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Other Victories

2012-03-21T14:36:56Z

98.95.33.172: /* Synopsis */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=50
|image=OVic opening.JPG
|caption=Sure is nice in the lifeless void.
|title="Other Victories"
|production=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[May 5]], [[1999]]
|written by=[[Larry DiTillio]]
|directed by=[[William Lau]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}

'''The aliens send their powerful new emissary Tigerhawk to Earth to stop the continued disruption of the time stream.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:OtherVictories BirthofTigerhawk.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Oh yeah, we still have these two guys.]]
Somewhere in the vast universe, two entities are discussing the experiment on "[[Earth|Nexus Earth]]". Though the project was "sterilized", there remains a threat. The entities then reveal [[Tigatron]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]], then merge their bodies together, creating a new [[Transformer]]. The aliens inhabit the body and depart in a ball of energy, while two [[spark]]s follow.

[[Image:Judge Megatron.JPG|right|150px|thumb|Believe it or not, you may have better luck on [[Quintessa]].]]
At the [[Darksyde|Predacon base]], the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] are holding a "trial" for [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]]. [[Waspinator]] is the "defense", [[Dinobot II|Dinobot]] and [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] are the jury, [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] is taking the minutes, and [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] is the judge, not to mention the fact that he's all dressed up for the occasion. Quickstrike begs for mercy, saying he doesn't know what [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]]'s intentions for destroying the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] were, but offers to hunt him down for Megatron. Suddenly, the sensors detect an energy surge on a ballistic approach for the base. Tarantulas and [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] both detect the surge as well and recognize that it can only be one thing.

The aliens are back.

[[Image:OtherVictories clash.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Flying Tiger, Hidden Dragon]]
The Predacons' automated defenses are ineffective against the anomaly, and Megatron orders them to abandon the base. Making contact, the energy ball destroys the Predacon ship instantly. [[Optimus Primal]] heads for the base, fearing that the spark of [[Megatron (G1)|the original Megatron]] may have been destroyed, and sends [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] to assist.

From the ashes of the Predacon base, the alien Transformer appears and introduces himself as [[Tigerhawk]], emissary of the [[Vok]]. He dispatches the other Predacons with ease, then sentences Megatron to death for his interference with the timestream. The two battle, but Tigerhawk is victorious. During the fight, Cheetor is incapacitated. As Tigerhawk prepares the killing blow, Optimus arrives. Tigerhawk greets him in a friendly manner, but asks him not to interfere. Optimus tries to explain Megatron's situation, but is entombed in the earth for his efforts. However, Tigerhawk is attacked by Tarantulas's [[Arachnoid|spider drones]], which allows Tarantulas to drag him to his lair. Meanwhile, an unconscious Cheetor dreams that he is visited by the sparks of Tigatron and Airazor, who fuse together before he is attacked by the two Vok seen in the beginning of the episode. He wakes up to see the fused spark, which guides him to the lair and the emissary.

[[Image:Tarantulas death.JPG|right|150px|thumb|The most hardcore death of ''Beast Wars''.]]
At the lair, Tigerhawk revives and claims to know Tarantulas. The mad scientist states that he intends to use Tigerhawk to destroy the [[Maximal|Maximals]] while he detonates the ''Ark''. He also reveals why he wants to destroy it: Tarantulas and the [[Tripredacus Council]] are not descendants of the [[Autobot|Autobots]] and the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]], but have "other origins". This would allow them to control [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] and conquer the universe. Cheetor jumps in around this time and looks on amazed at the scene. As Tarantulas activates the deprogramming device, the two Vok entities emerge from Tigerhawk's mouth. Tarantulas, who panics, shoots the Vok entities, whom enter his body, inadvertently shooting the device misdirecting it away from Tigerhawk, towards himself while its still online. The device shoots a bolt of energy at Tarantulas, which throws him into a nearby [[Energon crystal]]. The crystal detonates, destroying Tarantulas and the two aliens in a freakish yet totally hardcore manner. Cheetor manages to drag Tigerhawk out, but is knocked unconscious when the lair explodes.

Optimus locates Cheetor and Tigerhawk as the merged sparks of Tigatron and Airazor enter the emissary. Welcoming their old friends and new friend back, the Maximals depart for home…as Megatron watches on.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal|Maximals]]|c1=
*[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] (3)
*[[Tigatron]] (4)
*[[Tigerhawk]] (5)
*[[Rattrap]] (13)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (14)
*[[Optimus Primal]] (15)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (16)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (17)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (6)
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (7)
*[[Dinobot II|Dinobot II]] (8)
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] (9)
*[[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] (10)
*[[Waspinator]] (11)
*[[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] (12)

|c4=*Magenta-eyed [[Vok]] (1)
*Yellow-eyed Vok (2)
}}

==Quotes==
"Ooooo, Waspinator ''like'' defense! A little ''more'' defense, and maybe Waspinator not get blown up all the time!" 
''gulp'' "Looks like this is my last round-up." 
"Aheh-ahem! Two-Head throw Megatron in lava pit. Megatron ''angry''. Think Two-Head a traitor. Want to ''slag'' Two-Head. Waspinator down with that!"
:—'''Waspinator''' "defends" '''Quickstrike'''.

"I — I plum don't know! But I do know this. That dang spider double-crossed ''both'' of us. I'd be happy to track him down for ya, a-and kick his keister!" 
"Ah hah hah. 'Dang spider'. I applaud your good intentions. But we are ''through'' being lenient with traitors!"
:—'''Quickstrike''' learns that '''Megatron''' is no longer [[Master Blaster|tolerant of treachery.]]

"Well, i-i-if it's not a comet, what is it?" 
"Somethin' I thought we'd never see again."
:—'''Rattrap''' and '''Rhinox''', monitoring Tigerhawk's approach toward prehistoric Earth.

"They're back... just like Tarantulas always said they'd be."
:—'''Blackarachnia'''

'''Tigerhawk''': "I am Tigerhawk, emissary of the Vok. Your form's changed, but I know you, Megatron. The Vok charge you with the willful disruption of time and space. Surrender to me immediately. Violence will not be tolerated." 
'''Megatron''': [''chuckles''] "Megatrons do not surrender." [''transforms to robot mode''] "We conquer! Predacons, attack!"

"You're insane!" 
"So they say. Bblbllllaah!"
:—'''Tarantulas''' proves '''Tigerhawk'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s assertion.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
*As the Predacons scramble for battle stations, Megatron's eyes are green instead of their usual purple.
*Before Megatron orders to abandon the ''Darksyde'', Waspinator screams "What should we do?!", then seems to practically vanish, dropping out of frame extremely rapidly and looking oddly two dimensional.
*As the Predacons open fire on Tigerhawk, Dinobot II fires a green beam instead of a red one.
*When Tarantulas' [[arachnoid|arachnoids]] attack Tigerhawk, he is missing the green visor over his eyes when one latches onto his face.

===Continuity errors===
*Despite being described as having "different origins" than being Decepticon descendants, in "[[The Agenda (Part 1)|The Agenda]]", the Tripredacus Council specifically refer to the Decepticons as being their ancestors while talking ''in private to themselves''. Bit of a glaring [[Retcon|retcon]] there (We could be charitable and assume they meant the Decepticon-born [[Cybertronian (faction)|Cybertronian Empire]]).
*Considering at least some time has passed since the last episode, there's no logical explanation for why no one had bothered to explain to Rattrap that Megatron now had the original Megatron's spark and thus why he needed it explained to him in this episode. Nor has Rattrap been portrayed as anything but intelligent up until this point so that he'd need this explained to him a second time if we're to assume they did tell him and he just... forgot. This was likely only done to serve as exposition for the audience.

===Continuity notes===
* Cheetor has his last of four strange dreams in this episode, wherein Airazor and Tigatron appear to him and fuse together before his eyes. When he wakes up, he sees and follows the new joint spark over the landscape. He also sees the Vok in this dream before he sees them in real life, perhaps because Tigerhawk shows him or perhaps precognitive.
* Not only is this the first time that Airazor and Tigatron have appeared since being abducted in "[[Other Visits (Part 1)|Other Visits]]," it's the first time they've even been directly mentioned by other characters. Some friends the Maximals are.
* In the comics continuity, Tarantulas survives this encounter and really used it as a means to absorb the Vok. That makes the fact that this super genius character idiotically killed himself by repeatedly blasting his death ray machine thing until it turned around and killed him... a little easier to swallow.
* This is the last episode to show Tarantulas, The Vok, Tigatron, Airazor and the [[Darksyde]].
*The ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'' is seen on Tarantulas's computer. It will have significance in the [[Nemesis Part 1|series]] [[Nemesis Part 2|finale]]. They also show he's got the warship ready to be activated, so its presence on his computer screen may (in-universe) mean he was about to use it himself...
*When Tigerhawk is under the influence of the Vok his optics are solid green. Once Tigatron and Airazor's sparks enter his body, his optics are red with a yellow slit pupil.
*The gun Dinobot uses during Quickstrike's trial is one of the guns Rampage used in "[[The Agenda (Part III)]]".

===Real-world references===
[[Image:TarantulasVok SignOfTheCross.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"The power of [[Christmas]] compels you!"]]
* During Quickstrike's court-martial, Megatron wears a barrister's wig like those worn by British attorneys and judges. Inferno acts as stenographer (complete with typewriter).
* As the Vok approach Tarantulas, he attempts to ward them off by forming a [[Jesus|crucifix]] with his fingers, a sacred item often used to ward off [[Energy vampire|vampires]] in folklore.

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La Victoire'''" (Canada, "The Victory")

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Un nuovo amico'''" ("A New Friend")

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Tadaima de Gozaru'''" (ただいまでござる, "I Hath Returned")

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Outras Vitórias'''" ("Other Victories")

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Otras Victorias'''" (America, "Other Victories"

===Trivia===
* This episode [[To sell toys|really wants you to buy a Tigerhawk toy]]. Can you tell?
* In a bit of classic irony, Tarantulas has been trying to destroy the Vok for most of the series and has been attempting to manipulate their creations towards his own plans. However when he actually faces the Vok themselves he utterly loses it and just starts shooting like a maniac out of fear.
*While Tigerhawk is easily able to defeat six Predacons and hold off an entire Decepticon [[Nemesis (G1)|warship]] by himself, he is no match for a group of arachnoids.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers: Metals'' — We Have Returned ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 4 ([[Universal]])
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers: Metals'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete Third Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 3 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

Optimal Situation

2012-03-21T13:53:52Z

98.95.33.172: /* Quotes */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=40
|series2=Metals
|ep2=13
|next2=Where Is the Banana?
|title="Optimal Situation"
|image=Optimal Optimus.JPG
|caption=[[Trukk not munky|Trukk ''and'' munky]].
|production code=
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|writer=[[Bob Forward]]
|director=[[Steve Sacks]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[October 24]], 1998
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''With Optimus Prime in critical condition after Megatron's attack, Optimus Primal takes on his spark to save the timestream.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Smelt Prime.JPG|left|150px|thumb|Smelts in your mouth, not in your hand.]]
As a time storm ravages reality, [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] gloats to the fading [[Maximal]]s, since his attack on [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] ensures that the [[Autobot]]s lose to the [[Decepticon]]s, resulting in the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] having control of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. However, [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]], having been a Maximal protoform, is also affected by the time storm. She uses the information from the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] to activate [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]]'s security system, forcing Megatron out of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]].

[[Image:OptimusPrimal OpSit Matrixspark.jpg|right|150px|thumb|It's not the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]. We swear.]]
Blackarachnia and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] activate the Ark's repair systems to help stabilize Optimus Prime's condition, but the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] is still dying, and "reality is still in flux". The other Maximals arrive, and upon seeing Prime, realize that they must save him. However, his spark is fading. Believing there is no other choice, Optimus Primal merges his spark with Prime's to save it. He succeeds, and [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] summons an [[Autobot repair device]] to begin restoring Prime's body. Holding Prime's spark causes Primal to expand into a new, larger body.

Megatron and [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] arrive and attack, though Primal manages to save the Maximals and convince the Predacons to leave, while Blackarachnia uses the commotion to escape. Outside, [[Waspinator]] provides cover fire by shooting the rocks above the Ark. The Predacons destroy the cave entrance and flee, but Megatron notices a trapped Blackarachnia. Enraged by her betrayal, Megatron shoots her as the Maximals break free. Knowing that they are heading for the unprotected ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'', Primal and [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] race off.

[[Image:BWSilverbolt Blackarachnia OptimalSituation.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Ug, gag unto me with a spoon.]]
As Silverbolt cradles the damaged Blackarachnia, he begs her to fight on and praises her defiance of Megatron. She maintains that what she did was self-preservation, but Silverbolt points out that she also saved him and the universe. He openly admits to Blackarachnia that he loves her, shocking her. While there's still time, Silverbolt asks her one last time to join the Maximals. Although she maintains that she's still a Predacon, Blackarachnia joins the Maximals for him, then goes off-line. However, Rhinox reveals that she's merely in [[Stasis lock|stasis lock]].

Primal and Cheetor manage to down Megatron, Inferno, and Waspinator, but Primal discovers that [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] and the [[Arachnoid]]s are literally trying to drag the base away. Optimus manages to sever the lines and dispatch Rampage, but not before Rampage fires a missile which deflects off Primal and hits the ''Axalon''. The ''Axalon'' plummets off the cliff and crashes into the river. Knowing that he must return Prime's spark, Optimus withdraws with Cheetor to rejoin the Maximals.

[[Image:Optimusx2.JPG|right|150px|thumb|And in four million years, he'll tell [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] he had the strangest [[Humanization#Sleep|dream]].]]
Back in the Ark, the repairs are finished. Returning the spark causes Optimus Prime to reactivate briefly, but he almost immediately returns to stasis lock. [[Rattrap]] is less than happy, as they now have the difficult task of protecting the Ark from the Predacons. With the time stream safe—for the moment—Optimus orders the Maximals, including Blackarachnia (who still maintains she's a Predacon), to begin rounding up every piece of salvage and make fortifications.

They're moving into [[Mount St. Hilary]].
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Primal]] (1)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (2)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (4)
*[[Rattrap]] (5)
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]](6)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (3)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (7)
*[[Waspinator]] (9)
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (10)
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] (11)
*[[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] (12)
*[[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] (13)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (14)

|h3=[[Autobot]]s|c3=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==
"You wouldn't dare fire in here! It might upset history." 
"We'd have four million years to clean you off the walls, Megatron. I ''might'' risk it."
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Primal''' are badasses.

'''Megatron:''' This is not the end of it, Optimal Optimus. Nooo. The universe cowered once at the name of Megatron, and it shall do so again! 
'''Optimus:''' Freedom is the right of all sentient beings, Megatron. 
'''Megatron:''' Then they'd better stay out of my way! 
'''Rattrap:''' Oh, fer bootin' up cold! Will you just shoot him? 
'''Optimus:''' I'm trying not to resort to that.
:—The 'bots talk smack.

"Stay close Maximals; its time to Transform and ROLL OUT!"
:—'''Optimus Primal''' saying '''Optimus Prime's''' iconic phrase (though it could be interpreted that it's actually Prime saying this and not Primal).

"Jumping gyros, Optimus sure learns a new body fast!" 
"Well wha'd ya expect? He ''changes'' 'em often enough!"
:—'''Cheetor''' and '''Rattrap''', who gets a rim shot.

"Blackarachnia, dark poison of my heart, abide with me yet a while." 
"You got a way with words there, Rover. You almost make me wish I was a better girl."
:—'''Silverbolt''' and '''Blackarachnia''' have a touching moment. Rattrap is probably on the verge of puking or shooting them.

==Notes==
*There is a real-life reason why the Axalon was destroyed; simply because Optimus in his new form would simply not fit in it. And when the new base is formed with the front of the Axalon, Optimus is seemingly just barely ceiling level.
*Optimus runs through all four of his new body's modes within a few minutes of its debut. (His beast mode is easy to miss, but he uses it when he shields the other Maximals from the Predacons' weapons fire.)
* Primal's voice becomes noticeably deeper when he takes on his new form, as well as gaining an additional flanging effect. One might think the change is related to having old John Wayne-voice Optimus Prime within him, but both changes remain after Prime's spark is restored, so apparently it's just from being bigger and more metally. The deeper voice would vanish in future episodes, however.
*Blackarachnia opposes Megatron's plan to wipe the Autobots from history because she was a Maximal protoform. Technically, Quickstrike, Inferno, and (arguably) Rampage all count as Maximal protoforms too, but they don't oppose Megatron's plan because Quickstrike's ignorant, Inferno's crazy, and Rampage doesn't have a say in the matter (and is also crazy).

===Animation and technical errors===
*When Rhinox slaps Rattrap for cracking wise over Optimus Prime's ruined state, his green understructure clips through the gold surface of the lower rhinoceros jaw that covers his chest.
*When the camera pans around Prime to show the repairs starting to be made, the Autobot insignia inside his chest is upside-down.
*When Megatron and Inferno fire at the Maximals inside the Ark, it takes surprisingly lot of time for the projectiles to reach their targets - enough to let Primal throw his arm shields in the air, transform, catch them, leap in front of his comrades and provide cover for them.
*When Primal first transforms into his jet mode, the cockpit is empty, but should house Prime's spark.
*After the Predacons leave the ''Ark'', Inferno, who looked like a zombie in the scene before (and after being apparently vaporized two episodes prior), is now in mint condition.
*During Primal and Cheetor's aerial attack on the fleeing Predacons, the cat's flight-mode jets are not deployed as he swoops closer to "camera" in the medium shot following his initial approach, but well before he transforms.
*As the ''Axalon'' is being dragged off of the cliff, the bottom of it can be seen. However it is completely flat at the rear; the engines are not there at all.
*In the Brazilian dub, Rampage is called "Destruição", but his name is "Violência". "Destruição" is Ravage's name.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:Sparkholderprimevaldawn.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Geekery.]]
*The "spark container" which held Optimus Prime's spark was hauntingly similar to the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. According to [[Ben Yee]]'s [http://www.bwtf.com/bw/tvshow/episodes/seasonthree/os/ site], the Mainframe animators used Optimus Prime's death sequence from "[[The Transformers: The Movie]]" as a visual reference and used the Matrix's design as a spark container because they didn't know its significance. This, of course, leads us to ask the question: How do you get involved with ''Transformers'' and not know the most important McGuffin in the entire continuity?
** "[[Primeval Dawn]]" later explained the Matrix-shaped spark container as being a [[Decoy|decoy]] Matrix constructed to sit in front of the real Matrix.
** Or Rhinox's "his spark has the Matrix with it" line could suggest that while he held the Matrix, the Matrix seen in ''Beast Wars'' was the Matrix and not a decoy. Consider that in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', Prime didn't give the Matrix to Ultra Magnus until after he had died. Look, just watch the episode, okay?
*Optimus was briefly knocked out after deflecting the missile and falling to the ground. However he is awake to watch the ''Axalon'' teeter back and forth and eventually fall off the cliff. One wonders why he couldn't have stopped it. After all, in his original form, he was able to slow the ship's descent to keep it from crashing in the episode "[[Victory (episode)|Victory]]". One would think that his much larger and more powerful form would be enough actually to lift the ship up.
**On the other hand, he may not have wanted to leave himself (or more importantly, Prime's spark) exposed to Rampage. Considering the fact that the ''Axalon'' fell in the first place because Primal was trying to protect his ancestor's spark, it seems like the most logical in-universe explanation.
* Although the kinds of relative damage that can cause [[Death|fatal]] injury is [[Waspinator (BW)|notoriously]] [[Dinobot (BW)|inconsistent]] in ''Beast Wars'' (and the wider franchise in general), it is particularly strange that Ravage is killed outright by the explosion that traveled the length of the ship before consuming him, whereas Tarantulas was literally at the epicenter of the blast and yet was easily cobbled back together by his [[Arachnoid]]s. To be fair, perhaps Ravage could have been just as readily reassembled had anyone bothered to do so, although if so this raises the question of why no-one did... (or, at least, not until [[Ravage_%28G1%29#3H_Universe_comics|the]] [[Ravage_%28G1%29#IDW_Beast_Wars_comics|comics]]).

===Transformers references===
[[Image:OptimalSituation Tarantulas insignia.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
* The [[Arachnoid]]s seen in this episode sport a special Tarantulas [[insignia]], which they possess in all of their appearances from now on.
*After Optimus Prime's spark is returned to him, he reactivates, but almost immediately returns to [[stasis lock]]. The [[Binaltech#Binaltech_2|''Binaltech'' story]] chapter supplied with BT-22 Convoy establishes that Optimus Prime was at least partly aware of both the spark transfer and Optimus Primal.
*When confronting Megatron on the ''Ark'''s bridge, Optimus Primal tells Megatron, "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings," the motto of Optimus Prime. When informed by [[Ben Yee]] about this fact during the [[Madman Entertainment]] ''Beast Wars'' Season 3 DVD commentary for this episode, writer Bob Forward confessed that up to this point he had no idea, and the phrase was simply something he'd picked up from the alt.toys.transformers newsgroup.
* Later, Optimus Primal tells the Maximals to "transform and [[Roll out|roll out]]."

===Real-world references===
* The [[Autobot repair device]] used that fits over Prime's head unfurls in a distinctively layered fashion reminiscent of the exploding mask worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film [[wikipedia:Total Recall| Total Recall]].

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Situation Optimal'''" (Canada, "Optimal Situation")

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''L'alba di una nuova era'''" ("The Dawn of a New Age")

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Ōkiku Na~re'''" (大きくな～れ, "Gro~w Bigger")

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Situação Optimal'''" ("Optimal Situation")

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Situación Óptima'''" ("Optimal Situation")

:*''Title:'' "'''Situación Optima'''" (America, "Optimal Situation")

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers: Metals'' — Groooww Bigger ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Free Video ([[Universal]])
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers: Metals'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Vol. 1 (Universal) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete Third Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 3 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

Optimal Situation

2012-03-21T13:50:49Z

98.95.33.172: /* Quotes */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=40
|series2=Metals
|ep2=13
|next2=Where Is the Banana?
|title="Optimal Situation"
|image=Optimal Optimus.JPG
|caption=[[Trukk not munky|Trukk ''and'' munky]].
|production code=
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|writer=[[Bob Forward]]
|director=[[Steve Sacks]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[October 24]], 1998
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''With Optimus Prime in critical condition after Megatron's attack, Optimus Primal takes on his spark to save the timestream.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Smelt Prime.JPG|left|150px|thumb|Smelts in your mouth, not in your hand.]]
As a time storm ravages reality, [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] gloats to the fading [[Maximal]]s, since his attack on [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] ensures that the [[Autobot]]s lose to the [[Decepticon]]s, resulting in the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] having control of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. However, [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]], having been a Maximal protoform, is also affected by the time storm. She uses the information from the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] to activate [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]]'s security system, forcing Megatron out of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]].

[[Image:OptimusPrimal OpSit Matrixspark.jpg|right|150px|thumb|It's not the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]. We swear.]]
Blackarachnia and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] activate the Ark's repair systems to help stabilize Optimus Prime's condition, but the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] is still dying, and "reality is still in flux". The other Maximals arrive, and upon seeing Prime, realize that they must save him. However, his spark is fading. Believing there is no other choice, Optimus Primal merges his spark with Prime's to save it. He succeeds, and [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] summons an [[Autobot repair device]] to begin restoring Prime's body. Holding Prime's spark causes Primal to expand into a new, larger body.

Megatron and [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] arrive and attack, though Primal manages to save the Maximals and convince the Predacons to leave, while Blackarachnia uses the commotion to escape. Outside, [[Waspinator]] provides cover fire by shooting the rocks above the Ark. The Predacons destroy the cave entrance and flee, but Megatron notices a trapped Blackarachnia. Enraged by her betrayal, Megatron shoots her as the Maximals break free. Knowing that they are heading for the unprotected ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'', Primal and [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] race off.

[[Image:BWSilverbolt Blackarachnia OptimalSituation.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Ug, gag unto me with a spoon.]]
As Silverbolt cradles the damaged Blackarachnia, he begs her to fight on and praises her defiance of Megatron. She maintains that what she did was self-preservation, but Silverbolt points out that she also saved him and the universe. He openly admits to Blackarachnia that he loves her, shocking her. While there's still time, Silverbolt asks her one last time to join the Maximals. Although she maintains that she's still a Predacon, Blackarachnia joins the Maximals for him, then goes off-line. However, Rhinox reveals that she's merely in [[Stasis lock|stasis lock]].

Primal and Cheetor manage to down Megatron, Inferno, and Waspinator, but Primal discovers that [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] and the [[Arachnoid]]s are literally trying to drag the base away. Optimus manages to sever the lines and dispatch Rampage, but not before Rampage fires a missile which deflects off Primal and hits the ''Axalon''. The ''Axalon'' plummets off the cliff and crashes into the river. Knowing that he must return Prime's spark, Optimus withdraws with Cheetor to rejoin the Maximals.

[[Image:Optimusx2.JPG|right|150px|thumb|And in four million years, he'll tell [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] he had the strangest [[Humanization#Sleep|dream]].]]
Back in the Ark, the repairs are finished. Returning the spark causes Optimus Prime to reactivate briefly, but he almost immediately returns to stasis lock. [[Rattrap]] is less than happy, as they now have the difficult task of protecting the Ark from the Predacons. With the time stream safe—for the moment—Optimus orders the Maximals, including Blackarachnia (who still maintains she's a Predacon), to begin rounding up every piece of salvage and make fortifications.

They're moving into [[Mount St. Hilary]].
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Primal]] (1)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (2)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (4)
*[[Rattrap]] (5)
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]](6)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (3)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (7)
*[[Waspinator]] (9)
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (10)
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] (11)
*[[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] (12)
*[[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] (13)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (14)

|h3=[[Autobot]]s|c3=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==
"You wouldn't dare fire in here! It might upset history." 
"We'd have four million years to clean you off the walls, Megatron. I ''might'' risk it."
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Primal''' are badasses.

'''Megatron:''' This is not the end of it, Optimal Optimus. Nooo. The universe cowered once at the name of Megatron, and it shall do so again! 
'''Optimus:''' Freedom is the right of all sentient beings, Megatron. 
'''Megatron:''' Then they'd better stay out of my way! 
'''Rattrap:''' Oh, fer bootin' up cold! Will you just shoot him? 
'''Optimus:''' I'm trying not to resort to that.
:—The 'bots talk smack.

"Stay close Maximals; its time to Transform and ROLL OUT!"
:-'''Optimus Primal''' saying '''Optimus Prime's''' iconic phrase (though it could be interpreted that it's actually Prime saying this and not Primal).

"Jumping gyros, Optimus sure learns a new body fast!" 
"Well wha'd ya expect? He ''changes'' 'em often enough!"
:—'''Cheetor''' and '''Rattrap''', who gets a rim shot.

"Blackarachnia, dark poison of my heart, abide with me yet a while." 
"You got a way with words there, Rover. You almost make me wish I was a better girl."
:—'''Silverbolt''' and '''Blackarachnia''' have a touching moment. Rattrap is probably on the verge of puking or shooting them.

==Notes==
*There is a real-life reason why the Axalon was destroyed; simply because Optimus in his new form would simply not fit in it. And when the new base is formed with the front of the Axalon, Optimus is seemingly just barely ceiling level.
*Optimus runs through all four of his new body's modes within a few minutes of its debut. (His beast mode is easy to miss, but he uses it when he shields the other Maximals from the Predacons' weapons fire.)
* Primal's voice becomes noticeably deeper when he takes on his new form, as well as gaining an additional flanging effect. One might think the change is related to having old John Wayne-voice Optimus Prime within him, but both changes remain after Prime's spark is restored, so apparently it's just from being bigger and more metally. The deeper voice would vanish in future episodes, however.
*Blackarachnia opposes Megatron's plan to wipe the Autobots from history because she was a Maximal protoform. Technically, Quickstrike, Inferno, and (arguably) Rampage all count as Maximal protoforms too, but they don't oppose Megatron's plan because Quickstrike's ignorant, Inferno's crazy, and Rampage doesn't have a say in the matter (and is also crazy).

===Animation and technical errors===
*When Rhinox slaps Rattrap for cracking wise over Optimus Prime's ruined state, his green understructure clips through the gold surface of the lower rhinoceros jaw that covers his chest.
*When the camera pans around Prime to show the repairs starting to be made, the Autobot insignia inside his chest is upside-down.
*When Megatron and Inferno fire at the Maximals inside the Ark, it takes surprisingly lot of time for the projectiles to reach their targets - enough to let Primal throw his arm shields in the air, transform, catch them, leap in front of his comrades and provide cover for them.
*When Primal first transforms into his jet mode, the cockpit is empty, but should house Prime's spark.
*After the Predacons leave the ''Ark'', Inferno, who looked like a zombie in the scene before (and after being apparently vaporized two episodes prior), is now in mint condition.
*During Primal and Cheetor's aerial attack on the fleeing Predacons, the cat's flight-mode jets are not deployed as he swoops closer to "camera" in the medium shot following his initial approach, but well before he transforms.
*As the ''Axalon'' is being dragged off of the cliff, the bottom of it can be seen. However it is completely flat at the rear; the engines are not there at all.
*In the Brazilian dub, Rampage is called "Destruição", but his name is "Violência". "Destruição" is Ravage's name.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:Sparkholderprimevaldawn.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Geekery.]]
*The "spark container" which held Optimus Prime's spark was hauntingly similar to the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. According to [[Ben Yee]]'s [http://www.bwtf.com/bw/tvshow/episodes/seasonthree/os/ site], the Mainframe animators used Optimus Prime's death sequence from "[[The Transformers: The Movie]]" as a visual reference and used the Matrix's design as a spark container because they didn't know its significance. This, of course, leads us to ask the question: How do you get involved with ''Transformers'' and not know the most important McGuffin in the entire continuity?
** "[[Primeval Dawn]]" later explained the Matrix-shaped spark container as being a [[Decoy|decoy]] Matrix constructed to sit in front of the real Matrix.
** Or Rhinox's "his spark has the Matrix with it" line could suggest that while he held the Matrix, the Matrix seen in ''Beast Wars'' was the Matrix and not a decoy. Consider that in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', Prime didn't give the Matrix to Ultra Magnus until after he had died. Look, just watch the episode, okay?
*Optimus was briefly knocked out after deflecting the missile and falling to the ground. However he is awake to watch the ''Axalon'' teeter back and forth and eventually fall off the cliff. One wonders why he couldn't have stopped it. After all, in his original form, he was able to slow the ship's descent to keep it from crashing in the episode "[[Victory (episode)|Victory]]". One would think that his much larger and more powerful form would be enough actually to lift the ship up.
**On the other hand, he may not have wanted to leave himself (or more importantly, Prime's spark) exposed to Rampage. Considering the fact that the ''Axalon'' fell in the first place because Primal was trying to protect his ancestor's spark, it seems like the most logical in-universe explanation.
* Although the kinds of relative damage that can cause [[Death|fatal]] injury is [[Waspinator (BW)|notoriously]] [[Dinobot (BW)|inconsistent]] in ''Beast Wars'' (and the wider franchise in general), it is particularly strange that Ravage is killed outright by the explosion that traveled the length of the ship before consuming him, whereas Tarantulas was literally at the epicenter of the blast and yet was easily cobbled back together by his [[Arachnoid]]s. To be fair, perhaps Ravage could have been just as readily reassembled had anyone bothered to do so, although if so this raises the question of why no-one did... (or, at least, not until [[Ravage_%28G1%29#3H_Universe_comics|the]] [[Ravage_%28G1%29#IDW_Beast_Wars_comics|comics]]).

===Transformers references===
[[Image:OptimalSituation Tarantulas insignia.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
* The [[Arachnoid]]s seen in this episode sport a special Tarantulas [[insignia]], which they possess in all of their appearances from now on.
*After Optimus Prime's spark is returned to him, he reactivates, but almost immediately returns to [[stasis lock]]. The [[Binaltech#Binaltech_2|''Binaltech'' story]] chapter supplied with BT-22 Convoy establishes that Optimus Prime was at least partly aware of both the spark transfer and Optimus Primal.
*When confronting Megatron on the ''Ark'''s bridge, Optimus Primal tells Megatron, "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings," the motto of Optimus Prime. When informed by [[Ben Yee]] about this fact during the [[Madman Entertainment]] ''Beast Wars'' Season 3 DVD commentary for this episode, writer Bob Forward confessed that up to this point he had no idea, and the phrase was simply something he'd picked up from the alt.toys.transformers newsgroup.
* Later, Optimus Primal tells the Maximals to "transform and [[Roll out|roll out]]."

===Real-world references===
* The [[Autobot repair device]] used that fits over Prime's head unfurls in a distinctively layered fashion reminiscent of the exploding mask worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film [[wikipedia:Total Recall| Total Recall]].

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Situation Optimal'''" (Canada, "Optimal Situation")

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''L'alba di una nuova era'''" ("The Dawn of a New Age")

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Ōkiku Na~re'''" (大きくな～れ, "Gro~w Bigger")

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Situação Optimal'''" ("Optimal Situation")

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Situación Óptima'''" ("Optimal Situation")

:*''Title:'' "'''Situación Optima'''" (America, "Optimal Situation")

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers: Metals'' — Groooww Bigger ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Free Video ([[Universal]])
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers: Metals'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Vol. 1 (Universal) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete Third Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 3 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

Optimal Situation

2012-03-21T13:47:38Z

98.95.33.172: /* Quotes */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=40
|series2=Metals
|ep2=13
|next2=Where Is the Banana?
|title="Optimal Situation"
|image=Optimal Optimus.JPG
|caption=[[Trukk not munky|Trukk ''and'' munky]].
|production code=
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|writer=[[Bob Forward]]
|director=[[Steve Sacks]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[October 24]], 1998
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''With Optimus Prime in critical condition after Megatron's attack, Optimus Primal takes on his spark to save the timestream.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Smelt Prime.JPG|left|150px|thumb|Smelts in your mouth, not in your hand.]]
As a time storm ravages reality, [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] gloats to the fading [[Maximal]]s, since his attack on [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] ensures that the [[Autobot]]s lose to the [[Decepticon]]s, resulting in the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] having control of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. However, [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]], having been a Maximal protoform, is also affected by the time storm. She uses the information from the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] to activate [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]]'s security system, forcing Megatron out of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]].

[[Image:OptimusPrimal OpSit Matrixspark.jpg|right|150px|thumb|It's not the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]. We swear.]]
Blackarachnia and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] activate the Ark's repair systems to help stabilize Optimus Prime's condition, but the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] is still dying, and "reality is still in flux". The other Maximals arrive, and upon seeing Prime, realize that they must save him. However, his spark is fading. Believing there is no other choice, Optimus Primal merges his spark with Prime's to save it. He succeeds, and [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] summons an [[Autobot repair device]] to begin restoring Prime's body. Holding Prime's spark causes Primal to expand into a new, larger body.

Megatron and [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] arrive and attack, though Primal manages to save the Maximals and convince the Predacons to leave, while Blackarachnia uses the commotion to escape. Outside, [[Waspinator]] provides cover fire by shooting the rocks above the Ark. The Predacons destroy the cave entrance and flee, but Megatron notices a trapped Blackarachnia. Enraged by her betrayal, Megatron shoots her as the Maximals break free. Knowing that they are heading for the unprotected ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'', Primal and [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] race off.

[[Image:BWSilverbolt Blackarachnia OptimalSituation.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Ug, gag unto me with a spoon.]]
As Silverbolt cradles the damaged Blackarachnia, he begs her to fight on and praises her defiance of Megatron. She maintains that what she did was self-preservation, but Silverbolt points out that she also saved him and the universe. He openly admits to Blackarachnia that he loves her, shocking her. While there's still time, Silverbolt asks her one last time to join the Maximals. Although she maintains that she's still a Predacon, Blackarachnia joins the Maximals for him, then goes off-line. However, Rhinox reveals that she's merely in [[Stasis lock|stasis lock]].

Primal and Cheetor manage to down Megatron, Inferno, and Waspinator, but Primal discovers that [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] and the [[Arachnoid]]s are literally trying to drag the base away. Optimus manages to sever the lines and dispatch Rampage, but not before Rampage fires a missile which deflects off Primal and hits the ''Axalon''. The ''Axalon'' plummets off the cliff and crashes into the river. Knowing that he must return Prime's spark, Optimus withdraws with Cheetor to rejoin the Maximals.

[[Image:Optimusx2.JPG|right|150px|thumb|And in four million years, he'll tell [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] he had the strangest [[Humanization#Sleep|dream]].]]
Back in the Ark, the repairs are finished. Returning the spark causes Optimus Prime to reactivate briefly, but he almost immediately returns to stasis lock. [[Rattrap]] is less than happy, as they now have the difficult task of protecting the Ark from the Predacons. With the time stream safe—for the moment—Optimus orders the Maximals, including Blackarachnia (who still maintains she's a Predacon), to begin rounding up every piece of salvage and make fortifications.

They're moving into [[Mount St. Hilary]].
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Primal]] (1)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (2)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (4)
*[[Rattrap]] (5)
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]](6)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (3)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (7)
*[[Waspinator]] (9)
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (10)
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] (11)
*[[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] (12)
*[[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] (13)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (14)

|h3=[[Autobot]]s|c3=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==
"You wouldn't dare fire in here! It might upset history." 
"We'd have four million years to clean you off the walls, Megatron. I ''might'' risk it."
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Primal''' are badasses.

'''Megatron:''' This is not the end of it, Optimal Optimus. Nooo. The universe cowered once at the name of Megatron, and it shall do so again! 
'''Optimus:''' Freedom is the right of all sentient beings, Megatron. 
'''Megatron:''' Then they'd better stay out of my way! 
'''Rattrap:''' Oh, fer bootin' up cold! Will you just shoot him? 
'''Optimus:''' I'm trying not to resort to that.
:—The 'bots talk smack.

"Stay close Maximals; its time to Transform and ROLL OUT!"
:-'''Optimus Primal''' saying '''Optimus Prime's''' most iconic phrase (though it could be interpreted that it's actually Prime saying this and not Primal).

"Jumping gyros, Optimus sure learns a new body fast!" 
"Well wha'd ya expect? He ''changes'' 'em often enough!"
:—'''Cheetor''' and '''Rattrap''', who gets a rim shot.

"Blackarachnia, dark poison of my heart, abide with me yet a while." 
"You got a way with words there, Rover. You almost make me wish I was a better girl."
:—'''Silverbolt''' and '''Blackarachnia''' have a touching moment. Rattrap is probably on the verge of puking or shooting them.

==Notes==
*There is a real-life reason why the Axalon was destroyed; simply because Optimus in his new form would simply not fit in it. And when the new base is formed with the front of the Axalon, Optimus is seemingly just barely ceiling level.
*Optimus runs through all four of his new body's modes within a few minutes of its debut. (His beast mode is easy to miss, but he uses it when he shields the other Maximals from the Predacons' weapons fire.)
* Primal's voice becomes noticeably deeper when he takes on his new form, as well as gaining an additional flanging effect. One might think the change is related to having old John Wayne-voice Optimus Prime within him, but both changes remain after Prime's spark is restored, so apparently it's just from being bigger and more metally. The deeper voice would vanish in future episodes, however.
*Blackarachnia opposes Megatron's plan to wipe the Autobots from history because she was a Maximal protoform. Technically, Quickstrike, Inferno, and (arguably) Rampage all count as Maximal protoforms too, but they don't oppose Megatron's plan because Quickstrike's ignorant, Inferno's crazy, and Rampage doesn't have a say in the matter (and is also crazy).

===Animation and technical errors===
*When Rhinox slaps Rattrap for cracking wise over Optimus Prime's ruined state, his green understructure clips through the gold surface of the lower rhinoceros jaw that covers his chest.
*When the camera pans around Prime to show the repairs starting to be made, the Autobot insignia inside his chest is upside-down.
*When Megatron and Inferno fire at the Maximals inside the Ark, it takes surprisingly lot of time for the projectiles to reach their targets - enough to let Primal throw his arm shields in the air, transform, catch them, leap in front of his comrades and provide cover for them.
*When Primal first transforms into his jet mode, the cockpit is empty, but should house Prime's spark.
*After the Predacons leave the ''Ark'', Inferno, who looked like a zombie in the scene before (and after being apparently vaporized two episodes prior), is now in mint condition.
*During Primal and Cheetor's aerial attack on the fleeing Predacons, the cat's flight-mode jets are not deployed as he swoops closer to "camera" in the medium shot following his initial approach, but well before he transforms.
*As the ''Axalon'' is being dragged off of the cliff, the bottom of it can be seen. However it is completely flat at the rear; the engines are not there at all.
*In the Brazilian dub, Rampage is called "Destruição", but his name is "Violência". "Destruição" is Ravage's name.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:Sparkholderprimevaldawn.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Geekery.]]
*The "spark container" which held Optimus Prime's spark was hauntingly similar to the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. According to [[Ben Yee]]'s [http://www.bwtf.com/bw/tvshow/episodes/seasonthree/os/ site], the Mainframe animators used Optimus Prime's death sequence from "[[The Transformers: The Movie]]" as a visual reference and used the Matrix's design as a spark container because they didn't know its significance. This, of course, leads us to ask the question: How do you get involved with ''Transformers'' and not know the most important McGuffin in the entire continuity?
** "[[Primeval Dawn]]" later explained the Matrix-shaped spark container as being a [[Decoy|decoy]] Matrix constructed to sit in front of the real Matrix.
** Or Rhinox's "his spark has the Matrix with it" line could suggest that while he held the Matrix, the Matrix seen in ''Beast Wars'' was the Matrix and not a decoy. Consider that in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', Prime didn't give the Matrix to Ultra Magnus until after he had died. Look, just watch the episode, okay?
*Optimus was briefly knocked out after deflecting the missile and falling to the ground. However he is awake to watch the ''Axalon'' teeter back and forth and eventually fall off the cliff. One wonders why he couldn't have stopped it. After all, in his original form, he was able to slow the ship's descent to keep it from crashing in the episode "[[Victory (episode)|Victory]]". One would think that his much larger and more powerful form would be enough actually to lift the ship up.
**On the other hand, he may not have wanted to leave himself (or more importantly, Prime's spark) exposed to Rampage. Considering the fact that the ''Axalon'' fell in the first place because Primal was trying to protect his ancestor's spark, it seems like the most logical in-universe explanation.
* Although the kinds of relative damage that can cause [[Death|fatal]] injury is [[Waspinator (BW)|notoriously]] [[Dinobot (BW)|inconsistent]] in ''Beast Wars'' (and the wider franchise in general), it is particularly strange that Ravage is killed outright by the explosion that traveled the length of the ship before consuming him, whereas Tarantulas was literally at the epicenter of the blast and yet was easily cobbled back together by his [[Arachnoid]]s. To be fair, perhaps Ravage could have been just as readily reassembled had anyone bothered to do so, although if so this raises the question of why no-one did... (or, at least, not until [[Ravage_%28G1%29#3H_Universe_comics|the]] [[Ravage_%28G1%29#IDW_Beast_Wars_comics|comics]]).

===Transformers references===
[[Image:OptimalSituation Tarantulas insignia.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
* The [[Arachnoid]]s seen in this episode sport a special Tarantulas [[insignia]], which they possess in all of their appearances from now on.
*After Optimus Prime's spark is returned to him, he reactivates, but almost immediately returns to [[stasis lock]]. The [[Binaltech#Binaltech_2|''Binaltech'' story]] chapter supplied with BT-22 Convoy establishes that Optimus Prime was at least partly aware of both the spark transfer and Optimus Primal.
*When confronting Megatron on the ''Ark'''s bridge, Optimus Primal tells Megatron, "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings," the motto of Optimus Prime. When informed by [[Ben Yee]] about this fact during the [[Madman Entertainment]] ''Beast Wars'' Season 3 DVD commentary for this episode, writer Bob Forward confessed that up to this point he had no idea, and the phrase was simply something he'd picked up from the alt.toys.transformers newsgroup.
* Later, Optimus Primal tells the Maximals to "transform and [[Roll out|roll out]]."

===Real-world references===
* The [[Autobot repair device]] used that fits over Prime's head unfurls in a distinctively layered fashion reminiscent of the exploding mask worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film [[wikipedia:Total Recall| Total Recall]].

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Situation Optimal'''" (Canada, "Optimal Situation")

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''L'alba di una nuova era'''" ("The Dawn of a New Age")

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Ōkiku Na~re'''" (大きくな～れ, "Gro~w Bigger")

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Situação Optimal'''" ("Optimal Situation")

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Situación Óptima'''" ("Optimal Situation")

:*''Title:'' "'''Situación Optima'''" (America, "Optimal Situation")

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers: Metals'' — Groooww Bigger ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Free Video ([[Universal]])
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers: Metals'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Vol. 1 (Universal) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete Third Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 3 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

Optimal Situation

2012-03-21T13:45:02Z

98.95.33.172: /* Quotes */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=40
|series2=Metals
|ep2=13
|next2=Where Is the Banana?
|title="Optimal Situation"
|image=Optimal Optimus.JPG
|caption=[[Trukk not munky|Trukk ''and'' munky]].
|production code=
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|writer=[[Bob Forward]]
|director=[[Steve Sacks]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[October 24]], 1998
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''With Optimus Prime in critical condition after Megatron's attack, Optimus Primal takes on his spark to save the timestream.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Smelt Prime.JPG|left|150px|thumb|Smelts in your mouth, not in your hand.]]
As a time storm ravages reality, [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] gloats to the fading [[Maximal]]s, since his attack on [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] ensures that the [[Autobot]]s lose to the [[Decepticon]]s, resulting in the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] having control of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. However, [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]], having been a Maximal protoform, is also affected by the time storm. She uses the information from the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] to activate [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]]'s security system, forcing Megatron out of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]].

[[Image:OptimusPrimal OpSit Matrixspark.jpg|right|150px|thumb|It's not the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]. We swear.]]
Blackarachnia and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] activate the Ark's repair systems to help stabilize Optimus Prime's condition, but the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] is still dying, and "reality is still in flux". The other Maximals arrive, and upon seeing Prime, realize that they must save him. However, his spark is fading. Believing there is no other choice, Optimus Primal merges his spark with Prime's to save it. He succeeds, and [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] summons an [[Autobot repair device]] to begin restoring Prime's body. Holding Prime's spark causes Primal to expand into a new, larger body.

Megatron and [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] arrive and attack, though Primal manages to save the Maximals and convince the Predacons to leave, while Blackarachnia uses the commotion to escape. Outside, [[Waspinator]] provides cover fire by shooting the rocks above the Ark. The Predacons destroy the cave entrance and flee, but Megatron notices a trapped Blackarachnia. Enraged by her betrayal, Megatron shoots her as the Maximals break free. Knowing that they are heading for the unprotected ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'', Primal and [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] race off.

[[Image:BWSilverbolt Blackarachnia OptimalSituation.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Ug, gag unto me with a spoon.]]
As Silverbolt cradles the damaged Blackarachnia, he begs her to fight on and praises her defiance of Megatron. She maintains that what she did was self-preservation, but Silverbolt points out that she also saved him and the universe. He openly admits to Blackarachnia that he loves her, shocking her. While there's still time, Silverbolt asks her one last time to join the Maximals. Although she maintains that she's still a Predacon, Blackarachnia joins the Maximals for him, then goes off-line. However, Rhinox reveals that she's merely in [[Stasis lock|stasis lock]].

Primal and Cheetor manage to down Megatron, Inferno, and Waspinator, but Primal discovers that [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] and the [[Arachnoid]]s are literally trying to drag the base away. Optimus manages to sever the lines and dispatch Rampage, but not before Rampage fires a missile which deflects off Primal and hits the ''Axalon''. The ''Axalon'' plummets off the cliff and crashes into the river. Knowing that he must return Prime's spark, Optimus withdraws with Cheetor to rejoin the Maximals.

[[Image:Optimusx2.JPG|right|150px|thumb|And in four million years, he'll tell [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] he had the strangest [[Humanization#Sleep|dream]].]]
Back in the Ark, the repairs are finished. Returning the spark causes Optimus Prime to reactivate briefly, but he almost immediately returns to stasis lock. [[Rattrap]] is less than happy, as they now have the difficult task of protecting the Ark from the Predacons. With the time stream safe—for the moment—Optimus orders the Maximals, including Blackarachnia (who still maintains she's a Predacon), to begin rounding up every piece of salvage and make fortifications.

They're moving into [[Mount St. Hilary]].
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Primal]] (1)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (2)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (4)
*[[Rattrap]] (5)
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]](6)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (3)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (7)
*[[Waspinator]] (9)
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (10)
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] (11)
*[[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] (12)
*[[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] (13)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (14)

|h3=[[Autobot]]s|c3=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==
"You wouldn't dare fire in here! It might upset history." 
"We'd have four million years to clean you off the walls, Megatron. I ''might'' risk it."
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Primal''' are badasses.

'''Megatron:''' This is not the end of it, Optimal Optimus. Nooo. The universe cowered once at the name of Megatron, and it shall do so again! 
'''Optimus:''' Freedom is the right of all sentient beings, Megatron. 
'''Megatron:''' Then they'd better stay out of my way! 
'''Rattrap:''' Oh, fer bootin' up cold! Will you just shoot him? 
'''Optimus:''' I'm trying not to resort to that.
:—The 'bots talk smack.

"Stay close Maximals; its time to Transform and ROLL OUT!"
:-'''Optimus Primal''' saying '''Optimus Prime's''' most iconic phrase
(Though it could be interpreted that it's actually Prime saying this and not Primal).

"Jumping gyros, Optimus sure learns a new body fast!" 
"Well wha'd ya expect? He ''changes'' 'em often enough!"
:—'''Cheetor''' and '''Rattrap''', who gets a rim shot.

"Blackarachnia, dark poison of my heart, abide with me yet a while." 
"You got a way with words there, Rover. You almost make me wish I was a better girl."
:—'''Silverbolt''' and '''Blackarachnia''' have a touching moment. Rattrap is probably on the verge of puking or shooting them.

==Notes==
*There is a real-life reason why the Axalon was destroyed; simply because Optimus in his new form would simply not fit in it. And when the new base is formed with the front of the Axalon, Optimus is seemingly just barely ceiling level.
*Optimus runs through all four of his new body's modes within a few minutes of its debut. (His beast mode is easy to miss, but he uses it when he shields the other Maximals from the Predacons' weapons fire.)
* Primal's voice becomes noticeably deeper when he takes on his new form, as well as gaining an additional flanging effect. One might think the change is related to having old John Wayne-voice Optimus Prime within him, but both changes remain after Prime's spark is restored, so apparently it's just from being bigger and more metally. The deeper voice would vanish in future episodes, however.
*Blackarachnia opposes Megatron's plan to wipe the Autobots from history because she was a Maximal protoform. Technically, Quickstrike, Inferno, and (arguably) Rampage all count as Maximal protoforms too, but they don't oppose Megatron's plan because Quickstrike's ignorant, Inferno's crazy, and Rampage doesn't have a say in the matter (and is also crazy).

===Animation and technical errors===
*When Rhinox slaps Rattrap for cracking wise over Optimus Prime's ruined state, his green understructure clips through the gold surface of the lower rhinoceros jaw that covers his chest.
*When the camera pans around Prime to show the repairs starting to be made, the Autobot insignia inside his chest is upside-down.
*When Megatron and Inferno fire at the Maximals inside the Ark, it takes surprisingly lot of time for the projectiles to reach their targets - enough to let Primal throw his arm shields in the air, transform, catch them, leap in front of his comrades and provide cover for them.
*When Primal first transforms into his jet mode, the cockpit is empty, but should house Prime's spark.
*After the Predacons leave the ''Ark'', Inferno, who looked like a zombie in the scene before (and after being apparently vaporized two episodes prior), is now in mint condition.
*During Primal and Cheetor's aerial attack on the fleeing Predacons, the cat's flight-mode jets are not deployed as he swoops closer to "camera" in the medium shot following his initial approach, but well before he transforms.
*As the ''Axalon'' is being dragged off of the cliff, the bottom of it can be seen. However it is completely flat at the rear; the engines are not there at all.
*In the Brazilian dub, Rampage is called "Destruição", but his name is "Violência". "Destruição" is Ravage's name.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:Sparkholderprimevaldawn.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Geekery.]]
*The "spark container" which held Optimus Prime's spark was hauntingly similar to the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. According to [[Ben Yee]]'s [http://www.bwtf.com/bw/tvshow/episodes/seasonthree/os/ site], the Mainframe animators used Optimus Prime's death sequence from "[[The Transformers: The Movie]]" as a visual reference and used the Matrix's design as a spark container because they didn't know its significance. This, of course, leads us to ask the question: How do you get involved with ''Transformers'' and not know the most important McGuffin in the entire continuity?
** "[[Primeval Dawn]]" later explained the Matrix-shaped spark container as being a [[Decoy|decoy]] Matrix constructed to sit in front of the real Matrix.
** Or Rhinox's "his spark has the Matrix with it" line could suggest that while he held the Matrix, the Matrix seen in ''Beast Wars'' was the Matrix and not a decoy. Consider that in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', Prime didn't give the Matrix to Ultra Magnus until after he had died. Look, just watch the episode, okay?
*Optimus was briefly knocked out after deflecting the missile and falling to the ground. However he is awake to watch the ''Axalon'' teeter back and forth and eventually fall off the cliff. One wonders why he couldn't have stopped it. After all, in his original form, he was able to slow the ship's descent to keep it from crashing in the episode "[[Victory (episode)|Victory]]". One would think that his much larger and more powerful form would be enough actually to lift the ship up.
**On the other hand, he may not have wanted to leave himself (or more importantly, Prime's spark) exposed to Rampage. Considering the fact that the ''Axalon'' fell in the first place because Primal was trying to protect his ancestor's spark, it seems like the most logical in-universe explanation.
* Although the kinds of relative damage that can cause [[Death|fatal]] injury is [[Waspinator (BW)|notoriously]] [[Dinobot (BW)|inconsistent]] in ''Beast Wars'' (and the wider franchise in general), it is particularly strange that Ravage is killed outright by the explosion that traveled the length of the ship before consuming him, whereas Tarantulas was literally at the epicenter of the blast and yet was easily cobbled back together by his [[Arachnoid]]s. To be fair, perhaps Ravage could have been just as readily reassembled had anyone bothered to do so, although if so this raises the question of why no-one did... (or, at least, not until [[Ravage_%28G1%29#3H_Universe_comics|the]] [[Ravage_%28G1%29#IDW_Beast_Wars_comics|comics]]).

===Transformers references===
[[Image:OptimalSituation Tarantulas insignia.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
* The [[Arachnoid]]s seen in this episode sport a special Tarantulas [[insignia]], which they possess in all of their appearances from now on.
*After Optimus Prime's spark is returned to him, he reactivates, but almost immediately returns to [[stasis lock]]. The [[Binaltech#Binaltech_2|''Binaltech'' story]] chapter supplied with BT-22 Convoy establishes that Optimus Prime was at least partly aware of both the spark transfer and Optimus Primal.
*When confronting Megatron on the ''Ark'''s bridge, Optimus Primal tells Megatron, "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings," the motto of Optimus Prime. When informed by [[Ben Yee]] about this fact during the [[Madman Entertainment]] ''Beast Wars'' Season 3 DVD commentary for this episode, writer Bob Forward confessed that up to this point he had no idea, and the phrase was simply something he'd picked up from the alt.toys.transformers newsgroup.
* Later, Optimus Primal tells the Maximals to "transform and [[Roll out|roll out]]."

===Real-world references===
* The [[Autobot repair device]] used that fits over Prime's head unfurls in a distinctively layered fashion reminiscent of the exploding mask worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film [[wikipedia:Total Recall| Total Recall]].

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Situation Optimal'''" (Canada, "Optimal Situation")

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''L'alba di una nuova era'''" ("The Dawn of a New Age")

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Ōkiku Na~re'''" (大きくな～れ, "Gro~w Bigger")

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Situação Optimal'''" ("Optimal Situation")

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Situación Óptima'''" ("Optimal Situation")

:*''Title:'' "'''Situación Optima'''" (America, "Optimal Situation")

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers: Metals'' — Groooww Bigger ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Free Video ([[Universal]])
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers: Metals'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Vol. 1 (Universal) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete Third Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 3 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

Beast Wars (Part 1)

2012-03-21T13:32:01Z

98.95.33.172: /* Trivia */

{{episode
|series=BW
|ep=1
|image=BWPart1 crashland.jpg
|caption=They carry within them the last sons of Kryp—oh, wait, never mind.
|title="Beast Wars" (Part 1)
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[April 22]], [[1996]]<ref>Though this episode played several days earlier in several US markets, its most widespread screening was on the 22nd.</ref>
|packaged with=[[Optimus Primal/toys#Beast Wars Telemocha Series|DX Convoy]]
|written by=[[Bob Forward]]
|directed by=[[Ian Pearson]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''A Maximal science vessel and a fugitive Predacon starship crash land on a mysterious, primitive world.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:BWPart1 strangenewworld.jpg|left|180px|thumb|In space, no one can hear you transform.]]
In an unknown star system, a [[transwarp]] portal opens, releasing two starships, a fleeing Predacon warship and a pursuing Maximal vessel. Already carrying the scars of battle, both ships immediately open fire upon each other. On the Maximal ship, [[Cheetor (BW)|a youthful crewmember]] reports on their damaged condition, in response to which [[Rattrap|another crew member]] bitterly complains about their non-combat exploration vessel not being cut out for this mission. Their commander, [[Optimus Primal]], states that they were the only ship in range capable of intercepting the fugitives.

On the fleeing Predacon starship, [[Dinobot (BW)|the first officer]] urges his leader,[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]], to finish off the Maximals while their opponents' shields are down. Megatron arrogantly rebuffs this suggestion, preferring to toy with his opponents. A broadside attack cripples their enemies' engines and causes significant damage to their stasis hold. Optimus Primal orders the Maximals' cargo of [[stasis pod]]s be released into safe orbit before firing the forward plasma cannons, strafing the Predacons' hull. With no engines, both ships are caught in the planet's gravitational pull and plummet to its surface.

[[Image:BWPart1 beastmodes.jpg|right|180px|thumb|And the fandom complained... for about five minutes.]]
Both ships are non-flightworthy after their crashes. The Maximals have landed on a cliff above a lake; the Predacon warship has landed smack in the middle of the ash-hardened opening of an active shield volcano. The Predacon computer informs Megatron that their location is unknown, as while the course settings were accurate, the readings were not consistent with what was to be expected of the location. Dismissing this for the time being, Megatron demands to know if the mysterious planet has [[energon]], which the computer confirms to his elation. However, it warns that there is so much energon that prolonged exposure would permanently damage their robot modes. Declaring that they will take the forms of the most powerful creatures on the planet, Megatron orders [[Tarantulas (BW)|his science officer]] to scan for local lifeforms which they could adapt as alternate modes to survive on this world. The Predacon ship launches a drone, scanning the fossils of a ''Tyrannosaurus rex'', ''Velociraptor'', and ''Pteranodon'', as well as a living spider and wasp.

At the cliff, the Maximals have the same idea, scanning a gorilla, rat, rhino and cheetah. The Maximals check out their new forms and bicker amongst themselves, till Optimus Primal orders the crew to moderate their conflict circuits, reminding them that their new beast forms are to protect them from the long-term effects of the abundant energon fields: While they need energon for power, their robot modes will short out after a few minutes of exposure. Optimus notes that they are on a very unusual planet, wherever it is. Rhinox points out that the transwarp drive allows them to journey through space '''and''' time, so they could be in any place, any time. Optimus expresses concern about the stasis pods in orbit, as it means the Maximals are outnumbered.

[[Image:BWPart1 beastfaceoff.jpg|left|180px|thumb|We'll tumble. Rumble style!]]
Back at the other crash site, the Predacons are testing out their new beast modes, bar one. First officer Dinobot, studying the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] he and his cohorts had stolen, is furious, declaring that this world cannot be [[Earth]]. He accuses Megatron of failure, both in battle against the Maximals and in failing to guide them to the right planet. Megatron laughs off Dinobot's accusations, and has Scorponok blast the treacherous Dinobot over the horizon. Megatron informs the other Predacons that it doesn't matter which planet they are on, as they had come looking for energon to fuel their war with the Maximals, and this planet is rich with it. Megatron dispatches his crew to seek out and destroy their enemies.

[[Image:BWPart1 Predsopenfire.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Shouldn't they be seeking cover of some sort?]]
Meanwhile, the Maximals are surveying the land around them and cleaning up the wreckage on the ''Axalon''. Rattrap complains about all the fuss over the Golden Disk, but Optimus Primal reminds him that the Disk is Cybertron's most closely guarded relic, a guide to a major source of energon, which is why Megatron stole it. Rattrap doesn't care, retorting they were supposed to be performing deep-space exploration and that it isn't his job to chase after criminals. He sarcastically speculates on Primal's readiness to handle a command position. Optimus further reminds him of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]], noting that if the Predacons are able to secure a massive source of energon, they wouldn't hesitate to start a new one. Rattrap isn't convinced.

Deciding to show off (and goof off), Cheetor gives chase to two cheetahs running on the plains near the ship. Optimus tries to call him back, but the energon radiation severely limits the range of their communications equipment.

[[Image:BWPart1 Primalflying.jpg|left|180px|thumb|"I'm a rocket man, rocket man, burnin' out his fuse up here alone."]]
Some distance away, Cheetor's two cheetah buddies are freaked out by a rather large wasp. Realizing it's a '''Robot in Disguise''', Cheetor transforms and fires unprovoked. The Predacon Waspinator transforms and retaliates. Back at the ''Axalon'', the other Maximals move out to give Cheetor backup, with Rhinox ramming his way through a pile of boulders to speed their progress. Waspinator manages to get the better of Cheetor when the Maximal's rifle jams, but fortunately, the other Maximals have arrived by then. Unfortunately, Megatron and the Predacons have arrived as well.

[[Image:BWPart1 coverfire.jpg|right|180px|thumb|"I'll activate my Hero Shield!"]]
Optimus Primal tries to convince Megatron to not engage in hostilities, as the Maximals and Predacons have been at peace for centuries. Megatron spits back that while the Maximals may have been at peace, the Predacons, like all enemies who appear "peaceful", were merely biding their time. The Predacons have never forgotten their goal of galactic conquest, but were merely waiting for the right time to strike.

Both sides transform, and the battle is joined. As the Maximals seek cover, Cheetor is blasted by one of Scorponok's missiles and ends up with his leg trapped under a boulder. Optimus Primal orders Rattrap to assist Cheetor while he provides cover fire, but Rattrap flatly refuses to risk his life for anybody else, to Optimus' anger. The Maximal leader flies to Cheetor's position himself but is hit by Predacon fire, much to Rattrap's smug delight. Nonetheless, Optimus manages to free Cheetor while Rhinox "persuades" Rattrap to help provide the pair with cover fire. With the Predacons now seeking cover of their own, the Maximals make their escape. Megatron orders pursuit, but he and his Predacons succumb to the effects of the energon buildup and are forced to revert to beast mode.

[[Image:BWPart1 bridgefaceoff.jpg|left|180px|thumb|You shall not pass!]]
On the way back to base, Optimus Primal chews out Rattrap for disobeying a direct order, explaining to the petulant Maximal that he could have given better cover fire, an explanation which Rattrap accepts rather grudgingly. Cheetor notes that they seem to have escaped the Predacons. Primal isn't sure, as the Golden Disk theft reports indicated there were six Predacons, but they only encountered five in the previous battle.

They don't have to wait long. Dinobot appears, barring their way across a stone bridge to the ''Axalon''. Dinobot states that he has left the Predacons to join the Maximals... as leader. He challenges Optimus Primal to a one-on-one battle, with the winner to lead the Maximals, the loser to be destroyed!

[[Beast Wars (Part 2)|To be continued...]]
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s
|c1=
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (1)
*[[Rattrap]] (2)
*[[Optimus Primal]] (3)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (6)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]
|c2=
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (4)
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] (7)
*[[Waspinator]] (8)
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (9)
*[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] (10)
}}

==Quotes==
"I'm a cheetah! No... I'm ''Cheetor''!" 
:—'''Cheetor''' is most imaginative.

"Ah-hahaha... there's more to being a leader than simple courage. Well, there's cleverness and cunning as well. Isn't that right, Scorponok?" 
[''Scorponok fires a missile, blasting Dinobot away''] 
"Loser."
:—'''Megatron''' deals swiftly with Dinobot's belligerence.

"You wanted exploration, and here we are on an unknown planet. What more do you want?" 
"Well, uh, call me picky but a working spacecraft might be nice." 
''[sighs]'' "Just no pleasing some people."
:—'''Optimus Primal''' and '''Rattrap'''

"Mzzzzz! Wazzzpinator under attack! Wazzzpinator engage enemy! Wazzzpinator, TERRORIZEZZZZZZZZ!!!"
:—'''Waspinator''' engages Cheetor.

"Ahh, a treacherous, under-handed sneak attack. Oh-ho-ho, I like you, pussycat, yesss."
:—'''Megatron''''s response to Cheetor's unprovoked attack

"This guy's got bearings of chrome steel."
:—'''Rhinox''' on Dinobot's bid for Maximal group leader

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* When Waspinator fights Cheetor, the stripes on his thighs are mapped on the wrong axis.
* As Optimus, Rhinox and Rattrap ride out to give Cheetor support, Rhinox breaks through a "roadblock" of boulders. However, in the previous shot of this location, the boulders were not present.
* When Rhinox picks up Rattrap and swings him around to face the Predacons, Rattrap's gun clips right through the boulder in front of them.
* Scorponok is among the Predacons milling about outside the ship in their beast modes, yet he appears from within the ship to blast Dinobot only a few moments later.
* During the battle between Dinobot and Optimus, Dinobot's spinning blades are severely shortened and misshapen, making them appear to have been chibified.
*Also during their battle, when Dinobot transforms his knee-pads and the bones around his ankles are absent.

===Continuity errors===
* Cheetor spends the longest time in the open while in robot mode, but does not suffer the effects of energon overload that the Predacons do.

===Transformers references===
* Optimus Primal mentions the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]], which is what the Transformers of the Beast era called the conflict between the [[Autobot|Autobots]] and [[Decepticon|Decepticons]].

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Animutants - 1re partie'''" ("Animutants - 1st Part")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

:*''Title:'' "'''Pilote 1'''" (Canada, "Pilot 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''L'atterraggio'''" ("The Landing")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Chō Seimeitai Transformer Tōjō'''" (超生命体トランスフォーマー登場, "Enter the Super Lifeform Transformers")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 1|1 October]] [[1997]]
[[Image:BeastWarsEp1JapanOpen01.jpg|right|300px|thumb|[[Star Wars (franchise)|Dun dun dun DUN! DAN! Dan dan dan DAAAN! DAN! Dan dan dan DAAAN! DAN! Dun dun dun DUN!]]]]
::*The Japanese version of this episode begins with a [[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]-style scrolling recap of the history of the Transformers, narrated by both the Maximal and Predacon computer voices talking simultaneously. This worked out fairly well, since the episode begins with a placid pan of an outerspace backdrop, followed by a running battle between spaceships, as if it was tailor-made for this kind of parody.

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Wojna bestii'''" ("Beast War")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Beast Wars parte 1'''" ("Beast Wars part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La guerra de las bestias [Parte 1]'''" ("The War of the Beasts [Part 1]")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

:*''Title:'' '''Guerra de Bestias Primera Parte'''" (America, "Beast War First Part")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

===Trivia===
* Before they gain their beast modes, the Maximals and Predacons are shown mostly in shadow. This is probably to save the animators the trouble of coming up with entirely different models for each character. However, if one pays close attention, there are some marked differences to the facial areas shown, and Rattrap's arms are slightly different.
* Megatron, who is seen almost entirely prior to getting his beast form, reuses the body of the Giant Robot from Mainframe's other show, ''ReBoot'', albeit with a few small modifications and Megatron's head slapped on top. The model would continue to be reused, including as Blackarachnia's protoform (again with modifications) and various generic Predacons in "[[The Agenda (Part 1)]]".
* When Rhinox is fixing something outside, the "Gas Bottle" looks like the model sub seen later on in other episodes.
* Rattrap's gun has 3 spider kill-marks on it. Has he killed spider-bots before?
* As this was the first episode, the transformation/catchphrase sequences are rather overbearing by comparison to later episodes of the series.
* If the Beast Warriors are on an "unknown planet", presumably containing animals they've never seen before... how does everybody manage to think up such fitting new beast-mode-based names? (Presumably, not ''all'' information about Earth was off-limits.)
* During the scene in which the Maximals reveal their new beast modes, it is not clear why they (bar Optimus Primal) had to rename themselves. Maximal military or exploration tradition?
* Throughout this episode and "[[Beast Wars (Part 2)]]", Scorponok's missiles have a Maximal insignia on them, meant to indicate Maximal kills. This confused viewers into thinking that they were mistakenly "Maximal missiles", so the symbols were changed.
* Cheetor has the dual honour of being the first character to appear in ''Beast Wars'', as well as the first character to fire a shot (unprovoked) at the enemy. Cheetor also has the honour of speaking the final words of the Beast Era in the final episode of the ''Beast Wars''' sequel, ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Machines]]''.
* Dinobot has the distinction of being the first ''Beast Wars'' character to transform into robot mode.
* This episode marks the only instance in the entire series in which Dinobot uses the "Terrorize!" [[activation code]], despite nominally being a Predacon. He would later reprogram himself with the Maximal activation code.
* Waspinator fires pink eye lasers (similar to Dinobot's) during his battle with Cheetor.
* Rattrap is a serious asshole this early in the series.
* The image of a gorilla (Optimus) riding on top of a rhino (Rhinox) may be a reference to the "Donkey Kong Country" games.
* Going by their options for beast modes, it would appear the Maximals crashed in what would become the African continent, while the Predacons crashed in what would become the American continent. This would, however, require that Dinobot's alternate mode is not an actual velociraptor, but rather an american genus of dromaesauridae, as velociraptors are only found in Mongolia.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1996 — ''Beast Wars'' — A Feature Length Beasties Adventure ([[Alliance Atlantis|Alliance Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1996 — ''Robots-Bêtes'' — Une Adventure Cybernetique (Alliance Video) — French audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1997 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — Enter the Super Lifeform Transformers ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars'' / ''Robots-Bêtes'' Three pack (Alliance Video) — Available in English or French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Beginning: Vol. 1 ([[Universal]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 1 ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Maximal Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — English and Japanese audio.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 1 ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete First Season (Rhinomation) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2011 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — Classic Episodes — Where the Beasties Began! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — The Complete First Season (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

==Footnotes==
<references />

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