I Have Heard the Robots Singing
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 Do you hear the people and bots sing? Singing a song of angry men? It is the music of a people Who will not be slaves again | ||||||
| "I Have Heard the Robots Singing" | ||||||
| Production company | Hasbro Studios | |||||
| Airdate | June 6, 2015 | |||||
| Writers | Brian Hohlfeld & Nicole Dubuc | |||||
| Director | Frank Squillace | |||||
| Animation studio | DHX Media | |||||
Priscilla Pynch's theft of Doc's latest invention causes the entire populace of Griffin Rock to erupt into an endless musical.
Synopsis
Chase is directing a large amount of traffic, thanks to Mayor Luskey hosting the singing contest Griffin Rock Idol. Frankie Greene is also preparing to audition, though she plans on doing it later when the line dies down. She and her father go around back to test out his latest invention in the auditorium. Huxley Prescott's coverage of the auditions from his tower is ruined when his tower collapses under him, sending him plummeting. The bots spring into action, and Boulder creates a soft landing pad for Prescott. Chief Burns convinces Luskey to postpone the auditions for two hours until the mess from Prescott's rescue can be cleaned up - and to give the mainland news team more time to get to the island. Cody enters the auditorium and learns that Doc's "Tone-O-Tuner" will correct any singer's pitch. Cody is concerned over the ethics of the device, and Frankie convinces her father to not use it, wishing to win Griffin Rock Idol on her own. Priscilla Pynch, wanting to score a record deal, manages to steal the Tone-O-Tuner, but her tests of the device are unsuccessful. She hides it in Prescott's van, and Prescott's anger at being replaced by the mainland news accidentally activates the Tone-O-Tuner…
Beware, the phantom of the opera!
The Rescue Bots are anxious over an upcoming presentation on rescue basics they are to present to Optimus Prime, High Tide, Salvage, Blurr, and a few others. They have to race to Prescott's rescue once again when he crashes his van thanks to a distracted driver. The damage to Prescott's van begins to broadcast the Tone-O-Tuner to the entire island, which causes everyone to sing everything they say. Blades is delighted to be singing, Kade and Heatwave are not, and the team reflects that their job may have just gotten a lot harder thanks to their endless singing. Chief calls up Doc, who discovers the theft of the Tone-O-Tuner, and promises to cook up something to resolve their musical problem.
With you and I defying gravity
They'll never bring us down…
The presentation back at headquarters gets underway, and Blurr reports that Optimus is unable to attend, and that the entire presentation will be recorded and archived, to the team's dismay. Boulder explains their current musical mayhem, but begins to sing about how much he loves the wonders of Earth, be it the flora, fauna, or people. Heatwave and Kade refuse to take part in the presentation, hating their predicament. Chase sings of the various criminal codes and procedures with Blades and Boulder as his back-up singers, from the illegal nature of hunting moose at night to disturbing the peace. When asked to report on air rescue, Blades asks Dani to cover for him, and implores her to sing her heart out. Dani sings of how much she loves her job as air support, happily looking forward to flying in the sky. Blades finally cuts in, mentioning that he's the one doing the flying, and restates his fear of heights. But, he pushes on for the sake of his duty, how fun Dani makes flying, and out of loyalty to her as well.
Meanwhile, Priscilla is overjoyed that her newfound ability to sing on key will guarantee her victory at Griffin Rock Idol - once she gets through the lengthy line of equally capable singers, that is. Prescott plots to broadcast his coverage all the way around the world, but the ensuing strengthened waves from the Tone-O-Tuner begin to destroy glass and windows all over Griffin Rock and also destabilize various buildings. The team cuts their presentation short, and ventures out to do their job. They find their abilities are not hindered at all by their singing a remixed version of the theme song. Just as Priscilla is about to audition. Doc finds the Tone-O-Tuner in Prescott's van, and deactivates it, restoring everyone's ability of normal speech, though Blades is disappointed as he enjoyed the singing. Through security footage from city hall, the team learns that Priscilla was the thief of the device. Without the effects of the Tone-O-Tuner, Priscilla fails miserably at her audition. Frankie proceeds to blow away the panel of judges and her family and friends, making amends with Priscilla during her performance. Luskey declares her the winner of Griffin Rock Idol on the spot.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Humans |
|---|---|
|
Quotes
"Wait wait, lemme get this straight, you can't not sing? Whoa, I knew that town was weird, but..."
- —Blurr
"And we fly, we fly!"
"Dani and me/ Rainbow chasing"
"Racing through the sky"
"The rest of life's just waiting for"
"Couldn't disagree more, but I'm here if you need me"
"The next time we can fly…"
- —Dani and Blades
"Well, we were hoping for something a little more specific, but thanks!"
- —Salvage on Blades and Dani's duet
"The waves produced by Doc's device that make us sing this way,
cause vibrations sub-atomically putting molecules in play,
which makes surrounding neutrons all expand."
"Bro, even when you sing this stuff, I still don't understand."
- —Graham and Kade
"You ever sung your own theme song on a mission?"
"No, but-"
"Well all right then. Guess we know who's coolest."
- —Kade and Blurr
Notes
Animation and technical errors
- Graham explaining that the device worked on subatomic level and forcing neutrons "expand"; in that case, the flux of neutron radiation would be much more actual problem for all living things in town.
- Milo is shown once on the streets, greeting the rescue team, and then - inside the town hall, on the audition. Either he knew some really short shortcut, or Bots aren't trying very hard.
Continuity errors
- How did Prescott get his van back on the road? The rescue team drive off without rescuing it!
Continuity notes
- High Tide was previously introduced in "Turning the Tide", while Blurr and Salvage first appeared in "The New Recruits" and were transferred elsewhere in "A New Hero".
Transformers references
Real-world references
- The episode's title is based on the line "I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each", from T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.
- Griffin Rock Idol is a reference to American Idol.
- Some of the Griffin Rock populace can be seen busting out some of Michael Jackson's most iconic moves from Thriller.
Trivia
It's time to light the lights
- This episode has the honor of being the first musical episode in Transformers fiction. EVER.
- Chase's song must literally be music to Ultra Magnus and Strongarm's ears, mustn't it?
- The cast gets to break the fourth wall at the end of the episode when Kade boasts to Blurr about how they sang their own theme song.
