WTF Primetime - 38 - The Human Legacy - September 24 2012

Discussion in 'WTF @ TFW Transformers Podcast' started by Vangelus, Oct 4, 2012.

  1. Vangelus

    Vangelus Long Live the New Flesh Moderator Content Contributor

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    WTF Primetime - 38 - The Human Legacy - September 24 2012

    [​IMG]

    Double Primetime double-touchdowns double again with double Vangelus, double GogDog, and one big Aaron. The Human Factor and Legacy are in the discussionary bullseye, and upcoming episode promo talk awaits in the unofficial 3rd party spoiler section.

    iTunes users - You can subscribe to and review the podcast here:
    iTunes Store

    Zune users - You can subscribe here:

    zune://subscribe/?WTF@TFW=http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/external.php?type=rss2&forumids=404

    The RSS feed which includes a media link for the m4a file is:

    WTF @ TFW Transformers Podcast - TFW2005.com

    And if you want an MP3 version, it's linked below:
    http://www.tfw2005.net/podcast/WTF_Primetime_-_38_-_The_Human_Legacy_-_September_24_2012.mp3
     
  2. soundwave142

    soundwave142 Decepticon over-seer

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    YAY!!!
     
  3. Hypershock

    Hypershock Well-Known Member

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    wow i got me a Primetime shoutout :eek:  :D  thanks a bunch guys!!

    Also, Vangelus, for the last chapter, you should have photoshopped the podcast logo to be red.... RED WTF PRIMETIME!!!!!!
     
  4. worldsgreatest

    worldsgreatest Well-Known Member

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    This is hard to listen to since I so completely and wholeheartedly disagree with everything single word being expressed about the Human Factor!
     
  5. LordGigaIce

    LordGigaIce A Chair!

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    Hmmm....
    I can't say I agree with the hate re: Human Factor. I can see where you're all coming from as fans of the MECH concept, but truth be told I never cared much for them. Their episodes were always low points in the show for me. Now Alpha/Omega? That's the kind of stuff I like in my Transformers cartoons.
    So MECH getting killed off in the span of a single episode really doesn't bother me.
     
  6. Noizemaze

    Noizemaze Noisemaze Collector

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    Silas and MECH was Prime's chance to give the "Human Element" some actual bite in a Transformers series without resorting to McGuffins and poorly written plot magic. The kids are the anchor for the kids watching the series, but their contributions to Team Prime are suspect at best. Other military organizations are normally portrayed as useless against Cybertronians unless it serves the plot. Silas and MECH was, and could have been, an interesting foil to both Autobots and Decepticons. Instead, we got another McGuffin of the Week episode and a sudden closure to one of the more interesting factions in the series.

    The ideas around a Transformer/Human hybrid were good. I got an odd Twisted Metal vibe when I saw that Silas couldn't leave his new robot body, and was essentially stuck in the drivers seat in vehicle mode. This was a cool concept and a neat contrast of the pros and cons of Silas' new situation.

    I suppose I was disappointed that this could have gone in an interesting and somewhat dark direction, but instead 4/5ths of the episode was just business as usual.
     
  7. ronin0510

    ronin0510 Well-Known Member

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    Oh yeah it did give off that feeling of axel being bound to those tires in twisted metal.
     
  8. Stardust262

    Stardust262 Moe is the Only Way

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    So much to listen to, so little time
     
  9. LordGigaIce

    LordGigaIce A Chair!

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    Is the Damocles satellite really a McGruffin? I mean I guess it is, but whenever people complain about a McGruffin on this show it's usually in reference to some Cybertronian artifact that has never been mentioned before and rarely gets mentioned later.
    With Damocles, it was mentioned in a previous episode, and it wasn't Cybertronian in origin. It avoided the aspects people seem most tired of as it relates to McGruffins on this show.

    As for MECH? Everything you said about them is true. I just did not care for them in the episodes that featured them. So again, I can't bring myself to get upset at the way the writers did away with them.
     
  10. Noizemaze

    Noizemaze Noisemaze Collector

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    It was a main plot point for a single episode and then destroyed, making no real impact on the overall development of the cast or story.
     
  11. LordGigaIce

    LordGigaIce A Chair!

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    Fair enough. Like I said before though, I don't see it as a McGruffin in the sense that when people complain about McGruffins in Prime they're referring to random Cybertronian trash on Earth. Which the satellite was not. Given its previous mention, it also wasn't completely random.
    A McGruffin? Yeah. A bad use of a McGruffin? Debatable.
     
  12. GogDog

    GogDog Logic's wayward son Veteran

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    The definition of McGuffin is not "Cybertronian artifact." We've never tried to offer a skewed definition of the term, either. This was a great opportunity for a great character-centric show, and instead, they used a MacGuffin to drive the plot, and the ep focused on that more than it did Silas, IMO, and that's one of the many reason I consider this episode a failure.

    If you liked it, that's awesome! I did not.
     
  13. LordGigaIce

    LordGigaIce A Chair!

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    Sorry for the misunderstanding. I didn't mean you (you or the podcast) skewed the term. Just in general, when people discuss the show. I'm well aware of what a McGruffin is, but usually when people say "I'm sick of McGruffins in Prime" they refer to a particular kind. So I find it a bit odd to decry something that doesn't fit that get decried as such.

    Never said I thought this episode was particularly strong either.
    Just that a lot of your disappointment in it seems to come from how MECH and Silas were used/portrayed. As someone who doesn't really care, I can't bring myself to get angry about how those elements were misused.
    It was just a so-so episode for me. I just popped in here to say that the love of Silas/MECH and the disappointment in how they were used didn't ruin the episode for everyone who watched it :\
     
  14. Noizemaze

    Noizemaze Noisemaze Collector

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    Fair enough. Though, perhaps it's because we were expecting a Silas-centric episode due to the episode preview that some of us were extra disappointed. The lead up to the episode really made it seem like this would be a Silas and MECH story.
     
  15. LordGigaIce

    LordGigaIce A Chair!

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    I can definitely see your point there. I think what they were saying on the podcast seems dead on. Like they started off Prime with a clear idea of where to go, but got sidetracked by these other elements they introduced, like MECH.
    It would also explain why the show has a bit of a "where is this going?" feel to it.
     
  16. worldsgreatest

    worldsgreatest Well-Known Member

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    You guys said it yourselves:

    Slias' main function as a character was to achieve control of/or become a Cybertronian. That was M.E.C.H's full function as an entity: to propel Silas.

    While I respect the military info from Gogdog, I will have to respectfully disagree with the opinion that it should be applied to M.E.C.H.

    For this reason only: Prime isn't that kind of show

    Our hope that it could be or should be isn't enough to make it so. Regardless, M.E.C.H. is basically analogous to A.I.M to me. They aren't a family or a team of engineers, they're terrorists. They're anonymous. They're replaceable.

    And as a vehicle for Silas, seeing as how he reached his final arc, his assassination of them made total sense in context of both story and character. Was it lazy? Sure. Did it make sense? To me, yes.

    Again, Silas' arc made sense to me even as far as him teaming up with Megatron. It's a clash of egos. CYRUS believes he is superior. Hence I believe that his intent was the ultimate takeover of the Decepticons from inside. He was a cocky mofo.

    Megatron (through all incarnations) has always had an intense distain for small fleshy creatures. Giving CYRUS a mission and having him fail seems almost like a zero-sum game to me. I took it to mean that it didn't matter if he succeeded or failed:

    Megatron was going to chop him up no matter the outcome

    Also: if you don't see the body, he isn't dead. Like you guys said.

    Applying real world physics to a children's cartoon is...weird. I skipped that part of the Podcast.

    Anyway. Just my two cents.
     
  17. worldsgreatest

    worldsgreatest Well-Known Member

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    To me it was one of the strongest episodes of the season. The Breakdown/CYRUS fight was rad.
     
  18. Rexidus

    Rexidus Autobot

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    The more I listen to this podcast the more I realize I agree with you guys. I loved the show when it started. I was super eager for every episode; I stalked the Prime forums.

    But lately yeah, the constant fumbling and meandering of the plot is wearing on me. This series COULD have been the best since Beast Wars, it has the talent. But the writing is just so dull...
     
  19. TedimusPrime

    TedimusPrime Full Time Toy Designer

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    more exciting than normal podcast
     
  20. Stardust262

    Stardust262 Moe is the Only Way

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    Oh my, I was already looking forward to the Alpha; Omega PrimeTime after this, but now I'm really looking forward to it