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Convoy (episode)

2011-03-06T00:42:26Z

81.153.139.56: /* Real-world references */

{{disambig2|the ''Prime'' episode|the Japanese name and rank|Convoy}}
{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 9
|prev=Con Job
|next=Deus ex Machina
|image=TFP Convoy highway hijack.jpg
|caption=Ain't it a beautiful sight?
|title="Convoy"
|airdate=[[March 4]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Joseph Kuhr]]
|directed by=[[Todd Waterman]]
|animation studio=[[Digitalscape]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''The Autobots assist Fowler with transporting a nuclear device.'''

==Synopsis==
The Autobots get an angry call from [[William Fowler|Fowler]]. His plane's been shot down while transporting the hi-tech [[Dynamic Nuclear Generation System]], a volatile nuclear device, and he needs help in completing his mission. [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus]] says that using the [[ground bridge]] to transport it would be too dangerous, so instead they'll have to take it by road. They soon have it loaded into a trailer which Prime starts hauling, with [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] and [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] as an escort. Fowler's disappointed he doesn't get to drive. [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] and the kids monitor their journey from [[Autobot Outpost Omega-1|base]].

Optimus is irritated by Fowler's enthusiasm with the horn. Unknown to any of them, the convoy is being observed by a helicopter. Fowler and Optimus are discussing whether there was any evil on Earth before the Decepticons came, when they spot the helicopter, which Fowler believes is a [[Decepticon]]. Five green sportscars move in on the convoy, but Optimus warns everyone to maintain their cover and stay in vehicle mode. Ratchet's surprised that they're not showing up on his sensors. All is made clear when one of the cars draws level with Optimus's cab, and a masked human aims a gun at Fowler. Optimus orders the other Autobots to use non-lethal force only. Bumblebee knocks one of the cars, flipping it over, but another drives up alongside Optimus. One of the masked goons climbs onto Optimus and starts attempting to sever the trailer. After Prime knocks the car off the mountainside road, Fowler climbs out and grabs the masked goon, but loses him before he can start the interrogation.

The fellow in the helicopter makes contact over the walkie and introduces himself as [[Silas]], part of the [[MECH]] organization, who intend to steal the D.N.G.S. for their own use. One of the cars pulls up behind Optimus and the MECH goons blow the trailer's back door open, only for [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] to jump out in motorcycle mode and flip their car, causing it to explode. While Optimus warns Fowler not to take Silas lightly (due to [[Megatron (Prime)|personal experience]]), Ratchet informs them they're nearing the rendezvous point.

On the ''[[Nemesis (Prime)|Nemesis]]'', [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] has intercepted the communications, and [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] sends a bunch of [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] to join the party.

The Autobots reach the rendezvous point and duck into a rail tunnel alongside a train. Bulkhead seals off the incoming end. A short time later, they and the train emerge from the other end of the tunnel, and Silas continues to follow the Autobots. As luck would have it, the Vehicons take this opportunity to appear and open fire on the convoy. The Autobots avoid getting hit, but Prime's trailer is shaken loose and explodes. The Vehicons transform and move in, forcing Optimus to inform Fowler that they're going to have to break cover to survive. Silas observes the fight and notes that the rumors he's heard of living technology are true. He lets Fowler know that he's aware the D.N.G.S. was transferred onto the train while the Autobots were in the tunnel, and the helicopter moves off to intercept the cargo. Unfortunately, while Fowler's giving Optimus the bad news, the Autobot leader takes a tree trunk to the face and falls off a nearby cliff.

The kids have a frantic discussion about a plan B. [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]]'s in favor of Ratchet ground-bridging the kids onto the train so they can fight the MECH goons. With [[Raf Esquivel|Raf's]] help, [[Jack Darby|Jack]] and Miko are soon on the train. As the MECH helicopter tries to land on top of the train, Raf flips a point switch to make the train go off along another line. In response, the helicopter's pilot hacks Raf's laptop, causing it to short out. On the second try, the helicopter lands atop the carriage the D.N.G.S. is in, and the MECH guys start cutting through the carriage roof.

Not far away, the Autobots continue their fight with the Vehicons. Optimus comes around and sees the train in trouble.

Miko and Jack grab weapons, which they wave at the MECH guys when the ceiling's opened. Back in the chopper, Silas spots Optimus running alongside and sounds a retreat. As the helicopter heads away, he fires a missile and takes out the track ahead of the train. Due to Raf's laptop being out of commission, Ratchet no longer has the train's coordinates and can't bridge the kids out. They prepare to jump, but Optimus zooms past, grabs the front of the train and brings it to a halt in the nick of time. Hovering in the helicopter nearby, Silas promises that next time the playing field will be leveled. Optimus reports back to Ratchet that the kids and the D.N.G.S. are safe, but notes that a new player has entered the game...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (2)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (3)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (4)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (8)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (9)

|c2=
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (12)
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (13)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (14)

|c3=
*[[William Fowler]] (1)
*[[Jack Darby]] (5)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (6)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (7)
*[[MECH]] goons (10)
*[[Silas]] (11)

}}

==Quotes==
"Ah-ah, no need, Agent Fowler. I will handle the driving." 
"It's going to be a long trip."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' lets '''Agent Fowler''' in on his no-touch policy.

"How about some radio? You seem like a Nashville sound kinda guy."
:—'''Agent Fowler''' to '''Optimus Prime'''

"That's the one! The 'Con who shot me down! Who is he? Wingnut? Dingbat? Skyguy?"
:—'''Fowler''' shares some awesome Transformer name ideas.

"Gentlemen, stop their engines."
:—'''Silas'''

"Is that so? Tell me, Si, what's the market price for a D.N.G.S. these days?" 
"What makes you think we intend to sell it, Agent Fowler?"
:—'''Agent Fowler''' and '''Silas''' discussing the value of Fowler's Dingus.

"You want me to not only bridge you into a confined space, but one traveling at 90 miles per hour? I can't even count the number of things that can go wrong—mass displacement trauma, twisted limbs, metal burn!... Well, maybe not the last one."
:—'''Ratchet'''

"First rule of combat: Never leave the enemy with the spoils."
:—'''Silas'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===
* While Silas delivers his last line, the straps that cross his chest clip into each other.

===Continuity errors===
* NOT AN ERROR: Silas attempting to destroy the D.N.G.S. at the end of the episode. There's no indication he's aware of just how nasty that thing going up would be; when the decoy trailer goes up, the MECH pilot merely indicates there's no detectable radiation. If they knew about the five-state irradiation deal, they'd probably be just a ''wee'' bit more on edge and wondering why they weren't dead.
* The Autobots have a curious definition of "minimal force". During the short battle, they run two cars off the road, causing both to flip over, and blow up a third. The latter most likely killed the passengers. It's amazing the others came out unharmed, considering one was hanging out of the sunroof of his car at the time.

===Continuity notes===
*The plane Fowler was transporting the D.N.G.S. on is the same one he had in "[[Masters & Students]]". And he's ''still'' flying without any kind of pilot gear on. Dude is ''hard''.

===Transformers references===
*Optimus's trailer is adorned with the same paint scheme as his [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Generation 1 counterpart]]'s [[Combat Deck|trailer]].

===Foreign dubbing===

===Real-world references===
* This episode is the first in ''Transformers Prime'' to feature a reproduction of an actual real-world vehicle; the locomotive depicted hauling the 'Phase II' train is a very accurate model of a four-axle road-switcher model produced in London, Ontario by [[wikipedia:Electro-Motive_Diesel|Electro-Motive Diesel]]

===Trivia===
* As was previously featured in [[Darkness Rising, Part 4]], this episode features an Autobot transforming while carrying a human passenger. Fowler somehow ends up sitting in Optimus's hand rather than inside him, though.
* On board the train, Jack and Miko both pick a "weapon" of choice to face the MECH goons. Appropriately, Miko happens to take an axe, like she did [[Darkness Rising, Part 5|to face Soundwave's tentacle]], while Jack takes a fire extinguisher, like he did [[Scrapheap (episode)|a couple of episodes ago]].
* *snrk* ''Dingus''... seriously?
* This episode ''might'' imply that Jack has feelings for Miko.
** So far, however, it seems to be kinda one-sided.

==Home video releases==

==External links==

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Masters & Students

2011-03-05T20:03:04Z

81.153.139.56:

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 6
|prev=Darkness Rising, Part 5
|next=Scrapheap (episode)
|image=Masters&Students-SkyquakePrimefaceoff.jpg
|caption="One shall stand, one-" "Yeah yeah, 'one shall fall'. We've all heard it a million times now, Prime."
|title="Masters & Students"
|airdate=[[February 11]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[David Slack]]
|directed by=[[Todd Waterman]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''While Skyquake battles Optimus Prime, Starscream recovers the nearly dead Megatron.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Masters&Students-Nemesisbridgescreen.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Dateline: Nuremberg, 1933]]
[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] reviews the footage of [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]]'s destruction and decides to make a rousing speech to the [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]] troops. When one of the troops questions whether they have any chance of defeating the Autobots without Megatron, Starscream proclaims himself [[Emperor of Destruction]], but is disappointed with the less-than-enthusiastic response from his men. Starscream recalls that there is a [[Decepticon]] on the planet who is worthy to follow him.

[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] is unhappy about how their recent conflict turned out, as he had still hoped to convince Megatron that peace was possible. His conversation with [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] is interrupted by an explosion, but it's just [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]]'s volcano—the kids are working on their science projects with the help of their guardian [[Autobot]]s. Ratchet's annoyed about the whole matter, but Optimus thinks it's a good opportunity to learn more about Earth.

Hanging out near a canyon in the desert, [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] detects one of the many warriors left on Earth aeons ago to protect the [[energon (fuel)|energon]] deposits. He and Starscream head over to find the lost [[Decepticon]].

Raf and Bumblebee discuss 'Bee's lowly status in the Autobot army. Bumblebee aspires to become part of the warrior class, but Optimus says Bumblebee has much to learn before he can reach that rank. The base sensors detect the Decepticon activity in the desert, so Optimus decides to head out with Ratchet. Ratchet makes a quick excuse that he needs to help the kids with their projects, so Optimus takes Bumblebee instead.

[[Image:Masters&Students-Ratch-animator.jpg|thumb|right|250px|This is what happens when you give a giant alien robot sugar.]]
Starscream and Soundwave haul the warrior out of the ground and use an [[energon cube]] to revive him, revealing him to be none other than [[Skyquake (Prime)|Skyquake]]. Skyquake announces he still serves Megatron, and he doesn't take kindly to Starscream declaring himself leader. They're interrupted by Optimus, who's familiar with Skyquake from the [[Battle of Technar]]. Optimus tries to talk peace, but Starscream will only agree to a truce if Optimus bows to him. Skyquake's patience has run out, and, knocking Starscream aside, he charges Optimus. Starscream retires to a nearby clifftop with Soundwave and muses that all Decepticons will follow him once Skyquake destroys Prime while under his command. Optimus and Skyquake trade fire, but Bumblebee decides to take the initiative and attacks Skyquake as well. Starscream orders Soundwave to record it all. Optimus observes that Skyquake hasn't yet taken on a [[Alternate mode|vehicle mode]], so the two Autobots transform and fall back.

Meanwhile Ratchet is "helping" Raf build a volcano, in that's he's pretty much building it himself, and he intends to help Miko and Jack with their projects also.

Having lost sight of the combatants, Soundwave picks up a Decepticon signal from the location of the [[space bridge]] explosion. Starscream tries to dismiss it as a false signal, but realizes he has to investigate it to keep up appearances. He leaves Soundwave, who surreptitiously dispatches the [[Deployer (Prime)|Minicon]] from his chest to follow his master.

[[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] investigates the communications coming from the area. He arrives on the scene just as Optimus and Bumblebee have managed to knock Skyquake down, and the Decepticon [[Scanning|scans]] his hi-tech jet. Taking to the air, Skyquake strafes the Autobots below, only for Fowler to attack him in turn. Skyquake fires some heat-seeking missiles at the human, who manages to evade them.

[[Image:Masters&Students-BeeQuake.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"Well, look's like it's time to eject!" "Wait, what about me?!" "...bye!" *Skyquake crashes*]]

Starscream arrives at the space bridge debris and is disappointed to find Megatron floating in space. The Decepticon leader is barely sustained by a sliver of [[Dark Energon]], which Starscream rips from him. Starscream then spies Soundwave's drone and, realizing he's being watched, is forced to transport Megatron back to the sick bay on the ''[[Nemesis (Prime)|Nemesis]]''.

As the chase below continues, Bumblebee jumps onto Skyquake, who unsuccessfully tries to knock the Autobot off. Optimus asks for Fowler's help, as high above the desert, Bumblebee [[jet judo|rips pieces out of Skyquake]], sending the Decepticon into a crash dive. Fowler draws alongside so Bumblebee can jump aboard his jet before Skyquake crashes into the ground below. Optimus observes that had Skyquake chosen peace, they would not be burying him.

[[Image:Masters&Students-Megatronstasis.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Bendy straws slowly sucking the life out of him. Or bendy straws feeding him life. It's confusing.]]

Back at base, repairs on Bumblebee are complete, and Prime commends him on his performance. The kids arrive back with the news that Ratchet's science projects did not go down well; the Autobot Medic had built Miko a model of Cybertron rather then the solar system, Jack a flying saw, and Raf a volcano that blew a hole right through the school roof. Ratchet is disappointed.

On board the ''Nemesis'', the Decepticons have gotten Megatron into [[Stasis lock|stasis]], and Starscream ''sincerely'' hopes he gets better.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (5)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (6)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (8)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (10)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (12)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (2)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (3)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (4)
*[[Skyquake (Prime)|Skyquake]] (13)

|c3=
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (7)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (9)
*[[Jack Darby]] (11)
*[[William Fowler]] (14)

}}

==Quotes==
"If we failed to conquer Earth under Lord Megatron's command, what hope do we have now while the Autobots still defend it?" 
"Ah, allow me to be crystal clear: I studied for millennia under our former master, thus I am ''equipped'' to lead you—I, Megatron's true heir, Lord Starscream, [[Emperor of Destruction]]!" 
[''Vehicons murmur'']
:— The '''Vehicons''' find '''Starscream''' leaves a lot to be desired.

''[Holding up an exhaust pipe]'' "Maybe it needs one of these doohickeys..." 
"You're a motorcycle, Arcee. Shouldn't you know how to build a motorcycle engine?" 
"You're a human, Jack. Can you build me a small intestine?"
:— '''Arcee''' and '''Jack''' attempt to build a motorcycle

"Air superiority achieved!" 
:— '''Skyquake''' does an impression of [[Omega Supreme (Prime)|Omega Supreme]].

==Notes==
*'''Cameos''': School teachers (voice only)
===Animation or technical errors===
[[Image:MastersandStudents-Skyquakeunderjet.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Fowler's jet has this stuff too, but in gray.]]
*Fowler flies a jet without wearing a jumpsuit, helmet, or oxygen mask.
*Weirder still, Fowler's jet already has Skyquake's arms and legs attached as undercarriage. No wonder Skyquake wanted to scan it.
*Starscream finds Megatron in space because he hears Megatron gasping in pain. However, sound cannot travel in a vacuum. It could be excused as Megatron broadcasting via a radio transmission, but a short time later, Starscream is alerted to the presence of Soundwave's drone by the sound of it flying through space. Even more strange is that when Starscream talks in the explosion site, echoes can be heard.
*Bumblebee's optic sensors look different from the previous episodes, as if they are missing their central part.
*In the first shot when a Vehicon gets Starscream's attention during the latter's speech about the loss of Megatron, Starscream's image on the screen is seen turning in the opposite direction, as if giving his back to a camera. In the next sequence, the image on the screen is seen as if the camera were now at the same angle of the viewer.
* The close-up on Agent Fowler before Bumblebee jumps off his jet is the same used in the sequence where he says "I still got it", only mirrored.

===Continuity errors===
*Optimus claims Skyquake can't transform because he hasn't scanned a vehicle mode yet, but why doesn't he still have a Cybertronian mode?
*Soundwave is on the ground when Skyquake awakens, but is suddenly on top of the canyon behind them when Starscream retreats.

===Transformers references===
*Starscream styles himself "[[Emperor of Destruction]]", the title used in the Japanese continuities for the leader of the Decepticons.
*As described in ''[[Exodus: The Official History of the War for Cybertron|Exodus]]'', Ratchet's model of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] has [[Moonbase One|two]] [[Moonbase Two|moons]].

===Foreign dubbing===

===Real-world references===

===Trivia===
[[Image:Masters&Students upcloseandpersonal.jpg|thumb|250px|Seriously, it's not like fans need encouragement at this point.]]
*Starscream is ''very'' touchy-feely with Megatron's body at the site of the explosion. The writers walked right into ''that'' slash plot.
*Skyquake is, up to this point, the only 'bot to have a hand-held gun, as everyone else has guns that are either equipped to their wrists or transformed from their hands.
*Fowler's first name is mentioned onscreen for the first time. It had previously been revealed in the credits for "[[Darkness Rising, Part 3]]".
* This is the first in the series time that shows full intro is used. It has a slight resemblance to WFC game trailer.

==Home video releases==

==External links==

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masters and Students}}
[[Category:Prime episodes]]