An RID Drift in the original AOE concept's colour scheme, a version of Steeljaw, a prison ship......


I'm almost expecting Lockdown, Stinger and some of the other Dinobots to make an appearance.

 

Escaped prisoners does mean job opportunities for bounty hunters.

And I would kill to see an Aligned Lockdown.

 

It would be great to see another take on Lockdown turn up to recapture some of the cons. Working on his own against both factions could make things very interesting.

 

I'm somewhat pleased that this isn't yet another 'Optimus vs Megatron' story. There's more to the TF multiverse than that.

I wonder who the main bad guy of this series is. Steeljaw seems prominent, but previous Steeljaws have tended to be sidekicks. There may be a bigger baddie that hasn't been revealed yet. And there may be more going on than a prison breakout.


I'd be curious to see this Bumblebee's reaction to an RID Stinger.

Also in the trailer, Fixit was showing silhouettes of escaped Decepticons. Only a few were shown but I suspect those particular ones will appear in the show.

 

Well, Optimus not staying "dead" is a given (Having read the Covenant that particular hint doesnt' come as any huge shock, he's come back from diving into the well once before).

I'm curious to know how the prisoners scanned animal-like forms. Seems like this would another Shockwave experiment.

Also the show already has a fair number of plot hooks:

- Season 1 looks to be a prisoner round-up, though the note about some of the prisoners having a larger agenda is omnious.

- Grimlock's memory is easily a plothook for an S2 arc.

- We were told that if they do an S2 we'd see TFP characters again, more arc fodder right there.

- Optimus coming back

- What the hell happened to Megatron?

- How did the ship crash on Earth in the first place?

So even from these few clips and information you've easily got three seasons worth of material.

 

TF is just not a fictional leader anymore. It simply follows perceived fads and it is pretty sad. From the "check off each color on the color wheel" cast a la Sentai, to the villain of the week model, to overdone humor, to the overly-cartooned style they stray farther and farther from any robotic aspect, anything unique or original, and any chance of good saga fans can really care about. Prime was a step in the right direction besides the character designs which were very hit and miss (Megatron - hit, Smokescreen - miss). The Animated style was fun - for one series (that ended too soon). Now the style is getting old fast and mixed with movie style it is once again leading to toys that can't come close to replicating the designs, especially with the simplified versions we're getting (and minimal paint apps). It all just seems so blah. What really is new and interesting here? What is here that isn't already done better on countless other kids shows?

Also, I find it really stupid in the one clip that they have to be "Robots in Disguise" and then Grimlock, who is suddenly a Decepticon (so much for better continuity) stomps off in his big, really really fat and green T-Rex mode. So forced. The whole name is annoying as well since there already is a Robots in Disguise series. They certainly could have come up with something better.

Finally, Bumblebee still looks terrible and needs to go away asap. I swear to Chief Illiniwek if he becomes a Prime I'm going to pee in a manila envelope and mail it to Hasbro. I feel sorry for all the kids who grow up and realize the character is a loser and a sham.

 

I'd say that RID looks to be the most innovative Transformers cartoon in ages:

- Optimus and Megatron absent from the main cast
- Two brand-new Autobot characters.
- All brand-new Decepticons, with a unique beast-to-vehicle theme.

Obviously it's similar to other modern children's cartoons, just like the G1 cartoon is similar to other eighties children's cartoons. What's interesting is how it compares to previous Transformers fiction, and I would say that it compares very favourably to the mostly uninventive (barring some stuff like Earth being Unicron) Prime cartoon.

 

I think RID has potential, so I'm willing to give it a chance. Bumblebee is clearly still trying to get the hang of being a leader. I'm finding his new team to be more interesting than his previous one was at the beginning of Prime.


About that Shark-type 'Con, that might actually be Sky-Byte. It is Robots in Disguise, after all. We could be in for some poetry.

 

From what I've heard on the forums, the Kre-O packaging says the shark is called "Hammerstrike".

 

I agree its very refreshing for the Transformers brand, for both adding all these new characters to our obsessive pool, and for refreshing consumers that are getting burnt out year after year on the same movie heroes.
Watching it closely you can see that only the characters and things they interact with are CGI and everything static or background is more traditionally drawn. Its not distracting, but it does make me think the CGI models are the expensive part of the show and for all the unique decepticon models that their trying to curb their CGI investment more than prime which had damage models for every character.


I especially love the range of emotion on the Autobot faces.

Not as bothered by bumblebee as others. Though will friedle is going to make me think Terry Mcginnis for a while into this.

In many ways this could be the most likeable modern bumblebee out of all of them. Just because I feel for his groans and facepalms while trying to maintain control over the madcap situation.

I'm all for a new take on Grimlock anyway. This origin kind of coincidently works with him being a was even a prisoner on Garrus 9 in last Stand of the Wreckers. Total coincidence from Dinobots just being wild powerhouses the autobots sometimes have to contain. Also what if the decepticon badge and grimlocks memory loss turn out to be a conspiracy by the con in charge who wanted to manipulate him into their ranks. (A plot that both G1 megatron and Animated megatron played with in controlling the dinobots.)
The direction to have him speak normally is a bold one. But he maintains the bravado and power to try to supplant bumblebees leadership, just like G1 grimlock to prime.

 

I think the chances they're taking fiction-wise are 95% great. I'm definitely going to give the show a chance. This is a cool direction and I love when we get brand new characters, especially weird new Decepticons.

But, much like Prime, I am not into the visual style. I really prefer the blocky mecha feel of the CHUG lines, though I realize that does not lend itself to the expressive storytelling they want to do.

In short, I really want this cartoon to do well, and achieve its goal: bringing in a brand new crop of fans into the fold and buying toys. I just won't be buying them myself, except as presents to my nephews and nieces.

I do look forward to seeing which of these characters will make their way into the "G1" continuity, sort of like how Beast Wars show up in IDW, or Lugnut got a Universe-styled entry.

 

Stop the thread, everyone, Jalaguy won.

 

I agree with you two. It's a big risk for Hasbro to do for a new cartoon like this. I do appreciate that.

 

I really like what I'm hearing about this new TV series.  

It looks pretty unique, I love that their trying to make new characters. I also really like how some of the Decepticons are beasts that turn into vehicles, I think its a cool concept.

 

I think this show is trying to break down Transformers in a different way, every show does but this show is not like Animated were we saw all the g1 references and reliance. Hard to explain especially at this time of the night but they are going back to basics and presenting it with subtle tweeks to grab kids imagination... More on that when i can think better.

Its probably been said but fixits friends, johnny5 and ai will probably show up and combine into a big monster robot. Oh the darlings. Oh spoiler tag. It ties into aligned and amalgamous prime quite nicely which gets the thumbs up, obvious as it is.

 

I'm excited for the series, only because its Transformers. After Prime, though, I'm extremely skeptical that it be it consistently good. Not to mention, it actually looks childish

 

Grimlock being an ex con makes me wish they named him Goryu; too Goryu and the Dinoforce aren't that well known though