The Quintesson Journal
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 Look, I just found a big golden ham! Don't worry, I'm sure it's not a bomb. | |||||||||
| "The Quintesson Journal" | |||||||||
| Production code | 700-103 | ||||||||
| Production company | Sunbow Productions | ||||||||
| Airdate | November 11, 1986 | ||||||||
| Written by | Richard Merwin | ||||||||
| Animation studio | AKOM | ||||||||
| Continuity | Generation 1 cartoon continuity | ||||||||
A Quintesson device may just be the key to peace between two worlds.
- Japanese title: 死の商人クインテッサ (Shi no Shōnin Quintessa, "The Quintessons, the Merchants of Death")
- German title: "Das Geheimnis der Quintessons" ("The Secret of the Quintessons")
Synopsis
On Cybertron, the Autobots are hosting a peace conference for two neighboring planets, Xetaxxis and Lanarq, which have been at war for centuries and will wipe each other out within a generation, as explained by Melkorr. Spike Witwicky asks the leaders of the two delegations to shake hands. They take the opportunity to grapple with each other. Rodimus Prime remarks that it's going well so far.
Elsewhere, Predaking detects a strange signal of Quintesson origin. He contacts Cyclonus, who intends to meet him at the coordinates. However, Perceptor has also detected the signal, and he sends Sky Lynx, who is carrying Blaster and Outback, to the Angarrix sector to investigate. The foliage is too thick for Sky Lynx to land, so Blaster and Outback head out on foot. Blaster ejects Steeljaw and Ramhorn to help in the search. Meanwhile, Predaking separates into the Predacons to cover more ground. The Autobots are suddenly attacked by vines, but are able to free themselves and find the source of the signal, a strange golden cylinder. Just then, a tree nearly falls on the device, and Outback blasts it, causing the device to activate. The Autobots learn that the cylinder is a Quintesson Journal, a record of their commercial activities on various planets. The Predacons then arrive and attack. Sky Lynx arrives to rescue the Autobots, and the Predacons unite. The Autobots are able to board Sky Lynx and escape, only to be attacked by Cyclonus and the Sweeps. Suddenly, an energy field grabs Sky Lynx through an unseen warp gate, which closes.
On the other side of the warp gate, a Quintesson ship captures Sky Lynx, disabling his ability to transform. The Quintessons reclaim the journal and take Outback, Blaster, and the cassettes prisoner. Outback is able to trick a Sharkticon into opening the cell for some energon, and Blaster then...uh, blasts the Sharkticon. Outback grabs the journal, and the Autobots escape aboard Sky Lynx, only to discover that Galvatron, Cyclonus, the Sweeps, and Predaking have located them. The Decepticons manage to steal the journal and flee. At the peace conference, the two delegations leave, intending to purchase doomsday weapons from their suppliers...the Quintessons.
On an unnamed planet, the Decepticons begin to examine the journal. Upon discovering it is economic in nature, Galvatron is angry—well, angrier than usual. However, the Autobots have tracked the Decepticons down, and they learn that the war between Xetaxxis and Lanarq is among the journal's archives. Knowing that this could end the war, the Autobots attempt to steal the journal back, only for the Quintessons to steal it back again. On Cybertron, the delegations begin fighting each other. Rodimus is so frustrated that the Autobot leader fires his weapon and orders the two delegations to sit down. Furious, the Xetaxxan and Lanarqan leaders request the Quintessons to bring their omega bombs. The Quintessons decide that they will deliver both bombs once they have been paid. However, the Autobots manage to break into their ship and steal back the journal.
Arriving on Cybertron, Blaster and Outback show the recordings to the delegations, who are horrified to discover that their worlds have suffered to finance the Quintessons. Having been found out, the Quintessons contact the peace conference, announcing that they will deliver the omega bombs—right into Xetaxxis and Lanarq. This is a big mistake on the Quintessons' part, for they're passing right by Cybertron at that moment. Rodimus and Ultra Magnus jump aboard Sky Lynx and follow the Quintessons, destroying their ship before the bombs can be launched. On Cybertron, a peace is negotiated between Xetaxxis and Lanarq. However, Rodimus notes that the only real winners of the conflict were the Quintessons.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Others |
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Quotes
"I don't think this is how a peace process is supposed to begin."
- —Rodimus Prime as the delegates begin struggling with each other.
"But you said no mercy, Galvatron!"
"Very true! So I shall show none!" [hits Predaking]
- —Predaking just wants to break something, and Galvatron is psychotic, as usual.
"Don't you know any gentler games?"
- —Ultra Magnus to the rambunctious delegates.
"Congratulations. It's taken you only a few thousand years to comprehend your folly, and we shall reward your perceptiveness by providing you your 'ultimate weapons' as promised—already armed, and set to explode on impact. Are you ready to take delivery?"
- —Quintesson
Notes
Animation or technical glitches
- Daniel has black eyebrows again.
- Rodimus Prime's shoulder depressions aren't white in this episode, they're the same burgundy color as his arms.
- At the beginning of the episode, the Quintesson capsule falls from space, bumps into a tree and lands on the ground. It should have made a huge meteor impact.
- The first time we see him, Cyclonus has his purple chin again, which changes to gray as he turns his head. His eyebrows alternate between purple and grey in different shots in the episode.
- As he struggles against the vines, Blaster's switches disappear, and his Autobot logo bounces around.
- During the first Quintesson journal playback, we see a projection of Cyclonus and two Sweeps standing on a planet.
- When the Decepticons attack Blaster, his Autobot symbol is missing.
- Predaking fires at Sky Lynx from within a planet's atmosphere, while Sky Lynx is still in deep space.
- Divebomb detaches from Predaking, but Predaking still has all his limbs.
- Sky Lynx grows his Lynx part when escaping from Predaking. Later, the Lynx part grows the bird part when transforming.
- After a scene transition, we get a shot of a Decepticon group in space with Cyclonus flying "upside down." While there is no "up" in space, the next shot has him flying "correctly."
- Because of a layer error, a Sharkticon's arm is sticking into a prison cell.
- Outback's energon cube starts out pink and is multi-colored in subsequent shots.
- When running towards Sky-Lynx, Outback's legs don't reach the bottom of the cel. Neither do Cyclonus's a couple of scenes later after he's grabbed the journal.
- While spying on the Decepticons, Blaster has five switches on his chest instead of three.
- When the Autobots attack, we hear the sound effect of Rodimus Prime's gun even though he's on another planet.
- When one of the Quintessons picks up the container with his ray gun, the "beam" does not appear until the door is closing.
- When Galvatron fires at the Quintesson ship, he fires with his blaster off-screen, but the ray appears below him.
- After Sky Lynx grabs the journal, a reaction shot shows Blaster with five switches again, and his Autobot logo is colored somewhat randomly.
- When he arrives at the conference, Blaster has 6-8 switches on his chest!
- When he jumps on Sky Lynx, Rodimus' spoiler is all-yellow (it should be orange in the middle).
- As they watch the Quintesson ship explode, Rodimus' spoiler is all-yellow, and the back of Magnus' arm has a square of gray (when it should be all-blue).
- As he speaks his final lines, the inside of Magnus' mouth is red.
- The Lanarqans disappear before leaving the frame in the last shot of the episode.
- This episode features an intelligent Allicon! He is on the bridge of a Quintesson ship talking strategy with a judge-type Quintesson. This is either an error, or the Allicon has a rather unusual backstory.
Continuity errors
- While Outback's optics are blue in "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1", in this episode they're consistently the same grey as the rest of his face.
- Assuming this is the same journal from "The Big Broadcast of 2006", it's a completely different color.
- The Quintessons lock Blaster up, but he still has his gun. They don't even bother tethering up Sky Lynx.
Transformers references
- Predaking is hungry for revenge against Sky Lynx after his previous defeats in "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5" and "Chaos". Sky Lynx evidently didn't rate the latter face-off, though, as he specifically refers to only "one thorough drubbing".
Real-world references
- The battle between Blaster's team and the Decepticons (where the Quintessons grab the journal) uses a bunch of Star Wars sound effects.
- Rodimus Prime says that the fight between the Xetaxxis and Lanarqs reminds him of pro-wrestling, but Spike corrects him by telling him that those are at least faked.
- The Quintessons are depicted as war profiteers.
- The architecture on Xetaxxis owes more than a little to Saint Basil's Cathedral.
Trivia
- This episode is full of names and terms that the fandom would be unable to properly spell until the dialogue script surfaced in the mid-2000s. Damn you, Richard Merwin!
- Now why would the Quintessons let the capsule float just outside the prison cells?
- Blaster is introduced riding inside Sky Lynx in boombox mode. He doesn't seem to have size-changed, as he is very large compared to Outback. Ramhorn and Steeljaw are both in mini-cassette mode resting against Blaster. The three of them sort of bounce towards Sky Lynx's exit and freefall to a planet surface before finally transforming. Later on, Blaster rides in Sky Lynx in robot mode with no problem.
Home video releases
- VHS
1992 — Transformers — Super Video (Tempo Video)
- Laserdisc
1999 — The Transformers: 2010 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
- DVD
2001 — The Transformers: 2010 — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2004 — The Original Transformers — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 (Rhino Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers — Season 3 and Season 4 (Metrodome)
2004 — Transformers — Collection 5: Series 3.2 (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)
