Forever Is a Long Time Coming (episode): Difference between revisions
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*This was one of twelve episodes of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]] released as audio adventures by the [[Germany|German]] company [[Karussell|Karussell Musik und Video]]. | *This was one of twelve episodes of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]] released as audio adventures by the [[Germany|German]] company [[Karussell|Karussell Musik und Video]]. | ||
*What is it with Aerialbots and [[War Dawn|time travel]]? | *What is it with Aerialbots and [[War Dawn|time travel episodes]]? | ||
==Home video releases== | ==Home video releases== | ||
Revision as of 03:56, 3 August 2012
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 The biggest Interocitor in history. | |||||||||
| "Forever Is a Long Time Coming" | |||||||||
| Production code | 700-94 | ||||||||
| Production company | Sunbow Productions | ||||||||
| Airdate | October 8, 1986 | ||||||||
| Written by | Gerry Conway Carla Conway | ||||||||
| Animation studio | AKOM | ||||||||
| Continuity | Generation 1 cartoon continuity | ||||||||
In an attempt to alter history, the Quintessons open a Time Window to Cybertron's ancient past, but their meddling ultimately causes time itself to begin unraveling.
- Japanese title: 時の罠 (Toki no Wana, "Time Trap")
- German title: "Die Ewigkeit dauert lange" ("The Eternity takes a long Time")
Synopsis
Perceptor, Wreck-Gar, Blurr and Blaster investigate chronal pulses coming from an asteroid belt near Cybertron. They are fired upon by Sharkticons, which launch from an installation on a bowl-shaped asteroid, the source of the pulses. The Autobots make quick work of the Sharkticons as Perceptor tells Blaster to radio Rodimus Prime for reinforcements. The Autobots land on the asteroid just in time to see a Quintesson scientist open a time portal to eleven million years in the past to retrieve a "target subject", much to Perceptor's horror. The Autobots are fired on by Quintesson ships, which blast Perceptor and herd the other Autobots toward the time portal—much to the chagrin of the scientist. The time window fades out as the Autobots, sans Perceptor, end up eleven million years in the past!
The Quintesson ships continue firing, striking the time portal before being ambushed by Superion and Rodimus Prime. The Quintessons escape as a damaged Perceptor tells Rodimus Prime to find the Autobots and Silverbolt instructs the other Aerialbots not to follow... as a mysterious figure suddenly materializes, confused from the time travel.
Eleven million years ago, automatic defenses fire upon the Autobots, who quickly retreat. Ramhorn charges and runs right into a Dark Guardian in hot pursuit. The Dark Guardian attempts to step on the Autobots, but is stopped by a shot from an unknown female Transformer called Beta, who tells the others to follow her to the Warrens before the Quintessons send more. She states even though she's taking a risk bringing in Blaster and his cadre, they need all the help they can get for an attack on Hive City. Beta is disgusted by the "mark of shame" on the Autobots' chests. She explains the Autobot symbol has been a symbol of slavery for over a million years, but that A3 says it must become a symbol of freedom. She states A3 has a Coda Remote device to freeze the Dark Guardians, allowing the slaves to rise against the Quintessons. Rewind finally realizes they are in Cybertron's past, when the Transformers were still slaves for the Quintessons, and if the Quintessons stop this rebellion, they would rule Cybertron in the present. Beta notes that A3 is missing, but that they must attack at dawn with or without him. The Autobots agree to help the slaves in their attack.
Back in 2006, the time window is leaking energy into space—ripples in the timestream. Rodimus refuses to shut the window down while five Autobots are stuck in the past. The Quintessons fear that if the window isn't closed in the next hour, the ripples will travel through the universe, jeopardizing reality itself—some events will repeat in an endless loop (such as Wheelie winning a race over and over) while some will reverse (such as water running backward in a lake) and worse, the past and future will collide—evidenced by Marissa Faireborn reverting to a baby—until the universe ceases to exist. The only solution, according to the Quintessons, is to destroy the time window. The scientist orders a full scale assault on the asteroid.
A3 has finally revived, but refuses to give information to "Quintesson slaves" like the Autobots. A3 and Rodimus take cover from Quintesson starbombs and an incoming Sharkticon offensive as the other Autobots begin defending the time portal. A3 is blasted away from the asteroid and tumbles through space before being saved by Superion, who is cornered by Quintesson ships. Under heavy fire and proclaiming his failure, Superion has a vision, seeing A3 turn into his future self—Alpha Trion! Suddenly, the ripples in the time stream cause Superion to briefly warp into two places at once, as space and time begin to warp and mutilate itself. The Quintessons retreat, fearing the results of the distortions. Rodimus orders Pipes to repair Perceptor, as he's the only one that can figure out what's going on. Silverbolt attempts to talk to A3, who isn't even sure who he is anymore.
Back in the past, the Autobots take part in the raid on Hive City, finding themselves and the slaves against several Dark Guardians, as in the present, the Quintesson scientist proposes an alliance—and for the time window be closed. The raid is apparently successful with the help of the Autobots, but a five-faced Quintesson demands surrender, as the Dark Guardians surround the rebellion.
Rodimus is finally convinced by the Quintesson to close the time window, but A3 volunteers to go through the time portal to retrieve the time-displaced Autobots, much to the Quintesson scientist's chagrin. A3 lands at the raid point to Beta's elation, as the Quintesson orders the Guardians to attack. A3 removes the golden Autobot symbol on his chest, which is the Coda Remote in disguise. A3 triggers the Remote, which disables the Dark Guardians, then orders the Autobots to return to the present, thanking them for their help. The Autobots return to 2006 just in time for Rodimus to close the time window, which self-destructs.
As the day is saved, the Autobots finally realize that A3 was Alpha Trion, as a constellation forms with his likeness.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Humans | Others |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Quotes
"So why'd ya-w-why'd ya want us along? This ain't-this ain't our gig-k-kinda gig!"
- —Ramhorn has a problem with scientific expeditions...and speaking coherently.
"How come they made you Aerialbot leader, Silverbolt? You've got no sense of adventure!"
"Exactly."
- —Air Raid gets put in his place by Silverbolt.
"What in the name of Alpha Trion?!"
- —Rodimus Prime, as A3 comes through the time portal. See what they did there?
"Ohhhh! I don't know where we are but wherever it is it's somewhere but somewhere else would definitely be a better place to be!"
- —Blurr isn't too fond of ancient Cybertron.
Superion: I...have...failed you Rodimus...it is...finished.
A-3: No...Superion! ('transforming' into Alpha Trion) You must live...so that I may be born!
Superion: Alpha...Trion?
A-3: A...3...
Wreck-Gar: Phew. One to five rodents agree exceptional headache number one is a mad dog guardian.
Blaster: Right on, but we still gotta lure 'em away from the walls so Beta and the rebels can attack.
Blurr: Yeah, that's what we said we'd do, and I always do what I say I'll do, because I have to, so I'd better do it, because if we say we do and then we don't—
[Ramhorn roars and charges the Dark Guardians]
Rewind: Methinks the die has been cast.
- —The Autobots discuss strategy as Ramhorn gets bored.
"You will now put down your arms and return to work, or the Dark Guardians will incinerate you where you stand. Please decide quickly."
- —An ever-polite Quintesson gives the Autobots a simple choice.
"Your friends want you home. Go, now."
"Yeah, but—"
"No time for talk. We thank you for your help, but you must go at once."
"Okay. I guess we can trust you to win this one. After all, you already did."
- —A-3 and Blaster
Notes
Animation or technical glitches
- The Autobots are shown leaving Cybertron twice in a row.
- The number of switches on Blaster's chest changes throughout the episode. For instance, in the opening shots, he has anywhere from ten to just one.
- When the asteroid begins firing on the Autobots, Perceptor's Autobot logo is framed in black instead of white.
- During the attack, Blaster ejects Rewind and his chest is plain blue instead of grey or yellow.
- Blurr's chest alternates from plain white to white with blue on the bottom throughout the episode (and his Autobot logo appears, moves around from the center to his abs, and disappears in different shots).
- Although the Autobots are seen flying toward the time window, which begins to fade in and out, they're never actually shown flying INTO the window.
- As Rodimus arrives to help the Autobots, Perceptor is flying with him. He's supposed to be unconscious on the asteroid at this point.
- When Superion disengages back into the Aerialbots, Silverbolt is formed from his right leg, while his torso turns into Air Raid.
- As the Autobots come under attack from the guardian robot, Rewind points and his faceplate moves as if he's speaking, but he doesn't say anything.
- When Beta rescues the Autobots from the Guardian robot, Blaster's Autobot logo isn't colored in.
- When Blaster ejects Rewind on ancient Cybertron, his tape door opens sideways.
- An abnormally huge Wheelie is shown racing Jazz (who's missing the numbers on his doors).
- When the Quintesson bailiff instructs the Sharkticons to attack the Autobots, their background is deep space, but the Sharkticons then are shown exiting the Quintesson ship.
- Ramhorn rams a Dark Guardian and is somehow much larger than usual.
- Superion "appears in two places at once," but the first shot of this occurring shows the original Superion disappearing.
- As Superion appears in two places at once, the Quintesson commander is shown mouthing the Quintesson scientist's lines.
- Also, the picture is overlapping the top of the left display monitor on the Quintesson ship.
- Beta's rebels hide in a dirt ditch on Cybertron...a planet made of metal.
- The Autobots in the past stand on top of a building in front of the Quintessons' base, but when they jump down, they're in an alcove somewhere in the middle of the building.
- In this episode, Rodimus's back spoiler is all yellow, when it should be orange in the middle.
- As the constellation of the Quintesson talks to the Autobots, Rodimus's chest piece is too big, and there are two generic robots behind him. (They should be the Aerialbots, but if so, they're badly misdrawn.)
- As Beta fires her arrow at the Dark Guardians during the big battle, her "slave brand" (Autobot logo) is missing.
- The five-faced Quintesson in the past hovers on board a chair, but when a closeup is shown, the chair is not seen. When the view is restored, the chair is visible again.
- Speaking of the chair, it starts off with a blue flame beneath it, but the flame is red a few shots later.
- When A-3 returns to the past, the Autobots are standing in a completely different setting than when we last saw them. They're also no longer surrounded by Dark Guardians.
- The Autobot symbol on A-3's chest is suddenly a solid plate (including surrounding metal) when it is revealed as the Coda Remote, but looks no different from the regular Autobot symbol in previous shots (other than being golden).
- Beta came with four rebels, but two, five and six are shown in various shots.
- A3 came through the gateway to the past and it was shown as just the frame of the portal, but when the Autobots go through it, it includes the control panel underneath (on both sides).
- As A-3 tells them to go, Wreck-Gar is next to Blaster on the right, but a shot later, he's behind him on the left.
- Also, as the Autobots dive into the gateway, Kup is seen for a moment (even though he's still in the "present") and Ramhorn disappears from the shot.
- When the Autobots land and run away from the gateway, Wheelie is running with them. (He's supposed to be on another planet!) Also, Rewind is missing from the shot.
- Rodimus is nowhere near the gateway after he presses the button. The shot should show him running too.
- As he tells Rodimus they must close the time portal, Perceptor is drawn huge. (If he stood up, he'd be much taller than Rodimus, who is closer to the camera but drawn smaller.)
- Air Raid clips through Rewind as he walks up to deliver the last lines of the episode.
Continuity errors
- How are the Autobots flying through space at the beginning of the episode? They usually need a ship of some kind.
- Why would the Autobots fly right into the Quintessons' device?
- Supposedly, the Quintessons were after Alpha Trion, but the claw at the beginning was grabbing for something sphere-shaped.
- POSSIBLY NOT AN ERROR: Rewind is the first to mention Beta by her name, despite her never actually introducing herself by name. She may have done so offscreen (or his trivia knowledge may have helped for a change), but it's still a bit odd.
- Nobody suspects that A-3 might be Alpha Trion until his "future ghost" talks to Superion.
- And, even more oddly, the Aerialbots are surprised at the end to discover this fact, even though they were Superion! How much are they actually conscious of when combined, anyway?
- Past-Cybertron appears with a partial Earth-like rocky landscape - such as the trench in which Beta and the rebels are hiding - in addition to the conventional metal-plated ground. Are we to assume the Quintessons were still cyberforming the planet as the rebellion started? And did the Quintessons finish during the rebellion, or did the Transformers complete the job afterwards?
- Apparently, time passes at the same rate inside the gateway as out of it, otherwise...when A-3 goes back to the past, shouldn't he arrive at the same time he left (and shouldn't the Autobots arrive at the same time they entered)?
- So at the end of the episode, did all the damage the gateway caused somehow reverse itself? Did the water on that one planet somehow flow back towards the dam? Did Marissa revert back to being an adult (hopefully not naked as the last time we saw her)? NOTE: We find out later that she did, but it must have been incredibly embarrassing for her to find out what happened!
Real-world references
- Wreck-Gar gets a few digs in:
- "Golly, Mr. Wizard," is a reference to the famous children-oriented television science show, Watch Mr. Wizard (later Mr. Wizard's World).
- "We've come a long way, baby!" is a take on a Virginia Slims cigarette ad campaign of the 1970s.
- "Exceptional headache #1" is a take on an Excedrin ad campaign.
Transformers references
- This is one of the few episodes to not feature the Decepticons.
- So the Aerialbots save A3. To whom they would eventually bring Orion Pax, causing him to be rebuilt as Optimus Prime. War Dawn Who would eventually call for the Aerialbots to be built, prompting Alpha Trion to sacrifice his life to give life to the Aerialbots. The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2 Who had saved his life 11 million years earlier. Or twenty years later. It all makes sense.
Trivia
- The Quintesson scientist is named Inquirata in the script, but is unnamed in the episode proper.
- This is the second episode in a row to conclude with a constellation image of a character, as "Dark Awakening" ends with a star image Optimus Prime right after his apparent destruction.
- This was one of twelve episodes of the original cartoon released as audio adventures by the German company Karussell Musik und Video.
- What is it with Aerialbots and time travel episodes?
Home video releases
- VHS
1993 — The Biggest Ever Saturday Morning Picture Show (Tempo Video)
2000 — The Original Transformers — Volume 5: Return to Cybertron (Rhino Entertainment)
- Laserdisc
1999 — The Transformers: 2010 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
- DVD
2001 — The Transformers: 2010 — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2003 — The Original Transformers — Season 3 Part 1 (Rhino Entertainment)
2003 — The Original Transformers — Season 3 Part 1: Vol. 2 (Rhino Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers — Season 3 and Season 4 (Metrodome)
2004 — Transformers — Collection 4: Series 3.1 (Madman Entertainment)
2006 — Transformers — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome)
2007 — The Transformers — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — Transformers — Season's Three & Four [sic] (Metrodome)
2009 — The Transformers — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)
2010 — The Transformers — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
