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A Fistful of Energon

2010-08-22T21:07:57Z

174.106.127.78: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|series2=AniJapan
|ep=23
|ep2=21
|prev2=Velocity
|next2=SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy
|image=AFistfulofEnergon-StarscreamPurpleclone.jpg
|caption=Has the Allspark Power line ended yet? Is it safe for redecos to come out now?
|title="A Fistful of Energon"
|airdate=[[May 24]], [[2008]]
|written by=[[Andrew Robinson]]
|directed by=[[Irineo Maramba]] [[Matt Youngberg]] [[Makoto Fuchigami]]
|animation studio=[[Mook]]
}}

'''Prowl goes off on his own to capture the fugitive Starscream, but finds some competition in the form of a Decepticon bounty hunter. '''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TFA Fistful Energon Starscream escape.JPG|thumb|left|"Okay, Starscream farted on us and escaped during our confusion. Let's never talk about this again." "Agreed."]]

As the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]]'s ship proceeds on its journey, an explosion rocks the hull, and out flies [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]], declaring vengeance against [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] once again.

On [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]], [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] and [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] are on the lookout for their feral friends in response to reports of some rampaging going on. Prowl has been sent along with [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet's]] EMP generator and some [[stasis cuffs]], but doubts he will need them since the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]] are such gentle spirits when left alone and he has always been able to reason with them. [[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]] soon contradicts Prowl's perspective by charging into the clearing like an angry rhino. Prowl is still determined to take it easy on the big guy until Grimlock's jaws get dangerously close to a nest filled with adorable little baby birdies. Using an EMP blast, Prowl quickly incapacitates Grimlock.

[[Image:AFistfulofEnergon-ProwlEMPGenerator.jpg|thumb|We can use my wrist thingy to track Bender's [[Personality component|brain]].]]

Prowl and Bulkhead are both surprised that it came to that, but Prowl rationalizes that he did what he had to do to save the little birds. At this point, he notices a thorn stuck in Grimlock's paw as the likely source of the Dinobot's extra aggression. With some advice from Ratchet over the comm, Prowl uses controlled bursts from the EMP to stabilize the affected area, and Bulkhead yanks out the spike. Grimlock sighs in relief, and everything is all better.

Before they can head home, however, [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] contacts the [[Autobot]] base with a message that Starscream has escaped and was last seen headed back to Earth. They would have sent that message sooner, but it seems [[Mission Accomplished|their tachyon transmitter has gone missing]]. Megatron, who has been intercepting the message, takes a look at his own tachyon transmitter and sarcastically wonders where the Autobots' could have gone. He then wastes no time putting out a bounty on the escaped [[Decepticon]] traitor.

Back on the island, Prowl is feeling pretty tough after taking down the big, bad Grimlock all by himself and is already contemplating a similar hunt for Starscream. At the very least, while they're in the neighborhood, he and Bulkhead use [[Teletran-1]]'s sensitive scanners to locate Starscream's [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]] fragment...on the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]]. Prowl believes they have everything they need to go after him right away, but Bulkhead reminds him that Starscream is a little out of their league if it's just the two of them. Prowl agrees, but as soon as Bulkhead is off the ship and his back is turned, Prowl takes off in the [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|ship]]'s [[emergency shuttle]] by himself and heads for the Moon.

Prowl tracks the AllSpark fragment to the remains of the Decepticon warship. Optimus and Ratchet try to warn him how crazy his plan is and order him to return, but Prowl disregards them with some unconvincing fake static and heads inside the ship. He believes the mission of apprehending Starscream is best suited to a single bot built for stealth. Then, as he's sneaking around, his target finds him first and asks him derisively whom he's seeking here. Way to use that stealth...

[[Image:TFA Fistful Energon Prowl vs Lockdown.JPG|thumb|left|[[Prowl (G1)|Prowls]] and their [[Grimlock (G1)|sexual tension]].]]

Before Starscream can fire his null ray, a well-placed shuriken disables it. The fight begins, and thanks to the EMP, Prowl manages to hold his own. Starscream eventually gets in a direct hit, but on a hologram. The real Prowl gets into position, and an EMP blast knocks out the Decepticon. As soon as the fugitive is stasis-cuffed, a newcomer walks up and offers to take the bounty off his hands. It's [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]]...wearing a poncho? He and Prowl start to fight over the prize. Meanwhile Starscream comes to and yells at them to stop fighting because (as he says) he is afraid of rusting well before anybody wins. Neither combatant appreciates Starscream's comments, and both yell back at him to shut up and to lie still. He follows their orders and keeps silent for some time. But soon the fighters notice that their "prize" is silent for a bit too long. Looking down, they discover that he has already released his stasis cuffs and escaped safely. Outside, Starscream (who is strangely brown-coloured) blasts Prowl's shuttle and flies off toward Earth. Lockdown decloaks [[Death's Head (Animated)|his own ship]] and takes pursuit, with Prowl hitching a ride on the hull.

Lockdown is finding it difficult to locate Starscream's Decepticon signal when Prowl ambushes him, deflecting a counter-attack with a shield mod borrowed from Lockdown's own display case. Once they're at a standstill, Prowl points out that he knows how to track Starscream's AllSpark fragment, but he'll need Lockdown's sensors to do it. Thus a partnership is created, and Lockdown offers his new friend a few more upgrades to make sure they get the job done right.

[[Image:Samprowl.jpg|thumb|Okay, let's '''ignore''' the fact that Samurai and Ninja are polar opposites, and bask in the '''total''' awesomeness that is Samurai Prowl.]]

Lockdown's ship touches down in Detroit and disguises itself as a building again. Lockdown and Prowl transform and roll out, with Prowl enjoying the feel of his new samurai armor/sidecar. They track the signal to a highway where Starscream is cowering beneath a bridge. When they confront him, they notice that there's something wrong with him. He behaves considerably more cowardly than usual, and is painted considerably more purple. Prowl shows off his upgrades, flying circles around the fleeing Decepticon and eventually taking him down with an EMP blast. Lockdown is impressed. With the bounty secured, he contacts Megatron and arranges a meeting at an abandoned warehouse. Prowl is shocked to learn the two-faced bounty hunter he'd partnered with had been working for someone evil. When Starscream begs Lockdown not to hand over him to Megatron, Prowl tells him to calm himself and attempts to cross Lockdown. However, the tough bounty-hunter ''double''-crosses Prowl, tying him up with a bola, and drives off with his bounty in tow.

The other Autobots show up to untie their errant companion and chew him out, but Prowl is more interested in continuing pursuit of Starscream. The rest of the team follow, but point out that Prowl is starting to sound too much like Lockdown, as the mods are going to his head.

They almost catch up with Lockdown and the purple Starscream when they're stopped on the road by the arrival of ''another'' Starscream. This one sports a brown and off-white color scheme and rather a sly and manipulative personality. He attempts to negotiate a pact with the Autobots to work together and destroy Megatron, but Prowl turns down the offer and attacks. Using his new arsenal, he leads, disarms, and disables the brown Screamer. It's a cool but messy victory. Ratchet scolds Prowl for not just taking him out with a single EMP blast. Prowl attests that his way was more fun, but Ratchet points out all the collateral damage he caused, including a knocked down bird's nest with its eggs broken all over the sidewalk. On the contrary, Starscream praises Prowl's "fine and effective sudden attack" and even doubts if he is really an Autobot "from top to toe". Prowl feels awful upon realizing what he has done, but puts it aside. Chasing Lockdown is still more important for him.

[[Image:TFA Fistful Energon Decepticons turbulence.JPG|thumb|left|"Augh, Primus! Even his CLONES' gas is rancid!"]]

Prowl sneaks into the warehouse where Lockdown had set up the meeting with Megatron, intending to prevent the Decepticon leader from dealing with Starscream. Megatron declares his intention to punish Starscream exemplarily. But before he has the chance, Prowl accidentally gives away his presence. Megatron orders Blitzwing and Lugnut to take "the Autobot offender" in charge, but the other Autobots burst in, bringing yet another Starscream. Before anyone can figure out which is the real one, the two Starscreams open their cockpits to reveal a pair of ticking time bombs. The real Starscream's voice announces that it was all part of his plan to take his enemies all out at once. Megatron isn't about to sit around and be blown up, though, so he shoots the skylight and calls for the Decepticons to transform and rise up. Lockdown escapes safely, though rewardless.

The blast will take out half the city, so Prowl uses his mods to weld the Starscreams together and jam their jets on so they rocket straight up into the atmosphere. The explosion doesn't harm the city (besides setting off a lot of car alarms) but does do a number on the fleeing Decepticons.

While Lockdown is escaping from the planet again, he contacts Prowl and offers a permanent partnership, since they're so much alike. Prowl turns down the offer, claiming it was fun while it lasted, but the super-charged bounty hunter life just wasn't his style. With all his upgrades shorted out or gone, Prowl detaches the one mod that got out without a scratch, Ratchet's EMP generator, and returns it to its rightful owner.

[[image:Lotta starscreams.jpg|right|thumb|[[Star Wars|Begun, the Clone War has.]]]]

Later, Starscream sits within his new base aboard the wreckage of the [[Nemesis (Animated)|Decepticon warship]] and watches an announcement from Megatron stating that the bounty on the fugitive has been increased, but whoever captures him had better make sure it's the real deal. Starscream himself is furious that his trap failed, but it doesn't matter, as he has plenty more decoys where that came from...
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] (1)
*[[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] (2)
*[[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] (3)
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (5)
*[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] (6)
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] (7)
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (8)
*[[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]] (9)
*[[Snarl (Animated)|Snarl]] (10)
*[[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]] (11)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] (4)
*[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] (12)
*[[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] (13)
*[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Icy Blitzwing]] (14)<ref>Yes, it's true. Blitzwing went the entire episode without switching personalities.</ref>
*[[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] (15)
*[[Clone number 2716057|Sycophant Starscream I]] (16)
*[[Clone number 3370318|Coward Starscream I]] (17)
}}

==Quotes==
''[Ratchet and Prime are communicating with Prowl and Bulkhead over the radio]'' 
'''Ratchet''': Prowl, any sign of the Dinobots? 
'''Prowl''': Negative, Ratchet. I'm starting to think those reports of rampages were nothing but exaggeration. 
'''Optimus''': We're not taking any chance, Prowl. That's why I had Ratchet lend you his EMP generator and those stasis cuffs. 
'''Prowl''': Still, I hardly think they're necessary. The Dinobots are territorial, but if left alone, they're perfectly happy. 
''[Grimlock roars, then runs out of the forest, charging the Autobots]'' 
'''Bulkhead''': He doesn't look too happy to me!
:—The Autobots are Dinobot hunting...and things are not going well.

"Me Grimlock...''better''."
:—'''Grimlock''' after Bulkhead removes the spike, but before he passes out.

"I'm afraid Sari and Bumblebee left on an important fact-finding mission this morning. To someplace called... 'Five Banners Roller Coaster Kingdom'."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' gets duped.

"Personally, I've always found Bumblebee's fake static to be a lot more convincing."
:—'''Ratchet''' doesn't get duped.

'''Starscream''': You call this a fight? I'll rust before someone wins! And I'm in a vacuum. 
'''Prowl''' and '''Lockdown''': Will you keep quiet?!
:—Prowl and Lockdown tell Starscream where to stick it.

"No! No, please! Leave me alone!" 
"Maybe it's me, but that doesn't sound like the Starscream I know..."
:—His reaction to '''Coward Starscream I's''' plea for mercy leaves one wondering if '''Lockdown''' has ever met the real Screamer...

'''Sycophant Starscream''': Well, if it isn't my favorite band of plucky little Autobots. 
'''Optimus''': Autobots, prepare for battle! 
'''Sycophant Starscream''': Wait, you misunderstand. Noble Optimus Prime, wise Ratchet, stealthy Prowl and ''mighty''...eh... 
'''Bulkhead''': Bulkhead! 
'''Sycophant Starscream''': Ooh, that's too bad.
:—'''Starscream''' pulls a [[Transform and Roll Out#Quotes|Bumblebee]]

"Did you really think I would offer so little a challenge? I allowed you to capture these ''clones'' to fulfill my plan to eliminate you all! Especially you, MegaFOOL! Mwa-hah-ha-ha-ha! In moments you will be blown to bits, and I will become the Supreme Leader of ALL DECEPTICONS!"
:—Speaking through his clones, the real '''Starscream'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s speech-making tendencies are undimmed, even if he now prefers to do it from a safe distance.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===
[[Image:AFistfulofEnergon-Grimlockfootshard.jpg|right|thumb|So painful, resting in between my toes harmlessly!]]
* The large spike stuck in Grimlock's foot is nowhere to be seen in the full-body shots previous to Prowl discovering it.
* The dialogue suggests that the spike is jammed through Grimlock's foot, but the animation shows it merely stuck between his toes.
* When Lockdown first appears, his head is missing the design across his forehead.
* Just after mud-coloured Starscream tells the Autobots of his plan in joining forces, his mouth disappears.
* Ratchet's war wound disappears when he's telling Prowl to get rid of his mods, just after his showy (and destructive) capture of the red Starscream clone.
* After Lockdown's ship lands and he and Prowl transform, Lockdown's head is seen forming the engine block. In the next shot, his engine emerges from the hood, where his head previously formed it.

===Continuity errors===
* When Starscream tells them he'll rust, in a ''vacuum'', Lockdown and Prowl tell him to shut up, an action that should be impossible, given that sound cannot carry in space. In fact, during all the time spent in space, the characters interact with each other as if they were under atmospheric conditions - of course, they could have open commlinks to each other.
* Why doesn't anyone notice that the Starscream's are different colors? Sure, the coward's paint job isn't that noticeable, but wouldn't they notice that the other guy's orange?

===Transformers references===
* The Starscream clones are, of course, a reference to the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] of [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]], most notable for being [[Air Warrior|hordes of disposable Decepticons]] in "[[More than Meets the Eye (episode)|More than Meets the Eye]]" (and then kinda vanishing save for [[Rainmaker|rare appearances later]]).

===Continuity notes===
*It seems that since the [[Rise of the Constructicons|events of the last episode]] Bulkhead has grown a taste for oil, as he can be seen drinking it when he and Prowl are first on [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]].
*Starscream's cloning process will be revealed in "[[A Bridge Too Close, Part I]]", using pieces of his Allspark fragment to power them and explaining why they show up on the Allspark scanners in this episode. Exactly where he got the raw material for the clones won't be revealed until "[[Endgame, Part I]]", in which we're told they're made from the [[protoform]]s stolen back in "[[Five Servos of Doom]]".
*It's not the first time in ''Animated'' that an Autobot [[Nanosec (episode)|sacrifices a new upgrade to launch a bomb that could destroy Detroit into upper atmosphere]].

===Foreign dubbing===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Les clones'''" ("The Clones")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Der doppelte Starscream'''" ("Double Starscream")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[July 23|23 July]] [[2008]]

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' '''増殖する敵''' (''Zōshoku-suru Teki'', "Increasing Enemies")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[August 21|21 August]] [[2010]]

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Garść Energonu'''" ("A Fistful of Energon")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

===Real-world references===
[[Image:AFistfulofEnergon-Lockdowninponcho.jpg|right|thumb|Space banditos? Never heard of them.]]
*This episode contains numerous references to [[Wikipedia:Fistful of Dollars|''A Fistful of Dollars'']], including the title, Lockdown wearing a poncho in his first appearance, and the Mexican standoff scene in the warehouse.
*''A Fistful of Dollars'' is, in turn, a Western adaptation of ''[[Wikipedia:Yojimbo (film)|Yojimbo]]'', which also accounts for Prowl's samurai armor.
*Grimlock's foot problem recalls "The Lion and the Mouse", an Aesop's fable about a mouse who befriends a lion by pulling a thorn out of his paw. Or the tale of the Christian Saint Jerome, whose life was saved by the lion he'd helped when he later encountered it in a Roman circus. Or the story of Androcles and the Lion...it's been done a lot.
*Five Banners Roller Coaster Kingdom is a reference to the [[Wikipedia:Six Flags|Six Flags]] chain of amusement parks and possibly [[Wikipedia:Magic Kingdom|Magic Kingdom]] as well.

===Trivia===
*This episode was first aired in Dubai.
*[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] and [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]] are absent from this episode, with Optimus saying that they're on an "important fact-finding mission" (an amusement park). Therefore, we don't get to see if Sari's hair grew back since [[Rise of the Constructicons|last episode]].
*[[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] and [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]], on the other hand, appear but say nothing, as do [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] and even [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]]. Result!
*The clones seem to embody elements of Starscream's personality, the purple Starscream representing Starscream's cowardice and the reddish-brown Starscream representing Starscream's sycophantic, flattering nature.
*Both altered-color clones use Starscream's original colors as a base, but the sycophantic one runs towards "hotter" colors playing up the red and white (a little devilish, perhaps?), while the cowardly one has colors more on the "cold" end, leaning into purple and stony grey.
[[Image:AFistfulofEnergon-Lockdownwithhelmet.jpg|right|thumb|I can't believe they ran out of voice-changer helmets!]]
*While you could be forgiven for assuming Prowl's armor was a Hasbro idea, it actually predates the toy. Hasbro decided to make a toy of it after watching the episode.<ref>http://community.livejournal.com/tf_animated/271043.html</ref>
*The other Autobots, and eventually Prowl as well, treat his upgrades as a bad thing. In the story, this makes sense because Lockdown acquires his trophies by hacking them off other Transformers, a practice the other characters had [[The Thrill of the Hunt|previously shown]] to find extremely distasteful (at best). Oddly, this goes against [[retool|everything Hasbro wants us to believe]].
*While Ratchet seems to be the moral compass of this episode, the day is only saved by Prowl's use of his upgrades.
*Apparently Starscream put a few extra zeros in when programming the timer on the clones. His plot might have worked if he hadn't given Megatron three minutes to run away.
*Exactly ''why'' does Lockdown wear a poncho? Apparently it is handy dandy stealth device. That's right people, [[Stealth poncho|stealth poncho!]]. No good ninja pretending to be Mexican should be without.
*When the probe from ''Teletran-1'' deploys there is a Star Trek communicator chirp clearly heard
*Unless Optimus and Ratchet were listening in on Bulkhead and Prowl's comm links, Bulkhead had to have snitched on Prowl after he hijacked the shuttle. What a jerk.

==Home video releases==
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Season Two ([[Transformers Animated (cartoon)/home video|Paramount]]) — English and Spanish audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Volume Five: Fistful of Energon (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Volume Five: Fistful of Energon (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Volume Fünf: Der Doppelte Starscream (Paramount) — English and German audio.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/video/dlink/index.html?episodeID=8a25c3921fc6a295011fc99e7233016a "A Fistful of Energon" streaming video at Cartoon Network] (link functional until 3/03/10)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fistful of Energon}}
[[Category:Animated episodes]]

The Face of the Nijika

2010-07-26T20:21:11Z

174.106.127.78: /* Trivia */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=92
|series2=2010
|ep2=27
|prev2=Call of the Primitives
|next2=The Burden Hardest to Bear
|image=PerceptorNijika01.jpg
|caption=This is the last time I let [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] take me on an [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] binge.
|title="The Face of the Nijika"
|production code=700-113
|airdate=[[November 20]], 1986
|written by=[[Mary Skrenes]] and [[Steve Skeates]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''The Autobots discover a race of aliens who have also experienced persecution from the Quintessons.'''

:''Japanese title:'' テレパシー惑星を救え (''Telepathy Wakusei o Sukue'', "Save the Planet of Telepathy")
:''German title:'' '''Nijika, die Himmelstänzerin''' ("Nijika, the Heaven-dancer")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:FaceOfNijika Galvatron lock.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Little pig, little pig, let me in!]]

[[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]], who is carrying [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]], [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], detects a disturbance nearby and discovers [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] bashing on some strange disk. They also detect a [[Quintesson]] [[Quintesson spacecraft|ship]] heading for that same location. Perceptor speculates that the Quintessons don't want Galvatron meddling with the disk, so Rodimus decides to meddle with the [[Decepticon]]s and the Quintessons.

At the disk, Galvatron continues bashing away, taking a moment to bash [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] when he warns the [[Decepticon leader]] that the Quintessons are approaching. The Quintessons fire at Galvatron and are thankful that the [[quadrant lock]] is not damaged. However, the [[Autobot|Autobots]] then arrive. The Quintessons refuse to let the Autobots learn anything about the lock...unless, say, they learn from the other side. Opening the lock, the Quintessons drive their ship through, taking Rodimus, Magnus, Blurr, and Perceptor with them. Unwilling to let the Autobots learn its secrets, Galvatron throws Cyclonus at them so he is also drawn through the lock, which closes. Unfortunately for the Quints, their [[isolator key]] has been damaged, and it is the only thing that can open the quadrant lock. However, Perceptor has a [[universal emulator]], which could serve as a replacement.

Falling into the gravity well of the nearby planet [[Zamojin (planet)|Zamojin]], Perceptor announces that he is suffering from [[transformation]] [[Transformation paralysis|paralysis]], and is stuck in [[Alternate mode|microscope mode]]. However, the other Autobots do not respond. On the planet, members of a primitive, humanoid civilization see their descent. One man declares that the "[[Quintesson|devils]]" have returned. However, a blacksmith outside the city sees them and goes to investigate, recovering Perceptor. Meanwhile, the Autobots are not doing so well after their crash-landing. Rodimus and Magnus hit the trees, which are as hard as rocks, while Blurr hit an actual rock and is so injured he cannot walk. Rodimus tells him to lean on "fearless [[Prime (rank)|leader]]", while Magnus wonders where Perceptor crashed.

[[Image:FaceOfNijika Katsu Don Nijika.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Usually, women don't need help putting their face on.]]

At his hut, the blacksmith removes Perceptor's [[insignia]], which also contains his universal emulator. Having tracked Perceptor's descent, the Quintessons dispatch a pair of [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]] to deal retrieve the scientist, but someone follows them. The blacksmith places Perceptor's insignia on a small, female robot called [[Nijika]]. The Sharkticons arrive, but the blacksmith fights them off, damaging their armor with his bare hands. (Holy [[Slag (slang)|slag]]!) Meanwhile, Perceptor, having taken control of Nijika, asks the blacksmith, named [[Katsu Don]], what is going on. Perceptor learns that the [[Zamojin (species)|Zamojin]] were once advanced and that they had developed interstellar travel, protected by the guardian [[Kodu Ri]]. Katsu Don's ancestor, [[Niko Don]], built Nijika as an exploration drone, hoping to make contact with other races. However, the Quintessons attacked, damaging Kodu Ri and Nijika, then sealed them with the quadrant lock, which blacked out the stars. The Zamojin were reduced from technologically advanced to primitive within a very short amount of time and have been that way since. Perceptor concludes that something about the Zamojin terrified the Quintessons so much that they locked them in this part of space, and now he and Katsu Don need to warn the latter's people that the Quintessons have returned.

[[Image:FaceOfNijika Magnus Rodimus.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Damn it, I can't find any sign of the Quints, Rodimus!" "Uh, Magnus...never mind."]]

Elsewhere, Rodimus, Magnus, and Blurr are moving, but Blurr is slowing them down. (That's a turnaround.) Blurr tells them to leave him and find Perceptor, as only he can repair Blurr. Though not happy, they agree. This proves a mistake, for moments later, a band of warriors finds Blurr. On the Quintesson ship, the Quintessons are debating what to do. One of them will have to go to the surface, but if a single Zamojin damaged two Sharkticons, [[Furmanism|what chance do they have?]] Cyclonus appears and offers them a deal: Give Galvatron the secrets of the quadrant lock, and he will go with one of them to retrieve Perceptor. Looking for Perceptor, Rodimus and Magnus are attacked by a group of warriors but are able to drive them off. They locate Perceptor's body, but without the emulator, he is offline. Rodimus and Magnus decide to search the city.

[[Image:FaceOfNijika Blurr dangling.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Now, now, now what did I do to this time? This is not right, not right, not right I tell you! Let me down, down, down from here! I’ve heard of hanging around, but is ridiculous! Not that I mind hanging, hanging is great, great, great fun, but I never, never, never meant it literally! Hello? Help me, help me, help me anyone? I’ve done nothing, nothing, nothing to deserve this!!]]

At the city of [[Tozin]], the Zamojin are preparing to melt Blurr, but he is not that worried. Cyclonus shouts out "burn him", inciting the Zamojin to lower him in. For a Con who shows no emotion, Cyclonus has apparently studied mob psychology. However, the [[Zamojin Empress]] commands them to stop. She reveals Perceptor/Nijika, who tries to explain the situation. However, the Quintesson shouts that the doll is malfunctioning, but Cyclonus grabs Perceptor and orders the Quintesson to bring their ship.

[[Image:FaceOfNijika Quintesson Nijika.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Not now, I'm watching the game!]]

Katsu Don grabs Cyclonus's legs, and is carried into the Quintesson ship, where the remaining Quintesson traps him with some electrified headgear. The Quintesson orders Perceptor to hand over the emulator, or Katsu Don will die. Perceptor complies, while the other Quintesson shoots Blurr's rope, causing him to fall into the molten liquid...which he describes as a nice soak that is repairing his injuries. Blurr jumps out, with Rodimus and Magnus following. Blurr frees Katsu Don, while Magnus takes on Cyclonus. Rodimus throws Katsu Don out, while Blurr grabs the emulator and Magnus takes Cyclonus, who follows after the Quintessons.

The Zamojin Empress fears what the Quintessons will take, but Perceptor, now in his real body, says that the Quintessons are about to give the Zamojin something. The Quintesson ship passes through the quadrant lock...and it fades, revealing the stars. Perceptor sabotaged the lock, and the Autobots realize the Zamojin's technology is telepathic in nature and powered by starlight. The intelligence of the Zamojin advances rapidly, and they repair Kodu Ri. As Sky Lynx lands, Perceptor asks Katsu Don if he will continue his ancestor's research. Katsu Don vows that Perceptor will meet Nijika again...out among the stars.

==Featured Characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (1)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (2)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] (3)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (4)
* [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (5)

|c2=
* [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (6)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (7)

|c4=
* [[Quintesson]]s (8)
* [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]] (9)
* [[Katsu Don]] (10)
* [[Zamojin Empress]] (past) (11)
* [[Niko Don]] (12)
* [[Nijika]] (13)
* [[Zamojin Empress]] (present) (14)
}}

==Notable quotes==
"Put yourself in idle, Blurr."
:—'''Rodimus Prime''', saying what we're all thinking.

"It's mine! I found it! Don't let them steal it!" 
"Mighty Galvatron, you-" 
"STOP THEM!" ''[throws Cyclonus]''
:—'''Galvatron''' demonstrates his leadership skills on '''Cyclonus'''.

'''Cyclonus''': Burn him now! 
'''Quintesson''': Be silent! Don't call attention to us! 
'''Cyclonus''': VEEENNGEANNNNCE NOOOOOOOW! 
''[The crowd starts to cheer]'' 
'''Female Zamojin''': Yes! The devils must pay! They stole the stars in the sky! 
'''Male Zamojin''': They stole the life from our minds! 
'''Cyclonus''': Hahahaha. You've never understood mob psychology, have you?
:—Cyclonus must be an [[Wikipedia:Bedivere#Modern depictions|Bedivere]] on dealing with witches.

"Hood in place, wheels in place, bumpers in place, engine hot, I'M OUTTA HERE!"
:—'''Blurr''' feels much better after a bath.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* When the Quintesson ship moves past the Autobots into the quadrant lock, it seems mighty small.
* There is, somewhat obviously, no room in Nijika's head for the universal emulator to fit — but it does anyway.
* In one shot of Ultra Magnus and Rodimus driving towards the city, Rodimus is colored black.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:FaceOfNijika Cyclonus Quintesson crowd.jpg|right|200px|thumb|See, we didn't need those fake mustaches after all!]]

* A crowd of Zamojins gathered to watch Blurr's execution is apparently supposed to feature some of their number costumed as the hated five-faced demons and their robot servants, thus explaining why Cyclonus and the Quintesson can just stand around in the middle of the crowd that hates their kind. The animation, however, almost totally fails to convey this, having the Cybertronians tower over the largely un-costumed Zamojins, who are mostly just wearing some little face masks. Furthermore, the animation mistakenly colors the masks flesh-toned, almost completely hiding the fact they're wearing them at all.

* Rodimus and Magnus decide to leave the injured Blurr, rather than carrying him. Doesn't Magnus remember that he turns into a car carrier?
* Rodimus and Magnus apparently don't hear Blurr being jumped by a group of angry Zamojin, even though they left him just seconds ago.

===Transformers references===
* This episode marks the last appearance of Perceptor in the western cartoon.

===Trivia===
* Blurr speaks at more-or-less normal speed several times in this episode. Apparently soaking in molten liquid really does relax him.
* Sky Lynx transforms to robot mode and the Autobots exit by flying out through his mouth!

* Does anyone else notice that the sounds Blurr makes while he's in the bath are a little...strange?

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 5: Series 3.2 ([[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 UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (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]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Face of the Nijika}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Jeff Glen Bennett

2010-07-22T22:09:13Z

174.106.127.78:

{{disambig3|Jeff}}
[[Image:JeffBennett1.jpg|right|250px|thumb|He's gonna need more rope.]]
'''Jeffrey Glen Bennett''' (born [[October 2]], 1962) is an American voice actor. One of the more popular voice actors out there, Jeff Bennett has been a consistent performer on various productions since the early 1990s. Some of his most notable roles include Kyle Katarn from the 2000s ''Star Wars: Jedi Knight'' games from LucasArts, Owen and Brooklyn on Disney's ''Gargoyles'', the title character from ''Johnny Bravo'', Blitz from ''Road Rovers'', Dexter's Dad from ''Dexter's Laboratory'', Strakk and Tarix in ''Bionicle: The Legend Reborn'', The Joker and Captain Marvel in ''Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' and the Huntsman, Lord Bravery and Candlejack from ''Freakazoid!'' among oth. He is also known for his role as Kowalski in the ''Nickelodeon'' show, ''The Penguins of Madagascar''.

==Voice roles==
===''Transformers Animated''===
{{collist|3|
*[[Angry Archer]]
*[[Carmine Fanzone|Captain Fanzone]]
*[[Grandus (Animated)|Grandus]]
*[[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]]
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]]
*[[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]]
*[[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]]
}}
====Incidentals====
{{collist|3|
* Condiment Bot ([[Total Meltdown]])
* Domestic Bot ([[Nanosec (episode)|Nanosec]])
* Driver ([[Transform and Roll Out]])
* Man ([[Megatron Rising - Part 1]])

}}

==External Links==
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0071818/ Jeff Bennett at IMDB]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Jeff}}
[[Category:English voice actors]]

Phil LaMarr

2010-07-21T20:45:56Z

174.106.127.78:

[[Image:PhilLaMarr1.jpg|right|108px|thumb|Look at dat fine Jamaican Bacon!]]
'''Phillip LaMarr''' (born [[January 24]], 1967) is an American comedian and actor. He is best known as one of the original cast members of ''MADtv'', the voices of Hermes Conrad from ''Futurama'', Static from ''Static Shock'', Green Lantern John Stewart from ''Justice League Unlimited'', the title character from ''Samurai Jack'', Vamp from ''Metal Gear Solid'', and for his role in ''Pulp Fiction'' as an unfortunate young man whose head John Travolta accidentally blows off. He also guest-starred in ''Big Time Rush'' as Gustavo Rocque's rival, Hawk.

He, ah, also does the voice of Ollie Williams, the BlaccuWeather Forecaster on ''Family Guy''.

===Transformers Animated===
* [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]]
* [[Oil Slick (Animated)|Oil Slick]]
* [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]] (season 3)
* [[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]]
* [[Alpha Trion (Animated)|Alpha Trion]]

==External links==
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0482851/ Phil LaMarr] at the Internet Movie Database

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamarr, Phil}}
[[Category:English voice actors]]

A Bridge Too Close, Part II

2010-07-14T19:58:45Z

174.106.127.78: /* Quotes */

{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|ep=29
|image=TFA ABTC Megatron monologue.JPG
|caption=
|title="A Bridge Too Close, Part II"
|airdate=[[June 28]], 2008
|written by=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|directed by=[[Irineo Maramba]] [[Christopher Berkeley]] [[Noboro Huruse]]
|animation studio=[[Mook]]
}}
'''The fates of Cybertron and Earth lie in the balance as Optimus Prime and his Autobots battle Megatron and his Decepticons in a fight to the finish for the AllSpark.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:ABridgeTooCloseII-Mixmasteroilburst.jpg|thumb|150px|left| "'Ey! I was drinkin' dat!"]]

[[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] and [[Starscream clone (Animated)|his clones]] swoop into the [[Decepticon]]s' mine headquarters and concentrate their fire on [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]. Chaos erupts as the [[Autobot]]s free themselves and start tackling the clones, and [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and [[Isaac Sumdac|Professor Sumdac]] attempt to deactivate the [[space bridge]]. Mixmaster is attacked by the [[Thundercracker (Animated)|Egomaniac Starscream]] and binds him in cement, while [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]] [[stasis cuffs]] the [[Skywarp (Animated)|coward]]. As fast as he is, though, Blurr fails to get out of the way of Thundercracker, who crashes into both him and the Skywarp, getting them caught in his cement overcoat and sending them all tumbling into the space bridge. Bulkhead attempts to recall them, but explains that the targeting coordinates of the bridge were never set, meaning that they could have been sent anywhere in the galaxy. Before he can complete his task, he is attacked by the [[Slipstream (Animated)|female clone]], but she overpowers him and hits him with stasis cuffs. Simultaneously, Megatron and Starscream engage in a one-on-one duel, but the balance doesn't last long, as the female and [[Ramjet (Animated)|the Liar]] approach Megatron from behind. [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]], of all 'Bots, comes to Megatron's rescue, though the irony is not lost on the two combatants.

Meanwhile, on [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]], [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] finishes loading the [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]] fragments into Teletran-1's [[spark]] chamber. [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]] uses the [[AllSpark Key]] to jump-start the craft, but still can't fathom why Ratchet is talking to the ship...until the ship talks back! Ratchet explains that the ship used to be a warrior who sacrificed his spark to win the Great War, and whose body has been in a state of modified stasis ever since.

[[Image:TFA ABTC2 Head Starscream.jpg|150px|thumb|right|Total ownage, n00b.]]

Back in the mine, Prime and Megatron continue battling the remaining Starscream clones, but Megatron is not above seizing Prime and using him as a shield. He calls for Mixmaster, currently battling [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] and [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]], to focus his efforts on the “head Starscream,” giving Professor Sumdac an idea. Just as the clones overpower Megatron and Starscream prepares to finish him, Sumdac clambers inside the [[Headmaster (Animated)|Headmaster]] unit and uses it to decapitate Starscream and take over his body. As Sumdac-Starscream lunges for Megatron, however, the Decepticon leader makes it clear that he is not impressed, and he blasts the Headmaster and Sumdac clean off Starscream's body. With Starscream now in two pieces and thoroughly defeated, the clones swear loyalty to Megatron.

Back on Dinobot Island, Ratchet and Sari put the AllSpark Key to work repairing the ship's memory core. The ship comments that it is unable to see, and Ratchet explains that's because it's buried in a cliff and that getting out is priority number one. With another Key boost to help, the ship fires up its engines and manages to tear itself free and take to the air once more.

In the mine, things are looking bad for the Autobots—they've all been stasis-cuffed, Professor Sumdac is a captive again, and Scrapper has found [[Lugnut]] and [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]]. Prowl tries a mind-over-matter style of humming (which is annoying Bumblebee) to get rid of the Stasis Cuffs. Bulkhead was surprised he could do that. However, he said it was only in theory, as he never actually ''completed'' his Cyber-Ninja training. In true supervillain style, Megatron explains to the Autobots that he plans to use the space bridge to lead his Decepticons in an attack on the under-protected [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], where they will take over the entire space bridge network and transport the entire Decepticon army to the planet. Bulkhead notes that the space bridge requires a receiving code to work, which would mean Megatron would have to have someone on Cybertron, but Bumblebee points out that there ''is'' someone: [[Wasp]], the spy he caught at [[Autoboot Camp|boot camp]]. Someone is eager to correct Bumblebee, however, as Megatron's true double agent, [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]], appears on a monitor and reveals how he, as Longarm Prime, deceived Bumblebee so long ago. With the theatricalities and exposition complete, Megatron prepares to toss Optimus Prime through the space bridge as a test, when suddenly, the base is rocked by heavy fire from outside. Teletran-1 has arrived!

[[Image:ABridgeTooCloseII-OmegaSupremeRobotMode.jpg|left|thumb|150px| "Stock footage? Bite me."]]

The fight moves outside as the Starscream clones, Lugnut and Blitzwing all lay siege to the Autobot ship, which is quickly overpowered by the onslaught and begins to fall out of the sky. With another burst of AllSpark Key power to boost its systems, Ratchet has the ship activate its emergency defense system, codename: Omega. As the shocked Decepticons look on, the ship transforms into a colossal robot mode—the mountainous [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]]!

[[Slipstream (Animated)|Slipstream]] directs the Decepticons to fire on his legs to bring him down, and the move succeeds, but Ratchet links his own systems up to Omega to give him the strength he needs to rise back up and strike back. A hail of lasers and missiles is unleashed upon the villains as Omega strikes, kicks and headbutts them all across the battlefield.

[[Image:TFA ABTC sacrifice.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Omega Supreme, no! You're too cool to die so soon!]]
Down in the mine, as the Constructicons clear rubble away from the space bridge and Megatron prepares to continue his test, Prowl successfully employs a [[processor-over-matter]] focusing technique to escape his stasis cuffs. Just as Prime is about to disappear through the bridge, Prowl hurls a shuriken that breaks his leader's cuffs, enabling him to fire his grappling line and haul himself to safety. At this point, the space bridge shuts down, and Megatron quickly deduces that the AllSpark fragment powering it is not strong enough. Luckily for him, he has another one—and he promptly grabs Starscream's head and stuffs it in the power core, along with the fragment the head contains. This, however, causes the core to overload and the bridge to malfunction. As it begins to pull in all surrounding material, Shockwave reports that the destination code has been deleted and that the bridge could send them anywhere. Even in defeat, Megatron attempts to take Prime with him, but before he can fire the blast that will rid him of the Autobot leader, Prime manages to slap a pair of stasis cuffs on Megatron, immobilizing him and causing his body to be sucked into the space bridge. Prowl and Prime free Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Sumdac, but the bridge still threatens to consume the entire state until help comes from above in the form of Omega Supreme. Omega blocks the bridge with his massive body and absorbs its [[transwarp]] energies, willing to sacrifice himself once more to save the Autobots. After ejecting Sari and Ratchet from his body, Omega is sucked into the bridge, which collapses in upon itself and vanishes in a dramatic implosion. As Sari and her father are reunited at last, the mine begins to cave in, and the Autobots escape while the Constructicons are buried alive attempting to save their oil.

[[Image:TFA ABTC Sari spoilers.jpg|left|150px|thumb|...There's no way we can make a funny without being [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|jerk]]s.]]
Retreating to the edge of a nearby cliff that overlooks the destruction, the Autobots reflect on the fact that Omega is probably still out there, somewhere. As Sumdac expresses relief that the whole ordeal is over, Sari once again tells the Autobots that she knew her father could never have betrayed them to the Decepticons. However, even as she espouses her father's honesty, Sari looks down at a cut on her arm...and beneath her skin, she and all around her are shocked to see the sparking circuitry of robotics. Terrified and confused, Sari clutches her arm and takes a few steps away from her father, who explains that they...need to talk...

[[Image:TFA ABTC2 Megatron Screamer End.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Next, on ''Crossfire''...]]
Somewhere out in the endless void of space, Megatron and the decapitated Starscream float aimlessly in the cosmic night, with nothing to do but snark back and forth at each other.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] (10)
*[[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]] (11)
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (12)
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (13)
*[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] (16)
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] (18)
*[[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]] (20)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] (1)
*[[Slipstream (Animated)|Slipstream]] (2)
*[[Skywarp (Animated)|Skywarp]] (3)
*[[Ramjet (Animated)|Ramjet]] (4)
*[[Sunstorm (Animated)|Sunstorm]] (5)
*[[Thundercracker (Animated)|Thundercracker]] (6)
*[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] (7)
*[[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]] (8)
*[[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]] (9)
*[[Lugnut]] (14)
*[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] (15)
*[[Shockwave (Animated)|Longarm Prime / Shockwave]] (21)

|c3=
*[[Isaac Sumdac]] (17)

|c4=
*[[Sari Sumdac]] (19)
}}

==Quotes==
'''Thundercracker, the Egomanic Starscream''': Fool! A mere construction-bot is no match for ''my'' superior firepower. 
'''Mixmaster''': Oh, really. Well, you know where you can stick it? 
''(Traps the clone with a glob of adhesive goo)'' 
'''Thundercracker''': Impossible! You cannot defeat me! You are not worthy! You are inferior! And your joke stinks!
:—Arrogance claims yet another [[Starscream (disambiguation)|Starscream]].

"It's not like you to hide behind an Autobot." 
"But it's ''completely'' like you to hide behind an army of cheap [[knockoff]]s."
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Megatron''' always discuss each other's flaws—even in the midst of battle.

"Total ownage noob." 
:—'''Isaac Sumdac''''s best line in the series.

'''Starscream''': What are you waiting for? Destroy Megatron! Now! 
'''Slipstream''':...Any leader has to be an improvement over you! 
'''Sunstorm, the Sycophant Starscream''': Oh wise and great Megatron, you have truly proven your vast superiority! 
'''Ramjet, the Liar Starscream''': I will remain loyal to you forever! 
''[Kicks Starscream's body and walks over to Megatron]''
:—Starscream learns that his clones all share the worst aspect of his personality—his treachery.

'''Optimus''': I still don't see where all this "expertise" came from. 
'''Bulkhead''': I had a lot of time to study space bridge schematics back on the energon farm. I just had a knack for 'em, I guess. 
'''Bumblebee''': Oh, well, that's great. So the ''one thing'' you're good at is going to hand Cybertron over to the Decepticons.
:—Even after being declared a technical genius, Bulkhead still can't catch a break.

'''Megatron''': Decepticons! Prepare for our conquest of Cybertron! 
''[The Decepticons start cheering wildly.] 
'''Scrapper''': What's a Cybertron? 
'''Mixmaster''': I have no idea, he lost me at "Your fate is sealed now."
:—The Constructicons are in this for the oil, not the conquests.

'''Ratchet''': Careful not to fire on our friends! 
'''Sari Sumdac''': And try to get a visual of my dad! 
'''Omega Supreme''': Sure... what's a dad?
:—Omega Supreme is confused on the concept of organics and their paternal relationships. Bit like us really.

"Sari, we... need to talk."
:—'''Isaac Sumdac''''s entry in "The Understatement of the Year" competition.

'''Megatron:''' Stop ''staring'' at me. 
'''Starscream:''' No. ''You'' stop staring at ''me''! 
'''Megatron:''' Do you think I actually ''want'' to spend the rest of eternity gazing at your unsightly visage? 
'''Starscream:''' Trust me: your visage is no picnic either. And your face is ugly too! 
'''Megatron:''' Oh, someone just take me offline now... 
'''Starscream:''' What do you think I've been trying to ''do'' for the last four million stellar cycles?! AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It's funny, really, when you think about it. Tragic, but ''funny''! AHAHAHAHAHA! 
'''Megatron:''' Oh, shut up.
:—Stranded and helpless in space, Megatron and Starscream bicker to the end.

==Notes==
===Animation errors===
*When Skywarp is dodging Bumblebee's stinger blasts, his eyes shift to Autobot blue for a split-second.
*After Shockwave reveals to Bumblebee that he is Longarm Prime, the pan-across shot that follows shows Shockwave on the monitor. In the next close-up of the monitor, Longarm is shown transforming back into Shockwave.
*When Megatron closes in on Optimus to toss him into the space bridge, Sunstorm's face is dark grey instead of white.
*Just before Ratchet gives his "don't give up on me now" speech to Omega, there is a shot from the front showing Ratchet with Sari tucked into the mouth of his "backpack". In the next shot, it shows Ratchet from behind, with Sari ''on top of'' the backpack, and then switches back to the front view with Sari back in the gap.
*When Megatron is dragged into the Space Bridge, only one hand is cuffed. When we see him next, both of them are.
*When Starscream is holding Megatron's sword, the glow of his AllSpark Fragment isn't reflected but the rest of his face is.
*At many points in the episode, Slipstream is shown with the face (and [[chin]]) of her male counterparts.
*As Bulkhead says Bumblebee sent an innocent bot to the stockade, both Optimus and Prowl sit up despite being stasis-cuffed.

===Continuity errors===
*Several immobilised characters are shown in different positions to last episode:
**Lugnut and Blitzwing are shown lying face-down on the floor, when they were sitting back-to-back last episode.
**Bumblebee and Blurr apparently swapped positions in Scrapper's arms since last episode.

===Transformers references===
*Omega Supreme refers to the energy given off by the space bridge as [[Transwarp|Transwarp energy]], similar to the transwarp drives used in the [[Beast Era]].
*[[Knockoff]]s? Oh my...

===Foreign dubbing===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Le portail d'à côté 2/2'''" ("The Portal Next Door 2/2")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Die Weltraumbrücke, Teil 2'''" ("The Spacebridge, Part 2")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[July 31|31 July]] [[2008]]

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''O Jeden Most Za Blisko, Część 2'''" ("A Bridge Too Close, Part 2")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

===Real-world references===
*The restoration of Omega Supreme's memory is very similar to the scene in ''[[Wikipedia:2001: A Space_Odyssey|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' when Dave Bowman takes HAL-9000's higher functions offline (just in reverse).
*Prowl's humming forcing the stasis cuffs to open seems inspired by a similar sequence in British superspy spoof movie ''[[Wikipedia:Johnny English|Johnny English]]'', where the titular hero attempts to escape a prison cell by whistling at the door-lock in the hope that the right frequency will cause the tumblers to rotate. Unlike Johnny however, Prowl succeeded. He is ''that'' awesome.

===Trivia===
[[Image:TFA Headmaster unit facial expression changed.jpg|thumb|150px|right|GASP!!!]]
*The Headmaster unit even works on Decepticons, whose armor is much tougher than Bulkhead's. Where did [[Henry Masterson|Masterson]] get that cutting beam?
*Speaking of the Headmaster unit, this is the first time its facial expression has changed.
*Mixmaster is ''veeery'' disobedient in this episode. Megatron orders him to find Lugnut and Blizwing at the start of the battle, but Scrapper does it instead. Then, after he cements Bumblebee to the wall, Megatron orders Mixmaster to attack Starscream, instead he just disappears until after Omega Supreme gets free. And yet Megatron never punishes him.
*In the shots after Slipstream yells "Aim for the legs", Lugnut is shown firing his engine pods (which are his hands in robot mode) as missiles at Omega. Those probably weren't supposed to come off. However he's shown doing the same thing a minute later, and this time in robot mode, so it isn't a lone animation error. One has to wonder where he keeps all the spare hands. Certainly nothing up his sleeve...
*Fans had been theorizing that the Autobot ship was Omega Supreme since quite literally the first episode.
*Fans had ''also'' been theorizing that Sari had a li'l bit of robot in her since the first episode too! [[Bee in the City|How silly!]]
*Fans did ''not'' theorize that when this episode premiered on YTV ''AND'' on Cartoon Network, the announcers would happily yammer inanely over the closing credits sequence of Megatron and Starscream insulting each other in space. The Cartoon Network repeat the following day aired the credits without incident, thankfully.
*It was said at [[BotCon 2008]] that the entire closing credits sequence was improvised.
*When Omega Supreme transforms, he uses the same transformation sound [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] used in the battle of Mission City when he was attacking [[Brawl (Movie)|Brawl]].
*When Omega Supreme is trying to get out of the cliff, some music from [[Transform and Roll Out|the movie]] can be heard.
*In this episode, this is the first time that Shockwave speaks with his real accent while still in Autobot mode as Longarm, indicating that he has to mask his voice in that mode.
*Several times after Starscream's head is cut off, he is shown with pupils.

==Home video releases==
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Season Two ([[Transformers Animated (cartoon)/home video|Paramount]]) — English and Spanish audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Volume Six: Black Friday (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Volume Six: Black Friday (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Volume Sechs: Schwarzer Freitag (Paramount) — English and German audio.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridge Too Close, Part II}}
[[Category:Animated episodes]]

A Bridge Too Close, Part I

2010-07-14T19:19:50Z

174.106.127.78: /* Quotes */

{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|ep=28
|image=TFA ABTC1 Space Bridge operational.JPG
|caption=Closer... closer...
|title="A Bridge Too Close, Part I"
|airdate=[[June 28]], 2008
|written by=[[Marsha Griffin]]
|directed by=[[Ben Jones]] [[Christopher Berkeley]] [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|animation studio=[[The Answer Studio]]
}}

'''The Decepticons kidnap Bulkhead to aid in Megatron's ultimate plan to take over Cybertron.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Megatron branding.jpg|thumb|left|"Can't you just paint the insignia on our chest?" "Now, where's the fun in that?"]]

Now serving under [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]], the [[Constructicon (Animated)|Constructicons]] have completed construction of the villain’s [[space bridge]]. They are rewarded for their efforts by being officially inducted into the [[Decepticon]] army in a small ceremony led by Megatron, with [[Lugnut]] and [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] serving as witnesses (and, for some reason, holding candles). After the Constructicons have recited the oath of allegiance, Megatron [[branding|brands]] them, quite literally, with a [[Redeco|color-change]] for their armor and eyes thrown into the bargain. At Megatron’s instruction, [[Isaac Sumdac|Professor Sumdac]] fires up the bridge, but when it fails to activate due to the professor’s simple lack of understanding of the technology, Megatron realizes that he will require additional help...

[[Image:TFA ABTC1 Screamer Clones Argue.jpg|thumb|"There's something in your [[optic]]." "No, there isn't!"]]

On [[Earth]]’s [[Moon (moon)|moon]], [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] gloats over five new [[Starscream clone (Animated)|clones]] of himself, to which he is in the process of putting the finishing touches. The final clone is completed and, like its fellows, brought online with a tiny chip of the [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]] that gives Starscream life. Immediately, however, Starscream has to wrestle with the various wacky personalities the clones have wound up with, each one an exaggerated aspect of his own: a coward, a sycophant, an egomaniac, a pathological liar... and a short-tempered female who insists that Starscream not ask what aspect of his personality gave birth to her.

Megatron contacts [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in order to have him [[Cybertronian Datanet|track down]] the top space bridge engineer on the planet. Shockwave is surprised to report that the engineer in question is on Earth—it’s [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]! Megatron decides to capture Bulkhead personally and instructs Lugnut and Blitzwing to pick up an item from [[Sumdac Tower]] to aid in “convincing” the Autobot to help them. When Lugnut points out that Sumdac cannot be trusted in the base alone with the Constructicons, Megatron decides to take the professor with him. As all this scheming goes on, however, someone else is listening in—the mysterious “Blue Racer” that [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] recently encountered.

[[Image:TFA ABTC1 painting time.JPG|thumb|left|Optimus Prime has deemed this image in need of a caption!]]

At the Autobot base, Bulkhead is working on his latest painting, an abstract rendition of [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]]. Unfortunately, backseat artistry from the other Autobots winds up ruining the painting, and Bulkhead goes for a walk with Sari to vent a little. Bumblebee follows to apologize, but just as he catches up to them, Megatron appears in the sky overhead and opens fire. Using Sumdac as a human shield to stop the Autobots from firing back, Megatron continues to rain destruction down on the Autobots as Bumblebee and Sari argue over whether or not Sumdac has been working with Megatron.

[[Image:TFA ABTC1 Megatron Sumdac Hostage.jpg|thumb|right|...dads?]]
Suddenly, the Blue Racer speeds onto the scene, and Bumblebee, believing the enigmatic speedster to be working with Megatron, chases him off through the city and manages to run him off the road. When he attempts to report his success to Bulkhead, though, there’s no response—because Megatron has captured Bulkhead and is airlifting him away. Bumblebee’s failure is compounded by the next turn of events: The Blue Racer reveals himself to be [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]], a fast-talking member of the [[Cybertron Elite Guard]] who has been covertly monitoring Megatron’s activities.

Back at the Decepticon headquarters, Bulkhead refuses to help Megatron, so the villain unveils the fruit of Blitzwing and Lugnut’s labor: a [[Headmaster (Animated)|Headmaster]] unit! Faced with the threat of once again having his body taken over and being used to destroy his fellow Autobots, and failing to elicit any help from [[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]] or [[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]], Bulkhead relents and agrees to work on the space bridge.

At the Autobots’ base, Blurr relates his mission to [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] and company and brings them up to speed, quite literally. While Prime leads the rest of the team to the Decepticon base, the location of which is provided by Blurr, [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] and Sari head for Teletran-1 to try to get it online one last time. Just like [[Lost and Found (episode)|last time]], their efforts lead to nothing, forcing Ratchet to attempt one last drastic approach: using the AllSpark fragments the Autobots have gathered to jump-start the ship’s systems.

[[Image:TFA ABTC1 Bulkhead Sumdac.JPG|thumb|left|Merry Christmas!]]

Prime’s team is led by Blurr into the Decepticons’ coal mine base, where they are immediately attacked by Lugnut and Blitzwing. The fight is a brief one, as Blurr uses his super-speed to bind the odd couple with [[stasis cuffs]]. Meanwhile, as the space bridge nears completion, Bulkhead insists on modifying many aspects of Sumdac’s design, and winds up in an argument with the human, which Sumdac interprets as Bulkhead trying to sabotage the bridge deliberately. When the bridge is activated, however, it functions perfectly—Bulkhead knew full well that Sumdac’s design was wrong, and he corrected it!

[[Image:TFA ABTC1 Screamer Clones Emerge.jpg|thumb|right|Why, I'm beside myself! And myself! And...]]
As the bridge flares into life, Prime’s team bursts into the main chamber, but they are instantly immobilized by cement booties, courtesy of Mixmaster. With the Autobots out of the picture, it seems there is nothing to stop Megatron now...until the roof of the cavern explodes, and Starscream and his clone army make their grand entrance!

[[A Bridge Too Close, Part II|To be continued…]]
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] (14)
*[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] (15)
*[[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]] (16)
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (17)
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] (18)
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (19)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Lugnut]] (2)
*[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] (3)
*[[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]] (4)
*[[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]] (5)
*[[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] (7)
*[[Thundercracker (Animated)|Thundercracker]] (8)
*[[Sunstorm (Animated)|Sunstorm]] (9)
*[[Ramjet (Animated)|Ramjet]] (10)
*[[Skywarp (Animated)|Skywarp]] (11)
*[[Slipstream (Animated)|Slipstream]] (12)
*[[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] (13)

|c3=
*[[Isaac Sumdac]] (6)
*[[Sari Sumdac]] (15)
}}

==Quotes==
"Ah, never before have I seen such an impressive group of lethal fighting machines! And pretty good-looking, if I do say so myself."
:—The ever-humble '''Starscream''' comments on his clone army.

'''Skywarp, the Coward Starscream''': Us? Against Megatron?!? ARE YOU INSANE?!? ''[Meekly]'' Ah, I think I just sprang an oil leak... 
'''Thundercracker, the Egomaniac Starscream''': Silence, you fool! Megatron is a worthless pile of scrap metal compared to ''my'' genius. 
'''Sunstorm, the Sycophant Starscream''': Brilliant observation! Brilliant! But your genius pales in comparison to the genius of our leader, the [[Starscream (G1)|original]] Starscream. 
'''Starscream''': Mmm, I could listen to this one all day! 
'''Ramjet, the Liar Starscream''': What are you talking about? ''I'' am the [[Geewun|original]] Starscream! 
'''Starscream''': Liar! ''I'' am the original Starscream. 
'''Ramjet''': I never said I was the original Starscream. 
'''Starscream''': You just did right now. 
'''Ramjet''': No, I didn't. 
'''Starscream''': Yes, you did. 
'''Ramjet''': No, I didn't. 
'''Starscream''': Yes, you did! 
'''Ramjet''': No. I. Didn't. 
'''Slipstream, the Female Starscream''': Ohh, haven't you figured it out yet? He's a pathological liar. Each of us clones represents one aspect of your personality. [''points to each clone in turn''] He's a coward... he's an egomaniac... he's a suck-up... he's a liar. 
'''Ramjet''': I am not! 
'''Starscream''': So, which part of me did you come from? 
'''Slipstream''': Don't ask. 
'''Starscream''': ''[sigh]'' This is going to be a long orbital cycle.
:—Best [[introdump]] ever?

"I just didn't think my head was so big." 
"That's your leg."
:—'''Sari''' and '''Bulkhead'''. Oh, the irony!

'''Sari''': No, don't shoot! You'll hit my dad! 
'''Bulkhead''': She's right! 
'''Bumblebee''': So what are we supposed to do? Fight him with snappy comebacks?
:—'''Bumblebee''' conveniently forgets his normal attack strategy.

'''Bumblebee''': All right, Zippy, start talking! 
''[Blurr transforms from vehicle mode to robot mode]'' 
'''Blurr''': First of all, the name's not "Zippy"! As a matter of fact, I don't believe I've ever met another bot named Zippy, so one can only assume that you came up with "Zippy" in reference to my speed, which may be technically accurate, but lacks a certain creativity! 
'''Bumblebee''': Eh...eh-eh... 
'''Blurr''': More to the point, the name's Blurr! I'm an Autobot intelligence agent, sent to this planet by the Elite Guard to keep an eye on Optimus Prime and his crew as well as monitor the Decepticon activity, and ''you'', my friend, have just blown a decacycle of covert surveillance designed to uncover Megatron's plot to conquer Cybertron. Everything was going according to plan when I intercepted a communication between the Decepticon leader and an unknown double agent! They were in the midst of plotting the abduction of an unsuspecting Autobot, which now, from the status of the current ground situation, appears to have been successful. Got that so far? 
'''Bumblebee''': Uh...could you repeat the last part? 
'''Blurr''': Which last part? 
'''Bumblebee''': Oh, everything after "The name's not Zippy."
:—It took Bumblebee a long time to get Blurr to start talking. From this point on, he doesn't shut up.

'''Bumblebee''': Woah, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up! 
'''Prowl''': Did he just say Bulkhead? 
'''Optimus Prime''': ''Our Bulkhead?'' 
'''Ratchet''': ''An expert?'' On anything?!
:—The Autobots aren't terribly impressed with Bulkhead.

"I must be a bigger pain in the gearshaft than I thought." 
"Well, well, well, look who just got to the party!" 
"Don't ''start'' with me, woman!" 
:—'''Starscream''' [[Total War!#Quotes|openly admits]] one of his primary faults, much to '''Slipstream's''' annoyance.

"Okay, I give. I'm officially no longer the fastest thing on wheels."
:—'''Bumblebee''' is humbled after seeing Blurr's speedy takedown of Blitzwing and Lugnut.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===
*When Mixmaster encases Optimus and Prowl in concrete, his colors shift back to his neutral, pre-Decepticon color scheme.
*When Megatron attacks the Autobots, his cockpit changes from black to grey for a brief moment, then back.
*Blurr's mouth disappears for a frame after he introduces himself to Bumblebee and is pointing at him for the second time.

===Continuity errors===
*Not so much an error as a quirk: During the engagement in the mines, Icy Blitzwing is scowling noticeably, while Hothead Blitzwing is...''smiling???''
*When Bulkhead is brought into Decepticon HQ, Prof. Sumdac says his name as if he is surprised to see the Autobot, despite the fact that Sumdac was ''there'' when Bulkhead was kidnapped by Megatron.
*It's odd that while Bumblebee wasn't fast enough to catch up with Blurr with his turbo boosters in "[[Velocity]]", he can catch up to him and hit him while he hasn't got them on in this episode. Maybe he was doing the speed limit?

===Transformers references===
[[Image:ABridgeTooClosePart1-MegatronHandExtendtion.jpg|thumb|right|His special hand! There's none other like it!]]
*Shockwave's report on Bulkhead appears to be in the form of [[Tech Spec]]s.
*After branding, the Constructicons' colour schemes match those of their Generation 1 counterparts.
*Megatron shoots off his middle and index finger which isn't [[Scrounge (G1)|something]] [[Elita One#Classics|new]].
*Ironically, what Starscream says about his clones is similar to what [[Starscream (G1)|his Generation 1 counterpart]] remarked on [[Starscream clone (G1)|his clone]].

===Foreign dubbing===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Le portail d'à côté 1/2'''" ("The Portal Next Door 1/2")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Die Weltraumbrücke, Teil 1'''" ("The Spacebridge, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[July 30|30 July]] [[2008]]

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''O Jeden Most Za Blisko, Część 1'''" ("A Bridge Too Close, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

===Real-world references===
*In ''[[Wikipedia:The Bridge on the River Kwai|The Bridge on the River Kwai]]'', [[Obi-Wan Kenobi|Alec Guinness]] is a prisoner of war who is forced to build a bridge. Even though the bridge will help his enemies, he builds the bridge to the best of his ability just to demonstrate how capable he is. In "A Bridge Too Close"...replace "Alec Guinness" with "Bulkhead".
*The title is a reference to the movie ''[[Wikipedia:A Bridge Too Far (film)|A Bridge Too Far]]''.
*Among the parts needed for a space bridge are "hollow cathode tubes", parts which until recently made up computer monitor displays.

===Trivia===
*So in all the months that Isaac Sumdac has been missing, it never occurred to anyone that the Decepticons kidnapped him? Perhaps everyone thought he was dead.
*All of the heavy exposition is given to the guy who talks really, really fast. Handy.
*Megatron initiates new Decepticons by [[branding]] the symbol onto them with cattle brands. How bovine.
*This is not the first time Bulky has transformed his [[Total Meltdown|kibble into a chair]].
*Starscream opens a hatch on his head to pick parts from his AllSpark fragment to bring the clones to life, suggesting that in all of the episodes when you do see it, he has his hatch open, exposing the AllSpark fragment.

==Home video releases==
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Season Two ([[Transformers Animated (cartoon)/home video|Paramount]]) — English and Spanish audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Volume Six: Black Friday (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Volume Six: Black Friday (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Volume Sechs: Schwarzer Freitag (Paramount) — English and German audio.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridge Too Close, Part I}}
[[Category:Animated episodes]]

A Bridge Too Close, Part I

2010-07-14T19:06:55Z

174.106.127.78: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|ep=28
|image=TFA ABTC1 Space Bridge operational.JPG
|caption=Closer... closer...
|title="A Bridge Too Close, Part I"
|airdate=[[June 28]], 2008
|written by=[[Marsha Griffin]]
|directed by=[[Ben Jones]] [[Christopher Berkeley]] [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|animation studio=[[The Answer Studio]]
}}

'''The Decepticons kidnap Bulkhead to aid in Megatron's ultimate plan to take over Cybertron.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Megatron branding.jpg|thumb|left|"Can't you just paint the insignia on our chest?" "Now, where's the fun in that?"]]

Now serving under [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]], the [[Constructicon (Animated)|Constructicons]] have completed construction of the villain’s [[space bridge]]. They are rewarded for their efforts by being officially inducted into the [[Decepticon]] army in a small ceremony led by Megatron, with [[Lugnut]] and [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] serving as witnesses (and, for some reason, holding candles). After the Constructicons have recited the oath of allegiance, Megatron [[branding|brands]] them, quite literally, with a [[Redeco|color-change]] for their armor and eyes thrown into the bargain. At Megatron’s instruction, [[Isaac Sumdac|Professor Sumdac]] fires up the bridge, but when it fails to activate due to the professor’s simple lack of understanding of the technology, Megatron realizes that he will require additional help...

[[Image:TFA ABTC1 Screamer Clones Argue.jpg|thumb|"There's something in your [[optic]]." "No, there isn't!"]]

On [[Earth]]’s [[Moon (moon)|moon]], [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] gloats over five new [[Starscream clone (Animated)|clones]] of himself, to which he is in the process of putting the finishing touches. The final clone is completed and, like its fellows, brought online with a tiny chip of the [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]] that gives Starscream life. Immediately, however, Starscream has to wrestle with the various wacky personalities the clones have wound up with, each one an exaggerated aspect of his own: a coward, a sycophant, an egomaniac, a pathological liar... and a short-tempered female who insists that Starscream not ask what aspect of his personality gave birth to her.

Megatron contacts [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in order to have him [[Cybertronian Datanet|track down]] the top space bridge engineer on the planet. Shockwave is surprised to report that the engineer in question is on Earth—it’s [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]! Megatron decides to capture Bulkhead personally and instructs Lugnut and Blitzwing to pick up an item from [[Sumdac Tower]] to aid in “convincing” the Autobot to help them. When Lugnut points out that Sumdac cannot be trusted in the base alone with the Constructicons, Megatron decides to take the professor with him. As all this scheming goes on, however, someone else is listening in—the mysterious “Blue Racer” that [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] recently encountered.

[[Image:TFA ABTC1 painting time.JPG|thumb|left|Optimus Prime has deemed this image in need of a caption!]]

At the Autobot base, Bulkhead is working on his latest painting, an abstract rendition of [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]]. Unfortunately, backseat artistry from the other Autobots winds up ruining the painting, and Bulkhead goes for a walk with Sari to vent a little. Bumblebee follows to apologize, but just as he catches up to them, Megatron appears in the sky overhead and opens fire. Using Sumdac as a human shield to stop the Autobots from firing back, Megatron continues to rain destruction down on the Autobots as Bumblebee and Sari argue over whether or not Sumdac has been working with Megatron.

[[Image:TFA ABTC1 Megatron Sumdac Hostage.jpg|thumb|right|...dads?]]
Suddenly, the Blue Racer speeds onto the scene, and Bumblebee, believing the enigmatic speedster to be working with Megatron, chases him off through the city and manages to run him off the road. When he attempts to report his success to Bulkhead, though, there’s no response—because Megatron has captured Bulkhead and is airlifting him away. Bumblebee’s failure is compounded by the next turn of events: The Blue Racer reveals himself to be [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]], a fast-talking member of the [[Cybertron Elite Guard]] who has been covertly monitoring Megatron’s activities.

Back at the Decepticon headquarters, Bulkhead refuses to help Megatron, so the villain unveils the fruit of Blitzwing and Lugnut’s labor: a [[Headmaster (Animated)|Headmaster]] unit! Faced with the threat of once again having his body taken over and being used to destroy his fellow Autobots, and failing to elicit any help from [[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]] or [[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]], Bulkhead relents and agrees to work on the space bridge.

At the Autobots’ base, Blurr relates his mission to [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] and company and brings them up to speed, quite literally. While Prime leads the rest of the team to the Decepticon base, the location of which is provided by Blurr, [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] and Sari head for Teletran-1 to try to get it online one last time. Just like [[Lost and Found (episode)|last time]], their efforts lead to nothing, forcing Ratchet to attempt one last drastic approach: using the AllSpark fragments the Autobots have gathered to jump-start the ship’s systems.

[[Image:TFA ABTC1 Bulkhead Sumdac.JPG|thumb|left|Merry Christmas!]]

Prime’s team is led by Blurr into the Decepticons’ coal mine base, where they are immediately attacked by Lugnut and Blitzwing. The fight is a brief one, as Blurr uses his super-speed to bind the odd couple with [[stasis cuffs]]. Meanwhile, as the space bridge nears completion, Bulkhead insists on modifying many aspects of Sumdac’s design, and winds up in an argument with the human, which Sumdac interprets as Bulkhead trying to sabotage the bridge deliberately. When the bridge is activated, however, it functions perfectly—Bulkhead knew full well that Sumdac’s design was wrong, and he corrected it!

[[Image:TFA ABTC1 Screamer Clones Emerge.jpg|thumb|right|Why, I'm beside myself! And myself! And...]]
As the bridge flares into life, Prime’s team bursts into the main chamber, but they are instantly immobilized by cement booties, courtesy of Mixmaster. With the Autobots out of the picture, it seems there is nothing to stop Megatron now...until the roof of the cavern explodes, and Starscream and his clone army make their grand entrance!

[[A Bridge Too Close, Part II|To be continued…]]
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] (14)
*[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] (15)
*[[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]] (16)
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (17)
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] (18)
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (19)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Lugnut]] (2)
*[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] (3)
*[[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]] (4)
*[[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]] (5)
*[[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] (7)
*[[Thundercracker (Animated)|Thundercracker]] (8)
*[[Sunstorm (Animated)|Sunstorm]] (9)
*[[Ramjet (Animated)|Ramjet]] (10)
*[[Skywarp (Animated)|Skywarp]] (11)
*[[Slipstream (Animated)|Slipstream]] (12)
*[[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] (13)

|c3=
*[[Isaac Sumdac]] (6)
*[[Sari Sumdac]] (15)
}}

==Quotes==
"Ah, never before have I seen such an impressive group of lethal fighting machines! And pretty good-looking, if I do say so myself."
:—The ever-humble '''Starscream''' comments on his clone army.

'''Skywarp, the Coward Starscream''': Us? Against Megatron?!? ARE YOU INSANE?!? ''[Meekly]'' Ah, I think I just sprang an oil leak... 
'''Thundercracker, the Egomaniac Starscream''': Silence, you fool! Megatron is a worthless pile of scrap metal compared to ''my'' genius. 
'''Sunstorm, the Sycophant Starscream''': Brilliant observation! Brilliant! But your genius pales in comparison to the genius of our leader, the [[Starscream (G1)|original]] Starscream. 
'''Starscream''': Mmm, I could listen to this one all day! 
'''Ramjet, the Liar Starscream''': What are you talking about? ''I'' am the [[Geewun|original]] Starscream! 
'''Starscream''': Liar! ''I'' am the original Starscream. 
'''Ramjet''': I never said I was the original Starscream. 
'''Starscream''': You just did right now. 
'''Ramjet''': No, I didn't. 
'''Starscream''': Yes, you did. 
'''Ramjet''': No, I didn't. 
'''Starscream''': Yes, you did! 
'''Ramjet''': No. I. Didn't. 
'''Slipstream, the Female Starscream''': Ohh, haven't you figured it out yet? He's a pathological liar. Each of us clones represents one aspect of your personality. [''points to each clone in turn''] He's a coward... he's an egomaniac... he's a suck-up... he's a liar. 
'''Ramjet''': I am not! 
'''Starscream''': So, which part of me did you come from? 
'''Slipstream''': Don't ask. 
'''Starscream''': ''[sigh]'' This is going to be a long orbital cycle.
:—Best [[introdump]] ever?

"I just didn't think my head was so big." 
"That's your leg."
:—'''Sari''' and '''Bulkhead'''. Oh, the irony!

'''Sari''': No, don't shoot! You'll hit my dad! 
'''Bulkhead''': She's right! 
'''Bumblebee''': So what are we supposed to do? Fight him with snappy comebacks?
:—'''Bumblebee''' conveniently forgets his normal attack strategy.

'''Bumblebee''': All right, Zippy, start talking! 
''[Blurr transforms from vehicle mode to robot mode]'' 
'''Blurr''': First of all, the name's not "Zippy"! As a matter of fact, I don't believe I've ever met another bot named Zippy, so one can only assume that you came up with "Zippy" in reference to my speed, which may be technically accurate, but lacks a certain creativity! 
'''Bumblebee''': Eh...eh-eh... 
'''Blurr''': More to the point, the name's Blurr! I'm an Autobot intelligence agent, sent to this planet by the Elite Guard to keep an eye on Optimus Prime and his crew as well as monitor the Decepticon activity, and ''you'', my friend, have just blown a decacycle of covert surveillance designed to uncover Megatron's plot to conquer Cybertron. Everything was going according to plan when I intercepted a communication between the Decepticon leader and an unknown double agent! They were in the midst of plotting the abduction of an unsuspecting Autobot, which now, from the status of the current ground situation, appears to have been successful. Got that so far? 
'''Bumblebee''': Uh...could you repeat the last part? 
'''Blurr''': Which last part? 
'''Bumblebee''': Oh, everything after "The name's not Zippy."
:—It took Bumblebee a long time to get Blurr to start talking. From this point on, he doesn't shut up.

'''Bumblebee''': Woah, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up! 
'''Prowl''': Did he just say Bulkhead? 
'''Optimus Prime''': ''Our Bulkhead?'' 
'''Ratchet''': ''An expert?'' On anything?!
:—The Autobots aren't terribly impressed with Bulkhead.

"I must be a bigger pain in the gearshaft than I thought."
:—'''Starscream''' [[Total War!#Quotes|openly admits]] one of his primary faults.

"Okay, I give. I'm officially no longer the fastest thing on wheels."
:—'''Bumblebee''' is humbled after seeing Blurr's speedy takedown of Blitzwing and Lugnut.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===
*When Mixmaster encases Optimus and Prowl in concrete, his colors shift back to his neutral, pre-Decepticon color scheme.
*When Megatron attacks the Autobots, his cockpit changes from black to grey for a brief moment, then back.
*Blurr's mouth disappears for a frame after he introduces himself to Bumblebee and is pointing at him for the second time.

===Continuity errors===
*Not so much an error as a quirk: During the engagement in the mines, Icy Blitzwing is scowling noticeably, while Hothead Blitzwing is...''smiling???''
*When Bulkhead is brought into Decepticon HQ, Prof. Sumdac says his name as if he is surprised to see the Autobot, despite the fact that Sumdac was ''there'' when Bulkhead was kidnapped by Megatron.
*It's odd that while Bumblebee wasn't fast enough to catch up with Blurr with his turbo boosters in "[[Velocity]]", he can catch up to him and hit him while he hasn't got them on in this episode. Maybe he was doing the speed limit?

===Transformers references===
[[Image:ABridgeTooClosePart1-MegatronHandExtendtion.jpg|thumb|right|His special hand! There's none other like it!]]
*Shockwave's report on Bulkhead appears to be in the form of [[Tech Spec]]s.
*After branding, the Constructicons' colour schemes match those of their Generation 1 counterparts.
*Megatron shoots off his middle and index finger which isn't [[Scrounge (G1)|something]] [[Elita One#Classics|new]].
*Ironically, what Starscream says about his clones is similar to what [[Starscream (G1)|his Generation 1 counterpart]] remarked on [[Starscream clone (G1)|his clone]].

===Foreign dubbing===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Le portail d'à côté 1/2'''" ("The Portal Next Door 1/2")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Die Weltraumbrücke, Teil 1'''" ("The Spacebridge, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''O Jeden Most Za Blisko, Część 1'''" ("A Bridge Too Close, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

===Real-world references===
*In ''[[Wikipedia:The Bridge on the River Kwai|The Bridge on the River Kwai]]'', [[Obi-Wan Kenobi|Alec Guinness]] is a prisoner of war who is forced to build a bridge. Even though the bridge will help his enemies, he builds the bridge to the best of his ability just to demonstrate how capable he is. In "A Bridge Too Close"...replace "Alec Guinness" with "Bulkhead".
*The title is a reference to the movie ''[[Wikipedia:A Bridge Too Far (film)|A Bridge Too Far]]''.
*Among the parts needed for a space bridge are "hollow cathode tubes", parts which until recently made up computer monitor displays.

===Trivia===
*So in all the months that Isaac Sumdac has been missing, it never occurred to anyone that the Decepticons kidnapped him? Perhaps everyone thought he was dead.
*All of the heavy exposition is given to the guy who talks really, really fast. Handy.
*Megatron initiates new Decepticons by [[branding]] the symbol onto them with cattle brands. How bovine.
*This is not the first time Bulky has transformed his [[Total Meltdown|kibble into a chair]].
*Starscream opens a hatch on his head to pick parts from his AllSpark fragment to bring the clones to life, suggesting that in all of the episodes when you do see it, he has his hatch open, exposing the AllSpark fragment.

==Home video releases==
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Season Two ([[Transformers Animated (cartoon)/home video|Paramount]]) — English and Spanish audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Volume Six: Black Friday (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Volume Six: Black Friday (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Volume Sechs: Schwarzer Freitag (Paramount) — English and German audio.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridge Too Close, Part I}}
[[Category:Animated episodes]]

Nature Calls

2010-07-05T21:26:45Z

174.106.127.78: /* Quotes */

{{episode|Ani|14
|title="Nature Calls"
|image=TFA Nature Calls barnacle monster attacks.JPG
|caption=Zoinks! Like, it's the Tar Monster!
|airdate=[[March 22]], 2008
|written by=[[Todd Casey]]
|directed by=[[Ben Jones]] [[Bouakeo Thongkham]] [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|animation studio=[[The Answer Studio]]
}}
'''Prowl, Bumblebee and Sari get more than they bargained for when they head out to the remote woods to investigate a mysterious energy signal.'''

:''German title:'' "'''Der Ruf der Natur'''" ("The Call of Nature")
:''Polish title:'' "'''Zew natury'''" ("The Call of Nature")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TFA Nature Calls barnacles constructionbots.JPG|left|150px|thumb|The Constructicons have been smothered by lava before, but this is ridiculous.]]

Far outside of Detroit, a lone worker monitoring [[Constructicon (G1)|some oddly coloured]] mining machines hears a strange noise. Alerted, he looks around, but returns to his drink... only to be attacked by ''something''. The construction machines stop their work, and they too get attacked.

Outside Detroit, Prowl, in his [[alternate mode]], looks on at the snow-covered city before a plow comes along and rather rudely covers him in snow. [[Transformation|Transforming]], he rises from the snow with a sad look on his face.

[[Image:TFA Nature Calls mad kids.JPG|right|150px|thumb|You'll be sorry when the wind changes.]]

When Prowl returns to the base, he goes on a rant about Nature's beauty and how humanity destroys it at every turn. Bumblebee and Sari are playing a video game, ignoring his vent. Prowl looks down on Bumblebee and asks if he was listening, where Bumblebee retorts by noting that Prowl is "electrical components" too, nudging his Autobot insignia to activate a hologram of Prowl. Optimus Prime interrupts the friendly banter by noting that there is a strange energy signature coming from the forest, and he sends Prowl and Bumblebee to investigate. Bumblebee is horrified at the idea at venturing into the tech-less wilderness, while Sari uses the opportunity to go camping with the two Autobots.

[[Image:Camp site.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Nothin' says "unplug yourselves" like a little primitive camping.]]

The three of them head off into the woods, and Bumblebee laments unpaved roads, while Sari is excited, saying that they'll roast marshmallows, tell ghost stories and the like. When they prepare to proceed on foot, it's learned that Bumblebee brought a few entertainment devices... stored in a place that makes him a little ashamed. After finding a suitable camping site, Prowl sits quietly to commune with Nature while Bumblebee searches for an outlet to power his flatscreen TV. As campers, Sari and Bumblebee are miserable failures. They can't pitch a tent or get a fire going, and Sari is forced to admit that she's never been camping before, so Prowl does both within seconds. When Bumblebee commandeers Prowl's holographic imager to watch a movie, the ninja bot smashes Bumblebee's portable media player, much to the yellow bot's horror. Prowl 1, Bumblebee 0.

During the night, the trio is awoken by a crunching noise. Bumblebee cries monster. Prowl says it's a bear, which are [[wikipedia:Stephen Colbert (character)|hardly monsters]]. Lo and behold, a monstrous creature covered in purple tentacles and pink eyes ''does'' stomp out into the open and attack them. Bumblebee 1, Prowl 1. The creature absorbs Prowl's shurikens and holds its own against Bumblebee's stingers. What's more, Sari's [[AllSpark Key]] glows, indicating that the creature is Cybertronian in origin. Unable to fight it off, the trio retreat.

[[Image:Sari expression.jpg|right|150px|thumb|It just gets worse, Sari.]]

Losing the creature, Prowl tries to figure out what the creature was, despite Bumblebee's snide comments. They both determine the creature is made up of [[space barnacles]], scourge of space-going vessels everywhere. Normally, barnacles drain power and act like computer viruses, but these barnacles appear to have been mutated by [[AllSpark (Animated)|something]] and made more powerful. They decide to go back and destroy the barnacles, rather than risk the creature reaching Detroit and infecting other machines. Glowing in the direction of the Cybertronian energy, the AllSpark Key leads them to the mine shaft. When they're not looking, the creature drops a snowbank on them from above, sealing 'Bee and Sari inside.

Prowl fools the creature into smashing the entrance open, and Bumblebee uses his stingers to fry the barnacles. However, Prowl's prolonged contact with the creature has infected him and taken over, turning him into a barnacle zombie. 'Bee and Sari make a run for it, but they know they can't go back to the city because the barnacles may spread. They backtrack, hoping to lure Prowl to the mine and seal him inside, but end up sealing themselves inside too.

[[Image:Barnicle bots.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Ve vant to suck your [[Energon (fuel)|energon]].]]

Now trapped, 'Bee and Sari seal themselves in a furnace room, and Sari hatches a plan to heat up water from a fire hose to scorch the barnacles off Prowl. However, Prowl's touch has infected Bumblebee as well. Sari tries to use the AllSpark Key on the furnace machinery, but it doesn't work (for once). She manages to light the furnace by scratching a spark (not [[Spark|that kind of spark]]) from the Key instead. The furnace heats the water, and Sari sprays her two friends, boiling off the barnacles. The two Autobots are restored, and the three return to the plant to recount their harrowing tale to Prime.

[[Image:Sumdac megatron's body.jpg|right|150px|thumb|FINALLY! I can resurrect the most ruthless warlord in the galaxy and damn my planet to untold suffering and horror! GO ME!!]]

Back in the woods, [[Isaac Sumdac|Professor Sumdac]] arrives in a truck and finds the Cybertronian machinery that was formerly coated by the barnacles, machinery that bears the Decepticon insignia. Sumdac comments that he's finally found what he's been looking for for several years, and that Megatron will be pleased with his discovery. What, oh what, could it be?
{{--}}
==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters|c1=
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (2)
*[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] (4)
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (5)
|c2=
*[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron's body]] (6)
|c3=
*[[Sparkplug (Animated human)|Sparkplug]] (1)
*[[Sari Sumdac]] (3)
*[[Isaac Sumdac]] (7)
}}

==Quotes==
[[Image:TFA Nature Calls Bumblebee shame.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"Please show where you hid the equipment on this action figure."]]

'''Bumblebee''': At least I can get this junk out of me. I was feeling kinda bloated. 
''[Electronic devices suddenly fall out of him, Prowl gives him a look]'' 
'''Bumblebee''': What? You said to pack the bare essentials! 
'''Prowl''': Since when are surround-sound speakers, a strobe light, and a hand-held media player "bare essentials?" 
'''Bumblebee''': You should've seen what I left back at the plant. 
'''Prowl''': Where did you even find room for all of this junk? 
''[Bumblebee taps his fingers uncomfortably]'' 
'''Bumblebee''': [[Exhaust port|I'd... rather not say.]] 
:—Bumblebee and Prowl's conversation takes a decidedly uncomfortable turn.

"First we must determine this creature's intentions." 
''[Creature knocks Prowl aside without provocation]'' 
"I'm gonna go with 'hostile'." 
:—'''Prowl''' and '''Bumblebee''' meet the monster.

'''Bumblebee''': Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?! 
''[Creature swipes at Bumblebee and Sari]'' 
'''Bumblebee''': Okay. Maybe we're a little unclear on the concept of "your own size". 
'''Sari''': Maybe you should stop talking logic to a ''creature that has no head!'' 
:—Bumblebee and Sari debate whether or not to open negotiations with the monster.

"What did I tell you about camping? ''Monsters''. TV is ''always'' right." 
"So, wait. Monsters ''are'' real? Tutor Bot is such a liar!" 
:—'''Bumblebee''''s faith in [[television]] is reinforced, while '''Sari Sumdac''''s faith in [[Tutor Bot]] is shattered.

"Attention, barnacle monster! Come out with your hands over your...well, you don't have a head. But you get the idea." 
:—'''Bumblebee''' instructs the creature to surrender.

"Your tire tracks!" 
"So I messed up the pretty white woods! You sound just like Prowl!" 
"No! We can follow them back to the mine and lure Prowl into it then seal him inside!" 
:—'''Sari''' and '''Bumblebee''' discuss the finer points of screwing with the scenery.

'''Sari''': And then, they were back to normal, like nothing ever happened. Meanwhile, I'm stuck riding home with no dry clothes and an Autobot whose car mode doesn't have a ''heater''! 
''[Sari sneezes]'' 
'''Optimus''': You showed a lot of courage and ingenuity, Sari. And hopefully, you'll stop...backfiring soon. 
'''Sari''': Hel-''lo'', it's called "sneezing". 
''[Sari sneezes, then blows her nose]'' 
'''Bumblebee''': I don't even wanna know what ''that's'' called. 
:—The Autobots discover the concept of the common cold.

"Megatron will be so surprised!" 
:—'''Isaac Sumdac''', cheerfully dooming us all.

==Notes==
===Continuity errors===
*When Bumblebee and Sari are playing a video game, Sari says "jump! jump!", and when Prowl shuts the game off, Bumblebee notes that he was on level 230... how this is possible when they play a racing game, nobody knows...
* If space barnacles are killed by heat, how did any survive atmospheric entry?
* Megatron's body clearly has the Decepticon emblem on it, and Isaac Sumdac... doesn't appear to notice, even though he should have noticed the differences between Autobot and Decepticons. Then again, he never noticed Megatron's eyes being red while all the Autobots have blue ones.

===Transformers references===
[[Image:Aniconstructionvehicles.jpg|right|150px|thumb|They're so [[neon]].]]
* The construction drones are [[Constructicon (G1)|green and purple.]] [[Constructicon (Animated)|Foreshadowing much]]?
* [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron's]] body ends up in the [[Megatron (Movie)|deep freeze.]]
[[Image:Anisparkplugwitwicky.jpg|right|150px|thumb|This kind of stuff never happened in [[Ruby Crystal Mines of Burma|Burma]]...]]
* The construction worker looks very [[Sparkplug Witwicky|familiar.]] (He's only credited as "Worker" and is voiced by [[Bumper Robinson]].)

===Real-world references===
* Bumblebee and Sari play their racing game on a console shaped very much like an X-Box with a purple and gray palette swap.
* There are actually [[wikipedia:barnacle|barnacles ''not'' from space]]. Neat, huh?

===Trivia===
*If those space barnacles came from the Autobots ship and latched onto Megatron's body before it hit reentry, what were they doing for the past fifty years?
* The construction worker [[Sari, No One's Home|somehow survived]] being attacked by the space barnacle.
* What use could Bumblebee (and possibly Sari) have for a ''strobe light''?
* [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]], and Megatron ('s head), while mentioned, make no appearances in this episode.
* [[Tutor Bot]] is mentioned, and is in the voice credits for the episode, but does not actually appear.
*...[[Tom Kenny|space]] [[Bill Fagerbakke|barnacles?]]
* Why didn't Sari get scalded by hot water when she soaked Prowl and 'Bee? Maybe it's because [[Transwarped|she's part robot]]?

==Home video releases==
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2008 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Season One ([[Transformers Animated (cartoon)/home video|Paramount]]) — English and Spanish audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Volume Three: Megatron Rising (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Volume Three: Megatron Rising (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2009 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Volume Drei: Megatrons Auferstehung (Paramount) — English and German audio.

[[Category:Animated episodes]]

Day of the Machines

2010-06-28T16:23:10Z

174.106.127.78: /* Quotes */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=25
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=74
|prev2=Attack of the Autobots
|next2=Scramble City
|image=Dayofmachinesprimeandtorq.jpg
|caption=Big Brother is watching you!
|title="Day of the Machines"
|production code=#700-24
|airdate=[[October 10]], 1985
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Megatron's latest scheme involves using the most powerful computer on Earth to control machinery remotely.'''

:''Japanese title:'' コンピュータの反乱 (''Computer no Hanran'', "The Rebellion of the Computer")
:''Brazilian title:'' '''Dia das Máquinas''' ("Day of the Machines")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Dayofmachinesmegsinacase.jpg|left|250px|thumb|"Megatron! What are you doing in my [[Laserbeak (Animated)|cousin's]] house?!"]]

[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] and [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (the former disguised in a guitar case!) not-so-silently infiltrate [[Quantum Laboratories]], a top-secret facility where the world’s most powerful computer, [[TORQ III]], is housed. Megatron reprograms the computer with his own personality and gives it the power to control remotely dangerous machines of all types through the use of "[[Remote Control Circuit Linker]] cards."

At the same time, scientist Dr. [[Paul Gates]] of Quantum Labs muses with a colleague about the dangers of machine sentience and that, in the wrong hands, TORQ III might be too powerful. Since Fate is both cruel and timely, the very scenario they were discussing comes true when TORQ III locks them in their office and announces that he’s taking over.

Megatron is using TORQ and the circuit linker cards to remotely control fleets of [[oil tanker]]s. This alerts [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]], who notifies [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]]. Prime then receives Dr. Gates’ distress signal; Gates fills him in on TORQ III’s rebellion and asks to be rescued.

[[Image:Dayofmachinesautossurround.jpg|right|225px|thumb|The Autobots play "Monkey in the Middle" with a bunch of Brawls.]]

[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] and [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] are assigned to investigate the tankers, and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] tags along. Prime leads a group to Quantum Labs, where they immediately come under attack by machines controlled by TORQ. Overwhelmed, Prime orders in the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] (minus [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]]) to come help, and they smash, chomp and melt down all of the machines. [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] makes his usual pompous comment about having to save Prime’s bacon when things get rough. Afterward, Prime rescues Dr. Gates and they advance toward the buildings, meeting lots of resistance from TORQ’s machines.

Meanwhile, Hound, Spike and Skyfire sneak aboard an oil tanker and infiltrate the [[Decepticon]]s' oil platform. Their attack falls short when Spike is captured and they are forced to surrender.

After smashing more remote-controlled machines at Quantum, Prime decides to explore inside TORQ’s maze-like complex alone. As Optimus moves in closer, one of the machines places a circuit linker card on him, making him Torq’s slave, and he is brought into the computer’s domain. But—surprise, surprise—Prime rips the card off his body, saying it was a dud he placed in the robot’s claw, and he disables TORQ with a well-placed punch to the control panel. At the oil platform, Soundwave senses TORQ's demise; Megatron takes over control of the tankers with a gargantuan remote control device.

[[Image:DayOfMachines Megatron remote control.jpg|left|250px|thumb|"So this is what a human Cell Phone looks like."]]

Dr. Gates lends the Autobots a high-speed hydrofoil to reach the Decepticons. Back at the oil platform, Spike has hatched an idea to use an electromagnet (which happened to be in their cell) to immobilize [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]. Skyfire easily smashes through the cell door and Hound disables the force dome that was protecting the platform. The rest of the Autobots arrive and a battle ensues. Prime faces down Megatron and manages to wrest a remote control device from his hands, then tosses it back to him. Megatron lands on it, crushing it, and comes back up spitting mad. He retaliates by activating the self-destruct mechanism on the platform.

The [[Autobot]]s escape, but Prime stays behind to find Hound, Skyfire and Spike. He rips apart the platform deck, revealing the missing team members, and Skyfire flies them out of danger.

Finally, Prime says goodbye to Dr. Gates, who makes a parting comment about machines being unreliable, and then quickly retracts the statement when he realizes his gaffe. The Autobots laugh at the ungrateful human's hubris.
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] (10)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (11)
* [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (12)
* [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] (13)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (15)
* [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (16)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (17)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (18)
* [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (19)
* [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (20)
* [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (21)
* [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] (22)

|c2=
* [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (2)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (3)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (4)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (8)
* [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] (9)
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (25)
* [[Hook (G1) |Hook]]

|c3=
*Security guard (1)
* Dr Gates's colleague (6)
* Dr. [[Paul Gates]] (7)
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (14)
* [[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (23)
* Oil tanker captain (24)

|c4=
* [[TORQ III]] (5)
}}

==Quotes==
"Illegal access! Illegal access!" 
"It certainly is."
:—'''TORQ III''' is reprogrammed by '''Megatron'''. Awkward...

"Good grief. More bad news. This isn’t one of our shining days."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' as TORQ's machines surround his troops.

"We help! ...Hmm. Always get Autobots out of messes they get into."
:—'''Grimlock''' laments at yet another Autobot bungle he is called upon to resolve. Forcefully.

"It's a safe bet those doors are locked." 
"Fortunately, I have a delicate lock-picking technique."
:—'''Dr. Gates''' and '''Optimus Prime''', right before Prime "delicately" blasts his way into TORQ's building.

"Come and get me you metal-headed dumb-dumb." 
"That's one stupid Decepticon."
:—'''Skyfire''' and '''Hound''' accurately assess Frenzy's level of intelligence.

"What do you say, guys? Can you bash it down?" 
"With a smile on our lip components!"
:—'''Spike''' and '''Hound''' discuss the finer points of Cybertronian facial structure.

"I'll take that transmitter, please." 
"The transmitter is mine!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' is always polite. '''Megatron''', not so much.

"You took the word right out of my mouth. It was in there with my foot."
:—'''Dr. Paul Gates''' after he tells the ''Autobots'' that all machines are unreliable.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* As the security guard closes the Lost and Found cage's gate, his hand phases through the cage door.
* Soundwave's cassette door is blue instead of white before he releases Laserbeak.
* The access hatch in Megatron's head simply appears out of nowhere on his forehead, and likewise vanishes after closing.
* There's no evidence of the bizarre war machines in the Hall of TORQ when Megatron and Soundwave arrive. They suddenly appear once they're needed for the plot.
* Teletraan I has the radio-transmission muffle on its voice as it reports the oil tanker movements to Optimus Prime.
* Prime comments that the tankers are converging near [[Decepticon Headquarters]], but the graphics show them in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Decepticon HQ is somewhere near the Pacific coast.
* After he transforms, Prime's cab wheels are somehow in ''front'' of his trailer. (Sure is a pretty sequence otherwise, though!)
* Prowl's face changes from gray to white as he turns to look at Wheeljack after the first commercial break.
* Snarl's tail is white instead of gold as he smashes the tank.
* Slag sure does spend a long time staring at the machines, growling and very pointedly moving his mouth. Was he supposed to have some dialog? Sludge does nearly the same thing before Prime uses him as a ladder.
* Prime's whole face is the same blue color as his helmet as he offers the humans a lift down from their window.
* "Personnel" is spelled with only one "n" on the TORQ Project's building sign.
* Is that supposed to be Hook lowering the cargo pipe onto the tanker? 'Cause he's colored yellow instead of green, and has an inexplicably radioed-in voice, and isn't quite on-model, and he never actually transforms, and... maybe it's not supposed to be Hook. Hound does however refer to him by name.
* Laserbeak's feet aren't fully drawn as he carries Spike past the camera.
* Laserbeak is shown outside the force field as he flies over Hound. He should be inside.
* Skyfire's chest cockpit is white instead of blue as he drops his gun.
* Sideswipe's head is colored red instead of black as he flees from a Torq-controlled machine.
* The claws holding Sideswipe's wrists just kind of randomly let him go for no reason.
* Prime's eyes are red instead of blue as the tentacle machine drags him toward its spinny things.
* Soundwave reports that "ORQ" [''sic''] is no longer functional.
* The Decepticons sure take their time getting yanked back by the electromagnet, whose effect should be instantaneous. It also doesn't seem to bother the Autobots, who run right through the spot where the Decepticons were standing when the magnet grabbed them.
* Hound's missile, supposedly removed by the Decepticons, is suddenly back in place as they run out of the cell. (In a nice bit of continuity, his launcher does remain empty after he destroys the force field generator.)
* Soundwave's optics are white when he notifies Megatron that the force field is down.
* Sparkplug is suddenly standing, unsheltered, in the middle of the Autobots, who were in a raging firefight just seconds before.
* Skyfire's chest is missing his Autobot symbol as he and Hound react to the platform's explosions. The same error repeats in the episode's closing scene.
* The bottom of Prime's waist is about twice its normal size as he and the other Autobots react to Dr. Gates' "unreliable" comment.

===Continuity errors===
* Considering how easily they move around the complex, blowing holes in stuff, it's not at all clear why the Decepticons needed to go through the trouble of sneaking into the place in their alternate modes.
* How do the remote linker cards grant control of machines just by being hooked to random parts of them, not their computer circuits?
* Since when do oil tankers travel in enormous fleets? Is this World War II?
* The Dinobots disappear from the story after their one battle, despite the fact that the Autobots meet more resistance before they reach TORQ III. Also curious is Swoop's total absence.
* Prime claims that he inserted a dead circuit linker into the claw of TORQ's "friend". However, the animation basically allows no opportunity for this to happen. Furthermore, the circuit linker that he took from Sparkplug earlier sure didn't appear to be "dead"!
* Superhuman Spike: Spike picks up a metal electro-magnet which is nearly as big as he is.

===Continuity notes===
* Gadgets and powers:
** Megatron's gun mode actually shrinks to a human adequate scale, the only time we see him do this.
** Skyfire once again uses his jet-with-legs half-transformation.
** Ironhide destroys one of TORQ's machines by ''walking right through the blast'' it's emitting and sticking his finger in its hose. He is old because he is '''hard'''!
** Hound fires his shoulder missile for the first and only time ever.
* This is one of Optimus Prime's shining episodes. He defeats TORQ III almost singlehandedly; he destroys Megatron's remote control device and foils the tanker stealing plan; and he saves Spike, Skyfire and Hound from sinking with the oil platform. No wonder he's in charge!

===Real-world references===
* Pre-Megatron TORQ III bears some passing resemblance to Oz, the Great and Powerful!
* Paul Gates, the scientist of Quantum Labs, could be a nod to the co-founders of Microsoft, Paul Allen and Bill Gates.

===Trivia===
* Like a handful of other Season 2 episodes ("[[Autobot Spike]]", "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]"), this one begins with a short narrative voiceover from [[Victor Caroli]]. Unlike the others, this one actually conveys some information that isn't immediately conveyed by the animation (namely, what Quantum Laboratories does.)
* Script writer David Wise had previously used the concept of a computer able to remote-control machinery being taken over by a villain in a ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' episode also named "Day of the Machines". The same episode also featured a [[Kremzeek!|small energy-based creature]] and Man-At-Arms [[Microbots|shrinking himself]] to fix the computer.
*This is one of two episodes (the other being "[[Attack of the Autobots]]") not initially aired in Japan during the run of ''[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers]]''. The episode was eventually dubbed in 1990 and released on [[Pioneer]]'s laserdisk set of the series. As such, it was retroactively added to the series official episode list as episode 74, a numbering reflected in ''[[Transformers Generations]]''.
*Having been dubbed several years after ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' had ended, not all the original cast members were able to return. [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] (originally voiced by [[Ken Shiroyama]]), [[Bluestreak]] (originally voiced by [[Kōki Kataoka]]) and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (originally voiced by [[Osamu Saka]]) were replaced by [[Katsumi Suzuki]].

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — English and Japanese audio.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1: Vol. 2 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2003 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Bumper Collection Special (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 2: Series 2.1 ([[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]] 2008 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 03: Stagione Due Parte Prima ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part One (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'' — Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)

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

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Hoist Goes Hollywood (episode)

2010-06-18T15:50:28Z

174.106.127.78: /* 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")

==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 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===
[[Image:HoistGoesHollywood No Faceplate Error.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Guess they mouthed off once too often.]]

* Warpath and Powerglide are missing their face plates after the explosion scene.

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

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

* 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.

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

* When Megatron grabs Starscream after he learns the negative is still in exsistence, 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]].

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

* 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.

* 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.

* 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. Whoops.

===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?

===Real-world references===
* The characters of Harold Edsel and Karen Fishook are obvious parodies of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher from the ''[[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 the third and final pre-movie episode which 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.

==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 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]]

Hoist Goes Hollywood (episode)

2010-06-18T15:23:31Z

174.106.127.78: /* Trivia */

{{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")

==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 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===
[[Image:HoistGoesHollywood No Faceplate Error.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Guess they mouthed off once too often.]]

* Warpath and Powerglide are missing their face plates after the explosion scene.

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

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

* 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.

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

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

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

* 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.

* 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.

* 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. Whoops.

===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?

===Real-world references===
* The characters of Harold Edsel and Karen Fishook are obvious parodies of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher from the ''[[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 the third and final pre-movie episode which 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. (Guess it was the hormones.) 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.

==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 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]]

Daniel Witwicky (G1)

2010-06-16T19:51:43Z

174.106.127.78: /* The Transformers cartoon */

{{picsneeded|PVC, some fiction}}
{{disambig3|Daniel Witwicky}}
:''Daniel [[Witwicky]] is a [[human]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Danielwitwickytftm.jpg|right|250px|thumb|He wears a matching "D" on his underroos.]]

'''Daniel Witwicky''' is the human son of [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] and [[Carly Witwicky (G1)|Carly Witwicky]]. He is approximately 12 years of age in 2005, and was presumably born sometime between 1990 and 1993. He is the grandson of [[Sparkplug Witwicky]].

Daniel often gets into trouble, which requires either his father or the [[Autobot]]s to save him. He is very good friends with the Autobots, particularly [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], and [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], but the one he's closest to is [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], who views him as a surrogate son. Come to think of it, he doesn't seem to have any human friends. What a shock.

Daniel is (sometimes) the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster partner]] to Arcee.

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[David Mendenhall]] (English), [[Mayumi Tanaka]] (Japanese, ''The Movie''), [[Masumi Gotō]] (Japanese, ''Transformers 2010''), [[Yoshiko Kamei]] (Japanese, ''The Rebirth''), [[Francette Vernillat]] (Fench)

In the year 2005, Daniel appeared to be in the care of [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] (smart choice) at [[Autobot City]] while his father was preparing for an assault on the [[Decepticon]]-held planet [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] from [[Moonbase One]].

Following a brutal Decepticon attack on the city (in which he was almost killed), Daniel tearfully witnessed the death of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], sobbing on the fallen commander's hand as the color left his corpse. (We forgive Daniel's crying on this occasion, as [[Fandom|everyone else]] cried as well.)

Escaping from a second Decepticon attack, Daniel and a group of Autobots were stranded on [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]], where Daniel donned his father's old [[exosuit]] to weather the harsh environment. He did not get much time to enjoy the suit, as yet ''another'' Decepticon assault left [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] dead and stirred the native [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]] into violent action. Daniel proved his worth in this battle by smacking Junkion leader [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] with an I-beam, saving a prone [[Springer (G1)|Springer]].

Hostilities with the Junkions were settled with the arrival of Hot Rod and [[Kup (G1)|Kup]], Ultra Magnus was revived, and a brief celebration was held wherein Daniel showed he could boogey down.

Daniel joined the combined Autobot-Junkion attack force in the assault on [[Unicron]]. He was on the ship that plunged into Unicron's eye, and soon became separated from the main Autobot group. As luck would have it, he ended up in Unicron's acid-based digestion center, where he was able to save his father, [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], and [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] from certain death.

Daniel and the rest soon met up with the other Autobots inside of Unicron. Everything around them was exploding! And then came this [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] guy. Spike and Daniel hopped into his front seat, all of the Autobots drove out of Unicron's undamaged eye, ''through space'' (!), and back to Cybertron as Unicron blew up. Daniel looked on as Rodimus gave a heroic speech. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}}

{{charstubfiction}}

[[Image:HeadmasterDanielRebirth1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|That kid's therapist is gonna make a fortune.]]

Daniel would subsequently be around to watch his father get kidnapped by [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]] {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1}}, witness [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]]'s revival as a zombie {{storylink|Dark Awakening}}, become the subject of a Quintesson dream/reality experiment {{storylink|Nightmare Planet}}, try to determine Ultra Magnus's birthday {{storylink|Surprise Party}}, bring a [[Mara-Al-Utha|mad Quintesson wizard]] to justice {{storylink|Madman's Paradise}}, and steal [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]'s transforming cog. {{storylink|The Ultimate Weapon}}

Following those adventures, Daniel took on the role of "chew-toy" and was seriously injured in an attack by [[Snapdragon]] and required extensive life support. [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] volunteered her own systems to assist in saving Daniel's life. Her head was reconfigured into an [[exosuit]], allowing Daniel to become Arcee's [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster partner]]. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 2}}
{{-}}

====Japanese cartoon continuity====

{{note|The events of the Generation 1 cartoon occur in Japanese continuity as detailed above, except that the events of season 3 are pushed back to 2010, and "The Rebirth" does not occur (hence, Daniel never becomes a Headmaster). Japanese continuity inserts several new stories into different points in the timeline, as described below.}}

=====''The Great Transformer War'' comic=====

{{storylink|The Great Transformer War issue 2|The Great Transformer War #2}}

{{charstubfiction}}

=====''The Headmasters'' cartoon=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Tomiko Suzuki]] (Japanese)

[[Image:Dannigun.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Give a boy a gun and you arm him for a day. Teach him how to make a gun... and the whole metaphor breaks down.]]

In 2011, Daniel seemed to be somehow regressing in both age and maturity, looking and acting a good deal younger than in the movie or the previous season of the cartoon. He hung out with Wheelie a whole lot more than was probably healthy, and the two shared constant adventures. In fact, at one point, Daniel and Wheelie defeated Trypticon by tricking him into trying to walk a rope bridge across a deep gorge.

As the series progressed, Daniel changed from a snot-nosed little cry-baby into a responsible young man. These coming-of-age adventures included traveling alone to a robot-killing asteroid, befriending the murderous psychopath, [[Sixshot]], and finally rescuing his Mom from inside a narrow crevice she had tumbled into, injuring herself.

Real men don't cry, Danny.

{{charstubfiction}}

{{-}}

=====''The Headmasters'' comic=====
[[Image:DanielWheelie.jpg|180px|thumb|We find this picture works better WITHOUT the captions.]]

{{storylink|The Headmasters issue 1|The Headmasters #1}} {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 3|The Headmasters #3}} {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 4|The Headmasters #4}} {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 5|The Headmasters #5}} {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 7|The Headmasters #7}}

{{charstubfiction}}

Shortly after [[Scorponok (G1)|Mega Zarak]] and the Decepticons were driven from Earth, [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundblaster]] showed up and took Daniel's family hostage. Not havin' none-a that, Daniel finally snapped. He went insane and took on both [[Slugfest (G1)|Slugfest]] and [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]] in a bare-knuckle brawl, defeating the pair of Cassette dinosaurs and leaving Soundblaster open to an attack from [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]]. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 8|The Headmasters #8}}

{{-}}

=====E-Hobby pack-in comics=====

{{storylink|MP-1B Cybertron Commander / Convoy Black Ver.}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
{{note|Events from the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|UK-only]] comic stories are in italics.}}

[[Image:Danieluk.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Fifteen years old, and still wearing matching outfits with his dad... and still a hysterical wreck too.]]

''In 2009, the [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]] and the rest of the Decepticons rampaged across Earth unhindered, and Daniel and his father Spike were rescued from the carnage by [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]. Kup brought them to Autobot City, where Daniel convinced [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] that he wasn't devoting enough resources towards defending Earth. {{storylink|Time Wars}}''
{{-}}

===Coloring books===
Returning home from a road trip with his Autobot friends, Daniel had a sandwich while listening to Kup's story about a lost stash of [[energon cube]]s on Earth. While Daniel wanted to participate in the ensuing treasure hunt, the Autobots deemed it too dangerous for the boy, and Hot Rod drove him home to his parents, [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster]] and [[Jesse]]. {{storylink|The Lost Treasure of Cybertron}}

{{-}}

===Universe: The Wreckers===
[[Image:Departure-WheelieDaniel.jpg|200px|thumb|Rebel without a cog.]]

Daniel detonated an explosive to destroy a legion of [[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]] drones, killing himself and [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] in the process. This event caused [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] to enter a deep depression, setting the stage for her personality change as she became a [[Wrecker]]. {{storylink|Departure}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
{{quote|Thanks kiddo. What would I do without you?|[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]]}}
{{quote|Get your head knocked is what.|Daniel}}
A day after a reactivated [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] attacked and destroyed a South American rebel militia, a young Daniel reminded Spike to wear his [[hard hat]], which he scrawled his father's name on so he wouldn't forget (the hardhat, not his name). Spike told him to go upstairs when General [[Robert Hallo]] invited himself into Spike's home. He wears pajamas to bed. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 1|Prime Directive #1}}

==Toys==
===Unreleased===
[[Image:Concept-HeadmasterArcee.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Every boy dreams his own car. Daniel is head over wheels for his.]]
A pink [[redeco]] of [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] as Headmaster Arcee was considered by Hasbro/Takara at one time. Presumably Daniel would have been the Headmaster partner.

{{canceledtoy}}
{{-}}

==Merchandise==
===Super Collection Figure===
*'''Arcee & Daniel''' (2001)

:A PVC figure of Daniel in his exosuit was released in [[Takara]]'s [[Super Collection Figure]] series. It was only available in ACT-4, coming in the same blind-packed box as [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (who was unchanged from her ACT-1 release).

==Notes==
* In Japanese continuity, it originally was not explained why Daniel did not seem to age between the animated film, which took place in 2005, and their season three, which took place in 2010. To the contrary, in ''The Headmasters'', his mental age seemed to ''regress''. According to the massive timeline featured in ''[[Kiss Players (franchise)|Kiss Players]]'', Daniel was in suspended animation in outer space in the interim. As far as [[retcon]]s go, there have been clunkier.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Witwicky, Daniel (G1)}}
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Headmasters]]
[[Category:Headmasters characters]]
[[Category:Witwicky family|Daniel Witwicky (G1)]]

The Burden Hardest to Bear

2010-05-30T20:44:48Z

174.106.127.78: /* Quotes */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=93
|series2=2010
|ep2=28
|prev2=The Face of the Nijika
|next2=Daniel's Adventure
|image=Matrix burden 2.jpg
|caption=You found me beautiful, once.
|title="The Burden Hardest to Bear"
|production code=700-114
|airdate=[[November 19]], 1986
|written by=[[Michael Charles Hill]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Overwhelmed by the burdens of leadership, Rodimus Prime doesn't care too much when the Decepticons steal the Matrix of Leadership away from him.'''

:''Japanese title:'' 重すぎた使命 (''Omo Sugi ta Shimei'', "The Mission Too Heavy")
:''German title:'' '''Die Last der Verantwortung''' ("The Burden of Responsibility")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:BurdenHardest Defensor Bruticus.jpg|left|200px|thumb|So, uh... If what it looks like is about to happen happens... does it count as an orgy?]]

At dawn, the people of [[Japan]] are awakening to do their daily tasks: fishing, going to shrines, and sword practice. Then, the [[Decepticon]]s show up to cause random trouble.

[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] and [[Predaking]] begin harassing a few fishermen, but are chased off by [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]]. [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] tries to ram a train head on (real smart) only to have the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] drive him away. [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] and [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] fight it out, when [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and the [[Sweep|Sweeps]] arrive, but are driven off by Rodimus, [[Kup (G1)|Kup]], and [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]]. However, instead of thanking the [[Autobot|Autobots]] for saving many lives, the government of Japan is very upset, saying that the Autobots frightened people and ruined business (thankless bipeds). When [[Marissa Faireborn]] arrives and brings more problems to Rodimus, the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] loses patience, [[Transformation|transforms]], and drives off. Kup explains that Rodimus is merely strained under the burden of command, much like [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] was in his early days as leader, and Marissa decides to follow him, to let him have someone to talk to.

[[Image:Matrix burden 1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Galvatron takes the brown acid.]]

Meeting up on the highway, however, the two are attacked by [[Wildrider]] and [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]], who knock Marissa into a lake and force Rodimus off a cliff. When they inspect Rodimus, they find the Matrix. Realizing that [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] will be ''really'' happy, they steal it and return to [[Chaar]]. In his throne room, Galvatron inserts the Matrix into his cannon, but instead of making it even more powerful like he had hoped, visions of the [[Ancient Autobots]] (including Optimus Prime himself) seep out of the barrel and demand that Galvatron return the Matrix. Galvatron orders [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] to destroy the Matrix, believing it better to be destroyed if the Decepticons can't have it. Scourge, however, inserts the Matrix into himself, and becomes more powerful... but at a startling price.

[[Image:BurdenHardest Hot Rod recover.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Augh... can't get the mental image of Bruticus/Defensor out!]]

Meanwhile, the Autobot leader wakes up, to learn that he's reverted to Hot Rod. [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] argue that they should go after the Decepticons, but Hot Rod feels that the Matrix isn't worth it, and jets off. Real smart idea, Roddy. On Chaar, Scourge challenges Galvatron, defeating him and Cyclonus easily, before leading the Decepticons off to Earth. Galvatron and Cyclonus still function, and set off in pursuit in the ''[[Revenge (G1)|Revenge]]''.

[[Image:BurdenHardest Hot Rod retrieves matrix.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Yoink!]]

On Earth, Hot Rod, while watching a martial arts class, gets some perspective and some wisdom from the Kendo instructor, and realizes that he needs to get the Matrix back. Meanwhile, Scourge arrives in Japan with his forces, tossing around the Autobots. Broadside tosses him to the ground and he frightens an elderly woman. One of the Kendo students comes to her aid, attacking Scourge with a sword and he begins to chase the pair. He corners them in a blind alley, only for Hot Rod to arrive. Shocked at the changes the Matrix has wrought in Scourge, Hot Rod defeats the Decepticon and reclaims the Matrix, becoming Rodimus Prime once more. Galvatron and Cyclonus find a less powerful, and very frightened, Scourge. And they are none too happy with him...

As the Decepticons retreat, Rodimus realizes that he must deal with his missing part, as have those who came before him. Kup reminds him that no matter who carries the Matrix, he will retain that part forever.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] (1)
* [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] (8)
* [[Slingshot]] (9)
* [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (10)
* [[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]] (11)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (12)
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (13)
* [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] (14)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (21)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime/Hot Rod]] (22)
* [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (23)
* [[Ancient Autobots]] (34)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (35)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (36)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (37)

|c2=
* [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (2)
* [[Predaking]] (3)
* [[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (4)
* [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (5)
* [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (6)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (7)
* [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] (15)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (18)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (19)
* [[Sweep|Sweeps]] (20)
* [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (24)
* [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] (25)
* [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] (26)
* [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] (27)
* [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]] (28)
* [[Wildrider]] (30)
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (31)
* [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (32)
* [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (33)
* [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (38)
* [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (39)
* [[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (40)
* [[Drag Strip]] (41)
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (42)

|c3=
* Kendo teacher (16)
* Kendo student (17)
* [[Marissa Faireborn]] (29)
}}

==Quotes==
"Eh, you've had worse times." 
"Yeah, when do they get better? That's what ''I'' wanna know."
:—'''Kup''' and '''Rodimus'''

"[[wikipedia:Second_City_Television|He done blowed up real good]]."
:—'''Wildrider''', master of grammar

"You dropped it, didn't you? You broke the Matrix, didn't you?!"
:—'''Galvatron'''

"Aren't you getting a little carried away here? I'm still me, you're still you: Matrix, schmatrix."
:—'''Hot Rod''' is flippant after losing a hand-me-down.

"I...still...function..."
:—'''Cyclonus''' in a call-back to [[The Transformers: The Movie]]

"And it has poisoned him in body and mind both. Now ''he'' leads the Decepticons on a mission against Earth ''and'' the Autobots!" 
"''Only Galvatron leads..."'' [''punches'']
:—'''Cyclonus''' and '''Galvatron.''' Apparently they don't have their problems fixed.

"We're too late, Galvatron! Scourge has already launched his assault!" 
"He doesn't know the meaning of the word assault, but he's going to learn!"
:—'''Cyclonus''' and '''Galvatron'''

"Oh no, we're trapped! We'll be killed!" 
"Remarkable! The woman is clairvoyant!" 
:-'''Scourge''' mocks his intended victim.

"The Matrix did this to you? Then I have to take it back. I see now it is my obligation. I belong to it... as much as it belongs to me."
:—'''Hot Rod'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s realization at last.

"Well, son of a gun. Found that missing part, huh?" 
"Not just the Matrix, Kup, a missing part of... myself."
:—'''Kup''' and '''Rodimus Prime'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* When Rodimus is reverted back to Hot Rod, he's still occasionally drawn using Rodimus Prime's [[Character model]].
* For some reason, the EDC letters on Marissa Faireborne's shoulder has been replaced with "AOC".
* When Galvatron is about to put the Matrix in his cannon, [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] and [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] are among the Decepticons present, and are shown to be the same size as Galvatron.
* Galvatron's throne changes color and design multiple times throughout one scene.
* When Hot Rod regains the Matrix, he sticks it into his chest without opening a compartment for it.
* In one scene where Optimus Prime is shown among the ancient Autobots, he is colored completely blue.
* The version of this episode on the [[Shout! Factory]] DVDs features a glitch with an unstable horizontal line appearing at the top of the picture throughout the episode. The error appears to be on the episode's master copy, as the version included on the [[Kid Rhino]] DVDs has the picture slightly zoomed in order to avoid showing the offending line.

===Continuity errors===
* Just before he quits the Autobots, Hot Rod states that "this war has been going on now for a few dozen millennia". Back in "[[War Dawn]]", we learned that the Third Cybertronian War started nine million years ago, which is about ''750'' dozen millennia... assuming, of course, that we want to take Hot Rod's pointedly off-handed remark as being based on historical accuracy, which is kind of a stretch for a guy who's at the end of his rope and sarcastically railing about "the known universe and its outlying suburbs".

===Transformers references===
* When Galvatron inserts the Matrix into his cannon, he says "Now, [['Til all are one|all shall become one]], under Galvatron's rule!"
* Optimus Prime is among the Ancient Autobots.
* This episode marks the last appearance of Springer and Broadside in US continuity.

===Japanese version===

* When they recover the Matrix of Leadership, [[Issei Masamune|the Narrator]] mistakenly identifies [[Wildrider]] and [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] as [[Runabout]] and [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]].

===Trivia===
* While the episode order can vary, it's a little funny that the episode about Rodimus finally getting used to being leader of the Autobots was followed by the episode in which Optimus returns to replace him.
* When Scourge starts mutating, at one point it looks like he's... crying?
* Wildrider seems to now have a very bad Southern accent.
* This episode marks the first time in Transformers fiction that the word [[Slag (slang)|Slag]] is used as an insult.
* Isn't it convenient that Scourge launches his attack on Earth in Japan, where the Autobots happen to be located?
* The voice acting for several Japanese characters in this episode employs a very stereotypical Western view of Asian people and their pronunciation of English words.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 11: The Decepticon Possession ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 5: Series 3.2 ([[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 UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (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]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burden Hardest to Bear}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Enter the Nightbird

2010-05-30T00:12:29Z

174.106.127.78: /* Quotes */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=26
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=17
|prev2=Atlantis, Arise!
|next2=Dinobot Island, Part 1
|image=EnterTheNightbird Nightbird starscream.jpg
|caption="All right, now hit Starscream in the groin-plate."
|title="Enter the Nightbird"
|production code=#700-25
|airdate=[[September 30]], 1985
|written by=[[Sylvia Wilson]] [[Richard Milton]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''The Decepticons capture Nightbird, a deadly ninja-bot, and turn her loose on the Autobots.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ナイトバードの影 (''Nightbird no Kage'', "The Shadow of Nightbird")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Nightbirdandfujiyama.jpg|left|175px|thumb|"No threat... not a threat at all."]]
The [[Autobot]]s are busily constructing [[detection plate]]s, a new invention of [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]'s which will make the [[Ark (G1)|base]] more secure by detecting intruders. They're interrupted in their work by a call from [[Doctor Fujiyama the Famous Scientist]], requesting their help in guarding his latest invention during its unveiling to the world. [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus]] agrees when the doctor informs him that the invention is a sophisticated new robot. The Autobots attend the event, though Wheeljack and [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] are more interested in mocking the invention. Finally Dr. Fujiyama unveils [[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]], a "female ninja robot". Predictably, the [[Decepticon]]s attack and immediately have the upper hand because the Autobots won’t fight in a hall crowded with humans. As soon as the humans are cleared out, Optimus orders a counter-attack, personally grappling with [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]. The Autobots are soon fully occupied, allowing [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] to tear the roof off the building, so that [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] can lasso Nightbird and carry the robot away. Their prize obtained, the rest of the Decepticons retreat.

They retire to Megatron's temporary base, a [[Giant Decepticon insignia|masterfully disguised fortress]], where [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] sets to work reprogramming Nightbird and tripling her power. Her first action on being reactivated is to immediately attack Starscream, which gains Megatron's approval. [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] gives her her new orders — infiltrate Autobot headquarters and steal the [[World Energy Chip]] from [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]].

Meanwhile, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus]] is apologetic for their abject failure to protect the robot, and promises to return it back to Dr. Fujiyama quickly and unharmed. The Autobots return to base, Ratchet carrying the injured [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]]. Nightbird soon arrives at Autobot HQ as well, avoiding a security camera by accessing the base through the top of the [[Mount St. Hilary|volcano]], eavesdropping on [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] and [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]]'s puzzled conversation over the Decepticons' latest plan. She neatly avoids Wheeljack's detection plates by magnetizing her feet and walking along the roof. Reaching Teletraan I, she removes the World Energy Chip, plunging the base into darkness and alerting the Autobots to the intruder.

[[Image:Nightbirdspotlight.jpg|right|175px|thumb|Nightbird wants her own [[Spotlight (comics)|spotlight comic]].]]
In her attempt to escape, she first encounters [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] and bashes her way past the startled Autobot. A group of Autobots corners her, but are hampered by the promise they made not to harm her, and she is able to use her ninja abilities to blind them and effect a proper escape. The Autobots pursue her outside, where Optimus spots her on a clifftop and drops her with a stun ray. As [[Bluestreak]] approaches her, she suddenly jumps up and decks him before throwing more spinning blades at his comrades. Optimus stops [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] from firing on her, reminding him again of their promise to Dr. Fujiyama, then attempts to reason with Nightbird. The robot responds by attacking him with her energy sword and stealing his rifle, though she leaves her sword behind.

Watching remotely, Megatron and Bombshell are impressed with Nightbird's work. Starscream less so when Megatron suggests she would make a good replacement for the air commander.

Ratchet and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] discover the absence of the World Energy Chip and notify Prime. Using [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s sensors, the Autobots quickly relocate Nightbird, and Optimus attempts to lure her closer with her sword. She merely takes the weapon and knocks him down. The Autobots continue their attempts, unsuccessfully, to try to bring the ninja 'bot down.

[[Image:Nightbirdprime.jpg|left|175px|thumb|Prime, taking advantage of the fact [[Elita One|Elita]]'s on [[Cybertron (planet)|another planet]].]]
Meanwhile, Starscream has had enough of Megatron's insinuations about replacing him, and decks his leader. He's swiftly restrained by the other Decepticons and trapped in a cage. Megatron turns back to his spying and, seeing that Nightbird has finally been caught by the Autobots in an energy web, orders the Decepticons out on a mission to rescue her and the World Energy Chip. Optimus is able to retrieve the Chip from Nightbird, but it's dropped in the subsequent Decepticon ambush. After a brief spell in Bombshell's possession, Optimus regains the chip, but Megatron responds by freeing Nightbird from her cage and unleashing her on the Autobots.

[[Image:Nightbirdangry.jpg|right|175px|thumb|Hell hath no fury like a Nightbird scorned.]]
Starscream uses a small missile to free himself from the cage in the Decepticon base, and swiftly reaches the battle in time to watch Nightbird overwhelming Optimus with her combat skills. Seeking revenge, the Decepticon uses his [[null-ray]] on Nightbird, disabling her. Megatron is enraged and calls off the attack so everyone can pursue Starscream.

The Autobots make good on their promise by returning Nightbird unharmed to Fujiyama, who decides to put her in storage. Despite being neutralized, Nightbird casts a final, angered glare out at the cold, cold, world.

{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (1)
* [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (2)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (3)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (4)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (5)
* [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (6)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (7)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (10)
* [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (11)
* [[Bluestreak]] (15)
* [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (16)
* [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (21)

|c2=
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (8)
* [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] (9)
* [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (12)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (13)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (14)
* [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (17)
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (18)
* [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (19)
* [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] (20)

|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]]
* [[Doctor Fujiyama the Famous Scientist]]

|c4=
*[[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]]
}}

==Quotes==
"Imagine, Autobots playing nursemaid to an earth robot. It's probably just a glorified wind-up toy."
:—Look who's talking, '''Wheeljack'''.

'''Ratchet''': Dr. Fujiyama's doohickey's under that drape! 
'''Wheeljack''': If it walks it probably needs a long extension cord. 
'''Ratchet''': Heh heh heh. I wonder if batteries are included? Heh, heh, heh. 
'''Wheeljack''': When they turn it on, it'll probably blow the lights! 
'''Optimus''': We're here to guard the robot, not make jokes at its expense.
:—Wheeljack and Ratchet, masters of diplomacy

"Ah, why build a robot ninja, doctor? Isn't that rather dangerous?"
:—The '''guy with the white mustache''' asks what we're all thinking.

"I bring you greetings, Optimus Prime...lethal greetings!"
:—'''Megatron'''. His writers don't get paid enough.

"We're not staying long Auto-''boobs''! We just came to pick up a friend!"
:—'''Starscream''' sounding like an idiot.

"I love warping minds for you, Megatron... love it!"
:—'''Bombshell''', the spokesman for ''Grand Theft Auto''.

"I'm open to suggestions... and you don't need to raise your hands before you speak."
:—Shouldn't '''Optimus Prime''' have said something like "raise your finger components" instead?

"She's not so hot!" 
"She's hot enough to replace you whenever I choose!"
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Megatron''' utter the words that launch a thousand [[fanfic]]s.

"Yes, you're definitely on my replacement list, Starscream... Hahaha, she's everything I've always wanted!"
:—'''Megatron'''. Aw, all he wanted was some love.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Throughout the entire episode, the volume of the background music is a notch or two lower than normal, making it sound rather unemphatic.
* The top of Ironhide's torso is colored red instead of gray as Wheeljack says his "nursemaid" line. In the same scene, the bottom of Wheeljack's "ears" aren't flashing along with the rest of them.
* The ''round'' auditorium building somehow contains a ''rectangular'' auditorium. Later shots show the auditorium as having a domed ceiling, which is consistent with the exterior shot but doesn't make a lick of sense spatially. As Optimus apologizes to Dr. Fujiyama later in the episode, the ruined auditorium is suddenly round. Also, the opening pan across the auditorium also shows it to be of ''incredibly '' huge scale.
* As he and Ratchet crack jokes about the robot, the top segment of the side of Wheeljack's chest is colored windshield blue instead of metal armor white.
* For the most part, the episode is ''amazingly'' consistent about where the Autobots are during the unveiling of Nightbird, but as the robot is revealed, Prowl and Mirage are shown right next to each other, when they were a hundred feet apart a second before.
* When Rumble and Frenzy break into the show room, Rumble's pile drivers are rectangular prisms instead of the usual cylinders.
* One gun, many lasers:
** Frenzy's lasers pass right through the fleeing humans without affecting them. He's also somehow firing like 5 or 6 lasers at once from his two guns.
* When Optimus Prime gets shot in the back by Megatron, he grunts and oophs in Mirage's voice.
* The "triple power booster" that Bombshell places in Nightbird's torso couldn't possible fit in the space that's shown.
* Ratchet has no red detailing in ambulance mode as he offers a lift to Brawn.
* Ratchet has a side hatch instead of his usual rear hatch as Mirage loads Brawn into him. Brawn is loaded in sideways, meaning Ratchet is wider than Brawn is tall.
* Mirage shines a light on Nightbird from an area of his chest that clearly is not a light of any kind.
* The first commercial break totally cuts off the background music in mid-phrase.
* Cliffjumper's brow is missing its details and color as he aims at Nightbird.
* When Nightbird's lightsaber is shot and deactivated, the sound effects continue for about two more seconds before they stop.
* Jazz's mouth disappears for a second as he goes to help Prime to his feet.
* Missing Seeker emblems:
** Skywarp has no wing insignia as he watches the video screen in the [[Giant Decepticon insignia|Decepticon base]].
** Starscream has only one insignia as he punches Megatron. Skywarp has none a second later as he holds Starscream, and again as he backs away from the energy cage.
** Starscream has no insignia as he lands at the battle site.
** Thundercracker and Skywarp have no insignia as the Decepticons fly off after Starscream. In fact, Skywarp doesn't seem to have his insignia at any point during the episode. Seriously, is there a single episode where they didn't screw this up?
* Miscolored Seeker nosecones:
** Starscream's top and bottom cockpit segments are yellow instead of gray as Bombshell challenges him.
** Skywarp and Thundercracker both have all-yellow nosecones as they transform to leave the base.
** Skywarp's nosecone is gray as he and everybody else transforms and launches during the start of the battle.
** Starscream's nosecone goes from all-yellow to all-gray as he leaves the base and transforms.
** Starscream's bottom nosecone segment is yellow instead of gray as he laughs at Megatron. As he transforms and flies off, his nosecone is entirely yellow. Seriously, is there a single episode where they didn't screw ''this'' up?
* Why does Hound's infrared ''beep''? Is it a radar?
* As usual, Mirage only leaves footprints when he's invisible.
* "She jammed it!" Cliffjumper says, when Nightbird throws Bluestreak's missile into his glass gas nozzle. Couldn't he just... pull the missile out?
* The animators missed a note about what Starscream was supposed to do inside the energy cage. He's all like "You can't keep me in here, Megatron! AHHHHHHH!", as if he rushed the cage and got zapped by it or something, but the animation shows him just standing there, which makes it seem like he expects to shout the system down. Sure enough, the original script contains the following direction:
:ANGLE ON MEGATRON as he moves closer to the cage.
:MEGATRON: Well, I don't see why not...!
:Starscream tries to punch at Megatron, but when his fist hits the power grid, it creates ELECTRICAL SPARKS. Starscream draws his hand back, holding it in pain.
:STARSCREAM: (SCREAMS!)<ref name="serpentslair">[http://www.theplumedserpent.com/SerpentsEye/ETN.html "Enter The Nightbird" episode review at The Serpent's Lair]</ref>
* Hound is missing all his chest details as Optimus reacts to Megatron's arrival. It suddenly appears as the Autobots attack.
* What on earth is that weird energy ripple sound effect as Starscream drops out of the sky? As Starscream lands, his eyes are blue instead of red.
* As Starscream knocks out Nightbird, the [[null ray]] gets a truncated Autobot laser sound effect instead of the Decepticon sound.
* A dialog or script editing flub results in Starscream bizarrely gloating "Say good night to your ''Megatron''!" after blasting Nightbird. Per the original script, the line was meant to go "Say good night to your <something>, Megatron!", but whatever the original noun was, it was crossed out in black and the word "Robotessa" was hand-written in its place. <ref name="serpentslair" /> The baffling question of what the heck a "Robotessa" is aside, this hand-written re-write was apparently overlooked when the dialogue script for the recording of the episode was written up, as the spoken line shows no signs of being edited or cut-and-pasted back together, indicating that Chris Latta genuinely spoke it aloud in recording as it appears in the show. It ''would'' make sense if Starscream was addressing it towards Nightbird, but he's not.
* The glow of Nightbird's eyes starts a second before the accompanying sound effect.

===Continuity errors===
* Wheeljack's detection panels don't make any sense. They're just glorified metal detectors, that react to metal, the very thing that the Autobots and Autobot Headquarters are made of. The Autobots put them all over the ''floor'', to detect their flight-capable enemies. So does that mean the Autobots can no longer use that particular corridor?
* The scientists' reactions to Nightbird seem a bit overwrought considering that the robot has yet to do anything besides stand there.
* Dr. Fujiyama assures us that Nightbird is "not meant for battles or assassinations" as we pan over the robot. So... just what ''are'' those short knives and nunchucks and throwing stars meant for? Is Nightbird supposed to ''stab'' her way into "the horizons of robotic research"?
* The Autobots didn't think to post anybody ''outside'' the building? Since that's, y'know, where the Decepticons would come from?
* Why do the Decepticons need a whole new base just for the Nightbird project? What possible advantage does it serve?
* When Prime apologizes for losing Nightbird to the Decepticons, Doctor Fujiyama's response is that no one could have predicted it happening. Except... that's why he called the Autobots in the first place! Being a rather stereotypical Japanese guy, maybe he's just too polite to tell Prime that he botched it.
* This is the only time that Autobot Headquarters is shown to have an elevator going up into the volcano's cone. [[The Ultimate Doom, Part 2|Earlier]] and [[Dinobot Island, Part 2|later]] episodes contradict this notion. And just what are Prowl and Spike doing up there, anyway?
* How come the detection panels don't go off when Nightbird waves her hand next to them?
* Why is Prime helping repair Brawn? Repairs aren't usually his gig.
* Improbable viewpoints:
** Why/how does Ratchet get a third-person view of Optimus and the others when he calls them up via Teletraan I?
** How is Megatron watching the whole battle from his base? Is Laserbeak there keeping tabs or something? Or is this another instance of him putting [[The Master Builders|cameras inside every random rock]]?
* At the end of the second act, Nightbird gets the drop on Prime and raises her sword as if to slice him in half. At the opening of the third act, however, she's just standing there in front of him, idly spinning the sword around, then turns and runs away for no real reason.
* Nightbird's "magnetic feet" reappear later in the episode, when she's climbing... a rock face.
* "Watch how my anti-matter blaster eats up energy!" Megatron says. We feel this amazing breach of science needs no further elaboration. (The intended idea ''may'' have been that the blaster is highly energy-consumptive and could absorb the energy net as a power supply or something; however, what's shown instead is that ''firing'' the gun ''at'' the energy net somehow dissipates it.)
* "I'm so glad you have returned Nightbird... and not a scratch on her chassis!" What about that big hole in her back from just the previous scene?
* "Safely locked up... ''forever''!" Why not just take her to pieces, then?

===Continuity notes===
* Gadgets and powers:
** Nightbird's gadgets: [[Wikipedia:Nunchaku|nunchaku]] (unused), a pair of [[Wikipedia:Sai (weapon)|''sai'' daggers]] (also unused), a wrist-mounted grappling hook, magnetic feet (they also work on rocks!), fist-replacing sawblades, [[Wikipedia:Metsubushi|some kind of spin/make bright light/disappear gimmick]], an endless supply of hip-stored energized [[Wikipedia:Shuriken|shuriken]], a lightsaber, another unused weapon which hilt is visible on her "backpack", a glowing magnetic tractor beam, and stereo speaker-nullifying metal donuts. Additionally, she vanishes after jumping over a cliff edge, leading Mirage to wonder if she has the power of invisibility.
** Cliffjumper's [[glass gas]] is a fiery glue-like substance in this episode, which he fires from a retractable wrist nozzle.
** Starscream can fire a tiny little missile from an elevating launcher on his wrist.
* In [[3H Productions|3H]]'s [[Universe (2003 comic)|''Universe'' comics]], Nightbird returned as a savage horde, which forced [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] to kill himself and [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] to destroy them...which goes to show that they ''are'' good for something.
* [[Attack of the Autobots|<<]] '''Brawn vs. Soundwave''' Round 3 goes to Soundwave. Score: Brawn 2, Soundwave 1 [[Child's Play (episode)|>>]]

===Real-world references===
* The title could be a reference to the film ''[[wikipedia:Enter_the_Dragon|Enter the Dragon]]''. This would not be the last time the film is referenced in a Transformers series.
* ''Star Wars'' sound effects:
** Nightbird's lightsaber ignites with the standard Star Wars lightsaber effect, and gets the usual lightsaber-waving sound effects repeatedly when it's used.
** The seeker ball that Luke trains with aboard the ''Millennium Falcon'' can be heard darting about as Nightbird waves her sword at the approaching Optimus Prime.

===Trivia===
* The first ''female'' ninja robot? So are there already a lot of ''male'' ninja robots running around out there?

* Dr. Fujiyama's assertion that "the technical components are irreplaceable, and are needed for research" is... curious. If he built the thing himself, why would it be so impossible to manufacture new parts?

* When the Autobots are chasing Nightbird up a cliff, Cliffjumper can't jump the cliff. This has been the source of much fandom snickering over the years. Congratulations, fandom; you get the joke. Good job.

* Back in the late 1990s, this episode was at the center of a huge and long-running [[fandom]] flap on [[alt.toys.transformers]], initiated by [[Raksha|certain Decepticon fans]] who interpreted Nightbird's scowl as a clear sign that she was a sapient life form, rather than a mindless automaton. In conjunction with certain lines of dialog from Megatron, some fans further concluded that Nightbird could be seen as a romantic foil for Megatron. These arguments and the opposing viewpoints led to much agony for everyone involved.

* The [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave comic]] "[[Infestation]]" featured Nightbird in her own movie, aptly named ''[[Aztec Theatres|Enter the Nightbird]]''.

* Doctor Fujiyama the ''Famous'' Scientist!

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1994 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''The Transformers'' — Autobot Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1: Vol. 2 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2003 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Bumper Collection Special (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 2: Series 2.1 ([[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]] 2008 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 03: Stagione Due Parte Prima ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part One (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'' — Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]