Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)
| "Battle for the Spark" redirects here. For the online game in the live action film continuity, see Battle for the Allspark. |
Beast Machines: Transformers is a 26-episode cartoon that aired in the US from 1999 to 2000, in support of the toyline of the same name. It is a direct follow-up to Beast Wars, set in the same G1 continuity and featuring many of the same characters. Like Beast Wars, its computer animation was created by Mainframe Entertainment.
Overview
The show follows the adventures of the core Beast Wars cast upon their return home to Cybertron; there, Optimus Primal and his crew find that the whole planet is abandoned, and the streets are patrolled by mindless Vehicon drones serving Megatron, who somehow escaped his captivity.
Worse still, they learn that they are infected with a deadly virus that will kill them in a matter of hours. Salvation comes from the mysterious supercomputer known as the Oracle, who sees them fit to complete its mission of a planetwide "reformatting", and turns them into technorganic warriors, a perfect blend of organic and technological matter.
As the show progresses, Primal and his fellow Maximals learn to balance their technological side with their newly introduced organic aspects, mastery coming in slow stages. Unlike the previous conflict, where sides had been roughly equal, the four original Maximals were quite outnumbered by their Vehicon enemies, and the battles took on a "guerilla warfare" feel, with the Maximals using sewers and underground levels to their advantage and avoiding surface levels unless for combat purposes. As the show progresses, two brand-new Maximals and a returning face boost their numbers.
Initially, Optimus is driven by a crusade to restore the organic above the technological and to right his failure to stop Megatron. Over time, it becomes increasingly clear that he's becoming obsessed and overzealous. At the midpoint, after Cybertron is almost destroyed, he realises that the point should be to create a balance of organic and technological, not a supremacy. Under this new, saner cause, the Maximals eventually turn Cybertron into an technorganic paradise, though at the cost of their leader's life.
Reception
| “ | I am more proud of [Beast Machines] than anything else I've ever had produced, because I got to do a twenty-six episode novel for television. It almost f**kin' killed me, but I did it! | ” |
—Bob Skir[1] | ||
Controversial even by the standards of other Transformers reinventions, Beast Machines is remembered by some as a series which tried to tackle heavy philosophical concepts, discussing such issues like what it meant to live in an increasingly technological society, the dichotomy between the desires of the individual and the needs of the whole, the inevitability of conflict and inequality in a free society, the ugly consequences of fanaticism, and the paradox of a living technological world. Story editor Bob Skir describes the series as a "religious epic novel for television".[2] Most of the Transformers franchise lore about sparks, their abilities, and the mechanism of their life cycle, was introduced or developed in this series.
The series amassed many detractors early on, who complained that core cast portrayals were inconsistent with how these personalities had been established over the years of the preceding Beast Wars series. Examples include Megatron being a far grimmer villain with a completely different agenda from before; Rattrap appearing to be too cowardly; Rhinox apparently choosing to become a villain (though it sounded like he was no longer in his right mind) [3]; and, later on, Silverbolt being a grim, vengeance-driven soldier with none of his former goofy-noble personality. Critics also alleged a "hippie" agenda behind Beast Machines, with Optimus Primal becoming an anti-technology guru (it was actually intentional that Primal was going too far and he'd moderate his views in Season 2), and criticised Bob Skir's decision that the Maximals would not use guns (though big swords and highly destructive laser blasts were okay).
The show's "epic novel" storytelling structure meant that at times it was forced to tread water, relying on repetitive chase scenes and expository speeches. It was also, at that point in time, by far the most serialized American Transformers cartoon, making it difficult for new viewers to join at some random episode and be hooked in. It didn't help that the series began "in medias res" and with the characters suffering amnesia, with many foundational issues deliberately left vague until at last resolution was established in flashbacks in episodes 7-9. By then, Mainframe executive Asaph Fipke had become somewhat notorious for repeatedly assuring fans that "all will be revealed". Why the series opened with the Maximals having amnesia and being in their Season 1 organic bodies is not obvious, as (aside from explaining why they're not immediately looking for Rhinox and Silverbolt) it wouldn't have affected the plot either way. It may have been because Beast Wars repeats were airing on Fox Kids at the same time Beast Machines had started.
The show is one of the darker Transformers animated series—even its fans will grant that it almost entirely lacks the humorous, occasionally zany approach of Beast Wars, though this was a deliberate artistic choice—and the most thought-provoking. It is also the final animated entry into the Generation 1 story canon, bringing the events in that continuity family to a rather conclusive ending (which also didn't win it many popularity points). If nothing else, the creators had ambitions to do more than sell toys.
Despite all the criticisms, the show continued and improved on the high production values of Beast Wars, with solid scripting and excellent voice acting. The CGI varied from competent to gorgeous. A step up in quality from Beast Wars, it dramatically overshadows the later semi-CGI shows Energon and Cybertron. Mainframe's animators showed their considerable talents in giving highly emotive expression to such alien characters as the Vehicon generals and even the Diagnostic Drone, who didn't have a face. As with Beast Wars, Robert Buckley provided the series background music, this time creating a stylized electronic music in keeping with the mechanical environment of Cybertron.
With Beast Machines perhaps not quite living up to Hasbro's hopes, the followup line to Beast Machines was subsequently scrapped. Hasbro's next foray into animation would be to bring over a year-old Japanese show for consumption in the United States, till a new story could be concocted. In light of the results, and with the passage of time, some fans have re-evaluated Beast Machines more favorably, though the newfound positive reception is still not universal by any means.
Episodes
Season 1
Season 1 largely centers on the Maximals' efforts to find out what has happened to them, as they arrive on Cybertron with no memories. In addition to Megatron and the core Maximal cast, three new Vehicon generals are introduced, as well as the new Maximal Nightscream. By the end of the season, Optimus Primal has been driven down a road of extremism, and an apocalyptic confrontation marks the season finale...
- The Reformatting
- Master of the House
- Fires of the Past
- Mercenary Pursuits
- Forbidden Fruit
- The Weak Component
- Revelations Part I: Discovery
- Revelations Part II: Descent
- Revelations Part III: Apocalypse
- Survivor
- The Key
- The Catalyst
- End of the Line
Season 2: Battle for the Spark
The ultimate face-off at the end of Season 1 is resolved in a most unusual and cerebral manner, setting the tone for Season 2 as Primal realizes his mission is one of balance, not extremism. Silverbolt rejoins the Maximal ranks, a new Maximal arrives from off-world, and two dangerous new generals join Megatron's side as the Maximals search for the lost Sparks of their brethren and battle to regain control of Cybertron.
- Fallout
- Savage Noble
- Prometheus Unbound
- In Darkest Knight
- A Wolf in the Fold
- Home Soil
- Sparkwar Pt. I: The Strike
- Sparkwar Pt. II: The Search
- Sparkwar Pt. III: The Siege
- Spark of Darkness
- Endgame Pt. I: The Downward Spiral
- Endgame Pt. II: When Legends Fall
- Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future
Characters
Because developing new CGI character models was, at the time, an expensive and time-consuming process, the number of named on-screen characters in Beast Machines was relatively small compared to most other Transformers shows. It is thus practical to list all the Transformers who appeared in the cartoon. They are listed in order of appearance. (Most drones are not listed, and neither are incidental flashback characters.) Note that many characters besides these are also full-fledged Beast Machines characters, having appeared in other media.
Japanese release
The Beast Machines franchise was not initially released in Japan. As such, the Beast Machines cartoon did not reach Japan's shores until late 2004, where it was retitled Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns (超生命体トランスフォーマー ビーストウォーズリターンズ, Chō Seimeitai Transformers Beast Wars Returns). The series was initially broadcast on the satellite-only network MobaHO! - TAKARAND from November 6, 2004, to January 30, 2005. In February of 2005, it was reaired on Cartoon Network Japan and, following that, other networks including Gifu Terebi.
The localization was headed up by Yoshikazu Iwanami, the man responsible for the dubbing of Beast Wars, and thus Beast Wars Returns was reworked to the same extent as the previous series had been in Japan. The overblown jovial character quirks exclusive to the Japanese version of the series were retained while new quirks were created for the newer characters.
Perhaps most troubling of this satirical and humor-driven dub was Nightscream's characterization. Nightscream was turned into a flaming homosexual stereotype, lifting many quirks from the then-popular "Hard Gay" persona of comedian Masaki Sumitani (including ripping off his catchphrase, "Fuu!"). Other homosexual stereotypes attached to Nightscream included a new obsession with fashion and style, highly effeminate petnames for other characters (such as calling Rattrap "Aunty"), and a more lustful infatuation with the character Noble. While effeminate, vaguely homosexual characters are not uncommon in Japanese Transformers cartoons (many Japanese incarnations of Starscream are preeeeetty gay), the portrayal of Nightscream in this manner was not particularly respectful. For example, as they were both flyers, Silverbolt often spent more time with Nightscream than he did Blackarachnia. Already feeling jilted due to Silverbolt's new standoffish personality, this regularly incited angry commentary from the jealous fembot, who derisively referred to Nightscream and Silverbolt as the "homo-tachi". This would be the same as her immaturely mocking them and calling them the "gay boys" in English.
Other changes included Megatron's various Vehicon drone forces taking on individual chants that they would repeat ad nauseum for every second of screen time. Additionally, one of the series' major plot twists was ignored for the sake of goofy adlibbing, as Thrust and Jetstorm retained not only the voice actors for Waspinator and Silverbolt, but all of the unique vocal and personality quirks belonging to those characters, thus eliminating any ambiguity to their previous identities. And needless to say, with this being a parody dub, all moments in the original version that were intended to be dramatic were reworked for comedy value.
Given the low-key release of the series, a new theme song was not recorded. Instead, "Phat Planet" by Leftfield was retained. Characters from the series would proceed to talk over the entire length of the title sequence, having "amusing" conversations (likewise, they talked over the ending credits). Only one original piece of music was recorded for the series, "Megatron Ondo" by Yukio Hibariya and partly performed by Shigeru Chiba, created exclusively for Volume 7 of the Beast Wars Returns DVD release.
Also exclusive to the final DVD release of the series was an additional, goofy clip show:
Home video releases
Japan
- Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — Volume 1 (2004)
- Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — Volume 2 (2004)
- Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — Volume 3 (2005)
- Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — Volume 4 (2005)
- Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — Volume 5 (2005)
- Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — Volume 6 (2005)
- Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — Volume 7 (2005)
- Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — DVD Box (2005)
United States
- Beast Machines: Transformers — The Complete Series (2006)
Australia / New Zealand
- Transformers: Beast Machines — Season One: Volume One (2007)
- Transformers: Beast Machines — Season One: Volume Two (2007)
- Transformers: Beast Machines — Season Two: Volume One (2007)
- Transformers: Beast Machines — Season Two: Volume Two (2007)
United Kingdom
- Transformers: Beast Machines — Season One: Volume One — Reformatting (2007)
- Transformers: Beast Machines — Season One: Volume Two — Revelations (2007)
- Transformers: Beast Machines — Complete Season One (2007)
- Transformers: Beast Machines — Complete Season Two (2007)
France
- Transformers: Beast Machines — Intégrale Saison 1 (2009)
- Transformers: Beast Machines — Intégrale Saison 2 (2009)
Germany
- Transformers: Beast Machines: Die komplette Season 1 (2007)
- Transformers: Beast Machines: Die komplette Season 2 (2007)
Giveaways
- Beast Machines: Transformers — The Reformatting & Master of the House (1999)
- Beast Machines: Transformers: Battle for the Spark — Sparkwar Part I: The Strike (2000)
Notes
- Mainframe Entertainment executive Dan DiDio explicitly told Bob Skir and Marty Isenberg to ignore all previous Transformers cartoons when writing Beast Machines, because "Beast Wars was too continuity-heavy". It clearly did not work out that way.
- The original outline for the series was by Marv Wolfman: placing the Maximals on Cybertron and setting up Megatron's role. Bob Skir says that other writers came up with the Vehicons and the Vehicon Generals, and "all the mystical stuff came from Marty [Isenberg] and I, based on Hasbro's request that we add a "spiritual dimension" to the show". (The phrase "I am transformed" comes from Hasbro too) The overall arc of the series also came from Skir and Isenberg "based on many conversations with Hasbro, Mainframe, Fox, and us".[4]
- In the May 2008 "DC Nation" editorial appearing in DC Comics publications, Dan DiDio recounted that writer Steve Gerber had once pitched a "wildly original take on Transformers" as part of the development of Beast Machines.
- When first announced in 1999, the show was going to be called Beast Hunters. Fox Kids' press release said the enemies would be Predacons rather than Vehicons.[5] Since the first episode was aired five months after the press release, in an advance screening at BotCon 1999, the name change to Beast Machines seems to have been a late decision.
- The theme tune for the show was Leftfield's "Phat Planet". This was also used for a famous Guinness advert. The latter proved a more popular TV slot.
- This was the first Transformers fiction where the good guys didn't use any form of guns. This was down to Bob Skir preferring to write heroes who didn't rely on guns[5], and Hasbro and Fox Kids both wanting to have less gunplay than before (though super-explodey lasers and sharp instruments were fine!).[6] When Skir said this online, many fans wraxed wroth because they believed he was talking about gun usage in all adventure fiction and real-life gun users too (he wasn't).
- Fox Kids made some edits to their Beast Wars repeats but Beast Machines got no requests to tone down the violence! [4]
- Apart from flashbacks, visions and such, Beast Machines takes place entirely on (or in orbit of) Cybertron, thus making it the only television series not to feature any annoying human companions.
- Simon Furman thinks Beast Machines was too dark and serious for being a cartoon show for kids.[7] And trust us: the guy who wrote Generation 2 is something of an expert on 'too dark and serious for kids'.
- Vector Prime, in contrast, thinks it was an awesome show.[8]
- This is the only Transformers cartoon that had a complete German dub.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Chō Seimeitai Transformers Beast Wars Returns (超生命体トランスフォーマー ビーストウォーズリターンズ, "Super Lifeform Transformers Beast Wars Returns")
- French: Mécanimaux (Canada, "Mechanimals")
- Russian: Transformery: Zvero-Roboty (Трансформеры: Зверо-Роботы, "Transformers: Beast Robots")
- Spanish: Transformers: Bestias y Máquinas (America, "Transformers: Beasts and Machines")
References
- ↑ Moonbase 2 interview with Bob Skir
- ↑ Bob Skir interview at youtube.com
- ↑ Bob Skir Q&A
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bob Skir FAQ from 12 October 1999
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Fox Kids Fall Press Release" from alt.toys.transformers on February 10, 1999
- ↑ Archived Q&A from Bob Skir's now-defunct website, where Skir responds to the gun controversy (question 7).
- ↑ SIMON FURMAN Transformers Q&A! It's here! at the IDW Publishing Forums
- ↑ Ask Vector Prime
