Changing Gears: Difference between revisions
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"I should be very angry at you Megatron. You ''are'' an evil son of a [[retrorat]], but for some reason, I just can't get too upset." | "I should be very angry at you Megatron. You ''are'' an evil son of a [[retrorat]], but for some reason, I just can't get too upset." | ||
:—Cheery, nice '''Gears''' | :—Cheery, nice '''Gears''' | ||
'''Optimus Prime''':"We've got to get past Megatron's energy shield before the sun explodes!" | |||
:—Shit just got real. | |||
Revision as of 11:25, 27 July 2009
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 OMG! You guys! This is so awesome! Yay! | |||||||||
| "Changing Gears" | |||||||||
| Production code | #700-17 | ||||||||
| Production company | Sunbow Productions | ||||||||
| Airdate | September 23, 1985 | ||||||||
| Written by | Larry Parr | ||||||||
| Continuity | Generation 1 cartoon continuity | ||||||||
In a plot to drain the Sun for power, the Decepticons capture and alter the grumpy Autobot Gears.
- Japanese title: ソーラーエネルギーを盗め! (Solar Energy o Nusume!, "Steal the Solar Energy!")
Synopsis
The Decepticons attack humans working in a gold mine and take them prisoner. Just as Starscream is about to blast a human calling for help on a radio, Megatron backhands him, saying that he wants the human to bring the Autobots.
At the Ark, Optimus Prime orders the Autobots to assemble at once, which they do with lots of hustle. The only exception is Gears who complains the whole way. Prime orders his troops to head out to the mine to engage their enemies.
When they arrive a battle ensues, but Megatron lets the miners get in the way. Unwilling to endanger humans, Prime orders the Autobots to hold their fire. Megatron uses this chance to get the drop on the Autobots, then takes Gears captive for purposes unknown and retreats.
In Africa, Megatron has Starscream zap Gears with the null-ray, then takes out a special circuit from Gears's body. The Decepticon leader explains that this circuit is the final component he needs for his energy absorbing Solar Needle, a solar collector which his Decepticons have constructed to harness energy from the heart of the Sun. With the circuit in place in the needle, the device activates and causes world-wide earthquakes. Unbeknownst to Megatron, the Solar Needle is flawed, causing a dangerous instability within the core of the Sun.
The effect on Gears is profound as well. The removal of this component from Gears corrupts his personality, turning him from a surly grump into a happy-go-lucky, ultra-polite guy who'll do absolutely anything for anyone. This allows Megatron to manipulate and control him. Mentally, Gears still knows the Decepticons are evil and doesn't want to help them, but he's been rendered so "nice" that he can't refuse any request.
The Autobots blast through the jungle and start firing at the Solar Needle, but it;s protected by a force field. Prime concocts a dangerous plan to circumvent the field by jumping through the hole at the top where the Sun's energy is coming through. Ratchet and Ironhide say it’s too dangerous, but Cliffjumper drives past them, makes the attempt and shatters the force field.
The 'Bots battle. Megatron gets the drop on Prime and orders the Autobots to surrender or he'll shoot their leader. Prime orders them to fight on, but the Autobots capitulate. Prime asks for one last request, which Megatron allows. The chief Autobot turns and asks Gears to do him a favor now. Gears obliges and shoots a component of the needle. Inspired by his change of heart, the Autobots fight back against the 'Cons, who retreat.
Prime orders Wheeljack and Ratchet to deactivate the device, but they argue over the correct solution. Out of time and with the Sun about to explode, Optimus just grabs at a wire inside the device and pulls. The needle shuts down and the Sun returns to normal.
Prime removes Gears's circuit card from the needle and hands it back to him, but Trailbreaker interrupts, saying that the rest of the Autobots like the new Gears over the old. Gears isn’t too happy about that, so Optimus returns the card and the surly, cranky hypochondriac is back. The Autobots roll on back to headquarters, leaving Gears to complain to himself.
Featured Characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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|
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Quotes
"Go ding your diodes and get defunct Megatron. I’m not helping you do zilch."
- —Cranky, gutsy Gears
"Megatron is behind this. I’d bet my titanium torsion bars on it."
- —That's probably a safe bet, Optimus Prime
"I should be very angry at you Megatron. You are an evil son of a retrorat, but for some reason, I just can't get too upset."
- —Cheery, nice Gears
Optimus Prime:"We've got to get past Megatron's energy shield before the sun explodes!"
- —Shit just got real.
"I should have destroyed you when I had the chance, but Megatron can't save you now!"
"Heheheh, I really hate to disappoint you Starscream, but you better look behind you!"
"Do you seriously expect me to fall for such a stupid trick?"
- —Starscream refuses to be distracted by Gears warning of an impending charge from Bumblebee.
"How can I help you, Megatron, heh heh, you rotten hunk of scrap."
- —Gears, piling on the flattery.
"What did you do to Gears, you monster? You turned him...nice!"
- —Ironhide, at Gear's sudden change in personality.
"All right, now let's blast that Solar Needle and roll out."
"I suppose you want me to do that."
"Be my guest."
- —Optimus Prime and Gears, grumpy once again.
Notes
Animation or technical glitches
- When Starscream says the line "Oh, no, you don't. Your circuits stay right here," the voice saying the line is Thundercracker's.
- When the Autobots show up at the quarry to rescue the humans, Megatron "energizes" a number of boulders at the top of a cliff. The Autobots have their backs to the cliff, meaning the boulders should hit them from behind or land on top of them. The boulders actually hit the Autobots from all directions, including Sunstreaker, who is hit by a boulder traveling in the opposite direction of where it should have come from.
- In the sequence where the Autobots are running down the hallway, Sunstreaker runs past Gears twice. He's fast!
Continuity errors
- The Autobots somehow drove from their base in the Western United States to the "geographic center of Africa" in "slightly less than 2 Earth hours". After traveling through at least eight time zones, it appears to be roughly the same time of day as when the Autobots left their base.
- Throughout the latter half of the episode, Optimus Prime and Megatron argue that the Solar Needle may/may not destroy the universe. While the Sun's exploding would obliterate our solar system, it couldn't destroy the universe in its entirety, unless the Solar Needle is some of the most advanced technology ever wielded by the Decepticons.
- Gears appears to produce two completely different guns from his arm - the one he pulls out when Prime is about to hit the pylon is round, while the one he pulls out to shoot the Solar Needle is square and has fins.
Transformers references
- Gears' change in personality is brought on by the absence of his personality component as well as Starscream's null ray. This may imply that Starscream has the ability to nullify specific electronics/processes of his choosing, or that Gears' personality is a major part of his ability to function.
- When Megatron throws Optimus into the energy beam, Prime's ion blaster disintegrates and he remains weaponless for the rest of the episode. Wow, chalk one up for continuity this time.
Trivia
- Gears's special circuit board looks like an audio cassette tape. Whether it can transform is not yet known.
- At the end of the episode, Optimus Prime's trailer just randomly drives itself out of the jungle and connects to his truck mode. Seriously, where does that thing go when he's in robot mode?
- Ratchet totally Bruce-Lee-kicked Thundercracker in this episode. That's just awesome.
- His later move — kicking a boulder to knock a falling pylon in order to make it miss Wheeljack - is also awesome, but totally breaks the laws of physics.
