S.O.S. Dinobots

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"Uh, who?" "Everybody!"
"S.O.S. Dinobots"
Production code	#700-05
Production company	Sunbow Productions
Airdate	October 27, 1984
Written by	Donald F. Glut
Animation studio	Toei
Continuity	Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Autobots create the Dinobots, but can barely control these new powerful warriors.

Japanese title: ダイノボット誕生! (Dinobot Tanjō!, "Dinobots Are Born!")

German Generation 2 title: Die Dinobots (The Dinobots)

Serbian title: С.О.С Диноботи (S.O.S Dinoboti)

Russian title: На помощь, Диноботы! (Na pomoshch, Dinoboty!, "Help us, Dinobots!")

Italian title: S.O.S. Dinobots

Synopsis

Guys, I think we found Carnivac's stash.

A series of tremors turns the attentions of the Autobots into the ancient stone surrounding their volcano headquarters. Deep sensor scans reveal dinosaur fossils, which pique the curiosity of Optimus Prime. Spike explains that dinosaurs were very powerful reptiles that lived on Earth millions of years ago. He takes Hound on a tour of a natural history museum to further illustrate his paleontological crash-course. Hound snaps a few holograms of dinosaur bone displays, inspiring Wheeljack and Ratchet to construct robotic versions of dinosaurs.

When the TV no work, Me know how to fix it!

Elsewhere, the Decepticons stake out the Great Falls hydroelectric power facility. Reflector and Soundwave return with the data they gathered, and Megatron orders a strike.

Wheeljack unveils the three new additions to their ranks: the Dinobots Grimlock, Slag and Sludge. The demonstration of their power turns sour as they run amuck, their primitive brains unable to control their raw strength. The Dinobots begin attacking their fellow Autobots, even destroying Teletraan.

Holy Hell!

The Autobots finally rein in the rampaging Dinobots thanks to Wheeljack's magnetic inducer. Prime declares the terrible trio to be too dangerous. Despite Wheeljack's desperate entreaties, Prime pulls the plug on the project, and orders the Dinobots holed up in a cavern in the Ark, never to be activated again.

The Decepticons arrive at the Great Falls, and the humans try to reach the Autobots via Teletraan I. Their distress signal goes unheard, as Teletraan I is currently offline thanks to the Dinobot rampage.

Bet you wished you scanned air vehicle forms now, huh?

With Teletraan I out of commission, it's up to individual Autobot scouts like Hound to be on the lookout for Decepticon activity. Hound's sensors detect the ransacking of the Great Falls plant, and he and Spike go to investigate. Hound radios in his findings to the Ark, and Optimus Prime leaves with a strike force, leaving Bumblebee behind to guard the base.

The Autobots arrive at the Great Falls, but the Decepticons are ready for them. A battle erupts, and Megatron fires his fusion cannon directly powered by the Great Falls output. He blasts the cliff-face where the Autobots stand, sending them falling into the raging waters below.

I've warned you about that, mighty Megatron.

Disobeying orders, Bumblebee arrives at the Great Falls and picks up Spike. They return to the Ark, informing Wheeljack and Ratchet of the Autobots' failure at the Great Falls. Wheeljack decides to reactivate the Dinobots. He has secretly developed a series of memory components that would upgrade the Dinobots' brains. The Dinobots awaken. Still relatively simple-minded, they are now much more intelligent than the mindless monsters that first appeared. Sludge, Slag and Grimlock carry out Wheeljack's orders and fly to the Great Falls.

When you get shot at, you die. When the Dinobots get shot at, they glow with a holy light.

The Decepticons pull the soggy Autobots from the drink and truss them up with Energon chains. Just as the Decepticons are about to execute the captives, the Dinobots arrive and make short work of the Decepticons who retreat as Wheeljack frees the Autobot captives. Wheeljack and Bumblebee brace themselves for reprimands for disobeying Prime's direct orders, but Prime concedes he was wrong. He accepts the Dinobots as the newest members of the Autobot forces. The Autobots cheer the decision, and the Dinobots growl their approval.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans
Optimus Prime (1) Sideswipe (2) Ratchet (3) Ironhide (4) Wheeljack (6) Brawn (7) Hound (8) Huffer (11) Prowl (12) Bluestreak (13) Mirage (14) Trailbreaker (19) Sunstreaker (20) Jazz (21) Cliffjumper (22) Windcharger (23) Gears (24) Bumblebee (25) Slag (27) Sludge (28) Grimlock (29)	Soundwave (8) Reflector (9) Megatron (15) Thundercracker (16) Starscream (17) Skywarp {18) Ravage (30) Rumble (31)	Spike Witwicky (5) Sparkplug Witwicky (26)

Quotes

"Well I'll be a Cybertronic bolt-bat!"

—Sideswipe

"Robot dinosaurs might be useful. You have my authorization."

—Optimus Prime gives the okay to make the Dinobots, because sure, why not?

"Maybe Hound's got glitch mice in his databanks again!"

—Bluestreak, mocking Hound's radar accuracy, to the amusement of no one

"Nice shootin', if you were aimin' for the sky!"

—Rumble goading Bluestreak

"Which ones... friends?"
"Ones with... face like this...uh, I think."
"That... good enough for Slag."

—Slag and Sludge determine friend from foe by using faction symbols.

"If on Decepticon turf you happen to tumble, look out robot, 'cause here comes Rumble!"

—Rumble's clever combat banter

Notes

Animation or technical glitches

• The exposition-spouting tourist visiting the Great Falls hydroelectric power plant has hair that turns from red to black from one shot to the next.

• Spike identifies a Brontosaurus during his tour of the museum's dinosaur exhibit, though there does not appear to be a Brontosaurus on display. Though, to be fair, it may just be Spike's error, or the Brontosaurus skeleton might be out of the camera's view. (Also, by the time this episode took place, Brontosaurus was a deprecated genus, but that's just picking nits.)

• Wheeljack's line of dialogue, "Autobots, meet Dinobots" is delivered by Ratchet.

• As Wheeljack introduces the Dinobots, the foreground characters slide magically against the background scenery due to an error in animation.

• As the Autobots react with shock upon seeing the Dinobots, all three audible lines in the scene—"Look at the size of those things", "Great Cybertron", and "Holy heterodyne"—are animated as being spoken by Bluestreak. The lines were evidently not scripted as belonging to any specific characters, as they are provided respectively by Peter Cullen (using neither Prime nor Ironhide's voice), Dan Gilvezan (sounding like himself) and Gregg Berger (who shouldn't be voicing any of the assembled Autobots!).

• As Huffer mocks the Dinobots, he says: "Dinobots, huh? I thought you were supposed to make dinosaurs!" The emphasis, of course, should be on the "saurs".

• Optimus Prime's line, "Interesting, but what else can they do?" is delivered by Cliffjumper.

• After Ratchet rights a tipped over Bumblebee in the thick of the Dinobot rampage, the section of Ratchet obscured by a foreground Bumblebee is still missing.

• When the Decepticons arrive at the Great Falls plant, a foreground Decepticon Seeker's leg is colored a deep yellow… an error, but as close as Sunstorm ever came to appearing on Earth in a Generation 1 cartoon.

• Bluestreak is shown knocked over by Gears, and then immediately standing in the next shot.

Yomtov-licious!

• Quite a few coloring mix-ups in the battle at the Great Falls, including Sideswipe painted as Sunstreaker, Bluestreak as Trailbreaker, Brawn as Hound, Optimus Prime as Sideswipe, Hound as Ironhide, Trailbreaker as Gears, and Mirage as Bluestreak. There are also two very noticeable shots of Prime painted blue.

Not Powered Convoy. And don't even think about it, e-Hobby!

• While the Autobots are trapped in Energon Chains, Optimus is colored entirely blue and Trailbreaker is entirely grey.

• When Skywarp drops bombs on Grimlock, all the parts on Grimlock that are meant to be grey are black.

• When the Decepticons retreat at the end of the episode, Skywarp is painted in Starscream colors.

• Near the end, Bumblebee's Autobot insignia in his chest is missing in one shot.

• When Rumble activates his piledrivers, the ends are red. Of all the wrong colours to use...

Continuity errors

• Though the holographic dinosaurs illustrated in the episodes matched some of the concepts of the early ‘80s, their depiction is outdated by today's standards. The dinosaurs in the show are the sluggish, tail-dragging cold-blooded variety not in keeping with more modern theories of warm-blooded, bird-like animals.

• When the holographic dinosaurs are shown, a brontosaurus is seen living alongside a Triceratops and a Tyrannosaurus. In reality, the brontosaurus (well, Apatosaurus...oh, you know what we mean) lived in the Jurassic Period, while the Triceratops and the Tyrannosaurus lived during the Cretacious Period. So basically, they were separated by millions of years, but apparently,, in a cartoon, that doesn't matter.

• The data gathered by Reflector and Soundwave leads Megatron to conclude with relish that the Great Falls contain enough energy to vanquish the Autobots and control the universe...but that's really nothing new. The Decepticons have targeted hydroelectric power sources before.

• What is it about falling into the river that is so devastating to the Autobots? We've seen that Autobots can deal with being in the water (Hound in "More than Meets the Eye, Part 2", various Autobots in "The Ultimate Doom", Springer, Kup, and Arcee in The Transformers: The Movie, etc.). It's possible that the fall itself damaged them, but the Autobots are clearly shown struggling around in the water. Then again, Optimus Prime needed Jazz's help to escape the rushing river in "More Than Meets the Eye, Part 2".

• It's possible the editorial pace of the show plays with time and space, but taken at face value, the Autobots build three Dinobots in the span of time it takes the Decepticons to decide to attack the Great Falls.

Rhino DVD release

Pretty colors are more important than things making sense!

• The chapter stops for this episode on the Rhino DVD are: Opening / Old Bones / "Dinobots Must Die" / Fusion Power / Permanent Dysfunction / Dinobots Will Stay.

• Though all G1 episodes released on DVD by Rhino were altered in some way, both with additional sound effects and unintentional changes induced by not using the finalized broadcast masters, this one is particularly screwed up:
  • The Rhino version uses a faulty take for the shot where the Dinobots demonstrate their power by clearing rubble. In the DVD, the blasts from the Dinobots' mouths are missing, and the rubble does not vanish. The broadcast version, though, has both effects, which were reinstated on the Shout! Factory release. (See illustration).
  • As the Autobots walk around the unnamed museum, they pass a pair of street punks looking at a display. While divided into grey and blue parts in the broadcast version, the display was rendered entirely blue in the Kid Rhino version of the episode, making it look a bit like a computer terminal. This random color change was not undone in the Shout! Factory version.
  • When Hound contacts Autobot Headquarters with a recon report, the glowing light on his chest and forehead are blue in the broadcast version, but red in the DVD version. This was changed back in the Shout! Factory release.
  • When the Autobots arrive at the Great Falls and they transform from vehicle mode to robot mode, the shot of Bluestreak is reversed, and he is shown transforming from robot to car. The broadcast version used the correct take, as does the Shout! Factory release.
  • Not so much a goof, but the Rhino DVD version of this episode has a rainbow visible at the Great Falls when Megatron lands. This is not in the broadcast version and was removed when Shout Factory corrected the scene.

Continuity notes

• After being almost totally ignored (or completely absent) for the first seven episodes, Windcharger finally gets his first speaking line.
• Flying Autobots:
  • Gears takes to the air to attack the Decepticons at the power plant, and Wheeljack flies alongside the Dinobots. These abilities are never explained within the cartoon itself. However, according to the Tech Specs, these two (along with Sideswipe) are the original Autobots who are SUPPOSED to be flight-capable; Gears is equipped with compressed air boosters and Wheeljack has solid-fuel rockets in his arms. Gears would never be shown to use his flight capabilities again; Wheeljack, however, will fly again in "A Plague of Insecticons" and actually use his arm-rockets in "The Core" and "The Autobot Run".
  • The Dinobots are also shown to be able to fly in robot mode under their own power; they will consistently retain this ability all the way through Season 2 and the Movie.

• The Dinobots are shown to be incredibly tough and resistant to damage. Nothing the Decepticons do leaves so much as a scratch or scorch mark, not even shots from gun-mode Megatron. This too is consistent through Season 2 and the Movie.

• Transformer gadgets:
  • Ironhide is equipped with a sonodar sensor array that extends from his forearm, capable of penetrating solid rock. The findings of the sensor are displayed in the windshield in his chest.
  • Sideswipe is equipped with piston arms, that allow him to punch through stone walls. Here, they are simply heavy protrusions that he slams into the rock to break it up, but when they show up again in "A Plague of Insecticons" they actually operate like pneumatic jackhammers. His pistons are also misinterpreted as a hand-held jackhammer in "Fire on the Mountain".
  • Wheeljack fires a "magnetic inducer" from his shoulder cannon to stop the rampaging Dinobots, and later nails Megatron with a "gyro-inhibitor shell", launched from same. Both these are weapons Wheeljack's tech spec says he has and fires from his shoulder cannons.
  • Thundercracker attempts to torch the Dinobots with a flamethrower, which shows up again in "The Ultimate Doom, Part 2". This weapon is probably based on his tech spec's mention of incendiary guns.
  • Skywarp still packs heat-seeking missiles, per his tech spec bio.
  • Starscream drops small bomb-missiles on the Dinobots. These may or may not be the from the launchers concealed in his air ducts, which are used in "Fire on the Mountain".

• Megatron actually refers to his fusion cannon by that name.

• Slag's triceratops frill can reflect Optimus Prime's laser rifle

• Laserbeak does not appear but is mentioned in this episode, as Megatron credits him for gathering intelligence at the Great Falls.

• Per his tech spec bio, Sludge proves adept in the water. He also uses his seismic stomp to retaliate against Rumble's earthquake power.

• Rumble getting hit by Sludge's quake while using his piledrivers causes them to break off.

• < < What makes Starscream the leader? Megatron's lost his equilibrium! > >

Japanese version

• In the Japanese version of this episode, the Dinobots' roars were replaced with classic kaiju roars (mostly an altered version of Baragon's roar).

• Cut: Following Spike's line, "There goes an Autobot with guts" and Ratchet charging, the close-up of Spike's head and Ratchet repairing Teletraan-1 have been cut. The sequence resumes at Sludge firing his laser eyes.

• Cut: After Prime yells "Roll out!" and transforms, the following footage of the Autobots driving out of the Ark behind him, the pan across the base interior and the footage of Wheeljack working on the Dinobot brain upgrades have all been cut.

Trivia

• This was one of the six episodes featured on the Revenge of the Fallen console game.

Home video releases

All releases listed are in English audio unless otherwise noted.

VHS

1985 — The Transformers — Volume 3: "S.O.S. Dinobots" (Family Home Entertainment)
1997 — The Transformers — War of the Dinobots (Malofilm)

Laserdisc

1994 — Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers — Convoy Set (Takara) — Japanese audio only.
1998 — The Transformers — Autobot Edition (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.

DVD

2001 — The Transformers — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2002 — Transformers: Generation 2 (Sony Wonder)
2002 — Transformers — Original Series: Volume Three (Sony Wonder)
2002 — Transformers — Complete Original Series: Deluxe Edition (Sony Wonder)
2002 — The Original Transformers — First Season Collector's Edition (Rhino Entertainment)
2002 — The Original Transformers — Volume Two (Rhino Entertainment)
2003 — Transformers — Collection 1: Series 1 (Madman Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers — Season 1 (Metrodome)
2006 — The Best of The Transformers (Madman Entertainment)
2006 — Transformers — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome)
2007 — Transformers — The Classic Episodes (Metrodome)
2007 — Classic Transformers — Series One: Part One (Metrodome)
2007 — The Transformers — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2008 — Transformers — Volume 01: Stagione Uno Parte Prima (Medianetwork Communication) — English and Italian audio.
2009 — Transformers — Season One (Metrodome)
2009 — The Transformers — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers — The Complete First Season: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
2009 — The Transformers — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)

External links

• Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle