I really got into it this time around and really have a lot of respect for it.

 

Same here.

I picked up the boxed set shortly after it was released and really did enjoy it. Sure, there are still plenty of things that I wouldn't have done had i been in charge, but it did tell a very nice story. Still ranks behind Beast Wars overall, though. Beast Wars, IMO, had a great mix of stand alone episodes and a great overall story arc.

 

I've loved BM since its first pics and I still love it. If I have anything to complain about it is that it ended too soon. I would have really loved to have seen where the story went and how Cheetor would act now being the Maximal general, and if the High Council would return.

 

My boxed set should be here tomorrow from overstock.com. Only 38$ shipped

 

I've ALWAYS had respect for BM.
I wrote this for another forum, when asked to justify my love of it:


What is it that makes BM different from all the other Transformers TV shows?
One very simple thing... it's not about toys. Even Beast Wars was about toys (abeit in a lesser way then other TF shows).
It's about people. Well ficitional people. Well ficitional people who are actually transforming animals on an alien planet.
It's about a number of individual journeys of discovery.

Primal: Well he's a bit obsessive. He's seen his world destroyed and beleives that the organic is the future. Over the course of the series, his obsession comes to a head and he almost destroys his world. Then it's a journey of redemption which ends with him spawning a new future for his world with his death.

Rattrap: He's always be the laconic, cynical, lazy mouth of the team. And that was fine when he was able to fight. He always had a gun to hide behind. And now he doesn't. He's trapped in a weak, almost useless body and armed only with his mind. Throughout the series he discovers that the mind can be a weapon as formindable as a cannon.

Cheetor: He's maturing from the wise cracking kid, to a leader. He is discovering his own approach to life and leadership without having to ape (no pun intended) Primal. And at the end, he took on Primal's mantle as nominal leader of the Axalon Maximals.

Silverbolt: It's all about redemption. Redepemption in the eyes of his friends and in his own eyes. He can't trust himself. He discovers his skills, his soul and, by the end, his honour and love again (yes yes yes I'm a Silver/Black 'shipper shuddup).

Nightscream: THe eternal loner. I got the impression that he was a loner before the Virus. Now he's the lone Cybertronian refugee amongst the Axalon Maximals (who are a close knit group after the Beast Wars). He has to find his place, and to find acceptance and to accept others.

Botanica: As a pacifist, she doesn't want to fight. But she learns that to be someone who believes in peace sometimes you need to fight.

Blackarchnia: Is also obsessive, this time about Silverbolt. She
needs to learn to connect with other people and find her place amongst those she sees as her inferiors.


It's also a series about ideals. Freedom of thought being a (if not THE) major one. Primal is being guided by the Oracle, being controlled even. And the ultimate vision of this is Megatron and what he's done to Cybertron. He's destroyed the ideal of that Cybertron represents, which is diversity and uniqueness (as I see it). Thus he represents stagnation and blind obedience. It's appropriate then that he becomes almost monolythic unchanging face (yes I know that the face Transforms, but it only happens once).

There is a theme of chaos versus order as well. Chaos is represented as nature, the thing Megatron fears, and order as the machine. Something he sees as pure, but we the viewer and the Maximals see as cold and heartless. The Maximals in their forms as technoganic beings (a fusion of nature and the machine) represent balance, something that Primal doesn't see for a long time, blinkered as he is. The organic "gloop" in the core of hte planet and the Tree in the grove are pure chaos, they represent a complete lack of order and law. Look at what happened when the Maximals eat the fruit, they become feral. They lack ordered thought.

 

I bought the BM box set earlier this year. I'd seen some of the episodes when they originally aired but it was so great to be able to watch the series from start to finish without holes in the order...and I agree BM had some spectacular moments...I still don't particularly care for the ending, but oh well! It's still a great series!

 

The characters on the show look way off in comparison to the toys. That's my biggest beef with the show. Other than that, It was a pretty good program.

 

The same can be said about G1 in regards to character models

 

QFT

IIRC the early issues of Marvel TF the drawings were based off of the toy designs.Although in the UK issues it was way more prevelant.

In fact I've got Target 2006,when Cyclonus,Galvatron and Scourge show up at the end of the 1st part.They're CLEARLY based off of the toy models not the cartoon models

 

Compare Beast Wars to Beast Machines and BM was a regression in toy/show congruity. A step backward that wasn't recovered until Super Link/Energon.

 

Yeah... Unfortunately, Hasbro gave Bob Skir and co. too much liberty on the series

 

I simply love this series, I really like to watch the final batlle of every season one time and another. Is imply really love the way they developed the characters.

 

I don't like the toys but I sure love the show. The animation and the plot are the best, I'm not crazy about the characters but they are OK.

 

Talking about toys, I only liked the Vehicons

 

Still don't like the show or the majority of the toys. I hate what they did with the story and the designs were not my cup of tea at all.

 

I agree, Love the Vehicons toys. Of the Maximals, Only Blast Punch primal and Black Arachnia made the cut for me....

 

Ditto to that! I'd just only add Nightviper.

 

I was actually a huge Vehicon fan during BM. I thought Primal was nuts throughout the entire series. Plus, I found the ending a bit unsatisfying.

That said, I always thought Skir got a bad rap -- he essentially did what Hasbro asked. If Hasbro had said -- stick to BW continuity, and don't go trans-organic on us -- he would have done that too.

 

Beast Machines gave me a lot of mixed feelings. I pretty much missed its original run on Fox when it first aired due to my work schedule and jumped at the chance to buy the set. The only real way to sum up my feelings is this: With Beast Wars, I feel like I could dig out my boxed set and watch the whole series - or various favorite eps - over and over again. With Beast Machines, I spent one weekend marathoning the set and feel pretty much content that I've seen it and may never have to watch it again. I dont hate the series - far from that - but there were quite a few elements that reduced its enjoyment far below Beast Wars.

• The ineptness of the characters - from Megatron's master plan to Tankorr's schemes to the Maximals actons - was horribly pervasive. I never felt like ANYTHING the characters planned would come to fruition, and all the roads led to dead ends
• The "darkness" of the series really put me off. I understood the "magnitude" of the plot but hated the constant feel of heaviness, shadows, and pall.
• The animation was a step above Beast Wars as far as technology was concerned but the execution was lacking. i.e seizure inducing battle scenes with more flash and chaos than effect.
• Misguided character development (or the lack thereof) - Rhinox, as a predacon, made mistakes but he never should've been portrayed as a complete stumbling idiot like he did as Tankorr. Skir made a fool of himself by his weak assed attempts to make Cheetor the maximal leader (neutering Optimus like that didnt help either). BA goes from this sleek, powerful fighter to the stereotypical "simpering female". Rattrap may have had a good thing going until the plant lady showed up. I found myself liking the bit players more than the major holdovers from Beast Wars. Megatron didnt even seem like Megatron anymore either - his plan never seemed to carry any weight, and his odd devotion to the incompetent underlings he employed seemed way out of character.

EDIT: And I hated the vast majority of the toys, that didnt help either!