when I was little the very first album I ever bought was Weird Al's Bad Hair Day. It was a cassette tape because I'm old enough for that but not old enough for vinyl.  

Robot dinosaurs can paper over many problems.

Probably a lot. But not Sari. Because given who her dad is she's probably already seen a ton of things no kid should have to see.

Dumb luck and Sari.

FORESHADOWING!

"When they first opened Disneyland, nothing worked!"
"Yeah, but when the Pirates of the Caribbean ride breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists!"

I liked the fact that in all the repeats of Bulkhead failing to follow Prowl's advice, not once does Prowl correct Bulkhead for saying that step one is "access the situation" instead of "assess the situation."

What we're learning is that Grimlock beat some long odds to end up with a good name and not a silly one.

Wouldn't surprise me.

What if Sari's key is Leader-1 magic? What if the Allspark itself is Leader-1?

I like that we went from glowing, laser-shooting energy sword in G1 to it just literally being on fire here even though that would be incredibly impractical.

 

It's funny because between Lockdown's dialogue later in this episode and elements of other episodes it becomes clear that upgrades and modifications are a relatively normal part of Cybertronian society.

This really is the episode that demonstrated there was a fair amount of depth underneath the candy coating.

I don't think we learned the teacher bit yet. And Arcee did have her moments in G1 (mostly in the Dweller in the Depths and a bit in Only Human) but yeah, it was nice for her to be a bit more than just the tagalong bot or whatever the heck was going on with Headmasters.

Yep. I do remember reading about that. It kind of makes sense when you consider the original colorful facepaint Sting had. It sorta fits along with Ultimate Warrior's look.

It's not quite as random as finding out that Chris Jericho and Lance Storm were a team called The Thrillseekers before they made it big.

I imagine some company in Detroit made it big by introducing "giant robot insurance"

It is something that needs to be done more often. Not just neutral/non-combat factionless bots, but a 3rd or unaligned group of bots that fight for different reasons.

It does call to mind something I've been working on that I might try to find time to polish up to a postable state.

Cybertronian Ratchet looks a fair bit chunkier than his earth mode counterpart.

and I'm a little surprised to see hinged fingers on a small figure of the time. That always felt like it was supposed to be a premium thing.

 

I've tried my best to block out large portions of Beast Wars II because it was terrible.  

If I remember correctly I thought that Starscream was pretty good. He was an altered take on the classic Starscream in that he was a schemer and a power-hungry bot willing to backstab anyone and everyone to get himself into a position of authority. The biggest difference came in the fact that instead of being a preening, arrogant jerk and outward coward, this Starscream was superficially charming to his commanders and comrades, but was also sort of weirdly foppish and maybe even a bit effeminate. Like he would giggle and prance and do silly things and it was as if that was the whole joke.

I think I may have mostly liked him because he and his immediate underling, BB, were originally designed based on a Generation 2 toy that was one of the last Transformers I ever got as a kid, Dreadwing and Smokescreen, a fighter jet/stealth bomber combo.

 

If that butcher shop sold people parts.

I think the implication is supposed to be that the Autobots are stretched ridiculously thin and they send Ratchet because they have nobody else free (or maybe because they're worried Arcee is hurt and will need medical attention

If G1 Optimus is the cool dad, and Optimus Primal was the cool uncle, this Optimus is like the fumbling but well-meaning step-dad. He's trying his best but he wasn't there from the beginning so he's just not quite sure how to handle things.

Who could've foreseen this turn of events?!?!



And the rest is silence...because really, there is no better line to end the episode.[/QUOTE]

 

Alright, sleep now. Episode tomorrow (Friday) provided my power doesn't go out (it's suuuuuper windy out)

 

This episode may not be as flashy and dynamic as episodes like "Code of Hero" or "Cramp" (the Armada/Micron Legends episode where Starscream dies), but in its own quiet way it's just as tragic and almost as good a display of character. This episode probably more than any other in the franchise really hammers home that "War is hell" message.
And it single-handedly made Animated Ratchet the best version of the character to boot.

Apparently Prowl isn't the only character in this show who would get along well with G1 Tailgate.

The Autobots should really stop asking "Who would be stupid/crass/etc enough to do x?" when Bumblebee's around. Because he will always give them an answer to their rhetorical question.

Well, we already know from Meltdown that disco came back....

Wow. Animated's not pulling any punches here. This is the most war-ravaged Cybertron's ever looked in animation (most other versions just have the planet appearing deserted rather than actually destroyed).

Nice to see that Japan's version of Animated was just as willing to provide casting fanservice as the English version.

Animated loves its foreshadowing. And is really good at utilizing it.

Animated Optimus is great. Sadly, he's the last great Optimus we've really had (although Earthspark Optimus is at least trying).

He looks friendly.
In all seriousness, Lockdown has a really good character design. And voice. And personality. It's no wonder he later spread through the franchise.

While it's disappointing that we couldn't get the nod to Death's Head, Lockdown is just as cool.

This episode really sells Lockdown as an absolutely horrifying threat. No wonder poor Ratchet ended up with PTSD.

Credit where credit is due: Ratchet actually represents an impressively realistic case of PTSD in this episode (you'd be surprised how rarely PTSD gets portrayed in a more subdued and generally representative way in fiction). Not bad for a half-hour toy commercial!

Somehow this is about a thousand times more horrifying than Prime Knock Out's buzzsaw even though that should theoretically be just as disturbing. It's amazing how much a character's demeanor can affect the tone of a scene.

Random Blitzwing is amazing. Although his face is a bit creepy close up.

Prowl is awesome. And so is Ratchet.
Animated as a whole does a good job of giving all the Autobot cast the opportunity to appear competent and effective in battle. Which is good because it prevents a "Super Special Ultimate Hero of the Universe Ginrai" situation.

It makes about as much visual sense as Megatron's spaceship mode from the first episode.

Ratchet is a bit scary. Not that Lockdown didn't have it coming....
This whole sequence was just great character work all around.

Animated: proof that maturity and grimdark edglordiness are by no means synonymous and that it is possible to balance humor and serious themes! (Looking at you, WFC trilogy.)

Best. Ratchet. Ever. (Though G1 Marvel Comics Ratchet is a close second).

 
This is a wonderful ending to a wonderful episode that handled some very mature themes in an impressively mature and thoughtful manner.

 

Thanks! It's good to be here! I can't wait to react to more episodes lol.

 

I enjoyed the Dinobots episode overall. The first few episodes of Animated are definitely quite strong and effective in establishing its unique voice, characters, and setting.

-- I don't have a special affection for the Dinobots so for me it wasn't a major issue that they don't all get appearances or speaking parts in this show.

-- I appreciate this show's version of the Dinobots' origin. It seems that whenever they appear in fiction, the creators have to figure out how and why this particular team ended up with alt modes of long-extinct Earth animals, so different from all other Autobots in pretty much every way. In Animated they brought together several story elements; the Autobots trying to learn about Earth, Sumdac's wide range of robotic products, Megatron's behind-the-scenes machinations... in a way that I thought could only have been done in Animated.

-- And though the focus is on the Dinobots, we also get some nice interactions between Prowl and Bulkhead.

-- And yes, while Megatron's behavior fairly screams "I'M SUPER EVIL AND SUSPICIOUS!!" in his scenes with Isaac, and Isaac is super dense for not picking up on it, I guess I've seen enough of this kind of unrealistic exchange in cartoons that I can live with it.. for now. We'll see if I start shouting at the screen in future episodes.

-- So Megatron was actually responsible for bringing the Dinobots to life. I wonder if that was a nod to how it sometimes feels like the Dinobots are barely on the Autobots' side!

I watched Animated after I watched Prime, and had quite the opposite reaction to the two girl characters. By the gods, I hated Miko and she's one of the biggest reasons I probably won't watch Prime again. She was annoying because she didn't act her age -- a high school student (15 or 16) who often came across as even less mature than Sari (whose age is unclear but I'd say 8 or 9 seems likely). As for Sari, she's a little kid and I would expect her to act like one. If the same childish behavior is displayed by a 15-year-old and an 8-year-old, who comes out looking worse?

I recall there was also a scene in a later episode in which Sari actually does try to be a "responsible adult" and that really endeared her to me, especially coming right after I had suffered through the antics of TFP Miko. I'll point it out when we get there.

 

I actually taped the Dinobot episode when it first aired on YTV in 2008. Watched the fuck out of it and Home is Where the Spark Is when the series was new. After that, I sort of wavered in and out of the show until we get to Season 3, because I never really was able to catch the show consistently on YTV during Season 2. Actually managed to get all three of them (I sold off Slag/Snarl at some point, and one of the flaps on Grimlock got lost on me).

 

And Sari was homeschooled and raised by Isaac Sumdac. That she turned out as well as she did is a capital-M miracle!

 

There a was period in the late-00s when a decent chunk of most Transformers shows from G1 up to Cybertron were uploaded on YouTube by various channels (before IP holders started cracking down on stuff like that) so when there was a big gap between one of Animated's seasons, I spent most of it going through the shows I'd never seen and was really surprised to see how much Animated was pulling from G1. It's when I first realized TFA Megs was just a redo of his G1 design and not just completely different design like he'd had in the shows I watched.

 

EPISODE 08: NANOSEC
Feels surprisingly slow for an episode all about speed.

Spoiler

Youtube

Tubi release
Transformers: Animated S01:E08 - Nanosec

I guess they can't all be like the last episode.

This one was... fine. It wasn't bad. It was... fine, I guess. It's just that compared to the fairly strong run from the beginning through the last episode this one comes off as a bit of a weak link.

The heart of the episode is more Megatron scheming, which is always a treat. Unable to lead fights or do much of anything on account of being a head in a lab, it's still good to see him make the most of his situation and find ways to accomplish his goals from the shadows and work towards the eventual opportunity to re-emerge as a real threat. But as great as that is, it's not enough to carry an episode on its own and that fact is what leads to me being let down by the titular human villain.

If Angry Archer was meant to be a comedy villain and Meltdown was meant to be a serious threat, Nanosec seems intent on straddling that line, but that fact combined with the limitations of being a speed-based villain who feels very much the same as basically any evil speedster in other works like, say, DC Comics' array of super-speed Flash villains. The fact that the Autobots don't have this sort of super-power as part of their stock abilities and Bumblebee can only match him while also being clumsy or exploiting brief windows of usefulness. So instead of presenting a challenge that can be fully overcome, we are left to have the Autobots and Nanosec both repeatedly stumble in the same way, stalling and killing time until Bumblebee can finally make himself useful and get his moment to shine. That repetitiveness and sense that he doesn't provide a properly balanced challenge for the Autobots makes his story kind of disappointing and bland.

I was also somewhat put off by the cruelty of Bumblebee's ultimate method of victory. He had every opportunity to retrieve the stolen Destronium, but even after recognizing that Nanosec's powers were draining his life and prematurely aging him, Bee intentionally chose to drive him to run more and age himself to a point of extreme decrepitness without it being strictly necessary. So what's supposed to be his heroic moment instead seems a little monsterous and malicious and not terribly heroic.

Toss in that we once again require Professor Sumdac to be so dense that you wonder how he hasn't gotten himself and the entire city killed multipel times over by now.

I didn't hate this episode. I just didn't enjoy it that much.

Spoiler

Things begin with fireworks and an obviously unsavory guy robbing a place with the extremely cartoony step of shoving his ill-gotten goods into a giant sack.

Yeah, He looks trustworthy

I'm not saying we won't find out he's stealing form corrupt companies to fund orphanages. But we won't find that, obviously. I mean look at him.​

-It also appears that the Detroit PD has taken the contract for Sumdac Systems' ED-209 knockoff police bots. I guess they worked out the kinks since their last appearance.

-Or at least some of the kinks given how easily the crook manages to fool them.

-What he can't fool is Bumblebee, who he targets as a getaway car and then pays for it when Bee transforms with him inside, managing to finish up holding the human in his hands. Good thing too, becuse the alternative would've been getting crushed and that would've been messy and not kid-appropriate.

-Bumblebee takes all of this pretty easily as he decides to mess with the human by letting him attempt to run away. It takes a few attempts before Bulkhead butts in to tell Bumblebee that he needs to stop playing around. The human attempts ot escape but Bulkhead uses his mace to put a stop to things only for it to collapse the pier they're standing on. Thankfully Optimus is there to make the save and put a stop to things.

-Meanwhile Prof. Sumdac is attempting to work on Megatron's new body, but can't get parts that are up to Megs' exacting standards. Megatron says he needs "Destronium" circuitry, but Prof. Sumdac regretfully informs him that they've only been able to manufacture small amounts of destronium on Earth.

Megatron takes this well and does not in any way alarm the Professor with his outburst.

"Excuse me, Professor. Violent outbursts are a Cybertronian sign of embarrassment."​

Also *ding* Fanservice (generalized Japan) for "Destronium" coming from the Japanese faction name for the Decepticons (Destrons). I'm not tying it to a single series because it's the baddie faction name far more often than it isn't.

-Megatron manages to cover for his freakout rather poorly, but I guess Sumdac is going to accept it.

-Back at Autobot base Optimus tells Bumblebee and Bulkhead that they need to work on their teamwork and smarts with Prowl. Didn't Bulkhead already do this?

-Unfortunately for Bumblebee, this means he's prevented from hanging out with Sari, who brought over a set of turbo booster prototypes that she clearly meant for Bumblebee hook them up. Ratchet's not amused and Sari is not amused by Ratchet's lack of amusement.

-Sari also claims that it's preposterous to be worried since Sumdac Systems tech is "perfectly safe"

Cut to a test run at Sumdac Systems where some poor schmuck is getting run around a loop in a "turbo-blade cyber suit" and they can't shut it off.

Perfectly safe!

-Prof. Sumdac is distracted by this issue, but Megatron doesn't want to hear of it. Don't worry though. He's just anxious about his appearance and not a homicidal maniac with total disregard for all other life.

-Sumdac does say that the only way they'd be able to use the Destronium he needs would be to get the synthetic store they have across town, but do so in less than 10 minutes before it breaks down and becomes non-viable or, worse, highly explosive. Too bad there's no way to get a courier that can move at incredible speeds. Say... through an experimental suit that a robotics company is working on. And nobody that could be used to make the delivery. Like a recently incarcerated criminal who is waiting for bail. Megatron would have to be some kind of evil genius to put all these pieces together.

-One cut later and Megatron has put all the pieces together.

-And another cut takes us to Bumblebee racing across town. Now I know that Animated has run on its very stylized and cartoony designs, but this shot of Bumblebee in vehicle mode profile looks really weird and simplistic. It's giving me flashbacks to all those unfinished frames that popped up in Armada.

Apparently the hiring standards for this show's studio aren't that stringent.​

-Bumblebee's racing is part of Prowl teaching him to blend in to his surroundings. Which Bee is decidedly not doing as he motors along, darting in and out of traffic.

-Bumblebee brings up the very valid point that Prowl being "a motorcycle driving itself" is also calling attention to them so Prowl, for the first time in the series, manifests a holographic driver.

what is it with Autobot holograms and mustaches?​

-Too bad for Bumblebee he finds himself in a traffic jam. Though he immediately rectifies the situation by placing an emergency light on his roof. Though instead of just transforming his roof he instead transforms his driver-side door into an arm so he can pluck the light out of his interior and place it atop the roof.

This is how all unmarked police cars put their light up, isn't it?​

-As the cops (and Bumblebee) head to their call, we watch a blurr rush in and out of banks as the customers find their money disappearing. Including bell-bottoms-and-sideburns guy (who sounds different than last time and who the credits seem to indicate was voiced by David Kaye in this appearance). One of the tellers says the money disappeared "in a nanosec" which the robber, our criminal from earlier, likes and takes as a name. How convenient that the teller said this very clumsy turn of phrase in the presence of a robber named "Nino Sexton" so that there could be a degree of conformity between the names! Good thing the teller didn't say the money was gone "in an instant" or the robber's name wasn't Samuel Henriksson.


Nanosec/Nino Sexton is voiced by comedian/character actor Brian Posehn. Though his voice is immediately recognizable, he apparently claims to have based it off of Dave Mustain, lead singer of the metal band Megadeth. I honestly don't know if I can remember what Mustain sounds like while speaking, but I didn't think it was identical to Posehn.

Meanwhile in Japan Nanosec was voiced by Takehito Koyasu. alleged to be one of the most prolific anime voice actors in Japan, his significant Transformers role is basically every appearance of Optimus Primal ever in any show or video game, along with regular old vanilla flavored Optimus Prime in Cyberverse and Ratchet in RiD '15 for some reason (because he wasn't the voice in Prime. That went to Animated co-star Nobuo Tobita who plays Captain Fanzone, Colossus Rhodes, Swoop, and one other yet-to-debut role. We'll talk more about him when his other role pops up in a few episodes)

-bumblebee comes face to face with Nanosec and they have a moment before Nanosec gets away again.

-Prowl then manages to pin him down for a minute before a few kicks somehow manage to hurt Prowl enough to create an escape window.

-Bumblebee continues giving chase when he gets stuck on train tracks with a conveniently oncoming train.

Come on man, just transform and jump out of the way. In fact why didn't he transform and jump over the tracks to begin with?

-Ultimately he's saved by a train derailment caused by Bulkhead. Woo for massive property destruction!

-Bulkhead says he can't hold the train forever like it's in danger of getting away and running over Bumblebee if he lets go. But it's clearly come off the tracks. If Bulkhead lets go it's just likely to topple over and crumple up.

Though I guess it could still crush Bumblebee in the process.

-Meanwhile as Nanosec gets away he gets a holographic message from Megatron that's only visible when he's moving at super speed.

This is your singing telegram...​

Megatron offers payment out of Professor Sumdac's private bank account, which Nanosec simply enters at an ATM to have it comically dispense money at him.

That's not how bank transfers work at all!

-Meanwhile bumblebee is testing his speed with Sari manning a stopwatch only to find that he's not getting any faster. Though the shot of him whizzing by Sari and her hair and skirt fluttering in the wind is kind of fun.

-Is it just me or is Nanosec looking more and more weary as he runs? I legitimately don't remember much about this episode, but I have a feeling this is one of those "increased speed is also increasing his metabolism and biological functions and causing him to age at an accelerated rate" deals.

Either that or it's like all those videos of people flying under heavy g forces that cause their cheeks to ripple.​

-Ratchet refuses to give Bumblebee the turbo boosters he believes he needs to catch Nanosec.

"not even if Megatron himself forced me at blaster-point"

You don't know how unintentionally metaphorically accurate that scenario is, Ratchet!

-But there's no time to dwell on this as Optimus shows up with reports of Nanosec's robbery. So everyone transforms and rolls out except a depressed Bumblebee.

-Sari cheers him up by suggesting she use her key to power him up.

She's a bad influence on Bumblebee  

-Nanosec ends up tripping up on an oil slick. Sorry. "negative friction lubricant" slick.

-  Nanosec asks if Optimus is nuts and he responds that he's "nuts, bolts, and armor plating. with a few added features."

-Unfortunately Optimus lets Nanosec get the drop on him so he has to radio for backup. Which comes in the form of a boosted Bumblebee.

-I think the boosters and a little key power are working  

You brought this on yourself.​

-Optimus gets himself out of the predicament with Nanosec and manages to subdue him, right on cue for Bumblebee to show up unable to turn off his booster rockets. Becuase of course he has to make things worse before he almost certainly ends up making them better.

-Unable to shut the boosters off, Sari and Bumblebee hurtle towards the conveniently unfinished overpass/highway.

-Bee manages to stop himself by shifting into reverse, but also runs over Optimus in the process. Whoops.

-Ratchet's next up to stop Nanosec. He manages to do so easily with his magnets and yep, I called it. When Nanosec's cowl pops off it reveals he's old and gray underneath it. Ratchet also discovers that the Destronium is severely unstable when subjected to high speeds, making it liable to explode and take half of Detroit with it. You'd think Megatron would've figured this out beforehand or Prof. Sumdac would've pointed it out when discussing the unlikeliness of getting some across town for Megatron's experiments.

Kind of undercuts his likelihood to be a recurring villain, doesn't it... Wait, *checks tfwiki* he actually comes back? For what? To rob a bingo hall?​

-Cue out-of-control-Bumblebee again knocking the Autobots over and freeing Nanosec.

-Bee admits he can't control himself and Ratchet asks why he didn't just transform.

This thought never occurred to Bumblebee. Brilliant.

-As everyone races to stop Nanosec from blowing up half the city Bumblebee overhears the discussion of Nanosec's aging and it gives him an idea. So he fires up the faulty boosters again. Uh oh.

-Bumblebee manages to snatch the Destronium from Nanosec, but not content to just take it and give it to Optimus so they can dispose of it, he purposely taunts Nanosec into chasing after him, causing the villain to age himself at a rapid pace as he tries to give chase.

That's right, for no good reason Bumblebee purposely brings this guy to the brink of death.

That's... cold blooded.

-Figuring that the only way ot get the Destronium away from the city is by rocketing it up into the atmosphere, Bumblebee agrees to be the rocket and dons a face shield kind of like Optimus Prime. Only his makes him look a fair bit like the original toy face of G1 Bumblebee.

*Ding* fanservice (G1)

Toyetic to 20 years ago​

-One massive explosion later and Bumblebee is plummeting towards the earth. The turbo boosters break away as he falls, leaving Ratchet and Optimus to try and slow/cool his descent with magnets and foam. And it works pretty easily, though it appears to have stripped all his paint off.

"reentry gray edition" Bumblebee: now available only at Target​

-The news report knows what Nanosec's name is in spite of the fact that Nanosec invented it himself and only ever said it to the Autobots.

-The Autobots head for home, none the wiser about Megatron's involvement and Bumblebee walks with Sari, having tired of all the speed he experienced.


Fanservice Tracker
G1: 1 (total: 10)
Beast Wars: 0 (total: 3)
Non-series-specific Japan: 1 (total: 1)
Overall: 2 (total: 14)

Pros
+Nanosec is an interesting villain even if he's a bit repetitive and derivative.

+It's always fun to see Megatron scheming

+Bumblebee learns a lesson



Cons
-The Nanosec fights are kind of samey

-Bumblebee's method for defeating him seems needlessly cruel

-A lot of this once again relies on Professor Sumdac being a complete dolt.

-There's not much you can really do with a speedster villain.

 

The show does a good job of allowing Megatron to remain relevant and threatening without overusing him too frequently.

What's worse is that as a huge Flash fan, I'm well aware of how creatively writers can use super speed characters in fights. That made the fights with Nanosec here all the more disappointing as they didn't really use any of them to their advantage.

Especially since Nanosec is just a thief, rather than an attempted murderer like Meltdown or a creepy bounty hunter like Lockdown.

Sumdac is on a steady regime of stupid pills.

He's nothing like the Flash. You might even say that he's the reverse!

The funny thing is that Nanosec actually does have a fair amount in common with Professor Zoom the Reverse-Flash from DC. Both of them got their super-speed from their suits (at least initially in the case of Professor Zoom), both of them are from the future, and of course they both have the same powerset. They even basically have the same color hair!

Man, do I love Silver Age Flash comics. They're just full of such sublime ridiculousness.

They may end up regretting that contract. At this point I wouldn't trust anything produced by Professor Sumdac...

Remember how I mentioned that the Autobots have pretty equal showings of competence? That's mainly true only for Optimus, Prowl, and Ratchet early on...

The way they play these scenes doesn't just hurt Sumdac as a character. It also hurts Megatron to an extent because it implies that his deception and manipulation skills really aren't as advanced as they should be. He would've been found out in a minute flat if he was dealing with any character with half a brain.

Professor Sumdac's stupidity is the greatest threat to humanity (and the Autobots) in the entire show.

Clearly it didn't stick.

Although since Sari was raised by Professor Sumdac, she probably has a really skewed perception of what "perfectly safe" means.

Maybe Sumdac got a concussion during Starscream's attack during the pilot and his complete and utter lack of common sense is the result of severe and untreated brain damage?

This goes a long way to balance out Megatron's bad acting when it comes to his overall intelligence as a villain.

Yowza. He's just as super-deformed as the G1 minibots!

Prowl's holographic driver has a great design.

Maybe in the future this is just a feature of police cars? We have established that robots are everywhere.

He fits the profile!

This is Hunter Zolomon (alias Zoom), Wally's Reverse-Flash. He has reddish hair too! Though his punny name pales in comparison to that of both Nino Sexton and this guy:

His real name is Roy G. Bivolo.
Gotta love supervillains whose real names seem to predestine them to supervillain identities.

Prowl's cool-guy attitude is a front to hide the fact that he's composed of tinfoil.

This was pretty much my reaction when watching this too. He comes across as a total idiot for just sitting there and not doing anything to get out of the way. It wasn't as though Nanosec cleared the tracks half a second before the train came. He had plenty of time!

Optimus will get insurance to handle it again.

"I am Oz, the great and powerful. Who are you?"

Maybe ATMs work differently in the future?

Optimus gets a lot of good one-liners in this show.

Bumblebee really comes off as a moron for most of the episode. At least it seems intentional...but still.

Given the level of common sense displayed by Sumdac thus far, I can't say that I'm all that surprised that he'd forget to mention something like this.

Bumblebee, you are edging dangerously close to Sumdac territory here.

Our hero (?), everyone!

The faceshield is actually pretty cool (as is Prowl's). And it does make sense that they would want to have something to protect their faces in battle.

I'm actually kind of surprised that this hasn't been made into a toy yet....

Maybe Nanosec sped by a news station in order to give himself some publicity?

 

Episode 8: Nanosec

So, we start the episode with Bumblebee capturing a human thief with the biggest chin I have ever seen in fiction.

If all you have to do is stand on top of a security robot and it doesn’t know where you are, then those are some pretty terrible robots.

And the robber finds Bumblebee in his vehicle mode with his driver side door wide open, the thief is captured when Bumblebee transforms and grabs him. Realistically he should be a pile of fleshy much in between Bumblebee, but that is a tad bit dark for a kids show…

Bumblebee No! don’t play with your food! I mean…your criminals…

I like how the thief is like a child Bumblebee and Bulkhead just casually keep an eye on while they argue.

This show is making me remember why I like the human characters in this franchise. When done right they can add a lot comedy, valuable insights and interesting relationships to both the transformers and the show. But done badly and you just want to rip your hair out.

Isaac trying and failing to help fix Megatron because he feels guilty, he used cybertronian technology. It’s an interesting angle, but it just kind of makes him seem like a fool or a willing partner in Megatron’s goals.

You would think he would get a clue and think the angry, suspicious, talking robot head might not be a good person after all.

Back at Autobot base, Sari shows off some new “Turbo Boosters” which look very bee like with the colour scheme and wing like blade things.

I would like to think Sari pestered her father until he built those boosters for her.

I have a bad feeling this cyber suit might be used for evil…but I wonder why…hmmm.

I really don’t mind the flaws of this episode. For me at least it’s still a fun episode with a quirky human villain. It was one that played on repeat a lot on tv so I have to admit I do have a soft spot for it.

Megatron still being able to advance the plot and try to destroy the Autobots despite being like half a head by gifting the thief that super suit, and of course meddling with things all throughout season 1 is a good way to still make him a real presence, instead of him being trapped and helpless.

“…Don’t call attention to yourself.” Prowl says, the same bot who has an alt mode that is a driverless motorbike.

…And Bumblebee says what I was just thinking a moment later…and the problem was solved.

Nanosec, being the villain name and the name of the episode is clever, but it does bring up some questions. He heard it from a banker telling his customer that the money “Disappeared in a nanosec.” I always thought nanosec was cybertronian terminology, not human. It feels weird.

Upon rewatching this episode, seeing that Bumblebee knows that Nanosec running with age him, and yet he taunts him anyway, it does seem very cruel and dark. I mean, he could have killed the man for goodness’s sake!

It was something I never noticed or really cared about as a child watching this, but as an adult it’s just…damn. But considering how he shows up later we can confidently say rapidly ageing isn’t much of a concern to people in the 22nd century.

Overall, despite it’s flaws it was a fun episode. I don’t really have much to say about this episode, it is very basic coming off from last episode, but not everything can be great. It gets a 3/5. About average.

It's not just you, he does complain about the bags of loot he's carrying being heavy so i assume he is indeed ageing.

I feel like in universe, the Autobots are pretty clueless about human life, and mostly organic life at that. Except for Prowl. Bumblebee probably never thought about what he was doing to Nanosec. He is pretty reckless and clueless. He's mentally on the same level as Sari half the time. IRL the writers probably didn't give the ending to this episode all to much thought, or it's unsavory cruelness.

 

Well, at least now we know why tree branches can support his weight.

 

Well, to be fair Thrill of the Hunt set a very high bar.

Yeah. Rewatching it it's not bad. Certainly better than anything Energon gave us!  

He will not quit! It's almost admirable how much gumption he's got.

It's such a dumb cliche it's almost fresh!

To be fair, most of their problems last time were the results of deliberate sabotage.

Wait, who's the good guy again?

Good on Optimus! That's how a good guy works.  

More intimidating just as a head than any version of Megatron from the Unicron Trilogy.

His toy came with those boosters. A double-dose of foreshadowing?

I got a good chuckle out of that.   Perfect timing for a classic gag.

This Megatron is practically unstoppable! He'll take anything and use it to his advantage. He's a fucking head and he still forges ahead.

Thank you show for acknowledging that kind of stuff.

Heck, Blackout and Barricade's holograms from the 2007 live-action movie had mustaches.

  I love clever uses of transformation like this.

He threw his friggin' shuriken at Nanosec. Hardcore much, Prowl?

Indeed! He just showed he could be clever with transformations! Bad form, show.

"Alpha, Rita's escaped! Recruit a team of teenagers with attitude!"

AGain, another cliche. Quite... not good. I won't say 'bad'.

I have never heard of that happening with increased speed like that.

When all you've got is a hammer...

An Optimus who quips. I'm gonna miss that come Prime...  

Sari's POV:

Bumblebee, don't be a Hot Shot!

Holy... that's pretty sick, Bee.

 

Episode 9: Along Came a Spider


The episode starts with Sari trying to pick the perfect pumpkin for Halloween. Bulkhead picks it up and proceeds to smash it in front of a horrified Sari.

Meanwhile, Optimus is interested in Halloween and looks down at a few children running around nearby, and the most horrendous child laughing stock footage played. I mean seriously, they could have gotten better audio.

This time it’s Optimus’s turn for a traumatic flashback as he looks at a spider decoration and is reminded of less than pleasant things.

Optimus, Elita one and Sentinel are exploring a planet with the biggest spider webs I have ever seen. Are we sure it’s not space Australia?

The land beneath them crumbles and they go falling into a cavern just as we transition back to the present day with Bulkhead scaring Prime with a blanket over his head. Well, half his head anyway.

Of course, Bumblebee would be roped into getting a costume. He’s Dracula!

Bulkhead stole a “Bed sheet” which turns out to be a fumigation tent.

Sari scares Optimus with a plush spider toy and he freaks out, cutting it to pieces with his axe. Well, it’s good to know if the whole Autobot thing doesn’t work out he’ll be an excellent pest control bot. A pestobot.

We transition back to Prime, Elita one, and Sentinel exploring the cave system they fell into and I already hate Sentinel. He’s bragging about how much energy they will find and how amazing it would be.

They get ambushed by giant spiders. Well, that is terrifying.

One of the spiders quickly subdues Sentinel by biting him which is extremely effective. And Elita one kills it by knocking a stalagmite onto it, stabbing it. Ouch.

Sari just has the cutest Optimus Prime costume for Halloween. Smart thinking Hasbro, easy promotion for their line of costumes.

Like a worried father, Prime tells Sari, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead to keep out of trouble, and Sari says she’ll “Keep these two out of trouble.” Um, Sari, I think you put them in trouble half the time.

And then we have the cutest roll call of the entire franchise.

As Sari, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead are going trick or treating we see a familiar looking spider run along the rooftops. And I mean seriously?! How does no one notice a giant spider on people’s roofs. Is everyone just really, really stupid? well, considering how Isaac built his robotics empire and still can't tell an obviously evil giant robot head is evil, I'd say yeah, they are.

In another flashback Optimus stumbles upon a ruined decepticon war ship filled with those classic Energon cubes. Can I just say how nice it is to see those again?

As Optimus explores the ruined ship, in the left corner of the screen next to a stack on energon cubes, is the exact helmet Elita one will later use.

Now that brings up the question of just what it is. Was it an old decepticon helmet? Or was it someone’s head that was left over after the giant spiders killed them? If so, that would be so gruesome. Imagine wearing someone’s skull.

All these scenes on the war ship just scream “Alien reference!” to me. I don’t know if that was intentional or not but it’s pretty cool.

Elita one copied Prime’s grapple hook thing and just as they are evading the giant spiders, her copy of prime’s powers fails and she falls back into the cavern, which explodes thanks to the energon cubes being volatile.

Prime argues with Sentinel that there is no time to save Elita one, and the war ship will blow up any second. He leaves her to her fate. Damn Optimus, I know you couldn’t do much but that is still dark. You can see why she holds her resentment and hate, watching those two fly off to safety why she is left for dead.

When they get to the surface, Optimus tells Sentinel that Elita one is offline and Sentinel tackles him yelling “This is all your fault!” Just that one scene really helps us understand why he’s such a jerk to Prime. Imagine thinking your maybe girlfriend was killed and your friend refused to help. I mean, I would be a jerk too.

I like how Bulkhead scoffs at the idea of “Huge alien lifeforms coming to Earth.” He’s not the sharpest knife in the draw, is he?

Unknown to them both, Sari gets kidnapped by the giant spider. They get alerted by her screams and we see Sari almost getting eaten. Sari, your poor girl, you will have a spider phobia for the rest of your life. Honestly, I can’t blame you.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee have the giant spider cornered after saving Sari, and surprise! It’s a transformer!

“You wouldn’t hurt a helpless female bot, would you boys?” What?! You seriously say that just after trying to kill a little kid?!


Bumblebee: “Who are you?”

Bulkhead: “What are you?”

Sari: “Duh! She’s a girl.”

I adore the humor in this series.


The spider transformer introduces herself as Blackarachnia and she rubs Bulkhead’s face resulting in his jaw falling off XD. But she uses her womanly wiles as a distraction to steal his energy.

I like how this new version of Blackarachnia still has all the same elements of her Beast Wars character, Sassy, Sexy, and Dangerous XD. But seriously, this is a great reinterpretation of the old Beast Wars character.

I like the conversation she has with Sari afterwards. Blackarachnia is so calm and reserved when talking to Sari, but we all know it’s an act to get what she wants. It’s a nice change of pace seeing that sometimes pacifism is better than straight up violence. Like, if Prime didn’t show up when he did, she would have had the Allspark key.

I do adore the sound effect when Sari tries turning her key in Bulkhead’s chest is a car failing to start up.

I’d like to think that both Sari and Blackarachnia would be good friends in another time, considering they are both…well I won’t say it but you know…

This street is oddly quiet considering there is a giant robot battle happening right in the middle of it.

Blackarachnia’s voice sounds oddly familiar but I just can’t place it.

Oh, it’s Cree Summer! She voiced Susie from Rugrats and Number five from Codename Kids Next Door among many other roles. Man, no wonder why I recognized her voice. She’s been in everything in cartoons.

The fight with Optimus Prime and Blackarachnia near the end of the episode is very dynamic and has some great animation.

I love the shock in Prime’s voice when he realizes that Blackarachnia is in fact Elita one. I do like the idea that she changed her name because she cannot handle the trauma and loss of her former identity. Her whole body was morphed and changed.

Elita one used her downloading powers on the giant spiders and mutated because of their venom.

The way her body changes and morphs after she tries to download the giant spider’s powers is just straight up body horror.

Prime’s remorse at finding out what happened to Elita one and realizing that if he did take her back to Cybertron they would just experiment on her or kill her is brutal.

Although how much of that is true, and how much of that is lies I’m unsure about. But considering how Sentinel and others behave around “Organics” later in the show I have to agree with Blackarachnia’s suspicions and fears.

I like how Blackarachnia wanted the Allspark key not to take over the world or the universe, but to go back to how she was before the spider incident. It’s a refreshing change of pace from the usual decepticon plans and plots.

After Blackarachnia uses the Allspark key on herself it sends out a wave of energy which horrifically ages Sari, but she doesn’t really age in the normal sense of the word.

"If I had a nickel for every time someone in Transformers Animated was rapidly aged, I would have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that its happened twice."

Interesting that her Spark can’t survive without her organic half, it must have gotten used to being a trans-organic for so many years.

After Optimus grabs the Allspark key from Blackarachnia’s chest everything returns to normal, and she tells Optimus: “Leave me alone. I don’t want you to see me like this anymore.”

And of course, just when I think she’s getting better and genuinely wants the help Prime Is offering, she attacks him and runs off damnit! Can’t believe I fell for that, but in my defense, this was a very good episode with two very good characters. Easily on par with episode 7. It’s an easy 5/5.

The episode ends with Blackarachnia looking sadly up at the moon from atop a building, crying. She needs a hug. And therapy. She is such an interesting character, and the whole situation that led up to her trauma and disfigurement can't really be blamed on anyone. It's just tragic really.

 

So... was Sentinel ever truly friends with Optimus or was he always an asshole?

 

Maybe he's the equivalent of that friend you had when you were younger who was actually a jerk but you just didn't realize it at the time?

 

Both.