The Transformers (G1)

[Candlelight]

I've been doing a 'marathon' of sorts in reminiscing this great series, albeit via TFWiki's episode review section. It's been well over a decade since I've seen the show, and might have to catch a few clips on youtube or somewhere.

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Transformers_(cartoon)

Anyone else done a rewatch lately?

 

[Admiral2]

I just rewatched the first mini, "More Than Meets The Eye." That series, and the standalone ep "Roll For It" are my favorites of Season One, which I dutifully purchased ages ago.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Last time I did a rewatch was when I did episode-by-episode reviews three years ago. It was a lot of fun and I genuinely enjoyed the experience. I actually went out and bought all five sets (comprising all four seasons). One of these days I'll go back through the series ... but I'll probably wait a couple of years before I do.

 

[BlobVanDam]

I haven't watched them in a couple of years, but I have them all on DVD, and watched them all as they were released. It's still a fun brainless watch, as you'd expect from a kid's show.
What's not to like about a show where Megatron enslaves the human race and forces a man in a wheelchair to carry energon cubes? Or uses the space bridge to collide Cybertron with Earth? This is television GOLD.

 

[Ethros]

I think Dr Smoov's brilliant Youtube videos have forever ruined Transformers G1 for me.

eg- Sos Wheeljack

Heavy Metal Fight

(Links can be found to the others)


Love the Shockwave one- Shockwave's Burden

"Shit! You bitches! Get back here... those bitches!"

 

[Greylock Crescent]

^ Hilarious!

 

[Holdfast]

Anyone else done a rewatch lately?

Not lately. I rewatched it when the DVDs came out. It's still generally enjoyable, though the difference in animation quality between the movie and the cartoon is very noticeable. Not something I noticed as kid, funnily enough.

I guess what bugs me most are the storylines. They have some brilliant ideas and concepts, and I definitely understand why they appealed to me so much as a child. But with adult eyes, I found myself wishing they'd done the last 10 minutes of each ep differently. There are just too many dissatisfying endings with Megs shouting his familiar "Decepticons: Retreeeaaat!" after just a few volleys of sustained Autobot attack. The battles are never quite as awesome as I remembered them. Megatron's Master Plan is perhaps the prime example of this that springs to mind. Great episode and then just a straight mass shoot-out at the end.

The More Than Meets the Eye 3-ep "feature" and The Movie itself have some cool battles though. The Dinobot eps where they go to Cybertron are fun too. Some of the Aerialbot ones are surprisingly good too, esp. the one where the travel to Cybertron's past.

 

[Silvercrest]

"Who are you?"

"Your worst nightmare!"

 

[Holdfast]

"Who are you?"

"Your worst nightmare!"

Ever since I saw Rambo II some years later, I wondered who came up with those lines first.

I mean, Rambo II was filmed and screened before War Dawn, which aired on TV later the same year, but when was its script written and recorded? Did both sets of writers come up with the same awesome lines synchronously, or did the TF staff crib from Rambo II?

EDIT: well, I finally got round to checking with Google. Turns out the lines are actually used in Rambo III, NOT Rambo II. So Transformers DID get there first! So damn cool.

 

[Leroy]

I re-watched the show last year when I collected the Shout Factory DVD sets well worth the price imo. I also heard that Shout Factory has acquired the rights for the Takara shows some of which continue G1 so be on the lookout for them. This summer they are also going to be releasing Beast Wars.

 

[BlobVanDam]

Anyone else done a rewatch lately?

Not lately. I rewatched it when the DVDs came out. It's still generally enjoyable, though the difference in animation quality between the movie and the cartoon is very noticeable. Not something I noticed as kid, funnily enough.

I guess what bugs me most are the storylines. They have some brilliant ideas and concepts, and I definitely understand why they appealed to me so much as a child. But with adult eyes, I found myself wishing they'd done the last 10 minutes of each ep differently. There are just too many dissatisfying endings with Megs shouting his familiar "Decepticons: Retreeeaaat!" after just a few volleys of sustained Autobot attack. The battles are never quite as awesome as I remembered them. Megatron's Master Plan is perhaps the prime example of this that springs to mind. Great episode and then just a straight mass shoot-out at the end.

The More Than Meets the Eye 3-ep "feature" and The Movie itself have some cool battles though. The Dinobot eps where they go to Cybertron are fun too. Some of the Aerialbot ones are surprisingly good too, esp. the one where the travel to Cybertron's past.

Being a kid's simple animation show I never had any expectation of great fights beyond some basic 3 frame boxing matches between two robots
I found the ideas cool enough to compensate for these kinds of shortcomings though. Turning New York into New Cybertron and enslaving the entire human race? Brilliant. I don't even care what flimsy reason the Decepticons gave up this time

The movie was pretty badass though. Nothing like seeing a shipload of Autobots get their asses kicked by Megatron while listening to some 80s metal. That scene is a cinematic classic.

 

[timothy]

that is excellent news never saw the takara shows.

 

[Whofan]

I've heard they're not too good.

 

[FordSVT]

I did a couple of years ago. The first season and most of the second isn't bad, and there are a sprinkle of good episodes and arcs throughout the rest of the show, but it's really not a great cartoon. Too many episodes revolve around essentially the same plot devices, with the same kinds of resolution. But I can totally remember why I loved it so much when I was 7-10 years old.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

If you're looking for a Transformers series with good stories ... there's always Beast Wars.

 

[T J]

The movie was pretty badass though. Nothing like seeing a shipload of Autobots get their asses kicked by Megatron while listening to some 80s metal. That scene is a cinematic classic.

QFT! On all points.

Megatron executing Ironhide has got to be the grimmest scene in all of Transformers and it's every bit satisfying. Megatron being as bad as he can before the end... gotta love it!

Oh and Instruments of Destruction, excellent autobot kill music!

As for the series... I did a rewatch a couple years back and of course it is different with adult eyes but still fun.

As I've said in other threads about G1 the funniest thing that totally went over my head when I was a kid was an obviously Arab country called "Carbombia"! Man the stuff they could get away with back in the day...!

 

[Satyrquaze]

^ That is one of my favorite parts of what is in my mind still the best Transformers movie out there.

 

[BlobVanDam]

Megatron executing Ironhide has got to be the grimmest scene in all of Transformers and it's every bit satisfying. Megatron being as bad as he can before the end... gotta love it!

Oh and Instruments of Destruction, excellent autobot kill music!

SUCH HEROIC NONSENSE! *BOOM*

Speaking of the music, let me tell you the story of how I got this movie.
At the time when it first came out on DVD, I walked into a DVD/game store and I heard some awesome Transformers style 80s metal on the TV (those were my actual thoughts), and assumed it was a video game. Then I kept watching and saw it actually was Transformers! I actually got the soundtrack that same day, and now I love it. Bought the movie very soon after, loved that too.

 

[Captain Craig]

I got the S1 DVD last year and rewatched all of S1 then. I think all of those hold up well.
I have the other DVD sets in my Amazon cart but refuse to buy them till they get 25% off or better. They don't discount them much, just 12-17% the last 8 or so months since I put them in my cart.

The animated movie I watch once or twice a year and I LOVE that. In fact it's better than the live action sequel, Revenge of the Fallen.

 

[broberfett]

The Hub shows Transformers G1 at midnight with old G.I. Joe. I'd like to see the season after the movie. They haven't shown anything with Metroplex or Tripticus(That giant Black T-Rex Decepticon, not sure of the name). They've shown all the way up to Alpha Trion and ArialBots. I think they've shown the Combaticons, so they've shown most of them.