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Chain of Command (BW)

2012-03-26T21:02:59Z

92.15.162.73:

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=5
|image=Coc getshorty.jpg
|caption=An armed society is a polite society.
|title="Chain of Command"
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[September 24]], 1996
|written by=[[Jesse Winfield]]
|directed by=[[Andrew Doucette]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
|packaged with=[[Cheetor (BW)/toys#Beast Wars Telemocha Series|Cheetus]]
}}
'''After Optimus Primal is abducted by an alien probe, the remaining Maximals must decide on a new leader.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Chain of Command Standing stones glow.jpg|left|200px|thumb|No wonder Stonehenge is popular.]]
The [[Maximal]]s detect an [[energon crystal]] under the [[wikipedia:cairn|cairn]] in the [[Standing Stones]]. [[Rattrap]] thinks it reeks of 'bait' and [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] notes that the [[energon]] on [[Earth|this planet]] isn't natural, as it does not conform to the planet's geology. The [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] attack, putting an end to the discussion. During the battle, [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] purposely fires directly on the buried energon crystal, causing it to destabilize. His prize now useless, [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] orders a retreat while the Maximals head for cover as it builds to overload. But instead of a debilitating [[energon wave]], it sends a signal to the stars, depleting the crystal's energy. With the Predacons gone and the energon reduced to dust, the bewildered Maximals return to base.

[[Image:Chain of Command Dinobot probe.jpg|right|200px|thumb|You are getting sleepy...]]
Later, an [[Vok probe|alien probe]] emerges from [[Transwarp|transwarp space]] and enters the atmosphere. The Predacons initially mistake it for a [[stasis pod]], but Rhinox immediately recognizes it as something else. Both sides head to intercept it at the Standing Stones. Optimus and [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] confront Megatron and [[Waspinator]], but when they transform and begin to battle, the probe puts out an energy burst that renders them unconscious and causes Primal to vanish into thin air.

A disoriented Dinobot awakens in the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'''s [[CR chamber]] and, seeing three angry Maximals standing over him, momentarily mistakes it for a [[Maximal Torture Chamber]]. The probe, as it turned out, somehow dumped Dinobot, Megatron and Waspinator outside of their respective bases. Believing Primal to be destroyed, Dinobot attempts to take command of the Maximals. Rhinox heads off a fight between Dinobot and Rattrap by insisting on a secret ballot, the traditional Maximal method for resolving such problems.

After the vote results in stalemate, with two votes for each contender, Dinobot giddily rebukes the shortcomings of their peaceful solution. He declares that he will break the tie by force and prepares to attack Rattrap. Before the fight can begin, they are contacted by Optimus Primal, who is ''not'' dead. Primal's body has been digitally stored, but his consciousness remains active within the probe. Optimus puts Rattrap in charge. Dinobot glares at him.

[[Image:Chain of Command Rhinox device.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"How's it going?" "Good, good". "...you just welded your hand to it didn't you?" "Yes, yes I did".]]
Megatron, also believing Primal dead, sends [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] and Waspinator to the Standing Stones while the other Predacons attack the Axalon. Dinobot fights Megatron one-on-one, ignoring Rattrap's order to disengage and reset the Axalon's failing [[shield circuitry]]. Rattrap scrambles and is able to restore the shields at the last moment. The Predacons retreat when Dinobot beats Megatron back, and Dinobot apologizes to Rattrap for not following his orders, affirming himself "dishonored". Dinobot's uncharacteristic deference and respect makes Rattrap uncomfortable, and he brushes it off.

[[Image:Chain of Command Maximals probe.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The Maximals prepare to fight [[Trukk not munky|G1 fanatics]].]]
The Maximals head to the Standing Stones with a device Rhinox has built to attempt to extract Optimus from the probe. The Predacons attack them at the Stones, Rhinox unloading his frustrations on Waspinator when his device malfunctions, blasting him to bits with his chaingun. Waspinator shorts out and comes in contact with one of the stones which activates, revealing the entire Standing Stones site is a single device. The probe opens in response, and Primal materializes. The Predacons retreat before his considerable firepower, but the probe dematerializes before the Maximals can decide what to do with it.

Optimus commends Rattrap on his performance as commander, though Rattrap is more than happy to hand the title back. The Maximals are left wondering what the probe's purpose was, and Rhinox ominously observes the [[Vok|aliens]] have learned they have the ability to reason... and of their destructive capabilities.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s
|c1=
* [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (1)
* [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (2)
* [[Rattrap]] (3)
* [[Optimus Primal/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] (4)
* [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (5)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s
|c2=
* [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (6)
* [[Waspinator]] (7)
* [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (8)
* [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] (9)
* [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] (10)

|c4=
* [[Vok probe]] (11)

}}

==Quotes==
"Hey power down! You're on our side now, remember?" 
"And Maximals don't have torture chambers! Though, you know... I could get behind that idea."
:—'''Cheetor''' and '''Rattrap''' to Dinobot

"Wait, stand by here! Who died and made you Prime, scaleface?"
:—'''Rattrap''' trying to show Dinobot who's boss.

"Megatron back! Megatron back! Scorponok alone with Tarantulas and Terrorsaur. Very ''bad!''"
:—'''Scorponok''' loses coherence under pressure.

"I know just how the weakling Maximals will response to Optimus's death. Confusion! Bickering! Recriminations! The perfect opportunity for a surprise attack."
:—'''Megatron''' deals with loss like a true villain.

"Ha ha, great system, your 'democracy.' No mechanism to break a tie!"
:—'''Dinobot''', who's actually a socialist, believe it or not.

"Make a device to extract physical molecular structure from an alien probe? Man, I've gotta be a miracle worker!"
:—'''Rhinox''', channeling Scottie

"You were selfless in putting that shield back online. I ought to have followed your command I... am dishonored." 
"Ehh.... next time."
:—'''Dinobot''' and an uncomfortable '''Rattrap'''

"But why would they want to know? And more importantly, who are they? Friends, enemies, or... something ''more''?"
:—'''Dinobot''', on the mysterious aliens

==Notes==
* The initial fight by the [[Standing Stones]] features shadow, a rare luxury in early ''Beast Wars'' episodes.
* Optimus Primal is reading late at night below the ''Axalon'' when the probe comes down, a rare quiet character moment.
* Megatron initially mistakes the alien probe for a Maximal stasis pod. Later episodes will show that a falling stasis pod is a big deal for both sides, as it gives them a chance to add a new member to their respective army.
* The Maximals are not entirely convinced Dinobot didn't off Primal himself for the job, as he attempted to 3 episodes prior.
* During the battle at the Maximal base, Megatron tries to gain the upper hand by ramming his face into Dinobot's airborne foot. Megatron clearly fails at this attempt and takes note to dodge easily evadable flying kicks in the future.
* [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] exhibits his "babbling" personality in this episode as, apparently, being left alone with the scheming Terrorsaur and Tarantulas while Megatron is undergoing major repairs makes him ''extremely'' nervous. Given Tarantulas's dietary habits, this might be understandable...
* This episode features the debut of Rhinox's "Chaingun of Doom" (occasionally called the "Chaingun of Command" after this episode) and possibly the start of Waspinator getting utterly butchered in almost every episode.
* It is fairly certain that Rhinox is the one who voted for Rattrap and Cheetor is the one who voted for Dinobot. Rhinox was clearly unpleasantly surprised by the second vote for Dinobot, and when Optimus tells them that Rattrap is in charge, Cheetor is seen visibly annoyed in the background while Rhinox pats Rattrap happily on the back.

===Animation and technical errors===
* If that's a solar eclipse in the opening shot, how come there's light coming from below the horizon?
* During the initial fight, as Waspinator and Terrorsaur swoop up towards Optimus, Terrorsaur's upper body distorts for a fraction of a second before the shot changes.
* Towards the end of the episode, Scorponok's missiles have a Predacon instead of a Maximal insignia.
* When Dinobot executes his flying kick, his foot actually passes through Megatron's head.

===Transformers references===
* The episode opens with the [[Planet Buster|second moon]] eclipsing the sun. The moon's unnatural nature will again be mentioned in "[[The Trigger, Part 1]]", and it plays a critical role in the season finale.
* The ongoing [[Vok]] storyline put in its first appearance since "[[Beast Wars (Part 2)]]", it will feature again in "[[The Trigger, Part 1]]". The Vok will not be named until the series is almost over.

===Real-world references===
* Rattrap makes a mention to "B-movies", a uniquely [[human]] concept.
* The "Standing Stones" resemble many European stone circles, of which [[wikipedia:Stonehenge|Stonehenge]] is the most famous. Most evidence points to Beast Wars not being set in Europe, however.

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La Disparition'''" ("The Disappearance")

:*''Title:'' "'''Disparition'''" ("Disappearance")

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Il passaggio del comando'''" ("The Passage of the Command")

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Kieta Convoy'''" (消えたコンボイ, "Convoy Disappeared")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 29|29 October]] [[1997]]

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Cadeia de Comando'''" ("Chain of Command")

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Cadena de Mando'''" (America, "Chain of Command")

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1996 — ''Beast Wars'' — A Feature Length Beasties Adventure ([[Alliance Atlantis|Alliance Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1996 — ''Robots-Bêtes'' — Une Adventure Cybernetique (Alliance Video) — French audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Disappeared ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars'' / ''Robots-Bêtes'' Three pack (Alliance Video) — Available in English or French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Beginning: Vol. 1 ([[Universal]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 2 ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Maximal Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — English and Japanese audio.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 1 ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete First Season (Rhinomation) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — Classic Episodes — Where the Beasties Began! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — The Complete First Season (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]
[[category:Beast Wars Telemocha Series]]
[[Category:Pack-in material]]

Equal Measures

2012-03-26T20:35:01Z

92.15.162.73:

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=4
|image=Equal Measures Cheetor darksyde.jpg
|caption=Later they discovered Cheetor was sitting on the self-destruct button.
|title="Equal Measures"
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[September 23]], 1996
|written by=[[Greg Johnson]]
|directed by=[[T.W. Peacocke]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
|packaged with=[[Cheetor (BW)/toys#Beast Wars 10th Anniversary|Cheetor]], [[Megatron (BW)/toys#Beast Wars Telemocha Series|Megatron]]
}}

'''Dinobot manipulates both Maximals and Predacons around a teleporter that Cheetor has unintentionally developed between both bases.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Optimus Primal/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] watches a bolt of lightning shatter a mountain, revealing a cache of [[energon]]. Because of the hazardous conditions, he radios to his team to abort their current operation. The storm garbles the transmission, though, preventing the other [[Maximal]]s from receiving it.

[[Image:Dinobotbulliescheetor.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Something we've seen all too often.]]
The mission involves energon monitoring devices designed by [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]], who has just gotten done building the last of them. Impatient to get going, [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] carelessly plays with one of [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]'s projects, a ''time bomb'', and accidentally drops it out the floor hatch... where it's caught by a returning Optimus, who reiterates his order for the mission to be scrubbed. Everyone's clearly upset over the development, not believing the storm to be that severe yet, but Primal is adamant; it'll have to wait until later. Dejected, everyone returns to quarters to wait out the storm.

In Cheetor's quarters, Dinobot meets with the cat-bot and endorses the mission being continued regardless of the danger from the weather and the energon. He points out that Primal clearly treats Cheetor like a child, even though with his speed, the cat-bot could easily outrun the storm and plant the devices before it hits. This appeal to vanity works, and Cheetor sneaks out to complete the mission.

[[Image:Equal Measures Cheetor monitoring device.jpg|right|200px|thumb|This wireless Broadband box is rubbish!]]
In the field, Cheetor plants survey apparatuses in quick succession, but a bolt of lightning causes the cat accidentally to plant one of the posts dangerously close to an energon vein. He tries to remove the device and correct his mistake, but in the middle of his struggle, a second lightning bolt hits, and he finds himself suddenly teleported — onto a control panel in the [[Darksyde|Predacon base]]!

[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] "welcomes" Cheetor and attacks the Maximal, but Cheetor grabs a hover-platform and tries to escape. After being knocked off the platform, Cheetor lunges at Terrorsaur and pushes the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] onto the control panel he'd just arrived on, causing Terrorsaur to vanish. [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] and [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] arrive and chase Cheetor around the Predacon base, but lose him in the ventilation shafts.

[[Image:Cheetorsurprised.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Shouldn't have had the vindaloo last night.]]
Meanwhile, Terrorsaur finds himself in the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' command center, where he's given a warm reception by Dinobot. However, the former Predacon is more concerned over how the pteranodon arrived, eventually working out that a freak combination of the survey devices, the storm, and the energon created a transporter link between the two bases. Using this to his advantage, Terrorsaur seems to convince Dinobot into forming an alliance, suggesting they scrap the Maximals, then take over the Predacons and rule together... until Dinobot drops the charade and unceremoniously flushes the Pred out of the ''Axalon'' through a waste disposal unit.

Back at the Predacon base, Cheetor continues to flee while avoiding fire from Waspinator. He sneaks away from the two long enough to hack the Predacons' data files, and determines that both bases sit on a common underground Energon vein, so an explosion at one base would cause a chain reaction that would obliterate both ships. Cheetor is discovered as soon as he downloads this data to a disk.

At the Maximal base, Optimus confronts Dinobot on Cheetor's whereabouts. Dinobot tells him about the link and how the cat-bot has "surely" been destroyed by now, but convinces him that they could use the link to annihilate the Predacon base with the bomb, a plan Primal only agrees to as long as the bomb's timer is set with enough time to allow the Preds to evacuate. Just as the bomb is sent, though, Cheetor tosses the disk with the energon vein data onto the console, transporting both items simultaneously.

[[Image:Crispyterrorsaur.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Would you like me original, or extra crispy?]]
The Predacons finally corner Cheetor, but the bomb has magnetically locked itself onto the Pred console, forcing Megatron to let him go so he can release it. With a few seconds left, Cheetor throws it up to Terrorsaur, who flies it out of the base (and is blown up with it), while Cheetor escapes through the link. The Predacons' errant shots destroy the console instead. Furthermore, his return trip to the ''Axalon'' shatters all of the survey posts he's planted, ensuring the link is severed for good.

Afterwards, Rhinox and [[Rattrap]] congratulate Cheetor's prevention of the Maximal base from being destroyed by their own explosive, while Dinobot is in a bad mood as usual and leaves—though Cheetor apparently didn't tell anyone that Dinobot talked him into the whole thing. Primal still commands Cheetor to take more care to obey direct orders. Cheetor says he will—except when he doesn't—and scampers off, leaving Optimus steamed up with Rhinox and Rattrap to have a jolly laugh. But Optimus figures out Cheetor was funny, and gets in the jolly laugh with Rhinox and Rattrap.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s
|c1=
*[[Optimus Primal/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] (1)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (2)
*[[Rattrap]] (3)
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (4)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (5)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s
|c2=
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (6)
*[[Waspinator]] (7)
*[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] (8)
*[[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (9)
}}

==Quotes==
"Defeating them does not mean we have to ''annihilate'' them. You seem to have trouble understanding that."
:—'''Optimus''' gently chides Dinobot for thinking like a Predacon.

"Shoulda known no Maximal'd be stupid enough to try anything on a day like this."
:—'''Terrorsaur''' underestimates the enemy again.

"Cheetor! Maximi— did that already."
:—'''Cheetor''' forgets that he already transformed.

"He's gone into the vents! You better report this to Megatron." 
"Me?! ''You're'' second-in-command!" 
"So make it an order!"
:—'''Scorponok''' and '''Waspinator''' establish the chain of command.

"Where'd he go?! Where'd ''I'' go?"
:—'''Terrorsaur''' realises he isn't in [[Kansas]] any more.

"Think of the cosmic magnificence. Together we'll overthrow these low-grade metal knock-offs you've joined, and then rule the Predacons with two iron fists! NOTHING CAN STOP US!"
:—'''Terrorsaur''' has such naive optimism.

"Hey! What are you doing? We're partners!" 
"In case you had not realized, Needlenose... I am ''not'' a team player."
:—'''Terrorsaur''', about to get launched over the horizon by '''Dinobot'''

"OK, OK, I'll never do that again! Until the next time."
:—'''Cheetor''' has learned nothing from this adventure.

==Notes==
* Dinobot is kind of a jerk this early on.
* And Cheetor needs obedience beat into him.
* And Rattrap just needs the snot beat ''out'' of him.
* This is the first episode where we get to hear Terrorsaur speak (Besides "Terrorsaur, terrorize!" that is).
* And natural Earth weather is ''extremely'' destructive. 2 bolts of lightning cause a mountain to implode.
* This episode marks the finalization of most of the Maximals' voices; Cheetor loses most of his whine, Rhinox gains a more expressive range, and Dinobot sounds a fair bit deeper.

===Animation and technical errors===
* The collapsing mountain at the beginning of the episode seems to be sucked into the Energon cache after being hit with lightning.
* When Optimus is tossing the time bomb in one hand, it really doesn't move convincingly.
* After Cheetor escapes from the vents, he falls to the ground and his right forehead chevron kind of "twangs" forward. In the next scene he's in, it's back to normal against his head.

===Continuity errors===
* A major plot point is that due to an energon vein running beneath both ships, the destruction of either Predacon or Maximal bases would destroy the other. This is never mentioned again and frequently contradicted due to the repeated explosions at both. While most of the planet's energon was stabilized by the start of Season 2 (and thus wouldn't be an issue), the plot of Season 1 episode "[[Victory (episode)|Victory]]" revolves around... a massive explosion at the Predacon base. Arguably, either side could have harvested some of the energon by then to sever the connection between the bases, but details like that were never really confirmed!

===Transformers references===
* When Cheetor appears before him, Terrorsaur greets him thus: "Welcome to the dark side!" The episode script reveals that this was simply Terrorsaur being dramatic. However, because [[fandom|Transformers fans]] can be ''incredibly'' literal, some fans speculatively latched on to the idea that Terrorsaur was welcoming Cheetor to the "''Dark Side''", supposedly giving the Predacon ship/base a proper name.
*This bit of [[fanon]] was made official by the video game ''[[Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals (N64)|Beast Wars Transmetals]]''. Years later, the ship's name was further codified by the [[BotCon 2006]] story "[[Dawn of Future's Past]]", which dodged [[trademark]] issues by giving it the intentional misspelling "[[Darksyde]]".
* This is what happens when fans are allowed to run things. Seriously.
* Curiously, at no point has anybody interpreted Dinobot's line as suggesting the Maximal base is meant to be called "Enemy Arms".
* Just before he drops him through the waste disposal unit, Dinobot insults Terrorsaur's beaky (and geeky) beast mode by calling him [[Needlenose]], who was a G1 Decepticon Double-Targetmaster.

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Dos à Dos'''" ("Back to Back")

:*''Title:'' "'''Dos à Dos'''" (Canada, "Back to Back")

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Pari opportunità per i Biocombat'''" ("Equal Opportunities for the Biocombats")

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Jigen Bakudan Tensō Sakusen!'''" (時限爆弾転送作戦!, "Operation: Time Bomb Transfer!")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 22|22 October]] [[1997]]

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Medidas Iguais'''" ("Equal Measures")

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Medidas Equitativas'''" (America, "Equal Measures")

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1997 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — Cheetus' Crisis ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Beginning: Vol. 1 ([[Universal]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 2 ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Maximal Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — English and Japanese audio.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 1 ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete First Season (Rhinomation) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — Classic Episodes — Where the Beasties Began! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — The Complete First Season (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]
[[Category:Beast Wars 10th Anniversary]]
[[category:Beast Wars Telemocha Series]]
[[Category:Pack-in material]]

The Web

2012-03-26T19:58:50Z

92.15.162.73:

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=3
|image=The Web Cheetorinweb.jpg
|caption=Cheetor trains to be a traffic warden.
|title="The Web"
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[September 18]], [[1996]]
|written by=[[Larry DiTillio]]
|directed by=[[C. Michael Easton]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
|packaged with=[[Rhinox (BW)#Beast Wars Telemocha Series|Rhinox]]
}}
'''While testing a new communications device, Cheetor runs into trouble.'''

==Synopsis==
At the [[Maximal]] base, [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] enthusiastically volunteers to field test a new comlink [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] has developed to aid long range communication. Cheetor is instructed to take care of the device and not engage any [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]. After Cheetor bolts out of the room, Rhinox expresses a bit of doubt, but [[Optimus Primal/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus]] is confident that he'll do fine.

[[Image:The Web Cheetor commsdevice.jpg|left|200px|thumb|The WWF likes to keep track of their animals.]]

Five [[units of length|microquads]] away, Cheetor hears an explosion, caused by [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] trying to recover a mega-cannon from one of the two ships. He radios a report to Optimus and heads off to investigate, openly defying his orders of avoiding any trouble. Primal leaves to recover Cheetor before something bad happens. Cheetor finds Scorponok and radios to Rhinox that he's going to take immediate action. He holds Scorponok at gunpoint, but [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] surprises Cheetor, giving Scorponok the time he needs to take him out with a missile. By the time Optimus arrives, the two Predacons are gone and Cheetor is left heavily damaged. As he lays unconscious, he dreams...

[[Image:The Web Cheetordream.jpg|right|200px|thumb|This would be so much cooler with a tight rope.]]
:''On [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]], [[Waspinator]], and [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] all open fire on Cheetor, who merely laughs at his attackers and blasts them away with ease. But from the darkness within an empty water tower, the glowing eyes of Tarantulas taunt Cheetor. He opens fire again, this time finding his accuracy sorely diminished. Suddenly Scorponok transforms and attacks, and out of the blue Rattrap appears for a split second. With his blaster exhausted, Cheetor is unable to do anything but watch as a missile from Scorponok closes in.''

Cheetor reawakens on the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'', having been repaired by Rhinox. Cheetor tries to explain to the Maximals gathered around him that he had to take immediate action to stop Scorponok's recovery of the cannon, but Optimus and the others are still disappointed in him for losing both the communicator and the cannon because of his impulsive actions. Once Primal leaves, [[Rattrap]] gives Cheetor a hard time, causing the cat bot to snarl back and rush out of the room again. Rhinox makes Rattrap face up to what Cheetor is surely going to do, so Rattrap relents and agrees to go after him.

In Predacon territory, Terrorsaur and Scorponok install the newly recovered mega-cannon. Cheetor tries to sneak past them, but is so focused on waiting for the correct moment that he doesn't notice Tarantulas emerge from the ground behind him, and is quickly ensnared.

[[Image:The Web Cheetor Tarantulas.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Hey, aren't you supposed to buy me dinner first?]]
Cheetor awakens in a dark cavern, stuck to an energy web that restricts his movement. Tarantulas explains to him that the [[stasis web]] is draining his energy slowly, leaving the delicious body ripe for consumption. Tarantulas crawls over his captive's body and laughs with delight at the thought of his meal.

In the ''Axalon'''s control room, Optimus, Rhinox, and [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] look over a holo-map of the [[Darksyde|crashed Predacon ship]]. Primal prepares to send Rattrap on a scouting mission, but Rhinox covers for his friend and says that the rat is talking to Cheetor.

Unknown to Optimus, Rattrap is already in Predacon territory, following Cheetor's trail. Rattrap finds Tarantulas's lair, and engages his Predacon nemesis. While the two battle, Tarantulas increases the rate at which the web drains energy from Cheetor. Tarantulas hunts Rattrap through the cavern with a thermal scan, but Rattrap fools him with a "hot box" and blasts the unfortunate spider.

[[Image:The Web Rattrap rescue.jpg|right|200px|thumb|You realise this means we're married?]]
After destroying the energy web, Rattrap grabs Cheetor and gets ready to leave, but one last blast from Tarantulas forces Rattrap to make his exit by diving away from a large explosion... which causes the cavern to collapse upon Tarantulas.

Back at the base, Rattrap lies to Optimus and claims he and Cheetor were just hanging out together. The act spares Cheetor from Primal's anger. In private, Rattrap emphasizes to Cheetor that he was only lying to cover his own hide... but Cheetor is still grateful to his pal.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
* [[Optimus Primal/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] (1)
* [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (2)
* [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (3)
* [[Rattrap]] (9)
* [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (10)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
* [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] (4)
* [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] (5)
* [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (6)
* [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (7)
* [[Waspinator]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==
"You know, that is why you mess up, kiddo. You don't have the sense to BE afraid." 
"OH, YEAH? I'll show you what I have the sense to do, motorhead! You and Big Bot!"
:—'''Rattrap''' and '''Cheetor''' trade manly quips.

"I don’t have any real blood, just mech fluid." 
"Oh, my filters will adjust. It is the act I enjoy more than the nourishment."
:—'''Cheetor''' finds out '''Tarantulas''' is one sick puppy.

"I hate that rat."
:—'''Tarantulas'''

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* There also seems to be a great deal of confusion as to what color Scorponok's eyes are supposed to be, changing between red and yellow intermittently.
* During Cheetor's first dream, as Megatron rapid-fires his purple lasers, the laser's own animation for leaving the gun doesn't appear, making it seem as if the gun's jammed.
* As Cheetor is held captive by Tarantulas, his energy readout clearly drops to dangerous levels, yet in the next few subsequent shots, the levels are at maximum.
** Compounding on this problem, in the shot ''directly after'' Tarantulas turns the energy web to full power, it's shown at half power again. Whoops.
* When Tarantulas gets blasted away by Rattrap, he's apparently missing a considerable chunk of his chest, because you can clearly see his exposed inner joints, and some weird distorted pieces around the them. It is as though his left breast turned inside out. Strangely, once he's done falling to the ground, his chest is normal again.
** Also in this shot, Tarantulas' gun clips though his left arm.
* In a similar case to Scorponok's eye color dilemma, Cheetor's eyes also very briefly turn reddish-brownish as he turns away from the others at the very end of the episode.

===Continuity notes===
* Cheetor wakes up after having been repaired by Rhinox, when generally the characters just emerge from a [[CR chamber]]. Based on this and the Maximals talking about the need for internal repairs in [[Beast Wars (Part 1)|the opening episode]], it appears they haven't got the chambers working yet.
* The Maximals have been stranded for at least a month (the time it took Rhinox to make the comlink). Either way, it becomes somewhat of a moot point in later episodes as the Maximals manage to communicate through interfaces on their bodies (Presumably, Rhinox upgraded them to compensate for the lost comlink.)
* The incredibly dangerous "mega-cannon" that is the focus of the early part of the episode is never mentioned again and the Maximals never seem to destroy it or even delay its installation.
*Optimus mentions that Rhinox doesn't have the parts to build another comlink. Even if it did work, he wouldn't have been able to make any more for the rest of the team.
* Tarantulas makes the first reference to the 'Inferno' (the Transformers version of Hell) in this episode. It's possible he was just talking about the subsequent Energy Web explosion, but unlikely.

===Transformers references===
* In Cheetor's dream, you can see [[Starscream (G1)| Starscream]] in his Earth vehicle mode flying over Cybertron for a few seconds: the [[Decepticon]] [[Insignia|sigil]] on his wing is the first direct Beast Wars reference to either the [[Autobot]]s or Decepticons.

* Cheetor's dream also contains a brief vision of Rattrap's rescue attempt before it actually happens. This is the first of several dreams, precognitive and otherwise, that Cheetor would have through the series.

*When Cheetor is knocked unconscious by Scorponok, his face bears a striking resemblance to his toy's, rather than his animation model's.

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La Toile'''" ("The Web")

:*''Title:'' "'''La Toile'''" (Canada, "The Web")

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La ragnatela'''" ("The Web")

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Cheetus no Kiki'''" (チータスの危機, "Cheetus's Crisis")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 15|15 October]] [[1997]]

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''W sieci'''" ("The Web")

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''A Teia'''" ("The Web")

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La telaraña'''" ("The Web")

:*''Title:'' "'''La Telaraña'''" (America, "The Web")

==Trivia==
* Being an early episode, Cheetor and the other characters pretty distinctly pronounce his name as "Cheater".
* Also as an early episode, the Maximals and Predacons both also still use human time units here and there. Their own [[units of time]] would not become more firmly established until later.
* Rattrap calls Tarantulas "eight eyes" even though his beast mode has nine.
* Scorponok's voice sounds extremely less childish in this episode than in the preceding one. This is the first of many more 'mature' voice changes throughout the series, intentional or otherwise.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1997 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — Cheetus' Crisis ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Beginning: Vol. 1 ([[Universal]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 1 ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Maximal Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — English and Japanese audio.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 1 ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete First Season (Rhinomation) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — Classic Episodes — Where the Beasties Began! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — The Complete First Season (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Web}}
[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]
[[category:Beast Wars Telemocha Series]]
[[Category:Pack-in material]]