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The Transformers: The Movie

2011-03-11T20:15:45Z

75.2.140.67: /* Animation errors */

{{disambig3|Transformers: The Movie}}

{{quote|Conceived in the epic tradition of ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]''...|[[Victor Caroli]] ain't just whistling Dixie|[[The Transformers: The Movie promo|''The Transformers: The Movie'' promo]]}}

{{episode|
|seriess=[[The Transformers (cartoon)|The Transformers]]
|prev=B.O.T. (episode)
|next=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1
|seriess2=[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (franchise)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers]]
|prev2=Scramble City: Mobilization
|title=''The Transformers: The Movie''
|image=Transformersanimatedfilmposter.jpg
|caption=Featuring the [[death]]s of all your favorite Transformers characters.
|production code=
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|writer=[[Ron Friedman]]
|directed by=[[Nelson Shin]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|release date=[[August 8]], [[1986]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''''The Transformers: The Movie''''' is an animated feature film based on the original Transformers toyline. It was released in the United States on August 8, 1986.

The film's storyline follows the same continuity as the ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|Transformers]]'' cartoon. It introduces a [[Scale|planet-sized Transformer]] called [[Unicron]] who eats other planets, and is approaching [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. As part of their continuing wars, the Autobots and Decepticons have a [[Battle of Autobot City|fierce battle]] on Earth which sees both Optimus Prime and Megatron mortally wounded. Prime passes the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to Ultra Magnus and dies, and Megatron is transformed by Unicron into [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (briefly) assumes leadership of the Decepticons, but is killed when Galvatron arrives at Cybertron. Galvatron then chases the surviving Autobots on Earth across space, splitting them up and taking the Matrix. The Autobots find their way back to each other, and follow Galvatron to Cybertron just as Unicron transforms into robot mode and begins to eat their world. Travelling inside Unicron, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] recovers the Matrix, transforms into Rodimus Prime, and uses the Matrix to destroy Unicron.

Often referred to by fans simply as "the movie" or "TFTM", the movie was a step up in almost every area from the television series, with a more sophisticated plot, more serious treatment of war and violence, a hugely ambitious scope and a greatly increased animation budget with well-known celebrities providing voice work. For these reasons the film remains very popular with children of the 1980s.

The film opens with characters who had been featured in the first two years of the toyline and associated media (cartoons, comic books, etc.), but quickly introduces new characters and kills many of the old ones to make room. In particular, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]], and [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] are all destroyed during the course of the film.

{{quote|The Japanese have funded a full-length animated cartoon about the doings of these toys, which is all bad outer-space stuff. I play a planet. I menace somebody called Something-or-other. Then I'm destroyed. My plan to destroy Whoever-it-is is thwarted and I tear myself apart on the screen.|Orson Welles<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=KlqsYy512WIC&source=gbs_navlinks_s "Orson Wells: A Biography"] page 522</ref>}}

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TFTM_Unicron_Lithone.jpg|left|200px|thumb|That's no moon.]]

A mechanical planet travels through the depths of space, attacking [[Lithone (planet)|a metal planet]] which has [[Lithone (species)|robotic inhabitants]]. Robots, vehicles, buildings, and even large chunks of rock are sucked off the surface and devoured by the monstrous planet.

It is the year 2005, and the [[Decepticon]]s are now in control of Cybertron. The [[Autobot]]s are preparing to launch an assault to retake the planet from hidden bases on two of Cybertron's moons. The Autobots launch a [[Autobot shuttle|shuttle]] to pick up a final shipment of [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] from [[Earth]] before they strike.

[[Image:Tftm1986a.jpg|right|200px|thumb|I have a bad feeling about this.]]

Plans for the attack are overheard by [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], who reports back to [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]. The Decepticons attack the Autobot shuttle en route to Earth, wiping out its crew (including [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and the [[Brawn (G1)|guy in the picture over there]]). Using the Autobots' own shuttle, the Decepticons are able to get very close to the Autobots' base on Earth, [[Autobot City]], before they are detected, and begin a devastating surprise attack on the unprepared city.

During the battle at Autobot City, both [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and Megatron suffer mortal injuries, and a number of other characters are also killed. Eventually the Decepticons retreat, but the damage suffered by the Autobots has been severe.

{{note|For an extensive synopsis of the battle, see [[Battle of Autobot City]].}}

[[Image:Tftm1986b.jpg|left|200px|thumb|If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.]]

Shortly after the battle, Prime lies on his deathbed. He passes the reins of leadership to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and gives him the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. (Though Hot Rod actually touches the Matrix before Magnus does.) Prime relates a prophecy: "One day, an Autobot shall rise from our ranks, and use the power of the Matrix to light our [[darkest hour]]." He then gives the oath, "[['Til all are one]]", and [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|dies]]. This sequence of events is observed remotely by Unicron, who appears unusually concerned by the survival of the Matrix.

The Decepticons are making their escape aboard [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], but are too heavy for him to get them all home under his own power. After putting the matter to a fair vote, the Decepticons decide to throw their injured members off the ship to better the chance of survival for the rest. One of the most severely injured Decepticons is Megatron. [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] tosses him out and claims leadership of the Decepticon army.

Megatron and the other adrift Decepticons then encounter Unicron in interstellar space. Unicron offers to rebuild Megatron and his minions in exchange for their service. Megatron agrees, and is [[Reformatting|reformatted]] into [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. The other Decepticons are turned into [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], and the [[Sweep]]s. Unicron provides them with a [[Revenge (G1)|ship]], and sends them to kill Ultra Magnus and destroy the Matrix, stating that the Matrix is the only thing which can stand in his way.

[[Image:Tftm1986c.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed.]]
Galvatron first stops at Cybertron to take his revenge by killing Starscream and reclaiming leadership of the Decepticons. Almost immediately afterwards, Unicron arrives in Cybertron's vicinity and devours at least two moons—both of the Autobots' moon bases are destroyed. Under coercion by Unicron, Galvatron finally heads to Earth to kill Ultra Magnus, but Magnus and the other surviving Autobots flee in a pair of shuttles. Eventually Galvatron manages to cause one shuttle to crash on yet another metal planet ([[Quintessa]]), and detonates the other with a volley of missiles. However, the Autobots in the second shuttle escape unnoticed by separating the front portion of their shuttle just before impact.

The Autobots in the crashed shuttle, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], [[Kup (G1)|Kup]], and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], find themselves separated and in a hostile environment. Hot Rod and Kup are captured by a squad of [[Allicon]]s and taken before a [[Quintesson]] [[Quintesson#Judges|judge]] and his court. While being held there, they learn the name and nature of Unicron from [[Kranix]], a survivor of the planet destroyed in the opening of the film, which he calls [[Lithone (planet)|Lithone]]. Meanwhile, the Dinobots encounter and befriend a young, wild Autobot named [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] who has been living alone on Quintessa. Together, they crash the trial just as Hot Rod and Kup are fighting losing odds against the Quintessons' [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]]. The tide is turned, and the Autobots commandeer a [[Quintesson spacecraft#Quintesson_Cruiser|Quintesson Cruiser]].

[[Image:Tftm1986d.jpg|left|200px|thumb|What an incredible smell you've discovered!]]
The other group of Autobots has landed on the planet [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]] to make repairs, but are attacked yet again by Galvatron, who was tipped off to their survival by Unicron. During the battle, Ultra Magnus tries to open the Matrix to use its power, but is unable to do so, and instead is killed. Galvatron absconds with the Matrix, taking it away to Unicron. The remaining Autobots—[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike's]] son [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]]—are then ambushed by [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]], the eponymous natives of Junkion, who are also giant transforming robots. This battle is cut short, however, by the arrival of Hot Rod's group in their Quintesson ship. After exchanging the [[universal greeting]] they all make friends, and the Junkions restore Ultra Magnus to life. Together, the whole group travels to Cybertron to try to recover the Matrix.

[[Image:TFTM Unicron smashes cybertron.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Rebel base in range. You may fire when ready.]]
Galvatron attempts to open the Matrix to use its power against Unicron, but is also unable to get it open. Unicron, not pleased with this attempted treachery, shocks Galvatron by transforming from a planet into a [[Scale|planet-sized robot]]. Unicron plucks Galvatron off his chest and swallows him, Matrix and all, and then begins attacking Cybertron itself. [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] scrambles the Decepticon forces to defend the planet, but they are ineffective against so large an enemy. Shortly the Autobots arrive from Junkion, and fly the Quintesson ship straight through Unicron's eye. This impact destroys the ship, and the Autobots fall out inside Unicron. Hot Rod, separated from the others, eventually runs into Galvatron. During their fight, Hot Rod gets his hands on the Matrix and hears Optimus's voice speak the words, "Arise, Rodimus Prime." Hot Rod grows in stature, adopts a much sterner demeanor, and quickly dispatches Galvatron by tossing him through Unicron's hull out into space. He then opens the Matrix, which fills Unicron with light and begins destroying him.

[[Image:Tftm1986e.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Use the Force, Luke.]]
In the meantime, the other Autobots inside Unicron have located some of their comrades from the moon bases who had been presumed dead, including [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and Daniel's father, Spike. The Autobots, including Rodimus, escape through Unicron's remaining eye just as he begins to fall apart and explode. The scene then immediately shifts to the surface of Cybertron, where—for unclear reasons—the Autobots seem to be in charge again. Rodimus predicts an era of peace and prosperity, and the film closes with a shot of Unicron's severed head still floating in orbit around Cybertron.

[['Til all are one]].
{{-}}

==Quotes==
"Such heroic nonsense."
:—'''Megatron''' coldly finishes off Ironhide. The 'Cons always get the best lines.

"I've got better things to do tonight than die!"
:—'''Springer''', telling it like it is.

"One shall stand. One shall fall."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' uttering the most quoted line of the Movie. An ass kicker cometh.

"You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of '''''sterner stuff'''''."
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s trash talk is actually [http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/sterner-stuff a lot cooler than it sounds]

"Until that day...'til all are one..."
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s final words

"Oh, how it ''pains'' me to do this." 
"Wait! I still function!" 
"Wanna ''bet''?"
:—'''Starscream''' fights back the tears as he throws '''Megatron''' out of Astrotrain.

"I have summoned you here for a purpose." 
"Nobody summons Megatron!" 
"Then it pleases me to be the first."
:—'''Unicron''' shows '''Megatron''' who's the boss.

"Who disrupts my coronation?" 
"Coronation, Starscream? This is bad comedy." 
"Megatron? Is that you?" 
"Here's a hint!"
:—'''Galvatron''' drops "hints" for '''Starscream''' like others drop anvils.

"Did we ''have'' to let them detonate three quarters of the ship?" 
"Seeing as how they would have detonated ''four'' quarters, I think it was a good choice."
:—'''Arcee''' and '''Springer'''

"For a time... I considered ''sparing'' your wretched little planet Cybertron. But now... you shall witness... its ''dismemberment''!"
:—'''Unicron''' really needs to work on his anger management skills...

"Me Grimlock kick butt!" 
:—'''Grimlock''' isn't speaking figuratively.

"Destiny... You cannot... destroy... my... destiny--AAH!!" 
:—'''Unicron''''s final words

"Let this mark the end of the Cybertronian Wars as we march forward into a new era of peace and happiness! 'Til all are one!" 
:—'''Rodimus Prime''' announces the end of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]... yeah, right.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]/Rodimus Prime ([[Judd Nelson]])
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] ([[Robert Stack]])
*[[Kup (G1)|Kup]] ([[Lionel Stander]])
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] ([[Susan Blu]])
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] ([[John Moschitta]])
*[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] ([[Gregg Berger]])
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] ([[Paul Eiding]])
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] ([[Buster Jones]])
*[[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Slag (G1)|Slag]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]]
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] ([[Scatman Crothers]])
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] ([[Dan Gilvezan]])
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] ([[Casey Kasem]])
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] ([[Don Messick]])
*[[Auto-combatant]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Eject]]
*[[Rewind]]
*[[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]]
*[[Ramhorn (G1)|Ramhorn]]
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]]
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]
*[[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]]
*[[Grapple]]
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]]
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]]
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]]
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]]* ([[Walker Edmiston]])
|c2=
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] ([[Leonard Nimoy]])
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] ([[Chris Latta]])
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] ([[Roger C. Carmel]])
*[[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] ([[Stan Jones]])
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] ([[Arthur Burghardt]])
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] ([[Don Messick]])
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]]
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]]
*[[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] ([[Hal Rayle]])
*[[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] ([[Clive Revill]])
*[[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] ([[Jack Angel]])
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] ([[Bud Davis]])
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] ([[Ed Gilbert]])
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]]
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]]
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]
*[[Sweep]]s
*[[Cyclonus's Armada]]
|h3=[[Junkion (species)|Junkions]]|c3=
*[[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] ([[Eric Idle]])
*[[Scrapheap (G1)|Scrapheap]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Rubbish]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Re-Cycle]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Trashbin]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Junkyard (G1)|Junkyard]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[HAZMAT]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Ashtray]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Wasteoid Gamma]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Greasestain]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
|h4=Others|c4=
'''[[Human]]s'''
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] ([[David Mendenhall]])

'''[[Lithone (species)|Lithones]]'''
*[[Kranix]] ([[Norman Alden|Norm Alden]])
*[[Arblus]] ([[Norman Alden|Norm Alden]])

'''[[Quintesson]]s'''
*[[Quintesson]] leader ([[Roger C. Carmel]])
*[[Quintesson#Judges|Quintesson judge]] ([[Regis Cordic|Rege Cordic]])
*[[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]]
*[[Allicon]]s

'''Other'''
*[[Unicron]] ([[Orson Welles]])
|nonumbering=true
}}
<nowiki>*</nowiki>Credited, but did not appear.

==Animation errors==
* When Unicron is approaching Lithone at the start of the movie, at the line "Look, it's Unicron!", a [[Animation error#Sizing errors|cel stacking error]] results in Unicron's ring appearing in front of a building arch, [[Distribution|making Unicron look very tiny]] in that shot. In the next shot, it is clear that Unicron is several times larger than the entire planet of Lithone.
* The inside of one of the Lithonian ships being devoured by Unicron is visible for a couple of frames. The pilot of the ship appears to be Kranix, even though he apparently screams out Kranix's name, and Kranix appears later in the Quintesson prison.
* When the inside of Unicron is shown after he devours Lithone, the "blinking energy" effect of Unicron's innards was apparently achieved by recycling backgrounds from other animated TV shows or movies. A frame by frame viewing reveals what appear to be several images of post-apocalyptic buildings inside Unicron.
* When Optimus Prime asks Jazz to report security status, it shows both Jazz and Cliffjumper. Cliffjumper is seen twiddling knobs above the actual drawn computer, as if a section was supposed to be present.
*When the closeup of Cliffjumper doing his countdown is shown, his shoulders are blue (like his windows) instead of red.
* When the Decepticons blow a hole through the Autobot shuttle to get in, it is a clean break. However, Megatron is still shown ripping through random ship components to get in.
* Scavenger's head is white instead of black as he ducks from Prowl's shot.
* When the Decepticons are killing the Autobot shuttle crew, there is one of the common Starscream/Skywarp/Thundercracker miscolors. Megatron transforms into gun mode and Starscream catches him, killing Brawn. When they cut back to the Decepticons, Starscream is in front of the Constructicons without Megatron and is firing one of his arm rifles (this probably should have been Skywarp or Thundercracker). When they cut back to the Decepticons for the third time, Starscream has Megatron again and is finishing off the rest of the Autobots. In the shot of Starscream firing his own lasers, his wings are red instead of gray.
* When the Decepticons fly to the shuttle's controls, all of the Autobots have changed positions from when they fell—Brawn is now on his back, for example, while Prowl is now face-down. Ironhide's chest is also completely intact, despite having a bunch of holes blown in it.
* Hot Rod has at least two totally different transformation schemes during the course of the film.
* When Kup and several Autobots at the roadblock react to Hot Rod's attack on the hijacked Autobot shuttle, Bluestreak is represented by Prowl's [[Character model|animation model]], in Bluestreak's grey and black colours.
* Sunstreaker appears with Kup's group on Earth as they observe Hot Rod firing on Ironhide's shuttle. Sunstreaker later appears as Optimus Prime's co-pilot when they arrive on Earth with the Dinobots, and is seen disembarking the shuttle along with Optimus Prime and Hound.
* In a wide aerial shot of the city under attack, a Reflector flies by in Ironhide's color scheme. Shockwave also makes his only appearance in the battle; considering both his role as Cybertron's guardian and his absence from any other scenes during the battle, his presence is probably an animation error. Rumble also flies past, despite being inside Soundwave at this point.
* Blaster's forehead is red instead of white after his "look out and shout!" line, and again after he returns to robot mode.
* A laser blast that should be behind Blaster is instead layered in front of him as he acknowledges Perceptor's orders.
* In the big lineup of firing Decepticons, Soundwave's cheek guards are blue instead of white.
* When [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] sends out his cassette troops, [[FIRRIB|Rumble is the same color as Frenzy]].
* Blaster first ejects what looks like Eject, who stays blue up until he gets to the edge of the screen. He then turns black like Rewind. Then Blaster ejects another blue cassette, which after about a second turns black. This one gets through half his transformation colored black, then turns blue for a split second then turns black again. Then, when the cassettes are fighting each other, Eject runs in from the left and jumps over Perceptor. And then he runs in from the left ''again'' to shoot Ravage. Suddenly [[Brawl (Movie)|Brawl/Devastator]] doesn't look so bad, does he?
* As Springer runs up to the launcher, Wheeljack's body is visible, but he's in red, white and blue colors.
* While Springer and Arcee are trying to move the launcher into place, Springer's face is the same color as his helmet.
* When Devastator forms in Autobot City, his chest plate is the same green as the rest of him. In the next shot, it's the usual purple. However, it promptly turns green again in the next shot.
* As Devastator lays into the walls, Shrapnel is white where he should be black.
* While Perceptor and Grapple are shooting, Swoop's lower half runs by in the foreground, long before the rest of him gets there.
* Megatron's pelvis is white instead of black as he gives the "let the slaughter begin!" order.
* Prime's dramatic transformation sequence far outlasts the transformation sound that's supposed to go with it. It's also the wrong sound (ascending pitch) for his robot-to-vehicle transformation. His trailer is also missing the Autobot logo, which reappears for the rest of the scene.
* When Prime drives up behind the Decepticons, Blitzwing's head is tan instead of purple. It becomes purple when he turns it, then goes back to tan again as he turns it back.
* Prime is missing the transformation sound as he blasts back to robot mode.
* The gun Megatron uses to fatally injure Optimus is blue and white for most of the shots it is seen in, but when Megatron screams "Fall! FALL!" while shooting Prime again, it is black.
* The gun Megatron fires uses the same sound effect as his fusion cannon.
* Prime's antennae are white as he tries to stand after knocking Megatron off the ledge.
* As he orders Astrotrain to take off, Starscream's face is gray instead of black.
* Starscream's whole nosecone, rather than just the canopy, is yellow as he looms over Megatron.
* When Optimus Prime takes the Matrix out of his chest to give to Ultra Magnus, there is another Matrix beneath it in his chest. (On which note, see also ''[[Matrix of Leadership#Universe|Matrix of Leadership, Universe comic]].'') Also, he initially grabs just the core of the Matrix, while the rest of the scene shows the entire assembly.
* When Ultra Magnus accepts the Matrix, he's seen inserting it into his chest twice, or at best readjusting its "fit".
* As the other Decepticons prepare to push him out, Bombshell's chest is rendered as a shapeless gray mass, rather than with its yellow canopy.
* The voice that says "Don't!" is nowhere close to the voices of any of the five Decepticons shown getting thrown out of Astrotrain.
* Starscream's got an extra yellow segment on his canopy as he nominates himself for leadership. Man, even the A-list animation team couldn't keep this straight.
* Most of Megatron's chest emblem isn't colored in as he first speaks to Unicron. It might pass for battle damage, but a few shots later it's fully purple.
[[Image:Coronation .jpg|thumb|right|250px| *''trumpet fanfare''* ]]
* Even after the [[Battle of Autobot City]], characters who are supposedly dead continue to appear in crowd shots and battles. Shrapnel's role in the fight on [[Junkion (planet)|Junk]] is the most noticeable (and he was called for by name in the original script), but Thundercracker, Skywarp and Kickback can all be seen at Starscream's coronation. The two jets are later seen again, flying into Unicron's mouth.
* Hook has two eyes instead of a visor as he looks around in confusion during the trumpet scene.
* An early establishing shot clearly shows Cybertron with two and ''only'' two moons in low orbit. Yet a third moon is visible right after Unicron finishes eating the two Autobot bases.
* When Cyclonus is strafing the Autobot shuttle in space, he briefly flies offscreen, and during that time his laser blasts come from a point that in no way matches his flight path.
* Daniel's lips don't purse when he whistles.
* Wreck-Gar's mouth doesn't move at all during his first lines, despite the camera pushing in all close on his face.
* The pistol Ultra Magnus fires uses the same sound effect as Optimus Prime's rifle.
* Shrapnel's lower legs are white when he lands on Junk, instead of black. Must be a side effect of being dead.
* During the Junkion chase scene, Trashbin attacks Arcee. When she fights him off his motorcycle, his model is switched for Junkyard's when he falls down.
* When Hot Rod tells the Junkions the universal greeting, the Autobot insignia on his chest is coloured black.
* When Grimlock gets kissed, his eyes are round instead of triangular.
* When Unicron transforms, the first hand we see (his right) is backwards relative to how the arm is shown on screen.
* After transforming, Unicron has all-white hands (instead of white with gold knuckles) and a white, rectangular chin (instead of the double-triangular chin with a goatee) he has later.
* As Hot Rod falls off one of Unicron's inner spikes, his lower body isn't drawn in. It looks like it should be blocked by our view of the spike, but is layered above it instead.
* Hot Rod's missing his Autobot symbol as he regains his footing inside Unicron.
* During the same sequence, we see a standard-looking control panel next to Hot Rod. It's unlikely Galvatron had time to create one inside Unicron, so where did it come from?
* As the Dinobots fly around Unicron, both his eyes are intact. (The left one had been shattered.)
* As the Dinobots fly away from Unicron, the spikes on Grimlock's right arm are gray instead of gold.
* The third smelting victim (who looks a lot like another Bumblebee) doesn't fall from the conveyor belt; he simply vanishes.

== Continuity errors ==
[[Image:G1TFTM Snarl cameo.JPG|thumb|right|250px|He used to bulls-eye womp-rats in his T16 back home.]]

* The Dinobot [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] is mysteriously absent from almost the entire movie, even though the Dinobots as a group are featured prominently. Copies of the script which have come into fans' hands repeatedly list the Dinobots, but never make mention of Snarl by name. In fact, at one point the script refers to "the four Dinobots". Despite this, Snarl does appear in three very brief shots{{m-}}in which at least one other Dinobot (Swoop in one, Sludge in another) is entirely absent. Hmm.
* Also curiously absent are the 1985 Autobot cars and Mini-Vehicles, such as Inferno, Smokescreen, Cosmos, Warpath, etc. It would seem that these characters were available at the time of the movie:
** Perceptor and Blaster both debuted at the same time in the cartoon as the 1985 cars, and both play prominent roles in the movie.
** Grapple is [[:Image:BattleAutobotCity.jpg|seen ''very'' briefly]] during the battle for Autobot City.
** The 1985 Decepticons (Astrotrain, Dirge, etc.) appear in the film.
** [[:Image:TFTM-SideswipeRedAlertTracks.jpg|Tracks]], [[:Image:TFTM-RedAlertDown.jpg|Red Alert]] and Smokescreen (who was supposed to be the corpse in place of Wheeljack next to Windcharger) all appeared in storyboards but not the finished film.
* Devastator is treated as ''the'' ultimate threat, while in the cartoon, his role (and apparent power) was already being [[Starscream's Brigade|severely diminished]], presumably because several other combiners had been introduced. In story terms, the absence of these newer combiners, not to mention the mighty Omega Supreme, is inexplicable. In real-life terms, those characters didn't exist when the film commenced production. (The [[Transformers: The Animated Movie]] adaptation shows Omega Supreme, Superion and Defensor guarding the Ark against an attack by Bruticus and Menasor, attempting to [[retcon]] the problem away.)
[[Image:Cyclonus armada tftf.jpg|thumb|right|250px|We'll be safe enough once we make the jump into lightspeed.]]
* The existence of Cybertron's moons is contentious ''at best''.
** On the one hand, in numerous close and distant shots of the planet throughout the first two seasons, not a single moon was seen. Ever. Even after it got knocked out of Earth's orbit.
** On the other hand, Megatron ''does'' refer to Cybertron as "land of the metal moon" (note the singular) during "[[Microbots]]", suggesting otherwise. The fact that he was overenergized at the time and lost consciousness in mid-sentence - just before he ''might'' have specified a plural number of moons, (in)conveniently enough - makes it unclear just how much credence we should lend this statement.
** The movie promptly introduces two (possibly three) moons over the planet. In continuity terms, they must either have highly elliptical orbits with periapsides (points in their orbits that bring them closest to the planet) that just happened to coincide with the timeframe of the movie or they were constructed sometime after 1986.
* During the Battle of Autobot City, Starscream gets his leg caught. He shoots downward and gets away while screaming "My foot!", but it's his shin that's smoking while his foot looks fine. Later he kicks Megatron with the same foot. Shouldn't that hurt, according to him? Note there is a time lapse between the "foot shooting" and the kicking, leaving the option of a battlefield repair.
* Prime apparently just set his blaster down before confronting Megatron. If it was out of power, why does he pick it up again when Kup tells him to finish Megatron off? If it wasn't, why didn't he have it during the battle?
* So Ultra Magnus just happens to have a ready-made Matrix chamber installed in his chest cavity? Is this standard issue for all Autobots?
* The cartoon had already established that Astrotrain increases his size when he transforms to shuttle mode, being large enough to carry a pair of Decepticons in his cockpit. However, within the movie itself, his size is [[scale|noticeably inconsistent]]: When he leaves Autobot City, he's just large enough for the Decepticon army to cram themselves in; later, he's so huge that the Constructicons can quite comfortably form Devastator inside him.
* Speaking of Astrotrain, his entire body flips over when he transforms from train to space shuttle to escape from Autobot City. The Decepticons inside must have ''loved'' that!
* The number of minions created by Unicron changes throughout the film, with more Sweeps appearing as the story progresses. A second Cyclonus ("Cyclonus, the warrior, and [[Cyclonus's Armada|his armada]]") is shown being created but disappears shortly thereafter. At least ''seven'' new characters are shown at one point, created from only ''six'' Decepticons thrown from the shuttle.

[[Image:SSBQ.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"I've been looking forward to this for a long time." "Yes, I bet you have."]]
* [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] is capable of reducing [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] to ashes with a single shot from his cannon mode. Though in later episodes Galvatron is shown blowing up even small ''[[Thrull|planets]]'' with his cannon, his extraordinary killing power seems to be gone—like when he scores a direct hit in cannon mode on Ultra Magnus in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]" and Magnus isn't especially hurt at all, or how a similar blast against Scourge in "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]" only leaves the latter temporarily incapacitated. [[Marvel Comics]] bios explain this by suggesting that Galvatron had nearly limitless power through Unicron... but then again, Galvatron himself claims to be "more powerful than ever" after Unicron is dead. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2}} [[To sell toys|Who knows.]]
* Why didn't anyone notice Unicron until he was within devouring distance of Cybertron's moons?
* Despite running out of energon goodies on Quintessa, Hot Rod has at least one to offer to the Junkions. Maybe he got some on the ship. It's also possible that, when he told the Allicons "No more," he meant that he wasn't going to ''feed'' them any more energon goodies, not that he didn't ''have'' anymore.
* Daniel, who was just learning how to use his exo-suit, had to knock down the acid cover inside Unicron to save his loved ones. Why couldn't the more experienced Spike do the same with his suit from above? He had both of his arms free and a clear shot at the cover. On the other hand, the clamp holding him may well disable his exo-suit's weapons and movement abilities-if it didn't, Unicron probably wouldn't have eaten half as many victims by now...
* It's not clear how Rodimus Prime (carrying two humans) and the other Autobots survived their jump out of Unicron's eye and their plunge towards the surface of Cybertron.
* It's also unclear just how the dozen or so Autobots (and one shipload of Junkions) managed to retake the whole planet of Cybertron. Did Unicron really wipe out ''that'' many Decepticons?
* When the Autobots are repairing Autobot City, Blaster is present, but a few minutes later, he's nowhere to be seen. And he isn't seen getting on one of the shuttles. It is possible that they took off without him, but Daniel noticed Arcee was not on board. Guess he cares more about Arcee than Blaster.
* Ultra Magnus blows up, but later his parts are just in individual sections. The Junkions place them together and shine him up, and he's fine! No welding or reprogramming, no replacing damaged parts...
* Makes you wonder why they couldn't fly Prime's body over and repair it, too. At the end of season three, we find out the Matrix can be given back to him, so that's not the issue...

===Not Necessarily Errors===
* Fans have noted throughout the years that Astrotrain, in his flight through zero-gravity space, should not have needed to "jettison some weight" in the literal sense. However, since the ejected Decepticons quickly fall behind Astrotrain instead of floating alongside him, he must still have been accelerating and thus would have needed to burn a greater amount of fuel in order to push a larger payload. Perhaps he should have said "jettison some ''mass''", but then again, just being a spaceship doesn't make him a rocket scientist.
* Starscream is shown just inside Astrotrain's cargo bay when he commands him to take off, but in the next shot (Astrotrain's door closing as his rocket engines ignite), Starscream is nowhere to be seen. It's possible that he walked further in, but he should still be at least partially visible.

==Continuity notes==
* The Movie has had a huge effect in shaping the mythos. Among the elements and characters which would reappear in many other iterations of Transformers are:
** The notion that Cybertron has moons
** The Matrix as a physical object, rather than the computer program previously depicted in the Marvel Comics. Even the Marvel Comics would eventually shoehorn this one in.
** Autobot City
** Unicron
** The notion of Megatron becoming Galvatron
** And it killed off Optimus Prime before it was cool!
** What makes Starscream the leader? Chucking a near-dead Megatron into space!
* Gadgets and powers:
** Springer deploys a small flip-out twin laser from his wrist during the Autobot City battle.
** Arcee and Hot Rod both activate a long-distance scanner of some sort by lowering a red visor from under their helmets over their eyes.
** Hot Rod uses a saw blade that extends from his retracted wrist.
** Blurr has the same kind of hooked welding tip used by various Autobots as far back as "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]".
** Arcee unleashes a nasty barbed post from her fender to fend off a Junkion.
** Grimlock shows the never-before seen ability to shoot lasers from his fists.

==Real-world references and Easter eggs==
* When Sludge gets haymakered by Devastator, his eyes pop out of their sockets in ''[[Wikipedia:Looney Tunes|Looney Tunes]]'' fashion.
* Kup's storytelling sequence aboard the shuttle is drawn from the novel ''[[Wikipedia:Of Mice and Men|Of Mice and Men]]'', complete with Grimlock in the Lenny role asking Kup to "tell Grimlock about petrorabbits again".

* The Quintesson jail cell includes robot debris ''strongly'' resembling the mobile suits [[Wikipedia:Gundam Mk-II|RX-178 Gundam MK II]] and the [[Wikipedia:Z Gundam|MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam]] from 1985 Japanese animation ''[[Wikipedia:Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam|Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam]]''.

* The Junkions speak almost entirely in pop culture quotes and pastiches. Littered among the generic phrases like "operators are standing by!", "Film at eleven" and "eliminate even the toughest stains" are more specific references, such as:
** "Don't look behind door #2, Monty!" - a reference to the game show ''[[Wikipedia:Let's Make a Deal|Let's Make a Deal]]'' and its host, [[Wikipedia:Monty Hall|Monty Hall]].
** "Ger-ronny-doo-ron-ron-ronny-mo!" - both the famous "[[Wikipedia:Geronimo (exclamation)|Geronimo!]]" war cry, and the 1963 hit "[[Wikipedia:Da Doo Ron Ron|Da Doo Ron Ron]]".
** "You check in, but you don't check out" - a parody of the tagline for [[Wikipedia:Roach Motel (insect trap)|Roach Motel]] insect traps.
** "Happy motoring!" - the slogan of gas company [[Wikipedia:Esso|Esso]].

* ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects (yes, even the high-budget Movie uses them):
** The ''[[Millennium Falcon]]'' engine burst noise is used extensively throughout the film, over and over and over, almost any time a Decepticon takes flight.

** [[Luke Skywalker]]'s deactivating [[lightsaber]] is used as the sound of the Quintesson ship's ramp extending.
** Clashing lightsabers are used as Unicron fires eye-blasts at the attacking Transformers.

** An igniting lightsaber is used as Rodimus opens the Matrix.
* The ''Star Trek'' sliding door sound is used as Wreck-Gar pulls out his <s>iPhone</s> mini-TV.
* Also, the sound used for the communicators on Star Trek was used when Daniel was activating his blaster to save Spike

==Adaptations==
*[[Transformers: The Movie (Marvel Comics)|A comic adaptation of the movie]] was published by [[Marvel Comics]] in 1986, concurrently with the movie's theater run. It was based off a non-finalized version of the script, and differs in many details from the final film. Additionally, most of the major character models (and possibly their unedited original character write-ups) appear in Issue #4 of the ''[[Transformers Universe (Marvel comic)|Transformers Universe]]'' series.
* [[Transformers the Movie (Ladybird adaptation)|A storybook adaptation]] was released in the UK by [[Ladybird Books]].
*A four-part adaptation was released in 2006/2007 by [[IDW Publishing]], as part of the film's 20th anniversary celebration. It was titled ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' to differentiate it from the [[Michael Bay]] [[Transformers (2007)|live-action film]]. Unlike its predecessor, it adheres rigidly to the script and plot of the finished movie.

==Soundtrack==
{{main|The Transformers: The Movie - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack}}

==Promotions==
* Early in the movie's production, a [[The Transformers: The Movie promo|promotional trailer]] was made to sell the project to potential investors.
* The movie was advertised on related 1986 toy packages via the [[Decipher the Decepticon]] Sweepstakes, which included a pack-in poster and contest.
* The movie was heavily advertised directly by TV [[commercial]]s, and tail-end segments on Transformer toy ads. Portions of its story were also retold in altered fashion by animation segments of commercials for the movie character toys, such as a spot showing Springer doing battle with Wreck-Gar.

==In the comic continuity==
The [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel UK comic]] made extensive use of the Movie as the basis for a series of stories involving the Transformers in the future. However there are several differences between the events seen on screen and those referenced in the comic:

*The comic always dates the movie to 2006, following the date given in a treatment that was all [[Simon Furman]] had when he wrote [[Target: 2006]].
*In Target: 2006, [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] states that he was previously "[[Life Spark]]".
*The Matrix is always called the "Creation Matrix" in the comic, a name that predates the "Matrix of Leadership" but which is now used for the same physical object.
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] both survive the events, both later appearing in [[Space Pirates!]] (set in 2008).

In addition, Shockwave definitely survives the attack by Unicron.

The US comic almost completely ignored the events of the Movie, though later in the run an alternative future is briefly shown in "[[Rhythms of Darkness!]]" and "[[A Savage Circle]]". In this timeline at least some of the events of the Movie took place such as the creation of Galvatron from Megatron, which is dated to 2005, though Prowl's death was overlooked. [[Prowl II|Wouldn't be the first time. Or the last.]]
*The US version of the future story [[The Big Broadcast of 2006 (issue)|The Big Broadcast of 2006]] implicitly has the events of the movie as part of its backstory. However, since the rest of the US series ignored the movie, this issue's place in the continuity is questionable.

==Edits==
Several English-language versions of the film exist, with the following differences in content from the American theatrical run:

* In some versions (notably the European version) the opening credits are replaced with a scrolling text ("''Star Wars'' style") which provides backstory.
* In some versions (notably the European version) the film ends with [[Victor Caroli|a narrator]] reassuring the audience that Optimus Prime will return.
* Instances of swearing in the film (there are two) were edited out; sometimes one, sometimes both. Those instances are: Spike yelling, "Oh shit, what are we gonna do now?" after the self-destructing Moon Base 2 fails to scratch Unicron, and Ultra Magnus growling, "Open, damn it, open!" while trying to open the Matrix to fend off Galvatron and the Sweeps on Junkion. The United Kingdom cinema version had the swearing included but, when it was released on VHS in the United Kingdom, Spike's line was cut ("damn" not being considered offensive in the UK). However it has been restored on all United Kingdom DVD releases.
* In some early FHE video releases, the shot of the Matrix falling out of Optimus Prime's hand and being caught by Hot Rod is edited so that it appears that Ultra Magnus simply takes the Matrix from Prime. Why this was done is not known, and the replay of the Hot Rod catch on Unicron's monitors was left intact.
*Instead of DEG, the [[wikipedia:Rank Organiztion|Rank Film]] "gong man" appears before the film, as Rank were the United Kingdom distributors.

None of these edits significantly affect the story. They should not be confused with various other sequences which were changed before the film's final release:

* Originally, Ultra Magnus's "death sequence" on Junkion called for him to be lassoed and drawn and quartered by the Sweeps' energy beams, but this was deemed too graphic for audiences, hence the less disturbing "shot to death" sequence seen instead. There is evidence that the original sequence had been fully animated when the decision was made, however; the Sweeps still kept their solid energy lassos when they fire upon Magnus, and Magnus is seen visibly straining against what appears to be said lassos (edited out and replaced with laser fire) before exploding.
* A number of other sequences were illustrated as [[storyboard]]s but dropped, presumably without ever being animated. Among them were:
** A short scene showing Ironhide piloting the Autobot shuttle through ''huge chunks of ice'' from the tail of a passing comet, explaining how the Decepticons caught them unawares. In response to a reprimand by Prowl who prickishly disapproves of Ironhide's piloting shenanigans, Ironhide exclaims, "I can sure as shootin' dodge a couple of ice chunks". When the Autobots are suddenly jolted by the Decepticon strike force as Megatron and his troops attempt to enter the shuttle, Ironhide tells the others on board, "That was no ice chunk...". Heroic nonsense ensues...
** An extended sequence with Hot Rod and Daniel outside the city.
** A sequence of Mirage blasting Bombshell and being fired on by Megatron.
** The Autobots finally bringing down Devastator with a barrage of missiles (and the Constructicons subsequently shooting Red Alert in the back).
** The Decepticons dogpiling Optimus Prime, explaining why he seems to be standing up just before his fight with Megatron, and no longer holding his rifle. According to storyboards, Prime gets bum-rushed by Blitzwing (who causes Prime to drop his gun), Starscream, Astrotrain, and Skywarp. While it is not clear how Prime defeated the first four hand-to-hand combatants, Dirge is later shown attempting one final sneak attack (and gets his can handed back to him) as Prime is talking to Megatron before the two leaders' final fight.
** Trailbreaker is shown dead among the wreckage of Autobot City as the Decepticons begin their retreat.
:Some of these concepts were in earlier versions of the script, and hence made it into the comic adaptation.
* Rumors have occasionally circulated in the fandom of additional animated footage that was dropped from the film, such as ultra-violent battle scenes. No evidence has ever surfaced to back these claims; the only known edits are those listed in this section.
:{{see|Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers#The Transformers: The Movie|Urban legends about ''The Transformers: The Movie''}}

==Reception==
{{quote|''The Transformers'', in which Orson Welles plays a planet, is pure headache material. Target audience of cartoon-watchers also will probably find the film unintelligible, noisy and unoriginal. Boxoffice prospects are dismal.|2=[http://books.google.com/books?id=DHNZAAAAMAAJ&q=Hasbro+Transformers&dq=Hasbro+Transformers&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=1983&as_maxm_is=12&as_maxy_is=2005&num=50&as_brr=0&cd=69 Variety's Film Reviews 1985-1986, Volume 19]}}

{{quote|Obnoxious animated feature about the title good guys, who defend the universe against an evil planet (which has a voice of its own... provided by Orson Welles.) That deafening rock score certainly doesn't help. Little more than a feature-length toy commercial.|Leonard Maltin, ''1987 Movie & Video Guide''}}

{{quote|While all this action may captivate young children, the animation is not spectacular enough to dazzle adults, and the Transformers have few truly human elements to lure parents along, even when their voices are supplied by well-known actors. |2=[http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/09/movies/screen-transformers-animation-for-children.html The New York Times]}}

{{quote|Transformers -- The Movie, a feature-length animated film inspired by the syndicated TV cartoon series inspired by the Hasbro toy imported from Japan, is utterly uninspired entertainment. |2=[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3CE8EA8D40CCA&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM The Dallas Morning News]}}

{{quote|If you can swallow, without gagging, a large measure of sentimental and offensive religiosity - lines like "Do not grieve. Soon I will be one with the Matrix," whispered by a failing hunk of Autobot metal - then you have a better than even chance of leaving the theatre on your own two feet. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=01kiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W6gFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2445,1286000&dq=transformers&hl=en The Montreal Gazette]}}

{{quote|Everything is poorly drawn and - when it's in focus - one dimensional. It is terribly hard to separate the robots from the backgrounds, and there is no easy way to tell the good guys from the bad guys. In an earlier movie based on the same sort of robot toys - "Go-Bots: The Battle of the Rock Lords" - the good guys were either white or colorful and the bad guys were dreary, and they had distinct personalities. Not this movie; everyone looks and sounds alike, except one pink robot who is a female good guy. Her tin voluptuousness makes her stand out. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kw4wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OgMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6957,6334152&dq=transformers&hl=en The Toledo Blade]}}

{{quote|Even with an all-star cast doing the voice overs... and a rock music score, this is still nothing more than a ripoff of a successful toy line. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AYckAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dtsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4192,1494652&dq=transformers&hl=en The Palm Beach Post]}}

{{quote|The great animated villains, like the Wicked Queen in Disney's "Snow White," had motivations as compelling as any live-action character. Unicron apparently destroys entire worlds because it has nothing else to do. |2=[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/57996397.html?dids=57996397:57996397&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+8%2C+1986&author=CHARLES+SOLOMON&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=8&desc=%60THE+TRANSFORMERS%27%3A+STRETCHING+A+POINT The LA Times]}}

''The Transformers: The Movie'' was almost universally panned by professional critics upon its release.

Well-known film critic and animation enthusiast, Leonard Maltin, gave it a rating below 1 1/2 stars in his ''1987 Movie & Video Guide'', regarding it as a "bomb", then proceeded to write an unflattering blurb denouncing the film as a "feature-length toy commercial" (well, he was ''right'').

Caryn James of the ''New York Times'' admitted in the [[August 9]], 1986 edition of the paper that the film was intended for young children, pointing out that the kids in the audience were having a grand ole time with the ''Transformer'' toys and comics they brought with them to the theater, but derided the film as having little to no appeal to adults (''man-children'', on the other hand...).

''Variety's Film Reviews 1985-1986, Volume 19 '' was far less even-handed in their review, claiming the film had no appeal to adults ''or'' children. They predicted the film would perform poorly in the box office (and were correct, in that regard).

Carrie Rickey of the ''Dallas Morning News'' chided the film in the [[August 13]], 1986 issue of the paper, describing it as "essentially a cartoon ''Star Wars'' about robots from a toybox galaxy far, far away". She then went on to say that the film "never takes off" and derided it as "uninspired".

Janice Kennedy of the ''Montreal Gazette'' verbally disemboweled the film in the [[August 23]], 1986 edition of the paper, criticizing it as overly commercial, profane, loud, violent, humorless, heavy-handed in its religious messages and chaulk-full of gratuitous celebrity voice-overs. Her only compliment: "But ''The Transformers: The Movie'' does have at least one good thing going for it, a howlingly appropriate song by [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]. It's title? ''Dare to be Stupid''." ''Ouch''.

Nanciann Cherry in the August 13, 1986 edition of the ''Toledo Blade'' claimed the robots in the movie had little personality and faded into the background. She even went on to say that ''Challenge of the GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords'' was a superior film! Her review was filled with inaccuracies, however, citing characters such as "Unicon" and claiming that the destruction of Cybertron's moons by "Unicon" is what caused the Autobots to travel to Autobot City, at which point Megatron attacked. To be fair, she readily admits, "About 20 minutes into the film, I gave up on the plot and tried to count all the ideas that were stolen from other sources. Now that kept me busy." So she wasn't really paying attention, anyway.

Kathryn Buxton in the [[August 22]], 1986 edition of the ''Palm Beach Post'' gave the film a whopping ''one'' star, calling it "a ripoff of a successful toyline", whatever ''that'' means. In the same article, she also gave David Cronenberg's ''[[Fly|The Fly]]'' one star, just for reference.

In the August 8, 1986 edition of the ''LA Times'', critic Charles Solomon made clear his dislike for the film centered primarily on the fact that none of the characters had interesting or believable motivation. He stated, "Not even the best actor can create a character out of nothing. Not one of the robots has a reason for doing what he does." Solomon then pointed to Unicron specifically as an example of the lack of deep, multi-dimensional motivations in the characters.

Over time, however, the movie has acquired something of a cult following beyond the core base of [[fandom|Transformers fans]], particularly among children of the 80s. It is sometimes screened as a midnight movie at colleges. Online, it is not hard to find amateur reviews lauding everything about it as utterly awesome, from the premise to the soundtrack, and dismissing more critical views out of hand.

To date, the budget of the film has not been disclosed—at least, not in any place the [[fandom]] has found. According to most box office tracking sites,<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers.htm</ref><ref>http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1986/0TRTM.php</ref> ''The Transformers: The Movie'' made $5,849,647 in domestic (e.g., United States) theaters. Comparing this with other animated films of 1986, the results are not particularly charitable; while it did better financially than ''[[GoBots (franchise)|GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords]]''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=gobots.htm</ref> ($1,338,264) and ''Heathcliff: The Movie''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=heathcliff.htm</ref> ($2,610,686), it performed worse than the ''[[My Little Pony]]'' movie<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mylittlepony.htm</ref> ($5,958,456) and the '''second''' ''Care Bears'' movie<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=carebearsmovie2.htm</ref> ($8,540,346). Bringing up ''The Great Mouse Detective''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=greatmousedetective.htm</ref> ($25,336,794) and ''An American Tail''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=americantail.htm</ref> ($47,483,002) would really just be overkill.

==Significance in Transfandom==
''The Transformers: The Movie'' remains one of the most important elements of the entire Transformers brand, both within the fiction and from the perspective of the brand's popularity and "mindshare".

Fictionally, it established several story concepts that have been used repeatedly in the years since 1986, some of which—such as Unicron and the Matrix—are now central to the entire Transformers mythos. The movie is also the centerpiece of the most well-known Transformers continuity: the Generation 1 animated universe. The ''Transformers'' cartoon is split into "pre-movie" and "post-movie" sections which feature different characters and settings, and even somewhat different visual styles. (Most pre-movie episodes were animated by the studio [[Toei]], while most post-movie episodes were animated by [[AKOM]].)

On a practical note, it was widely available on videotape, and remained so long after the ''The Transformers'' cartoon had gone off the air. Only a [[Family Home Entertainment|handful of series episodes]] were available on video, making ''The Transformers: The Movie'' the logical choice for someone looking to pick up a ''Transformers'' cartoon; this made it far more well-known among fans than any particular cartoon episode.

To an entire generation of young fans, the movie was the most visually spectacular and narratively epic ''Transformers'' experience of their entire youth. Events such as the death of Optimus Prime are widely reported to have reduced many kids to tears. It is hardly a surprise that these emotional experiences embedded themselves deeply in many fans' memories.

==Criticisms==
[[Image:TFTM Ratchet dies.jpg|180px|left|thumb|Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise.]]

All this is not all to say that the movie is a "masterpiece", exactly. The film met with extremely harsh critical reviews on its release, and some of those criticisms still ring true today.

The film displays an arguably cynical attitude towards itself as [[To sell toys|a vehicle for advertising toys]], especially in the way beloved characters are killed—sometimes gratuitously—for sake of justifying the story's focus on a new group of toys. (Note that with the exception of Laserbeak and possibly Buzzsaw [http://www.flickr.com/photos/42232106@N06/3893688802] the poster at the top of this article features ''only'' new characters.)

Further, the two primary plot devices—[[Unicron]] and the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]—have no prior establishment in the fiction. Unicron is given no backstory or justification; he simply exists, is very dangerous, and is afraid of the Matrix, all for no adequately explained reason. The introduction of the Matrix itself is a heavy [[retcon]]. The story asks the audience to accept that this cosmically powerful artifact has been in Prime's possession all along (even though an X-ray of Optimus Prime's innards in the second season episode "[[A Prime Problem]]" show absolutely no signs of said Matrix), but has somehow never been relevant before. In fact, this lack of prior establishment is what led [[Simon Furman]] to develop the divinity backstory of Unicron and [[Primus]] in the UK comics run.

[[Image:Megatronlightsaber.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Your powers are weak, old man!]]
The movie bears many similarities to ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'': There are several character-parallels ([[Springer (G1)|Springer]] is a [[Han Solo]]-type and [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] even has Princess Leia's hairdo!), the primary threat is similar (it's the [[Death Star]]... [[Unicron|but it transforms!]]), and both feature a climactic battle where the [[Hot Rod (G1)|young hero]] hears the voice of his [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|dead, wise mentor]] one last time before saving the day.

To be a bit more fair to ''The Transformers: The Movie'', however, most of these similarities are either superficial (Arcee's Leia-hair; Megatron's "lightsaber" he briefly uses in his duel against Optimus Prime) or can be seen as elements common to thousands of years worth of epic storytelling through human history, not just common to ''Star Wars''. As a simple example, the phenomenon of two charismatic leaders dealing each other mortal injuries in battle hearkens back to some versions of the "King Arthur" myth; in their final battle, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Arthur]] and his arch-enemy [[Megatron (G1)|Sir Mordred]] deal one another lethal injuries and both apparently expire—though Arthur according to the legend will [[The Return of Optimus Prime|return]] when [[Cybertron (planet)|England's]] need [[Darkest hour|is greatest]].

==Formatting==
[[Image:Tftm widescreenesque.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The "widescreen" picture (left) actually ''cuts off'' the top and bottom of the fullscreen picture (right).]]
Although it was billed in some advertisements before its theatrical release as being "widescreen", the movie was in fact animated in a 4:3 (fullscreen) aspect ratio. For its theatrical screenings, the film was matted down in the projector by the projectionist to a 16:9 aspect ratio (widescreen), chopping the top and bottom off the picture, but all video transfers of the movie were done without mattes, meaning that there was actually more picture visible in the fullscreen video and DVD releases than there would have been in theaters. Across 2006 and 2007, new editions of the DVD of the film were released by Sony BMG and [[Metrodome]] which applied the mattes in order to replicate the original theatrical presentation of the film for the first time in home entertainment. Some fans, however, didn't realize that the film wasn't actually ''animated'' in widescreen, and, hearing that the DVD was to be in widescreen, expected to see the fullscreen image with additional footage at the sides, causing them to complain that the top and bottom were cut off, thereby totally missing the point.

==International versions==
{{main|The Transformers: The Movie/dubs}}

==Commercial Releases==
* The movie was originally released in North America on home video in 1987 by [[Family Home Entertainment]], minus Spike's swear. Not long after, it was released in the UK by [[Video Gems]]. This version featured the opening text crawl and closing narration inherent to the UK version of the film. In Australia, the film was released on video by RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts. In Japan, Hillcrane released a Laserdisc version alongside a VHS copy.
*The movie was released spottily in the '90s, beginning with a budget VHS by Avid Home Entertainment in 1991. [[Malofilm]] released a VHS in Canada in 1995, notable for being the first home entertainment version to include Spike's swear. In 1998, Japanese company Pioneer produced another pair of Laserdisc and VHS releases. In 1999, things kicked off when American company [[Kid Rhino]] secured the Transformers license and released the film on VHS once again.
*The 21st century's flirtation with ''The Transformers: The Movie'' started with a UK budget VHS release of that country's version by [[Sony|Sony Wonder]], distributed by [[Maverick Entertainment]]. A Japanese company called CatCo followed this up with a VideoCD, and Malofilm—now Seville—were the first to release a DVD version of the film, though it was just a dump of their VHS version.
*In November 2000, ''The Transformers: The Movie'' got its first, full professional DVD release from Kid Rhino. This edition, labelled a "Special Collector's Edition", is the first to feature remastered video and audio, and several special features, including storyboards and an interview with [[Vince DiCola]]. Rhino concurrently released this version on VHS, sans extras.
*In 2001 in the UK, Sony Wonder released their own much-delayed DVD version of the film. It was the UK version of the film, but included Spike's swear. However, the release was burdened by badly interlaced video, though it notably included the [[Omni Productions]] dub version of the ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|Headmasters]]'' episode "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]" as an extra. This version (including the ''Headmasters'' episode) was simultaneously released on VHS.
*The movie was released on DVD in Australia in 2003 by [[Madman Entertainment]], using the same video as the Maverick version, but distinguished by some nifty new cover art by [[Don Figueroa]], and special features not seen on other editions, such as ''[[Stan Bush|The Touch]]'' music video and 80s TV spots.
[[Image:Tftm uk covers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The UK poster art (left) has been the most common DVD and VHS cover in its home country, but the Ultimate Edition featured new art by Andy Wildman (right).]]
*After acquiring the license to release ''Transformers'' DVDs in the UK, [[Metrodome]] focused on completing their run of series box sets before turning their attention to the movie properly, releasing only a cheap budget DVD of the UK version through Prism Leisure with no extras, and a UMD of the same version.
*In 2005, Metrodome released ''Transformers: The Movie - Reconstructed'', a new version of the film designed to expose as much of the animated picture as possible. This, however, only resulted in exposing the rough, unfinished edges of the animation, and an overly pale remaster was compounded by excessive interlacing due to an unnecessary NTSC to PAL transfer. This, coupled with a 5.1 remix from [[Magno Sound & Video]], featuring the same extra sound effects that they added to Rhino's season box sets, made this release both controversial and disappointing to many. This was the first time that the US version of the movie was released in the UK, and the first to feature the US poster art as a cover (although a Silverscreen store exclusive version of the disc included a reversible cover with the UK poster art as well). Extras include trailers, TV spots, the character biographies from the Madman release, and a subtitled version of "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]".
[[Image:Tftm sony covers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Sony's covers, by Don Figueroa.]]
*For the movie's 20th anniversary in 2006, new license holder [[Sony|Sony BMG]] released a two-disc special edition of the film, featuring both a high-quality widescreen remaster and the original fullscreen version, audio commentaries from crew and fans, several new featurettes interviewing those involved in the movie's production, storyboards, tv spots, American and Japanese commercials and more. Most notably, this version included the first Western release of "[[Scramble City: Mobilization]]", albeit silent and unsubtitled, featuring only audio commentary. This release featured two covers by Don Figueroa: one is of the '84-'85 cast that appear in the movie, and one is of the movie's new characters, available either as a lenticular hologram that switches between the two, or as a reversible sleeve with the images printed on either side.
[[Image:Tftm madman covers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Madman's 2003 DVD cover (left), and their 2007 Special Edition cover (right).]]
*Delayed a bit to coincide with the hype for the 2007 [[Transformers (2007)|live-action movie]], Metrodome also released a two-disc "Ultimate Edition" with a different widescreen master. Like "Reconstructed", this version used the US edition of the film, but this time, the UK version was also included, in fullscreen, on the second disc. Extras include TV spots, commercials, the Madman biographies, storyboards, commentary, "Scramble City" (with audio and subtitles), featurettes with [[Flint Dille]] and [[Peter Cullen]], and more. The double-disc edition was sold in a steel case featuring new art by [[Andrew Wildman]], with the UK poster art adorning the standard case inside. Various store exclusives were available, including postcards from Play.Com, a reversible cover with the US poster art from HMV, art cards from Virgin Megastore and [[posters]] from Woolworths and [[Toys"R"Us]]. It was also available in an extra-less single-disc version. This version was premiered at the Mid Ulster Film Festival in Ireland which was the only cinema showing of the remastered version of the film to date.
*The film was released in Full HD 1080p on Blu-ray in the UK in October 2007. The Blu-ray is not region-locked, so it will play anywhere in the world. It features a 2.0 soundtrack, 5.1 Dolby Digital track, and a full bitrate DTS 5.1 track. The master used was the same used by Sony for their US DVD. The picture is quite stunning and the sound very good. Sadly, there are no extras on the DVD. The version of the film on the Blu-ray is the US one, complete with swear word.
*Madman produced their two-disc special edition through some collaboration with Metrodome, and consequently it features much of the same content, with additional extras taking the form of The Touch music video and a bonus episode of ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''. This release again features cover artwork by Don Figueroa, specifically the cover of [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' adaptation.

==Notes==
* According to [[Buzz Dixon]], Hasbro's decision to kill off Optimus Prime was actually an attempt to maintain some brand-storytelling parity with ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'', as Dixon had just convinced them to allow the death of [[Duke (G.I. Joe)|Duke]] in ''[[wikipedia:G.I. Joe: The Movie|G.I. Joe: The Movie]]'' and both films were in production at the same time.<ref>http://www.joeheadquarters.com/interviews_dixon.shtml</ref>

* This film was the last professional performance by [[Orson Welles]], who died only a month later. According to production materials shown at [[BotCon 2000]] by Tim Finn, the voice recording sessions for ''The Transformers: The Movie'' were done on [[September 10]] and [[September 11|11]] of 1985. Welles died on [[October 10]] of that same year. It has often been speculated that Unicron's last line ("Destiny… you cannot destroy my destiny!") was recorded by another actor—possibly [[Leonard Nimoy|Nimoy]]—because it sounds different than the other lines. This speculation has been quashed by statements by Transformers voice director [[Wally Burr]].<ref>http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/60-astrominutes/wally-burr/wally_burr_3.html</ref>
[[Image:Windcharger wheeljack otp.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Uncle Owen! Aunt Beru!!]]

* With the exception of Starscream and possibly Shockwave, only the Autobots suffered fatalities in the movie. All of the other "dead" Decepticons from the Autobot City battle were rebuilt into Galvatron's new troops, and although more Decepticons were shown taking heavy damage and suffering huge casualties while fighting Unicron, their identities and their final condition are uncertain. Additionally, both Starscream and Unicron survived in the post-movie series in some form or another. Shockwave's death in the finished film is highly uncertain, although in the script it is fairly strongly implied. He does make some miscolored appearances in crowd shots in later cartoon episodes, but these are probably examples of the fairly common animation errors in those episodes.

* Somewhat ironically, though only three of the original eighteen Autobots - [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]], and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] - are definitively shown to have survived the movie, two would quite literally never be heard from again: [[Scatman Crothers]] passed away (though this didn't stop Jazz from making any number of background cameos) while Casey Kasem [[Casey Kasem#Notes|quit the show early in the third season]]. Fate's finger is fickle indeed.

*[[:Image:TFTM-MaybeBeachcomber.jpg|A robot resembling Beachcomber]] appears alongside Spike and the Autobots inside Unicron seconds before Daniel blasts the acid cover. Whether this was actually meant to be Beachcomber or just coincidental coloring is unknown, but regardless, Beachcomber shows up alive and well in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]".

==External links==
* [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers.htm ''The Transformers: The Movie'''s box office domestic gross.]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20080426020409/http://www.tftm.net/ ''The Transformers: The Movie'' "Unofficial Fansite", an extremely thorough site about the movie]
* [http://www.wombatking.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=4 ''The Transformers: The Movie'' deleted storyboards]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transformers: The Movie}}

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 1 media]]
[[Category:MSTF]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

The Transformers: The Movie

2011-03-11T10:32:59Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity errors */

{{disambig3|Transformers: The Movie}}

{{quote|Conceived in the epic tradition of ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]''...|[[Victor Caroli]] ain't just whistling Dixie|[[The Transformers: The Movie promo|''The Transformers: The Movie'' promo]]}}

{{episode|
|seriess=[[The Transformers (cartoon)|The Transformers]]
|prev=B.O.T. (episode)
|next=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1
|seriess2=[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (franchise)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers]]
|prev2=Scramble City: Mobilization
|title=''The Transformers: The Movie''
|image=Transformersanimatedfilmposter.jpg
|caption=Featuring the [[death]]s of all your favorite Transformers characters.
|production code=
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|writer=[[Ron Friedman]]
|directed by=[[Nelson Shin]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|release date=[[August 8]], [[1986]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''''The Transformers: The Movie''''' is an animated feature film based on the original Transformers toyline. It was released in the United States on August 8, 1986.

The film's storyline follows the same continuity as the ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|Transformers]]'' cartoon. It introduces a [[Scale|planet-sized Transformer]] called [[Unicron]] who eats other planets, and is approaching [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. As part of their continuing wars, the Autobots and Decepticons have a [[Battle of Autobot City|fierce battle]] on Earth which sees both Optimus Prime and Megatron mortally wounded. Prime passes the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to Ultra Magnus and dies, and Megatron is transformed by Unicron into [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (briefly) assumes leadership of the Decepticons, but is killed when Galvatron arrives at Cybertron. Galvatron then chases the surviving Autobots on Earth across space, splitting them up and taking the Matrix. The Autobots find their way back to each other, and follow Galvatron to Cybertron just as Unicron transforms into robot mode and begins to eat their world. Travelling inside Unicron, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] recovers the Matrix, transforms into Rodimus Prime, and uses the Matrix to destroy Unicron.

Often referred to by fans simply as "the movie" or "TFTM", the movie was a step up in almost every area from the television series, with a more sophisticated plot, more serious treatment of war and violence, a hugely ambitious scope and a greatly increased animation budget with well-known celebrities providing voice work. For these reasons the film remains very popular with children of the 1980s.

The film opens with characters who had been featured in the first two years of the toyline and associated media (cartoons, comic books, etc.), but quickly introduces new characters and kills many of the old ones to make room. In particular, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]], and [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] are all destroyed during the course of the film.

{{quote|The Japanese have funded a full-length animated cartoon about the doings of these toys, which is all bad outer-space stuff. I play a planet. I menace somebody called Something-or-other. Then I'm destroyed. My plan to destroy Whoever-it-is is thwarted and I tear myself apart on the screen.|Orson Welles<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=KlqsYy512WIC&source=gbs_navlinks_s "Orson Wells: A Biography"] page 522</ref>}}

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TFTM_Unicron_Lithone.jpg|left|200px|thumb|That's no moon.]]

A mechanical planet travels through the depths of space, attacking [[Lithone (planet)|a metal planet]] which has [[Lithone (species)|robotic inhabitants]]. Robots, vehicles, buildings, and even large chunks of rock are sucked off the surface and devoured by the monstrous planet.

It is the year 2005, and the [[Decepticon]]s are now in control of Cybertron. The [[Autobot]]s are preparing to launch an assault to retake the planet from hidden bases on two of Cybertron's moons. The Autobots launch a [[Autobot shuttle|shuttle]] to pick up a final shipment of [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] from [[Earth]] before they strike.

[[Image:Tftm1986a.jpg|right|200px|thumb|I have a bad feeling about this.]]

Plans for the attack are overheard by [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], who reports back to [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]. The Decepticons attack the Autobot shuttle en route to Earth, wiping out its crew (including [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and the [[Brawn (G1)|guy in the picture over there]]). Using the Autobots' own shuttle, the Decepticons are able to get very close to the Autobots' base on Earth, [[Autobot City]], before they are detected, and begin a devastating surprise attack on the unprepared city.

During the battle at Autobot City, both [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and Megatron suffer mortal injuries, and a number of other characters are also killed. Eventually the Decepticons retreat, but the damage suffered by the Autobots has been severe.

{{note|For an extensive synopsis of the battle, see [[Battle of Autobot City]].}}

[[Image:Tftm1986b.jpg|left|200px|thumb|If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.]]

Shortly after the battle, Prime lies on his deathbed. He passes the reins of leadership to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and gives him the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. (Though Hot Rod actually touches the Matrix before Magnus does.) Prime relates a prophecy: "One day, an Autobot shall rise from our ranks, and use the power of the Matrix to light our [[darkest hour]]." He then gives the oath, "[['Til all are one]]", and [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|dies]]. This sequence of events is observed remotely by Unicron, who appears unusually concerned by the survival of the Matrix.

The Decepticons are making their escape aboard [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], but are too heavy for him to get them all home under his own power. After putting the matter to a fair vote, the Decepticons decide to throw their injured members off the ship to better the chance of survival for the rest. One of the most severely injured Decepticons is Megatron. [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] tosses him out and claims leadership of the Decepticon army.

Megatron and the other adrift Decepticons then encounter Unicron in interstellar space. Unicron offers to rebuild Megatron and his minions in exchange for their service. Megatron agrees, and is [[Reformatting|reformatted]] into [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. The other Decepticons are turned into [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], and the [[Sweep]]s. Unicron provides them with a [[Revenge (G1)|ship]], and sends them to kill Ultra Magnus and destroy the Matrix, stating that the Matrix is the only thing which can stand in his way.

[[Image:Tftm1986c.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed.]]
Galvatron first stops at Cybertron to take his revenge by killing Starscream and reclaiming leadership of the Decepticons. Almost immediately afterwards, Unicron arrives in Cybertron's vicinity and devours at least two moons—both of the Autobots' moon bases are destroyed. Under coercion by Unicron, Galvatron finally heads to Earth to kill Ultra Magnus, but Magnus and the other surviving Autobots flee in a pair of shuttles. Eventually Galvatron manages to cause one shuttle to crash on yet another metal planet ([[Quintessa]]), and detonates the other with a volley of missiles. However, the Autobots in the second shuttle escape unnoticed by separating the front portion of their shuttle just before impact.

The Autobots in the crashed shuttle, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], [[Kup (G1)|Kup]], and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], find themselves separated and in a hostile environment. Hot Rod and Kup are captured by a squad of [[Allicon]]s and taken before a [[Quintesson]] [[Quintesson#Judges|judge]] and his court. While being held there, they learn the name and nature of Unicron from [[Kranix]], a survivor of the planet destroyed in the opening of the film, which he calls [[Lithone (planet)|Lithone]]. Meanwhile, the Dinobots encounter and befriend a young, wild Autobot named [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] who has been living alone on Quintessa. Together, they crash the trial just as Hot Rod and Kup are fighting losing odds against the Quintessons' [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]]. The tide is turned, and the Autobots commandeer a [[Quintesson spacecraft#Quintesson_Cruiser|Quintesson Cruiser]].

[[Image:Tftm1986d.jpg|left|200px|thumb|What an incredible smell you've discovered!]]
The other group of Autobots has landed on the planet [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]] to make repairs, but are attacked yet again by Galvatron, who was tipped off to their survival by Unicron. During the battle, Ultra Magnus tries to open the Matrix to use its power, but is unable to do so, and instead is killed. Galvatron absconds with the Matrix, taking it away to Unicron. The remaining Autobots—[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike's]] son [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]]—are then ambushed by [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]], the eponymous natives of Junkion, who are also giant transforming robots. This battle is cut short, however, by the arrival of Hot Rod's group in their Quintesson ship. After exchanging the [[universal greeting]] they all make friends, and the Junkions restore Ultra Magnus to life. Together, the whole group travels to Cybertron to try to recover the Matrix.

[[Image:TFTM Unicron smashes cybertron.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Rebel base in range. You may fire when ready.]]
Galvatron attempts to open the Matrix to use its power against Unicron, but is also unable to get it open. Unicron, not pleased with this attempted treachery, shocks Galvatron by transforming from a planet into a [[Scale|planet-sized robot]]. Unicron plucks Galvatron off his chest and swallows him, Matrix and all, and then begins attacking Cybertron itself. [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] scrambles the Decepticon forces to defend the planet, but they are ineffective against so large an enemy. Shortly the Autobots arrive from Junkion, and fly the Quintesson ship straight through Unicron's eye. This impact destroys the ship, and the Autobots fall out inside Unicron. Hot Rod, separated from the others, eventually runs into Galvatron. During their fight, Hot Rod gets his hands on the Matrix and hears Optimus's voice speak the words, "Arise, Rodimus Prime." Hot Rod grows in stature, adopts a much sterner demeanor, and quickly dispatches Galvatron by tossing him through Unicron's hull out into space. He then opens the Matrix, which fills Unicron with light and begins destroying him.

[[Image:Tftm1986e.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Use the Force, Luke.]]
In the meantime, the other Autobots inside Unicron have located some of their comrades from the moon bases who had been presumed dead, including [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and Daniel's father, Spike. The Autobots, including Rodimus, escape through Unicron's remaining eye just as he begins to fall apart and explode. The scene then immediately shifts to the surface of Cybertron, where—for unclear reasons—the Autobots seem to be in charge again. Rodimus predicts an era of peace and prosperity, and the film closes with a shot of Unicron's severed head still floating in orbit around Cybertron.

[['Til all are one]].
{{-}}

==Quotes==
"Such heroic nonsense."
:—'''Megatron''' coldly finishes off Ironhide. The 'Cons always get the best lines.

"I've got better things to do tonight than die!"
:—'''Springer''', telling it like it is.

"One shall stand. One shall fall."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' uttering the most quoted line of the Movie. An ass kicker cometh.

"You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of '''''sterner stuff'''''."
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s trash talk is actually [http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/sterner-stuff a lot cooler than it sounds]

"Until that day...'til all are one..."
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s final words

"Oh, how it ''pains'' me to do this." 
"Wait! I still function!" 
"Wanna ''bet''?"
:—'''Starscream''' fights back the tears as he throws '''Megatron''' out of Astrotrain.

"I have summoned you here for a purpose." 
"Nobody summons Megatron!" 
"Then it pleases me to be the first."
:—'''Unicron''' shows '''Megatron''' who's the boss.

"Who disrupts my coronation?" 
"Coronation, Starscream? This is bad comedy." 
"Megatron? Is that you?" 
"Here's a hint!"
:—'''Galvatron''' drops "hints" for '''Starscream''' like others drop anvils.

"Did we ''have'' to let them detonate three quarters of the ship?" 
"Seeing as how they would have detonated ''four'' quarters, I think it was a good choice."
:—'''Arcee''' and '''Springer'''

"For a time... I considered ''sparing'' your wretched little planet Cybertron. But now... you shall witness... its ''dismemberment''!"
:—'''Unicron''' really needs to work on his anger management skills...

"Me Grimlock kick butt!" 
:—'''Grimlock''' isn't speaking figuratively.

"Destiny... You cannot... destroy... my... destiny--AAH!!" 
:—'''Unicron''''s final words

"Let this mark the end of the Cybertronian Wars as we march forward into a new era of peace and happiness! 'Til all are one!" 
:—'''Rodimus Prime''' announces the end of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]... yeah, right.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]/Rodimus Prime ([[Judd Nelson]])
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] ([[Robert Stack]])
*[[Kup (G1)|Kup]] ([[Lionel Stander]])
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] ([[Susan Blu]])
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] ([[John Moschitta]])
*[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] ([[Gregg Berger]])
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] ([[Paul Eiding]])
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] ([[Buster Jones]])
*[[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Slag (G1)|Slag]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]]
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] ([[Scatman Crothers]])
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] ([[Dan Gilvezan]])
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] ([[Casey Kasem]])
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] ([[Don Messick]])
*[[Auto-combatant]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Eject]]
*[[Rewind]]
*[[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]]
*[[Ramhorn (G1)|Ramhorn]]
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]]
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]
*[[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]]
*[[Grapple]]
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]]
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]]
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]]
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]]* ([[Walker Edmiston]])
|c2=
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] ([[Leonard Nimoy]])
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] ([[Chris Latta]])
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] ([[Roger C. Carmel]])
*[[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] ([[Stan Jones]])
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] ([[Arthur Burghardt]])
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] ([[Don Messick]])
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]]
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]]
*[[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] ([[Hal Rayle]])
*[[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] ([[Clive Revill]])
*[[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] ([[Jack Angel]])
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] ([[Bud Davis]])
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] ([[Ed Gilbert]])
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]]
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]]
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]
*[[Sweep]]s
*[[Cyclonus's Armada]]
|h3=[[Junkion (species)|Junkions]]|c3=
*[[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] ([[Eric Idle]])
*[[Scrapheap (G1)|Scrapheap]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Rubbish]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Re-Cycle]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Trashbin]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Junkyard (G1)|Junkyard]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[HAZMAT]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Ashtray]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Wasteoid Gamma]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Greasestain]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
|h4=Others|c4=
'''[[Human]]s'''
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] ([[David Mendenhall]])

'''[[Lithone (species)|Lithones]]'''
*[[Kranix]] ([[Norman Alden|Norm Alden]])
*[[Arblus]] ([[Norman Alden|Norm Alden]])

'''[[Quintesson]]s'''
*[[Quintesson]] leader ([[Roger C. Carmel]])
*[[Quintesson#Judges|Quintesson judge]] ([[Regis Cordic|Rege Cordic]])
*[[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]]
*[[Allicon]]s

'''Other'''
*[[Unicron]] ([[Orson Welles]])
|nonumbering=true
}}
<nowiki>*</nowiki>Credited, but did not appear.

==Animation errors==
* When Unicron is approaching Lithone at the start of the movie, at the line "Look, it's Unicron!", a [[Animation error#Sizing errors|cel stacking error]] results in Unicron's ring appearing in front of a building arch, [[Distribution|making Unicron look very tiny]] in that shot. In the next shot, it is clear that Unicron is several times larger than the entire planet of Lithone.
* The inside of one of the Lithonian ships being devoured by Unicron is visible for a couple of frames. The pilot of the ship appears to be Kranix, even though he apparently screams out Kranix's name, and Kranix appears later in the Quintesson prison.
* When the inside of Unicron is shown after he devours Lithone, the "blinking energy" effect of Unicron's innards was apparently achieved by recycling backgrounds from other animated TV shows or movies. A frame by frame viewing reveals what appear to be several images of post-apocalyptic buildings inside Unicron.
* When Optimus Prime asks Jazz to report security status, it shows both Jazz and Cliffjumper. Cliffjumper is seen twiddling knobs above the actual drawn computer, as if a section was supposed to be present.
*When the closeup of Cliffjumper doing his countdown is shown, his shoulders are blue (like his windows) instead of red.
* When the Decepticons blow a hole through the Autobot shuttle to get in, it is a clean break. However, Megatron is still shown ripping through random ship components to get in.
* Scavenger's head is white instead of black as he ducks from Prowl's shot.
* When the Decepticons are killing the Autobot shuttle crew, there is one of the common Starscream/Skywarp/Thundercracker miscolors. Megatron transforms into gun mode and Starscream catches him, killing Brawn. When they cut back to the Decepticons, Starscream is in front of the Constructicons without Megatron and is firing one of his arm rifles (this probably should have been Skywarp or Thundercracker). When they cut back to the Decepticons for the third time, Starscream has Megatron again and is finishing off the rest of the Autobots. In the shot of Starscream firing his own lasers, his wings are red instead of gray.
* When the Decepticons fly to the shuttle's controls, all of the Autobots have changed positions from when they fell—Brawn is now on his back, for example, while Prowl is now face-down. Ironhide's chest is also completely intact, despite having a bunch of holes blown in it.
* Hot Rod has at least two totally different transformation schemes during the course of the film.
* When Kup and several Autobots at the roadblock react to Hot Rod's attack on the hijacked Autobot shuttle, Bluestreak is represented by Prowl's [[Character model|animation model]], in Bluestreak's grey and black colours.
* Sunstreaker appears with Kup's group on Earth as they observe Hot Rod firing on Ironhide's shuttle. Sunstreaker later appears as Optimus Prime's co-pilot when they arrive on Earth with the Dinobots, and is seen disembarking the shuttle along with Optimus Prime and Hound.
* In a wide aerial shot of the city under attack, a Reflector flies by in Ironhide's color scheme. Shockwave also makes his only appearance in the battle; considering both his role as Cybertron's guardian and his absence from any other scenes during the battle, his presence is probably an animation error. Rumble also flies past, despite being inside Soundwave at this point.
* Blaster's forehead is red instead of white after his "look out and shout!" line, and again after he returns to robot mode.
* A laser blast that should be behind Blaster is instead layered in front of him as he acknowledges Perceptor's orders.
* In the big lineup of firing Decepticons, Soundwave's cheek guards are blue instead of white.
* When [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] sends out his cassette troops, [[FIRRIB|Rumble is the same color as Frenzy]].
* Blaster first ejects what looks like Eject, who stays blue up until he gets to the edge of the screen. He then turns black like Rewind. Then Blaster ejects another blue cassette, which after about a second turns black. This one gets through half his transformation colored black, then turns blue for a split second then turns black again. Then, when the cassettes are fighting each other, Eject runs in from the left and jumps over Perceptor. And then he runs in from the left ''again'' to shoot Ravage. Suddenly [[Brawl (Movie)|Brawl/Devastator]] doesn't look so bad, does he?
* As Springer runs up to the launcher, Wheeljack's body is visible, but he's in red, white and blue colors.
* While Springer and Arcee are trying to move the launcher into place, Springer's face is the same color as his helmet.
* When Devastator forms in Autobot City, his chest plate is the same green as the rest of him. In the next shot, it's the usual purple. However, it promptly turns green again in the next shot.
* As Devastator lays into the walls, Shrapnel is white where he should be black.
* While Perceptor and Grapple are shooting, Swoop's lower half runs by in the foreground, long before the rest of him gets there.
* Megatron's pelvis is white instead of black as he gives the "let the slaughter begin!" order.
* Prime's dramatic transformation sequence far outlasts the transformation sound that's supposed to go with it. It's also the wrong sound (ascending pitch) for his robot-to-vehicle transformation. His trailer is also missing the Autobot logo, which reappears for the rest of the scene.
* When Prime drives up behind the Decepticons, Blitzwing's head is tan instead of purple. It becomes purple when he turns it, then goes back to tan again as he turns it back.
* Prime is missing the transformation sound as he blasts back to robot mode.
* The gun Megatron uses to fatally injure Optimus is blue and white for most of the shots it is seen in, but when Megatron screams "Fall! FALL!" while shooting Prime again, it is black.
* Prime's antennae are white as he tries to stand after knocking Megatron off the ledge.
* As he orders Astrotrain to take off, Starscream's face is gray instead of black.
* Starscream's whole nosecone, rather than just the canopy, is yellow as he looms over Megatron.
* When Optimus Prime takes the Matrix out of his chest to give to Ultra Magnus, there is another Matrix beneath it in his chest. (On which note, see also ''[[Matrix of Leadership#Universe|Matrix of Leadership, Universe comic]].'') Also, he initially grabs just the core of the Matrix, while the rest of the scene shows the entire assembly.
* When Ultra Magnus accepts the Matrix, he's seen inserting it into his chest twice, or at best readjusting its "fit".
* As the other Decepticons prepare to push him out, Bombshell's chest is rendered as a shapeless gray mass, rather than with its yellow canopy.
* The voice that says "Don't!" is nowhere close to the voices of any of the five Decepticons shown getting thrown out of Astrotrain.
* Starscream's got an extra yellow segment on his canopy as he nominates himself for leadership. Man, even the A-list animation team couldn't keep this straight.
* Most of Megatron's chest emblem isn't colored in as he first speaks to Unicron. It might pass for battle damage, but a few shots later it's fully purple.
[[Image:Coronation .jpg|thumb|right|250px| *''trumpet fanfare''* ]]
* Even after the [[Battle of Autobot City]], characters who are supposedly dead continue to appear in crowd shots and battles. Shrapnel's role in the fight on [[Junkion (planet)|Junk]] is the most noticeable (and he was called for by name in the original script), but Thundercracker, Skywarp and Kickback can all be seen at Starscream's coronation. The two jets are later seen again, flying into Unicron's mouth.
* Hook has two eyes instead of a visor as he looks around in confusion during the trumpet scene.
* An early establishing shot clearly shows Cybertron with two and ''only'' two moons in low orbit. Yet a third moon is visible right after Unicron finishes eating the two Autobot bases.
* When Cyclonus is strafing the Autobot shuttle in space, he briefly flies offscreen, and during that time his laser blasts come from a point that in no way matches his flight path.
* Daniel's lips don't purse when he whistles.
* Wreck-Gar's mouth doesn't move at all during his first lines, despite the camera pushing in all close on his face.
* Shrapnel's lower legs are white when he lands on Junk, instead of black. Must be a side effect of being dead.
* During the Junkion chase scene, Trashbin attacks Arcee. When she fights him off his motorcycle, his model is switched for Junkyard's when he falls down.
* When Hot Rod tells the Junkions the universal greeting, the Autobot insignia on his chest is coloured black.
* When Grimlock gets kissed, his eyes are round instead of triangular.
* When Unicron transforms, the first hand we see (his right) is backwards relative to how the arm is shown on screen.
* After transforming, Unicron has all-white hands (instead of white with gold knuckles) and a white, rectangular chin (instead of the double-triangular chin with a goatee) he has later.
* As Hot Rod falls off one of Unicron's inner cones, his lower body isn't drawn in. It looks like it should be blocked by our view of the cone, but is layered above it instead..
* Hot Rod's missing his Autobot symbol as he regains his footing inside Unicron.
* During the same sequence, we see a standard=looking control panel next to Hot Rod. It's unlikely Galvatron had time to create one inside Unicron, so where did it come from?
* As the Dinobots fly around Unicron, both his eyes are intact (the left one has been shattered).
* As the Dinobots fly away from Unicron, the spikes on Grimlock's right arm are gray instead of gold.
* The third smelting victim (who looks a lot like another Bumblebee) doesn't fall from the conveyor belt; he simply vanishes.

== Continuity errors ==
[[Image:G1TFTM Snarl cameo.JPG|thumb|right|250px|He used to bulls-eye womp-rats in his T16 back home.]]

* The Dinobot [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] is mysteriously absent from almost the entire movie, even though the Dinobots as a group are featured prominently. Copies of the script which have come into fans' hands repeatedly list the Dinobots, but never make mention of Snarl by name. In fact, at one point the script refers to "the four Dinobots". Despite this, Snarl does appear in three very brief shots{{m-}}in which at least one other Dinobot (Swoop in one, Sludge in another) is entirely absent. Hmm.
* Also curiously absent are the 1985 Autobot cars and Mini-Vehicles, such as Inferno, Smokescreen, Cosmos, Warpath, etc. It would seem that these characters were available at the time of the movie:
** Perceptor and Blaster both debuted at the same time in the cartoon as the 1985 cars, and both play prominent roles in the movie.
** Grapple is [[:Image:BattleAutobotCity.jpg|seen ''very'' briefly]] during the battle for Autobot City.
** The 1985 Decepticons (Astrotrain, Dirge, etc.) appear in the film.
** [[:Image:TFTM-SideswipeRedAlertTracks.jpg|Tracks]], [[:Image:TFTM-RedAlertDown.jpg|Red Alert]] and Smokescreen (who was supposed to be the corpse in place of Wheeljack next to Windcharger) all appeared in storyboards but not the finished film.
* Devastator is treated as ''the'' ultimate threat, while in the cartoon, his role (and apparent power) was already being [[Starscream's Brigade|severely diminished]], presumably because several other combiners had been introduced. In story terms, the absence of these newer combiners, not to mention the mighty Omega Supreme, is inexplicable. In real-life terms, those characters didn't exist when the film commenced production. (The [[Transformers: The Animated Movie]] adaptation shows Omega Supreme, Superion and Defensor guarding the Ark against an attack by Bruticus and Menasor, attempting to [[retcon]] the problem away.)
[[Image:Cyclonus armada tftf.jpg|thumb|right|250px|We'll be safe enough once we make the jump into lightspeed.]]
* The existence of Cybertron's moons is contentious ''at best''.
** On the one hand, in numerous close and distant shots of the planet throughout the first two seasons, not a single moon was seen. Ever. Even after it got knocked out of Earth's orbit.
** On the other hand, Megatron ''does'' refer to Cybertron as "land of the metal moon" (note the singular) during "[[Microbots]]", suggesting otherwise. The fact that he was overenergized at the time and lost consciousness in mid-sentence - just before he ''might'' have specified a plural number of moons, (in)conveniently enough - makes it unclear just how much credence we should lend this statement.
** The movie promptly introduces two (possibly three) moons over the planet. In continuity terms, they must either have highly elliptical orbits with periapsides (points in their orbits that bring them closest to the planet) that just happened to coincide with the timeframe of the movie or they were constructed sometime after 1986.
* During the Battle of Autobot City, Starscream gets his leg caught. He shoots downward and gets away while screaming "My foot!", but it's his shin that's smoking while his foot looks fine. Later he kicks Megatron with the same foot. Shouldn't that hurt, according to him? Note there is a time lapse between the "foot shooting" and the kicking, leaving the option of a battlefield repair.
* Prime apparently just set his blaster down before confronting Megatron. If it was out of power, why does he pick it up again when Kup tells him to finish Megatron off? If it wasn't, why didn't he have it during the battle?
* So Ultra Magnus just happens to have a ready-made Matrix chamber installed in his chest cavity? Is this standard issue for all Autobots?
* The cartoon had already established that Astrotrain increases his size when he transforms to shuttle mode, being large enough to carry a pair of Decepticons in his cockpit. However, within the movie itself, his size is [[scale|noticeably inconsistent]]: When he leaves Autobot City, he's just large enough for the Decepticon army to cram themselves in; later, he's so huge that the Constructicons can quite comfortably form Devastator inside him.
* Speaking of Astrotrain, his entire body flips over when he transforms from train to space shuttle to escape from Autobot City. The Decepticons inside must have ''loved'' that!
* The number of minions created by Unicron changes throughout the film, with more Sweeps appearing as the story progresses. A second Cyclonus ("Cyclonus, the warrior, and [[Cyclonus's Armada|his armada]]") is shown being created but disappears shortly thereafter. At least ''seven'' new characters are shown at one point, created from only ''six'' Decepticons thrown from the shuttle.

[[Image:SSBQ.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"I've been looking forward to this for a long time." "Yes, I bet you have."]]
* [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] is capable of reducing [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] to ashes with a single shot from his cannon mode. Though in later episodes Galvatron is shown blowing up even small ''[[Thrull|planets]]'' with his cannon, his extraordinary killing power seems to be gone—like when he scores a direct hit in cannon mode on Ultra Magnus in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]" and Magnus isn't especially hurt at all, or how a similar blast against Scourge in "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]" only leaves the latter temporarily incapacitated. [[Marvel Comics]] bios explain this by suggesting that Galvatron had nearly limitless power through Unicron... but then again, Galvatron himself claims to be "more powerful than ever" after Unicron is dead. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2}} [[To sell toys|Who knows.]]
* Why didn't anyone notice Unicron until he was within devouring distance of Cybertron's moons?
* Despite running out of energon goodies on Quintessa, Hot Rod has at least one to offer to the Junkions. Maybe he got some on the ship. It's also possible that, when he told the Allicons "No more," he meant that he wasn't going to ''feed'' them any more energon goodies, not that he didn't ''have'' anymore.
* Daniel, who was just learning how to use his exo-suit, had to knock down the acid cover inside Unicron to save his loved ones. Why couldn't the more experienced Spike do the same with his suit from above? He had both of his arms free and a clear shot at the cover. On the other hand, the clamp holding him may well disable his exo-suit's weapons and movement abilities-if it didn't, Unicron probably wouldn't have eaten half as many victims by now...
* It's not clear how Rodimus Prime (carrying two humans) and the other Autobots survived their jump out of Unicron's eye and their plunge towards the surface of Cybertron.
* It's also unclear just how the dozen or so Autobots (and one shipload of Junkions) managed to retake the whole planet of Cybertron. Did Unicron really wipe out ''that'' many Decepticons?
* When the Autobots are repairing Autobot City, Blaster is present, but a few minutes later, he's nowhere to be seen. And he isn't seen getting on one of the shuttles. It is possible that they took off without him, but Daniel noticed Arcee was not on board. Guess he cares more about Arcee than Blaster.
* Ultra Magnus blows up, but later his parts are just in individual sections. The Junkions place them together and shine him up, and he's fine! No welding or reprogramming, no replacing damaged parts...
* Makes you wonder why they couldn't fly Prime's body over and repair it, too. At the end of season three, we find out the Matrix can be given back to him, so that's not the issue...

===Not Necessarily Errors===
* Fans have noted throughout the years that Astrotrain, in his flight through zero-gravity space, should not have needed to "jettison some weight" in the literal sense. However, since the ejected Decepticons quickly fall behind Astrotrain instead of floating alongside him, he must still have been accelerating and thus would have needed to burn a greater amount of fuel in order to push a larger payload. Perhaps he should have said "jettison some ''mass''", but then again, just being a spaceship doesn't make him a rocket scientist.
* Starscream is shown just inside Astrotrain's cargo bay when he commands him to take off, but in the next shot (Astrotrain's door closing as his rocket engines ignite), Starscream is nowhere to be seen. It's possible that he walked further in, but he should still be at least partially visible.

==Continuity notes==
* The Movie has had a huge effect in shaping the mythos. Among the elements and characters which would reappear in many other iterations of Transformers are:
** The notion that Cybertron has moons
** The Matrix as a physical object, rather than the computer program previously depicted in the Marvel Comics. Even the Marvel Comics would eventually shoehorn this one in.
** Autobot City
** Unicron
** The notion of Megatron becoming Galvatron
** And it killed off Optimus Prime before it was cool!
** What makes Starscream the leader? Chucking a near-dead Megatron into space!
* Gadgets and powers:
** Springer deploys a small flip-out twin laser from his wrist during the Autobot City battle.
** Arcee and Hot Rod both activate a long-distance scanner of some sort by lowering a red visor from under their helmets over their eyes.
** Hot Rod uses a saw blade that extends from his retracted wrist.
** Blurr has the same kind of hooked welding tip used by various Autobots as far back as "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]".
** Arcee unleashes a nasty barbed post from her fender to fend off a Junkion.
** Grimlock shows the never-before seen ability to shoot lasers from his fists.

==Real-world references and Easter eggs==
* When Sludge gets haymakered by Devastator, his eyes pop out of their sockets in ''[[Wikipedia:Looney Tunes|Looney Tunes]]'' fashion.
* Kup's storytelling sequence aboard the shuttle is drawn from the novel ''[[Wikipedia:Of Mice and Men|Of Mice and Men]]'', complete with Grimlock in the Lenny role asking Kup to "tell Grimlock about petrorabbits again".

* The Quintesson jail cell includes robot debris ''strongly'' resembling the mobile suits [[Wikipedia:Gundam Mk-II|RX-178 Gundam MK II]] and the [[Wikipedia:Z Gundam|MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam]] from 1985 Japanese animation ''[[Wikipedia:Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam|Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam]]''.

* The Junkions speak almost entirely in pop culture quotes and pastiches. Littered among the generic phrases like "operators are standing by!", "Film at eleven" and "eliminate even the toughest stains" are more specific references, such as:
** "Don't look behind door #2, Monty!" - a reference to the game show ''[[Wikipedia:Let's Make a Deal|Let's Make a Deal]]'' and its host, [[Wikipedia:Monty Hall|Monty Hall]].
** "Ger-ronny-doo-ron-ron-ronny-mo!" - both the famous "[[Wikipedia:Geronimo (exclamation)|Geronimo!]]" war cry, and the 1963 hit "[[Wikipedia:Da Doo Ron Ron|Da Doo Ron Ron]]".
** "You check in, but you don't check out" - a parody of the tagline for [[Wikipedia:Roach Motel (insect trap)|Roach Motel]] insect traps.
** "Happy motoring!" - the slogan of gas company [[Wikipedia:Esso|Esso]].

* ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects (yes, even the high-budget Movie uses them):
** The ''[[Millennium Falcon]]'' engine burst noise is used extensively throughout the film, over and over and over, almost any time a Decepticon takes flight.

** [[Luke Skywalker]]'s deactivating [[lightsaber]] is used as the sound of the Quintesson ship's ramp extending.
** Clashing lightsabers are used as Unicron fires eye-blasts at the attacking Transformers.

** An igniting lightsaber is used as Rodimus opens the Matrix.
* The ''Star Trek'' sliding door sound is used as Wreck-Gar pulls out his <s>iPhone</s> mini-TV.
* Also, the sound used for the communicators on Star Trek was used when Daniel was activating his blaster to save Spike

==Adaptations==
*[[Transformers: The Movie (Marvel Comics)|A comic adaptation of the movie]] was published by [[Marvel Comics]] in 1986, concurrently with the movie's theater run. It was based off a non-finalized version of the script, and differs in many details from the final film. Additionally, most of the major character models (and possibly their unedited original character write-ups) appear in Issue #4 of the ''[[Transformers Universe (Marvel comic)|Transformers Universe]]'' series.
* [[Transformers the Movie (Ladybird adaptation)|A storybook adaptation]] was released in the UK by [[Ladybird Books]].
*A four-part adaptation was released in 2006/2007 by [[IDW Publishing]], as part of the film's 20th anniversary celebration. It was titled ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' to differentiate it from the [[Michael Bay]] [[Transformers (2007)|live-action film]]. Unlike its predecessor, it adheres rigidly to the script and plot of the finished movie.

==Soundtrack==
{{main|The Transformers: The Movie - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack}}

==Promotions==
* Early in the movie's production, a [[The Transformers: The Movie promo|promotional trailer]] was made to sell the project to potential investors.
* The movie was advertised on related 1986 toy packages via the [[Decipher the Decepticon]] Sweepstakes, which included a pack-in poster and contest.
* The movie was heavily advertised directly by TV [[commercial]]s, and tail-end segments on Transformer toy ads. Portions of its story were also retold in altered fashion by animation segments of commercials for the movie character toys, such as a spot showing Springer doing battle with Wreck-Gar.

==In the comic continuity==
The [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel UK comic]] made extensive use of the Movie as the basis for a series of stories involving the Transformers in the future. However there are several differences between the events seen on screen and those referenced in the comic:

*The comic always dates the movie to 2006, following the date given in a treatment that was all [[Simon Furman]] had when he wrote [[Target: 2006]].
*In Target: 2006, [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] states that he was previously "[[Life Spark]]".
*The Matrix is always called the "Creation Matrix" in the comic, a name that predates the "Matrix of Leadership" but which is now used for the same physical object.
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] both survive the events, both later appearing in [[Space Pirates!]] (set in 2008).

In addition, Shockwave definitely survives the attack by Unicron.

The US comic almost completely ignored the events of the Movie, though later in the run an alternative future is briefly shown in "[[Rhythms of Darkness!]]" and "[[A Savage Circle]]". In this timeline at least some of the events of the Movie took place such as the creation of Galvatron from Megatron, which is dated to 2005, though Prowl's death was overlooked. [[Prowl II|Wouldn't be the first time. Or the last.]]
*The US version of the future story [[The Big Broadcast of 2006 (issue)|The Big Broadcast of 2006]] implicitly has the events of the movie as part of its backstory. However, since the rest of the US series ignored the movie, this issue's place in the continuity is questionable.

==Edits==
Several English-language versions of the film exist, with the following differences in content from the American theatrical run:

* In some versions (notably the European version) the opening credits are replaced with a scrolling text ("''Star Wars'' style") which provides backstory.
* In some versions (notably the European version) the film ends with [[Victor Caroli|a narrator]] reassuring the audience that Optimus Prime will return.
* Instances of swearing in the film (there are two) were edited out; sometimes one, sometimes both. Those instances are: Spike yelling, "Oh shit, what are we gonna do now?" after the self-destructing Moon Base 2 fails to scratch Unicron, and Ultra Magnus growling, "Open, damn it, open!" while trying to open the Matrix to fend off Galvatron and the Sweeps on Junkion. The United Kingdom cinema version had the swearing included but, when it was released on VHS in the United Kingdom, Spike's line was cut ("damn" not being considered offensive in the UK). However it has been restored on all United Kingdom DVD releases.
* In some early FHE video releases, the shot of the Matrix falling out of Optimus Prime's hand and being caught by Hot Rod is edited so that it appears that Ultra Magnus simply takes the Matrix from Prime. Why this was done is not known, and the replay of the Hot Rod catch on Unicron's monitors was left intact.
*Instead of DEG, the [[wikipedia:Rank Organiztion|Rank Film]] "gong man" appears before the film, as Rank were the United Kingdom distributors.

None of these edits significantly affect the story. They should not be confused with various other sequences which were changed before the film's final release:

* Originally, Ultra Magnus's "death sequence" on Junkion called for him to be lassoed and drawn and quartered by the Sweeps' energy beams, but this was deemed too graphic for audiences, hence the less disturbing "shot to death" sequence seen instead. There is evidence that the original sequence had been fully animated when the decision was made, however; the Sweeps still kept their solid energy lassos when they fire upon Magnus, and Magnus is seen visibly straining against what appears to be said lassos (edited out and replaced with laser fire) before exploding.
* A number of other sequences were illustrated as [[storyboard]]s but dropped, presumably without ever being animated. Among them were:
** A short scene showing Ironhide piloting the Autobot shuttle through ''huge chunks of ice'' from the tail of a passing comet, explaining how the Decepticons caught them unawares. In response to a reprimand by Prowl who prickishly disapproves of Ironhide's piloting shenanigans, Ironhide exclaims, "I can sure as shootin' dodge a couple of ice chunks". When the Autobots are suddenly jolted by the Decepticon strike force as Megatron and his troops attempt to enter the shuttle, Ironhide tells the others on board, "That was no ice chunk...". Heroic nonsense ensues...
** An extended sequence with Hot Rod and Daniel outside the city.
** A sequence of Mirage blasting Bombshell and being fired on by Megatron.
** The Autobots finally bringing down Devastator with a barrage of missiles (and the Constructicons subsequently shooting Red Alert in the back).
** The Decepticons dogpiling Optimus Prime, explaining why he seems to be standing up just before his fight with Megatron, and no longer holding his rifle. According to storyboards, Prime gets bum-rushed by Blitzwing (who causes Prime to drop his gun), Starscream, Astrotrain, and Skywarp. While it is not clear how Prime defeated the first four hand-to-hand combatants, Dirge is later shown attempting one final sneak attack (and gets his can handed back to him) as Prime is talking to Megatron before the two leaders' final fight.
** Trailbreaker is shown dead among the wreckage of Autobot City as the Decepticons begin their retreat.
:Some of these concepts were in earlier versions of the script, and hence made it into the comic adaptation.
* Rumors have occasionally circulated in the fandom of additional animated footage that was dropped from the film, such as ultra-violent battle scenes. No evidence has ever surfaced to back these claims; the only known edits are those listed in this section.
:{{see|Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers#The Transformers: The Movie|Urban legends about ''The Transformers: The Movie''}}

==Reception==
{{quote|''The Transformers'', in which Orson Welles plays a planet, is pure headache material. Target audience of cartoon-watchers also will probably find the film unintelligible, noisy and unoriginal. Boxoffice prospects are dismal.|2=[http://books.google.com/books?id=DHNZAAAAMAAJ&q=Hasbro+Transformers&dq=Hasbro+Transformers&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=1983&as_maxm_is=12&as_maxy_is=2005&num=50&as_brr=0&cd=69 Variety's Film Reviews 1985-1986, Volume 19]}}

{{quote|Obnoxious animated feature about the title good guys, who defend the universe against an evil planet (which has a voice of its own... provided by Orson Welles.) That deafening rock score certainly doesn't help. Little more than a feature-length toy commercial.|Leonard Maltin, ''1987 Movie & Video Guide''}}

{{quote|While all this action may captivate young children, the animation is not spectacular enough to dazzle adults, and the Transformers have few truly human elements to lure parents along, even when their voices are supplied by well-known actors. |2=[http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/09/movies/screen-transformers-animation-for-children.html The New York Times]}}

{{quote|Transformers -- The Movie, a feature-length animated film inspired by the syndicated TV cartoon series inspired by the Hasbro toy imported from Japan, is utterly uninspired entertainment. |2=[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3CE8EA8D40CCA&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM The Dallas Morning News]}}

{{quote|If you can swallow, without gagging, a large measure of sentimental and offensive religiosity - lines like "Do not grieve. Soon I will be one with the Matrix," whispered by a failing hunk of Autobot metal - then you have a better than even chance of leaving the theatre on your own two feet. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=01kiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W6gFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2445,1286000&dq=transformers&hl=en The Montreal Gazette]}}

{{quote|Everything is poorly drawn and - when it's in focus - one dimensional. It is terribly hard to separate the robots from the backgrounds, and there is no easy way to tell the good guys from the bad guys. In an earlier movie based on the same sort of robot toys - "Go-Bots: The Battle of the Rock Lords" - the good guys were either white or colorful and the bad guys were dreary, and they had distinct personalities. Not this movie; everyone looks and sounds alike, except one pink robot who is a female good guy. Her tin voluptuousness makes her stand out. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kw4wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OgMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6957,6334152&dq=transformers&hl=en The Toledo Blade]}}

{{quote|Even with an all-star cast doing the voice overs... and a rock music score, this is still nothing more than a ripoff of a successful toy line. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AYckAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dtsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4192,1494652&dq=transformers&hl=en The Palm Beach Post]}}

{{quote|The great animated villains, like the Wicked Queen in Disney's "Snow White," had motivations as compelling as any live-action character. Unicron apparently destroys entire worlds because it has nothing else to do. |2=[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/57996397.html?dids=57996397:57996397&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+8%2C+1986&author=CHARLES+SOLOMON&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=8&desc=%60THE+TRANSFORMERS%27%3A+STRETCHING+A+POINT The LA Times]}}

''The Transformers: The Movie'' was almost universally panned by professional critics upon its release.

Well-known film critic and animation enthusiast, Leonard Maltin, gave it a rating below 1 1/2 stars in his ''1987 Movie & Video Guide'', regarding it as a "bomb", then proceeded to write an unflattering blurb denouncing the film as a "feature-length toy commercial" (well, he was ''right'').

Caryn James of the ''New York Times'' admitted in the [[August 9]], 1986 edition of the paper that the film was intended for young children, pointing out that the kids in the audience were having a grand ole time with the ''Transformer'' toys and comics they brought with them to the theater, but derided the film as having little to no appeal to adults (''man-children'', on the other hand...).

''Variety's Film Reviews 1985-1986, Volume 19 '' was far less even-handed in their review, claiming the film had no appeal to adults ''or'' children. They predicted the film would perform poorly in the box office (and were correct, in that regard).

Carrie Rickey of the ''Dallas Morning News'' chided the film in the [[August 13]], 1986 issue of the paper, describing it as "essentially a cartoon ''Star Wars'' about robots from a toybox galaxy far, far away". She then went on to say that the film "never takes off" and derided it as "uninspired".

Janice Kennedy of the ''Montreal Gazette'' verbally disemboweled the film in the [[August 23]], 1986 edition of the paper, criticizing it as overly commercial, profane, loud, violent, humorless, heavy-handed in its religious messages and chaulk-full of gratuitous celebrity voice-overs. Her only compliment: "But ''The Transformers: The Movie'' does have at least one good thing going for it, a howlingly appropriate song by [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]. It's title? ''Dare to be Stupid''." ''Ouch''.

Nanciann Cherry in the August 13, 1986 edition of the ''Toledo Blade'' claimed the robots in the movie had little personality and faded into the background. She even went on to say that ''Challenge of the GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords'' was a superior film! Her review was filled with inaccuracies, however, citing characters such as "Unicon" and claiming that the destruction of Cybertron's moons by "Unicon" is what caused the Autobots to travel to Autobot City, at which point Megatron attacked. To be fair, she readily admits, "About 20 minutes into the film, I gave up on the plot and tried to count all the ideas that were stolen from other sources. Now that kept me busy." So she wasn't really paying attention, anyway.

Kathryn Buxton in the [[August 22]], 1986 edition of the ''Palm Beach Post'' gave the film a whopping ''one'' star, calling it "a ripoff of a successful toyline", whatever ''that'' means. In the same article, she also gave David Cronenberg's ''[[Fly|The Fly]]'' one star, just for reference.

In the August 8, 1986 edition of the ''LA Times'', critic Charles Solomon made clear his dislike for the film centered primarily on the fact that none of the characters had interesting or believable motivation. He stated, "Not even the best actor can create a character out of nothing. Not one of the robots has a reason for doing what he does." Solomon then pointed to Unicron specifically as an example of the lack of deep, multi-dimensional motivations in the characters.

Over time, however, the movie has acquired something of a cult following beyond the core base of [[fandom|Transformers fans]], particularly among children of the 80s. It is sometimes screened as a midnight movie at colleges. Online, it is not hard to find amateur reviews lauding everything about it as utterly awesome, from the premise to the soundtrack, and dismissing more critical views out of hand.

To date, the budget of the film has not been disclosed—at least, not in any place the [[fandom]] has found. According to most box office tracking sites,<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers.htm</ref><ref>http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1986/0TRTM.php</ref> ''The Transformers: The Movie'' made $5,849,647 in domestic (e.g., United States) theaters. Comparing this with other animated films of 1986, the results are not particularly charitable; while it did better financially than ''[[GoBots (franchise)|GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords]]''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=gobots.htm</ref> ($1,338,264) and ''Heathcliff: The Movie''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=heathcliff.htm</ref> ($2,610,686), it performed worse than the ''[[My Little Pony]]'' movie<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mylittlepony.htm</ref> ($5,958,456) and the '''second''' ''Care Bears'' movie<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=carebearsmovie2.htm</ref> ($8,540,346). Bringing up ''The Great Mouse Detective''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=greatmousedetective.htm</ref> ($25,336,794) and ''An American Tail''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=americantail.htm</ref> ($47,483,002) would really just be overkill.

==Significance in Transfandom==
''The Transformers: The Movie'' remains one of the most important elements of the entire Transformers brand, both within the fiction and from the perspective of the brand's popularity and "mindshare".

Fictionally, it established several story concepts that have been used repeatedly in the years since 1986, some of which—such as Unicron and the Matrix—are now central to the entire Transformers mythos. The movie is also the centerpiece of the most well-known Transformers continuity: the Generation 1 animated universe. The ''Transformers'' cartoon is split into "pre-movie" and "post-movie" sections which feature different characters and settings, and even somewhat different visual styles. (Most pre-movie episodes were animated by the studio [[Toei]], while most post-movie episodes were animated by [[AKOM]].)

On a practical note, it was widely available on videotape, and remained so long after the ''The Transformers'' cartoon had gone off the air. Only a [[Family Home Entertainment|handful of series episodes]] were available on video, making ''The Transformers: The Movie'' the logical choice for someone looking to pick up a ''Transformers'' cartoon; this made it far more well-known among fans than any particular cartoon episode.

To an entire generation of young fans, the movie was the most visually spectacular and narratively epic ''Transformers'' experience of their entire youth. Events such as the death of Optimus Prime are widely reported to have reduced many kids to tears. It is hardly a surprise that these emotional experiences embedded themselves deeply in many fans' memories.

==Criticisms==
[[Image:TFTM Ratchet dies.jpg|180px|left|thumb|Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise.]]

All this is not all to say that the movie is a "masterpiece", exactly. The film met with extremely harsh critical reviews on its release, and some of those criticisms still ring true today.

The film displays an arguably cynical attitude towards itself as [[To sell toys|a vehicle for advertising toys]], especially in the way beloved characters are killed—sometimes gratuitously—for sake of justifying the story's focus on a new group of toys. (Note that with the exception of Laserbeak and possibly Buzzsaw [http://www.flickr.com/photos/42232106@N06/3893688802] the poster at the top of this article features ''only'' new characters.)

Further, the two primary plot devices—[[Unicron]] and the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]—have no prior establishment in the fiction. Unicron is given no backstory or justification; he simply exists, is very dangerous, and is afraid of the Matrix, all for no adequately explained reason. The introduction of the Matrix itself is a heavy [[retcon]]. The story asks the audience to accept that this cosmically powerful artifact has been in Prime's possession all along (even though an X-ray of Optimus Prime's innards in the second season episode "[[A Prime Problem]]" show absolutely no signs of said Matrix), but has somehow never been relevant before. In fact, this lack of prior establishment is what led [[Simon Furman]] to develop the divinity backstory of Unicron and [[Primus]] in the UK comics run.

[[Image:Megatronlightsaber.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Your powers are weak, old man!]]
The movie bears many similarities to ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'': There are several character-parallels ([[Springer (G1)|Springer]] is a [[Han Solo]]-type and [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] even has Princess Leia's hairdo!), the primary threat is similar (it's the [[Death Star]]... [[Unicron|but it transforms!]]), and both feature a climactic battle where the [[Hot Rod (G1)|young hero]] hears the voice of his [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|dead, wise mentor]] one last time before saving the day.

To be a bit more fair to ''The Transformers: The Movie'', however, most of these similarities are either superficial (Arcee's Leia-hair; Megatron's "lightsaber" he briefly uses in his duel against Optimus Prime) or can be seen as elements common to thousands of years worth of epic storytelling through human history, not just common to ''Star Wars''. As a simple example, the phenomenon of two charismatic leaders dealing each other mortal injuries in battle hearkens back to some versions of the "King Arthur" myth; in their final battle, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Arthur]] and his arch-enemy [[Megatron (G1)|Sir Mordred]] deal one another lethal injuries and both apparently expire—though Arthur according to the legend will [[The Return of Optimus Prime|return]] when [[Cybertron (planet)|England's]] need [[Darkest hour|is greatest]].

==Formatting==
[[Image:Tftm widescreenesque.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The "widescreen" picture (left) actually ''cuts off'' the top and bottom of the fullscreen picture (right).]]
Although it was billed in some advertisements before its theatrical release as being "widescreen", the movie was in fact animated in a 4:3 (fullscreen) aspect ratio. For its theatrical screenings, the film was matted down in the projector by the projectionist to a 16:9 aspect ratio (widescreen), chopping the top and bottom off the picture, but all video transfers of the movie were done without mattes, meaning that there was actually more picture visible in the fullscreen video and DVD releases than there would have been in theaters. Across 2006 and 2007, new editions of the DVD of the film were released by Sony BMG and [[Metrodome]] which applied the mattes in order to replicate the original theatrical presentation of the film for the first time in home entertainment. Some fans, however, didn't realize that the film wasn't actually ''animated'' in widescreen, and, hearing that the DVD was to be in widescreen, expected to see the fullscreen image with additional footage at the sides, causing them to complain that the top and bottom were cut off, thereby totally missing the point.

==International versions==
{{main|The Transformers: The Movie/dubs}}

==Commercial Releases==
* The movie was originally released in North America on home video in 1987 by [[Family Home Entertainment]], minus Spike's swear. Not long after, it was released in the UK by [[Video Gems]]. This version featured the opening text crawl and closing narration inherent to the UK version of the film. In Australia, the film was released on video by RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts. In Japan, Hillcrane released a Laserdisc version alongside a VHS copy.
*The movie was released spottily in the '90s, beginning with a budget VHS by Avid Home Entertainment in 1991. [[Malofilm]] released a VHS in Canada in 1995, notable for being the first home entertainment version to include Spike's swear. In 1998, Japanese company Pioneer produced another pair of Laserdisc and VHS releases. In 1999, things kicked off when American company [[Kid Rhino]] secured the Transformers license and released the film on VHS once again.
*The 21st century's flirtation with ''The Transformers: The Movie'' started with a UK budget VHS release of that country's version by [[Sony|Sony Wonder]], distributed by [[Maverick Entertainment]]. A Japanese company called CatCo followed this up with a VideoCD, and Malofilm—now Seville—were the first to release a DVD version of the film, though it was just a dump of their VHS version.
*In November 2000, ''The Transformers: The Movie'' got its first, full professional DVD release from Kid Rhino. This edition, labelled a "Special Collector's Edition", is the first to feature remastered video and audio, and several special features, including storyboards and an interview with [[Vince DiCola]]. Rhino concurrently released this version on VHS, sans extras.
*In 2001 in the UK, Sony Wonder released their own much-delayed DVD version of the film. It was the UK version of the film, but included Spike's swear. However, the release was burdened by badly interlaced video, though it notably included the [[Omni Productions]] dub version of the ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|Headmasters]]'' episode "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]" as an extra. This version (including the ''Headmasters'' episode) was simultaneously released on VHS.
*The movie was released on DVD in Australia in 2003 by [[Madman Entertainment]], using the same video as the Maverick version, but distinguished by some nifty new cover art by [[Don Figueroa]], and special features not seen on other editions, such as ''[[Stan Bush|The Touch]]'' music video and 80s TV spots.
[[Image:Tftm uk covers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The UK poster art (left) has been the most common DVD and VHS cover in its home country, but the Ultimate Edition featured new art by Andy Wildman (right).]]
*After acquiring the license to release ''Transformers'' DVDs in the UK, [[Metrodome]] focused on completing their run of series box sets before turning their attention to the movie properly, releasing only a cheap budget DVD of the UK version through Prism Leisure with no extras, and a UMD of the same version.
*In 2005, Metrodome released ''Transformers: The Movie - Reconstructed'', a new version of the film designed to expose as much of the animated picture as possible. This, however, only resulted in exposing the rough, unfinished edges of the animation, and an overly pale remaster was compounded by excessive interlacing due to an unnecessary NTSC to PAL transfer. This, coupled with a 5.1 remix from [[Magno Sound & Video]], featuring the same extra sound effects that they added to Rhino's season box sets, made this release both controversial and disappointing to many. This was the first time that the US version of the movie was released in the UK, and the first to feature the US poster art as a cover (although a Silverscreen store exclusive version of the disc included a reversible cover with the UK poster art as well). Extras include trailers, TV spots, the character biographies from the Madman release, and a subtitled version of "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]".
[[Image:Tftm sony covers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Sony's covers, by Don Figueroa.]]
*For the movie's 20th anniversary in 2006, new license holder [[Sony|Sony BMG]] released a two-disc special edition of the film, featuring both a high-quality widescreen remaster and the original fullscreen version, audio commentaries from crew and fans, several new featurettes interviewing those involved in the movie's production, storyboards, tv spots, American and Japanese commercials and more. Most notably, this version included the first Western release of "[[Scramble City: Mobilization]]", albeit silent and unsubtitled, featuring only audio commentary. This release featured two covers by Don Figueroa: one is of the '84-'85 cast that appear in the movie, and one is of the movie's new characters, available either as a lenticular hologram that switches between the two, or as a reversible sleeve with the images printed on either side.
[[Image:Tftm madman covers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Madman's 2003 DVD cover (left), and their 2007 Special Edition cover (right).]]
*Delayed a bit to coincide with the hype for the 2007 [[Transformers (2007)|live-action movie]], Metrodome also released a two-disc "Ultimate Edition" with a different widescreen master. Like "Reconstructed", this version used the US edition of the film, but this time, the UK version was also included, in fullscreen, on the second disc. Extras include TV spots, commercials, the Madman biographies, storyboards, commentary, "Scramble City" (with audio and subtitles), featurettes with [[Flint Dille]] and [[Peter Cullen]], and more. The double-disc edition was sold in a steel case featuring new art by [[Andrew Wildman]], with the UK poster art adorning the standard case inside. Various store exclusives were available, including postcards from Play.Com, a reversible cover with the US poster art from HMV, art cards from Virgin Megastore and [[posters]] from Woolworths and [[Toys"R"Us]]. It was also available in an extra-less single-disc version. This version was premiered at the Mid Ulster Film Festival in Ireland which was the only cinema showing of the remastered version of the film to date.
*The film was released in Full HD 1080p on Blu-ray in the UK in October 2007. The Blu-ray is not region-locked, so it will play anywhere in the world. It features a 2.0 soundtrack, 5.1 Dolby Digital track, and a full bitrate DTS 5.1 track. The master used was the same used by Sony for their US DVD. The picture is quite stunning and the sound very good. Sadly, there are no extras on the DVD. The version of the film on the Blu-ray is the US one, complete with swear word.
*Madman produced their two-disc special edition through some collaboration with Metrodome, and consequently it features much of the same content, with additional extras taking the form of The Touch music video and a bonus episode of ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''. This release again features cover artwork by Don Figueroa, specifically the cover of [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' adaptation.

==Notes==
* According to [[Buzz Dixon]], Hasbro's decision to kill off Optimus Prime was actually an attempt to maintain some brand-storytelling parity with ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'', as Dixon had just convinced them to allow the death of [[Duke (G.I. Joe)|Duke]] in ''[[wikipedia:G.I. Joe: The Movie|G.I. Joe: The Movie]]'' and both films were in production at the same time.<ref>http://www.joeheadquarters.com/interviews_dixon.shtml</ref>

* This film was the last professional performance by [[Orson Welles]], who died only a month later. According to production materials shown at [[BotCon 2000]] by Tim Finn, the voice recording sessions for ''The Transformers: The Movie'' were done on [[September 10]] and [[September 11|11]] of 1985. Welles died on [[October 10]] of that same year. It has often been speculated that Unicron's last line ("Destiny… you cannot destroy my destiny!") was recorded by another actor—possibly [[Leonard Nimoy|Nimoy]]—because it sounds different than the other lines. This speculation has been quashed by statements by Transformers voice director [[Wally Burr]].<ref>http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/60-astrominutes/wally-burr/wally_burr_3.html</ref>
[[Image:Windcharger wheeljack otp.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Uncle Owen! Aunt Beru!!]]

* With the exception of Starscream and possibly Shockwave, only the Autobots suffered fatalities in the movie. All of the other "dead" Decepticons from the Autobot City battle were rebuilt into Galvatron's new troops, and although more Decepticons were shown taking heavy damage and suffering huge casualties while fighting Unicron, their identities and their final condition are uncertain. Additionally, both Starscream and Unicron survived in the post-movie series in some form or another. Shockwave's death in the finished film is highly uncertain, although in the script it is fairly strongly implied. He does make some miscolored appearances in crowd shots in later cartoon episodes, but these are probably examples of the fairly common animation errors in those episodes.

* Somewhat ironically, though only three of the original eighteen Autobots - [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]], and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] - are definitively shown to have survived the movie, two would quite literally never be heard from again: [[Scatman Crothers]] passed away (though this didn't stop Jazz from making any number of background cameos) while Casey Kasem [[Casey Kasem#Notes|quit the show early in the third season]]. Fate's finger is fickle indeed.

*[[:Image:TFTM-MaybeBeachcomber.jpg|A robot resembling Beachcomber]] appears alongside Spike and the Autobots inside Unicron seconds before Daniel blasts the acid cover. Whether this was actually meant to be Beachcomber or just coincidental coloring is unknown, but regardless, Beachcomber shows up alive and well in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]".

==External links==
* [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers.htm ''The Transformers: The Movie'''s box office domestic gross.]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20080426020409/http://www.tftm.net/ ''The Transformers: The Movie'' "Unofficial Fansite", an extremely thorough site about the movie]
* [http://www.wombatking.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=4 ''The Transformers: The Movie'' deleted storyboards]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transformers: The Movie}}

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 1 media]]
[[Category:MSTF]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

The Transformers: The Movie

2011-03-11T10:17:12Z

75.2.140.67: /* Animation errors */

{{disambig3|Transformers: The Movie}}

{{quote|Conceived in the epic tradition of ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]''...|[[Victor Caroli]] ain't just whistling Dixie|[[The Transformers: The Movie promo|''The Transformers: The Movie'' promo]]}}

{{episode|
|seriess=[[The Transformers (cartoon)|The Transformers]]
|prev=B.O.T. (episode)
|next=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1
|seriess2=[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (franchise)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers]]
|prev2=Scramble City: Mobilization
|title=''The Transformers: The Movie''
|image=Transformersanimatedfilmposter.jpg
|caption=Featuring the [[death]]s of all your favorite Transformers characters.
|production code=
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|writer=[[Ron Friedman]]
|directed by=[[Nelson Shin]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|release date=[[August 8]], [[1986]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''''The Transformers: The Movie''''' is an animated feature film based on the original Transformers toyline. It was released in the United States on August 8, 1986.

The film's storyline follows the same continuity as the ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|Transformers]]'' cartoon. It introduces a [[Scale|planet-sized Transformer]] called [[Unicron]] who eats other planets, and is approaching [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. As part of their continuing wars, the Autobots and Decepticons have a [[Battle of Autobot City|fierce battle]] on Earth which sees both Optimus Prime and Megatron mortally wounded. Prime passes the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to Ultra Magnus and dies, and Megatron is transformed by Unicron into [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (briefly) assumes leadership of the Decepticons, but is killed when Galvatron arrives at Cybertron. Galvatron then chases the surviving Autobots on Earth across space, splitting them up and taking the Matrix. The Autobots find their way back to each other, and follow Galvatron to Cybertron just as Unicron transforms into robot mode and begins to eat their world. Travelling inside Unicron, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] recovers the Matrix, transforms into Rodimus Prime, and uses the Matrix to destroy Unicron.

Often referred to by fans simply as "the movie" or "TFTM", the movie was a step up in almost every area from the television series, with a more sophisticated plot, more serious treatment of war and violence, a hugely ambitious scope and a greatly increased animation budget with well-known celebrities providing voice work. For these reasons the film remains very popular with children of the 1980s.

The film opens with characters who had been featured in the first two years of the toyline and associated media (cartoons, comic books, etc.), but quickly introduces new characters and kills many of the old ones to make room. In particular, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]], and [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] are all destroyed during the course of the film.

{{quote|The Japanese have funded a full-length animated cartoon about the doings of these toys, which is all bad outer-space stuff. I play a planet. I menace somebody called Something-or-other. Then I'm destroyed. My plan to destroy Whoever-it-is is thwarted and I tear myself apart on the screen.|Orson Welles<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=KlqsYy512WIC&source=gbs_navlinks_s "Orson Wells: A Biography"] page 522</ref>}}

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TFTM_Unicron_Lithone.jpg|left|200px|thumb|That's no moon.]]

A mechanical planet travels through the depths of space, attacking [[Lithone (planet)|a metal planet]] which has [[Lithone (species)|robotic inhabitants]]. Robots, vehicles, buildings, and even large chunks of rock are sucked off the surface and devoured by the monstrous planet.

It is the year 2005, and the [[Decepticon]]s are now in control of Cybertron. The [[Autobot]]s are preparing to launch an assault to retake the planet from hidden bases on two of Cybertron's moons. The Autobots launch a [[Autobot shuttle|shuttle]] to pick up a final shipment of [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] from [[Earth]] before they strike.

[[Image:Tftm1986a.jpg|right|200px|thumb|I have a bad feeling about this.]]

Plans for the attack are overheard by [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], who reports back to [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]. The Decepticons attack the Autobot shuttle en route to Earth, wiping out its crew (including [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and the [[Brawn (G1)|guy in the picture over there]]). Using the Autobots' own shuttle, the Decepticons are able to get very close to the Autobots' base on Earth, [[Autobot City]], before they are detected, and begin a devastating surprise attack on the unprepared city.

During the battle at Autobot City, both [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and Megatron suffer mortal injuries, and a number of other characters are also killed. Eventually the Decepticons retreat, but the damage suffered by the Autobots has been severe.

{{note|For an extensive synopsis of the battle, see [[Battle of Autobot City]].}}

[[Image:Tftm1986b.jpg|left|200px|thumb|If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.]]

Shortly after the battle, Prime lies on his deathbed. He passes the reins of leadership to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and gives him the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. (Though Hot Rod actually touches the Matrix before Magnus does.) Prime relates a prophecy: "One day, an Autobot shall rise from our ranks, and use the power of the Matrix to light our [[darkest hour]]." He then gives the oath, "[['Til all are one]]", and [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|dies]]. This sequence of events is observed remotely by Unicron, who appears unusually concerned by the survival of the Matrix.

The Decepticons are making their escape aboard [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], but are too heavy for him to get them all home under his own power. After putting the matter to a fair vote, the Decepticons decide to throw their injured members off the ship to better the chance of survival for the rest. One of the most severely injured Decepticons is Megatron. [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] tosses him out and claims leadership of the Decepticon army.

Megatron and the other adrift Decepticons then encounter Unicron in interstellar space. Unicron offers to rebuild Megatron and his minions in exchange for their service. Megatron agrees, and is [[Reformatting|reformatted]] into [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. The other Decepticons are turned into [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], and the [[Sweep]]s. Unicron provides them with a [[Revenge (G1)|ship]], and sends them to kill Ultra Magnus and destroy the Matrix, stating that the Matrix is the only thing which can stand in his way.

[[Image:Tftm1986c.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed.]]
Galvatron first stops at Cybertron to take his revenge by killing Starscream and reclaiming leadership of the Decepticons. Almost immediately afterwards, Unicron arrives in Cybertron's vicinity and devours at least two moons—both of the Autobots' moon bases are destroyed. Under coercion by Unicron, Galvatron finally heads to Earth to kill Ultra Magnus, but Magnus and the other surviving Autobots flee in a pair of shuttles. Eventually Galvatron manages to cause one shuttle to crash on yet another metal planet ([[Quintessa]]), and detonates the other with a volley of missiles. However, the Autobots in the second shuttle escape unnoticed by separating the front portion of their shuttle just before impact.

The Autobots in the crashed shuttle, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], [[Kup (G1)|Kup]], and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], find themselves separated and in a hostile environment. Hot Rod and Kup are captured by a squad of [[Allicon]]s and taken before a [[Quintesson]] [[Quintesson#Judges|judge]] and his court. While being held there, they learn the name and nature of Unicron from [[Kranix]], a survivor of the planet destroyed in the opening of the film, which he calls [[Lithone (planet)|Lithone]]. Meanwhile, the Dinobots encounter and befriend a young, wild Autobot named [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] who has been living alone on Quintessa. Together, they crash the trial just as Hot Rod and Kup are fighting losing odds against the Quintessons' [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]]. The tide is turned, and the Autobots commandeer a [[Quintesson spacecraft#Quintesson_Cruiser|Quintesson Cruiser]].

[[Image:Tftm1986d.jpg|left|200px|thumb|What an incredible smell you've discovered!]]
The other group of Autobots has landed on the planet [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]] to make repairs, but are attacked yet again by Galvatron, who was tipped off to their survival by Unicron. During the battle, Ultra Magnus tries to open the Matrix to use its power, but is unable to do so, and instead is killed. Galvatron absconds with the Matrix, taking it away to Unicron. The remaining Autobots—[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike's]] son [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]]—are then ambushed by [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]], the eponymous natives of Junkion, who are also giant transforming robots. This battle is cut short, however, by the arrival of Hot Rod's group in their Quintesson ship. After exchanging the [[universal greeting]] they all make friends, and the Junkions restore Ultra Magnus to life. Together, the whole group travels to Cybertron to try to recover the Matrix.

[[Image:TFTM Unicron smashes cybertron.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Rebel base in range. You may fire when ready.]]
Galvatron attempts to open the Matrix to use its power against Unicron, but is also unable to get it open. Unicron, not pleased with this attempted treachery, shocks Galvatron by transforming from a planet into a [[Scale|planet-sized robot]]. Unicron plucks Galvatron off his chest and swallows him, Matrix and all, and then begins attacking Cybertron itself. [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] scrambles the Decepticon forces to defend the planet, but they are ineffective against so large an enemy. Shortly the Autobots arrive from Junkion, and fly the Quintesson ship straight through Unicron's eye. This impact destroys the ship, and the Autobots fall out inside Unicron. Hot Rod, separated from the others, eventually runs into Galvatron. During their fight, Hot Rod gets his hands on the Matrix and hears Optimus's voice speak the words, "Arise, Rodimus Prime." Hot Rod grows in stature, adopts a much sterner demeanor, and quickly dispatches Galvatron by tossing him through Unicron's hull out into space. He then opens the Matrix, which fills Unicron with light and begins destroying him.

[[Image:Tftm1986e.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Use the Force, Luke.]]
In the meantime, the other Autobots inside Unicron have located some of their comrades from the moon bases who had been presumed dead, including [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and Daniel's father, Spike. The Autobots, including Rodimus, escape through Unicron's remaining eye just as he begins to fall apart and explode. The scene then immediately shifts to the surface of Cybertron, where—for unclear reasons—the Autobots seem to be in charge again. Rodimus predicts an era of peace and prosperity, and the film closes with a shot of Unicron's severed head still floating in orbit around Cybertron.

[['Til all are one]].
{{-}}

==Quotes==
"Such heroic nonsense."
:—'''Megatron''' coldly finishes off Ironhide. The 'Cons always get the best lines.

"I've got better things to do tonight than die!"
:—'''Springer''', telling it like it is.

"One shall stand. One shall fall."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' uttering the most quoted line of the Movie. An ass kicker cometh.

"You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of '''''sterner stuff'''''."
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s trash talk is actually [http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/sterner-stuff a lot cooler than it sounds]

"Until that day...'til all are one..."
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s final words

"Oh, how it ''pains'' me to do this." 
"Wait! I still function!" 
"Wanna ''bet''?"
:—'''Starscream''' fights back the tears as he throws '''Megatron''' out of Astrotrain.

"I have summoned you here for a purpose." 
"Nobody summons Megatron!" 
"Then it pleases me to be the first."
:—'''Unicron''' shows '''Megatron''' who's the boss.

"Who disrupts my coronation?" 
"Coronation, Starscream? This is bad comedy." 
"Megatron? Is that you?" 
"Here's a hint!"
:—'''Galvatron''' drops "hints" for '''Starscream''' like others drop anvils.

"Did we ''have'' to let them detonate three quarters of the ship?" 
"Seeing as how they would have detonated ''four'' quarters, I think it was a good choice."
:—'''Arcee''' and '''Springer'''

"For a time... I considered ''sparing'' your wretched little planet Cybertron. But now... you shall witness... its ''dismemberment''!"
:—'''Unicron''' really needs to work on his anger management skills...

"Me Grimlock kick butt!" 
:—'''Grimlock''' isn't speaking figuratively.

"Destiny... You cannot... destroy... my... destiny--AAH!!" 
:—'''Unicron''''s final words

"Let this mark the end of the Cybertronian Wars as we march forward into a new era of peace and happiness! 'Til all are one!" 
:—'''Rodimus Prime''' announces the end of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]... yeah, right.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]/Rodimus Prime ([[Judd Nelson]])
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] ([[Robert Stack]])
*[[Kup (G1)|Kup]] ([[Lionel Stander]])
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] ([[Susan Blu]])
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] ([[John Moschitta]])
*[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] ([[Gregg Berger]])
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] ([[Paul Eiding]])
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] ([[Buster Jones]])
*[[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Slag (G1)|Slag]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]]
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] ([[Scatman Crothers]])
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] ([[Dan Gilvezan]])
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] ([[Casey Kasem]])
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] ([[Don Messick]])
*[[Auto-combatant]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Eject]]
*[[Rewind]]
*[[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]]
*[[Ramhorn (G1)|Ramhorn]]
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]]
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]
*[[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]]
*[[Grapple]]
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]]
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]]
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]]
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]]* ([[Walker Edmiston]])
|c2=
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] ([[Leonard Nimoy]])
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] ([[Chris Latta]])
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] ([[Roger C. Carmel]])
*[[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] ([[Stan Jones]])
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] ([[Arthur Burghardt]])
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] ([[Don Messick]])
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]]
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]]
*[[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] ([[Hal Rayle]])
*[[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] ([[Clive Revill]])
*[[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] ([[Jack Angel]])
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] ([[Bud Davis]])
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] ([[Ed Gilbert]])
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]]
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]]
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]
*[[Sweep]]s
*[[Cyclonus's Armada]]
|h3=[[Junkion (species)|Junkions]]|c3=
*[[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] ([[Eric Idle]])
*[[Scrapheap (G1)|Scrapheap]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Rubbish]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Re-Cycle]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Trashbin]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Junkyard (G1)|Junkyard]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[HAZMAT]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Ashtray]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Wasteoid Gamma]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Greasestain]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
|h4=Others|c4=
'''[[Human]]s'''
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] ([[David Mendenhall]])

'''[[Lithone (species)|Lithones]]'''
*[[Kranix]] ([[Norman Alden|Norm Alden]])
*[[Arblus]] ([[Norman Alden|Norm Alden]])

'''[[Quintesson]]s'''
*[[Quintesson]] leader ([[Roger C. Carmel]])
*[[Quintesson#Judges|Quintesson judge]] ([[Regis Cordic|Rege Cordic]])
*[[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]]
*[[Allicon]]s

'''Other'''
*[[Unicron]] ([[Orson Welles]])
|nonumbering=true
}}
<nowiki>*</nowiki>Credited, but did not appear.

==Animation errors==
* When Unicron is approaching Lithone at the start of the movie, at the line "Look, it's Unicron!", a [[Animation error#Sizing errors|cel stacking error]] results in Unicron's ring appearing in front of a building arch, [[Distribution|making Unicron look very tiny]] in that shot. In the next shot, it is clear that Unicron is several times larger than the entire planet of Lithone.
* The inside of one of the Lithonian ships being devoured by Unicron is visible for a couple of frames. The pilot of the ship appears to be Kranix, even though he apparently screams out Kranix's name, and Kranix appears later in the Quintesson prison.
* When the inside of Unicron is shown after he devours Lithone, the "blinking energy" effect of Unicron's innards was apparently achieved by recycling backgrounds from other animated TV shows or movies. A frame by frame viewing reveals what appear to be several images of post-apocalyptic buildings inside Unicron.
* When Optimus Prime asks Jazz to report security status, it shows both Jazz and Cliffjumper. Cliffjumper is seen twiddling knobs above the actual drawn computer, as if a section was supposed to be present.
*When the closeup of Cliffjumper doing his countdown is shown, his shoulders are blue (like his windows) instead of red.
* When the Decepticons blow a hole through the Autobot shuttle to get in, it is a clean break. However, Megatron is still shown ripping through random ship components to get in.
* Scavenger's head is white instead of black as he ducks from Prowl's shot.
* When the Decepticons are killing the Autobot shuttle crew, there is one of the common Starscream/Skywarp/Thundercracker miscolors. Megatron transforms into gun mode and Starscream catches him, killing Brawn. When they cut back to the Decepticons, Starscream is in front of the Constructicons without Megatron and is firing one of his arm rifles (this probably should have been Skywarp or Thundercracker). When they cut back to the Decepticons for the third time, Starscream has Megatron again and is finishing off the rest of the Autobots. In the shot of Starscream firing his own lasers, his wings are red instead of gray.
* When the Decepticons fly to the shuttle's controls, all of the Autobots have changed positions from when they fell—Brawn is now on his back, for example, while Prowl is now face-down. Ironhide's chest is also completely intact, despite having a bunch of holes blown in it.
* Hot Rod has at least two totally different transformation schemes during the course of the film.
* When Kup and several Autobots at the roadblock react to Hot Rod's attack on the hijacked Autobot shuttle, Bluestreak is represented by Prowl's [[Character model|animation model]], in Bluestreak's grey and black colours.
* Sunstreaker appears with Kup's group on Earth as they observe Hot Rod firing on Ironhide's shuttle. Sunstreaker later appears as Optimus Prime's co-pilot when they arrive on Earth with the Dinobots, and is seen disembarking the shuttle along with Optimus Prime and Hound.
* In a wide aerial shot of the city under attack, a Reflector flies by in Ironhide's color scheme. Shockwave also makes his only appearance in the battle; considering both his role as Cybertron's guardian and his absence from any other scenes during the battle, his presence is probably an animation error. Rumble also flies past, despite being inside Soundwave at this point.
* Blaster's forehead is red instead of white after his "look out and shout!" line, and again after he returns to robot mode.
* A laser blast that should be behind Blaster is instead layered in front of him as he acknowledges Perceptor's orders.
* In the big lineup of firing Decepticons, Soundwave's cheek guards are blue instead of white.
* When [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] sends out his cassette troops, [[FIRRIB|Rumble is the same color as Frenzy]].
* Blaster first ejects what looks like Eject, who stays blue up until he gets to the edge of the screen. He then turns black like Rewind. Then Blaster ejects another blue cassette, which after about a second turns black. This one gets through half his transformation colored black, then turns blue for a split second then turns black again. Then, when the cassettes are fighting each other, Eject runs in from the left and jumps over Perceptor. And then he runs in from the left ''again'' to shoot Ravage. Suddenly [[Brawl (Movie)|Brawl/Devastator]] doesn't look so bad, does he?
* As Springer runs up to the launcher, Wheeljack's body is visible, but he's in red, white and blue colors.
* While Springer and Arcee are trying to move the launcher into place, Springer's face is the same color as his helmet.
* When Devastator forms in Autobot City, his chest plate is the same green as the rest of him. In the next shot, it's the usual purple. However, it promptly turns green again in the next shot.
* As Devastator lays into the walls, Shrapnel is white where he should be black.
* While Perceptor and Grapple are shooting, Swoop's lower half runs by in the foreground, long before the rest of him gets there.
* Megatron's pelvis is white instead of black as he gives the "let the slaughter begin!" order.
* Prime's dramatic transformation sequence far outlasts the transformation sound that's supposed to go with it. It's also the wrong sound (ascending pitch) for his robot-to-vehicle transformation. His trailer is also missing the Autobot logo, which reappears for the rest of the scene.
* When Prime drives up behind the Decepticons, Blitzwing's head is tan instead of purple. It becomes purple when he turns it, then goes back to tan again as he turns it back.
* Prime is missing the transformation sound as he blasts back to robot mode.
* The gun Megatron uses to fatally injure Optimus is blue and white for most of the shots it is seen in, but when Megatron screams "Fall! FALL!" while shooting Prime again, it is black.
* Prime's antennae are white as he tries to stand after knocking Megatron off the ledge.
* As he orders Astrotrain to take off, Starscream's face is gray instead of black.
* Starscream's whole nosecone, rather than just the canopy, is yellow as he looms over Megatron.
* When Optimus Prime takes the Matrix out of his chest to give to Ultra Magnus, there is another Matrix beneath it in his chest. (On which note, see also ''[[Matrix of Leadership#Universe|Matrix of Leadership, Universe comic]].'') Also, he initially grabs just the core of the Matrix, while the rest of the scene shows the entire assembly.
* When Ultra Magnus accepts the Matrix, he's seen inserting it into his chest twice, or at best readjusting its "fit".
* As the other Decepticons prepare to push him out, Bombshell's chest is rendered as a shapeless gray mass, rather than with its yellow canopy.
* The voice that says "Don't!" is nowhere close to the voices of any of the five Decepticons shown getting thrown out of Astrotrain.
* Starscream's got an extra yellow segment on his canopy as he nominates himself for leadership. Man, even the A-list animation team couldn't keep this straight.
* Most of Megatron's chest emblem isn't colored in as he first speaks to Unicron. It might pass for battle damage, but a few shots later it's fully purple.
[[Image:Coronation .jpg|thumb|right|250px| *''trumpet fanfare''* ]]
* Even after the [[Battle of Autobot City]], characters who are supposedly dead continue to appear in crowd shots and battles. Shrapnel's role in the fight on [[Junkion (planet)|Junk]] is the most noticeable (and he was called for by name in the original script), but Thundercracker, Skywarp and Kickback can all be seen at Starscream's coronation. The two jets are later seen again, flying into Unicron's mouth.
* Hook has two eyes instead of a visor as he looks around in confusion during the trumpet scene.
* An early establishing shot clearly shows Cybertron with two and ''only'' two moons in low orbit. Yet a third moon is visible right after Unicron finishes eating the two Autobot bases.
* When Cyclonus is strafing the Autobot shuttle in space, he briefly flies offscreen, and during that time his laser blasts come from a point that in no way matches his flight path.
* Daniel's lips don't purse when he whistles.
* Wreck-Gar's mouth doesn't move at all during his first lines, despite the camera pushing in all close on his face.
* Shrapnel's lower legs are white when he lands on Junk, instead of black. Must be a side effect of being dead.
* During the Junkion chase scene, Trashbin attacks Arcee. When she fights him off his motorcycle, his model is switched for Junkyard's when he falls down.
* When Hot Rod tells the Junkions the universal greeting, the Autobot insignia on his chest is coloured black.
* When Grimlock gets kissed, his eyes are round instead of triangular.
* When Unicron transforms, the first hand we see (his right) is backwards relative to how the arm is shown on screen.
* After transforming, Unicron has all-white hands (instead of white with gold knuckles) and a white, rectangular chin (instead of the double-triangular chin with a goatee) he has later.
* As Hot Rod falls off one of Unicron's inner cones, his lower body isn't drawn in. It looks like it should be blocked by our view of the cone, but is layered above it instead..
* Hot Rod's missing his Autobot symbol as he regains his footing inside Unicron.
* During the same sequence, we see a standard=looking control panel next to Hot Rod. It's unlikely Galvatron had time to create one inside Unicron, so where did it come from?
* As the Dinobots fly around Unicron, both his eyes are intact (the left one has been shattered).
* As the Dinobots fly away from Unicron, the spikes on Grimlock's right arm are gray instead of gold.
* The third smelting victim (who looks a lot like another Bumblebee) doesn't fall from the conveyor belt; he simply vanishes.

== Continuity errors ==
[[Image:G1TFTM Snarl cameo.JPG|thumb|right|250px|He used to bulls-eye womp-rats in his T16 back home.]]

* The Dinobot [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] is mysteriously absent from almost the entire movie, even though the Dinobots as a group are featured prominently. Copies of the script which have come into fans' hands repeatedly list the Dinobots, but never make mention of Snarl by name. In fact, at one point the script refers to "the four Dinobots". Despite this, Snarl does appear in three very brief shots{{m-}}in which at least one other Dinobot (Swoop in one, Sludge in another) is entirely absent. Hmm.
* Also curiously absent are the 1985 Autobot cars and Mini-Vehicles, such as Inferno, Smokescreen, Cosmos, Warpath, etc. It would seem that these characters were available at the time of the movie:
** Perceptor and Blaster both debuted at the same time in the cartoon as the 1985 cars, and both play prominent roles in the movie.
** Grapple is [[:Image:BattleAutobotCity.jpg|seen ''very'' briefly]] during the battle for Autobot City.
** The 1985 Decepticons (Astrotrain, Dirge, etc.) appear in the film.
** [[:Image:TFTM-SideswipeRedAlertTracks.jpg|Tracks]], [[:Image:TFTM-RedAlertDown.jpg|Red Alert]] and Smokescreen (who was supposed to be the corpse in place of Wheeljack next to Windcharger) all appeared in storyboards but not the finished film.
* Devastator is treated as ''the'' ultimate threat, while in the cartoon, his role (and apparent power) was already being [[Starscream's Brigade|severely diminished]], presumably because several other combiners had been introduced. In story terms, the absence of these newer combiners, not to mention the mighty Omega Supreme, is inexplicable. In real-life terms, those characters didn't exist when the film commenced production. (The [[Transformers: The Animated Movie]] adaptation shows Omega Supreme, Superion and Defensor guarding the Ark against an attack by Bruticus and Menasor, attempting to [[retcon]] the problem away.)
[[Image:Cyclonus armada tftf.jpg|thumb|right|250px|We'll be safe enough once we make the jump into lightspeed.]]
* The existence of Cybertron's moons is contentious ''at best''.
** On the one hand, in numerous close and distant shots of the planet throughout the first two seasons, not a single moon was seen. Ever.
** On the other hand, Megatron ''does'' refer to Cybertron as "land of the metal moon" (note the singular) during "[[Microbots]]", suggesting otherwise. The fact that he was overenergized at the time and lost consciousness in mid-sentence - just before he ''might'' have specified a plural number of moons, (in)conveniently enough - makes it unclear just how much credence we should lend this statement.
** The movie promptly introduces two (possibly three) moons over the planet. In continuity terms, they must either have highly elliptical orbits with periapsides (points in their orbits that bring them closest to the planet) that just happened to coincide with the timeframe of the movie or they were constructed sometime after 1986.
* During the Battle of Autobot City, Starscream gets his leg caught. He shoots downward and gets away while screaming "My foot!", but it's his shin that's smoking while his foot looks fine. Later he kicks Megatron with the same foot. Shouldn't that hurt, according to him? Note there is a time lapse between the "foot shooting" and the kicking, leaving the option of a battlefield repair.
* So Ultra Magnus just happens to have a ready-made Matrix chamber installed in his chest cavity? Is this standard issue for all Autobots?
* The cartoon had already established that Astrotrain increases his size when he transforms to shuttle mode, being large enough to carry a pair of Decepticons in his cockpit. However, within the movie itself, his size is [[scale|noticeably inconsistent]]: When he leaves Autobot City, he's just large enough for the Decepticon army to cram themselves in; later, he's so huge that the Constructicons can quite comfortably form Devastator inside him.
* The number of minions created by Unicron changes throughout the film, with more Sweeps appearing as the story progresses. A second Cyclonus ("Cyclonus, the warrior, and [[Cyclonus's Armada|his armada]]") is shown being created but disappears shortly thereafter. At least ''seven'' new characters are shown at one point, created from only ''six'' Decepticons thrown from the shuttle.

[[Image:SSBQ.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"I've been looking forward to this for a long time." "Yes, I bet you have."]]
* [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] is capable of reducing [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] to ashes with a single shot from his cannon mode. Though in later episodes Galvatron is shown blowing up even small ''[[Thrull|planets]]'' with his cannon, his extraordinary killing power seems to be gone—like when he scores a direct hit in cannon mode on Ultra Magnus in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]" and Magnus isn't especially hurt at all, or how a similar blast against Scourge in "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]" only leaves the latter temporarily incapacitated. [[Marvel Comics]] bios explain this by suggesting that Galvatron had nearly limitless power through Unicron... but then again, Galvatron himself claims to be "more powerful than ever" after Unicron is dead. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2}} [[To sell toys|Who knows.]]
* Why didn't anyone notice Unicron until he was within devouring distance of Cybertron's moons?
* Despite running out of energon goodies on Quintessa, Hot Rod has at least one to offer to the Junkions. Maybe he got some on the ship. It's also possible that, when he told the Allicons "No more," he meant that he wasn't going to ''feed'' them any more energon goodies, not that he didn't ''have'' anymore.
* Daniel, who was just learning how to use his exo-suit, had to knock down the acid cover inside Unicron to save his loved ones. Why couldn't the more experienced Spike do the same with his suit from above? He had both of his arms free and a clear shot at the cover. On the other hand, the clamp holding him may well disable his exo-suit's weapons and movement abilities-if it didn't, Unicron probably wouldn't have eaten half as many victims by now...
* It's not clear how Rodimus Prime (carrying two humans) and the other Autobots survived their jump out of Unicron's eye and their plunge towards the surface of Cybertron.
* It's also unclear just how the dozen or so Autobots (and one shipload of Junkions) managed to retake the whole planet of Cybertron. Did Unicron really wipe out ''that'' many Decepticons?
* When the Autobots are repairing Autobot City, Blaster is present, but a few minutes later, he's nowhere to be seen. And he isn't seen getting on one of the shuttles. It is possible that they took off without him, but Daniel noticed Arcee was not on board. Guess he cares more about Arcee than Blaster.

===Not Necessarily Errors===
* Fans have noted throughout the years that Astrotrain, in his flight through zero-gravity space, should not have needed to "jettison some weight" in the literal sense. However, since the ejected Decepticons quickly fall behind Astrotrain instead of floating alongside him, he must still have been accelerating and thus would have needed to burn a greater amount of fuel in order to push a larger payload. Perhaps he should have said "jettison some ''mass''", but then again, just being a spaceship doesn't make him a rocket scientist.
* Starscream is shown just inside Astrotrain's cargo bay when he commands him to take off, but in the next shot (Astrotrain's door closing as his rocket engines ignite), Starscream is nowhere to be seen. It's possible that he walked further in, but he should still be at least partially visible.

==Continuity notes==
* The Movie has had a huge effect in shaping the mythos. Among the elements and characters which would reappear in many other iterations of Transformers are:
** The notion that Cybertron has moons
** The Matrix as a physical object, rather than the computer program previously depicted in the Marvel Comics. Even the Marvel Comics would eventually shoehorn this one in.
** Autobot City
** Unicron
** The notion of Megatron becoming Galvatron
** And it killed off Optimus Prime before it was cool!
** What makes Starscream the leader? Chucking a near-dead Megatron into space!
* Gadgets and powers:
** Springer deploys a small flip-out twin laser from his wrist during the Autobot City battle.
** Arcee and Hot Rod both activate a long-distance scanner of some sort by lowering a red visor from under their helmets over their eyes.
** Hot Rod uses a saw blade that extends from his retracted wrist.
** Blurr has the same kind of hooked welding tip used by various Autobots as far back as "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]".
** Arcee unleashes a nasty barbed post from her fender to fend off a Junkion.
** Grimlock shows the never-before seen ability to shoot lasers from his fists.

==Real-world references and Easter eggs==
* When Sludge gets haymakered by Devastator, his eyes pop out of their sockets in ''[[Wikipedia:Looney Tunes|Looney Tunes]]'' fashion.
* Kup's storytelling sequence aboard the shuttle is drawn from the novel ''[[Wikipedia:Of Mice and Men|Of Mice and Men]]'', complete with Grimlock in the Lenny role asking Kup to "tell Grimlock about petrorabbits again".

* The Quintesson jail cell includes robot debris ''strongly'' resembling the mobile suits [[Wikipedia:Gundam Mk-II|RX-178 Gundam MK II]] and the [[Wikipedia:Z Gundam|MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam]] from 1985 Japanese animation ''[[Wikipedia:Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam|Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam]]''.

* The Junkions speak almost entirely in pop culture quotes and pastiches. Littered among the generic phrases like "operators are standing by!", "Film at eleven" and "eliminate even the toughest stains" are more specific references, such as:
** "Don't look behind door #2, Monty!" - a reference to the game show ''[[Wikipedia:Let's Make a Deal|Let's Make a Deal]]'' and its host, [[Wikipedia:Monty Hall|Monty Hall]].
** "Ger-ronny-doo-ron-ron-ronny-mo!" - both the famous "[[Wikipedia:Geronimo (exclamation)|Geronimo!]]" war cry, and the 1963 hit "[[Wikipedia:Da Doo Ron Ron|Da Doo Ron Ron]]".
** "You check in, but you don't check out" - a parody of the tagline for [[Wikipedia:Roach Motel (insect trap)|Roach Motel]] insect traps.
** "Happy motoring!" - the slogan of gas company [[Wikipedia:Esso|Esso]].

* ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects (yes, even the high-budget Movie uses them):
** The ''[[Millennium Falcon]]'' engine burst noise is used extensively throughout the film, over and over and over, almost any time a Decepticon takes flight.

** [[Luke Skywalker]]'s deactivating [[lightsaber]] is used as the sound of the Quintesson ship's ramp extending.
** Clashing lightsabers are used as Unicron fires eye-blasts at the attacking Transformers.

** An igniting lightsaber is used as Rodimus opens the Matrix.
* The ''Star Trek'' sliding door sound is used as Wreck-Gar pulls out his <s>iPhone</s> mini-TV.
* Also, the sound used for the communicators on Star Trek was used when Daniel was activating his blaster to save Spike

==Adaptations==
*[[Transformers: The Movie (Marvel Comics)|A comic adaptation of the movie]] was published by [[Marvel Comics]] in 1986, concurrently with the movie's theater run. It was based off a non-finalized version of the script, and differs in many details from the final film. Additionally, most of the major character models (and possibly their unedited original character write-ups) appear in Issue #4 of the ''[[Transformers Universe (Marvel comic)|Transformers Universe]]'' series.
* [[Transformers the Movie (Ladybird adaptation)|A storybook adaptation]] was released in the UK by [[Ladybird Books]].
*A four-part adaptation was released in 2006/2007 by [[IDW Publishing]], as part of the film's 20th anniversary celebration. It was titled ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' to differentiate it from the [[Michael Bay]] [[Transformers (2007)|live-action film]]. Unlike its predecessor, it adheres rigidly to the script and plot of the finished movie.

==Soundtrack==
{{main|The Transformers: The Movie - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack}}

==Promotions==
* Early in the movie's production, a [[The Transformers: The Movie promo|promotional trailer]] was made to sell the project to potential investors.
* The movie was advertised on related 1986 toy packages via the [[Decipher the Decepticon]] Sweepstakes, which included a pack-in poster and contest.
* The movie was heavily advertised directly by TV [[commercial]]s, and tail-end segments on Transformer toy ads. Portions of its story were also retold in altered fashion by animation segments of commercials for the movie character toys, such as a spot showing Springer doing battle with Wreck-Gar.

==In the comic continuity==
The [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel UK comic]] made extensive use of the Movie as the basis for a series of stories involving the Transformers in the future. However there are several differences between the events seen on screen and those referenced in the comic:

*The comic always dates the movie to 2006, following the date given in a treatment that was all [[Simon Furman]] had when he wrote [[Target: 2006]].
*In Target: 2006, [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] states that he was previously "[[Life Spark]]".
*The Matrix is always called the "Creation Matrix" in the comic, a name that predates the "Matrix of Leadership" but which is now used for the same physical object.
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] both survive the events, both later appearing in [[Space Pirates!]] (set in 2008).

In addition, Shockwave definitely survives the attack by Unicron.

The US comic almost completely ignored the events of the Movie, though later in the run an alternative future is briefly shown in "[[Rhythms of Darkness!]]" and "[[A Savage Circle]]". In this timeline at least some of the events of the Movie took place such as the creation of Galvatron from Megatron, which is dated to 2005, though Prowl's death was overlooked. [[Prowl II|Wouldn't be the first time. Or the last.]]
*The US version of the future story [[The Big Broadcast of 2006 (issue)|The Big Broadcast of 2006]] implicitly has the events of the movie as part of its backstory. However, since the rest of the US series ignored the movie, this issue's place in the continuity is questionable.

==Edits==
Several English-language versions of the film exist, with the following differences in content from the American theatrical run:

* In some versions (notably the European version) the opening credits are replaced with a scrolling text ("''Star Wars'' style") which provides backstory.
* In some versions (notably the European version) the film ends with [[Victor Caroli|a narrator]] reassuring the audience that Optimus Prime will return.
* Instances of swearing in the film (there are two) were edited out; sometimes one, sometimes both. Those instances are: Spike yelling, "Oh shit, what are we gonna do now?" after the self-destructing Moon Base 2 fails to scratch Unicron, and Ultra Magnus growling, "Open, damn it, open!" while trying to open the Matrix to fend off Galvatron and the Sweeps on Junkion. The United Kingdom cinema version had the swearing included but, when it was released on VHS in the United Kingdom, Spike's line was cut ("damn" not being considered offensive in the UK). However it has been restored on all United Kingdom DVD releases.
* In some early FHE video releases, the shot of the Matrix falling out of Optimus Prime's hand and being caught by Hot Rod is edited so that it appears that Ultra Magnus simply takes the Matrix from Prime. Why this was done is not known, and the replay of the Hot Rod catch on Unicron's monitors was left intact.
*Instead of DEG, the [[wikipedia:Rank Organiztion|Rank Film]] "gong man" appears before the film, as Rank were the United Kingdom distributors.

None of these edits significantly affect the story. They should not be confused with various other sequences which were changed before the film's final release:

* Originally, Ultra Magnus's "death sequence" on Junkion called for him to be lassoed and drawn and quartered by the Sweeps' energy beams, but this was deemed too graphic for audiences, hence the less disturbing "shot to death" sequence seen instead. There is evidence that the original sequence had been fully animated when the decision was made, however; the Sweeps still kept their solid energy lassos when they fire upon Magnus, and Magnus is seen visibly straining against what appears to be said lassos (edited out and replaced with laser fire) before exploding.
* A number of other sequences were illustrated as [[storyboard]]s but dropped, presumably without ever being animated. Among them were:
** A short scene showing Ironhide piloting the Autobot shuttle through ''huge chunks of ice'' from the tail of a passing comet, explaining how the Decepticons caught them unawares. In response to a reprimand by Prowl who prickishly disapproves of Ironhide's piloting shenanigans, Ironhide exclaims, "I can sure as shootin' dodge a couple of ice chunks". When the Autobots are suddenly jolted by the Decepticon strike force as Megatron and his troops attempt to enter the shuttle, Ironhide tells the others on board, "That was no ice chunk...". Heroic nonsense ensues...
** An extended sequence with Hot Rod and Daniel outside the city.
** A sequence of Mirage blasting Bombshell and being fired on by Megatron.
** The Autobots finally bringing down Devastator with a barrage of missiles (and the Constructicons subsequently shooting Red Alert in the back).
** The Decepticons dogpiling Optimus Prime, explaining why he seems to be standing up just before his fight with Megatron, and no longer holding his rifle. According to storyboards, Prime gets bum-rushed by Blitzwing (who causes Prime to drop his gun), Starscream, Astrotrain, and Skywarp. While it is not clear how Prime defeated the first four hand-to-hand combatants, Dirge is later shown attempting one final sneak attack (and gets his can handed back to him) as Prime is talking to Megatron before the two leaders' final fight.
** Trailbreaker is shown dead among the wreckage of Autobot City as the Decepticons begin their retreat.
:Some of these concepts were in earlier versions of the script, and hence made it into the comic adaptation.
* Rumors have occasionally circulated in the fandom of additional animated footage that was dropped from the film, such as ultra-violent battle scenes. No evidence has ever surfaced to back these claims; the only known edits are those listed in this section.
:{{see|Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers#The Transformers: The Movie|Urban legends about ''The Transformers: The Movie''}}

==Reception==
{{quote|''The Transformers'', in which Orson Welles plays a planet, is pure headache material. Target audience of cartoon-watchers also will probably find the film unintelligible, noisy and unoriginal. Boxoffice prospects are dismal.|2=[http://books.google.com/books?id=DHNZAAAAMAAJ&q=Hasbro+Transformers&dq=Hasbro+Transformers&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=1983&as_maxm_is=12&as_maxy_is=2005&num=50&as_brr=0&cd=69 Variety's Film Reviews 1985-1986, Volume 19]}}

{{quote|Obnoxious animated feature about the title good guys, who defend the universe against an evil planet (which has a voice of its own... provided by Orson Welles.) That deafening rock score certainly doesn't help. Little more than a feature-length toy commercial.|Leonard Maltin, ''1987 Movie & Video Guide''}}

{{quote|While all this action may captivate young children, the animation is not spectacular enough to dazzle adults, and the Transformers have few truly human elements to lure parents along, even when their voices are supplied by well-known actors. |2=[http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/09/movies/screen-transformers-animation-for-children.html The New York Times]}}

{{quote|Transformers -- The Movie, a feature-length animated film inspired by the syndicated TV cartoon series inspired by the Hasbro toy imported from Japan, is utterly uninspired entertainment. |2=[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3CE8EA8D40CCA&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM The Dallas Morning News]}}

{{quote|If you can swallow, without gagging, a large measure of sentimental and offensive religiosity - lines like "Do not grieve. Soon I will be one with the Matrix," whispered by a failing hunk of Autobot metal - then you have a better than even chance of leaving the theatre on your own two feet. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=01kiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W6gFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2445,1286000&dq=transformers&hl=en The Montreal Gazette]}}

{{quote|Everything is poorly drawn and - when it's in focus - one dimensional. It is terribly hard to separate the robots from the backgrounds, and there is no easy way to tell the good guys from the bad guys. In an earlier movie based on the same sort of robot toys - "Go-Bots: The Battle of the Rock Lords" - the good guys were either white or colorful and the bad guys were dreary, and they had distinct personalities. Not this movie; everyone looks and sounds alike, except one pink robot who is a female good guy. Her tin voluptuousness makes her stand out. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kw4wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OgMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6957,6334152&dq=transformers&hl=en The Toledo Blade]}}

{{quote|Even with an all-star cast doing the voice overs... and a rock music score, this is still nothing more than a ripoff of a successful toy line. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AYckAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dtsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4192,1494652&dq=transformers&hl=en The Palm Beach Post]}}

{{quote|The great animated villains, like the Wicked Queen in Disney's "Snow White," had motivations as compelling as any live-action character. Unicron apparently destroys entire worlds because it has nothing else to do. |2=[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/57996397.html?dids=57996397:57996397&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+8%2C+1986&author=CHARLES+SOLOMON&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=8&desc=%60THE+TRANSFORMERS%27%3A+STRETCHING+A+POINT The LA Times]}}

''The Transformers: The Movie'' was almost universally panned by professional critics upon its release.

Well-known film critic and animation enthusiast, Leonard Maltin, gave it a rating below 1 1/2 stars in his ''1987 Movie & Video Guide'', regarding it as a "bomb", then proceeded to write an unflattering blurb denouncing the film as a "feature-length toy commercial" (well, he was ''right'').

Caryn James of the ''New York Times'' admitted in the [[August 9]], 1986 edition of the paper that the film was intended for young children, pointing out that the kids in the audience were having a grand ole time with the ''Transformer'' toys and comics they brought with them to the theater, but derided the film as having little to no appeal to adults (''man-children'', on the other hand...).

''Variety's Film Reviews 1985-1986, Volume 19 '' was far less even-handed in their review, claiming the film had no appeal to adults ''or'' children. They predicted the film would perform poorly in the box office (and were correct, in that regard).

Carrie Rickey of the ''Dallas Morning News'' chided the film in the [[August 13]], 1986 issue of the paper, describing it as "essentially a cartoon ''Star Wars'' about robots from a toybox galaxy far, far away". She then went on to say that the film "never takes off" and derided it as "uninspired".

Janice Kennedy of the ''Montreal Gazette'' verbally disemboweled the film in the [[August 23]], 1986 edition of the paper, criticizing it as overly commercial, profane, loud, violent, humorless, heavy-handed in its religious messages and chaulk-full of gratuitous celebrity voice-overs. Her only compliment: "But ''The Transformers: The Movie'' does have at least one good thing going for it, a howlingly appropriate song by [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]. It's title? ''Dare to be Stupid''." ''Ouch''.

Nanciann Cherry in the August 13, 1986 edition of the ''Toledo Blade'' claimed the robots in the movie had little personality and faded into the background. She even went on to say that ''Challenge of the GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords'' was a superior film! Her review was filled with inaccuracies, however, citing characters such as "Unicon" and claiming that the destruction of Cybertron's moons by "Unicon" is what caused the Autobots to travel to Autobot City, at which point Megatron attacked. To be fair, she readily admits, "About 20 minutes into the film, I gave up on the plot and tried to count all the ideas that were stolen from other sources. Now that kept me busy." So she wasn't really paying attention, anyway.

Kathryn Buxton in the [[August 22]], 1986 edition of the ''Palm Beach Post'' gave the film a whopping ''one'' star, calling it "a ripoff of a successful toyline", whatever ''that'' means. In the same article, she also gave David Cronenberg's ''[[Fly|The Fly]]'' one star, just for reference.

In the August 8, 1986 edition of the ''LA Times'', critic Charles Solomon made clear his dislike for the film centered primarily on the fact that none of the characters had interesting or believable motivation. He stated, "Not even the best actor can create a character out of nothing. Not one of the robots has a reason for doing what he does." Solomon then pointed to Unicron specifically as an example of the lack of deep, multi-dimensional motivations in the characters.

Over time, however, the movie has acquired something of a cult following beyond the core base of [[fandom|Transformers fans]], particularly among children of the 80s. It is sometimes screened as a midnight movie at colleges. Online, it is not hard to find amateur reviews lauding everything about it as utterly awesome, from the premise to the soundtrack, and dismissing more critical views out of hand.

To date, the budget of the film has not been disclosed—at least, not in any place the [[fandom]] has found. According to most box office tracking sites,<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers.htm</ref><ref>http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1986/0TRTM.php</ref> ''The Transformers: The Movie'' made $5,849,647 in domestic (e.g., United States) theaters. Comparing this with other animated films of 1986, the results are not particularly charitable; while it did better financially than ''[[GoBots (franchise)|GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords]]''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=gobots.htm</ref> ($1,338,264) and ''Heathcliff: The Movie''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=heathcliff.htm</ref> ($2,610,686), it performed worse than the ''[[My Little Pony]]'' movie<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mylittlepony.htm</ref> ($5,958,456) and the '''second''' ''Care Bears'' movie<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=carebearsmovie2.htm</ref> ($8,540,346). Bringing up ''The Great Mouse Detective''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=greatmousedetective.htm</ref> ($25,336,794) and ''An American Tail''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=americantail.htm</ref> ($47,483,002) would really just be overkill.

==Significance in Transfandom==
''The Transformers: The Movie'' remains one of the most important elements of the entire Transformers brand, both within the fiction and from the perspective of the brand's popularity and "mindshare".

Fictionally, it established several story concepts that have been used repeatedly in the years since 1986, some of which—such as Unicron and the Matrix—are now central to the entire Transformers mythos. The movie is also the centerpiece of the most well-known Transformers continuity: the Generation 1 animated universe. The ''Transformers'' cartoon is split into "pre-movie" and "post-movie" sections which feature different characters and settings, and even somewhat different visual styles. (Most pre-movie episodes were animated by the studio [[Toei]], while most post-movie episodes were animated by [[AKOM]].)

On a practical note, it was widely available on videotape, and remained so long after the ''The Transformers'' cartoon had gone off the air. Only a [[Family Home Entertainment|handful of series episodes]] were available on video, making ''The Transformers: The Movie'' the logical choice for someone looking to pick up a ''Transformers'' cartoon; this made it far more well-known among fans than any particular cartoon episode.

To an entire generation of young fans, the movie was the most visually spectacular and narratively epic ''Transformers'' experience of their entire youth. Events such as the death of Optimus Prime are widely reported to have reduced many kids to tears. It is hardly a surprise that these emotional experiences embedded themselves deeply in many fans' memories.

==Criticisms==
[[Image:TFTM Ratchet dies.jpg|180px|left|thumb|Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise.]]

All this is not all to say that the movie is a "masterpiece", exactly. The film met with extremely harsh critical reviews on its release, and some of those criticisms still ring true today.

The film displays an arguably cynical attitude towards itself as [[To sell toys|a vehicle for advertising toys]], especially in the way beloved characters are killed—sometimes gratuitously—for sake of justifying the story's focus on a new group of toys. (Note that with the exception of Laserbeak and possibly Buzzsaw [http://www.flickr.com/photos/42232106@N06/3893688802] the poster at the top of this article features ''only'' new characters.)

Further, the two primary plot devices—[[Unicron]] and the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]—have no prior establishment in the fiction. Unicron is given no backstory or justification; he simply exists, is very dangerous, and is afraid of the Matrix, all for no adequately explained reason. The introduction of the Matrix itself is a heavy [[retcon]]. The story asks the audience to accept that this cosmically powerful artifact has been in Prime's possession all along (even though an X-ray of Optimus Prime's innards in the second season episode "[[A Prime Problem]]" show absolutely no signs of said Matrix), but has somehow never been relevant before. In fact, this lack of prior establishment is what led [[Simon Furman]] to develop the divinity backstory of Unicron and [[Primus]] in the UK comics run.

[[Image:Megatronlightsaber.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Your powers are weak, old man!]]
The movie bears many similarities to ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'': There are several character-parallels ([[Springer (G1)|Springer]] is a [[Han Solo]]-type and [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] even has Princess Leia's hairdo!), the primary threat is similar (it's the [[Death Star]]... [[Unicron|but it transforms!]]), and both feature a climactic battle where the [[Hot Rod (G1)|young hero]] hears the voice of his [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|dead, wise mentor]] one last time before saving the day.

To be a bit more fair to ''The Transformers: The Movie'', however, most of these similarities are either superficial (Arcee's Leia-hair; Megatron's "lightsaber" he briefly uses in his duel against Optimus Prime) or can be seen as elements common to thousands of years worth of epic storytelling through human history, not just common to ''Star Wars''. As a simple example, the phenomenon of two charismatic leaders dealing each other mortal injuries in battle hearkens back to some versions of the "King Arthur" myth; in their final battle, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Arthur]] and his arch-enemy [[Megatron (G1)|Sir Mordred]] deal one another lethal injuries and both apparently expire—though Arthur according to the legend will [[The Return of Optimus Prime|return]] when [[Cybertron (planet)|England's]] need [[Darkest hour|is greatest]].

==Formatting==
[[Image:Tftm widescreenesque.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The "widescreen" picture (left) actually ''cuts off'' the top and bottom of the fullscreen picture (right).]]
Although it was billed in some advertisements before its theatrical release as being "widescreen", the movie was in fact animated in a 4:3 (fullscreen) aspect ratio. For its theatrical screenings, the film was matted down in the projector by the projectionist to a 16:9 aspect ratio (widescreen), chopping the top and bottom off the picture, but all video transfers of the movie were done without mattes, meaning that there was actually more picture visible in the fullscreen video and DVD releases than there would have been in theaters. Across 2006 and 2007, new editions of the DVD of the film were released by Sony BMG and [[Metrodome]] which applied the mattes in order to replicate the original theatrical presentation of the film for the first time in home entertainment. Some fans, however, didn't realize that the film wasn't actually ''animated'' in widescreen, and, hearing that the DVD was to be in widescreen, expected to see the fullscreen image with additional footage at the sides, causing them to complain that the top and bottom were cut off, thereby totally missing the point.

==International versions==
{{main|The Transformers: The Movie/dubs}}

==Commercial Releases==
* The movie was originally released in North America on home video in 1987 by [[Family Home Entertainment]], minus Spike's swear. Not long after, it was released in the UK by [[Video Gems]]. This version featured the opening text crawl and closing narration inherent to the UK version of the film. In Australia, the film was released on video by RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts. In Japan, Hillcrane released a Laserdisc version alongside a VHS copy.
*The movie was released spottily in the '90s, beginning with a budget VHS by Avid Home Entertainment in 1991. [[Malofilm]] released a VHS in Canada in 1995, notable for being the first home entertainment version to include Spike's swear. In 1998, Japanese company Pioneer produced another pair of Laserdisc and VHS releases. In 1999, things kicked off when American company [[Kid Rhino]] secured the Transformers license and released the film on VHS once again.
*The 21st century's flirtation with ''The Transformers: The Movie'' started with a UK budget VHS release of that country's version by [[Sony|Sony Wonder]], distributed by [[Maverick Entertainment]]. A Japanese company called CatCo followed this up with a VideoCD, and Malofilm—now Seville—were the first to release a DVD version of the film, though it was just a dump of their VHS version.
*In November 2000, ''The Transformers: The Movie'' got its first, full professional DVD release from Kid Rhino. This edition, labelled a "Special Collector's Edition", is the first to feature remastered video and audio, and several special features, including storyboards and an interview with [[Vince DiCola]]. Rhino concurrently released this version on VHS, sans extras.
*In 2001 in the UK, Sony Wonder released their own much-delayed DVD version of the film. It was the UK version of the film, but included Spike's swear. However, the release was burdened by badly interlaced video, though it notably included the [[Omni Productions]] dub version of the ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|Headmasters]]'' episode "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]" as an extra. This version (including the ''Headmasters'' episode) was simultaneously released on VHS.
*The movie was released on DVD in Australia in 2003 by [[Madman Entertainment]], using the same video as the Maverick version, but distinguished by some nifty new cover art by [[Don Figueroa]], and special features not seen on other editions, such as ''[[Stan Bush|The Touch]]'' music video and 80s TV spots.
[[Image:Tftm uk covers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The UK poster art (left) has been the most common DVD and VHS cover in its home country, but the Ultimate Edition featured new art by Andy Wildman (right).]]
*After acquiring the license to release ''Transformers'' DVDs in the UK, [[Metrodome]] focused on completing their run of series box sets before turning their attention to the movie properly, releasing only a cheap budget DVD of the UK version through Prism Leisure with no extras, and a UMD of the same version.
*In 2005, Metrodome released ''Transformers: The Movie - Reconstructed'', a new version of the film designed to expose as much of the animated picture as possible. This, however, only resulted in exposing the rough, unfinished edges of the animation, and an overly pale remaster was compounded by excessive interlacing due to an unnecessary NTSC to PAL transfer. This, coupled with a 5.1 remix from [[Magno Sound & Video]], featuring the same extra sound effects that they added to Rhino's season box sets, made this release both controversial and disappointing to many. This was the first time that the US version of the movie was released in the UK, and the first to feature the US poster art as a cover (although a Silverscreen store exclusive version of the disc included a reversible cover with the UK poster art as well). Extras include trailers, TV spots, the character biographies from the Madman release, and a subtitled version of "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]".
[[Image:Tftm sony covers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Sony's covers, by Don Figueroa.]]
*For the movie's 20th anniversary in 2006, new license holder [[Sony|Sony BMG]] released a two-disc special edition of the film, featuring both a high-quality widescreen remaster and the original fullscreen version, audio commentaries from crew and fans, several new featurettes interviewing those involved in the movie's production, storyboards, tv spots, American and Japanese commercials and more. Most notably, this version included the first Western release of "[[Scramble City: Mobilization]]", albeit silent and unsubtitled, featuring only audio commentary. This release featured two covers by Don Figueroa: one is of the '84-'85 cast that appear in the movie, and one is of the movie's new characters, available either as a lenticular hologram that switches between the two, or as a reversible sleeve with the images printed on either side.
[[Image:Tftm madman covers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Madman's 2003 DVD cover (left), and their 2007 Special Edition cover (right).]]
*Delayed a bit to coincide with the hype for the 2007 [[Transformers (2007)|live-action movie]], Metrodome also released a two-disc "Ultimate Edition" with a different widescreen master. Like "Reconstructed", this version used the US edition of the film, but this time, the UK version was also included, in fullscreen, on the second disc. Extras include TV spots, commercials, the Madman biographies, storyboards, commentary, "Scramble City" (with audio and subtitles), featurettes with [[Flint Dille]] and [[Peter Cullen]], and more. The double-disc edition was sold in a steel case featuring new art by [[Andrew Wildman]], with the UK poster art adorning the standard case inside. Various store exclusives were available, including postcards from Play.Com, a reversible cover with the US poster art from HMV, art cards from Virgin Megastore and [[posters]] from Woolworths and [[Toys"R"Us]]. It was also available in an extra-less single-disc version. This version was premiered at the Mid Ulster Film Festival in Ireland which was the only cinema showing of the remastered version of the film to date.
*The film was released in Full HD 1080p on Blu-ray in the UK in October 2007. The Blu-ray is not region-locked, so it will play anywhere in the world. It features a 2.0 soundtrack, 5.1 Dolby Digital track, and a full bitrate DTS 5.1 track. The master used was the same used by Sony for their US DVD. The picture is quite stunning and the sound very good. Sadly, there are no extras on the DVD. The version of the film on the Blu-ray is the US one, complete with swear word.
*Madman produced their two-disc special edition through some collaboration with Metrodome, and consequently it features much of the same content, with additional extras taking the form of The Touch music video and a bonus episode of ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''. This release again features cover artwork by Don Figueroa, specifically the cover of [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' adaptation.

==Notes==
* According to [[Buzz Dixon]], Hasbro's decision to kill off Optimus Prime was actually an attempt to maintain some brand-storytelling parity with ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'', as Dixon had just convinced them to allow the death of [[Duke (G.I. Joe)|Duke]] in ''[[wikipedia:G.I. Joe: The Movie|G.I. Joe: The Movie]]'' and both films were in production at the same time.<ref>http://www.joeheadquarters.com/interviews_dixon.shtml</ref>

* This film was the last professional performance by [[Orson Welles]], who died only a month later. According to production materials shown at [[BotCon 2000]] by Tim Finn, the voice recording sessions for ''The Transformers: The Movie'' were done on [[September 10]] and [[September 11|11]] of 1985. Welles died on [[October 10]] of that same year. It has often been speculated that Unicron's last line ("Destiny… you cannot destroy my destiny!") was recorded by another actor—possibly [[Leonard Nimoy|Nimoy]]—because it sounds different than the other lines. This speculation has been quashed by statements by Transformers voice director [[Wally Burr]].<ref>http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/60-astrominutes/wally-burr/wally_burr_3.html</ref>
[[Image:Windcharger wheeljack otp.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Uncle Owen! Aunt Beru!!]]

* With the exception of Starscream and possibly Shockwave, only the Autobots suffered fatalities in the movie. All of the other "dead" Decepticons from the Autobot City battle were rebuilt into Galvatron's new troops, and although more Decepticons were shown taking heavy damage and suffering huge casualties while fighting Unicron, their identities and their final condition are uncertain. Additionally, both Starscream and Unicron survived in the post-movie series in some form or another. Shockwave's death in the finished film is highly uncertain, although in the script it is fairly strongly implied. He does make some miscolored appearances in crowd shots in later cartoon episodes, but these are probably examples of the fairly common animation errors in those episodes.

* Somewhat ironically, though only three of the original eighteen Autobots - [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]], and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] - are definitively shown to have survived the movie, two would quite literally never be heard from again: [[Scatman Crothers]] passed away (though this didn't stop Jazz from making any number of background cameos) while Casey Kasem [[Casey Kasem#Notes|quit the show early in the third season]]. Fate's finger is fickle indeed.

*[[:Image:TFTM-MaybeBeachcomber.jpg|A robot resembling Beachcomber]] appears alongside Spike and the Autobots inside Unicron seconds before Daniel blasts the acid cover. Whether this was actually meant to be Beachcomber or just coincidental coloring is unknown, but regardless, Beachcomber shows up alive and well in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]".

==External links==
* [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers.htm ''The Transformers: The Movie'''s box office domestic gross.]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20080426020409/http://www.tftm.net/ ''The Transformers: The Movie'' "Unofficial Fansite", an extremely thorough site about the movie]
* [http://www.wombatking.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=4 ''The Transformers: The Movie'' deleted storyboards]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transformers: The Movie}}

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 1 media]]
[[Category:MSTF]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

B.O.T. (episode)

2011-03-09T11:44:41Z

75.2.140.67: /* Notes */

{{featured}}
{{disambig2|the worst episode of Transformers ever|the titular character of the worst episode ever|B.O.T. (robot)}}
{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=65
|next=The Transformers: The Movie
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=59
|prev2=Neverending Struggle
|next2=War Dawn
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=44
|prev3=The Ultimate Doom, Part 3
|next3=Aerial Assault
|image=B.O.T.jpg
|caption=Smarter than a race of multimillion-year-old robots. ''Using Brawl's brain.''
|title="B.O.T."
|production code=#700-64
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|airdate=[[January 9]], 1986
|written by=[[Earl Kress]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''After Swindle sells the components of his fellow Combaticons, three kids get their hands on Brawl's brain, using it to make a robot.'''

Or...

'''Worst. Episode. Ever.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:BOT-Road.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Here we come…drivin' down the street…]]
The [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] enter an unidentifed city for no discernible reason, then all transform to vehicle mode for no discernible reason. While transforming, [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] knocks over [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]] for no discernible reason. Brawl expresses his displeasure for an obvious reason. They then drive (yes, even [[Vortex (G1)|the]] [[Blast Off (G1)|flyers]] ''drive'') about ten feet down the street and form [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] for no discernible reason. He is immediately destroyed with a single shot by [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] (who's there for no discernible reason). Defensor just leaves the pile of parts alone and unsupervised, apparently not bothering to alert the other [[Autobot]]s or anything. This enables Swindle—who has somehow survived ''without a scratch'' the explosion that reduced all the other Combaticons to a pile of parts—to gather up the bits. No human authorities are involved either.

Swindle then visits the generically evil foreign guy "[[El Presidente]]" on his ship filled with weapons in order to buy parts to repair the Combaticons.

Meanwhile, [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] is running a simulation of his new [[orbit disruptor cannon]]. After [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] whines, Megatron explains that once the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]] is knocked from orbit, they will use [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]]'s new device to control the tides. They will then use this colossal power to flood a single canyon, creating "a limitless source of power". What?

At the [[Combaticons' headquarters]], El Presidente's men load up the weapons and more advanced computer systems from the wrecked robots, as apparently Swindle forgot about that whole "repair" thing. Swindle then leaves to take the remaining parts to a dump. Shortly after they all leave, [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] arrives, noting no one seems to be home. He discovers a piece of one of the Combaticons, then notices there's a trail of them. Confused, he asks Megatron what to do.

[[Image:BOT-Luigi.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Giant turtles out to get him, creepy crabs are right behind.]]

Swindle arrives in a junkyard, where he threatens a junkyard worker before he starts to dump the leftovers. Starscream and Skywarp discover him in the act and capture him as he tries to escape. Back at the [[Decepticon]] base, Soundwave installs a bomb in Swindle's head; he has 15 hours to reassemble the Combaticons before it goes off. Swindle takes the parts back from various mid-'80s evil foreign stereotypes and reassembles the team. However, they are unable to combine into Bruticus because Brawl's [[personality component]] is missing. Swindle is charged with getting the component back or the bomb will still go off.

Meanwhile, at [[Benjamin Franklin Pierce High School]], [[Mr. Robbins]]'s demonstration of a laser is sabotaged by two sociopathic students, [[Martin and Roland]], who boost the laser's power output so high it instantly burns a hole through steel. Rather than involve the authorities, Mr. Robbins threatens them with an "F" in his class if they don't win a blue ribbon at the science fair, and assigns [[Elise Presser]] to assist them for no discernible reason.

Outside, the two assholes meet the meek and spineless Elise. They realize a high-rise is on fire across the street, and witness the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] coming to the rescue (well, four of them; [[Blades (G1)|Blades]] appears to blow two window-washers off their rig with the wind from his rotors—the bastard). This inspires them to build a robot for their project. The three rummage for parts in the same junkyard where Swindle dumped the Combaticons' leftover remains, and Elise discovers a random piece of machinery. They spend the night in the school's lab assembling their machine, and Martin dubs it "[[B.O.T. (robot)|B.O.T.]]". After several failures, Elise installs the random piece of machinery, which turns out to be Brawl's personality component. Naturally, Brawl-B.O.T. goes postal and starts trashing the place.

[[Image:BOT-CompRoom.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Unbeknownst to all, the school was secretly funded by a hideously gargantuan Richie Rich.]]

Martin grabs the laser and fires, and B.O.T. runs off. The kids run to the school's preposterously-advanced computer lab, and use it to call the Protectobots. [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] gets the SOS, and [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] sends [[Gears (G1)|Gears]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] to investigate.

Swindle re-threatens the junkyard worker, who says that maybe some kids took the part Swindle is after. Swindle mutters "you better hope so"… then proceeds to rummage through the trash, seemingly instantly forgetting that whole "kids" angle.

The [[Autobot]]s arrive at the school. The kids seem disappointed that they didn't get the Protectobots, but quickly lead them to their runaway creation in the school's cafeteria. Brawl-B.O.T. knocks all three Autobots over with a single serving pan of corn on the cob (That high-school food, I tell ya, huh? Huh?), then deflects Gears's blaster-fire with a pot lid. Ironhide shoots molten lead at Brawl-B.O.T., but he leaps to grab a light fixture, avoiding the attack, and the now-weakened floor collapses under Ironhide. Brawl-B.O.T. runs for it, barricading the door out with remarkable speed, and heads for a seemingly abandoned building… as Swindle watches.

The Autobots follow, telling the kids to stay put. They enter the building, and find that Brawl-B.O.T. has taken an elevator thirty floors up. Ironhide wedges a stick into the doors, and the trio run up the stairs. Outside, the future serial killers grow instantly impatient, and drag Elise inside the building. They remove the stick, enter the elevator and head up.

A blast erupts ''behind'' the Autobots, and Ironhide orders them to shoot up. They shoot at absolutely ''nothing'', Ironhide declares they hit whatever it was, and they run right into Swindle. Meanwhile, the elevator has stopped. Roland is lifted up so he can open the emergency hatch, and discovers B.O.T. is trying to break the elevator cables.

Sadly, B.O.T. is prevented from snapping the cables by an energy blast to the back. The Autobots pick themselves up, seemingly having been soundly thrashed by Swindle all by himself. They all run outside to witness Swindle driving away. Back at Decepticon headquarters, Brawl is restored and the bomb removed, and Bruticus is formed again.

At the school, Elise inspects the remnants of B.O.T. to find that the "funny component" is gone. Martin decides to hunt it down by reworking the machine that read B.O.T.'s "brain response" so it can track the signal. The three drive to the ocean, and Elise rewires B.O.T.'s speech synthesizer so it receives and decodes signals rather than creating them, letting them hear what Brawl hears. Megatron insists on a test-run of the cannon, and picks Autobot headquarters as the target. (Because it's in orbit, you see. Wait, no, it isn't.) The kids rush off to warn the Autobots, who send a signal to the Protectobots' base.

The Autobots apparently just sit around and wait for Megatron to set up his giant cannon, get his troops into position just outside their base, and for the Combaticons to assemble Bruticus before starting to defend themselves. Bruticus basically stumbles around until he falls apart. The Protectobots arrive and random fighting ensues.

[[Image:Elisetape.jpg|right|200px|thumb|This is the light-hearted, end-of-episode comedy beat. No, seriously.]]

Inside the base, the kids think they need to help, and Elise has a rare moment of spine. Using Teletraan I, she sends B.O.T. out into the battlefield on a beeline to the disruptor cannon. The Protectobots combine into Defensor and generate a force field, protecting about four other Autobots. The Decepticons wait until the force field wears off, then one shot blasts Defensor to pieces. Bruticus re-forms and tries to fire the cannon, but it turns and blasts Starscream and Soundwave instead. B.O.T. is working the cannon using a conveniently-placed control panel at the base, and causes it to explode by hitting the clearly-marked "overload" button, sending Bruticus flying away and forcing a Decepticon retreat.

Back inside, the Autobots thank the kids for their help and offer their apologies for the loss of their robot. Elise asks if they have any spare parts so they can try again… and Roland and Martin duct-tape her mouth shut and drag her away while the Autobots just watch… ''argh argh argh''…
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] (7)
* [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] (18)
* [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] (19)
* [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] (20)
* [[Blades (G1)|Blades]] (21)
* [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] (22)
* [[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (24)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (25)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (26)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (27)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (28)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (29)
|c2=
* [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] (1)
* [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] (2)
* [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (3)
* [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]] (4)
* [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] (5)
* [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] (6)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (9)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (10)
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (11)
* [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (12)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (13)
* [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (30)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (31)
|c3=
* [[El Presidente]] (8)
* [[Mr. Robbins]] (14)
* [[Martin and Roland|Roland]] (15)
* [[Martin and Roland|Martin]] (16)
* [[Elise Presser]] (17)

|c4=
* [[B.O.T. (robot)|B.O.T.]] (23)
}}

==Quotes==
"Call sanitation. There's junk all over the street!"
:—'''Defensor''', leaving his mess for the humans to clean up. He's humanity's defender, not their maid.

"Megatron, I-I-I couldn't find Brawl's personality component! I didn't think it would ''matter''…"
:—'''Swindle'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s high opinion of his teammate.

"Here, munch a little lead!"
:—'''Ironhide''' just before spraying oil (Or possibly acid, as it makes Ironhide fall through the floor. I don't know, whatever it was, it wasn't lead) at B.O.T.

"This is so degrading."
:—'''Gears''' on being beaten by Brawl-B.O.T. Or he was talking about the episode itself.

"We should've just taken the 'F' in Science."
:—'''Martin''', not knowing that if they did, we probably would have been spared this horrendous episode.

"If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I'll melt you down for scrap [[tutonium]]!"
:—'''Megatron''' threatens Swindle with gibberish

==Notes==
{{quote|The episode "B.O.T." was one I always remembered from when I was young. But the thing is, I had just remembered the story focusing on Swindle selling off the other Combaticons, and I had totally mentally blocked out the whole school science project part of the story! Wow was I disappointed when I went back and watched that one!|[[Derrick J. Wyatt]]<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/interviews-27/derrick-wyatt-interview-166415/ ''Transformers Animated'' Art Director Derrick Wyatt interview at TFW2005.com]</ref>}}

===Animation or technical glitches===
* Argh.

* The scenery in this episode is always ''huge''. In the opening scene, the five Combaticons are driving down a downtown street in a row (yes, ''even the fliers are driving on the ground'') with plenty of room. Humans are drawn tiny compared to the doors of their own buildings, and the Autobots fit easily inside human structures.

* The Bruticus scrap pile changes between shots; first it's a few scattered parts on the street, then it's a solid pile of them.

* Swindle pops out of the junk pile from beneath a yellow rectangle with wheels. The only yellow component on Bruticus is… Swindle.

* As Swindle drives past the guy with the radio on the docks, he's layered too far to the left and appears to be hovering above the road.

* There is no indication as to what jet-mode Starscream uses to capture jeep-mode Swindle.

* When Elise says "Maybe I wired the box in wrong." one of her legs is drawn way too short, almost as if she's missing her right thigh.

* When Mr. Robbins turned on the laser, it shot a continuous beam. When Martin uses it on B.O.T., it fires bolts.

* The first two times we see the Ark, it has two engines rather than three.

* The "SOS" Gears recieves is written in numbers rather than letters and isn't aligned to match the angle of Teletraan I's screen. Also, Gears is sitting in a human-looking chair we've never seen before.

* The kids create and lose B.O.T. in the middle of the night. When the Autobots reach the school, it's bright and sunny outside. If this ''isn't'' an animation error, then we are forced to assume that Brawl-B.O.T. spent several hours not doing much at all, staying inside the school the whole time, while the kids waited for the Autobots to arrive.

* Ironhide towers over the door to the kitchen, yet he fits inside a moment later. Three Autobots fit in the stairwell of the condemned building.

* As he delivers the line, "Well if that don't fry my circuits," Ironhide's left shoulder is missing.

* As everyone runs out of the kitchen, Ironhide clips through the door frame.

* The first shot of the front of the school shows it with two arches, but when the group chases after B.O.T., it's one big rectangular opening.

* The elevator in the condemned building has two rows of lights above it, but in the close-ups there's only one row (with 12 lights, far fewer than the thirty needed for the number of floors Bumblebee says are in the building).

* The "shooting at nothing upstairs" bit might be attributed to animation/script mismatch. The animation puts the Autobots in a circular staircase so they are plainly shooting at the clearly-lit curved wall directly ahead of them. It's ''possible'' the writer intended them to be shooting up a straight staircase into darkness… but that's pure conjecture.

* During a close-up, Elise's red VW Beetle becomes Swindle-colored (including a purple hood!), then changes back and remains red through the rest of the scene.

* When the Protectobots receive the signal, the lit-up part appears off to the side of the rest of the display.

* When the Protectobots leave their base, Blades is drawn huge compared to his teammates.

* Optimus and the Autobots attack from a cliff, but a few seconds later Optimus is standing in front of the Ark.

* Wheeljack's Gyro-Inhibitor appears to fire out of his left ear.

* A wall appears behind Megatron and Soundwave as they face down Hot Spot in the middle of the desert.

* As Megatron transforms into gun mode, his shoulder rest appears and disappears.

* Hot Spot's guns use the Decepticon laser sound effect.

* When the Combaticons combine during the final battle, Vortex and Blast Off are [[Scramble City|switched]].

* As the Protectobots transform to Defensor, a huge wave of energy is shown (for no real reason).

* As Megatron orders Bruticus to fire the disruptor, his waist controls are colored in reverse (blue on the left and red on the right). This is corrected a few seconds later.

* As B.O.T. gains control of disruptor, Megatron is far to the right of the other Decepticons, but a few shots later Soundwave and Ramjet are right behind him.

===Continuity errors===
* ''Argh''.

* Why didn't the Combaticons just combine into Bruticus during the opening scenes, rather than driving, transforming, transforming back to vehicles, driving '''again''', transforming, and ''then'' combining?

* Swindle goes to El Presidente to ''buy'' parts to repair the other Combaticons. The next time we see them, he's ''sold'' the Combaticon parts— for ''what'', we don't know. There is no explanation as to why he suddenly completely changed his plan.

* Gears describes the high school as a "one-level structure", but it's pretty clearly two stories.

* The kids don't seem to recognize what Transformers are, but by this point in the series, they're internationally recognized, there are holidays and tributes to them, etc. Despite this, they seem to instantly accept the existence of Transformers.

* The Autobots seem to initially not understand what a high school is.. This is in spite of the fact that they have been on Earth for a couple of years now and are friends with 3 school-aged humans, at least two of which (Carly and Chip) we ''know'' have a formal education.

===Other errors===
* '''''Argh'''''.

* Megatron's plan seems… severely overwrought. Build a giant cannon to knock the Moon out of orbit, build a device to control the tides in the Moon's absence, and use all that power to flood a canyon that contains a hydroelectric generator that they ''also'' built. Considering that in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]" all they needed was the already-made Sherman Dam and [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] shaking up a river…

* Why does Megatron put a bomb in Swindle's head? If it goes off, he loses Bruticus for good.

* Why does Megatron have ''only'' Swindle go looking for the lost personality component? Why risk permanently losing Bruticus that way?

* How did Swindle know ''exactly'' where to find each and every Combaticon component across the globe once he sold them to ''El Presidente''?

* Fifteen hours seems like an impossibly tight deadline to track down dozens or hundreds of parts scattered ''all over the world'', retrieve them, reassemble them into complex high-tech robots, AND still have time left over to track down Brawl-B.O.T.

* Why did the Combaticons suddenly have to form a robot-pyramid to become Bruticus, when earlier and later in the episode they just floated up to their correct spots, like usual?

[[Image:Combaticon pyramid.jpg|right|225px|thumb|The Combaticons unveil their new routine as the Polyhex Cowbots cheerleaders.]]

* The teens completely fail to notice a hundred-story building that is almost completely engulfed in flames and surrounded by emergency vehicles until they hear somebody fifty stories up call for help.

* Groove claims to use liquid nitrogen to put out the fire. Liquid nitrogen evaporates at -198 °C (-320 °F), so it would completely boil away the second it gets near the flames.<ref>[[wikipedia:Liquid nitrogen|Liquid nitrogen at Wikipedia]]</ref> On top of that, liquid nitrogen is not pink.

* Streetwise catches the two falling window-washers with his ''metal'' arms after they've fallen about fifty stories, and somehow they're not splattered all over him.

* Three high school kids can build a robot out of junk bits and Brawl's brain that is ''stronger'' and ''smarter'' than the Autobots. (The latter would be a little more believable if it weren't for the "Brawl's brain" part.)

* When B.O.T. is first activated, Elise is forcefully flung off the ladder by its arm. Somehow, she lands with only a soft thud and no real injuries.

* The high school's computer is astounding. It is exceedingly and hugely sci-fi in design, plus, how the kids were able to use it to send an SOS to the Autobots over the phone is… [[magic]] or something.

* Autobots are weaker than kitchenware: Gears carries a blaster that was made to injure or kill alien beings made entirely of metal, but it can't shoot through a pot lid.

* Similarly, B.O.T. somehow knocks over Gears, Ironhide and Bumblebee with a tray full of corn!

* Benjamin Franklin Pierce High School packs its hallways with some seriously heavy furniture.

* There is a fully functional elevator within a seemingly condemned building. Speaking of which, a condemned building next to a high school seems like ''trouble''.

* How did Swindle get above the Autobots on the way up? And how'd he get past them on the way down again?

* The speech synthesizer is "rewired" so that instead of "synthesizing and transmitting," it "receives and decrypts". And this somehow lets the kids listen in on a conversation being held in the Decepticon base… yeah, when this can almost be considered one of the episode's ''more'' plausible elements, something is very, very ''wrong''.

[[Image:BOT-Overload.jpg|right|225px|thumb|"I assure you, there is zero chance of this coming back to bite us!"]]

* It's never really specified why Megatron specifically needs Bruticus to fire the cannon. If it's a size thing, he also has [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] and [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]]. Likewise, it isn't specified why Optimus Prime thinks Defensor is the only one who can face Bruticus, when he has the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] and [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (for sheer size) and even [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] (as a rival combiner) to do the same.

*But to handle the controls of the cannon, the size thing is debatable because the cannon has a human-level control panel on it. Oy.

* On that note, the human-level control panel has a great big button clearly marked "Over Load" in English. Why did he install that?

* No, really, why?

* Bruticus didn't notice B.O.T. fiddling with the controls?

* Apparently Roland and Martin carry duct tape around with them. Here, they use it to tape a girl's mouth shut. Who know what they use it for the rest of the time!

* This episode was made.

===Real-world references===
* "Benjamin Franklin Pierce High School" is a reference to [[wikipedia:Hawkeye Pierce|Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce]], the character from ''[[wikipedia:M*A*S*H*|M*A*S*H*]]'' (who was also the inspiration for the [[Mini-Con]] [[Hawkeye]]'s bio).

===Continuity notes===
* Production-wise, it seems a bit odd to have three Season One Autobots respond to the kids' SOS, rather than showcasing the brand-new combiner team who would otherwise seem to be the spotlight buy-my-toy characters of the episode.

* This episode establishes that the Combaticons have their own separate base. As this was the last episode before the jump to 2005, this is never touched on again.

* Starscream says to Megatron "''Your'' stupid warrior" in reference to Bruticus, but Starscream was the one who made him.

===Foreign dubbing===
'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' ブルーティカスの復活 (''Bruticus no Fukkatsu'', "The Revival of Bruticus")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''B.O.T.'''"
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

===Trivia===
* '''''Argh'''''.

[[Image:BOT-ModelReuse.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Me an' my friends are Jem girls, especially Jimmy "The Legbreaker" Cianciulli!]]

* Mr. Robbins's class is made up of a ''very'' odd collection of students. The ''least'' odd are the two women who are just recolored character models from ''Jem'', [[Hasbro]]'s then-current cartoon-advertised foray into girls' fashion dolls. Towards the back, however, appear to be thugs in business suits.

* The class, by the way, lasts for about two minutes before the bell rings.

* The classroom itself appears to be ''huge'' in the initial shot. And why don't the desks have table tops? Only one girl is taking notes, holding a bunch of paper in her lap. There's no backpacks to be seen. And as Roland and Martin walk out, there's only an arch in front of them (with no actual ''doors'' attached to it!).

* This episode introduces the most loathsome ''Transformers'' characters ever, Roland and Martin. Boosting a laser to a level that could grievously injure or kill someone as a ''prank'', the misogynistic duct-taping of Elise's mouth and constantly dragging her places against her will, and a general smarmy smugness level that makes Starscream seem humble.

* Astrotrain appears in the simulation of the disruptor cannon knocking the Moon from orbit, but is never seen elsewhere.

* The original script's cast list for the episode notes that the "junkyard operator" is a spy, and that the only other thing we learn about him is that he gets taken away by the "Federal Authorities". Oh, and he has no lines.<ref>[[Metrodome]]'s Season 3 & 4 DVD set extras</ref> This bizarre plot twist obviously didn't make it into the final draft, but really, what's one more wad of nonsense at this point?

* The billboard over the Protectobots' urban headquarters seems to be advertising for [[E Cola]]. Mmmmmmm. Another advertisement for the beverage would appear years later in the Japanese series, ''[[Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|Super-God Masterforce]]'', in the episode "[[Heroism!! The Birth of Super Ginrai]]".

* This episode was lampooned at the [[BotCon 2006]] [[MSTF]] presentation, and as far as the writers are concerned, it is the single ''dumbest'' episode in the entirety of ''Transformers'' animation.

* It is also possibly the worst advertisement for the combiner teams possible. Bruticus is destroyed with ''a single shot'' from Defensor, and later stumbles around like a concussed baby as the Autobots shoot at him. Defensor's force field is rendered utterly pointless as the Decepticons just wait for it to run out (no more than 20 seconds), then he too is blasted to bits with ease.

* This was the last episode of season two. Can you imagine if this was the last episode of ''The Transformers'' ever?

* Good God, I need a stiff drink.

==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. 8 (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)

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

Aerial Assault

2011-03-09T10:18:53Z

75.2.140.67: /* Notes */

{{episode
|image=Giantpurplegriffon.jpg
|caption=MERV GRIFFIN!!!!!
|series=G1toon
|ep=58
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=46
|prev2=Hoist Goes Hollywood
|next2=Trans-Europe Express
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=45
|prev3=B.O.T. (episode)
|next3=Cosmic Rust (episode)
|title="Aerial Assault"
|written by=[[Douglas Booth]]
|production code=700-57
|airdate=[[December 10]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Slingshot and Skydive go undercover to discover who is responsible for the theft of planes in the Middle East.'''

:''Japanese title:'' 突撃エアーボット (''Totsugeki Airbot'', "Charge, Airbots")
:''Italian title:'' '''Assalto aereo''' ("Aerial assault")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Aerialassault.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Hey, look, no arms!]]

In an unnamed Middle Eastern country, the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] are searching for clues to a group that is stealing planes. After flying over a bazaar (in which is a [[Swindle (G1)|hauntingly familiar jeep]] being driven by a suspicious man loading equipment), the Aerialbots receive a distress call. Heading into a nearby canyon, they are attacked by the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] and [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]], and [[Slingshot]] ends up being buried within a cave by [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]]. However, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], and [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] arrive and drive off the [[Decepticon]]s. After unearthing Slingshot, the [[Autobot]]s return to a nearby air base for repairs. Slingshot is fixed, but his weapons systems have been damaged, and he needs a new console from the [[Ark (G1)|base]]. [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] gets the idea to let himself serve as bait, which [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]], in his infinite wisdom, believes is a good idea, and Slingshot decides to join as well. As night comes, the two Aerialbots are soon stolen by the plane-nappers, but they are disassembled and their [[radio transmitter]]s are disabled.

[[Image:AerialAssault Slightshot newchest.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Retooling gone badly wrong.]]

Transporting their ill-gotten planes in laundry trucks, the plane-nappers manage to get past security, but are followed by a young boy named [[Prince Jumal|Hassan]]. Getting into the truck carrying the Aerialbots' nose cones, he meets up with them and identifies the man heading this operation as [[Ali (Sunbow)|Ali]]. As it turns out, Ali has deposed Prince Jumal, the young ruler of the country, and has allied with [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] to create both [[plane drone]]s for conquering the oil fields of the [[Middle East]], and a...[[Giant Purple Griffin]] that will...do...stuff. As the convoy reaches the Palace, the Decepticons begin reassembling the planes, but the Aerialbots cause themselves to short-circuit, leaving their parts free to be reassembled. They manage to get everything except Slingshot's chest plate, but Hassan manages to borrow the front grill assembly from a car that Prince Jumal owned.

[[Image:AerialAssault Onslaughtheadinsand.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Onslaught's head in the sand serves subtly as a scathing rebuke of isolationism as foreign policy.]]

As the Decepticons prepare to mobilize, Skydive and Slingshot manage to contact the other Aerialbots, who come to help. Meanwhile, Hassan has slipped aboard the...fortress to steal a new weapons console for Slingshot. As the Aerialbots arrive, Blast Off, [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]], and [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] take control of the drone forces. The Aerialbots are able to dispatch the drones and their commanders, so [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] decides to off them himself, only to be stopped by Slingshot. Blast Off orders the Combaticons to [[Transformation|transform]] into [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]]. Slingshot bravely tries to prevent the merge, as [[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]]'s absence prevents his own team from merging into [[Superion (G1)|Superion]]. Eventually, Bruticus forms after Slingshot is thrown into the head of the now mobile...fortress. Hassan gets a weapon console to Slingshot, frees them, then heads to attack Bruticus. Fireflight finally arrives, and the Aerialbots form Superion and damage the...fortress, causing it to crash into an oil field. Superion separates into his Aerialbot components, causing the diving Bruticus to fall into the oil field. The Aerialbots then set fire to the field, forcing the Decepticons to retreat.

At the palace, the Aerialbots are trying to figure out what to do with Ali and what he did with Prince Jumal, only to discover that Hassan ''is'' Prince Jumal. He explains that Slingshot may keep the new chest plate as a gift, as Jumal's hobby is fixing old junk cars. Slingshot feels honored...till he thinks that Jumal is calling him a piece of junk.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (6)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (7)
* [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (8)
* [[Slingshot]] (9)
* [[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]] (10)
* [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (16)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (17)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (18)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (19)
* [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] (25)

|c2=
* [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] (4)
* [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] (11)
* [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]] (12)
* [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] (13)
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (14)
* [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (15)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (20)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (21)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (22)
* [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] (23)
* [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] (24)

|c3=
* Auto parts merchant (1)
* [[Prince Jumal|Hassan/Prince Jumal]] (2)
* [[Ali (Sunbow)|Ali]] (3)
* Ali's henchmen (5)
}}

==Quotes==
"About time too. That high altitude was making me dizzy."
:–Thankful for a reason to land, '''Silverbolt''' reveals he's still afraid of heights.

"On my way to a turkey shoot. Isn’t that right, turkeys?"
:–'''Blast Off'''

"Megatron, you promised me world domination!” 
"You’ll be lucky if I let you live, fool!"
:–'''Ali''' pushes his luck with '''Megatron'''

"Hey. Did you just call me a... junker?" 
"Don't worry, Slingshot. No matter what you're made of, you'll always be a Rolls Royce to me!"
:—'''Slingshot''' and '''Jumal'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
[[Image:Slingshot undercover.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Hmm let's see... Autobot symbol... nope, nothing suspicious to see here!]]
* While towing Slingshot from the canyon, Optimus' cab windows are red.
* After Ratchet repairs him, the top of Slingshot's head is orange. In the next shot, it's white. It changes from one to the other throughout the episode.
* Slingshot flips his new Rolls Royce grill chest plate over, and its backside matches his original chest design, but colored gray. After this scene, however, his chest has its normal coloration.
* When Megatron is ordering Blast Off, Ramjet, and Vortex to attack Silverbolt and Air Raid, Onslaught transforms into a very small anti-aircraft truck.
* An odd sound editing error clips the end off of Blast Off's line "So I can blast him into oblivion!" and the start of Onslaught's following line, "Combaticons unite and transform into Bruticus!"
* Rumble is shown alternatively with ''one'' missile on his back and nothing on his back throughout the episode. After the Aerialbots blow up the oil field, he suddenly has ''two'' missiles on his back for the only time.
* When Fireflight finally arrives to help the rest of the Aerialbots against Bruticus, he is colored entirely black.
* Ramjet has Dirge's color scheme in the scene just after the griffin starts firing on the Aerialbots.
* During the final scene, Slingshot's first few lines are mouthed by Air Raid (then Air Raid speaks his lines as normal).
* During the final scene, when Slingshot and Prince Jumal are discussing the Rolls Royce grille Slingshot was using as a chest plate, the grille appears and disappears into thin air several times.

===Continuity errors===
* Optimus Prime, Jazz, Ratchet and Hoist disappear from the episode after Ratchet repairs Slingshot. If they're in the Middle East already and there are Decepticons in the area, why don't they stick around for a while? They could have helped during the final battle.
* Nobody in the "laundry" truck notices Hassan coming up behind them in his motorcycle.
* This episode was produced and aired well out of sequence. Most visibly, the Combaticons appear, placing the episode chronologically after "[[The Revenge of Bruticus]]". It also presumably occurs after "[[War Dawn]]", because the Aerialbots have no problem fighting Decepticons ''and'' aren't jerks towards humans.
* We never learn the reason for Fireflight's protracted absence.
* No reason is given for Megatron to give his fortress the form of a griffin.
* The prince's compound sits next to an oil drilling rig, yet we never see the Decepticons make energon cubes.

===Trivia===
* Deleted scenes in this episode include Hassan reconstructing Slingshot and Skydive to disguise them as refrigerators to get them past the border guards; the trucks transporting the jet parts breaking down in the desert and some camels being stolen to tow them when Swindle refuses to do so; and Swindle discovering the Aerialbots, being knocked out and having his memory banks wiped so he forgets they were there.
* The Giant Purple Griffin has become one of the most mocked creations in Trans[[fandom]].
* In this episode, [[Ed Gilbert]] takes over the role of Superion from [[Frank Welker]], who voiced him briefly in "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2]]".

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2001 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Exclusively from Blockbuster ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 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/aerial_assault.html Dossier on the Cybertron Chronicle]

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

Masquerade

2011-03-09T09:24:36Z

75.2.140.67: /* Notes */

{{episode
|image=Masquerade Menasors.JPG
|caption=Menasor crush...destroy knockoff.
|series=G1toon
|ep=64
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=61
|prev2=War Dawn
|next2=Fire in the Sky
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=21
|prev3=The Revenge of Bruticus
|next3=Ghost in the Machine
|title="Masquerade"
|written by=[[Donald F. Glut]]
|production code=700-63
|airdate=[[December 16]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''After defeating the Stunticons, five of the Autobots pose as the crazed combiners to learn of Megatron's newest plan.'''

:''Japanese title:'' マスカレード (''Masquerade'')
:''German'' Generation 2 ''title:'' "'''Perfekte Tarnung'''" ("Perfect Disguise")
:''Italian title:'' '''Sotto copertura''' ("Undercover")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Masquerade prime vs mmaster.jpg‎|left|thumb|Shortly after this, Menasor threw up.]]
[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] sends the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] on a mission to find components for an unrevealed purpose, including the world's largest, most perfect ruby. While searching for their components, the actions of the Stunticons catch the attention of the [[Autobot]]s, who track their movements and their crimes. Breakdown and Wildrider get the first component: laser lenses from a scientist. Dead End and Drag Strip get the second component: an experimental generator from the Army. Motormaster gets the last one: a perfect ruby from a museum.

The Autobots split into teams and manage to be extremely effective at capturing the Stunticons in the middle of their capers. [[Grapple]], [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]], and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] take on [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] and [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]]. [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] and [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] take on [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] and [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]]. Finally, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]], [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] go for [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]], who challenges the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] to a game of “chicken” and ends up in a head-on collision. Spike, Bumblebee, and Blaster peer through the dust to see who survived, and it turns out that Optimus is the clear victor with merely a minor headache, while Motormaster lies in a wreck.

[[Image:Masquerade Wheeljack Optimaster.jpg|right|200px|thumb|No Motormaster disguise is complete without a hunk of Big League Chew.]]

Although all five Stunticons have been captured, the Autobots still don’t know what their plans were for the components they stole for Megatron. [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] guesses that the parts are going to be made into a weapon. (Nooo, really?) Optimus hatches a scheme to disguise Autobots using [[camouflage paint]] and penetrate the Decepticon camp disguised as Stunticons: Optimus Prime as Motormaster, [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] as Dead End, [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] as Breakdown, [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] as Drag Strip, and [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] as Wildrider.

[[Image:Sideswipe FakeBreakdown.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Sideswipe? I, Breakdown, have never heard of such a being!]]

The disguised Autobots infiltrate the Decepticons, although their arrival causes some raised eyebrows because they are driving too "safely". They deliver the stolen components to Megatron without being detected.

Back at the [[Ark (G1)|Autobot base]], the Stunticons manage to shimmy and shake their way out of their cells, merge into [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] and overcome their Autobot captors. They then head back to the Decepticon base.

[[Image:Masquerade Megatron manning gun.jpg|right|200px|thumb|We've been here before.]]

The Constructicons complete Megatron’s new weapon, and he reveals its power, but just then Menasor arrives and declares the Autobots as infiltrators. Using Windcharger’s electric field ability and Mirage’s illusion power, the Autobots merge into their own Menasor. The two giants battle it out, and the Autobots are overcome. Megatron trains the new weapon on the Autobots, but the device blows up in his face after a few scattered shots.

Autobot reinforcements arrive, and the Decepticons flee without their usual promises for revenge. It is revealed that Ironhide had made adjustments to the ruby back at Autobot HQ, which caused the device to explode. The Autobots head for home, victorious.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (9)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (10)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (12)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (13)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (14)
* [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (18)
* [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (19)
* [[Grapple]] (20)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (21)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (22)
* [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (23)
* [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (24)
* [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (25)
* [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (26)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (27)
* [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (28)
* [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (29)
* [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (30)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (31)
* [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (32)

|c2=
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (1)
* [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (2)
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (3)
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (4)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (5)
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (6)
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (7)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (8)
* [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (33)
* [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]]
* [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (34)
* [[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (35)
* [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (36)
* [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (37)
* [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (38)
* [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] (39)

|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (7)
* Optician (15)
* US Army troops (16)
* Museum guards (17)
}}

==Quotes==
"A near miss deserves a couple o' near-missiles!"
:—'''Inferno'''

"I'll probably hate myself in the morning, but..."
:—'''Inferno''' before he douses the flames on the Stunticon Breakdown

"Blam! Boom! Pow! I'll make that hot rod even hotter. HA HA HA!"
:—'''Warpath''' firing on the Stunticons Dead End and Drag Strip

"Well, look who's here! The old King of the Road! When I'm finished with ya, you'll be King of the Junkyard!"
:—'''Motormaster''' taunting '''Optimus Prime''' into a game of chicken

"You did it! You did it, Optimus! You stuffed that loudmouth once and for all." 
"I...hope so, Spike, because I'd hate to go through that again."
:—'''Spike''' congratulates a shaken '''Optimus''' as he recovers from a head-on collision with Motormaster.

''[The Autobots are towing the defeated Stunticons to the Ark]'' 
'''Wheeljack''': Here they come. 
'''Ratchet''': I won't bother asking who won. 
'''Breakdown''': ''(taking note of the Autobots looking at them)'' They're gawking at us! How mortifrying! 
'''Dead End''': The word, Breakdown, is mortiFYing, my sentiment exactly. 
'''Motormaster''': I'm in no mood for your big words, Dead End. 
'''Ironhide''': For you, Motormouth, this '''IS''' a dead end.
:—Motormaster complains about Dead End's SAT-level vocabulary

"Man, Optimus. You're a dead ringer for Motormaster." 
"Did you have to say ''dead'' ringer, Spike?"
:—'''Spike Witwicky'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s vocabulary causes '''Optimus Prime''' to wince.

"All right, then...ah...Stunticons, let's roll for it. "
:—'''Optimus Prime''' disguises as Motormaster.

"Everybody out on bad behavior!"
:—'''Breakdown''' after freeing himself and taking out Inferno, Grapple, and Hoist.

"Imagine my turning that ray on the Autobots' headquarters. Perhaps when it's gone, someone will put up a memorial parking lot. Mwahaha!"
:—'''Megatron'''

"Machine appears unstable. Suggest abandoning it." 
"Suggestion noted—and ignored!"
:—'''Soundwave''' warns '''Megatron''', for all the good it does.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
[[Image:Huge Ironhide and Small Ratchet.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Introducing Ultra class Ironhide and Scout class Ratchet.]]
* Early on, the Stunticons land on a beach and each of them kicks up sand when they land. A few moments later, they transform and drive off, and no sand is disturbed by their tires.
* Ratchet's voice actor in this episode is [[Wally Burr]], not the usual [[Don Messick]], and it shows. Burr uses the same generic deep voice he used for Thundercracker in "[[War Dawn]]" and Jazz in "[[Kremzeek!]]".
* Motormaster somehow transforms into (a ''tiny'') truck mode while still inside the museum. Also, a moment later as he drives away, he has a dark gray stripe on his trailer that shouldn't be there.
* As Tracks goes into flight mode, the sandy beach suddenly has squares on it for one shot (as if it were pavement).
* As Motormaster comes into view before the crash with Prime, his bumper extends to the sides of his trailer rather than the sides of his cab.
* After the crash, just before Optimus transforms into robot mode, his cab's grille is missing the vertical line in the middle. His subsequent transformation looks very crude, especially around his legs.
* Blaster contacts the other Autobots and his chest lights up, but during Warpath's report it's no longer flashing.
* Optimus strokes his faceplate during the discussion of the Stunticons' plans, and his finger disappears for a moment.
* The broadcast of the doctor's announcement shows a building with the word "OPTCS" behind him. Earlier it was correctly shown as "REPUBLIC ''OPTICS'' COMPANY."
* As Optimus gets his idea after watching the broadcast, the triangles on his waist are gray instead of yellow.
* When approaching the crater, Jazz appears to be driving above and not under rocks.
* "Looks like Megatron is trying to outdo his worst." His worst ''what'', Optimus?
* As Laserbeak returns to Soundwave, Soundwave is missing his Decepticon insignia.
* As "Motormaster" (Optimus) drives up to Megatron, his door is colored purple like his windows. A shot later, it's back to black, but the ''next'' shot (Starscream asking about his voice) shows his grille as black instead of gray. The same thing happens as the real Motormaster busts out of the Autobot cell.
* As a result of animation cels being stacked incorrectly, Ratchet appears teeny-tiny in the front of a crowd shot, making Ironhide look colossal by comparison. The tiny Ratchet should, of course, be (barely visible) at the ''back'' of the crowd.
* When the real Menasor takes off to warn Megatron, he has a purple[[ Autobot]] insignia.
* As Bumblebee says, "Great Cybertron," Spike is mouthing the words.
* Just after dismissing the Constructicons, Megatron's face is white.
* As "Motormaster" (Optimus) asks about the weapon, Megatron's forehead colors are reversed (black forehead with gray triangles).
* As "Motormaster" (Optimus) says, "Too many head-on collisions!," his headlights are black instead of white.
* The Autobot Menasor gets knocked to the ground, but one who delivers "The generator..." line in Optimus' voice is the one standing up (with the sky behind him).
* When Megatron first grabs the laser, he's colored in reverse (light gray body with a dark gray face).
* When "Motormaster" reverts back to Optimus Prime, his headlights aren't colored white and he's missing the horizontal lines on the crest of his helmet.
* When the Autobots begin firing on Menasor, his face is entirely black.
* Just before Megatron fires the laser, Windcharger is miscoloured in green and gray (with yellow stripes on his arms, like Hound).

===Continuity errors===
* The Autobots account for their ability to merge (Windcharger's magnetic field) and for the fake Menasor's face (Mirage's hologram). But where do they get working ''hands'' for their fake Menasor?

* Although both are similar in size, Motormaster's transforming method greatly differs from Optimus Prime's transforming method, yet during the episode, after donning the disguise, Optimus transforms exactly like Motormaster does.

* After the Stunticons were captured, Breakdown stated that their vehicular modes are busted, yet after Wildrider frees the Stunticons, they all start driving out of their cells.

* The Stunticons were still heavily damaged and not repaired after being captured and placed in the cells, yet they were able to not only form Menasor and take on several Autobots at the Ark, but fly and battle the 5 Autobots disguised at Stunticons with near invulnerability (and a cool sword that appears out of nowhere)?

===Sci-Fi Channel edits===
* In the mid-1990s, many G1 episodes were aired on the [[SciFi Network]]. To allow expanded advertising time, they were edited down, cutting "unnecessary" dialog and scenes out. Some of the "unnecessary" dialog cut from this episode included parts of Grapple and Inferno's lines, resulting in them collectively uttering "Time to add firobably hate myself in the morning, but..."

===Continuity notes===
[[Image:Soundwave fly.jpg|right|200px|thumb|In fact, Soundwave can fly in his alt mode, too.]]
* Gadgets and powers:
** Soundwave can fly in his tape deck mode! When the Decepticons retreat, he transforms and then flies off behind Starscream. It is tempting to assume that the animators took a script direction like "the Decepticons transform and fly off in retreat" a bit too literally.
** Mirage can project a hologram of Menasor's face. This runs contrary to his usual schtick, which is invisibility. His original bio described him as being able to create "the illusion of a different appearance" for up to six minutes, but this is the only time it pops up in the cartoon (presumably because holograms were Hound's gimmick... though per the bio, Hound's great power is to create ''maps'', and simple images on rare occasions.)

* Megatron's line "Suggestion noted...AND IGNORED!" when Soundwave warns him would be revisited during the ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' episode "[[Nemesis Part 2]]" when his [[Megatron (BW)|namesake]] utters those exact sentiments to [[Dinobot II]] on board the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]''.

*Two scenes deleted from this episode feature the individual Stunticons talking with each other ''while'' combined as Menasor, only for Menasor himself to then silence all of his components, because their chatter is confusing him!

===Trivia===
* In case you missed it, the Autobots chosen to impersonate the Stunticons aren't random, but based pretty specifically on alternate mode. Although the specific models don't line up, Prime and Motormaster both transform into semi trucks, Jazz and Dead End are both Porsches, Breakdown and Sideswipe are Lamborghinis, Mirage and Drag Strip are both race cars (albeit very different-looking ones), and.... weeeeell, Windcharger's a Pontiac Firebird and Wildrider's a Ferrari, but the plot demanded Windcharger for his magnetic abilities. Indeed, given this attention to detail, it's not infeasible to think that the plot of this episode may have originally called for the Autobots to simply have their alternate modes painted, since they consistently refrain from transforming once in the Decepticon camp.
* A coincidence or not, ''[[Classics (2006)|Classics]]'' Menasor is a [[redeco]] from ''[[Legends Class|Legends of Cybertron]]'' [[:Image:LOC_CybertronPrime.jpg|Optimus Prime]], while ''[[Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' [[:Image:Universe2008_DragStrip.jpg|Drag Strip]] is made from [[:Image:Classics_Mirage_toy.jpg|''Classics'' Mirage]] redeco. At one point there was intended to be a ''[[Alternators|Binaltech]]'' [[Wildrider (G1)#Notes|Wildrider]] created from ''[[Alternators]]'' [[:Image:AltWindcharger_toy.jpg|Windcharger]] (or rather, his [[:Image:Binaltech_Overdrive_Toy.jpg|''Binaltech'' counterpart]]), but that never eventuated. [[IDW Publishing]] used [[:Image:Universe2008_SideSwipe_toy.jpg|''Universe'' Sideswipe]] as a basis for a new version of Breakdown, and the toy's mold was used for the [[BotCon 2010]] G2 Breakdown! We bet Dead End feels really miserable about being left out, but then, that's Dead End fer ya. [[Dead End (ROTF)|Oh]] [[Jazz (Movie)|wait]] [[Dead End (Animated)|a]] [[Jazz (Animated)|minute]].....

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1990 — ''Transformers'' — Cosmic Rust / Masquerade ([[Tempo Video]])
;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. 8 (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/masquerade.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicles]

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

The Revenge of Bruticus

2011-03-06T10:12:34Z

75.2.140.67: /* Notes */

{{episode
|image=Revenge of bruticus 2 threratenShockwave.jpg
|caption=I asked you a question, buddy—what's the square root of 5,248?
|series=G1toon
|ep=63
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=54
|prev2=Starscream's Brigade
|next2=War Without End (episode)
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=20
|prev3=Starscream's Brigade
|next3=Masquerade
|title="The Revenge of Bruticus"
|written by=[[Larry Strauss]]
|production code=700-62
|airdate=[[January 8]], 1986
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Even though Starscream and the Combaticons are banished to space, they are still a threat—a threat returning to destroy both the Decepticons and the Autobots...'''

:''Japanese title:'' ブルーティカスの攻撃 (''Bruticus no Kōgeki'', "The Attack of Bruticus")
:''German ''Generation 2'' title:'' "'''Bruticus Rache'''" ("Bruticus's Revenge")
:''Brazilian title:'' "'''A Vingança de Bruticus'''" ("The Vengeance of Bruticus")
:''Italian title:'' '''La vendetta di Bruticus''' ("The revenge of Bruticus")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Revenge of bruticus 4 changing course.jpg|left|170px|thumb|Okay, boys...we get those scrambled channels now.]]

Stuck in a cosmic "time out" with the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]], [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] decides to book it, declaring the Combaticons incompetent. Unfazed, [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] has developed a plan of revenge; [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] is towing their asteroid to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. The Combaticons' arrival on Cybertron interrupts a little target practice [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] is holding for the [[Sentinel (G1)|Sentinel drones]]. The Combaticons merge into [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]], decimate the Sentinels, and launch gun-mode Shockwave into deep space. Onslaught declares that Operation: Revenge has begun.

On [[Earth]], [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] is overseeing the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] army, as they devour a city one building at a time. [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and the [[Autobot]]s arrive, but the Insecticons are moving into a nearby neighborhood that is still inhabited. Prime is unwilling to risk civilian casualties, so the Autobot leader sends in the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] to evacuate the civilians.

At the [[Ark (G1)|Autobot base]], [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] is giving [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] a little astronomy lesson about shooting stars, noting that the odds of an ''actual'' star colliding with the Earth are slim...

[[Image:RevengeOfBruticus TracksSideswipeProwl.jpg|right|150px|thumb|<del>Huey, Dewey and Louie</del> Tracks, Sideswipe and Prowl to the rescue.]]

Meanwhile, out in space, Starscream literally runs into Shockwave. Apparently unaware that Starscream has been exiled, Shockwave enlists his help to rescue Cybertron.

At Shockwave's base, [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]] is itching for a fight, Blast Off advises calm, as Onslaught is sure to have a plan. That plan involves the [[Space bridge]]. Though it is far ahead of any Decepticon technology Onslaught has previously seen, he manages to rig the space bridge to move Earth into its [[sun]], which will destroy the Decepticons and the Autobots at the same time!

On Earth, the humans have been successfully evacuated from the city, and the Autobots begin blasting the Insecticons to bits. However, Spike and Perceptor arrive, [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] dropping them off, having learned of Earth's altered orbit, and inform Prime of the peril. The Autobots head for the space bridge, and Megatron orders [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] to remove the space bridge's control console and evacuate.

[[Image:RevengeofBruticus Primefiringguns.jpg|left|170px|thumb|Alright, who wants a taste of sheer firepower?]]

On Cybertron, Starscream and Shockwave use a [[holographic projector]] to make the Combaticons believe that they are under attack. Shockwave discovers Onslaught's space bridge modifications, but Starscream shoots him, then sends Megatron an ultimatum: Surrender leadership of the Decepticons, or everything on Earth, including Megatron and the Decepticons, will fry. However, the Combaticons eventually figure out the ruse, and they imprison Starscream and Shockwave.

Megatron sends [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] and [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] to locate the Insecticons, but they discover that the bug-bots have chewed up the console. The Autobots, who have also tracked down the Decepticons, offered to assist Megatron and the Decepticons. Perceptor repairs the console with parts from Prime and Megatron. Prime insists that the Autobots be included in the trip to Cybertron, which Megatron relents to, and the united teams head to Cybertron, leaving the Protectobots to struggle with rising temperatures and find a way to keep the human race from being wiped out.

[[Image:Revege of Bruticus Prime Bruticus.JPG|right|150px|thumb|The only way to keep that chestplate on.]]

The two teams free Starscream and Shockwave, the former loudly protesting that he was forced to threaten Megatron by the Combaticons, and the latter immediately denouncing the story as lies. Before anyone can do anything else, the Combaticons attack, merging into Bruticus when the fight turns against them. Starscream reveals that Bruticus has one weak point on his back that, if blasted, will shut him down. Prime manages to shoot the weak point, and [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] reverses the space bridge, returning Earth to its proper orbit.

Prime and Megatron agree to destroy Bruticus, and Megatron allows the Autobots to leave unharmed. However, the Decepticons have faked Bruticus' destruction, and reprogrammed the real Bruticus to serve Megatron. Megatron pardons Starscream and restores him to the Decepticon ranks.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (17)
* [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (18)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (19)
* [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (21)
* [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] (22)
* [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] (23)
* [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] (24)
* [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] (25)
* [[Blades (G1)|Blades]] (26)
* [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (27)
* [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (29)
* [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (30)
* [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (32)
* [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (33)
|c2=
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (1)
* [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]] (2)
* [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] (3)
* [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] (4)
* [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] (5)
* [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (6)
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (7)
* [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] (8)
* [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] (9)
* [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] (10)
* [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] (11)
* [[Insecticon clone]]s (12)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (13)
* [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (14)
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (15)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (21)
* [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (34)
|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (28)
|c4=
* [[Sentinel (G1)|Sentinel drone]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==
"I can't stand it! I can't stand it! This is a cosmic prison!" 
"Shaddup!" [''blasts him'']
:—'''Starscream'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s mewling is too much for '''Brawl''' to take.

"Look, Perceptor, a shooting star!" 
"Of course that's not really a shooting star. It's really a meteorite entering Earth's athmosphere." 
"I know. I'd hate to imagine a real star shooting into the Earth." 
"Well, the chances of this planet colliding with a real star are remote." 
"I'd hope so. It would mean the end of everything!" 
:—'''Spike''' being taught about shooting stars by '''Perceptor''', only for...

"I can direct the movement of planet Earth and send it on a direct course into the Sun."
:—... '''Onslaught''' to take the idea.

"Come in, MegaBUM!"
:—'''Starscream'''<nowiki></nowiki> being a dick as he contacts Megatron from Cybertron.

"Ramjet, if this Autobot quack does anything suspicious, shatter his lenses... from the ''inside''."
:—'''Megatron''' delivers an indirect warning to Perceptor as the latter takes components from him and Optimus Prime to repair the Space Bridge.

"It was the Combaticons. They locked us in here and forced me to threaten you, Megatron!" 
"He is lying!"
:— '''Shockwave''' snitches on '''Starscream'''.

"Not until you relinquish control over the Decepticons." 
"Don't be a fool." 
"Then let the Earth ''burn''!"
:— '''Starscream''' tries to blackmail '''Megatron'''.

"They're gangin' up on us!" 
"Well, let's gang up on them!" 
"Combaticons, transform and become Bruticus!"
:— '''Brawl''', '''Vortex''' and '''Onslaught''' as the Decepticons and Autobots surround them.

"Bruticus hates Cybertron! Bruticus hates you all!"
:— '''Bruticus''' goes emo on the Autobots and Decepticons that have come to destroy him.

"I hope Starscream was telling the truth."
:— '''Optimus Prime''' hopes for a miracle as he takes down Bruticus.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
[[Image:Ratchet weirdhead.PNG|right|150px|thumb|Look familiar?]]
*As he says, "I can't stand it!," Starscream is missing the Decepticon insignia on his wings.
*When [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] first appears, he has the word "POLISE" written on his side.
*When [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] and [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] take [[energon cube]]s to the [[space bridge]], Thundercracker is colored with Starscream's colors.
*As he says, "I'm that close to Cybertron?," one of Starscream's Decepticon insignia is white instead of purple.
*Shockwave changes the projector to show gargoyles, but as he and Starscream walk away, the Combaticons are still fighting the giant squid things.
*Ramjet is missing the transformation sound effect as he finds the Insecticons in the parking garage.
*Ratchet's helmet is colored black shortly after Prowl finds the space bridge control panel.
*After Perceptor turns on the space bridge, the graphic shows it activating with ''no one inside''.
*When Starscream and Shockwave are rescued from prison, a second Megatron appears briefly beside the first.
*When Starscream demands to be leader of the Decepticons in order to stop the Earth from falling into the sun, Brawl attacks, but the next scene shows only Swindle, who retreats.
*When surrounded by the Autobots and Decepticons, it is Vortex commanding the Combaticons to merge into Bruticus, but you hear Onslaught's voice.
*As Optimus discovers the altered space bridge on Cybertron, the crest on his helmet is drawn much larger than usual.
*A shot later, we see Sideswipe, Prowl and Sunstreaker run towards Prime, but the next shot shows only Sideswipe standing next to him.
*Starscream says Bruticus can be disabled by hitting three spots on his back, but Prime disables him after ''one'' shot.
*After saving the Earth, Starscream's cockpit is colored all yellow when it should have white stripes.
*Skywarp and Ramjet enter the space bridge, but Thundercracker appears on Cybertron as well. All three basically disappear after the rescue of Starscream and Shockwave.
*When the Autobots are preparing to leave Cybertron at the end, Sideswipe speaks with Sunstreaker's voice.

===Continuity errors===
* The asteroid Starscream was banished to is a ''lot'' larger in this episode than shown at the end of "[[Starscream's Brigade]]".
* The Combaticons’ lack of [[energy absorber]]s as shown in "[[Starscream's Brigade]]" is not mentioned and seems to cause no problems for them. (Maybe they installed new ones once on Cybertron.) Somehow, Blast-Off has enough power to tow an entire asteroid and its passengers to Cybertron.
* How improbable is it that in the infinite vastness of space, with Starscream only heading in the general direction of Cybertron and Shockwave being randomly tossed off its surface and out of its orbit, that the two randomly crash into each other?
* While waiting for Onslaught to implement his plan, Brawl mentions to Blast Off how he'd like to "attack the Earth now and crush Megatron like an Insecticon". Of all the Decepticons the Combaticons encountered since their reactivation during the previous episode, the Insecticons were not among them.
* Shockwave appears completely unaware that Starscream was an exile. Has Megatron never heard of memos?
* After finding the projector, Swindle tells the other Combaticons, "Gentlemen, we've been had." Considering their contempt for humanity, the turn of phrase is somewhat strange.
* If the sun is so close that it makes crops spontaneously combust, how has humanity not burned alive?
* Why don't we see [[Ratchet_(G1)|Ratchet]] helping out the humans? He's an ambulance too, you know.
* Why don't the Autobots just fly Omega Supreme over to Cybertron?
* The Combaticons lock up Starscream and Shockwave by closing a door and activating a force field. When Megatron frees them, there's only a force field (the door is nowhere to be seen).
* Optimus suddenly has a second gun (for about two seconds) in the battle against the Combaticons.
* Megatron comes up with the idea of reprogramming Bruticus for loyalty in this episode, even though he could have done so in the last episode after Bruticus was defeated by [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]].
* How does the water on Earth get replenished after this episode? And what about all the damage to those cities that was caused by the Insecticons?

===Continuity notes===
* This is the Protectobots' first appearance in the series, yet there is absolutely no mention of where they came from. While this does put them in the company of most of the rest of the new season-two cast, it's the first time a combiner team wasn't given a special origin episode. The reason for this, as noted in the show's [[production bible]], was that the information on the team was not delivered to the cartoon's production staff before the episode plots for the rest of the series had been finalized. Consequently, there were no open slots left to give the Protectobots an episode dedicated to their origin, but they were inserted into some of the predetermined stories (namely, this episode and "[[B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.]]") to appease Hasbro.
* '''[[Starscream's Brigade|< <]]''' What makes Starscream the leader? Nothing, but that doesn't stop him from trying to extort Megatron into giving up his leadership position in return for saving the Earth. '''[[The Transformers: The Movie|> >]]'''
*This episode marks the second and last appearance of the Sentinel robots.
*This episode marks the last appearance of [[Autobot]] [[Security Director]] [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]]. (It was a conspiracy. A CONSPIRACY I TELL YOU! HE KNEW TOO MUCH!)
*The episode marks one of the few, if not only times where the Decepticons end the episode with a clear advantage on their side (with Bruticus as their soon-to-be servant), whereas in most episodes, their plans are usually completely foiled.

===Trivia===
* During the fight with the Insecticons, Powerglide lands to let Spike and Perceptor out. We assume Perceptor transformed from microscope to robot mode upon exiting, as Optimus' trailer obscures from view their disembarking, but no transformation noise is heard. We also assume Powerglide was at headquarters, although off-screen, when Spike was looking at deep space through Perceptor. Also, it's safe to say that in robot mode, Perceptor can't fit inside Powerglide. If he did, a [[scale]] issue would arise.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1986 — ''The Transformers'' — Dinobot Island, also includes The Revenge of Bruticus ([[St. Michael Video Library]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1987 — ''Transformers'' — 1: The Revenge of Bruticus / 2: Dinobot Island (Parts 1 and 2) ([[Entertainment UK|Starvision]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — ''The Transformers'' — The Revenge of Bruticus and Dinobot Island Parts 1 & 2 ([[Video Gems|V.I.P. Video Gems]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1991 — ''Transformers'' — 1: The Revenge of Bruticus / 2: Dinobot Island (Parts 1 and 2) ([[Entertainment UK|The Fun House]])
;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. 8 (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/the_revenge_of_bruticus.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Revenge of Bruticus}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]

Starscream's Brigade

2011-03-06T09:02:20Z

75.2.140.67: /* Notes */

{{episode
|image=Starscreams_brigade_5_letsgo.jpg
|caption=Surely, this will be his moment to shine...or not.
|series=G1toon
|ep=62
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=53
|prev2=Auto-Bop
|next2=The Revenge of Bruticus
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=19
|prev3=Triple Takeover
|next3=The Revenge of Bruticus
|title="Starscream's Brigade"
|written by=[[Michael Charles Hill]]
|production code=700-61
|airdate=[[January 7]], 1986
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''After his latest attempt to overthrow Megatron's rule of the Decepticons, Starscream is banished from HQ, but this time, he hatches a plan...'''

:''Japanese title:'' スタースクリーム軍団 (''Starscream Gundan'', "Starscream's Brigade")
:''German'' Generation 2 ''title:'' "'''Starscreams großer Kampf'''" ("Starscreams big Fight")
:''Russian title:'' "'''Otryad Skandalista'''" (''Отряд Скандалиста'', "Starscream's Brigade")
:''Italian title:'' '''La brigata di Starscream''' ("Starscream's brigade")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Starscreamsbrigade1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|You'd think Starscream would be a little less shocked to be in this position by now.]]

In [[1943]], at the height of [[World War II]], [[human]]s waged war on one another on the island of [[Guadalcanal]] in the south Pacific. Their wrecked and useless vehicles lay there untouched through the decades, until the present time—[[1985]].

Within [[Decepticon Headquarters (G1 Earth)|Decepticon Headquarters]], [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] and [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] are having a spat over the fact Megatron favors [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]. Predictably, it ends with Starscream shooting Megatron in the back and proclaiming himself the new leader. Megatron recovers after a few seconds, knocking Starscream to the ground. The rest of the Decepticons refuse to obey Starscream's order to kill Megatron, so he attempts to flee, only to be shot down by Megatron. At the Decepticon leader's order, [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] carries Starscream away and dumps him on Guadalcanal.

Humiliated and infuriated, Starscream stumbles upon the remnants of some old World War II vehicles, which inspire him to create an army of his own. He forces his way past [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], who are guarding the [[space bridge]], and travels to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. There he breaks into a [[Decepticon Detention Center]] and liberates the [[personality component]]s of five [[Renegade Decepticon]]s. Returning to Guadalcanal, he installs them into the wrecked vehicles, which transform into the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]]. The quarrelsome warriors are not happy with their new bodies and threaten simply to beat Starscream to a pulp, until he reveals that their new bodies do not contain [[energy absorber]]s, without which they cannot refuel: "No energy, no life." In exchange for the needed equipment, the Combaticons agree to obey Starscream's orders for the moment.

[[Image:StarscreamsBrigade Vortex capture.jpg|right|200px|thumb|It was a whirlwind romance.]]

[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] and [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] are making a public appearance at the unveiling of the [[Optimus Prime memorial]] when Starscream and the Combaticons attack. The two [[Autobot]]s are badly outnumbered. The statue is soon in ruins, and pair are abducted in [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]]'s cargo bay. The Decepticons return to Guadalcanal, where Starscream celebrates triumphantly and the Combaticons squabble over who was responsible for the victory. He tells them to settle down and informs them that until they obtain five energy absorbers, no one is getting one.

[[Image:Starscreamsbrigade2.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"We all lost weight on the Subway diet!"]]

At the Decepticon base, Shockwave informs Megatron that the Combaticons' personality components are missing. Assuming the Autobots are responsible, Megatron launches an attack on the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. The Autobots, meanwhile, have learned of the attack on the memorial and the abduction of Jazz and Cliffjumper, and they have assumed Megatron is responsible. When the Decepticon forces attack, the Autobots are confused by Megatron's demand for the personality components, and Optimus Prime's demand to turn over Jazz and Cliffjumper causes Megatron to suspect Starscream. Before he can complete his thought, a hit from Optimus knocks him to the ground and, realising that he and his men are low on energy, he orders a retreat. The Autobots consult [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] again for the scoop on the personality components.

Starscream and the Combaticons attack the Decepticons while they're attempting to refuel. With the refueling incomplete, Megatron and his forces are compelled to retreat, allowing Starscream to capture Dirge and Ramjet as well. The energy absorber count is now four, and Starscream and his men retire to the [[Amalgamated Water and Power Plant]] to recharge.

[[Image:Starscreams brigade 7 SSrideshoulder.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Aren't I supposed to have an evil ''and'' a good angel?"]]

Megatron, meanwhile, rallies his troops (except the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]], who are "busy"), and moves against Starscream and his army. In the ensuing battle, Megatron pulls out his trump card: Devastator. Unfortunately for him, Starscream pulls out ''his'' trump card when he reveals that the Combaticons can likewise combine into a single titan: [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]]! Bruticus makes short work of Devastator, laying out the combined [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]]. The massive combiner then scoops up Megatron in one hand and forces him to acknowledge Starscream as the new Decepticon leader.

The Autobots use the battle's distraction to rescue Jazz and Cliffjumper; meanwhile, the late-arriving Stunticons look over the situation and decide that Starscream is too likely to continue his rampage. Merging into Menasor, they defeat the unsuspecting Bruticus with one massive punch.

From the resultant crater, Megatron emerges; grabbing Starscream by the throat, he decrees that Starscream and his army are banished from Earth. The usurpers are hauled away by [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] and left stranded on a distant asteroid in deep space... from which Starscream swears vengeance.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (18)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (19)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (21)
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (22)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (23)
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (24)
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (25)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (27)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (38)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (39)
*[[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (40)
*[[Grapple]] (43)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (44)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (2)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (3)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (4)
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (5)
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (6)
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (7)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (8)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (9)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (10)
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (11)
*[[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]] (12)
*[[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] (13)
*[[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (14)
*[[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] (15)
*[[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] (16)
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (20)
*[[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] (26)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (28)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (29)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (30)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (31)
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (32)
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (33)
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (34)
*[[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (35)
*[[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (36
*[[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (37)
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (41)
*[[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] (42)
*[[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (45)
*[[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (46)
*[[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] (47)

|c3=
*World War II soldiers (1)
*[[Marty Minkler]] (17)
}}

==Quotes==
"NOBODY TURNS HIS BACK ON ME!"
:—'''Starscream''', as Megatron turns his back on him.

"I have with me two members of the Autobot team: Jazz and Cliffjump." 
"That's 'Cliffjumper'."
:—'''Marty Minkler''' and '''Cliffjumper'''.

"I see incompetence breeds even more incompetence. HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
:—'''Megatron''' to Starscream, after the latter fails in his attempt to destroy the Decepticon leader.

"Now, Megatron: who is the new Decepticon leader?" 
"Enough! Uhm...you are." 
"I can't hear you!" 
"You are!" 
"I am now the leader of all Decepticons!"
:—'''Megatron''' in the grip of Bruticus (literally), and '''Starscream'''.

'''Motormaster''': Megatron's in trouble. 
'''Dead End''': Who cares? 
'''Wildrider''': It looks like Starscream's defeated him. 
'''Dead End''': So? 
'''Motormaster''': So, you think Starscream's going to stop here? 
'''Dead End''': Good point. He never knows when to quit. 
'''Motormaster''': Stunticons, unite to form Menasor!
:—The Stunticons survey Starscream's victory.

"Bruticus?" 
"No, Starscream, ''not'' Bruticus. It's Megatron—your ''leader''!" 
"Megatron, don't, please!" 
"This time, it really is 'goodbye', Starscream! Astrotrain, get him and his giant ally off this planet! They are banished from Earth...forever!" 
"You'll regret that you did not destroy me, Megatron! I shall have my revenge!"
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Megatron''' after the Decepticon leader survives Starscream's latest mutiny.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
[[Image:StarscreamsBrigade Soundwave eyes.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Maybe Megatron isn't the one Starscream should be worried about...]]
*During the first scene in Decepticon headquarters, right before and immediately after Starscream shoots Megatron in the back (about a minute and a half into the episode), Soundwave's visor is absent. He appears to have two separate, red optics instead, which, when compared to his usually emotionless expression, is actually kind of scary. In addition, his tape door has the wrong shape.
*When Megatron kicks him away, Starscream's cockpit is all yellow instead of yellow with gray stripes. Also, Megatron's ab section is uncolored (a few shots later, he has the red and blue buttons back).
*Throughout the episode, the animators can't seem to decide which way up to have Starscream's Decepticon [[insignia]] (or that he has them at all).
*At several points in the episode, such as when Starscream approaches the Space Bridge, his eye color changes from red to blue.
*While Starscream tells the Combaticons he wants them to defeat Megatron, his wings are missing for a moment, then they're drawn smaller than usual. They change in size and shape throughout the episode.
*In the first shot of the Autobots, Cliffjumper is to the right of Jazz, but in the next, he's to his right. Also in this shot, Jazz has a line through his face instead of a mouth.
*As Vortex creates wind in helicopter mode, Cliffjumper is uncolored (he's gray instead of red).
*Megatron's head seems a little small when he's chatting to Shockwave over the comm. Also, he's missing his cannon.
*The first time we see (the real) Optimus Prime from the front, his fog lights are drawn too long (they extend all the way to his back!).
*When Megatron is attacking the Autobot headquarters, a black Thrust can be seen standing to his left. The camera cuts to Prime and then back to Megatron, who now has a properly decoed Thrust standing to his right.
*For one shot during the attack, Megatron's cannon is bent at the end.
*As Optimus watches the Decepticons retreat, you can see a blue blemish at the edge of their animation cell in the upper left corner.
*During the same shot, Optimus turns towards the camera and his chest grille is triangular instead of rectangular. Also, as he leaves the frame it suddenly loses all of its detail (the lines disappear, leaving a white blob).
*When Starscream jumps over the subway car, he's missing his feet!
*When Starscream says, "Don't think that it hasn't been fun," when he confronts Megatron, his wings are missing.
*There is no transformation noise for Skywarp as the Decepticons bust out of the station.
*Just before Starscream points at Dirge and Thrust, his mouth disappears for a moment.
*When Megatron rallies the Decepticons before going after Starscream, Shockwave is seen among the group, even though he had been shown to be still on Cybertron. Dirge is also seen in the group, despite the fact that he's supposed to be a prisoner of the Combaticons at that point. (Maybe it's Thrust miscolored.)
*When Powerglide flies over the Decepticons, his plane mode is not only white, but a different model. Or, [[Bad Boy|could it be...?]]
*As usual, Devastator's transformation sequence is all kinds of screwy. This time, Hook transforms not only into his own portion of Devastator, but also most of Long Haul's and much of Bonecrusher and Scavenger's as well. A second later, Bonecrusher and Scavenger transform into their usual Devastator components—including the parts that Hook already formed!
*Devastator repeatedly switches between having separate eyes and his usual eyeband.
*Devastator's voice is missing its usual reverb.
*When the Autobots arrive at the battle and transform, Optimus' waist is uncolored for a moment.
*Ironhide was part of the team at Autobot HQ, but he's replaced by Ratchet and Grapple at the power plant.
*As Menasor flies towards him, Starscream's face is dark gray instead of light gray, and his eyes are triangular instead of rectangular.

===Continuity errors===
* During the WWII footage at the beginning of the episode, a pilot ejects from a plane. He should be wearing goggles, but is not.
* Starscream maintains control of the Combaticons by not installing [[energy absorber]]s into them, thereby preventing them from re-energising, and a repeated point is made that they must capture five Transformers in order to take their energy absorbers for the Combaticons. Yet the Combaticons are somehow able to recharge after capturing only four Transformers.
* When Megatron shoots Starscream at the beginning of the episode, a plume of fire appears at the aft end of his cannon, and afterward, the cannon is smoking for some reason. This is the only episode where these things happen.
* Optimus shoots Megatron in the chest, and this apparently disables his fusion cannon. Again, the only time this has happened!
* After the Autobots figure out what's happening with Starscream and Megatron, Optimus dramatically orders his troops to "Transform and [[roll out]]!" But it seems they forgot to figure out where they were going; they're never shown arriving anywhere! The next time we see the Autobots, Optimus and Powerglide are once again standing in front of [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]], and Optimus orders Powerglide to search for Starscream. Who says Prime doesn't learn from his mistakes?
* This episode was aired ''after'' "[[Aerial Assault]]", which also featured the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]].
* So Astrotrain, in his space shuttle mode, can transport Starscream and the Combaticons to an asteroid in deep space, but Blast Off, a space shuttle himself, can't fly them back to Earth?

===Continuity notes===
* Earth builds a [[Optimus Prime memorial|memorial]] to [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] before he's even dead... [[The Transformers: The Movie|Ominous]].
* '''[[Triple Takeover|< <]]''' What makes Starscream the leader? Megatron said so! Well, hard to argue with that, huh? '''[[The Revenge of Bruticus|> >]]'''

===Real-world references===
*Elements of World War II are shown in the episode with the abandoned military vehicles.

===Trivia===
* According to the Generation 1 [[production bible]], this episode was titled "30 Seconds over Megatron" before broadcast. [http://transformers.winterchill.com/bible/biblepage88.html]
* The WWII element of the Combaticons' origin is a strange choice, since none of their toys are actually WWII-era vehicles. The shooting script dictates specific, historically-accurate vehicles for each one, and then it describes them as their modern, toy-based forms, but no explanation or even description is given for the transition. It ended up being animated as part of their transformation to robot mode, and it remains a unique phenomenon.
* Number of times that somebody says "Jazz and Cliffjumper": 7
* The Japanese dub of the episode (poorly) super-imposes Japanese translations of the captions during the World War II recap, which shows the Combaticons' origins.
* The Decepticon detention center sure looks like something you'd find on Earth, eh? The doors are labeled with English numbers, and personality components are kept in file cabinets!
* Devastator got his tail kicked. Can you tell he's no longer a new toy, folks?
* The plot of this episode is reused in a simplified form in [[The Special Teams]].

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — The Action Adventure Collection ([[Tempo Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1989 — ''Transformers'' — Starscream's Brigade (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1993 — The Biggest Ever Saturday Morning Heroes (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1999 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 3: Programmed for Evil ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 8 (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]] 2006 — The Best of ''The Transformers'' (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Episodes (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/starscream's_brigade.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

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

The Transformers (cartoon)

2011-03-03T21:39:45Z

75.2.140.67: /* Season 5 */

{{disambig2|the cartoon series|other uses of ''The Transformers''|Transformers (disambiguation)}}

{{nav-G1|logo=TheTransformers_Logo.jpg}}

{{bigquote|...we feel '''action''' should be emphasized over''' plot'''—especially avoiding any complicated story lines—to ensure the success of this series with its intended viewers.|[[Bryce Malek]] and [[Dick Robbins]], ''Transformer''s story editors, [[Marvel Productions]] internal correspondence[http://tfarchive.com/cartoons/bible/#154]}}

[[Image:TransformersLogoSlantedOrange.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Red is the color of GOOD...]]
[[Image:TransformersLogoSlantedPurple.jpg|right|250px|thumb|...while purple is the color of EVIL!!]]
[[Image:G1Season1Logo.jpg|right|250px|thumb|In space, no one can hear your trumpets go Dah-NUN NUN NUN NAHHHHHH!]]

More than any other of the many media which [[Transformer]]s have invaded in the past 25 years, it is '''''The Transformers''''', the original cartoon that ran from 1984 to 1987, which captured the imagination of children and young people-at-heart worldwide.

==Overview==
[[Image:Cybertronplanet.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Depleted of energy... aside from the power source that lights up the entire core of the planet.]]
The cartoon (along with the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel comics]]) set up the basic story of Transformers that most other incarnations were to follow: two warring factions of robots on the planet [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] leave in search of resources. The factions crash-land on [[Earth]] and, millions of years later, begin their battle anew in Reagan-era [[United States|America]] and across the globe.

Once established, the cartoon rarely took any steps to upset its status quo. Plots generally centered on a [[Decepticon]] plot or invention of the week, which would be used to gather energy or Defeat The [[Autobot]]s FOREVER!!, and the Autobots' efforts to stop the plan. Most of the time the Decepticons were forced into retreat, and the Autobots drove off victorious. At most, a new character or team was added to one side or the other. Plots became a bit less formulaic during Season 3, though character death and true plot upheaval remained a rarity.

Through its 98-episode run, this series took viewers around the globe and to many strange places and times: across the alien Cybertron, the Earth's prehistoric past, the Earth's then-future of 2005, the ''Metropolis''-like society of [[Nebulos]], and more. It is not the best animated series ever to air, but it stimulated viewers with its concept at the time, and continued to do so in the years to come.
{{-}}

==Production==
[[Image:DivideAndConquer-UnderseaBase.jpg|center|450px|thumb|The Decepticon undersea base. Note that it is neither [[Tom Kenny|pineapple]], rock, nor tiki head.]]

Writing and distribution for this series were handled as a joint effort by [[Marvel Productions]] and [[Sunbow Productions]]. Animation was produced overseas, by [[Toei]], [[AKOM]], [[Tokyo Movie Shinsha]] (''supposedly'') and an [[Unknown Filipino animation studio|unknown studio from the Philippines]].

[[Image:CrashedArk1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Nobody on Earth noticed this for millions of years.]]
The original 30 or so characters were heavily modified from their toy designs for aesthetics and ease of animation. Among the artists involved in the original designs are [[Shōhei Kohara]] and [[Floro Dery]]. Other known production artists include [[Dell Barras]], who worked on second season backgrounds.

Story editors for the series included [[Dick Robbins]], [[Bryce Malek]], [[Flint Dille]], [[Marv Wolfman]], and [[Steve Gerber]]. Episode scripts were written by a large array of freelance writers. Writers notable for writing numerous episodes include [[Donald F. Glut]] and [[David Wise]].

The series was animated on an enormously rushed schedule, due to the need to get episodes on the air in sync with the toys appearing on shelves. That, combined with the vast number of characters and the difficulties involved with the overseas animation process, resulted in a cartoon that is notoriously riddled with [[animation error]]s and other mistakes. The producers were often aware of these mistakes, but tight deadlines left them no time to correct them.

Another byproduct of the rushed production is that the show tends not to be very self-referential. Continuity between episodes is minimal, with most acting as self-contained, standalone stories, though a few Season Two and Season Three stories did build on previous episodes. Within each season, the addition of new characters is the only common change to the status quo.

[[Image:ShockwaveDesertionOfTheDinobots1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|My toy's so great, I bought one myself!]]
Mistakes or not, the show is fondly remembered by many fans for the high quality of its voice acting. Indeed, many characters, lacking any significant plot developments or screen time, were brought to life solely by their unique voices and inflection styles. Voice direction for the series was provided by [[Wally Burr]], notorious for driving his performers to the limit. One of the performers in his stable, [[Susan Blu]], would later go on to work as voice director for ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'', ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'', and ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]''.

The ''sinister'' voice of [[Victor Caroli]] provided narration for the entire series, most commonly heard on the [[commercial bumper]]s: "The Transformers will return after these messages!" Caroli's voice also provided occasional introductory narration, recap segments for multi-part episodes, and the ''[[Secret Files of Teletraan II]]'' segments which ran before the credits of Season 3.

[[Image:RollForIt Spacebridge recieves.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Looks safer than flying United.]]
In addition to the show's iconic [[theme song]], ''Transformers'' featured a great variety of background music, composed by [[Robert J. Walsh]]. Walsh had previously worked on the ''[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]'' cartoon, and many of those pieces were reused for ''Transformers''. New pieces were composed as well, many incorporating the melody of the show's theme song. Walsh composed new music for 2nd and 3rd seasons, each in a different style, further distinguishing the three main seasons from one another.

The show also originated the concept of the iconic "[[Scene transition|symbol flip]]" serving as a transition between scenes, a tradition carried on by some of the later series.
{{-}}

==Episodes==

{{see|List of Generation 1 episodes}}

These episodes are listed in "production order", the order in which the episodes were actually approved and written, rather than the order in which they aired on television. In a few instances, this means that episodes are not in the correct chronological story order, the specifics of which are noted in their own articles. Arranging the episodes in airdate order would not solve this problem, and so, as fans have done for as long as there have been ''Transformers'' episode guides on the internet, TFWIKI.Net adheres to production order, in preference to simply making up a chronological order of our own (any attempt at which would be arguable at best).

The different DVD companies which have released the series down the years have at times presented the episodes of each season in a different order that adheres to neither production nor airdate, sometimes to improve any chronology errors evident in the production order, and other times for no apparent reason. No two English-language DVD releases of the series by different companies have placed all 98 episodes in the same order. [[Metrodome]] stuck closest to production order, only making changes for chronology reasons (and sometimes not even then), while other licensees have strayed from this order to varying degrees. Season 1 has consistently avoided reorganization (as production order is actually the correct story order), but Season 3 is a victim of continuous restructuring that sees its episodes presented in a wildly different order with each release.

===Season 1===
[[Image:DinobotsG1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Remember those [[Dinobots | dinosaur guys]]? Man, they were awesome.]]
The first season is primarily set on [[Earth]], with a few excursions to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. It started with the 1984 toys as its characters, and introduced the early wave of 1985 toys as it progressed—the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]], and [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]].

{{collist|2|
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]"
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]"
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 3]]"
# "[[Transport to Oblivion]]"
# "[[Roll for It]]"
# "[[Divide and Conquer]]"
# "[[Fire in the Sky]]"
# "[[S.O.S. Dinobots]]"
# "[[Fire on the Mountain]]"
# "[[War of the Dinobots]]"
# "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 2]]"
# "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 3]]"
# "[[Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction]]"
# "[[A Plague of Insecticons]]"
# "[[Heavy Metal War]]"
}}

===Season 2===
[[Image:CosmicRust-BigGroup.jpg|center|450px|thumb|I liked the one with the guy.]] 
[[Image:Master builders prime basketball.jpg|right|150px|thumb|After this, Optimus got a million bucks to endorse ''gigantic'' basketball shoes.]]
The very long second season greatly expanded the cartoon's scope and cast. The second season tends to feature more character-driven episodes than the first season, with many characters getting their own "spotlight" episode. It also features a recurring theme of the Autobots assimilating Earth culture, such the Autobots playing basketball and football and even watching a soap opera. Excursions to alien civilizations popped up occasionally as well (not to mention time travel, miniaturization, and battles against undersea creatures). The second season also saw the introduction of concepts and characters that would spread out to other fictions, including the mystic [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], the ancient [[Vector Sigma]] supercomputer and its [[Key to Vector Sigma|circuit key]], and the first appearance of [[Female Transformers]] within official fiction.

The second season also marked a move from weekly airings (usually on Saturday mornings) to a "stripped" show, aired Monday through Friday, either in the morning or afternoon. Some markets also scheduled it in conjunction with daily episodes of ''[[G.I.Joe]]'' (like WPIX in New York, which also aired ''Beast Wars'' when it ran in syndication, and became an affiliate of the WB network, which would originally air the ''Cybertron'' cartoon).

Season Two breaks down very roughly into three segments:

* The first dozen episodes feature (primarily) the Season One cast.
* A large second batch of episodes brings in the remainder of the 1985 toys.
* The final ten episodes introduce the four [[combiner]] teams that formed the early entries in the 1986 line.
{{--}}
{{collist|2|
# "[[Autobot Spike]]"
# "[[Changing Gears]]"
# "[[City of Steel]]"
# "[[Attack of the Autobots]]"
# "[[Traitor]]"
# "[[The Immobilizer]]"
# "[[The Autobot Run]]"
# "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]"
# "[[Day of the Machines]]"
# "[[Enter the Nightbird]]"
# "[[A Prime Problem]]"
# "[[The Core]]"
# "[[The Insecticon Syndrome]]"
# "[[Dinobot Island, Part 1]]"
# "[[Dinobot Island, Part 2]]"
# "[[The Master Builders]]"
# "[[Auto Berserk]]"
# "[[Microbots]]"
# "[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1]]"
# "[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2]]"
# "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1]]"
# "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2]]"
# "[[Blaster Blues]]"
# "[[A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court]]"
# "[[The Golden Lagoon]]"
# "[[The God Gambit]]"
# "[[Make Tracks]]"
# "[[Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play]]"
# "[[Quest for Survival]]"
# "[[The Secret of Omega Supreme]]"
# "[[The Gambler]]"
# "[[Kremzeek!]]"
# "[[Sea Change]]"
# "[[Triple Takeover]]"
# "[[Prime Target (episode)|Prime Target]]"
# "[[Auto-Bop]]"
# "[[The Search for Alpha Trion]]"
# "[[The Girl Who Loved Powerglide]]"
# "[[Hoist Goes Hollywood]]"
# "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2]]"
# "[[Aerial Assault]]"
# "[[War Dawn]]"
# "[[Trans-Europe Express]]"
# "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]"
# "[[Starscream's Brigade]]"
# "[[The Revenge of Bruticus]]"
# "[[Masquerade]]"
# "[[B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.]]"
}}

===Intermediate===
[[Image:Tftm1986b.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Then they like, killed him in the movie. Man, that was awesome.]]
''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' is in continuity with the cartoon series, occurring 20 years after the end of Season 2 (in the then-futuristic year of 2005). It was the single biggest turning point for the series, and remains controversial. The movie saw the introductions of [[Unicron]], the [[Quintesson]]s, and the [[Matrix of Leadership]], all of which would play important roles in Season 3. It made radical changes to the show's cast, killing off many characters and introducing new ones—a shock to young viewers who were used to their heroes driving off into the sunset at the end of every adventure.

Despite its unconventional place in the cartoon canon, it remains the best-known representation of the cartoon series among fans.

===Season 3===
[[Image:Intro3 4 with error.jpg|left|200px|thumb|They didn't make any more cartoons after the movie. Yeah, the movie totally killed Transformers.]]
Season 3 ''transformed'' the whole premise of the show. Gone were the two teams stranded on Earth, along with many of the characters that composed those teams. In their place was a galaxy-spanning tale of battles on alien worlds. With the Autobots in firm control of Cybertron, the Decepticons, though still a threat, were somewhat reduced as villains; new enemies in the form of the [[Quintesson|Quintessons]] were introduced. Plots often centered on the ultra-powerful [[city-bot]]s, [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] and [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]].

Season 3 has a mixed reputation. It contains some of the most mistake-laden episodes of the entire franchise ("Five Faces of Darkness", "Carnage in C Minor", the introduction sequence at left) most of which can be laid at the feet of [[AKOM]]. But some of its episodes are among the best as well, both in animation and scripting; "Dark Awakening", "Chaos", "Webworld", and "Dweller in the Depths" are all heavy fan favorites.

Late in Season 3, as in Season 2, the forerunners of the 1987 toy line were introduced: the [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]], [[Technobot (G1)|Technobot]]s, and [[Throttlebot]]s, and (very briefly) the cassettes [[Slugfest (G1)|Slugfest]] and [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]]. The season concluded with the resurrection of Optimus Prime, spurred on by a massive campaign on the part of fans, who were displeased by his death and subsequent "evil" resurrection.

{{collist|2|
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]"
# "[[The Killing Jar]]"
# "[[Chaos (episode)|Chaos]]"
# "[[Dark Awakening]]"
# "[[Forever Is a Long Time Coming]]"
# "[[Starscream's Ghost]]"
# "[[Thief in the Night]]"
# "[[Surprise Party]]"
# "[[Madman's Paradise]]"
# "[[Nightmare Planet]]"
# "[[Ghost in the Machine]]"
# "[[Webworld]]"
# "[[Carnage in C-Minor]]"
# "[[The Quintesson Journal]]"
# "[[The Ultimate Weapon]]"
# "[[The Big Broadcast of 2006 (episode)|The Big Broadcast of 2006]]"
# "[[Fight or Flee]]"
# "[[The Dweller in the Depths]]"
# "[[Only Human]]"
# "[[Grimlock's New Brain]]"
# "[[Money Is Everything]]"
# "[[Call of the Primitives]]"
# "[[The Face of the Nijika]]"
# "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]"
# "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2]]"
}}

===Season 4===
[[Image:Bumblebee and Goldbug.jpg|right|200px|thumb|They kept making the toys? But weren't those like, the ones that couldn't transform or something?]]
How the truncated Season 4 came about remains a mystery, though presumably the short version is that [[Hasbro]] pulled out its funding support. Whether anything further was ever planned is not known; see ''[[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers|Urban legends about Transformers]]'' for more.

As it is, the "season" consisted of a single three-part episode, that somewhat hastily brought in thirty or so new Transformer characters as well as [[Nebulos|Nebulan]] partners for 22 of them, and attempted to provide a satisfactory conclusion to the series as a whole.

The previous three seasons each feature fully original opening credits. For Season 4, however, the opening credit sequence is a mishmash of existing animation, combining high-quality animation sequences from some of the 1986 and 1987 toy commercials with segments of the Season 3 opening credits, which were of a visibly different art style.

# "[[The Rebirth, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Rebirth, Part 2]]"
# "[[The Rebirth, Part 3]]"

===Season 5===
[[Image:Puppetpmprime.jpg|thumb| "You got a mouth under there?"]]
Season 5 did not feature any new episodes, but rather consisted of 15 episodes from the previous seasons and ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' broken up into five episodes, for a total of 20 episodes. New opening and closing footage was added to each episode, which portrayed an animatronic puppet of [[Powermaster]] [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] meeting regularly with a live-action human named [[Tommy Kennedy]] to tell him old Transformers stories.

{{collist|2|
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]"
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]"
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 3]]"
# ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' (Day 1)
# ''The Transformers: The Movie'' (Day 2)
# ''The Transformers: The Movie'' (Day 3)
# ''The Transformers: The Movie'' (Day 4)
# ''The Transformers: The Movie'' (Day 5)
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]"
# "[[Surprise Party]]"
# "[[Dark Awakening]]"
# "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2]]"
# "[[The Rebirth, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Rebirth, Part 2]]"
# "[[The Rebirth, Part 3]]"
}}

===Sci-Fi Channel===
In the late 1990s, the Sci-Fi Channel began airing the original episodes. Unfortunately, due to longer commercial slots and/or shorter show times, the decision was made to edit the cartoon down. Sometimes this was done in comparatively harmless fashion, but other times the flow of scenes and even the plot suffered.

In one of the most notorious edits, two lines from [[Grapple]] and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] in "[[Masquerade]]" ended up smooshed into a single nonsensical jumble: "Time to add fire torobably hate myself in the morning, but--"

==Japanese release==
With the success of ''Transformers'' proven by Hasbro, [[Takara]] elected to cut short their plans for a new ''[[Diaclone]]'' line in 1985 and import the ''Transformers'' toyline and cartoon instead. To play catch-up with Hasbro markets, Takara combined the first two years of toys and cartoon into one series, which was given the excessive (but typical of Japanese cartoons) title of '''''[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (franchise)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers]]'''''.

Although two episodes out of the original 65 were cut ("Attack of the Autobots" and "Day of the Machines"), an additional nine [[clip show]]s were created, composed entirely of re-used footage taken from various episodes, bringing the total number of ''Fight!'' episodes to 72. The two missing episodes were later dubbed and released straight-to-video, then retroactively added to the episode list as numbers 73 and 74.

Additionally, the broadcast order of the series was significantly reworked, with most of the episodes featuring [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] being pushed to the end of the run (presumably owing the character's shaky status as a Bandai toy in Japan). Contrary to what would be sensible, this did ''not'' involve correcting any of the chronological errors present in the original order; in fact, it even created some new ones.

In 1986, after the release of the OVA ''[[Scramble City]]'' (but not ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', which was not released in Japan until 1989) the series was rebranded as '''''[[Transformers 2010 (franchise)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010]]'''''. All thirty episodes from the third season were dubbed for ''2010'' and reordered (again creating more chronology errors) and two additional clip episodes were produced, bringing the total to thirty-two.

The additional clip shows include the following:

*'''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'''
:14. "[[Birth of the Transformers!]]"
:55. "[[War Without End (episode)|War Without End]]"
:56. "[[Desperate Battle on Dinobot Island]]"
:57. "[[Devastator, the Giant Warrior]]"
:58. "[[Neverending Struggle]]"
:69. "[[Earth's Greatest Crisis]]"
:70. "[[Seek the Cybertonium]] "
:71. "[[Stunticons VS Aerialbots]] "
:72. "[[Mutiny of the Combaticons]]"

*'''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010'''
:29. "[[Daniel's Adventure]]"
:30. "[[The Desperate Struggle of Justice]]"

The numbers denote the airing order of the episodes in relation to the rest of the series.

"The Rebirth" was not broadcast in Japan, in favor of producing a brand new series to continue the story of the animated continuity, beginning with ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters]]''. However, all three episodes of "The Rebirth" were released straight-to-video a few years later. Curiously, the dub for "The Rebirth" used standard English-language names and terminology in a more selective manner (for example, "Optimus Prime" remained "Convoy" while "Hot Rod" was not changed to "Hot Rodimus" but retained his English name). Only three actors from ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' and ''Transformers 2010'' returned to voice their respective characters: [[Tesshō Genda]] (Optimus Prime), [[Seizō Katō]] (Galvatron) and [[Issei Masamune]] (narrator). Every other cast member was replaced with a soundalike, to varying degrees of success.

The Japanese dub also originated a catchphase, used in almost every Japanese Tansformers series "And Now . . . The Battle Begins" originally provided by dub narrator [[Issei Masamune]].

===Edits===
The three American seasons were edited by Takara before their broadcast in Japan. These edits were made not for content, but for length so that the show could accommodate longer opening and ending [[Title sequence|sequence]]s.

The combined length of the U.S. opening and ending sequences was about one minute and ten seconds. The combined length of the Japanese opening and ending sequences, however, was about two minutes and twenty seconds. This resulted in roughly one minute and ten seconds being cut from every single episode.

A few examples of "unnecessary" scenes that were cut to make space for J-pop:

* "[[Roll for It]]". The scene where [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] first reach the laboratory and meet the southern-accented security guard that gives them clearance.
* "[[Divide and Conquer]]". The scene where the Autobots first return to [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s base and he opens fire on them.
* "[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1]]". The scene where Spike, [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]] and [[Chip Chase|Chip]] cheer for the Autobots during the Autobot Day parade.
* "[[Only Human]]". The scene where the informant tells [[Victor Drath]] that [[Cobra Commander|Old Snake]] is down the street pacing back and forth, and gets punched in the face as payment.
* All multi-part episodes have their Next Episode previews removed.

The only episodes not to be edited for length are "[[Attack of the Autobots]]", "[[Day of the Machines]]", ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' and all three episodes of "[[The Rebirth, Part 1|The Rebirth]]". These were not edited for length because they were all released straight-to-video, where broadcasting time slots were not an issue. As a result, these episodes are also the only ones to be released on laserdisc and DVD by [[Pioneer]] with optional English or Japanese audio tracks.

==Home video releases==
{{main|The Transformers (cartoon)/home video}}

==Notes==
* Looking at the production codes of the series reveals some choice tidbits:
**The series pilot, "More than Meets the Eye", was produced under a set of different production codes, as it was created before ''Transformers'' was expanded to become an ongoing series. After the pilot, the episode production numbers begin afresh with "700-01" ("Transport to Oblivion"), and proceeded in order until the end of the first season, with "700-13" ("Heavy Metal War"). At the beginning of the second season, it seems the production codes were adjusted to account for the three parts of "More than Meets the Eye", as they take a jump forward to "700-16" with "Autobot Spike". This, of course, is mathematically wrong-o, as "Autobot Spike" is the ''seventeenth'' episode, not the sixteenth.
**''B.O.T.'', the final episode of season 2, was production code 700-64, while ''Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1'', the first episode of season 3, was production code 700-86. The reason for this jump is unknown.
**There is no episode with production code 700-111. ''Grimlock's New Brain'' was 700-110, while ''Call of the Primitives'' was 700-112. The reason for this omission is likewise unknown.

[[Image:WorldOfHectorRamirez.jpg|right|thumb|220px|He's everywhere, and there's no escape.]]

*Cartoon writers are a sneaky lot, and quietly put in references to ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'', another show they were working on at the same time, into ''The Transformers''. [[Daina]] of the Soviet Oktober Guard ("[[Prime Target (episode)|Prime Target]]"), [[Flint (G.I. Joe)|Flint]] as [[Marissa Faireborne]]'s dad ("[[The Killing Jar]]"), and an elderly [[Cobra Commander]] ("[[Only Human]]") all appear. We also see [[Hector Ramirez (G1)|journalist Hector Ramirez]], who appears in ''everything'' Sunbow was doing at the time.
{{--}}

==External links==
*[http://groups.google.com/group/net.comics/browse_thread/thread/eab15c298a61cdfb/fce7a2ddb7e35a81 1985 net.comics review]
*[http://www.reocities.com/Area51/Comet/5606/tfepgd.html Aaron Marsh's Transformers Episode Guide] — Including variants and repackagings
*[http://www.facebook.com/pages/Transformers/9160392217 Transformers on Facebook] - Includes information on Matrix of Leadership Box Set

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transformers (cartoon), The}}
[[Category:Continuities]]
[[Category:Generation 1| Transformers (cartoon)]]
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Television series]]

The Transformers (cartoon)

2011-03-03T21:33:20Z

75.2.140.67: /* Season 2 */

{{disambig2|the cartoon series|other uses of ''The Transformers''|Transformers (disambiguation)}}

{{nav-G1|logo=TheTransformers_Logo.jpg}}

{{bigquote|...we feel '''action''' should be emphasized over''' plot'''—especially avoiding any complicated story lines—to ensure the success of this series with its intended viewers.|[[Bryce Malek]] and [[Dick Robbins]], ''Transformer''s story editors, [[Marvel Productions]] internal correspondence[http://tfarchive.com/cartoons/bible/#154]}}

[[Image:TransformersLogoSlantedOrange.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Red is the color of GOOD...]]
[[Image:TransformersLogoSlantedPurple.jpg|right|250px|thumb|...while purple is the color of EVIL!!]]
[[Image:G1Season1Logo.jpg|right|250px|thumb|In space, no one can hear your trumpets go Dah-NUN NUN NUN NAHHHHHH!]]

More than any other of the many media which [[Transformer]]s have invaded in the past 25 years, it is '''''The Transformers''''', the original cartoon that ran from 1984 to 1987, which captured the imagination of children and young people-at-heart worldwide.

==Overview==
[[Image:Cybertronplanet.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Depleted of energy... aside from the power source that lights up the entire core of the planet.]]
The cartoon (along with the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel comics]]) set up the basic story of Transformers that most other incarnations were to follow: two warring factions of robots on the planet [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] leave in search of resources. The factions crash-land on [[Earth]] and, millions of years later, begin their battle anew in Reagan-era [[United States|America]] and across the globe.

Once established, the cartoon rarely took any steps to upset its status quo. Plots generally centered on a [[Decepticon]] plot or invention of the week, which would be used to gather energy or Defeat The [[Autobot]]s FOREVER!!, and the Autobots' efforts to stop the plan. Most of the time the Decepticons were forced into retreat, and the Autobots drove off victorious. At most, a new character or team was added to one side or the other. Plots became a bit less formulaic during Season 3, though character death and true plot upheaval remained a rarity.

Through its 98-episode run, this series took viewers around the globe and to many strange places and times: across the alien Cybertron, the Earth's prehistoric past, the Earth's then-future of 2005, the ''Metropolis''-like society of [[Nebulos]], and more. It is not the best animated series ever to air, but it stimulated viewers with its concept at the time, and continued to do so in the years to come.
{{-}}

==Production==
[[Image:DivideAndConquer-UnderseaBase.jpg|center|450px|thumb|The Decepticon undersea base. Note that it is neither [[Tom Kenny|pineapple]], rock, nor tiki head.]]

Writing and distribution for this series were handled as a joint effort by [[Marvel Productions]] and [[Sunbow Productions]]. Animation was produced overseas, by [[Toei]], [[AKOM]], [[Tokyo Movie Shinsha]] (''supposedly'') and an [[Unknown Filipino animation studio|unknown studio from the Philippines]].

[[Image:CrashedArk1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Nobody on Earth noticed this for millions of years.]]
The original 30 or so characters were heavily modified from their toy designs for aesthetics and ease of animation. Among the artists involved in the original designs are [[Shōhei Kohara]] and [[Floro Dery]]. Other known production artists include [[Dell Barras]], who worked on second season backgrounds.

Story editors for the series included [[Dick Robbins]], [[Bryce Malek]], [[Flint Dille]], [[Marv Wolfman]], and [[Steve Gerber]]. Episode scripts were written by a large array of freelance writers. Writers notable for writing numerous episodes include [[Donald F. Glut]] and [[David Wise]].

The series was animated on an enormously rushed schedule, due to the need to get episodes on the air in sync with the toys appearing on shelves. That, combined with the vast number of characters and the difficulties involved with the overseas animation process, resulted in a cartoon that is notoriously riddled with [[animation error]]s and other mistakes. The producers were often aware of these mistakes, but tight deadlines left them no time to correct them.

Another byproduct of the rushed production is that the show tends not to be very self-referential. Continuity between episodes is minimal, with most acting as self-contained, standalone stories, though a few Season Two and Season Three stories did build on previous episodes. Within each season, the addition of new characters is the only common change to the status quo.

[[Image:ShockwaveDesertionOfTheDinobots1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|My toy's so great, I bought one myself!]]
Mistakes or not, the show is fondly remembered by many fans for the high quality of its voice acting. Indeed, many characters, lacking any significant plot developments or screen time, were brought to life solely by their unique voices and inflection styles. Voice direction for the series was provided by [[Wally Burr]], notorious for driving his performers to the limit. One of the performers in his stable, [[Susan Blu]], would later go on to work as voice director for ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'', ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'', and ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]''.

The ''sinister'' voice of [[Victor Caroli]] provided narration for the entire series, most commonly heard on the [[commercial bumper]]s: "The Transformers will return after these messages!" Caroli's voice also provided occasional introductory narration, recap segments for multi-part episodes, and the ''[[Secret Files of Teletraan II]]'' segments which ran before the credits of Season 3.

[[Image:RollForIt Spacebridge recieves.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Looks safer than flying United.]]
In addition to the show's iconic [[theme song]], ''Transformers'' featured a great variety of background music, composed by [[Robert J. Walsh]]. Walsh had previously worked on the ''[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]'' cartoon, and many of those pieces were reused for ''Transformers''. New pieces were composed as well, many incorporating the melody of the show's theme song. Walsh composed new music for 2nd and 3rd seasons, each in a different style, further distinguishing the three main seasons from one another.

The show also originated the concept of the iconic "[[Scene transition|symbol flip]]" serving as a transition between scenes, a tradition carried on by some of the later series.
{{-}}

==Episodes==

{{see|List of Generation 1 episodes}}

These episodes are listed in "production order", the order in which the episodes were actually approved and written, rather than the order in which they aired on television. In a few instances, this means that episodes are not in the correct chronological story order, the specifics of which are noted in their own articles. Arranging the episodes in airdate order would not solve this problem, and so, as fans have done for as long as there have been ''Transformers'' episode guides on the internet, TFWIKI.Net adheres to production order, in preference to simply making up a chronological order of our own (any attempt at which would be arguable at best).

The different DVD companies which have released the series down the years have at times presented the episodes of each season in a different order that adheres to neither production nor airdate, sometimes to improve any chronology errors evident in the production order, and other times for no apparent reason. No two English-language DVD releases of the series by different companies have placed all 98 episodes in the same order. [[Metrodome]] stuck closest to production order, only making changes for chronology reasons (and sometimes not even then), while other licensees have strayed from this order to varying degrees. Season 1 has consistently avoided reorganization (as production order is actually the correct story order), but Season 3 is a victim of continuous restructuring that sees its episodes presented in a wildly different order with each release.

===Season 1===
[[Image:DinobotsG1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Remember those [[Dinobots | dinosaur guys]]? Man, they were awesome.]]
The first season is primarily set on [[Earth]], with a few excursions to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. It started with the 1984 toys as its characters, and introduced the early wave of 1985 toys as it progressed—the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]], and [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]].

{{collist|2|
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]"
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]"
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 3]]"
# "[[Transport to Oblivion]]"
# "[[Roll for It]]"
# "[[Divide and Conquer]]"
# "[[Fire in the Sky]]"
# "[[S.O.S. Dinobots]]"
# "[[Fire on the Mountain]]"
# "[[War of the Dinobots]]"
# "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 2]]"
# "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 3]]"
# "[[Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction]]"
# "[[A Plague of Insecticons]]"
# "[[Heavy Metal War]]"
}}

===Season 2===
[[Image:CosmicRust-BigGroup.jpg|center|450px|thumb|I liked the one with the guy.]] 
[[Image:Master builders prime basketball.jpg|right|150px|thumb|After this, Optimus got a million bucks to endorse ''gigantic'' basketball shoes.]]
The very long second season greatly expanded the cartoon's scope and cast. The second season tends to feature more character-driven episodes than the first season, with many characters getting their own "spotlight" episode. It also features a recurring theme of the Autobots assimilating Earth culture, such the Autobots playing basketball and football and even watching a soap opera. Excursions to alien civilizations popped up occasionally as well (not to mention time travel, miniaturization, and battles against undersea creatures). The second season also saw the introduction of concepts and characters that would spread out to other fictions, including the mystic [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], the ancient [[Vector Sigma]] supercomputer and its [[Key to Vector Sigma|circuit key]], and the first appearance of [[Female Transformers]] within official fiction.

The second season also marked a move from weekly airings (usually on Saturday mornings) to a "stripped" show, aired Monday through Friday, either in the morning or afternoon. Some markets also scheduled it in conjunction with daily episodes of ''[[G.I.Joe]]'' (like WPIX in New York, which also aired ''Beast Wars'' when it ran in syndication, and became an affiliate of the WB network, which would originally air the ''Cybertron'' cartoon).

Season Two breaks down very roughly into three segments:

* The first dozen episodes feature (primarily) the Season One cast.
* A large second batch of episodes brings in the remainder of the 1985 toys.
* The final ten episodes introduce the four [[combiner]] teams that formed the early entries in the 1986 line.
{{--}}
{{collist|2|
# "[[Autobot Spike]]"
# "[[Changing Gears]]"
# "[[City of Steel]]"
# "[[Attack of the Autobots]]"
# "[[Traitor]]"
# "[[The Immobilizer]]"
# "[[The Autobot Run]]"
# "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]"
# "[[Day of the Machines]]"
# "[[Enter the Nightbird]]"
# "[[A Prime Problem]]"
# "[[The Core]]"
# "[[The Insecticon Syndrome]]"
# "[[Dinobot Island, Part 1]]"
# "[[Dinobot Island, Part 2]]"
# "[[The Master Builders]]"
# "[[Auto Berserk]]"
# "[[Microbots]]"
# "[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1]]"
# "[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2]]"
# "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1]]"
# "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2]]"
# "[[Blaster Blues]]"
# "[[A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court]]"
# "[[The Golden Lagoon]]"
# "[[The God Gambit]]"
# "[[Make Tracks]]"
# "[[Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play]]"
# "[[Quest for Survival]]"
# "[[The Secret of Omega Supreme]]"
# "[[The Gambler]]"
# "[[Kremzeek!]]"
# "[[Sea Change]]"
# "[[Triple Takeover]]"
# "[[Prime Target (episode)|Prime Target]]"
# "[[Auto-Bop]]"
# "[[The Search for Alpha Trion]]"
# "[[The Girl Who Loved Powerglide]]"
# "[[Hoist Goes Hollywood]]"
# "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2]]"
# "[[Aerial Assault]]"
# "[[War Dawn]]"
# "[[Trans-Europe Express]]"
# "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]"
# "[[Starscream's Brigade]]"
# "[[The Revenge of Bruticus]]"
# "[[Masquerade]]"
# "[[B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.]]"
}}

===Intermediate===
[[Image:Tftm1986b.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Then they like, killed him in the movie. Man, that was awesome.]]
''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' is in continuity with the cartoon series, occurring 20 years after the end of Season 2 (in the then-futuristic year of 2005). It was the single biggest turning point for the series, and remains controversial. The movie saw the introductions of [[Unicron]], the [[Quintesson]]s, and the [[Matrix of Leadership]], all of which would play important roles in Season 3. It made radical changes to the show's cast, killing off many characters and introducing new ones—a shock to young viewers who were used to their heroes driving off into the sunset at the end of every adventure.

Despite its unconventional place in the cartoon canon, it remains the best-known representation of the cartoon series among fans.

===Season 3===
[[Image:Intro3 4 with error.jpg|left|200px|thumb|They didn't make any more cartoons after the movie. Yeah, the movie totally killed Transformers.]]
Season 3 ''transformed'' the whole premise of the show. Gone were the two teams stranded on Earth, along with many of the characters that composed those teams. In their place was a galaxy-spanning tale of battles on alien worlds. With the Autobots in firm control of Cybertron, the Decepticons, though still a threat, were somewhat reduced as villains; new enemies in the form of the [[Quintesson|Quintessons]] were introduced. Plots often centered on the ultra-powerful [[city-bot]]s, [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] and [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]].

Season 3 has a mixed reputation. It contains some of the most mistake-laden episodes of the entire franchise ("Five Faces of Darkness", "Carnage in C Minor", the introduction sequence at left) most of which can be laid at the feet of [[AKOM]]. But some of its episodes are among the best as well, both in animation and scripting; "Dark Awakening", "Chaos", "Webworld", and "Dweller in the Depths" are all heavy fan favorites.

Late in Season 3, as in Season 2, the forerunners of the 1987 toy line were introduced: the [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]], [[Technobot (G1)|Technobot]]s, and [[Throttlebot]]s, and (very briefly) the cassettes [[Slugfest (G1)|Slugfest]] and [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]]. The season concluded with the resurrection of Optimus Prime, spurred on by a massive campaign on the part of fans, who were displeased by his death and subsequent "evil" resurrection.

{{collist|2|
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]"
# "[[The Killing Jar]]"
# "[[Chaos (episode)|Chaos]]"
# "[[Dark Awakening]]"
# "[[Forever Is a Long Time Coming]]"
# "[[Starscream's Ghost]]"
# "[[Thief in the Night]]"
# "[[Surprise Party]]"
# "[[Madman's Paradise]]"
# "[[Nightmare Planet]]"
# "[[Ghost in the Machine]]"
# "[[Webworld]]"
# "[[Carnage in C-Minor]]"
# "[[The Quintesson Journal]]"
# "[[The Ultimate Weapon]]"
# "[[The Big Broadcast of 2006 (episode)|The Big Broadcast of 2006]]"
# "[[Fight or Flee]]"
# "[[The Dweller in the Depths]]"
# "[[Only Human]]"
# "[[Grimlock's New Brain]]"
# "[[Money Is Everything]]"
# "[[Call of the Primitives]]"
# "[[The Face of the Nijika]]"
# "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]"
# "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2]]"
}}

===Season 4===
[[Image:Bumblebee and Goldbug.jpg|right|200px|thumb|They kept making the toys? But weren't those like, the ones that couldn't transform or something?]]
How the truncated Season 4 came about remains a mystery, though presumably the short version is that [[Hasbro]] pulled out its funding support. Whether anything further was ever planned is not known; see ''[[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers|Urban legends about Transformers]]'' for more.

As it is, the "season" consisted of a single three-part episode, that somewhat hastily brought in thirty or so new Transformer characters as well as [[Nebulos|Nebulan]] partners for 22 of them, and attempted to provide a satisfactory conclusion to the series as a whole.

The previous three seasons each feature fully original opening credits. For Season 4, however, the opening credit sequence is a mishmash of existing animation, combining high-quality animation sequences from some of the 1986 and 1987 toy commercials with segments of the Season 3 opening credits, which were of a visibly different art style.

# "[[The Rebirth, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Rebirth, Part 2]]"
# "[[The Rebirth, Part 3]]"

===Season 5===
[[Image:Puppetpmprime.jpg|thumb|]]
Season 5 did not feature any new episodes, but rather consisted of 15 episodes from the previous seasons and ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' broken up into five episodes, for a total of 20 episodes. New opening and closing footage was added to each episode, which portrayed an animatronic puppet of [[Powermaster]] [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] meeting regularly with a live-action human named [[Tommy Kennedy]] to tell him old Transformers stories.

{{collist|2|
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]"
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]"
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 3]]"
# ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' (Day 1)
# ''The Transformers: The Movie'' (Day 2)
# ''The Transformers: The Movie'' (Day 3)
# ''The Transformers: The Movie'' (Day 4)
# ''The Transformers: The Movie'' (Day 5)
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]"
# "[[Surprise Party]]"
# "[[Dark Awakening]]"
# "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2]]"
# "[[The Rebirth, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Rebirth, Part 2]]"
# "[[The Rebirth, Part 3]]"
}}

===Sci-Fi Channel===
In the late 1990s, the Sci-Fi Channel began airing the original episodes. Unfortunately, due to longer commercial slots and/or shorter show times, the decision was made to edit the cartoon down. Sometimes this was done in comparatively harmless fashion, but other times the flow of scenes and even the plot suffered.

In one of the most notorious edits, two lines from [[Grapple]] and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] in "[[Masquerade]]" ended up smooshed into a single nonsensical jumble: "Time to add fire torobably hate myself in the morning, but--"

==Japanese release==
With the success of ''Transformers'' proven by Hasbro, [[Takara]] elected to cut short their plans for a new ''[[Diaclone]]'' line in 1985 and import the ''Transformers'' toyline and cartoon instead. To play catch-up with Hasbro markets, Takara combined the first two years of toys and cartoon into one series, which was given the excessive (but typical of Japanese cartoons) title of '''''[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (franchise)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers]]'''''.

Although two episodes out of the original 65 were cut ("Attack of the Autobots" and "Day of the Machines"), an additional nine [[clip show]]s were created, composed entirely of re-used footage taken from various episodes, bringing the total number of ''Fight!'' episodes to 72. The two missing episodes were later dubbed and released straight-to-video, then retroactively added to the episode list as numbers 73 and 74.

Additionally, the broadcast order of the series was significantly reworked, with most of the episodes featuring [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] being pushed to the end of the run (presumably owing the character's shaky status as a Bandai toy in Japan). Contrary to what would be sensible, this did ''not'' involve correcting any of the chronological errors present in the original order; in fact, it even created some new ones.

In 1986, after the release of the OVA ''[[Scramble City]]'' (but not ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', which was not released in Japan until 1989) the series was rebranded as '''''[[Transformers 2010 (franchise)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010]]'''''. All thirty episodes from the third season were dubbed for ''2010'' and reordered (again creating more chronology errors) and two additional clip episodes were produced, bringing the total to thirty-two.

The additional clip shows include the following:

*'''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'''
:14. "[[Birth of the Transformers!]]"
:55. "[[War Without End (episode)|War Without End]]"
:56. "[[Desperate Battle on Dinobot Island]]"
:57. "[[Devastator, the Giant Warrior]]"
:58. "[[Neverending Struggle]]"
:69. "[[Earth's Greatest Crisis]]"
:70. "[[Seek the Cybertonium]] "
:71. "[[Stunticons VS Aerialbots]] "
:72. "[[Mutiny of the Combaticons]]"

*'''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010'''
:29. "[[Daniel's Adventure]]"
:30. "[[The Desperate Struggle of Justice]]"

The numbers denote the airing order of the episodes in relation to the rest of the series.

"The Rebirth" was not broadcast in Japan, in favor of producing a brand new series to continue the story of the animated continuity, beginning with ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters]]''. However, all three episodes of "The Rebirth" were released straight-to-video a few years later. Curiously, the dub for "The Rebirth" used standard English-language names and terminology in a more selective manner (for example, "Optimus Prime" remained "Convoy" while "Hot Rod" was not changed to "Hot Rodimus" but retained his English name). Only three actors from ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' and ''Transformers 2010'' returned to voice their respective characters: [[Tesshō Genda]] (Optimus Prime), [[Seizō Katō]] (Galvatron) and [[Issei Masamune]] (narrator). Every other cast member was replaced with a soundalike, to varying degrees of success.

The Japanese dub also originated a catchphase, used in almost every Japanese Tansformers series "And Now . . . The Battle Begins" originally provided by dub narrator [[Issei Masamune]].

===Edits===
The three American seasons were edited by Takara before their broadcast in Japan. These edits were made not for content, but for length so that the show could accommodate longer opening and ending [[Title sequence|sequence]]s.

The combined length of the U.S. opening and ending sequences was about one minute and ten seconds. The combined length of the Japanese opening and ending sequences, however, was about two minutes and twenty seconds. This resulted in roughly one minute and ten seconds being cut from every single episode.

A few examples of "unnecessary" scenes that were cut to make space for J-pop:

* "[[Roll for It]]". The scene where [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] first reach the laboratory and meet the southern-accented security guard that gives them clearance.
* "[[Divide and Conquer]]". The scene where the Autobots first return to [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s base and he opens fire on them.
* "[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1]]". The scene where Spike, [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]] and [[Chip Chase|Chip]] cheer for the Autobots during the Autobot Day parade.
* "[[Only Human]]". The scene where the informant tells [[Victor Drath]] that [[Cobra Commander|Old Snake]] is down the street pacing back and forth, and gets punched in the face as payment.
* All multi-part episodes have their Next Episode previews removed.

The only episodes not to be edited for length are "[[Attack of the Autobots]]", "[[Day of the Machines]]", ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' and all three episodes of "[[The Rebirth, Part 1|The Rebirth]]". These were not edited for length because they were all released straight-to-video, where broadcasting time slots were not an issue. As a result, these episodes are also the only ones to be released on laserdisc and DVD by [[Pioneer]] with optional English or Japanese audio tracks.

==Home video releases==
{{main|The Transformers (cartoon)/home video}}

==Notes==
* Looking at the production codes of the series reveals some choice tidbits:
**The series pilot, "More than Meets the Eye", was produced under a set of different production codes, as it was created before ''Transformers'' was expanded to become an ongoing series. After the pilot, the episode production numbers begin afresh with "700-01" ("Transport to Oblivion"), and proceeded in order until the end of the first season, with "700-13" ("Heavy Metal War"). At the beginning of the second season, it seems the production codes were adjusted to account for the three parts of "More than Meets the Eye", as they take a jump forward to "700-16" with "Autobot Spike". This, of course, is mathematically wrong-o, as "Autobot Spike" is the ''seventeenth'' episode, not the sixteenth.
**''B.O.T.'', the final episode of season 2, was production code 700-64, while ''Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1'', the first episode of season 3, was production code 700-86. The reason for this jump is unknown.
**There is no episode with production code 700-111. ''Grimlock's New Brain'' was 700-110, while ''Call of the Primitives'' was 700-112. The reason for this omission is likewise unknown.

[[Image:WorldOfHectorRamirez.jpg|right|thumb|220px|He's everywhere, and there's no escape.]]

*Cartoon writers are a sneaky lot, and quietly put in references to ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'', another show they were working on at the same time, into ''The Transformers''. [[Daina]] of the Soviet Oktober Guard ("[[Prime Target (episode)|Prime Target]]"), [[Flint (G.I. Joe)|Flint]] as [[Marissa Faireborne]]'s dad ("[[The Killing Jar]]"), and an elderly [[Cobra Commander]] ("[[Only Human]]") all appear. We also see [[Hector Ramirez (G1)|journalist Hector Ramirez]], who appears in ''everything'' Sunbow was doing at the time.
{{--}}

==External links==
*[http://groups.google.com/group/net.comics/browse_thread/thread/eab15c298a61cdfb/fce7a2ddb7e35a81 1985 net.comics review]
*[http://www.reocities.com/Area51/Comet/5606/tfepgd.html Aaron Marsh's Transformers Episode Guide] — Including variants and repackagings
*[http://www.facebook.com/pages/Transformers/9160392217 Transformers on Facebook] - Includes information on Matrix of Leadership Box Set

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transformers (cartoon), The}}
[[Category:Continuities]]
[[Category:Generation 1| Transformers (cartoon)]]
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Television series]]

Trans-Europe Express

2011-03-03T21:24:54Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|image=TransEuropeExpress riding Wildrider.jpg
|caption=Wir fahr'n fahr'n fahr'n auf den Stunticon
|series=G1toon
|ep=60
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=47
|prev2=Aerial Assault
|next2=Cosmic Rust (episode)
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=51
|prev3=Countdown to Extinction (episode)
|next3=City of Steel
|title="Trans-Europe Express"
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-59
|airdate=[[December 23]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''In a plot to obtain a Cybertronian weather-controlling device, the Decepticons stage a fake race across Europe.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ヨーロッパ横断特急 (''Yōroppa Ōdan Tokkyū'', "Trans-Europe Express")
:''Italian title:'' '''Trans-Europe Express'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Trans-Europe Express race begins.JPG|left|200px|thumb|This has got to be the widest track ever.]]

[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] is looking for the [[Pearl of Bahoudin]], and goes on a rampage through [[Istanbul]] to find the one person who knows where it is. After interrogating the sage [[Abdul Ben Faisal]], whom Megatron finds in Istanbul, and kidnapping archeologist [[Professor Teranova]], Megatron finally zeros in on the location in the Galata Valley and has the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] digging to retrieve it.

Meanwhile, the [[Europa 2000]] is underway, and among the drivers in the race are the [[Autobot]]s: [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]], [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]], and [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]]. They are hoping to win the million dollar grand prize to give to charity. Also in the competition is [[Auggie Cahnay (G1)|Auggie Cahnay]], America's top driver, whose car is a custom design from [[Symultech Industries]]. The engine is made of a new energy-resistant alloy, and the Autobots have been instructed to keep an eye on Auggie, as his car may be a target for the [[Decepticon]]s. This is easier said than done, as Auggie's personality and driving style are both a bit uncouth, and it's not long before he's rubbing everyone the wrong way. At one point, Bumblebee literally has to yank him out of his car to criticize his behavior.

[[Image:Trans-Europe Express Bumblebee road rage.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Some say that he is roughed up by giant robots three times before breakfast.]]

Aware of their proximity to the finish line, Megatron sends the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] to take out the Autobots and steal Auggie's car. [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] and his group successfully put everyone but Bluestreak, Bumblebee, and Tracks out of commission and make off with the vehicle. While trying to evade the Stunticons, Bluestreak stumbles across Professor Teranova, who snuck away from the Decepticon camp and now explains to him what Megatron is up to. The Pearl of Bahoudin is a powerful jewel that can cause "worldwide disaster". The three remaining Autobots regroup along with Auggie, who insists on going with them to get his car back. They speed through the finish line, winning the race, and keep going to the Decepticon camp.

[[Image:TransEuropeExpress Bumblebee snatching pearl.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Bumblebee! Hump that arm!"]]

Tracks, Bumblebee, and Bluestreak locate the Decepticons as Megatron finds the Pearl of Bahoudin. Megatron reveals to the Autobots that the content of the Pearl is, in fact, the power core of a weather satellite from [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] that crashed on Earth millions of years ago. Unearthed and exposed to the atmosphere in the 14th century, its power caused terrible storms that threatened to destroy the land until a Persian seer encased it in a golden, bejeweled shell. Using the parts from Auggie's car, Megatron plans to build a device that will utilize the jewel's power to control the elements and rain destruction down on anyone who stands in his way.

[[Image:BumblebeePearl.JPG|right|200px|thumb|By the power of Greyskull!]]

The Autobots are attacked, though Bumblebee snatches the Pearl from Megatron. Seeing that they are outnumbered and outgunned, Bumblebee opens the Pearl, releasing its power and causing a massive twister that scatters everyone. The Pearl core itself is sucked up and lost in the storm. Megatron orders a retreat, saying that they can watch from the safety of their home base while the Earth is destroyed from the core's power. They leave behind [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]], who proves to be more than a match for the three smaller Autobots. Auggie jumps in his car and takes off, seemingly to run away, but really to drive his car off a nearby cliff and into Menasor's head, delivering a crippling blow and knocking out the giant. Bumblebee has himself sucked up into the twister so that he can catch up with the Pearl. He finally scores a successful shot and destroys the jewel.

After things calm down, the Autobots conclude that Megatron must have set up the race from the beginning to snag Auggie's car, meaning that there's no prize money for anyone. Auggie remarks that he should take the gold casing of the jewel as payment for his destroyed car, but instead gives it to the Autobots to sell for charity.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (8)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (9)
* [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (10)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (11)
* [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (12)
* [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (15)
* [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (16)

|c2=
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (1)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (2)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (6)
* [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (18)
* [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (19)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (20)
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (21)
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (22)
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (23)
* [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (24)
* [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] (26)

|c3=
* Turk No.1 (3)
* Turk No.2 (4)
* [[Abdul Ben Faisal]] (5)
* Announcer (7)
* [[Auggie Cahnay (G1)|Auggie Cahnay]] (13)
* Race official (14)
* [[Professor Teranova]] (17)
* Race commentator (25)
}}
==Quotes==
''[Megatron and Soundwave smash their way into the sage's home]'' 
'''Abdul Ben Faisal''': So, you've come at last. 
'''Megatron''': You have five seconds to tell me the location of— 
'''Abdul Ben Faisal''': The Pearl of Bahoudin? I know. 
'''Megatron''': If you know so much, then you know it would be unwise to refuse me. 
'''Abdul Ben Faisal''': You have caused enough damage in Istanbul for one day. The legends say the Pearl is buried in the [[Galata Valley]], near the [[Alibey River]]. 
'''Megatron''': You have been wise to oblige me. 
'''Abdul Ben Faisal''': Perhaps. But...once you have dug up the Pearl, you may not find it so easy to put back...
:—Warning [[Masquerade|duly noted, Abdul. And IGNORED.]]

"There's only one charity I care about: ME! I want that million bucks!"
:—'''Auggie Cahnay''', born to win

''[Bumblebee yanks Auggie right out of his fancy car and holds him aloft.]'' 
'''Bumblebee''': Listen, you! Didn't anybody ever tell you about fair play? 
'''Auggie Cahnay''': "I'm gonna win that million bucks! 
'''Bluestreak''': Keep driving like that, and you won't live long enough to win it. Not that that would be any great tragedy, but some decent people might get hurt! 
''[Bumblebee drops Auggie onto the ground.]'' 
'''Auggie Cahnay''': I got a race to win! 
''[Auggie jumps into his car and drives off.]'' 
'''Bumblebee''': What a creep.
:—Bumblebee and Bluestreak totally road-rage the asshole Auggie Cahnay.

"So help me, if one more of those metal maniacs gets in my way..." ''[Motormaster blocks Auggie's way, and Dead End pulls the human out of his car.]'' "That does it, and I'm not takin' it anymore!" 
"That's right, 'cause ''we're'' taking your car."
:—'''Auggie Cahnay''' is car-jacked by '''Dead End'''.

==Notes==
* This episode has the final appearances of Bluestreak, Smokescreen and Sunstreaker with spoken dialogue. From here on, all of their appearances are as silent cameos.

===Animation or technical glitches===
* Megatron's cannon has a strange sound effect early on. It sounds like a torpedo launching!
* As Megatron asks the mystic about the pearl, his ab controls are uncolored.
* In the first shot of his scanning the valley for the pearl, Soundwave's chest is missing its gold frame. Two shots later, his arms are missing their red stripes. And the sound effect for his chest opening should be the "Star Trek door" effect, but since that's used for the scanner, a different sound plays.
* Near the beginning of the episode, when Tracks reacts to Auggie Cahnay's objection, he is coloured vaguely like Menasor.
* When Wheeljack scans Auggie's car, the engine is located in the back. However, when the Decepticons try to remove the engine, all the work is being done in the car's front.
* As they transform to join the race, half of the Autobots (Bumblebee, Wheeljack and Bluestreak) have the ascending pitch sound effect instead of the descending effect.
* As Bumblebee catches up to Wheeljack and the camera angle changes to an overhead shot, the crookedly drawn background of the road continually edges close to Wheeljack, then pulls back as the animation loops, creating the impression that the image is jerking back and forth.
* As Soundwave reports to Megatron about the race, he has two eyes instead of the usual red visor.
* After running Bumblebee off the road, Auggie can be seen driving through a pack of cars that has the sheer cliff face on the right side of the screen, despite having just driven on a road that had the cliff edge on the left side. Additionally, Wildrider is visible in the pack of human-driven cars.
* The reversed cel and background problems continue as Auggie pulls away from the rest of the drivers, but are fixed as Bumblebee and Bluestreak catch up to Auggie.

[[Image:Europa 2000.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Not to Scale.]]

* The map of Europe is, erm, very inaccurate.
* Dead End's gun sounds like Megatron's cannon. After the commercial break, it has the usual (correct) Decepticon laser sound effect.
* Reversed cel problems continue during Wheeljack and Motormaster's chase scene. When Wheeljack initially appears on the location, the Black Sea is on the left side of the screen as he drives up the road, but as the chase progresses, the sea is now on the right side of the screen, as if they had turned around during the chase or were driving on the opposite coastline.
* Speaking of Wheeljack and Motormaster's chase scene, somehow Motormaster is able to make a U-turn on a ''two-lane'' cliffside highway!
* Tracks' scan of the Stunticons has Wild Rider labeled as "WIRD RIDER."
* After Drag Strip pushes Auggie's car into Motormaster's trailer, as the trailer door closes, Drag Strip's Decepticon sigil turns into a purple blob.
* When Scavenger picks up the Pearl's energy readings, Megatron's Decepticon sigil is colored red.
* When Bluestreak picks up Auggie from the side of the road, Professor Teranova is not present inside the Autobot. Yet when the Autobots arrive at the site of the Pearl's excavation, Teranova can be seen exiting Bluestreak along with Auggie.
* As Dead End takes Auggie's car out of Motormaster, the "eyes" on Megatron's Decepticon symbol are painted in purple (they should be gray).
* As Bluestreak jumps to avoid Breakdown, his chest is almost entirely black. Breakdown's Decepticon sigil is coloured red.
* When Breakdown hits the cliff after missing Bluestreak, despite an explosion being animated, no sound is heard.
* Megatron's mouth doesn't move when Bumblebee grabs the Pearl right out of his hand. Of course, he doesn't try to stop Bumblebee from grabbing the Pearl, either.
* As Megatron and the other Decepticons chase after Bumblebee, Megatron's feet are coloured grey like the front of his legs.
* When Menasor initially combines and faces the Autobots, Prowl's animation model is used for Bluestreak. This continues to occur randomly throughout the battle against Menasor.
* After Menasor smashes the ground to stop Bumblebee from escaping with the Pearl, a large crack forms in the earth, yet it vanishes when Bumblebee reacts to the Pearl rolling away.
* As Megatron and the Decepticons fly away from from the battle, Sideswipe is shown next to Megatron (it should probably be Soundwave).
* When the Autobots react to Auggie's apparent escape, Bluestreak is animated while Tracks's voice is heard.
* When Auggie jumps from his car (from the ''passenger side''), he is not wearing his helmet, but it reappears after Menasor is defeated.
* As Bumblebee drives towards the tornado, he's layered incorrectly. It looks like he's driving above the ground for a moment.
* The gold casing around the pearl clearly cracks in half, yet at the end of the show it's back together (and continues making the sound effect as if the pearl is still in it!).

===Continuity errors===
* Auggie Cahnay is reputed to be the best driver in the US, and the implication is he's also one of the best drivers in the race, yet twice in the episode, he is seen having to barge his way through the pack from behind.
* Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Smokescreen all use "shortcuts" during the race. Doesn't seem very sporting, does it?
* Smokescreen and Tracks are able to recognise the Stunticons instantly for who they are, yet earlier, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker could not tell until Dead End transformed and fired on them.
* Auggie attacks Hook with a blowtorch. Where did it come from?
* Despite Megatron claiming the Pearl of Bahoudin is the core of a Cybertronian weather-controlling machine, the flashback footage during his exposition shows a Decepticon starship similar to his own flagship, the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'' from "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]".
* Somehow, Megatron knows much of the human history and legend surrounding the Pearl, yet still needs to speak to Abdul Ben Faisal to know where it is hidden.
* When Bumblebee falls over from Menasor's earthquake-like attack while carrying the Pearl, he can be seen tossing Professor Teranova, who lands ahead of the large crack in the earth. However, Teranova is not seen again for the rest of the episode.
* The tornado that the Pearl and Bumblebee are sucked into is blowing over the Galata Valley while it is active, but when Bumblebee destroys the Pearl, it is suddenly over a huge forest, where he is eventually found in a tree.
*You'd think Jazz (a fun-loving Autobot) and Mirage (who is, you know, ''an actual race car'') would really enjoy a race like this, but they're not in the episode.

===Real-world references===
* According to writer [[David Wise]],<ref>http://therealmtoys.com/wordpressorg/5708/vintage-interview-david-wise/</ref> the title of this episode was directly taken from a [[wikipedia:Kraftwerk|Kraftwerk]] album of the same name.

===Trivia===
[[Image:Trans-Europe Express Bumblebee road rage.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Lesson of the day: Never call Bumblebee short.]]
* Bumblebee totally loses his cool and assaults Auggie Cahnay when the latter cuts him off during an early part of the race. Road rage!
* Auggie Cahnay's car has automatic transmission, which is unusual in a race car.
* Symultech Industries, the company that custom-built Auggie's car, would later be mentioned in [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]]'s ''[[Binaltech]]'' story. According to Dead End's system description, Symultech was responsible for building the body that was originally intended for Sunstreaker, but ended up getting hijacked by the Decepticons to create ''Binaltech'' Dead End.
* Auggie Cahnay is mentioned in the American dub of the ''[[Robots in Disguise (cartoon)|Robots in Disguise]]'' episode "[[Skid Z's Choice]]". There, he is stated as having been deceased, and [[Skid-Z (RID)|Skid-Z]] is seemingly possessed by his spirit. Likewise, that episode features a race called the [[Europa 400]], supposedly named after the [[Europa 2000]] from this episode.
* At least one other car in the race appears to have "Citanes" endorsements.
* This episode is one of four prior to the 1986 movie in which [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] does not appear.
*David Wise, infamous for recycling ideas from old stories for his later work (but in an awesome way), reused the weather-control device climax of this episode for his ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' story, "Hot Rodding Teenagers from Dimension-X".

==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)

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

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

Cosmic Rust (episode)

2011-03-01T07:41:28Z

75.2.140.67: /* Notes */

{{disambig2|the episode in which Cosmic Rust appears|the titular term of the episode|Cosmic Rust (disease)}}
{{episode
|image=Rusted megatron.jpg
|caption=Don't ask, dude... Don't ask.
|series=G1toon
|ep=61
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=48
|prev2=Trans-Europe Express
|next2=The Core
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=46
|prev3=Aerial Assault
|next3=Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1
|title="Cosmic Rust"
|written by=[[Paul Davids]]
|production code=700-60
|airdate=[[December 26]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''After finding a new weapon, Megatron becomes infected with a strange disease... one he intends to use against the Autobots.'''

:''Japanese title:'' 恐怖のコスミックルスト! (''Kyōfu no Cosmic Rust!'', "The Terrifying Cosmic Rust!")
:''Russian title:'' '''Cosmicheskaya rzhavchina''' (''Космическая ржавчина'', "Cosmic Rust")
:''Italian title:'' '''Ruggine cosmica''' ("Cosmic rust")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Cosmic Rust Megatron infected.JPG|left|150px|thumb|WhY mY sHoUlDeRs hURt?]]

While flying through space in [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]], [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], and [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] discover a planet with the Autobot [[Insignia|symbol]] visible from orbit. Heading to investigate, they find a deserted city and a pillar inscribed with [[Cybertronian languages|Ancient Autobot]]. Activating a recorded message, they are warned to leave, or never return to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]... all in rhyme. Disregarding the warnings, the [[Decepticon]]s discover a [[Lightning Bug]]. While attempting to move it, they set it off, causing the ceiling above them to be destroyed. Megatron is pleased—the Autobots have created a weapon that will allow him to destroy them. While leaving the planet, an asteroid follows Astrotrain (look, just go with the flow) and Megatron destroys it. Bad idea, as the debris penetrates Astrotrain, with one piece hitting Megatron in the shoulder. Heading for their [[Decepticon Headquarters (G1 Earth)|their base]], Starscream removes the rock, only to discover that Megatron's shoulder is covered in ruuusttt.

In [[New York City]], [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] is being awarded for his creation of [[corrostop]], a new solution which prevents rust and corrosion. The Autobots plan to spray all the world's monuments with it, but for the moment, they only have enough to spray the [[Statue of Liberty]]. Meanwhile, Megatron's health is deteriorating rapidly, and he orders the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] to bring him Perceptor. Heading for Liberty Island, the Decepticons capture Perceptor and load him into [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]], with the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] in pursuit. The Autobot jets follow the kidnappers all the way to the Decepticon base, but the [[Conehead]]s use the Lightning Bug to drive them off.

Taken within their base, Perceptor is horrified to discover that Megatron is covered in rust. The Decepticon leader offers Perceptor a chance to end the [[Great War (G1)|war]] in exchange for curing him. As Perceptor analyzes the Decepticon, he discovers that Megatron is infected with a metallic plague and that the lightning bug is exacerbating the condition. Perceptor offers Megatron corrostop, which manages to wash the rust away. Megatron declares that the Decepticons are about to be cured.

[[Image:Kentucky fried aerialbot.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Kentucky Fried Aerialbot.]]

At the [[Ark (G1)|Autobot base]], the Aerialbots are explaining what happened to [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], when Megatron contacts the Autobot leader. Megatron says that Prime has until noon to reach Perceptor, or sunlight focused through his lens will ignite the fuse on a bomb and blow him to pieces. Despite knowing it's a trap, Prime takes all the Autobots with him to rescue Perceptor. As the Autobots arrive, Perceptor warns them to keep away, but Prime pulls Perceptor away once the bomb ignites and explodes, only for Perceptor to reveal that he is infected with [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]].

[[Image:Cosmic Rust Perceptor kick.JPG|left|150px|thumb|Fonzie would be proud.]]

Returning to the base, the Autobots query [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]], who tells them of the fate of [[Antilla]], the world the Decepticons visited. Then, the Autobots notice that they're infected with Cosmic Rust as well. Worse, Megatron is using the Lightning Bug to make the plague spread. Their only hope is corrostop, but [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] have discovered that [[Ingredient X]], an important ingredient for making corrostop, is gone. [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] suspects that they can use the matter duplicator to make more, if he and Perceptor can fix it. Meanwhile, [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] does his best to stem the tide, but they're fading fast. Megatron is watching via [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], loving every minute of it, only to learn that the matter duplicator now works, thanks to <s>kicking</s> a unique solution provided by Perceptor. All they need is some corrostop from the Statue of Liberty to replicate.

[[Image:Cosmic Rust Autobots Statue of Liberty.JPG|right|150px|thumb|"You maniacs! You blew it up!"]]

Heading to the Statue of Liberty, Megatron orders the Stunticons to form [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] and use the Lightning Bug to destroy the statue. However, the Autobots are already there, and the Aerialbots form [[Superion (G1)|Superion]]. The Autobot [[combiner]] is able to defeat [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] and destroy the Lightning Bug. Megatron, out of ideas, orders a retreat. [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] is quite pleased: they not only saved themselves, but also Lady Liberty.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* Ancient rhyming Autobot (5)
* [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (7)
* [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (11)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (12)
* [[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]] (13)
* [[Slingshot]] (14)
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (15)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (16)
* [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (17)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (18)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (19)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (20)
* [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (21)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (22)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (23)
* [[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (24)
* [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (34)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (35)
* [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (36)
* [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (37)
* [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (38)
* [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (39)
* [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (40)
* [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] (41)
* [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (42)
* [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (43)
* [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (44)
* [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (45)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (46)
* [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] (50)

|c2=
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (1)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (2)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (3)
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (4)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (25)
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (26)
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (27)
* [[Wildrider]] (29)
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (30)
* [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (31)
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (32)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (33)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (47)
* [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (48)
* [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] (49)

|c3=
* [[National Scientific Achievement]] meeting emcee (6)
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (8)
* [[Carly]] (9)
* [[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (10)
* Female television reporter (28)
}}

==Quotes==
"Starscream! Keep your grubby fingers off that. It could be a booby trap!" 
"What trap? This is a prehistoric communication device, you uneducated dolt!"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Starscream''', doing what they do best.

"Where there's a curse on the door, there's treasure on the other side."
:—'''Starscream''', who has never seen an Indiana Jones movie.

"If that's a lightning bug, I'd sure hate to meet up with a dragonfly."
:—'''Astrotrain''' hates big bugs (nearly his size) and he cannot lie.

"Unfortunately, the operation is successful."
:—'''Starscream''' bemoans removing an infected meteor fragment from Megatron.

"It's some weird kind of heat ray—and it ''works''!"
:—'''Air Raid''' expresses not-unjustified amazement at the efficiency of the Decepticons' weapon-of-the-day.

"Somebody's gotta get us back to Cybertron, Prime. I never thought the end would come like this."
:—'''Bumblebee''', dying from Cosmic Rust and apparently wanting to destroy his home planet.

"The Cosmic Rust has infiltrated your logic circuits." 
"Maybe so, but I'll bet it hasn't affected my aim."
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Prime'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* At one point, the holographic warning bot's arms reach outside of range of the ancient projector.
* Rumble "helps" Starscream with the lightning bug by pulling on Starscream's ''knee''!
* In the very next shot, Starscream is behind the lightning bug instead of to its left.
* In the shot that pans over the Autobots spraying down the Statue of Liberty, Gears is colored in Rumble's blue and purple.
* Apparently, Blitzwing is large enough in [[Alternate mode|flight mode]] to carry the Stunticons and Perceptor.
* Silverbolt orders the Aerialbots to "duck" to avoid the lightning bug's beam. Note that they're flying at the time!
* When Megatron's left hand falls to pieces from the rust infection, his fusion cannon is attached to his upper arm instead of its usual place on his forearm.
* When he Transforms to roll for Fox Creek Canyon, the side of Optimus' cab is white.
* After arriving at the canyon to rescue Perceptor, Optimus transforms to robot mode, but he has ''no feet''!
* When Prime notes that Teletraan I is infected, he's in front of a panel with a huge, striped, horizontal display area that looks nothing like what's on Teletraan I's main console.
* As Megatron tells Prime that "the cosmic rust has infiltrated your logic circuits," the triangular shapes on his forehead are colored in reverse (they should be black on light gray but are white on dark gray).
* A few shots later, we see the Autobots shooting at the Decepticons from the top of the statue, and there's a robot beneath Prime who has the upper body of Prime (complete with dual windows) and the lower body of Sideswipe. Later, we see that this is supposed to be Ironhide.
* More of a sound editing mistake: when Menasor is attacked by the firepower of the Aerialbots at the Statue of Liberty, parts of Astrotrain's voice (going back to when he is badly damaged by the asteroids en route to Earth with the heat ray) are used instead of Menasor's normal speech.

===Continuity errors===
* Astrotrain, who got damaged a lot more by the infectious meteor than Megatron, is never shown to be infected. Starscream should likewise be infected, having pulled out the asteroid fragment from Megatron, but again this is never shown. Megatron's statement that "Decepticons—'''we''' are about to be cured!" implies that he's not the only victim, though the story focus in general implies that he is.
* The Stunticons take a ferry over to Perceptor's location instead of just flying there.
* Megatron's left hand falls off (wires and all). Perceptor drips some corrostop onto it and puts it back on his arm, and it works again immediately. Shouldn't there be some welding involved?
* Couldn't Prime have moved the explosives away from the infected and very contagious Perceptor, rather than vice versa? Though the Cosmic Rust seems capable of spreading through the air, Prime could at least ''try'' not to get infected.
* According to Teletraan I, the "Lost Legion" of Autobots had already colonized Antilla ''at [[MSTF|the dawn of time]]''. That's a pretty ambitious timetable!
* Jazz and Mirage appear at the end of the episode despite not being part of the last battle (and not showing up throughout the episode, though Mirage ''is'' seen for a second during the drive to the canyon).
* Apparently, the Decepticons' entire hope of victory relied on Menasor being able to destroy the Statue of Liberty with the Lightning Bug, and not Menasor's own tendency to smash everything he looks at.
* Speaking of the statue, the Decepticons shoot at it for several minutes (plus the Autobots climb all over it and Optimus hangs off her crown) but it doesn't get a scratch on it. That corrostop must be some powerful stuff!
* Perceptor didn't keep a ''single drop'' of corrostop? Not even a laboratory sample? Not even inside the tanks of the spray hoses used to coat the Statue of Liberty?
* Despite its seemingly great potential for all sorts of useful purposes (or mischief, as the Decepticons are well aware of its existence), the Matter Duplicator is never seen again.
* In this episode, [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] is able to determine for certain that there is no more [[Ingredient X]] in the universe. Yet throughout seasons 2 and 3, it is determined that the Transformers are unable to tell whether and where other rare and important chemicals exist, [[The Golden Lagoon|even when they are on earth]], and that they are constantly discovering [[Paradron|new planets]] which they had [[Quintessa|never]] [[Junkion (planet)|seen]] [[Unicron|before]].

===Real-world references===
* Teletraan I calls the fallen Autobot civilization the "13th Legion—the Lost Legion". This could be a reference to [[Wikipedia:Ten Lost Tribes|the Lost Tribe of Israel]], which was also the 13th Tribe.
* Writer Paul Davids mentioned that the idea of a plague spreading amongst the Transformers was inspired in part by the AIDS crisis of the 1980s.

===Trivia===
* This episode was originally going to be the Generation 1 cartoon's first attempt to introduce the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] into its continuity, ''before'' ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''! In the finished episode, Starscream merely laments that none of the Decepticons can read "[[Cybertronian_languages|Ancient Autobot]]". In the script, however, Megatron ''can'' read the language, and translates it, discovering that the Thirteenth Legion came to Antilla during "the first millennium after the creation of the Autobot Matrix". Starscream dates this to five hundred thousand years before they left for Earth (which is to say, 4.5 million years ago). This, of course, would conflict greatly with what we would go on to learn of the Matrix when it was properly introduced, and, indeed, is not even internally consistent with the rest of the script itself, which claims (pretty stupidly) that the legion has been on Antilla since the "dawn of time".
* Megatron coughs while infected with Cosmic Rust, despite [[Humanization|not having lungs]]. Besides which, if the rust got inside him, shouldn't he have to be immersed in corrostop, inside and out?
* One wonders if the reason that the Decepticons haven't yet won the war is that Megatron himself is an enormous pansy. One little chunk of asteroid embedded in his shoulder has him throwing a fit about how terribly wounded he is. Not to mention when his Lightning Bug gets ruined, he orders a retreat despite the Autobots currently being weakened by Cosmic Rust.
* For some reason, Megatron would rather trust Starscream to give him medical attention than, say, ''[[Hook (G1)|anyone]] [[Bombshell (G1)|else]] [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|on]] [[Constructicon (G1)|base]]''.
* Blitzwing is used as a means to transport Decepticons in a way that Astrotrain is usually used. He even mass shifts to become large enough to fit lots of Decepticons the way that Astrotrain does. It does make sense to use Blitzwing since Astrotrain is injured and so this is not an animation mistake, Blitzwing was meant to be used this way.
* Fox Creek Canyon said to be "just three miles from [Autobot] headquarters". The real Fox Creek Canyon is in Idaho near the Wyoming border. This would seem to contradict the Autobot HQ being in Oregon or at Mt. St. Helens. Or maybe Megatron lied about the distance.
* A UK VHS video release (paired with the episode "[[Masquerade]]") mis-spelled the title as "Comic Rust". Comic indeed.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1990 — ''Transformers'' — Cosmic Rust / Masquerade ([[Tempo Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1991 — ''Transformers'' — Headmasters / The Return of Optimus Prime / Cosmic Rust (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2001 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Exclusively from Blockbuster ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 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/cosmic_rust.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

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

Trans-Europe Express

2011-03-01T06:30:27Z

75.2.140.67: /* Notes */

{{episode
|image=TransEuropeExpress riding Wildrider.jpg
|caption=Wir fahr'n fahr'n fahr'n auf den Stunticon
|series=G1toon
|ep=60
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=47
|prev2=Aerial Assault
|next2=Cosmic Rust (episode)
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=51
|prev3=Countdown to Extinction (episode)
|next3=City of Steel
|title="Trans-Europe Express"
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-59
|airdate=[[December 23]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''In a plot to obtain a Cybertronian weather-controlling device, the Decepticons stage a fake race across Europe.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ヨーロッパ横断特急 (''Yōroppa Ōdan Tokkyū'', "Trans-Europe Express")
:''Italian title:'' '''Trans-Europe Express'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Trans-Europe Express race begins.JPG|left|200px|thumb|This has got to be the widest track ever.]]

[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] is looking for the [[Pearl of Bahoudin]], and goes on a rampage through [[Istanbul]] to find the one person who knows where it is. After interrogating the sage [[Abdul Ben Faisal]], whom Megatron finds in Istanbul, and kidnapping archeologist [[Professor Teranova|Professor Terranova]], Megatron finally zeros in on the location in the Galata Valley and has the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] digging to retrieve it.

Meanwhile, the [[Europa 2000]] is underway, and among the drivers in the race are the [[Autobot]]s: [[Bluestreak]], [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]], and [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]]. They are hoping to win the million dollar grand prize to give to charity. Also in the competition is [[Auggie Cahnay (G1)|Auggie Cahnay]], America's top driver, whose car is a custom design from [[Symultech Industries]]. The engine is made of a new energy-resistant alloy, and the Autobots have been instructed to keep an eye on Auggie, as his car may be a target for the [[Decepticon]]s. This is easier said than done, as Auggie's personality and driving style are both a bit uncouth, and it's not long before he's rubbing everyone the wrong way. At one point, Bumblebee literally has to yank him out of his car to criticize his behavior.

[[Image:Trans-Europe Express Bumblebee road rage.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Some say that he is roughed up by giant robots three times before breakfast.]]

Aware of their proximity to the finish line, Megatron sends the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] to take out the Autobots and steal Auggie's car. [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] and his group successfully put everyone but Bluestreak, Bumblebee, and Tracks out of commission and make off with the vehicle. While trying to evade the Stunticons, Bluestreak stumbles across Professor Terranova, who snuck away from the Decepticon camp and now explains to him what Megatron is up to. The Pearl of Bahoudin is a powerful jewel that can cause "worldwide disaster". The three remaining Autobots regroup along with Auggie, who insists on going with them to get his car back. They speed through the finish line, winning the race, and keep going to the Decepticon camp.

[[Image:TransEuropeExpress Bumblebee snatching pearl.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Bumblebee! Hump that arm!"]]

Tracks, Bumblebee, and Bluestreak locate the Decepticons as Megatron finds the Pearl of Bahoudin. Megatron reveals to the Autobots that the content of the Pearl is, in fact, the power core of a weather satellite from [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] that crashed on Earth millions of years ago. Unearthed and exposed to the atmosphere in the 14th century, its power caused terrible storms that threatened to destroy the land until a Persian seer encased it in a golden, bejeweled shell. Using the parts from Auggie's car, Megatron plans to build a device that will utilize the jewel's power to control the elements and rain destruction down on anyone who stands in his way.

[[Image:BumblebeePearl.JPG|right|200px|thumb|By the power of Greyskull!]]

The Autobots are attacked, though Bumblebee snatches the Pearl from Megatron. Seeing that they are outnumbered and outgunned, Bumblebee opens the Pearl, releasing its power and causing a massive twister that scatters everyone. The Pearl core itself is sucked up and lost in the storm. Megatron orders a retreat, saying that they can watch from the safety of their home base while the Earth is destroyed from the core's power. They leave behind [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]], who proves to be more than a match for the three smaller Autobots. Auggie jumps in his car and takes off, seemingly to run away, but really to drive his car off a nearby cliff and into Menasor's head, delivering a crippling blow and knocking out the giant. Bumblebee has himself sucked up into the twister so that he can catch up with the Pearl. He finally scores a successful shot and destroys the jewel.

After things calm down, the Autobots conclude that Megatron must have set up the race from the beginning to snag Auggie's car, meaning that there's no prize money for anyone. Auggie remarks that he should take the gold casing of the jewel as payment for his destroyed car, but instead gives it to the Autobots to sell for charity.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (8)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (9)
* [[Bluestreak]] (10)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (11)
* [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (12)
* [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (15)
* [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (16)

|c2=
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (1)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (2)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (6)
* [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (18)
* [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (19)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (20)
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (21)
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (22)
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (23)
* [[Wildrider]] (24)
* [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] (26)

|c3=
* Turk No.1 (3)
* Turk No.2 (4)
* [[Abdul Ben Faisal]] (5)
* Announcer (7)
* [[Auggie Cahnay (G1)|Auggie Cahnay]] (13)
* Race official (14)
* [[Professor Teranova|Professor Terranova]] (17)
* Race commentator (25)
}}
==Quotes==
''[Megatron and Soundwave smash their way into the sage's home]'' 
'''Abdul Ben Faisal''': So, you've come at last. 
'''Megatron''': You have five seconds to tell me the location of— 
'''Abdul Ben Faisal''': The Pearl of Bahoudin? I know. 
'''Megatron''': If you know so much, then you know it would be unwise to refuse me. 
'''Abdul Ben Faisal''': You have caused enough damage in Istanbul for one day. The legends say the Pearl is buried in the [[Galata Valley]], near the [[Alibey River]]. 
'''Megatron''': You have been wise to oblige me. 
'''Abdul Ben Faisal''': Perhaps. But...once you have dug up the Pearl, you may not find it so easy to put back...
:—Warning [[Masquerade|duly noted, Abdul. And IGNORED.]]

"There's only one charity I care about: ME! I want that million bucks!"
:—'''Auggie Cahnay''', born to win

''[Bumblebee yanks Auggie right out of his fancy car and holds him aloft.]'' 
'''Bumblebee''': Listen, you! Didn't anybody ever tell you about fair play? 
'''Auggie Cahnay''': "I'm gonna win that million bucks! 
'''Bluestreak''': Keep driving like that, and you won't live long enough to win it. Not that that would be any great tragedy, but some decent people might get hurt! 
''[Bumblebee drops Auggie onto the ground.]'' 
'''Auggie Cahnay''': I got a race to win! 
''[Auggie jumps into his car and drives off.]'' 
'''Bumblebee''': What a creep.
:—Bumblebee and Bluestreak totally road-rage the asshole Auggie Cahnay.

"So help me, if one more of those metal maniacs gets in my way..." ''[Motormaster blocks Auggie's way, and Dead End pulls the human out of his car.]'' "That does it, and I'm not takin' it anymore!" 
"That's right, 'cause ''we're'' taking your car."
:—'''Auggie Cahnay''' is car-jacked by '''Dead End'''.

==Notes==
* This episode has the final appearances of Bluestreak, Smokescreen and Sunstreaker with spoken dialogue. From here on, all of their appearances are as silent cameos.

===Animation or technical glitches===
* Megatron's cannon has a strange sound effect early on. It sounds like a torpedo launching!
* As Megatron asks the mystic about the pearl, his ab controls are uncolored.
* In the first shot of his scanning the valley for the pearl, Soundwave's chest is missing its gold frame. Two shots later, his arms are missing their red stripes. And the sound effect for his chest opening should be the "Star Trek door" effect, but since that's used for the scanner, a different sound plays.
* Near the beginning of the episode, when Tracks reacts to Auggie Cahnay's objection, he is coloured vaguely like Menasor.
* When Wheeljack scans Auggie's car, the engine is located in the back. However, when the Decepticons try to remove the engine, all the work is being done in the car's front.
* As they transform to join the race, half of the Autobots (Bumblebee, Wheeljack and Bluestreak) have the ascending pitch sound effect instead of the descending effect.
* As Bumblebee catches up to Wheeljack and the camera angle changes to an overhead shot, the crookedly drawn background of the road continually edges close to Wheeljack, then pulls back as the animation loops, creating the impression that the image is jerking back and forth.
* As Soundwave reports to Megatron about the race, he has two eyes instead of the usual red visor.
* After running Bumblebee off the road, Auggie can be seen driving through a pack of cars that has the sheer cliff face on the right side of the screen, despite having just driven on a road that had the cliff edge on the left side. Additionally, Wildrider is visible in the pack of human-driven cars.
* The reversed cel and background problems continue as Auggie pulls away from the rest of the drivers, but are fixed as Bumblebee and Bluestreak catch up to Auggie.

[[Image:Europa 2000.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Not to Scale.]]

* The map of Europe is, erm, very inaccurate.
* Dead End's gun sounds like Megatron's cannon. After the commercial break, it has the usual (correct) Decepticon laser sound effect.
* Reversed cel problems continue during Wheeljack and Motormaster's chase scene. When Wheeljack initially appears on the location, the Black Sea is on the left side of the screen as he drives up the road, but as the chase progresses, the sea is now on the right side of the screen, as if they had turned around during the chase or were driving on the opposite coastline.
* Speaking of Wheeljack and Motormaster's chase scene, somehow Motormaster is able to make a U-turn on a ''two-lane'' cliffside highway!
* Tracks' scan of the Stunticons has Wild Rider labeled as "WIRD RIDER."
* After Drag Strip pushes Auggie's car into Motormaster's trailer, as the trailer door closes, Drag Strip's Decepticon sigil turns into a purple blob.
* When Scavenger picks up the Pearl's energy readings, Megatron's Decepticon sigil is colored red.
* When Bluestreak picks up Auggie from the side of the road, Professor Terranova is not present inside the Autobot. Yet when the Autobots arrive at the site of the Pearl's excavation, Terranova can be seen exiting Bluestreak along with Auggie.
* As Dead End takes Auggie's car out of Motormaster, the "eyes" on Megatron's Decepticon symbol are painted in purple (they should be gray).
* As Bluestreak jumps to avoid Breakdown, his chest is almost entirely black. Breakdown's Decepticon sigil is coloured red.
* When Breakdown hits the cliff after missing Bluestreak, despite an explosion being animated, no sound is heard.
* Megatron's mouth doesn't move when Bumblebee grabs the Pearl right out of his hand. Of course, he doesn't try to stop Bumblebee from grabbing the Pearl, either.
* As Megatron and the other Decepticons chase after Bumblebee, Megatron's feet are coloured grey like the front of his legs.
* When Menasor initially combines and faces the Autobots, Prowl's animation model is used for Bluestreak. This continues to occur randomly throughout the battle against Menasor.
* After Menasor smashes the ground to stop Bumblebee from escaping with the Pearl, a large crack forms in the earth, yet it vanishes when Bumblebee reacts to the Pearl rolling away.
* As Megatron and the Decepticons fly away from from the battle, Sideswipe is shown next to Megatron (it should probably be Soundwave).
* When the Autobots react to Auggie's apparent escape, Bluestreak is animated while Tracks's voice is heard.
* When Auggie jumps from his car (from the ''passenger side''), he is not wearing his helmet, but it reappears after Menasor is defeated.
* As Bumblebee drives towards the tornado, he's layered incorrectly. It looks like he's driving above the ground for a moment.
* The gold casing around the pearl clearly cracks in half, yet at the end of the show it's back together (and continues making the sound effect as if the pearl is still in it!).

===Continuity errors===
* Auggie Cahnay is reputed to be the best driver in the US, and the implication is he's also one of the best drivers in the race, yet twice in the episode, he is seen having to barge his way through the pack from behind.
* Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Smokescreen all use "shortcuts" during the race. Doesn't seem very sporting, does it?
* Smokescreen and Tracks are able to recognise the Stunticons instantly for who they are, yet earlier, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker could not tell until Dead End transformed and fired on them.
* Auggie attacks Hook with a blowtorch. Where did it come from?
* Despite Megatron claiming the Pearl of Bahoudin is the core of a Cybertronian weather-controlling machine, the flashback footage during his exposition shows a Decepticon starship similar to his own flagship, the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'' from "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]".
* Somehow, Megatron knows much of the human history and legend surrounding the Pearl, yet still needs to speak to Abdul Ben Faisal to know where it is hidden.
* When Bumblebee falls over from Menasor's earthquake-like attack while carrying the Pearl, he can be seen tossing Professor Terranova, who lands ahead of the large crack in the earth. However, Terranova is not seen again for the rest of the episode.
* The tornado that the Pearl and Bumblebee are sucked into is blowing over the Galata Valley while it is active, but when Bumblebee destroys the Pearl, it is suddenly over a huge forest, where he is eventually found in a tree.
*You'd think Jazz and Cliffjumper would really enjoy a race like this, but they're not in the episode.

===Real-world references===
* According to writer [[David Wise]],<ref>http://therealmtoys.com/wordpressorg/5708/vintage-interview-david-wise/</ref> the title of this episode was directly taken from a [[wikipedia:Kraftwerk|Kraftwerk]] album of the same name.

===Trivia===
[[Image:Trans-Europe Express Bumblebee road rage.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Lesson of the day: Never call Bumblebee short.]]
* Bumblebee totally loses his cool and assaults Auggie Cahnay when the latter cuts him off during an early part of the race. Road rage!
* Auggie Cahnay's car has automatic transmission, which is unusual in a race car.
* Symultech Industries, the company that custom-built Auggie's car, would later be mentioned in [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]]'s ''[[Binaltech]]'' story. According to Dead End's system description, Symultech was responsible for building the body that was originally intended for Sunstreaker, but ended up getting hijacked by the Decepticons to create ''Binaltech'' Dead End.
* Auggie Cahnay is mentioned in the American dub of the ''[[Robots in Disguise (cartoon)|Robots in Disguise]]'' episode "[[Skid Z's Choice]]". There, he is stated as having been deceased, and [[Skid-Z (RID)|Skid-Z]] is seemingly possessed by his spirit. Likewise, that episode features a race called the [[Europa 400]], supposedly named after the [[Europa 2000]] from this episode.
* At least one other car in the race appears to have "Citanes" endorsements.
* This episode is one of four prior to the 1986 movie in which [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] does not appear.
*David Wise, infamous for recycling ideas from old stories for his later work (but in an awesome way), reused the weather-control device climax of this episode for his ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' story, "Hot Rodding Teenagers from Dimension-X".

==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)

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

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

War Dawn (episode)

2011-03-01T05:25:10Z

75.2.140.67: /* Notes */

{{episode
|image=WarDawn title.jpg
|caption=''Masterpiece'' Megatron and ''Smallest'' Optimus Prime face off.
|series=G1toon
|ep=59
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=60
|prev2=B.O.T. (episode)
|next2=Masquerade
|title="War Dawn"
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-58
|airdate=[[December 25]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Trapped in Cybertron's past, the Aerialbots learn the truth about Megatron and the rise of Optimus Prime.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ひきおこされた戦争 (''Hikiokosa re ta Sensō'', "Caused War")
:''Italian title:'' '''L'alba della guerra''' ("The dawn of the war")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:WarDawn Silverboltairways.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Do yourself a favor; don't fly coach on Autobot Airways.]]

[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] and [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] are racing through the skies with the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] in hot pursuit. They have kidnapped human dignitaries for unknown, but certainly nefarious, purposes. The Aerialbots are debating amongst themselves in pretty stark terms if humans are worth saving. After they outmaneuver the Decepticons, Starscream dumps the hostages in mid-air. He and the others escape as the Aerialbots break off to save the humans.

Back at Autobot headquarters, the Aerialbots talk amongst themselves about their admiration of the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]], to the ire of the other Autobots. [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] breaks in before the argument gets out of hand and alerts [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] to strange energy readings emanating from Cybertron. They board [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] and head into the stratosphere to investigate.

Under the ocean, [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] gripes about the Aerialbots and losing air supremacy. [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] reports in that the Autobots have left earth, and Megatron goes after them across the [[space bridge]]. On [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Megatron explains that he has a time machine called a [[Kronosphere]] that he planned on using to steal energy from the past. Now, he wants to set a trap for the Aerialbots and send them back into the past.

[[Image:Slingshot war dawn 1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|As tradition dictates, Slingshot and Starscream greet one another by pulling each other's finger.]]

The Autobots arrive on a dark and dingy Cybertron, and are attacked by Starscream and the others. [[Slingshot]] tries to get the Decepticons to stop attacking and talk to them. Starscream and the others drop down for a chat while [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] frets. After gaining their trust, Screamer leads them right onto Megatron's Kronosphere. Silverbolt tries to warn them that it's a trap but it's too late. Megatron activates the device, intending to send them back to the beginning of time. The Aerialbots are encased in a purple bubble and disappear.

Seconds later, Optimus Prime and the other Autobots ram through the wall of the building and attack. Prime shoots the machine in order to stop it from trapping the Aerialbots in the past. The Decepticons retreat and Optimus orders the machine repaired. He estimates it has sent the Aerialbots 9 million years into the past to Cybertron's [[Golden Age]].

[[Image:OrionPax Ariel.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Hi, I'm Machobot... who are you?"]]

The bubble bursts and the five planes reappear on Cybertron, but it's a different world than the one they left. This Cybertron is bright and alive. The Aerialbots admire the scenery and argue about whose fault it was that the planet was trashed. Slingshot isn't ready to blame the Decepticons and says they are misunderstood. They are interrupted by a small 'bot who introduces himself as Orion Pax. He works at [[storage yard 67|the docks]] unloading energy shipments. Orion's friend [[Dion]] and girlfriend [[Ariel]] introduce themselves too. Dion alerts them to come outside and see the new type of flying robot that everyone is talking about. The Aerialbots go out and see Megatron, Soundwave and Shockwave flying overheard. Orion and Dion admire the flying robots, and Silverbolt warns them away from their hero worship. But does anybody listen to him? Nooooo.

After Orion goes back to work unloading ships, he is approached by a visitor who introduces himself as Megatron. Orion shows him around but when they reach the energy storehouse Megatron orders [[Transport drone|the Decepticons concealed outside]] to attack. When Orion tries to stop him, Megatron mercilessly shoots him and his two friends. The Aerialbots arrive after the battle to find the three Autobots inoperative.

Back in the present, Megatron is planning a counterattack to regain the Kronosphere. In nearby wreckage, [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] spots the body of a [[Guardian Robot]], sans head, and Megatron plans to reactivate it. Meanwhile, Optimus, [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] are still trying to repair the device.

[[Image:WarDawn Prime killingmachine.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Hot lead is the right of all sentient beings!]]

In the past, the Aerialbots are carrying Orion's lifeless body to someone who can help. Slingshot is singing a very different tune now; he swears revenge on Megatron. A [[Alpha Trion (G1)|mustached figure]] from a doorway calls to them and suggests they go someplace else for help. Decepticon attacks have caused severe casualties among the Autobots. After the Aerialbots ask again, he agrees to fix Orion. After an unknown amount of time, the stranger emerges with a rebuilt Orion Pax, now going by the name Optimus Prime. Prime and the Aerialbots rush off to join the battle, while the stranger muses about rebuilding Ariel into a female warrior named [[Elita One]].

Just as the tide of battle is turning in the Decepticons' favor, Megatron is confronted by Optimus Prime, who takes out the entire Decepticon front line by himself. Meanwhile, the Aerialbots have returned to the docks to find the Decepticons raiding the energy stores.

Flashing to the present, the time machine has been fixed, but Megatron and the Decepticons attack. To further complicate things, they let loose the Guardian Robot against the Autobots.

Back in the past, the Aerialbots set [[energy pack]] charges to blow up the storehouse in order to keep the energy out of Megatron's hands. Unfortunately, they are trapped inside because Decepticon warriors are blocking the exits. Silverbolt orders Slingshot to blow up the storehouse anyway. Just as the charges go off, the Kronosphere scoops them up and brings them back to the present. They merge into [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] and take out the Guardian Robot. Megatron retreats and an enraged Slingshot yells after him.

As they head back to Omega Supreme, Silverbolt describes their adventures in the past, and Optimus finally recognizes the Aerialbots as the ones who saved him. Ratchet demands to know what's going on and Optimus starts to tell the tale.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (4)
* [[Slingshot]] (5)
* [[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]] (6)
* [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (7)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (8)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (9)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (10)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime/Orion Pax]] (11)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (12)
* [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (13)
* [[Dion]] (16)
* [[Elita One|Ariel]] (17)
* [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (20)
* [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] (21)

|c2=
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (1)
* [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (2)
* [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (3)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (14)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (15)
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (19)
* [[Transport drone|Transport drones & warriors]] (18)

}}

==Quotes==
"There's only one way to get those Aerialbots off our tails and that's to dump the chumps.”
:—'''Starscream''' right before he dumps the chumps, er, humans.

"Are those guys crazy?" 
"Crazy, or even dumber than I suspected."
:—'''Skywarp''' and '''Starscream''' talking about the Aerialbots who stopped fighting and want to "talk" to the Seekers.

'''Starscream''': Okay ''buddies'', we'll talk. What do you want to know? 
'''Slingshot''': I want to know why Optimus Prime thinks you're evil. 
'''Starscream''': That old rust bucket doesn't know a thing about Decepticons. Stick with me. I'll teach you some things about the Decepticons, all right. 
'''Silverbolt''': I don't believe this!
:—'''Starscream''' prepares to school the Aerialbots.

"Those little twerps. They're tryin' to switch sides!"
:—'''Ironhide''' comments on the dubious loyalty of the Aerialbots.

"A warrior doesn't need a head, just a good strong body."
:—'''Megatron''', commenting on the damaged Guardian robot that is about to be reprogrammed to serve the Decepticons.

"You may not recognize him. He is no longer Orion Pax. He is the first of our new defenders... Optimus Prime." 
"I was wrong, my friends. I admired Megatron merely because he was powerful. I failed to see how he used that power."
:—'''Alpha Trion''' introducing '''Optimus Prime'''.

'''Optimus Prime''': You've caused enough destruction for one day, Megatron! 
'''Megatron''': I haven't even ''started!'' 
''[Megatron fires several shots at Optimus Prime, all of which bounce off harmlessly]'' 
'''Megatron''': ''[shocked]'' You, who are you?!" 
'''Optimus Prime''': Your worst nightmare!
:—Megatron and Optimus Prime confront each other for the first time.

"It all began about nine million years ago..." 
"Oh, great! It's gonna be one of those ''long'' stories!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Ratchet''', after the latter demands to know what's going on.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
*The air battle at the beginning of the episode is filled with errors: Firstly, Slingshot is coloured like Air Raid when Skywarp is bearing down upon him. Moments later, Skydive fires purple lasers at Skywarp. Moments after ''that'', black panels on Thundercracker's hull are mis-aligned. Finally, Slingshot's cockpit is unpainted, as is Starscream's chest.
*The top os Slingshot's head is consistently colored white in this episode, where it was orange in "The Key to Vector Sigma."
*While Megatron berates the Seekers for allowing the Aerialbots to defeat them, Starscream's lower right arm is coloured red.
*Omega Supreme disappears in a couple of frames during his transformation sequence.
*When Silverbolt notifies Prime about the other Aerialbots leaving with Starscream, Prime's smokestacks are drawn totally wrong (they're white instead of gray and are sort of melting into his trailer).
*As Optimus says, "Our only hope is to repair these time controls," his voice has an accent for a moment.
*Silverbolt asks Orion what he does, but it's Orion mouthing mouthing the words.
*The bottom of the screen has thin black lines on it for several shots just after the Aerialbots meet Orion.
*When Orion and the Aerialbots enter the loading bay for the first time, we see a vehicle that shares Dion's vehicle mode and colors unloading cargo. Right after that, Dion drives into the hangar from outside.
*Skydive explains to Fireflight why Megatron wouldn't recognize them 9 million years in the past, and Fireflight says, “Huh?” but the scene cuts to a close up of Skydive so it looks like he's saying it instead. Huh?
*Ariel is shown with the Aerialbots running back to the warehouse, but she's already in it (and gets shot down by Megatron) before they arrive.
*When Ariel is shot by Megatron, her cel is not properly aligned with the background, so one of her legs floats over the energon cubes.
*As Megatron flies out of the warehouse, his cannon is on his left arm.
*Skywarp is missing the metallic flange in his voice as he notes how the guardian robots used to give the Decepticons "a pounding back in the old days."
*As Alpha Trion decides to rename Ariel into Elita-One, his chin is white rather than gray.
*In one aerial shot of Megatron's transport drones entering the docks, they disappear before reaching the doorway.
*Just before the Aerialbots return to the present, Megatron and the Decepticons land and fire their weapons, but the weapons make a "clunking" sound instead of the usual blasts.
*When the Aerialbots return, They appear a few seconds apart for some reason. Silverbolt transforms immediately and is missing his side windows. The rest of the Aerialbots simply run out of the energy field, but they're also given transformation sounds (which doesn't make sense as they were already in their robot modes in the past).
*Megatron and the Decepticons fly out of the building, but the next shot shows them flying ''over'' the hole on the roof rather than ''through'' it.
*The original broadcast version of the episode had the entirety of act two's soundtrack incorrectly played back at too slow a speed, noticeably pitching down the dialogue and music. This was corrected for the [[Kid Rhino]] DVDs, but when [[Shout! Factory]] went back to the broadcast masters for their original audio tracks, this error was re-introduced to their DVD of the episode in order to restore it to its original broadcast version.

===Continuity errors===
* The humans the Seekers dump at the beginning of the episode somehow don't die after plummeting several hundred feet and landing on the metal bodies of the Aerialbots.
* It is unclear why the Aerialbots (bar Silverbolt) are so impressed by the Seekers considering the ease with which the Decepticons were defeated.
*Optimus Prime somehow knows exactly what the Kronosphere is doing despite the fact he was out of earshot when Megatron said it.
* In "[[The Search for Alpha Trion]]", Optimus Prime had no idea that Alpha Trion was his creator, despite the fact he has a direct interaction with him here.
* Flashbacks in this episode depict the Autobots on Cybertron nine million years ago using [[energon cube]]s, despite the pre-movie cartoon's otherwise-consistent presentation of the cubes as the province of Decepticons alone, about which the Autobots knew nothing before 1984. The actual term "energon" is never used to refer to the cubes in this episode, however, so it may be an error on the animation level, rather than the scripting level.
*There's also at least one river on Cybertron, despite it being a world made of metal.

===Transformers references===
*This takes place "a few weeks" after "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2]]", according to Optimus Prime.
*The events of the minicomic "[[64 Cybertron Urban Defense Robot GADEP]]" take place around this time period, showing Megatron raiding more energon storage facilities.

===Trivia===
*This episode introduces a lot of major mythological elements from the ''Generation 1'' cartoon, including the origin of Optimus Prime and [[Elita One]] and showing the start of the [[Great War (G1)|Third Great War]].

*In an interview on the [[Kid Rhino]] DVD set, writer David Wise says that the meeting between Orion Pax and Megatron happened differently in the original version of the script. Megatron was to blast Orion's arm off and then use it to decapitate him. Sunbow, fearing the scene was too violent, had it changed. Instead, Optimus takes two direct hits from Megatron without a scratch!

*Megatron asks who Optimus Prime is, and Optimus replies, "Your worst nightmare." A nod to Rambo, perhaps?

*For whatever reason, voice actor [[John Stephenson]] wasn't in this episode and thus Thundercracker and Alpha Trion had different voices; Alpha Trion's voice was [[Corey Burton]]'s, and Thundercracker's was that of voice director [[Wally Burr]]. Burr also filled in as [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] in "[[Kremzeek!]]" and [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] in "[[Masquerade]]".

*Dion's fate is never revealed. Fans have speculated that he was also rebuilt and reformatted by Alpha Trion into a familiar character, with [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] being the two most popular suspects. Of course, it's entirely possible he simply died.

*This episode is one of the two episodes before the [[The Transformers: The Movie|movie]] featuring a genuine [[female Transformer]].

*Footage from this episode was used to represent a historical video in "[[Transform and Roll Out]]", the opening movie for ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]]''. Most notably, a shot of Dion shielding his eyes with his hand was used out of context to represent an Autobot saluting.

*Later, Dion's profile in ''[[Timelines (fiction)|Timelines]]'' #4, "[[Wings of Honor]]", gave a name to the specific area of the docks which Orion and the others worked. [[Storage yard 67]] was named for [[e-Hobby]] Orion Pax and Dion's [[Japanese ID number list|Japanese identification number]].

*In case you couldn't tell, the headless guardian robot reactivated by Megatron and co. is totally the same one Megatron decapitated in the past, and the ruined building housing the Kronosphere is the very same warehouse the Aerialbots destroyed.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1986 — ''The Transformers'' — Volume 12: "The Secret of Omega Supreme", "War Dawn", "A Plague of Insecticons" ([[Family Home Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1986 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn ([[Video Gems|A.M.T. Video Gems]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn ([[Video Gems|V.I.P. Video Gems]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 5: Return to Cybertron ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 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/war_dawn.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2

2011-02-28T08:33:46Z

75.2.140.67: /* Notes */

{{episode
|image=Aerialbots group.jpg
|caption=Optimus, remind us why this is a good idea again?
|series=G1toon
|ep=57
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=43
|prev2=The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1
|next2=Sea Change
|title="The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2"
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-56
|airdate=[[November 26]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''To counter the new Stunticons, the Autobots create the Aerialbots, but the new team members aren't so sure about the Autobot cause.'''

:''Japanese name:'' ベクターシグマの鍵 PART II (''Vector Sigma no Kagi PART II'', "The Key of Vector Sigma PART II")
:''Italian title:'' '''La chiave di Vector Sigma - II''' ("The key of Vector Sigma - II")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:KeyVectorSigma Alpha merge.JPG|left|200px|thumb|It's not a mystical experience, you morons! My hand's stuck! HELP! GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!]]
On [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], the Autobots are busy converting old drone rockets into [[Earth]] planes. Once their redesigns are complete, they take the ships to [[Vector Sigma]]. However, without the [[Key to Vector Sigma]], which is in the possession of [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]], they cannot activate the supercomputer and give Cybertronic personalities to the new bots. [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], however, intends to activate it by merging his lifeforce with the computer. [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] tries to stop him, but Alpha Trion merges with the supercomputer. It gives life to the new Aerialbots: [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]], [[Slingshot]], [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]], [[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]], and [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]].

[[Image:KeyVectorSigma2 Omega boom.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Vulnerability to plot: disturbing.]]

The Autobots and Aerialbots prepare to leave, but Alpha Trion gives Optimus a warning: the Key to Vector Sigma will have different properties on Earth, which could destroy the planet. However, [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] overhears this. Heading back to the surface, the Autobots and Aerialbots encounter more [[Centurion droid]]s, but the Aerialbots are able to get them to [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]. Omega returns them to Earth, but suddenly explodes.

[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], and [[Sparkplug Witwicky]] begin working to restore Omega, while the Autobots and Aerialbots head toward the base with the [[superfuel]]. Shockwave contacts Megatron, informing him of the recent developments on Cybertron, and the Key's power, so Megatron decides to run some tests. At the base, the [[human]]s believe that the Autobots attacked them, and open fire. Slingshot is pissed, but [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] reminds them that they are simply confused. Suddenly, they detect high speed movement. Optimus initially believes that it's [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] and the [[Seeker (body-type)|jets]], but it's the Stunticons, who quickly overwhelm the Autobots, forcing the Aerialbots to take to the air. Slingshot is attacked by [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]]. Silverbolt goes to save him, but suddenly panics. Megatron, still testing the Key, orders the Stunticons to return to base.

[[Image:KeyVectorSigma2 key metal.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Turns everything it touches into lifeless metal. Just like Nickelback.]]

However, during the tests, [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] trips and drops the Key, causing it to discharge its energy... turning the ground below it into metal. Megatron realizes that the Key can not only give life to machines, but also turn organic matter into metal. He now has a new plan—convert Earth into a new Cybertron.

Back at the base, the Aerialbots are unimpressed with the Autobots and disgusted with the humans they are supposed to defend. Optimus confronts Silverbolt about his panic, and learns that Silverbolt is afraid of heights. In a questionable command decision, Optimus appoints Silverbolt to be Aerialbot leader, hoping it will give him something to focus on other than fear. Soon, [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] detects the energy emissions from the Key, and its result. The [[Decepticon]]s are heading toward [[Seattle]], and the Autobots roll out. Meanwhile, Silverbolt attempts to convince the Aerialbots to return to the [[Ark (G1)|base]], saying that if they're the best, they should run the place. He shows them that the Decepticons will destroy them, showing how bad they are. He also shows the humans' capacity for compassion, letting them see how Sparkplug continues to work on Omega while Ratchet goes to recharge. Convinced, the Aerialbots move out.

[[Image:KeyVectorSigma2 Superion Menasor.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Say hello to my little friend.]]

Near Seattle, the Stunticons are overwhelming the Autobots, with Optimus Prime about to be crushed to death, when the Aerialbots arrive and save the Autobot leader. Megatron and Optimus reveal their last aces in the hole, ordering the Stunticons and Aerialbots to form [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] and [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], respectively. Menasor has the strength advantage, but Omega Supreme arrives, and turns the tide. The Decepticons retreat with the Key, but Silverbolt races after Megatron, knocking the Key from his hand and switching to robot mode to destroy it. Silverbolt believes he's about to go splat, but Slingshot manages to save him. The Aerialbots are convinced to join the Autobots, while Optimus appears convinced that Alpha Trion made the right choice.

{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (1)
* [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (2)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (3)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (4)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (5)
* [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (6)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (7)
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (9)
* [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (10)
* [[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]] (11)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (12)
* [[Slingshot]] (13)
* [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (24)
* [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (26)
* [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (27)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (28)
* [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] (30)

|c2=
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (14)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (15)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (16)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (17)
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (18)
* [[Wildrider]] (19)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (20)
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (21)
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (22)
* [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] (29)

|c3=
* Army General (24)
* [[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (25)

|c4=
* [[Vector Sigma]] (8)
* [[Centurion droid]]s (23)
}}

==Quotes==
[[Image:Omega cybertron.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Did you bring me any souvenirs?]]
"He gave himself up just so we could have some jets? That's nuts!" 
"No. ''One'' Autobot gave his life so that ''six'' could be born. He made a choice...the kind of choice I hope they'll be able to make when the time's right."
:—'''Blaster''' and '''Optimus Prime''' on the sacrifice of Alpha Trion to create the Aerialbots. Prime approves of the kamikaze concept, apparently.

"And we're sworn to protect these bird brains?"
:—'''Slingshot''', on humans

"Somebody ought to revoke those dudes' driver licenses." 
"Those guys are out of their cotton picking heads!"
:—'''Blaster''' and '''Ironhide''' after their first encounter with the Stunticons.

"He's afraid of heights, can you believe it? And you call yourself a jet."
:—'''Slingshot''' figures out Silverbolt's phobia

Skydive: "The robot ran out of power ..." 
Air Raid: "...but the human is still working! Where does he get his energy?" 
Silverbolt: "From his wellspring of concern for an Autobot. Are you ''getting the point yet?'' We owe the ''Autobots'' our ''liiivvees!''"
:—'''Silverbolt''' sets the Aerialbots straight about a couple of things.

"Aerialbots, show 'em what you've got!" 
"NO! It can't be!" 
"Surprise, Megatron! Meet Superion!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' introduces the shocked '''Megatron''' to the first Autobot combiner.

"So long, cruel world!"
:—'''Silverbolt''' after destroying the Key to Vector Sigma

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* As Alpha Trion merges with Vector Sigma, two of Blaster's buttons suddenly merge into one.
* Vector Sigma clearly has the key stuck in the side of it when it creates the Aerialbots.
* Fireflight is entirely blocked by Optimus Prime's head during his introduction line. Down in front!
* In the scene where Shockwave contacts Megatron in-flight, Breakdown is colored as Silverbolt.
* As the Aerialbots leave the Ark, Silverbolt is missing his right arm.
* Blaster appears to deliver Ironhide's "Those guys are out of their cotton-pickin' heads" line.
* When Ironhide argues with Slingshot about the Decepticons retreating, his waist looks somewhat like a...skirt...until Optimus intercedes, at which point it disappears for a moment before returning to its normal design.
* Later, as Slingshot tells Ironhide that the Aerialbots don't need the Autobots, the symbol on Ironhide's chest overlaps with the area near his waist.
* When Teletran 1 gives the Decepticons location, Teletran says they are around Seattle, Tacoma, which is two cities, instead of the Seattle, Washington. Also the state of Washington isn't in Teletran's screen during the explanation.
* In the same sequence, Optimus' smoke stacks are drawn mid-way down his shoulders.
* Slingshot appears to deliver Silverbolt's line about responsibility, and then Silverbolt continues gesticulating randomly while Slingshot delivers a lengthy retort.
* As Blaster says, "This is slaughter!," Optimus' headlights are red (with a strange pattern of panel lines) instead of white.
* On the [[Kid Rhino]] version of this episode that uses the original pre-broadcast film elements, once the key is destroyed towards the end, the forest is shown turning into metal, rather than returning to normal. This shot was corrected on broadcast, and the [[Shout! Factory]] version restores the corrected shot from the broadcast master.

===Continuity errors===
* The Autobots are in a rush to rebuild Omega Supreme, correct? So why in the world does Optimus Prime have Wheeljack - a fix-it man - come with him to visit the Earth naval base? Shouldn't Wheeljack be at headquarters, trying to help to rebuild Omega? He can be briefly seen helping Ratchet after the fight with the Stunticons.
* Megatron said that the Key To Vector Sigma "de-energizes matter, turning it into metal". If that's the case, wouldn't turning the whole planet into metal wipe out all the energy on it, making this "New Cybertron" less valuable than the legitimate Cybertron? We know Megatron is a maniacal leader, but he's acting a bit too much like Galvatron here.
* Teletraan I alerts Optimus to Megatron's use of the key, and somehow gets a visual from ''right in front'' of Megatron. Somehow Megatron doesn't notice any cameras filming him.
* Menasor picks up a building and smashes Superion with it. Hope the attack happened on a weekend, 'cause otherwise a bunch of people just ''died''!

===Transformers references===
* This is [[The Key|not the last]] you'll hear of the Key to Vector Sigma. The Key, and, in particular, its ability to transform organic material into techno-matter play a key role in the events of ''[[Beast Machines (franchise)|Beast Machines]]''.

===Trivia===
*The tank vehicles seen at the army base are the M.O.B.A.T. and the Armadillo from the ''[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]'' animated series.
*The Aerialbots conclude that humans are worthless after watching [[television]]. Should this tell us something?
*During the script stage, this episode had the sub-title "Fury of the Aerialbots".
*In this episode, Superion and Menasor are voiced by [[Frank Welker]] and [[Roger C. Carmel]] respectively, but from their next appearances onwards, the characters were both recast with new voices ([[Ed Gilbert]] and [[Regis Cordic]], again respectively).
*The shooting scripts for both installments of this two-parter contain several "deleted scenes" which expand greatly upon some of the more significant events in the story. In this episode:
**Omega Supreme repairs himself after his battle with Shockwave (deleted from Part 1, although this episode contains a vestigial reference to it, when Ironhide says remarks: "Now all we've gotta do is hope that Shockwave didn't get the better of Omega Supreme!"), but is only able to do a rudimentary job, noting that his personal survival is "highly improbable." It is ''this'' which causes Omega to explode upon his return to Earth—he willingly puts himself in danger to bring the Autobots back so they can stop the Stunticons.
**Later in the episode, when the Aerialbots watch as Sparkplug works to repair Omega, Sparkplug turns on the young punks, explaining what caused Omega to explode, making them realize what he did for them, and what they owe the Autobots. This is very much in contrast to the complete non-sequitur of the finished episode, in which the fact that Sparkplug can continue working when Ratchet can't, and then Silverbolt makes the Aerialbots somehow realize that they owe the Autobots their lives.
**Additionally, there are some extended scenes of the Prime reaffirming that there are six Aerialbots, to squash the subtlety of the hint at Superion, and the Aerialbots watching more television.
* This is the last appearance of Sparkplug Witwicky.
* This is one of the very few episodes where Megatron insults Soundwave. Even then, the reason for it here leads to what Megatron believes to be an amazing discovery. There's gratitude for you!

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1986 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn ([[Video Gems|A.M.T. Video Gems]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn ([[Video Gems|V.I.P. Video Gems]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1991 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma ([[Video Gems|Little Gems Video Club]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 4: The Key to Vector Sigma ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 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/the_key_to_vector_sigma_part_2.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1

2011-02-28T07:53:23Z

75.2.140.67: /* Trivia */

{{episode
|image=Stunticons.jpg
|caption=Megatron's latest addition of troops. He's really going to regret this.
|series=G1toon
|ep=56
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=42
|prev2=The Search for Alpha Trion
|next2=The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2
|title="The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1"
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-55
|airdate=[[November 25]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''After being beaten by the Autobots once again, Megatron hatches a plan to create a team of Decepticons that will give him supremacy over the roads.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ベクターシグマの鍵 PART I (''Vector Sigma no Kagi PART I'', "The Key of Vector Sigma PART I")
:''Italian title:'' '''La chiave di Vector Sigma - I''' ("The key of Vector Sigma - I")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:KeyVectorSigma1 Rumble carjack.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Rumble makes a good carjacker. Why are we not surprised?]]

The [[Autobot]]s are escorting a convoy of tankers which carry a new [[superfuel]] which the government has given to the Autobots. Things have been quiet so far, but [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] is wary. [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] thinks that the [[Decepticon]]s are unaware of the superfuel, when they take that moment to attack. [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] sends the [[Conehead]]s to attack, but they are unable to follow them into the tunnels and canyons on the road. Megatron himself decides to destroy the superfuel, but [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] manages to distract him, while Optimus and Prowl drive Megatron off.

Megatron is furious that the Autobots beat them, and decides to rectify the situation. [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] is sent to steal cars of various models, and [[Possum Brown]]'s truck, all of which Megatron alters with Decepticon technology, such as anti-gravity boosters and automatic [[force field]]s. Using a remote control, Megatron tests the cars' abilities. Rumble is amazed with their stunt driving, and Megatron decides that it's a good name. Bringing them about, he has them [[Transformation|transform]] into robot mode, and dubs them the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]].

[[Image:KeyVectorSigma1 Alpha wall.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"I'm not quite dead."]]

Learning that the Decepticons are making new soldiers, Prime realizes they'll need Cybernetic personalities to truly live, and there is only one way to do that. [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] takes a group of Autobots to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], where Megatron is informed by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] that he has located [[Vector Sigma]], the megacomputer that gave the [[Transformer]]s life. But they will require the [[Key to Vector Sigma|circuit key]] to activate it. The Key is in the possession of [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], and the Decepticons head for his lab. After a brief struggle, [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] locates the Key and gives it to Megatron.

Arriving on Cybertron, the Autobots hurry to Alpha Trion's lab, only to find a dying Alpha Trion. [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] are able to save his life, and he explains to Optimus what Megatron intends to do. The Autobots head into the tunnels for Vector Sigma.

[[Image:Centurions.jpg|left|200px|thumb|We came, we saw, we kicked some ass.]]

In the tunnels, the Decepticons encounter [[Centurion droid]]s, which Megatron discovers he can control with the Key, and instructs them to attack the Autobots. The Autobots encounter the drones and, unable to destroy their attackers, retreat to a derelict hanger. Heading to Vector Sigma, Megatron activates the super computer, which gives [[Spark|life]] to the Stunticons: [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]], [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]], [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]], [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]], and [[Wildrider]]. The Decepticons return to Earth, where the Stunticons are set loose on human roads.

[[Image:KeyVectorSigma1 Wildrider fly.JPG|right|200px|thumb|This isn't gonna end good.]]
In the hanger, Ratchet and Wheeljack set about repairing the damaged [[maintenance drone]]s which are scattered around, sending them out to fight the Centurions, with little success. Finally a column of maintenance drones marches off a cliff, and the Centurion drones blindly follow them. The Autobots reach Vector Sigma, learning that it already gave the Stunticons life. Optimus plans to use a series of ancient rockets and have them rebuilt as Earth style jets, planning to fight the Decepticons in the air.

At a human base, the Stunticons arrive attempting to make another attempt to steal the superfuel, and the soldiers believe they're being attacked by the Autobots.

[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2|To be continued...]]
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (19)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (21)
* [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (16)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (15)
* [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (17)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (1)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (3)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (12)
* [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (2)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (4)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (18)

|c2=
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (8)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (5)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (6)
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (20)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (9)
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (14)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (10)
* [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (7)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]]
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]]
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]]
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]]
* [[Wildrider]]

|c4=
* [[Centurion droid]]s (22)
* [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] (13)
* [[Vector Sigma]] (23)
}}

==Quotes==
[[Image:Vector sigma.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The early concept of the disco mirror ball, which the humans stole, millions of years later.]]

"So much for your security, Prowl."
:—'''Smokescreen''', as the Decepticons attack

"I knew I'd never make it."
:—'''Dirge''', accepting his lot in life.

"No, Megatron, you'll have to blow us all up, and frankly, I don't think you have the guts."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' goads Megatron to shoot at the super fuel.

"Annnnd Mueller takes it! What in the world?" 
"You mean ''Rumble'' takes it!"
:—'''Race track announcer''' and '''Rumble''', who proceeds quite literally to take it

"Incredible! Not even the Autobots can do that kind of stunt driving." 
"Stunt driving...yes! Behold—the ''Stunticons!''"
:—'''Rumble''' gives '''Megatron''' an inspiration.

"This can't be the way those Deceptigoons came." 
"On the contrary, it definitely is." 
"What makes you so sure?" 
"Because who else would have sent ''them'' to kill us?"
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Alpha Trion''' as the Centurion droids approach

"I am Vector Sigma. Before Cybertron was, I was! Who reactivates me?"
:—'''Vector Sigma'''

'''Megatron''': I am Megatron, your leader. Declare yourselves to me. 
'''Motormaster''': I am Motormaster. I swear loyalty to you! 
'''Dead End''': I am Dead End. I guess I'll have to do what you say. 
'''Breakdown''': I'm... I'm Breakdown. I'll obey too. 
'''Drag Strip''': I am Drag Strip. I ''live'' to obey! 
'''Wildrider''': I'm Wildrider! And I wanna bust something up!
:—The '''Stunticons''' speak their first words.

"Big ''and'' stupid."
:—'''Blaster''' on the Centurion droids who, in their zealousness, ran off a cliff to chase the maintenance robots.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
*At the beginning of the episode, as Prime notes how quiet it's been, his headlights and bumper are red (instead of white and gray).
*Part of Megatron's leg is blue during his "Thrust, Dirge, Ramjet, after them!" line.
*When Ramjet crashes, he reverts to robot mode without the transformation sound.
*In the scene with the coneheads, when Thrust transforms, it's actually Ramjet's animation model with Thrust's deco.
*Megatron's left arm is white instead of grey when he gripes about the Autobots after the first attempt to steal the superfuel.
*Rumble's visor is the same color as his face when he steals the F1 car which will become Drag Strip. Oddly enough, it's red when the Autobots review the same sequence on Teletraan I later on!
*As Rumble steals the semi truck, two of his shots start with Megatron's fusion cannon sound effect and end with the usual Decepticon laser effect.
*When the Decepticons are chatting with Shockwave on Cybertron, Rumble's head disappears for a brief moment.
*As the Autobots race towards Alpha Trion's lab, Omega Supreme actually clips through Blaster.
*When the Centurian Droids attack, Megatron's nose is colored dark gray.
*In one shot of the Autobots walking through a corridor, Blaster's mouth is jumping up and down independently of his face.

===Continuity errors===
* The central premise of this episode—that bringing new Transformers to life requires the supercomputer Vector Sigma—has already been contradicted by the creation of the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], and possibly the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] as well (though that's [[Constructicon (G1)|a whole can of worms]] in itself.) Later episodes would likewise contradict it, showing [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] and the [[Technobot (G1)|Technobot]]s being brought to life without Vector Sigma. Optimus *sort of* explains most of this by saying "There's no place on Earth to give them Cybernetic personalities like we have", the "like we have" part insinuating that personalities from Earth would end up with low intelligence. For Trypticon and the Dinobots at least, this appears to be correct.
* Wheeljack comes out with the other autobots when Omega lands on Cybertron. After he delivers his next lines of dialog though, and the Autobots go into Trion's lab, he seems to be deemed useless for the rest of the episode. As a matter of fact, he doesn't do *any* repairs at all in the two-parter - including the maintenance droids, and the repair of Alpha Trion.
* Alpha Trion's lab looks significantly different than from his debut episode, and a lot messier (maybe he went on a drunken bender at some point). Also, if his lab was established as being so hard to find in that episode, how does Megatron instantly know where it is?
* Alpha Trion goes along with Optimus' plan to reconfigure Cybertronian shuttles into Earth-style jets, even though he's never been to Earth.

===Transformers references===
* Soundwave actually uses that gun on his shoulder while fighting the Centurion drones.
* Apparently, Vector Sigma isn't supposed to give personalities to robots created on other planets. Note how Megatron ensures Vector Sigma that the Stunticons are "Cybernetic Creations" like themselves, not machines created on Earth.

===Trivia===
* According to episode writer [[David Wise]] at various conventions (such as [[BotCon 2009]]), he was instructed to include Vector Sigma when writing this episode as part of the [[Hasbro]] episode mandates. Not knowing what Vector Sigma was, he pressed story editor [[Bryce Malek]], who in turn had to go to Hasbro to learn that Vector Sigma was "the computer that gave all the Transformers personalities". This caused Malek to respond: "Well, it didn't do a very good job, did it!"
*At the script stage, this episode had the uninspired sub-title "Creation of the Stunticons".
*The shooting scripts for both installments of this two-parter contain several "deleted scenes" which expand greatly upon some of the more significant events in the story. In this episode:
**"That blast" mentioned by Prime in the finished episode actually happens.
**While the other Autobots are busy down in the tunnels, Omega Supreme battles Shockwave on the planet's surface throughout the second act of the episode. Shockwave refers to Omega as his "old enemy," and is on the losing end of the fight until he gets his hands on a "cyberbomb," which he uses to defeat Omega, leaving him very badly damaged. There is a vestigial reference to this battle in Part 2, and further scenes relating to its consequences are removed from that episode, altering the nature of its turning point quite a bit.
*In the scene where the Autobots walk through a chamber with lots of destroyed Transformers in it, there are two [[generic]]s in the foreground. The same character models previously appeared during the "[[Early war history records Transformers|historic footage]]" segment in "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2]]". The green and yellow generic retained his color scheme, whereas the blue one is now one solid shade of blue. The model will appear again in "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]", again in different colors.
* The tank vehicles seen at the army base are the M.O.B.A.T. and the Armadillo from the ''[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]'' animated series.
* Rumble is shown capturing a Tyrrell P34 during a Formula 1 race, the year presumably being 1986. In actuality, the six-wheeler Tyrrell P34 was retired after the 1977 season, and did not appear again on any race circuit until 1999.
* Dirge, Ramjet and Thrust all crash into the mountain. Yet Ramjet is the only one being knocked out by the hit despite being the one who likes to crash into things on purpose. Should be not be more resistant to this kind of damage? According to Dirge and Thrust he even needs repairs though that could be simply an excuse for them to flee. (You know, with them both being cowards.)
*Megatron apparently creates the Stunticons by himself. Where are the Constructicons, who were useful in creating the robotic cars in [[Make Tracks]]?

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1986 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn ([[Video Gems|A.M.T. Video Gems]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn ([[Video Gems|V.I.P. Video Gems]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1991 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma ([[Video Gems|Little Gems Video Club]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 4: The Key to Vector Sigma ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 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/the_key_to_vector_sigma_part_1.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1

2011-02-28T07:51:29Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|image=Stunticons.jpg
|caption=Megatron's latest addition of troops. He's really going to regret this.
|series=G1toon
|ep=56
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=42
|prev2=The Search for Alpha Trion
|next2=The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2
|title="The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1"
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-55
|airdate=[[November 25]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''After being beaten by the Autobots once again, Megatron hatches a plan to create a team of Decepticons that will give him supremacy over the roads.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ベクターシグマの鍵 PART I (''Vector Sigma no Kagi PART I'', "The Key of Vector Sigma PART I")
:''Italian title:'' '''La chiave di Vector Sigma - I''' ("The key of Vector Sigma - I")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:KeyVectorSigma1 Rumble carjack.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Rumble makes a good carjacker. Why are we not surprised?]]

The [[Autobot]]s are escorting a convoy of tankers which carry a new [[superfuel]] which the government has given to the Autobots. Things have been quiet so far, but [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] is wary. [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] thinks that the [[Decepticon]]s are unaware of the superfuel, when they take that moment to attack. [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] sends the [[Conehead]]s to attack, but they are unable to follow them into the tunnels and canyons on the road. Megatron himself decides to destroy the superfuel, but [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] manages to distract him, while Optimus and Prowl drive Megatron off.

Megatron is furious that the Autobots beat them, and decides to rectify the situation. [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] is sent to steal cars of various models, and [[Possum Brown]]'s truck, all of which Megatron alters with Decepticon technology, such as anti-gravity boosters and automatic [[force field]]s. Using a remote control, Megatron tests the cars' abilities. Rumble is amazed with their stunt driving, and Megatron decides that it's a good name. Bringing them about, he has them [[Transformation|transform]] into robot mode, and dubs them the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]].

[[Image:KeyVectorSigma1 Alpha wall.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"I'm not quite dead."]]

Learning that the Decepticons are making new soldiers, Prime realizes they'll need Cybernetic personalities to truly live, and there is only one way to do that. [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] takes a group of Autobots to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], where Megatron is informed by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] that he has located [[Vector Sigma]], the megacomputer that gave the [[Transformer]]s life. But they will require the [[Key to Vector Sigma|circuit key]] to activate it. The Key is in the possession of [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], and the Decepticons head for his lab. After a brief struggle, [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] locates the Key and gives it to Megatron.

Arriving on Cybertron, the Autobots hurry to Alpha Trion's lab, only to find a dying Alpha Trion. [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] are able to save his life, and he explains to Optimus what Megatron intends to do. The Autobots head into the tunnels for Vector Sigma.

[[Image:Centurions.jpg|left|200px|thumb|We came, we saw, we kicked some ass.]]

In the tunnels, the Decepticons encounter [[Centurion droid]]s, which Megatron discovers he can control with the Key, and instructs them to attack the Autobots. The Autobots encounter the drones and, unable to destroy their attackers, retreat to a derelict hanger. Heading to Vector Sigma, Megatron activates the super computer, which gives [[Spark|life]] to the Stunticons: [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]], [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]], [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]], [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]], and [[Wildrider]]. The Decepticons return to Earth, where the Stunticons are set loose on human roads.

[[Image:KeyVectorSigma1 Wildrider fly.JPG|right|200px|thumb|This isn't gonna end good.]]
In the hanger, Ratchet and Wheeljack set about repairing the damaged [[maintenance drone]]s which are scattered around, sending them out to fight the Centurions, with little success. Finally a column of maintenance drones marches off a cliff, and the Centurion drones blindly follow them. The Autobots reach Vector Sigma, learning that it already gave the Stunticons life. Optimus plans to use a series of ancient rockets and have them rebuilt as Earth style jets, planning to fight the Decepticons in the air.

At a human base, the Stunticons arrive attempting to make another attempt to steal the superfuel, and the soldiers believe they're being attacked by the Autobots.

[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2|To be continued...]]
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (19)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (21)
* [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (16)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (15)
* [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (17)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (1)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (3)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (12)
* [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (2)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (4)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (18)

|c2=
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (8)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (5)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (6)
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (20)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (9)
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (14)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (10)
* [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (7)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]]
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]]
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]]
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]]
* [[Wildrider]]

|c4=
* [[Centurion droid]]s (22)
* [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] (13)
* [[Vector Sigma]] (23)
}}

==Quotes==
[[Image:Vector sigma.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The early concept of the disco mirror ball, which the humans stole, millions of years later.]]

"So much for your security, Prowl."
:—'''Smokescreen''', as the Decepticons attack

"I knew I'd never make it."
:—'''Dirge''', accepting his lot in life.

"No, Megatron, you'll have to blow us all up, and frankly, I don't think you have the guts."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' goads Megatron to shoot at the super fuel.

"Annnnd Mueller takes it! What in the world?" 
"You mean ''Rumble'' takes it!"
:—'''Race track announcer''' and '''Rumble''', who proceeds quite literally to take it

"Incredible! Not even the Autobots can do that kind of stunt driving." 
"Stunt driving...yes! Behold—the ''Stunticons!''"
:—'''Rumble''' gives '''Megatron''' an inspiration.

"This can't be the way those Deceptigoons came." 
"On the contrary, it definitely is." 
"What makes you so sure?" 
"Because who else would have sent ''them'' to kill us?"
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Alpha Trion''' as the Centurion droids approach

"I am Vector Sigma. Before Cybertron was, I was! Who reactivates me?"
:—'''Vector Sigma'''

'''Megatron''': I am Megatron, your leader. Declare yourselves to me. 
'''Motormaster''': I am Motormaster. I swear loyalty to you! 
'''Dead End''': I am Dead End. I guess I'll have to do what you say. 
'''Breakdown''': I'm... I'm Breakdown. I'll obey too. 
'''Drag Strip''': I am Drag Strip. I ''live'' to obey! 
'''Wildrider''': I'm Wildrider! And I wanna bust something up!
:—The '''Stunticons''' speak their first words.

"Big ''and'' stupid."
:—'''Blaster''' on the Centurion droids who, in their zealousness, ran off a cliff to chase the maintenance robots.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
*At the beginning of the episode, as Prime notes how quiet it's been, his headlights and bumper are red (instead of white and gray).
*Part of Megatron's leg is blue during his "Thrust, Dirge, Ramjet, after them!" line.
*When Ramjet crashes, he reverts to robot mode without the transformation sound.
*In the scene with the coneheads, when Thrust transforms, it's actually Ramjet's animation model with Thrust's deco.
*Megatron's left arm is white instead of grey when he gripes about the Autobots after the first attempt to steal the superfuel.
*Rumble's visor is the same color as his face when he steals the F1 car which will become Drag Strip. Oddly enough, it's red when the Autobots review the same sequence on Teletraan I later on!
*As Rumble steals the semi truck, two of his shots start with Megatron's fusion cannon sound effect and end with the usual Decepticon laser effect.
*When the Decepticons are chatting with Shockwave on Cybertron, Rumble's head disappears for a brief moment.
*As the Autobots race towards Alpha Trion's lab, Omega Supreme actually clips through Blaster.
*When the Centurian Droids attack, Megatron's nose is colored dark gray.
*In one shot of the Autobots walking through a corridor, Blaster's mouth is jumping up and down independently of his face.

===Continuity errors===
* The central premise of this episode—that bringing new Transformers to life requires the supercomputer Vector Sigma—has already been contradicted by the creation of the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], and possibly the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] as well (though that's [[Constructicon (G1)|a whole can of worms]] in itself.) Later episodes would likewise contradict it, showing [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] and the [[Technobot (G1)|Technobot]]s being brought to life without Vector Sigma. Optimus *sort of* explains most of this by saying "There's no place on Earth to give them Cybernetic personalities like we have", the "like we have" part insinuating that personalities from Earth would end up with low intelligence. For Trypticon and the Dinobots at least, this appears to be correct.
* Wheeljack comes out with the other autobots when Omega lands on Cybertron. After he delivers his next lines of dialog though, and the Autobots go into Trion's lab, he seems to be deemed useless for the rest of the episode. As a matter of fact, he doesn't do *any* repairs at all in the two-parter - including the maintenance droids, and the repair of Alpha Trion.
* Alpha Trion's lab looks significantly different than from his debut episode, and a lot messier (maybe he went on a drunken bender at some point). Also, if his lab was established as being so hard to find in that episode, how does Megatron instantly know where it is?
* Alpha Trion goes along with Optimus' plan to reconfigure Cybertronian shuttles into Earth-style jets, even though he's never been to Earth.

===Transformers references===
* Soundwave actually uses that gun on his shoulder while fighting the Centurion drones.
* Apparently, Vector Sigma isn't supposed to give personalities to robots created on other planets. Note how Megatron ensures Vector Sigma that the Stunticons are "Cybernetic Creations" like themselves, not machines created on Earth.

===Trivia===
* According to episode writer [[David Wise]] at various conventions (such as [[BotCon 2009]]), he was instructed to include Vector Sigma when writing this episode as part of the [[Hasbro]] episode mandates. Not knowing what Vector Sigma was, he pressed story editor [[Bryce Malek]], who in turn had to go to Hasbro to learn that Vector Sigma was "the computer that gave all the Transformers personalities". This caused Malek to respond: "Well, it didn't do a very good job, did it!"
*At the script stage, this episode had the uninspired sub-title "Creation of the Stunticons".
*The shooting scripts for both installments of this two-parter contain several "deleted scenes" which expand greatly upon some of the more significant events in the story. In this episode:
**"That blast" mentioned by Prime in the finished episode actually happens.
**While the other Autobots are busy down in the tunnels, Omega Supreme battles Shockwave on the planet's surface throughout the second act of the episode. Shockwave refers to Omega as his "old enemy," and is on the losing end of the fight until he gets his hands on a "cyberbomb," which he uses to defeat Omega, leaving him very badly damaged. There is a vestigial reference to this battle in Part 2, and further scenes relating to its consequences are removed from that episode, altering the nature of its turning point quite a bit.
*In the scene where the Autobots walk through a chamber with lots of destroyed Transformers in it, there are two [[generic]]s in the foreground. The same character models previously appeared during the "[[Early war history records Transformers|historic footage]]" segment in "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2]]". The green and yellow generic retained his color scheme, whereas the blue one is now one solid shade of blue. The model will appear again in "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]", again in different colors.
* The tank vehicles seen at the army base are the M.O.B.A.T. and the Armadillo from the ''[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]'' animated series.
* Rumble is shown capturing a Tyrrell P34 during a Formula 1 race, the year presumably being 1986. In actuality, the six-wheeler Tyrrell P34 was retired after the 1977 season, and did not appear again on any race circuit until 1999.
* Dirge, Ramjet and Thrust all crash into the mountain. Yet Ramjet is the only one being knocked out by the hit despite being the one who likes to crash into things on purpose. Should be not be more resistant to this kind of damage? According to Dirge and Thrust he even needs repairs though that could be simply an excuse for them to flee. (You know, with them both being cowards.)

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1986 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn ([[Video Gems|A.M.T. Video Gems]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn ([[Video Gems|V.I.P. Video Gems]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1991 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma ([[Video Gems|Little Gems Video Club]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 4: The Key to Vector Sigma ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 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/the_key_to_vector_sigma_part_1.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1

2011-02-28T07:46:58Z

75.2.140.67: /* Animation or technical glitches */

{{episode
|image=Stunticons.jpg
|caption=Megatron's latest addition of troops. He's really going to regret this.
|series=G1toon
|ep=56
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=42
|prev2=The Search for Alpha Trion
|next2=The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2
|title="The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1"
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-55
|airdate=[[November 25]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''After being beaten by the Autobots once again, Megatron hatches a plan to create a team of Decepticons that will give him supremacy over the roads.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ベクターシグマの鍵 PART I (''Vector Sigma no Kagi PART I'', "The Key of Vector Sigma PART I")
:''Italian title:'' '''La chiave di Vector Sigma - I''' ("The key of Vector Sigma - I")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:KeyVectorSigma1 Rumble carjack.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Rumble makes a good carjacker. Why are we not surprised?]]

The [[Autobot]]s are escorting a convoy of tankers which carry a new [[superfuel]] which the government has given to the Autobots. Things have been quiet so far, but [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] is wary. [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] thinks that the [[Decepticon]]s are unaware of the superfuel, when they take that moment to attack. [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] sends the [[Conehead]]s to attack, but they are unable to follow them into the tunnels and canyons on the road. Megatron himself decides to destroy the superfuel, but [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] manages to distract him, while Optimus and Prowl drive Megatron off.

Megatron is furious that the Autobots beat them, and decides to rectify the situation. [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] is sent to steal cars of various models, and [[Possum Brown]]'s truck, all of which Megatron alters with Decepticon technology, such as anti-gravity boosters and automatic [[force field]]s. Using a remote control, Megatron tests the cars' abilities. Rumble is amazed with their stunt driving, and Megatron decides that it's a good name. Bringing them about, he has them [[Transformation|transform]] into robot mode, and dubs them the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]].

[[Image:KeyVectorSigma1 Alpha wall.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"I'm not quite dead."]]

Learning that the Decepticons are making new soldiers, Prime realizes they'll need Cybernetic personalities to truly live, and there is only one way to do that. [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] takes a group of Autobots to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], where Megatron is informed by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] that he has located [[Vector Sigma]], the megacomputer that gave the [[Transformer]]s life. But they will require the [[Key to Vector Sigma|circuit key]] to activate it. The Key is in the possession of [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], and the Decepticons head for his lab. After a brief struggle, [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] locates the Key and gives it to Megatron.

Arriving on Cybertron, the Autobots hurry to Alpha Trion's lab, only to find a dying Alpha Trion. [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] are able to save his life, and he explains to Optimus what Megatron intends to do. The Autobots head into the tunnels for Vector Sigma.

[[Image:Centurions.jpg|left|200px|thumb|We came, we saw, we kicked some ass.]]

In the tunnels, the Decepticons encounter [[Centurion droid]]s, which Megatron discovers he can control with the Key, and instructs them to attack the Autobots. The Autobots encounter the drones and, unable to destroy their attackers, retreat to a derelict hanger. Heading to Vector Sigma, Megatron activates the super computer, which gives [[Spark|life]] to the Stunticons: [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]], [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]], [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]], [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]], and [[Wildrider]]. The Decepticons return to Earth, where the Stunticons are set loose on human roads.

[[Image:KeyVectorSigma1 Wildrider fly.JPG|right|200px|thumb|This isn't gonna end good.]]
In the hanger, Ratchet and Wheeljack set about repairing the damaged [[maintenance drone]]s which are scattered around, sending them out to fight the Centurions, with little success. Finally a column of maintenance drones marches off a cliff, and the Centurion drones blindly follow them. The Autobots reach Vector Sigma, learning that it already gave the Stunticons life. Optimus plans to use a series of ancient rockets and have them rebuilt as Earth style jets, planning to fight the Decepticons in the air.

At a human base, the Stunticons arrive attempting to make another attempt to steal the superfuel, and the soldiers believe they're being attacked by the Autobots.

[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2|To be continued...]]
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (19)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (21)
* [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (16)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (15)
* [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (17)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (1)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (3)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (12)
* [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (2)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (4)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (18)

|c2=
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (8)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (5)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (6)
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (20)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (9)
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (14)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (10)
* [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (7)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]]
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]]
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]]
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]]
* [[Wildrider]]

|c4=
* [[Centurion droid]]s (22)
* [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] (13)
* [[Vector Sigma]] (23)
}}

==Quotes==
[[Image:Vector sigma.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The early concept of the disco mirror ball, which the humans stole, millions of years later.]]

"So much for your security, Prowl."
:—'''Smokescreen''', as the Decepticons attack

"I knew I'd never make it."
:—'''Dirge''', accepting his lot in life.

"No, Megatron, you'll have to blow us all up, and frankly, I don't think you have the guts."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' goads Megatron to shoot at the super fuel.

"Annnnd Mueller takes it! What in the world?" 
"You mean ''Rumble'' takes it!"
:—'''Race track announcer''' and '''Rumble''', who proceeds quite literally to take it

"Incredible! Not even the Autobots can do that kind of stunt driving." 
"Stunt driving...yes! Behold—the ''Stunticons!''"
:—'''Rumble''' gives '''Megatron''' an inspiration.

"This can't be the way those Deceptigoons came." 
"On the contrary, it definitely is." 
"What makes you so sure?" 
"Because who else would have sent ''them'' to kill us?"
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Alpha Trion''' as the Centurion droids approach

"I am Vector Sigma. Before Cybertron was, I was! Who reactivates me?"
:—'''Vector Sigma'''

'''Megatron''': I am Megatron, your leader. Declare yourselves to me. 
'''Motormaster''': I am Motormaster. I swear loyalty to you! 
'''Dead End''': I am Dead End. I guess I'll have to do what you say. 
'''Breakdown''': I'm... I'm Breakdown. I'll obey too. 
'''Drag Strip''': I am Drag Strip. I ''live'' to obey! 
'''Wildrider''': I'm Wildrider! And I wanna bust something up!
:—The '''Stunticons''' speak their first words.

"Big ''and'' stupid."
:—'''Blaster''' on the Centurion droids who, in their zealousness, ran off a cliff to chase the maintenance robots.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
*At the beginning of the episode, as Prime notes how quiet it's been, his headlights and bumper are red (instead of white and gray).
*Part of Megatron's leg is blue during his "Thrust, Dirge, Ramjet, after them!" line.
*When Ramjet crashes, he reverts to robot mode without the transformation sound.
*In the scene with the coneheads, when Thrust transforms, it's actually Ramjet's animation model with Thrust's deco.
*Megatron's left arm is white instead of grey when he gripes about the Autobots after the first attempt to steal the superfuel.
*Rumble's visor is the same color as his face when he steals the F1 car which will become Drag Strip. Oddly enough, it's red when the Autobots review the same sequence on Teletraan I later on!
*As Rumble steals the semi truck, two of his shots start with Megatron's fusion cannon sound effect and end with the usual Decepticon laser effect.
*When the Decepticons are chatting with Shockwave on Cybertron, Rumble's head disappears for a brief moment.
*As the Autobots race towards Alpha Trion's lab, Omega Supreme actually clips through Blaster.
*When the Centurian Droids attack, Megatron's nose is colored dark gray.
*In one shot of the Autobots walking through a corridor, Blaster's mouth is jumping up and down independently of his face.

===Continuity errors===
* The central premise of this episode—that bringing new Transformers to life requires the supercomputer Vector Sigma—has already been contradicted by the creation of the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], and possibly the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] as well (though that's [[Constructicon (G1)|a whole can of worms]] in itself.) Later episodes would likewise contradict it, showing [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] and the [[Technobot (G1)|Technobot]]s being brought to life without Vector Sigma. Optimus *sort of* explains most of this by saying "There's no place on Earth to give them Cybernetic personalities like we have", the "like we have" part insinuating that personalities from Earth would end up with low intelligence. For Trypticon and the Dinobots at least, this appears to be correct.
* Wheeljack comes out with the other autobots when Omega lands on Cybertron. After he delivers his next lines of dialog though, and the Autobots go into Trion's lab, he seems to be deemed useless for the rest of the episode. As a matter of fact, he doesn't do *any* repairs at all in the two-parter - including the maintenance droids, and the repair of Alpha Trion.
* Alpha Trion's lab looks significantly different than from his debut episode, and a lot messier (maybe he went on a drunken bender at some point). Also, if his lab was established as being so hard to find in that episode, how does Megatron instantly know where it is?

===Transformers references===
* Soundwave actually uses that gun on his shoulder while fighting the Centurion drones.
* Apparently, Vector Sigma isn't supposed to give personalities to robots created on other planets. Note how Megatron ensures Vector Sigma that the Stunticons are "Cybernetic Creations" like themselves, not machines created on Earth.

===Trivia===
* According to episode writer [[David Wise]] at various conventions (such as [[BotCon 2009]]), he was instructed to include Vector Sigma when writing this episode as part of the [[Hasbro]] episode mandates. Not knowing what Vector Sigma was, he pressed story editor [[Bryce Malek]], who in turn had to go to Hasbro to learn that Vector Sigma was "the computer that gave all the Transformers personalities". This caused Malek to respond: "Well, it didn't do a very good job, did it!"
*At the script stage, this episode had the uninspired sub-title "Creation of the Stunticons".
*The shooting scripts for both installments of this two-parter contain several "deleted scenes" which expand greatly upon some of the more significant events in the story. In this episode:
**"That blast" mentioned by Prime in the finished episode actually happens.
**While the other Autobots are busy down in the tunnels, Omega Supreme battles Shockwave on the planet's surface throughout the second act of the episode. Shockwave refers to Omega as his "old enemy," and is on the losing end of the fight until he gets his hands on a "cyberbomb," which he uses to defeat Omega, leaving him very badly damaged. There is a vestigial reference to this battle in Part 2, and further scenes relating to its consequences are removed from that episode, altering the nature of its turning point quite a bit.
*In the scene where the Autobots walk through a chamber with lots of destroyed Transformers in it, there are two [[generic]]s in the foreground. The same character models previously appeared during the "[[Early war history records Transformers|historic footage]]" segment in "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2]]". The green and yellow generic retained his color scheme, whereas the blue one is now one solid shade of blue. The model will appear again in "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]", again in different colors.
* The tank vehicles seen at the army base are the M.O.B.A.T. and the Armadillo from the ''[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]'' animated series.
* Rumble is shown capturing a Tyrrell P34 during a Formula 1 race, the year presumably being 1986. In actuality, the six-wheeler Tyrrell P34 was retired after the 1977 season, and did not appear again on any race circuit until 1999.
* Dirge, Ramjet and Thrust all crash into the mountain. Yet Ramjet is the only one being knocked out by the hit despite being the one who likes to crash into things on purpose. Should be not be more resistant to this kind of damage? According to Dirge and Thrust he even needs repairs though that could be simply an excuse for them to flee. (You know, with them both being cowards.)

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1986 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn ([[Video Gems|A.M.T. Video Gems]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn ([[Video Gems|V.I.P. Video Gems]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1991 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma ([[Video Gems|Little Gems Video Club]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 4: The Key to Vector Sigma ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 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/the_key_to_vector_sigma_part_1.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Hoist Goes Hollywood (episode)

2011-02-27T10:31:18Z

75.2.140.67: /* Animation or technical glitches */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{-}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* Warpath "sharpshoots" at nothing!

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

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

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

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

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

* Tracks' chair is labeled "TRUCKS."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===Continuity errors===
* Apparently, Dirge brought Wheeljack's part back from Cybertron (probably via the space bridge). Shouldn't this be a job for Astrotrain?
* 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.
* Soundwave's shots miss Carly and Spike in the hangar even though they're maybe 20 feet away from him. Also, why doesn't he deploy Laserbeak or Ravage to get them?
* Why would Hoist's threat to drop Spike, Carly, and the film negative into the lava have given the Decepticons pause when they'd been trying to destroy the three of them for pretty much the whole episode?
* Hoist says there's "no such thing as flesh-eating lava." What about...''lava''?

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

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

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

===Trivia===
[[Image:HoistGoesHollywood Starscream offline.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Feel better? No? GOOD.]]
* This is one of four pre-movie episodes that doesn't feature [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]].
*Megatron is ''incredibly'' abusive toward Starscream in this episode...well, more than usual. Starscream is absent for the next few episodes after his wires are pulled out; Megatron must have done some ''real'' damage.
*We never find out what Wheeljack's device is supposed to do.
*Spike yells, "DUCK!" when Soundwave bursts through the theater screen, but he and Carly run away instead.
*When the Autobots are role-playing the aliens chasing the actress, Sunstreaker looks like he's...goose-stepping?
*Once again, transformers can fit into human-sized buildings (the studio and the movie theater) with ease. Tracks and Wheeljack even sit in the front of the theater.

==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)

2011-02-27T10:28:21Z

75.2.140.67: /* Animation or technical glitches */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* Warpath "sharpshoots" at nothing!

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

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

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

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

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

* Tracks' chair is labeled "TRUCKS."

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

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

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

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

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

* 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.

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

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

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

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

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

===Continuity errors===
* Apparently, Dirge brought Wheeljack's part back from Cybertron (probably via the space bridge). Shouldn't this be a job for Astrotrain?
* 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.
* Soundwave's shots miss Carly and Spike in the hangar even though they're maybe 20 feet away from him. Also, why doesn't he deploy Laserbeak or Ravage to get them?
* Why would Hoist's threat to drop Spike, Carly, and the film negative into the lava have given the Decepticons pause when they'd been trying to destroy the three of them for pretty much the whole episode?
* Hoist says there's "no such thing as flesh-eating lava." What about...''lava''?

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

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

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

===Trivia===
[[Image:HoistGoesHollywood Starscream offline.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Feel better? No? GOOD.]]
* This is one of four pre-movie episodes that doesn't feature [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]].
*Megatron is ''incredibly'' abusive toward Starscream in this episode...well, more than usual. Starscream is absent for the next few episodes after his wires are pulled out; Megatron must have done some ''real'' damage.
*We never find out what Wheeljack's device is supposed to do.
*Spike yells, "DUCK!" when Soundwave bursts through the theater screen, but he and Carly run away instead.
*When the Autobots are role-playing the aliens chasing the actress, Sunstreaker looks like he's...goose-stepping?
*Once again, transformers can fit into human-sized buildings (the studio and the movie theater) with ease. Tracks and Wheeljack even sit in the front of the theater.

==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)

2011-02-27T10:24:16Z

75.2.140.67: /* 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")
:''Italian title:'' '''Hoist conquista Hollywood''' ("Hoist wins Hollywood")

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* Warpath "sharpshoots" at nothing!

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

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

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

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

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

* Tracks' chair is labeled "TRUCKS."

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

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

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

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

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

* 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.

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

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

* 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.

* During the last shot of the Autobots congratulating Hoist, Sunstreaker is placed too high in the cel, making him appear to be floating.

===Continuity errors===
* Apparently, Dirge brought Wheeljack's part back from Cybertron (probably via the space bridge). Shouldn't this be a job for Astrotrain?
* 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.
* Soundwave's shots miss Carly and Spike in the hangar even though they're maybe 20 feet away from him. Also, why doesn't he deploy Laserbeak or Ravage to get them?
* Why would Hoist's threat to drop Spike, Carly, and the film negative into the lava have given the Decepticons pause when they'd been trying to destroy the three of them for pretty much the whole episode?
* Hoist says there's "no such thing as flesh-eating lava." What about...''lava''?

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

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

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

===Trivia===
[[Image:HoistGoesHollywood Starscream offline.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Feel better? No? GOOD.]]
* This is one of four pre-movie episodes that doesn't feature [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]].
*Megatron is ''incredibly'' abusive toward Starscream in this episode...well, more than usual. Starscream is absent for the next few episodes after his wires are pulled out; Megatron must have done some ''real'' damage.
*We never find out what Wheeljack's device is supposed to do.
*Spike yells, "DUCK!" when Soundwave bursts through the theater screen, but he and Carly run away instead.
*When the Autobots are role-playing the aliens chasing the actress, Sunstreaker looks like he's...goose-stepping?
*Once again, transformers can fit into human-sized buildings (the studio and the movie theater) with ease. Tracks and Wheeljack even sit in the front of the theater.

==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)

2011-02-27T10:20:52Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity errors */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* Warpath "sharpshoots" at nothing!

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

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

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

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

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

* Tracks' chair is labeled "TRUCKS."

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

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

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

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

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

* 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.

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

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

* 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.

* During the last shot of the Autobots congratulating Hoist, Sunstreaker is placed too high in the cel, making him appear to be floating.

===Continuity errors===
* Apparently, Dirge brought Wheeljack's part back from Cybertron (probably via the space bridge). Shouldn't this be a job for Astrotrain?
* 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.
* Soundwave's shots miss Carly and Spike in the hangar even though they're maybe 20 feet away from him. Also, why doesn't he deploy Laserbeak or Ravage to get them?
* Why would Hoist's threat to drop Spike, Carly, and the film negative into the lava have given the Decepticons pause when they'd been trying to destroy the three of them for pretty much the whole episode?
* Hoist says there's "no such thing as flesh-eating lava." What about...''lava''?

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

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

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

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

==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)

2011-02-27T10:16:04Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity errors */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* Warpath "sharpshoots" at nothing!

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

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

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

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

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

* Tracks' chair is labeled "TRUCKS."

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

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

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

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

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

* 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.

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

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

* 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.

* During the last shot of the Autobots congratulating Hoist, Sunstreaker is placed too high in the cel, making him appear to be floating.

===Continuity errors===
* Apparently, Dirge brought Wheeljack's part back from Cybertron (probably via the space bridge). Shouldn't this be a job for Astrotrain?
* 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 (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' films. Karen Fishook is voiced by Susan Blu, who would later voice another Princess Leia parody: Arcee.

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

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

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

==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)

2011-02-27T10:13:55Z

75.2.140.67: /* Animation or technical glitches */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* Warpath "sharpshoots" at nothing!

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

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

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

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

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

* Tracks' chair is labeled "TRUCKS."

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

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

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

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

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

* 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.

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

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

* 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.

* During the last shot of the Autobots congratulating Hoist, Sunstreaker is placed too high in the cel, making him appear to be floating.

===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 (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' films. Karen Fishook is voiced by Susan Blu, who would later voice another Princess Leia parody: Arcee.

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

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

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

==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]]

The Girl Who Loved Powerglide

2011-02-27T09:33:24Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity notes */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{--}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===Continuity errors===
* Powerglide's cockpit interior is shown at a half-way point between a single-seater (as seen in "Dinobot Island Part 1") and a gigantic cabin ("Blaster Blues").
* Likewise, his hatch is shown to be on the side of his fuselage, rather than the bubble canopy.
* With no seat restraints, Astoria should have been battered to pulp by all of Powerglide's maneuvering.
* That is one tough merry-go-round, as it's big and strong enough to support a multi-ton metal robot. (But hey, it's totally worth it to see Powerglide riding a merry-go-round.)
* Superhuman Astoria:
** Both Powerglide and the Coneheads repeatedly manhandle Astoria's arms as through they were made of rubber.
** Powerglide is actually quite abusive to the [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz|human he is charged with "saving" in this episode.]] Right after they meet, he throws her off his arm and onto the concrete so hard she ''bounces'' (thus answering one of the great [[Aerialbots over America!|mysteries of the ages]].)
** Then he apparently ''throws'' her out of the control room on the sky platform. But hey, that's what she gets for having to be told twice, right, Powerglide?
** She seemed able to breathe quite comfortably while outside the platform despite the fact it was floating ten miles up.
**It seems Astoria is also gifted with superhuman strength, as she is able to hold her own against the Coneheads, prevent Powerglide from taking her necklace, and rip a metal panel with her bare hands. Maybe Powerglide's abuse isn't as damaging as it appears.
* It's never revealed exactly ''why'' the psycho-probe malfunctions. Did Astoria's necklace cause the energy feedback?
* ...and given the apparent bumbles by Soundwave and Megatron, it's funny Starscream wasn't around to chastise them.
* Seriously, Soundwave could have scanned Astoria's mind like he scanned [[Chip Chase]] back in "[[Roll for It]]". Surely, Astoria couldn't have jinxed that ability too!

===Continuity notes===
* Gadgets and powers:
** Powerglide once again uses a telescopic video camera. This time it comes out of his front laser gun barrel, however. How does ''that'' work?
** Powerglide also has some means of tossing out a rope while in plane mode, and reeling it back in.
** Dirge has his own version of Starscream's infamous boob bombs; he fires a pair of missiles from ducts just below his "boobs" (the rectangular "intakes" on his chest.)
* This episode [[Make Tracks|proves]] [[Auto-Bop|once and for]] all that Sparkplug's garage (complete with duplicate Teletraan I) in New York City is a secondary Autobot base, as Powerglide has to fly Astoria to the "main" Autobot headquarters. It seems that Prime, Ratchet and Ironhide drove all the way back there ''just'' to see Astoria say her goodbyes to Powerglide.

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

===Trivia===
*David Wise, the writer of this episode, recycled its plot, and even its set pieces, wholesale for his TMNT episode ''Poor Little Rich Turtle'', even down to replicating the merry-go-round sequence and the brain-sucking sequence (even though Buffy, the girl in the TMNT story, doesn't make machines malfunction normally she still makes the "Brainalizer" explode). Good ole David Wise. You can always rely on [[Microbots|him]] [[Kremzeek!|to]] [[Auto-Bop|recycle]] [[Attack of the Autobots|a story.]]

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

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

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

The Girl Who Loved Powerglide

2011-02-27T09:32:37Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity notes */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{--}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===Continuity errors===
* Powerglide's cockpit interior is shown at a half-way point between a single-seater (as seen in "Dinobot Island Part 1") and a gigantic cabin ("Blaster Blues").
* Likewise, his hatch is shown to be on the side of his fuselage, rather than the bubble canopy.
* With no seat restraints, Astoria should have been battered to pulp by all of Powerglide's maneuvering.
* That is one tough merry-go-round, as it's big and strong enough to support a multi-ton metal robot. (But hey, it's totally worth it to see Powerglide riding a merry-go-round.)
* Superhuman Astoria:
** Both Powerglide and the Coneheads repeatedly manhandle Astoria's arms as through they were made of rubber.
** Powerglide is actually quite abusive to the [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz|human he is charged with "saving" in this episode.]] Right after they meet, he throws her off his arm and onto the concrete so hard she ''bounces'' (thus answering one of the great [[Aerialbots over America!|mysteries of the ages]].)
** Then he apparently ''throws'' her out of the control room on the sky platform. But hey, that's what she gets for having to be told twice, right, Powerglide?
** She seemed able to breathe quite comfortably while outside the platform despite the fact it was floating ten miles up.
**It seems Astoria is also gifted with superhuman strength, as she is able to hold her own against the Coneheads, prevent Powerglide from taking her necklace, and rip a metal panel with her bare hands. Maybe Powerglide's abuse isn't as damaging as it appears.
* It's never revealed exactly ''why'' the psycho-probe malfunctions. Did Astoria's necklace cause the energy feedback?
* ...and given the apparent bumbles by Soundwave and Megatron, it's funny Starscream wasn't around to chastise them.
* Seriously, Soundwave could have scanned Astoria's mind like he scanned [[Chip Chase]] back in "[[Roll for It]]". Surely, Astoria couldn't have jinxed that ability too!

===Continuity notes===
* Gadgets and powers:
** Powerglide once again uses a telescopic video camera. This time it comes out of his front laser gun barrel, however. How does ''that'' work?
** Powerglide also has some means of tossing out a rope while in plane mode, and reeling it back in.
** Dirge has his own version of Starscream's infamous boob bombs; he fires a pair of missiles from ducts just below his "boobs" (the rectangular "intakes" on his chest.)
* This episode [[Make Tracks|proves]] [[Auto-Bop|once and for]] all that Sparkplug's garage (complete with duplicate Teletraan I) in New York City is a secondary Autobot base, as Powerglide has to fly Astoria to the "main" Autobot headquarters. It seems that Prime, Ratchet and Ironhide drove all the way back there ''just'' to see Astoria say her goodbyes to Powerglide. You'd think Tracks and Blaster would already be there.

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

===Trivia===
*David Wise, the writer of this episode, recycled its plot, and even its set pieces, wholesale for his TMNT episode ''Poor Little Rich Turtle'', even down to replicating the merry-go-round sequence and the brain-sucking sequence (even though Buffy, the girl in the TMNT story, doesn't make machines malfunction normally she still makes the "Brainalizer" explode). Good ole David Wise. You can always rely on [[Microbots|him]] [[Kremzeek!|to]] [[Auto-Bop|recycle]] [[Attack of the Autobots|a story.]]

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

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

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

The Girl Who Loved Powerglide

2011-02-27T09:27:06Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity errors */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{--}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===Continuity errors===
* Powerglide's cockpit interior is shown at a half-way point between a single-seater (as seen in "Dinobot Island Part 1") and a gigantic cabin ("Blaster Blues").
* Likewise, his hatch is shown to be on the side of his fuselage, rather than the bubble canopy.
* With no seat restraints, Astoria should have been battered to pulp by all of Powerglide's maneuvering.
* That is one tough merry-go-round, as it's big and strong enough to support a multi-ton metal robot. (But hey, it's totally worth it to see Powerglide riding a merry-go-round.)
* Superhuman Astoria:
** Both Powerglide and the Coneheads repeatedly manhandle Astoria's arms as through they were made of rubber.
** Powerglide is actually quite abusive to the [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz|human he is charged with "saving" in this episode.]] Right after they meet, he throws her off his arm and onto the concrete so hard she ''bounces'' (thus answering one of the great [[Aerialbots over America!|mysteries of the ages]].)
** Then he apparently ''throws'' her out of the control room on the sky platform. But hey, that's what she gets for having to be told twice, right, Powerglide?
** She seemed able to breathe quite comfortably while outside the platform despite the fact it was floating ten miles up.
**It seems Astoria is also gifted with superhuman strength, as she is able to hold her own against the Coneheads, prevent Powerglide from taking her necklace, and rip a metal panel with her bare hands. Maybe Powerglide's abuse isn't as damaging as it appears.
* It's never revealed exactly ''why'' the psycho-probe malfunctions. Did Astoria's necklace cause the energy feedback?
* ...and given the apparent bumbles by Soundwave and Megatron, it's funny Starscream wasn't around to chastise them.
* Seriously, Soundwave could have scanned Astoria's mind like he scanned [[Chip Chase]] back in "[[Roll for It]]". Surely, Astoria couldn't have jinxed that ability too!

===Continuity notes===
* Gadgets and powers:
** Powerglide once again uses a telescopic video camera. This time it comes out of his front laser gun barrel, however. How does ''that'' work?
** Powerglide also has some means of tossing out a rope while in plane mode, and reeling it back in.
** Dirge has his own version of Starscream's infamous boob bombs; he fires a pair of missiles from ducts just below his "boobs" (the rectangular "intakes" on his chest.)
* This episode [[Make Tracks|proves]] [[Auto-Bop|once and for]] all that Sparkplug's garage (complete with duplicate Teletraan I) is in New York City, as Powerglide has to fly Astoria to the "main" Autobot headquarters.

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

===Trivia===
*David Wise, the writer of this episode, recycled its plot, and even its set pieces, wholesale for his TMNT episode ''Poor Little Rich Turtle'', even down to replicating the merry-go-round sequence and the brain-sucking sequence (even though Buffy, the girl in the TMNT story, doesn't make machines malfunction normally she still makes the "Brainalizer" explode). Good ole David Wise. You can always rely on [[Microbots|him]] [[Kremzeek!|to]] [[Auto-Bop|recycle]] [[Attack of the Autobots|a story.]]

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

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

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

The Girl Who Loved Powerglide

2011-02-27T09:22:36Z

75.2.140.67: /* Trivia */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{--}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===Continuity errors===
* Powerglide's cockpit interior is shown at a half-way point between a single-seater (as seen in "Dinobot Island Part 1") and a gigantic cabin ("Blaster Blues").
* Likewise, his hatch is shown to be on the side of his fuselage, rather than the bubble canopy.
* With no seat restraints, Astoria should have been battered to pulp by all of Powerglide's maneuvering.
* Superhuman Astoria:
** Both Powerglide and the Coneheads repeatedly manhandle Astoria's arms as through they were made of rubber.
** Powerglide is actually quite abusive to the [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz|human he is charged with "saving" in this episode.]] Right after they meet, he throws her off his arm and onto the concrete so hard she ''bounces'' (thus answering one of the great [[Aerialbots over America!|mysteries of the ages]].)
** Then he apparently ''throws'' her out of the control room on the sky platform. But hey, that's what she gets for having to be told twice, right, Powerglide?
** She seemed able to breathe quite comfortably while outside the platform despite the fact it was floating ten miles up.
**It seems Astoria is also gifted with superhuman strength, as she is able to hold her own against the Coneheads, prevent Powerglide from taking her necklace, and rip a metal panel with her bare hands. Maybe Powerglide's abuse isn't as damaging as it appears.
* That is one tough merry-go-round, to be able to support a multi-ton metal robot. (But hey, it's totally worth it to see Powerglide riding a merry-go-round.)
* Seriously, Soundwave could have scanned Astoria's mind like he scanned [[Chip Chase]] back in "[[Roll for It]]". Surely, Astoria couldn't have jinxed that ability too!

===Continuity notes===
* Gadgets and powers:
** Powerglide once again uses a telescopic video camera. This time it comes out of his front laser gun barrel, however. How does ''that'' work?
** Powerglide also has some means of tossing out a rope while in plane mode, and reeling it back in.
** Dirge has his own version of Starscream's infamous boob bombs; he fires a pair of missiles from ducts just below his "boobs" (the rectangular "intakes" on his chest.)
* This episode [[Make Tracks|proves]] [[Auto-Bop|once and for]] all that Sparkplug's garage (complete with duplicate Teletraan I) is in New York City, as Powerglide has to fly Astoria to the "main" Autobot headquarters.

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

===Trivia===
*David Wise, the writer of this episode, recycled its plot, and even its set pieces, wholesale for his TMNT episode ''Poor Little Rich Turtle'', even down to replicating the merry-go-round sequence and the brain-sucking sequence (even though Buffy, the girl in the TMNT story, doesn't make machines malfunction normally she still makes the "Brainalizer" explode). Good ole David Wise. You can always rely on [[Microbots|him]] [[Kremzeek!|to]] [[Auto-Bop|recycle]] [[Attack of the Autobots|a story.]]

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

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

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

The Girl Who Loved Powerglide

2011-02-27T09:21:32Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity notes */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{--}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===Continuity errors===
* Powerglide's cockpit interior is shown at a half-way point between a single-seater (as seen in "Dinobot Island Part 1") and a gigantic cabin ("Blaster Blues").
* Likewise, his hatch is shown to be on the side of his fuselage, rather than the bubble canopy.
* With no seat restraints, Astoria should have been battered to pulp by all of Powerglide's maneuvering.
* Superhuman Astoria:
** Both Powerglide and the Coneheads repeatedly manhandle Astoria's arms as through they were made of rubber.
** Powerglide is actually quite abusive to the [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz|human he is charged with "saving" in this episode.]] Right after they meet, he throws her off his arm and onto the concrete so hard she ''bounces'' (thus answering one of the great [[Aerialbots over America!|mysteries of the ages]].)
** Then he apparently ''throws'' her out of the control room on the sky platform. But hey, that's what she gets for having to be told twice, right, Powerglide?
** She seemed able to breathe quite comfortably while outside the platform despite the fact it was floating ten miles up.
**It seems Astoria is also gifted with superhuman strength, as she is able to hold her own against the Coneheads, prevent Powerglide from taking her necklace, and rip a metal panel with her bare hands. Maybe Powerglide's abuse isn't as damaging as it appears.
* That is one tough merry-go-round, to be able to support a multi-ton metal robot. (But hey, it's totally worth it to see Powerglide riding a merry-go-round.)
* Seriously, Soundwave could have scanned Astoria's mind like he scanned [[Chip Chase]] back in "[[Roll for It]]". Surely, Astoria couldn't have jinxed that ability too!

===Continuity notes===
* Gadgets and powers:
** Powerglide once again uses a telescopic video camera. This time it comes out of his front laser gun barrel, however. How does ''that'' work?
** Powerglide also has some means of tossing out a rope while in plane mode, and reeling it back in.
** Dirge has his own version of Starscream's infamous boob bombs; he fires a pair of missiles from ducts just below his "boobs" (the rectangular "intakes" on his chest.)
* This episode [[Make Tracks|proves]] [[Auto-Bop|once and for]] all that Sparkplug's garage (complete with duplicate Teletraan I) is in New York City, as Powerglide has to fly Astoria to the "main" Autobot headquarters.

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

===Trivia===
*David Wise, the writer of this episode, recycled its plot, and even its set pieces, wholesale for his TMNT episode ''Poor Little Rich Turtle'', even down to replicating the merry-go-round sequence and the brain-sucking sequence (even though Buffy, the girl in the TMNT story, doesn't make machines malfunction normally she still makes the "Brainalizer" explode). Good ole David Wise. You can always rely on [[Microbots|him]] [[Kremzeek!|to]] [[Auto-Bop|recycle]] [[Attack of the Autobots|a story.]]
* Powerglide's first line in the episode seems to revolve around the notion that one can be ''either'' a top scientist ''or'' a girl. And ''he's'' the one who gets a PSA on gender discrimination.

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

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

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

The Girl Who Loved Powerglide

2011-02-27T09:16:51Z

75.2.140.67: /* Animation or technical glitches */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{--}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===Continuity errors===
* Powerglide's cockpit interior is shown at a half-way point between a single-seater (as seen in "Dinobot Island Part 1") and a gigantic cabin ("Blaster Blues").
* Likewise, his hatch is shown to be on the side of his fuselage, rather than the bubble canopy.
* With no seat restraints, Astoria should have been battered to pulp by all of Powerglide's maneuvering.
* Superhuman Astoria:
** Both Powerglide and the Coneheads repeatedly manhandle Astoria's arms as through they were made of rubber.
** Powerglide is actually quite abusive to the [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz|human he is charged with "saving" in this episode.]] Right after they meet, he throws her off his arm and onto the concrete so hard she ''bounces'' (thus answering one of the great [[Aerialbots over America!|mysteries of the ages]].)
** Then he apparently ''throws'' her out of the control room on the sky platform. But hey, that's what she gets for having to be told twice, right, Powerglide?
** She seemed able to breathe quite comfortably while outside the platform despite the fact it was floating ten miles up.
**It seems Astoria is also gifted with superhuman strength, as she is able to hold her own against the Coneheads, prevent Powerglide from taking her necklace, and rip a metal panel with her bare hands. Maybe Powerglide's abuse isn't as damaging as it appears.
* That is one tough merry-go-round, to be able to support a multi-ton metal robot. (But hey, it's totally worth it to see Powerglide riding a merry-go-round.)
* Seriously, Soundwave could have scanned Astoria's mind like he scanned [[Chip Chase]] back in "[[Roll for It]]". Surely, Astoria couldn't have jinxed that ability too!

===Continuity notes===
* Gadgets and powers:
** Powerglide once again uses a telescopic video camera. This time it comes out of his front laser gun barrel, however. How does ''that'' work?
** Powerglide also has some means of tossing out a rope while in plane mode, and reeling it back in.
** Dirge has his own version of Starscream's infamous boob bombs; he fires a pair of missiles from ducts just below his "boobs" (the rectangular "intakes" on his chest.)

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

===Trivia===
*David Wise, the writer of this episode, recycled its plot, and even its set pieces, wholesale for his TMNT episode ''Poor Little Rich Turtle'', even down to replicating the merry-go-round sequence and the brain-sucking sequence (even though Buffy, the girl in the TMNT story, doesn't make machines malfunction normally she still makes the "Brainalizer" explode). Good ole David Wise. You can always rely on [[Microbots|him]] [[Kremzeek!|to]] [[Auto-Bop|recycle]] [[Attack of the Autobots|a story.]]
* Powerglide's first line in the episode seems to revolve around the notion that one can be ''either'' a top scientist ''or'' a girl. And ''he's'' the one who gets a PSA on gender discrimination.

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

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

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

The Search for Alpha Trion

2011-02-27T08:38:50Z

75.2.140.67: /* Transformers references */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{-}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Elita One, her lifeforce is almost drained."
"She used her special power. I warned her not to."
:—'''Alpha Trion''' despite being centuries old learns just now that females simply never listen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*As Prime speaks with Megatron over [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]], he's missing his [[mouthplate]] for a few frames.

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

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

*Observing the spacebridge from afar, Ironhide notes, "If Prime got past those guards, so can [they]." The thing is, there ''are'' no guards, and there weren't any when Prime used the bridge, either.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===Transformers references===
*The episode marked the first appearance of [[female Transformers]] in official fiction. Kind of funny how ''they're'' the ones left behind on Cybertron.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

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

The Search for Alpha Trion

2011-02-27T08:31:48Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity errors */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{-}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Elita One, her lifeforce is almost drained."
"She used her special power. I warned her not to."
:—'''Alpha Trion''' despite being centuries old learns just now that females simply never listen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*As Prime speaks with Megatron over [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]], he's missing his [[mouthplate]] for a few frames.

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

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

*Observing the spacebridge from afar, Ironhide notes, "If Prime got past those guards, so can [they]." The thing is, there ''are'' no guards, and there weren't any when Prime used the bridge, either.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

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

The Search for Alpha Trion

2011-02-27T08:27:28Z

75.2.140.67: /* Featured characters */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{-}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Elita One, her lifeforce is almost drained."
"She used her special power. I warned her not to."
:—'''Alpha Trion''' despite being centuries old learns just now that females simply never listen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*As Prime speaks with Megatron over [[Teletraan I]], he's missing his [[mouthplate]] for a few frames.

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

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

*Observing the spacebridge from afar, Ironhide notes, "If Prime got past those guards, so can [they]." The thing is, there ''are'' no guards, and there weren't any when Prime used the bridge, either.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Alpha Trion says he will do what he can for Elita-1, but he barely looks for 5 seconds while Prime walks away! There probably should have been a dissolve to show some passage of time.

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

*As Prime charges Elita-1, the shot shows a wall behind him where the hallway was a moment earlier (unless her bed suddenly turned 90 degrees).

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

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

===Continuity errors===
*When the Ark launched back in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]", there was no indication of a Decepticon attack on the launch site, as this episode's flashback shows.
*Perceptor, Bumblebee and Cliffjumper are shown in Autobot HQ, yet they don't transform or join Ironhide's team heading for the space bridge.
* Optimus Prime apparently had no idea that Alpha Trion was his creator, despite the fact that in "[[War Dawn]]" after being rebuilt, he was fully conscious and actually met the guy and even knew that Elita One was built by him.
*As Starscream announces Prime's destruction, we see a bunch of parts in the vat of acid (what Starscream later calls Prime's "melted carcass"). Where did they come from? Prime escaped without a scratch!
*Why doesn't Shockwave shoot Prime and Elita-1 instead of just floating there?

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

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

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

===Trivia===
*Proof that Prime's trailer exists in subspace: He goes over the space bridge to Cybertron and transforms, and his trailer (complete with a platform for Elita-1) rolls in from out of nowhere!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

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

The Search for Alpha Trion

2011-02-27T08:26:36Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity errors */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{-}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Elita One, her lifeforce is almost drained."
"She used her special power. I warned her not to."
:—'''Alpha Trion''' despite being centuries old learns just now that females simply never listen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*As Prime speaks with Megatron over [[Teletraan I]], he's missing his [[mouthplate]] for a few frames.

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

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

*Observing the spacebridge from afar, Ironhide notes, "If Prime got past those guards, so can [they]." The thing is, there ''are'' no guards, and there weren't any when Prime used the bridge, either.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Alpha Trion says he will do what he can for Elita-1, but he barely looks for 5 seconds while Prime walks away! There probably should have been a dissolve to show some passage of time.

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

*As Prime charges Elita-1, the shot shows a wall behind him where the hallway was a moment earlier (unless her bed suddenly turned 90 degrees).

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

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

===Continuity errors===
*When the Ark launched back in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]", there was no indication of a Decepticon attack on the launch site, as this episode's flashback shows.
*Perceptor, Bumblebee and Cliffjumper are shown in Autobot HQ, yet they don't transform or join Ironhide's team heading for the space bridge.
* Optimus Prime apparently had no idea that Alpha Trion was his creator, despite the fact that in "[[War Dawn]]" after being rebuilt, he was fully conscious and actually met the guy and even knew that Elita One was built by him.
*As Starscream announces Prime's destruction, we see a bunch of parts in the vat of acid (what Starscream later calls Prime's "melted carcass"). Where did they come from? Prime escaped without a scratch!
*Why doesn't Shockwave shoot Prime and Elita-1 instead of just floating there?

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

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

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

===Trivia===
*Proof that Prime's trailer exists in subspace: He goes over the space bridge to Cybertron and transforms, and his trailer (complete with a platform for Elita-1) rolls in from out of nowhere!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

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

The Search for Alpha Trion

2011-02-27T08:24:43Z

75.2.140.67: /* Trivia */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{-}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Elita One, her lifeforce is almost drained."
"She used her special power. I warned her not to."
:—'''Alpha Trion''' despite being centuries old learns just now that females simply never listen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*As Prime speaks with Megatron over [[Teletraan I]], he's missing his [[mouthplate]] for a few frames.

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

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

*Observing the spacebridge from afar, Ironhide notes, "If Prime got past those guards, so can [they]." The thing is, there ''are'' no guards, and there weren't any when Prime used the bridge, either.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Alpha Trion says he will do what he can for Elita-1, but he barely looks for 5 seconds while Prime walks away! There probably should have been a dissolve to show some passage of time.

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

*As Prime charges Elita-1, the shot shows a wall behind him where the hallway was a moment earlier (unless her bed suddenly turned 90 degrees).

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

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

===Continuity errors===
*When the Ark launched back in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]", there was no indication of a Decepticon attack on the launch site, as this episode's flashback shows.
* Optimus Prime apparently had no idea that Alpha Trion was his creator, despite the fact that in "[[War Dawn]]" after being rebuilt, he was fully conscious and actually met the guy and even knew that Elita One was built by him.
*As Starscream announces Prime's destruction, we see a bunch of parts in the vat of acid (what Starscream later calls Prime's "melted carcass"). Where did they come from? Prime escaped without a scratch!
*Why doesn't Shockwave shoot Prime and Elita-1 instead of just floating there?

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

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

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

===Trivia===
*Proof that Prime's trailer exists in subspace: He goes over the space bridge to Cybertron and transforms, and his trailer (complete with a platform for Elita-1) rolls in from out of nowhere!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

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

The Search for Alpha Trion

2011-02-27T08:22:16Z

75.2.140.67: /* Animation or technical glitches */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{{-}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Elita One, her lifeforce is almost drained."
"She used her special power. I warned her not to."
:—'''Alpha Trion''' despite being centuries old learns just now that females simply never listen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*As Prime speaks with Megatron over [[Teletraan I]], he's missing his [[mouthplate]] for a few frames.

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

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

*Observing the spacebridge from afar, Ironhide notes, "If Prime got past those guards, so can [they]." The thing is, there ''are'' no guards, and there weren't any when Prime used the bridge, either.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Alpha Trion says he will do what he can for Elita-1, but he barely looks for 5 seconds while Prime walks away! There probably should have been a dissolve to show some passage of time.

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

*As Prime charges Elita-1, the shot shows a wall behind him where the hallway was a moment earlier (unless her bed suddenly turned 90 degrees).

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

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

===Continuity errors===
*When the Ark launched back in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]", there was no indication of a Decepticon attack on the launch site, as this episode's flashback shows.
* Optimus Prime apparently had no idea that Alpha Trion was his creator, despite the fact that in "[[War Dawn]]" after being rebuilt, he was fully conscious and actually met the guy and even knew that Elita One was built by him.
*As Starscream announces Prime's destruction, we see a bunch of parts in the vat of acid (what Starscream later calls Prime's "melted carcass"). Where did they come from? Prime escaped without a scratch!
*Why doesn't Shockwave shoot Prime and Elita-1 instead of just floating there?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Moonracer seems to be calling Powerglide "Carglide" right after her claim of being the best sharpshooter in the universe.

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

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

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

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

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

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

The Search for Alpha Trion

2011-02-27T08:21:53Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity errors */

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Optimus eventually finds Alpha Trion, who uses his skill to repair Elita One as best he can. In the end, Alpha Trion instructs Prime to interface with her for a power transfusion, as he is the only Autobot compatible with her design. Prime remarks that only his creator should know that. After the transfusion, Elita One recovers, and the two then return to help the Autobots fight off the Decepticons. Outnumbered, the Decepticons retreat. Alpha Trion then sets the Female Autobots up with a new secret base, and the two Autobot groups bid each other farewell when one returns to Earth.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] (1)
* [[Moonracer]] (2)
* [[Firestar]] (3)
* [[Elita One]] (4)
* [[Greenlight]] (7)
* [[Lancer]] (8)
* [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (13)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (14)
* [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (15)
* [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (16)
* [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (17)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (18)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (19)

|c2=
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (5)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (6)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (9)
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (10)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (11)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (12)
}}

==Notable Quotes==
"Female Autobots? I thought they were extinct."
:—'''Shockwave''' obviously hasn't kept up to date on Cybertron's Discovery Channel.

"Such noble nonsense."
:—'''Shockwave''' disses Chromia and [[The Transformers: The Movie|gives Megatron material to rip off]].

"Elita One knows no fear!"
:—'''Elita One''' need not worry about Man-Thing, then.

"Optimus Prime, something rather exciting has been discovered on Cybertron. I thought you might like to know about it."
:—'''Megatron''' calls to say he's discovered girls.

[[Image:Searchforatprimehanging.jpg|right|150px|thumb|I can feel the heat!]]
"Please, let him go." 
"Very well, my dear...let him go...into the acid!"
:—'''Elita One'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s plea to '''Starscream''' to free Optimus Prime doesn't have the expected result.

"How quaint! The girls have come to rescue their boyfriends!"
:—Jealous, '''Starscream'''?

"Alpha Trion...I never expected to see you again."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' doesn't have much faith in his deadbeat dad.

"Elita One, her lifeforce is almost drained."
"She used her special power. I warned her not to."
:—'''Alpha Trion''' despite being centuries old learns just now that females simply never listen.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
[[Image:Optimus prime nomouthplate.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Megatron has stolen my mouthplate! This time he's gone too far...]]
*In the very first shots of the episode, the wall Firestar cuts through has details on it then suddenly turns blank gray, and the area behind the Female Autobots is drawn as a very plain area with light gray walls (which should be purple).

*In a few shots, Shockwave's gun uses the sound effect of Prime's rifle.

*As the trip escapes from Shockwave, Moonracer's transformation sound effect is cut in half (missing the first part).

*Chromia's gun uses the same sound effect Shockwave's cannon made a moment earlier. At the beginning of the show, it used the sound effect normally associated with Starscream's weapons.

*As Shockwave speaks to Megatron, one of the shots of the display shows a background with a purple-squared ceiling behind Megatron, but the rest show him to be outside.

*Also, the console configuration is totally different in the last shot (as Megatron ends the communication).

*In several shots before the first commercial break, Rumble has only one gun on his back. For the remainder of the episode, he has two.

*When Ramjet delivers the line "Maybe Shockwave made an error in his calculations", he has Astrotrain's voice. It is the same voice actor, but it has the space-echo effect that is used for Astrotrain.

*As Prime speaks with Megatron over [[Teletraan I]], he's missing his [[mouthplate]] for a few frames.

*When Megatron tells Optimus about the Female Autobots and shows him "proof", as he asks "How's this Prime?", Elita One appears to talk along with him.

*When the Autobots are trying to work out where Prime had gone, standing at [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]]'s control panel is a [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] in a red and gray color scheme.

*Observing the spacebridge from afar, Ironhide notes, "If Prime got past those guards, so can [they]." The thing is, there ''are'' no guards, and there weren't any when Prime used the bridge, either.

*Prime is hanging precariously over the vat of acid in one scene, but when the perspective changes to a view from above the vat is missing.

*When Elita revives Optimus from her stasis field, he fades from his normal colors to green, rather than the other way around. Once the fade is complete, mind you, he jumps back to his normal colors when he starts to move.

*As the Decepticons are freed from Elita's stasis field, Starscream cheers, "But Prime has disintegrated!" as if responding to some unspoken line from one of the others. The missing line is also absent from the episode's shooting script.<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_thread/thread/5821789ca800431a/68758ddf3993e5ac Secrets of the Original Scripts, Part Five]</ref> It would seem likely that the missing line covered Elita One's sudden disappearance.

*Inferno gasps "It can't be!" in response to Prime's apparent demise, but Ironhide is shown speaking.

*Ironhide's finger lasers use the sound effect of Megatron's fusion cannon.

*Proof that Prime's trailer exists in subspace: He goes over the space bridge to Cybertron and transforms, and his trailer (complete with repair robot and a platform for Elita-1) rolls in from out of nowhere!

*As Ironhide says, "Hold it right there, Starscream. You've taken your last step.", his cheeks are white when they should be red.

*Chromia's eyes are red during her line of "Ladies first."

*Alpha Trion says he will do what he can for Elita-1, but he barely looks for 5 seconds while Prime walks away! There probably should have been a dissolve to show some passage of time.

*As Alpha Trion says, "Now it's your turn to help her," Prime's mouthplate is moving as if he's speaking the words.

*As Prime charges Elita-1, the shot shows a wall behind him where the hallway was a moment earlier (unless her bed suddenly turned 90 degrees).

*Prime's gun has a different sound effect as he shoots at Starscream.

*The area around Alpha Trion's eyes changes from white to gray several times in the episode, sometimes from shot to shot. Powerglide's mouthplate sometimes changes from gray to dark gray in a similar manner.

===Continuity errors===
*When the Ark launched back in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]", there was no indication of a Decepticon attack on the launch site, as this episode's flashback shows.
* Optimus Prime apparently had no idea that Alpha Trion was his creator, despite the fact that in "[[War Dawn]]" after being rebuilt, he was fully conscious and actually met the guy and even knew that Elita One was built by him.
*As Starscream announces Prime's destruction, we see a bunch of parts in the vat of acid (what Starscream later calls Prime's "melted carcass"). Where did they come from? Prime escaped without a scratch!
*Why doesn't Shockwave shoot Prime and Elita-1 instead of just floating there?

===Transformers references===
*The episode marked the first appearance of [[female Transformers]] in official fiction.

*Alpha Trion's relationship to Optimus Prime would be touched upon again in "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2]]", and explained more fully in "War Dawn".

*"War Dawn" would also go on to explain precisely why only Prime's power supply would interface with Elita's, as seen in this episode (because she was rebuilt using his schematics).

===Trivia===
*This episode is the fourth and final appearance of Prime's trailer's "artillery robot" in the animated series.

[[Image:G1 Prime Elita energy transfer.JPG|right|200px|thumb|I can't wait for you to operate...When I get this feeling, I need Sexual Healing...]]

*This episode contains the rather infamous scene in which Prime connects a cable from his midriff to Elita's, and utters an audible, not-entirely-unpleasant-sounding groan as energy is transmitted through it, to her. Sexy.

*Ironhide must hate the wall in Shockwave's base, this is at least the second time he has blown through it!

*Moonracer seems to be calling Powerglide "Carglide" right after her claim of being the best sharpshooter in the universe.

*The only male Transformers seen to have 'girlfriends' in this episode ALL have red as part of their colour schemes.

*If we think about it, since Optimus Prime and Elita One have the same creator, they are, in some way, brother and sister, which just makes their relationship look plain weird. (Well, maybe [[Jean Minakaze|not]] [[Patty Minakaze|in]] [[Solon Kitakaze (Victory)|Japan]].) The events of "War Dawn" show that Orion Pax and Ariel existed as non-siblings before they were remade into Optimus Prime and Elita One, though Transformers has demonstrated somewhat [[Relatives|puzzling definitions of siblings]].

*Greenlight and Lancer went nameless for 25 years until they finally got their monikers in the [[Timelines (fiction)|Timelines]] text story ''[[Flames of Yesterday]]''.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1999 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 2: Revenge of the Decepticons ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_search_for_alpha_trion.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Search for Alpha Trion}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]

The Search for Alpha Trion

2011-02-27T08:20:40Z

75.2.140.67: /* Animation or technical glitches */

{{episode
|image=Search4atelita%26prime.jpg
|caption=Disco didn't die. It just went into stasis lock.
|series=G1toon
|ep=53
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=41
|prev2=Child's Play (episode)
|next2=The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=36
|prev3=Sea Change
|next3=Autobot Spike
|title="The Search for Alpha Trion"
|written by=[[Beth Bornstein]]
|production code=700-52
|airdate=[[November 12]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Discovering that his long-thought-dead love, Elita One, is in the hands of the Decepticons, Optimus Prime speeds to Cybertron on a rescue mission, only to end up discovering something about his own history in the process.'''

:''Japanese title:'' アルファートリンを探せ! (''Alpha Trin o Sagase!'', "Finding Alpha Trin!")
:''Brazilian title:'' '''À Procura de Alpha Trion''' ("Looking for Alpha Trion")
:''Italian title:'' '''Alla ricerca di Alpha Trion''' ("In search of Alpha Trion")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Search4atmoonracer.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Oi! You! Cut it out!]]

On Cybertron, three [[Female Autobots]] ([[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]], [[Moonracer]] and [[Firestar]]) sneak into [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave's]] headquarters under orders of [[Elita One]]. They raid Shockwave's stockpile of [[energon cube]]s to power their fight against the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]], but on the way out, Moonracer accidentally trips an alarm. Shockwave, surprised to see female Autobots still alive, sends a [[Sentinel (G1)|sentinel]] after them.

[[Image:Search4atelitaandalpha.jpg|right|150px|thumb|I see a bearded man in your future.]]

The Female Autobots escape the sentinel and return to Elita One, though Shockwave deduces the approximate location of their underground headquarters. Shockwave contacts [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] who sends [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] to assist in the apprehension of the Female Autobots. Rumble starts an earthquake which damages their headquarters. Elita One attempts to lure them away from the base by attacking, but is captured. Rumble continues shaking things up until Starscream believes the base is suitably destroyed.

[[Image:Search4atelitakicks.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Self Defense against sexual harassment.]]

Megatron contacts [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and shows him the imprisoned Elita One. Optimus rushes to her rescue, even though he knows it's a trap. Apparently, 4 million years ago, Optimus and Elita had a thing going. Right before boarding the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], Elita begged to go with him, but Optimus told her it was too dangerous. As they spoke, the Decepticons attacked and Elita vanished in the chaos, leaving Optimus to think she had perished. Not wishing to lose her a second time, Optimus heads for Cybertron via the Decepticon space bridge. [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] become curious as to why Optimus is heading to Cybertron alone and follow in secret.

As soon as Optimus arrives, he is taken prisoner by Starscream, who dangles him over a barrel of acid. Rumble drops Optimus, but before he lands in the barrel, Elita uses her special power, which stops time. Elita rescues Prime, but at the cost of her own life force, as the special power uses up so much energy. Prime loads Elita into his trailer and races to find [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], the only Autobot who can save her.

Back at Shockwave's headquarters, the Decepticons believe Optimus has perished. Just then, the three Autobots arrive and attack. In the Female Autobots' underground headquarters, Moonracer comes up with a plan to dig their way out. They detonate the energon cubes they had just stolen, freeing up their exit. Moonracer, Chromia and Firestar meet up with their friends Powerglide, Ironhide and Inferno, and together they take on the Decepticons.

[[Image:SearchAlphaTrion Prime Elita Autobots.JPG|right|150px|thumb|You're lucky my chick's here, m—oh, hey, so's yours.]]

Optimus eventually finds Alpha Trion, who uses his skill to repair Elita One as best he can. In the end, Alpha Trion instructs Prime to interface with her for a power transfusion, as he is the only Autobot compatible with her design. Prime remarks that only his creator should know that. After the transfusion, Elita One recovers, and the two then return to help the Autobots fight off the Decepticons. Outnumbered, the Decepticons retreat. Alpha Trion then sets the Female Autobots up with a new secret base, and the two Autobot groups bid each other farewell when one returns to Earth.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] (1)
* [[Moonracer]] (2)
* [[Firestar]] (3)
* [[Elita One]] (4)
* [[Greenlight]] (7)
* [[Lancer]] (8)
* [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (13)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (14)
* [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (15)
* [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (16)
* [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (17)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (18)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (19)

|c2=
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (5)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (6)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (9)
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (10)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (11)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (12)
}}

==Notable Quotes==
"Female Autobots? I thought they were extinct."
:—'''Shockwave''' obviously hasn't kept up to date on Cybertron's Discovery Channel.

"Such noble nonsense."
:—'''Shockwave''' disses Chromia and [[The Transformers: The Movie|gives Megatron material to rip off]].

"Elita One knows no fear!"
:—'''Elita One''' need not worry about Man-Thing, then.

"Optimus Prime, something rather exciting has been discovered on Cybertron. I thought you might like to know about it."
:—'''Megatron''' calls to say he's discovered girls.

[[Image:Searchforatprimehanging.jpg|right|150px|thumb|I can feel the heat!]]
"Please, let him go." 
"Very well, my dear...let him go...into the acid!"
:—'''Elita One'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s plea to '''Starscream''' to free Optimus Prime doesn't have the expected result.

"How quaint! The girls have come to rescue their boyfriends!"
:—Jealous, '''Starscream'''?

"Alpha Trion...I never expected to see you again."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' doesn't have much faith in his deadbeat dad.

"Elita One, her lifeforce is almost drained."
"She used her special power. I warned her not to."
:—'''Alpha Trion''' despite being centuries old learns just now that females simply never listen.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
[[Image:Optimus prime nomouthplate.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Megatron has stolen my mouthplate! This time he's gone too far...]]
*In the very first shots of the episode, the wall Firestar cuts through has details on it then suddenly turns blank gray, and the area behind the Female Autobots is drawn as a very plain area with light gray walls (which should be purple).

*In a few shots, Shockwave's gun uses the sound effect of Prime's rifle.

*As the trip escapes from Shockwave, Moonracer's transformation sound effect is cut in half (missing the first part).

*Chromia's gun uses the same sound effect Shockwave's cannon made a moment earlier. At the beginning of the show, it used the sound effect normally associated with Starscream's weapons.

*As Shockwave speaks to Megatron, one of the shots of the display shows a background with a purple-squared ceiling behind Megatron, but the rest show him to be outside.

*Also, the console configuration is totally different in the last shot (as Megatron ends the communication).

*In several shots before the first commercial break, Rumble has only one gun on his back. For the remainder of the episode, he has two.

*When Ramjet delivers the line "Maybe Shockwave made an error in his calculations", he has Astrotrain's voice. It is the same voice actor, but it has the space-echo effect that is used for Astrotrain.

*As Prime speaks with Megatron over [[Teletraan I]], he's missing his [[mouthplate]] for a few frames.

*When Megatron tells Optimus about the Female Autobots and shows him "proof", as he asks "How's this Prime?", Elita One appears to talk along with him.

*When the Autobots are trying to work out where Prime had gone, standing at [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]]'s control panel is a [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] in a red and gray color scheme.

*Observing the spacebridge from afar, Ironhide notes, "If Prime got past those guards, so can [they]." The thing is, there ''are'' no guards, and there weren't any when Prime used the bridge, either.

*Prime is hanging precariously over the vat of acid in one scene, but when the perspective changes to a view from above the vat is missing.

*When Elita revives Optimus from her stasis field, he fades from his normal colors to green, rather than the other way around. Once the fade is complete, mind you, he jumps back to his normal colors when he starts to move.

*As the Decepticons are freed from Elita's stasis field, Starscream cheers, "But Prime has disintegrated!" as if responding to some unspoken line from one of the others. The missing line is also absent from the episode's shooting script.<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_thread/thread/5821789ca800431a/68758ddf3993e5ac Secrets of the Original Scripts, Part Five]</ref> It would seem likely that the missing line covered Elita One's sudden disappearance.

*Inferno gasps "It can't be!" in response to Prime's apparent demise, but Ironhide is shown speaking.

*Ironhide's finger lasers use the sound effect of Megatron's fusion cannon.

*Proof that Prime's trailer exists in subspace: He goes over the space bridge to Cybertron and transforms, and his trailer (complete with repair robot and a platform for Elita-1) rolls in from out of nowhere!

*As Ironhide says, "Hold it right there, Starscream. You've taken your last step.", his cheeks are white when they should be red.

*Chromia's eyes are red during her line of "Ladies first."

*Alpha Trion says he will do what he can for Elita-1, but he barely looks for 5 seconds while Prime walks away! There probably should have been a dissolve to show some passage of time.

*As Alpha Trion says, "Now it's your turn to help her," Prime's mouthplate is moving as if he's speaking the words.

*As Prime charges Elita-1, the shot shows a wall behind him where the hallway was a moment earlier (unless her bed suddenly turned 90 degrees).

*Prime's gun has a different sound effect as he shoots at Starscream.

*The area around Alpha Trion's eyes changes from white to gray several times in the episode, sometimes from shot to shot. Powerglide's mouthplate sometimes changes from gray to dark gray in a similar manner.

===Continuity errors===
*When the Ark launched back in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]", there was no indication of a Decepticon attack on the launch site, as this episode's flashback shows.
* Optimus Prime apparently had no idea that Alpha Trion was his creator, despite the fact that in "[[War Dawn]]" after being rebuilt, he was fully conscious and actually met the guy and even knew that Elita One was built by him.

===Transformers references===
*The episode marked the first appearance of [[female Transformers]] in official fiction.

*Alpha Trion's relationship to Optimus Prime would be touched upon again in "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2]]", and explained more fully in "War Dawn".

*"War Dawn" would also go on to explain precisely why only Prime's power supply would interface with Elita's, as seen in this episode (because she was rebuilt using his schematics).

===Trivia===
*This episode is the fourth and final appearance of Prime's trailer's "artillery robot" in the animated series.

[[Image:G1 Prime Elita energy transfer.JPG|right|200px|thumb|I can't wait for you to operate...When I get this feeling, I need Sexual Healing...]]

*This episode contains the rather infamous scene in which Prime connects a cable from his midriff to Elita's, and utters an audible, not-entirely-unpleasant-sounding groan as energy is transmitted through it, to her. Sexy.

*Ironhide must hate the wall in Shockwave's base, this is at least the second time he has blown through it!

*Moonracer seems to be calling Powerglide "Carglide" right after her claim of being the best sharpshooter in the universe.

*The only male Transformers seen to have 'girlfriends' in this episode ALL have red as part of their colour schemes.

*If we think about it, since Optimus Prime and Elita One have the same creator, they are, in some way, brother and sister, which just makes their relationship look plain weird. (Well, maybe [[Jean Minakaze|not]] [[Patty Minakaze|in]] [[Solon Kitakaze (Victory)|Japan]].) The events of "War Dawn" show that Orion Pax and Ariel existed as non-siblings before they were remade into Optimus Prime and Elita One, though Transformers has demonstrated somewhat [[Relatives|puzzling definitions of siblings]].

*Greenlight and Lancer went nameless for 25 years until they finally got their monikers in the [[Timelines (fiction)|Timelines]] text story ''[[Flames of Yesterday]]''.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1999 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 2: Revenge of the Decepticons ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_search_for_alpha_trion.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Search for Alpha Trion}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]

Auto-Bop

2011-02-22T09:27:41Z

75.2.140.67: /* Real-world references */

{{episode
|image=Auto-bop 4.jpg
|caption=Go ahead and mock '80s clothing, but in twenty years, they'll be mocking what we wear.
|series=G1toon
|ep=52
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=52
|prev=Prime Target (episode)
|prev2=Prime Target (episode)
|next2=Starscream's Brigade
|title="Auto-Bop"
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-51
|airdate=[[November 13]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Tracks and Blaster uncover a hypnosis plot. A ''funky'' hypnosis plot.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ブロードキャストVSサウンドウェーブ (''Broadcast VS Soundwave'')
:''German title:'' "'''Gefährliche Hypnosekraft'''" ("Dangerous Hypnosespower")
:''Italian title:'' '''Auto-rock'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:DancitronGang.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Just the usual Manhattan commuter crowd.]]

[[Raoul]] and his friends [[Poplock]] and [[Rocksteady]] are trying to make some spare cash, breakdancing on the sidewalks of [[New York City]]. Unfortunately, the management of the [[Dancitron]] nightclub doesn't like competition, and sends a mob after them. The trio grab their tape deck and flee, riding a wheeled dumpster until it's brought to a sudden halt. They're soon surrounded by armed thugs, but luckily [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] are in the city, and come to the trio's aid. While fighting the thugs off, Tracks is surprised to notice one of them is a man in a business suit.

Raoul introduces the rest of the [[Bop Crew]] to the two [[Autobot]]s, who say they're monitoring Decepticon activity, and now suspect there's something strange going on at the Dancitron. The pair enter the club and admire the immense sound system. Soon Blaster is dancing with an apparently blissed-out patron, while Tracks notes a number of oddly-dressed dancers—a garbage man, a middle-aged woman in a bathrobe and curlers, and a man dressed to the nines. In an upstairs booth, [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] and [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] observe the two Autobots.

[[Image:AutoBop Blaster surfing on Tracks.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Mind the paint job.]]

Meanwhile, the Bop Crew are taking an elevated subway train when it unexpectedly begins gathering speed. The driver, entering a hypnotised state, pulls the accelerator lever to full and smashes the control panel with an iron bar. Raoul pulls the emergency cord until it breaks, but the brakes are ineffective at stopping the train. Fortunately Tracks and Blaster happen to be walking nearby, and are able to halt the train. They find the sabotaged control panel, however the driver has already fled.

Tracks sends Blaster, Poplock and Rocksteady to check with [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] while he and Raoul go to check out the Dancitron again. On the way, the pair spot an active building site—somewhat of an odd sight at 1am, and even odder when they notice the workers are more inappropriately-dressed people, including some of those previously seen at the Dancitron. They're quickly spotted by the workers, and Tracks drags the gate shut to prevent the humans from attacking them, though that doesn't stop a workman on the building itself from firing red-hot rivets at them.

[[Image:Trackscruc2.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Passion of the Chrysler. ''Alternate joke'': Radio killed the video star.]]

Poplock and Rocksteady are offered free tickets into the Dancitron and eagerly accept, believing they'll be able to investigate on their own. The duo enter the club and are soon hypnotised by the music. Arriving at the club, Tracks leaves Raoul outside and encounters the boy's two friends inside. They lead him to two Decepticons, who use the club's hypnotized patrons to ensnare him and bind him to the club's sound system. Starscream reports to [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] that the building construction is on schedule.

Having consulted Teletraan I, Blaster arrives at the Dancitron to find Raoul waiting outside. The pair enter to find Tracks, with Blaster tracking an ultrasound signal. Raoul encounters his two friends and, remembering Blaster's warning about the hypnotic sound, plugs his ears with a paper napkin. They chase him, and he soon finds Tracks, but is overwhelmed by the hypnotized dancers. As he soon discovers, the hypnosis can be broken by simply getting the victim [[Water|wet]], so he triggers the club's sprinkler systems, freeing the patrons from their trance. The Bop Crew swiftly frees Tracks and they pursue Starscream.

[[Image:Auto-Bop Blaster Soundwave.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Soundwave and Blaster in a two-bot reenactment of You Got Served.]]

Blaster squares off with Soundwave at the club in a sonic "battle of the boom boxes"; the two are nearly evenly matched, until Blaster uses the club's sound system to amplify his abilities and drive Soundwave off. Tracks engineers a rain cloud which de-hypnotises the humans working at the building site. This also flushes out Starscream, who chases Tracks. The Autobot flies through the partially completed building, and the larger Decepticon damages his wing trying to follow, forcing him to retreat. Blaster arrives and uses the Dancitron speakers to bring down the building.

Tracks offers grateful thanks to Raoul and his buddies for saving his life, saying that if there's anything he can do for them... and it turns out there is. The trio lost their radio in all the chaos, and until they earn enough street cash to get a new one, poor Blaster will make an ideal replacement.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (5)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (6)
*[[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] (10)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (8)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (9)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (11)

|c3=
* [[Raoul]] (1)
* [[Poplock]] (2)
* [[Rocksteady]] (3)
* [[Furg]] (4)
* [[Stylish man]] (7)
}}

==Quotes==
"Time to pull a Michael Jackson" 
"What?" 
"Let's Beat It!"
:-'''Raoul''' and '''Poplock''' find a way to incorporate dead popstars into Transformers episodes.

"That's what I call a riveting experience!" 
"I don't know why I hang out with you, man."
:—'''Tracks''' makes a terrible pun after being shot at by a guy with a rivet gun, and '''Raoul''' calls him out on it.

"Foo on this jive! My main machine's in trouble!"
:—'''Raoul'''

"I've been waiting a long time for this, you poor excuse for a sound system." 
"All talk...no shock."
:—'''Blaster''' and '''Soundwave''', right as their sonic duel begins.

"Yo, the dude's gone crazy!" 
"Yeah... like a fox!"
:—'''Poplock''' and '''Tracks'''.

"Heeheeheehaahaahaahaahaahaahaaaaa...."
:—'''Soundwave''', as he momentarily gets the upper hand in the sonic duel between himself and Blaster. This is one of the few times in the series that Soundwave is heard actually laughing, and coming from him in that quiet, metallic monotone of his, and in this context, it is actually kinda scary.

"I'd say your nightclub just went out of style."
:—'''Blaster''' to '''Soundwave''', after he won the sonic duel.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* In this episode, Raoul's skin color is colored slightly lighter than his last appearance in "[[Make Tracks]]".

* Despite Rocksteady breakdancing and being thrown around quite a lot, his hat always remains firmly on his head.

* Throughout the episode, when people run, it sounds like they're wearing tapdancing shoes (over-exaggerated sound effect).

* "Let's beat it!" - Raoul is supposed to be saying it, but Rocksteady mouths the words.

* Before the Bop Crew jump onto the dumpster, it's standing against a wall, but shifts out into the middle of the sidewalk as they jump onto it.

* As the thugs first start firing at Blaster, the edges of his helmet are white instead of red.

[[Image:Autobop Blaster's putting on weight.jpg|thumb|right|200px|This scene was actually filmed while Blaster was pregnant with [[Eject]] and [[Rewind]]. That's his baby bump!]]
* As Blaster aims his electro-scrambler, he looks a little... fat.

* Raoul is missing a row of studs on the left-hand side of his jacket when he claims he had things under control.

* When Raoul introduces Poplock and Rocksteady, they're both suddenly at least a head shorter than him.

* As Tracks says "Mellow kind of place", the edges of Blaster's helmet are white again.

* After that [[Stylish man|one fellow]] leaves the bar to ask Tracks a question, his hair color changes from brown to white.

* Shortly after Tracks notices the out-of-place people, there's a shot of Blaster and Tracks walking — Tracks's Autobot insignia is outlined in white instead of black, and Blaster's insignia blinks out of existence every few frames.

* In the first shot of Soundwave, his faceplate is dark grey, and his eject button is blue. Then it pans over to Starscream, who has a dark grey face.

* Every shot of the train interior shows it devoid of passengers other than the Bop Crew, but several exterior shots show panicked people climbing out the windows.

* As Blaster says he didn't spy anything unusual at the club, his forehead is red instead of white, and Tracks's wings are missing. The same two errors occur in the next shot but one.

* Blaster walks along Tracks's grappling line a couple of steps too far, and appears to be walking on the side of the train.

* The location names on the side of the train change configuration between shots.

* As Tracks stands up after they halt the train, a cel ordering error results in the windows on the rear of the train appearing on top of him.

* When the two Autobots open the door of the train to see the Bop Crew, Tracks's helmet is mostly blue instead of white.

* The voice that says "Sabotage!" doesn't sound like Tracks, though it's him speaking.

* When Raoul enters Tracks after the train incident, Tracks' interior is glowing the same yellow as his windows (and the seat gets cut off in a yellow stripe as Raoul sits).

* Tracks's wings are blue when he flips them out to take off after he and Raoul leave the building site.

[[Image:Autobop Tracks holding bouncer.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ah crap, he deflated.]]
* The bouncer appears to halve in body weight when Tracks picks him up.

* Tracks has grey wings, both when the door to the DJ booth opens and as Starscream gloats he'll never get out of the club alive.

* Soundwave's faceplate is oddly shaped and his eject button is blue as he announces he's ready for the ultra-sound transmission.

* After Tracks climbs up onto a catwalk, the shots of hypnotized club patrons approaching him from either side are the same shot, just mirrored.

* When Starscream contacts Megatron, Megatron's insignia is red instead of purple.

* When Blaster enters the club, in a couple of frames the chest portion of a female dancer's costume flashes flesh-colored.

* When Raoul attempts to free Tracks, the club patrons go into their zombie hypnotized state again. This is the same shot repeated from when the same thing happened earlier, only mirrored.

* Starscream's mouth is missing as he indignantly shouts "What?!"

* Right before Starscream jumps through the window, an exterior shot of the Dancitron (with motionless identically-dressed couples leading in a line out of it) can be seen through it, before panning swiftly to the right. As this is supposed to be an exterior window of the Dancitron itself... this shot doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

* After Tracks blasts a hole in the wall, the cels aren't properly aligned, so he appears to drive through a point in the wall slightly to the side of the hole.

* Directly after Soundwave jumps through the DJ booth window, the right-hand edge of Blaster's helmet is white, and his forehead is red.

* A moment later, the sides of Soundwave's head are blue instead of white, as he reels from Blaster's first attack.

* After Tracks causes rain to wake up the hypnotized humans at the building site, there's a shot of dozens of men fleeing it, all clad in identical outfits.

* Tracks' bumper gun sounds like Optimus' rifle.

* As Soundwave laughs, the walking animation makes him appear to be moonwalking forwards.

* After Soundwave knocks Blaster into the Dancitron sound system, Blaster sits up, and the piece of debris behind him winks out of existence.

* The sides of Soundwave's head are blue again when he's sent flying from Blaster's attack with the sound system speakers, and his eject button is blue again a moment later, when he stands up in the rubble.

* During a shot of Tracks flying through a building, his wings are blue. This shot is followed by one of Starscream colored as [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]].

* When Tracks shoots the half-constructed building, the flames wash across the ground about a foot too high.

* The pattern of creases in the Bop Crew's dance mat varies depending on the angle.

* The crowd gathered to watch Poplock and Rocksteady breakdance are completely motionless, despite some of them being in running poses (and check out the oddly "Old West" dressed people by the coffee shop!)

===Continuity errors===
* Rocksteady takes off his jacket in order to breakdance, but somehow is suddenly wearing it again when Raoul announces they should beat it.

* Apparently there are still people who don't know about the Autobots, as that one fellow in the club appears to think that Tracks and Blaster are ordinary (gigantinc!) humans wearing elaborate costumes.

* Presumably the train which the Bop Crew were riding on was heading away from the Dancitron, and at high speed. Yet Tracks and Blaster just happen to be walking in exactly the right place to see it speeding along when they were in the club the last time we saw them.

* How did Poplock and Rocksteady get to the Dancitron ahead of Raoul and Tracks, who were driving? The scuffle at the building site didn't hold Tracks up ''that'' long.

* Superhuman <s>Spike</s>humans:
** The hypnotized humans are somehow able to throw Tracks off the catwalk.

* Why do Tracks and Blaster destroy what looks to be a perfectly good building? Why no keep it?

===Continuity notes===
* This episode is one of four pre-movie episodes to not feature [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]].

* Gadgets and Powers:
** Blaster uses his electro-scrambler to disable the Dancitron thugs' guns.
** Tracks has a grappling hook in his vehicle mode hood, and a laser which he uses to blast a hole in the wall of the Dancitron.
** The back of Blaster's cassette cover functions as a monitor for his ultra-sound detector.
** Tracks "seeds" clouds (using some kind of special smoke) to make it rain.

*This episode features the second of only two instances in the series in which Soundwave ''laughs''. The first was in "[[Quest for Survival]]".

* The location the Autobots are using as a base has "SPARKPLUGS" over the door, though it's different than [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]]'s shop in "Make Tracks".

===Real-world references===
* The episode in general features then-relevant (or slightly past-relevant) cultural touchstones - [[wikipedia:Breakdancing|breakdancing]] and the paranoia over [[wikipedia:Subliminal_message#Audio|subliminal messages hidden in popular music]].

* When confronted by the gang of thugs employed by Dancitron, Raoul suggests they "pull a [[Michael Jackson]]" and [[wikipedia:Beat It|beat it]].

* While fleeing from the thugs, Raoul wishes their blaster (boom box) was "THE [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]". Rocksteady retorts that Raoul "knows the Autobots like I know [[Prince]]".

*When first meeting Blaster and Tracks, Rocksteady responds to Blaster's implication of trouble-making with "Hey! We were just breakin' in front of the Dancitron (''shifts from two open palms and a shrug to one thumb extended pointing behind him'') and these '''Road Warrior''' rejects tried to bounce us out."

* The sound effect of the DJ booth door opening and closing is the door sound effect from ''Star Trek''. This occurs in plenty of other episodes, along with other Star Trek sound effects (phasers, photon torpedoes...).

===Trivia===
*When Tracks and Blaster enter Dancitron, the song playing is an instrumental version of the song performed by [[Cold Slither]] from the ''G.I. Joe'' episode of the same name.

* This episode is also noteworthy for pitting the two tape decks, Soundwave and Blaster, against each other, in an intense sonic duel. It turns out that Soundwave is actually somewhat the more powerful of the two, and Blaster had to augment his output with some nearby additional speakers to best his opponent... the cheater...

* One major plot point is that Tracks realises that there's something wrong when he notices middle-aged housewives and fancy-dressed people at the club, but as the Decepticons are hypnotising people with the music at the club, how did those people get there in the first place in order to be hypnotised?

* It is never established within the episode itself just what the Decepticons are trying to '''accomplish''' with their hypnotize-people-to-construct-a-building plot. However, according to the official [[Sunbow]] synopsis included in [[Metrodome]]'s DVD release: "... the boys and the Autobots pursue Starscream to the skyscraper—a new Decepticon headquarters being constructed by the hypnotized patrons from Dancitron." Oh. Well then.

* At one point, the show does a flashback to a warning that Blaster gave Raoul ''less than a minute earlier''. Just to make sure nobody forgot.

* When leaving the building site to head to the Dancitron, Tracks inserts Raoul into his chest ''before'' transforming to vehicle mode. Weird.

==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. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External Links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/auto-bop.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

Auto-Bop

2011-02-22T09:26:17Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity notes */

{{episode
|image=Auto-bop 4.jpg
|caption=Go ahead and mock '80s clothing, but in twenty years, they'll be mocking what we wear.
|series=G1toon
|ep=52
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=52
|prev=Prime Target (episode)
|prev2=Prime Target (episode)
|next2=Starscream's Brigade
|title="Auto-Bop"
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-51
|airdate=[[November 13]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Tracks and Blaster uncover a hypnosis plot. A ''funky'' hypnosis plot.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ブロードキャストVSサウンドウェーブ (''Broadcast VS Soundwave'')
:''German title:'' "'''Gefährliche Hypnosekraft'''" ("Dangerous Hypnosespower")
:''Italian title:'' '''Auto-rock'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:DancitronGang.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Just the usual Manhattan commuter crowd.]]

[[Raoul]] and his friends [[Poplock]] and [[Rocksteady]] are trying to make some spare cash, breakdancing on the sidewalks of [[New York City]]. Unfortunately, the management of the [[Dancitron]] nightclub doesn't like competition, and sends a mob after them. The trio grab their tape deck and flee, riding a wheeled dumpster until it's brought to a sudden halt. They're soon surrounded by armed thugs, but luckily [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] are in the city, and come to the trio's aid. While fighting the thugs off, Tracks is surprised to notice one of them is a man in a business suit.

Raoul introduces the rest of the [[Bop Crew]] to the two [[Autobot]]s, who say they're monitoring Decepticon activity, and now suspect there's something strange going on at the Dancitron. The pair enter the club and admire the immense sound system. Soon Blaster is dancing with an apparently blissed-out patron, while Tracks notes a number of oddly-dressed dancers—a garbage man, a middle-aged woman in a bathrobe and curlers, and a man dressed to the nines. In an upstairs booth, [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] and [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] observe the two Autobots.

[[Image:AutoBop Blaster surfing on Tracks.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Mind the paint job.]]

Meanwhile, the Bop Crew are taking an elevated subway train when it unexpectedly begins gathering speed. The driver, entering a hypnotised state, pulls the accelerator lever to full and smashes the control panel with an iron bar. Raoul pulls the emergency cord until it breaks, but the brakes are ineffective at stopping the train. Fortunately Tracks and Blaster happen to be walking nearby, and are able to halt the train. They find the sabotaged control panel, however the driver has already fled.

Tracks sends Blaster, Poplock and Rocksteady to check with [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] while he and Raoul go to check out the Dancitron again. On the way, the pair spot an active building site—somewhat of an odd sight at 1am, and even odder when they notice the workers are more inappropriately-dressed people, including some of those previously seen at the Dancitron. They're quickly spotted by the workers, and Tracks drags the gate shut to prevent the humans from attacking them, though that doesn't stop a workman on the building itself from firing red-hot rivets at them.

[[Image:Trackscruc2.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Passion of the Chrysler. ''Alternate joke'': Radio killed the video star.]]

Poplock and Rocksteady are offered free tickets into the Dancitron and eagerly accept, believing they'll be able to investigate on their own. The duo enter the club and are soon hypnotised by the music. Arriving at the club, Tracks leaves Raoul outside and encounters the boy's two friends inside. They lead him to two Decepticons, who use the club's hypnotized patrons to ensnare him and bind him to the club's sound system. Starscream reports to [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] that the building construction is on schedule.

Having consulted Teletraan I, Blaster arrives at the Dancitron to find Raoul waiting outside. The pair enter to find Tracks, with Blaster tracking an ultrasound signal. Raoul encounters his two friends and, remembering Blaster's warning about the hypnotic sound, plugs his ears with a paper napkin. They chase him, and he soon finds Tracks, but is overwhelmed by the hypnotized dancers. As he soon discovers, the hypnosis can be broken by simply getting the victim [[Water|wet]], so he triggers the club's sprinkler systems, freeing the patrons from their trance. The Bop Crew swiftly frees Tracks and they pursue Starscream.

[[Image:Auto-Bop Blaster Soundwave.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Soundwave and Blaster in a two-bot reenactment of You Got Served.]]

Blaster squares off with Soundwave at the club in a sonic "battle of the boom boxes"; the two are nearly evenly matched, until Blaster uses the club's sound system to amplify his abilities and drive Soundwave off. Tracks engineers a rain cloud which de-hypnotises the humans working at the building site. This also flushes out Starscream, who chases Tracks. The Autobot flies through the partially completed building, and the larger Decepticon damages his wing trying to follow, forcing him to retreat. Blaster arrives and uses the Dancitron speakers to bring down the building.

Tracks offers grateful thanks to Raoul and his buddies for saving his life, saying that if there's anything he can do for them... and it turns out there is. The trio lost their radio in all the chaos, and until they earn enough street cash to get a new one, poor Blaster will make an ideal replacement.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (5)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (6)
*[[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] (10)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (8)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (9)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (11)

|c3=
* [[Raoul]] (1)
* [[Poplock]] (2)
* [[Rocksteady]] (3)
* [[Furg]] (4)
* [[Stylish man]] (7)
}}

==Quotes==
"Time to pull a Michael Jackson" 
"What?" 
"Let's Beat It!"
:-'''Raoul''' and '''Poplock''' find a way to incorporate dead popstars into Transformers episodes.

"That's what I call a riveting experience!" 
"I don't know why I hang out with you, man."
:—'''Tracks''' makes a terrible pun after being shot at by a guy with a rivet gun, and '''Raoul''' calls him out on it.

"Foo on this jive! My main machine's in trouble!"
:—'''Raoul'''

"I've been waiting a long time for this, you poor excuse for a sound system." 
"All talk...no shock."
:—'''Blaster''' and '''Soundwave''', right as their sonic duel begins.

"Yo, the dude's gone crazy!" 
"Yeah... like a fox!"
:—'''Poplock''' and '''Tracks'''.

"Heeheeheehaahaahaahaahaahaahaaaaa...."
:—'''Soundwave''', as he momentarily gets the upper hand in the sonic duel between himself and Blaster. This is one of the few times in the series that Soundwave is heard actually laughing, and coming from him in that quiet, metallic monotone of his, and in this context, it is actually kinda scary.

"I'd say your nightclub just went out of style."
:—'''Blaster''' to '''Soundwave''', after he won the sonic duel.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* In this episode, Raoul's skin color is colored slightly lighter than his last appearance in "[[Make Tracks]]".

* Despite Rocksteady breakdancing and being thrown around quite a lot, his hat always remains firmly on his head.

* Throughout the episode, when people run, it sounds like they're wearing tapdancing shoes (over-exaggerated sound effect).

* "Let's beat it!" - Raoul is supposed to be saying it, but Rocksteady mouths the words.

* Before the Bop Crew jump onto the dumpster, it's standing against a wall, but shifts out into the middle of the sidewalk as they jump onto it.

* As the thugs first start firing at Blaster, the edges of his helmet are white instead of red.

[[Image:Autobop Blaster's putting on weight.jpg|thumb|right|200px|This scene was actually filmed while Blaster was pregnant with [[Eject]] and [[Rewind]]. That's his baby bump!]]
* As Blaster aims his electro-scrambler, he looks a little... fat.

* Raoul is missing a row of studs on the left-hand side of his jacket when he claims he had things under control.

* When Raoul introduces Poplock and Rocksteady, they're both suddenly at least a head shorter than him.

* As Tracks says "Mellow kind of place", the edges of Blaster's helmet are white again.

* After that [[Stylish man|one fellow]] leaves the bar to ask Tracks a question, his hair color changes from brown to white.

* Shortly after Tracks notices the out-of-place people, there's a shot of Blaster and Tracks walking — Tracks's Autobot insignia is outlined in white instead of black, and Blaster's insignia blinks out of existence every few frames.

* In the first shot of Soundwave, his faceplate is dark grey, and his eject button is blue. Then it pans over to Starscream, who has a dark grey face.

* Every shot of the train interior shows it devoid of passengers other than the Bop Crew, but several exterior shots show panicked people climbing out the windows.

* As Blaster says he didn't spy anything unusual at the club, his forehead is red instead of white, and Tracks's wings are missing. The same two errors occur in the next shot but one.

* Blaster walks along Tracks's grappling line a couple of steps too far, and appears to be walking on the side of the train.

* The location names on the side of the train change configuration between shots.

* As Tracks stands up after they halt the train, a cel ordering error results in the windows on the rear of the train appearing on top of him.

* When the two Autobots open the door of the train to see the Bop Crew, Tracks's helmet is mostly blue instead of white.

* The voice that says "Sabotage!" doesn't sound like Tracks, though it's him speaking.

* When Raoul enters Tracks after the train incident, Tracks' interior is glowing the same yellow as his windows (and the seat gets cut off in a yellow stripe as Raoul sits).

* Tracks's wings are blue when he flips them out to take off after he and Raoul leave the building site.

[[Image:Autobop Tracks holding bouncer.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ah crap, he deflated.]]
* The bouncer appears to halve in body weight when Tracks picks him up.

* Tracks has grey wings, both when the door to the DJ booth opens and as Starscream gloats he'll never get out of the club alive.

* Soundwave's faceplate is oddly shaped and his eject button is blue as he announces he's ready for the ultra-sound transmission.

* After Tracks climbs up onto a catwalk, the shots of hypnotized club patrons approaching him from either side are the same shot, just mirrored.

* When Starscream contacts Megatron, Megatron's insignia is red instead of purple.

* When Blaster enters the club, in a couple of frames the chest portion of a female dancer's costume flashes flesh-colored.

* When Raoul attempts to free Tracks, the club patrons go into their zombie hypnotized state again. This is the same shot repeated from when the same thing happened earlier, only mirrored.

* Starscream's mouth is missing as he indignantly shouts "What?!"

* Right before Starscream jumps through the window, an exterior shot of the Dancitron (with motionless identically-dressed couples leading in a line out of it) can be seen through it, before panning swiftly to the right. As this is supposed to be an exterior window of the Dancitron itself... this shot doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

* After Tracks blasts a hole in the wall, the cels aren't properly aligned, so he appears to drive through a point in the wall slightly to the side of the hole.

* Directly after Soundwave jumps through the DJ booth window, the right-hand edge of Blaster's helmet is white, and his forehead is red.

* A moment later, the sides of Soundwave's head are blue instead of white, as he reels from Blaster's first attack.

* After Tracks causes rain to wake up the hypnotized humans at the building site, there's a shot of dozens of men fleeing it, all clad in identical outfits.

* Tracks' bumper gun sounds like Optimus' rifle.

* As Soundwave laughs, the walking animation makes him appear to be moonwalking forwards.

* After Soundwave knocks Blaster into the Dancitron sound system, Blaster sits up, and the piece of debris behind him winks out of existence.

* The sides of Soundwave's head are blue again when he's sent flying from Blaster's attack with the sound system speakers, and his eject button is blue again a moment later, when he stands up in the rubble.

* During a shot of Tracks flying through a building, his wings are blue. This shot is followed by one of Starscream colored as [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]].

* When Tracks shoots the half-constructed building, the flames wash across the ground about a foot too high.

* The pattern of creases in the Bop Crew's dance mat varies depending on the angle.

* The crowd gathered to watch Poplock and Rocksteady breakdance are completely motionless, despite some of them being in running poses (and check out the oddly "Old West" dressed people by the coffee shop!)

===Continuity errors===
* Rocksteady takes off his jacket in order to breakdance, but somehow is suddenly wearing it again when Raoul announces they should beat it.

* Apparently there are still people who don't know about the Autobots, as that one fellow in the club appears to think that Tracks and Blaster are ordinary (gigantinc!) humans wearing elaborate costumes.

* Presumably the train which the Bop Crew were riding on was heading away from the Dancitron, and at high speed. Yet Tracks and Blaster just happen to be walking in exactly the right place to see it speeding along when they were in the club the last time we saw them.

* How did Poplock and Rocksteady get to the Dancitron ahead of Raoul and Tracks, who were driving? The scuffle at the building site didn't hold Tracks up ''that'' long.

* Superhuman <s>Spike</s>humans:
** The hypnotized humans are somehow able to throw Tracks off the catwalk.

* Why do Tracks and Blaster destroy what looks to be a perfectly good building? Why no keep it?

===Continuity notes===
* This episode is one of four pre-movie episodes to not feature [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]].

* Gadgets and Powers:
** Blaster uses his electro-scrambler to disable the Dancitron thugs' guns.
** Tracks has a grappling hook in his vehicle mode hood, and a laser which he uses to blast a hole in the wall of the Dancitron.
** The back of Blaster's cassette cover functions as a monitor for his ultra-sound detector.
** Tracks "seeds" clouds (using some kind of special smoke) to make it rain.

*This episode features the second of only two instances in the series in which Soundwave ''laughs''. The first was in "[[Quest for Survival]]".

* The location the Autobots are using as a base has "SPARKPLUGS" over the door, though it's different than [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]]'s shop in "Make Tracks".

===Real-world references===
* The episode in general features then-relevant (or slightly past-relevant) cultural touchstones - [[wikipedia:Breakdancing|breakdancing]] and the paranoia over [[wikipedia:Subliminal_message#Audio|subliminal messages hidden in popular music]].

* When confronted by the gang of thugs employed by Dancitron, Raoul suggests they "pull a [[Michael Jackson]]" and [[wikipedia:Beat It|beat it]].

* While fleeing from the thugs, Raoul wishes their blaster (boom box) was "THE [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]". Rocksteady retorts that Raoul "knows the Autobots like I know [[Prince]]".

*When first meeting Blaster and Tracks, Rocksteady responds to Blaster's implication of trouble-making with "Hey! We were just breakin' in front of the Dancitron (''shifts from two open palms and a shrug to one thumb extended pointing behind him'') and these '''Road Warrior''' rejects tried to bounce us out."

* The sound effect of the DJ booth door opening and closing is the door sound effect from ''Star Trek''.

===Trivia===
*When Tracks and Blaster enter Dancitron, the song playing is an instrumental version of the song performed by [[Cold Slither]] from the ''G.I. Joe'' episode of the same name.

* This episode is also noteworthy for pitting the two tape decks, Soundwave and Blaster, against each other, in an intense sonic duel. It turns out that Soundwave is actually somewhat the more powerful of the two, and Blaster had to augment his output with some nearby additional speakers to best his opponent... the cheater...

* One major plot point is that Tracks realises that there's something wrong when he notices middle-aged housewives and fancy-dressed people at the club, but as the Decepticons are hypnotising people with the music at the club, how did those people get there in the first place in order to be hypnotised?

* It is never established within the episode itself just what the Decepticons are trying to '''accomplish''' with their hypnotize-people-to-construct-a-building plot. However, according to the official [[Sunbow]] synopsis included in [[Metrodome]]'s DVD release: "... the boys and the Autobots pursue Starscream to the skyscraper—a new Decepticon headquarters being constructed by the hypnotized patrons from Dancitron." Oh. Well then.

* At one point, the show does a flashback to a warning that Blaster gave Raoul ''less than a minute earlier''. Just to make sure nobody forgot.

* When leaving the building site to head to the Dancitron, Tracks inserts Raoul into his chest ''before'' transforming to vehicle mode. Weird.

==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. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External Links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/auto-bop.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

Auto-Bop

2011-02-22T09:24:56Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|image=Auto-bop 4.jpg
|caption=Go ahead and mock '80s clothing, but in twenty years, they'll be mocking what we wear.
|series=G1toon
|ep=52
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=52
|prev=Prime Target (episode)
|prev2=Prime Target (episode)
|next2=Starscream's Brigade
|title="Auto-Bop"
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-51
|airdate=[[November 13]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Tracks and Blaster uncover a hypnosis plot. A ''funky'' hypnosis plot.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ブロードキャストVSサウンドウェーブ (''Broadcast VS Soundwave'')
:''German title:'' "'''Gefährliche Hypnosekraft'''" ("Dangerous Hypnosespower")
:''Italian title:'' '''Auto-rock'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:DancitronGang.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Just the usual Manhattan commuter crowd.]]

[[Raoul]] and his friends [[Poplock]] and [[Rocksteady]] are trying to make some spare cash, breakdancing on the sidewalks of [[New York City]]. Unfortunately, the management of the [[Dancitron]] nightclub doesn't like competition, and sends a mob after them. The trio grab their tape deck and flee, riding a wheeled dumpster until it's brought to a sudden halt. They're soon surrounded by armed thugs, but luckily [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] are in the city, and come to the trio's aid. While fighting the thugs off, Tracks is surprised to notice one of them is a man in a business suit.

Raoul introduces the rest of the [[Bop Crew]] to the two [[Autobot]]s, who say they're monitoring Decepticon activity, and now suspect there's something strange going on at the Dancitron. The pair enter the club and admire the immense sound system. Soon Blaster is dancing with an apparently blissed-out patron, while Tracks notes a number of oddly-dressed dancers—a garbage man, a middle-aged woman in a bathrobe and curlers, and a man dressed to the nines. In an upstairs booth, [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] and [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] observe the two Autobots.

[[Image:AutoBop Blaster surfing on Tracks.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Mind the paint job.]]

Meanwhile, the Bop Crew are taking an elevated subway train when it unexpectedly begins gathering speed. The driver, entering a hypnotised state, pulls the accelerator lever to full and smashes the control panel with an iron bar. Raoul pulls the emergency cord until it breaks, but the brakes are ineffective at stopping the train. Fortunately Tracks and Blaster happen to be walking nearby, and are able to halt the train. They find the sabotaged control panel, however the driver has already fled.

Tracks sends Blaster, Poplock and Rocksteady to check with [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] while he and Raoul go to check out the Dancitron again. On the way, the pair spot an active building site—somewhat of an odd sight at 1am, and even odder when they notice the workers are more inappropriately-dressed people, including some of those previously seen at the Dancitron. They're quickly spotted by the workers, and Tracks drags the gate shut to prevent the humans from attacking them, though that doesn't stop a workman on the building itself from firing red-hot rivets at them.

[[Image:Trackscruc2.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Passion of the Chrysler. ''Alternate joke'': Radio killed the video star.]]

Poplock and Rocksteady are offered free tickets into the Dancitron and eagerly accept, believing they'll be able to investigate on their own. The duo enter the club and are soon hypnotised by the music. Arriving at the club, Tracks leaves Raoul outside and encounters the boy's two friends inside. They lead him to two Decepticons, who use the club's hypnotized patrons to ensnare him and bind him to the club's sound system. Starscream reports to [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] that the building construction is on schedule.

Having consulted Teletraan I, Blaster arrives at the Dancitron to find Raoul waiting outside. The pair enter to find Tracks, with Blaster tracking an ultrasound signal. Raoul encounters his two friends and, remembering Blaster's warning about the hypnotic sound, plugs his ears with a paper napkin. They chase him, and he soon finds Tracks, but is overwhelmed by the hypnotized dancers. As he soon discovers, the hypnosis can be broken by simply getting the victim [[Water|wet]], so he triggers the club's sprinkler systems, freeing the patrons from their trance. The Bop Crew swiftly frees Tracks and they pursue Starscream.

[[Image:Auto-Bop Blaster Soundwave.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Soundwave and Blaster in a two-bot reenactment of You Got Served.]]

Blaster squares off with Soundwave at the club in a sonic "battle of the boom boxes"; the two are nearly evenly matched, until Blaster uses the club's sound system to amplify his abilities and drive Soundwave off. Tracks engineers a rain cloud which de-hypnotises the humans working at the building site. This also flushes out Starscream, who chases Tracks. The Autobot flies through the partially completed building, and the larger Decepticon damages his wing trying to follow, forcing him to retreat. Blaster arrives and uses the Dancitron speakers to bring down the building.

Tracks offers grateful thanks to Raoul and his buddies for saving his life, saying that if there's anything he can do for them... and it turns out there is. The trio lost their radio in all the chaos, and until they earn enough street cash to get a new one, poor Blaster will make an ideal replacement.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (5)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (6)
*[[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] (10)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (8)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (9)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (11)

|c3=
* [[Raoul]] (1)
* [[Poplock]] (2)
* [[Rocksteady]] (3)
* [[Furg]] (4)
* [[Stylish man]] (7)
}}

==Quotes==
"Time to pull a Michael Jackson" 
"What?" 
"Let's Beat It!"
:-'''Raoul''' and '''Poplock''' find a way to incorporate dead popstars into Transformers episodes.

"That's what I call a riveting experience!" 
"I don't know why I hang out with you, man."
:—'''Tracks''' makes a terrible pun after being shot at by a guy with a rivet gun, and '''Raoul''' calls him out on it.

"Foo on this jive! My main machine's in trouble!"
:—'''Raoul'''

"I've been waiting a long time for this, you poor excuse for a sound system." 
"All talk...no shock."
:—'''Blaster''' and '''Soundwave''', right as their sonic duel begins.

"Yo, the dude's gone crazy!" 
"Yeah... like a fox!"
:—'''Poplock''' and '''Tracks'''.

"Heeheeheehaahaahaahaahaahaahaaaaa...."
:—'''Soundwave''', as he momentarily gets the upper hand in the sonic duel between himself and Blaster. This is one of the few times in the series that Soundwave is heard actually laughing, and coming from him in that quiet, metallic monotone of his, and in this context, it is actually kinda scary.

"I'd say your nightclub just went out of style."
:—'''Blaster''' to '''Soundwave''', after he won the sonic duel.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* In this episode, Raoul's skin color is colored slightly lighter than his last appearance in "[[Make Tracks]]".

* Despite Rocksteady breakdancing and being thrown around quite a lot, his hat always remains firmly on his head.

* Throughout the episode, when people run, it sounds like they're wearing tapdancing shoes (over-exaggerated sound effect).

* "Let's beat it!" - Raoul is supposed to be saying it, but Rocksteady mouths the words.

* Before the Bop Crew jump onto the dumpster, it's standing against a wall, but shifts out into the middle of the sidewalk as they jump onto it.

* As the thugs first start firing at Blaster, the edges of his helmet are white instead of red.

[[Image:Autobop Blaster's putting on weight.jpg|thumb|right|200px|This scene was actually filmed while Blaster was pregnant with [[Eject]] and [[Rewind]]. That's his baby bump!]]
* As Blaster aims his electro-scrambler, he looks a little... fat.

* Raoul is missing a row of studs on the left-hand side of his jacket when he claims he had things under control.

* When Raoul introduces Poplock and Rocksteady, they're both suddenly at least a head shorter than him.

* As Tracks says "Mellow kind of place", the edges of Blaster's helmet are white again.

* After that [[Stylish man|one fellow]] leaves the bar to ask Tracks a question, his hair color changes from brown to white.

* Shortly after Tracks notices the out-of-place people, there's a shot of Blaster and Tracks walking — Tracks's Autobot insignia is outlined in white instead of black, and Blaster's insignia blinks out of existence every few frames.

* In the first shot of Soundwave, his faceplate is dark grey, and his eject button is blue. Then it pans over to Starscream, who has a dark grey face.

* Every shot of the train interior shows it devoid of passengers other than the Bop Crew, but several exterior shots show panicked people climbing out the windows.

* As Blaster says he didn't spy anything unusual at the club, his forehead is red instead of white, and Tracks's wings are missing. The same two errors occur in the next shot but one.

* Blaster walks along Tracks's grappling line a couple of steps too far, and appears to be walking on the side of the train.

* The location names on the side of the train change configuration between shots.

* As Tracks stands up after they halt the train, a cel ordering error results in the windows on the rear of the train appearing on top of him.

* When the two Autobots open the door of the train to see the Bop Crew, Tracks's helmet is mostly blue instead of white.

* The voice that says "Sabotage!" doesn't sound like Tracks, though it's him speaking.

* When Raoul enters Tracks after the train incident, Tracks' interior is glowing the same yellow as his windows (and the seat gets cut off in a yellow stripe as Raoul sits).

* Tracks's wings are blue when he flips them out to take off after he and Raoul leave the building site.

[[Image:Autobop Tracks holding bouncer.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ah crap, he deflated.]]
* The bouncer appears to halve in body weight when Tracks picks him up.

* Tracks has grey wings, both when the door to the DJ booth opens and as Starscream gloats he'll never get out of the club alive.

* Soundwave's faceplate is oddly shaped and his eject button is blue as he announces he's ready for the ultra-sound transmission.

* After Tracks climbs up onto a catwalk, the shots of hypnotized club patrons approaching him from either side are the same shot, just mirrored.

* When Starscream contacts Megatron, Megatron's insignia is red instead of purple.

* When Blaster enters the club, in a couple of frames the chest portion of a female dancer's costume flashes flesh-colored.

* When Raoul attempts to free Tracks, the club patrons go into their zombie hypnotized state again. This is the same shot repeated from when the same thing happened earlier, only mirrored.

* Starscream's mouth is missing as he indignantly shouts "What?!"

* Right before Starscream jumps through the window, an exterior shot of the Dancitron (with motionless identically-dressed couples leading in a line out of it) can be seen through it, before panning swiftly to the right. As this is supposed to be an exterior window of the Dancitron itself... this shot doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

* After Tracks blasts a hole in the wall, the cels aren't properly aligned, so he appears to drive through a point in the wall slightly to the side of the hole.

* Directly after Soundwave jumps through the DJ booth window, the right-hand edge of Blaster's helmet is white, and his forehead is red.

* A moment later, the sides of Soundwave's head are blue instead of white, as he reels from Blaster's first attack.

* After Tracks causes rain to wake up the hypnotized humans at the building site, there's a shot of dozens of men fleeing it, all clad in identical outfits.

* Tracks' bumper gun sounds like Optimus' rifle.

* As Soundwave laughs, the walking animation makes him appear to be moonwalking forwards.

* After Soundwave knocks Blaster into the Dancitron sound system, Blaster sits up, and the piece of debris behind him winks out of existence.

* The sides of Soundwave's head are blue again when he's sent flying from Blaster's attack with the sound system speakers, and his eject button is blue again a moment later, when he stands up in the rubble.

* During a shot of Tracks flying through a building, his wings are blue. This shot is followed by one of Starscream colored as [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]].

* When Tracks shoots the half-constructed building, the flames wash across the ground about a foot too high.

* The pattern of creases in the Bop Crew's dance mat varies depending on the angle.

* The crowd gathered to watch Poplock and Rocksteady breakdance are completely motionless, despite some of them being in running poses (and check out the oddly "Old West" dressed people by the coffee shop!)

===Continuity errors===
* Rocksteady takes off his jacket in order to breakdance, but somehow is suddenly wearing it again when Raoul announces they should beat it.

* Apparently there are still people who don't know about the Autobots, as that one fellow in the club appears to think that Tracks and Blaster are ordinary (gigantinc!) humans wearing elaborate costumes.

* Presumably the train which the Bop Crew were riding on was heading away from the Dancitron, and at high speed. Yet Tracks and Blaster just happen to be walking in exactly the right place to see it speeding along when they were in the club the last time we saw them.

* How did Poplock and Rocksteady get to the Dancitron ahead of Raoul and Tracks, who were driving? The scuffle at the building site didn't hold Tracks up ''that'' long.

* Superhuman <s>Spike</s>humans:
** The hypnotized humans are somehow able to throw Tracks off the catwalk.

* Why do Tracks and Blaster destroy what looks to be a perfectly good building? Why no keep it?

===Continuity notes===
* This episode is one of four pre-movie episodes to not feature [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]].

* Gadgets and Powers:
** Blaster uses his electro-scrambler to disable the Dancitron thugs' guns.
** Tracks has a grappling hook in his vehicle mode hood, and a laser which he uses to blast a hole in the wall of the Dancitron.
** The back of Blaster's cassette cover functions as a monitor for his ultra-sound detector.

*This episode features the second of only two instances in the series in which Soundwave ''laughs''. The first was in "[[Quest for Survival]]".

* The location the Autobots are using as a base has "SPARKPLUGS" over the door, though it's different than [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]]'s shop in "Make Tracks".

===Real-world references===
* The episode in general features then-relevant (or slightly past-relevant) cultural touchstones - [[wikipedia:Breakdancing|breakdancing]] and the paranoia over [[wikipedia:Subliminal_message#Audio|subliminal messages hidden in popular music]].

* When confronted by the gang of thugs employed by Dancitron, Raoul suggests they "pull a [[Michael Jackson]]" and [[wikipedia:Beat It|beat it]].

* While fleeing from the thugs, Raoul wishes their blaster (boom box) was "THE [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]". Rocksteady retorts that Raoul "knows the Autobots like I know [[Prince]]".

*When first meeting Blaster and Tracks, Rocksteady responds to Blaster's implication of trouble-making with "Hey! We were just breakin' in front of the Dancitron (''shifts from two open palms and a shrug to one thumb extended pointing behind him'') and these '''Road Warrior''' rejects tried to bounce us out."

* The sound effect of the DJ booth door opening and closing is the door sound effect from ''Star Trek''.

===Trivia===
*When Tracks and Blaster enter Dancitron, the song playing is an instrumental version of the song performed by [[Cold Slither]] from the ''G.I. Joe'' episode of the same name.

* This episode is also noteworthy for pitting the two tape decks, Soundwave and Blaster, against each other, in an intense sonic duel. It turns out that Soundwave is actually somewhat the more powerful of the two, and Blaster had to augment his output with some nearby additional speakers to best his opponent... the cheater...

* One major plot point is that Tracks realises that there's something wrong when he notices middle-aged housewives and fancy-dressed people at the club, but as the Decepticons are hypnotising people with the music at the club, how did those people get there in the first place in order to be hypnotised?

* It is never established within the episode itself just what the Decepticons are trying to '''accomplish''' with their hypnotize-people-to-construct-a-building plot. However, according to the official [[Sunbow]] synopsis included in [[Metrodome]]'s DVD release: "... the boys and the Autobots pursue Starscream to the skyscraper—a new Decepticon headquarters being constructed by the hypnotized patrons from Dancitron." Oh. Well then.

* At one point, the show does a flashback to a warning that Blaster gave Raoul ''less than a minute earlier''. Just to make sure nobody forgot.

* When leaving the building site to head to the Dancitron, Tracks inserts Raoul into his chest ''before'' transforming to vehicle mode. Weird.

==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. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External Links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/auto-bop.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

Auto-Bop

2011-02-22T09:23:26Z

75.2.140.67: /* Animation or technical glitches */

{{episode
|image=Auto-bop 4.jpg
|caption=Go ahead and mock '80s clothing, but in twenty years, they'll be mocking what we wear.
|series=G1toon
|ep=52
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=52
|prev=Prime Target (episode)
|prev2=Prime Target (episode)
|next2=Starscream's Brigade
|title="Auto-Bop"
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-51
|airdate=[[November 13]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Tracks and Blaster uncover a hypnosis plot. A ''funky'' hypnosis plot.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ブロードキャストVSサウンドウェーブ (''Broadcast VS Soundwave'')
:''German title:'' "'''Gefährliche Hypnosekraft'''" ("Dangerous Hypnosespower")
:''Italian title:'' '''Auto-rock'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:DancitronGang.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Just the usual Manhattan commuter crowd.]]

[[Raoul]] and his friends [[Poplock]] and [[Rocksteady]] are trying to make some spare cash, breakdancing on the sidewalks of [[New York City]]. Unfortunately, the management of the [[Dancitron]] nightclub doesn't like competition, and sends a mob after them. The trio grab their tape deck and flee, riding a wheeled dumpster until it's brought to a sudden halt. They're soon surrounded by armed thugs, but luckily [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] are in the city, and come to the trio's aid. While fighting the thugs off, Tracks is surprised to notice one of them is a man in a business suit.

Raoul introduces the rest of the [[Bop Crew]] to the two [[Autobot]]s, who say they're monitoring Decepticon activity, and now suspect there's something strange going on at the Dancitron. The pair enter the club and admire the immense sound system. Soon Blaster is dancing with an apparently blissed-out patron, while Tracks notes a number of oddly-dressed dancers—a garbage man, a middle-aged woman in a bathrobe and curlers, and a man dressed to the nines. In an upstairs booth, [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] and [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] observe the two Autobots.

[[Image:AutoBop Blaster surfing on Tracks.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Mind the paint job.]]

Meanwhile, the Bop Crew are taking an elevated subway train when it unexpectedly begins gathering speed. The driver, entering a hypnotised state, pulls the accelerator lever to full and smashes the control panel with an iron bar. Raoul pulls the emergency cord until it breaks, but the brakes are ineffective at stopping the train. Fortunately Tracks and Blaster happen to be walking nearby, and are able to halt the train. They find the sabotaged control panel, however the driver has already fled.

Tracks sends Blaster, Poplock and Rocksteady to check with [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] while he and Raoul go to check out the Dancitron again. On the way, the pair spot an active building site—somewhat of an odd sight at 1am, and even odder when they notice the workers are more inappropriately-dressed people, including some of those previously seen at the Dancitron. They're quickly spotted by the workers, and Tracks drags the gate shut to prevent the humans from attacking them, though that doesn't stop a workman on the building itself from firing red-hot rivets at them.

[[Image:Trackscruc2.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Passion of the Chrysler. ''Alternate joke'': Radio killed the video star.]]

Poplock and Rocksteady are offered free tickets into the Dancitron and eagerly accept, believing they'll be able to investigate on their own. The duo enter the club and are soon hypnotised by the music. Arriving at the club, Tracks leaves Raoul outside and encounters the boy's two friends inside. They lead him to two Decepticons, who use the club's hypnotized patrons to ensnare him and bind him to the club's sound system. Starscream reports to [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] that the building construction is on schedule.

Having consulted Teletraan I, Blaster arrives at the Dancitron to find Raoul waiting outside. The pair enter to find Tracks, with Blaster tracking an ultrasound signal. Raoul encounters his two friends and, remembering Blaster's warning about the hypnotic sound, plugs his ears with a paper napkin. They chase him, and he soon finds Tracks, but is overwhelmed by the hypnotized dancers. As he soon discovers, the hypnosis can be broken by simply getting the victim [[Water|wet]], so he triggers the club's sprinkler systems, freeing the patrons from their trance. The Bop Crew swiftly frees Tracks and they pursue Starscream.

[[Image:Auto-Bop Blaster Soundwave.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Soundwave and Blaster in a two-bot reenactment of You Got Served.]]

Blaster squares off with Soundwave at the club in a sonic "battle of the boom boxes"; the two are nearly evenly matched, until Blaster uses the club's sound system to amplify his abilities and drive Soundwave off. Tracks engineers a rain cloud which de-hypnotises the humans working at the building site. This also flushes out Starscream, who chases Tracks. The Autobot flies through the partially completed building, and the larger Decepticon damages his wing trying to follow, forcing him to retreat. Blaster arrives and uses the Dancitron speakers to bring down the building.

Tracks offers grateful thanks to Raoul and his buddies for saving his life, saying that if there's anything he can do for them... and it turns out there is. The trio lost their radio in all the chaos, and until they earn enough street cash to get a new one, poor Blaster will make an ideal replacement.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (5)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (6)
*[[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] (10)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (8)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (9)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (11)

|c3=
* [[Raoul]] (1)
* [[Poplock]] (2)
* [[Rocksteady]] (3)
* [[Furg]] (4)
* [[Stylish man]] (7)
}}

==Quotes==
"Time to pull a Michael Jackson" 
"What?" 
"Let's Beat It!"
:-'''Raoul''' and '''Poplock''' find a way to incorporate dead popstars into Transformers episodes.

"That's what I call a riveting experience!" 
"I don't know why I hang out with you, man."
:—'''Tracks''' makes a terrible pun after being shot at by a guy with a rivet gun, and '''Raoul''' calls him out on it.

"Foo on this jive! My main machine's in trouble!"
:—'''Raoul'''

"I've been waiting a long time for this, you poor excuse for a sound system." 
"All talk...no shock."
:—'''Blaster''' and '''Soundwave''', right as their sonic duel begins.

"Yo, the dude's gone crazy!" 
"Yeah... like a fox!"
:—'''Poplock''' and '''Tracks'''.

"Heeheeheehaahaahaahaahaahaahaaaaa...."
:—'''Soundwave''', as he momentarily gets the upper hand in the sonic duel between himself and Blaster. This is one of the few times in the series that Soundwave is heard actually laughing, and coming from him in that quiet, metallic monotone of his, and in this context, it is actually kinda scary.

"I'd say your nightclub just went out of style."
:—'''Blaster''' to '''Soundwave''', after he won the sonic duel.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* In this episode, Raoul's skin color is colored slightly lighter than his last appearance in "[[Make Tracks]]".

* Despite Rocksteady breakdancing and being thrown around quite a lot, his hat always remains firmly on his head.

* Throughout the episode, when people run, it sounds like they're wearing tapdancing shoes (over-exaggerated sound effect).

* "Let's beat it!" - Raoul is supposed to be saying it, but Rocksteady mouths the words.

* Before the Bop Crew jump onto the dumpster, it's standing against a wall, but shifts out into the middle of the sidewalk as they jump onto it.

* As the thugs first start firing at Blaster, the edges of his helmet are white instead of red.

[[Image:Autobop Blaster's putting on weight.jpg|thumb|right|200px|This scene was actually filmed while Blaster was pregnant with [[Eject]] and [[Rewind]]. That's his baby bump!]]
* As Blaster aims his electro-scrambler, he looks a little... fat.

* Raoul is missing a row of studs on the left-hand side of his jacket when he claims he had things under control.

* When Raoul introduces Poplock and Rocksteady, they're both suddenly at least a head shorter than him.

* As Tracks says "Mellow kind of place", the edges of Blaster's helmet are white again.

* After that [[Stylish man|one fellow]] leaves the bar to ask Tracks a question, his hair color changes from brown to white.

* Shortly after Tracks notices the out-of-place people, there's a shot of Blaster and Tracks walking — Tracks's Autobot insignia is outlined in white instead of black, and Blaster's insignia blinks out of existence every few frames.

* In the first shot of Soundwave, his faceplate is dark grey, and his eject button is blue. Then it pans over to Starscream, who has a dark grey face.

* Every shot of the train interior shows it devoid of passengers other than the Bop Crew, but several exterior shots show panicked people climbing out the windows.

* As Blaster says he didn't spy anything unusual at the club, his forehead is red instead of white, and Tracks's wings are missing. The same two errors occur in the next shot but one.

* Blaster walks along Tracks's grappling line a couple of steps too far, and appears to be walking on the side of the train.

* The location names on the side of the train change configuration between shots.

* As Tracks stands up after they halt the train, a cel ordering error results in the windows on the rear of the train appearing on top of him.

* When the two Autobots open the door of the train to see the Bop Crew, Tracks's helmet is mostly blue instead of white.

* The voice that says "Sabotage!" doesn't sound like Tracks, though it's him speaking.

* When Raoul enters Tracks after the train incident, Tracks' interior is glowing the same yellow as his windows (and the seat gets cut off in a yellow stripe as Raoul sits).

* Tracks's wings are blue when he flips them out to take off after he and Raoul leave the building site.

[[Image:Autobop Tracks holding bouncer.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ah crap, he deflated.]]
* The bouncer appears to halve in body weight when Tracks picks him up.

* Tracks has grey wings, both when the door to the DJ booth opens and as Starscream gloats he'll never get out of the club alive.

* Soundwave's faceplate is oddly shaped and his eject button is blue as he announces he's ready for the ultra-sound transmission.

* After Tracks climbs up onto a catwalk, the shots of hypnotized club patrons approaching him from either side are the same shot, just mirrored.

* When Starscream contacts Megatron, Megatron's insignia is red instead of purple.

* When Blaster enters the club, in a couple of frames the chest portion of a female dancer's costume flashes flesh-colored.

* When Raoul attempts to free Tracks, the club patrons go into their zombie hypnotized state again. This is the same shot repeated from when the same thing happened earlier, only mirrored.

* Starscream's mouth is missing as he indignantly shouts "What?!"

* Right before Starscream jumps through the window, an exterior shot of the Dancitron (with motionless identically-dressed couples leading in a line out of it) can be seen through it, before panning swiftly to the right. As this is supposed to be an exterior window of the Dancitron itself... this shot doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

* After Tracks blasts a hole in the wall, the cels aren't properly aligned, so he appears to drive through a point in the wall slightly to the side of the hole.

* Directly after Soundwave jumps through the DJ booth window, the right-hand edge of Blaster's helmet is white, and his forehead is red.

* A moment later, the sides of Soundwave's head are blue instead of white, as he reels from Blaster's first attack.

* After Tracks causes rain to wake up the hypnotized humans at the building site, there's a shot of dozens of men fleeing it, all clad in identical outfits.

* Tracks' bumper gun sounds like Optimus' rifle.

* As Soundwave laughs, the walking animation makes him appear to be moonwalking forwards.

* After Soundwave knocks Blaster into the Dancitron sound system, Blaster sits up, and the piece of debris behind him winks out of existence.

* The sides of Soundwave's head are blue again when he's sent flying from Blaster's attack with the sound system speakers, and his eject button is blue again a moment later, when he stands up in the rubble.

* During a shot of Tracks flying through a building, his wings are blue. This shot is followed by one of Starscream colored as [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]].

* When Tracks shoots the half-constructed building, the flames wash across the ground about a foot too high.

* The pattern of creases in the Bop Crew's dance mat varies depending on the angle.

* The crowd gathered to watch Poplock and Rocksteady breakdance are completely motionless, despite some of them being in running poses (and check out the oddly "Old West" dressed people by the coffee shop!)

===Continuity errors===
* Rocksteady takes off his jacket in order to breakdance, but somehow is suddenly wearing it again when Raoul announces they should beat it.

* Apparently there are still people who don't know about the Autobots, as that one fellow in the club appears to think that Tracks and Blaster are ordinary humans wearing elaborate costumes.

* Presumably the train which the Bop Crew were riding on was heading away from the Dancitron, and at high speed. Yet Tracks and Blaster just happen to be walking in exactly the right place to see it speeding along when they were in the club the last time we saw them.

* How did Poplock and Rocksteady get to the Dancitron ahead of Raoul and Tracks, who were driving? The scuffle at the building site didn't hold Tracks up ''that'' long.

* Superhuman <s>Spike</s>humans:
** The hypnotized humans are somehow able to throw Tracks off the catwalk.

===Continuity notes===
* This episode is one of four pre-movie episodes to not feature [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]].

* Gadgets and Powers:
** Blaster uses his electro-scrambler to disable the Dancitron thugs' guns.
** Tracks has a grappling hook in his vehicle mode hood, and a laser which he uses to blast a hole in the wall of the Dancitron.
** The back of Blaster's cassette cover functions as a monitor for his ultra-sound detector.

*This episode features the second of only two instances in the series in which Soundwave ''laughs''. The first was in "[[Quest for Survival]]".

* The location the Autobots are using as a base has "SPARKPLUGS" over the door, though it's different than [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]]'s shop in "Make Tracks".

===Real-world references===
* The episode in general features then-relevant (or slightly past-relevant) cultural touchstones - [[wikipedia:Breakdancing|breakdancing]] and the paranoia over [[wikipedia:Subliminal_message#Audio|subliminal messages hidden in popular music]].

* When confronted by the gang of thugs employed by Dancitron, Raoul suggests they "pull a [[Michael Jackson]]" and [[wikipedia:Beat It|beat it]].

* While fleeing from the thugs, Raoul wishes their blaster (boom box) was "THE [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]". Rocksteady retorts that Raoul "knows the Autobots like I know [[Prince]]".

*When first meeting Blaster and Tracks, Rocksteady responds to Blaster's implication of trouble-making with "Hey! We were just breakin' in front of the Dancitron (''shifts from two open palms and a shrug to one thumb extended pointing behind him'') and these '''Road Warrior''' rejects tried to bounce us out."

* The sound effect of the DJ booth door opening and closing is the door sound effect from ''Star Trek''.

===Trivia===
*When Tracks and Blaster enter Dancitron, the song playing is an instrumental version of the song performed by [[Cold Slither]] from the ''G.I. Joe'' episode of the same name.

* This episode is also noteworthy for pitting the two tape decks, Soundwave and Blaster, against each other, in an intense sonic duel. It turns out that Soundwave is actually somewhat the more powerful of the two, and Blaster had to augment his output with some nearby additional speakers to best his opponent... the cheater...

* One major plot point is that Tracks realises that there's something wrong when he notices middle-aged housewives and fancy-dressed people at the club, but as the Decepticons are hypnotising people with the music at the club, how did those people get there in the first place in order to be hypnotised?

* It is never established within the episode itself just what the Decepticons are trying to '''accomplish''' with their hypnotize-people-to-construct-a-building plot. However, according to the official [[Sunbow]] synopsis included in [[Metrodome]]'s DVD release: "... the boys and the Autobots pursue Starscream to the skyscraper—a new Decepticon headquarters being constructed by the hypnotized patrons from Dancitron." Oh. Well then.

* At one point, the show does a flashback to a warning that Blaster gave Raoul ''less than a minute earlier''. Just to make sure nobody forgot.

* When leaving the building site to head to the Dancitron, Tracks inserts Raoul into his chest ''before'' transforming to vehicle mode. Weird.

==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. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External Links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/auto-bop.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

Prime Target (G1)

2011-02-22T08:53:20Z

75.2.140.67: /* Trivia */

{{disambig2|the Generation 1 episode|the live-action film series book|Prime Target (book)}}
{{episode
|image=Lord chumley plaque.jpg
|caption=...This pretty much speaks for itself.
|series=G1toon
|ep=51
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=51
|prev2=Blaster Blues
|next2=Auto-Bop
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=13
|prev3=The Golden Lagoon
|next3=War of the Dinobots
|title="Prime Target"
|written by=[[Flint Dille]] [[Buzz Dixon]]
|production code=700-50
|airdate=[[November 14]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''The big-game hunter Lord Chumley begins hunting Autobots, and he's gunning for Optimus Prime.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ターゲットはコンボイ (''Target wa Convoy'', "The Target is Convoy")
:''German ''Generation 2'' title:'' "'''Jagd auf Prime'''" ("Hunt for Prime")
:''Italian title:'' '''Bersaglio Optimus''' ("Target Optimus")

==Synopsis==
Over the [[Arctic]], [[Daina|Oktober Guard One]] is flying an experimental jet, when it is suddenly speared by a submarine under the ice. She ejects, but the plane is captured. It turns out that the plane was stolen by [[Lord Chumley]], a game hunter, who tells his manservant [[Dinsmoore]] that he needs one more thing to complete his collection...the head of Optimus Prime.

[[Image:Primetargetchumleydinsmore.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Dinsmoore, I believe the Autobots are about to suffer a series of unfortunate events!"]]

Heading into town, [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] spot [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] and head after them. However, it is actually a trap set by Chumley. Back at the [[Ark (G1)|Autobot base]], the Autobots are watching a soap opera which is interrupted by a news broadcast about the theft of the plane. Apparently, the [[Soviet Union]] is accusing the [[United States of America]] of the theft, which the United States denies, and the two countries are ready to go to war. Having not heard back from Bumblebee and Tracks, Prime orders the Autobots to search for their friends. However, Chumley has devised several traps for the Autobots and manages to capture [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]], [[Grapple]], [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]], the latter of whom sends a message to Prime about the capture. Not wanting to risk the others, Prime orders the Autobots to return to base.

[[Image:Primetargetbotsintraps.jpg|right|200px|thumb|And you thought Hasbro safety tests were tough.]]

While they regroup, [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] sends a message to Prime, saying that he's found the missing bots, who are being held in (poorly designed) traps intended to prevent them from escaping. Chumley himself contacts Prime and requests his presence. Pissed at seeing his friends tortured, Prime overloads Chumley's screen and orders the Autobots to remain at the base.

However, [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] has been keeping an eye on the events and feels that Chumley, though a flesh creature, may be useful...especially since he's done more in two days than Megatron has done in two years, which [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] takes the time to point out. Unaware that Chumley is only after Prime, Megatron sends Blitzwing and Astrotrain (surprise, surprise) to make a deal between Chumley and the [[Decepticon]]s.

Arriving at Chumley's castle, Prime finds himself in a "well researched" mock-up of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. He unleashes a monster on Prime, but Prime is able to defeat it. Heading down a corridor, Prime finds a young woman imprisoned, but leaves. Blitzwing investigates, and gets trapped in a goo-net intended for Prime, much to Astrotrain's irritation. Finally, Chumley sends out a [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|mechanical scorpion]], but Prime is shot in the back by Astrotrain and apparently killed. Furious that his prize has been ruined, Chumley takes the Decepticons prisoner and defuses their energy weapons.

[[Image:PrimetargetOPvsspider.jpg|left|200px|thumb|[[Blackarachnia (disambiguation)|Blackarachnia]]'s debut was not the most glamorous.]]

Knowing that Prime is alive, Bumblebee sends their coordinates to the Autobot leader, who enters the castle. A [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|mechanical spider]] is dispatched, but Prime destroys it and heads into Chumley's control room. Dinsmoore hides in a tank while Chumley frees the Decepticons on the promise that they'll fight the Autobot. Instead Astrotrain and Blitzwing go after Chumley to "See how he likes being hunted." The Autobots are freed by Prime, and Blitzwing and Astrotrain retreat after realizing that they are unarmed. Chumley is left at the mercy of Prime.

The Autobots return the plane to the Soviet Union, with Chumley strapped to its nose. The world thanks Optimus Prime for his efforts in solving the mystery.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (4)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (5)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (9)
* [[Grapple]] (10)
* [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] (11)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (12)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (13)
* [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (14)
* [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (15)
* [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (16)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (17)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (18)
* [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (19)
* [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (20)
* [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (21)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (24)
* [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (25)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (26)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (27)

|c2=
* [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (7)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (8)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (22)
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (23)

|c3=
* [[Daina|Oktober Guard One]] (1)
* [[Dinsmoore]] (2)
* [[Lord Chumley]] (3)
* [[Hector Ramirez (G1)|Hector Ramirez]] (6)
* Russian sentry (28)
}}

==Quotes==
"She's a lovely specimen, Lord Chumley, but, there's a frightful international row brewing over it." 
"Ahhh. These things blow over... Remember the [[Boer War]]?" 
"Painfully, sir." 
"Oh, yes, well. Everybody else has forgotten it."
:—'''Dinsmoore''' and '''Chumley''' are older'n hell, apparently.

'''News Announcer''': "We interrupt 'As the Kitchen Sinks' for this special news bulletin." 
'''Jazz, Blaster, Beachcomber''' and '''Grapple''' in unison: "Awwwwwwwww..."
:—The Autobots do not like to miss their soaps.

"Amazing. A booby trap that actually captures boobies."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' says "boobies".

"Bah! Impenetrable! Blitzwing, how do you get into these messes?!"
:—'''Astrotrain''' vainly tries to free Blitzwing

"Decepticons! Trust them to spoil the hunt." 
"Yes, sir. Just like the Humane Society, in a way."
:—'''Chumley''' and '''Dinsmoore'''

'''Chumley''': I say, old chaps. If I free you, will you fight Optimus Prime? 
'''Astrotrain''': Trust us! 
'''Chumley''': There he is, lads! Ha ha! Give him a good thrashing! 
[''Astrotrain immediately tries to stomp Chumley''] 
'''Astrotrain''': See how ''you'' like being hunted! 
'''Chumley''': But—you said— 
'''Blitzwing''': Never trust Decepticons, flesh creature!
:—Chumley gets a lesson in Decepticon ethics.

==Notes==
===Animation and/or technical glitches===
* When Optimus Prime and the Autobots at HQ first transform, Optimus' headlights aren't colored white (they're the same red as his body).
* When the fire hose/tentacle trap ensnares Inferno it's shown breaking off his wrist communicator twice.
* When Optimus signals the Autobots of the change in plans, his cab is shown to have rear windows (it's probably a layering error where the front windows got copied).
* During the scene when [[Lord Chumley|Chumley]] contacts Optimus at the Autobots headquarters, both [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] and [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] can be seen standing next to Optimus even though earlier, they got captured by Chumley.
* When Chumley is tracking Optimus as he drives towards the castle, the display shows Optimus "driving" in the sky. There's no ground drawn in! The next shot also has no ground, but also no sky, just Prime and a purple background.
* A large number of sound effects are missing or oddly truncated throughout the episode. Inferno smashes his way into the burning building without any smashy-smashy-type noises, and a second later his wrist communicator is snipped off in total silence. Prime shoots a bear trap with only about a fourth of his usual blaster sound effect; a second later he throws open a castle gate, which only makes half of a clang.
* Likewise, there are a few lines of dialogue present in the episode's shooting script that are dropped from the final version. This in and of itself is hardly unusual, except in one instance, an odd technical glitch results. In the script, after Prime flattens Chumley's robotic scorpion, Chumley entreats Astrotrain to "help [his] machine to its feet," and Astrotrain replies "Certainly!" In the finished episode, however, Chumley's request is removed but Astrotrain's response is ''not'', leaving the Decepticon randomly saying "Certainly!" for no apparent reason.
* A billboard urging viewers to "Don't drink and drive" has a second message to "Don't fly drive".
* When Blitzwing says "Never trust Decepticons, flesh creature", Chumley mouths along. A few seconds later Blitzwing says "Look out, the Autobots are free!" in Astrotrain's voice.

===Continuity errors===
* Oktober Guard One received a sonar reading from beneath the ice while flying over in her jet. Sonar doesn't work that way.
* Any other cartoon (or real-life) jet would have completely exploded either upon being struck, or upon smashing nose-first into the ice.
* Why is footage of the "top secret Russian jet fighter" being shown on the American nightly news?
* Jazz and Inferno are briefly seen at the Ark when they were actually captured by Lord Chumley. Jazz is Warpath's height.
* It looks like Blaster is simply "transformed" by the billboard hands (how they knew to do this to him specifically is a mystery). Why doesn't he transform back when Chumley grabs him?
* When Bumblebee radios Prime, the blades swinging at him conveniently disappear.
* Speaking of Bumblebee, wouldn't the constant transforming make him run out of energy? He seems pretty lively when busting into the place at the end!
* Chumley calls his simulation a "Well researched mock-up of Cybertron." How does he know what Cybertron looks like? And does Cybertron have big dragons, women in distress, massive spiders, etc?
* Chumley's devices seem to change from "capture" to "kill" about the time Prime recalls the Autobots to base. Both Windcharger and Huffer narrowly escape traps that seem likely to inflict major damage, at the very least (an onrushing train and a drill descending from a streetlight, respectively).
* Optimus walks into a spiderweb ''that's right in front of him''.
* Somehow Chumley's castle is big enough to hold a fighter jet as well as around 10 transformers. Blitzwing and Astrotrain even fly out of what must be one ''massive'' window opening.
* Some of the Autobots freed by Optimus Prime aren't the same ones that were captured: Ironhide, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Prowl, and Bluestreak bust into Chumley's control center along with Prime. Jazz and Bumblebee are there too (correctly), but what happened to the others who were captured (Tracks, Beachcomber, Huffer, Blaster and Inferno)?
* How did the Autobots drop the jet off without the Russian soldier noticing?

===Real-world references===
* Dinsmoore was apparently alive for the [[wikipedia:Second_Boer_War|Second Boer War]]. At least, we're assuming it's the second one, since the [[wikipedia:First_Boer_War|first one]] happened in the 1880s. If he was alive and could remember that one, he must be some sort of super human.
* Chumley boasts of having hunted [[wikipedia:Javan_Tiger|Javanese tigers]].... which were actually hunted to extinction by the late 1970s. ''Bastard.''
* The show ''As The Kitchen Sinks'' the Autobots were watching is a reference to the show ''As The World Turns''.
*Dinsmoore bears some resemblance to Major Minor from Snagglepuss cartoons (even down to having a head plaque ready for his next target), just ''hugely'' more resourceful and effective.

===Trivia===
* The Oktober Guard are a Soviet special operations force from the ''[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]'' cartoons and comics.
*The newscaster the Autobots observe on television is [[Hector Ramirez (G1)|Hector Ramirez]], a crossover character who originated in ''G.I. Joe'' and went on to appear in numerous other [[Hasbro]]/[[Sunbow]] cartoons.
* Several of the Autobots are revealed to be fans of an Earth soap opera entitled ''[[As the Kitchen Sinks]]''. Clearly, they've been away from Cybertron too long.
* Funny how Optimus called it a "booby trap" when part of it is in the image of a woman!
* Chumley has several ''unfathomably'' improbable traps and devices. The most hilarious are a pair of giant hands that come to life from a billboard to fold up Blaster into his tape mode (somehow forcing him to shrink at the same time). The list also includes a [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|giant fully-animated mechanical scorpion]] that is impervious to Optimus Prime's laser fire, some sort of instant-hardening liquid which is ''also'' impervious to Astrotrain's blaster, a [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|giant mechanical black widow]], a "holographic projection rifle" that projects fully-animated 3D images of Astrotrain and Blitzwing, giant mechanical tentacle arms (which can somehow be transported by a comparatively tiny forklift), a set of heavy steel girders which can assemble themselves into a cage while in freefall, and some kind of dragon.
* Furthermore, he's somehow worked quite a few of his traps and gadgets right into publicly-owned infrastructure. A suction clamp comes snaking out of a toll booth; a giant drill comes out of a street lamp while clamps emerge from a manhole; and railroad crossing gates descend at his command.
* Obviously, he's ''insanely'' rich. In addition to all the crazy technology he uses for recreational purposes, he's seen to own a submarine, a sprawling clifftop castle, a fully operational steam locomotive, a custom-modified car wash, an apartment building (which he casually burns), a veritable fleet of flatbed and other trucks, a heavy construction crane (and presumably the entire construction site where it's located), a taxi cab, a fire truck, and a barge.
* He also has the money to build a replica of part of Cybertron just to hunt Optimus in.
* Seriously. What does this guy ''do'' for a living??

==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. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/prime_target.html Dossier on the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

Prime Target (G1)

2011-02-22T08:48:38Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity errors */

{{disambig2|the Generation 1 episode|the live-action film series book|Prime Target (book)}}
{{episode
|image=Lord chumley plaque.jpg
|caption=...This pretty much speaks for itself.
|series=G1toon
|ep=51
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=51
|prev2=Blaster Blues
|next2=Auto-Bop
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=13
|prev3=The Golden Lagoon
|next3=War of the Dinobots
|title="Prime Target"
|written by=[[Flint Dille]] [[Buzz Dixon]]
|production code=700-50
|airdate=[[November 14]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''The big-game hunter Lord Chumley begins hunting Autobots, and he's gunning for Optimus Prime.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ターゲットはコンボイ (''Target wa Convoy'', "The Target is Convoy")
:''German ''Generation 2'' title:'' "'''Jagd auf Prime'''" ("Hunt for Prime")
:''Italian title:'' '''Bersaglio Optimus''' ("Target Optimus")

==Synopsis==
Over the [[Arctic]], [[Daina|Oktober Guard One]] is flying an experimental jet, when it is suddenly speared by a submarine under the ice. She ejects, but the plane is captured. It turns out that the plane was stolen by [[Lord Chumley]], a game hunter, who tells his manservant [[Dinsmoore]] that he needs one more thing to complete his collection...the head of Optimus Prime.

[[Image:Primetargetchumleydinsmore.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Dinsmoore, I believe the Autobots are about to suffer a series of unfortunate events!"]]

Heading into town, [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] spot [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] and head after them. However, it is actually a trap set by Chumley. Back at the [[Ark (G1)|Autobot base]], the Autobots are watching a soap opera which is interrupted by a news broadcast about the theft of the plane. Apparently, the [[Soviet Union]] is accusing the [[United States of America]] of the theft, which the United States denies, and the two countries are ready to go to war. Having not heard back from Bumblebee and Tracks, Prime orders the Autobots to search for their friends. However, Chumley has devised several traps for the Autobots and manages to capture [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]], [[Grapple]], [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]], the latter of whom sends a message to Prime about the capture. Not wanting to risk the others, Prime orders the Autobots to return to base.

[[Image:Primetargetbotsintraps.jpg|right|200px|thumb|And you thought Hasbro safety tests were tough.]]

While they regroup, [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] sends a message to Prime, saying that he's found the missing bots, who are being held in (poorly designed) traps intended to prevent them from escaping. Chumley himself contacts Prime and requests his presence. Pissed at seeing his friends tortured, Prime overloads Chumley's screen and orders the Autobots to remain at the base.

However, [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] has been keeping an eye on the events and feels that Chumley, though a flesh creature, may be useful...especially since he's done more in two days than Megatron has done in two years, which [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] takes the time to point out. Unaware that Chumley is only after Prime, Megatron sends Blitzwing and Astrotrain (surprise, surprise) to make a deal between Chumley and the [[Decepticon]]s.

Arriving at Chumley's castle, Prime finds himself in a "well researched" mock-up of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. He unleashes a monster on Prime, but Prime is able to defeat it. Heading down a corridor, Prime finds a young woman imprisoned, but leaves. Blitzwing investigates, and gets trapped in a goo-net intended for Prime, much to Astrotrain's irritation. Finally, Chumley sends out a [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|mechanical scorpion]], but Prime is shot in the back by Astrotrain and apparently killed. Furious that his prize has been ruined, Chumley takes the Decepticons prisoner and defuses their energy weapons.

[[Image:PrimetargetOPvsspider.jpg|left|200px|thumb|[[Blackarachnia (disambiguation)|Blackarachnia]]'s debut was not the most glamorous.]]

Knowing that Prime is alive, Bumblebee sends their coordinates to the Autobot leader, who enters the castle. A [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|mechanical spider]] is dispatched, but Prime destroys it and heads into Chumley's control room. Dinsmoore hides in a tank while Chumley frees the Decepticons on the promise that they'll fight the Autobot. Instead Astrotrain and Blitzwing go after Chumley to "See how he likes being hunted." The Autobots are freed by Prime, and Blitzwing and Astrotrain retreat after realizing that they are unarmed. Chumley is left at the mercy of Prime.

The Autobots return the plane to the Soviet Union, with Chumley strapped to its nose. The world thanks Optimus Prime for his efforts in solving the mystery.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (4)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (5)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (9)
* [[Grapple]] (10)
* [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] (11)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (12)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (13)
* [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (14)
* [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (15)
* [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (16)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (17)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (18)
* [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (19)
* [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (20)
* [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (21)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (24)
* [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (25)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (26)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (27)

|c2=
* [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (7)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (8)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (22)
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (23)

|c3=
* [[Daina|Oktober Guard One]] (1)
* [[Dinsmoore]] (2)
* [[Lord Chumley]] (3)
* [[Hector Ramirez (G1)|Hector Ramirez]] (6)
* Russian sentry (28)
}}

==Quotes==
"She's a lovely specimen, Lord Chumley, but, there's a frightful international row brewing over it." 
"Ahhh. These things blow over... Remember the [[Boer War]]?" 
"Painfully, sir." 
"Oh, yes, well. Everybody else has forgotten it."
:—'''Dinsmoore''' and '''Chumley''' are older'n hell, apparently.

'''News Announcer''': "We interrupt 'As the Kitchen Sinks' for this special news bulletin." 
'''Jazz, Blaster, Beachcomber''' and '''Grapple''' in unison: "Awwwwwwwww..."
:—The Autobots do not like to miss their soaps.

"Amazing. A booby trap that actually captures boobies."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' says "boobies".

"Bah! Impenetrable! Blitzwing, how do you get into these messes?!"
:—'''Astrotrain''' vainly tries to free Blitzwing

"Decepticons! Trust them to spoil the hunt." 
"Yes, sir. Just like the Humane Society, in a way."
:—'''Chumley''' and '''Dinsmoore'''

'''Chumley''': I say, old chaps. If I free you, will you fight Optimus Prime? 
'''Astrotrain''': Trust us! 
'''Chumley''': There he is, lads! Ha ha! Give him a good thrashing! 
[''Astrotrain immediately tries to stomp Chumley''] 
'''Astrotrain''': See how ''you'' like being hunted! 
'''Chumley''': But—you said— 
'''Blitzwing''': Never trust Decepticons, flesh creature!
:—Chumley gets a lesson in Decepticon ethics.

==Notes==
===Animation and/or technical glitches===
* When Optimus Prime and the Autobots at HQ first transform, Optimus' headlights aren't colored white (they're the same red as his body).
* When the fire hose/tentacle trap ensnares Inferno it's shown breaking off his wrist communicator twice.
* When Optimus signals the Autobots of the change in plans, his cab is shown to have rear windows (it's probably a layering error where the front windows got copied).
* During the scene when [[Lord Chumley|Chumley]] contacts Optimus at the Autobots headquarters, both [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] and [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] can be seen standing next to Optimus even though earlier, they got captured by Chumley.
* When Chumley is tracking Optimus as he drives towards the castle, the display shows Optimus "driving" in the sky. There's no ground drawn in! The next shot also has no ground, but also no sky, just Prime and a purple background.
* A large number of sound effects are missing or oddly truncated throughout the episode. Inferno smashes his way into the burning building without any smashy-smashy-type noises, and a second later his wrist communicator is snipped off in total silence. Prime shoots a bear trap with only about a fourth of his usual blaster sound effect; a second later he throws open a castle gate, which only makes half of a clang.
* Likewise, there are a few lines of dialogue present in the episode's shooting script that are dropped from the final version. This in and of itself is hardly unusual, except in one instance, an odd technical glitch results. In the script, after Prime flattens Chumley's robotic scorpion, Chumley entreats Astrotrain to "help [his] machine to its feet," and Astrotrain replies "Certainly!" In the finished episode, however, Chumley's request is removed but Astrotrain's response is ''not'', leaving the Decepticon randomly saying "Certainly!" for no apparent reason.
* A billboard urging viewers to "Don't drink and drive" has a second message to "Don't fly drive".
* When Blitzwing says "Never trust Decepticons, flesh creature", Chumley mouths along. A few seconds later Blitzwing says "Look out, the Autobots are free!" in Astrotrain's voice.

===Continuity errors===
* Oktober Guard One received a sonar reading from beneath the ice while flying over in her jet. Sonar doesn't work that way.
* Any other cartoon (or real-life) jet would have completely exploded either upon being struck, or upon smashing nose-first into the ice.
* Why is footage of the "top secret Russian jet fighter" being shown on the American nightly news?
* Jazz and Inferno are briefly seen at the Ark when they were actually captured by Lord Chumley. Jazz is Warpath's height.
* It looks like Blaster is simply "transformed" by the billboard hands (how they knew to do this to him specifically is a mystery). Why doesn't he transform back when Chumley grabs him?
* When Bumblebee radios Prime, the blades swinging at him conveniently disappear.
* Speaking of Bumblebee, wouldn't the constant transforming make him run out of energy? He seems pretty lively when busting into the place at the end!
* Chumley calls his simulation a "Well researched mock-up of Cybertron." How does he know what Cybertron looks like? And does Cybertron have big dragons, women in distress, massive spiders, etc?
* Chumley's devices seem to change from "capture" to "kill" about the time Prime recalls the Autobots to base. Both Windcharger and Huffer narrowly escape traps that seem likely to inflict major damage, at the very least (an onrushing train and a drill descending from a streetlight, respectively).
* Optimus walks into a spiderweb ''that's right in front of him''.
* Somehow Chumley's castle is big enough to hold a fighter jet as well as around 10 transformers. Blitzwing and Astrotrain even fly out of what must be one ''massive'' window opening.
* Some of the Autobots freed by Optimus Prime aren't the same ones that were captured: Ironhide, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Prowl, and Bluestreak bust into Chumley's control center along with Prime. Jazz and Bumblebee are there too (correctly), but what happened to the others who were captured (Tracks, Beachcomber, Huffer, Blaster and Inferno)?
* How did the Autobots drop the jet off without the Russian soldier noticing?

===Real-world references===
* Dinsmoore was apparently alive for the [[wikipedia:Second_Boer_War|Second Boer War]]. At least, we're assuming it's the second one, since the [[wikipedia:First_Boer_War|first one]] happened in the 1880s. If he was alive and could remember that one, he must be some sort of super human.
* Chumley boasts of having hunted [[wikipedia:Javan_Tiger|Javanese tigers]].... which were actually hunted to extinction by the late 1970s. ''Bastard.''
* The show ''As The Kitchen Sinks'' the Autobots were watching is a reference to the show ''As The World Turns''.
*Dinsmoore bears some resemblance to Major Minor from Snagglepuss cartoons (even down to having a head plaque ready for his next target), just ''hugely'' more resourceful and effective.

===Trivia===
* The Oktober Guard are a Soviet special operations force from the ''[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]'' cartoons and comics.
*The newscaster the Autobots observe on television is [[Hector Ramirez (G1)|Hector Ramirez]], a crossover character who originated in ''G.I. Joe'' and went on to appear in numerous other [[Hasbro]]/[[Sunbow]] cartoons.
* Several of the Autobots are revealed to be fans of an Earth soap opera entitled ''[[As the Kitchen Sinks]]''. Clearly, they've been away from Cybertron too long.
* Chumley has several ''unfathomably'' improbable traps and devices. The most hilarious are a pair of giant hands that come to life from a billboard to fold up Blaster into his tape mode (somehow forcing him to shrink at the same time). The list also includes a [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|giant fully-animated mechanical scorpion]] that is impervious to Optimus Prime's laser fire, some sort of instant-hardening liquid which is ''also'' impervious to Astrotrain's blaster, a [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|giant mechanical black widow]], a "holographic projection rifle" that projects fully-animated 3D images of Astrotrain and Blitzwing, giant mechanical tentacle arms (which can somehow be transported by a comparatively tiny forklift), a set of heavy steel girders which can assemble themselves into a cage while in freefall, and some kind of dragon.
* Furthermore, he's somehow worked quite a few of his traps and gadgets right into publicly-owned infrastructure. A suction clamp comes snaking out of a toll booth; a giant drill comes out of a street lamp while clamps emerge from a manhole; and railroad crossing gates descend at his command.
* Obviously, he's ''insanely'' rich. In addition to all the crazy technology he uses for recreational purposes, he's seen to own a submarine, a sprawling clifftop castle, a fully operational steam locomotive, a custom-modified car wash, an apartment building (which he casually burns), a veritable fleet of flatbed and other trucks, a heavy construction crane (and presumably the entire construction site where it's located), a taxi cab, a fire truck, and a barge.
* He also has the money to build a replica of part of Cybertron just to hunt Optimus in, and gets it alarmingly accurate for a guy who's never been there.
* Seriously. What does this guy ''do'' for a living??

==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. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/prime_target.html Dossier on the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

Prime Target (G1)

2011-02-22T08:31:16Z

75.2.140.67: /* Animation and/or technical glitches */

{{disambig2|the Generation 1 episode|the live-action film series book|Prime Target (book)}}
{{episode
|image=Lord chumley plaque.jpg
|caption=...This pretty much speaks for itself.
|series=G1toon
|ep=51
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=51
|prev2=Blaster Blues
|next2=Auto-Bop
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=13
|prev3=The Golden Lagoon
|next3=War of the Dinobots
|title="Prime Target"
|written by=[[Flint Dille]] [[Buzz Dixon]]
|production code=700-50
|airdate=[[November 14]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''The big-game hunter Lord Chumley begins hunting Autobots, and he's gunning for Optimus Prime.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ターゲットはコンボイ (''Target wa Convoy'', "The Target is Convoy")
:''German ''Generation 2'' title:'' "'''Jagd auf Prime'''" ("Hunt for Prime")
:''Italian title:'' '''Bersaglio Optimus''' ("Target Optimus")

==Synopsis==
Over the [[Arctic]], [[Daina|Oktober Guard One]] is flying an experimental jet, when it is suddenly speared by a submarine under the ice. She ejects, but the plane is captured. It turns out that the plane was stolen by [[Lord Chumley]], a game hunter, who tells his manservant [[Dinsmoore]] that he needs one more thing to complete his collection...the head of Optimus Prime.

[[Image:Primetargetchumleydinsmore.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Dinsmoore, I believe the Autobots are about to suffer a series of unfortunate events!"]]

Heading into town, [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] spot [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] and head after them. However, it is actually a trap set by Chumley. Back at the [[Ark (G1)|Autobot base]], the Autobots are watching a soap opera which is interrupted by a news broadcast about the theft of the plane. Apparently, the [[Soviet Union]] is accusing the [[United States of America]] of the theft, which the United States denies, and the two countries are ready to go to war. Having not heard back from Bumblebee and Tracks, Prime orders the Autobots to search for their friends. However, Chumley has devised several traps for the Autobots and manages to capture [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]], [[Grapple]], [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]], the latter of whom sends a message to Prime about the capture. Not wanting to risk the others, Prime orders the Autobots to return to base.

[[Image:Primetargetbotsintraps.jpg|right|200px|thumb|And you thought Hasbro safety tests were tough.]]

While they regroup, [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] sends a message to Prime, saying that he's found the missing bots, who are being held in (poorly designed) traps intended to prevent them from escaping. Chumley himself contacts Prime and requests his presence. Pissed at seeing his friends tortured, Prime overloads Chumley's screen and orders the Autobots to remain at the base.

However, [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] has been keeping an eye on the events and feels that Chumley, though a flesh creature, may be useful...especially since he's done more in two days than Megatron has done in two years, which [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] takes the time to point out. Unaware that Chumley is only after Prime, Megatron sends Blitzwing and Astrotrain (surprise, surprise) to make a deal between Chumley and the [[Decepticon]]s.

Arriving at Chumley's castle, Prime finds himself in a "well researched" mock-up of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. He unleashes a monster on Prime, but Prime is able to defeat it. Heading down a corridor, Prime finds a young woman imprisoned, but leaves. Blitzwing investigates, and gets trapped in a goo-net intended for Prime, much to Astrotrain's irritation. Finally, Chumley sends out a [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|mechanical scorpion]], but Prime is shot in the back by Astrotrain and apparently killed. Furious that his prize has been ruined, Chumley takes the Decepticons prisoner and defuses their energy weapons.

[[Image:PrimetargetOPvsspider.jpg|left|200px|thumb|[[Blackarachnia (disambiguation)|Blackarachnia]]'s debut was not the most glamorous.]]

Knowing that Prime is alive, Bumblebee sends their coordinates to the Autobot leader, who enters the castle. A [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|mechanical spider]] is dispatched, but Prime destroys it and heads into Chumley's control room. Dinsmoore hides in a tank while Chumley frees the Decepticons on the promise that they'll fight the Autobot. Instead Astrotrain and Blitzwing go after Chumley to "See how he likes being hunted." The Autobots are freed by Prime, and Blitzwing and Astrotrain retreat after realizing that they are unarmed. Chumley is left at the mercy of Prime.

The Autobots return the plane to the Soviet Union, with Chumley strapped to its nose. The world thanks Optimus Prime for his efforts in solving the mystery.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (4)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (5)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (9)
* [[Grapple]] (10)
* [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] (11)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (12)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (13)
* [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (14)
* [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (15)
* [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (16)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (17)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (18)
* [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (19)
* [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (20)
* [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (21)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (24)
* [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (25)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (26)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (27)

|c2=
* [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (7)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (8)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (22)
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (23)

|c3=
* [[Daina|Oktober Guard One]] (1)
* [[Dinsmoore]] (2)
* [[Lord Chumley]] (3)
* [[Hector Ramirez (G1)|Hector Ramirez]] (6)
* Russian sentry (28)
}}

==Quotes==
"She's a lovely specimen, Lord Chumley, but, there's a frightful international row brewing over it." 
"Ahhh. These things blow over... Remember the [[Boer War]]?" 
"Painfully, sir." 
"Oh, yes, well. Everybody else has forgotten it."
:—'''Dinsmoore''' and '''Chumley''' are older'n hell, apparently.

'''News Announcer''': "We interrupt 'As the Kitchen Sinks' for this special news bulletin." 
'''Jazz, Blaster, Beachcomber''' and '''Grapple''' in unison: "Awwwwwwwww..."
:—The Autobots do not like to miss their soaps.

"Amazing. A booby trap that actually captures boobies."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' says "boobies".

"Bah! Impenetrable! Blitzwing, how do you get into these messes?!"
:—'''Astrotrain''' vainly tries to free Blitzwing

"Decepticons! Trust them to spoil the hunt." 
"Yes, sir. Just like the Humane Society, in a way."
:—'''Chumley''' and '''Dinsmoore'''

'''Chumley''': I say, old chaps. If I free you, will you fight Optimus Prime? 
'''Astrotrain''': Trust us! 
'''Chumley''': There he is, lads! Ha ha! Give him a good thrashing! 
[''Astrotrain immediately tries to stomp Chumley''] 
'''Astrotrain''': See how ''you'' like being hunted! 
'''Chumley''': But—you said— 
'''Blitzwing''': Never trust Decepticons, flesh creature!
:—Chumley gets a lesson in Decepticon ethics.

==Notes==
===Animation and/or technical glitches===
* When Optimus Prime and the Autobots at HQ first transform, Optimus' headlights aren't colored white (they're the same red as his body).
* When the fire hose/tentacle trap ensnares Inferno it's shown breaking off his wrist communicator twice.
* When Optimus signals the Autobots of the change in plans, his cab is shown to have rear windows (it's probably a layering error where the front windows got copied).
* During the scene when [[Lord Chumley|Chumley]] contacts Optimus at the Autobots headquarters, both [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] and [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] can be seen standing next to Optimus even though earlier, they got captured by Chumley.
* When Chumley is tracking Optimus as he drives towards the castle, the display shows Optimus "driving" in the sky. There's no ground drawn in! The next shot also has no ground, but also no sky, just Prime and a purple background.
* A large number of sound effects are missing or oddly truncated throughout the episode. Inferno smashes his way into the burning building without any smashy-smashy-type noises, and a second later his wrist communicator is snipped off in total silence. Prime shoots a bear trap with only about a fourth of his usual blaster sound effect; a second later he throws open a castle gate, which only makes half of a clang.
* Likewise, there are a few lines of dialogue present in the episode's shooting script that are dropped from the final version. This in and of itself is hardly unusual, except in one instance, an odd technical glitch results. In the script, after Prime flattens Chumley's robotic scorpion, Chumley entreats Astrotrain to "help [his] machine to its feet," and Astrotrain replies "Certainly!" In the finished episode, however, Chumley's request is removed but Astrotrain's response is ''not'', leaving the Decepticon randomly saying "Certainly!" for no apparent reason.
* A billboard urging viewers to "Don't drink and drive" has a second message to "Don't fly drive".
* When Blitzwing says "Never trust Decepticons, flesh creature", Chumley mouths along. A few seconds later Blitzwing says "Look out, the Autobots are free!" in Astrotrain's voice.

===Continuity errors===
* Oktober Guard One received a sonar reading from beneath the ice while flying over in her jet. Sonar doesn't work that way.
* Any other cartoon (or real-life) jet would have completely exploded either upon being struck, or upon smashing nose-first into the ice.
* Why is footage of the "top secret Russian jet fighter" being shown on the American nightly news?
* Jazz and Inferno are briefly seen at the Ark when they were actually captured by Lord Chumley. Jazz is Warpath's height.
* When Bumblebee radios Prime, the blades swinging at him conveniently disappear.
* Chumley's devices seem to change from "capture" to "kill" about the time Prime recalls the Autobots to base. Both Windcharger and Huffer narrowly escape traps that seem likely to inflict major damage, at the very least (an onrushing train and a drill descending from a streetlight, respectively).
* The Autobots that are freed by Optimus Prime aren't the same ones that were captured.

===Real-world references===
* Dinsmoore was apparently alive for the [[wikipedia:Second_Boer_War|Second Boer War]]. At least, we're assuming it's the second one, since the [[wikipedia:First_Boer_War|first one]] happened in the 1880s. If he was alive and could remember that one, he must be some sort of super human.
* Chumley boasts of having hunted [[wikipedia:Javan_Tiger|Javanese tigers]].... which were actually hunted to extinction by the late 1970s. ''Bastard.''
* The show ''As The Kitchen Sinks'' the Autobots were watching is a reference to the show ''As The World Turns''.
*Dinsmoore bears some resemblance to Major Minor from Snagglepuss cartoons (even down to having a head plaque ready for his next target), just ''hugely'' more resourceful and effective.

===Trivia===
* The Oktober Guard are a Soviet special operations force from the ''[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]'' cartoons and comics.
*The newscaster the Autobots observe on television is [[Hector Ramirez (G1)|Hector Ramirez]], a crossover character who originated in ''G.I. Joe'' and went on to appear in numerous other [[Hasbro]]/[[Sunbow]] cartoons.
* Several of the Autobots are revealed to be fans of an Earth soap opera entitled ''[[As the Kitchen Sinks]]''. Clearly, they've been away from Cybertron too long.
* Chumley has several ''unfathomably'' improbable traps and devices. The most hilarious are a pair of giant hands that come to life from a billboard to fold up Blaster into his tape mode (somehow forcing him to shrink at the same time). The list also includes a [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|giant fully-animated mechanical scorpion]] that is impervious to Optimus Prime's laser fire, some sort of instant-hardening liquid which is ''also'' impervious to Astrotrain's blaster, a [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|giant mechanical black widow]], a "holographic projection rifle" that projects fully-animated 3D images of Astrotrain and Blitzwing, giant mechanical tentacle arms (which can somehow be transported by a comparatively tiny forklift), a set of heavy steel girders which can assemble themselves into a cage while in freefall, and some kind of dragon.
* Furthermore, he's somehow worked quite a few of his traps and gadgets right into publicly-owned infrastructure. A suction clamp comes snaking out of a toll booth; a giant drill comes out of a street lamp while clamps emerge from a manhole; and railroad crossing gates descend at his command.
* Obviously, he's ''insanely'' rich. In addition to all the crazy technology he uses for recreational purposes, he's seen to own a submarine, a sprawling clifftop castle, a fully operational steam locomotive, a custom-modified car wash, an apartment building (which he casually burns), a veritable fleet of flatbed and other trucks, a heavy construction crane (and presumably the entire construction site where it's located), a taxi cab, a fire truck, and a barge.
* He also has the money to build a replica of part of Cybertron just to hunt Optimus in, and gets it alarmingly accurate for a guy who's never been there.
* Seriously. What does this guy ''do'' for a living??

==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. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/prime_target.html Dossier on the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

Prime Target (G1)

2011-02-22T08:28:49Z

75.2.140.67: /* Animation and/or technical glitches */

{{disambig2|the Generation 1 episode|the live-action film series book|Prime Target (book)}}
{{episode
|image=Lord chumley plaque.jpg
|caption=...This pretty much speaks for itself.
|series=G1toon
|ep=51
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=51
|prev2=Blaster Blues
|next2=Auto-Bop
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=13
|prev3=The Golden Lagoon
|next3=War of the Dinobots
|title="Prime Target"
|written by=[[Flint Dille]] [[Buzz Dixon]]
|production code=700-50
|airdate=[[November 14]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''The big-game hunter Lord Chumley begins hunting Autobots, and he's gunning for Optimus Prime.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ターゲットはコンボイ (''Target wa Convoy'', "The Target is Convoy")
:''German ''Generation 2'' title:'' "'''Jagd auf Prime'''" ("Hunt for Prime")
:''Italian title:'' '''Bersaglio Optimus''' ("Target Optimus")

==Synopsis==
Over the [[Arctic]], [[Daina|Oktober Guard One]] is flying an experimental jet, when it is suddenly speared by a submarine under the ice. She ejects, but the plane is captured. It turns out that the plane was stolen by [[Lord Chumley]], a game hunter, who tells his manservant [[Dinsmoore]] that he needs one more thing to complete his collection...the head of Optimus Prime.

[[Image:Primetargetchumleydinsmore.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Dinsmoore, I believe the Autobots are about to suffer a series of unfortunate events!"]]

Heading into town, [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] spot [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] and head after them. However, it is actually a trap set by Chumley. Back at the [[Ark (G1)|Autobot base]], the Autobots are watching a soap opera which is interrupted by a news broadcast about the theft of the plane. Apparently, the [[Soviet Union]] is accusing the [[United States of America]] of the theft, which the United States denies, and the two countries are ready to go to war. Having not heard back from Bumblebee and Tracks, Prime orders the Autobots to search for their friends. However, Chumley has devised several traps for the Autobots and manages to capture [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]], [[Grapple]], [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]], the latter of whom sends a message to Prime about the capture. Not wanting to risk the others, Prime orders the Autobots to return to base.

[[Image:Primetargetbotsintraps.jpg|right|200px|thumb|And you thought Hasbro safety tests were tough.]]

While they regroup, [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] sends a message to Prime, saying that he's found the missing bots, who are being held in (poorly designed) traps intended to prevent them from escaping. Chumley himself contacts Prime and requests his presence. Pissed at seeing his friends tortured, Prime overloads Chumley's screen and orders the Autobots to remain at the base.

However, [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] has been keeping an eye on the events and feels that Chumley, though a flesh creature, may be useful...especially since he's done more in two days than Megatron has done in two years, which [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] takes the time to point out. Unaware that Chumley is only after Prime, Megatron sends Blitzwing and Astrotrain (surprise, surprise) to make a deal between Chumley and the [[Decepticon]]s.

Arriving at Chumley's castle, Prime finds himself in a "well researched" mock-up of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. He unleashes a monster on Prime, but Prime is able to defeat it. Heading down a corridor, Prime finds a young woman imprisoned, but leaves. Blitzwing investigates, and gets trapped in a goo-net intended for Prime, much to Astrotrain's irritation. Finally, Chumley sends out a [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|mechanical scorpion]], but Prime is shot in the back by Astrotrain and apparently killed. Furious that his prize has been ruined, Chumley takes the Decepticons prisoner and defuses their energy weapons.

[[Image:PrimetargetOPvsspider.jpg|left|200px|thumb|[[Blackarachnia (disambiguation)|Blackarachnia]]'s debut was not the most glamorous.]]

Knowing that Prime is alive, Bumblebee sends their coordinates to the Autobot leader, who enters the castle. A [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|mechanical spider]] is dispatched, but Prime destroys it and heads into Chumley's control room. Dinsmoore hides in a tank while Chumley frees the Decepticons on the promise that they'll fight the Autobot. Instead Astrotrain and Blitzwing go after Chumley to "See how he likes being hunted." The Autobots are freed by Prime, and Blitzwing and Astrotrain retreat after realizing that they are unarmed. Chumley is left at the mercy of Prime.

The Autobots return the plane to the Soviet Union, with Chumley strapped to its nose. The world thanks Optimus Prime for his efforts in solving the mystery.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (4)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (5)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (9)
* [[Grapple]] (10)
* [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] (11)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (12)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (13)
* [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (14)
* [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (15)
* [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (16)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (17)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (18)
* [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (19)
* [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (20)
* [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (21)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (24)
* [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (25)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (26)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (27)

|c2=
* [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (7)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (8)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (22)
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (23)

|c3=
* [[Daina|Oktober Guard One]] (1)
* [[Dinsmoore]] (2)
* [[Lord Chumley]] (3)
* [[Hector Ramirez (G1)|Hector Ramirez]] (6)
* Russian sentry (28)
}}

==Quotes==
"She's a lovely specimen, Lord Chumley, but, there's a frightful international row brewing over it." 
"Ahhh. These things blow over... Remember the [[Boer War]]?" 
"Painfully, sir." 
"Oh, yes, well. Everybody else has forgotten it."
:—'''Dinsmoore''' and '''Chumley''' are older'n hell, apparently.

'''News Announcer''': "We interrupt 'As the Kitchen Sinks' for this special news bulletin." 
'''Jazz, Blaster, Beachcomber''' and '''Grapple''' in unison: "Awwwwwwwww..."
:—The Autobots do not like to miss their soaps.

"Amazing. A booby trap that actually captures boobies."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' says "boobies".

"Bah! Impenetrable! Blitzwing, how do you get into these messes?!"
:—'''Astrotrain''' vainly tries to free Blitzwing

"Decepticons! Trust them to spoil the hunt." 
"Yes, sir. Just like the Humane Society, in a way."
:—'''Chumley''' and '''Dinsmoore'''

'''Chumley''': I say, old chaps. If I free you, will you fight Optimus Prime? 
'''Astrotrain''': Trust us! 
'''Chumley''': There he is, lads! Ha ha! Give him a good thrashing! 
[''Astrotrain immediately tries to stomp Chumley''] 
'''Astrotrain''': See how ''you'' like being hunted! 
'''Chumley''': But—you said— 
'''Blitzwing''': Never trust Decepticons, flesh creature!
:—Chumley gets a lesson in Decepticon ethics.

==Notes==
===Animation and/or technical glitches===
* When Optimus Prime and the Autobots at HQ first transform, Optimus' headlights aren't colored white (they're the same red as his body).
* When the fire hose/tentacle trap ensnares Inferno it's shown breaking off his wrist communicator twice.
* When Optimus signals the Autobots of the change in plans, his cab is shown to have rear windows (it's probably a layering error where the front windows got copied).
* During the scene when [[Lord Chumley|Chumley]] contacts Optimus at the Autobots headquarters, both [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] and [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] can be seen standing next to Optimus even though earlier, they got captured by Chumley.
* A large number of sound effects are missing or oddly truncated throughout the episode. Inferno smashes his way into the burning building without any smashy-smashy-type noises, and a second later his wrist communicator is snipped off in total silence. Prime shoots a bear trap with only about a fourth of his usual blaster sound effect; a second later he throws open a castle gate, which only makes half of a clang.
* Likewise, there are a few lines of dialogue present in the episode's shooting script that are dropped from the final version. This in and of itself is hardly unusual, except in one instance, an odd technical glitch results. In the script, after Prime flattens Chumley's robotic scorpion, Chumley entreats Astrotrain to "help [his] machine to its feet," and Astrotrain replies "Certainly!" In the finished episode, however, Chumley's request is removed but Astrotrain's response is ''not'', leaving the Decepticon randomly saying "Certainly!" for no apparent reason.
* A billboard urging viewers to "Don't drink and drive" has a second message to "Don't fly drive".
* When Blitzwing says "Never trust Decepticons, flesh creature", Chumley mouths along. A few seconds later Blitzwing says "Look out, the Autobots are free!" in Astrotrain's voice.

===Continuity errors===
* Oktober Guard One received a sonar reading from beneath the ice while flying over in her jet. Sonar doesn't work that way.
* Any other cartoon (or real-life) jet would have completely exploded either upon being struck, or upon smashing nose-first into the ice.
* Why is footage of the "top secret Russian jet fighter" being shown on the American nightly news?
* Jazz and Inferno are briefly seen at the Ark when they were actually captured by Lord Chumley. Jazz is Warpath's height.
* When Bumblebee radios Prime, the blades swinging at him conveniently disappear.
* Chumley's devices seem to change from "capture" to "kill" about the time Prime recalls the Autobots to base. Both Windcharger and Huffer narrowly escape traps that seem likely to inflict major damage, at the very least (an onrushing train and a drill descending from a streetlight, respectively).
* The Autobots that are freed by Optimus Prime aren't the same ones that were captured.

===Real-world references===
* Dinsmoore was apparently alive for the [[wikipedia:Second_Boer_War|Second Boer War]]. At least, we're assuming it's the second one, since the [[wikipedia:First_Boer_War|first one]] happened in the 1880s. If he was alive and could remember that one, he must be some sort of super human.
* Chumley boasts of having hunted [[wikipedia:Javan_Tiger|Javanese tigers]].... which were actually hunted to extinction by the late 1970s. ''Bastard.''
* The show ''As The Kitchen Sinks'' the Autobots were watching is a reference to the show ''As The World Turns''.
*Dinsmoore bears some resemblance to Major Minor from Snagglepuss cartoons (even down to having a head plaque ready for his next target), just ''hugely'' more resourceful and effective.

===Trivia===
* The Oktober Guard are a Soviet special operations force from the ''[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]'' cartoons and comics.
*The newscaster the Autobots observe on television is [[Hector Ramirez (G1)|Hector Ramirez]], a crossover character who originated in ''G.I. Joe'' and went on to appear in numerous other [[Hasbro]]/[[Sunbow]] cartoons.
* Several of the Autobots are revealed to be fans of an Earth soap opera entitled ''[[As the Kitchen Sinks]]''. Clearly, they've been away from Cybertron too long.
* Chumley has several ''unfathomably'' improbable traps and devices. The most hilarious are a pair of giant hands that come to life from a billboard to fold up Blaster into his tape mode (somehow forcing him to shrink at the same time). The list also includes a [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|giant fully-animated mechanical scorpion]] that is impervious to Optimus Prime's laser fire, some sort of instant-hardening liquid which is ''also'' impervious to Astrotrain's blaster, a [[Chumley's arachnoid drones|giant mechanical black widow]], a "holographic projection rifle" that projects fully-animated 3D images of Astrotrain and Blitzwing, giant mechanical tentacle arms (which can somehow be transported by a comparatively tiny forklift), a set of heavy steel girders which can assemble themselves into a cage while in freefall, and some kind of dragon.
* Furthermore, he's somehow worked quite a few of his traps and gadgets right into publicly-owned infrastructure. A suction clamp comes snaking out of a toll booth; a giant drill comes out of a street lamp while clamps emerge from a manhole; and railroad crossing gates descend at his command.
* Obviously, he's ''insanely'' rich. In addition to all the crazy technology he uses for recreational purposes, he's seen to own a submarine, a sprawling clifftop castle, a fully operational steam locomotive, a custom-modified car wash, an apartment building (which he casually burns), a veritable fleet of flatbed and other trucks, a heavy construction crane (and presumably the entire construction site where it's located), a taxi cab, a fire truck, and a barge.
* He also has the money to build a replica of part of Cybertron just to hunt Optimus in, and gets it alarmingly accurate for a guy who's never been there.
* Seriously. What does this guy ''do'' for a living??

==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. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/prime_target.html Dossier on the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

Sea Change

2011-02-21T11:14:14Z

75.2.140.67: /* Transformers references */

{{episode
|image=SeaChange Alana riding Seaspray.jpg
|caption=Taking inter-species relationships to the next level.
|series=G1toon
|ep=49
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=44
|prev2=The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2
|next2=Hoist Goes Hollywood
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=35
|prev3=Blaster Blues
|next3=The Search for Alpha Trion
|title="Sea Change"
|written by=[[Douglas Booth]]
|production code=700-48
|airdate=[[November 20]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Seaspray turns into a merman with robot feet and falls in love.'''

... '''wait, what?!'''

:''Japanese title:'' 変身の泉 (''Henshin no Izumi'', "The Spring of Transformation")
:''Italian title:'' '''Cambio di marea''' ("Change of tide")
:''Russian title:'' '''Morje menyayetsya''' (''Море меняется'',"The Sea is Changing")
==Synopsis==
[[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] is pulling a water skiing [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] around a lake, but Bumblebee wipes out while trying to jump a ramp. 'Bee decides to call it a day, as the first star comes out. Seaspray makes a wish on the star, but keeps it a secret, otherwise it won't come true.

Meanwhile, on another planet, the [[Tlalakan]]s are all wishing for one thing... freedom from [[Deceptitran]], who has enslaved them. He has developed a unique method of gathering [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] by directly harvesting it from the Tlalakans themselves. However, the Tlalakans have finally had enough, and revolt. As his droids appear incapable of stopping them, Deceptitran sends out a distress signal.

[[Image:SeaChange Autobots in Cosmos.jpg|left|200px|thumb|]]

Back on [[Earth]], Seaspray is still wishing on stars, when he suddenly receives a signal. Heading back to the [[Ark (G1)|base]], the two [[Autobot|Autobots]] show it to [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]]. Perceptor can't identify any specifics, but he is sure that it's a distress signal. Optimus sends the three in [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]], but the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] himself is too large to come. The Autobots depart, as Optimus wishes them luck. Before they reach the planet, Perceptor discovers that the distress signal is similar to ones intercepted during the [[Third Cybertron War]]. Seaspray suddenly realizes that they're responding to a distress signal intended for the [[Decepticon]]s. Before they can abort, Deceptitran detects them, and orders the droids to open fire. As the Autobots emerge from the crash, the droids swoop in to finish the job, when the Tlalakans suddenly attack. Seaspray manages to save one, who calls herself [[Alana]]... and Seaspray appears a little shy.

Meanwhile, [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] enters the planet's atmosphere and lands in the city. [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] has come with [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]], [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]], and [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] to assist. After Deceptitran briefs Megatron on the situation, the Decepticons go Autobot hunting.

[[Image:SeaChange Seaspray Bumblebee at pool.jpg|right|200px|thumb|]]

Meanwhile, the Autobots are being taken to the [[Well of Transformation]], which the Tlalakans describe as the one secret that they have kept from Deceptitran. Unfortunately, a pair of droids have followed them in. Bumblebee downs one, while Seaspray throws another into the Well...where it dissolves. Alana explains that the Well dissolves the body, leaving only the lifeforce, which the Tlalakans use to change into whatever they want. Alana warns them not to get in, fearing that they will die just like the droid. After turning into a mermaid, Alana bids them farewell, blowing Seaspray a [[kiss]]. Bumblebee has to drag a babbling Seaspray out of the cave.

Heading to the river, the Autobots are discovered by [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], and the rest of the Decepticons swoop in. Seaspray [[Transformation|transforms]] and takes the Autobots down the river—and right over the waterfall. Perceptor, Seaspray, and Cosmos are rescued by the Tlalakans, while Bumblebee is captured. The Autobots are taken to the Tlalakans underwater city, the only place that the Decepticons have not conquered. They meet [[Tlaloc]], their king, who loans them some warriors to rescue Bumblebee and storm the city. However, Cosmos and Perceptor are too damaged. It's just Seaspray and his men. Er, mermen. After the mermen and Alana change back into humans, some of the mermen set bombs under the city, heralding the start of the attack. The Decepticons go to attack the Tlalakans, while Bumblebee activates a homing beam. He signals Seaspray, who rescues Bumblebee and damages Deceptitran. The Tlalakans withdraw, taking Bumblebee with them, while Seaspray and Alana go to the well. Unfortunately, Laserbeak follows Bumblebee underwater...

In the control room, Deceptitran is having a panic attack, causing Megatron to simply turn him off (why he doesn't do that with [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] is beyond anyone's guess). Megatron receives a signal from Laserbeak, and promises to join their little friend in a short while...

[[Image:SeaChange Mermaid Seaspray and Alana.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Robo-Conan & Robo-Sonya]]

In the forest, the Tlalakans are being chased by the droids, but manage to reach the Well of Transformation. Seaspray asks if Alana really believes he would die if he went in, but Alana points out that they're both machines. Feeling dejected, Seaspray resolves to go into the Well, as Alana cries out in horror. Believing him dead, Alana muses that she ''did'' love Seaspray...only for Seaspray to emerge as a blond muscle man, but with robot feet (and for some reason, still a gargling voice). The two jump into the Well and change into merpeople. They discover that the city is under attack by the Decepticons, but Seaspray doesn't have any weapons systems as a merman. Spotting them, Megatron orders Rumble to follow. Rumble begins firing, only for his body to also be affected by the Well. Alana begins to tell Rumble to think of a big tree, or become lost. Rumble survives...as a tree. Seaspray resumes his old robot mode, while Alana takes one of her own, as a measure for fighting Decepticons, but she likes her color (guess what [[Elita One|it]] [[Arcee (G1)|is]]). On the surface, Seaspray and Alana head to the above water city (with Alana transforming into a gondola) and attack Deceptitran's forces.

[[Image:SeaChange Alana Deceptitran.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Boy, you are too fat to be my ''botfriend''!]]

Underwater, the Decepticons are overwhelming the Autobots and Tlalakans, when Megatron receives a mayday from Deceptitran. Megatron is willing to leave Deceptitran to die, but the energon must be protected. Heading back for the city, the Decepticons spot Seaspray, and follow him into the energon warehouse. However, the droids fire on the Decepticons, as Alana has reprogrammed Decepitran to serve her. The explosion causes a massive tremor, destroys the city and causes Rumble, back in the caves, to fall into the Well of Transformation, allowing him to change back. Megatron orders Astrotrain to transform and take them off the planet.

As the Tlalakans celebrate, Alana has retaken her human form, but tells Seaspray that they won't let it ruin their relationship. As the two sail off into the sunset, Bumblebee notices the first star, and asks if anyone wants to make a wish. Perceptor asks why, and Bee says that it's merely a [[human]] superstition he heard...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] (1)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (2)
* [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (7)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (8)
* [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (9)
|c2=
* [[Deceptitran]] (6)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (10)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (11)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (12)
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (13)
* [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (14)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (15)
|c3=
* [[Chac]] (3)
* [[Alana]] (4)
* [[Mok]] (5)
* [[Tlaloc]] (16)
* [[Rarto]] (17)
}}

==Quotes==
"Oh no...my paint job's ruined."
:—'''Cosmos''' sweating the small stuff before collapsing

"She kissed me! She kissed me!"
:—'''Seaspray''' on foreplay (Ha ha! Making cyborgs!)

"Ah, dream on, bubble-brain."
:—'''Bumblebee''' on Seaspray's love life

"Maybe that is all I am, a bunch of transistors and bolts, but I don't believe it! My heart may look like an energon pump but that doesn't mean it can't feel."
:—'''Seaspray'''

"Transform, you sponge, and get us out of here!"
:—'''Megatron''' destroys Astrotrain's self-esteem with what appears to be a sea-related insult. Mercy.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
*When Alana runs to assist Chac, the first cell is reversed, making her appear to be on the wrong side of the screen for an instant.

*While analyzing the distress signal, Perceptor's helmet is red.

*When we first see him (during the line "Because, that is my programming"), Deceptitran laughs without moving his lips.

*It's accepted for the series, but Perceptor is consistently shown to be twice as big as Cosmos even though he, Bumblebee and Seaspray fit inside him.

*When the Decepticons walk to meet up with Deceptitran, Rumble's model is replaced by one Deceptitran's droid's.

*The glow of Bumblebee's homing beacon (and Seaspray's receiver) appear below the areas they should (ie outside the lines).

* "They must not escape!" - Deceptitran's mouth is the same gray as his face, where it is darker gray in other scenes.

[[Image:G1-Cartoon-SeaChange-Rumble-Tree.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Rumble's plan to attract hot tree huggers goes awry.]]

*When Rumble is changed into a tree, he appears to be simply a tree with a mouth and eye holes, but during his close-up, his face is its regular, robotic self, apart from the fact his visor is now two separate eyes.

* When Deceptitran radios Megatron to tell him the energon supplies are in jeopardy, Soundwave's visor is white.

* When the droids first start firing on the Decepticons, the walls are pink, but they haven't reached the energon stockpile yet.

* Megatron tells Dirge and the droids to chase Seaspray and Alana, but only the droids go.

*Rumble's cough (as he falls in the water) is provided by Astrotrain's voice actor.

===Continuity errors===
*In all of its other appearances, Cosmos's interior is shown to have light grey walls with a dark grey floor. For this episode only, his interior is the same burnt orange color as the interior of Autobot HQ.
*Although Tlaloc appears to be among the mer-Tlalakans leading the escaping prisoners away, he later expresses surprise that Alana and Mok are free.
*It's implied that the Tlalakans can only change form while in the Well of Transformation, yet Alana's transformation between robot and gondola modes uses the same effect as a Tlalakan changing, rather than a traditional Transformer transformation (as you would expect from her having imitated Cosmos's species) and she's nowhere near the Well.
*Also, how is Alana able to shoot lasers when transformed? It looks like they just come out of her body!

===Transformers references===
*Much of this episode takes place underwater, yet Bumblebee does not display any kind of special aptitude for underwater operations like his toy-packaging [[bio]] suggests he should.
* As with the [[Atlantis, Arise!|Sub-Atlanticans]], the Tlalakans can talk underwater.
*Laserbeak can "fly" underwater.
*Rumble is frigging stupid.

===Real-world references===
* The term "sea change" simply means [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sea%20change a significant transformation,] though [[Wikipedia:Full Fathom Five|when Shakespeare coined it]], he was talking about the substance of a body literally being changed by the sea (such as bone being replaced with coral).
* The vaguely Meso-American aesthetic of the natives and the word "Tlalakan" itself suggests that the planet is meant to evoke [[wikipedia:Tlalocan|Tlalocan]], the "heaven" in Aztec cosmology reserved for those who died by drowning or had an otherwise water-related death. That's, uh, actually pretty morbid!
* One of the Tlalakan natives is even named [[wikipedia:Tlaloc|Tlaloc]], after the Aztec god of rain and water who ruled Tlalocan. Hopefully, he didn't demand child sacrifices like the real one...
*Conversely, another of the natives is named Chac, which is very similar to [[wikipedia:Chaac|Chaac]], who was a Mayan god of rain.

==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. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/sea_change.html Dossier on the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]

Triple Takeover

2011-02-21T11:09:46Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|image=TripleTakeover Blitzwing Astrotrain stadium.jpg
|caption=In which we learn exactly why Megatron is in charge of the Decepticons.
|series=G1toon
|ep=50
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=39
|prev2=Kremzeek!
|next2=Child's Play (episode)
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=18
|next=Prime Target (episode)
|prev3=Kremzeek!
|next3=Starscream's Brigade
|title="Triple Takeover"
|written by=[[Larry Strauss]]
|production code=700-49
|airdate=[[November 19]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Astrotrain and Blitzwing depose Megatron and Starscream, then proceed to wreak havoc.'''

:''Japanese title:'' トリプル・チェンジャーの反乱 (''Triple Changer no Hanran'', "The Rebellion of the Triple Changers")
:''German'' Generation 2 ''title:'' "'''Der Aufstand'''" ("The Revolution")
:''Italian title:'' '''Triplice congiura''' ("Triple conspiracy")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TripleTakeover Mount Deceptimore.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Admit it. That is pretty cool.]]
[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] are using their weapons to carve their faces along with [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'s into a mountainside. They agree one of the faces doesn't belong, then decide to band together and overthrow Megatron. Flying back to base, Blitzwing and Astrotrain decide who should lead Megatron into the trap, one of them suggesting Starscream while the other counters how the [[Air Commander]] has constantly been attempting to become leader of the [[Decepticon]]s and failed. Starscream retorts as usual and says he will do it, and the other two gloat about manipulating him.

Starscream leads Megatron into the sewers, stating that a secret [[Autobot]] energy base is present there, but the doors close around them. Megatron recognizes it's a trap but gets frozen. Starscream gloats and tries to escape through a hatch but finds out that it's been locked by his "allies". This leaves Astrotrain and Blitzwing as joint Decepticon leaders.

[[Image:Tripletakeoverblitzwingcoach.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The Coach rivals Prowl, Jazz, and Ultra Magnus as "Best Sub-Commander ever".]]
Heading for a stadium, Blitzwing, in a display of great intelligence, drafts a football coach to be his [[second-in-command]] and demands tactical advice from him, keeping him stuffed in a locker when not needed. Blitzwing misinterprets the coach's suggestions of "zone defense" and "long bomb" and has the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] build a massive highway maze, then begins firing "long bombs" from the stadium into the surrounding city. [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] leads a group of Autobots to investigate, but they end up crashing into each other in the Constructicons' maze and getting mashed flat by Blitzwing in tank mode. Meanwhile, Astrotrain heads to a train station, where he "conscripts" the [[Astroforce]], human trains which are to be his army. He sends them into a tunnel to collect energy lines and convert them into [[Energon (fuel)|energon]]. It actually goes quite well for Astrotrain. The Astroforce? Not so much.

[[Image:TripleTakeover Astrotrain trashedroforce.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"You're embarrassing me in front of the guys!"]]
Meanwhile, [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] flies over the maze, where [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] has built himself a throne... made of Prowl, [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]], [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], and [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]. Guided by Powerglide from the air, [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] and [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] manage to rescue the Autobots, causing Blitzwing and Scrapper to crash into each other. At the train station, the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] come to see how Astrotrain is doing. To his credit, he has gotten a lot of [[energon cube]]s, but his Astroforce has somehow gotten off their tracks and into a knot. Astrotrain urges one of the trains to gather some energy from a gas main, but it turns out to be a water main, which floods the tunnel. Worse, it heads into the tunnel in which Megatron and Starscream are trapped. Online again, Megatron accuses Starscream of another attempt at treason and begins the customary throttling. Starscream maintains that he was tricked. The pair go in search of the two traitorous triple-changers.

[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] see the two Decepticons, only to be distracted by the water main flooding the city. Optimus rescues Spike after the boy is washed away, handing him off to Powerglide to take to safety. [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] uses his [[force field]] to push back the water, while Optimus and Ironhide seal the main. Heading for the station, Megatron and Starscream encounter Prime, who claims that he's looking for the real leaders of the Decepticons, implying it isn't the two of them. This really angers Megatron, who tries to kill the Autobot leader, but Prime escapes. Megatron leaves to put Astrotrain and Blitzwing in their place, while the Seekers watch and place bets on who will win. Optimus, however, is content to sit back and wait for the outcome.

At the stadium, the Constructicons demand a share of the power Blitzwing promised, but he refuses and tells them to go jump off a bridge. Bad idea, for the Constructicons form [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. The flood from the water main finally dies out at the stadium, depositing Astrotrain, who decides to scrap Blitzwing as well.

[[Image:Tripletakeoverautobotthrone.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Unfortunately, the "Seatmaster" line never really took off...]]

Megatron and Starscream arrive, and Megatron beats his would-be usurpers senseless, but Devastator knocks out Megatron, then turns his sights on the Air Commander. Starscream manages to dodge Devastator, then Megatron slams the giant. Megatron, Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Starscream, and Devastator then engage in a battle royale which sees Megatron emerge victorious. He decides to spare the traitors, saying the Decepticon cause is too important, but warns them never to betray him again.

As the Autobots look on, they're impressed that Prime knew that Megatron would handle the Decepticons for them. The previously injured Autobots form a throne for their commander to sit on, but Optimus Prime declares that he'd rather [[Roll out|roll]].

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (14)
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (15)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (16)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (17)
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (18)
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (19)
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (20)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (25)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (26)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (28)

|c2=
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (1)
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (2)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (3)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (4)
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (8)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (9)
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (10)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (11)
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (12)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (13)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (21)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (22)
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (23)
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (24)
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (29)

|c3=
*Football coach/second in command (5)
*Football players (6)
*Train conductor (7)
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (27)
}}

==Quotes==
"No planet ever lost its orbit underestimating the stupidity of Starscream."
:—'''Astrotrain'''

"Coach, it's a tank! What do I do?" 
"GIVE HIM THE BALL!"
:—A hapless '''football player''' and his '''coach''' meet Blitzwing.

"Tell me what's on your mind, or I'll splatter it on the wall and see for myself!"
:—'''Blitzwing''' to <s>the football coach</s> his second-in-command.

"Scrapper calling Blitzwing. What is the purpose of this highway maze you ordered us to build?" 
"It's a ''zone defense'', you ignorant fool!"
:—'''Blitzwing''' explains the perfectly obvious to '''Scrapper'''

"Scrapper, how big is our zone defense?" 
"Can't tell. All the others are lost in it! All I know is, it's ''big!''"
:—Decepticon "leader" '''Blitzwing''' and '''Scrapper'''

"Astrotrain couldn't lead rats to a garbage can."
''(Other Decepticons snicker)''
:—Astrotrain gets no respect from '''Thrust'''.

"''You'' led me into this trap!!" 
"I was tricked! The Triple Changers! They told me it was a power station!" 
"You are either lying, or you're ''stupid!''" 
"I'm stupid! I'm stupid!"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Starscream''' cut straight to the chase

''(Constructicons drive through scoreboard)'' 
'''Scrapper''': Victory is ours! 
'''Blitzwing''': What do you mean, ''ours''? You broke my scoreboard! 
'''Scrapper''': We built your maze. Now you keep your part of the bargain. 
'''Blitzwing''': What bargain? 
'''Scrapper''': You promised us a partnership in leading the Decepticons. 
'''Blitzwing''': Tell you what, guys. Why don't you go build a bridge...and ''jump off it''! 
'''Scrapper''': Constructicons... transform into Devastator! 
''(Constructicons form Devastator and advances menacingly on Blitzwing)'' 
'''Blitzwing''': Hey! No offense, big guy!
:—Blitzwing learns an important lesson: never shortchange the Decepticon team that can combine into a giant robot mode.

"Don't waste your time, Megatron. Incinerating you is of no interest to me. I'm looking for the leaders of the Decepticons." 
"''I'' am the Decepticon leader!" 
"You and Starscream are just a nuisance. A couple of metallic mosquitoes." 
"Mosquitoes?! Then feel my BITE!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' brilliantly manipulates '''Megatron'''.

'''Thundercracker''': I say Megatron will prevail! 
'''Thrust''': Three energon cubes says you're wrong! 
'''Thundercracker''': Make it four! 
'''Ramjet''': My money is on Devastator.
:—Who becomes new leader of the Decepticons? PLACE BETS NOW!

"Get this straight: ''I'' am Decepticon Leader. YOU are recyclable!"
:—'''Megatron''' disses Blitzwing and Astrotrain

"Megatron is a wimp!" 
"So is ''Starscream''!" 
:—'''Starscream''' finds that kissing up doesn't work so well on '''Devastator'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* The conspiracists' laser-sculpting is not very credible. Several shots in a row produce no effect, and then Megatron's face appears in the rock after one additional shot. The three Decepticons aren't even moving their arms as they shoot. They also keep firing after the four faces are already complete.
*As they fly in the beginning, Starscreams' chest is red when it should be white.
*As Starscream says, "I will get Megatron," Decepticon HQ is miscolored as white instead of purple.
* Starscream has only one wing emblem as he and Megatron walk through the sewer, and it's on right side up instead of the usual upside down.
*"Straight ahead, Megatron." Starscream's mouth isn't moving.
* Starscream's eyes are blue as Megatron yells at him for failing.
* When Blitzwing plows through the goal at the football stadium, the debris left behind vanishes in the next frame.
* Blitzwing's tank barrel is purple as he aims at the football player with the ball.
* Blitzwing's head is purple instead of yellow as the transforms after hitting the scoreboard.
* When Blitzwing grabs the football coach, the coach is yelling, "Okay! Okay....commander!", but ''Blitzwing'' is the one mouthing the words!
* The camera shot during whole conversation between Blitzwing and the Coach is strangely cropped, so that Blitzwing's head is cut off above the mouth.
* The train conductor makes the bizarre deduction that Astrotrain has no driver. Couldn't the driver just be on the other side of the cab, out of sight? Hard to tell, since Astrotrain's forward-facing windows are missing in the shot.
* Astrotrain rather flagrantly changes from all-purple to all-gray as he transforms.
* In the station, strange shot cropping again, as Astrotrain's head gets cut off for part of the shot.
* Astrotrain is missing his tail fin as he walks up to the trains. The trains have changed positions from where they were in the previous shot, when they were visible through the hole in the station wall.
* A line of Astrotrain's appears to have been cut between "Even soldiers need brains" and "Astrotrain can fix that". This was presumably an assessment that the trains have no brains.
* When Astrotrain wrests down a computer component to start work on his train army, the component vanishes as he rips out the engine. The vent he ripped off is still on the train a moment later. And for a brief moment afterward, it appears as if Astrotrain picks up thin air with his hands.
* The lockers that Blitzwing kicks open to stuff his "second in command" into are [[Scale|extremely huge]]. If one compares the size of the coach to one of those lockers, he would need to ''jump'' just to reach one of the handles.
* On that note, how ''exactly'' does Blitzwing kick the locker door open? By all rights, it should be a lump of scrap metal on the floor.
*The guy whose car falls off the bridge yells "Help!" in Spike's voice.
* Scrapper is seen scooping a load of dirt when he appears, but as he transforms, not only is the dirt gone, but he appears in an entirely different location.
* After the first commercial break, Blitzwing's cannon shots randomly change from having the Decepticon laser noise to Optimus Prime's rifle noise.
* As Blitzwing first runs over Prowl and Skids, the two Autobots have switched positions from where they were in the previous shot. Perhaps in an attempt by the colorists to fix this, their color schemes are switched.
* Blitzwing runs over Prowl and Skids twice from the same direction. The second time he runs over them with ''no'' sense of vertical motion, as if they were flat as paper. He couldn't possibly have crushed them ''that'' flat.
* For some reason, Astrotrain gets a red glowing effect as he transforms out of train mode in the tunnels.
* Despite Astrotrain's orders to do various things, the train just keeps doing the exact same thing over and over, courtesy of recycled animation.
* As the train backs up to bump into the pipe again, the glow effects of its headlights are floating in front of the headlights themselves.
* The Autobot throne changes quite a bit between shots. When we first see it, it's a lumpy pile of beat-up Autobots. When Hoist lassos it, it's mostly just Prowl and Skids, sitting back to back, undamaged. Prowl is even holding his gun!
* The side of Blitzwing's eyeband is white instead of red as Scrapper yells for help.
* Thrust is shown during Thundercracker's "Leader?! How do you figure that?" line.
* Thundercracker is colored as Starscream when the jets transform and land in the tunnel; not only is Starscream not part of the group, he is still frozen underground at this point.
* Two successive musical cues overlap for a second or two as the water comes bursting out of the tunnel.
[[Image:Tripletakeover megatron frozen.jpg|thumb|right|200px|]]
* When the water bursts in and frees Megatron and Starscream, Starscream is standing upright. When he froze, he was crouching by the exit hatch. In the same shot, Megatron is missing his Decepticon insignia.
* After they unfreeze, Megatron floats past the camera three times in a row.
*When Spike is washed away, Optimus yells "Spike!," but Peter Cullen uses Ironhide's voice.
*Also, the animation used for those shots is strangely distorted, making Spike looking like a child for a few moments.
*When he finds Spike, Optimus sort of transforms around him. In the next shot, Spike is in the driver's seat but there's no steering wheel. And when Powerglide lowers his ladder, Prime's trailer has a red stripe on it rather than a white one.
* The depth of the water varies all over the place. In one shot, Trailbreaker drives it away from a building, revealing several floors that were completely inundated; in another shot, it's almost to the top of a streetlamp. In other shots, it's shallow enough for the Autobots to wade through. In one scene, Optimus is wading through water up to his shoulders, yet when he transforms, it only comes up to his fenders.
* A huge pipe is shown breaking when Optimus first tries to fix the broken water main. The pipe that he and Ironhide repair later, however, just has a tiny little crack in it, nowhere near enough to flood a tunnel, let alone a whole city.
*Trailbreaker's forcefields are rainbow-colored rather than golden in this episode.
* Blitzwing's head is purple again (instead of yellow) as he chastises the Constructicons for breaking his scoreboard.
* Blitzwing is doing a strange little boogie before the Constructions smash his scoreboard, with electrical effects around his hand. It's not really clear what this is meant to be. Is it his endzone victory dance?
* Scrapper's cab roof is misdrawn during Blitzwing's "What bargain?" line.
* Megatron reaches off-screen during his confrontation with Optimus, and something electrical lights up; we never do see what it is, though.
*As Megatron and Starscream shoot at Optimus, Starascream suddenly shifts from behind Megatron to in front of him. This makes him look tiny for a moment.
* Megatron gets the standard Decepticon laser sound for his fusion cannon, layered on top of its normal sound effect.
* Someone mistook Prime's blinding headlights for a laser attack, and inserted his standard rifle sound effect a couple of times.
* Megatron's helmet is a shade lighter than the rest of him as he tells Starscream to shut up. It changes back to normal as they start walking off.
* Megatron is shown with foot thrusters as he and Starscream take off.
* Among the Decepticon jets following Prime to the stadium is an off-model Seeker (or maybe an off-model Blitzwing) colored like Astrotrain; this should be Thundercracker. The jets are flying extremely low; Thrust can't be more than 10 feet above the road.
* During the "Three energon cubes says you're wrong" profile shot, Thrust and Ramjet's color schemes are switched.
* As they fly toward Blitzwing's position, Ramjet and Thrust are flying alongside.... Blitzwing.
* As the Autobots stand on the building roof, the water lapping at the building's edge is drawn as though it were surf coming in on a flat beach; parts of it just drift right over the building parapet.
* The same scene is supposed to show Trailbreaker using his forcefield to push Astrotrain toward the stadium, but it's so badly drawn and edited that it's very easy to miss.
* Devastator and Blitzwing are almost the same size as they grapple.
* While Astrotrain and Blitzwing are grappling, Devastator stomps Astrotrain's train mode underfoot, crushing it flat. As Astrotrain is still grappling with Blitzwing in the next shot, it's not clear what this was supposed to be.
* Megatron's helmet is ''darker'' than the rest of his body as he says "Why not?" It changes to normal as Devastator picks him up.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:TripleTakeover Astroforce.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Astrotrain visits the railroad museum!]]
* Astrotrain reads the temperature in the trap room as "470 degrees below zero", but actual absolute zero is only 459 below zero (at least on the Fahrenheit scale, Astrotrain could conceivably be using some Cybertronian scale).
* A digital scoreboard wouldn't just add two points because it was hit by a flaming football.
*The coach is introduced commanding the team with the same colors as his own clothing, but by the time the game gets interrupted by Blitzwing, he's commanding the ''other'' team. Eh? It ''could'' be a scrimmage, which would explain the ''totally empty stadium'', but then why does the other team have its own uniforms with their own letter?
* The locomotives that Astrotrain recruits don't look like any locomotive that were operating in North America in 1985. They appear to be based on some of the experimental streamliner diesels from the 1930s, such as the [[:wikipedia: M-10000|Union Pacific's M-10000]] and the [[:wikipedia:Pioneer Zephyr|Burlington's ''Pioneer Zephyr'']]... all of which were scrapped or retired decades before. The only locomotive that was in use at the time resembles the [[:wikipedia: Pendolino|Italian ETR 401]].
* As Blitzwing is firing "long bombs" all over the place, isn't he the ''least'' bit concerned that he'll accidentally blow up the "zone defense" he's having the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] build?
* The bridge that Hoist repairs is clearly blown in half, yet once Hoist leaps into the river to shore up its supports, traffic keeps rolling across it.
* There's really no reason the Autobots couldn't have simply gone ''around'' the highway maze.
* The four Autobots are pretty much destroyed by Blitzwing. Bluestreak explodes, and chunks of him (and three of his tires) go flying in different directions. Prowl, Skids, and Tracks all crash explosively and are all crushed under Blitzwing's tank treads. Unsurprisingly, none of them are nearly so damaged when they show up again later.
* Scrapper doesn't react ''at all'' to two Autobots driving into his throne room; he just continues sitting there on the Autobot throne, chilling out.
* He does react to Smokescreen's smoke cloud, however...by breaking out into a coughing fit! It's not [[Roll for It|the first time]] that [[The_Gambler|robots]] have been shown [[Humanization|to cough]].
* Why would a water main be positioned so low that a train could hit it? Why would it be exposed in a tunnel at all?
* Whatever the reason, it's the most amazing water main in the whole history of forever. Within minutes, it floods a good deal of a city, at some points the water being as high as a multi-story building.
* Trailbreaker is just sitting there on the roof of a building, not doing anything, until Powerglide suggests doing something about the water.
*Somehow Spike is revived after being swept away by a flood and crushed under boulders by Optimus ''blowing air conditioning on him''.
* We never find out what this random building is that Megatron and Optimus both wander into, or why they're there. It kinda resembles an art museum, but there's no art. Whatever it is, it's built to the same huge scale as the football locker room; the Transformers have no trouble standing upright, and Optimus is last seen ''driving'' out the door.
* Despite what he says, Astrotrain doesn't ''have'' any score to settle with Blitzwing.
* Where is [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] while this coup attempt is going on?

===Continuity notes===
[[Image:TripleTakeover Skids.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Blink and you'll miss him! Unless you're Prowl, in which case you'll smash right into him.]]

* By this point in the series, Starscream's voice had gotten rather high-pitched, and this is one of the most notable instances.
* Gadgets and powers:
** Hoist unfolds an incredibly long length of telescoping crane to save a driver whose car ran into the river. No wonder they call him "Hoist"!
** Ironhide fires "supercool nitrogen" from his hand gun to patch the broken water main. It's a blue laser beam that solidifies as a dark blue substance.
** Trailbreaker's forcefields are rainbow-coloured. Pretty! He fires them from his gun arm [[Dinobot Island, Part 1|again]].
* This is the second and last time that Skids shows up in the Generation 1 cartoon. He has a completely different voice than he did in "[[Quest for Survival]]".
* Where's the trailer go?
** Prime's trailer rolls in from off-screen when he transforms during the flood, and rolls away again when he returns to robot mode.
** The trailer follows him ''everywhere''! Even when he transforms inside a random human building, the trailer comes rolling in!
* Scrapper making a throne from the trashed Autobots is based on his bio, which says he incorporates defeated Autobots into his works.
* Devastator makes his first willing attempt at usurping control of the Decepticons from Megatron and actually attacking his former leader, something that goes against previous character portrayals, in which he was shown as a loyal follower (particularly notable in "[[The Core]]". Also, how Megatron was able to defeat him is unknown, since the battle ended off-screen. (Earlier in the fight, Megatron's fusion cannon shots just bounced off him, so it's a big mystery.)
* '''[[Dinobot Island, Part 2|< <]]''' What makes Starscream the leader? Megatron's gotten himself frozen! Unfortunately, so has Starscream. '''[[Starscream's Brigade|> >]]'''

===Real-world references===
* The weirdly improbable face carving is, of course, an homage to [[:wikipedia:Mount Rushmore|Mount Rushmore]].
* Astrotrain's line about "No planet ever lost its orbit underestimating the stupidity of Starscream" is a paraphrase of a famous quotation by early 20th Century satirist and journalist [[:wikipedia:H. L. Mencken|H. L. Mencken]].
* ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
** Some ''Millennium Falcon'' engine rumble as the Seekers fly into the subway tunnel.
** The sliding door sound effect from the Death Star is used for the trains venting steam.
** More ''Falcon'' noise as Megatron and Starscream take off to attack Blitzwing.
** X-Wings diving, and faint TIE Fighter roar, as Megatron takes off from the stadium.

===Trivia===
[[Image:TripleTakeover Blitzwing coach.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"You're playing like the village idiot! You want people to think of you as the village idiot?"]]
* Blitzwing's takeover of a football stadium is nothing short of hilarious. First, he blasts right through the wall, and everybody continues on as if nothing happened. Then, when one of the football players ''finally'' notices a big tank turret aimed at his face, the coach's first order of action is to... tell him to give Blitzwing the ball. Wait.... '''''WHAT?!'''''
* In contrast, the conductor who appears when Astrotrain takes over the train station knows full well to hightail it and run when the latter reveals himself. Seeing as how everybody else just ''stood there'' despite him yelling for them to run for their lives, this officially makes him the only [[human]] in this entire ''episode'' with half a brain.
* For something that was extrapolated from a football coach's vague, irrelevant musings by a guy basically depicted as a moron throughout the episode, Blitzwing's strategy is surprisingly effective.
* Signs in the city: STAR Daster, Hotel, Kend.
* Final score: Visitors 0; Blitzwing 1,569!

==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. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/triple_takeover.html Dossier on the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]

Triple Takeover

2011-02-21T11:01:23Z

75.2.140.67: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|image=TripleTakeover Blitzwing Astrotrain stadium.jpg
|caption=In which we learn exactly why Megatron is in charge of the Decepticons.
|series=G1toon
|ep=50
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=39
|prev2=Kremzeek!
|next2=Child's Play (episode)
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=18
|next=Prime Target (episode)
|prev3=Kremzeek!
|next3=Starscream's Brigade
|title="Triple Takeover"
|written by=[[Larry Strauss]]
|production code=700-49
|airdate=[[November 19]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Astrotrain and Blitzwing depose Megatron and Starscream, then proceed to wreak havoc.'''

:''Japanese title:'' トリプル・チェンジャーの反乱 (''Triple Changer no Hanran'', "The Rebellion of the Triple Changers")
:''German'' Generation 2 ''title:'' "'''Der Aufstand'''" ("The Revolution")
:''Italian title:'' '''Triplice congiura''' ("Triple conspiracy")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TripleTakeover Mount Deceptimore.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Admit it. That is pretty cool.]]
[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] are using their weapons to carve their faces along with [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'s into a mountainside. They agree one of the faces doesn't belong, then decide to band together and overthrow Megatron. Flying back to base, Blitzwing and Astrotrain decide who should lead Megatron into the trap, one of them suggesting Starscream while the other counters how the [[Air Commander]] has constantly been attempting to become leader of the [[Decepticon]]s and failed. Starscream retorts as usual and says he will do it, and the other two gloat about manipulating him.

Starscream leads Megatron into the sewers, stating that a secret [[Autobot]] energy base is present there, but the doors close around them. Megatron recognizes it's a trap but gets frozen. Starscream gloats and tries to escape through a hatch but finds out that it's been locked by his "allies". This leaves Astrotrain and Blitzwing as joint Decepticon leaders.

[[Image:Tripletakeoverblitzwingcoach.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The Coach rivals Prowl, Jazz, and Ultra Magnus as "Best Sub-Commander ever".]]
Heading for a stadium, Blitzwing, in a display of great intelligence, drafts a football coach to be his [[second-in-command]] and demands tactical advice from him, keeping him stuffed in a locker when not needed. Blitzwing misinterprets the coach's suggestions of "zone defense" and "long bomb" and has the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] build a massive highway maze, then begins firing "long bombs" from the stadium into the surrounding city. [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] leads a group of Autobots to investigate, but they end up crashing into each other in the Constructicons' maze and getting mashed flat by Blitzwing in tank mode. Meanwhile, Astrotrain heads to a train station, where he "conscripts" the [[Astroforce]], human trains which are to be his army. He sends them into a tunnel to collect energy lines and convert them into [[Energon (fuel)|energon]]. It actually goes quite well for Astrotrain. The Astroforce? Not so much.

[[Image:TripleTakeover Astrotrain trashedroforce.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"You're embarrassing me in front of the guys!"]]
Meanwhile, [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] flies over the maze, where [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] has built himself a throne... made of Prowl, [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]], [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], and [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]. Guided by Powerglide from the air, [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] and [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] manage to rescue the Autobots, causing Blitzwing and Scrapper to crash into each other. At the train station, the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] come to see how Astrotrain is doing. To his credit, he has gotten a lot of [[energon cube]]s, but his Astroforce has somehow gotten off their tracks and into a knot. Astrotrain urges one of the trains to gather some energy from a gas main, but it turns out to be a water main, which floods the tunnel. Worse, it heads into the tunnel in which Megatron and Starscream are trapped. Online again, Megatron accuses Starscream of another attempt at treason and begins the customary throttling. Starscream maintains that he was tricked. The pair go in search of the two traitorous triple-changers.

[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] see the two Decepticons, only to be distracted by the water main flooding the city. Optimus rescues Spike after the boy is washed away, handing him off to Powerglide to take to safety. [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] uses his [[force field]] to push back the water, while Optimus and Ironhide seal the main. Heading for the station, Megatron and Starscream encounter Prime, who claims that he's looking for the real leaders of the Decepticons, implying it isn't the two of them. This really angers Megatron, who tries to kill the Autobot leader, but Prime escapes. Megatron leaves to put Astrotrain and Blitzwing in their place, while the Seekers watch and place bets on who will win. Optimus, however, is content to sit back and wait for the outcome.

At the stadium, the Constructicons demand a share of the power Blitzwing promised, but he refuses and tells them to go jump off a bridge. Bad idea, for the Constructicons form [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. The flood from the water main finally dies out at the stadium, depositing Astrotrain, who decides to scrap Blitzwing as well.

[[Image:Tripletakeoverautobotthrone.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Unfortunately, the "Seatmaster" line never really took off...]]

Megatron and Starscream arrive, and Megatron beats his would-be usurpers senseless, but Devastator knocks out Megatron, then turns his sights on the Air Commander. Starscream manages to dodge Devastator, then Megatron slams the giant. Megatron, Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Starscream, and Devastator then engage in a battle royale which sees Megatron emerge victorious. He decides to spare the traitors, saying the Decepticon cause is too important, but warns them never to betray him again.

As the Autobots look on, they're impressed that Prime knew that Megatron would handle the Decepticons for them. The previously injured Autobots form a throne for their commander to sit on, but Optimus Prime declares that he'd rather [[Roll out|roll]].

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (14)
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (15)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (16)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (17)
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (18)
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (19)
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (20)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (25)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (26)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (28)

|c2=
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (1)
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (2)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (3)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (4)
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (8)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (9)
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (10)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (11)
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (12)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (13)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (21)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (22)
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (23)
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (24)
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (29)

|c3=
*Football coach/second in command (5)
*Football players (6)
*Train conductor (7)
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (27)
}}

==Quotes==
"No planet ever lost its orbit underestimating the stupidity of Starscream."
:—'''Astrotrain'''

"Coach, it's a tank! What do I do?" 
"GIVE HIM THE BALL!"
:—A hapless '''football player''' and his '''coach''' meet Blitzwing.

"Tell me what's on your mind, or I'll splatter it on the wall and see for myself!"
:—'''Blitzwing''' to <s>the football coach</s> his second-in-command.

"Scrapper calling Blitzwing. What is the purpose of this highway maze you ordered us to build?" 
"It's a ''zone defense'', you ignorant fool!"
:—'''Blitzwing''' explains the perfectly obvious to '''Scrapper'''

"Scrapper, how big is our zone defense?" 
"Can't tell. All the others are lost in it! All I know is, it's ''big!''"
:—Decepticon "leader" '''Blitzwing''' and '''Scrapper'''

"Astrotrain couldn't lead rats to a garbage can."
''(Other Decepticons snicker)''
:—Astrotrain gets no respect from '''Thrust'''.

"''You'' led me into this trap!!" 
"I was tricked! The Triple Changers! They told me it was a power station!" 
"You are either lying, or you're ''stupid!''" 
"I'm stupid! I'm stupid!"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Starscream''' cut straight to the chase

''(Constructicons drive through scoreboard)'' 
'''Scrapper''': Victory is ours! 
'''Blitzwing''': What do you mean, ''ours''? You broke my scoreboard! 
'''Scrapper''': We built your maze. Now you keep your part of the bargain. 
'''Blitzwing''': What bargain? 
'''Scrapper''': You promised us a partnership in leading the Decepticons. 
'''Blitzwing''': Tell you what, guys. Why don't you go build a bridge...and ''jump off it''! 
'''Scrapper''': Constructicons... transform into Devastator! 
''(Constructicons form Devastator and advances menacingly on Blitzwing)'' 
'''Blitzwing''': Hey! No offense, big guy!
:—Blitzwing learns an important lesson: never shortchange the Decepticon team that can combine into a giant robot mode.

"Don't waste your time, Megatron. Incinerating you is of no interest to me. I'm looking for the leaders of the Decepticons." 
"''I'' am the Decepticon leader!" 
"You and Starscream are just a nuisance. A couple of metallic mosquitoes." 
"Mosquitoes?! Then feel my BITE!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' brilliantly manipulates '''Megatron'''.

'''Thundercracker''': I say Megatron will prevail! 
'''Thrust''': Three energon cubes says you're wrong! 
'''Thundercracker''': Make it four! 
'''Ramjet''': My money is on Devastator.
:—Who becomes new leader of the Decepticons? PLACE BETS NOW!

"Get this straight: ''I'' am Decepticon Leader. YOU are recyclable!"
:—'''Megatron''' disses Blitzwing and Astrotrain

"Megatron is a wimp!" 
"So is ''Starscream''!" 
:—'''Starscream''' finds that kissing up doesn't work so well on '''Devastator'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* The conspiracists' laser-sculpting is not very credible. Several shots in a row produce no effect, and then Megatron's face appears in the rock after one additional shot. The three Decepticons aren't even moving their arms as they shoot. They also keep firing after the four faces are already complete.
*As they fly in the beginning, Starscreams' chest is red when it should be white.
*As Starscream says, "I will get Megatron," Decepticon HQ is miscolored as white instead of purple.
* Starscream has only one wing emblem as he and Megatron walk through the sewer, and it's on right side up instead of the usual upside down.
*"Straight ahead, Megatron." Starscream's mouth isn't moving.
* Starscream's eyes are blue as Megatron yells at him for failing.
* When Blitzwing plows through the goal at the football stadium, the debris left behind vanishes in the next frame.
* Blitzwing's tank barrel is purple as he aims at the football player with the ball.
* Blitzwing's head is purple instead of yellow as the transforms after hitting the scoreboard.
* When Blitzwing grabs the football coach, the coach is yelling, "Okay! Okay....commander!", but ''Blitzwing'' is the one mouthing the words!
* The camera shot during whole conversation between Blitzwing and the Coach is strangely cropped, so that Blitzwing's head is cut off above the mouth.
* The train conductor makes the bizarre deduction that Astrotrain has no driver. Couldn't the driver just be on the other side of the cab, out of sight? Hard to tell, since Astrotrain's forward-facing windows are missing in the shot.
* Astrotrain rather flagrantly changes from all-purple to all-gray as he transforms.
* In the station, strange shot cropping again, as Astrotrain's head gets cut off for part of the shot.
* Astrotrain is missing his tail fin as he walks up to the trains. The trains have changed positions from where they were in the previous shot, when they were visible through the hole in the station wall.
* A line of Astrotrain's appears to have been cut between "Even soldiers need brains" and "Astrotrain can fix that". This was presumably an assessment that the trains have no brains.
* When Astrotrain wrests down a computer component to start work on his train army, the component vanishes as he rips out the engine. The vent he ripped off is still on the train a moment later. And for a brief moment afterward, it appears as if Astrotrain picks up thin air with his hands.
* The lockers that Blitzwing kicks open to stuff his "second in command" into are [[Scale|extremely huge]]. If one compares the size of the coach to one of those lockers, he would need to ''jump'' just to reach one of the handles.
* On that note, how ''exactly'' does Blitzwing kick the locker door open? By all rights, it should be a lump of scrap metal on the floor.
*The guy whose car falls off the bridge yells "Help!" in Spike's voice.
* Scrapper is seen scooping a load of dirt when he appears, but as he transforms, not only is the dirt gone, but he appears in an entirely different location.
* After the first commercial break, Blitzwing's cannon shots randomly change from having the Decepticon laser noise to Optimus Prime's rifle noise.
* As Blitzwing first runs over Prowl and Skids, the two Autobots have switched positions from where they were in the previous shot. Perhaps in an attempt by the colorists to fix this, their color schemes are switched.
* Blitzwing runs over Prowl and Skids twice from the same direction. The second time he runs over them with ''no'' sense of vertical motion, as if they were flat as paper. He couldn't possibly have crushed them ''that'' flat.
* For some reason, Astrotrain gets a red glowing effect as he transforms out of train mode in the tunnels.
* Despite Astrotrain's orders to do various things, the train just keeps doing the exact same thing over and over, courtesy of recycled animation.
* As the train backs up to bump into the pipe again, the glow effects of its headlights are floating in front of the headlights themselves.
* The Autobot throne changes quite a bit between shots. When we first see it, it's a lumpy pile of beat-up Autobots. When Hoist lassos it, it's mostly just Prowl and Skids, sitting back to back, undamaged. Prowl is even holding his gun!
* The side of Blitzwing's eyeband is white instead of red as Scrapper yells for help.
* Thrust is shown during Thundercracker's "Leader?! How do you figure that?" line.
* Thundercracker is colored as Starscream when the jets transform and land in the tunnel; not only is Starscream not part of the group, he is still frozen underground at this point.
* Two successive musical cues overlap for a second or two as the water comes bursting out of the tunnel.
[[Image:Tripletakeover megatron frozen.jpg|thumb|right|200px|]]
* When the water bursts in and frees Megatron and Starscream, Starscream is standing upright. When he froze, he was crouching by the exit hatch. In the same shot, Megatron is missing his Decepticon insignia.
* After they unfreeze, Megatron floats past the camera three times in a row.
*When Spike is washed away, Optimus yells "Spike!," but Peter Cullen uses Ironhide's voice.
*Also, the animation used for those shots is strangely distorted, making Spike looking like a child for a few moments.
*When he finds Spike, Optimus sort of transforms around him. In the next shot, Spike is in the driver's seat but there's no steering wheel. And when Powerglide lowers his ladder, Prime's trailer has a red stripe on it rather than a white one.
* The depth of the water varies all over the place. In one shot, Trailbreaker drives it away from a building, revealing several floors that were completely inundated; in another shot, it's almost to the top of a streetlamp. In other shots, it's shallow enough for the Autobots to wade through. In one scene, Optimus is wading through water up to his shoulders, yet when he transforms, it only comes up to his fenders.
* A huge pipe is shown breaking when Optimus first tries to fix the broken water main. The pipe that he and Ironhide repair later, however, just has a tiny little crack in it, nowhere near enough to flood a tunnel, let alone a whole city.
*Trailbreaker's forcefields are rainbow-colored rather than golden in this episode.
* Blitzwing's head is purple again (instead of yellow) as he chastises the Constructicons for breaking his scoreboard.
* Blitzwing is doing a strange little boogie before the Constructions smash his scoreboard, with electrical effects around his hand. It's not really clear what this is meant to be. Is it his endzone victory dance?
* Scrapper's cab roof is misdrawn during Blitzwing's "What bargain?" line.
* Megatron reaches off-screen during his confrontation with Optimus, and something electrical lights up; we never do see what it is, though.
*As Megatron and Starscream shoot at Optimus, Starascream suddenly shifts from behind Megatron to in front of him. This makes him look tiny for a moment.
* Megatron gets the standard Decepticon laser sound for his fusion cannon, layered on top of its normal sound effect.
* Someone mistook Prime's blinding headlights for a laser attack, and inserted his standard rifle sound effect a couple of times.
* Megatron's helmet is a shade lighter than the rest of him as he tells Starscream to shut up. It changes back to normal as they start walking off.
* Megatron is shown with foot thrusters as he and Starscream take off.
* Among the Decepticon jets following Prime to the stadium is an off-model Seeker (or maybe an off-model Blitzwing) colored like Astrotrain; this should be Thundercracker. The jets are flying extremely low; Thrust can't be more than 10 feet above the road.
* During the "Three energon cubes says you're wrong" profile shot, Thrust and Ramjet's color schemes are switched.
* As they fly toward Blitzwing's position, Ramjet and Thrust are flying alongside.... Blitzwing.
* As the Autobots stand on the building roof, the water lapping at the building's edge is drawn as though it were surf coming in on a flat beach; parts of it just drift right over the building parapet.
* The same scene is supposed to show Trailbreaker using his forcefield to push Astrotrain toward the stadium, but it's so badly drawn and edited that it's very easy to miss.
* Devastator and Blitzwing are almost the same size as they grapple.
* While Astrotrain and Blitzwing are grappling, Devastator stomps Astrotrain's train mode underfoot, crushing it flat. As Astrotrain is still grappling with Blitzwing in the next shot, it's not clear what this was supposed to be.
* Megatron's helmet is ''darker'' than the rest of his body as he says "Why not?" It changes to normal as Devastator picks him up.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:TripleTakeover Astroforce.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Astrotrain visits the railroad museum!]]
* Astrotrain reads the temperature in the trap room as "470 degrees below zero", but actual absolute zero is only 459 below zero (at least on the Fahrenheit scale, Astrotrain could conceivably be using some Cybertronian scale).
* A digital scoreboard wouldn't just add two points because it was hit by a flaming football.
*The coach is introduced commanding the team with the same colors as his own clothing, but by the time the game gets interrupted by Blitzwing, he's commanding the ''other'' team. Eh? It ''could'' be a scrimmage, which would explain the ''totally empty stadium'', but then why does the other team have its own uniforms with their own letter?
* The locomotives that Astrotrain recruits don't look like any locomotive that were operating in North America in 1985. They appear to be based on some of the experimental streamliner diesels from the 1930s, such as the [[:wikipedia: M-10000|Union Pacific's M-10000]] and the [[:wikipedia:Pioneer Zephyr|Burlington's ''Pioneer Zephyr'']]... all of which were scrapped or retired decades before. The only locomotive that was in use at the time resembles the [[:wikipedia: Pendolino|Italian ETR 401]].
* As Blitzwing is firing "long bombs" all over the place, isn't he the ''least'' bit concerned that he'll accidentally blow up the "zone defense" he's having the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] build?
* The bridge that Hoist repairs is clearly blown in half, yet once Hoist leaps into the river to shore up its supports, traffic keeps rolling across it.
* There's really no reason the Autobots couldn't have simply gone ''around'' the highway maze.
* The four Autobots are pretty much destroyed by Blitzwing. Bluestreak explodes, and chunks of him (and three of his tires) go flying in different directions. Prowl, Skids, and Tracks all crash explosively and are all crushed under Blitzwing's tank treads. Unsurprisingly, none of them are nearly so damaged when they show up again later.
* Scrapper doesn't react ''at all'' to two Autobots driving into his throne room; he just continues sitting there on the Autobot throne, chilling out.
* He does react to Smokescreen's smoke cloud, however...by breaking out into a coughing fit! It's not [[Roll for It|the first time]] that [[The_Gambler|robots]] have been shown [[Humanization|to cough]].
* Why would a water main be positioned so low that a train could hit it? Why would it be exposed in a tunnel at all?
* Whatever the reason, it's the most amazing water main in the whole history of forever. Within minutes, it floods a good deal of a city, at some points the water being as high as a multi-story building.
* Trailbreaker is just sitting there on the roof of a building, not doing anything, until Powerglide suggests doing something about the water.
* We never find out what this random building is that Megatron and Optimus both wander into, or why they're there. It kinda resembles an art museum, but there's no art. Whatever it is, it's built to the same huge scale as the football locker room; the Transformers have no trouble standing upright, and Optimus is last seen ''driving'' out the door.
* Despite what he says, Astrotrain doesn't ''have'' any score to settle with Blitzwing.
* Where is [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] while this coup attempt is going on?

===Continuity notes===
[[Image:TripleTakeover Skids.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Blink and you'll miss him! Unless you're Prowl, in which case you'll smash right into him.]]

* By this point in the series, Starscream's voice had gotten rather high-pitched, and this is one of the most notable instances.
* Gadgets and powers:
** Hoist unfolds an incredibly long length of telescoping crane to save a driver whose car ran into the river. No wonder they call him "Hoist"!
** Ironhide fires "supercool nitrogen" from his hand gun to patch the broken water main. It's a blue laser beam that solidifies as a dark blue substance.
** Trailbreaker's forcefields are rainbow-coloured. Pretty! He fires them from his gun arm [[Dinobot Island, Part 1|again]].
* This is the second and last time that Skids shows up in the Generation 1 cartoon. He has a completely different voice than he did in "[[Quest for Survival]]".
* Where's the trailer go?
** Prime's trailer rolls in from off-screen when he transforms during the flood, and rolls away again when he returns to robot mode.
** The trailer follows him ''everywhere''! Even when he transforms inside a random human building, the trailer comes rolling in!
* Scrapper making a throne from the trashed Autobots is based on his bio, which says he incorporates defeated Autobots into his works.
* Devastator makes his first willing attempt at usurping control of the Decepticons from Megatron and actually attacking his former leader, something that goes against previous character portrayals, in which he was shown as a loyal follower (particularly notable in "[[The Core]]". Also, how Megatron was able to defeat him is unknown, since the battle ended off-screen. (Earlier in the fight, Megatron's fusion cannon shots just bounced off him, so it's a big mystery.)
* '''[[Dinobot Island, Part 2|< <]]''' What makes Starscream the leader? Megatron's gotten himself frozen! Unfortunately, so has Starscream. '''[[Starscream's Brigade|> >]]'''

===Real-world references===
* The weirdly improbable face carving is, of course, an homage to [[:wikipedia:Mount Rushmore|Mount Rushmore]].
* Astrotrain's line about "No planet ever lost its orbit underestimating the stupidity of Starscream" is a paraphrase of a famous quotation by early 20th Century satirist and journalist [[:wikipedia:H. L. Mencken|H. L. Mencken]].
* ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
** Some ''Millennium Falcon'' engine rumble as the Seekers fly into the subway tunnel.
** The sliding door sound effect from the Death Star is used for the trains venting steam.
** More ''Falcon'' noise as Megatron and Starscream take off to attack Blitzwing.
** X-Wings diving, and faint TIE Fighter roar, as Megatron takes off from the stadium.

===Trivia===
[[Image:TripleTakeover Blitzwing coach.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"You're playing like the village idiot! You want people to think of you as the village idiot?"]]
* Blitzwing's takeover of a football stadium is nothing short of hilarious. First, he blasts right through the wall, and everybody continues on as if nothing happened. Then, when one of the football players ''finally'' notices a big tank turret aimed at his face, the coach's first order of action is to... tell him to give Blitzwing the ball. Wait.... '''''WHAT?!'''''
* In contrast, the conductor who appears when Astrotrain takes over the train station knows full well to hightail it and run when the latter reveals himself. Seeing as how everybody else just ''stood there'' despite him yelling for them to run for their lives, this officially makes him the only [[human]] in this entire ''episode'' with half a brain.
* For something that was extrapolated from a football coach's vague, irrelevant musings by a guy basically depicted as a moron throughout the episode, Blitzwing's strategy is surprisingly effective.
* Signs in the city: STAR Daster, Hotel, Kend.
* Final score: Visitors 0; Blitzwing 1,569!

==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. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/triple_takeover.html Dossier on the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]

Triple Takeover

2011-02-21T10:57:42Z

75.2.140.67: /* Animation or technical glitches */

{{episode
|image=TripleTakeover Blitzwing Astrotrain stadium.jpg
|caption=In which we learn exactly why Megatron is in charge of the Decepticons.
|series=G1toon
|ep=50
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=39
|prev2=Kremzeek!
|next2=Child's Play (episode)
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=18
|next=Prime Target (episode)
|prev3=Kremzeek!
|next3=Starscream's Brigade
|title="Triple Takeover"
|written by=[[Larry Strauss]]
|production code=700-49
|airdate=[[November 19]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Astrotrain and Blitzwing depose Megatron and Starscream, then proceed to wreak havoc.'''

:''Japanese title:'' トリプル・チェンジャーの反乱 (''Triple Changer no Hanran'', "The Rebellion of the Triple Changers")
:''German'' Generation 2 ''title:'' "'''Der Aufstand'''" ("The Revolution")
:''Italian title:'' '''Triplice congiura''' ("Triple conspiracy")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TripleTakeover Mount Deceptimore.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Admit it. That is pretty cool.]]
[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] are using their weapons to carve their faces along with [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'s into a mountainside. They agree one of the faces doesn't belong, then decide to band together and overthrow Megatron. Flying back to base, Blitzwing and Astrotrain decide who should lead Megatron into the trap, one of them suggesting Starscream while the other counters how the [[Air Commander]] has constantly been attempting to become leader of the [[Decepticon]]s and failed. Starscream retorts as usual and says he will do it, and the other two gloat about manipulating him.

Starscream leads Megatron into the sewers, stating that a secret [[Autobot]] energy base is present there, but the doors close around them. Megatron recognizes it's a trap but gets frozen. Starscream gloats and tries to escape through a hatch but finds out that it's been locked by his "allies". This leaves Astrotrain and Blitzwing as joint Decepticon leaders.

[[Image:Tripletakeoverblitzwingcoach.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The Coach rivals Prowl, Jazz, and Ultra Magnus as "Best Sub-Commander ever".]]
Heading for a stadium, Blitzwing, in a display of great intelligence, drafts a football coach to be his [[second-in-command]] and demands tactical advice from him, keeping him stuffed in a locker when not needed. Blitzwing misinterprets the coach's suggestions of "zone defense" and "long bomb" and has the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] build a massive highway maze, then begins firing "long bombs" from the stadium into the surrounding city. [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] leads a group of Autobots to investigate, but they end up crashing into each other in the Constructicons' maze and getting mashed flat by Blitzwing in tank mode. Meanwhile, Astrotrain heads to a train station, where he "conscripts" the [[Astroforce]], human trains which are to be his army. He sends them into a tunnel to collect energy lines and convert them into [[Energon (fuel)|energon]]. It actually goes quite well for Astrotrain. The Astroforce? Not so much.

[[Image:TripleTakeover Astrotrain trashedroforce.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"You're embarrassing me in front of the guys!"]]
Meanwhile, [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] flies over the maze, where [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] has built himself a throne... made of Prowl, [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]], [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], and [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]. Guided by Powerglide from the air, [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] and [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] manage to rescue the Autobots, causing Blitzwing and Scrapper to crash into each other. At the train station, the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] come to see how Astrotrain is doing. To his credit, he has gotten a lot of [[energon cube]]s, but his Astroforce has somehow gotten off their tracks and into a knot. Astrotrain urges one of the trains to gather some energy from a gas main, but it turns out to be a water main, which floods the tunnel. Worse, it heads into the tunnel in which Megatron and Starscream are trapped. Online again, Megatron accuses Starscream of another attempt at treason and begins the customary throttling. Starscream maintains that he was tricked. The pair go in search of the two traitorous triple-changers.

[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] see the two Decepticons, only to be distracted by the water main flooding the city. Optimus rescues Spike after the boy is washed away, handing him off to Powerglide to take to safety. [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] uses his [[force field]] to push back the water, while Optimus and Ironhide seal the main. Heading for the station, Megatron and Starscream encounter Prime, who claims that he's looking for the real leaders of the Decepticons, implying it isn't the two of them. This really angers Megatron, who tries to kill the Autobot leader, but Prime escapes. Megatron leaves to put Astrotrain and Blitzwing in their place, while the Seekers watch and place bets on who will win. Optimus, however, is content to sit back and wait for the outcome.

At the stadium, the Constructicons demand a share of the power Blitzwing promised, but he refuses and tells them to go jump off a bridge. Bad idea, for the Constructicons form [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. The flood from the water main finally dies out at the stadium, depositing Astrotrain, who decides to scrap Blitzwing as well.

[[Image:Tripletakeoverautobotthrone.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Unfortunately, the "Seatmaster" line never really took off...]]

Megatron and Starscream arrive, and Megatron beats his would-be usurpers senseless, but Devastator knocks out Megatron, then turns his sights on the Air Commander. Starscream manages to dodge Devastator, then Megatron slams the giant. Megatron, Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Starscream, and Devastator then engage in a battle royale which sees Megatron emerge victorious. He decides to spare the traitors, saying the Decepticon cause is too important, but warns them never to betray him again.

As the Autobots look on, they're impressed that Prime knew that Megatron would handle the Decepticons for them. The previously injured Autobots form a throne for their commander to sit on, but Optimus Prime declares that he'd rather [[Roll out|roll]].

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (14)
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (15)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (16)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (17)
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (18)
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (19)
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (20)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (25)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (26)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (28)

|c2=
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (1)
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (2)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (3)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (4)
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (8)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (9)
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (10)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (11)
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (12)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (13)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (21)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (22)
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (23)
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (24)
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (29)

|c3=
*Football coach/second in command (5)
*Football players (6)
*Train conductor (7)
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (27)
}}

==Quotes==
"No planet ever lost its orbit underestimating the stupidity of Starscream."
:—'''Astrotrain'''

"Coach, it's a tank! What do I do?" 
"GIVE HIM THE BALL!"
:—A hapless '''football player''' and his '''coach''' meet Blitzwing.

"Tell me what's on your mind, or I'll splatter it on the wall and see for myself!"
:—'''Blitzwing''' to <s>the football coach</s> his second-in-command.

"Scrapper calling Blitzwing. What is the purpose of this highway maze you ordered us to build?" 
"It's a ''zone defense'', you ignorant fool!"
:—'''Blitzwing''' explains the perfectly obvious to '''Scrapper'''

"Scrapper, how big is our zone defense?" 
"Can't tell. All the others are lost in it! All I know is, it's ''big!''"
:—Decepticon "leader" '''Blitzwing''' and '''Scrapper'''

"Astrotrain couldn't lead rats to a garbage can."
''(Other Decepticons snicker)''
:—Astrotrain gets no respect from '''Thrust'''.

"''You'' led me into this trap!!" 
"I was tricked! The Triple Changers! They told me it was a power station!" 
"You are either lying, or you're ''stupid!''" 
"I'm stupid! I'm stupid!"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Starscream''' cut straight to the chase

''(Constructicons drive through scoreboard)'' 
'''Scrapper''': Victory is ours! 
'''Blitzwing''': What do you mean, ''ours''? You broke my scoreboard! 
'''Scrapper''': We built your maze. Now you keep your part of the bargain. 
'''Blitzwing''': What bargain? 
'''Scrapper''': You promised us a partnership in leading the Decepticons. 
'''Blitzwing''': Tell you what, guys. Why don't you go build a bridge...and ''jump off it''! 
'''Scrapper''': Constructicons... transform into Devastator! 
''(Constructicons form Devastator and advances menacingly on Blitzwing)'' 
'''Blitzwing''': Hey! No offense, big guy!
:—Blitzwing learns an important lesson: never shortchange the Decepticon team that can combine into a giant robot mode.

"Don't waste your time, Megatron. Incinerating you is of no interest to me. I'm looking for the leaders of the Decepticons." 
"''I'' am the Decepticon leader!" 
"You and Starscream are just a nuisance. A couple of metallic mosquitoes." 
"Mosquitoes?! Then feel my BITE!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' brilliantly manipulates '''Megatron'''.

'''Thundercracker''': I say Megatron will prevail! 
'''Thrust''': Three energon cubes says you're wrong! 
'''Thundercracker''': Make it four! 
'''Ramjet''': My money is on Devastator.
:—Who becomes new leader of the Decepticons? PLACE BETS NOW!

"Get this straight: ''I'' am Decepticon Leader. YOU are recyclable!"
:—'''Megatron''' disses Blitzwing and Astrotrain

"Megatron is a wimp!" 
"So is ''Starscream''!" 
:—'''Starscream''' finds that kissing up doesn't work so well on '''Devastator'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* The conspiracists' laser-sculpting is not very credible. Several shots in a row produce no effect, and then Megatron's face appears in the rock after one additional shot. The three Decepticons aren't even moving their arms as they shoot. They also keep firing after the four faces are already complete.
*As they fly in the beginning, Starscreams' chest is red when it should be white.
*As Starscream says, "I will get Megatron," Decepticon HQ is miscolored as white instead of purple.
* Starscream has only one wing emblem as he and Megatron walk through the sewer, and it's on right side up instead of the usual upside down.
*"Straight ahead, Megatron." Starscream's mouth isn't moving.
* Starscream's eyes are blue as Megatron yells at him for failing.
* When Blitzwing plows through the goal at the football stadium, the debris left behind vanishes in the next frame.
* Blitzwing's tank barrel is purple as he aims at the football player with the ball.
* Blitzwing's head is purple instead of yellow as the transforms after hitting the scoreboard.
* When Blitzwing grabs the football coach, the coach is yelling, "Okay! Okay....commander!", but ''Blitzwing'' is the one mouthing the words!
* The camera shot during whole conversation between Blitzwing and the Coach is strangely cropped, so that Blitzwing's head is cut off above the mouth.
* The train conductor makes the bizarre deduction that Astrotrain has no driver. Couldn't the driver just be on the other side of the cab, out of sight? Hard to tell, since Astrotrain's forward-facing windows are missing in the shot.
* Astrotrain rather flagrantly changes from all-purple to all-gray as he transforms.
* In the station, strange shot cropping again, as Astrotrain's head gets cut off for part of the shot.
* Astrotrain is missing his tail fin as he walks up to the trains. The trains have changed positions from where they were in the previous shot, when they were visible through the hole in the station wall.
* A line of Astrotrain's appears to have been cut between "Even soldiers need brains" and "Astrotrain can fix that". This was presumably an assessment that the trains have no brains.
* When Astrotrain wrests down a computer component to start work on his train army, the component vanishes as he rips out the engine. The vent he ripped off is still on the train a moment later. And for a brief moment afterward, it appears as if Astrotrain picks up thin air with his hands.
* The lockers that Blitzwing kicks open to stuff his "second in command" into are [[Scale|extremely huge]]. If one compares the size of the coach to one of those lockers, he would need to ''jump'' just to reach one of the handles.
* On that note, how ''exactly'' does Blitzwing kick the locker door open? By all rights, it should be a lump of scrap metal on the floor.
*The guy whose car falls off the bridge yells "Help!" in Spike's voice.
* Scrapper is seen scooping a load of dirt when he appears, but as he transforms, not only is the dirt gone, but he appears in an entirely different location.
* After the first commercial break, Blitzwing's cannon shots randomly change from having the Decepticon laser noise to Optimus Prime's rifle noise.
* As Blitzwing first runs over Prowl and Skids, the two Autobots have switched positions from where they were in the previous shot. Perhaps in an attempt by the colorists to fix this, their color schemes are switched.
* Blitzwing runs over Prowl and Skids twice from the same direction. The second time he runs over them with ''no'' sense of vertical motion, as if they were flat as paper. He couldn't possibly have crushed them ''that'' flat.
* For some reason, Astrotrain gets a red glowing effect as he transforms out of train mode in the tunnels.
* Despite Astrotrain's orders to do various things, the train just keeps doing the exact same thing over and over, courtesy of recycled animation.
* As the train backs up to bump into the pipe again, the glow effects of its headlights are floating in front of the headlights themselves.
* The Autobot throne changes quite a bit between shots. When we first see it, it's a lumpy pile of beat-up Autobots. When Hoist lassos it, it's mostly just Prowl and Skids, sitting back to back, undamaged. Prowl is even holding his gun!
* The side of Blitzwing's eyeband is white instead of red as Scrapper yells for help.
* Thrust is shown during Thundercracker's "Leader?! How do you figure that?" line.
* Thundercracker is colored as Starscream when the jets transform and land in the tunnel; not only is Starscream not part of the group, he is still frozen underground at this point.
* Two successive musical cues overlap for a second or two as the water comes bursting out of the tunnel.
[[Image:Tripletakeover megatron frozen.jpg|thumb|right|200px|]]
* When the water bursts in and frees Megatron and Starscream, Starscream is standing upright. When he froze, he was crouching by the exit hatch. In the same shot, Megatron is missing his Decepticon insignia.
* After they unfreeze, Megatron floats past the camera three times in a row.
*When Spike is washed away, Optimus yells "Spike!," but Peter Cullen uses Ironhide's voice.
*Also, the animation used for those shots is strangely distorted, making Spike looking like a child for a few moments.
*When he finds Spike, Optimus sort of transforms around him. In the next shot, Spike is in the driver's seat but there's no steering wheel. And when Powerglide lowers his ladder, Prime's trailer has a red stripe on it rather than a white one.
* The depth of the water varies all over the place. In one shot, Trailbreaker drives it away from a building, revealing several floors that were completely inundated; in another shot, it's almost to the top of a streetlamp. In other shots, it's shallow enough for the Autobots to wade through. In one scene, Optimus is wading through water up to his shoulders, yet when he transforms, it only comes up to his fenders.
* A huge pipe is shown breaking when Optimus first tries to fix the broken water main. The pipe that he and Ironhide repair later, however, just has a tiny little crack in it, nowhere near enough to flood a tunnel, let alone a whole city.
*Trailbreaker's forcefields are rainbow-colored rather than golden in this episode.
* Blitzwing's head is purple again (instead of yellow) as he chastises the Constructicons for breaking his scoreboard.
* Blitzwing is doing a strange little boogie before the Constructions smash his scoreboard, with electrical effects around his hand. It's not really clear what this is meant to be. Is it his endzone victory dance?
* Scrapper's cab roof is misdrawn during Blitzwing's "What bargain?" line.
* Megatron reaches off-screen during his confrontation with Optimus, and something electrical lights up; we never do see what it is, though.
*As Megatron and Starscream shoot at Optimus, Starascream suddenly shifts from behind Megatron to in front of him. This makes him look tiny for a moment.
* Megatron gets the standard Decepticon laser sound for his fusion cannon, layered on top of its normal sound effect.
* Someone mistook Prime's blinding headlights for a laser attack, and inserted his standard rifle sound effect a couple of times.
* Megatron's helmet is a shade lighter than the rest of him as he tells Starscream to shut up. It changes back to normal as they start walking off.
* Megatron is shown with foot thrusters as he and Starscream take off.
* Among the Decepticon jets following Prime to the stadium is an off-model Seeker (or maybe an off-model Blitzwing) colored like Astrotrain; this should be Thundercracker. The jets are flying extremely low; Thrust can't be more than 10 feet above the road.
* During the "Three energon cubes says you're wrong" profile shot, Thrust and Ramjet's color schemes are switched.
* As they fly toward Blitzwing's position, Ramjet and Thrust are flying alongside.... Blitzwing.
* As the Autobots stand on the building roof, the water lapping at the building's edge is drawn as though it were surf coming in on a flat beach; parts of it just drift right over the building parapet.
* The same scene is supposed to show Trailbreaker using his forcefield to push Astrotrain toward the stadium, but it's so badly drawn and edited that it's very easy to miss.
* Devastator and Blitzwing are almost the same size as they grapple.
* While Astrotrain and Blitzwing are grappling, Devastator stomps Astrotrain's train mode underfoot, crushing it flat. As Astrotrain is still grappling with Blitzwing in the next shot, it's not clear what this was supposed to be.
* Megatron's helmet is ''darker'' than the rest of his body as he says "Why not?" It changes to normal as Devastator picks him up.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:TripleTakeover Astroforce.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Astrotrain visits the railroad museum!]]
* Astrotrain reads the temperature in the trap room as "470 degrees below zero", but actual absolute zero is only 459 below zero (at least on the Fahrenheit scale, Astrotrain could conceivably be using some Cybertronian scale).
* A digital scoreboard wouldn't just add two points because it was hit by a flaming football.
*The coach is introduced commanding the team with the same colors as his own clothing, but by the time the game gets interrupted by Blitzwing, he's commanding the ''other'' team. Eh? It ''could'' be a scrimmage, which would explain the ''totally empty stadium'', but then why does the other team have its own uniforms with their own letter?
* The locomotives that Astrotrain recruits don't look like any locomotive that were operating in North America in 1985. They appear to be based on some of the experimental streamliner diesels from the 1930s, such as the [[:wikipedia: M-10000|Union Pacific's M-10000]] and the [[:wikipedia:Pioneer Zephyr|Burlington's ''Pioneer Zephyr'']]... all of which were scrapped or retired decades before. The only locomotive that was in use at the time resembles the [[:wikipedia: Pendolino|Italian ETR 401]].
* As Blitzwing is firing "long bombs" all over the place, isn't he the ''least'' bit concerned that he'll accidentally blow up the "zone defense" he's having the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] build?
* The bridge that Hoist repairs is clearly blown in half, yet once Hoist leaps into the river to shore up its supports, traffic keeps rolling across it.
* There's really no reason the Autobots couldn't have simply gone ''around'' the highway maze.
* The four Autobots are pretty much destroyed by Blitzwing. Bluestreak explodes, and chunks of him (and three of his tires) go flying in different directions. Prowl, Skids, and Tracks all crash explosively and are all crushed under Blitzwing's tank treads. Unsurprisingly, none of them are nearly so damaged when they show up again later.
* Scrapper doesn't react ''at all'' to two Autobots driving into his throne room; he just continues sitting there on the Autobot throne, chilling out.
* He does react to Smokescreen's smoke cloud, however...by breaking out into a coughing fit! It's not [[Roll for It|the first time]] that robots have been shown [[Humanization|to cough]].
* Why would a water main be positioned so low that a train could hit it? Why would it be exposed in a tunnel at all?
* Whatever the reason, it's the most amazing water main in the whole history of forever. Within minutes, it floods a good deal of a city, at some points the water being as high as a multi-story building.
* Trailbreaker is just sitting there on the roof of a building, not doing anything, until Powerglide suggests doing something about the water.
* We never find out what this random building is that Megatron and Optimus both wander into, or why they're there. It kinda resembles an art museum, but there's no art. Whatever it is, it's built to the same huge scale as the football locker room; the Transformers have no trouble standing upright, and Optimus is last seen ''driving'' out the door.
* Despite what he says, Astrotrain doesn't ''have'' any score to settle with Blitzwing.
* Where the hell is [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] while this coup attempt is going on?

===Continuity notes===
[[Image:TripleTakeover Skids.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Blink and you'll miss him! Unless you're Prowl, in which case you'll smash right into him.]]

* By this point in the series, Starscream's voice had gotten rather high-pitched, and this is one of the most notable instances.
* Gadgets and powers:
** Hoist unfolds an incredibly long length of telescoping crane to save a driver whose car ran into the river. No wonder they call him "Hoist"!
** Ironhide fires "supercool nitrogen" from his hand gun to patch the broken water main. It's a blue laser beam that solidifies as a dark blue substance.
** Trailbreaker's forcefields are rainbow-coloured. Pretty! He fires them from his gun arm [[Dinobot Island, Part 1|again]].
* This is the second and last time that Skids shows up in the Generation 1 cartoon. He has a completely different voice than he did in "[[Quest for Survival]]".
* Where's the trailer go?
** Prime's trailer rolls in from off-screen when he transforms during the flood, and rolls away again when he returns to robot mode.
** The trailer follows him ''everywhere''! Even when he transforms inside a random human building, the trailer comes rolling in!
* Scrapper making a throne from the trashed Autobots is based on his bio, which says he incorporates defeated Autobots into his works.
* Devastator makes his first willing attempt at usurping control of the Decepticons from Megatron and actually attacking his former leader, something that goes against previous character portrayals, in which he was shown as a loyal follower (particularly notable in "[[The Core]]". Also, how Megatron was able to defeat him is unknown, since the battle ended off-screen. (Earlier in the fight, Megatron's fusion cannon shots just bounced off him, so it's a big mystery.)
* '''[[Dinobot Island, Part 2|< <]]''' What makes Starscream the leader? Megatron's gotten himself frozen! Unfortunately, so has Starscream. '''[[Starscream's Brigade|> >]]'''

===Real-world references===
* The weirdly improbable face carving is, of course, an homage to [[:wikipedia:Mount Rushmore|Mount Rushmore]].
* Astrotrain's line about "No planet ever lost its orbit underestimating the stupidity of Starscream" is a paraphrase of a famous quotation by early 20th Century satirist and journalist [[:wikipedia:H. L. Mencken|H. L. Mencken]].
* ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
** Some ''Millennium Falcon'' engine rumble as the Seekers fly into the subway tunnel.
** The sliding door sound effect from the Death Star is used for the trains venting steam.
** More ''Falcon'' noise as Megatron and Starscream take off to attack Blitzwing.
** X-Wings diving, and faint TIE Fighter roar, as Megatron takes off from the stadium.

===Trivia===
[[Image:TripleTakeover Blitzwing coach.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"You're playing like the village idiot! You want people to think of you as the village idiot?"]]
* Blitzwing's takeover of a football stadium is nothing short of hilarious. First, he blasts right through the wall, and everybody continues on as if nothing happened. Then, when one of the football players ''finally'' notices a big tank turret aimed at his face, the coach's first order of action is to... tell him to give Blitzwing the ball. Wait.... '''''WHAT?!'''''
* In contrast, the conductor who appears when Astrotrain takes over the train station knows full well to hightail it and run when the latter reveals himself. Seeing as how everybody else just ''stood there'' despite him yelling for them to run for their lives, this officially makes him the only [[human]] in this entire ''episode'' with half a brain.
* For something that was extrapolated from a football coach's vague, irrelevant musings by a guy basically depicted as a moron throughout the episode, Blitzwing's strategy is surprisingly effective.
* Signs in the city: STAR Daster, Hotel, Kend.
* Final score: Visitors 0; Blitzwing 1,569!

==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. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/triple_takeover.html Dossier on the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]