Here's the thing, when HUB/Discovery/Whatever started airing Hasbro shows, you had GI Joe Renegades which was possibly one of my favorite iterations of that franchise, MLP (and we know how much of a wonderful money making beast of excellence that has become), Transformers Prime which had some good characters, good toys, and meh writing, and then there was Rescue Bots. The show was never intended to be a true Transformers series, it was a version of Superhero Squad with Transformer elements. But one thing I noticed was that in spite of what some would consider 'pandering' to the kids (which I don't consider a factor, there is a very definite demographic for the show and it's stamped on the toy boxes), there was some seriously great writing and voice direction going on. If you've ever watched about 2 decades of cartoons like I have you notice quality of production when it is there. For the show to hit 100 episodes, win the awards it has, and still be watched means it's getting the ratings. Kids eat the toys up. I know I probably sound like I'm white knighting it, but I don't think this show was a fluke.

It also proves a very important point to the Transformers as a template. The last 30 years have been about robots at war. Constant war, where characters die, and there is always a good versus evil. Rescue Bots shows that the Autobots can actually work without the Decepticons being present. Yes the dangers are softball and immediately negated within a good half hour, but the writers have managed to mix in personal issues, family dynamics, and some values that are hard to find in a lot of series. I have some catching up to do for the more recent episodes, but as a fan of the franchise I really enjoy this series.

 

I echo your sentiments. I watched it with my kid and really fallen in love with it. Even the toys, Optimus Primal with nods to BW Optimus Primal, BW Megatron, AOE Grimlock is just awesome! "Better drill faster to prevent disaster!"

This show is top quality, great job Rescue Bots!

 

Congrats.

Hopefully there will be another show made some day that gets a hundred more specifically a mainline show.

 

Congrats Rescue Bots!

 

My only problem with this series is I binge it and then get that song stuck in my head... oh Hasbro, will you release a soundtrack already?! or at least a single of the Rescue Bots theme?

 

It's not like kids haven't been an essential part of just about every Transformers series and saved the day on more than one occasion.

 

I love this idea.

 

The characters seem intriguing enough, but I wish we'd get gritty reboots of them. I'd love to see a beefed up Heatwave with giant rocket pods...and double bazooka, and a machine gun and his other more bigger gun...

 

Congratulations RescueBots!

You had me at Flobsters. 

 

I\'ve found out which the 2 extra episodes are now - the ones from series 2 that where missed but are being shown in the UK in 1 hours time. The Riders of Midwinter 2.20

Chief Woodrow 2.22

 

You're absolutely right. But to what degree?

Sure, it's implausible for a human character to outsmart and defeat a Decepticon... but nearly every episode? I mean, I recall Daniel & Spyke used mostly for "damsel in distress" roles in G1 - they were a touch of humanity to give the Autobots an extra something to fight for and/or risk losing. RB doesn't do that: it makes the kids too integral, in outright silly ways... and I think that dumbs the series down, personally.

As a kid, the adult world did not rotate around me (around my personal journey into adulthood). No, I existed (like most of you) in an adult world, navigating a kid's path through said world - what that REALLY means is that kids have a disadvantage to fight, and it's that disadvantage and perseverance that builds character (i.e. dealing with bullies). I feel like RB avoids that entire reality by making the show about the kids, and like a crappy Disney teen drama, the adults are there to prop the children and help them along their adventures (side kicks). I get the motivation ("Hey! Let's pander to children and make them the stars and heroes!!!"), but I still say it's a bit... silly... bad... misleading and Disney-fied. I'd just rather something more realistic to help teach my kids real life lessons (or a close proximity to that).

Anyway, when we were kids, we had G1, GI Joe, & TMNT - none of those shows relied heavily on kids to drive the plot, and we enjoyed the heck out of them. RB is the same as SW Ep 1: unnecessary children being put front stage for the purpose of pandering to children and selling product.

That's not to say RB doesn't have it's good points, too!   Please don't hate on me for disagreeing about your passion for a kids show!  

It's ironic that so many people quote this as a good episode... cause I did not enjoy it. I wanted to, but meh.  

And seriously, Hasbro has made minimal effort to sell RB toys - I think they realize boy toys are on their way out and have instead focused on licensed tie-in's like t-shirts and swim gear. I mean to say that the average child fan of RB probably has more RB nick-nacks than RB toys... which is probably a good thing, right?  

 

I certainly don't fault you for not liking Rescue Bots. I think it's a great show, my son loves it. Given it's a show about transforming robots, time machines, VR, flying lobsters, teleportation devices, a kid being an integral part of a rescue team isn't far fetched to me.

 

I've been a Transformers fan since the beginning, but most of the Transformers material isn't a good fit for young children. My wife and I were watching Prime and the kids saw a few minutes and it was far too violent for them to watch. That was when we discovered Rescue Bots. The kids immediately loved it and I gave it a chance; I mean, Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime was in it, so it can't be that bad. I found myself really liking the characters and it quickly became a show we watched on the regular on Netflix. The show proves that Transformers don't need to be violent, it doesn't always have to be about war and death. Sure, the situations are pretty tame, but there have been plenty of episodes with some stakes, probably most of all the end of season 3 when the main bots nearly lost their sparks saving the town.

Much like MLP: FiM, there are fun little bits for the adults watching, and the show has done an amazing job incorporating elements of the larger Transformers franchise, with guest appearance characters and numerous references to Transformers lore. Things such as scraplets and lobbing don't mean anything to kids, but to me, as a longtime TF fan, I appreciate the attention to detail. One of the recent episodes opened with a take on the traditional James Bond opening and then cut to what looked like Quickshadow doing a stunt in a spy film.

I would love to see RB characters show up as regular deluxe or voyager toys, and maybe in a few years that will happen when the RB fan base gets older and still remembers those characters. The Rescue Bots don't need weapons, they don't need to fight Decepticons, they don't need darker backstories or comic books that change the nature of the series. They just need to keep rollin' to the rescue.

Congrats Rescue Bots on topping the 100 episode mark

 

This is a really fun show that doesn't get enough credit as it deserves. Great character dynamics, slow but good world-building (it only really kicked off last season) and a lot of really intelligent lessons for the kids. I honestly really want RID or IDW-style versions of the main cast because they really deserves some good toys that don't look like oversized Activators or bricks. I understand RB is a kid-centric toyline, nothing against it, just wished they had at the very least resemble the characters in the show and can still transform fine. Here's for more seasons. This is a really good "kiddie" show and I wished kids watched more of these than some of the more brain-numbing baby shows that are currently on air.