Editing Transformers: Prime (cartoon)

{{Nav-Prime}}

[[Image:TransformersPrimePremierePoster.jpg|thumb|300px|We finally have toys... that got cancelled!]]

'''''Transformers: Prime''''' is a multiple Daytime Emmy Award-winning [[computer-generated imagery|computer-animated]] television series that premiered on [[The Hub]] on [[November 26]], [[2010]] with a five-part mini-series, which was followed by a season of another 21 episodes beginning on [[February 11]], [[2011]]. Season 2 began screening [[February 18]], [[2012]], and a third season has been outlined by the screenwriters.<ref name="tformersbotcon10">[http://tformers.com/article.php?sid=13779 TFormers BotCon 2010 Hasbro Studios Panel Coverage]</ref>

The Canadian broadcast of the series has been undertaken by Corus Entertainment, and the show is currently airing on Teletoon.<ref>[http://www.cartoonbrew.com/biz/hasbro-studios-and-corus-entertainments-kids-networks-reach-broad-animation-and-live-action-programming-agreement.html Hasbro Studios and Corus Entertainment’s Kids Networks Reach Broad Animation and Live-Action Programming Agreement]</ref>

The series premiered in the UK from [[September 5]] on [[Cartoon Network]]'s "Action Heroes" block. It will air in Japan starting April 2012<ref>http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/japan-to-broadcast-transformers-prime-in-april-2012/23452/</ref>

==Story== 

[[Team Prime]] lives on [[Earth]] as a pre-emptive measure against the return of the [[Decepticon]]s. [[Autobot Outpost Omega One|Autobot Central Command]] is located in a converted [[missile]] silo in [[Nevada]] which was provided by the [[United States of America|United States]] government, with whom the Autobots have formed an alliance. However, the presence of [[Transformer]]s on Earth is not generally known among the civilian population. The Autobots have taken three [[human]] teens under their protection after their association with the Autobots put them in danger from the Decepticons.

[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] returns having discovered [[Dark Energon]], which grants him rule of life itself, but is injured, with [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] taking command in his absence. In addition to the Decepticons, the Autobots also contend with the human terrorist organization, [[MECH]].

==Cast==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
;Main Cast 
* [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
* [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] ([[Sumalee Montano]])
* [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] ([[Kevin Michael Richardson]])
* [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] ([[Jeffrey Combs]])
* [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]]
;Others
* [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]] ([[Dwayne Johnson]])
* [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]] ([[James Horan]])
* [[Tailgate (Prime)|Tailgate]] ([[Josh Keaton]])
|c2=
;Main Cast
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] ([[Steve Blum]])
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]]
*[[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] ([[Daran Norris]])
*[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] ([[Adam Baldwin]])
*[[Airachnid]] ([[Gina Torres]])
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]]
;Others
*[[Skyquake (Prime)|Skyquake]] ([[Richard Green]])
*[[Makeshift (Prime)|Makeshift]] ([[Kevin Michael Richardson]])
*[[Dreadwing (Prime)|Dreadwing]] ([[Tony Todd]])<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-prime-discussion/409135-tony-todd-tfp.html#post6097225 James Horan's Facebook photo of Todd and Orci.]</ref>
*[[Terrorcon (Prime)|Terrorcons]]
*[[Laserbeak (Prime)|Laserbeak]]
*[[Decepticon Miner]]s

|h3=Humans
|c3=
;Main Cast
* [[Jack Darby]] ([[Josh Keaton]])
* [[Miko Nakadai]] ([[Tania Gunadi]])
* [[Raf Esquivel]] ([[Andy Pessoa]])
* [[William Fowler]] ([[Ernie Hudson]])
;Others
* [[June Darby]] ([[Markie Post]])
* [[Silas]] ([[Clancy Brown]])
* [[Sierra]] ([[Alexandra Krosney]])


|c4=
* [[Unicron]] ([[John Noble]])
|nonumbering=true}}

[[James Remar]]<ref>[http://press.discovery.com/media/ugc/press/hubacq.pdf THE HUB TAPS POPULAR TALENT FOR UPCOMING ORIGINAL SERIES, August 6, 2010]</ref> and [[David Kaye]]<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-prime-39/auto-assembly-2011-update---david-kaye-in-transformers-prime-173120/ Auto Assembly 2011 Update - David Kaye In Transformers: Prime]</ref>  will be voicing characters.

==Episodes==
{{see|List of Prime episodes}}
===Season 1===
{{collist|2|
#[[Darkness Rising, Part 1]]
#[[Darkness Rising, Part 2]]
#[[Darkness Rising, Part 3]]
#[[Darkness Rising, Part 4]]
#[[Darkness Rising, Part 5]]
#[[Masters & Students]]
#[[Scrapheap (episode)|Scrapheap]]
#[[Con Job]]
#[[Convoy (episode)|Convoy]]
#[[Deus ex Machina]]
#[[Speed Metal]]
#[[Predatory]]
#[[Sick Mind]]
#[[Out of His Head]]
#[[Shadowzone (episode)|Shadowzone]]
#[[Operation: Breakdown]]
#[[Crisscross]]
#[[Metal Attraction]]
#[[Rock Bottom]]
#[[Partners]]
#[[T.M.I.]]
#[[Stronger, Faster]]
#[[One Shall Fall]]
#[[One Shall Rise, Part 1]]
#[[One Shall Rise, Part 2]]
#[[One Shall Rise, Part 3]]
}}

===Season 2===
#[[Orion Pax, Part 1]]
#[[Orion Pax, Part 2]]
#[[Orion Pax, Part 3]]
#[[Operation Bumblebee, Part 1]]
#[[Operation Bumblebee, Part 2]]
#[[Loose Cannons]]

==Production==
After the [[live-action film series]], screenwriters [[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]] signed to become show runners with [[Jeff Kline]] and [[Duane Capizzi]] of The Hub's ''Transformers'' cartoon, explaining the TV show would not have the constraints of a two-hour film in delving into the mythology.<ref name="botcon2011">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/conventions-15/botcon-2011-transformers-prime-panel-172315/ TFW coverage of Hasbro Studios panel at BotCon 2011]</ref> (Orci's employees [[Steven Puri]] and [[Mandy Safavi]] were also credited as producers.)<ref name="castcrewlist">[http://tformers.com/transformers-exclusive-transformers-prime-voice-cast-revealed-which-includes-the-rock/14278/news.html TFormers cast and crew announcement] including Dwayne Johnson exclusive.</ref> The show runners were given the "[[Binder of Revelation]]", a near 400-page [[production bible]] that [[Hasbro]] had been working on since the movies, that combined elements of the most popular [[continuity|continuities]].<ref>[http://collider.com/roberto-orci-jeff-kline-interview-transformers-prime/75039/ Collider transcript]</ref> The show's title was based on the desire to create a master continuity and a literal [[Wikipedia:Earth Prime|Prime continuity]].<ref name="botcon2011"/> Whereas the movies were about a [[Sam Witwicky|boy]] and his [[Bumblebee (Movie)|car]], the dynamic between the kids and the robots on the show was meant to be more like ''[[Wikipedia:The Iron Giant|The Iron Giant]]''.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21Pb3MeUDdY Roundtable interview with ''Prime'' staff at BotCon 2011]</ref>

The writing staff was headed by Capizzi and consists of [[Nicole Dubuc]], [[Marsha Griffin]], [[Joseph Kuhr]] and [[Steven Melching]]. Kline said they wanted the show to be very cinematic, with tension, suspense and danger (as marked by Cliffjumper's death in the pilot) as children are more media savvy than they were in the past. Regardless, they had to be considerate as the show still had a broad audience.<ref>[http://parrygamepreserve.com/newsDetail.php?jID=1642 PGP January 2011 Q&A]</ref> As part of the [[aligned continuity family]] with ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (franchise)| War for Cybertron]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Exodus|Exodus]]'', the producers strove to maintain many of the common elements (eg. Optimus and Megatron's past friendship, Dark Energon's origins as [[Unicron]]'s spawn, [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] sharing his film counterpart's backstory), but were allowed contradictions if it served the storytelling. By using the mammoth story bible, the writers could plan events years in advance. The large number of episodes per season meant they could pace and establish characters during season 1 slowly, while saving the more momentous, less stand alone episodes that delved into the backstory for season 2. Some of the plot ideas (namely the [[Terrorcon (Prime)|zombie robots]]) were based on stories they came up with when playing with the [[The Transformers (toyline)|toys]] as kids.<ref name="botcon2011"/> [[Bob Skir]] has written some episodes.<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/content/view/9248/20/ Allspark.com coverage of Shout and Hasbro's "Evolution of Transformers Animation" panel at 2011's Comic-Con.]</ref>

Designers include [[Christophe Vacher]] (colors), [[Vince Toyama]] and [[Jevon Bue]] (backgrounds) and [[Jose Lopez]] (lead character designer). Vacher wanted to do something different from traditional animation and saw something edgy about ''Prime''.<ref name="botcon2011"/> According to [[Ken Christiansen]], the show's characters were formed by [[Hasbro Studios]] hiring freelance conceptual artists like himself. The submitted artwork was given Lopez's staff to be examined, and they incorporated the ideas they liked best.<ref>[http://badflipblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/me-and-transformers-prime.html August 2010 blog post by Ken Christiansen]</ref> Other concept artists include [[Augusto Barranco]] and [[Walter Gatus]].

Supervising director [[Dave Hartman]] headed a team including [[Todd Waterman]], [[Shaunt Nigoghossian]], [[Vinton Heuck]] and [[Kirk Van Wormer]]. [[Polygon Pictures]] provided the [[computer-generated imagery|CG animation]], for which [[Digitalscape]] performed a recruitment drive for before the show began production.<ref>[http://www.dsp.co.jp/pr/contents/000178.html Announcement on Digitalscape, also asking for job applicants.]</ref> Lopez said the animation would be a "groundbreaking mix of 2D animation and CGI".<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/san-diego-comic-con-33/jose-lopez-breaks-the-silence-talks-about-transformers-prime-at-san-diego-comic-con-2010-170217/ Jose Lopez speaks about Prime's animation style]</ref> Each character has three CG models: the robot mode, their alternate mode, and one for the transformation.<ref>[http://www.cybertron.ca/boards/showthread.php?t=29224 Cybertron.ca January 2011 Q&A]</ref> Lopez said the designs were personality driven, and that the 3D animation allowed them to go "crazy" with the transformation schemes. In contrast, the characters were given realistic textures,<ref>[http://www.asmzine.com/geekly-rewind/2011/02/07/hasbro-transformers-qa-bonus-round-answer/ ASM Geekly Rewind January 2011 Q&A]</ref> and are subject to battle damage during episodes.<ref name="botcon">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-prime-39/botcon-2010-transformers-prime-panel-coverage-170054/ Botcon 2010 Transformers Prime Panel Coverage]</ref> A show on the level of ''Prime'' would take two years to produce, but the animators only had ten months. Five episodes are animated at a time (hence the monthly gaps during a season).<ref name="botcon2011"/>

[[Susan Blu]] was the casting director, but was replaced as voice director by [[Jamie Simone]] following a death in her family.<ref>[http://tformers.com/transformers-sdcc-2010-the-hub-transformers-panel-1st-looks-at-prime-designs/13975/news.html Tformers.com's coverage of the SDCC Transformers Prime panel, July 22, 2010.]</ref> [[Brian Tyler]] composed the show's [[theme song]] and background music. [[Matthew Margeson]] served as music arranger.

==Awards==
===2011 Daytime Emmy Awards===
*Outstanding Performer In An Animated Program - [[Peter Cullen]] as [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]]
*Outstanding Directing In An Animated Program - [[Dave Hartman|David Hartman]], Supervising Director; [[Shaunt Nigoghossian]]; [[Todd Waterman]]; [[Vinton Heuck]]; [[Susan Blu]], Voice Director
*Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation - [[Vince Toyama]], Background Designer '''(WINNER)'''
*Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation - [[Christophe Vacher]], Colour Designer '''(WINNER)'''
*Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction And Composition - [[Brian Tyler]] 
*Outstanding Writing In Animation - [[Duane Capizzi]], Writer/Producer; [[Steven Melching]]; [[Nicole Dubuc]]; [[Joseph Kuhr]]; [[Marsha Griffin]]

==Japanese release==

''Super Robot Lifeforms Transformers: Prime'' (超ロボット生命体 トランスフォーマー プライム, ''Chou Robot seimeitai Transformers Prime'') will begin airing in Japan on TV Aichi, beginning [[April 7]], 2012, with an 8am timeslot (the same channel and timeslot as the previous two ''Transformers'' cartoons to air in Japan).

==Home video releases==
{{main|Transformers: Prime (cartoon)/home video}}
;United States
*''Transformers: Prime'' - Darkness Rising (2011)<ref>[http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Transformers-Prime-Darkness-Rising/15916 Press release: Transformers Prime - 'Darkness Rising', the Newest Program's Original 5-Part Mini-Series, Announced!]</ref>
*''Transformers: Prime'' - Includes 3 episodes (2011)<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-prime-39/special-transformers-prime-dvd-released-at-walmart-173588/ Transformers Prime DVD released at Walmart]</ref>
*''Transformers: Prime'' - Season One (2012)<ref>[http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Transformers-Prime-Season-1-Press-Release/16300]</ref>

==Soundtrack==
{{main|Transformers Prime: Music from the Animated Series}}

==Notes==
*Unlike most ''Transformers'' shows, episodes do not have an episode title card. Episode titles are from The Hub website.
*The series has also been advertised as '''''Transformers: Prime - The Animated Series'''''.
*The show was said to be "rightfully huge" at the [[BotCon 2010]] panel.<ref name="tformersbotcon10"/> Later, at the Hasbro designers' panel, the [[Thirteen|Thirteen original Transformers]] were described as being "rightfully huge".<ref>[http://tformers.com/article.php?sid=13797 BotCon 2010 Hasbro designers' panel.]</ref>
*Executive Producer Jeff Kline confirmed they have talked about producing a theatrical ''Prime'' film.<ref>[http://tformers.com/transformers-botcon-2011-transformers-prime-interview-with-executive-producer-jeff-kline/15863/news.html TFormers BotCon 2011 interview with Kline]</ref>

==Footnotes==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.hubworld.com/transformers/shows/prime Hub World page]
**[http://hubforteachers.discoveryeducation.com/hub-spotlight/transformers.cfm Hub for Teachers page]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3iKDbKQwKI&feature=related Behind the scenes video]

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[[Category: Prime media]]
[[Category: Television series]]