Revisiting BEAST WARS

[Mako Crab]

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The series that needs no introduction. Beast Wars is my personal favorite Transformers series of all time, so this is going to be fun. It's the show that rekindled my interest in Transformers and caught me off-guard so many times, I lost count.

Before I get into the retrospective, please have a look at the REAL opening credits. For some reason, the shortened version was used on the dvd box set. The quality of this video isn't great, but it's the only one I could find. Is the original intro simply lost to time (and degrading vhs tapes) now?
YouTube - BEAST ERA INTRO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyJD2PL6408&feature=related)

And if your're really curious, the hilarious japanese version.
YouTube - Beast Wars Japanese Opening (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGDOzMTpXpM)


Beast Wars (part 1)
written by Bob Forward

The plot is bare bones, but here's what's happening. Two ships emerge from a transwarp rift in space locked in battle. Enjoy it while you can, because it's the last time you'll see both of these ships in flying condition. The lead ship, manned by a crew of Predacon criminals, cripples the pursuing Maximal ship, but rather than finish them off right there, the Predacon commander decides to have a little fun taking potshots at the helpless vessel.

Except that it's not so helpless afterall. The Maximal ship, the Axalon, ejects several stasis pods into orbit containing their dormant crew members, and prepares for one last round. Hehe, the ship lists and comes around, delivering the full force of its canons into the Predacon ship. Oh yeah! Direct hit! Those Predacons are going down! Both ships are pulled into the gravity of a nearby planet and careen towards the surface. If you look closely during this scene, you'll notice that the planet has two moons. Oooh, mysterious!

The ships crash but everyone survives. The Axalon lands in a moutainous region of stone and waterfalls. The river feeding the waterfall run directly below the Axalon. Very picturesque. I wouldn't mind visiting them at all.
The Predacon ship crashes into a volcanic region. The ground is black, punctuated by cracks that reveal flowing lava just beneath the surface. Not the greatest place to vacation, but they probably love the inhospitable nature of it.

Bad news all around for everyone. The planet is teeming with raw energon crystals. Usually this would be good, since Predacons and Maximals run on energon, but there's so much of it that they require some protection from its unique radiation (unique in that it seems to have no effect on organics at all). The answer? A new fur coat! Both crews adopt alternate forms based on the local animals, and now... now we get one of the more painful scenes in the entire series.

Cheetor: "Hey, look at me! I'm a cheetah! No, no, I'm Cheetor!
Rhinox: Ease back, Cheetor. Livin' large is for forms like me, Rhinox.

Wha... what are they doing? Naming themselves? Did they just change their names because they got new beast modes? I mean, it's not unheard of. Seems like any time someone gets a new coat of paint they have to go changing their name (Goldbug, Galvatron, etc.). But still, these introductions (except Rattrap) are on par with the horrible introductions of Beachcomber and Perceptor in G1. Well... maybe not that bad.

Oh yeah, so our valiant crew of Maximals now consists of:

Optimus Primal- a gorilla
Rhinox- a rhinocerous
Rattrap- a rat
Cheetor- a cheetah

Back at the crashed Predacon ship everyone's picked up new beast modes as well. We now have:

Megatron- a tyrannosaurus rex
Scorponok- a scorpion
Tarantulus- a tarantula
Terrorsaur- a pteranodon
Waspinator- a wasp
Dinobot- a velociraptor

The creativity that went into these names is just mind boggling. It's okay though, it's okay. Moving on! It seems Dinobot is raging about something. He's got the stolen golden disc in his hands and flings it away in anger. Seems they've landed on the wrong planet. They were looking for Earth but the two moons in the sky clearly indicate that they're on the wrong planet. Not to mention the lack of human civilization. Everything else screams out that this is Earth (the plant and animal life), but two moons! Two moons! No explanation! It can't possibly be Earth!

Dinobot immediately challenges Megatron for leadership of the Predacons. The big T-rex chuckles at this and has Scorponok blast Dinobot with a missle that sends him flying over the horizon. Who cares what planet they're on as long as there's butt-loads of energon to be had, right? That's Megatron for you, always looking at the big picture. Makes me wonder what Dinobot's big hang-up about it not being Earth was if that's the case.

Shortly thereafter we find the Maximals all hanging out and getting used to their new beast forms. Wonderful conversation between Rattrap and Primal on their whole predicament. Sets Rattrap up nicely as the pessimist (and realist) of the group. I like that he's not just automatically agreeing with everything Primal says and even questions his ability to step up to the plate as commander. We also get the first mention of the Great War and an explanation of why the golden disc is so important. Apparently it gives the location of a major source of energon. Well, that's been confirmed already. Doesn't stop Rattrap from complaining about something else.

Primal: "Just no pleasing some people"

Cheetor spots a couple real cheetahs sprinting across the vast, vast stretch of flat, textureless grassy plain. Aww, you know, this old, archaic CGI has a strange charm that way. More on that later.

Primal: "They're fast alright. You picked a good form, Cheetor."
Cheetor: "You think that's speed? You ain't seen the golden rocket!"

The... golden rocket? *smacks forehead*
So Cheetor goes chasing off after the cheetahs and manages to scare them off. And hey, he runs into a giant wasp. Based on nothing other than the reactions of the other cheetahs, he figures it's a Predacon in disguise. He transforms and starts shooting! OMG, Cheetor, what are you doing!!! Okay, so it really is a Predacon, but what flimsy reasoning!

It's Waspinator and he goes on the counter-attack! He's actually doing a pretty good job of keeping Cheetor on his toes, which is something considering how much of a bungler Waspy turns into later on. The Maximals see the explosions off in the distance and charge in to help.

Primal: "Take cover, Cheetor! We'll swat that pesky Predacon!"

Ehhh.... what can I say? It's the first episode. Things were... stupider back then. :) But no! There will be no swatting of Predacons today, pesky or otherwise! All the other Predacons have assembled on a ridge opposite of the Maximals with Cheetor stuck in the valley below! Time for some stern words! Primal tries to reason with Megatron and maintain the peace, but the big T-rex informs Primal that sometimes an enemy that looks peaceful is merely biding its time. And it's on!

Megatron takes a hit right to the face from Cheetor! That stupid kid again. He's going to get everyone killed. Well, no backing down now. A battle erupts and we learn that boulders are the perfect cover against plasma blasts. Rocks are so awesome. Anyway, Cheetor's still in trouble and Rattrap has no qualms refusing to save him. Primal dives into the valley himself, taking several hits along the way, before delivering the kid back to safety. They make a hastey retreat and before the Predacons can capitalize on their (small) victory, they're all hit with a wave of searing, crippling, energon radiation; the price of staying in robot mode for too long.

Later that evening... ooh, I like the nice, dusky lighting of this scene. Primal and Rattrap are riding on top of Rhinox back to the Axalon. Heh. Cute. He scolds Rattrap for disobeying his orders, yadda yadda yadda. Rattrap isn't exactly repentent, and tries to reassure the boss monkey that everything's fine.

Except that the only way back to their base is being blocked by Dinobot. Remember him? Yeah, the whole battle for leadership of the Predacons didn't work out so well, so now he's here to battle for leadership of the Maximals. Gotta' hand it to him. When he gets an idea in his head, he's persistent about it.

TO BE CONTINUED!

Some thoughts:
- I like how they conveniently set up for the introduction of new characters by ejecting the stasis pods into orbit. We won't have to worry about new guys just popping up with no explanation or have a bunch of guys all accidentally crash on the same planet as well.

- The CGI, oh my god, the CGI. It's very rough and dated looking, but at the same time it's kind of charming in that it's a sign of the times. As the show progresses, the CGI does get better but wow. For right now it looks a tad on the archaic side.

- The golden disc. If you take a good look at the golden disc, you'll see already that the writers are setting up something grander in scope.

- The Maximals get some good exposition in this pilot episode, but the Predacons are practically non-existent save for Megatron and Dinobot. I personally have typically always favored the villains in any piece of fiction, so it's a bit disappointing at the moment to see the Preds relegated to background fodder.

- No mention of Autobots or Decepticons, but we do hear mentions of the Great War and Primal asks Megatron why he would want to start all that up again. So connections to G1 are made, but as of this episode all we know is that there is *some* connection. I know the chief editors of the show always placed the era of the Maximals and Predacons 300 years post-Great War, but no mention of that is ever made within the show itself. Of course, it is just the pilot episode and I'm sure they didn't want to bog it down with any more details than was absolutely necessary.

And that's all for now. Wow, what a rocky start. :P

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[AutobotMarine]

Beast Wars is the best TF series in my opinion. Sure I love G1, Animated, and Galaxy Force; but this in my opinion is where TF REALLY began!

[ian5555]

As far as storyline and fights go Beast Wars was #1 imo.

[Mako Crab]

About 2 years ago I created a tiny little tribute website to Beast Wars. Under the character guide section I provided links to info about the animals that everyone turns into. Most of them went to the National Geographic site, but a few were unique. The T-rex page is my personal favorite. I always thought it would be cool and was surprised that no major sites did anything beyond the usual tech spec info. But anyway, here they are! Just the original cast for now.

Link to the character guide (pics are down, voice clips still work)
beastwars1 (http://www.geocities.com/mako_crab/beastwars1.html)

Optimus Primal is a GORILLA! (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/mountain-gorilla.html)
Rhinox is a RHINOCEROUS! (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/black-rhinoceros.html)
Rattrap is a STINKY RAT! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat)
Cheetor is a CHEETAH! (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/black-rhinoceros.html)
Dinobot is a VELOCIRAPTOR! (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/prehistoric/velociraptor-mongoliensis.html)

Megatron is a TYRANNOSAURUS REX! (http://www.fieldmuseum.org/sue/)
Scorponok is a SCORPION! (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/scorpion.html)
Tarantulus is a TARANTULA! (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/tarantula.html)
Terrorsaur is a PTEROSAUR! (http://www.projectexploration.org/news_121803.htm)
Waspinator is a WASP! (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/hornet.html)

[SPLIT LIP]

:lol Stinky Rat. I love Rats, that's why I love Rattrap. I had a pet rat. He was adorable, and brilliant. He could do all kinds of cool stuff.

I second the statement on the dated CGI, especially when working backwards from BM. Though it is surprising how fast it picks up.

Though Cheetor is really a stupid kid, but it's great because everybody knows he's a stupid kid.:)

Also, I agree with AutobotMarine and Ian5555: BW is #1.

[darksage78]

Gotta love Beast Wars, absolutely astounding in story telling and character development. Not to mention, the upgrades in characters and stasis pods as a means to introduce new characters was very innovative. Just watch some of the interviews with Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio, they had no idea what they were doing with the extra moon and the Golden Disk. Nice to see everything pan out and end up neat and pretty much tidy =D

[ArmedonLSD]

:lol Stinky Rat. I love Rats, that's why I love Rattrap. I had a pet rat. He was adorable, and brilliant. He could do all kinds of cool stuff.




My sister loves pet rats. She actually buys specific breeds with little tails and some kind of special floppy ears or something but those rats are amazing. They have a cage but she leaves it open 24/7 and the rats roam around her room. each one is trained to only use the bathroom in their cage and each one knows its name. They remind me of little dogs and are clearly very intelligent

[Reflector Unit]

THEY KILLED TERRORSAUR!

THOSE BASTARDS!

Terrorsaur was, imo, the epitome of a wasted character. He had such potential, he could've gone on to be more than just Starscream-lite. I was such a fan of his, and imo, he had the best looking robot mode of the season 1 Beastformers. He would have made a great tool for the Vok, and that would've left Tigatron and Airrazor free to remain individuals and develop their relationship more. I was always more interested in how their fledling romance would've panned out since Silverbolt/BA never interested me. It was all basically just a vehicle to facilitate BA's reform anyway.

[Feralstorm]

I still wonder to this day how many "haters" there are out there that base their whole opinion of Beast Wars on the cheesetastic craptacular two-part pilot. :)

[kllrwlf]

Beast Wars is definitely my favorite.
G1 for nostalgia.
Animated right behind them.
And Armada behind Animated.

[MilkManX]

Im a convert. When I first saw the toys and show(I had not been into Transformers for about 5-6 years when it first came out) I hated them.

Fast Forward to 2002 or so. The DVD's were out. People kept telling me how good it was. I was back into TF's thanks to Car Robots.

I got season 1. Loved it! Bought Season2 the next week. Then season 3!

I was floored. Yeah the CG starts kinda lame but by season 2 its pretty nice and season 3 is good too. Still not as fluid as Beast Machines but I like the BW story better.

Overall my all time favorite TF era for both Show and Toys.

[Magelite]

And if your're really curious, the hilarious japanese version.
YouTube - Beast Wars Japanese Opening (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGDOzMTpXpM)

:wtf:

[SKowl]

Beast Wars is still the best TF series and is responsable for some of the most interesting and multi-dimensional characters in all the TF Universe - I mean REAL characters, not just toys that were dropped into a cartoon with a flat "tech spec" style, one-dimensional personality. I didn't give a flying crap when Megatron killed all those bots in the '86 movie, but I cried when Dinobot died, that's saying something.

Not to mention the series single-handedly saved the entire franchise from what was going to be certain doom in the mid 90s.

[Reflector Unit]

I didn't give a flying crap when Megatron killed all those bots in the '86 movie

Nurt evun Ahrn Haad? He nevur gart ta burst dem Decepterchawps

Seriously though, you didn't care about Wheeljack dying? He was WHEELJACK! He builds Dinobots and miscellaneous stupid shit that only works when it's required for plot resolution!

[SPLIT LIP]

Wheeljack didn't die. He was in Victory. He rebuilt Ginrai into Victory Leo.

[Feralstorm]

Wheeljack didn't die. He was in Victory. He rebuilt Ginrai into Victory Leo.

That was actually Energon Downshift. ;)

[AutobotMarine]

:wtf:

Is this a joke?

[SPLIT LIP]

That was actually Energon Downshift. ;)Ah, that explains the gold rocket launcher or whatever.:wink:

Is this a joke?Nope, it's Takara and Beast Wars. You would not beleive the stuff they did.

Here's two words that sum up just a few of the worst:

Metals and Jointrons.

[AutobotMarine]

Ah, that explains the gold rocket launcher or whatever.:wink:

Nope, it's Takara and Beast Wars. You would not beleive the stuff they did.

Here's two words that sum up just a few of the worst:

Metals and Jointrons.

And would the jointrons be?

Also, you wouldn't find out what I discovered:

YouTube - Beast Wars Metals last End/Closing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-QfdeV_yLE&feature=related)

The Japanese dub for Beast Wars was awful, looks like Japan can screw up stuff that comes into their country too?

[SPLIT LIP]

And would the jointrons be?The Japanese versions of the Tripredacus combiner dudes. Horrible Mexican stereotyps and Cidacon is a disgusting robot.


Also, you wouldn't find out what I discovered:

YouTube - Beast Wars Metals last End/Closing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-QfdeV_yLE&feature=related)

The Japanese dub for Beast Wars was awful, looks like Japan can screw up stuff that comes into their country too?No kidding. Though I think so of it stems from the fact that Airrazor was a dude, Megatron became a squealy idiot, BA became a whimp and Rattrap became... something horrible. Also, the Beast Wars shows were designed specifically with western VA's and expressions in mind.

[AutobotMarine]

The Japanese versions of the Tripredacus combiner dudes. Horrible Mexican stereotyps and Cidacon is a disgusting robot.


No kidding. Though I think so of it stems from the fact that Airrazor was a dude, Megatron became a squealy idiot, BA became a whimp and Rattrap became... something horrible. Also, the Beast Wars shows were designed specifically with western VA's and expressions in mind.

All of the voices in the Japanese version makes them sound like morons, except for Blackarachnia and Primal.

[Wingsbr]

beast wars is what got me back into TF's, of course there wasn't much else from G1 till then IMHO anyway. I watch the complete set about once a year. The CGI is rather dated now, but the story telling is pure win. My fav episodes are code of hero and optimal situation...and how can you not like the war with depth charge and rampage!!!

edit: megatron was by far the smartest of the toon megatrons. he was a plotter and didn't just go in guns a blazing.

[Mako Crab]

Sorry for the delay. I've been working overtime taking delicious screen-caps of Cybertron. Now back to Beast Wars!

Beast Wars part 2
written by Bob Forward

Dinobot stands between the Maximals and their ship, and he's not moving an inch. He again challenges Primal to a duel for leadership of the Maximals with the fate of the loser resting at the bottom of a very deep canyon. Primal tries to reason with him, but that goes all of nowhere. Time for some... Metal Kombaaat!

Hehe. Sorry, couldn't resist. They're fighting over a pit on a narrow bridge! And it's 1996! So anyway we get some of the most awesomely fake sword fighting of all time right down to the cliche'd locking of swords as the fighters practically touch noses and snarl compliments at each other. So cute. We get a good back and forth with each of them delivering some punishing hits, when Primal loses his footing and slips off the edge of the natural bridge.

His monkey feet grad the ledge and he hangs on for dear life! Ohh, but it doesn't look good. Dinobot slowly moves in for the kill. But instead of stepping on his monkey toes, Dinobot does the honorable thing and hoists him back up onto the bridge. He explains that he wouldn't have earned the right to lead by beating him in such a dishonorable way. And then adds....

Dinobot: "I prefer to beat my opponents the old fashioned way; brutally!"

More bad sword fighting! Yes! Just up on a cliff overlooking the battle are the Predacons though, and they've got a stake in this battle too. And they talk! The Predacons actually talk in this episode!

Tarantulus: The winner isn't what interests me.
Megatron: Nor me, no. How much more preferable it would be if they both lost, yes."

So Waspy is established as a simpleton. Scorponok is your average thug. Tarantulus demonstrates a bit more smarts than the others, and we already met Megatron last time. Nothing from Terrorsaur but it's still early. They all transform and start shooting at the battling warriors!

At the last second Primal grabs Dinobot and leaps off the bridge! The missles and energy blasts just graze them. Primal hangs onto the ledge with one foot and Dinobot with the other all the while the Predacons keep firing on them. Rhinox and Cheetor are practically leaping into the line of fire to save their commander, but Rattrap isn't interested in getting himself shot. That is, until Rhinox grabs him by the pelt and reminds him who he should really be worried about. Hehehe.
Rhinox runs over and picks Primal and Dinobot both up with one hand. ONE HAND!!! Dude! You don't mess with that guy.

They all run for the Axalon just as the missles completely disintegrate the bridge! They all just barely make it except for Rattrap. The bridge explodes beneath his feet and he just completely falls. Luckily for his sorry hide that Primal is more prone to save his comrades than Rattrap is. Primal grabs Rattrap's hand just as he disappears out of sight and pulls him back up to safety. Aww. Can we get a thank-you? Maybe? Please? No.

Slaggin' rat.

Well that was fun. Megatron isn't too happy that everyone survived but it turns out that all their stray missles hit a mountain off in the distance and blow its top off. Beneath the mountain is a massive, MAAAASSIVE deposit of raw energon crystals. Like, the whole mountain IS energon crystals. That's big. That's enough to power an entire Predacon revolution. Let's go get it! And so they're off. Oh, I did think it was cute how Scorponok pointed out the mountain before it detonated. That's just precious.

The Maximals take a moment to catch their breath. Cheetor spots the Predacons heading away.

Cheetor: "Megatron's on the move. Bearing 6175."

Ahhh, sounds like technical jargon. Or maybe like someone was watching too much Star Trek and it worked its way into their writing. Bearing 6175? Sure, it sounds technical and there's nothing really wrong with it. But how about say, "He's heading north." Or maybe even simpler, "He's heading towards that gigantic mountain of energon." Oh well, no big deal.

Dinobot points out that with that much energon Megatron would be unstoppable. Rattrap, not one to be impressed by Dinobot's ability to state the obvious, tells Rhinox to waste him. And Rhinox starts charging! Whoa! I had forgotten about this part! They really don't take kindly to Predacons around here, not even Predacon defects.

Primal puts a stop to the fighting and instead asks for Dinobots advice as the resident expert on all things Predacon. So blah blah blah, things are sort of smoothed over and the only option is to stop Megatron. So off they go.

Walking around, walking, walking. I do like these night shots. The stars, the two moons, the stonehenge. Stonehenge? Oooh, mysterious. Who put that there?

Sight-seeing is over. Waspinator and Terrorsaur are on the attack! The Maximals all take up defensive positions within a cave and return fire, but these two are a little too quick for them. Primal takes to the air and knocks them around a bit with some of the more powerful ammo he's packing. And don't you know Dinobot nearly brings the cave down on top of all of them in his exuberance to toast his old buddies? Rattrap doesn't take kindly to that and pounces on the traitor, driving the barrel of his gun into his forehead.

Thankfully by now Waspy and Terrorsaur have retreated due to energon build-up. Primal lands back at the cave entrance to find his crew at each others' throats. He breaks it up and really asserts his authority this time.

Primal: "Rattrap, you gonna' listen and that's that!!!

Yeah!
Laaaater... they finally reach the mountain and guess who's there waiting for them? Predacons! Long story short, they all get into a big fight and dogpile everyone. And since they don't dare transform into robot mode with all that energon around, it's tooth and claw and drool all over the place. Very awesome. It becomes pretty obvious that the Predacons are losing this one, so as a last ditch effort Megatron transforms and fires off a couple missles at Primal.

Dinobot deflects the missles! I guess he's not such a bad guy after all. But the missles slam into the energon crystals and that's everyones' cue to get the hell out of there. Ohhh, problem. Megatron is offline. See, that's what happens when you soak up too much energon radiation. The other Preds don't seem to mind leaving him behind though.

Seconds before the whole mountain explodes Megatron miraculously snaps awake and leaps off the mountain! He is so toast anyway. That long of a fall, plus he was closer to the explosion than anyone else. Plus it was a whole mountain blowing up with energon. So totally dead.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Maybe.

The Maximals celebrate their victory, but all Rattrap wants to know is if they can go home now. No, Rattrap. There's still the other Predacons to worry about. And there's still plenty more energon on the planet for them to harvest. And there's the issue of their ship not working at the moment. So for now let the battle be here, and let it be called....

Well you know the rest. :D

And that concludes the 2-part pilot to Beast Wars. Part 2 is already an improvement over part 1. We get a better feel for the group dynamic of the Maximals and the other Predacons even have a little bit of screen time too. Not much, but what can you do? We learn just enough about the planet to pique curiosity. Really, stonehenge? What's that about? And giant energon crystals? Those weren't present in G1. And the two moons. All very interesting. Not a bad pilot, but very cut and dry. It does its job nicely but doesn't do any more than it has to for now. Still, not horrible by any stretch of the imagination. Alright then, that's where I'll leave it.


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[Mako Crab]

The Web
written by Larry DiTillo

It's only the third episode, but for some reason this is one of my favorite and most memorable ones. It's also one of the few episodes that's Megatron-free, so it stands out just a bit more for that.

Right, so we begin at the Axalon. Rhinox has cobbled together a long-range communications device to help them stay in contact through all the energon interference. It's ready for a field test, which Cheetor is way too eager to volunteer for. Rhinox gives Primal a look like he just knows his invention won't survie the mission, but Primal gives Cheetor the go-ahead and tries to reassure the rhino.

Outside Cheetor sprints far away from the base. Optimus is surprised how well the new comm. is working. So far, so good, when Cheetor reports the sound of explosions.

Primal: "Cheetor, hold your position! I'll be right there!"
Cheetor: "I'm going in!"

.
.
.
.
Well no stopping him. Might as well let him get shot. Hm? Oh, I'm just assuming he will. He sneaks through rocky outcroppings and gets the drop on Scorponok, who's been busy digging a mega-canon out of the terrain. Apparently the big canon fell off the Predacon ship when they went screaming through the ozone layer. Minor detail, but whatever.
And speaking of minor details! I noticed in the pilot episodes that Scorponok had a very tiny Maximal badge on his chest. At first I thought it was just an animation error, since it was just the first episode. But here it is again! And he's got the Maximal badge on his missles too! Here I always assumed he just put the Maximal logo on his missles just because that's who he was sending them to, but hey... there might some history with this guy. Maybe he really was a Maximal at one time?
Anyway, Cheetor has Scorpy cornered at gun-point and it's all good. He tries to call back into the base. Hm. That's funny. No response. Red flag anyone? HOLY HELL!!!! TARANTULUS!!! Where'd he come from!? Cheetor freaks out and tries shooting at the spider, but he's already gone. Scorponok takes advantage of the distraction, transforms, and fires one of those Maximal missles at Cheetor, blowing him half to hell and rendering hmi slightly dead.
Scorpy and Tarantulus take off with the mega-canon just as Primal arrives to find a gutted Cheetor. Niiiiiiiiiiiiice.

Cybertron- night. Cheetor lounges atop a tower while Megatron, Waspinator and Terrorsaur fire on him. He doesn't even flinch. Their shots just fly by. Without even aiming he just fires off 3 vollies and wastes each of them. Soooo easy. By now it should be obvious this is just Cheetor's dreamland.
But Tarantulus is here to turn it into a nightmare. Suddenly Cheetor's not smiling anymore. Suddenly he can't hit anything anymore. Scorponok's here too! He fires that same death-dealing missle at him! It closes in! Cheetor's in beast mode and looking helpless and terrified. Out of nowhere we see Rattrap pop up swinging a knife. Whaaaat? What's that about?

Weeeeeird.

Cheetor wakes up screaming!!! And Rhinox promptly slams him back down on the repair table. He's back in the Axalon and in one piece again. Cause for celebration? Nooooo. The cat really stepped in it this time.

Rattrap: "You took a missle right in the chest plate. Guess you aren't as fast as you thought."
Rhinox: "And you got my comm. link trashed."
Primal: "WTF, Cheetor? wtf?"
Cheetor: "I couldn't let them get away with that canon!"
Rattrap: "Oh yeah, you took care of that real good, kiddo."

Primal leaves to call Dinobot in from the perimeter. They'll have to devise a plan quickly to take care of that mega-canon. Thanks a lot, Cheetor! Stupid kid. Rattrap is none too happy about the idea of raiding the Predacon base and volunteers Cheetor to lead the way.

Cheetor: "At least I'm not afraid to do it!"
Rattrap: "You know kid, that is why you mess up. You don't have the sense to *BE* afraid!"

Ah, love that line. Cheetor's all huffy and bolts out of there determined to show them what he has the sense to do. And another classic moment from Rhinox as he shakes his head slowly.

Rhinox: Mn nn nnn. You know what he's gonna' do."

And he'd be right. Cut to Cheetor, who's already in Predacon territory and spying on Scorponok and Terrorsaur as they mount the mega-canon in place. He's so busy watching them that he doesn't even notice a large rock move behind him. His leg is snared and down he goes down the hole!

He wakes up sometime later to find himself trapped in a stasis web and familiar laughter echoing through the cavern to greet him. Tarantulus is having fun watching him struggle and explains what a stasis web is. Turns out! Turns out that Tarantulus is... into... he's into eating other Transformers. He's a cannibal! The stasis web will slowly drain all of Cheetor's life-force and leave his synthetic flesh alive. That's sick and wrong in soooo many ways. He could crank up the web and drain his life really quick, but he likes the taste of slow-cooked cheetah better. And OMG, Tarantulus is climbing up the web! Gah!! As someone who hates spiders, the thought of a giant spider that close to my face is really creepy. Tarantulus has officially established himself as more terrifying than Megatron. Anyway, the clock is ticking!

Topside we find Rattrap hot on the trail of Cheetor. Some nice camera tracking makes this otherwise standard scene a bit more interesting. Nifty. He comes to the rock that acts as a secret passage into Tarantulus' lair and instantly smells something fishy. A hefty shove of the rock and he's in!

Down in the cavern the life monitors bleep and bloop with ever weakening sounds. It's not long for Cheetor now. Rattrap's got something to say about that though. Tarantulus nearly freaks out and whirls around. And the fight is on! You can see Cheetor's eyes light up with hope and he makes a snarky comment to Tarantulus. The crazed spider just laughs and cranks up the web to full power. Oh hell! Cheetor's got moments to live!

Rattrap runs and ducks behind the stalagmites, returning fire whenver he can. Tarantulus has a good bead on him though thanks to his thermal goggles. Realizing the situation, Rattrap produces a box from his forearm compartment that gives off a heat signature. He places it and runs...

... Just as Tarantulus closes in for the kill. He leaps around the stalagmite only to find the heat box and Rattrap directly behind him. It's all over, but Tarantulus isn't going down without a fight. He fires! Rattrap fires almost simultaneously! And the spider loses a leg! I swear, it's like they were predicting the whole, "Greedo fired first" thing from Star Wars special edition. Hehehe.

Rattrap rushes over to the computer that's controlling the stasis web. He fiddles with the controls, which only makes things worse. Cheetor is choking and gasping. Nearly dead! Rattrap shrugs his arms and realizes what he should've done in the first place; just shoot the computer. Ta-daa! Cheetor is free! Rattrap runs over and slices the web - wait... it's the exact same shot of Rattrap from Cheetor's dream! Cheetor had a premonition of the future? Whoa...

He catches the kitty as he falls out of the web and they're about to make their escape when Tarantulus shows up again. He's leaned up against a stalagmite and fires off a missle that hits the stasis web. The whole cavern blows up and Tarantulus is buried in rock.

Sometime later they both return to the Axalon where the others are still mulling over their plan to raid the Predacon base and take care of that mega-canon. Rattrap whips up a quick excuse to cover for the both of them, though Rhinox casts a knowing glance their way. Primal gives them both a hard stare like he doesn't quite believe their story at first, but then softens and apologizes for being so harsh earlier. They both seem to be off the hook.

In the hall outside Cheetor tries to thank Rattrap for saving his life, but the rat makes it plainly clear that he's not happy and that the only reason he covered for him is because he'd be in trouble too if Primal knew what had really happened. Rattrap storms off, but Cheetor is grateful anyway. Aww. :D

The end!
Couple things about this episode. First, I love the opening scene in the Axalon when Rhinox has finished his invention and again later when Cheetor is on the repair table. It's these scenes more than the action scenes that really defiine Beast Wars to me. These guys are already such strong characters that they could probably carry an entire episode just hanging out in and around the Axalon with no action from the Predacons at all.
Second, this is the first time Cheetor's had a premonition but it won't be the last. He has at least one more (The Spark, maybe Feral Scream part 2) and sees the spirits of his fallen comrades in a much later episode (Other Victories). What does it all mean? Well, if you ever thought that Cheetor was stepping into the role that Hot Rod served in G1, you might have an idea why these unique abilities are important... not to mention that Cheetor became the liaison of the Oracle at the end of Beast Machines...
Third and finally, Tarantulus is just cool. Cool and creepy. This episode stands out for the lack of Megatron and the emphasis on Tarantulus. He's established as the second major threat the Maximals have to watch out for early on and really excells as such. Plus I like that he has his own secret lair that the other Predacons aren't allowed in. :D
Alright that does it for this one. Next up; Equal Measures.


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[Reflector Unit]

Man, Tarantulus really looked like crap before becoming a Transmetal

[Moonscream]

I never noticed the connections with Cheetor's dream - now I'll have to go back and watch again! :D

--Moony

[AniProwl]

I like this episode due to it being a Cheetor episode and for those who hate Cheetor, he's the most down-to-earth/Cybertron bot you can come across as where Hot Rod or Shot or even Animated Bumblebee failed in that department. Also, Mako Crab pointed how each character had some place to show off what they are made of. I personally think Animated lacks that. For example, a Bulkhead-centric episode will only focus on Bulkhead while the other characters are just there.

P.S: Mako, you can do Cybertron/Galaxy Force- I'm too busy with college preparation:redface2:

P.P.S: Keep up with the retrospectives:rock

[Elita_One]

I miss BW. My dad used to watch it with me. He liked OP.

My favourite is Rhinox. His gun ROCKED.

[omega knight]

do we really gotta go back to the monkey butt scratching days ..... AGAIN!

[AniProwl]

do we really gotta go back to the monkey butt scratching days ..... AGAIN!

Hey, no insulting Primal in this board!

[Moonscream]

do we really gotta go back to the monkey butt scratching days ..... AGAIN!Except that its pretty obvious this thread is SPECIFICALLY FOR that. Nobody's forcing you to read it, you know.

--Moony

[D-Unit]

It was the same deal for me, like you said, it was Beast Wars that got me back into Transformers when I watched it in 1998 (I was 19) and I've been all about them ever since. Beast Wars is a true classic. It should honestly be a blueprint for how the TF shows are made.

[Mako Crab]

P.S: Mako, you can do Cybertron/Galaxy Force- I'm too busy with college preparation

P.P.S: Keep up with the retrospectives

It'll be a while before I get around to Cybertron. I still think it's a bit too new, and it'll take a while for me to get through Beast Wars anyway. No worries.

[darksage78]

Loving this Mako =D Can't wait till you get to the Low Road episode lol I loved season 1, aside from the loosely connected adventures, they really provided the time and environment to develop each character.

[SuzyPrime]

I was sick and bed-ridden over the weekend and since there was nothing on but the Olympics I rewatched Seasons 1 & 2.

Although G1 is my fav, I gotta say Beast Wars is a top-notch animated series. I love the guns! Man, there was a lot of shooting in that show.

[SuzyPrime]

I was sick and bed-ridden over the weekend and since there was nothing on but the Olympics I rewatched Seasons 1 & 2.

Although G1 is my fav, I gotta say Beast Wars is a top-notch animated series. I love the guns! Man, there was a lot of shooting in that show.

[Mako Crab]

*L* Indeed there was. I've been a little slack with doing reviews, but it's because I've been obsessively screen-capping every episode of Cybertron. I now have only 3 episodes left and I'll have capped the entire series! Rest assured though, I'll be getting back to this very shortly. Sorry for the delay!

[dorfsquest]

I was 8 when Beast Wars first aired back in 95. I distinctly remember reading the article about it in TV Guide and getting all pumped. Watched it every time it was on. Good times...

Dinobot was the shit.

[SPLIT LIP]

I'm watching these eps as you review them. :) This is great, I love Beast Wars. Hands down best series untilo Animated really picks up. (and even then, it's tough to be sure)

Also, Cheetor does have one more vision. It's not so much a vision of the future, but he is able to see Tigerhawk's spark and encounters his old friends in Other Victories.

[Mako Crab]

Eeeeee! I've finished my little Cybertron side-project. Expect a new review tomorrow, Saturday the 16th. :D

[Mako Crab]

Tuesday the 19th!

And FINALLY the next installment.

Equal Measures
written by Greg Johnson

In the last episode Cheetor learned that disobeying orders, ditching the team, and running off on missions alone can have horrible, nightmare-inducing consequences. A powerful lesson indeed. Let's watch him do it again!

It seems the Maximals (or just Rhinox) have been busy. They're preparing to set up relay posts all throughout the area to help boost their communications range, but there's a fierce storm moving in, so the mission is off. Oh, and they have a bomb.
Cha-ching!
A bomb?! The Maximals are already planning to blow up the Predacon base! But... but aren't they going to wait for the Predacons to kidnap someone or threaten something first? It's in the rule book! Autobots must always sit on their duffs until the Decepticons do something! Oh riiight, right, right. Maximals and Predacons. I forgot. So the Maximals actually take the initiative and act first. That's just so cool.

Anyway the bomb isn't the main priority right now. Setting the relay posts is, but that storm is just too nasty and Primal isn't taking any chances. So the mission is off and Cheetor's pouting about it, because apparently the boss monkey thinks he's too slow to outrun a storm. It could just sound like the cat being a whiner, but maybe there's something more to it. He was the one that got Rhinox' comm. badge thingy destroyed in the last episode. Maybe he actually feels some kind of need to get this mission going to help make up for his stupidity last time? Maybe. Primal and Rhinox are in agreement though; with so much energon coursing through the land, they have to be extra careful about where they set the relay posts.

Primal and Dinobot have a tense little face-off there too. Apparently there's some issue with how they deliver the bomb to the Predacon base. Dinobot wants to blow up the base and everyone in it. Primal is more of the forgiving type and wants to spare the Preds if he can.

Dinobot: "What I know is this; if situations were reversed, the Predacons would spare the base and annihilate us."

Ooh, snappy! Snappy dialogue! I do like. So we have Dinobot and Cheetor both feeling put out. What's a surly raptor to do? Get the cat in trouble! The dinosaur finds Cheetor laying on a sturdy looking board in his room sulking. Dinobot prods Cheetor just a little and in no time the dumb cat is on the sly again and bounding out the Axalon hatch with a whole bag full of relay posts. And off in the distance the rumble of thunder signals a quickly approaching storm...

WHAM!
One relay post in! And he's off to the next!
WHAM! Another one's in! And he's off to the - BWAKOOM!!! Oh lordy, lordy! He's been struck by lightning! It's okay, he's getting up. Cheetor shouts at the storm clouds and... BWAKOOM!! A near miss! Doesn't Cheetor know that it's bad luck to have lightning strike in the same place twice?

Off to the next! Oh that stupid kid. He goes to place one more and gets struck by lightning again. Duh, Cheetor! You're the only piece of metal out here! You're a frickin' lightning rod! The relay post goes flying and strikes an energon vain. The whole ground begins to crack and tear open. The whole place is about to blow up, so Cheetor does what any of us would do.

Cheetor: "Pleeeease don't blow up! Please, please, please!!"

He grabs the relay post and struggles and wrestles to yank it out of the ground, but that's not happening. Another strike of lightning and suddenly Cheetor's gone!

Over at the Predacon base.... which, wow. Tangent!
Over at the Frankenstein place... hm. Yeah, the syllables match up and it even rhymes. Okay, that was random, pay no mind. Sometimes these things just pop into my head.
Anyway Terrorsaur is on monitor duty. Very dull, nothing happening. He says to himself that no Maximal would be stupid enough to do anything on a day like today. He gives them too much credit, because Cheetor materializes right in their base at that moment! Cheetor's disoriented, doesn't know where he is.

Terrorsaur: "Welcome to the dark side."

Ah, the moment that shall live on in infamy. You'll notice I didn't bother capitalizing "dark side". That's because I personally never read that line as being the name of their ship. I know the shallow Beast Wars Transmetals video game tried to make the name canon, and the japanese version of Beast Wars calls their ship the Terror Crusher IIRC, but as far as I'm concerned it has no name. For one, the video game was garbage. For two, the japanese version sucks. There you go. :D

Cute little moment where Cheetor yells out, "Maximize," before catching himself and realizing that he's already in robot mode. And the fight is on! They fly around the Pred base on hover platforms shooting up the whole joint. Cheetor wins the match by knocking Terrorsaur onto the same monitor that he entered the base with and just like that- Terrorsaur vanishes in a flash of light...

... and appears inside the Axalon! Terrorsuar's disoriented, doesn't know where he is.

Dinobot: "Welcome to enemy arms."

And there you go. No one runs around trying to claim that the Axalon is really called Enemy Arms. The Pred ship is not the dark side. Nyah nyah! :D They both transform and it's about to get ugly when Dinobot GRABS TERRORSAURS HEAD. He looks at the control panel that warped Terrorsaur into their base and figures out pretty quick what must've happened. Terrorsaur is all like, "Oh yeah, so that's how the kid got in our base too!"
With this INCREDIBLE advantage at their fingertips, Terrorsaur proposes an alliance between he and Dinobot. They'll trash the Maximals and take over the Predacons. And it's all possible because they have a localized worm hole. Uh huh. Dinobot smiles and plays along.

They take a stroll down the Axalon halls and it's just miraculous that they haven't run into anybody. Terrorsaur reveals how exactly he was able to activate the teleporter (completely by accident). Once Dinobot knows how to use it, he declares the alliance over and rams the pterosaur into a trash chute, ejecting him miles into the distance.

I love this next part. Dinobot turns and Primal's standing right there! Like he just walked into the scene, but he doesn't seem to be in mid-stride at all. He just turns and he's all surprised.

Primal: "Dinobot! Wha!?! Hey, you seen Cheetor? He's missing. So are those relay posts. I swear, if he ran off with them, it's his hide."

Dinobot: "As a matter of fact, he did. He's been captured and killed by Predacons by now, BUT TAKE HEART! We now have the ability to blow up their base."

Almost verbatim... almost. The new plan is to set the big bomb onto the teleporter and beam it directly into the Predacon base. Oh. Yeah.

At the Pred base Cheetor's still on the run, this time from Waspinator and Scroponok. They corner him in the ventilation duct and heat things up real nice for him. Scorponok fires a missle into the duct that gets Cheetor moving faster than he ever knew he could! The two Predacons lose track of their target and it's another game of cat and mouse. Cheetor decides that as long as he's here, he may as well roll with it and accesses their computers. He gets a quick overlay of the surrounding energon deposits and cross-references it with his own maps. It turns out that the same energon vein runs under both bases.

So the relay posts, combined with a strike of lightning and the energon vein all conspired to somehow create a teleporter. Works for me. The bad news is that an explosion at either base will destroy the other one. He's got to stop his friends from sending the bomb!

Only two things standing in his way; Waspy and Scorponok. He's been spotted (yes, I know he's a cheetah). :P Scorpy fires a missle that Cheetor deftly avoids and returns to its sender. They're done and Cheetor's on the move again. Back in the main control room he flicks a data-disk onto the teleporter pad. It disappears and in its place- the bomb!!! OH SNAP!! It's anchored to the control pad and has a 30 second timer!!! And Megatron and Terrorsaur just found him!

The data-disk travels through to the Maximal base. They give it a quick once over and realize that Cheetor is alive and they've just condemned themselves to destruction.

At the Pred base Cheetor convinces them to let him release the anchors on the bomb so they can get it away. There's like 8 seconds left on the timer before Megatron finally gives him the go-ahead. Are you kidding?! But it turns out that Cheetor's as quick with his hands as he is on his feet and those anchors come right off. He throws the bomb to Terrorsaur, who flies it as high as possible before getting nuked by the explosion. And with that, Cheetor hops onto the teleporter pad and disappears.

All the relay posts are destroyed on his rapid transit back into the Axalon. Another one of Rhinox's inventions that he destroyed! Everyone breathes a sigh of relief, knowing that they'll all live to see another day. Primal is much less harsh on Cheetor this time than he was in the last episode for basically disobeying orders *again* and screwing up another tactical advantage that they could've had. At least this time he brought some valuable information back with him, so they're not too mad.

Cheetor looks over to Dinobot, who just gives him this big toothy grin like... what is that grin about?

Dinobot (thinking) : I'm going to eat you tonight, Cheetor. Can you hear my thoughts. I'm. Going. To. Eat. You.

Cheetor smiles nervously back at him. Eheheh... you okay there, big guy?

Okay, okay, so they didn't really say that. Cheetor promises never to run off on his own again... until the next time. Oh you silly kid. The end!

If "The Web" highlighted Tarantulus, then this episode was all about Terrorsaur. Megatron puts in only the briefest of screen-time at the very end, making it yet again another show-piece for his minions. I never really thought about it like this before, but it makes sense and I like that they're making up for the Preds getting almost no time in the pilot episodes.
My favorite scene, again, is probably right at the start with all the Maximals tinkering away in the Axalon. There's just such a great dynamic amongst this team and I love seeing them go back and forth with each other. I like watching these 5 guys more than I did an entire army of REACTIVE Autobots in the original show. Yeah, I said it. :D

Next ep- Chain of Command!

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Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?

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[Spearhead]

Yeah, this series was sweet :)
Love to read the thoughts of others on a series, especially episode-reviews like this...

Heh i still remember how i stumbled upon this series, when i was watching a recording i made of a Babylon 5 episode and fast forwarded the tape because i recorded too much between two eps, saw this familiar prime-like head and there it was... episode was "The Web" as far as i remember. Man was i pissed that we only got the first season dubbed in Germany back then, so from then on i had to get my material elsewhere online...

But now i thankfully have all three DVD Boxes :)

So Mako, looking forward to more episodes by you, you're doing a good job, also liked your BM and Energon reviews ^^

[Mako Crab]

"Let's do the trans-warp again!!!" :P

Right then! Next up is...

Chain of Command
written by Jesse Winfield

In the first episode of the series Rhinox spotted some stonehenge in a valley. Today we get to find out what that's all about! It starts out quietly enough. All the Maximals are along for this little field-trip and discover an energy source coming from a large pile of boulders at the center of the stonehenge. That's not... natural. Everyone wants to know who built the stonehenge anyway, but that's a question that'll have to wait for another day. The Predacons have shown up!

Quick little battle and wouldn't you know that Waspinator is the first one to fly up to Megatron's side. If "The Web" was about Tarantulus and "Equal Measures" was about Terrorsaur, then this episode is to highlight Waspinator even though this is more of a group-centric episode. It features Waspy more though. :D

Battle, battle, battle, and it's not going so well for the Preds. Notice that Scorponok is still wearing a Maximal badge! There's a scene in the Pred base later on where it's really easy to see. Terrorsaur takes a little initiative and decides that if they can't have it, no one can. He blasts the pile of boulders! The energon crystals hidden inside the pile start to resonate. Not good. Everyone flees the area and await the energon wave...

... but something else happens. A powerful energy beam is sent into space! A moment later the crystals disintegrate. You ever have one of those moments when you hate being right? Rhinox is having one of those right now. Looks like a signal, you say? A signal to who? Ooooh...

That evening... Optimus Primal is hanging out, reading a datapad. I really like that split second shot. I always said that Transformers Energon suffered from never showing their characters during their down-time, so little scenes like this are nice. Anyway, he spots a falling star? A stasis pod? What is that thing? He heads inside to confer with Rhinox. Whatever it is... it's heading for the standing stones, er- I mean the stonehenge. Are we freaking out yet?!?!?!

Over at the Predacon base the object in the sky has also been spotted. Megatron calls out for a flier to join him and Waspinator is the lucky volunteer. And they're off.

At the stonehenge Primal and Dinobot have arrived first. A gold, egg-shaped probe hovers just above the base where the pile of boulders had been. Before they can examine it too closely, Primal is blasted by Waspinator. Yes, Waspinator! It's dark, I love this lighting, and Waspy gently touches down on the ground with a little "clank" as he does. Wow, that pose and everything. He's actually fairly confident and in-charge looking. What a badass. :D

They prepare to double-team Dinobot while Primal is down, but the Probe begins glowing and building up energy. Oh no!!! It emits a wave of energon that completely overloads everyone there. They're all reeling in agony as white light pours out of their mouths and eyes, when the probe fires another shot that hits Primal. The boss-monkey vanishes in a flash of light!

BOSS-MONKEY, NOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Sometime later... Dinobot's optics slowly come into focus to the sight of Rattrap, Cheetor and Rhinox all standing before him. He freaks out and thinks he's in a Maximal torture chamber! He busts out of there and runs to the other side of the room still freaking out before he finally calms down and realizes where he is. Heh. Cute bit as he's busting out when Cheetor's all like, "Heyyy." He sounds annoyed more than surprised. Rattrap tells him that Maximals don't have torture chambers although it's an idea he could get used to. Hehe.

For shame, Rattrap! Actually, no. That put a smile on my face for the simple reason that you'd never hear a good guy in any other TF toon say that. :) Rattrap is already suspicious of Dinobot, saying that *someone* dumped him outside their base like an innocent little orphan. Dinobot tells them what happened and already you can see that Rattrap's more suspicious of Dinobot than any alien probe. The squinty optic and cocked eyebrow give it away.

You know, I like that it's the fifth episode and Rattrap still doesn't trust Dinobot. In so many other TF shows (like, all of them) a Decepticon will defect to the side of good and everyone trusts him right away. No mention is ever made of it again, and the traitor is welcomed whole-heartedly into their ranks. Not Rattrap. Not with this guy. Something stinks and it smells like scaley, raptor butt.

In any event, Primal's gone and it's now time to choose a new leader. Uh... choose? Did I say choose? I'm sorry, Dinobot's just going to claim leadership. The hell!! Over Rattrap's dead body! They're in each others' faces with swords and guns until Rhinox yanks the two of them apart. Honestly, Dinobot only thinks he's the toughest because he hasn't had to go against Rhinox yet. That guy would put him into the ground without a second thought.

So it's time to cast a secret vote to determine their new commander. BECAUSE RHINOX SAID SO. That's right, Dinobot, you're tough. We know, we know. You're just going along with it to keep everyone happy, right? Yeah. Right. *hehehe*

Four votes. Three Maximals. One Former Predacon. This one's in the bag. And the count is....

2 votes for Rattrap
2 votes for Dinobot

Rattrap understandably slams his fists on the table and demands to know who the other traitor is. You know what, I think I got this one figured out. Okay, so Rattrap obviously voted for himself. And Dinobot voted for himself. That just leaves Rhinox and Cheetor. So far Rhinox and Dinobot haven't been shown to have anything much of a friendship. And we know that Rattrap and Rhinox are pretty good friends. Cheetor, on the other hand, might think a little better of Dinobot after "Equal Measures," when Dinobot encouraged him to try and outrun the storm and at the end when the raptor gave the kid a knowing smile.
Contrast that to Rattrap, who saved Cheetor from Tarantulus but came down pretty hard on the kid afterwards in "The Web". Yeah, I think we know exactly who voted for Dinobot.

So it's a tie. No good. Dinobot decides to break the tie with some good ol' eye-lasers to the chest! Rattrap is blasted clear across the room and slams into the glass door on the elevator. I noticed that Rhinox is standing to the side of Dinobot and has his arm raised, ready to deliver what would surely be a knock-out punch (yeah, he voted for Rattrap :D ) when they all hear Primal's voice!

His voice is coming over their communications station! I love the microphone. It has a very um.... I want to say 1940s vibe about it with all the rings around the central mic. But anyway, he explains that he's got no body, but that his conciousness is somehow being stored inside the probe. He puts Rattrap in charge and warns them of an impending Predacon attack, because, you know, the Preds will surely want to take advantage of their smaller numbers now.

CHA-BOOM!!

Boss-monkey was right on the money. Preds outside! Three of them! To... take advantage of... the Maximals diminished numbers. Huh. It's 3 against 4 in the Maximals favor.
*smacks forehead*
WTF, MEGATRON! The idea was that you'd overpower them with your greater numbers, right? How can you do that when you only bring 3 Predacons with you! And this is supposed to be the smartest Megatron we've ever gotten. Geez.
So big fight and Rattrap finds himself already having to think on his feet and it's not easy. After some hard moments of thinking, he decides a frontal assault is the best plan.

Dinobot: "Pure madness."
Rhinox: "No, he's right!"

Translation: Get out there and fight before they bring the ceiling down on us!

Rattrap orders Rhinox to stay behind and cobble together a device to extract Primal from the probe. How? How exactly? Rhinox hasn't even seen the probe. He hasn't taken any scans, doesn't even know what it's made of. But he stays behind and gets to work. What a trooper.

Outside it's a big ol' slugfest and wouldn't you know that the odds are evened up now? Lucky for the Preds that Rattrap had Rhinox stay behind. Ooh! Megatron is charging right for Dinobot! I don't think we see him run too often, so it's pretty cool to see it here. He gets into a heavy stride, which looks realistic considering how big and lumbering he is. I was talking about a sense of weight in the last episode. A lot of CGI shows can't convey a convincing sense of weight, but I believe it here. Dinobot does a jump-kick right to Megatron's face and he's down! From there it boils down to a slugfest as Megatron throws a bunch of hay-makers Dinobot's way. Already this is much better to watch than that cheesey sword fight in the pilot episode. More hay-makers! A couple combinations! Dinobot lost his sword! It's not looking good. Ooh! SMACK!! A comeback! Dinobot is on the offensive and delivering 2 and 3-hit combos to Megs' mid-section. A knee to the face! Eye lasers to send him packing! Yeah!

Tarantulus is busting out with his machine gun spider legs. If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time we've seen them in the show. Right on. Terrorsaur is in the air causing trouble as usual. He's just about to bring the shields down for good and Rattrap knows it.

Rattrap: "Dinobot! Get those shields back to full power!"
Dinobot (getting gnawed on by a T-rex mouth) "A little busy here."
Rattrap: "That's an order!!! .... Please???"

Seriously, what's he expect ol' choppaface to do? The moment he turns away from Megs to head towards the shields' control panel, he'll just get shot in the back. Rattrap has no other choice but to do it himself. More shots from Terrorsaur! The power levels are practically beyond critical! More shots! Rattrap dives for the panel, rolls in the air, fires at Terrorsaur, lands, rolls, hits the button, full power to the shields and a stunned Terrorsaur gets a blast to the face. Awesome. :D

Tarantulus suggests a quick retreat so they can go claim the probe and meet up with reinforcements. So this whole time Scorponok and Waspinator have been guarding the probe... from all the Maximals who were cooped up in their base.

*glares at Megatron*
This was your plan.

The Preds run away and Dinobot's all feeling bad for disobeying an order.

Dinobot: "I am dishonored."
Rattrap: "Ehhh... next time."

Hehe. Great response. SO! Primal's still stuck in that probe. The probe that the Predacons are after. Guess where we're going, kiddies?
A short trip later and the Maximals arrive at the probe. Oddly enough, there's no sign of the Predacons, which should be their first indication that they've just walked into a trap.

Surely enough, the Preds all drop in behind them and it's another big firefight. The Maximals take cover behind the probe and trade shots whenver they can. Rhinox puts his new invention to work on the probe, and I just love this thing. It's duct-taped together and you can see the batteries and everything! Talk about cobbling together junk. It was a nice effort, but it's not doing a thing against the probe.

He looks up and in the reflection of the probe he sees Waspinator... sneaking up behind him. Oh no. Here it comes! He plays dumb for a moment... and then.... and then.... THE CHAINGUN OF DOOM!!! For a solid 7 seconds Rhinox shreds Waspinator to pieces with the most awesome weapon in the entire show at point blank range. Ohhhhhh My gawd! And can you believe that this is the first time in the entire show that Waspy has been really slagged?? Oh yes, it's the start of a new trend. :D

The twitching, spasming Waspinator stumbles back and falls against one of the stones in the stonehenge, causing an energy wave to ripple through the entire structure. Rhinox realized the truth a moment before he saw it; the entire place, the stonehenge and the probe are all a single device.

The whole place lights up and the probe opens like a flower petal (sorta). What in the world... what's going on inside that thing? Weeeeeird. A flash of light shoots out and Primal is restored to his old self! Better even! He takes advantage of the Predacons' surprise and brings them all down in short order.

Realizing they've lost the day, Megatron calls for his troops to withdraw. Funny how they just walk away and the Maximals just let them. I guess they were all sick of shooting at each other that day. Whew. But what a day. Well now, what to do with this probe thing?
Wait, what probe thing?
Where'd it go, it's gone! Dissolved into nothing! Oooh, you know that bad feeling Rhinox was getting at the start of this episode? It's coming back. Whoever sent that probe apparently learned everything they needed to know about the Maximals and Predacons. But who are they and what are they after?

Dinobot: "Are they enemies, friends, or something more..."

My bet is on something more but who knows? :P Anyway, that does it for this episode. Good episode too. I think this is the first one that really hinted at the bigger things to come in the near future. I really like seeing Rhinox analyze the planet and everything. I love his whole observation about how the energon doesn't match the geology of the planet. Stuff like that. How many Transformers cartoons actually bother to talk about the geology of the planet they're on?
Two moons, energon veins, stonehenge, etc. etc. They've really made the setting as much a factor of the story as the characters and I like that. Yep. Well I think that wraps it up for this one.

Next up: NOT "Power Surge". :D

You all know I like to spice these reviews up with some pictures from the episode, some Kodak moments, but it's starting to get a little out of hand. I started with 46 pictures from this episode and despite how much I tried to weed it down, I still have 26 pictures. It makes me laugh a little thinking that with the first episode of Beast Machines I somehow kept it to *just* 6 pictures. I'm so bad. But here they are for this episode!

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC8.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC10.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC14.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC15.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC24.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC26.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC1.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC2.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC3.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC4.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC5.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC6.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC7.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC9.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC11.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC12.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC13.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC16.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC17.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC18.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC19.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC20.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC21.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC22.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC23.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC25.jpg

[Mako Crab]

So Mako, looking forward to more episodes by you, you're doing a good job, also liked your BM and Energon reviews ^^

Aw, how did I miss your reply?! Thanks, I really had fun doing those two series, and I'm enjoying this one all the more. Energon though... my god was that series bad. I'm glad I wrote all my thoughts down the first time, because I don't know if I could sit through it all again. :P

[Belgrath]

I started watching BW when it first aired in Canada in late August of '96 (I was 18 then). It's what really got me back into TFs (didn't really care for the toys though).

BW will still remain my favorite TF generation (next to G1 and Animated). And BW Megs rocked (even as a dragon in season 3).

Man... I still need to score me seasons 2 and 3 of BW.

[Mako Crab]

OMG, I want Beast Wars on the PS3 RIGHT NOW. Just imagine all the flat, blank swaths of green that pass for grassy fields in the show being fully realized like this:

Gametrailers.com - fl0wer - TGS 07 Trailer (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/25233.html)
Gametrailers.com - fl0wer - E3 2008: Windmills Gameplay (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36157.html?type=flv)

[AniProwl]

"Let's do the trans-warp again!!!" :P

Right then! Next up is...

Chain of Command
written by Jesse Winfield

In the first episode of the series Rhinox spotted some stonehenge in a valley. Today we get to find out what that's all about! It starts out quietly enough. All the Maximals are along for this little field-trip and discover an energy source coming from a large pile of boulders at the center of the stonehenge. That's not... natural. Everyone wants to know who built the stonehenge anyway, but that's a question that'll have to wait for another day. The Predacons have shown up!

Quick little battle and wouldn't you know that Waspinator is the first one to fly up to Megatron's side. If "The Web" was about Tarantulus and "Equal Measures" was about Terrorsaur, then this episode is to highlight Waspinator even though this is more of a group-centric episode. It features Waspy more though. :D

Battle, battle, battle, and it's not going so well for the Preds. Notice that Scorponok is still wearing a Maximal badge! There's a scene in the Pred base later on where it's really easy to see. Terrorsaur takes a little initiative and decides that if they can't have it, no one can. He blasts the pile of boulders! The energon crystals hidden inside the pile start to resonate. Not good. Everyone flees the area and await the energon wave...

... but something else happens. A powerful energy beam is sent into space! A moment later the crystals disintegrate. You ever have one of those moments when you hate being right? Rhinox is having one of those right now. Looks like a signal, you say? A signal to who? Ooooh...

That evening... Optimus Primal is hanging out, reading a datapad. I really like that split second shot. I always said that Transformers Energon suffered from never showing their characters during their down-time, so little scenes like this are nice. Anyway, he spots a falling star? A stasis pod? What is that thing? He heads inside to confer with Rhinox. Whatever it is... it's heading for the standing stones, er- I mean the stonehenge. Are we freaking out yet?!?!?!

Over at the Predacon base the object in the sky has also been spotted. Megatron calls out for a flier to join him and Waspinator is the lucky volunteer. And they're off.

At the stonehenge Primal and Dinobot have arrived first. A gold, egg-shaped probe hovers just above the base where the pile of boulders had been. Before they can examine it too closely, Primal is blasted by Waspinator. Yes, Waspinator! It's dark, I love this lighting, and Waspy gently touches down on the ground with a little "clank" as he does. Wow, that pose and everything. He's actually fairly confident and in-charge looking. What a badass. :D

They prepare to double-team Dinobot while Primal is down, but the Probe begins glowing and building up energy. Oh no!!! It emits a wave of energon that completely overloads everyone there. They're all reeling in agony as white light pours out of their mouths and eyes, when the probe fires another shot that hits Primal. The boss-monkey vanishes in a flash of light!

BOSS-MONKEY, NOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Sometime later... Dinobot's optics slowly come into focus to the sight of Rattrap, Cheetor and Rhinox all standing before him. He freaks out and thinks he's in a Maximal torture chamber! He busts out of there and runs to the other side of the room still freaking out before he finally calms down and realizes where he is. Heh. Cute bit as he's busting out when Cheetor's all like, "Heyyy." He sounds annoyed more than surprised. Rattrap tells him that Maximals don't have torture chambers although it's an idea he could get used to. Hehe.

For shame, Rattrap! Actually, no. That put a smile on my face for the simple reason that you'd never hear a good guy in any other TF toon say that. :) Rattrap is already suspicious of Dinobot, saying that *someone* dumped him outside their base like an innocent little orphan. Dinobot tells them what happened and already you can see that Rattrap's more suspicious of Dinobot than any alien probe. The squinty optic and cocked eyebrow give it away.

You know, I like that it's the fifth episode and Rattrap still doesn't trust Dinobot. In so many other TF shows (like, all of them) a Decepticon will defect to the side of good and everyone trusts him right away. No mention is ever made of it again, and the traitor is welcomed whole-heartedly into their ranks. Not Rattrap. Not with this guy. Something stinks and it smells like scaley, raptor butt.

In any event, Primal's gone and it's now time to choose a new leader. Uh... choose? Did I say choose? I'm sorry, Dinobot's just going to claim leadership. The hell!! Over Rattrap's dead body! They're in each others' faces with swords and guns until Rhinox yanks the two of them apart. Honestly, Dinobot only thinks he's the toughest because he hasn't had to go against Rhinox yet. That guy would put him into the ground without a second thought.

So it's time to cast a secret vote to determine their new commander. BECAUSE RHINOX SAID SO. That's right, Dinobot, you're tough. We know, we know. You're just going along with it to keep everyone happy, right? Yeah. Right. *hehehe*

Four votes. Three Maximals. One Former Predacon. This one's in the bag. And the count is....

2 votes for Rattrap
2 votes for Dinobot

Rattrap understandably slams his fists on the table and demands to know who the other traitor is. You know what, I think I got this one figured out. Okay, so Rattrap obviously voted for himself. And Dinobot voted for himself. That just leaves Rhinox and Cheetor. So far Rhinox and Dinobot haven't been shown to have anything much of a friendship. And we know that Rattrap and Rhinox are pretty good friends. Cheetor, on the other hand, might think a little better of Dinobot after "Equal Measures," when Dinobot encouraged him to try and outrun the storm and at the end when the raptor gave the kid a knowing smile.
Contrast that to Rattrap, who saved Cheetor from Tarantulus but came down pretty hard on the kid afterwards in "The Web". Yeah, I think we know exactly who voted for Dinobot.

So it's a tie. No good. Dinobot decides to break the tie with some good ol' eye-lasers to the chest! Rattrap is blasted clear across the room and slams into the glass door on the elevator. I noticed that Rhinox is standing to the side of Dinobot and has his arm raised, ready to deliver what would surely be a knock-out punch (yeah, he voted for Rattrap :D ) when they all hear Primal's voice!

His voice is coming over their communications station! I love the microphone. It has a very um.... I want to say 1940s vibe about it with all the rings around the central mic. But anyway, he explains that he's got no body, but that his conciousness is somehow being stored inside the probe. He puts Rattrap in charge and warns them of an impending Predacon attack, because, you know, the Preds will surely want to take advantage of their smaller numbers now.

CHA-BOOM!!

Boss-monkey was right on the money. Preds outside! Three of them! To... take advantage of... the Maximals diminished numbers. Huh. It's 3 against 4 in the Maximals favor.
*smacks forehead*
WTF, MEGATRON! The idea was that you'd overpower them with your greater numbers, right? How can you do that when you only bring 3 Predacons with you! And this is supposed to be the smartest Megatron we've ever gotten. Geez.
So big fight and Rattrap finds himself already having to think on his feet and it's not easy. After some hard moments of thinking, he decides a frontal assault is the best plan.

Dinobot: "Pure madness."
Rhinox: "No, he's right!"

Translation: Get out there and fight before they bring the ceiling down on us!

Rattrap orders Rhinox to stay behind and cobble together a device to extract Primal from the probe. How? How exactly? Rhinox hasn't even seen the probe. He hasn't taken any scans, doesn't even know what it's made of. But he stays behind and gets to work. What a trooper.

Outside it's a big ol' slugfest and wouldn't you know that the odds are evened up now? Lucky for the Preds that Rattrap had Rhinox stay behind. Ooh! Megatron is charging right for Dinobot! I don't think we see him run too often, so it's pretty cool to see it here. He gets into a heavy stride, which looks realistic considering how big and lumbering he is. I was talking about a sense of weight in the last episode. A lot of CGI shows can't convey a convincing sense of weight, but I believe it here. Dinobot does a jump-kick right to Megatron's face and he's down! From there it boils down to a slugfest as Megatron throws a bunch of hay-makers Dinobot's way. Already this is much better to watch than that cheesey sword fight in the pilot episode. More hay-makers! A couple combinations! Dinobot lost his sword! It's not looking good. Ooh! SMACK!! A comeback! Dinobot is on the offensive and delivering 2 and 3-hit combos to Megs' mid-section. A knee to the face! Eye lasers to send him packing! Yeah!

Tarantulus is busting out with his machine gun spider legs. If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time we've seen them in the show. Right on. Terrorsaur is in the air causing trouble as usual. He's just about to bring the shields down for good and Rattrap knows it.

Rattrap: "Dinobot! Get those shields back to full power!"
Dinobot (getting gnawed on by a T-rex mouth) "A little busy here."
Rattrap: "That's an order!!! .... Please???"

Seriously, what's he expect ol' choppaface to do? The moment he turns away from Megs to head towards the shields' control panel, he'll just get shot in the back. Rattrap has no other choice but to do it himself. More shots from Terrorsaur! The power levels are practically beyond critical! More shots! Rattrap dives for the panel, rolls in the air, fires at Terrorsaur, lands, rolls, hits the button, full power to the shields and a stunned Terrorsaur gets a blast to the face. Awesome. :D

Tarantulus suggests a quick retreat so they can go claim the probe and meet up with reinforcements. So this whole time Scorponok and Waspinator have been guarding the probe... from all the Maximals who were cooped up in their base.

*glares at Megatron*
This was your plan.

The Preds run away and Dinobot's all feeling bad for disobeying an order.

Dinobot: "I am dishonored."
Rattrap: "Ehhh... next time."

Hehe. Great response. SO! Primal's still stuck in that probe. The probe that the Predacons are after. Guess where we're going, kiddies?
A short trip later and the Maximals arrive at the probe. Oddly enough, there's no sign of the Predacons, which should be their first indication that they've just walked into a trap.

Surely enough, the Preds all drop in behind them and it's another big firefight. The Maximals take cover behind the probe and trade shots whenver they can. Rhinox puts his new invention to work on the probe, and I just love this thing. It's duct-taped together and you can see the batteries and everything! Talk about cobbling together junk. It was a nice effort, but it's not doing a thing against the probe.

He looks up and in the reflection of the probe he sees Waspinator... sneaking up behind him. Oh no. Here it comes! He plays dumb for a moment... and then.... and then.... THE CHAINGUN OF DOOM!!! For a solid 7 seconds Rhinox shreds Waspinator to pieces with the most awesome weapon in the entire show at point blank range. Ohhhhhh My gawd! And can you believe that this is the first time in the entire show that Waspy has been really slagged?? Oh yes, it's the start of a new trend. :D

The twitching, spasming Waspinator stumbles back and falls against one of the stones in the stonehenge, causing an energy wave to ripple through the entire structure. Rhinox realized the truth a moment before he saw it; the entire place, the stonehenge and the probe are all a single device.

The whole place lights up and the probe opens like a flower petal (sorta). What in the world... what's going on inside that thing? Weeeeeird. A flash of light shoots out and Primal is restored to his old self! Better even! He takes advantage of the Predacons' surprise and brings them all down in short order.

Realizing they've lost the day, Megatron calls for his troops to withdraw. Funny how they just walk away and the Maximals just let them. I guess they were all sick of shooting at each other that day. Whew. But what a day. Well now, what to do with this probe thing?
Wait, what probe thing?
Where'd it go, it's gone! Dissolved into nothing! Oooh, you know that bad feeling Rhinox was getting at the start of this episode? It's coming back. Whoever sent that probe apparently learned everything they needed to know about the Maximals and Predacons. But who are they and what are they after?

Dinobot: "Are they enemies, friends, or something more..."

My bet is on something more but who knows? :P Anyway, that does it for this episode. Good episode too. I think this is the first one that really hinted at the bigger things to come in the near future. I really like seeing Rhinox analyze the planet and everything. I love his whole observation about how the energon doesn't match the geology of the planet. Stuff like that. How many Transformers cartoons actually bother to talk about the geology of the planet they're on?
Two moons, energon veins, stonehenge, etc. etc. They've really made the setting as much a factor of the story as the characters and I like that. Yep. Well I think that wraps it up for this one.

Next up: NOT "Power Surge". :D

You all know I like to spice these reviews up with some pictures from the episode, some Kodak moments, but it's starting to get a little out of hand. I started with 46 pictures from this episode and despite how much I tried to weed it down, I still have 26 pictures. It makes me laugh a little thinking that with the first episode of Beast Machines I somehow kept it to *just* 6 pictures. I'm so bad. But here they are for this episode!

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC8.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC10.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC14.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC15.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC24.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC26.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC1.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC2.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC3.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC4.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC5.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC6.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC7.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC9.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC11.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC12.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC13.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC16.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/MakoCrab/CoC17.jpg
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A great review for one of the best early Beast Wars episodes.

[SPLIT LIP]

WTF, MEGATRON! The idea was that you'd overpower them with your greater numbers, right? How can you do that when you only bring 3 Predacons with you! And this is supposed to be the smartest Megatron we've ever gotten. Geez.I think you're forgetting that in Meagtron's mind, one Predacon is an easy match for two Maximals. Not to mention Megatron is there himself and they have no Primal.

I think he meant outnumbered in the sense that they were outmatched in skill, not literall numbers.

Besides, Megatron's plan was to attack the Maximals before they got to the probe, hence why Wasp and Scorps were there for the pounce later on. (which, if it were not for Primal's return, might've worked)


Also, Tarantulas used his spider leg guns in the first ep. Actually the first weapon he used in BW.


Great review. One of my favourite eps. You neglected to mention the SHADOWS (a rarity in BW) at the beginning. Always, always love them shadows.

[Mako Crab]

Yeah, it was probably something along those lines. I think the whole idea was to get a jump on the Maximals before they had time to sort out the new pecking order and get things settled down. But then Primal came over the microphone and said, "They'll be after you now that you're outnumbered" and it stuck in my head. :P

Also, it was pointed out to me that Starscream in Armada went largely untrusted for several episodes by almost all of the Autobots until he finally ditched their suspicious a$$e$. Sooo.... okay. Man, just thinking about Starscream almost makes me want to consider revisiting Armada. Almost...

Shadows? :P

[Mako Crab]

Fallen Comrades
written by Bob Forward

This is actually a pretty good episode despite the fact that it introduces Tigatron. Sorry, Tigatron fans, I just don't like the guy. But this episode manages to be good anyway, mainly because Tigatron is wisely kept absent for the all but the last two minutes. Hehehe. Sorry again, Tigatron fans!

The episode starts out simply enough. Waaay high up in orbit Tigatron's stasis pod begins to fall towards the Earth. The Maximals and Predacons are both watching this very closely and it's great to hear Terrorsaur's enthusiasm. Can you tell he's been cooped up in the base for a while? But now imagine this; you're falling from orbit. No parachute, no landing gear, no thrusters. Falling. And you're inside a coffin. Tigatron's stasis pod slams into the snowy terrain in the northern hemisphere and you KNOW his head got beat around the inside of that pod! AhaHAaHAaHahahaaHAHA!

*wipes a tear away* Ahh... I so hate Tigatron. :)

So Terrorsaur's all anxious to get moving, but Megatron has other ideas. With only one flier on the Maximal team, he decides it'd be in their best interest to take out Optimus Primal first. Good, good thinking.
At the Maximal base Primal seems just as eager to get to the pod as Terrorsaur. I can't belive that Dinobot is actually being the voice of caution in this scene. That almost never happens.

Dinobot: "Megatron does not always act as one might expect."
Primal: "He'll want to get to the pod first, same as us."

I like this. In the broad scope of things Primal and Megatron get to know each other very well to the point where they can almost predict each others' moves, but early on we see Primal still has a lot to learn about his adversary.
Dinobot convinces Primal to allow him to exit the base first and make sure Waspinator and Terrorsaur aren't waiting right there to ambush him. D'oh! We get this wonderful night shot of the Axalon that I love. It's quiet, you can hear the birds and animals chirping, and it's just... hmm... maybe too quiet. Dinobot returns inside and requests to lead a full-on scouting party. Primal ain't having none of it! There's a pod to be rescued! No time for dilly dallying! They both exit the Axalon and Primal takes to the air, hovering while he gives Dinobot orders to follow along with the other Maximals.

OMG IT'S TERRORSAUR AND WASPINATOR!!! They blast Primal and he goes down hard, but not before Dinobot can retaliate. He blasts a giant boulder, that falls right on top of Waspy. Doesn't matter. Terrorsaur blasts the boulder apart and helps Waspy up and into the air. Aww! See, they do care. :)

Cheetor and Dinobot run to Optimus' side. Oh no! Oh he's dead! Really, really dead!

Dinobot: "Fear not, I will insure your funeral is a glorious one!
Primal (half dead): "Afraid not. I'm not scrap yet."
Dinobot: "You sure? It'd be really cool."

Hehehe. Back at the Predacon base! And can you believe that Waspy and Terrorsaur bothered returning to their base? Why didn't they blast Primal and then head right for the stasis pod themselves? Wasting more time here, guys. Megatron figures out what the Maximals' next move will be; they'll send a land party. Um... yeaaah. What else? Wasn't that the whole idea in the first place?
This is my favorite Megatron ever, and he is widely regarded as the smartest of all Megatrons, but every now and then he's way too impressed by his own ability to state the obvious. Guess what he does next? He sends Terrorsaur and Waspinator to go fetch the stasis pod! OMG, what a clever plan! At least he has the good sense to load up Scorpy and Tarantulus and attack the Axalon while everyone else is out.

So everyone's on the move! The Maximals are a little wary leaving Dinobot alone to guard the base while Primal is in the CR chamber, but there wasn't much choice since both of them got damaged. And just up north it seems there's a problem... the stasis pod hatch pops open and Tigatron is instantly hit with a searing wave of pain as his systems overload from the energon radiation!!

AhaHAHAHahahahAHAHAHAAA!

Back to all the Preds and Maxis on the move. Good blizzard effects. Looks nasty and cold, but the blizzard only lasts for a couple seconds. Aww. Terrorsaur and Waspy spot the Maximals down below and decide to have a little fun. They unload with everything they've got, but the two Preds are proving to be really capable at dodging today. Hey hey. Ice bridge! Terrorsuar and Waspy fly right *through* the bridge and destroy it! Awwwesome. They're having a really good day today. Smoking Primal, evading thousands of shots, taking out the bridge. Yeah, doing good. I like seeing these two paired up. They should do it more often.

Rattrap calls into the Axalon, because the lack of a bridge kinda' screws up their plans. Dinobot just yells back over the comm. that he will accept no excuses and then closes the channel. Still, even he knows that their chances of beating the Preds are slim, so he accesses the mind of Primal while he's still in the CR chamber. Kind of a cool little trick. A hologram of Primal's head appears over their conference table and they're able to discuss their options. If they could somehow send a signal to the pod and activate it... but they'd need something to bounce the signal off of.

Dinobot has a moment of inspiration and gets topside right away, setting up a big satellite dish that seems to be aimed at the moon. Just then Megatron appears! He's not even trying to be sneaky. He just comes right out and says hello. He offers Dinobot the chance to surrender the base him and reclaim his place as a Predacon. Sounds tempting, but Dinobot doesn't go for it. He blasts Megatron in the face! Oh but Megs isn't worried. While he was acting as the distraction, Scorpy and Tarantulus have snuch up behind Dinobot and blast him.
Charred and on fire, Dinobot rolls to safety and activates the auto-guns just in time. They make quick work of the Preds and Megatron calls for a quick retreat. Aww, it sounded like a halfway decent plan, but that's how things go sometimes.

Inside the Axalon Primal comes out of the CR chamber just as Dinobot goes in. That thing gets a lot of use. Oh yeah, and they activate the satellite dish. The programming signal bounces off the moon and hits the stasis pod, feeding it info and whatever else.

And way up north Rhinox, Cheetor and Rattrap have finally caught up to Terrorsaur and Waspy, who are already well into the process of cutting open the stasis pod. It's a stand-off, when Megatron shows up and tips the balance of power. He takes aim at a couple white tigers nearby and threatens to kill them if the Maximals don't give up the stasis pod.
The Maximals comply and Megs heads over to the stasis pod. Come on! He's not aiming at the tigers anymore! Go for it! Or... not. Turns out there's another surprise in store for Megatron anyway. The pod is finally opened and there's nothing inside.

Megatron: "Whaa-aa-aat???? Where is the Maximal??
Tigatron: (in the softest, soft voice ever): "Right... here."

Oh gawd, here we go. One of the white tigers transforms and it's minty green Tigatron! He fires some wrist rockets and everyone gets in on the fight. The Predacons are blown halfway back to their base. And then the fun part!

Optimus Primal: "Hey, you'd be a great asset to the team. We could really use the extra help."
Tigatron: "That's why I'm going to stay up here. Screw all you guys. Nyah nyah!"

Really, it's for the best. Tigatron just never meshed really well with the whole team. Better to keep him up north where it's cold and distant; just like him. He says that his identity programming is all screwed up and he still isn't entirely sure who he is or where he belongs. Maximal or tiger? He gives a wink over to his new tiger friend. For being a big cat, Tigatron sure is a dog. A dog!!!

Primal: "Alright, but I have a feeling we'll be meeting again. And soon."

Not too soon, I hope. The end!

What can I say about this episode, really? It's good, it's fun, I like seeing Waspy and Terrorsaur as a team (why didn't they do that more often?). Tigatron is barely in it, which is perfect. Yeah, this one was pretty good all around. It was a simple race to see who could get to the pod first, but they threw in enough spice to make it TAS-TAY!!

Next up: Double Jeapordy! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Power Surge.


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