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Deus ex Machina

2011-03-12T19:34:24Z

98.213.187.219: /* Real-world references */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 10
|prev=Convoy (episode)
|next=Speed Metal
|image=DeusExMachina-Screamer grins.jpg
|caption="With this map, I shall find all of the [[Cyber Planet Key|Cyber Planet K]]— wait. Wrong franchise."
|title="Deus ex Machina"
|airdate=[[March 11]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Nicole Dubuc]]
|directed by=[[Shaunt Nigoghossian]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''When Bulkhead makes a discovery in Greece, the race is on to recover an Energon Harvester.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] is failing to enjoy some detention when Bulkhead hauls up outside the school, blaring loud music. She takes advantage of an inattentive teacher to sneak out and join her Autobot buddy, who's obliged to act as her getaway car when a teacher approaches. They head for [[Autobot Outpost Omega-1|base]] while Bulkhead tries to explain to Miko that she'll never get into college if she flunks out. Ratchet reports he's found an [[energon (fuel)|energon]] pulse in [[Greece]].

Meanwhile, [[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] has finally arrived on the ''[[Nemesis (Prime)|Nemesis]]''. [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] shows him to [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]]'s sick bed.

Bulkhead and Miko arrive at an excavation site in Greece, but to her disappointment, he's intending her to research her history report. Bulkhead says the humans have hit an energon vein, but then he spots something Cybertronian in an ancient fresco among the ruins.

[[Image:TFPrime_KnockOutDrill.JPG|left|thumb|300px|Oh, look, there's a dangerous power tool right next to a comatose Megatron... Starscream, wipe that grin off your face.]]

Starscream explains Megatron's condition to Knock Out, who says things would be easier with his assistant, but [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] is on the trail of some energon.

Bulkhead identifies the object in the fresco as an [[Energon Harvester]], but as Miko snaps a picture, they're interrupted by the arrival of Breakdown. Wondering if Bulkhead's new pet plays fetch, Breakdown throws a pillar at Miko. Bulkhead intercepts the pillar and is tackled by Breakdown, who slams him into the fresco, shattering it. The Decepticon races off, but Miko shows Bulkhead the image she snapped of the fresco.

Back at base, [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] confirms that the depicted device is an Energon Harvester. The Autobots are relieved that the fresco was broken, as they think it means the Decepticons won't be able to find the Harvester, but [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]] points out that there are photos of the thing online, as the actual Harvester is held in a museum. The Autobots try to contact [[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] for help, but he's away on a training retreat. Optimus says they'll have to obtain the Harvester themselves, and Miko volunteers the kids to help.

[[Image:DeusExMachina-fourcons.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Would you say this episode has a...''plethora'' of named Decepticons?]]

[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] has found the same photo using Breakdown's description of the Harvester, and Starscream says Megatron's revival will have to wait.

The Autobots move into position around the museum before the kids move in via [[GroundBridge]] on a motorized scissor lift. Miko deals with a security camera by taking a picture of the Harvester and balancing her phone on top of the camera. While they move towards the statue holding the Harvester, Optimus has an encounter outside with Knock Out and Breakdown, the latter of whom fires a missile at the museum. Optimus manages to catch the missile, but Knock Out shocks him with an energon staff. Breakdown barrels towards the museum entrance, with [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] and [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] failing to stop him. Bulkhead joins the fight as well, but the disturbance sets off the museum's alarms, alerting the security guard. The kids finally manage to get the Harvester onto their lift platform and head for the exit. Miko, scouting ahead on foot, is caught by the security guard, who whisks her away. Raf and [[Jack Darby|Jack]] open a loading ramp door and run towards it, expecting Arcee, but instead it's Soundwave, who grabs the Harvester and departs. Knock Out and Breakdown spot him leaving and make their getaway as well. Meanwhile, Miko attempts to spin a yarn to the security guard about how she got locked in the museum while researching her history report.

Believing that Starscream will attempt to use the Harvester to gather energon as quickly as possible, Optimus, Bumblebee and Arcee go out attempting to intercept them. [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] works on a replica Harvester to return to the museum in place of the stolen one, while Bulkhead realizes that the Decepticons might be intending to go after the energon seam in Greece.

Indeed, Starscream, Knock Out and Breakdown are at the excavation site. When the other two Decepticons attempt to correct him on who's to thank for the Harvester, Starscream demonstrates the device's effectiveness on a hapless [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]], and the pair are suddenly a lot more submissive. While Starscream starts tapping the energon seam, Bulkhead attempts to sneak up behind the Decepticons but clumsily lets them know he's there. He manages to deal with Knock Out and Breakdown until Starscream turns the Harvester on him. Struggling to stay upright, Bulkhead reaches Starscream, smashes the 'Con in the face, and breaks the Harvester. He throws the device into the sky, where it explodes. The Decepticons are about to move in and finish the weakened Bulkhead when the rest of the Autobots arrive and chase them off.

Miko is starting to run out of Greek history to bore the museum security guard with, when Fowler turns up to collect her. The guard is surprised when Fowler points out the replica Harvester in place on the statue. Outside, Miko is reunited with Bulkhead and tells him all about how she's going to write her report on how the Autobots interacted with ancient Greece.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (4)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (6)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (11)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (13)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (14)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (7)
*[[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] (8)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (9)
*[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] (10)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (15)
*A [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]] (17)

|c3=
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (1)
*[[Sierra's friend]] (2)
*[[Miko's teacher]] (3)
*[[Jack Darby]] (7)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (12)
*[[Museum security guard]] (16)
*[[William Fowler]] (18)

}}

==Quotes==
"Miko, listen. If you fail high school, you can't go to—uh...uni...kesa...colls...w-wait, what's that word again?" 
"Uh, college?"
:—'''Bulkhead''' tries to give '''Miko''' a lecture on academia.

"It's about time, Knock Out. I do not enjoy being kept waiting!" 
"Ah, it was a long drive, Starscream. I'm still picking bugs out of my grille." 
"Yes, right, you're one of ''those''." 
"Come again?" 
"Never understood why any self-respecting Decepticon would choose 'automobile' as his vehicle mode when he could have [[flight]]!" 
"I like the way I look in steel-belted radials." 
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Knock Out''' discuss an infraction of [[Autobot Cars|the]] [[Decepticon Planes|norm]].

"You've reached Special Agent William Fowler. I'm currently on an ''intensive training retreat'' and unavailable until Tuesday." 
"I hate talking to machines." 
:—'''Agent Fowler''''s answering machine and '''Ratchet''' pull off their own version of a [[Captain Fanzone]] gag.

"(wolf whistles) Sweet rims, 24 gauge... You're ''reeeeeeal'' heavy-duty! Just like my [[Breakdown (Prime)|friend]] here!"
:—[[Side Burn]]'s got red cars, '''Knock Out''''s got [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|red trucks]].

"Bulkhead, I NEEDED THAT!"
:—Poor '''Ratchet''' just can't catch a break.

"We're already trespassers and thieves. Why not add forgery to the list?"
:—'''Jack Darby'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===
*When Optimus, Arcee and Bumblebee find Bulkhead lying on the ground, Arcee and Bumblebee's optics are dim, while Optimus's and Bulkhead's are not.
* The newspaper Miko's teacher is holding is once again printed with the "Sports" page on the left instead of the right. It's also the same issue (with the same reverse page order) that Raf was using to make his volcano out of several weeks ago, despite being a daily.
* The two pages in Miko's open textbook are mirror images of each other.

===Continuity errors===
*The police have the worst response time imaginable. The guard presumably called them right after the harvester was stolen, yet they never show up. Even accounting for the fact that Fowler would have called them off eventually, it should have only taken them minutes to get there.
*We never actually see Soundwave take the harvester off of Raf and Jack.

===Transformers references===
*The energon harvester used by the "ancients" is a more portable version of the live-action movie universe's [[solar harvester]]s.
*The construction vehicles near the beginning bear a striking resemblance to a couple of familiar construction vehicles, only in their Generation 2 colours.

===Foreign dubbing===

===Real-world references===
[[Image:DeusexMachina-godfresco.jpg|thumb|250px|"Nothing is true, everything is permitted."]]
*The title is a reference to "[[Wikipedia:Deus ex Machina|Deus ex Machina]]", which Miko mentions while talking to the [[museum security guard]], just before Fowler becomes an example of the trope.
*The god depicted on the fresco is presumably [[Wikipedia:Poseidon|Poseidon]], because he bears his symbolic trident. The soldiers appear to be [[wikipedia:Sparta|Spartan]]s, as their shields bear the [[Wikipedia:Lambda|Lambda]]—which is odd, as their patron god was [[Wikipedia:Ares |Ares]].
*An ancient golden orb that is actually alien technology rather than a magical device of gods? Someone at [[Hasbro Studios]] must've played ''[[Wikipedia:Assassin's Creed|Assassin's Creed]]''—which casts the Spartan shield symbol and Poseidon's staff in a whole new light...
* When Starscream uses the Energon Harvester on one of the Vehicons, it looks some what similar to how the ragdolls souls were sucked out in the 2009 film "9"

===Trivia===
*Initial descriptions of this episode said that the Autobots were going to Greece to recover the Harvester. While it starts off housed in an American museum, the Harvester does end up in Greece when the Decepticons take it there, so technically the Autobots do end up going to Greece in an attempt to recover it.
*Miko's teacher is reading a copy of ''[[The Jasper Daily]]''. The security guard at the museum is reading the same issue, despite the museum being located in a big city that is obviously not [[Jasper]]. It's also the same issue of the publication that Raf was using to make his papier-mâché volcano in "[[Masters & Students]]."
*There is a painting of [[Big Rocks National Park]] in the security guard's office, as well as a calendar set to March, which handily matches the month this episode first aired.
*Knock Out and Breakdown are the first Decepticons who weren't part of the main cast to unquestionably survive their debut episode. The first guest-star Cybertronian to survive his own debut episode was [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]].
*Twice in promotional blurbs for the episode, it was mentioned [[Lugnut (WFC)|Lugnut]] would be in the episode.<ref>[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=31247 Comic Book Resources]</ref><ref>[http://www.allspark.com/content/view/8582/20/ AllSpark.com]</ref> The error was also on the Hub's Facebook video for the episode, but was changed after a fan pointed it out.
*When Miko takes a picture and puts the cellphone display in front of the security camera, the picture comes out flawless on the guard´s screen. In real life, it would look blurry.
*Soundwave must have some very...[[Female Transformer|feminine]] legs if Jack mistook him for Arcee from the knees down.
*Knowledge of Megatron's condition appears to have been confined to the crew of the ''Nemesis''.

==Home video releases==

== Footnotes ==
<references/>

==External links==

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Savage Noble

2011-03-08T23:01:41Z

98.213.187.219: /* Real-world references */

{{episode
|series=BMtoon
|ep=15
|image=SavageNoble title.jpg
|caption=''Puff, the magic dragon, lived by the sea...''
|title="Savage Noble"
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[February 16]], 2000
|written by=[[Len Wein]]
|directed by=[[Greg Donis]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''The Maximals discover two strange new organic creatures, but what secrets do they hide?'''

:''French title:'' '''Noble Sauvage''' ("Savage Noble")
:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Noble et Sauvage''' ("Noble and Savage")
:''Japanese title:'' '''怪物の悩み''' (''Kaibutsu no Nayami'', "The Monster's Anguish")
:''Spanish title:'' '''El Buen Salvaje'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:SavageNoble Maximals Grand Mal.jpg|left|thumb|200px|I see you.]]
The [[Maximal]]s stare up at the [[Grand Mal|giant floating head]] of [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]. [[Rattrap]] despairs, waiting for the hammer to drop, then is shocked when nothing happens. [[Optimus Primal|Primal]] suspects that, for some reason, Megatron ''can't'' do anything.

[[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] hauls [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] up for a closer look; both are repelled by an energy field, but Primal again suspects it's purely automated.

Optimus sends the others to find [[Jetstorm (BM)|Jetstorm]] and [[Thrust (BM)|Thrust]], while he attempts to contact Megatron's [[Spark]]. Nightscream leads the group to one of his old hangouts, a big, generator-filled room with a waterfall. Blast-marks on the walls show that the [[Vehicon general|Vehicon Generals]] were fighting someone or something recently. The [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicon]]s themselves attack just then, with Thrust vowing vengeance for the ambush.

[[Image:SavageNoble Savage approaches.jpg|right|thumb|200px|"Ah, hello! I'm trying to start a book club, and I was wondering if you'd...hey, where are you going?"]]
The two teams exchange words, with Blackarachnia still trying to reach [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] within Jetstorm. A fight is about to break out, when an eerie howling distracts the group and finally convinces the Vehicons that the Maximals didn't attack them. [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] leads the others off in a hasty retreat. The Vehicons follow as something massive, spiky, scaly, and four-legged lumbers in the shadows behind them. The group pauses a moment later to observe the beast, a dragon-like creature with spikes on its wings, lips, nose, claws, legs, torso, you name it. They retreat as it begins a firebolt-spewing advance.

Elsewhere, Optimus goes on a spiritual hunt. He enters the Spark/astral/whatever plane, calling out to his old foe. He's answered by Megatron's bellowing voice; insubstantial visions of Megatron's head surround him, laughing, mocking, screaming....and the vision ends. Primal suspects that whatever he just contacted wasn't a sentient mind.

Cheetor, meanwhile, orders the group to stand down, not wanting to destroy the creature before they can figure out what it is. Jetstorm isn't happy about taking orders from Cheets, but the creature easily repels his and Thrust's attacks, knocking them out. A random shot buries the Maximals long enough for the creature to escape.

[[Image:SavageNoble Noble cowers.jpg|left|thumb|200px|"I am not an animal! I am not—oh, wait, I guess I am."]]
The Maximals track the creature to higher levels in the generator plant, and there discover a wolf-like creature hiding shyly in the shadows. Nightscream suspects the beast is another survivor, like him. The Maximals offer friendship, and the creature introduces himself as [[Noble]] and recounts (in [[Forbidden Fruit|a very familiar fashion]]) the story of the Vehicon invasion. Noble fell into a pit and awoke in his current form.

Further pleasantries are interrupted by a strafing attack by Jetstorm and Thrust, hunting for the dragon, Savage. But before the Maximals can even worry about defending their new friend, he disappears while their backs are turned.

Cheetor contacts Optimus, who still hasn't found any trace of Megatron. The group goes hunting for Noble. They find the dragon-creature, growling ferociously. Nightscream is convinced the beast has done away with Noble and leaps to attack. Only Blackarachnia's quick thinking keeps him from getting blasted with fire-breath. The group follows as the creature flies off, since they can't leave it loose in [[Cybertropolis]].

[[Image:SavageNoble Noble with wings.jpg|right|thumb|200px|"What? What are you staring at? Have I got some dirt on my face?"]]
Primal arrives and orders the group to split up to cover more ground. Rattrap eventually finds the beast, which has him cornered and petrified. To his relief, it chooses to ignore him. Cheetor hems the beast in by chopping down a bridge, and the others stop it from the other direction. Primal begins to approach the beast, offering understanding and compassion. The Vehicon generals arrive and find the beast surrounded, but the dragon bats them away with a tail-slash, sending them over the horizon. After a long moment of carefully approaching the beast, Nightscream touches Savage and calms him enough for him to transform...into Noble. The two creatures are one, a beast-to-beast [[Transformer]].

Primal vows to help Noble, even as Noble warns that he can't control his other half. Nightscream reassures him, and Noble smiles to himself—just a bit ominously, yesss...

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s
|c1=
*[[Rattrap]] (2)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (3)
*[[Optimus Primal]] (4)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (5)
*[[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] (6)

|h2=[[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicon]]s
|c2=
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Jetstorm (BM)|Jetstorm]] (7)
*[[Thrust (BM)|Thrust]] (8)

|c4=
*[[Noble]] (9)

}}

==Quotes==
"I'm going in for a closer look." 
"Isn't he ugly enough from here?"
:—'''Blackarachnia''' and '''Nightscream''' discuss Megatron's giant head.

"Get it through your CPU! That program has been deleted. I'm Jetstorm now. PERIOD!"
:—'''Jetstorm''' shouts at Blackarachnia. Meanwhile, the wire in his forehead is about to explode.

"We don't know what this thing is or where it came from - We're not going to find out by destroying it." 
"Tell you what, pussycat, we'll bring you back the biggest pieces and you can ask 'em anything you want."
:—'''Cheetor''' and '''Jetstorm''', shortly before the Vehicons get their butts kicked.

"Nice teamwork, Maximals! You catch 'em, we fillet 'em!"
:—'''Jetstorm''', shortly before getting his butt kicked ''again''.

==Notes==
===Continuity errors===
*As the Vehicons rush headlong towards Savage, Thrust and Jetstorm address him by name… almost ''immediately'' after Cheetor declares that "we don't know what this thing is." It seems, however, that Jetstorm and Thrust have come up with the name for the dragon, as a means of taunting it. Noble picks up on this when he names himself, as the diametrically opposed Dr. Jekyll to Savage's Mr. Hyde, an opposition that isn't entirely [[Prometheus Unbound| true]].
* In the scene right after meeting up with Thrust and Jetstorm a second time, Cheetor says ,"Maximals.." right before they transform, as if to say "Maximals..Maxamize." without finishing it. Whats more, they all then transform without saying "I am Transformed."

===Transformers references===
*When Optimus attempts to make contact with Megatron's spark, he is tormented by numerous heads modelled on Megatron's original and Transmetal designs from [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]].

===Real-world references===
* The title "Savage Noble" is a play on the "Noble savage" of the eighteenth century cult of primitivism, in which "savages" from the new world countries were seen as innocent and unsullied, and uncorrupted by technology and civilization; they are, essentially, so savage as to convey a greater wisdom and dignity about the natural world. By proxy, a "savage noble," ostensibly what Megatron is (we learn later that they are the same person), would be the opposite oxymoron: a man so civilized he has become a monster. Noble savages were seen as unfettered and carefree, and able to show the essentially good nature of people; by contrast Megatron is trapped both in his zealotry and the physical organic body he abhors, and showcases the worst nature of people.

* Savage's roar is similar to the Carnotaurus' roar from the 2000 film 'Dinosaur'

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2005 — ''Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns'' — Volume 4 ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Geneon Entertainment]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2006 — ''Beast Machines: Transformers'' — The Complete Series ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Beast Machines'' — Season Two: Volume One ([[Sony]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Beast Machines'' — Complete Season Two (Sony) 
[[Image:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2009 — ''Transformers: Beast Machines'' — Intégrale Saison 2 (Sony) — French audio only.

==External links==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Savage Noble Savage]

[[Category:Beast Machines episodes]]

Silas

2011-03-05T22:39:04Z

98.213.187.219:

:''Silas is a [[human]] from the [[Transformers: Prime (franchise)| Prime]] portion of the [[Aligned continuity family]].''

[[Image:Silas.png|right|thumb|300px|Chip Hazard?]]

'''Silas''' is an agent of the [[MECH]] organization, bent on enforcing a ''newer'' world order.

==Fiction==
===''Prime'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Clancy Brown]]
{{spoilers}}
From his helicopter, Silas shot down [[William Fowler]]'s plane transporting the [[Dynamic Nuclear Generation System]]. Soon, Fowler was transporting the device aboard a [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|civilian trailer truck]]. Fowler evaded Silas's men, and when they attempted to open the trailer door, a [[Arcee (Prime)|motorcycle driver]] drove onto one of their cars, causing it to flip over and explode. The convoy passed through a train tunnel, and as it emerged, [[Vehicon (Prime)|mysterious purple planes]] fired on the trailer. Since the explosion did not cause a meltdown, Silas realized Fowler must've transferred the device onto the train. Then Silas witnessed the civilian convoy and planes [[transformation|transform]] into robots, and a fight ensued. Silas was pleased to confirm the rumors of [[Transformer|living technology]] on [[Earth]], but flew off to retrieve the DNGS.

A [[Raf Esquivel|hacker]] caused the train to diverge onto a forked track, but Silas's pilot cut the connection. Silas prepared to land on the train as his men finished cutting open the appropriate car's roof, but retreated when he saw the truck robot on the move. He wasn't going to let the enemy leave with his prize, and so fired on the train tracks to cause a crash. The truck robot managed to stop the train, and from the safety of his helicopter, Silas watched his new enemy stare back. He privately congratulated the alien visitor, but noted MECH had the home advantage and vowed to level the playing field, even if it meant dissecting the robot. Silas then flew off. {{storylink|Convoy (episode)|Convoy}}

[[Category:Cartoon-only characters]]
[[Category:Prime humans]]
[[Category:Terrorists]]

Clancy Brown

2011-03-05T00:05:03Z

98.213.187.219:

{{picsneeded}}
'''Clarence J. "Clancy" Brown''' (born [[January 5]], [[1959]]) is an American screen actor and voice actor. Frequently cast as a villain due to his imposing stature and deep voice, Brown is well-known to sci-fi fans as the sinister Kurgan in ''Highlander'', and also portrayed prison guard Byron Hadley in the acclaimed ''The Shawshank Redemption'', in addition to a plethora of other memorable roles. He has voiced a number of prominent characters in animation, including Mr. Krabs on ''Spongebob Squarepants'', [[Destro]] on ''[[G.I. Joe]]: Renegades'', and Lex Luthor on several DC Comics-based cartoons. He's also played Savage Oppress in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Also, once he was buried in a pet sematary, came back to life and killed a guy with a dirt bike. Sometimes dead is better, kids.

==Voice roles==
===''Transformers: Prime''===
* [[Silas]]

==External links==
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000317/ Clancy Brown on IMDB]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Clancy}}
[[Category: English voice actors]]