Can't wait to listen!

 

Gog said something about a shoutout in this episode for a reason I wouldn't know... let's see if he totally forgot about it!

 

I am listening to the podcast right now and so far I am agreeing with you guys. I don't like how the writers deal with characters who have potential. At some parts of this season it felt like the writers were using literary convenience to move the plot along as quick as possible.

 

And thus ends Primetime for Season 2 eh?  

Can't say I mind these double episodes, they tend to make for richer discussion (e.g. How one continues/relates to the other) and especially if it ends up being more schedule-friendly for you blokes.  

With regards to Dreadwing;
I felt, as with a lot of facets of this season, that Dreadwing's potential as a character was completely wasted & debatably mishandled with his death's execution (I agree) also feeling very underwhelming (At seeing it I literally said out aloud: "Well there goes Dreadwing").  
In no way, however, did his characterisation nor his death share or come anywhere near the significance of Dinobot's for all the reasons you mentioned (Multiple eps of character building, significant impact upon story arcs, time dedication in 'Code of Hero' etc.) and for anyone to suggest otherwise is utterly ludicrous.  

I myself never really saw Dreadwing as being one to change allegiances, as it didn't seem to be something someone with his personality would consider and this was evidently vindicated with how the episode played out, but I will say that I'm glad that I never heard anything of that interview with Tony Todd and I'm glad its contained major spoiler didn't enjoy a wider or more vocal audience.  

I will miss Tony Todd however as I really feel he was channelling some damn Tigertron in his vocal delivery with Dreadwing.  

 

Just finished listening to this and regarding Dreadwing's death:
I was thinking that since Soundwave knows everything that happens on Nemesis that he had seen and recorded DW stealing the Forge to give to the autobots and must have shown that footage to Megatron. Then when Megatron is giving him the orders to stand down and he refuses, Megatron acts to terminate him. But a line or two would have helped sooo much in this scene.

I've often thought that this show suffers greatly by having a rotating cast of writers... If they had one writer, or at least one lead writer then things could flow much more naturally. At least then, to me at least, on-going plot points or setups from previous episodes could have a better chance of being realized. Maybe that's just my wishful thinking :/

I think that Gog makes some very valid points and I will be sad to hear him go.

The concepts for Beast Hunters and the toys shown off really don't have me very excited at all for Season 3. I hate to be one of "those guys" but I think it'll help me to pocket away $$ for some of the awesome 3rd party stuff coming down the line.

 

Completely and utterly agree with just about everything said about Dreadwing.

And people were comparing his death to Code of Hero? Really? Yeaaaaah not even close.

 

I didn't forget. But the subject didn't fit so I never brought it up.

 

I well never get why people liked Breakdown and Dreadwing so much. People read to much into those characters.

 

I could say the same about most of the main Autobot cast.

 

Than you have bad taste in characters.

 

Ok! What the heck was it that you were going to bring up though? You never elaborated and I'm curious to know what that was all about.

 

This isn't the Prime forum. Discuss it without insults or don't discuss it at all.

 

I think the whole Dreadwing death and the way Season 3 is starting to look may finally be what pushes me away from watching Prime, I may still watch it, it'll just drop way down on my list of show priorities. That whole finale only left me with one thought of any significance: F--K the jet vehicon general is show canon, I now need a few of those. The finale was so underwhelming for me, that is literally the only thing I cared about. Season 2 has been such a massive disappointment for me. I completely agree with you guys. I at one time thought that Prime could be up there with Animated for me, but now, no, not at all. This is good in a way, now I can focus my limited figure budget on other shows and 3rd party products. All in all, not a fan of how it's progressed, and I may just bow out of Prime entirely.

 

I am in complete agreement with most of what was said on the podcast. I really wanted to like TFP but as this season wore on it just left me with a sense of apathy, culminating with a finale that I basically shrugged my shoulders at.

 

I agree with the podcast generally (big surprise)

I think Chris said it best that the show has turned into something that is resolving situations and concepts too quickly to be able to enjoy or contemplate them. The show has been really good about posing interesting concepts and situations, but the consequences and lasting effects aren't ever explored to satisfaction because the repercussions are either ignored or wiped out.

The biggest thing that irked me about the standoff at the start of the final episode is that the Autobots had at least 2 artifacts that could have completely negated the Decepticon's hostage advantage before the kids were exposed to danger. The Autobots used these artifacts so effectively just minutes before to grab the keys from Decepticon forces, why are three canisters any different?

 

Because the Decepticon's know they have the artifacts and well smash open the canisters the moment the Autobots even try to use them.

 

Would be difficult to smash a canister when you're either stasis locked or when they've been pulled from your hands. I doubt they're faster than pure energy.

 

I think Prime's problem is that it aspired to greatness.

Very few great pieces of entertainment were intended to be great. They just happen and if the writing is good enough, if the performances are good enough, then it all just sort of happens. Jerry Seinfeld didn't set out to create one of the funniest sitcoms ever, he just made the show he wanted to make, and he did it with talented people, and great things happened. Or to bring it back to Transformers, the writers of Beast Wars didn't intend to create arguably the greatest piece of Transformers fiction. They were just told to make a show to sell these new animal Transformers. Good writing and voice acting, however, made it great.

Prime, however, aspired to be great. Again, that's the problem. When you aspire to be great you only think of the big picture. Big concepts that you think will be awesome.

A dramatic, movie-esque score.
Megatron raising a zombie army.
Starscream going out on his own as a lone wolf.
A terrorist group that wants to weaponize Cybertronian tech.
Nemesis Prime.
A human/Cybertronian hybrid.
Unicron IS the Earth.
Optimus Prime loses his memory and becomes a Decepticon.
Megatron alive in Bumblebee's head.
Bulkhead potentially dying as he's in critical condition.
Nearly unbeatable Insecticons. Who travel in swarms, no less.
Optimus finally realizing Megatron HAS to die.
A Dinobot-like character who dies standing up for his honour.
Uncovering the ultimate weapon of the Primes and Megatron defiling the grave of a dead Prime to make his own counterpart for a final battle.
The possible restoration of Cybertron.

Truth be told you'd only need a few of these to make a pretty epic Transformers series. What I think happened was that the creative team for Prime aspired to greatness, and as a result they came up with all of this. Yet like I said, aspiring to greatness means you only think big picture. So while they thought of all of these great ideas they faltered when they had to actually write the show. Big, epic, great concepts are all well and good, but you still need to write a show to get to them. And that's where the whole thing unravelled.
Now they have to find a way to include all of their great, epic ideas, and you get stuff that should be epic and great reduced to a season finale at best. Unicron as the Earth or Megatron robbing a Prime's grave to gain an arm so he could build his own counterpart to the Star Sabre could EASILY be the series finales on their own for two different Transformers shows. Hell, you could build an entire season of Megatron in Bumblebee's head.
Yet because the Prime team wanted to be great instead of just letting greatness happen they forced each into paltry arcs that are forgotten the moment the arc concludes.

So yeah. Don't aspire to be great. Just write good television. Greatness will happen if you have all the right pieces in place. If you try to force it you get....well you get this. Epic concepts treated like check box items.