The Decepticons did say the Autobots were using some sort of Cybertronian tech to mess with their minds and make them run wild as an explanation. My guess is it would be fairly easy for the human populace to believe a bunch of robots could be reprogrammed.

As to how quickly they turned on the good Autobots... Given how the world is today, I don't find that overly unbelievable.

 

I would absolutely love to see that too. Anyway here's a link to my review of that script  

Masterforce UK: Original G1 Transformers Script - Megatron's Master Plan

All the best
Maz

 

Again, I draw your attention to The Ultimate Doom, which caused massive planetary upheavals and, though never explicitly stated, must have led to a fair number of human deaths. There is no way that anyone should have fallen for Megatron simply mentioning a device used to reprogram them.

Also the 80's were nowhere as bad as it was now, mostly because the internet and social media was barely in use at the time and we didn't have cameras everywhere. You can't use how our world is now to justify a fictional story set in the 80s, it doesn't work like that.

 

I'm guessing I'm one of the few people that actually LIKE MMP  
So I feel the need to defend it a little bit...

The eps address the need to show the Cons as good guys while making the Bots look bad.
The footage shown to the public includes doctored film of the Bots altering the Cons' minds. I don't remember who says it, but one Con says "I suddenly have the urge to steal energy and destroy."

Also, possible retribution against the Bots' human collaborators is addressed as well. At one point, Cons pick up Sparkplug and Chip, and Spike begs "Megatron, please don't hurt them." Meggy replies "Why would I want to hurt them? With help, these slaves can do much more WORK."

Yes, it's vague how much time has passed, but I like to think everything was condensed to fit in the show's hour-long time frame. It would have taken a little while to convert the energy plant to create energy from human physical labor, and then they could have been enslaved for 2 or 3 weeks before the Bots rescued them.

It may not have been a "Master Plan", but I actually thought it was pretty clever of Megs to try turning public opinion against the Bots. Megs knows Prime well, and figured Prime would go along with it if the humans decided to kick them off the planet. There's even a bit of implied mutiny within the Autobot ranks when Ironhide says "Maybe we oughta take it out on the one who got us into this mess!" I've heard that some people don't like the toon's "perfectly heroic" Prime (as opposed to the comic's flawed interpretation) but in this ep, he DOES make a mistake by passively following the humans' wishes, and he admits it.

 

Not at all, it's my favourite G1 episode, it's why I bought the script!

All the best
Maz

 

Thanks for the link! I'll read it tonight when I get off work.

 

Hope you enjoy it! Was a really lovely way for me to pore over the script instead of just having a sit down with it and reading. I also have the script for The Traitor, but I do not know that episode and its lines inside out like MMP, so it may take me longer to produce a similar article there  

All the best
Maz

 

Optimus was the one who brought Cybertron to Earth orbit. Under duress, yes, but any evidence to the contrary could be doctored by Soundwave. Plus that episode arc did establish for humans that mind control is possible.