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
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.
- 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. Though it still finishes with him in battle mode, he's not wearing the helmet, appearing to have his regular head instead. In the next shot we see him in, the helmet is firmly on his head.
Continuity errors
- The construction project on which the Build Team are seen completing work is described as an "Arctic link" tunnel. Presumably this is supposed to be the same tunnel that was being built in the previous episode, but that tunnel was located at the bottom of the sea, whereas the Build Team here are seen hauling dirt in the middle of the city.
- 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.
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
- This 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.
- 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)
