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Hoist Goes Hollywood (episode)

2011-10-30T09:56:02Z

118.209.95.166: /* Animation or technical glitches */

{{episode
|image=Hoist goes hollywood1.jpg
|caption=Unfortunately, none of these guys made it past Michael Bay.
|series=G1toon
|ep=55
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=45
|prev2=Sea Change
|next2=Aerial Assault
|title="Hoist Goes Hollywood"
|written by=[[Earl Kress]]
|production code=700-54
|airdate=[[November 21]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Hoist gets cast in a big [[Hollywood]] movie! Hi-jinks ensue.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ホイストハリウッドへ行く (''Hoist Hollywood e Iku'', "Hoist Goes Hollywood")
:''German title:'' "'''Hoist geht zum Film'''" ("Hoist goes to the Movie")
:''Italian title, dub 1:'' '''Cinema!'''
:''Italian title, dub 2:'' '''Hoist conquista Hollywood''' ("Hoist wins Hollywood")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:HoistGoesHollywood Hoist rescue.jpg|left|200px|thumb|]]

[[Carly]] and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] are on a drive through the countryside inside [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] when they are overtaken by two speeding vehicles. They pursue and see one of the cars make an improbable crash off a cliff and land on top of the other. Before they can investigate, a man on the top of the cliff yells at them for ruining the shot. It turns out they’ve driven into the middle of a movie set. Hoist saves the imperiled drivers of the crashed cars, and the director is so impressed, he hires Hoist on the spot for his next movie. The director invites Spike and Carly along to visit the movie studio.

In the skies, [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] is having trouble transporting a mysterious, heavy load. He crashes into the swamp set on the lot of [[Major Pictures]]. [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] orders him to shut down, yells at [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] for no good reason, then sends [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] and [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] to go after Dirge and retrieve the mysterious cargo.

Hoist arrives at Major Pictures for his big-screen debut, but gets the brush-off from the director. Before filming begins, [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]], [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] and [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] horn in on the set and ham it up for the director’s attention. Strangely, the director is impressed by their hi-jinks and decides to hire them all for the action picture.

[[Image:Hoisthollywoodmegsseesfilm.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Eh...it's a film.]]

Movie work doesn’t prove to be as glamorous as they had hoped. The bots wind up crashing into buildings and playing second fiddle to the human actors, [[Karen Fishook]] and [[Harold Edsel (G1)|Harold Edsel]], while Hoist pulls them out of the smoldering wreckage after each take.

Disgruntled at their bit parts, the Autobots ask Hoist to lobby the director for better roles, but the director tells Hoist to get a bagel and sit tight. The Autobots take off just as Astrotrain and the other [[Conehead]]s show up to pull Dirge and the cargo out of the swamp set, all as the cameras roll.

Back at Decepticon headquarters, Megatron looks over the strange device. He isn’t sure what it does; he only knows that Wheeljack built it, but he’s sure that it is some kind of potent, deadly weapon. (He doesn’t know [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] very well, does he?) When switched on by Thrust, the device sparks and smokes, but does nothing else. Enraged, Megatron bashes Starscream. Astrotrain then reveals that he and the others were filmed by the humans when they retrieved the device. Megatron orders everyone to the studio to steal or destroy the footage so the device remains a secret.

At the studio, the director is viewing the robot footage and decides to revamp the script into a science fiction epic blockbuster called ''[[Attack of the Alien Robots]]'', to the dismay of the human cast. He calls the Autobots to return with the promise of better parts. Once back, the director has the Autobots don googly-eyed, buck-toothed alien masks and stomp around after the female lead. For some reason, the Autobots still don’t like their parts as monsters from space.

[[Image:Hoisthollywoodevilaliens.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Attack of the Autobots]]

Making their rounds, Spike and Carly find the room where the film negatives are stored and discover that someone has stolen scenes from the movie. That someone was Starscream, but [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] reports to Megatron that the original negative still exists. Megatron pounds on Starscream again, this time ripping wires out of his chest! He then orders the others to get the negative.

Meanwhile, the Autobots are filming another scene with pyrotechnics, which have been switched for actual explosives by [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]]. Spike and Carly are in a screening room watching a new print of the stolen footage of the Decepticons and the device. Midway through the screening, [[:Image:HoistGoesHollywood Soundwave movie rip.JPG|Soundwave rips through the screen]] and destroys the projector. Spike and Carly rush to the film vault to get the original before the Decepticons do, but are interrupted by Megatron. Carly fools him by giving him an empty film canister, and they race around the studio lot with the Decepticons close on their heels. They finally meet up with Hoist, who has a plan.

[[Image:Hoisthollywoodflesheatinglava.jpg|right|200px|thumb|It's loaded with wasabi!]]

Megatron and the others finally catch up and find the Autobots on a movie set. Hoist threatens to drop the humans and the film into a vat of flesh-eating lava if the ‘Cons don’t withdraw. Megatron says he won’t do it, but Hoist drops them in. Content that the film is gone, the Decepticons retreat. Hoist then lifts Spike and Carly from the “lava”, which is just bubbly, muddy water mixed with special effects.

The Autobots show the film to Wheeljack in the screening room. The Autobot scientist laughs at Megatron because the device Megatron wanted so much is actually worthless. Impressed with Hoist's performance at the lava pit, the director offers him the leading part in a new film, but Hoist declines, saying that his duty as an Autobot comes first, no matter how unglamorous it is.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (1)
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (14)
*[[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (15)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (16)
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (17)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (21)

|c2=
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (8)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (9)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (10)
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (11)
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (12)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (13)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (18)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (20)

|c3=
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] (2)
*[[Carly]] (3)
*[[Director#Assistant_director|Assistant director]] (4)
*[[Director]] (5)
*[[Karen Fishook]] (6)
*[[Harold Edsel (G1)|Harold Edsel]] (7)
*[[Director#Production_assistant|Production assistant]] (19)
}}

==Quotes==
"Ready for my big scene, Mr. Director." 
"Huh? Oh, yeah, the robot. Er...okay, Moist, er...pick up a donut from the catering truck and relax until I call for ya." 
"Donut?"
:—'''Hoist''' gets the brush-off from the Major Pictures '''director'''.

"The star has arrived!"
:—'''Sunstreaker''', humble as ever

"Oh, no. The Autobots have gone movie-mad.”
:—'''Spike'''

"Who would want to steal scenes from ''this'' picture?"
:—'''Spike Witwicky''', movie critic

"I feel like a fool!" 
"Do you wanna quit?" 
"No, but I still feel like a fool!"
:—'''Tracks''' and '''Sunstreaker''' aren't enjoying their movie careers.

"He is...no match for the alien robots...I-I mean, the ''evil'' alien robots."
:—'''Warpath''' shows his acting chops.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===

* Spike's hair is briefly colored orange at the beginning of the episode.

* As the cars speed past Hoist, the ground has lines on it in a few shots even though they're on an unpaved cliffside.

* Warpath "sharpshoots" at nothing!

* As the director announces the Autobots will be his stunt vehicles, you can hear Spike's "Tracks!" line played over again.

* As the director notes he wants something "extra," his glasses are missing their earpieces for a moment.

* In the swamp, when Ramjet transforms and takes off, he is given Thrust's colors. He's also standing where Thrust had been a moment earlier.

* The usual "clunk" sound is missing as Megatron punches Starscream.

* Megatron, Starscream (in robot mode!) and Soundwave leave the Decepticon base, but the very next shot shows Megatron, Soundwave and three jets (one could be Starscream, but there was no transformation sound).

* Karen Fishook's attempt to console her co-star is cut off in mid-sentence by the scene edit.

* The "CLOSED" sign on the studio the Decepticons are in reads "CLLOSE".

* When Megatron grabs Starscream after he learns the negative is still in existence, Starscream's hips turn white, but they immediately turn back to their normal red when he gets picked up.

* After Megatron rips Starscream a new one, Soundwave is colored like [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]].

* Warpath and Powerglide are missing their face plates after the explosion scene.
[[Image:HoistGoesHollywood No Faceplate Error.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Guess they mouthed off once too often.]]

* When Spike and Carly view the footage, Wheeljack's invention is yellow instead of gray.

* As usual, human buildings comfortably accommodate a full-size Transformer, such as Megatron or Soundwave.

* Just before they run into Megatron, Spike and Carly appear to be mouthing something, but there's no dialogue.

* When Soundwave tells Carly and Spike to "Surrender the negative," he appears as if he's sliding forward in the next scene, even though he's walking towards them, as evidenced by the sound of his footsteps.

* Megatron, Soundwave and Rumble tear through a jungle background, but it's still there as they walk through the tear.

* As Megatron jumps out of the cave, his head is about a third the size it should be, but returns to normal size once he lands.

*As the director offers Hoist a role in his next movie, the shots show light brown walls around them, but in the last shot of the episode, the theater is back to dark blue again.

* Near the end of the episode, Warpath says "You tell him Hoist, yeah," but Hoist's mouthplate is moving in sync with the words, and his body language reflects the dialogue.

* During the last shot of the Autobots congratulating Hoist, Sunstreaker is placed too high in the cel, making him appear to be floating (and clipping through the humans!).

===Continuity errors===
* Not an error ''per se'', but we never do find out exactly why Megatron blames Starscream for Dirge's crash.
* Nor is it clear why Dirge struggles to carry the device, while Ramjet seems to have no trouble with it.
* Why would Hoist's threat to drop Spike, Carly, and the film negative into the lava have given the Decepticons pause when they'd been trying to destroy the three of them for pretty much the whole episode?
* Hoist says there's "no such thing as flesh-eating lava." What about...''lava''?

===Real-world references===
* The characters of Harold Edsel and Karen Fishook are obvious parodies of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher from the ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' films. Karen Fishook is voiced by Susan Blu, who would later voice another Princess Leia parody: Arcee.

* Upon Powerglide's entrance, he references the [[Wikipedia:Academy Awards|Academy Awards]], saying "I'll show you some real Oscar-winning material." No Transformers movie has won an Oscar, though [[Transformers (2007)|the 2007 film]] was nominated for three awards and [[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|its 2009 sequel]] was nominated for one.

*The role of "Dash Jordon" is an obvious reference to the character Flash Gordon.

===Trivia===
[[Image:HoistGoesHollywood Starscream offline.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Feel better? No? GOOD.]]
* This is one of four pre-movie episodes that doesn't feature [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]].
*Megatron is ''incredibly'' abusive toward Starscream in this episode...well, more than usual. Starscream is absent for the next few episodes after his wires are pulled out; Megatron must have done some ''real'' damage.
*We never find out what Wheeljack's device is supposed to do.
*Spike yells, "DUCK!" when Soundwave bursts through the theater screen, but he and Carly run away instead.
*When the Autobots are role-playing the aliens chasing the actress, Sunstreaker looks like he's...goose-stepping?
*When the Autobots are sitting in director's chairs with their names written on the backs, Tracks’s chair is spelled "Trucks". This ''could'' be an extension of the gag where the director constantly gets Hoist's name wrong. Then again, considering how common [[Engrish|mangled English]] lettering is in the cartoon's backgrounds, it may be an outright error (presumably stemming from a misunderstanding on the part of Japanese animators, as the English short "a" and short "u" sounds are identical to the Japanese ear). The world may never know.
*This was one of twelve episodes of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]] released as audio adventures by the [[Germany|German]] company [[Karussell|Karussell Musik und Video]].

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 7 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — Box-Set (3DVDs) ([[Flex Media]]) — German audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 06: Stagione Due Parte Quarta ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/hoist_goes_hollywood.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

The Girl Who Loved Powerglide

2011-10-30T09:04:54Z

118.209.95.166: /* Animation or technical glitches */

{{episode
|image=Powerglide heart.jpg
|caption=He's just looking for a heaaaartbeeeaaaat...
|series=G1toon
|ep=54
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=37
|prev2=The Gambler
|next2=Kremzeek!
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=38
|prev3=Autobot Spike
|next3=Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1
|title="The Girl Who Loved Powerglide"
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-53
|airdate=[[November 18]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''A newly-orphaned debutante must protect her late father's work from Megatron. She finds Powerglide, and with him, safety...or perhaps...something...more?'''

:''Japanese title:'' 令嬢より愛をこめて (''Reijō Yori Ai o Kome te'', "From Your Daughter with Love")
:''German title:'' "'''Das Mädchen, das sich in Powerglide verliebte'''" ("The girl who fell in love with Powerglide")
:''Italian title, dub 1:'' '''Una ragazza terribile''' ("A terrible girl")
:''Italian title, dub 2:'' '''La ragazza che amava Powerglide''' ("The girl who loved Powerglide")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Powerglide Astoria Marygoaround.jpg|left|200px|thumb|[[Scale]] doesn't matter, really.]]

One fine day at the skyscraper headquarters of [[Hybrid Technologies]], the members of the board are gathered to celebrate the birthday of one [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz]]... their CEO. While the crusty board members complain about having to party, Astoria herself isn't too happy to be stuck with such a bunch of downers. However, the arrival and attack of the Conehead trio, [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]], [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]], and [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]], gives them all something much bigger to worry about.

Luckily, [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] just happens to be passing by, and observes the Coneheads attempting to kidnap Astoria. Powerglide successfully saves Astoria by having her grab on to a rope. He then proceeds to sweep through the city with her flying through the air at breakneck speed while clinging to a dangling rope with only her arm strength to keep Astoria from plummeting thousands of feet to her sure death. Powerglide eventually reels her up where she is stowed safely in his cockpit, amusingly with her large floppy purple hat still present.

After performing several evasive maneuvers that leave Astoria tumbling willy nilly around Powerglide's cabin, he manages to lose the Coneheads by ducking beneath an overpass. Powerglide introduces himself while they are waiting, but quickly finds himself rather put off by his overly gregarious human charge.

The duo manages to make it back to [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]]'s workshop without any further mishap. [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] shares some pertinent information with Powerglide and Sparkplug and also reveals that the young heiress doesn't know about some of the ventures her company works on even though she is in charge of the company. Optimus Prime believes [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] wants something from her so he orders Powerglide to escort her back to the [[Ark (G1)|Autobot Headquarters]]. On the way to the Ark, Astoria pipes up and says she is starving and wants to eat something.

Meantime in the Decepticon Base, Megatron is quite unhappy about the Coneheads' failure. He orders them to bring Astoria to him and this time without any failures.

[[Image:Astoria wrap Powerglide's wound.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Wrapping the wound can prevent the sands from getting in.]]

After sating her hunger with amusement park [[hot dog]]s, Astoria is quick to amuse herself by jumping on the merry-go-around, much to Powerglide's consternation and bemusement. Powerglide tries to get the flighty girl to leave, but it's too late—the Coneheads come back for Astoria. Powerglide fights them off with some trick shots, and manages to escape with Astoria. But the Coneheads soon catch up, and Powerglide is rammed by Ramjet. Powerglide's left arm and left wing are injured and he is forced to make a crash landing. The Coneheads bury him in a rock pile, and take Astoria prisoner.

Powerglide breaks out from beneath the debris and attempts to set off in pursuit of the Coneheads. Despite his determination, he collapses due to his injuries. [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] eventually arrive to haul him back to Headquarters for repairs.

After Ratchet does some basic repairs on him, Powerglide refuses any further repairs and goes to see Optimus Prime. While Powerglide is discussing his options with Optimus Prime, [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] notifies them that [[Sky Spy]] just detected an unusual atmospheric disturbance over the Northern Atlantic and the source is 10 miles above the sea level. Optimus Prime thinks it is possibly the [[Sky Platform|Decepticons' suborbital station]]. Impulsively, Powerglide rushes out of the Ark and flies directly to the Sky Platform and consequently into the energy storm.

[[Image:Pgalove.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Powerglide crushes Astoria in a fit of rage.]]

Meanwhile, the Decepticons are interrogating Astoria about the energy formula left by her father. She claims that she knows nothing, so Megatron decides to use the [[psycho-probe]] in order to make her tell him about the formula. Seemingly cursed by Astoria's machine-jinxing aura, the psycho-probe keeps malfunctioning, provoking Megatron into such a rage that he eventually destroys the machine.

Hook reports that Powerglide is approaching the platform; the Decepticons go out to meet him. Megatron laughs at Powerglide and says he won't be able to break through the energy storm. But Astoria throws her necklace given by her father toward the energy-storm-generating tower and successfully destroys it. Not surprisingly, the necklace contains the energy formula.

The destroyed tower collapses the buildings on Sky Platform. The Sky Platform loses its control and starts to fall down. The Decepticons retreat to [[Decepticon Headquarters (G1 Earth)|their headquarters]]. Both Powerglide and Astoria go into the control room. After a bit of a lover's tiff, Powerglide repairs the control panel, successfully slowing down the Sky Platform's descent and setting a new course. As the platform drops toward the ocean, the duo make good their escape.

The Decepticons return to base and congratulate themselves on their escape... only to find that the Sky Platform is falling directly onto their headquarters. Megatron orders the force fields to be activated, only for Soundwave to inform him they didn't install any. Megatron then yells at his crew as massive quantities of seawater rush into the base.

[[Image:Astoria kisses Powerglide.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Moonracer]] is gooonna be maaad!]]

Back safe in the city, Powerglide asks Astoria why Megatron was so keen on kidnapping Astoria. She tells him it was because of the energy formula hidden in her necklace. Much to the private glee of the Autobots present, Powerglide asks rather shyly whether he could look her up next time he comes to town. Astoria is very happy and [[kiss]]es him before she scurries off to her limo and is carted off. The minute Astoria is out of earshot, everyone has a good-natured laugh at Powerglide's expense. Thoroughly embarrassed, Powerglide threatens the would-be teasers with a good boxing around the circuits before he stomps into the building.

Once Powerglide is out of sight of the other Autobots, he pauses to open his chest plate, showing a series of LEDs flashing in the form of a stylized heart.

{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (5)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (6)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (7)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (8)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (13)

|c2=
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (2)
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (3)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (4)
*[[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] (9)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (10)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (11)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (12)

|c3=
*[[Astoria Carlton-Ritz]] (1)
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (8)
*[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (7)
}}

==Quotes==
"Oh wow! He's tall, he's handsome, he's shiny. And he can fly!"
:—'''Astoria''' comments on Powerglide

"I guess me and machines don't get along too well." 
"I can ''personally'' attest to that."
:—'''Astoria''' and '''Powerglide'''

"Why does everything always happen to me?"
:—'''Powerglide''' laments his lot in life.

"Get back here! I'm not done!" 
"Is my wing fixed? Can I fly?" 
"Well, yes, but—" 
"Then you're ''done''."
:—'''Ratchet''' has a most unwilling patient in '''Powerglide'''

"You got any burgers in this joint?" 
"Silence!" 
"You guys are, like, the worst hosts!"
:—'''Astoria''' and '''Soundwave'''

"Hey! Like, don't be so hostile, okay?" 
"Tell me what you know!" 
"All I know is that you're a complete and total, utter—" 
"SILENCE!"
:—'''Astoria''' and '''Megatron'''

"Subject's mind completely empty."
:—Why in God's name didn't '''Soundwave''' just scan her mind himself?

"The psycho-probe will put 90,000 volts through your brain. It is an excruciating experience. Will you tell me what you know??" 
"All this waiting around, that's what's excruciating. I mean, I'm starving, for cryin' out loud! When are you guys gonna feed me? That's what I wanna know. Your dumb machine, like, doesn't even work, and—" 
"Enough!"
:—'''Megatron''' wants '''Astoria''' just to shut up

"Energize the force fields!" 
"What force fields?!"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Soundwave'''

"Attention, Decepticons! This is Megatron speaking. Your new orders are... er... ''clean up this mess!''"
:—'''Megatron''' tries to maintain a semblance of dignity as his base floods

"Ha, wow! Who would've believed it! Powerglide shot down by Cupid!"
:—'''Sparkplug''' teases Powerglide after he is kissed by Astoria.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* One of the party guests at the beginning of the episode uses the British expletive "bloody", but doesn't have much of a British accent.
* For just a frame or two, the top of Dirge's head turns blue instead of black as the Coneheads run to take off in pursuit of Powerglide.
* The dialog doesn't quite seem to synch up with the events on-screen as Astoria wrecks all of Spike's equipment. Spike's "HEY!" doesn't correspond to any actual action, and Astoria continues speaking evenly and nonchalantly as she slams into a crane hard enough to knock an engine block loose.
* Dirge's eyes go from bright red to dark red as he leans forward while being berated by Megatron.
* Ramjet's mouth doesn't move when he says "Please, let us try to find her again."
* Ramjet's face changes from dark gray to light gray as he delivers his "And we will GET the girl" line.
*Powerglide shoots a vending machine and blows a huge hole in it. This somehow causes a firehose-like torrent of soda to come shooting out of the machine.
* Astoria's necklace is the same yellow as her dress after Ramjet hits Powerglide.
[[Image:Powerglide Astoria w.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Powerglide starts the drag race by throwing down his handkerchief.]]
*Powerglide's landing gears are all painted red when he lands after being rammed by Ramjet.
* Astoria totally has no legs as Thrust and Ramjet carry her off.
* Scale is alway goofy in this show, but robot-mode Thrust and Ramjet are quite visibly smaller than jet-mode Dirge as they load Astoria into his cockpit, even though they're all the same size. Meanwhile, Ratchet is big enough in vehicle mode to hold both Wheeljack, a sportscar, and Powerglide, a ''plane'' - who in turn, is large enough to ferry around Astoria.
* Wheeljack's ears don't flash during his "You will, you will..." lines.
* In the first close-up of Hook aboard the sky platform, he's drawn with two eyes instead of an optic visor.
* "Don't be so hostile, okay?" Rumble's fists are gray instead of purple in this shot.
* "Subject's mind... completely empty!" Soundwave is missing his yellow stripes, and his cheek guards and eject button are blue instead of gray.
* "Computer error." Soundwave's shoulder cannon is missing its red stripe.
* As Soundwave activates the psycho-probe for the second time, one of the console buttons is layered over his hand.
* As Megatron laughs at Powerglide, his voice is missing its metallic flange.
* "He'll never make it through that energy storm" - Megatron is missing the red on his waist.
* When Powerglide releases his hug from Astoria after she saves him, it appears as if he roughly pushes her away, sending her on a death tumble off the platform.
*When Powerglide hands Astoria his bizarre little parachute, her torso is ''completely missing''. The background smoke and clouds are also frozen in place.
* As they enter the control room, Astoria phases through the wall, and Powerglide's face disappears for a second.
* "Correction: problem is ours!" Rumble is colored like Bumblebee in this shot.
* "What force fields?" Soundwave's face is colored the same blue as the rest of his head, and he's missing his wrist stripes.
* As Astoria departs, Sparkplug has his hand on Spike's shoulder, but it's colored blue. The colorists seem to have gotten mixed up by Prime standing right behind Spike.

===Continuity errors===
* Powerglide's cockpit interior is shown at a half-way point between a single-seater (as seen in "Dinobot Island Part 1") and a gigantic cabin ("Blaster Blues").
* Likewise, his hatch is shown to be on the side of his fuselage, rather than the bubble canopy.
* With no seat restraints, Astoria should have been battered to pulp by all of Powerglide's maneuvering.
* Superhuman Astoria:
** Both Powerglide and the Coneheads repeatedly manhandle Astoria's arms as through they were made of rubber.
** Powerglide is actually quite abusive to the [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz|human he is charged with "saving" in this episode.]] Right after they meet, he throws her off his arm and onto the concrete so hard she ''bounces'' (thus answering one of the great [[Aerialbots over America!|mysteries of the ages]].)
** Then he apparently ''throws'' her out of the control room on the sky platform. But hey, that's what she gets for having to be told twice, right, Powerglide?
** Astoria literally inhales the hotdog Powerglide gives her at the mini-amusement park. She chews(?) and swallows in under a second, something even Takeru Kobayashi would admire!
** She seemed able to breathe quite comfortably while outside the platform despite the fact it was floating ten miles up.
**It seems Astoria is also gifted with superhuman strength, as she is able to hold her own against the Coneheads, prevent Powerglide from taking her necklace, and rip a metal panel with her bare hands. Maybe Powerglide's abuse isn't as damaging as it appears.
* That is one tough merry-go-round, to be able to support a multi-ton metal robot. (But hey, it's totally worth it to see Powerglide riding a merry-go-round.)
* Astoria rips her dress to bandage Powerglide's arm wound from sand infection, but her dress is intact for the rest of the episode.
** The dress bandage is shown as Powerglide dives for cover from the coneheads, but is missing from every subsequent scene.
* Seriously, Soundwave could have scanned Astoria's mind like he scanned [[Chip Chase]] back in "[[Roll for It]]". Surely, Astoria couldn't have jinxed that ability too!
* Astoria correctly deduces that throwing a metal object into the apex of the energy-storm-generating tower will disable it. Yet she then looks around the MECHANICAL ISLAND and notes she finds “nothing” metallic. At the very least, she is surrounded by metal panels, which she easily rips apart in the next scene.
* Speaking of which, said tower seems unbelievably fragile. A large necklace thrown by a human causes a massive explosion. For something so essential to the entire structure, Megatron sure skimped out on making it durable.

===Continuity notes===
* Gadgets and powers:
** Powerglide once again uses a telescopic video camera. This time it comes out of his front laser gun barrel, however. How does ''that'' work?
** Powerglide also has some means of tossing out a rope while in plane mode, and reeling it back in.
** Dirge has his own version of Starscream's infamous boob bombs; he fires a pair of missiles from ducts just below his "boobs" (the rectangular "intakes" on his chest.)
** Powerglide can deploy a human-sized parachute from his hand. Apparently it was not designed to be strapped onto the back, but rather the user is supposed to hang on to a baton sized handle for the entire decent. Powerglide clearly overestimates the gripping power of humans.
* Despite the fact that he has been seeing Carly for some time now, Spike unashamedly hits on Astoria, and promptly gets shot down for Powerglide. Hard. He had the same results with Nimue in “A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur’s Court”, yet he doesn’t seem to have learned his lesson.

===Real-world references===
* Astoria's name comes from two famous upscale hotels, the Waldorf-Astoria and Ritz-Carlton.
* "It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to!", as announced by Astoria early in the episode, is a lyric from the 1963 Lesley Gore song, "[[Wikipedia: It's My Party (song)|It's My Party]]".
* ''Star Wars'' sound effects:
** The slamming Death Star door is used to soundtrack Powerglide's closing bottom hatch.
** An exploding X-Wing (maybe Red Leader crashing into the Death Star), is repurposed as Powerglide's engine noise as Astoria sends him spiraling out of control.
** Truncated X-Wing diving whine as the Decepticons flee from the sky platform.

===Trivia===
*David Wise, the writer of this episode, recycled its plot, and even its set pieces, wholesale for his TMNT episode ''Poor Little Rich Turtle'', even down to replicating the merry-go-round sequence and the brain-sucking sequence (even though Buffy, the girl in the TMNT story, doesn't make machines malfunction normally she still makes the "Brainalizer" explode). Good ole David Wise. You can always rely on [[Microbots|him]] [[Kremzeek!|to]] [[Auto-Bop|recycle]] [[Attack of the Autobots|a story.]]
*While every other DVD release of the Generation 1 cartoon by [[Metrodome]] had been awarded the "U" rating (the [[United Kingdom]]'s equivalent to the American "G"), the opening line of this episode, in which a party-goer professes to feel "an absolutely bloody fool", earned box set containing it a "PG" rating for "mild language"!
* Powerglide's first line in the episode seems to revolve around the notion that one can be ''either'' a top scientist ''or'' a girl. And ''he's'' the one who gets a PSA on gender discrimination.
*This was one of twelve episodes of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]] released as audio adventures by the [[Germany|German]] company [[Karussell|Karussell Musik und Video]].

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1987 — ''Transformers'' — Heavy Metal Wars / The Girl Who Loved Powerglide ([[Tempo Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — ''Transformers'' — Call of the Primitives / The Girl Who Loved Powerglide (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1990 — ''Transformers'' — The Girl Who Loved Powerglide ([[Tempo Video|Collins Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1990 — ''Transformers'' — Heavy Metal Wars / The Girl Who Loved Powerglide ([[Tempo Video|Abbey Home Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — Box-Set (3DVDs) ([[Flex Media]]) — German audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 06: Stagione Due Parte Quarta ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_girl_who_loved_powerglide.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Girl Who Loved Powerglide}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]

The Search for Alpha Trion

2011-10-30T08:24:05Z

118.209.95.166: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|image=Search4atelita%26prime.jpg
|caption=Disco didn't die. It just went into stasis lock.
|series=G1toon
|ep=53
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=41
|prev2=Child's Play (episode)
|next2=The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=36
|prev3=Sea Change
|next3=Autobot Spike
|title="The Search for Alpha Trion"
|written by=[[Beth Bornstein]]
|production code=700-52
|airdate=[[November 12]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Discovering that his long-thought-dead love, Elita One, is in the hands of the Decepticons, Optimus Prime speeds to Cybertron on a rescue mission, only to end up discovering something about his own history in the process.'''

:''Japanese title:'' アルファートリンを探せ! (''Alpha Trin o Sagase!'', "Finding Alpha Trin!")
:''Brazilian title:'' '''À Procura de Alpha Trion''' ("Looking for Alpha Trion")
:''Italian title, dub 1:'' '''Le donne Autorobot''' ("The Autobot women")
:''Italian title, dub 2:'' '''Alla ricerca di Alpha Trion''' ("In search of Alpha Trion")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Search4atmoonracer.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Oi! You! Cut it out!]]

On Cybertron, three [[Female Autobots]] ([[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]], [[Moonracer]] and [[Firestar]]) sneak into [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave's]] headquarters under orders of [[Elita One]]. They raid Shockwave's stockpile of [[energon cube]]s to power their fight against the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]], but on the way out, Moonracer accidentally trips an alarm. Shockwave, surprised to see female Autobots still alive, sends a [[Sentinel (G1)|sentinel]] after them.

[[Image:Search4atelitaandalpha.jpg|right|150px|thumb|I see a bearded man in your future.]]

The Female Autobots escape the sentinel and return to Elita One, though Shockwave deduces the approximate location of their underground headquarters. Shockwave contacts [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] who sends [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] to assist in the apprehension of the Female Autobots. Rumble starts an earthquake which damages their headquarters. Elita One attempts to lure them away from the base by attacking, but is captured. Rumble continues shaking things up until Starscream believes the base is suitably destroyed.

[[Image:Search4atelitakicks.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Self Defense against sexual harassment.]]

Megatron contacts [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and shows him the imprisoned Elita One. Optimus rushes to her rescue, even though he knows it's a trap. Apparently, 4 million years ago, Optimus and Elita had a thing going. Right before boarding the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], Elita begged to go with him, but Optimus told her it was too dangerous. As they spoke, the Decepticons attacked [[Great Dome|Iacon]] and Elita vanished in the chaos, leaving Optimus to think she had perished. Not wishing to lose her a second time, Optimus heads for Cybertron via the Decepticon space bridge. [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] become curious as to why Optimus is heading to Cybertron alone and follow in secret.

As soon as Optimus arrives, he is taken prisoner by Starscream, who dangles him over a barrel of acid. Rumble drops Optimus, but before he lands in the barrel, Elita uses her special power, which stops time. Elita rescues Prime, but at the cost of her own life force, as the special power uses up so much energy. Prime loads Elita into his trailer and races to find [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], the only Autobot who can save her.

Back at Shockwave's headquarters, the Decepticons believe Optimus has perished. Just then, the three Autobots arrive and attack. In the Female Autobots' underground headquarters, Moonracer comes up with a plan to dig their way out. They detonate the energon cubes they had just stolen, freeing up their exit. Moonracer, Chromia and Firestar meet up with their friends Powerglide, Ironhide and Inferno, and together they take on the Decepticons.

[[Image:SearchAlphaTrion Prime Elita Autobots.JPG|right|150px|thumb|You're lucky my chick's here, m—oh, hey, so's yours.]]

Optimus eventually finds [[Alpha Trion's base‎]], and the old Autobot uses his skill to repair Elita One as best he can. In the end, Alpha Trion instructs Prime to interface with her for a power transfusion, as he is the only Autobot compatible with her design. Prime remarks that only his creator should know that. After the transfusion, Elita One recovers, and the two then return to help the Autobots fight off the Decepticons. Outnumbered, the Decepticons retreat. Alpha Trion then sets the Female Autobots up with a new secret base, and the two Autobot groups bid each other farewell when one returns to Earth.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] (1)
* [[Moonracer]] (2)
* [[Firestar]] (3)
* [[Elita One]] (4)
* [[Greenlight]] (7)
* [[Lancer]] (8)
* [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (13)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (14)
* [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (15)
* [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (16)
* [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (17)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (18)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (19)
* [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (20)

|c2=
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (5)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (6)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (9)
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (10)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (11)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (12)
}}

==Notable Quotes==
"Female Autobots? I thought they were extinct."
:—'''Shockwave''' obviously hasn't kept up to date on Cybertron's Discovery Channel.

"Such noble nonsense."
:—'''Shockwave''' disses Chromia and [[The Transformers: The Movie|gives Megatron material to rip off]].

"Elita One knows no fear!"
:—'''Elita One''' need not worry about Man-Thing, then.

"Optimus Prime, something rather exciting has been discovered on Cybertron. I thought you might like to know about it."
:—'''Megatron''' calls to say he's discovered girls.

[[Image:Searchforatprimehanging.jpg|right|150px|thumb|I can feel the heat!]]
"Please, let him go." 
"Very well, my dear...let him go...into the acid!"
:—'''Elita One'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s plea to '''Starscream''' to free Optimus Prime doesn't have the expected result.

"How quaint! The girls have come to rescue their boyfriends!"
:—Jealous, '''Starscream'''?

"Alpha Trion...I never expected to see you again."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' doesn't have much faith in his deadbeat dad.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
[[Image:Optimus prime nomouthplate.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Megatron has stolen my mouthplate! This time he's gone too far...]]
*In the very first shots of the episode, the wall Firestar cuts through has details on it then suddenly turns blank gray, and the area behind the Female Autobots is drawn as a very plain area with light gray walls (which should be purple).

*In a few shots, Shockwave's gun uses the sound effect of Prime's rifle.

*As the trip escapes from Shockwave, Moonracer's transformation sound effect is cut in half (missing the first part).

*Chromia's gun uses the same sound effect Shockwave's cannon made a moment earlier. At the beginning of the show, it used the sound effect normally associated with Starscream's weapons.

*As Shockwave speaks to Megatron, one of the shots of the display shows a background with a purple-squared ceiling behind Megatron, but the rest show him to be outside.

*Also, the console configuration is totally different in the last shot (as Megatron ends the communication).

*In several shots before the first commercial break, Rumble has only one gun on his back. For the remainder of the episode, he has two.

*When Ramjet delivers the line "Maybe Shockwave made an error in his calculations", he has Astrotrain's voice. It is the same voice actor, but it has the space-echo effect that is used for Astrotrain.

*In what is perhaps one of the most infamous mistakes in Transformers history, as Prime speaks with Megatron over [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]], he's missing his [[mouthplate]] for a few frames leaving him with a blank slate for a face.

*When Megatron tells Optimus about the Female Autobots and shows him "proof", as he asks "How's this Prime?", Elita One appears to talk along with him.

*When the Autobots are trying to work out where Prime had gone, standing at [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]]'s control panel is a [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] in a red and gray color scheme.

*When Chromia says "Oh, we need more than hope", Moonracer is shown as the one speaking.

*Observing the spacebridge from afar, Ironhide notes that "if Prime got past those guards" so could his team. The thing is, there ''are'' no guards, and there weren't any when Prime used the bridge, either.

*Prime is hanging precariously over the vat of acid in one scene, but when the perspective changes to a view from above the vat is missing.

*When Elita revives Optimus from her stasis field, he fades from his normal colors to green, rather than the other way around. Once the fade is complete, mind you, he jumps back to his normal colors when he starts to move.

*As the Decepticons are freed from Elita's stasis field, Starscream cheers, "But Prime has disintegrated!" as if responding to some unspoken line from one of the others. The missing line is also absent from the episode's shooting script.<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_thread/thread/5821789ca800431a/68758ddf3993e5ac Secrets of the Original Scripts, Part Five]</ref> It would seem likely that the missing line covered Elita One's sudden disappearance.

*Inferno gasps "It can't be!" in response to Prime's apparent demise, but Ironhide is shown speaking.

*Ironhide's finger lasers use the sound effect of Megatron's fusion cannon.

*As Ironhide says, "Hold it right there, Starscream. You've taken your last step.", his cheeks are white when they should be red.

*Chromia's eyes are red during her line of "Ladies first."

*Alpha Trion says he will do what he can for Elita One, but he barely looks for 5 seconds while Prime walks away! There probably should have been a dissolve to show some passage of time.

*As Alpha Trion says, "Now it's your turn to help her," Prime's mouthplate is moving as if he's speaking the words.

*As Prime charges Elita One, the shot shows a wall behind him where the hallway was a moment earlier (unless her bed suddenly turned 90 degrees).

*Prime's gun has a different sound effect as he shoots at Starscream.

*The area around Alpha Trion's eyes changes from white to gray several times in the episode, sometimes from shot to shot. Powerglide's mouthplate sometimes changes from gray to dark gray in a similar manner.

*When Optimus and Elita are saying their goodbyes to each other, the space bridge of [[Decepticon Headquarters (G1 Cybertron)|Decepticon Headquarters]] is up. When Optimus leaves, it is down.

===Continuity errors===
*When the Ark launched back in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]", there was no indication of a Decepticon attack on [[Great Dome|Iacon]], as this episode's flashback shows.
*Perceptor, Bumblebee and Cliffjumper are shown in Autobot HQ, yet they don't transform or join Ironhide's team heading for the space bridge.
*Speaking of the space bridge, ''why'' are there no guards around it during this episode?
*As usual, Rumble's pylons bust up the ground (several feet away from him) but don't shake up the Decepticons standing right next to him.
* Optimus Prime apparently had no idea that Alpha Trion was his creator, despite the fact that in "[[War Dawn]]" after being rebuilt, he was fully conscious and actually met the guy and even knew that Elita One was built by him.
*As Starscream announces Prime's destruction, we see a bunch of parts in the vat of acid (what Starscream later calls Prime's "melted carcass"). Where did they come from? Prime escaped without a scratch!
*"Wrong, Autobot. Not unless you can fly." Powerglide ''can'' fly. [[Microbots|Like a bird]], even.
*Why doesn't Shockwave shoot Prime and One instead of just floating there?

===Transformers references===
*The episode marked the first appearance of genuine [[female Transformer]]s in official fiction.

*Alpha Trion's relationship to Optimus Prime would be touched upon again in "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2]]", and explained more fully in "War Dawn".

*"War Dawn" would also go on to explain precisely why only Prime's power supply would interface with Elita's, as seen in this episode (because she was rebuilt using his schematics).

===Trivia===
*Proof that Prime's trailer exists in subspace: He goes over the space bridge to Cybertron and transforms, and his trailer (complete with a platform for Elita One) rolls in from out of nowhere!

*This episode is the fourth and final appearance of Prime's trailer's "artillery robot" in the animated series.

[[Image:G1 Prime Elita energy transfer.JPG|right|200px|thumb|I can't wait for you to operate...When I get this feeling, I need Sexual Healing...]]

*This episode contains the rather infamous scene in which Prime connects a cable from his midriff to Elita's, and utters an audible, not-entirely-unpleasant-sounding groan as energy is transmitted through it, to her. Sexy.

*Ironhide must hate the wall in Shockwave's base, this is at least the second time he has blown through it!

*The only male Transformers seen to have 'girlfriends' in this episode ALL have red as part of their color schemes.

*Moonracer seems to be calling Powerglide "Carglide" upon seeing him again.

*If we think about it, since Optimus Prime and Elita One have the same creator, they are, in some way, brother and sister, which just makes their relationship look plain weird. (Well, maybe [[Jean Minakaze|not]] [[Patty Minakaze|in]] [[Solon Kitakaze (Victory)|Japan]].) The events of "War Dawn" show that Orion Pax and Ariel existed as non-siblings before they were remade into Optimus Prime and Elita One, though Transformers has demonstrated somewhat [[Relatives|puzzling definitions of siblings]].

*Greenlight and Lancer went nameless for 25 years until they finally got their monikers in the [[Timelines (fiction)|Timelines]] text story ''[[Flames of Yesterday]]''.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1999 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 2: Revenge of the Decepticons ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_search_for_alpha_trion.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Search for Alpha Trion}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]