Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon): Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 14:42, 2 February 2008
Beast Machines is a 26-episode cartoon that aired in the US from 1999 to 2000, in support of the toyline of the same name. It is a direct follow-up to Beast Wars, set in the same G1 continuity and featuring many of the same characters. Like Beast Wars, its computer animation was created by Mainframe Entertainment.
Overview
The show follows the adventures of the core Beast Wars cast upon their return home to Cybertron; there, Optimus Primal and his crew find that the whole planet is abandoned, and the streets are patrolled by mindless Vehicon drones serving Megatron, who somehow escaped his captivity.
Worse still, they learn that they are infected with a deadly virus that will kill them in a matter of hours. Salvation comes from the mysterious supercomputer known as the Oracle, who sees them fit to complete it's mission of a planetwide "reformatting", and turns them into technorganic warriors, a perfect blend of organic and technological matter.
As the show progresses, Primal and his fellow Maximals learn to balance their technological side with their newly introduced organic aspects, mastery coming in slow stages. Unlike the previous conflict, where sides had been roughly equal, the four original Maximals were quite outnumbered by their Vehicon enemies, and the battles took on a "guerilla warfare" feel, with the Maximals using sewers and underground levels to their advantage and avoiding surface levels unless for combat purposes. As the show progresses, two brand-new Maximals and a returning face boost their number and together, the Maximals eventually turn Cybertron into an technorganic paradise, though at the cost of their leader's life.
Controversial even by the standards of other Transformers reinventions (!), Beast Machines is remembered by some as a series which tried to tackle heavy philosophical concepts with mixed results, discussing such issues like what it meant to live in an increasingly technological society and the dichotomy between the desires of the individual and the needs of society and the paradox of a living technological world. Story editor Bob Skir describes the series as a "religious epic novel for television." [1]
The series' detractors complained about the show's alleged "hippie" agenda, claiming it would ruin Transformers; a few went so far as to send Skir death threats, causing him to cancel a convention appearance in 2000. Even more sympathetic fans have commented that the show lacks Beast Wars' overall sense of fun, that it features seemingly endless scenes of the good guys running away, and that the requirements of the overall plot structure leave it treading water story-wise at times. The show was and remains the darkest Transformers animation to date, and the final animated entry into the Generation 1 story canon, bringing that story to a rather conclusive ending.
With Beast Machines perhaps not quite living up to Hasbro's hopes, Hasbro's next foray into animation would be to bring over a year-old Japanese show for consumption in the US, until a new story could be concocted. In light of the results, some fans have found themselves re-evaluating Beast Machines more favorably, though the newfound positive reception is still not universal by any means.
Episodes
Season 1
Season 1 largely centers on the Maximals' efforts to find out what has happened to them, as they arrive on Cybertron with no memories. Another key point in the storyline was the relearning of their transformation and the balance of the mechanical and organic sides of them. In addition to Megatron and the core Maximal cast, three new former friends and fan favorites recast as Vehicon generals are introduced, as well as the new Maximal Nightscream. By the end of the season, Optimus Primal has been driven down a road of extremism, and an apocalyptic confrontation marks the season finale...
| # | Title | Writer | Director | Original airdate | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Reformatting | September 18, 1999 | |||
| Escaping from strange new foes and unable to transform, the four surviving Maximals encounter a mysterious supercomputer which converts them into powerful new warriors—and a new kind of Transformer. | |||||
| 2 | Master of the House | September 25, 1999 | |||
| Reformatted into new technorganic bodies, the Maximals come face to face with the source of their troubles. | |||||
| 3 | Fires of the Past | October 2, 1999 | |||
| The Maximals are attacked by three new Vehicon foes, Tankor, Jetstorm, and Thrust. | |||||
| 4 | Mercenary Pursuits | October 9, 1999 | |||
| The Maximals have a second run-in with the Vehicon generals and Optimus senses the presence of a familiar Spark. | |||||
| 5 | Forbidden Fruit | October 16, 1999 | |||
| A new ally, Nightscream, offers a strange new energy supply, but is it a blessing or a curse? | |||||
| 6 | The Weak Component | January 12, 2008 | |||
| Frustrated by his inability to transform, and ashamed of his uselessness when he finally does, Rattrap makes a deal with the devil. | |||||
| 7 | Revelations Part I: Discovery | January 19, 2008 | |||
| The Maximals discover what happened to the inhabitants of Cybertron, and Blackarachnia learns more about the Vehicon general, Thrust. | |||||
| 8 | Revelations Part II: Descent | November 6, 1999 | |||
| Cheetor and Rattrap make a surprising discovery about their missing memories and the identity of Tankor. | |||||
| 9 | Revelations Part III: Apocalypse | November 13, 1999 | |||
| Nightscream pursues Jetstorm who has captured Blackarachnia's spark, meanwhile Optimus and Rhinox have a heart to heart. | |||||
| 10 | Survivor | November 27, 1999 | |||
| Megatron targets Nightscream for capture, so he can learn more about how Nightscream was able to survive the virus and obtain his beast mode. | |||||
| 11 | The Key | December 4, 1999 | |||
| Tankor discovers an ancient weapon within the Oracle, none other than the Key to Vector Sigma! | |||||
| 12 | The Catalyst | December 11, 1999 | |||
| Rattrap uses a catalyst program to accelerate the growth of the plants at the Maximal stronghold, and Blackarachnia learns the truth about Thrust. | |||||
| 13 | End of the Line | December 18, 1999 | |||
| Megatron and Optimus are set to go head to head with dueling doomsday weapons, and both seem willing to destroy Cybertron to gain victory. | |||||
Season 2: Battle for the Spark
The ultimate face-off at the end of Season 1 is resolved in a most unusual and cerebral manner, setting the tone for Season 2 as Primal realizes his mission is one of balance, not extremism. An embittered Silverbolt reluctantly rejoins the Maximal ranks, a strange new Maximal arrives from a distant planet, and two dangerous new generals join Megatron's side as the Maximals search for the lost Sparks of their brethren and battle to regain control of Cybertron.
| # | Title | Writer | Director | Original airdate | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Fallout | February 9, 2000 | |||
| After releasing a weapon deadly to all "traditional" Transformers,Optimus Primal must face the consequences of his actions. | |||||
| 15 | Savage Noble | February 16, 2000 | |||
| The Maximals discover a strange new organic creature, but what secrets does Savage/Noble hide? | |||||
| 16 | Prometheus Unbound | February 23, 2000 | |||
| The Maximals infiltrate Megatron's fortress, but are betrayed by their new friend. | |||||
| 17 | In Darkest Knight | March 1, 2000 | |||
| Blackarachnia is finally able to free Silverbolt from his Vehicon mindset, but he doesn't seem too happy about it. | |||||
| 18 | A Wolf in the Fold | March 8, 2000 | |||
| Intent on teaching Optimus the "purity" of a mindles, mechanical world, Megatron unleashes a new virus that turns the Maximals into their own worst enemies. | |||||
| 19 | Home Soil | March 15, 2000 | |||
| A spaceship crash-lands on Cybertron, releasing a tentacled alien monster. The Maximals and Vehicons both rush to take control of the secrets of the ship. | |||||
| 20 | Sparkwar Pt. I: The Strike | March 22, 2000 | |||
| While searching for the missing sparks, the Maximals are attacked by two new Vehicon generals, and Botanica must abandon her pacifistic ways to save them. | |||||
| 21 | Sparkwar Pt. II: The Search | March 29, 2000 | |||
| The Maximals continue their search for the missing sparks. | |||||
| 22 | Sparkwar Pt. III: The Siege | April 5, 2000 | |||
| Having found the imprisoned sparks, the Maximals have to race against time to stop Megatron from consuming them and becoming a god. | |||||
| 23 | Spark of Darkness | ||||
| Megatron has been defeated, but zombies keep attacking the Maximals all over Cybertron. | |||||
| 24 | Endgame Pt. I: The Downward Spiral | April 19, 2000 | |||
| Under siege inside Megatron's floating fortress the Maximals must protect the captive sparks against Megatron's final push. | |||||
| 25 | Endgame Pt. II: When Legends Fall | April 26, 2000 | |||
| The Maximals make their last stand against Megatron and his Vehicon army. | |||||
| 26 | Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future | May 3, 2000 | |||
| As the last two sentient creatures on Cybertron, Optimus Primal and Megatron stage their final battle as the Beast Era draws to a close. | |||||
Characters
Because developing new CGI character models was, at the time, an expensive and time-consuming process, the number of named on-screen characters in Beast Machines was relatively small compared to most other Transformers shows. It is thus practical to list all the Transformers who appeared in the cartoon. They are listed in order of appearance. (Most drones are not listed, and neither are incidental flashback characters.) Note that many characters besides these are also full-fledged Beast Machines characters, having appeared in other media.
- Megatron
- Diagnostic Drone (sparkless, hence not a Transformer, but had a speaking role and a personality)
- Jetstorm
- Tankor
- Thrust
- Rhinox (nominally the same character as Tankor)
- Waspinator (nominally the same character as Thrust)
- Obsidian
- Strika
Other
- The Oracle (not much of a personality, but definitely a major speaking role)
Trivia
- Mainframe Entertainment executive Dan DiDio explicitly told Bob Skir and Marty Isenberg to ignore all previous Transformers cartoons when writing Beast Machines, because "Beast Wars was too continuity-heavy". It clearly did not work out that way.
- The theme tune for the show was Leftfield's Phat Planet. This was also used for a famous Guiness advert. The latter proved a more popular TV slot.
- Apart from flashbacks, visions, and such, Beast Machines takes place entirely on (or in orbit of) Cybertron, and has no human characters. This is unique among the TV shows.
