MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Human Error, Part I

2010-11-02T20:15:04Z

97.89.131.42: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|series2=AniJapan
|image=TFA Human Error Part 1 Automen.jpg
|caption=''Humans Animated'' is a very popular show on Cybertron.
|ep=37
|ep2=34
|prev2=Predacons Rising
|next2=Human Error, Part II
|title="Human Error, Part I"
|airdate=[[April 18]], 2009
|written by=[[Henry Gilroy]]
|directed by=[[Kalvin Lee]] [[Christopher Berkeley]] [[Naoto Hashimoto]]
|animation studio=[[Mook]]
}}
'''With the Christmas season upon them, the Autobots are not quite themselves following a run-in with Porter C. Powell's new mass-produced Soundwave action figures.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Powell Soundwave.jpg|thumb|left|180px|He's actually worse than [[wikipedia:Vince Offer|Vince Offer]].]]
It's [[Christmas]] in Detroit, but [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] is not in a festive mood. The hottest toy of the year is [[Sound Wave]], being marketed by [[Porter C. Powell]], who acquired the schematics and patent when he ran [[Sumdac Systems]]. Observing a commercial for the new toy, Optimus notices one of the small robots running across the plaza near the trains. Trying to follow it, he is nearly run over by a train and finally decides that he may be obsessing.

At the plant, [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] are interested in what they got for Christmas, but [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]] tells them that [[Santa Claus]] will know if they try to peek. As the two help Sari decorate, a Sound Wave toy breaks out of the present and does something to the [[oilnog]] that Sari made for the Autobots. The toy is barely able to hide as Optimus, [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], and [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] weigh in on Santa's ability to deliver presents to all the children. Sari tells them to just accept the holiday magic and be thankful for what they have, like family, leading to a toast of the spiked oil. Soon, the Autobots all begin to feel tired and decide to call it a night, as Sari heads back to [[Sumdac Tower]].

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Optimus Human.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Who would want to be a human in ''Transformers''? The [[Fandom|fans]] all hate them.]]
The next morning, Optimus wakes up, still woozy, and discovers something frightening: his hands are made of flesh! Falling off his bed in shock, Prime's eyes fall upon a mirror, and he discovers the horrifying truth—He's become a human! Optimus hears Bumblebee and Bulkhead cry out, and discovers that all the other Autobots are human as well. Optimus is convinced that there must be a reason, but a few scans by Ratchet are unable to determine the cause of the change. Looking for Prowl, the Autobots head outside, where they find the ninja is mostly at home with the situation, except he feels that something is wrong. Since they're unable to contact Sari, the Autobots decide to [[roll out|<s>roll ou—</s>]] er, walk to Sumdac Tower.

[[Image:TFA Human Error Sumdac dance.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Truly fun for all ages.]]
The Sumdacs, meanwhile, are exchanging Christmas presents, although Sari is less than impressed with the Soundwave toy she receives, having less-than-fond memories of her previous experience with the musical menace. The next present, a scooter, likewise fails to excite, until her father reveals that it also transforms into a jetpack! Thrilled at the gift, Sari takes off to show the Autobots, leaving her dad dancing and singing along with Sound Wave.

On their way to Sumdac Tower, the Autobots stop at [[Burger Bot]] when Bulkhead experiences the odd sensation of "hunger". Before long, he is also experiencing the thrills and spills of "the bathroom", while Prowl makes the most of his new human form, having a salad and playing peek-a-boo with a greatly amused [[Nancy Witwicky|baby]]. The light-heartedness is brought to an end by a sudden explosion outside, and the Autobots race onto the street to see an armada of airborne [[Decepticon]]s, with [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] in the lead, opening fire on the city! As chaos erupts around them, more Decepticons led by [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] come stomping up the street . A blast from Shockwave sets a nearby building on fire, and Prime orders the Autobots into action despite their frail new forms. While Bulkhead and Bumblebee fight the fire, Prime and Ratchet rescue a woman, and Prowl heads upstairs to save her [[Gary|son]]. At the last minute, Prowl dives out a window several stories up with the boy in his arms and lands with ease, prompting Bulkhead to wonder exactly how he accomplished such a seemingly impossible feat. Before any thought can go into the matter, Starscream transforms to robot mode and lands in front of them!

Carried by her new jetpack to the Autobot plant, Sari is surprised to discover it locked up tight, and even more surprised when the Autobots don't respond to her knocking. She flies into the plant through a skylight, but the whole building seems deserted, so she uses the computer to scan for the Autobots' energy signatures, which turn out to be coming from...inside the plant?

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Starscream Bumblebee.jpg|thumb|right|180px|GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!]]
As Starscream tears up the street and sends humans scattering in fear, Bulkhead and Bumblebee rather foolishly attempt to attack him, and the results are rather predictable. When Optimus tries slashing the Decepticon with an axe, Starscream backhands him into a wall, breaking his leg. Hearing the Autobots refer to each other by name, Starscream realizes who his opponents are, but is so busy smirking over things that he loses sight of them and finds that he can't tell one human from another! Dismissing them, he departs for more destruction elsewhere, leaving the Autobots to have their injuries tended to by paramedics. Requiring some of Professor Sumdac's technology to fight the Decepticons, the Autobots board a bus to get to the tower quickly.

Back at the Autobots' plant, Sari is still searching for her friends, when suddenly, a [[Laserbeak (Animated)|large, robotic bird]] flies out of a shaft in the floor, followed by a small army of Sound Wave action figures! Sari blasts the evil toys and heads down the shaft to investigate.

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Bumblebee vs Blitzwing.jpg|thumb|180px|left|''You spin me right 'round, baby right 'round''.]]
At the foot of Sumdac Tower, the Autobots have just stepped off the bus when suddenly, a huge shadow falls over Detroit. Looking up, the stunned Autobots see the entire planet of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] itself hanging in the sky. Sumdac tower is obliterated by a huge planetary laser weapon, and a full-scale Decepticon invasion force swarms the sky, led by [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] himself! The Decepticons are just as surprised by the Automens' appearance as they are, but Megatron decides to take advantage by destroying them last, so that they may watch their adopted home be destroyed. The sheer impossibility of everything that is happening finally hits Optimus Prime and Prowl, who realize that whatever may be happening to them, none of it is real. Megatron seizes Prowl, but amazingly, the Autobot breaks free of his grip, and with a single swipe of his hand, severs Megatron's arm. Blitzwing attempts to crush Prowl beneath his foot, but Bulkhead runs forward and smashes straight through the [[Triple Changer]]'s leg. As Bumblebee pummels Blitzwing's faces and Prowl knocks out Starscream by phasing into his head, Optimus Prime beats Megatron with his own arm, then hurls his axe into the barrel of the Decepticon leader's cannon, causing it to explode. As the dust cloud fades, Cybertron and all of the Decepticons have vanished, and the Autobots come to the realization that they are trapped in some kind of virtual reality.

[[Image:TFA Human Error Part 1 Soundwave Superior.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Giant virtual "Shattered Glass" ''Animated'' Soundwave?]]
Sari makes the same discovery as the Autobots when she reaches the bottom of the secret shaft and discovers their bodies, plugged into machinery being operated by the full-size [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]], who is planning to use the illusion to reprogram the Autobots into Decepticons. Within the virtual world, the Autobots are able to will themselves back into robotic form (although Bulkhead has a little trouble), but before they can take any further actions, a gigantic arm bursts out of the ground beneath them, scooping them up in its hand. Soundwave's giant face looks down upon the Autobots, declaring escape impossible and shocking them all with blasts of purple energy. Soundwave also has his hands full in the real world, as Sari blasts a chunk out of his shoulder with one of her energy-balls,. Soundwave summons Laserbeak, the robotic bird Sari saw earlier, into his arms, where it transforms into a guitar and hits Sari with a powerful sonic shock wave. The wounded Sari retreats, promising to come back for her friends and leaving Soundwave to resume the final phase of his Autobot reprogramming with [[Ratbat (Animated)|another musical instrument]] that bathes the heroic robots in waves of sonic energy. As Soundwave gloats, Optimus Prime's optics activate and begin glowing Decepticon-red...

[[Human Error, Part II|To be continued...]]

==Featured characters==
{{note|Characters in italics appear only as part of Soundwave's virtual reality scenario.}}
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (1)
*[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] (2)
*[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] (3)
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (4)
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] (9)
|c2=
*[[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]] (5)
*''[[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]]'' (12)
*''[[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]]'' (13)
*''[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]]'' (14)
*''[[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]]'' (15)
*''[[Strika (Animated)|Strika]]'' (16)
*''[[Oil Slick (Animated)|Oil Slick]]'' (17)
*''[[Spittor (Animated)|Spittor]]'' (18)
*''[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]'' (23)
*[[Laserbeak (Animated)|Laserbeak]] (24)
*[[Ratbat (Animated)|Ratbat]] (25)
|c3=
*[[Porter C. Powell]] (6)
*[[Isaac Sumdac]] (7)
*''[[Nancy Witwicky]]'' (10)
*''[[Carly Witwicky (Animated)|Carly Witwicky]]'' (11)
*''[[Daniel Witwicky (Animated)|Daniel Witwicky]]'' (19)
*''[[Spike Witwicky (Animated)|Spike Witwicky]]'' (20)
*''[[Gary]]'' (21)
*''Hydra'' (22)
*''[[Marty Isenberg]]'' (23)
*''Cancer'' (24)
|c4=
*[[Sari Sumdac]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==

"That toy rightfully belongs to me, Powell! You are a thieving crook!" 
"And a Merry Christmas to you too, Professor Sumdac, but I acquired your toy's patents fair and square when I owned your company. Now I'm sharing Sound Wave with the entire world, for only $19.99 each." 
"$19.99? ''How does he do it''?!" 
:—'''Professor Sumdac''' unwittingly provides PR for '''Porter C. Powell's''' products. Say that three times fast.

'''Ratchet''': And I'm telling you, there is no way that this "Santa Claus" could deliver billions of presents in one night. 
'''Prowl''': I can think of at least one way. Ho. Ho. Ho. 
''[Prowl projects holograms of himself]'' 
'''Optimus''': A sound theory, Prowl. I did see multiple Santas in the shopping district tonight.
:—The Autobots weigh in on the debate of how Santa does his job.

"We need to get to Sumdac Tower. Auto—uh, men. Transfo—er, uh, roll—er, uh, oh, let's...let's just go."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' has a few slips on his "[[roll out]]" command.

"Why would ze Autobots choose to be human?" 
"Not for the fashion sense, I can tell you that. A-ha-ha-ha!"
:—'''Icy Blitzwing''' and '''Random Blitzwing''', the next [[wikipedia:Tim Gunn|Tim Gunn]].

"Not a creature was stirring, not even a—''[Laserbeak flies out of the Autobrand on the floor]'' creepy robot bird?" 
:—'''Sari Sumdac''' adds a new twist to a classic Christmas tale.

"Oh, look! I have a hole in my rocket!"
:—Even horrible injury cannot faze '''Random Blitzwing'''.

"Hey, we're baaaaack!" 
"Not all of us!" 
"It might help you if you make the noise with your mouth like this: ''Choo-chuh-chah-chik''!" 
"Sounds silly... But, okay. Choo-chuh-chah-chah-chik! ''Choo-chuh-chah-chah-chik''!"
:—'''Bumblebee''' and '''Bulkhead''', making [[Transformation#The_noise|the transformation noise]] like so many of us do—DID. As children. Yeah.

"Escape is impossible. Autobots inferior, Soundwave superior."
:—'''Soundwave''' makes sure that line is never forgotten.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===
* When Bulkhead sets down his Christmas present, the box is missing the horizontal ribbon it has in the preceding and following shots.
* When Ratchet scans Optimus, all the equipment is human-sized, instead of the much larger, Transformer-scaled size. Of course, it's not actually ''real'', but still.
[[Image:HumanError-DanielSpike.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The popular "Invisible Booster Seat" image from Lolbots.com.]]
* In the bus tram scene, Daniel is shown levitating over his seat.
* We first see [[Nancy Witwicky|<strike>Jennifer</strike> Nancy Witwicky]] for a few frames in the background next to a mom who isn't Carly. She's Carly later, though.
* After the explosion is heard outside the Burger Bot, Bulkhead's previously half-eaten burger is now whole.
* Bulkhead punches Starscream with his right hand...then screams and clutches his ''left'' hand...then after a scene cut, he is shown clutching his ''right'' hand...and later he gets a bandage put on his ''left'' hand. Of course, it's...oh, you get the idea.
* Of course, if this was real, we'd point out that the force with which Starscream smashed Optimus into the wall should probably have killed him, or at least caused a lot more damage than a broken leg. Good thing it's not, then.
* When Cybertron approaches Earth, it's entirely ''in front'' of the clouds, which is absurd for anything planet-sized. (Still not real, though.)
* The elevator platform in the Autobots' base shrinks from Autobot-sized at the top (such that Sari is shown to be tiny in comparison to it) to human-sized at the bottom (such that Laserbeak couldn't fit through the door even if it had been open).
* Blitzwing's face changes from Icy to Random when he lifts up his leg, only to be Icy again when he's looking through the hole after the shot changes.
* When Optimus beats Megatron with his own severed arm, the arm is ''freaking colossal'', nearly as big as the rest of Megatron's body. (Megatron's face also goes significantly off-model in the same scene.) It's also hollow, but that's what virtual things look like on the inside.
* When Optimus commands the "Automen" to transform, one of his irises is bigger than the other.
* When being held by the giant Soundwave, Prowl is briefly missing his armor.
* The hole Sari blows in Soundwave's backpack comes and goes. Hey, this bit is real!

===Continuity errors===
* Where did Soundwave get images of the Decepticons? In particular, since there are several conceivable ways to get the Earth Decepts' images, what are [[Team Chaar]] and [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] doing there, as none of them have been to Earth? Even if you somehow presume the Autobots themselves generated the images, only Oil Slick—per ''The Arrival'' comic—and Shockwave's head have been seen by any of Optimus's team.
* Where did Sari's jetpack go while she was on the lift? (For that matter, why did she transform out of her robot mode at all?)
* Lugnut disappears with the other Decepticons, despite the fact none of the Autobots fought him.
* Considering the noise that the soundwave toy made when he ran across the room to spike the nog wouldn't someone hear it?
* How did they pay for the food?

===Transformers references===
* [[Derrick Wyatt]] stated this episode was a partial homage to a [[Only Human|"classic" Generation 1 episode]].
* Sari's transforming scooter-jetpack was an early idea that didn't make it into the series, but which was featured in a promotional reel for the ''Animated'' series (seen on the convention circuit in mid-2007 and featured on the DVD included with the "Optimus Prime and Megatron: The Battle Begins" action figure set). The version introduced with this episode is somewhat different from the original concept, which was a pedal-powered tricycle that transformed using the power of the [[AllSpark Key]].
* The scooter's jetpack form is, in turn, based on the backpacks worn by the Acroyear/Acroyer, the villains from Takara's [[Microman]] toyline.
[[Image:HydraMartyCancer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|This is a winning sitcom concept right here.]]
* The [[Burger Bot]] patrons include series head writer [[Marty Isenberg]], [[Carly Witwicky (Animated)|Carly Witwicky]], her baby daughter [[Nancy Witwicky|Nancy]] (who was close to being born during the Season 2 episode "[[Garbage In, Garbage Out]]"), and ''Animated'' homages to the ''[[Super-God Masterforce (franchise)|Super-God Masterforce]]'' characters [[Cancer]] and [[Hydra (Masterforce)|Hydra]]. Hydra, Marty, and Cancer are sitting together at one table, indicating a very interesting family.
* Speaking of Masterforce, this episode also features [[Pretender|Transformers turning into people and back]], though in this case, it actually makes some kinda sense.
* Starscream's missiles feature the shark-toothed smiley faces sculpted into his Voyager-class toy's missile accessories.
* Cybertron was brought into Earth orbit twice in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1]] series: first in the multipart episode "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 1|The Ultimate Doom]]", and then in the series finale, "[[The Rebirth, Part 3]]".
* Soundwave's declaration of "Autobots inferior; Soundwave superior" is a paraphrase of his Generation 1 namesake's famous line of dialogue from ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'': "Soundwave superior; Constructicons inferior."
* The colors on the giant Soundwave in the virtual world come from Takara's "Sonic White" Soundwave MP3 player.
* This isn't the first time Prowl [[Transform and Roll Out|slices off Megatron's arm]].

===Foreign dubbing===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Erreur humaine 1/2'''" ("Human Error 1/2")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' '''人間になったオートボット''' (''Ningen ni Natta Autobot'', "The Autobots Became Humans")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 20|20 November]] [[2010]]

===Real-world references===
* Appropriately enough, the first act of this episode incorporates traditional Christmas songs "[[Wikipedia: Carol of the Bells|Carol of the Bells]]", [[Wikipedia: Jingle Bells|Jingle Bells]]" and "[[Wikipedia:God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen|God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen]]" into the background music.
* When Sari's searching the Autobot base for her friends, at one point, her jetpack sounds like a [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Podracer podracer] from ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]] Episode I: The Phantom Menace''.
* Sari quotes from the Christmas poem, "[[Wikipedia: A Visit from St. Nicholas|A Visit from St. Nicholas]]" (more commonly known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"), replacing the word "mouse" with "[[Laserbeak (Animated)|creepy robot bird]]".
* When Laserbeak chases Sari into the elevator, he makes sounds like a seagull.
* Bumblebee says "We're not in Detroit anymore," which is another twist on an oft-paraphrased line from ''The Wizard of Oz''.
* The scene of Cybertron blowing up [[Sumdac Tower]] is straight out of the mid-'90s summer blockbuster ''Independence Day'', in which an alien mothership blows up the White House in a similar manner while using the [[Death Star]] sound effect from ''Star Wars''.
* The whole idea of the heroes acting in a virtual world where only those aware of its true nature can break the laws of physics is similar to [[Wikipedia: The Matrix (series)|the ''Matrix'' series]].
* Prowl going into the burning building to save the child, despite being in human form, is highly reminiscent of a scene in ''Spider-Man 2'' in which Peter Parker does the same thing, despite not wearing his hero outfit.

===Trivia===
* This episode features an unusually high amount of [[stock footage]] by ''Animated'' standards. Starscream's sequence is a few seconds longer than when it was last seen in "[[Megatron Rising - Part 1]]". Of course, all the sequences of the "human" Autobots transforming have been re-edited.
* Apparently, in future Detroit, you are allowed to use public transportation while bearing a giant axe. Well, it ''is'' Detroit...
* Back in "[[Sound and Fury]]", Soundwave's voice was modulated using only one tone, meaning it never rose or fell. With this episode, more tones are introduced into his voice, allowing it to rise and fall in the same manner as his [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[Soundwave (G1)|counterpart]].
* Sari's abilities include being capable of holding a full barrel of oil on each hand and surviving getting slammed into a wall by Laserbeak and Soundwave. Plus, she makes a mean oilnog.
* Man, Professor Sumdac sure can ''dance''.
* Now in his samurai armor, Prowl can make two or more holographic projections of himself, whereas he could only make one at a time before getting the armor. It's ''that'' awesome!
* Technically, since most of this episode wasn't real, most of the errors above can be dismissed. So nyah!
* This isn't the [[Bee in the City|first time]] Bumblebee has a taste of human food.
* Considering the presence of snow at the end of the first season, and now again here, it seems fairly obvious that it's been well over a year since the Autobots awoke from their stasis under Lake Erie. Additionally, while "[[Along Came a Spider]]" explicitly showed the Autobots' first Halloween, this is never said to be their first Christmas.
* Just when you thought he couldn't get any more awesome, Prowl becomes a Ghost/Cop/Ninja.
* As the Decepticon Jets attack Detroit, two Lugnuts are attacking: Lugnut in his regular color scheme, and behind him, the [[To sell toys|Atomic Lugnut redeco]].

==Home video releases==
This episode has yet to be released on home video.

[[Category:Animated episodes]]

Human Error, Part I

2010-11-02T20:12:11Z

97.89.131.42: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|series2=AniJapan
|image=TFA Human Error Part 1 Automen.jpg
|caption=''Humans Animated'' is a very popular show on Cybertron.
|ep=37
|ep2=34
|prev2=Predacons Rising
|next2=Human Error, Part II
|title="Human Error, Part I"
|airdate=[[April 18]], 2009
|written by=[[Henry Gilroy]]
|directed by=[[Kalvin Lee]] [[Christopher Berkeley]] [[Naoto Hashimoto]]
|animation studio=[[Mook]]
}}
'''With the Christmas season upon them, the Autobots are not quite themselves following a run-in with Porter C. Powell's new mass-produced Soundwave action figures.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Powell Soundwave.jpg|thumb|left|180px|He's actually worse than [[wikipedia:Vince Offer|Vince Offer]].]]
It's [[Christmas]] in Detroit, but [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] is not in a festive mood. The hottest toy of the year is [[Sound Wave]], being marketed by [[Porter C. Powell]], who acquired the schematics and patent when he ran [[Sumdac Systems]]. Observing a commercial for the new toy, Optimus notices one of the small robots running across the plaza near the trains. Trying to follow it, he is nearly run over by a train and finally decides that he may be obsessing.

At the plant, [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] are interested in what they got for Christmas, but [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]] tells them that [[Santa Claus]] will know if they try to peek. As the two help Sari decorate, a Sound Wave toy breaks out of the present and does something to the [[oilnog]] that Sari made for the Autobots. The toy is barely able to hide as Optimus, [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], and [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] weigh in on Santa's ability to deliver presents to all the children. Sari tells them to just accept the holiday magic and be thankful for what they have, like family, leading to a toast of the spiked oil. Soon, the Autobots all begin to feel tired and decide to call it a night, as Sari heads back to [[Sumdac Tower]].

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Optimus Human.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Who would want to be a human in ''Transformers''? The [[Fandom|fans]] all hate them.]]
The next morning, Optimus wakes up, still woozy, and discovers something frightening: his hands are made of flesh! Falling off his bed in shock, Prime's eyes fall upon a mirror, and he discovers the horrifying truth—He's become a human! Optimus hears Bumblebee and Bulkhead cry out, and discovers that all the other Autobots are human as well. Optimus is convinced that there must be a reason, but a few scans by Ratchet are unable to determine the cause of the change. Looking for Prowl, the Autobots head outside, where they find the ninja is mostly at home with the situation, except he feels that something is wrong. Since they're unable to contact Sari, the Autobots decide to [[roll out|<s>roll ou—</s>]] er, walk to Sumdac Tower.

[[Image:TFA Human Error Sumdac dance.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Truly fun for all ages.]]
The Sumdacs, meanwhile, are exchanging Christmas presents, although Sari is less than impressed with the Soundwave toy she receives, having less-than-fond memories of her previous experience with the musical menace. The next present, a scooter, likewise fails to excite, until her father reveals that it also transforms into a jetpack! Thrilled at the gift, Sari takes off to show the Autobots, leaving her dad dancing and singing along with Sound Wave.

On their way to Sumdac Tower, the Autobots stop at [[Burger Bot]] when Bulkhead experiences the odd sensation of "hunger". Before long, he is also experiencing the thrills and spills of "the bathroom", while Prowl makes the most of his new human form, having a salad and playing peek-a-boo with a greatly amused [[Nancy Witwicky|baby]]. The light-heartedness is brought to an end by a sudden explosion outside, and the Autobots race onto the street to see an armada of airborne [[Decepticon]]s, with [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] in the lead, opening fire on the city! As chaos erupts around them, more Decepticons led by [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] come stomping up the street . A blast from Shockwave sets a nearby building on fire, and Prime orders the Autobots into action despite their frail new forms. While Bulkhead and Bumblebee fight the fire, Prime and Ratchet rescue a woman, and Prowl heads upstairs to save her [[Gary|son]]. At the last minute, Prowl dives out a window several stories up with the boy in his arms and lands with ease, prompting Bulkhead to wonder exactly how he accomplished such a seemingly impossible feat. Before any thought can go into the matter, Starscream transforms to robot mode and lands in front of them!

Carried by her new jetpack to the Autobot plant, Sari is surprised to discover it locked up tight, and even more surprised when the Autobots don't respond to her knocking. She flies into the plant through a skylight, but the whole building seems deserted, so she uses the computer to scan for the Autobots' energy signatures, which turn out to be coming from...inside the plant?

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Starscream Bumblebee.jpg|thumb|right|180px|GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!]]
As Starscream tears up the street and sends humans scattering in fear, Bulkhead and Bumblebee rather foolishly attempt to attack him, and the results are rather predictable. When Optimus tries slashing the Decepticon with an axe, Starscream backhands him into a wall, breaking his leg. Hearing the Autobots refer to each other by name, Starscream realizes who his opponents are, but is so busy smirking over things that he loses sight of them and finds that he can't tell one human from another! Dismissing them, he departs for more destruction elsewhere, leaving the Autobots to have their injuries tended to by paramedics. Requiring some of Professor Sumdac's technology to fight the Decepticons, the Autobots board a bus to get to the tower quickly.

Back at the Autobots' plant, Sari is still searching for her friends, when suddenly, a [[Laserbeak (Animated)|large, robotic bird]] flies out of a shaft in the floor, followed by a small army of Sound Wave action figures! Sari blasts the evil toys and heads down the shaft to investigate.

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Bumblebee vs Blitzwing.jpg|thumb|180px|left|''You spin me right 'round, baby right 'round''.]]
At the foot of Sumdac Tower, the Autobots have just stepped off the bus when suddenly, a huge shadow falls over Detroit. Looking up, the stunned Autobots see the entire planet of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] itself hanging in the sky. Sumdac tower is obliterated by a huge planetary laser weapon, and a full-scale Decepticon invasion force swarms the sky, led by [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] himself! The Decepticons are just as surprised by the Automens' appearance as they are, but Megatron decides to take advantage by destroying them last, so that they may watch their adopted home be destroyed. The sheer impossibility of everything that is happening finally hits Optimus Prime and Prowl, who realize that whatever may be happening to them, none of it is real. Megatron seizes Prowl, but amazingly, the Autobot breaks free of his grip, and with a single swipe of his hand, severs Megatron's arm. Blitzwing attempts to crush Prowl beneath his foot, but Bulkhead runs forward and smashes straight through the [[Triple Changer]]'s leg. As Bumblebee pummels Blitzwing's faces and Prowl knocks out Starscream by phasing into his head, Optimus Prime beats Megatron with his own arm, then hurls his axe into the barrel of the Decepticon leader's cannon, causing it to explode. As the dust cloud fades, Cybertron and all of the Decepticons have vanished, and the Autobots come to the realization that they are trapped in some kind of virtual reality.

[[Image:TFA Human Error Part 1 Soundwave Superior.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Giant virtual "Shattered Glass" ''Animated'' Soundwave?]]
Sari makes the same discovery as the Autobots when she reaches the bottom of the secret shaft and discovers their bodies, plugged into machinery being operated by the full-size [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]], who is planning to use the illusion to reprogram the Autobots into Decepticons. Within the virtual world, the Autobots are able to will themselves back into robotic form (although Bulkhead has a little trouble), but before they can take any further actions, a gigantic arm bursts out of the ground beneath them, scooping them up in its hand. Soundwave's giant face looks down upon the Autobots, declaring escape impossible and shocking them all with blasts of purple energy. Soundwave also has his hands full in the real world, as Sari blasts a chunk out of his shoulder with one of her energy-balls,. Soundwave summons Laserbeak, the robotic bird Sari saw earlier, into his arms, where it transforms into a guitar and hits Sari with a powerful sonic shock wave. The wounded Sari retreats, promising to come back for her friends and leaving Soundwave to resume the final phase of his Autobot reprogramming with [[Ratbat (Animated)|another musical instrument]] that bathes the heroic robots in waves of sonic energy. As Soundwave gloats, Optimus Prime's optics activate and begin glowing Decepticon-red...

[[Human Error, Part II|To be continued...]]

==Featured characters==
{{note|Characters in italics appear only as part of Soundwave's virtual reality scenario.}}
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (1)
*[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] (2)
*[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] (3)
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (4)
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] (9)
|c2=
*[[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]] (5)
*''[[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]]'' (12)
*''[[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]]'' (13)
*''[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]]'' (14)
*''[[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]]'' (15)
*''[[Strika (Animated)|Strika]]'' (16)
*''[[Oil Slick (Animated)|Oil Slick]]'' (17)
*''[[Spittor (Animated)|Spittor]]'' (18)
*''[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]'' (23)
*[[Laserbeak (Animated)|Laserbeak]] (24)
*[[Ratbat (Animated)|Ratbat]] (25)
|c3=
*[[Porter C. Powell]] (6)
*[[Isaac Sumdac]] (7)
*''[[Nancy Witwicky]]'' (10)
*''[[Carly Witwicky (Animated)|Carly Witwicky]]'' (11)
*''[[Daniel Witwicky (Animated)|Daniel Witwicky]]'' (19)
*''[[Spike Witwicky (Animated)|Spike Witwicky]]'' (20)
*''[[Gary]]'' (21)
*''Hydra'' (22)
*''[[Marty Isenberg]]'' (23)
*''Cancer'' (24)
|c4=
*[[Sari Sumdac]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==

"That toy rightfully belongs to me, Powell! You are a thieving crook!" 
"And a Merry Christmas to you too, Professor Sumdac, but I acquired your toy's patents fair and square when I owned your company. Now I'm sharing Sound Wave with the entire world, for only $19.99 each." 
"$19.99? ''How does he do it''?!" 
:—'''Professor Sumdac''' unwittingly provides PR for '''Porter C. Powell's''' products. Say that three times fast.

'''Ratchet''': And I'm telling you, there is no way that this "Santa Claus" could deliver billions of presents in one night. 
'''Prowl''': I can think of at least one way. Ho. Ho. Ho. 
''[Prowl projects holograms of himself]'' 
'''Optimus''': A sound theory, Prowl. I did see multiple Santas in the shopping district tonight.
:—The Autobots weigh in on the debate of how Santa does his job.

"We need to get to Sumdac Tower. Auto—uh, men. Transfo—er, uh, roll—er, uh, oh, let's...let's just go."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' has a few slips on his "[[roll out]]" command.

"Why would ze Autobots choose to be human?" 
"Not for the fashion sense, I can tell you that. A-ha-ha-ha!"
:—'''Icy Blitzwing''' and '''Random Blitzwing''', the next [[wikipedia:Tim Gunn|Tim Gunn]].

"Not a creature was stirring, not even a—''[Laserbeak flies out of the Autobrand on the floor]'' creepy robot bird?" 
:—'''Sari Sumdac''' adds a new twist to a classic Christmas tale.

"Oh, look! I have a hole in my rocket!"
:—Even horrible injury cannot faze '''Random Blitzwing'''.

"Hey, we're baaaaack!" 
"Not all of us!" 
"It might help you if you make the noise with your mouth like this: ''Choo-chuh-chah-chik''!" 
"Sounds silly... But, okay. Choo-chuh-chah-chah-chik! ''Choo-chuh-chah-chah-chik''!"
:—'''Bumblebee''' and '''Bulkhead''', making [[Transformation#The_noise|the transformation noise]] like so many of us do—DID. As children. Yeah.

"Escape is impossible. Autobots inferior, Soundwave superior."
:—'''Soundwave''' makes sure that line is never forgotten.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===
* When Bulkhead sets down his Christmas present, the box is missing the horizontal ribbon it has in the preceding and following shots.
* When Ratchet scans Optimus, all the equipment is human-sized, instead of the much larger, Transformer-scaled size. Of course, it's not actually ''real'', but still.
[[Image:HumanError-DanielSpike.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The popular "Invisible Booster Seat" image from Lolbots.com.]]
* In the bus tram scene, Daniel is shown levitating over his seat.
* We first see [[Nancy Witwicky|<strike>Jennifer</strike> Nancy Witwicky]] for a few frames in the background next to a mom who isn't Carly. She's Carly later, though.
* After the explosion is heard outside the Burger Bot, Bulkhead's previously half-eaten burger is now whole.
* Bulkhead punches Starscream with his right hand...then screams and clutches his ''left'' hand...then after a scene cut, he is shown clutching his ''right'' hand...and later he gets a bandage put on his ''left'' hand. Of course, it's...oh, you get the idea.
* Of course, if this was real, we'd point out that the force with which Starscream smashed Optimus into the wall should probably have killed him, or at least caused a lot more damage than a broken leg. Good thing it's not, then.
* When Cybertron approaches Earth, it's entirely ''in front'' of the clouds, which is absurd for anything planet-sized. (Still not real, though.)
* The elevator platform in the Autobots' base shrinks from Autobot-sized at the top (such that Sari is shown to be tiny in comparison to it) to human-sized at the bottom (such that Laserbeak couldn't fit through the door even if it had been open).
* Blitzwing's face changes from Icy to Random when he lifts up his leg, only to be Icy again when he's looking through the hole after the shot changes.
* When Optimus beats Megatron with his own severed arm, the arm is ''freaking colossal'', nearly as big as the rest of Megatron's body. (Megatron's face also goes significantly off-model in the same scene.) It's also hollow, but that's what virtual things look like on the inside.
* When Optimus commands the "Automen" to transform, one of his irises is bigger than the other.
* When being held by the giant Soundwave, Prowl is briefly missing his armor.
* The hole Sari blows in Soundwave's backpack comes and goes. Hey, this bit is real!

===Continuity errors===
* Where did Soundwave get images of the Decepticons? In particular, since there are several conceivable ways to get the Earth Decepts' images, what are [[Team Chaar]] and [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] doing there, as none of them have been to Earth? Even if you somehow presume the Autobots themselves generated the images, only Oil Slick—per ''The Arrival'' comic—and Shockwave's head have been seen by any of Optimus's team.
* Where did Sari's jetpack go while she was on the lift? (For that matter, why did she transform out of her robot mode at all?)
* Lugnut disappears with the other Decepticons, despite the fact none of the Autobots fought him.
* Considering the noise that the soundwave toy made when he ran across the room to spike the nog wouldn't someone hear it?

===Transformers references===
* [[Derrick Wyatt]] stated this episode was a partial homage to a [[Only Human|"classic" Generation 1 episode]].
* Sari's transforming scooter-jetpack was an early idea that didn't make it into the series, but which was featured in a promotional reel for the ''Animated'' series (seen on the convention circuit in mid-2007 and featured on the DVD included with the "Optimus Prime and Megatron: The Battle Begins" action figure set). The version introduced with this episode is somewhat different from the original concept, which was a pedal-powered tricycle that transformed using the power of the [[AllSpark Key]].
* The scooter's jetpack form is, in turn, based on the backpacks worn by the Acroyear/Acroyer, the villains from Takara's [[Microman]] toyline.
[[Image:HydraMartyCancer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|This is a winning sitcom concept right here.]]
* The [[Burger Bot]] patrons include series head writer [[Marty Isenberg]], [[Carly Witwicky (Animated)|Carly Witwicky]], her baby daughter [[Nancy Witwicky|Nancy]] (who was close to being born during the Season 2 episode "[[Garbage In, Garbage Out]]"), and ''Animated'' homages to the ''[[Super-God Masterforce (franchise)|Super-God Masterforce]]'' characters [[Cancer]] and [[Hydra (Masterforce)|Hydra]]. Hydra, Marty, and Cancer are sitting together at one table, indicating a very interesting family.
* Speaking of Masterforce, this episode also features [[Pretender|Transformers turning into people and back]], though in this case, it actually makes some kinda sense.
* Starscream's missiles feature the shark-toothed smiley faces sculpted into his Voyager-class toy's missile accessories.
* Cybertron was brought into Earth orbit twice in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1]] series: first in the multipart episode "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 1|The Ultimate Doom]]", and then in the series finale, "[[The Rebirth, Part 3]]".
* Soundwave's declaration of "Autobots inferior; Soundwave superior" is a paraphrase of his Generation 1 namesake's famous line of dialogue from ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'': "Soundwave superior; Constructicons inferior."
* The colors on the giant Soundwave in the virtual world come from Takara's "Sonic White" Soundwave MP3 player.
* This isn't the first time Prowl [[Transform and Roll Out|slices off Megatron's arm]].

===Foreign dubbing===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Erreur humaine 1/2'''" ("Human Error 1/2")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' '''人間になったオートボット''' (''Ningen ni Natta Autobot'', "The Autobots Became Humans")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 20|20 November]] [[2010]]

===Real-world references===
* Appropriately enough, the first act of this episode incorporates traditional Christmas songs "[[Wikipedia: Carol of the Bells|Carol of the Bells]]", [[Wikipedia: Jingle Bells|Jingle Bells]]" and "[[Wikipedia:God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen|God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen]]" into the background music.
* When Sari's searching the Autobot base for her friends, at one point, her jetpack sounds like a [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Podracer podracer] from ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]] Episode I: The Phantom Menace''.
* Sari quotes from the Christmas poem, "[[Wikipedia: A Visit from St. Nicholas|A Visit from St. Nicholas]]" (more commonly known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"), replacing the word "mouse" with "[[Laserbeak (Animated)|creepy robot bird]]".
* When Laserbeak chases Sari into the elevator, he makes sounds like a seagull.
* Bumblebee says "We're not in Detroit anymore," which is another twist on an oft-paraphrased line from ''The Wizard of Oz''.
* The scene of Cybertron blowing up [[Sumdac Tower]] is straight out of the mid-'90s summer blockbuster ''Independence Day'', in which an alien mothership blows up the White House in a similar manner while using the [[Death Star]] sound effect from ''Star Wars''.
* The whole idea of the heroes acting in a virtual world where only those aware of its true nature can break the laws of physics is similar to [[Wikipedia: The Matrix (series)|the ''Matrix'' series]].
* Prowl going into the burning building to save the child, despite being in human form, is highly reminiscent of a scene in ''Spider-Man 2'' in which Peter Parker does the same thing, despite not wearing his hero outfit.

===Trivia===
* This episode features an unusually high amount of [[stock footage]] by ''Animated'' standards. Starscream's sequence is a few seconds longer than when it was last seen in "[[Megatron Rising - Part 1]]". Of course, all the sequences of the "human" Autobots transforming have been re-edited.
* Apparently, in future Detroit, you are allowed to use public transportation while bearing a giant axe. Well, it ''is'' Detroit...
* Back in "[[Sound and Fury]]", Soundwave's voice was modulated using only one tone, meaning it never rose or fell. With this episode, more tones are introduced into his voice, allowing it to rise and fall in the same manner as his [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[Soundwave (G1)|counterpart]].
* Sari's abilities include being capable of holding a full barrel of oil on each hand and surviving getting slammed into a wall by Laserbeak and Soundwave. Plus, she makes a mean oilnog.
* Man, Professor Sumdac sure can ''dance''.
* Now in his samurai armor, Prowl can make two or more holographic projections of himself, whereas he could only make one at a time before getting the armor. It's ''that'' awesome!
* Technically, since most of this episode wasn't real, most of the errors above can be dismissed. So nyah!
* This isn't the [[Bee in the City|first time]] Bumblebee has a taste of human food.
* Considering the presence of snow at the end of the first season, and now again here, it seems fairly obvious that it's been well over a year since the Autobots awoke from their stasis under Lake Erie. Additionally, while "[[Along Came a Spider]]" explicitly showed the Autobots' first Halloween, this is never said to be their first Christmas.
* Just when you thought he couldn't get any more awesome, Prowl becomes a Ghost/Cop/Ninja.
* As the Decepticon Jets attack Detroit, two Lugnuts are attacking: Lugnut in his regular color scheme, and behind him, the [[To sell toys|Atomic Lugnut redeco]].

==Home video releases==
This episode has yet to be released on home video.

[[Category:Animated episodes]]

Garbage In, Garbage Out

2010-10-15T21:44:58Z

97.89.131.42: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|series2=AniJapan
|image=Wreck-Gar-Ani.jpg
|caption=Wreck-Gar auditions for the role of [[Wikipedia:WALL-E|WALL·E]].
|ep=20
|ep2=19
|prev2=Mission Accomplished
|next2=Velocity
|title="Garbage In, Garbage Out"
|airdate=[[May 3]], 2008
|written by=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|directed by=[[Ben Jones]] [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|animation studio=[[The Answer Studio]]
}}

'''AllSpark energy turns a junkpile into a sentient robot who tries to help the Autobots, but ends up doing more harm than good.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TFA Garbage In Out Garbage bots malfunction.JPG|left|200px|thumb|"Too much garbage in your face? There's plenty of space out in space!"]]

Garbage is piling up all over [[Detroit]], as the trash-bots are malfunctioning and [[Sumdac Systems]] CEO Porter C. Powell refuses to repair them until the city and he can come to an agreement on payment. In Powell's office, a technician demonstrates a new form of the [[Nanite|nanobots]] that [[Transform and Roll Out|caused big problems a while back]], designed this time to break down garbage into its component molecules, quickly and cheaply solving the garbage problem (while allowing Powell to charge the city a hefty fee).

Elsewhere, the [[Autobot]]s are trying to patch up their still-damaged reputation by helping pile garbage into scows. Ratchet ends up getting into a shouting match with an old man whose car ended up under a garbage mound, resulting in the car being dumped in the river and the two old grouches almost coming to blows. Captain Fanzone arrives to break up the scene and remarks that Ratchet needs to work on his "people skills". Prime agrees and assigns Bumblebee and Sari to try and help out Ratchet while they work more on the garbage problem. Ratchet is not happy with this.

Just before the Autobots depart, though, Sari's [[AllSpark Key]] glows, but she quickly disregards this, and so she misses the emergence of a junk-robot from the scow, brought to life by an [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]] shard. The confused machine tries to figure out his identity using the scraps around him, but is unsatisfied with the results. Spying a passing blimp with a sign for the Detroit police department with the slogan "We're Here to Help", the robot happily goes about trying to find the police for some help with his identity.

[[Image:TFA Garbage In Out Megatron twitch.JPG|right|200px|thumb|If [[Inferno (BW)|you]] call me your [[Megatron (BW)|queen]] ''one more time''...]]

At the Decepticon base, Lugnut detects a surge in AllSpark energy, and Megatron concludes that another fragment must have turned up. Megatron orders Lugnut to retrieve it, and Lugnut continues his glory-spouting as he leaves. Megatron's optical sensor begins to twitch noticeably.

Stuck in a traffic jam, Ratchet is about to display some serious road rage when Bumblebee puts on his siren and clears a path for them. Heading through, they find [[Witwicky|a familiar couple]] who are expecting a child, but their car has broken down on the way to the hospital. Ratchet agrees to take them to the hospital, then jets off at high speed, despite Sari's warning to keep the mother calm.

Meanwhile, the new robot is walking through downtown Detroit, nearly causing several accidents. The police, pursuing the Angry Archer, crash into the robot, who subsequently asks them for help. Archer tells the robot to throw them aside so that they can escape, and the robot agrees. When Archer inquires as to his identity, the robot responds that he is "worthless-wreck-walking-pile-of-garbage" (all things he had been called by citizens who nearly slammed into him), so the Archer dubs him Wreck-Gar for short. He tries to explain that they steal from the rich and give to the poor (themselves), but Wreck-Gar gets the Archer's words confused. Seeing a passing armored car, Archer tells Wreck-Gar that they must "knock it over", so Wreck-Gar proceeds to chase the armored car and do just that.

[[Image:TFA Garbage In Out Spike Carly bumpy ride.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Oh shit, what are we gonna do now?!]]

Meanwhile, expecting mother Carly asks her husband, Spike, to ask the driver to slow down, only for Spike to learn that there is only a little girl in the car—and no driver! Ratchet tells them to keep quiet as he tries to find a hospital, only for the armored car knocked over by Wreck-Gar to land in his way. Jettisoning the humans, Ratchet and Bumblebee try to stop Wreck-Gar, but before they can do anything, the Angry Archer snags and flees with a canister that was in the armored car. Sari points out that Autobots are supposed to catch the bad guys, and Wreck-Gar assumes that he is an Autobot, slaps on an [[Insignia|Autobrand]], and goes after the Archer. Bumblebee and Sari go after him, while Ratchet offers to drive Spike and Carly to the hospital. They say they'll take a cab, leaving Ratchet miffed at their rudeness.

Outrunning the swinging Archer, Wreck-Gar hurls him into the air so he can "catch" him, allowing the Angry Archer to escape, but the canister falls into Wreck-Gar's backpack. As the Autobots and Sari show up, the Key starts to glow, and they realize that Wreck-Gar was created by an AllSpark fragment. Ratchet rudely tells Wreck-Gar that he is not an Autobot and is only good for one thing: GARBAGE! Wreck-Gar therefore [[Transformation|transforms]] into his garbage truck vehicle mode and leaves to deliver garbage to the people of Detroit—starting by covering Sari and the Autobots in a pile of it.

[[Image:GarbageInGarbageOut-Wreck-GarandLugnutwithaxe.jpg|right|200px|thumb|It's no Star Saber but it'll do.]]

Meanwhile, Lugnut has reached the city, and he confronts Wreck-Gar at the military base he and [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] previously visited. Lugnut demands the AllSpark fragment from the vehicle's driver, but Wreck-Gar transforms, revealing his robotic nature. When Wreck-Gar repeats Ratchet's statement that he's no Autobot, Lugnut concludes that Wreck-Gar is a loyal Decepticon, so Wreck-Gar slaps on a Decepticon symbol.

[[Image:Wreckgarbutton.jpg|left|100px|thumb|High five!]]

Back at the crime scene, Ratchet is removing the driver of the armored car when Powell and Fanzone show up. Powell reveals that the car was carrying the garbage-devouring microbots to a demonstration for Mayor Edsel. However, the canister carrying them is gone. Sari is more than willing to let Powell suffer, but Ratchet is concerned about what the microbots might do if infused with AllSpark energy. Tracking Wreck-Gar to the base, Ratchet demands the Microbots, only for Lugnut to transform and activate his [[Punch of Kill Everything]]. Wreck-Gar interprets this as the [[universal greeting]] and gives Lugnut a high five. Sari and the Autobots barely manage to avoid ground zero. As Lugnut transforms to attack, Wreck-Gar takes out the canister, which has cracked, allowing some of the microbots to touch Lugnut. Crying out in pain, Lugnut commands Wreck-Gar to get them off, so Wreck-Gar dissects Lugnut, causing his tail end, still carrying Wreck-Gar, to crash onto a garbage scow. Bumblebee declares their problems over, but Ratchet is worried. If those microbots could eat through Decepticon [[armor-plating]], there's no telling what they'll do to downtown Detroit.

On the river bank, Powell arrives to cancel the presentation with the mayor, only for the group to see the microbots eat the garbage on the scow. Powell quickly takes advantage of the situation to start wheeling and dealing. As the scow gets closer, Ratchet jumps from a nearby bridge to stop it. He tries to reason with Wreck-Gar, but everything fails, forcing Ratchet to make the ultimate sacrifice...and apologize. He tells Wreck-Gar he can be whatever he wants, and Wreck-Gar decides to save the city, vacuuming up the microbots. However, the microbots overload Wreck-Gar's backpack, causing him to fall into the river. Ratchet tries to pull him out with his magnets, but only finds junk. As Bumblebee and Sari declare Ratchet a hero, Powell cries foul, saying that Ratchet destroyed his product. Thus there is no deal with the city, and the garbage dispute will continue. Ratchet picks up Powell, the Mayor, and the Mayor's aide, and tells them to make peace or be thrown into the river. Powell and Edsel agree to a small increase to re-service the garbage bots, ending the dispute. Ratchet decides the cheering bystanders are lauding him, leading him to conclude that he does have people skills. Sari and Bumblebee know differently, however.

[[Image:Garbage In Garbage Out Wreck-Gar stuck.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Lost and Found (episode)#Quotes|Help! Give me a hand! Or-or a foot! How about a pelvis?]]]]

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the river, Wreck-Gar, buried shoulder-deep in sediment, assures the sea life that he is a hero and is there to help. First, however, he needs a hand. Or a fin.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (2)
*[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] (3)
*[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] (4)
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (5)
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] (7)
|c2=
*[[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] (10)
*[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] (11)
|c3=
*[[Porter C. Powell]] (1)
*[[Sari Sumdac]] (6)
*[[Carmine Fanzone]] (8)
*[[Spike Witwicky (Animated)|Spike Witwicky]] (12)
*[[Carly Witwicky (Animated)|Carly Witwicky]] (13)
*[[Angry Archer]] (14)
*[[Augustus Edsel]] (15)
*[[Miss Adrias]] (16)
|c4=
*[[Wreck-Gar (Animated)|Wreck-Gar]] (9)

}}

==Quotes==
"Stasis lock itself could not deter me from your grand and glorious plan, oh wise and noble Megatron!" 
''[Left optic twitches]'' "Just...''go''..."
:—'''Lugnut's''' blind worship can be too much even for '''Megatron''' sometimes.

"I don't suppose you can tell me what I am, funny green man?" 
"You are...my partner-in-crime. They call me Angry Archer!" 
"They call me 'worthless-wreck-walking-pile-of-garbage'!" 
"Oh, really? Bit of a mouthful. Perhaps we should just call you 'Wreck-Gar' for short."
:—'''Angry Archer''', Renaissance Man, does some on-the-spot dubbing.

''[The Autobots are stuck in traffic]'' 
'''Ratchet''': Move it, already! Don't you humans have anything better to do?! 
'''Sari''': You should really try to be more patient with people. 
'''Ratchet''': I'd be a lot more patient with them...if they'd GET OUT OF MY WAY!
:—Ratchet shows that road rage is alive and well in the 22nd century.

'''Bumblebee''': ''[To Wreck-Gar]'' What are you? ''[To Sari]'' What is he? 
'''Sari''': I don't know, but he's givin' off a ton of AllSpark energy. 
'''Wreck-Gar:''' I am Wreck-Gar! I give off a ton of AllSpark energy! 
'''Bumblebee''': So, what, an AllSpark fragment just brought a junk pile to life and made some new kind of Autobot?! 
'''Wreck-Gar''': I am Wreck-Gar! I am some new kind of Autobot?! 
'''Ratchet''': Listen up, scrapheap. You're not an Autobot, and you never will be an Autobot. You're only good for one thing...'''''GARBAGE!''''' 
'''Wreck-Gar''': I am Wreck-Gar! I am only good for one thing...'''''GARBAGE!''''' I must deliver garbage to all! ''[transforms and rolls out]''
:— Ratchet's lack of people skills backfires again.

'''Lugnut''': Are you an Autobot? 
'''Wreck-Gar''': I am Wreck-Gar! I am not an Autobot and never will be an Autobot! 
'''Lugnut''': Ah! Then you must be a Decepticon! 
'''Wreck-Gar''': I am Wreck-Gar! I...must be a Decepticon! 
''[Wreck-Gar places a Decepticon badge on his chest]'' 
'''Lugnut''': Aah, ALL HAIL MEGATRON! 
'''Wreck-Gar''': All hail Megatron! Uh...w-what's a 'Megatron'?
:— Wreck-Gar makes a new friend.

"You glitch-head! You're gonna destroy the whole city! You wouldn't dare do something THAT stupid!" 
"I am Wreck-Gar! I ''dare'' to be stupid! I will destroy the whole city!
:— '''Ratchet''' and '''Wreck-Gar'''. Yes, but does he count his chickens before they hatch?

"Well, whaddaya know. They like me. They really like me! Guess I got a way with words."
:— '''Ratchet''', discovering what we've known all along.

==Notes==
* This episode was first shown on Friday, [[April 25|April 25th]] at [[BotCon 2008]] (with the time-code running in the top-left corner).

===Animation or technical errors===
* In one scene where Ratchet crosses his arms, he gains a second war wound on his right arm.
* Though Wreck-Gar calls what he pulls from his backpack a "microscope", it's actually a telescope. Of course this could just be ignorance on his part as he had not been online for a single day yet.

===Continuity errors===
* Optimus pays honor to the [[Generation 1|long-standing tradition]] of his [[trailer]] disappearing when he transforms. His dump-truck trailer disappears magically along with all the garbage in it!
* Why don't Sari or Ratchet react to the Key when it starts to glow, indicating the presence of AllSpark energy?
* Sari uses the Key to help track down Wreck-Gar...which seems rather unnecessary, considering the noticeable trail of garbage he left behind.
* The previously cylindrical trash-bots now appear somewhat rectangular.

===Transformers references===
[[Image:Beemeatcycle.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Most fanwanky episode ever? Most likely.]]
* Wreck-Gar interprets Lugnut's incoming rocket punch as an invitation to a high five, and he happily delivers the [[universal greeting]].
*Wreck-Gar appears to have the original's near-invulnerability. After triggering Lugnut's [[Punch of Kill Everything]] and causing an huge explosion, Wreck-Gar is simply knocked down, but otherwise fine.
* Wreck-Gar's shifting allegiance and red optics as he faces down Ratchet on the garbage scow appear to be callbacks to the [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|original Wreck-Gar]], who seemed to be an enemy to the Autobots in his initial movie appearance, complete with red optics, and was even marketed as such in television [[commercial]]s.
* The ''Animated'' incarnations of Spike and Carly, who made a cameo in [[Transform and Roll Out|the pilot episode]], reappear with speaking lines and even get their names called out. In the process, Corey Burton reprises his post-[[The Transformers: The Movie|Movie]] voice for the adult [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]].
* Generation 1 Wreck-Gar's motorcycle alt mode can be spotted amongst the garbage that Wreck-Gar throws at Bumblebee.
* The term "microbots" is a reference to one of the [[Microbots|good old G1 episodes]].

===Foreign dubbing===
*'''Brazil'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Lixo dentro, lixo fora'''" ("Garbage In, Garbage Out")

'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Poubelle ouverte, poubelle fermée'''" ("Trash Can Open, Trash Can Closed")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Die Müll-Bots'''" ("The Garbage-Bots")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[July 18|18 July]] [[2008]]

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' '''レックガーの暴走''' (''Wreck-Gar no Bōsō'', "Wreck-Gar's Rampage")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[August 7|7 August]] [[2010]]
* It's Optimus's turn for the warning message and stock footage. Wreck-Gar wonders what he is and doesn't understand anything, other than that the show is starting during the intro.
* The [[universal greeting]] doesn't quite work out in Japanese, and Wreck-Gar instead sings a little ditty. The "carpet/thumb/income tack" gag also doesn't work as well.
* The outro [[commercial bumper]] for Wreck-Gar shows his robot mode in black silhouette with him asking who it is. The intro bumper shows his robot mode and has him announcing his name. This is a send-up/homage to the [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Who's_That_Pokémon? "Who's that Pokémon?"] bumpers from the ''Pokémon'' TV series.
* The [[Otoboto family]] act as news anchors, the family obviously trying not to lose their composure. It's also a promotion for the recently released DVD and the exclusive gold-chromed Optimus figure.
* During the "next episode" segment, Bumblebee and Ratchet promote a contest for which entries—drawings of the entrant's favorite Transformer—must be postmarked by August 31 to TV Aichi, the prizes being Voyager Optimus and TF-26 Megatron Light & Sound. Additional information can be found at [http://www.tv-aichi.co.jp/TF-animated/news/index.html#100726a TV Aichi's site].

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Śmieci weszły, Śmieci wyszły'''" ("Garbage In, Garbage Out")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

===Real-world references===
* Wreck-Gar's "I ''dare'' to be stupid!" is, of course, a reference to one of [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]'s most well-known songs, "[[Dare to Be Stupid]]"–a [[Wikipedia:Devo|Devo]] "style parody" which appeared on the soundtrack to [[The Transformers: The Movie|the original animated movie]], and was used there in the scene with the [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|original Wreck-Gar]].
* While driving Spike and Carly to the hospital, Ratchet drives past the Wyatt Toys toy store, a reference to Art Director [[Derrick Wyatt]] previously seen in "[[Sound and Fury]]".
* The line "They like me, they really like me!" refers to Sally Field's Oscar acceptance speech in 1985.
*The line "Thumb tack? Carpet tack? Income tack?" bears a striking resemblance to a gag used by Groucho Marx in ''Duck Soup''.
*The title "Garbage In, Garbage Out" is a phrase used in computing meaning that if you give a computer bad data, or garbage, it gives you the same, as it just does what it's programmed to do without correcting your errors. This makes it very appropriate for Wreck-Gar's introductory episode, as it seems to be the case for him as well.

===Trivia===
*Even Megatron gets annoyed by Lugnut's constant worshipping. [[Inferno (BW)|Sound familiar]]?
*The mayor still doesn't talk, letting his [[Miss Adrias|Press Secretary]] speak for him instead.
*Aside from Wreck-Gar, Weird Al also voices the Sumdac Systems technician who explains the new version of the nanobots to Porter C. Powell.
*This is the first and only time we see Lugnut use his mace/axe weapon. Originally, Hasbro never told the cartoon team that they had included it with the toy. As such, they only found out after Season 1 was finished.
*Given that Carly is about to give birth when she seemed to have a wafer-thin profile in [[Transform and Roll Out|the pilot]], the Autobots seem to have spent at least six months or so in Detroit.
*This episode sees the return of the human newscaster.
*Wreck-Gar appears to have access to [[Subspace|Hammerspace]].
*Bulkhead appears, but has no lines. Blitzwing and Isaac Sumdac are also absent.
*One of the two policemen Wreck-Gar picks up resembles Officer Dibble from ''[[Wikipedia:Top_Cat|Top Cat]]''.
*This episode is the first to feature Ratchet's full robot-to-vehicle [[stock footage|transformation animation sequence]].
*Spike and Carly Witwicky are shown having a baby. [[Daniel Witwicky|Hmmm]]

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

[[Category:Animated episodes]]

Garbage In, Garbage Out

2010-10-15T21:43:29Z

97.89.131.42: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|series2=AniJapan
|image=Wreck-Gar-Ani.jpg
|caption=Wreck-Gar auditions for the role of [[Wikipedia:WALL-E|WALL·E]].
|ep=20
|ep2=19
|prev2=Mission Accomplished
|next2=Velocity
|title="Garbage In, Garbage Out"
|airdate=[[May 3]], 2008
|written by=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|directed by=[[Ben Jones]] [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|animation studio=[[The Answer Studio]]
}}

'''AllSpark energy turns a junkpile into a sentient robot who tries to help the Autobots, but ends up doing more harm than good.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TFA Garbage In Out Garbage bots malfunction.JPG|left|200px|thumb|"Too much garbage in your face? There's plenty of space out in space!"]]

Garbage is piling up all over [[Detroit]], as the trash-bots are malfunctioning and [[Sumdac Systems]] CEO Porter C. Powell refuses to repair them until the city and he can come to an agreement on payment. In Powell's office, a technician demonstrates a new form of the [[Nanite|nanobots]] that [[Transform and Roll Out|caused big problems a while back]], designed this time to break down garbage into its component molecules, quickly and cheaply solving the garbage problem (while allowing Powell to charge the city a hefty fee).

Elsewhere, the [[Autobot]]s are trying to patch up their still-damaged reputation by helping pile garbage into scows. Ratchet ends up getting into a shouting match with an old man whose car ended up under a garbage mound, resulting in the car being dumped in the river and the two old grouches almost coming to blows. Captain Fanzone arrives to break up the scene and remarks that Ratchet needs to work on his "people skills". Prime agrees and assigns Bumblebee and Sari to try and help out Ratchet while they work more on the garbage problem. Ratchet is not happy with this.

Just before the Autobots depart, though, Sari's [[AllSpark Key]] glows, but she quickly disregards this, and so she misses the emergence of a junk-robot from the scow, brought to life by an [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]] shard. The confused machine tries to figure out his identity using the scraps around him, but is unsatisfied with the results. Spying a passing blimp with a sign for the Detroit police department with the slogan "We're Here to Help", the robot happily goes about trying to find the police for some help with his identity.

[[Image:TFA Garbage In Out Megatron twitch.JPG|right|200px|thumb|If [[Inferno (BW)|you]] call me your [[Megatron (BW)|queen]] ''one more time''...]]

At the Decepticon base, Lugnut detects a surge in AllSpark energy, and Megatron concludes that another fragment must have turned up. Megatron orders Lugnut to retrieve it, and Lugnut continues his glory-spouting as he leaves. Megatron's optical sensor begins to twitch noticeably.

Stuck in a traffic jam, Ratchet is about to display some serious road rage when Bumblebee puts on his siren and clears a path for them. Heading through, they find [[Witwicky|a familiar couple]] who are expecting a child, but their car has broken down on the way to the hospital. Ratchet agrees to take them to the hospital, then jets off at high speed, despite Sari's warning to keep the mother calm.

Meanwhile, the new robot is walking through downtown Detroit, nearly causing several accidents. The police, pursuing the Angry Archer, crash into the robot, who subsequently asks them for help. Archer tells the robot to throw them aside so that they can escape, and the robot agrees. When Archer inquires as to his identity, the robot responds that he is "worthless-wreck-walking-pile-of-garbage" (all things he had been called by citizens who nearly slammed into him), so the Archer dubs him Wreck-Gar for short. He tries to explain that they steal from the rich and give to the poor (themselves), but Wreck-Gar gets the Archer's words confused. Seeing a passing armored car, Archer tells Wreck-Gar that they must "knock it over", so Wreck-Gar proceeds to chase the armored car and do just that.

[[Image:TFA Garbage In Out Spike Carly bumpy ride.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Oh shit, what are we gonna do now?!]]

Meanwhile, expecting mother Carly asks her husband, Spike, to ask the driver to slow down, only for Spike to learn that there is only a little girl in the car—and no driver! Ratchet tells them to keep quiet as he tries to find a hospital, only for the armored car knocked over by Wreck-Gar to land in his way. Jettisoning the humans, Ratchet and Bumblebee try to stop Wreck-Gar, but before they can do anything, the Angry Archer snags and flees with a canister that was in the armored car. Sari points out that Autobots are supposed to catch the bad guys, and Wreck-Gar assumes that he is an Autobot, slaps on an [[Insignia|Autobrand]], and goes after the Archer. Bumblebee and Sari go after him, while Ratchet offers to drive Spike and Carly to the hospital. They say they'll take a cab, leaving Ratchet miffed at their rudeness.

Outrunning the swinging Archer, Wreck-Gar hurls him into the air so he can "catch" him, allowing the Angry Archer to escape, but the canister falls into Wreck-Gar's backpack. As the Autobots and Sari show up, the Key starts to glow, and they realize that Wreck-Gar was created by an AllSpark fragment. Ratchet rudely tells Wreck-Gar that he is not an Autobot and is only good for one thing: GARBAGE! Wreck-Gar therefore [[Transformation|transforms]] into his garbage truck vehicle mode and leaves to deliver garbage to the people of Detroit—starting by covering Sari and the Autobots in a pile of it.

[[Image:GarbageInGarbageOut-Wreck-GarandLugnutwithaxe.jpg|right|200px|thumb|It's no Star Saber but it'll do.]]

Meanwhile, Lugnut has reached the city, and he confronts Wreck-Gar at the military base he and [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] previously visited. Lugnut demands the AllSpark fragment from the vehicle's driver, but Wreck-Gar transforms, revealing his robotic nature. When Wreck-Gar repeats Ratchet's statement that he's no Autobot, Lugnut concludes that Wreck-Gar is a loyal Decepticon, so Wreck-Gar slaps on a Decepticon symbol.

[[Image:Wreckgarbutton.jpg|left|100px|thumb|High five!]]

Back at the crime scene, Ratchet is removing the driver of the armored car when Powell and Fanzone show up. Powell reveals that the car was carrying the garbage-devouring microbots to a demonstration for Mayor Edsel. However, the canister carrying them is gone. Sari is more than willing to let Powell suffer, but Ratchet is concerned about what the microbots might do if infused with AllSpark energy. Tracking Wreck-Gar to the base, Ratchet demands the Microbots, only for Lugnut to transform and activate his [[Punch of Kill Everything]]. Wreck-Gar interprets this as the [[universal greeting]] and gives Lugnut a high five. Sari and the Autobots barely manage to avoid ground zero. As Lugnut transforms to attack, Wreck-Gar takes out the canister, which has cracked, allowing some of the microbots to touch Lugnut. Crying out in pain, Lugnut commands Wreck-Gar to get them off, so Wreck-Gar dissects Lugnut, causing his tail end, still carrying Wreck-Gar, to crash onto a garbage scow. Bumblebee declares their problems over, but Ratchet is worried. If those microbots could eat through Decepticon [[armor-plating]], there's no telling what they'll do to downtown Detroit.

On the river bank, Powell arrives to cancel the presentation with the mayor, only for the group to see the microbots eat the garbage on the scow. Powell quickly takes advantage of the situation to start wheeling and dealing. As the scow gets closer, Ratchet jumps from a nearby bridge to stop it. He tries to reason with Wreck-Gar, but everything fails, forcing Ratchet to make the ultimate sacrifice...and apologize. He tells Wreck-Gar he can be whatever he wants, and Wreck-Gar decides to save the city, vacuuming up the microbots. However, the microbots overload Wreck-Gar's backpack, causing him to fall into the river. Ratchet tries to pull him out with his magnets, but only finds junk. As Bumblebee and Sari declare Ratchet a hero, Powell cries foul, saying that Ratchet destroyed his product. Thus there is no deal with the city, and the garbage dispute will continue. Ratchet picks up Powell, the Mayor, and the Mayor's aide, and tells them to make peace or be thrown into the river. Powell and Edsel agree to a small increase to re-service the garbage bots, ending the dispute. Ratchet decides the cheering bystanders are lauding him, leading him to conclude that he does have people skills. Sari and Bumblebee know differently, however.

[[Image:Garbage In Garbage Out Wreck-Gar stuck.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Lost and Found (episode)#Quotes|Help! Give me a hand! Or-or a foot! How about a pelvis?]]]]

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the river, Wreck-Gar, buried shoulder-deep in sediment, assures the sea life that he is a hero and is there to help. First, however, he needs a hand. Or a fin.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (2)
*[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] (3)
*[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] (4)
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (5)
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] (7)
|c2=
*[[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] (10)
*[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] (11)
|c3=
*[[Porter C. Powell]] (1)
*[[Sari Sumdac]] (6)
*[[Carmine Fanzone]] (8)
*[[Spike Witwicky (Animated)|Spike Witwicky]] (12)
*[[Carly Witwicky (Animated)|Carly Witwicky]] (13)
*[[Angry Archer]] (14)
*[[Augustus Edsel]] (15)
*[[Miss Adrias]] (16)
|c4=
*[[Wreck-Gar (Animated)|Wreck-Gar]] (9)

}}

==Quotes==
"Stasis lock itself could not deter me from your grand and glorious plan, oh wise and noble Megatron!" 
''[Left optic twitches]'' "Just...''go''..."
:—'''Lugnut's''' blind worship can be too much even for '''Megatron''' sometimes.

"I don't suppose you can tell me what I am, funny green man?" 
"You are...my partner-in-crime. They call me Angry Archer!" 
"They call me 'worthless-wreck-walking-pile-of-garbage'!" 
"Oh, really? Bit of a mouthful. Perhaps we should just call you 'Wreck-Gar' for short."
:—'''Angry Archer''', Renaissance Man, does some on-the-spot dubbing.

''[The Autobots are stuck in traffic]'' 
'''Ratchet''': Move it, already! Don't you humans have anything better to do?! 
'''Sari''': You should really try to be more patient with people. 
'''Ratchet''': I'd be a lot more patient with them...if they'd GET OUT OF MY WAY!
:—Ratchet shows that road rage is alive and well in the 22nd century.

'''Bumblebee''': ''[To Wreck-Gar]'' What are you? ''[To Sari]'' What is he? 
'''Sari''': I don't know, but he's givin' off a ton of AllSpark energy. 
'''Wreck-Gar:''' I am Wreck-Gar! I give off a ton of AllSpark energy! 
'''Bumblebee''': So, what, an AllSpark fragment just brought a junk pile to life and made some new kind of Autobot?! 
'''Wreck-Gar''': I am Wreck-Gar! I am some new kind of Autobot?! 
'''Ratchet''': Listen up, scrapheap. You're not an Autobot, and you never will be an Autobot. You're only good for one thing...'''''GARBAGE!''''' 
'''Wreck-Gar''': I am Wreck-Gar! I am only good for one thing...'''''GARBAGE!''''' I must deliver garbage to all! ''[transforms and rolls out]''
:— Ratchet's lack of people skills backfires again.

'''Lugnut''': Are you an Autobot? 
'''Wreck-Gar''': I am Wreck-Gar! I am not an Autobot and never will be an Autobot! 
'''Lugnut''': Ah! Then you must be a Decepticon! 
'''Wreck-Gar''': I am Wreck-Gar! I...must be a Decepticon! 
''[Wreck-Gar places a Decepticon badge on his chest]'' 
'''Lugnut''': Aah, ALL HAIL MEGATRON! 
'''Wreck-Gar''': All hail Megatron! Uh...w-what's a 'Megatron'?
:— Wreck-Gar makes a new friend.

"You glitch-head! You're gonna destroy the whole city! You wouldn't dare do something THAT stupid!" 
"I am Wreck-Gar! I ''dare'' to be stupid! I will destroy the whole city!
:— '''Ratchet''' and '''Wreck-Gar'''. Yes, but does he count his chickens before they hatch?

"Well, whaddaya know. They like me. They really like me! Guess I got a way with words."
:— '''Ratchet''', discovering what we've known all along.

==Notes==
* This episode was first shown on Friday, [[April 25|April 25th]] at [[BotCon 2008]] (with the time-code running in the top-left corner).

===Animation or technical errors===
* In one scene where Ratchet crosses his arms, he gains a second war wound on his right arm.
* Though Wreck-Gar calls what he pulls from his backpack a "microscope", it's actually a telescope. Of course this could just be ignorance on his part as he had not been online for a single day yet.

===Continuity errors===
* Optimus pays honor to the [[Generation 1|long-standing tradition]] of his [[trailer]] disappearing when he transforms. His dump-truck trailer disappears magically along with all the garbage in it!
* Why don't Sari or Ratchet react to the Key when it starts to glow, indicating the presence of AllSpark energy?
* Sari uses the Key to help track down Wreck-Gar...which seems rather unnecessary, considering the noticeable trail of garbage he left behind.
* The previously cylindrical trash-bots now appear somewhat rectangular.

===Transformers references===
[[Image:Beemeatcycle.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Most fanwanky episode ever? Most likely.]]
* Wreck-Gar interprets Lugnut's incoming rocket punch as an invitation to a high five, and he happily delivers the [[universal greeting]].
*Wreck-Gar appears to have the original's near-invulnerability. After triggering Lugnut's [[Punch of Kill Everything]] and causing an huge explosion, Wreck-Gar is simply knocked down, but otherwise fine.
* Wreck-Gar's shifting allegiance and red optics as he faces down Ratchet on the garbage scow appear to be callbacks to the [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|original Wreck-Gar]], who seemed to be an enemy to the Autobots in his initial movie appearance, complete with red optics, and was even marketed as such in television [[commercial]]s.
* The ''Animated'' incarnations of Spike and Carly, who made a cameo in [[Transform and Roll Out|the pilot episode]], reappear with speaking lines and even get their names called out. In the process, Corey Burton reprises his post-[[The Transformers: The Movie|Movie]] voice for the adult [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]].
* Generation 1 Wreck-Gar's motorcycle alt mode can be spotted amongst the garbage that Wreck-Gar throws at Bumblebee.
* The term "microbots" is a reference to one of the [[Microbots|good old G1 episodes]].

===Foreign dubbing===
*'''Brazil'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Lixo dentro, lixo fora'''" ("Garbage In, Garbage Out")

'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Poubelle ouverte, poubelle fermée'''" ("Trash Can Open, Trash Can Closed")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Die Müll-Bots'''" ("The Garbage-Bots")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[July 18|18 July]] [[2008]]

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' '''レックガーの暴走''' (''Wreck-Gar no Bōsō'', "Wreck-Gar's Rampage")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[August 7|7 August]] [[2010]]
* It's Optimus's turn for the warning message and stock footage. Wreck-Gar wonders what he is and doesn't understand anything, other than that the show is starting during the intro.
* The [[universal greeting]] doesn't quite work out in Japanese, and Wreck-Gar instead sings a little ditty. The "carpet/thumb/income tack" gag also doesn't work as well.
* The outro [[commercial bumper]] for Wreck-Gar shows his robot mode in black silhouette with him asking who it is. The intro bumper shows his robot mode and has him announcing his name. This is a send-up/homage to the [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Who's_That_Pokémon? "Who's that Pokémon?"] bumpers from the ''Pokémon'' TV series.
* The [[Otoboto family]] act as news anchors, the family obviously trying not to lose their composure. It's also a promotion for the recently released DVD and the exclusive gold-chromed Optimus figure.
* During the "next episode" segment, Bumblebee and Ratchet promote a contest for which entries—drawings of the entrant's favorite Transformer—must be postmarked by August 31 to TV Aichi, the prizes being Voyager Optimus and TF-26 Megatron Light & Sound. Additional information can be found at [http://www.tv-aichi.co.jp/TF-animated/news/index.html#100726a TV Aichi's site].

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Śmieci weszły, Śmieci wyszły'''" ("Garbage In, Garbage Out")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

===Real-world references===
* Wreck-Gar's "I ''dare'' to be stupid!" is, of course, a reference to one of [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]'s most well-known songs, "[[Dare to Be Stupid]]"–a [[Wikipedia:Devo|Devo]] "style parody" which appeared on the soundtrack to [[The Transformers: The Movie|the original animated movie]], and was used there in the scene with the [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|original Wreck-Gar]].
* While driving Spike and Carly to the hospital, Ratchet drives past the Wyatt Toys toy store, a reference to Art Director [[Derrick Wyatt]] previously seen in "[[Sound and Fury]]".
* The line "They like me, they really like me!" refers to Sally Field's Oscar acceptance speech in 1985.
*The line "Thumb tack? Carpet tack? Income tack?" bears a striking resemblance to a gag used by Groucho Marx in ''Duck Soup''.
*The title "Garbage In, Garbage Out" is a phrase used in computing meaning that if you give a computer bad data, or garbage, it gives you the same, as it just does what it's programmed to do without correcting your errors. This makes it very appropriate for Wreck-Gar's introductory episode, as it seems to be the case for him as well.

===Trivia===
*Even Megatron gets annoyed by Lugnut's constant worshipping. [[Inferno (BW)|Sound familiar]]?
*The mayor still doesn't talk, letting his [[Miss Adrias|Press Secretary]] speak for him instead.
*Aside from Wreck-Gar, Weird Al also voices the Sumdac Systems technician who explains the new version of the nanobots to Porter C. Powell.
*This is the first and only time we see Lugnut use his mace/axe weapon. Originally, Hasbro never told the cartoon team that they had included it with the toy. As such, they only found out after Season 1 was finished.
*Given that Carly is about to give birth when she seemed to have a wafer-thin profile in [[Transform and Roll Out|the pilot]], the Autobots seem to have spent at least six months or so in Detroit.
*This episode sees the return of the human newscaster.
*Wreck-Gar appears to have access to [[Subspace|Hammerspace]].
*Bulkhead appears, but has no lines. Blitzwing and Isaac Sumdac are also absent.
*One of the two policemen Wreck-Gar picks up resembles Officer Dibble from ''[[Wikipedia:Top_Cat|Top Cat]]''.
*This episode is the first to feature Ratchet's full robot-to-vehicle [[stock footage|transformation animation sequence]].
*Spike and Carly whitwicky are shown having a baby. [[Daniel whitwicky|Hmmm]]

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

[[Category:Animated episodes]]