I only have one gripe..Prowl is a motorcycle.

Other than that, I love it.

 

I wanna see it so bad!!!!
All this positive feedback is awesome!!!! And the theme rubbed me the wrong way at first but I like it WAY better than the crap they spouted for the "Unicron Trilogy" *shivers*


*Spazzes while having a major nerdgasm*

 

I know. I like this character, but I really miss the police car prowl. All of the autobots are some kind of rescue vehicle and a common cop car is missing.

I just love all of the puns that only work when spoken by robots.

The human villains are a little too "the batman" for my taste, but I have enjoyed every episode so far.

P.S. Starscream is coming back right?

 

that's 'cause there's no common cop anymore now that Sumdac's robots patrol the streets.

 

If this info is true, then yes....

Episode 23: A Fistfull of Energon
Prowl goes off on his own to capture the fugitive Starscream, but finds some competitions in the form of a Decepticon bounty hunter (yay lockdown?).

 

My $0.02

I finally youtubed the openning movie/special over here since Armed Forces Network doesn't air the series. And the following is my review of the series.

I went into it like I do with every series that they've come out with, that is with an open mind. I go into it realizing that it's NOT G1, and it's its own entity. So having that in mind, this is what I concluded.

The show starts out with a theme very reminiscent of G1. I start making reference to all the posters on this board saying this was the "new G1", and continue watching.

Prime is watching clips from several old episodes of G1, yet again cementing the fact that they're dipping heavily into G1. Then I see the character design in detail and notice that it is like a successful mesh of the current style in animated series' and the Bayformers. Prime acts more like Rodimus than Optimus, and Rachet is almost like they promoted Kup to medic. However, I realize every series has it's own way of handling characters, so I watch on.

Transform noise. Bonus. They make their way to the asteroid where you get to see Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Prowl. Bulkhead is totally new to me, so I have no opinion other than the fact that they're still going with the clamps for hands thing. Bumblebee has a very dainty voice with a slight lisp. Not sure what they're conveying, but it doesn't come off as youthful. He's a new take on the character, so I watch on.

Prowl appears. He's a total loner, has no compassion for anyone, and disrespects authority. And the ninja thing has been old hat for YEARS. Never thought I'd say that Prowl is the most disappointing character of a series, but here we are. Next, we bring in the Allspark, cementing more of a mesh of the Movie canon with the G1 canon. Odd, but as long as they make it work.

Next up, the Decepticons. Starscream is spot on perfect, if BADLY drawn. I always wondered what The Tick would look like as a Decepticon, now I know. Blackarachnia. Suck Beast Wars in only to shove this character back down our throats. Swell. Next up is Lugnutz, with no personality to speak of, so we move on. Man-E-Face... er, I mean Blitzwing shows up, nowhere in the ballpark of the figure he used to be. The schitzo thing is not even mildly amusing, and then he sings and dances across the screen. I'll say this again: BLITZWING DANCES ACROSS THE SCREEN SINGING "ITSY BITSY SPIDER"?!!??!?! Now I have a bad taste in my mouth about the whole thing, but I continue as I would rather judge it as a whole than its parts.

Megatron. Almost verbatim a detailles version of Movie Megatron with a different mouth. Got it. So strong he stomps the Autobots flat. Got it. Gets his arm sliced off and falls to the ground, and is used by a scientist to engineer the robotics age. Got it. Moving on.

This is where I can sum up the best. Sari is there for the kids to identify with. And I don't, so we leave it at that. Her card key is basicall Vector Sigma, whose existence is eradicated with the concept of Allspark. Starscream hands the Autobots their collective asses almost as easily as Megatron, and in the end is dissatisfactorilly done away with. Prime, like every incarnation of the character since G1, dies saving things in a manner that makes it seem like he has a deathwish, and can do nothing more to illustrate his character than die and be resurrected. The concept of the "spark" is still present, and the Well of All Sparks as well, and the resurrection of said character by Sari makes the concept of death in the series meaningless.

In a nutshell a bit of a disappointment overall. And to answer certain posts and sigs I've read on this site "It's the new G1." No, it's not. G1 is the new G1. This is a series in and of itself. Totally new, but totally derivative of all series before it. So basically newly drawn and that's about it. "Other than Prime's inexperience, all the characters are spot on." I believe the OP of that line even referenced Prowl, Rachet, and Blitzwing. Okay, Prowl in every G1 series was kind of like a Mr. Spock type. Brilliant, great strategist, not much of a feeler. But he knew the value of teamwork. This isn't anywhere NEAR that, and to call it an accurate portrayal of G1 Prowl is an insult to the creators of the character. And Rachet I've addressed. They should have named him Kup if he was gonna be a carbon copy, but then again I guess since Kup wasn't in Bayformers, they couldn't. And Blitzwing? Accurate? Show me an episode of G1 where he displayed multiple personalities and sang and danced. JUST ONE EPISODE. You can't. Not even a character at all, just borrowing the name.

The show may be great to someone, but not me. I will give it the benefit of the doubt as far as going the full season before boycotting it from my life, but I'm not expecting it to change much. If anything, I'm sure I'll see worse representations of characters. Honestly, if you're gonna make it up as you go along, just make up new names. BAM! No need to cater to new people and fanatics alike, you can make them behave any way you want. The Unicron Trilogy, while considered bad by most, at least had this going for it. Don't base things off of source material and not expect fans of the source material to be unhappy if you deviate from it.

I'm kinda hoping on an Adult Swim TF series that is more geared towards the older collectors, perhaps based in the Classicsverse. Won't hold my breath though.

Anyway, here's to the rest of the season, and not placing too many expectations therein...

 

Starscream will be back...

 

I can understand where you are coming from Prowl, but I found it more refreshing than annoyingly different. Seeing as how 'G1' is in your name I would guess you are more a fan of G1 than others. As much as I sensed you were trying to subdue your bias, you didn't do it very successfully.

 

Who said Animated Prowl was 'an accurate portrayal of G1 Prowl'? If anything, most people have pointed out that he's the most radically different from his G1 self of all the Autobots.

--Moony

 

It's my favorite series, but I also love RID can sit through Armada. G1 isn't the only series I like. I just think that if you're going to take on the name of characters, that they should act like those characters. Think back to Heroes Reborn by Marvel, when Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld rewrote the characters and Jim Lee's versions were very close to what Marvel had done, but with small flavor differences. Then you have Liefeld's versions of Cap and the Avengers. The only similarities were the name.

NOW Marvel has done their Ultimate line. New take on the characters, but not so far removed to basically be a new person wielding an old name. THAT is what my main beef is with Animated. If they had made up new names for the starring cast minus the leaders and possibly Starscream, it would ahve been easier to swallow.

As it stands, I still stick by that while I was disappointed, I'll give it to the end of the season to make a hard decision. Consider me on the fence, but my feet are definitely both hanging on one side...

 

That's true.

Prowl is a great character in the series, and motorcycle transformers are really cool. That's something they could never pull off in the past.

 

Eh, I have no problems with re-using names even if the characters isn't CARBON COPY OF THE ORIGINAL if it's a completely new universe.
IN FACT I even like some of 'em better now (Blitzwing and Ratchet for example)

 

First of all, I'm just going to ask, have you seen the rest of the episodes after the premiere? A lot of people who were on the fence started to enjoy it if not completely for some after seeing those episodes especially thrill of the hunt and Blast from the Past.
Another thing, Prowl is still like his G1 self, calm and possessed and seemingly more intellectual than any of the other bots. And don't forget to Starscream. G1 Starscream came back to life only this time with more malice.
I'm just going to say this too- if they were to completely act like the old characters, then every fan would say Oh great another G1 wannabe and everyone would be criticising and comparing it the original.
I'm going to give the same suggestion I gave every fellow who's had similar reaction and reason as you do for being on the fence-Don't go into Animated with all the high expectations you reserved for all the other shows especially the ones already over with (we're barely in half of the season yet). Those shows were different. If a lot of fans brand this as the new G1, it's because to them it delivers the the same kind of enjoyment that they experienced with G1 (or BW for those not as old as I am.lol). That's all there is to it.

 

The post I'm referring to was originally posted by Eitheta in the thread "Anyone here hate the Animated Optimus?" on page 6 at the top. I don't know how to cross quote from thread to thread, so I'll just give you directions  

And for the record, I was not then, nor now, nor in the future watching the rest of the season, going into it thinking it was gonna be like any of the other series'. And yes, I DO expect some coherency. Armada Red Alert vs. any other Red Alert are pretty much separate characters that share the same "John Smith", and that's about it. I go into it knowing that. This series above all others is the most derivative while at the same time being the most experimental. It's almost like an experiment to tie up all the concepts/loose ends/back history up in one series. If that's the case, they have their work cut out for them.

My beef is that in my mind they shouldn't have put so much of an emphasis on G1 characters. It's more of a harkening to the old days while being totally different, and sort of sends the wrong message. Every other series pretty much stuck with Prime, Megs, Starscream (Except for RID, which gave us the first evil Prime as a stick around character) but rounded out a line up of fresh new faces. Helped with the whole "This isn't the series before it" thing. And Animated seems to be less of that. ALOT less.

Look at Optimus, design wise. He's basically a combination of EVERY Prime that came before, except maybe Primal (Whom I don't count, since they state right off the bat that Primal isn't Prime) and squashes it together with a personality unlike any of them. So fans/kids can identify him with ANY of the versions they know and love. Good strategy, and not one I'm batting against.

In short, if it's GONNA be different, then make sure it's decidedly different, and be fresh about it. Retelling the origin in a series to tie up all other origins together is a cheap way out. Kinda makes me think of "Crisis on Infinite Earths" or "Zero Hour" from DC. Never liked retconning, never will....

 

Sorry you don't like it so far. I will admit that I am somewhat skeptical, given your obvious opinion of the original Prowl and your statements regarding the Animated character.

Personally, I think that Animated Prowl is a completely different character from the G1 namesake. So to follow your own stipulations, he is another character with the same name. Nothing more. So comparing Animated Prowl to G1 Prowl is the same as comparing Energon Ironhide to the G1 version, or even the '07 movie version.

Oh, and I wouldn't worry about this being the TF equivalent of DC's Crisis. None of the episodes I've seen make any attempt to reconcile the different series (or their timelines). I'm pretty sure Fun Publications has that little niche locked down with the club comic.

Besides, this show is made for kids and kids like ninjas. Or at least ninja-like characters.