it's one of my least favorite transformers shows but what does everyone here have to say.

 

Nothing good can come out of this thread 

 

Well, to keep it clean and simple, whatever I didn't mention in the 'was there anything good about TFP' (here's my post in that) was pretty much torture for me. However, those characters I enjoyed about the show feel unfortunately very out of place with the show itself IMO. They had too much life for this show and really deserve better.

The things I disliked about this show are too many to list (and I've already stated the stuff in much more detail in other threads), but if I have to pick three, it would certainly be Arcee, Ratchet and Miko. Those three were the characters who really made the series even more insufferable for me.

 

Isn’t this just what the regular TFP thread is these days?

 

what exactly do you mean?

 

I can think of at least three threads that just turned into screaming matches including one of my own. We all know exactly why people love and hate prime. Go check out those threads.

 

Just to clarify is my post bait or this thread?

 

Not you, this thread, it's just gonna turn into another screaming room between the die hards again.

 

It over-promised and under-delivered, seemingly in part thanks to budget issues.

Also it continued the annoying march of turning Optimus Prime into a stoic, humorless, emotionless cliche-dispenser who exists more as a vague messianic archetype than an actual character.

Otherwise it's not as good as the uber-hype it gets but not as bad as the absolute trashings.

 

There's nothing I particularly hate about Transformers: Prime. There's not much I have a particularly strong reaction to at all in Transformers: Prime, that's the problem. I've watched the whole series, and I remember: 1) Knock Out was fun, 2) Jeffrey Combs was perfect, as he always is, and 3) ...I wanna say there were a lot of buttes? One season ended with a big ship or something and I'm pretty sure it was on top of a butte.

At least I can read, say, All Hail Megatron and go "lol, fuck this" and actually have a pretty fun time disliking it. Prime doesn't even give me that.

 

Somehow, despite being easily the most recognizable Transformer, I'd argue that poor Optimus has probably been the most poorly-written staple character of the franchise in the past decade or so. While there have been occasional bright spots, the last really good Optimus we've had was in Transformers Animated, and that show ended twelve years ago.

It's especially bizarre because G1 Optimus Prime, the Prime which all of these Optimuses (Optimii?) have been increasingly trying to imitate, wasn't a stoic, humorless cliche-dispenser at all. He casually chatted with his troops, even bantering with them sometimes. He seemed legitimately fond of them; you could tell he cared about them and wanted to be around them. When he gave advice, it was generally pretty common-sense and plainspoken, and it was usually done one-on-one rather than as a dramatic proclamation. He got frustrated with his teammates on occasion ("Blaster, SHUT UP!"); he could admit when he got frustrated and in over his head ("Kremzeek", despite its weird plot and terrible animation, is a good showcase of this); he owned up to getting things wrong ("Sometimes, even the wisest of men and machines may be in error"); he honored bravery and sacrifice whenever he saw it; his voice easily conveyed concern and worry for his troops; he expressed sadness when things went wrong; and he laughed. He laughed at his teammates' bad jokes; he laughed at the Decepticons' failures. Far from being humorless, this Optimus was quite often having a ball. His banter with and trash-talking of Megatron (and other Decepticons) was endearing, if a bit dorky sometimes, and he actually participated in recreational activities. Not only did he apparently support the building of a Transformers-scaled football field, but he played basketball with his troops and clearly enjoyed it. He had a life outside of being the heroic leader.

"He shoots, he scores...what a star!"  
This one scene is seriously more memorable than almost anything Prime Optimus Prime, or his equally stoic successors, ever did.
Prime Bulkhead claimed that he'd "never seen Optimus laugh, cry, or lose his cool." Could you imagine one of the G1 Autobots saying that about their Optimus?

Honestly, I think much of this devolution can be chalked up to the prevalence of the 1986 movie. After two seasons of seeing Optimus Prime in a variety of situations and displaying the whole gamut of emotions, the movie does present an Optimus who is generally humorless and stoic. (Although not entirely. He does still manage to get in a good snarky insult at Megatron's expense: "You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff.") In context, his behavior served as a reflection of the severity of the situation he was in. The problem was that, once the cartoon stopped airing, the movie, which was available on VHS and later DVD, was initially more available to the public than the cartoon. As a result, the Optimus Prime that got ingrained into many people's memories was the Optimus as he appeared in the movie, without the context of the first two seasons of the cartoon. And it was this ultra-stoic Prime that most of the depictions of the last ten years seem to be heavily drawing off of (note that quotations of the 1986 movie, but not really the rest of the cartoon, have also increased noticeably during this time period). Ironically, one of G1 Optimus' greatest character moments served to poison many of the character's future incarnations.

By basing the modern Optimuses on the behavior of G1 Cartoon Optimus during his moment of greatest difficulty, modern writers are undercutting any potential emotional investment audiences have in the character. If he acts stoic and humorless during lighthearted moments, he seems impersonal and distant towards his troops, which undercuts audience's attachment to him. Optimus Primal, Animated Prime, and G1 Optimus were all emotionally invested in their troops, and, in turn, the audience became invested in them. More modern Optimuses often seem indifferent towards their troops, and, as such, the audience feels more emotional distance from these modern Primes. I might admire Prime Optimus' nobility, but I don't have any warm feelings towards him. Conversely, I have a great deal of fondness for G1 Optimus Prime and Animated Optimus. If they were real, I would actually want to spend time with them, because you could be their friend. No one could be Prime Optimus' friend, because he can't relate to anyone on an emotional level.

Conversely, since modern Optimuses are always serious and stoic, it is very difficult for the writers to convey the fact that their Optimus is in a particularly serious or dramatic situation. All the scenes with Prime in them blend together; none stand out. Even scenes that are supposed to be dramatic fall flat because the audience knows that their Prime would be just as serious if the Autobots were hanging out and having a good time.

The Prime Wars Trilogy and the WFC Trilogy are especially bad in this regard, because their Optimuses combine the stoic, humorless, emotionless portrayal from Prime with complete and utter incompetent idiocy. It's a really awful look for poor Optimus.

And why are all modern Primes so opposed to the use of contractions, anyhow?

 

The problem I have with TFA Optimus is that when I see him, I don't see Optimus. All I see is just Rodimus in an Optimus cosplay, and that is something that bothers me a lot.

Sunbow G1 Optimus was tolerable (he wasn't overused to no end and there were moments where the writers had fun with him, but again, I've seen better leader characters in that era, like Rodimus in the third season or General Hawk in G.I. Joe, heck, even Spider-Man in Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends) and Cyberverse Optimus works because the writers also had fun with him, but honestly, Optimus just isn't that compelling of a character to me (he is a good role model, but as a character, he is basically straightforward good guy) and I prefer other leader characters better (Rodimus, Optimus Primal... heck, I even like Big Convoy more than Optimus Prime).

 

I dislike how TFP always has to be such a big point of contention around here. Sure, people can have their opinions about the show, but discussions about it tend to become needlessly polarized.

 

I dislike that they couldn't afford the Rock for more than an episode.
I know he's expensive, but c'mon Dwayne. You got that Disney and Furious money. I'm sure you could've taken a smaller, TV check for Transformers  

 

But, like, no? Not even close?

Rodimus was a hot-headed youth thrust into a leadership position he wasn't comfortable with. He had lingering doubts of inadequacy and guilt over what happened to Optimus, feeling both unfit to lead and responsible for his demise with the nagging sense of "I'm not supposed to be here, he is." His doubts were internal, and his lack of maturity and impulsive attitude clashed with his position as the supreme commander and the responsibilities that brought.

TFA Opitmus is a reserved, inexperienced, yet eager up-and-coming leader of a small squad with aspirations of heroism. His doubts come from outside forces, such as Sentinel's badgering or Magnus' "don't be a hero" affirmation, and only when he struggles with leadership does it manifest as doubt and second-guessing. However unlike G1 Rodimus, Optimus' confidence and capabilities show themselves regularly as he's gradually pushed into more extreme positions, until he finally becomes the great leader and hero he set out to be. His personality wasn't at odds with his position like Rodimus, his doubts weren't internal like Rodimus, and his personality certainly wasn't anything like Rodimus. Aside form the extremely broad archetype of "young leader character with name ending in Prime" the two really have little if anything in common.

 

I swear this is why I avoid going to the cartoon discussion channel. Yall can't talk about anything but this show Jesus.

 

You always have something negative to say, don't you?

Even when the thread is just asking about one specific show, or character, you'll take any chance you get to tear down the other ones you don't like.

We get it, dude.

But you don't have to keep bringing your dislikes up every time you feel like it.

Holy shoot, thank you.

TheUltimateBum, not every young leader archetype character in Transformers who is not Rodimus is ripping off of Rodimus.

Just because you're angry and bitter about Rodimus being underused doesn't mean you can ignore objective facts and trash talk good writing, especially for Optimus' character.

TFA Optimus is not a carbon copy of Rodimus' character.

And he's an excellent take on the young leader archetype.

I don't even like Prime, but yeah, this is the millionth thread I've seen on this topic for a show that finished airing nearly ten years ago.

Let's give the trash talking a rest, or at the very least keep it limited to the critique threads for the show that already exist.

Heck, I would have been more forgiving of this thread if it was talking about what you dislike from ANY Transformers show (that way unprovoked critiques towards shows that are not Prime wouldn't feel so out of place and unprovoked).

So one last time, from someone who doesn't like Prime, give the trash talk a rest, and why don't you go create a thread that praises something (it doesn't have to be about Prime) instead?

 

I dunno, man. I just don't feel like the underdog washout stuff fits Optimus at all. I always felt like that was more Rodimus' thing, and seeing Optimus in that role just didn't work for me. Rodimus' doubts also came from outside forces as well (in Burden Hardest to Bear, his stress came from having to deal with the constant nagging from the Japanese authorities) and Rodimus always pushed back in the end despite the bouts with stress and self-doubt. And honestly, seeing Rodimus being part of the Elite Guard in that needless cameo while Optimus isn't felt even worse for me. Again, I just can't see TFA Optimus as an Optimus (and I don't think I'll ever will), so I'll leave it at that and say that even though I disagree, I respect your opinion.