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Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2

2013-05-03T22:59:32Z

TFNano: /* Animation or technical glitches */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=36
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=27
|prev2=Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1
|next2=Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=48
|prev3=Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1
|next3=Fire on the Mountain
|image=MMP2 Megatron press conference.jpg
|caption=Somewhere, a [[Cobra Commander|terrorist]] is crying himself to sleep.
|title="Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2"
|production code=#700-35
|airdate=[[October 15]], 1985
|written by=[[Donald F. Glut]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Having had the Autobots exiled from Earth, Megatron reveals the Decepticons' true intentions.'''

==Synopsis==
''[[Victor Caroli]] provides a "[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1|Last time, on ''The Transformers'']]" recap.''

[[Image:MegatronsMasterPlan2 Decepticon Day.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Wait, something's WRONG here...]]

As a marching band parades through the streets of [[Central City (Earth)|Central City]], Berger announces that today is [[Decepticon Day]]. Sparkplug and Chip immensely dislike the event, but Chip says that it's too late now for Spike to be searching for evidence to prove the Autobots are innocent.

Back in a video viewing room, Spike finishes watching another tape showing the Decepticons as the real culprits. He's about to leave when he meets Ravage. During a brief fight, in which Ravage slams into a TV screen, gets fried, smacked with an office chair, and then finally gets buried under a shelf of video tapes (poor kitty), Spike makes his escape.

At a nearby high school disco, Soundwave and his cassettes make an appearance. Rumble dances with the ladies, Ravage gets petted by some schoolgirls, and Laserbeak gives a real evil glare to a kid who's offering him a cracker (probably considering eating the kid instead).

In deep space, Cosmos is leading the rocket ship carrying the Autobots. Inside, Ironhide and Cliffjumper persuade Prime to turn around and head back to Earth. After the ship doesn't respond to Cliffjumper's control input, Hound uses his shoulder scanner to pinpoint their destination...the [[Sun|SUN]]! Cosmos finds he is unable to link up with Teletraan I as the rocket starts to overheat...along with the Autobots inside. Cosmos then comes aboard and starts working on the computer, but to no avail.

[[Image:MegatronsMasterPlan2 Autobots sizzle.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"Optimus...getting...hot..." "Not now, Ironhide."]]
Inside the [[Decepticon Headquarters (G1 Earth)|Decepticon base]], Megatron looks on with glee as he watches the Autobots and their ship collide with the sun and explode. The Decepticons then leave for a press conference.

In the [[Mayor of Central City|mayor]]'s office in Central City, Spike shows the mayor the tapes he's found. The mayor can't bring back the Autobots, but now armed with the right evidence, he and Spike start a campaign to clear the Autobots' names.

At the press conference, Megatron reveals that he plans to conquer the planet and suck it dry of energy. He is now the marshal of Central City, newly christened as Megatronia 1, and everyone will be made slaves to obtain energy for the Decepticons. A nearby screen shows the [[Conehead]]s running amok through Central City. Spike learns of the Autobots' destruction and escapes, but the tape of evidence is destroyed. Berger saves Spike from getting killed by Laserbeak, but their escape is short-lived, as they're all captured by Megatron.

Back in space, the Autobots have been saved by Trailbreaker's [[force field]]. They're attached to Cosmos, who is still heading towards the Sun, since his actions are controlled by Teletraan I.

[[Image:Berger Sad Enslaved.jpg|left|200px|thumb|It's hard being an opportunistic jerk!]]
Back on Earth, things are grim. All the humans have been enslaved by the Decepticons, and they're being forced to mine energy from every available source. Berger's received his reward: He too is cuffed and made to work in a power plant. One night, Chip breaks out of the power plant and sneaks on board a nearby truck. He heads for the [[Ark (G1)|Autobot base]], where he sets to work at Teletraan I. He finds out that the Autobot rocket was destroyed and is about to learn more when Thrust breaks into the base, destroys Teletraan I and takes Chip back to the plant.

[[Image:MegsMasterPlan Autobots roll out.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"Nothing has changed between us, right Prime?" "I said 'not now', Ironhide."]]
Meanwhile, Cosmos realizes he's got control back and turns around. Back on Earth, an Air Force rescue attempt is easily thwarted by the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] and Blitzwing. Megatron has the humans cornered when the Autobots arrive. Optimus Prime assembles [[To sell toys|<s>the entire '84 and '85 line</s>]] his entire forces to combat the Decepticons, and they win, heavily damaging many of their foes, including the Insecticons and Constructicons. Having thoroughly lost their advantage, the Decepticons retreat.

The mayor acquits the Autobots, while Berger is taken by the authorities to face justice. With the Decepticons defeated, the Autobots transform and roll for home.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (22)
* [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (23)
* [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (24)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (25)
* [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (26)
* [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (27)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (28)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (29)
* [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] (30)
* [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (31)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (32)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (33)
* [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (35)
* [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (36)
* [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (37)
* [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (38)
* [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] (55)
* [[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (56)
* [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] (57)
* [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (58)
* [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (59)
* [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] (61)
* [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (62)
* [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (63)
* [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (64)
* [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (65)
* [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (66)
* [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (67)
* [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] (68)
* [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (69)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (70)

|c2=
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (3)
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (4)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (5)
* [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] (6)
* [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] (7)
* [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (8)
* [[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (9)
* [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (10)
* [[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (11)
* [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (12)
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (18)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (19)
* [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (20)
* [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (34)
* [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (39)
* [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (40)
* [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (41)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]](42)
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (43)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (53)
* [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (71)

|c3=
* Berger's army (1)
* [[Shawn Berger]] (2)
* Kid in Megatron costume (13)
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (15)
* [[Chip Chase]] (16)
* [[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (17)
* Teenager at Decepticon-hosted discotheque (21)
* [[Mayor of Central City|Mayor]] (44)
* [[Justin]] (45)
* Justin's mother (46)
* Justin's father (47)
* Reporter (48)
* Angry audience member No. 1 (49)
* Angry audience member No. 2 (50)
* Private guard No. 3 (51)
* Private guard No. 4 (52)
* Truck driver (54)
* Jet fighter pilots (60)
}}

==Quotes==
"Hey, get down Soundwave!"
:—'''Rumble''' as he dances with the ladies.

"Uh, Laserbeak wanna cracker?"
:—'''Male human teen''' who suspects Laserbeak wants to eat him

'''Ironhide''': Are we going anywhere, Cosmos, or is this a tour of the stars? 
'''Hound''': Lay off him, Ironhide. He didn't cause our problems. 
'''Ironhide''': You're right! Maybe we oughta take it out on the one who got us into this mess! 
'''Optimus Prime''': I did what was necessary.
:—Only Ironhide could get away with taking a shot at Prime like that.

"Is anyone brave, or ''stupid'' enough, to oppose us? This city is under martial law...and ''I'' am the marshal!"
:—'''Megatron''' spells doom for the people of Central City...and makes a funny.

"Let us teach them a lesson in ''sorrow''!"
:—'''Dirge''' as he and the Coneheads terrorize Central City during the Decepticon-imposed martial law

"It is over. I saw the Autobot ship, like a silver bullet, streaking toward the Sun, and it collided—collided with destiny! I saw the end. They died in a cosmic funeral pyre!"
:—'''Shawn Berger''', destroying all hope

"You...pile of reject parts, I'll—" 
"Reject parts? BWAHAHAHAHHAHA!"
:—'''Chip Chase''' as '''Thrust''' destroys Teletraan I and, perhaps, mocks the handicapped

"You are going to face justice, and may it be kinder to you than it was to us. Autobots, transform and roll for home!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''', deciding not to have Berger sent on a collision course with the Sun

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Some of the show's stock background music is briefly repurposed as source music (music that's actually heard by the characters in the show), coming from a marching band. Unfortunately, the marching band's drumming doesn't actually match up with the musical drum beats. In the next shot, a trumpet is shown as the flutes cut in.
* The way the cymbal player is playing the cymbals is wrong. Playing them in this manner produces poor control of the sound and risks damage to fine cymbals, which are not designed for such usage.
* Thundercracker is shown alongside Megatron in the first shot of the marching Decepticons. Subsequent dialog and animation makes it clear that this should have been Starscream.
* As he watches the Decepticon parade, the temple of Chip's glasses is missing.
* A short scene meant to catch us up with what Spike has been doing shows Spike viewing footage and Ravage arriving in the video room. But the footage Spike views is different from what he saw last episode, and Ravage now arrives through an open doorway instead of bashing down the door and wall.
* Barely disguised versions of Carly and Spike's character models are seen at the Teen Dance. Not-Spike is even wearing Spike's stock tan shirt and blue jeans.
* This being his first appearance, Cosmos's voice lacks the self-echo that would characterize it in his subsequent appearances.
* Improbable viewpoints:
** Megatron gets a view from right alongside the Autobot ship as it approaches the Sun.
* Soundwave is missing his Decepticon symbol as Megatron turns away from watching the Autobot ship explode. It suddenly appears as he steps forward.
* The footage that Spike shows to the mayor is a ''third'' version of Starscream removing his Optimus Prime mask, despite Dirge only filming the scene once.
* Justin complains that he doesn't have any "metal-colored crayons" to finish coloring Megatron, even as he continues coloring him. Despite coloring Megatron perfectly thus far, his first stroke goes way outside the lines.
* In the opening shot of the press conference (seen up top), Starscream's helmet is light gray instead of dark gray.
* Starscream's optics are mis-colored blue as he fires his [[null-ray]] finger.
* As Dirge fires on a woman's car, there is a truck to its left. Just as the car explodes, the truck disappears.
* Spike's mouth doesn't move as he says "Oh no" in response to Berger's rant.
* Soundwave's ejection button is blue instead of white as he dispatches Ravage and Laserbeak to capture Spike.
* Megatron's eyes light up, then dim, then light up again. An energy sound effect plays, but not till well after the second lighting-up is finished.
* Blitzwing's head is purple instead of yellow as he and Astrotrain guard the workers.
* Soundwave's mouth plate disappears after threatening "increase efficiency or be terminated" and firing on the slaves.
* When Megatron instructs Thrust to re-capture Chip Chase, his voice is not electronically enhanced.
* As the Worker pushes a cart of energon cubes into the green truck, they do not possess their glowing effect
* Teletraan I's screen displays Cosmos's name as "COSMS" {{sic}}.
* The launching sound effect for Thundercracker and Skywarp plays before they've actually lifted off.
* Thundercracker transforms without the transforming sound effect.
* The Decepticons get the Autobot laser sound effect for their opening volley as they fire on the human jets.
* Optimus's headlights aren't colored in as he lectures Megatron.
* As the Autobots arrive at the battle site, Ironhide is drawn with Ratchet's ambulance lights on his roof. Ratchet is right next to him, with no lights visible.
* Not truly an error, but the two sequences of Autobots transforming for battle are recycled sequences from "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]" played in reverse. They're played again, forwards this time, as the Autobots transform to roll for home.
* Starscream's "Yeeiiii!" begins before he's actually shot.
* The three panning shots of the various Autobots firing on the Decepticons are all repeated twice.
* One of these panning shots features Smokescreen with a blue head crest, which should be yellow.

===Continuity errors===
* When Spike found the fishy video footage and was cornered by Ravage last episode, the trial was nearing its conclusion. Since then, the trial has concluded, the Autobots have launched into space, Megatron has paid a visit to Autobot Headquarters, and a [[Decepticon Day]] parade has been organized...and meanwhile, Spike is ''still'' facing off with Ravage.
* Ravage is seen at the Teen Dance...just one shot after his face-off with Spike. Did he really give up that quickly? (Both this and the previous snafu combine to make it clear that Spike's encounter happened much earlier than the subsequent events, and his escape from Ravage is only shown in this episode because it made a better cliffhanger that way.)
* Did Cosmos just ''not notice'' that they were heading toward the Sun?
* Okay, we can buy that Megatron shorted out the ship's guidance system by remote control and locked in its course. But how the heck can Teletraan I control Cosmos against his will? And if that's the case, why not just have Blaster jam the signal?
* Heck, maybe there's just something wrong with Cosmos, period. In spite of the fact that his method of propulsion involves thrusters, there are several shots in this episode he's seen flying through space ''while spinning on his own axis'' like a hubcap-shaped flying saucer from a bad 1950s science-fiction movie.
* Chip rolls out of the truck trailer at will, but trailer doors are generally designed to open only from the outside.
* There are a lot of missing Autobots in this and the previous episode. In particular, the Dinobots, who did not stop fighting and leave Earth on [[Heavy Metal War|a similar previous occasion]], are not seen boarding the ship. [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] seems to be present in the force field, but it seems [[Desertion of the Dinobots|rather]] [[S.O.S. Dinobots|unlikely]] that they would give up the fight on Prime's orders.
* Chip and Optimus Prime behave as if Cosmos is the only interstellar-capable Autobot at this time, which is only ''sort of'' true; there's [[Skyfire (G1)|Skyfire]], but he had been written out of the show by this point, while [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] would not appear for another three episodes.
* Superhuman Spike:
** Delivers several shoulder blocks in this episode that would destroy the largest linebacker. The first knocks over a massive standing shelf full of videos, allowing him to escape Ravage. The second, during Chip's escape, sends a cart full of energon cubes careening down the hall with enough force that it knocks Rumble into the wall several hundred feet later.
* The energy cuffs that the workers wear don't seem to restrain anything at all. Not only do all of the workers have full use of their arms, but Chip is completely unhindered by them during his escape.
* For that matter, pumping switches back and forth is not how a power plant works. [[A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court|Not any more]], anyway.

===Continuity notes===
[[Image:Nullray-finger.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"Objection!"]]
* First onscreen appearances of Cosmos and Astrotrain.
* Gadgets and powers:
** Hound uses his missile launcher as a sort of radar-path-finder thing.
** Starscream fires the [[null-ray]] from his finger.
** Laserbeak fires his eye beams yet again to destroy the videotape.
** Trailbreaker extends his force field to enclose the entire Autobot army, and seemingly radiates it from his entire body.
** Ratchet can fire laser blasts [[GoBots (franchise)|from his hands]].
** Ironhide zaps Chip's energy bonds out of existence with a beam from his fingertip.
* Spike makes use of Ravage's tech spec weakness, blinding him with a studio spotlight.
* This episode goes to some lengths to show the full extent of both armies. Lots of characters such as Red Alert, Perceptor, Seaspray and Astrotrain show up for just a shot or two. Even the Insecticons can be glimpsed for a few frames in the Decepticon Day parade (only from the thighs down), and Grimlock is visible among the Autobots floating in space. It's almost shocking that Buzzsaw and Frenzy don't appear.

===Real world references===
* ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
** The ''Millennium Falcon'' engine burst is combined with the Death Star superlaser firing noise as the Decepticons leave Decepticon Headquarters.
** Thrust and Dirge both bear down on the city with some more ''Falcon'' engine noise.

===Foreign localization===

'''Brazilian'''
:*''Title:'' '''O Plano Mestre de Megatron Parte 2''' ("The Megatron's Master Plan Part 2)
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Hispanic American'''
:*''Title:'' '''El Plan Maestro De Megatron Parte II''' ("Megatron's master plan - Part II")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Italian'''
:*''Title (dub 1):'' '''Autorobots in esilio-Parte 2''' ("Exiled Autobots-Part 2")
:*''Title (dub 2):'' '''Il grande piano di Megatron - II''' ("Megatron's master plan - II")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' メガトロン地球征服作戦 PART II (''Megatron Chikyū Seifuku Sakusen PART II'', "Megatron's Plan to Conquer Earth PART II")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 17]], [[1986]]

===Trivia===
[[Image:MegatronsMasterPlan2 Trailbreaker force field.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"Good work, Trailbreaker." "Prime...kill me...so tired..."]]
* Ramjet causes a building at least eight stories tall to collapse with zero warning. Some cracks on the building may be meant to indicate that it's abandoned, but otherwise, a lot of humans just died.
* Though he single-handedly saves the Autobots on his own initiative, Trailbreaker gets no lines in the episode and barely even appears except as a [[Jesus]]-like silhouette at the center of his force field, plus a single shot before that and a couple of shots in the battle later.
* Judging by the girls surrounding him at the club, Soundwave is popular with the ladies.
[[Image:MegsMasterPlan2 ShinyThundercracker.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Quoth the raven, 'What a shine!'"]]
* When the Decepticon jets fly off to face the human resistance fighters, as Thundercracker passes the camera, his silver-coloured parts have an almost heroic, shiny gleam to them, which is unusual, given he is a villain in this story.
* The kid cheering for Megatron and company uses the same voice as [[Aron (G1)|Aron]] from the later episode "[[Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play]]".
* As is made evident by the shooting script for this episode, a large portion of this episode was actually added in at a later stage to bring it up to the required length—namely, Cosmos's inability to alter his flight path, Chip's escape and Thrust's blasting of Teletraan I.
* Chip rolls up a ramp to use Teletraan I, which is unique to this episode.
* When released as a video in the UK, both episodes were compiled as a 45-minute "movie" instead of being treated as a two-part episode.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1986 — ''The Transformers'' — Megatron's Master Plan ([[Video Gems|A.M.T. Video Gems]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — ''The Transformers'' — Megatron's Master Plan ([[Video Gems|V.I.P. Video Gems]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''The Transformers: Generation 2'' — Megatron's Master Plan ([[Malofilm|Behaviour]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 10: Megatron's Master Plan ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1994 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''The Transformers'' — Autobot Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1: Vol. 3 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2003 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 2: Series 2.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2008 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 04: Stagione Due Parte Seconda ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part One (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/megatron's_master_plan_part_2.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]

Roll for It

2011-07-27T14:59:02Z

TFNano: /* Animation or technical glitches */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=5
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=5
|prev2=Transport to Oblivion
|next2=Divide and Conquer
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=26
|prev3=Transport to Oblivion
|next3=Changing Gears
|image=FHERollForItComic01.jpg
|caption=Chip doesn't look very concerned. Seriously, not at all.
|title="Roll for It"
|production code=#700-02
|airdate=[[October 13]], 1984
|written by=[[Douglas Booth]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''The Decepticons seek a powerful antimatter formula, and the Autobots with their new human ally Chip Chase try to stop them.'''

:''Japanese title:'' メガトロンの帰還 (''Megatron no Kikan'', "The Return of Megatron")
:''German title:'' Die geheime Anti-Materie Formel (''The Secret Anti-Matter Formular'')
:''German Generation 2 title:'' Ein Held namens Chip (''A Hero called Chip'')
:''Russian title:'' Поехали! (''Poyekhali!'', "Let's go!")
:''Serbian title:'' Велики преокрет (''Veliki preokret'', "Great vicissitude")
:''Italian title, dub 2:'' '''Un nuovo amico''' ("A new friend")
:''Italian title, dub 2:'' '''In marcia per la vittoria''' ("March off for the victory")
{{TOCclear}}
==Synopsis==
[[Image:RollForIt Bluestreak cannonfire.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Bluestreak, we need energon stars, quick!]]

[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], still in command of the [[Decepticon]]s after [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'s disappearance in the [[Space Bridge]], leads [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] in attacking a hydroelectric power generator. The Autobots respond quickly, as [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] arrives with an assault team. The battle is short, as a thrown piece of equipment destroys the Decepticon store of [[energon cube]]s. With little to show for their efforts, the Decepticons retreat. Optimus Prime sends [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] and [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] to follow them.

[[Image:RollForIt Spacebridge recieves.jpg|right|150px|thumb|A storm approaches.]]

Meanwhile, on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Megatron resumes contact with Earth. Despite his absence, Megatron commands that their scheduled attack on an antimatter laboratory will continue as planned in five billion astroseconds. The battle-damaged [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] set out to find repair parts in the interim, to be ready for the attack, while Megatron boards the Space Bridge for transit back to Earth.

[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] drives [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] and [[Chip Chase]] to the isolated antimatter laboratory where Chip works. As the security guard punches the access code to let them in, his actions are carefully spied on by [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]], who is perched outside in camera mode snapping shots. Inside the massive lab, Chip and Spike are greeted by [[Alcazar|Doctor Alcazar]], who gives Chase a 5.25-inch [[floppy disk]] that will enable Chip’s home computer to interface with the one at the lab.

[[Image:RollForIt Bumblebeeattacked.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Yes and no, it's Laserbeak!]]

As Bumblebee drives away, he is attacked by [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]]. Spike directs Bumblebee to take cover in the underground parking garage. With Bumblebee having escaped, Megatron realizes Optimus Prime might be tipped off to their laboratory attack. Rather than wait for Starscream and his team, Megatron orders an immediate strike.

Bumblebee drives Chip home, where the young scientist hopes to warn the lab of the impending attack. Bumblebee tries to call in Prowl and Bluestreak as backup, but they're tied up attacking Starscream’s group, who are raiding the Ace Aircraft Factory for parts.

Megatron's attack group arrives at the antimatter laboratory. Reflector punches in the access code, and the Decepticons march inside. Doctor Alcazar receives Chip's online warning at the last possible moment, and succeeds in erasing the antimatter formula from his computer. Megatron detects that Alcazar has uploaded the formula to someone else. He lets Alcazar go.

[[Image:RollForIt ProwlshootsRavage.jpg|right|150px|thumb|BAD KITTY!]]

In the aircraft factory, Prowl is injured by Soundwave's blasts, and his [[battle computer]] goes offline. Desperate, Prowl scans for another online computer to hook up to. Traversing the phone lines, his signals find Chip's computer, which has also received Doctor Alcazar's antimatter formula. Chip assumes control of Prowl, using his desktop terminal to guide Prowl through combat maneuvers. With Chip in command, Prowl takes control of one of the surplus jets, and fires its rockets at the Decepticons. Starscream and his cohorts flee the battle.

[[Image:RollForIt FloppyDisk destruction.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Holy crap, man.]]

Megatron determines where Alcazar sent the formula, and communicates the location to Starscream and his team. Soundwave dispatches [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] to retrieve Chip. Chip memorizes the antimatter formula and destroys all evidence of it just as Ravage breaks in to his house and fetches him. The Decepticons take Chip to the antimatter laboratory, where the Autobots are just arriving. Prime sees that the Decepticons have a human hostage, and begins formulating a plan involving [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] and [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]. These deceptive Autobots are able to outsmart perimeter guard Rumble with their holographic ruses, allowing them and Bumblebee to sneak past.

[[Image:RollForIt SoundwavescansChip.jpg|right|150px|thumb|The [[AllSpark]]. WHERE IS IT?!]]

Inside, Soundwave uses his scanning abilities to extract the formula from Chip's brain. Megatron orders Chip disposed of, and begins creating antimatter with the equipment in his lab. Just as Thundercracker moves in to terminate Chip, the infiltrating Autobots attack. Bumblebee and Spike rescue Chip, and the Autobots race away, taking Chip to safety.

Next, Optimus strikes, driving through the lab walls and unleashing his warriors. But it may be too late, as Megatron throws an antimatter-powered energon cube at the Autobots, creating a tremendous explosion.

[[Image:RollForIt Sunstreak JetJudo.jpg|left|150px|thumb|And you thought surfing the roof of a boxcar was cool.]]

Injured Autobots emerge from the devastated laboratory. Prime orders a retreat to headquarters, so that his soldiers can tend to badly needed repairs. The Autobots limp back to the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], where [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]] immediately get to work. Chip laments his inability to keep the antimatter formula from falling into Megatron’s hands, but [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] tries to console him. He’s got a plan for the formula, and could use Chip and Spike's help.

[[Image:RollForIt Megatron chestycubes.jpg|right|150px|thumb|[[Breastforce]] Megatron.]]

The next day, the Decepticons, powered by antimatter energon cubes, attack Autobot headquarters. Megatron turns into pistol mode, and Starscream fires his antimatter-bolstered bolts into the Autobot ranks. Prime manages to knock the pistol from Starscream's grip, and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] recovers the weapon. Just then, Chip affixes a control device onto Skywarp's ankle, a transmitter that enables [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] to take control of the Decepticon warrior.

Under Autobot control, Skywarp begins shooting randomly into the countryside, and Megatron's antimatter ignition temperature reaches near critical. He transforms into robot mode and expels the remaining antimatter energon from his body. It detonates, devastating the Decepticon forces. Megatron orders a retreat, but swears vengeance. Meanwhile, the Autobots congratulate Chip for his heroics.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (5)
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (6)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (7)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (8)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (9)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (14)
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (20)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (21)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (22)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (23)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (24)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (25)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (26)
*[[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (27)
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (28)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (30)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (1)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (2)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (3)
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (4)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (10)
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (11)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (12)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (13)
*[[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] (17)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (19)

|c3=
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (15)
*[[Chip Chase]] (16)
*[[Alcazar]] (18)
*[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (29)
}}

==Quotes==
"Can the chat and start kickin' pig-iron!"
:—'''Brawn''', heading into battle.

"Starscream! Thundercracker! You two look like Optimus Prime ran you through a laser-powered trash compactor!"
:—'''Megatron''', observing the damaged condition of his men

"Leadership my sine function."
:—'''Starscream''' after hearing Thundercracker's remark on Megatron's leadership.

"Stealing the antimatter formula is gonna be a piece of oil cake!"
:—'''Reflector''', thinking he is (they are?) clever.

"I don't like the idea of Megatron getting the antimatter formula. He can't be trusted!" 
"Sure can't, [[manifold]]-mouth!"
:—'''Starscream''' gripes and '''Bluestreak'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s potty mouth slang

"Now ''this'' is a human after my own central processor!"
:—'''Prowl''', commenting on Chip's computer-control.

"There's no one here! I must have static in my rectifiers." 
"Now that's the smartest thing you've said all day!" 
(flattered) "R-really? ...Hey, what's going on!"
:—'''Rumble''', hoodwinked by '''Mirage''' and Hound

"Gosh! You guys look like the guests of honor at a 50-car pile-up!"
:—'''Sparkplug Witwicky''', upon seeing the battle-damaged Autobots return to base.

"I get the feeling our [[jet judo]] needs a little more work."
:—'''Sunstreaker''' to Sideswipe after their failed bid to stop the Seekers.

"You may not be an Autobot, but when you rolled for broke back there you sure could've fooled me."
:—'''Bumblebee''' congratulating Chip.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Thundercracker is repeatedly depicted with Skywarp’s colors in the opening scene, or in some cases, with Starscream’s hue.
* Starscream's head is light gray instead of dark gray as he transforms and lands in the power plant.
* In the next shot, as Soundwave lands, Starscream's face is white instead of medium gray.
* As the plant worker calls for help, Starscream has gone from Soundwave's right side to his left, and Thundercracker has become Skywarp.
* As Soundwave prepares energon cubes, the interior of his chest-compartment is not illustrated, instead showing a solid wall of blue.
* Brawn's head is almost entirely yellow instead of gray as Cliffjumper bounces off of him.
* As Starscream raises the generator over his head, the whole side of Brawn's vehicle body is colored windshield-blue—metal panels and all.
* Starscream's air intakes are missing as Prime wrestles the generator away from him.
* The tip and cockpit area of Starscream's nosecone is red as he flies away from the power plant.
* When Soundwave runs through what appears to be a chainlink volleyball net, the net is animated as if the background art is sliding, but the background is sitting still; the result is that the net seems to move ''toward'' Soundwave.

*As Soundwave escapes, Prowl transforms and gives chase, followed by Bluestreak. However, in the next shot, it's Bluestreak who knocks Soundwave over, even though Prowl was in the lead.

* After Starscream catches Soundwave, he pulls alongside Thundercracker... who has Starscream's colors.

* Bluestreak transforms to robot mode and shoots the jets. When Prime walks up to him and Prowl, however, ''Prowl'' is the one in robot mode, standing next to car-mode Bluestreak. The next shot shows a closeup of Bluestreak in robot mode again... then back to the previous shot with Prowl in robot mode.

* Bluestreak doesn't move his mouth as he chuckles at Prime's order to not bite off more than he can chew.

*When Prowl (who was Bluestreak a second ago) transforms and drives off after the retreating Decepticons, he runs over Optimus Prime's foot. What a dick.

* Behind him, an "engine vibration" effect for Bluestreak has him strangely jiggling.

* Casey Kasem seems to have misparsed Bluestreak's "Come on, Prowl" as a statement of incredulity, which would make sense if he was reacting a statement by Prowl—but it's ''Optimus'' who just warned him not to take on too much.

* Starscream's air intakes are gray instead of red as Thundercracker scorns him.

[[Image:RollForIt securityguardconsole.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Please enter the square root of 685."]]

* Improbable viewpoints:
** While in [[Decepticon Headquarters (G1 Cybertron)|Decepticon Headquarters]] on Cybertron, Megatron gets a traveling view of Starscream and Thundercracker flying in jet mode on Earth.

* Shockwave's "ears" are purple instead of gray as Megatron lectures Starscream and Thundercracker. Megatron's symbol is a maroon red instead of purple.

* As they do barrel rolls, Thundercracker is a much deeper shade of blue than normal, and Starscream's air intakes are light gray instead of red.

* When he lauds Megatron's leadership, Thundercracker's left air intake is blue instead of gray.

* Shockwave's eye doesn't flash as he wishes Megatron a safe journey.

* The security guard's mouth doesn't move as he says "Welcome back".

*The security guard’s access panel has digits 1-9 and a variety of mathematical commands (?!), yet lacks a zero.

* After he lands on the lab compound's wall, the tops of Reflector's torsos are light gray instead of purple. The error repeats in the last shot of him flying away.

* Bumblebee is abnormally small as he walks behind Chip and Spike, not more than eight feet tall.

*Bumblebee is drawn all sorts of ''wrong'' when the professor talks about Chip at the laboratory. For one scene, his roof chest becomes humongous, the Autobot symbol on it becomes mutilated, and his head looks squatter than usual. In the next scene, when he says "...and I thought you were just another pretty face", his forehead, nose and eyes are drawn rather oddly; his nose has no indentation at the top.
[[Image:Diskette.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The most powerful storage media ever created by mankind.]]
* The lab's computer is weird. It loads floppy disks backwards...unless the good doctor is befuddled and inserted the disk the wrong way.
* When Laserbeak attacks, Bumblebee is in the desert. An instant later, he's in a city (complete with underground parking.)

* The damage that Laserbeak inflicts on the parking garage just appears out of nowhere, with no lasers or explosions.

*When Megatron orders the attack on the laboratory, the Decepticon insignia on his chest is missing.
* As Megatron leads his crew to attack the lab, they are all shown using foot thrusters, in contradiction to the Decepticons' normally unexplained means of flight.
* When Bumblebee radios Prowl and Bluestreak, his voice is modulated as if coming over the radio... even though the scene is the inside of his own cabin.
*When they enter the jets' base, Prowl's and Bluestreak's Autobot insignias are not shown. When Bluestreak delivers his 'manifold-mouth' line, Prowl's mouth is also moving.
* Thundercracker is colored as Skywarp when he delivers his "You don't have Prime and Brawn" line.
* As Starscream raises his arm to fire, his weapon is mounted on the front of his shoulder, rather than the side. (Either that or he twisted his arm at an impossible angle.)
* As the Decepticons land at the lab, Rumble's voice is heard laughing; however, it isn't electronically modulated, making him sound like a creepy old man.
*The security access door code is 2-9-5 when the security guard punches it and 4-7-2 when Reflector punches it in.
* When Bluestreak delivers his "not so fast" line, his crest (red) and gauntlets (dark gray) are all light gray. He also gets Megatron's fusion cannon sound effect for his laser blast.
* Prowl has white tires as he says his "my own central processor" line.
* When the jet Prowl takes a ride on fires missiles at the Decepticons, everything (inclusive of scaffolding, barrels and other jets) behind them is utterly vaporised, despite all logic dictating that there should be at least some debris. The walls of the hangar, however, remain unblemished.
*When the Decepticons are fleeing the jets' base, Skywarp (who hasn't been shown before, except as a miscolored Thundercracker) appears besides Thundercracker and Starscream. Soundwave's tape door lacks its yellow outline as he retrieves Ravage.
* As Megatron orders Starscream to retrieve the formula, Thundercracker is the same toy-based dark blue as before. In the next shot, the front and back of Starscream's nosecone is red again. Alternate color models, perhaps?
* When he lands in the street, the top of Starscream's air intake is gray instead of red.
*The shot of Soundwave ejecting Ravage to retrieve Chip is supposed to take place outdoors, but the background art is that of the hangar interior seen earlier.
[[Image:RollForIt Chip Chase banners.jpg|thumb|right|200px|He's graduated how many times now?]]
* When we see Chip's room through the window, he has a college pennant that reads USC, an odd choice for Chip. Later, his room has two different college pennants, one with the letters [[wikipedia:California State University, Northridge|CSUN]] and another with YAL (likely Yale, with the 'e' obscured by the SUN pennant).
*Ravage breaks through Chip's front door, taking most of a side window with him. After he opens Chip's bedroom door and absconds with the human, he leaps through the now-repaired side window, and the front door is undamaged as well.
* Ravage's leap over Soundwave is physically impossible as drawn; it only works due to some layer fudging—specifically, if Ravage were high enough to pass over Soundwave's shoulder, he would not then immediately land 20 feet directly below Soundwave's shoulder, on Starscream's fuselage. In the same shot, Soundwave's eject button is blue instead of white.
*Soundwave’s line of dialogue, "Excellent, Ravage" is heard without [[Scott Brownlee]]'s sound processing, so that voice actor [[Frank Welker]]’s "Dr. Claw" voice is audible.
* Chip's street must be the width of an interstate, as both jets can easily fit in a single lane. In fact, Thundercracker only takes up ''half'' of the lane!
*When Spike is shown in Bumblebee while the Autobots are on the highway, Spike's hair is blond instead of brown. Did he have a five-second dye job or something?
* Prime has whitewall tires as he orders the Autobots to "transform for action".
* Soundwave's insignia is missing after he extracts the formula from Chip's mind.
* Mirage's verbal jabs at Rumble come as though he were right next to him, despite being some distance away and in a constantly-changing location.
* Soundwave's mask is overdrawn as he kneels to activate the computer, giving him the appearance of having two large eyes.
* Megatron is missing the two polygons on either side of his chest in the thrice-recycled shot of him giving orders to the Decepticons.
* For some reason, Mirage's voice is radio-muffled as he say "Hold it right there!"
* Starscream is once again holding one of his arm-weapons in his hand as he threatens Bumblebee and the humans.
* The window that the escaping Autobots smash through is still intact after they crash through it.
*When Megatron throws the antimatter energon cube, it is first colored black (meaning someone forgot to apply the glowing backlight effect), and then it's portrayed as empty (meaning someone forgot to color it in at all).
* Appearing/disappearing Autobots:
** The group that bursts into the lab includes Sunstreaker, Jazz, Ratchet, Prowl and/or Bluestreak, and Hound. The group shown emerging from the lab is Prime, Trailbreaker, Ironhide, Bluestreak, and Wheeljack.
** Ratchet is shown as both a member of Prime’s attack group, and also waiting for them to return at the Ark.
* As Trailbreaker and Prowl transform, they show no damage until they reach vehicle mode, at which point various cracks appear out of nowhere.


* Wheeljack's "ears" flash orange in this episode, instead of their usual blue.
*When the Decepticons are loading the antimatter-powered energon cubes, two Starscreams are shown (one as a jet being loaded with energon cubes, and one as a robot listening to Megatron).
* As he watches the Autobots gab and natter, Ratchet's head crest is white instead of gray. In the same pan, Sideswipe's shoulder is white instead of red.
* In the shot of Prime giving his big speech, the blue of Prime's eyes was apparently drawn on the same layer as his faceplate, because when his mouthplate moves, his eyes flash from blue to white and back in perfect synch with it!
* Sunstreaker's windshield is yellow instead of white-blue as he delivers his "jet judo" line.
* Wheeljack's launcher is beige instead of light gray as he flees from the Seekers' fire.
* The sky background behind Starscream is missing as he catches gun-mode Megatron; it appears half-way through the shot, replacing a generic blue background.
* Starscream is missing his wing insignia as he fires Megatron and rants about how invincible he is.
* During his "now or never" lines, only the front of Wheeljack's ears flash.
* Skywarp yells for "helllp!" in Rumble's voice.
* Megatron's face is mostly black as he transforms out of gun mode.
* Sunstreaker's mouth doesn't move as he congratulates Chip.

===Continuity errors===
* The "anti-matter" that the Decepticons create... can't really be anything of the sort. If it was, the entire laboratory, not to mention Megatron himself, would have been obliterated instantly. And anti-matter doesn't really have an "ignition temperature". Certainly the shots that Megatron fires can't be anti-matter, as it would completely annihilate anything it hit including his fusion cannon the second it was fired.
* When the security guard initially greets Chip, he is voiced by [[Chris Latta]]. A second later, when he welcomes Chip back to the lab, he is now voiced by [[Dan Gilvezan]], who performs all the character's remaining lines.
* Reflector is shown watching for the password to enter the lab. Considering how often the Decepticons are seen to just blast their way into whatever facility they want, the stealthy approach is unusual.
* Laserbeak's attack makes no sense. At this point, Spike, Bumblebee and Chip have nothing of value to the Decepticons, and attacking them (as Megatron points out!) merely serves to tip off the Autobots to the Decepticons' interest in the lab.
[[Image:RollForIt TheInternets.jpg|200px|thumb|right|64K of memory, but it can control an alien space robot.]]
* Chip's keyboard-based control of Prowl's elaborate movements seems highly improbable.
* Dropping their disguises ''before'' they enter the lab doesn't seem very clever on Mirage and Hound's part.
* [[Corey Burton]] uses a slightly different voice for Sunstreaker this episode, lacking the character's usual sharp, nasal tone. At least one line ("When we're done with 'em") sounds like it was read by Michael Bell.

* The USC pennant, possibly standing for the [[wikipedia:University of Southern California|University of Southern California]], which as an institution with a reputation as a 'party school' is an odd choice for somebody as academically accomplished as Chip; it might be the [[wikipedia:University of South Carolina|University of South Carolina]], although this is unlikely, as largely only people in the Carolinas call that university "USC." However, the apparent [[wikipedia:Yale University|Yale]] pennant that appears later seems like a good fit for somebody of Chip's talent.
*While Chip tries desperately to contact Doctor Alcazar via his computer, he never tries with the piece of equipment right next to his computer: his telephone.
*As noted above, the college pennants in Chip's room change between scenes. But why does he have pennants from three different universities?
* Flying Autobots:
** This early in the series, the "Autobots can't fly" convention hadn't quite been settled upon. Prowl makes an improbably huge leap at the jet plant.
** Bumblebee flies into the lab behind a distracted Rumble.
** Sunstreaker and Sideswipe fly out to defend Autobot Headquarters. At least Sideswipe has a rocket pack!
* Superhuman Chip:
**When the Decepticons visit Chip's house to steal the antimatter formula, Chip memorizes the code...AND RIPS A FLOPPY DISK APART WITH HIS BARE HANDS. If that doesn't seem like a tremendous feat of strength, try doing so yourself (...if you can find one...) Chip must have absolutely tremendous upper body strength.
** Ravage uses Chip as a battering ram to bash out an entire window of his house. Chip survives the experience without so much as a scratch.
* If Mirage leaves footprints as he walks toward the lab... shouldn't Hound also be leaving footprints? (Mirage, of course, is the only Transformer who ''ever'' leaves footprints, and ''only'' when he's invisible.)
* How can Megatron hear Sunstreaker ("We've gotta get those energon cubes before it's too late") when there's a whole solid wall between them?
* Spike's attack on Skywarp... doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Was he supposed to be making a hole to provide access for Wheeljack's device?
* Superhuman Spike:
** Spike is still in Skywarp's grasp when gun-mode Megatron flies out of his hand. A second later, Skywarp is visible among the Decepticons laid low by the exploding antimatter cubes. So... how did Spike get free and survive that massive explosion?

===Continuity notes===
* The Space Bridge, which first appeared in "[[Transport to Oblivion]]", reappears in this episode. It's much more stable now; Megatron just strolls in and takes a trip home.
* Gadgets and powers:
**Bumblebee can reconfigure his interior to accommodate Chip’s wheelchair and turn his door into an entry ramp.
** Bumblebee also demonstrates the ability to actually transform into vehicle mode ''around'' humans, taking them in as passengers.
** Prowl uses a pair of head-antenna to contact Chip's computer.
** Soundwave demonstrates his mind-reading abilities, extracting the anti-matter formula from Chip's brain by placing his fingers on his head.
** Megatron can detect specific computer activity by placing his hand over the machine.
** Soundwave bizarrely activates the lab computer by zapping it with an energy beam from his fingertip... which lights up his ''entire arm''.
** Thundercracker, who was loaded with energon cubes, transforms and materializes two of the cubes in his hands, one of many instances lending credit to the fandom theories of [[subspace]] and the like.
**The para-sail like parachute used by Mirage in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 3]]" is shown again, this time used by Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.
** And of course, Hound uses his hologram abilities (to disguise himself as a boulder rolling across the desert), and Mirage becomes invisible (doing so without the usual glowing trapezoid surrounding him.)
* Megatron orders the jets to meet him in "five billion astroseconds"—time enough for them to replace some parts and have a short battle. Last episode, a mere "6,000 astroseconds" was an intolerably long wait for the space bridge to re-open, and time enough for a whole series of side adventures. Next episode, the space bridge will materialize "within 72 billion astroseconds", seeming to imply that this is not too long a time.
* Megatron's use of the anti-matter cubes would seem to be a sidelong callback to one of his tech spec abilities, wherein he can use the anti-matter of an inter-dimensionally linked black hole to create a highly destructive attack.
[[Image:Prim Cola Sign.JPG|thumb|right|200px| ]]
*Signage in the city includes an ad for [[Prim Cola]].
* Chip’s phone number is 94-7244. Strangely, he doesn't answer when you call him.
* The Decepticons are never shown losing the antimatter formula, yet they seem to have abandoned its use in future episodes.

===Real-world references===
* Cliffjumper uses the phrase "your friendly neighborhood Decepticon wreckers," a paraphrase of [[Spider-Man]]'s self-given nickname.
* The antimatter formula includes handwritten screens with the following written on them:

AH ONNAG HOSHII

DOKOKANI ee ONN

AGA ORANKNAA

KYOUMO HAYO KA

EETE NEYO

….. El HABARA

….. MOU DOUTEI

….. SUTETAKAI

….. SONOUTHI

….. TORUKO IKO

….. UZE

This appears to be a Japanese staff joke, as in English the text roughly translates:
"Gah, I need a woman. Ain't there any hot babes around? Let's call it a day, get home quick and hit the sack. Hey, Habara (a common Japanese name, certainly a staff member), did you pop your cherry yet? Let's go hit a [[wikipedia:Soapland|Turkish bath]] (a kind of brothel) some time."

===Japanese version===
*'''Cut:''' When Spike and Chip pull up to the laboratory in Bumblebee, the scene following the guard saying "Welcome back", typing the 7 into his number pad and everything up through his line, "Well, I never met an Aw-toh-bawt before", have been cut. The sequence resumes at the group approaching the green door and the line, "Let me get you through our security doors".

===Notes===
[[Image:RollForIt droopyDecepticonjets.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Maybe if we're lucky, Dad won't notice why we're gone!"]]
*In several scenes in this episode, all of the Transformers are drawn using different, more stylised animation models. In particular, the Decepticon jets seen near the beginning are sleeker, more detailed and have a drooping nosecone similar to ''Cybertron'' [[Thundercracker (Armada)|Thundercracker]]'s SU-35 fighter mode. Other scenes have stylized shading, angles, and poses, such as the strange poses used by the flying Decepticons at the episode's end.
*Soundwave screams like a little girl.
*In one part, Starscream calls Megatron "The Anti-Matter Gun" instead of his name. Why?
*This was one of twelve episodes of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]] released as audio adventures by the [[Germany|German]] company [[Karussell|Karussell Musik und Video]].

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1985 — ''The Transformers'' — Volume 6: "Roll for It" ([[Family Home Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1995 — ''The Transformers'' — The Autobots vs. The Decepticons ([[Malofilm]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1995 — ''Transformers'' — Autobots vs. Decepticons (Malofilm) — French audio only.

;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1994 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''The Transformers'' — Autobot Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.

;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers'' — Original Series: Volume Two ([[Maverick Entertainment|Sony Wonder]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers'' — Complete Original Series: Deluxe Edition (Sony Wonder) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — First Season Collector's Edition ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume One (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2003 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 1: Series 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Classic Transformers'' — Series One: Part One (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — Box-Set (3DVDs) ([[Flex Media]]) — German audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2008 — ''Transformers'' — Box-Set (2DVDs) (Flex Media) — German audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2008 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 01: Stagione Uno Parte Prima ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season One (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete First Season: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — More than Meets the Eye (Shout! Factory) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/roll_for_it.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]