Nature Calls
Prowl, Bumblebee and Sari get more than they bargained for when they head out to the remote woods to investigate a mysterious energy signal.
Synopsis
Far outside of Detroit, a lone worker monitoring some oddly coloured mining machines hears a strange noise. Alerted, he looks around, but returns to his drink... only to be attacked by something. The construction machines stop their work, and they too get attacked.
Outside Detroit, Prowl, in his alternate mode, looks on at the snow covered city, before a plow comes along and rather rudely covers him in snow.
When Prowl returns to the base, he goes on a tangent about nature's beauty and how humanity destroys it at every turn. Bumblebee and Sari are playing a video game, ignoring his vent. Prowl looks down on Bumblebee and asks if he was listening, where Bumblebee retorts by noting that Prowl is "electrical components" too, nudging his Autobot insignia to activate a hologram of Prowl. Optimus Prime interrupts the friendly banter by noting that there is a strange energy signature coming from the forest, and so sends Prowl and Bumblebee to investigate. Bumblebee is horrified at the idea at venturing into the tech-less wilderness, while Sari uses the opportunity to go camping with the two Autobots.
Stats
- Written by: Todd Casey
- Directed by: Ben Jones, Bouakeo Thongkham, & Shunji Oga
- Original airdate: March 22, 2008
- Animation studio: The Answer Studio
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
Bumblebee: At least I can get this junk out of me. I was feeling kinda bloated.
[Electronic devices suddenly fall out of him, Prowl gives him a look]
Bumblebee: What? You said to pack the bare essentials!
Prowl: Since when are surround-sound speakers, a strobe light, and a hand-held media player "bare essentials?"
Bumblebee: You should've seen what I left back at the plant.
Prowl: Where did you find room for all of this junk?
[Bumblebee taps his fingers uncomfortably]
Bumblebee: I'd...rather not say.
- —Bumblebee and Prowl's conversation takes a decidedly uncomfortable turn.
"First we must determine this creature's intentions."
[Creature knocks Prowl aside without provocation]
"I'm gonna say 'hostile'."
- —Prowl and Bumblebee meet the monster.
Bumblebee: Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?!
[Creature swipes at Bumblebee and Sari]
Bumblebee: Okay. Maybe we're a little unclear on the concept of "your own size".
Sari: Maybe you should stop talking logic to a creature that has no head!
- —Bumblebee and Sari.
"What did I tell you about camping? Monsters. TV is always right."
"So, wait. Monsters are real? Tutor Bot is such a liar!"
- —Bumblebee's faith in Television is reinforced, while Sari Sumdac's faith in Tutor Bot is shattered.
"Attention, barnacle monster! Come out with your hands over your...okay, you don't have a head. But you get the idea."
- —Bumblebee instructs the creature to surrender.
"We're slagged!"
- —Bumblebee, after Prowl was infected with barnacles and was about to attack him and Sari.
Sari: And then, they were back to normal, like nothing ever happened. Meanwhile, I'm stuck riding home with no dry clothes and the only Autobot whose car mode doesn't have a heater!
[Sari sneezes]
Optimus: You showed a lot of courage and ingenuity, Sari. And hopefully, you'll stop... backfiring soon.
Sari: Hel-lo, it's called "sneezing".
[Sari sneezes, then blows her nose]
Bumblebee: I don't even wanna know what that's called.
- —The Autobots discover the concept of the common cold.
"Megatron will be so surprised!"
- —Isaac Sumdac, cheerfully dooming us all.
Other notes
Continuity errors
- If space barnacles are killed by heat, how did any survive atmospheric entry?
Transformers references
- The construction drones are green and purple. Foreshadowing much?
- Megatron's body ends up in the deep freeze.
- Bumblebee's combined stinger attack also rings a few bells.
- Sari remarks that Bumblebee has no heater. Remember that 'Bee took his alternate mode from Captain Fanzone's car... and if any car in Detroit would be old and decrepit and lacking basic amenities, it'd be Fanzone's.
- This episode revisits a concept of the balance between technology and nature, with Prowl advocating the benefits of nature, Bumblebee advocating the benefits of technology, and Sari advocating the benefits of balance.
- The construction worker looks very familiar. (He's only credited as "Worker," and is voiced by Bumper Robinson.)
Real-world references
- There are actually barnacles not from space. Neat, huh?
Miscellaneous trivia
- So... what happened to that mine worker, anyway?
- Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Megatron ('s head), while mentioned, make no appearances in this episode.
- Tutor Bot is mentioned, and in the voice credits for the episode, but does not actually appear.
- Why didn't Sari get scalded by hot water when she soaked Prowl and 'Bee?
