Given the time slot Transformers cartoons tend to get I would say this kind of plot.

 

My idea is less of a plot and more of a format.
A realization hit me a few weeks back, the 86 movie, which most of the fandom seems to think is the Pinnacle of Transformers storytelling, is basically a series of 80s rock music videos strung together with a paper thin plot.
The soundtrack isn't just part of the background it's an essential part of the story being told. Optimus final throwdown with Megatron just isn't the same without The Touch. Hot Rod and Kup fighting sharkticons, when you recall that scene, I'll bet the first thing that happens is you mentally que up Hunger by Spectre General.
Transformers the Movie is, in essence, a pg rated Heavy Metal.

Take this idea. Run with it. 15 minute episodes.
Start with a cold open to set up your characters and get the plot going. This should take about five minutes.
Then bring in the music. Legit cornball 80s cheese power ballads full of guitar solos and synth keyboards.
The action is tied with the tunes. This is critical. We want people to buy the soundtrack from iTunes or Spotify and think of the scenes when they hear the songs.
Last five minutes is the cooldown, setting up for the next episode. Roll credits.

For the actual plot itself. Take a page from Batman: The Brave and The Bold. Optimus bouncing around the universe, hooking up with different teams of Autobots each episode and fighting thier con counterparts.
The Predators up to no good this week? Optimus join forces with the Turbomasters (and a rockin soundtrack) to thwart them.

 

Slag yes! I would so watch that!

 

Well for just a Generations toyline I'd love to see a Transformers vs GI Joe where the alt modes are Joe and Cobra vehicles, and they come with partner minifigures.

But for a show? I had an idea. Let's reverse one of the key aspects of Transformers. Rather than being about them coming to our world, let's make it about us going to theirs.

It starts with Cybertron drifting into our solar system. As the scientific community studies this rogue planet they begin to notice just how strange it truly is. The density, gravity, etc are just weird. When decent pictures are taken it looks like it's just metal, with huge canyons and mountains. Only they realize it's not mountains but buildings. Somehow this mysterious, impossible planet was once inhabited by an advanced race. And that's when everyone starts a space race to try and claim the secrets and advanced technology for themselves. And when they get to the planet, only more mysteries are raised.

First off it's clear the structures were built for giants. There's the remains of massive humanoids, perhaps some sort of war machine, and various vehicles that just wouldn't be big enough for the presumed giants that inhabited the planet. Then someone makes a realization. The planet's shut down. Because it ran out of energy. But you know what puts out a lot of energy, all you have to do is have something that can soak it up? The Sun. The planet's been passively recharging, and someone ends up setting off the signal that causes it's dormant inhabitents to awaken... And that's the end of episode one.

From there on we get our main Autobot cast, and our main Decepticons. The first act would have humans unsure who, if anyone they can trust. After all both sides were willing to fight the war to mutal destruction, and Cybertron really was a mess. Also neither faction's completely monolithic. Optimus is a major voice for the Autobots, but not the supreme commander, there are other leaders. Megatron has to deal with rival Decepticon warlords, who may have their own plans. Both sides are rushing around the planet trying to awaken their forces. This would allow us to introduce a wide variety of locations on Cybertron, and characters drawn from various points in the franchises history.

The second act involves the focus moving to Earth, with the Decepticons having already begun infiltration, and subverting the perception of the Autobots. Gradually things escalate, with the Decepticons true goals of conquest being revealed. Meanwhile both races have to come to terms with what the existance of the other means.

The final act sees the Autobots, who have been largely driven from Cybertron launch their plan to retake the planet with their human allies, and stop the Decepticons, who've used the energy and resources they've gained to transform it into a giant war world with which to begin universal conquest.

 

In search of energon the Autobots led by Optimus Prime board the Ark and take off from Cybertron in the hopes of finding the fuel necessary to revive their dying and war torn home world. Along the way they find new planets and new lifeforms which they must defend when the Decepticons give chase to the Autobots aboard their own ship the Nemesis.

I see it as Transformers meets Star Trek, the initial crew of Autobots and Decepticons would consist of the 1984 lineup with Bumper included for the Autobots and Slipstream, Acid Storm, Bitstream, Hotlink, and Sunstorm bolstering the Decepticon ranks as Starscream's Seeker force alongside Thundercracker and Skywarp. Jetfire would also be introduced as first working with the Decepticons aboard the Nemesis before eventually turning on them in one of their battles and joining the Autobots aboard the Ark.

This would also be a way to introduce new characters and also to write characters out, so some Autobots could leave the Ark and stay on one of the planets they visited and either stay there or come back to the Ark in a later episode. Also it allows the main cast to grow as new Transformers could board the different ships like the Autobots land on a planet full of beast formers and at the end of their journey on the planet the Dinobots led by Grimlock and consist of Slug, Swoop, Snarl, Sludge, & Slash would end up joining the Ark. I could also see episodes that would focus on the rebel Autobots back on Cybertron in their continued struggle against Shockwave and the remaining Decepticons.

But the cast would be fairly large and take from the library of characters from all the different series (G1, BW, UT, etc.) as well as Japanese and European exclusive characters too.

I also see it as a continuous story where even if the episode doesn't tie into the bigger picture eventually at the end of the series after a couple of seasons it would wrap up in a big finale involving a majority of the Autobots we've seen up to this point or at least those who are still alive. But some episodes don't even have to take place on a planet it could just be whatever happens aboard the Ark like one of Wheeljack's inventions is unleashed on the Ark. A big part of the story though would involve the colony planets the Autobots discovered, forged by the thirteen, including Velocitron and Caminus.

For the final season though it would involve the Transformers coming to Earth mainly because Optimus Prime has seen a premonition through the Matrix of Unicron's eventual return. Like in Prime, Unicron has been sealed away inside the Earth but its the Allspark which has been placed on Earth a long time ago by ancient Cybertronians that keeps him dormant. Megatron or at this point in the series, Galvatron wants the Allspark which would cause Unicron's return. The finale would feature all the colonies and Cybertron doing everything they can to save the Earth and Cybertron itself from Unicron and would see them even team up with G.I. Joe who would have their own spinoff series that would lead into the finale.

 

Transformers done Getter Robo Armageddon style. High action, high drama, and optimus screaming out transform!

GETTA BEEEEEEEAAAAAMMMMM!

Story? Animated War Within.

 

An IDW one. Just not that dark and violent. If they're gonna do LSOTW on TV, please cut out the gruesome parts.

 

It shouldn't take place on earth anymore.
Or much less anyway.
It's time to get this franchise in space again.
Kids like weird and alien things.
Get the Cybertronians to visit colonies and different civilizations.
Let's see some futuristic altmodes.
Stuff like that.

 

I like this concept.

 

I like this idea. It's something that I don't think has been done before. Sounds pretty cool and something I think people would watch.

 

Something I'd like to see in a new show is a Megatron who ISN'T the leader of the Decepticons. Much like how Animated made Ultra Magnus the leader of the Autobots, I'd like to see a new Transformers series make Galvatron the leader of the Decepticons, with Megatron being a general under his command. I think that the idea would have a lot of potential for creative story ideas.

 

Throwing out my ideas here. I would think a good idea would be a total of four shows (not happening at the same time but four series none the less), which I think would work to serve the different demographics that the Transformers seems to connect with.

Series 1: This would be a mix of Cyberverse and Rescue bots, and designed for the younger set. The basics here would be having a whole new cast of characters who are the younger transformers who were created on earth so know nothing about the war or the problems there in. Set it up where it's after season 3 but Season 4 never existed, and focus on how the humans and bots work as a team. I would say this would be your introduction into the world of Transformers in a way for kids. While like Rescue Bots this series wouldn't have a direct connection to the other three, never the less it does cross over from time to time. I would say show the growth of the characters and tell the story of how these younger bots are dealing with things, along with younger Decpticons and both groups come to understand one another and, surprisingly, become friends.

Series 2: This would be more for All ages. Again you have the Autobots and the Depeticons that are in a conflict, but this is more towards the end of the war. The Autobots did crash land on earth, and have been in hiding along with the Decepticons. The thing is you throw in another faction, either the humans or the Quintessans, or even the Vox who come in and cause even more issues. While I would say focus on some of the under represented members of the team. Like Mirage, or the twins (Sunstreaker and Sideswipe) and have this show deal with how they work as a unit to handle the threat from both sides of the baddies. Eventually the cons and the bots team up to deal with the Quintessans, and there's a truce called in the war, since both groups realize that they were mostly being manipulated by the Quints or the Vox. This would lead into the third and fourth series as it would be focusing on a slightly older group of stories to tell.

Series 3: All ages again, only this would be a bit more on the serious world building/different side of things. So by this point the Bots and the Cons have a truce, and both groups get a call from space, and discover a colony out there. This leads both factions to join up and create a group to head out there and find out who or what is making the call to them. The team would consist of Bots, Cons, humans and a few aliens that they pick up along the way. This also leads into the creation of the first maximals and Predacons and explains where they came from and why. Cast would be a mix of old characters (Starscream, Ironhide, Prowl, Soundwave), newer ones (Knockout, Windblade, Drift, Acid Storm), and brand new ones that would be used as the view point of the team. The basic idea here is to give both dynamic relationships and allow the characters to grow, while expanding on the universe and discovering that the Bots and Cons are not the only ones out there. It would culminate with the discovery of the Vox and their plans to alter time.

Series 4: This would be the Teen to adult story. This one would focus on a NEST like group that are trying to deal with rogue factions of both the bots and the cons that don't want the truce. In this case there's more of a morally gray area here as you see the bots and cons both have partners and you have Autobots that don't want the peace and are more invested in keeping the war going for their own personal reasons, and Cons that want nothing more than to live quietly, and the alter is true too. You have bots that just want to rest, and Cons that just want to fight. You also get a deeper meaning into the Vox and hints of the situation with Beast Wars and some interesting relationships between the bots, cons, and their humans that help them. Like having someone like Mainframe bond with Soundwave, for example. A lot of this comes from the humans point of view on how different the bots are and vice versa. Again it would be a more CIA/Black Ops/Special unit story.

 

I would say avoid both, have it be someone else, maybe like Shockwave or Thunderwing just to spice things up a bit and see where the Cons go from there.

 

How about a G1 show...using the original g1 designs that shows what happened between season 2 and the movie.
I mean....the Deceptions conquered Cybertron and all....

 

I would watch that.

 

How about a Transformers show done in the same vein as Young Justice?

We follow a small group of Autobots and Decepticons on Earth, thrown together in the pilot episode. The Autobots are relatively young and don't exactly trust each other, but they have to work together and become a team if they want to stop the Decepticons. Meanwhile, the Decepticons themselves are a pretty dysfunctional lot. Practically all of them are plotting for their own personal gain and looking to stab each other in the back. The core cast wouldn't be Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, etcetera. Rather, it'd be more obscure characters who haven't gotten the spotlight in some time (or, at all).

That being said, it's not like we'd be missing Optimus and Megatron. They'd appear regularly, and their presence would be felt when they weren't there. They'd still have their own stories and we'd still explore those characters, but they are not the focus. Now, Optimus Prime and Megatron would probably be the least recurring characters, but other mainstays of the franchise would appear more often. Ratchet, Bumblebee, Soundwave, Starscream, Ultra Magnus - you get the idea.

I think it'd be a fun and different take on Transformers, while still being faithful to the source material.

 

I've been working on this for a while. I'm not done yet, but here's what I have so far.

TRANSFORMERS: THE WRECKERS



Season 1:

Plot: We get to know the starting cast, which consists of Impactor (leader), Springer (First Officer), Topspin, Twintwist, Whirl, Roadbuster, Rotorstorm, Rack n' Ruin, Broadside, and Leadfoot, as they go on various missions.

Ep 1 "Opening Salvo" (pilot): The Wreckers are tasked with sabotaging a Decepticon research facility. Rotorstorm and Broadside both die. The Wreckers barely escape with their lives.

Ep 2 "Arrest": The Wreckers are assigned to apprehend a rogue Autobot scientist. They succeed, but Topspin is severely injured.

Ep 3 "Shipyard": The Wreckers (minus Topspin) raid a Decepticon shipyard. They succeed in sabotaging one cruiser, but Twintwist is severely injured, before they can escape.

Ep 4 "Infection": The Wreckers encounter an escape pod floating through space. It contains two dead Autobots, whose corpses are infected with Scraplets. Leadfoot is infected.

Ep 5 "Vaccine": One by one, the Wreckers are infected with Scraplets. Roadbuster works quickly to try to find a cure. He succeeds, but it's too late for Leadfoot.

Ep 6 "Infestation":The Wreckers drop by Igue Moor, a fuel depot, just in time to deal with a glitchmice infestation.

Ep 7 "Air Raid": The Wreckers are ordered to raid a Decepticon outpost. Things go south, and Whirl is badly injured, but they succeed.

Ep 8 "Final Fight": Topspin and Twintwist are cleared for duty, just in time to sabotage the Decepticon research facility from the first episode. This time, they succeed, although Shockwave gets away with experimental weaponry, and kills Topspin and Twintwist, who have a branched Spark.

Ep 9 "Recruits" :The surviving Wreckers vote on who to recruit. Their choices are Ironfist, Guzzle, Pyro, Skyfall, and Flattop. All five are voted in.

Ep 10 "The New Guys": The Wreckers pick up the recruits at rendezvous points, and make introductions.

Ep 11 "Contact Lost": The Wreckers are sent to investigate when contact is lost with an Autobot cruiser. Everyone on board is dead.

Ep 12 "Clues": On board the cruiser, they find clues as to who killed the crew, and that they may still be in the area.

Ep 13 "X Marks the Spot": They track Squadron X to a nearby system, just preparing to leave. The Wreckers hail them, and prepare to board. The boarding craft is severely damaged by Squadron X, killing Flattop. Squadron X jumps to hyperspace, and Impactor vows to hunt them down, his opinion much seconded by Guzzle.


Season 2:

Plot: The Wreckers focus more on tracking down Squadron X, in addition to regular missions.

Ep 1 "Firefight": The Wreckers are ordered to assault a Decepticon outpost. They succeed, but Pyro volunteers to stay and hold off the Decepticons while the others escape.

 

If you had the Wreckers, Alpha Trion and Fembots v Shockwave, Seeker Jets (Acid Storm, Nova Storm, etc.), Frenzy, Rumamuck and Runaround (or whatever their names are) as well as other Deceptions who could exist in a G1 cartoon setting (could be doing a similar role to Sky Lynx),

I would so watch it.

Love to see the interaction with the Wreckers and Alpha Trion. It could be like Splinter's role in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

 

Season 4 of Animated or we riot.

 

That's awesome!