Teletraan I
| The name or term "Teletraan" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Teletraan (disambiguation). |
In the Generation 1 cartoon (and subsequently in the Beast Wars cartoon), Teletraan I is the name of the semi-sentient computer that runs the Autobots' spaceship/base. (This ship was called The Ark in the Generation 1 comic and in Beast Wars, but was never called by name in the cartoon.)
Teletraan I has extensive communications abilities, and can monitor Earth's television and radio broadcasts to search for news that may be of interest to the Autobots. It also operates the Sky Spy, and was responsible for rebuilding and reactivating all the Transformers aboard the Ark in 1984.
In the G1 comics, the Ark's computer was referred to by name only once, in issue #1, where it was called Auntie. This usage was retained in the UK comics run, where Auntie was given an holographic personification.
A computer called Teletraan I apparently exists/existed in the Robots in Disguise cartoon continuity as well under the name T-Ai.
Fiction
Generation 1 cartoon
Voice Actor: Casey Kasem (US), Masashi Ebara (Japan)
Teletraan I proved to be quite a capable mechanism for keeping the Autobots organised and up-to-date. It only has a few flaws, such as being unable to tell Autobots and Decepticons apart (it repaired everyone aboard when the Ark reactivated in 1984). Unsurprisingly for a computer belonging to a group of sentient robots, its verbal interface was very advanced.
Teletraan I was quite likely destroyed when Trypticon crumbled the volcano surrounding the Ark in 2005.
Its link, if any, with the Teletraan II computer is unknown.
Beast Wars
Voice Actor: ? (US), ? (Japan)
When inscribing his message into the Golden Disk, Megatron included the access codes to Teletraan I to carry out the attempt to destroy Optimus Prime before the Great War began on Earth. Blackarachnia managed to steal the codes, and after Megatron attempted to kill Prime, used them to activate Teletraan I's repair equipment. The Agenda, Part 3 Optimal Situation
Later, after the Maximals were forced to move into Mount St. Hillary after the destruction of the Axalon, Rhinox attempted to use Teletraan I's own shield system to protect their fortifications. However, Autobot technology and Maximal technology were too different to make a successful shield system. Changing of the Guard
After Blackarachnia transferred the access codes to Optimus Primal, the Predacons took control of Primal using a device created by Tarantulas After Megatron merged his Spark with Decepticon ancestor and namesake, Tarantulas betrayed Megatron, and set Teletraan I to self-destruct. Blackarachnia attempted to deactivate the overload. Teletraan I deactivated the overload, and wished Blackarachnia to "have a nice day". Master Blaster
Robots in Disguise cartoon
T-AI was said to be the daughter of Teletraan I (who was never seen in the RiD universe).
Spelling / Pronunciation
For many years, most Transformers fans spelled the computer's name with only one 'a', and often with a digit "1" instead of a Roman numeral "I". However, in recent years copies of original production documents from the cartoon have come into the hands of fans. In these original documents the name is almost always spelled with two a's and a Roman numeral.
In the Beast Wars series, initially the voice actors gave a new reading of the word, sounding a bit like "tele-tron". Perhaps in response to dissatisfaction among fans, in the final episode of the series (Nemesis, Part 2), Rattrap corrects Blackarachnia's "tron" pronunciation in an annoyed tone of voice. (To which Blackarachnia replies "Whatever!")
