Chase (episode)
| The name or term "Chase" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Chase (disambiguation). |
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 "Topham, help me! I'll turn myself in I swear!" "End of the line, slaghead." | ||||||
| "Chase" (Kage) "Illusion: Shadow" | ||||||
| Production code | TF: A-24 | |||||
| Production company | TV Tokyo, NAS | |||||
| Airdate | January 27, 2003 (UK, English premiere) January 29, 2003 (USA) 20 June 2003 (Japanese) | |||||
| Writer | Ryō Motohira | |||||
| Director | Mihiro Yamaguchi | |||||
| Animation studio | Actas Inc. | |||||
| Continuity | Unicron Trilogy | |||||
The kids and their transforming partners are sucked into a digital world of Sideways's creation, where they meet a truly frightening harbinger of Chaos.
Synopsis
Carlos complains about being bored with hanging out in the Autobot base all the time. Alexis tells him that being in the Autobot base is serious business. Rad does his best to calm down Alexis, and Carlos references the Autobots' sound defense system, but Alexis refuses to chill and assertively walks off with Sureshock.
Elsewhere, the Autobots fight the Decepticons.
Alexis panics because she can't locate anything on the Autobots' radar, as the Autobots' monitors are all solid black. When Alexis's laptop freezes, Rad speculates that the technical problems could be because of an internet virus or a hacker. Alexis confirms Rad's suspicions and takes countermeasures, but it's too late. The kids watch as the virus devours their system.
Desperate, Alexis tries to hard reboot, then disconnects by removing her computer's network wire. The Mini-Cons try to deactivate the rest of the Autobot computers, but physics take a back seat as the digital disruption spreads off the monitors and forms a spatial anomaly inside the room, solidifying into the shape of Sideways.
With Alexis's best efforts at a technical solution rendered useless, Rad tries to disengage Sideways by literally smashing the Autobots' computer consoles. Alexis and Carlos join in the destruction, causing Sideways to disintegrate and be sucked into a vortex from one of the Autobot monitors. In Sideways's place, a colorful show of light shines on the kids and their Mini-Cons, sucking the "spirits" out of their bodies and sending the kids into the same vortex that swallowed Sideways.
At the battle, Optimus Prime notices Laserbeak fall (and Megatron steps on it). Hot Shot knows this means something has happened to the kids. Billy and Fred arrive in the Autobots' control room and find the bodies of their friends unresponsive to any stimuli and glowing in eerie inverted colors. The Mini-Cons are also affected, and Fred concludes that their friends were turned into zombies.
The three kids and the Street Action Team (who are not zombies) find themselves in an area with no ground, only a few abstract shapes floating in the air. Soon as Rad and Carlos begin to have fun swimming around this reality, Sideways drives up and introduces the kids to Cyberspace. He claims there's no way out of Cyberspace and tries to take one of their Mini-Cons. The kids speed away from the Decepticon.
Eventually, the kids fall into an area that looks like outer space, with the six of them floating towards what appears to be Cybertron. Passed by two flashes of light, the kids see a strange glowing purple shape, followed by a dark blue form with yellow bursts behind it.
Passing right through Cybertron (instead of crashing), Sideways reappears (holding Sureshock) and reveals that everything the kids see in Cyberspace is an illusion. Alexis considers this and openly speculates that if Sideways was in control of the illusion, he could seize all the Mini-Cons and wouldn't need to make demands. Sideways gets angry, confirming her theory.
In reality, the Autobots have returned from battle and are confused by the comatose kids and smashed machinery. Fred suggests using Alexis's laptop as a starting point for figuring out what's going on.
In Cyberspace, Sideways grows frustrated with the kids, who have figured out that he can't harm them. Sureshock escapes Sideways's non-existent clutches and floats back to his friends. Seriously angered, Sideways opens fire on the kids, but the kids are entirely unharmed.
When a roaring is heard, Sideways suddenly apologizes to the kids and asks them to keep the entire encounter a secret. Alexis gets a strong feeling of some overwhelming evil, and Rad thinks that's a sign the kids should go now. Possibly thanks to Red Alert's programming, a white square becomes visible in Cyberspace. The kids head for the light and barely escape consumption by a massive circular singularity.
At the Autobot base, Rad wakes up and finds the other two kids, and the Mini-Cons made it out of Cyberspace alive. Even Laserbeak survived being stepped on. Everybody has a big laugh, and Rad closes by wondering about what that sinister evil force was.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Mini-Cons | Misc |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"Holy guacamole! It's Sideways!"
- —Carlos, not being a horrible ethnic stereotype at all
"I guess this means I'm gonna miss lunch. My blood sugar is getting dangerously low, Billy!"
- —Fred, with his mind on the essential things
"Oh, yay. I'm surrounded by morons."
- —Alexis, in exasperated female anime cliché mode
Notes
Differences with Legends of the Microns
- Armada extends Carlos's line about the importance of looking after the base. Legends of the Microns has Carlos say protecting the base is an important job and how he's sick and tired of hearing that. Then Armada adds Alexis demanding Carlos not to mock her. Rad says nothing ever happens whenever the kids protect the base, but in Armada, he tells Alexis to stop being paranoid as if the Decepticons will attack in five minutes.
- In Armada, Alexis goes off at the boys for telling her to relax and implores them on how they must always be ready before calling them hopeless. In Legends of the Microns, calling the new defense system perfect and believing the Decepticons can never warp into the base again makes Alexis snap at them since she says they aren't sure. Before calling Rad and Carlos "hopeless children," Alexis says the Decepticons are determined, and they have no way of knowing what they're planning or how they'll attack. The scene is silent when Alexis walks off.
- Rad's opening narration in Armada is how he and Carlos knew Alexis was right about Megatron attacking the base at any time but hated her for rubbing it in their faces and sometimes treating them like they're still little kids. Legends of the Microns gives the narration a serious tone and foreshadows the episode's upcoming event as Rad reflects on how they shouldn't be quick to say "never," and how the kids would quickly learn the truth behind the adage, "Never say never."
- During the shot of laser fire in the dust cloud, Armada gives Hot Shot an extra line to remove the silence.
- Depending on the dub, the children's dialogue hits different points:
- Armada has Alexis say that she can't locate the Autobots, while she asks where the Mini-Con is and says it's somewhere nearby in Legends of the Microns. Following this, Carlos either says Sideways vanished from the grid in Armada but says he can't see Sideways on the battlefield in Legends of the Microns.
- Then, in Legends of the Microns, Rad and Alexis don't bring up the Decepticons, and Alexis doesn't know why her computer is acting up and why she can't communicate with Laserbeak.
- Rad says the base's AI is connected to Alexis's laptop, and a hacker or virus could be responsible if Alexis's computer also has an Internet connection. Armada has Rad give an overly-complicated explanation of Alexis's computer program transmitting her commands through "microwaves" from the base; Alexis might've picked up a virus because of how the laptop connects to the "microwave tower" through the Internet.
- Alexis doesn't say her computer is rebooting and instead notices unknown content in the AI, confirming a hacker's presence. Then she tracks it instead of loading an anti-virus program. The shot of Alexis putting her screen on the base's monitor is silent.
- Armada adds Rad and Carlos's lines to fill in the silence before Alexis talks. In Legends of the Microns, Alexis asks who could be responsible. Carlos says the Decepticons, and Rad thinks the Decepticons are trying to steal the intel while the Autobots are away. Then Alexis says the virus is growing, that it's coming from her computer and it'll quickly breach the system, but she can't stop it. To cover the silence, Armada adds Carlos's line of how he should've stayed in bed.
- After Alexis says she can't disconnect, it's silent until after she takes out the wires. Then Alexis translates Sureshock as wanting to shut off the central computer to stop the virus in Armada, but in Legends of the Microns, Sureshock says to cut the whole base's power. In Armada, Carlos's line about the monitor coming to life and his two lines afterward are filler. Rad asks Alexis if she's alright twice to cover the silence of the shot of Sideways materializing.
- After Carlos recognizes Sideways, Alexis asks why he's in the base, and Rad says it's not the time to wonder why since they need to stop Sideways. Rad curses before grabbing the metal rod, and while Carlos and Rad smash the console, they call Sideways a scumbag and traitor and demand him to leave, respectively. Later, the wide shot of the kids and Mini-Cons after Sideways disintegrates, and the ball of light takes up the screen is silent.
- Megatron doesn't say anything before punching Optimus as the latter reacts to Laserbeak falling instead.
- After finding Rad, Carlos, Alexis, and the Mini-Cons, Billy and Fred's dialogue is changed to Fred asking Billy what happened before Billy says he doesn't know but believes Megatron is responsible. Fred laments about the Autobots not being there. Instead of crying about his blood sugar, Fred asks Billy what they should do. Then, after he sees the others on the monitor, Billy reacts with shock in Armada but says Rad's name in Legends of the Microns.
- Instead of calling the boys morons (as quoted above), Alexis remarks they really are children.
- In Armada, Sideways says he hacked the system to access the Autobots' database. In Legends of the Microns, he says he had to connect to the Internet to invade the base's network. Then he says the kids and their Mini-Cons' futile resistance brought them into his Cyberspace, rather than Sideways saying he brought them there to get rid of them as he does in Armada.
- The kids proceed to threaten Sideways in Armada, but Legends of the Microns connects the kids' dialogue to their subplot. They tell him off for calling their resistance pitiful, saying they stayed at the base since they are fighting alongside the Autobots, not because they're useless. Then, in Armada, Sideways mocks the kids and says the Autobots only pretended to let them help before demanding the Mini-Cons and threatening the kids. In Legends of the Microns, he ridicules their belief in fighting beside the Autobots since the kids' opposition led to their current dilemma. Then he says the kids will be responsible if he takes the Mini-Cons, saying, "That's what fighting is like."
- After eluding Sideways, Rad states the obvious about the Mini-Cons in Armada but cheers about losing Sideways in Legends of the Microns. Then Alexis and Rad admire the beauty of the sight before Rad questions whether or not they're all in a dream. Alexis's line about the constellations is Armada-exclusive. Carlos agrees the place is beautiful but also thinks it's scary. Instead of Rad telling Carlos to stop whining, he says protecting the Mini-Cons and finding a way out will be their answer to Sideways. Then Alexis says they can't give up, but Carlos remains hesitant.
- When they see Cybertron, Rad says it appears they are going there, and Alexis asks why in Armada. In Legends of the Microns, Rad says they should check it out, and Alexis asks how they are supposed to get there. In the next shot, the kids are silent. Carlos remarks about the passing light beams and Alexis doesn't speak until she fears everyone crashing into Cybertron.
- After passing through Cybertron, Rad says it was just a hologram in Armada but realizes "the space" is an illusion in Legends of the Microns. Then, after confirming Rad's suspicion, Sideways brags about how realistic the illusion is in Armada but says that he created it in Legends of the Microns.
- In Legends of the Microns, Optimus asks what happened before Red Alert says his line. Fred asks if the Autobots can use Alexis's laptop to reverse Sideways's intrusion, Red Alert says he could trace Sideways's path, and Optimus doesn't compliment Fred.
- After the kids figure out Sideways's inability to control the Cyberspace illusion, he begins to panic and apologize to them in Armada. In Legends of the Microns, he addresses an unseen entity.
- After rescuing the others, Billy says he's unsure if stopping the virus did much to help the planet. Alexis sarcastically praising Billy and Fred is an Armada-exclusive. She is more gracious with her praise in the Japanese dub. Then, rather than say they should celebrate, Fred wants to imagine the look on Sideways's face.
- In Armada, Alexis tells Carlos they did see Cybertron unless they dreamt the whole thing. In Legends of the Microns, she wonders what the other things (Tidal Wave and Jetfire) they saw were, a detail Armada neglects.
- In Rad's closing narration in Armada, he sometimes can't believe what happened wasn't a dream, says only time will tell if the kids really saw Cybertron and an evil force more powerful than Megatron. In Legends of the Microns, Rad recalls how amazing the whole experience was, including seeing Cybertron, but wonders why the kids couldn't remember it.
Animation and technical errors
- In the Autobot group scene where Red Alert reports that his scans indicate Sideways's work, Optimus's crotch is huge.
- The silhouettes of both Jetfire's and Tidal Wave's Cybertronian modes both differ from their respective close-up shots. Tidal Wave looks more round and compressed, and Jetfire has a silhouette of the Earth-based shuttle mode he acquires in the next episode.
- The kids call Sureshock "Grindor" when telling the Mini-Con to escape from Sideways. They call Sureshock by her proper name in Legends of the Microns.
- Fred and Billy's mouths don't move as they tell Rad to wake up.
Conitinuity notes
- In the opening, Rad, Alexis, and Carlos reference the time the Decepticons invaded the Autobot base back in "Swoop".
- This episode gives a new meaning to the "virus" insults that Sideways was receiving back in "Credulous".
- According to Alexis's laptop, the date is February 4, 2002. This became somewhat redundant when the show was later established to be set in 2010.
- The time Alexis runs the scan on her laptop is 19:7:10 (7:07pm). What are 11-13 year olds still doing out at this time? Man, they have some cool parents.
- One of the brightly-colored objects that the kids pass before they go through Cybertron is Jetfire in his Cybertronian vehicle mode, drawn as Generation 1 Jetfire's VF-1S fighter mode.
- The other brightly colored object, outlined in purple, is Tidal Wave's Cybertronian form. It partially resembles Generation 1 Shockwave in his laser cannon mode. Perhaps not coincidentally, Tidal Wave was known as Shockwave in Japan.
- Indicating that he wasn't playing dumb as Alexis suggested, Sideways (and probably by proxy the rest of the Transformers in general) doesn't know what the Internet is.
- The past few episodes have heavily implied that Sideways is serving an unseen entity; this is one of the few instances in the early part of Armada portraying Sideways as an individual, rather than the extension of Unicron that he is later shown to be.
- The Cybertron cartoon and by extension, the Cybertron comic would later establish that Sideways and Soundwave cut a deal with Unicron. Given that Sideways and the Planet X natives all share a body very different to Sidways's Armada body, it would suggest that his consciousness had been shifted into a puppet-like shell for Unicron to control him with.
Continuity errors
- Carlos says Red Alert is out on patrol, although he is seen fighting the Deceptions with the other Autobots. Legends of the Microns fixes this with Carlos saying instead that Red Alert left with the others.
- It's as if Rad completely forgot about the Decepticons attacking the base in "Swoop"; Carlos even mentions the protective shield from that episode. Legends of the Microns fixes this issue with Alexis outright asking Rad if he's forgotten about that. Then Carlos and Rad say Red Alert renovated the base's defense system afterward, and the Decepticons won't be able to warp into the base anymore.
- When the base gets hacked, the kids talk about the virus destroying a program but never specify what the program is or what it does. Legends of the Microns removes all mentions of a program.
- Rad suspects Megatron of already stealing the Autobots' intel, but how would he know that? Legends of the Microns removes this.
- Rad makes the crazy claim that they've been disconnected from the net, but how would he know after just looking at the monitor? Legends of the Microns changes this to Rad urging Alexis to disconnect.
- As Sideways materializes, Rad suddenly says the power can't be turned off though it has nothing to do with what he's seeing. Rad says nothing can come out of the monitor since the power is off in Legends of the Microns.
- Alexis accuses Sideways of hacking "our" computer even though it was just her laptop. Legends of the Microns corrects this error.
- After Sideways confirms the Cyberspace is an illusion, why does Alexis continue to say it only exists in the children's minds? She doesn't say this in the Japanese dub.
Transformers references
- The version of Unicron shown in this episode is based on the G1 version rather than the Armada version.
Real-world references
- Alexis's laptop uses Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer.
- "gundamfinal"[sic] is mentioned in among the coding jargon that Red Alert types into the computer to release the kids from Cyberspace. Obviously a reference to the various Gundam toy and model lines by Bandai. Gundam also happens to be an ispiration for some of the Armada designs by Aaron Archer, most notably, Optimus Prime's Super Mode.
Trivia
- The kanji 幻影 would be pronounced as "gen'ei," while "kage" uses 影 in this episode's context.
- "Chase" first aired in the United States on January 29, 2003.
- Also present among the lists of coding jargon that Red Alert types into the computer, are more random words and phrases. Some of the most visible examples include: "BigBang", "NOmoreWar", "ThisisapenWhoareyouHowolderyou", "YoungBloods", "TransformersGX". There is also what appears to be possible uses of romanized Japanese in the mix. What any of this stuff means is beyond us. A lot of it seems to be inside jokes or a test to see who is paying attention to these small details.
Foreign localization
Hungarian
- Title: "Hipertér" ("Hyperspace")
Polish
- Title: "Porwanie" ("Abduction")
French
- Title: "Un virus envahissant" ("An Invasive Virus")
Korean
- Title: "이상한 경험" ("Strange Experience")
Portuguese
- Title: "Caçada" ("Hunt")
Home video releases
- DVD
2003 — Transformers: Legends of the Microns — Volume 6 (Columbia Music Entertainment) — Japanese audio only
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Battle for the Mini-Cons (Rhino Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Season One: Part One (Rhino Entertainment)
2008 — Transformers: Armada — Volume One (New KSM) — English and German audio
2014 — Transformers: Armada — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
