S.O.S. Dinobots

2011-03-16T13:30:48Z

194.73.114.110: /* Synopsis */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=8
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=7
|prev2=Divide and Conquer
|next2=War of the Dinobots
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=4
|prev3=More than Meets the Eye, Part 3
|next3=Heavy Metal War
|image=FHE-SOSDinobots.jpg
|caption="Uh, who?" '''"Everybody!"'''
|title="S.O.S. Dinobots"
|production code=#700-05
|airdate=[[October 27]], 1984
|written by=[[Donald F. Glut]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''The Autobots create the Dinobots, but can barely control these new powerful warriors.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ダイノボット誕生! (''Dinobot Tanjō!'', "Dinobots Are Born!")
:''German Generation 2 title:'' Die Dinobots (''The Dinobots'')
:''Russian title:'' На помощь, Диноботы! (''Na pomoshch, Dinoboty!'', "Help us, Dinobots!")
:''Serbian title:'' С.О.С Диноботи (''S.O.S Dinoboti'')
:''Italian title:'' '''S.O.S. Dinobots'''
{{TOCclear}}
==Synopsis==
[[Image:SOSDinobots_fossilcavern.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Guys, I think we found [[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]]'s stash.]]

A series of tremors turns the attentions of the Autobots into the ancient stone surrounding their volcano headquarters. Deep sensor scans reveal [[dinosaur]] fossils, which pique the curiosity of Optimus Prime. Spike explains that dinosaurs were very powerful reptiles that lived on [[Earth]] millions of years ago. He takes Hound on a tour of a natural history museum to further illustrate his paleontological crash-course. Hound snaps a few holograms of dinosaur bone displays, inspiring Wheeljack and Ratchet to construct robotic versions of dinosaurs.
[[Image:SOSDinobots_Grimlockwrecks_Teletraan.jpg|thumb|right|200px|When the [[television|TV]] no work, Me know how to fix it!]]

[[Image:SOSDinobots_Ravage_window.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Holy @#!*% !]]
[[Image:SOSDinobots_Autobotsfall.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Bet you wished you scanned air vehicle forms now, huh?]]

Elsewhere, the Decepticons stake out the [[Great Falls]] hydroelectric power facility. Reflector and Soundwave return with the data they gathered, and Megatron orders a strike.

Wheeljack unveils the three new additions to their ranks: the Dinobots Grimlock, Slag and Sludge. The demonstration of their power turns sour as they run amuck, their primitive brains unable to control their raw strength. The Dinobots begin attacking their fellow Autobots, even destroying [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan]].

The Autobots finally rein in the rampaging Dinobots thanks to Wheeljack's [[magnetic inducer]]. Prime declares the terrible trio to be too dangerous. Despite Wheeljack's desperate entreaties, Prime pulls the plug on the project, and orders the Dinobots holed up in a cavern in the Ark, never to be activated again (yeah, right).

The Decepticons arrive at the Great Falls, and the humans try to reach the Autobots via Teletraan I. Their distress signal goes unheard, as Teletraan I is currently offline thanks to the Dinobot rampage.

With Teletraan I out of commission, it's up to individual Autobot scouts like Hound to be on the lookout for Decepticon activity. Hound's sensors detect the ransacking of the Great Falls plant, and he and Spike go to investigate. Hound radios in his findings to the Ark, and Optimus Prime leaves with a strike force, leaving Bumblebee behind to guard the base.

The Autobots arrive at the Great Falls, but the Decepticons are ready for them. A battle erupts, and Megatron fires his fusion cannon directly powered by the Great Falls output. He blasts the cliff-face where the Autobots stand, sending them falling into the raging waters below.

[[Image:SOSDinobots_Megatron_falls.jpg|thumb|left|200px|I've warned you about that, mighty Megatron.]]
[[Image:SOSDinobots_SSMegatron_attacks_Dinobots.jpg|thumb|right|200px|When you get shot at, you die. When the Dinobots get shot at, they '''glow with a holy light'''.]]

Disobeying orders, Bumblebee arrives at the Great Falls and picks up Spike. They return to the Ark, informing Wheeljack and Ratchet of the Autobots' failure at the Great Falls. Wheeljack decides to reactivate the Dinobots. He has secretly developed a series of memory components that would upgrade the Dinobots' brains. The Dinobots awaken. Still relatively simple-minded, they are now much more intelligent than the mindless monsters that first appeared. Sludge, Slag and Grimlock carry out Wheeljack's orders and fly to the Great Falls.

The Decepticons pull the soggy Autobots from the drink and truss them up with [[Energon chains]]. Just as the Decepticons are about to execute the captives, the Dinobots arrive and make short work of the Decepticons who retreat as Wheeljack frees the Autobot captives. Wheeljack and Bumblebee brace themselves for reprimands for disobeying Prime's direct orders, but Prime concedes he was wrong. He accepts the Dinobots as the newest members of the Autobot forces. The Autobots cheer the decision, and the Dinobots growl their approval.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (1)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (2)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (3)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (4)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (6)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (7)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (8)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (11)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (12)
*[[Bluestreak]] (13)
*[[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (14)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (19)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (20)
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (21)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (22)
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (23)
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (24)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (25)
*[[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (27)
*[[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (28)
*[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (29)

|c2=
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (8)
*[[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] (9)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (15)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (16)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (17)
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] {18)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (30)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (31)

|c3=
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (5)
*[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (26)
}}

==Quotes==
"Well I'll be a Cybertronic [[bolt-bat]]!"
:—'''Sideswipe'''

"Robot dinosaurs might be useful. You have my authorization."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' gives the okay to make the Dinobots, because sure, why not?

"Maybe Hound's got [[Glitch mouse|glitch mice]] in his databanks again!"
:—'''Bluestreak''', mocking Hound's radar accuracy, to the amusement of no one

"Nice shootin', if you were aimin' for the sky!"
:—'''Rumble''' goading Bluestreak

"Which ones... friends?" 
"Ones with... face like this...uh, I think." 
"That... good enough for Slag."
:—'''Slag''' and '''Sludge''' determine friend from foe by using faction symbols.

"If on Decepticon turf you happen to tumble, look out robot, 'cause here comes Rumble!"
:—'''Rumble'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s clever combat banter

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Ironhide's cheekguards are gray instead of red as he explains his sonadar sensor.
* Brawn's lines don't quite time up with the animation; he says "let's clean up this mess" while in the middle of tossing rocks everywhere; and he says "Hey, there's a cavern in there!" while gaping at a huge opening that must have been revealed much earlier in their dig.
* Wheeljack likewise says "Feels like stone" before he's even picked up one of the dinosaur bones. His ears don't flash for the first part of his line. And the top of his chest is colored windshield blue when it should be metal armor white.
* Speaking of which, Wheeljack's ears flash orange in this episode, rather than the usual blue. It's a convention that also appeared in "[[Roll for It]]" (an episode which has a similar art style to this one.)
* Jazz clearly isn't with the group that enters the cave; yet he abruptly pops up out of nowhere to say his line.
* Only the front of Wheeljack's ears flash for his "I'd sure like to know more about 'em" line.
* The exposition-spouting tourist visiting the Great Falls hydroelectric power plant has hair that turns from red to black from one shot to the next.
* Spike identifies a ''Brontosaurus'' during his tour of the museum's dinosaur exhibit, though there does not appear to be a ''Brontosaurus'' on display. Though, to be fair, it may just be Spike's error, or the ''Brontosaurus'' skeleton might be out of the camera's view. (Also, by the time this episode took place, [[Wikipedia:Brontosaurus|''Brontosaurus'' was a deprecated genus]], but that's just picking nits.)
* Wheeljack's ears are drawn as mishapen white blobs as he and Prime first call up the image of the dinosaurs on Teletraan 1.
* Wheeljack is missing his wings as he works on the helmet-brain units.
* The Decepticon Headquarters docking tower is rather clumsily animated against the background matte, shaking a bit as it lowers. When the tower lowers, the source of the streaming bubbles lowers with it!
* "I suppose you've devised a brilliant plan..." Starscream's intakes are shown behind his shoulders, rather than on top of them.
* The top of the docking tower is missing as the Decepticons fly out it.
* Wheeljack's line of dialogue, "Autobots, meet Dinobots" is delivered by Ratchet.
* As Wheeljack introduces the Dinobots, the foreground characters slide magically against the background scenery due to an error in animation.
* As the Autobots react with shock upon seeing the Dinobots, all three audible lines in the scene—"Look at the size of those things", "Great Cybertron", and "Holy heterodyne"—are animated as being spoken by Bluestreak. The lines were evidently not scripted as belonging to any specific characters, as they are provided respectively by [[Peter Cullen]] (using neither Prime nor Ironhide's voice), [[Dan Gilvezan]] (sounding like himself) and [[Gregg Berger]] (who shouldn't be voicing ''any'' of the assembled Autobots!).
* Wheeljack's head is to small compared to his body as he introduces the Dinobots by name, and he's missing his wings.
*As Huffer mocks the Dinobots, he says: "Dinobots, huh? I thought you were supposed to make ''dino''saurs!" The emphasis, of course, should be on the "saurs".
* In his introductory shot, Slag's head is miscolored, mostly gray instead of all-red. This is the first of many, many, many times that his head and face will get the wrong colors.
* Another frequent coloring error has Sludge with gray on the sides of his dino head, which should be all-gold. It pops up numerous times in this episode.
* Optimus Prime's line, "Interesting, but what else can they do?" is delivered by Cliffjumper.
* As he opens his mouth to clear the rubble, Grimlock's dinosaur head has whole bunch of extra joint lines, based on his toy's detail. This detail never appears again.
* Bluestreak gets Optimus Prime's laser rifle sound effect for his shoulder launcher blasts.
* As Slag shoots him, Sideswipe cries out in Bluestreak's voice.
* As Grimlock heads into the control room, he just slides across the frame, rather than being animated with leg motion, etc.
* Grimlock clearly destroys the big main screen with the lolipop next to it. Yet as Bumblebee tries to get away, he passes this same screen, totally intact, while the explosion comes from somewhere else (unless there's ''two'' big screens with lolipops?)
* Ratchet rights a tipped-over Bumblebee in the thick of the Dinobot rampage. After Bumblebee drives away, the section of Ratchet obscured by a foreground Bumblebee is still missing .
* As often happens, Prowl has Sideswipe's voice as he asks "Doesn't anything get to this guy?"
* Prime's missing his grille lines as he declares that the Dinobots must be destroyed.
* As he fires to deactivate the Dinobots, Wheeljack's missile launcher swings around and clicks into place, pointing forward. Only... it was already pointing forward just a second earlier.
* After standing in front of the cave lamenting the loss of his creations (aw, poor Wheeljack!), Wheeljack moves out of the way as the Autobots open fire to seal the cavern. Yet as the rocks come down, he's back in front of the cave.
* When the Decepticons arrive at the Great Falls plant, Rumble is colored like Brawn.
* As Skywarp and another Decepticon land, a foreground Decepticon Seeker's leg is colored a deep yellow (an error, but as close as [[Sunstorm (G1)|Sunstorm]] ever came to appearing on Earth in a Generation 1 cartoon.)
* As Megatron claims control of the dam and the Decepticons strike silly poses, two background Seekers appear to have Bluestreak's colors.
* After Optimus signs off from Hound's transmission, his head does a strange little back-and-forth bob. As the view pans out from him, we see Bluestreak, whose headcrest is gray instead of red.
* As the Autobots roll out, they kind of slide sideways across the floor of Autobot Headquarters.
[[Image:SOSDinobots Soundwave shoots Gears.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
* Appearing/disappearing Autobots:
** Wheeljack is shown in the lineup of Autobots leaving HQ; yet a moment later, it's shown that he stayed behind to continue working on stuff.
* "Endless energy, Starscream!" Megatron is missing his waist details.
* As Prime rolls toward the falls, his smokestacks are red.
* When Gears flies up to Soundwave, his truck roof (on his back) is red instead of blue.
* Just before Gears tumbles into him, Bluestreak is standing there waving a fist in the air. It looks like he was supposed to be shooting, but the laser fire wasn't animated.
* Bluestreak is knocked over by Gears, and but is standing and firing in the next shot.
* "Nice shootin'!" Rumble's eyeband is gray instead of red.

[[Image:SOSDinobots-Miscolors.jpg|thumb|center|600px|[[Nelson Yomtov|Yomtov]]-licious!]]
* As Skywarp and Thundercracker strafe the Autobots, ''every single Autobot is miscolored'', including Sideswipe painted as Sunstreaker, Bluestreak as Trailbreaker, Brawn as Hound, Optimus Prime as Sideswipe, Hound as Ironhide, Trailbreaker as Gears, and Mirage as Bluestreak.
* Rumble's pile driver tips are the same blue-purple as the rest of him when he lands, but are red in a close-up shot a second later.
* Sunstreaker's hands are yellow in the shot of him, Jazz, etc. reacting to Rumble's earthquake.
* Megatron is shown laughing, but there's no vocalization to go with it.
* Optimus's chest is the same blue as his head as he struggles in the water. As the Autobots move past camera, he morphs into his usual red.
* Megatron's missing his insignia as he and Starscream look down from the cliff.
* "We shall retrieve their short-circuited carcasses..." Megatron's lip-flap doesn't keep pace with his speech.
* Ratchet's head crest is white instead of gray as he works on Teletraan-1.
* "I've been working on a little research project." Once again, only the front of Wheeljack's ears flash.
[[Image:SOSDinobots_bluePrime.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Not Powered Convoy. And don't even think about [[redeco|it]], [[e-Hobby]]!]]
* While the Autobots are trapped in Energon Chains, Optimus is colored entirely blue and Trailbreaker is a light grey rather than black. And again, Megatron suffers a severe lip-flap malfunction. The energon chains to bounce and move like a single solid object; this is apparently supposed to show the Autobots struggling against their bonds, but it doesn't really work very well.
* Yet another vocal malfunction for Megatron after Wheeljack shoots him; he makes a falling-over "Whauurrrrrr!" sound long after he's already fallen over.
* Starscream's entire cockpit cowling is yellow after the transforms, rather than just the canopy.
* Rumble's shin is all-yellow as he and the rest of the Decepticon group take off.
* When Skywarp drops bombs on Grimlock, Grimlock's an overly-dark shade of gray.
* Rumble's colors are reversed as Sludge's crevasse knocks him over.
* After they transform to retreat, all three Seekers have entirely gold nosecones. A pan across the three jets shows Starscream, Thundercracker, and a second Starscream in place of Skywarp.
* Sludge's face is black after he returns to robot mode.
* "And whatever punishment you have in mind..." Bumblebee is missing his insignia, has yellow "cheeks" instead of white, and appears to have borrowed [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]]'s rectangular chest.
* The closing scene features Optimus announcing that the Dinobots... will stay! And everyone is happy, and everybody cheers! Everybody except the background music, which is a tense, frantic piece normally reserved for cliffhanging crises and catastrophes.

===Continuity errors===
* Though the holographic dinosaurs illustrated in the episodes matched some of the concepts of the early ‘80s, their depiction is outdated by today's standards. The dinosaurs in the show are the sluggish, tail-dragging cold-blooded variety not in keeping with more modern theories of warm-blooded, bird-like animals.

* When the holographic dinosaurs are shown, a brontosaurus is seen living alongside a ''Triceratops'' and a ''Tyrannosaurus''. In reality, the brontosaurus (well, ''Apatosaurus''...oh, you know what we mean) lived in the Jurassic Period, while the ''Triceratops'' and the ''Tyrannosaurus'' lived during the Cretacious Period. So basically, they were separated by millions of years, [[Wikipedia:Fantasia (film)|but apparently,]], [[Wikipedia:The Flintstones|in a cartoon,]] [[Wikipedia:The Land Before Time|that doesn't matter]].

* The data gathered by Reflector and Soundwave leads Megatron to conclude with relish that the Great Falls contain enough energy to vanquish the Autobots and control the universe...but that's really nothing new. The Decepticons have targeted hydroelectric power sources before.

*What is it about falling into the river that is so devastating to the Autobots? We've seen that Autobots can deal with being in the water (Hound in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]", various Autobots in "[[The Ultimate Doom]]", Springer, Kup, and Arcee in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', etc.). It's possible that the fall itself damaged them, but the Autobots are clearly shown struggling around in the water. Then again, Optimus Prime needed Jazz's help to escape the rushing river in "More Than Meets the Eye, Part 2".

* It's possible the editorial pace of the show plays with time and space, but taken at face value, the Autobots build three Dinobots in the span of time it takes the Decepticons to decide to attack the Great Falls.

===Rhino DVD release===
[[Image:dvd broadcast.jpg|right|thumb|Pretty colors are more important than things making sense!]]

* The chapter stops for this episode on the Rhino DVD are: Opening / Old Bones / "Dinobots Must Die" / Fusion Power / Permanent Dysfunction / Dinobots Will Stay.

* Though all G1 episodes released on DVD by Rhino were altered in some way, both with additional sound effects and unintentional changes induced by not using the finalized broadcast masters, this one is particularly screwed up:
** The Rhino version uses a faulty take for the shot where the Dinobots demonstrate their power by clearing rubble. In the DVD, the blasts from the Dinobots' mouths are missing, and the rubble does not vanish. The broadcast version, though, has both effects, which were reinstated on the Shout! Factory release. (See illustration).
** As the Autobots walk around the unnamed museum, they pass a pair of street punks looking at a display. While divided into grey and blue parts in the broadcast version, the display was [[:Image:SOSDinobotsPunksDisplay.jpg|rendered entirely blue]] in the Kid Rhino version of the episode, making it look a bit like a computer terminal. This random color change was ''not'' undone in the Shout! Factory version.
** When Hound contacts Autobot Headquarters with a recon report, the glowing light on his chest and forehead are blue in the broadcast version, but red in the DVD version. This was changed back in the Shout! Factory release.

…When Spike says the line "Is it much farther,Hound" the broadcast version has his mouth move with his speech but the Rhino version has his mouth stop at the word "much" with his mouth hanging open in the rest of the sentence and this error is uncorrected in Shout! Factory's version.

** When the Autobots arrive at the Great Falls and they transform from vehicle mode to robot mode, the shot of Bluestreak is reversed, and he is shown transforming from robot to car. The broadcast version used the correct take, as does the Shout! Factory release.
** Not so much a goof, but the Rhino DVD version of this episode has a rainbow visible at the Great Falls when Megatron lands. This is not in the broadcast version and was removed when Shout Factory corrected the scene.

===Continuity notes===
* After being almost totally ignored (or completely absent) for the first seven episodes, Windcharger finally gets his first speaking line.
* Wheeljack is shown working on the memory upgrades for the Dinobots before they're even built!
* Flying Autobots:
** Gears takes to the air to attack the Decepticons at the power plant, and Wheeljack flies alongside the Dinobots. These abilities are never explained within the cartoon itself. However, according to the [[Tech Specs]], these two (along with Sideswipe) are the original Autobots who are SUPPOSED to be flight-capable; Gears is equipped with compressed air boosters and Wheeljack has solid-fuel rockets in his arms. Gears would never be shown to use his flight capabilities again; Wheeljack, however, will fly again in "[[A Plague of Insecticons]]" and actually use his arm-rockets in "[[The Core]]" and "[[The Autobot Run]]".
**The Dinobots are also shown to be able to fly in robot mode under their own power; they will consistently retain this ability all the way through Season 2 and the Movie.
* "We do... as told... for now." Grimlock's first lines already foretell the trouble that the Autobots will have keeping the Dinobots in line.
* The Dinobots are shown to be incredibly tough and resistant to damage. Nothing the Decepticons do leaves so much as a scratch or scorch mark, not even shots from gun-mode Megatron. This too is consistent through Season 2 and the Movie.
[[Image:Sosdinos sonadar sensors.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
[[Image:SOSDinobots Trailbreaker in force field.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
[[Image:SOSDinobot Hound radios in.jpg|thumb|right|200px|As noted above, Hound's glowy bits were bright blue in the original broadcast version.]]
* Powers and gadgets:
** Ironhide is equipped with a [[sonodar]] sensor array that extends from his forearm, capable of penetrating solid rock. The findings of the sensor are displayed in the windshield in his chest.
** Sideswipe is equipped with piston arms, that allow him to punch through stone walls. Here, they are simply heavy protrusions that he slams into the rock to break it up, but when they show up again in "[[A Plague of Insecticons]]" they actually operate like pneumatic jackhammers. His pistons are also misinterpreted as a ''hand-held'' jackhammer in "[[Fire on the Mountain]]".
** Trailbreaker's force field is rendered as a glowing yellow sphere that comes from the space between his upraised hands. (Well, hand, since the other one is a gun.)
** Wheeljack fires a "magnetic inducer" from his shoulder cannon to stop the rampaging Dinobots, and later nails Megatron with a "gyro-inhibitor shell", launched from same. Both these are weapons Wheeljack's tech spec says he has and fires from his shoulder cannons.
** Hound uses a cheekguard-mounted communicator to contact Autobot Headquarters, along with a button on his stomach that lights up parts of his helmet while he's transmitting.
** Optimus has a similar cheekguard communicator ,along with little antennae which slide out of the larger antennae on his head.
** Thundercracker attempts to torch the Dinobots with a flamethrower, which shows up again in "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 2]]". This weapon is probably based on his tech spec's mention of incendiary guns.
** Skywarp still packs heat-seeking missiles, per his tech spec bio.
** Starscream drops small bomb-missiles on the Dinobots. These may or may not be the from the launchers concealed in his air ducts, which are used in "[[Fire on the Mountain]]".
[[Image:Sosdinos rumble broken piledrivers.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
*Megatron actually refers to his [[fusion cannon]] by that name.

* Slag's triceratops frill can reflect Optimus Prime's laser rifle

* Laserbeak does not appear but is mentioned in this episode, as Megatron credits him for gathering intelligence at the Great Falls.

* Per his tech spec bio, Sludge proves adept in the water. He also uses his seismic stomp to retaliate against Rumble's earthquake power.

* Rumble getting hit by Sludge's quake while using his piledrivers causes them to break off.

* '''[[Transport to Oblivion|< <]]''' What makes Starscream the leader? Megatron's lost his equilibrium! '''[[Countdown to Extinction (episode)|> >]]'''

===Real-world references===
* Dinosaurs, obviously. And a natural history museum, and a lame joke about "heavy metal" in reference to Hound.
* ''Star Wars'' sound effects:
** Death Star turbolasers are used as the sound of Bluestreak firing at Rumble.
** Luke repelling Seeker bolts with his lightsaber is used as the sound of the Decepticons lifting off under Starscream's command.
** Clashing lightsabers are used as the sound of Slag's horns powering up.
** More lightsabers as the Dinobots fire on Megatron and Starscream.

===Japanese version===
*In the Japanese version of this episode, the Dinobots' roars were replaced with classic kaiju roars (mostly an altered version of Baragon's roar).

*'''Cut:''' Following Spike's line, "There goes an Autobot with guts" and Ratchet charging, the close-up of Spike's head and Ratchet repairing Teletraan-1 have been cut. The sequence resumes at Sludge firing his laser eyes.

*'''Cut:''' After Prime yells "Roll out!" and transforms, the following footage of the Autobots driving out of the Ark behind him, the pan across the base interior and the footage of Wheeljack working on the Dinobot brain upgrades have all been cut.

===Trivia===
[[Image:SOSDinobots_Great_Falls.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The rules of Decepticon fashion dictate that no two members of a flying group can use the same arm pose.]]
* This episode shares the slightly stylized artistic style of "Roll for It". Note the strange poses that the Decepticons strike while flying, Optimus's unusually rounded head, Bumblebee's somewhat flattened head, and the little bits of shading seen on characters's faces in closeup.
*This was one of the six episodes featured on the ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' console game.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1985 — ''The Transformers'' — Volume 3: "S.O.S. Dinobots" ([[Family Home Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1997 — ''The Transformers'' — War of the Dinobots ([[Malofilm]])
;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 UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers: Generation 2'' ([[Maverick Entertainment|Sony Wonder]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers'' — Original Series: Volume Three (Sony Wonder) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers'' — Complete Original Series: Deluxe Edition (Sony Wonder) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — First Season Collector's Edition ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume Two (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2003 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 1: Series 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — The Best of ''The Transformers'' (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Episodes (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Classic Transformers'' — Series One: Part One (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 01: Stagione Uno Parte Prima ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season 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'' — The Complete First Season: 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/sos_dinobots.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category: Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]

MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

S.O.S. Dinobots