The Agenda (Part III)

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Head off.
"The Agenda" (Part III)
Season	2
No. in season	13
Production company	Mainframe Entertainment
Airdate	March 12, 1998 (Toonami), May 23, 1998 (syndication)
Written by	Bob Forward
Directed by	Asaph Fipke Colin Davies
Animation studio	Mainframe Entertainment
Continuity	Beast Wars continuity
Watch this episode on YouTube

His plans crumbling, Megatron takes a final stab at winning the Beast Wars and changing history.

Synopsis

With Ravage and his transwarp cruiser backing them up, the Predacons unleash a full assault on the Maximal base. Rattrap changes to beast mode and jumps onto the back of the transwarp cruiser, where he begins cutting into the ship's hull. On the battlefield, Optimus and Cheetor are pinned down by the Predacons' firepower, but the autoguns manage to knock Quickstrike from his perch atop Rampage and a short time later the larger Predacon runs him over.

Who decided to give the experiment awesome firepower?

It's not long before Ravage and Rampage bring down the base's shield, and Rhinox emerges to fire on Rampage. Ravage has Tarantulas transfer all the cruiser's power into one enormous missile. Before it can fire, Rattrap bursts into the ship's weapons hold and tosses a pair of fusion grenades that adhere to Tarantulas's hands. The bombs obliterate Tarantulas, the ship's interior, and Ravage—who faces the onrushing fireball with a stoic cry of "Decepticons forever!" The cruiser falls out of the sky, coming to rest mere feet from Rampage—who is then blasted by the still-armed missile.

With the cruiser destroyed and his minions out of commission, Megatron flees. Optimus notes that he's not headed back to base, realizes where he's probably going, and orders the Maximals to pursue.

OK, remember where we parked.

Meanwhile, Blackarachnia and Silverbolt make their way into the caves of the volcano, uncovering the object of Blackarachnia's quest—the Ark. Blackarachnia explains to Silverbolt that the ship was launched long ago, containing the Autobots' "finest heroes", and was shot down by Decepticons. The ship has members of both factions stored inside, who will awaken in the distant future to restart the Great War. Blackarachnia is concerned only with the power it possesses—but Megatron arrives just then, blasting Silverbolt offline and sealing the entrance to the caves behind him.

What's it like to see things like Neo?

The Maximals arrive hot on his heels, find the sealed entrance, and start digging their way in. Inside, Megatron threatens to vaporize Silverbolt, convincing Blackarachnia to use the access codes to gain access to the Ark (though she vehemently maintains it's only so they'll have some cover in the face of the imminent Maximal attack). The Maximals burst through in time to see the two Predacons sealing the Ark behind them.

Blackarachnia activates the ship's defenses to hold off the Maximals, while Megatron goes to "effect a more permanent solution." Entering the main bridge of the ship, he hovers among the fallen Autobots and Decepticons, eulogizing the Decepticons and cursing the Autobots, until he comes face to face with his intended target—Optimus Prime, the original leader of the Autobots, who kept the Decepticons from victory (and therefore left their Predacon descendants in a subservient position to the dominant Maximals). Though the risk is incredible, Megatron decides to carry out his namesake's instructions, charges his main weapon, and prepares to fire.

Don't worry, we know the drill.

In the caves, the Maximals are pelted by fire from the ship's cannon, until Rattrap manages to force a backblast that deactivates the cannon and shields. Rhinox struggles to open the mighty doors of the Ark. But the Maximals are too late—Megatron unleashes a full-power blast at Optimus Prime's head, destroying it.

A time storm immediately wells up, spreading outward from the Ark and into space. The Maximals find themselves phasing in and out of past bodies—as well as out of existence—as Megatron emerges from the Ark, triumphant.

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Maximals	Predacons	Autobots	Decepticons
Optimus Primal (2) Cheetor (3) Rattrap (6) Rhinox (7) Silverbolt (10)	Megatron (1) Quickstrike (4) Rampage (5) Ravage (8) Tarantulas (9) Blackarachnia (11)	Prowl (12) Optimus Prime (13) Ironhide (14) Jazz (15) Ratchet (16)	Skywarp (17) Starscream (18) Soundwave (19)

Quotes

"Decepticons forever!"

—Ravage's last words

"What're you looking at?"
"That star—well, planet, really—it's Venus. Reminds me of you."
"Oh. Hot, poisonous, and deadly? Heh heh, you're sweet."

—Blackarachnia and Silverbolt, with a ref to the former's voice actress

"Stay with the group. When Megatron lands, we'll need all our firepower."
"Where's he headed, Big Bot?"
"To the beginning of everything, Cheetor, and quite possibly the end."

—Optimus Primal and Cheetor

"I think we're almost through."
"Then, stand back."
"Wait, we just—"
Silverbolt blows the rocks away
"Uh, never mind. What is it with guys and high explosives?"

—Blackarachnia and Silverbolt. (Guys really don't know either.)

"Aw, man! That ship wasn't built, it was poured!"
"Die-cast construction!" [He looks at the audience] "It's a lost art."

—Rattrap and Optimus Primal comment on the sturdiness of the Ark.

"Now I enter these hallowed halls...a conqueror...yesss. Autobots and Decepticons, still frozen in emergency stasis, awaiting the moment, four million years hence, when they will awaken to start the Great War. Hmmm, the Great War, when the Autobots defeated the Decepticons, and thus their descendants, the Maximals, rule we Predacons. Archaic energon guzzlers! How dare they? Hmmm, unwilling though I was to follow my namesake's instructions, it has all come down to this: the ultimate risk, for the ultimate prize. A day of reckoning with those who made us slaves!"

—Megatron enters the command bridge of the Ark.

"So, we are now face to face, Optimus Prime. In one future, you awaken and become the great leader of the Autobots. But time shall take a different track, now. Computer! All available power to primary weapon! ... And now, Optimus Prime, in memory of the Decepticons...for the glory of the Predacons...for the Cybertron that is rightfully ours—and mine—to rule! ...I unleash the storm of vengeance...farewell!"

—Megatron rewrites history

"TIME ITSELF IS ALL BEING DESTROYED!!!!!"

—Optimus Primal in disastrous pain

"Muhahahaha! Say goodbye to the universe, Maximals! The future has changed, yessssss. The Autobots lose! Evil triumphs! And you...YOU NO LONGER EXIST!"

—Megatron just can't help but gloat about his victory, can he?

Notes

Script timeline

• Finalised: 24th October 1997
• As Air: 18th February 1998

Animation and technical errors

Yes, "Part Eye-Eye-Eye".

• Despite every other multi-part episode in Beast Wars using Arabic numerals in its title (including the first two parts of "The Agenda"), this episode opts for the Roman numeral for whatever reason.
• Under that same title, Megatron's entire backpack is flipped up behind his head to serve as his jets instead of just the VTOL engines.
• During the opening battle scene, Optimus Primal takes several shots to the chest, leaving it blackened and dented. In the shot of the Maximals watching Ravage's ship explode, his chest is undamaged-and then it goes back to damaged as he talks about why Ravage betrayed them.
• After Ravage's ship goes down and the Maximals decide to chase after Megatron, Optimus transforms to flight mode. His front, back, and upper torso are all messed up, to the point that he has to spin around a few times after transforming. (While this is happening, the scene mostly switches to Rattrap climbing on Cheetor.) Optimus is normal again when he tells Rhinox to "Get on."
• In the first close-up of Megatron's face in the volcano (after he shoots Silverbolt and Blackarachnia), his face is very dark- almost black.
• After Megatron blasts the entrance shut and the Maximals get off and find it covered, for a split second, the colors on Rattrap's wheels (on his back) and his rat legs are reversed.
• Rattrap's front rat legs are the same shiny red as his rat body as the Maximals land outside the mountain.
• In the Ark flashback, Optimus Prime's autobrands are on the back of his shoulders.
• This episode marks the commencement of an ongoing error, whereby Teletraan I is frequently pronounced "Teletron 1". The issue is resolved with extreme subtlety in "Nemesis Part 2".

Continuity errors

• This episode calls into sudden question the location of the Maximal and Predacon bases. The events of "Code of Hero" seem to place the series firmly somewhere in Africa, where early Humanity evolved; the templates for the Maximals' beast modes (gorillas, cheetahs, rhinos) would seem to back this up. However, the Ark is traditionally seen to have crashed in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. If this is the case, the Maximals pursued Megatron across the Atlantic Ocean and over an entire continent! The early humans still appear before any theoretical "crossing of the Atlantic" could have taken place. When we get a shot of the Earth from space at the end of the episode, the planet is covered by clouds making it hard to locate exactly where the time storm is originating from.
  • In an early script for "Nemesis Part 2" the Maximals would launch not the Autobot shuttle, but the Ark itself. This variation would have perhaps provided some sort of explanation to the mystery, as the Ark might, for example, have wound up in North America after fighting with the Nemesis again.
• Blackarachnia claims that the Great War started in 1984, when Mount St. Hilary erupted. In both the Marvel comics and the cartoon, the war had started long before the Ark even crashed and gone on without interruption. At best, the reawakening of the Ark and Nemesis crews intensified the conflict. Megatron made the same mistake in the previous episode.
• Ravage was in his cassette mode in the ship at the end of last episode, but is piloting it from the cockpit in this one. Given the nature of the former mode as essentially fanservice, this may not be terribly surprising.

Continuity notes

• This episode finally reveals why Optimus has been so worried about Megatron's activities for the past few episodes; he's afraid that Megatron will use the information on the Golden Disk to find the Ark and alter history. Presumably, this is the matter of "great importance" Dinobot wished to speak with Optimus about at the end of "Maximal, No More".
• Blackarachnia downloaded the disk's data—along with the access codes for the Ark—in "Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)".
• As the time storm starts messing with the universe, Optimus starts warping between the robot and beast modes of both his current Transmetal form and his original, organic body.

Transformers references

At the time, these guys hadn't gotten any work in a while.

Oh boy, where to start?

• First off, we have the Ark itself: the spaceship that carried the Autobots to Earth in the Generation 1 cartoons and comics. The Ark is pursued, boarded, and shot down by the Decepticon warship Nemesis, another component of the Generation 1 origin story. Blackarachnia briefly retells the facts to Silverbolt, presumably for the benefit of viewers who hadn't seen the original tale.
• Blackarachnia's flashback shows the Ark launching off of ancient Cybertron. Manning the bridge of the Ark in flashback (pictured, right) are Prowl, Ironhide, Optimus Prime, Jazz, and Ratchet.
• The volcano the Ark crashes into is unnamed in this episode, although G1 fans will immediately recognize it as the fictional Mount St. Hilary.
• As Megatron boards the Ark, Optimus swears by Primus.
• The Ark is protected by Teletraan-1, who also receives a name-drop in the episode.
• More G1 characters show up as Megatron makes his way through the Ark's bridge. Prowl, Jazz, and Prime reappear, along with Skywarp, Starscream, and Soundwave. Interestingly, Jazz and Prowl use variations of their Marvel Comics color models, appearing partially blue rather than black.
• Megatron gloats that the Autobots and Decepticons will sleep for "four million years". That was the given length of time between the crash of the Ark and the awakening of the Transformers in both the original cartoon and comics. Assuming Megatron is correct, the Ark has only very recently crashed.
• In reference to the strength of the Ark, Rattrap claims, "That ship wasn't built, it was poured!" Primal replies "Die-cast construction. It's a lost art," in homage to the original Transformer toys, which featured some die-cast parts.
• The Ark has a fusion cannon to help deter intruders, a weapon that's more famously found on Generation 1 Megatron's right arm.

Real-world references

• Rattrap refers to his vehicle mode as "Knievel mode", a reference to Evel Knievel.
• When Rattrap's torch goes out and he has to break through the ship with his beast mode's teeth, he calls himself the Stainless Steel Rat.
• During the short fight between Rhinox and Rampage, Rhinox dives through the air firing his guns in a homage to The Killer.
• As Rattrap rides the missile connected with Ravage's ship, he lets out a cowboy yell, homaging Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
• Blackarachnia refers to Silverbolt as "Jo-Jo", possibly in reference to Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy.

Trivia

• Megatron, to no one's surprise, is perfectly willing to sacrifice most of his team to defeat the Maximals. Blackarachnia, Inferno, Quickstrike, and Rampage were all originally Maximal protoforms (or, in Rampage's case, the product of Maximal science). If his plan to destroy the Autobots and Maximals retroactively had worked, he would have been left with a team consisting of Waspinator and Tarantulas. (Tarantulas's precise origins are unclear, but he's definitely not a descendant of the Autobots.)
• In any event, Megatron's plan would seem to be temporally problematic, since such a drastic change could've wiped out the Predacons (and himself) just as easily as the Maximals. Small wonder he "was reluctant to follow [his] namesake's instructions" and regards it as "the ultimate risk". Megatron's ending in the Beast Wars Transmetals video game further elaborates on this, stating that with Optimus Prime dead, there would be no Matrix, and, as such, nothing to stop Unicron from destroying Cybertron, an act that would wipe out Autobots and Decepticons. "A Change to the Agenda" would elaborate on what might have happened to the timeline if Megatron had killed Optimus... and the results aren't particularly pleasant.
• Apparently, Rhinox is afraid of heights. While sitting on Primal's hoverboard, he looks straight ahead, occasionally looking down and immediately snapping straight up with what looks like pure horror on his face.
• The word "suckers" is written on the giant missile in Cybertronix.
• Bob Forward had originally intended to make Rattrap chew all the way through Ravage's ship in beast mode, rather than using a laser cutter first. In a sly remark on Madman's commentary of the episode, he states "My version would have been cheaper!"
• Nearly every Predacon suffers a somewhat ambiguous "death" scene in this episode, likely done in the event the series was not picked up for another season.
• In the script for the episode, on the 24th page, Optimus' Transmetal form is referred to as "Ultimus Primal". As of now, this is the only time that moniker has ever been used.

Foreign localization

French

• Title: "Le Programme 3" (Canada, "The Program 3")

Italian

• Title: "Il coraggio di Grifo - Terza parte" ("The Courage of Silverbolt - Third Part")

• While in English, after talking about Venus as a star, Silverbolt corrects himself by saying that it's actually a planet, he doesn't do that in Italian, making it look like he really thinks it's a star.

Japanese

• Title: "Muka~shi Mukashi" (むか～しむかし, "Lo～ng Long Ago")
• Original airdate: 1999 December 22

• For the first time in the Japanese dubbing of Beast Wars, the Great War is referred to by an actual name, with Blackarachnia and Megatron both calling it the Daikessen (大決戦, "Great War"). This is in contrast to how the previously aired Beast Wars Neo cartoon instead referred to the same ancient war by its English name of "Great War" (グレートウォー Gurēto Wō).
• Also for the first time, the ancestral aspect of the Autobots and Decepticons is retained in this dub (mainly because the plot and visuals of the episode necessitate it), after previous allusions to them from the English version of "Possession" and "Law of the Jungle" were rewritten to eliminate any distinction between both them and the present-day Maximal and Predacon factions, since in Japan the Autobots and Maximals are both called "Cybertrons" while the Decepticons and Predacons are both "Destrons", treating them all as the same two factions between the past and the present instead of two sets of different factions.

Mandarin

• Title: "Fāngzhōu Zàixiàn " (方舟再现, "The Ark Reappears")

Portuguese

• Title: "Os Planos Parte 3" ("The Plans Part 3")

Spanish

• Title: "El Agente (Parte 3)" (The Agent (Part 3)")

• Title: "El Programa Tercera Parte" (America, "The Agenda Third Part")

Home video releases

All releases listed are in English audio unless otherwise noted.

VHS

1998 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Series 2 / Volume 4 (Siren Entertainment)
2000 — Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers: Metals — I Do Love You! (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2001 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Volume 8 (Universal)

DVD

2000 — Beast Wars: Transformers: Metals — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio.
2004 — Beast Wars: Transformers — The Complete Second Season (Rhinomation)
2011 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Seasons 2 & 3 (Shout! Factory)
2011 — Beast Wars: Transformers — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
2004 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Vol. 1 (Universal)
2006 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Season 2 (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers: Beast Wars — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)