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The rescue team is preparing to celebrate "Earliween", a [[Halloween]]-like celebration set at a warmer time of the year so that it's possible to see the kids' costumes, when [[Quickshadow]] calls in to report that two humans are trying to steal her—apparently [[Evan (RB)|Evan]] and [[Myles]] have escaped from jail. Before the team arrives, Quickshadow manages to break herself free using her spy movie gadgets; Evan and Myles run a thermal scan as she's escaping, discover that there's nobody inside, and conclude that she's a self-driving car with a really impressive security system. Before they can get any further, the rescue team shows up, and they're forced to flee the scene. Quickshadow got a picture of Evan and Myles, and the rescue team recognize them immediately when she shows them the picture. [[Kade Burns|Kade]] comments that they probably thought she was the car from the [[Maven Danger]] movies and worth millions, which she's somewhat offended by. [[Heatwave (RB)|Heatwave]] asks why she's come over, and [[Charlie Burns|Chief Burns]] explains that he asked her to come help with Earliween security. Heatwave suggests guarding Quickshadow until Evan and Myles are captured. | The rescue team is preparing to celebrate "Earliween", a [[Halloween]]-like celebration set at a warmer time of the year so that it's possible to see the kids' costumes, when [[Quickshadow]] calls in to report that two humans are trying to steal her—apparently [[Evan (RB)|Evan]] and [[Myles]] have escaped from jail. Before the team arrives, Quickshadow manages to break herself free using her spy movie gadgets; Evan and Myles run a thermal scan as she's escaping, discover that there's nobody inside, and conclude that she's a self-driving car with a really impressive security system. Before they can get any further, the rescue team shows up, and they're forced to flee the scene. Quickshadow got a picture of Evan and Myles, and the rescue team recognize them immediately when she shows them the picture. [[Kade Burns|Kade]] comments that they probably thought she was the car from the [[Maven Danger]] movies and worth millions, which she's somewhat offended by. [[Heatwave (RB)|Heatwave]] asks why she's come over, and [[Charlie Burns|Chief Burns]] explains that he asked her to come help with Earliween security. Heatwave suggests guarding Quickshadow until Evan and Myles are captured. | ||
[[File:RBGhostMachine Quickshadow hijacked.jpg|thumb | [[File:RBGhostMachine Quickshadow hijacked.jpg|thumb|250px|Does this count as grand theft auto or kidnapping?]] | ||
Later that day, [[Blades (RB)|Blades]] is trying to decide on a costume when Cody arrives to tell everyone about his history class, in which his teacher let them listen to "[[Crustaceans from the Cosmos]]", a radio show which apparently freaked everyone out when it originally aired 70 years ago. The team leaves to head downtown to hand out candy, and Cody hitches a ride in Quickshadow. Evan and Myles manage to sneak a remote control device onto her as she passes over a manhole, and promptly take control of her to steer her towards the piers. The rescue team follow her, with [[Chase (RB)|Chase]] leading; Myles takes great enjoyment in being a really incredibly terrible driver, which keeps the team from catching up with her. He also has use of all the spy gadgets, including net launchers and oil slicks. | Later that day, [[Blades (RB)|Blades]] is trying to decide on a costume when Cody arrives to tell everyone about his history class, in which his teacher let them listen to "[[Crustaceans from the Cosmos]]", a radio show which apparently freaked everyone out when it originally aired 70 years ago. The team leaves to head downtown to hand out candy, and Cody hitches a ride in Quickshadow. Evan and Myles manage to sneak a remote control device onto her as she passes over a manhole, and promptly take control of her to steer her towards the piers. The rescue team follow her, with [[Chase (RB)|Chase]] leading; Myles takes great enjoyment in being a really incredibly terrible driver, which keeps the team from catching up with her. He also has use of all the spy gadgets, including net launchers and oil slicks. | ||
[[File:RBGhostMachine Evan Myles review video.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"I'll get her a remote control carjacker, chicks love remote control carjackers!"]] | [[File:RBGhostMachine Evan Myles review video.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"I'll get her a remote control carjacker, chicks love remote control carjackers!"]] | ||
The team doesn't manage to keep Quickshadow from making it into the water, and Myles forces her into her aquatic transformation and sails out. Every member of the team except for Chase and [[Graham Burns|Graham]] head out into the ocean; Chase and Graham, left with nothing else to do, go to dispense candy. [[Cody Burns|Cody]] concludes that there must be something physically attached to her. [[Boulder]], being carried by Blades, grabs Quickshadow; Cody manages to open a door and jump into Heatwave, and Quickshadow tells Boulder to drop her over a rock. She transforms in midair, finds the device, and lands in a way that scrapes it off. Evan and Myles manage to get video of her talking afterwards. | The team doesn't manage to keep Quickshadow from making it into the water, and Myles forces her into her aquatic transformation and sails out. Every member of the team except for Chase and [[Graham Burns|Graham]] head out into the ocean; Chase and Graham, left with nothing else to do, go to dispense candy. [[Cody Burns|Cody]] concludes that there must be something physically attached to her. [[Boulder (RB)|Boulder]], being carried by Blades, grabs Quickshadow; Cody manages to open a door and jump into Heatwave, and Quickshadow tells Boulder to drop her over a rock. She transforms in midair, finds the device, and lands in a way that scrapes it off. Evan and Myles manage to get video of her talking afterwards. | ||
[[File:RBGhostMachine totally convincing UFOs.jpg|thumb | [[File:RBGhostMachine totally convincing UFOs.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Industrial Light & Magic|ILM]] suffered a few recent budget cuts.]] | ||
Blades is all ready to go to the party when Cody notices an out-of-place pumpkin, which promptly starts showing a transmission from Evan and Myles. They have video proof that the Cybertronians are real, and are threatening to upload it to the Internet unless the rescue team hands over Quickshadow within an hour. Boulder suggests that they just publicly announce that they're aliens; when the others object to this, he comes up with the idea of making an obviously fake video which will discredit Evan and Myles. The citizens are more than willing to help, viewing it as a nice Earliween prank. | Blades is all ready to go to the party when Cody notices an out-of-place pumpkin, which promptly starts showing a transmission from Evan and Myles. They have video proof that the Cybertronians are real, and are threatening to upload it to the Internet unless the rescue team hands over Quickshadow within an hour. Boulder suggests that they just publicly announce that they're aliens; when the others object to this, he comes up with the idea of making an obviously fake video which will discredit Evan and Myles. The citizens are more than willing to help, viewing it as a nice Earliween prank. | ||
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*[[Chase (RB)|Chase]] (2) | *[[Chase (RB)|Chase]] (2) | ||
*[[Heatwave (RB)|Heatwave]] (3) | *[[Heatwave (RB)|Heatwave]] (3) | ||
*[[Boulder]] (7) | *[[Boulder (RB)|Boulder]] (7) | ||
*[[Quickshadow]] (9) | *[[Quickshadow]] (9) | ||
| Line 74: | Line 74: | ||
** And secondly, that the Burns family would be arrested for harboring aliens. However, throughout the series, starting with recruiting the Chief in the first place in "[[Family of Heroes]]", it has been apparent that [[United States of America#Aligned continuity family|the government]] [[Bryce|and the]] [[Nemesis Prime (episode)|military]] has been [[William Fowler|well aware]] of, [[M.A.S.K.#Prime cartoon|facilitated]] and even [[Convoy (episode)|relied upon]] the resettlement of Transformer refugees on Earth. Which the two crooks would, of course, be unaware of. | ** And secondly, that the Burns family would be arrested for harboring aliens. However, throughout the series, starting with recruiting the Chief in the first place in "[[Family of Heroes]]", it has been apparent that [[United States of America#Aligned continuity family|the government]] [[Bryce|and the]] [[Nemesis Prime (episode)|military]] has been [[William Fowler|well aware]] of, [[M.A.S.K.#Prime cartoon|facilitated]] and even [[Convoy (episode)|relied upon]] the resettlement of Transformer refugees on Earth. Which the two crooks would, of course, be unaware of. | ||
* Kade wears the same clown outfit again in "[[Part-Time Heroes]]" when he takes a job entertaining at children's parties. | * Kade wears the same clown outfit again in "[[Part-Time Heroes]]" when he takes a job entertaining at children's parties. | ||
* Mayor Luskey's | * Mayor Luskey's mini-Rescue Bots were introduced in "[[All Bots Great and Small]]". | ||
===Transformers references=== | ===Transformers references=== | ||
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===Trivia=== | ===Trivia=== | ||
[[File:GhostInTheMachine pumpkin transition.jpg|thumb | [[File:GhostInTheMachine pumpkin transition.jpg|thumb|250px]] | ||
* Dani's pumpkin has been carved into the shape of a [[unicorn]]. | * Dani's pumpkin has been carved into the shape of a [[unicorn]]. | ||
* Several of the [[scene transition]]s feature the Rescue Bots symbol carved into a pumpkin. | * Several of the [[scene transition]]s feature the Rescue Bots symbol carved into a pumpkin. | ||
Latest revision as of 06:11, 3 July 2025
| The name or term "Ghost in the Machine" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Ghost in the Machine (disambiguation). |
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| "Ghost in the Machine" | ||||||
| Season | 4 | |||||
| No. in season | 7 | |||||
| Production company | Hasbro Studios | |||||
| Airdate | May 28, 2016 | |||||
| Writer | Len Uhley | |||||
| Director | Kevin Altieri | |||||
| Animation studio | DHX Media Top Draw Animation | |||||
 Watch this episode on YouTube
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As Griffin Rock celebrates its version of Halloween, Evan and Myles car-jack Quickshadow and discover the Bots' secret.
Synopsis
[edit]
The rescue team is preparing to celebrate "Earliween", a Halloween-like celebration set at a warmer time of the year so that it's possible to see the kids' costumes, when Quickshadow calls in to report that two humans are trying to steal her—apparently Evan and Myles have escaped from jail. Before the team arrives, Quickshadow manages to break herself free using her spy movie gadgets; Evan and Myles run a thermal scan as she's escaping, discover that there's nobody inside, and conclude that she's a self-driving car with a really impressive security system. Before they can get any further, the rescue team shows up, and they're forced to flee the scene. Quickshadow got a picture of Evan and Myles, and the rescue team recognize them immediately when she shows them the picture. Kade comments that they probably thought she was the car from the Maven Danger movies and worth millions, which she's somewhat offended by. Heatwave asks why she's come over, and Chief Burns explains that he asked her to come help with Earliween security. Heatwave suggests guarding Quickshadow until Evan and Myles are captured.
Later that day, Blades is trying to decide on a costume when Cody arrives to tell everyone about his history class, in which his teacher let them listen to "Crustaceans from the Cosmos", a radio show which apparently freaked everyone out when it originally aired 70 years ago. The team leaves to head downtown to hand out candy, and Cody hitches a ride in Quickshadow. Evan and Myles manage to sneak a remote control device onto her as she passes over a manhole, and promptly take control of her to steer her towards the piers. The rescue team follow her, with Chase leading; Myles takes great enjoyment in being a really incredibly terrible driver, which keeps the team from catching up with her. He also has use of all the spy gadgets, including net launchers and oil slicks.
The team doesn't manage to keep Quickshadow from making it into the water, and Myles forces her into her aquatic transformation and sails out. Every member of the team except for Chase and Graham head out into the ocean; Chase and Graham, left with nothing else to do, go to dispense candy. Cody concludes that there must be something physically attached to her. Boulder, being carried by Blades, grabs Quickshadow; Cody manages to open a door and jump into Heatwave, and Quickshadow tells Boulder to drop her over a rock. She transforms in midair, finds the device, and lands in a way that scrapes it off. Evan and Myles manage to get video of her talking afterwards.
Blades is all ready to go to the party when Cody notices an out-of-place pumpkin, which promptly starts showing a transmission from Evan and Myles. They have video proof that the Cybertronians are real, and are threatening to upload it to the Internet unless the rescue team hands over Quickshadow within an hour. Boulder suggests that they just publicly announce that they're aliens; when the others object to this, he comes up with the idea of making an obviously fake video which will discredit Evan and Myles. The citizens are more than willing to help, viewing it as a nice Earliween prank.
An hour later, Quickshadow arrives to surrender herself to Evan and Myles. They get into her, but the seatbelts immediately restrain them and lock into place. Myles reveals that their video has already been uploaded, but Quickshadow counters with their own video, which is transparently and hilariously fake, even before the bit at the end where it's outright "revealed" as one. She opens the door to the human members of the team, who sadly say that they're definitely delusional. Chief Burns says that he and Chase will accompany Quickshadow on the ferry to the mainland, where Evan and Myles will go back to jail for a long time.
Featured characters
[edit](Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Humans | Others |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Quotes
[edit]"We don't need costumes! We're robots! Kids dress up like us!"
- —Heatwave
"As the only two members of the rescue team on dry land, it falls on us to handle any emergencies. Candy and justice do not dispense themselves."
- —Chase
Notes
[edit]Continuity notes
[edit]- Evan and Myles' threat is twofold:
- First, outing the bots to the world (and running the risk of attracting undue attention from Megatron), something that has been a recurring risk, arising and avoided in such episodes as "The Alien Invasion of Griffin Rock", "Shake Up" and "Bridge Building".
- And secondly, that the Burns family would be arrested for harboring aliens. However, throughout the series, starting with recruiting the Chief in the first place in "Family of Heroes", it has been apparent that the government and the military has been well aware of, facilitated and even relied upon the resettlement of Transformer refugees on Earth. Which the two crooks would, of course, be unaware of.
- Kade wears the same clown outfit again in "Part-Time Heroes" when he takes a job entertaining at children's parties.
- Mayor Luskey's mini-Rescue Bots were introduced in "All Bots Great and Small".
Transformers references
[edit]- This episode shares its title with an episode of the Generation 1 cartoon (as does an event in the Transformers Legends mobile game).
Real-world references
[edit]- When Kade reminisces about the "ballerina costume"—there's clearly a story there—a small piece from "Waltz of the Flowers" from Christmas favorite Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" can be heard.
- Quickshadow's vehicle mode gadgets all originate from the James Bond films, as befits her inspiration.
- Blades's potential costumes are an emoji and Dracula.
- Crustaceans from the Cosmos is a reference to the radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds narrated by Orson Welles, which, according to popular legend, did terrify hundreds of people who thought it was real when it originally aired; a similar premise was previously featured in the episode "The Alien Invasion of Griffin Rock". Maurice LaMarche employs his impression of Welles as the show's reporter.
- Evan and Myles cause the messenger pumpkin to self-destruct after it delivers their message, a reference to the Mission: Impossible series, in which this type of thing is common.
- The alien saucers on strings in the town's fake alien invasion video may be a reference to Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space.
- Among the costumes seen on townspeople throughout the episode: a purple dinosaur (no, not that one), Robin Hood, and, unusually, an actual bumblebee.
Animation and technical errors
[edit]- The Bots have been on Earth for years, complete with an explicit time-jump between seasons 3 and 4. Why does this appear to be the first the Bots are hearing of Earliween? They seem to know about Halloween, but have no idea the residents of Griffin Rock celebrate it early.
Trivia
[edit]
- Dani's pumpkin has been carved into the shape of a unicorn.
- Several of the scene transitions feature the Rescue Bots symbol carved into a pumpkin.
- Kade might suffer from coulrophobia.
- As befits a British grand tourer, Quickshadow is rear wheel drive, as seen when Boulder lifts her up in vehicle mode.
Foreign localization
[edit]French
- Title: "Un bonbon ou un alien ?" ("Alien or treat!")
- Original airdate: ?
Italian
- Title: "Un fantasma nella macchina" ("A ghost in the machine")
- Original airdate: 14 September 2017
