Landfill (episode)
| The name or term "Landfill" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Landfill (disambiguation). |
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 Side Burn's last visit to San Andreas went to hell on day one. | ||||||
| "Landfill" (Yontai Gattai! Build King) "Quadruple Merge! Build King" | ||||||
| Production company | TV Tokyo, NAS, Studio Gallop | |||||
| Airdate | 23 August 2000 (Japanese) June 22, 2002 (English) | |||||
| Written by | Yukiyoshi Ōhashi (Japanese) Richard Epcar (English) | |||||
| Director | Yoshiaki Tsutsui | |||||
| Animation studio | Studio Gallop | |||||
The Space Bridge screws up!
The Build Team suspect foul play
and merge for the kill!
Synopsis
X-Brawn is tearing down a deserted forest road at night, with the Decepticon Commandos in hot pursuit. With Scourge and Armorhide closing in, the rugged SUV looks trapped...until he is able to take a quick detour into a nearby Global Space Bridge warp tunnel, leaving the Decepticons cursing both their luck and the Autobots' ever-pesky teleportation technology. The 'Cons quickly realise that the space bridge is proving too key an advantage to the Autobots to be left as it is; the ever-belligerent Armorhide is all in favour of blasting it to pieces, but Scourge takes more interest in Mega-Octane's suggestion of turning the technology against its creators...
Back in the city, the Autobot Build Team is busy doing what they do best. Finishing up work on the space bridge's Arctic tunnel link, they radio in to Optimus Prime to report that they're ahead of schedule, before Wedge suggests that they unwind with a little battle practice. Wedge and teammates Heavy Load and Hightower head off for the Battle Zone, leaving Grimlock to finish up by uploading the Arctic link data into the space bridge's computer network; little does he realise, however, that he is being trailed by Ro-Tor, and is inadvertently leading Scourge and his team right to the network's access terminal. The Decepticons bust into the terminal bunker after Grimlock has finished his routine programming chore, allowing Scourge to tamper with the space bridge's tracking and location systems before dispatching the Commandos for the next phase of his scheme.
With the Decepticon sabotage successful, Movor arrives in the city centre and begins causing mayhem. Responding to the disturbance, T-AI dispatches Team Bullet Train to the combat zone; however, thanks to Scourge's tamperings, the space bridge instead deposits the confused Autobots onto a busy freeway. Extremely peeved, Team Bullet Train return to Autobot headquarters, where Rapid Run and Wedge get into a heated argument over who's to blame for the malfunction. While Prime dispatches Build Team in a fruitless attempt to track down the cause of the error, the Commandos continue to wreak havoc in the urban centre, leading to Team Bullet Train being sent into the warp tunnels once more, along with the Autobot Brothers; Mega-Octane's continued interference, however, sees the Autobots dumped in a variety of undesirable locations and situations, including a pool of cement, a busy mall, and the middle of a baseball match attended by Koji.
This disruption, of course, is all part of Scourge's plan, as he explains as he arrives at the Autobot's North energy research facility with a delighted Megatron; with the Autobots trapped by their own space bridge, the Predacon leader will be free to plunder all the energy he needs. T-AI, however, is on the case; running a diagnostic on the computer systems, she discovers that the computer link at the main terminal building has been tampered with, and Build Team rush to the location to repair the damage. Seeing off the Commandos en route with a little help from Optimus, the construction bots are able to restore the network systems, and, once they learn of the Predacon attack on the energy facility, use the newly space bridge to track down the scattered Autobots for a final counter-attack against the Predacons at the energy facility.
Though initially shocked at the speed of the Autobots' response to their sabotage, Megatron and Scourge refuse to go down without a fight, with Megatron finding a vantage point atop a treacherous sheet of ice. Team Bullet Train prepares to combine to finish the fight...until Wedge intercedes on the behalf of Build Team, claiming that the Predacon sabotage of "their" space bridge has made this a matter of personal honour, as well as citing the builders' superiority on ice. Optimus accedes to Build Team's request, and the four construction bots respond by assuming their combined form, the imposing Landfill. Utilising their superior traction and impressive repertoire of (largely shoulder-based) attacks, Landfill is quickly able to overcome Megatron and Scourge, sending them into retreat once again.
With the threat of Megatron averted once again, the Autobots clear the air and apologise to each other over the flared tempers and misunderstandings caused by the malfunctioning warp tunnels. Optimus declares the incident a great teamwork exercise, and the reconciled Autobots use the recalibrated space bridge to head harmoniously for home.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Predacons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"I'll tell you what we should do: we should go in there and blast that place into tiny little pieces!"
"I've got a great idea: why don't we just hack into their system? Then we could find out where their tunnels lead."
"Hacking, schmacking. I say we go in there and blow the whole place to oblivion! Then we don't have to care where the tunnels lead, am I right?"
"Half-track mind..."
- —Armorhide and Rollbar talk tactics outside the space bridge terminal bunker. Well, Rollbar does, anyway.
"Well, that's one way to get in. I myself woulda used the door."
- —Rollbar on Scourge smashing through the wall
"Now, Scourge has the right idea! See what I mean? You gotta break down some walls, blow up some buildings, destroy these computers—"
"Can't you clamp your voice-boxes?!"
"Uh...yeah, sorry, sir."
- —Armorhide likes the cut of Scourge's jib; Scourge just doesn't like anyone.
"OOH! Aww, no, he caught it, and that was the last out of the innings! And what is Rapid Run doing on the field anyway?"
- —Koji, always quick on the uptake.
"That...couldn't be the new subway line, could it?"
- —Kelly attempts to rationalise the sudden appearance of Railspike in the middle of a crowded mall. Nice try.
"Leave Megatron alone!!"
- —Scourge channels his inner Chris Crocker.
Notes
Differences with Car Robots
"Landfill" was one of three Robots in Disguise episodes, along with "Attack from Outer Space" and "Sky-Byte Saves the Day", that never aired in the U.S. due to post-9/11 sensitivity over its scenes of urban destruction. It does not appear to have undergone any attempted editing to remove these elements: all such scenes of exploding buildings and terrified civilians are intact in the English version, but it does contain a significant amount of minute video timing edits and a noticeably large amount of "flavour" dialogue where the original was silent or perfunctory.
- In the opening scene, Robots in Disguise repeats the footage of Ro-Tor firing on X-Brawn, and X-Brawn swerving to avoid the blasts, to extend the action a little.
- This episode introduces a new design for the Global Space Bridge, an unusual white-on-black "wireframe" look, which first appears when X-Brawn ducks into the bridge to escape the Decepticons. Robots in Disguise replaces both wide shots in this scene with footage of X-Brawn driving through the normal CGI version of the bridge taken from other episodes (pictured, right). All the other wireframe-bridge scenes throughout the episode are kept, though in the final act, Car Robots itself also suddenly switches to using the CGI version instead.
- In Robots in Disguise, Rollbar talks about the advantage the space bridge gives the Autobots and Armorhide wants to destroy it, but in Car Robots, Armorhide is grumbling about being tired, and Rollbar is teasing him about being fat, making him mad. Similarly, in Car Robots Mega-Octane simply grouses about how the Autobots keep getting away and the need for a "countermeasure", while in Robots in Disguise, he specifically proposes first trying to take control of the bridge, then disabling it.
- Robot in Disguise makes repeated reference to the bridge's "Arctic Link", while Car Robots uses the much vague location name of, er, "Snow Country".
- Robots in Disguise continues to have Armorhide rant and rage about destroying the bridge all through the scene of the team following Grimlock to the terminal, but Car Robots is very different. First, he mistakenly claims they're going to "jack" the terminal, but when Rollbar corrects him and tells him they're going to "hack" it, and that you can "do anything if you're a hacker", he mis-hears "hacker" as the Japanese word hakka, meaning "peppermint", and then goes off on a ramble about how he prefers nikki (cinnamon) flavored candies because peppermint burns his nostrils. Then, when Scourge smashes the wall in, Rollbar remarks that they're not being stealthy like hackers at all, and Armorhide doesn't understand how they could have gotten to the computers otherwise.
- As usual, Robots in Disguise replaces Team Bullet Train's Japanese ID numbers on the member select screen with their English names.
- In Car Robots, Team Bullet Train are simply getting amped up for action as they talk to each other on their journey through the bridge; Robots in Disguise changes it so they suspect something is wrong with the bridge direction.
- Car Robots uses one of its occasional symbol-wipe scene transitions between Team Bullet Train's mishap and their return to base; Robots in Disguise replaces it with its usual CGI affairs.
- Robots in Disguise adds some extra footage of T-AI giving orders between the scenes of the Autobot Brothers and Team Bullet Train being called to action.
- In Robots in Disguise, Midnight Express is worried about their second trip through the bridge, but in Car Robots, he's just remarking on how much is going on today.
- When X-Brawn is left on top of a tall building by the bridge, Robots in Disguise just has him talk about the system malfunctioning. In Car Robots, in-keeping with the daredevil aspect of the character that Robots in Disguise mostly erases, he is initially thrilled to be up so high, before realizing it probably isn't the best time to get so excited.
- Car Robots goes to commercial after Prowl falls into the concrete; Robots in Disguise doesn't, so it adds a dissolve between that scene and the next.
- When the Build Team learn of the malfunctions, in Car Robots, it's Heavy Load who informs Wedge that computer tampering is the root cause, while in Robots in Disguise, he simply restates that their construction work is fine, and it's Wedge who realizes the computer is the problem.
- In Robots in Disguise, Optimus talks as if the energy lab Megatron and Scourge raid is actually an Autobot facility.
- In general, Car Robots sees Wedge take more of a personal responsibility for the problems with the bridge; as the Autobots travel to the final battle, he is apologetic to the rest of the team for the trouble they've endured, and when he requests that the Build Team be allowed to battle Megatron, it's less about payback, and more about making amends to his comrades. In Robots in Disguise, this only really comes up in his final monologue after the battle, though even here he's more apologetic in Car Robots, where he feels his actions haven't been enough to fully atone.
- Side Burn and Rapid Run are excited at the prospect of the Build Team merging in Robots in Disguise, but in Car Robots, neither of them knew that the team even could combine, and Rapid Run is a bit put out at the fact there's four 'bots on the Build Team, meaning their combiner form will be more powerful than Team Bullet Train's three-bot Rail Racer.
- Car Robots specifically points out that Landfill has better traction on the ice because he has tires for feet.
- During Wedge and Rapid Run's "moral of the episode" exchange, Car Robots plays things more reservedly, as the pair sort of brush their argument aside and focus on the fact they've regained control of the space bridge, which Wedge promises to take better care of. In Robots in Disguise, on the other hand, the discussion is shifted to be more about the two offering full and proper apologies to one another for their angry words. Afterward, Optimus gets to throw in a line about how great teamwork is in Robots in Disguise, while in Car Robots, he's just suggesting they all head home "on the bridge Wedge and the others built for us".
- When Side Burn and Rapid Run share the final dialogue exchange of the episode, Robots in Disguise has them marveling at just how incredible the space bridge is, but in Car Robots, they're specifically singing the praises of its creators, the Build Team.
- Shots extended in length for Robots in Disguise include:
- Rollbar and Armorhide's headshots as they talk about the space bridge
- Mega Octane proposing the Decepticons exploit the space bridge
- Wedge directing Hightower around the building site
- Optimus requesting T-AI put the Build Team on-screen
- Optimus congratulating the team on completing their job
- Wedge signing off before the screens turn off
- Grimlock telling Wedge he'll take care of uploading the data
- Scourge producing the Decepticon computer chip
- Prime ordering T-AI to bring up the member select.
- Rapid Run asking if Team Bullet Train are going in the right direction
- Prime talking about the bridge malfunction.
- Prime ordering the Autobot Brothers being called into action.
- Prime asking where the computer tampering has taken place (this show really loves to extend close-up shots of Prime's head - it's easy, because there's no moving mouth!)
- Wedge agreeing with Heavy Load's suggestion to use the Arctic Link
- Rapid Run and Side Burn's episode-ending exchange
Animation or technical errors
- When the Autobots are being flung out of the space bridge to random undesirable locations, the member of Team Bullet Train shown careering down a hill resembles Rapid Run, but speaks with Railspike's voice.
- When Heavy Load restrains Wedge, his chin is yellow instead of grey.
- When Rapid Run transforms at the baseball stadium and catches the ball, his mouthplate is colored gold like the rest of his head instead of silver.
- Hightower is the one who removes the Decepticon disc from the computer to reinstall the correct one... but then he is immediately seen standing beside Wedge.
- When Prime changes to "Battle Protocol" in the frozen north, an extended version of the first shot of his battle mode stock footage plays, ending on a shot of him with a miscolored super-mode head, done in the colors of his regular robot mode.
Continuity errors
- Koji's fellow spectators at the baseball game seem to change dramatically in appearance from shot to shot.
- After sabotaging the space bridge, Scourge announces the Decepticons should move out, but later on we cut back to Scourge and Mega-Octane still in the terminal bunker.
Continuity notes
- In this episode, the Build Team completes the construction of, and later makes use of, a section of the Global Space Bridge called the "Arctic Link", which was first mentioned in the previous episode as preexisting project the Build Team was still working on.
- After completing the Arctic Link, Heavy Load alludes to the Build Team's next project as a "south route" for the Space Bridge, which the next episode will have them complete and name it as the "South Ocean Underpass".
Real-world references
- The sign Movor destroys has an image of Ronald McDonald on it.
- When the Autobots arrive to fight Megatron and Scourge, Rapid Run asks if they were expecting the Abominable Snowman.
Transformers references
- X-Brawn moans "They're on me like an Insecticon in a power core."
Trivia
- Sky-Byte and the Predacon Trio are absent from this episode, marking the first time in the series that their unique services have not been called upon (although Sky-Byte didn't appear in episode 1). Maybe Megatron is finally learning his lesson... or not.
- Just for variation, Optimus announces "Battle Protocol" when he goes into super mode the second time.
Home video releases
- DVD
2000 — Transformers: Car Robots — Vol. 6 (Pony Canyon) — Japanese audio only.
2005 — Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Three-Disc Box Set: Part 2 of 2 (Maximum Entertainment)
2007 — Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Season Two (Maximum Entertainment)
2007 — Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Ultimate Collection (Maximum Entertainment)
