glassy like she is ill.
That's just how she devours your soul.
Sorry ... if it's any consolation, Va'al functions perfectly fine after I sold his soul off!
Posted by Va'al on January 24th, 2018 @ 1:31am CST
Burn wrote:WreckerJack wrote:The girl in a sling chair weirds me out. Her eyes look glassy like she is ill.
That's just how she devours your soul.
Sorry ... if it's any consolation, Va'al functions perfectly fine after I sold his soul off!
IT WAS YOU
Posted by Burn on January 24th, 2018 @ 3:03am CST
Va'al wrote:Burn wrote:WreckerJack wrote:The girl in a sling chair weirds me out. Her eyes look glassy like she is ill.
That's just how she devours your soul.
Sorry ... if it's any consolation, Va'al functions perfectly fine after I sold his soul off!
IT WAS YOU
You knew this. I posted many times when a figure was revealed that I wanted that I would be selling off part of your soul. Don't act like it wasn't without your knowledge.
You knew full well what was going on. Now just relax and let me take a little bit more ...
Posted by Va'al on January 24th, 2018 @ 4:59am CST
Burn wrote:Va'al wrote:Burn wrote:WreckerJack wrote:The girl in a sling chair weirds me out. Her eyes look glassy like she is ill.
That's just how she devours your soul.
Sorry ... if it's any consolation, Va'al functions perfectly fine after I sold his soul off!
IT WAS YOU
You knew this. I posted many times when a figure was revealed that I wanted that I would be selling off part of your soul. Don't act like it wasn't without your knowledge.
You knew full well what was going on. Now just relax and let me take a little bit more ...
IT WAS NEVER CONFIRMED
now I understand
this feeling
inside me
Posted by Burn on January 24th, 2018 @ 5:45am CST
Posted by Va'al on January 24th, 2018 @ 11:57am CST
Burn wrote:You have nothing but a feeling of emptiness inside of you. Stop drama llaming already, you're embarrassing yourself.
Posted by o.supreme on January 24th, 2018 @ 12:06pm CST
Posted by -Soundwave- on February 1st, 2018 @ 11:28am CST
Posted by Acesmcgee on February 14th, 2018 @ 5:18am CST
Posted by Va'al on February 20th, 2018 @ 3:40am CST
The latter shows a prototype of the Transformers Titans Return Hot Rod figures, which will probably feature in the episode, as well as a suggestion that the series was well received enough to spur more seasons and more episodes on other franchises, as the second image below seems to suggest. Take a look, comment away, and make sure to tune in to see the likes of Kojin Ono, Keiichiro Sakuma, and our very own Seibertron when the episode is released!
Here is the prototype for Hasbro's "Titans Return" Hot Rod figure, released in 2017! #TTTMU #Transformers
The board is back! Stay tuned for updates and a big surprise! #TTTMU
Posted by Burn on February 20th, 2018 @ 3:43am CST
Posted by Acesmcgee on February 20th, 2018 @ 7:29am CST
Posted by shajaki on February 21st, 2018 @ 12:20pm CST
I know... 3 months?Burn wrote:ughhhh hurry up and put the next episodes out already!
Posted by WreckerJack on February 21st, 2018 @ 6:56pm CST
shajaki wrote:I know... 3 months?Burn wrote:ughhhh hurry up and put the next episodes out already!
Feels like I have been waiting for this forever!
Posted by Burn on February 21st, 2018 @ 7:07pm CST
WreckerJack wrote:shajaki wrote:I know... 3 months?Burn wrote:ughhhh hurry up and put the next episodes out already!
Feels like I have been waiting for this forever!
You would have waited an eternity for this?
Posted by WreckerJack on February 21st, 2018 @ 7:34pm CST
Burn wrote:WreckerJack wrote:shajaki wrote:I know... 3 months?Burn wrote:ughhhh hurry up and put the next episodes out already!
Feels like I have been waiting for this forever!
You would have waited an eternity for this?
It's pretty exciting that someone from our site got to be a part of this series. So naturally I have to watch it and see.
Posted by Burn on February 21st, 2018 @ 7:41pm CST
WreckerJack wrote:It's pretty exciting that someone from our site got to be a part of this series. So naturally I have to watch it and see.
It was my main reason for watching it.
But now, I find it fascinating, even lines like G.I. Joe and Barbie which I had zero interest in, I still found fascinating.
So if they are more seasons after this one, sign me up. It's fascinating learning all the behind the scenes stuff on how they toys were brought to fruition.
Posted by WreckerJack on February 21st, 2018 @ 8:16pm CST
Burn wrote:WreckerJack wrote:It's pretty exciting that someone from our site got to be a part of this series. So naturally I have to watch it and see.
It was my main reason for watching it.
But now, I find it fascinating, even lines like G.I. Joe and Barbie which I had zero interest in, I still found fascinating.
So if they are more seasons after this one, sign me up. It's fascinating learning all the behind the scenes stuff on how they toys were brought to fruition.
Agreed. I did watch the GI joe one and it was pretty neat. I didn't have any connections to some of the other episodes they have on there. I'd really like them to do one with lego and nerf in the future. I'd assume that since they are doing toys of the 80's I am gonna have to wait and see. But if this series is successful (and I think that it will be) then they may choose to capitalize by doing some 90's lines as well. (Yeah I know we are all sick of 90's kids but who doesn't love lego bionicle?)
Posted by Va'al on February 22nd, 2018 @ 3:34am CST
We've selected a few salient points about Transformers specifically below (including the inaccuracies in the reporting, we know there are some), along with some older images we covered previously, to spruce up the post. We also found out the actual air date of the next four episodes, which is in fact June 2018, and not the 'three months' estimate we reported on earlier this week. Check it all out, and let us know what you think of the series so far!
GD: You’ve had access to a lot of cool things and met a lot of cool people. Have any cool prototypes or one-offs been added to your collection because of access from the show?
Brian: I was very mindful of even not having the appearance of a conflict of interest. We had a lot of people – we had Bod [sic] Budiansky, he’s the Marvel editor who created all the characters for Transformers and wrote every single [ed. note: not entirely true, just initial run] Transformers comic book. I mean, he literally came in with a pile of paper on his lap that turned out to be his original legal pad descriptions of Optimus Prime and Star Scream [sic] and Ravage. I would conservatively estimate he had half a million dollars worth of history on his lap. He took a 3-hour train ride to our New York office just holding these things in his hand! They weren’t even in a folder or a bag! I honestly, and this was very early on in the shoot, I almost said to him ‘Hey, would you sell those?’ and right before I asked him I was like ‘You know what? That’s not appropriate.’ If the day ever comes where we officially will never make another episode, then I will reach back and possibly see if (he) would sell those.
[...]
GD: “How do you decide which properties you choose. Is it based on production numbers, the sales numbers, or the crossover cultural impact? What makes you determine what you cover?
Brian: “The official answer is ‘I use my gut.’ But if I’m to dive into my ‘gut,’ it’s a bunch of criteria. Number one, (has) the toy essentially been in production nonstop since the day it started production? Is this a toy that was big when it started and still big? Second thing: is it a good story? Is the story interesting? Is the story of how it got from A to B interesting? That was a big part. Number three, is there a rabid fan base? Do people dress up like the characters at conventions? Are there conventions? Do they dress up like the character for Halloween? And the fourth (thing) is, I had and idea in my head of like the Mount Rushmore of toys, and I wanted to make sure that every character we did could be on the Mount Rushmore of toys. My wife doesn’t know anything about Transformers, but if you show her a picture of Optimus Prime, she knows who that is. That’s what I call the Mount Rushmore factor.”
Posted by Galactic Prime on February 22nd, 2018 @ 12:32pm CST
Yet he did Masters of the Universe which has not.
Posted by Va'al on February 22nd, 2018 @ 2:48pm CST
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on March 26th, 2018 @ 5:10pm CDT
Thanks to an update on their Facebook page, we now know that Netflix's The Toys That Made Us has been renewed for a second season! This is big news as it has been very well received, and there is a Transformers episode, including the likes of Peter Cullen and our very own Seibertron himself, coming late in June!
The news broke via the Hollywood Reporter, where Netflix announced that The Toys That Made Us, along with 4 other unscripted shows, had been renewed.
What do you think of this news? Are you enjoying the series and are happy to see it continuing on? Are you looking forward to what other toys could possibly have had such an impact on us? Let us know in the comments section below!
Posted by Galactic Prime on March 26th, 2018 @ 5:19pm CDT
Posted by NeonPrime on March 26th, 2018 @ 7:13pm CDT
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on March 26th, 2018 @ 7:17pm CDT
NeonPrime wrote:Binged the first season when it was available and can't wait to see season two! Transformers is a no brainer but I'm really hoping they cover Wheeled Warriors, ThunderCats, M.A.S.K. Voltron and Robotech
A Voltron episode would be awesome!
Posted by cloudballoon on March 26th, 2018 @ 10:12pm CDT