Transformers Prime: Seasons One and Two Reviews (Major Spoilers)
Reposted For Style 92.
Transformers Prime: Season One
This is one of the best cartoons for television I have ever seen. I have only enjoyed Justice League Unlimited and Wolverine and the X-Men more. This is also the best non-Pixar CGI toon PERIOD, in television OR film. And it's easily got the best animation EVER for any TV project. I've had this on DVD forever and I waited too long to watch it. I put it off because of how sucky the old show and concept were. That was a mistake. This is crazygood.
Where to start? I LOVE this version of Megatron because you never seem to know exactly what he'll do next. But I want to find out. He reminds me of JLU's Batman in that respect. He is so smart, it's scary, especially considering how dumb he was on the old show. He only puts up with Starscream for a LITTLE while before completely casting him out. Megatron always welcoming Starscream back into the fold on the old show was the WORST show of judgment and you realize Starscream only got as far as he did HERE because THIS Megatron allowed it. He's always been ten steps ahead of him here. I can't wait to see what they do with him next season.
The human kids are not too annoying either which is a bit of a change. I still question the wisdom of having children for Autobot allies but I don't run a kids' network so it isn't up to me. None of the kids grate that much except the girl Miko and she is adorable as often as she is maddening.
Don't miss this show. Watch it now. I'm getting the second season RIGHT when it comes to DVD in November and I'm watching it right away. I'm hooked.
Best episodes of the season are the last two parts of the miniseries premiere (Darkness Rising, Part 4 / Darkness Rising, Part 5), the single scariest kids cartoon I have EVER seen (Predatory), the one where Bumblebee goes into Megatron's Mind (Sick Mind), the cave-in episode (Rock Bottom), the Starscream spotlight (Partners), the fight between Optimus Prime and Megatron the fans have ALWAYS deserved (One Shall Fall), the phenomenal and unpredictable season finale (One Shall Rise, Parts 1, 2, and 3), and yes, the illegal street racing episode, "Speed Metal". Don't look at me like that over that last one. I'm just as surprised as you are. The only episode on the set I don't really like is "T.M.I." and it's not techincally terrible or anything, I just think Miko is really annoying in it. Season Overall: *****.
Darkness Rising, Part 1: The first episode of the miniseries doesn't have much in it to report. I was surprised by Cliffjumper's death and smugly thought they were going to find a way to resurrect him. Boy, was I wrong. And Megatron makes QUITE the entrance at the end. ****.
Darkness Rising, Part 2: That zombie Cliffjumper stuff was naaaaassssty and made my stomach lurch. Seriously twisted stuff. However, unlike on the old show, I didn't feel it was gratuitous and I thought that it was good that there were actual repercussions to it. It definitely WASN'T animated torture porn. ****.
Darkness Rising, Part 3: Can Ratchet and Optimus survive the robot zombie apocalypse without a guide? Great cliffhanger. ****.
Darkness Rising, Part 4: The action sequences here were tight and easily the best CGI I have ever seen for television. Scratch that. I'm thinking this show has the best animation for television, PERIOD. ****1/2.
Darkness Rising, Part 5: Say what you will about Megatron, but this version is an absolute genius. His plan almost worked and only failed due to things out of his control. I cannot get over what a smart and evil plan this was. The rivals the Beast blotting out the sun on Angel. Scratch that too. This was better because it clearly had an endgame and was actually well thought out. This isn't my favorite episode of the season by a long-shot but it gets a perfect grade from me for being the first thing in the entire 30 year franchise to actually impress me. *****. Five Part Average: ****1/2.
Masters And Students: Like most "second" episodes of great series this is a let-down but I was expecting it to be, so no foul. Great series that start off strong RARELY have a second episode as good as the pilot and I'm struggling to think of even ONE that does. The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are Blackout from Batman Beyond and Fun and Games from Superman: The Animated Series. Every single other show I love that had a great pilot struggled in the second episode: Batman: TAS, JLU, Doctor Who, Farscape, Star Trek: DS9, Gargoyles, Young Justice, Alias, Wolverine and the X-Men, Community, Buffy, Angel, Futurama, and to a lesser extent, Lost. This just continues a tradition among great shows. Best bit was Ratchet's science project blowing the top of the roof off Raf's school. ***.
Scrapheap: I think Bulkhead is just the cutest, and if I don't feel that way about Miko yet, she's growing on me. Those little"Scraplets" were both adorable and freaky. They reminded me of the creature from Farscape's "Beware Of Dog". ****.
Con Job: Good for the show for not pulling the obvious trick of the Autobots confusing Wheeljacks at the end and having the evil one infiltrate the Autobots. I think they should have tried harder to get Wheeljack to stay though. I would have used the obvious argument: they are SO completely understaffed at Autobot headquarters that he practically has no choice. I'm even certain that argument would have convinced him. But no, they let him be on his merry way without ever letting on how much they were actually struggling. I think that was dumb. ***1/2.
Convoy: Love the idea of having actual FORMIDABLE human enemies which has got to be a first for the franchise. Usually the gag is that humans with hubris have NO idea what they are stepping into and get smacked down HARD and wind up having to be saved by the Autobots. I like this plot twist. I also think the idea of the Autobots switching the weapon from Optimus' trailer to the train in the tunnel was a smart one. It's a shame it didn't work. ****.
Deus Ex Machina: A Mission Impossible Transformers story? As unlikely as that sounds, they attempted it here. Pity it didn't really work either. All right. ***.
Speed Metal: An illegal street racing episode however is a no-brainer for a show with talking cars. It was great. I'm just surprised they never did it before. ****1/2.
Predatory: Scariest kids cartoon EVER. Few animated kids shows have unsettled me this much and the ones that did (Justice League's Only A Dream) only did so in certain places. This was a non-stop nightmare generator. Excellent! And look! Gina Torres! How can a woman that gorgeous have THAT evil sounding a voice? Also notable that this was the first episode we got a flashback which is something we've sorely needed (and continue to still need). *****.
Sick Mind: I loved this episode. I think Bumblebee was a VERY interesting choice to go into Megatron's mind because he's mute to the audience. I wouldn't have picked him but it's to the writer's credit that it worked anyways. Great cliffhanger too. *****.
Out Of His Head: I'll concede the episode is completely predictable. But I'm LOVING Megatron FINALLY being able to confront Starscream and putting him in a world of hurt. Thanks! I needed that! ****. Two Part Average: ****1/2.
Shadowzone: Done to death sci-fi concept, made tolerable by the severe and hilarious abuse suffered by Starscream. The last shot was awesome. ***1/2.
Operation: Breakdown: SORELY disappointed Breakdown STILL doublecrossed Bulkhead at the end as it was SO predictable and happens in every single Transformers cartoon every single time there is an alliance or enemy rescue mission. Then again, this ending completely prepared me to be fooled by the killer ending to One Shall Rise so it's all good. **1/2.
Crisscross: Suprised they revealed Jack's secret to his mother this early in the show's run. I have some complaints about her reaction but they were addressed later in the season. Airachnia is STILL freaky. But why was she called "AIRachnia" BEFORE she chose a helicopter as her vehicle? Nice try, writers. ****.
Metal Attraction: Still not cool with June in the Batcave but the episode was all right. ***.
Rock Bottom: That look that Megatron gave Jack after he spared his life chilled me to the bone. Talk about a rabid dog needing to be put down. Yikes. The episode was awesome. *****.
Partners: My only disappointment in this episode is that this is the last time we see Starscream this season. I was hoping he'd pop up in One Shall Rise. Other than that, the revelations were fast and furious. I loved that Arcee FINALLY learned he killed Cliffjumper and her reaction. And did I mention Megatron was smart? I doubt the Megatron on the old show would EVER consider what a liability to Decepticon Intelligence the capture of a second in command (especially such a cowardly one) would mean. I bet Airachnia thought she was headed toward a big fat promotion until she got a reality check. ****1/2.
T.M.I.: Sometimes I find Miko as cute as the writers do. And sometimes I find her REALLY annoying. This was the latter. All of the problems that happened here were entirely her fault and probably would have been easier to deal with in a controlled setting like the base. She is seriously stupid. **.
Stronger, Faster: I love Jeffrey Combs but his Ratchet took some getting used to. I'm more used to him playing spooky people rather than lovable curmudgeons. There's a precedent for it in the Andorian Shran on Enterprise but I still had a bit of a hard time getting used to Ratchet's voice at first. It's clear he was wisely cast however from his performance this episode. Combs brings the nasty and even uses the bit of unlikely humor in his voice in his "Hoo Hah!" that we haven't heard since JLU's the Question broke into a buidling while singing bubblegum pop. Good episode, I think. ****.
One Shall Fall: THIS. THIS is the smackdown between Optimus Prime and Megatron Transformers fans have waited 30 years for. My complaint is that it took this long for a TF project to actually give it to us. But it was worth the wait. That final shot of Megatron standing over Prime's broken body while the volcano erupted was awesomesauce. Perhaps the best episode of the season. Best line goes to Optimus when one of the kids asks him if he wants to see something funny: "No." He deadpanned and killed it. *****.
One Shall Rise, Part 1: MORE essential flashbacks (and they'll continue in all three parts). Unicron (John Noble!) SHOULD have accepted Megatron's offer. He was totally doomed the second he rejected him. And it's about time June confronted Jack and the Autobots for putting children in danger. That's the reaction she should have had all along and I was afraid they were going to just ignore the elephant in the room. Yes, the kids are now safer with the Autobots than without them but if June HADN'T finally gotten angry when she did I would have thought her a bad mother. *****.
One Shall Rise, Part 2: Another "look" between Megatron and Jack that made my skin crawl, more flashbacks, and an army of Unicrons? Sold! And the alliance with Megatron worked because they completely fooled me with it in part 3. Yeah, this was a good one. ****1/2.
One Shall Rose, Part 3: They got me. Completely suckered me. And were able to so thoroughly trick me due to the predictable outcomes of the temporary truces with Breakdown and Starscream eariler in the season. Megatron is SMART. After ONE sentence, he decides that instead of calling off the alliance and killing Optimus, that it would be MUCH more damaging to recruit an Orion Pax suffering from amnesia to the Decepticons. Now there are a MILLION ways that can go wrong, and I haven't seen season two yet so they COULD have already screwed it up, but Megatron saw a once in a lifetime opportunity and decided the risks were worth waiting to see how this would play out. Pure. Evil. GENIUS. Screw Xanatos. They need to name a TV trope after Transformers Prime's Megatron. My pick for second best scene: Soundwave demolishing Airachnia without even trying. She has been shown to be the toughest Decepticon to beat other than Megatron and to see her so thoroughly trashed by Soundwave made me go "Yikes!" I guess there's a reason why he is so high up in rank. I want to see him take on Optimus or Bulkhead now. That would be an epic smackdown. *****. Four Part Average: *****.
Shadowzone Commentary: This commentary with Bumblebee on it was cute especially everybody else's reaction to the beeping. Next time I want to see an entire commentary with JUST Bumblebee. ****.
Making-Of Transformers: Prime: Loved all of the clips from the various Transformer series over the year as well as getting to see what Peter Cullen and Frank Welker look like. *****.
Toy Featurette: More great clips and I love the toys too. ****1/2.
Season 2 Teaser: Only about ten seconds long, this is STILL a killer. *****.
Trailers:
Transformers Prime Trailer: Good trailer. ****.
G.I. Joe Renegades Trailer: I may want to see this show now. ****.
Transformers Bot Shots Battle Game!: This looks cute. ***1/2.
Transformers Prime: The Game: This looks fun. ***1/2.
DVD Menus: Pretty slick. Animated with different colored backgrounds on each disc. *****.
Transformers Prime: Season Two
I don't think the second season of Transformers Prime was QUITE a good as the first but it's still probably the best action toon currently on television (yes, better than Young Justice, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, and The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes). I like some of what the season did (Starscream as a rogue agent) and disliked other stuff (sidelining Bulkhead in the middle of the season and grounding Starscream).
Starscream is the best character on the show (even better than last season's MVP Megatron) because he is absolutely hilarious. They involve him in the funniest stuff and they take the fact that he IS so pathetic and make fun of it. Say what you will about G1 Starscream, but they always treated him with a shred of respect as a worthy adversary and all but this Starscream is SO over-the-top pitiful that when he DOES come up with the rare good plan (see "Inside Job") you are all the more impressed. I was actually hoping he would wind up siding with the Autobots more but that would probably require less treachery than he was capable of.
The Hunt For The Horcruxes bored me a bit (especially with the five-part "sideways" hunt in the middle of the year) probably because I didn't sign up for a "quest show". Honestly, I'm betting The Quest is the big thing that doomed the ThunderCats reboot and I never have any patience for them. Still, at least there aren't any more relics to collect next season and they all WERE put to good use in the second to last episode.
This season contains two clips shows. The second one was great, the first was not. I'll go deeper into the reasons why in my episode reviews below.
Best episodes are the third part of the season premiere (Orion Pax, Part 3), the one that threw everything and the kitchen sink at Megatron (Armada), the one with Shockwave (Out Of The Past), Starscream's brilliant plan (Inside Job), The Starscream / Megatron face-off clip show (Patch) and the two part season finale (Regeneration / Darkest Hour). Season Overall: ****.
Orion Pax, Part 1:
I am SO happy that Megatron actually HAD a plan for recruiting Orion Pax to the Decepticons. I thought it was a brilliant move at the time (if impulsive) but I couldn't for the life of me see what Megatron would actually get out of it. The fact that he came up with this plan in the span of six seconds just makes it that much more impressive. Speaking of impressive, I'm glad they came back to Starscream right away. His absence in the last six episodes of season one was deeply felt and hurt an otherwise flawless season finale. ****.
Orion Pax, Part 2:
Insecticons! Great second part and this is our first real look at Cybertron. Exciting cliffhanger too. ****.
Orion Pax, Part 3:
The setbacks On Cybertron were delightfully relentless. The second I saw that Scraplet I was like "Oh. POOP." Kudos to the show for using the Scraplets and the Insecticon to get rid of each other. My favorite moment was when Orion Pax hesitates to take the Matrix of Leadership from Jack by asking if he was worthy and Jack saying "You have no idea". Understatement of the year. ****1/2. Three Part Average: ****.
Operation: Bumblebee, Part 1:
Part 2 is better but Part 1 certainly lets us know what the stakes are. And I'll get into Silas' biggest mistake of the season in the review for "The Human Factor" but for now, let's just say his recklessness started here. And kudos to the show for finally explaining WHY Bumblebee "speaks" in beeps and whistles. I didn't expect them to answer that for any other reason than "It's cute". ***1/2.
Operation: Bumblebee, Part 2:
I think it was a HUGE mistake to take away Starscream's T-Cog for the majority of the season. Because he is one of the few characters whose vehicle informs his personality. He's slippery and always willing to take off in cowardice at a moment's notice and his skinny, lightning speed jet shows that. The conclusion was better than Part 1 though. ****.
Loose Cannons:
This show has the annoying habit of name-dropping famous Autobots only to reveal they're dead. How cool would it have been to actually see Seaspray? More Wheeljack is always good though. ***.
Crossfire:
I'm still shocked Zoe killed Jayne, er, I mean Airachnid killed Breakdown. I knew it was gonna happen a split-second before it did but I had always assumed they had bigger plans for Breakdown. Guess not. ****.
Nemesis Prime:
Strike 2 for Silas. He deserves everything that's coming to him in "The Human Factor". ***1/2.
Grill:
The first of the two clip shows is a good way for newbies to the show to play catch-up but not for much else. It doesn't help that unlike in "Patch" the information relayed isn't given to a character who needs to know it but rather than one who is supposedly a new audience member surrogate. Passable by unnecessary. And this show doesn't usually take the cheap way out of anything. **1/2.
Armada:
I love that Megatron can't decide of he is having the best day ever (SO much random luck befell him here) or the worst day ever (he was being hit from all sides, all the time). I'm unhappy that Airachnid is now sitting the rest of the season out but five Starscream clones MORE than made up for it. Starscream is the best character on the show so having five comic relief characters (especially ones you can kill off in various gruesome manners) was a good thing. And if Megatron was having a topsy turvy day, Bulkhead was having the luckiest day ever. As we'll see in the middle of the season his luck won't last. ****1/2.
Flying Mind:
Megatron was unnessecarily careless this episode. That's not like him. Still, I like that the Autobots were playing offense for once, even if it meant sending in the kids and Fowler. ***1/2.
Tunnel Vision:
A LOT of fun. I really have come to love Knock Out and he's totally grown out of his role as half of the Knock Out / Breakdown duo. He's his own character now and he manages to steal every scene he's in. I love Miko and Jack having to decide exactly how much they SHOULD tell Vogel and reasoning that telling him EVERYTHING was the wisest course of action because he is one of the few people stupid enough to simply believe it without question. Good call. ****.
Triangulation:
I was REALLY bummed when Starscream got the armor. I usually am half-rooting for Starscream but that is a REALLY useful weapon and I wanted Prime to have it. ***1/2.
Triage:
I love that they managed to "defeat" the Decepticons without ever jeopardizing Soundwave's place as Megatron's most loyal and competent officer. Soundwave and Megatron actually believe they WON that round when Raf and Rachet came up with a MUCH bigger prize than they could have realized. I love that the show does stuff like that. ****.
Toxicity:
Boo to the episode for leaving us on the exact same cliffhanger as the previous episode. What is this, "Lost"? ***.
Hurt:
I think Megatron learning about how dangerous the children could potentially be is the biggest reason the Autobots lost the season. It wasn't really explored that much but reading between the lines, I think if Megatron hadn't started to view them as a threat, he wouldn't have been as inclined to track their every move and thus learn where the Autobots' base was. Plus finding them also made them excellent hostages in the season finale which cost Optimus Prime everything else. ****.
Out Of The Past:
Shockwave! Transformers Prime, you're doing it right. More updated versions of classic bots, please. I don't care too much about Cliffjumper (especially because they didn't snag Dwayne Johnson to voice him again) but the flashbacks were MORE than interesting enough otherwise. ****1/2.
New Recruit:
The new ThunderCats cartoon has made me VERY mistrustful of new team members on kids cartoons, especially if they are based on good guys from the original properties so I was very pleased and surprised that by the end of the season, Smokescreen turned out to be exactly what he said he was. I know that actually SOUNDS predictable (and it kind of is) but I like that the show was still able to keep me guessing. ****.
The Human Factor:
Silas, um excuse me, Cylas deserves every bit of torture and misery that he is fated for because of his stupidity this episode. I can see him playing head games with the benevolent Autobots. I can even see M.E.C.H. thinking it's okay to push around Breakdown or even Starscream. But you do. NOT. Eff. With Megatron. Full stop. Period. Stupid, stupid, stupid. ****.
Legacy:
Optimus Prime racing up that mountain in truck form, transforming, jumping and pulling an Excalibur with the Star Saber, was his biggest Crowning Moment Of Awesome of all time. And THAT is saying something. And did you notice that for the first time EVER Megatron actually showed fear (of the Sabre)?. He showed confusion and uncertainty when Unicron rejected him in last year's finale but this was the first time you could see the "Oh, s***!" look in his eyes. ****1/2.
Alpha/Omega:
I know they undid it by repairing the sword later in the season but it was a HUGE mistake destroying the Star Sabre after only one episode. They had built it up last episode as this all-powerful game-changer and then promptly gutted it. I haven't felt this ripped off since Buffy slayed the Ubervamp in it's third appearance. This didn't gut the momentum as much as that did but it sure felt like we wasted quite a bit of time on that plot point. **1/2.
Hard Knocks:
Thank God they didn't wind up making Smokescreen the Star Child or The Chosen One. He simply had the last key hidden in his gut. TON of stuff happened this episode too so it gets a high grade. ****1/2.
Inside Job:
I am REALLY going to miss the plotline of Starscream as a neutral rogue but I love how he bought his way back on to the team. That was a BRILLIANT plan he came up with and part of me was REALLY hoping he'd pull it off and he did. Smokescreen had a pretty good showing here too and it is TOO bad that he wasn't able to pull off that escape AFTER Starscream had stolen the Autobots' share of the keys. Timing is everything. Favorite bit was Megatron "accidently" throwing a car Vehicon off the warship after mistaking it for a jet one. That led to a VERY funny (and gruesome) sight gag. ****1/2.
Patch:
Megatron Vs. Starscream. It was a long time coming and you knew that if Starscream WAS going to return, Megatron was going to need a decent reason to let him back on the team. I don't know if I buy Megatron's reasoning for keeping him around. If I had been Megatron and learned what he did I would have killed him then and there. After all, he had been foolsih enough to bring the keys to the warship practically giftwrapped and after learning how Starscream desecrated Skyquake it was obvious he was eventually going to have to choose between him and Dreadwing. I STILL think Megatron is going to regret his choice. By the way, the clips played better here because they were as Knock Out put it, "juicy". Having all of Starscream's transgressions recapped for Megatron not only got new viewers up to speed but it moved the mythology of the show forward too. THIS is how you do a successful clip show. ****1/2.
Regeneration:
Poor Dreadwing. Should have joined the Autobots when he had the chance. The Autobots came THIS close to winning everything but they totally forgot to watch out for their biggest weakness. Of COURSE Megatron would be tracking the kids now that he not only knows how dangerous they can be (thank you Miko) but about how much they mean to the Autobots. I ALMOST thought Optimus wasn't gonna negotiate for them next episode because I might not have. But I'm not Optimus Prime. *****.
Darkest Hour:
They had better not kill Optimus off next season. I am SERIOUSLY worried for him and hope that the worst that's happened to him is that he's lost an arm. But the Autobots should have seen Megatron's "side project" coming. Once the Decepticons learned where Raf lived the Autobots should have moved their base. If they survive they won't make that mistake again. Seriously awesome cliffhanger. But if Optimus is dead, I have the right to change my opinion about that. *****.
A Look Back At Season Two: The producers hint that season three will take a page out of the animated movie. Here's hoping they are referring to characters introduced in the movie (or a flashforward) and NOT the death of Optimus Prime. ***1/2.
Optimus Prime: Up Close And Personal: A few things jumped out at me. 1. This is at least the third time I've heard about Optimus Prime being considered a father figure for latchkey kids back in the day. How cruel it was for the original movie to kill him off for the sole reason of selling new toys. Speaking of cruel, I was appalled by the revelation that Peter Cullen learned of Optimus Prime's death in the first movie by reading the script, with no warning from the producers whatsoever. That is SO freaking unprofessional and it seems I have always detested Generation 1 and it's writers and producers for good reason. 2. Larry King's line to the girl dressed as Tanooki Princess Peach was spot-on: "This is a weird place". 3. King seems to have no idea how continuity between different projects works since he asked Cullen how Optimus could be killed off on Generation 1 and "brought back to life" in the movies and new cartoons. To his credit Cullen humors the stupid question (he doesn't even bother to point out that Prime came back to life on Generation 1 first) but I can't help but think that the Bat-Embargo on JLU was more directed towards doddering old fogeys like King rather than modern savvy kids. 4. Cullen remarks that his favorite Transformers project he has ever worked on is Transformers Prime. This does not surprise me in the least. Interesting interview. *****.
Transformers: The Original Series Trailer: Talk about polishing a turd. **1/2.
G.I. Joe: Renegades Volume One Trailer: This looks interesting. It's good that it came out on a half season set rather than a single disc release. ****.
Tramsformers Prime: The Game Trailer: This looks fun. ***1/2.
DVD Menus: Similar to the season one menus with different images. *****.
Transformers Prime: Season One
This is one of the best cartoons for television I have ever seen. I have only enjoyed Justice League Unlimited and Wolverine and the X-Men more. This is also the best non-Pixar CGI toon PERIOD, in television OR film. And it's easily got the best animation EVER for any TV project. I've had this on DVD forever and I waited too long to watch it. I put it off because of how sucky the old show and concept were. That was a mistake. This is crazygood.
Where to start? I LOVE this version of Megatron because you never seem to know exactly what he'll do next. But I want to find out. He reminds me of JLU's Batman in that respect. He is so smart, it's scary, especially considering how dumb he was on the old show. He only puts up with Starscream for a LITTLE while before completely casting him out. Megatron always welcoming Starscream back into the fold on the old show was the WORST show of judgment and you realize Starscream only got as far as he did HERE because THIS Megatron allowed it. He's always been ten steps ahead of him here. I can't wait to see what they do with him next season.
The human kids are not too annoying either which is a bit of a change. I still question the wisdom of having children for Autobot allies but I don't run a kids' network so it isn't up to me. None of the kids grate that much except the girl Miko and she is adorable as often as she is maddening.
Don't miss this show. Watch it now. I'm getting the second season RIGHT when it comes to DVD in November and I'm watching it right away. I'm hooked.
Best episodes of the season are the last two parts of the miniseries premiere (Darkness Rising, Part 4 / Darkness Rising, Part 5), the single scariest kids cartoon I have EVER seen (Predatory), the one where Bumblebee goes into Megatron's Mind (Sick Mind), the cave-in episode (Rock Bottom), the Starscream spotlight (Partners), the fight between Optimus Prime and Megatron the fans have ALWAYS deserved (One Shall Fall), the phenomenal and unpredictable season finale (One Shall Rise, Parts 1, 2, and 3), and yes, the illegal street racing episode, "Speed Metal". Don't look at me like that over that last one. I'm just as surprised as you are. The only episode on the set I don't really like is "T.M.I." and it's not techincally terrible or anything, I just think Miko is really annoying in it. Season Overall: *****.
Darkness Rising, Part 1: The first episode of the miniseries doesn't have much in it to report. I was surprised by Cliffjumper's death and smugly thought they were going to find a way to resurrect him. Boy, was I wrong. And Megatron makes QUITE the entrance at the end. ****.
Darkness Rising, Part 2: That zombie Cliffjumper stuff was naaaaassssty and made my stomach lurch. Seriously twisted stuff. However, unlike on the old show, I didn't feel it was gratuitous and I thought that it was good that there were actual repercussions to it. It definitely WASN'T animated torture porn. ****.
Darkness Rising, Part 3: Can Ratchet and Optimus survive the robot zombie apocalypse without a guide? Great cliffhanger. ****.
Darkness Rising, Part 4: The action sequences here were tight and easily the best CGI I have ever seen for television. Scratch that. I'm thinking this show has the best animation for television, PERIOD. ****1/2.
Darkness Rising, Part 5: Say what you will about Megatron, but this version is an absolute genius. His plan almost worked and only failed due to things out of his control. I cannot get over what a smart and evil plan this was. The rivals the Beast blotting out the sun on Angel. Scratch that too. This was better because it clearly had an endgame and was actually well thought out. This isn't my favorite episode of the season by a long-shot but it gets a perfect grade from me for being the first thing in the entire 30 year franchise to actually impress me. *****. Five Part Average: ****1/2.
Masters And Students: Like most "second" episodes of great series this is a let-down but I was expecting it to be, so no foul. Great series that start off strong RARELY have a second episode as good as the pilot and I'm struggling to think of even ONE that does. The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are Blackout from Batman Beyond and Fun and Games from Superman: The Animated Series. Every single other show I love that had a great pilot struggled in the second episode: Batman: TAS, JLU, Doctor Who, Farscape, Star Trek: DS9, Gargoyles, Young Justice, Alias, Wolverine and the X-Men, Community, Buffy, Angel, Futurama, and to a lesser extent, Lost. This just continues a tradition among great shows. Best bit was Ratchet's science project blowing the top of the roof off Raf's school. ***.
Scrapheap: I think Bulkhead is just the cutest, and if I don't feel that way about Miko yet, she's growing on me. Those little"Scraplets" were both adorable and freaky. They reminded me of the creature from Farscape's "Beware Of Dog". ****.
Con Job: Good for the show for not pulling the obvious trick of the Autobots confusing Wheeljacks at the end and having the evil one infiltrate the Autobots. I think they should have tried harder to get Wheeljack to stay though. I would have used the obvious argument: they are SO completely understaffed at Autobot headquarters that he practically has no choice. I'm even certain that argument would have convinced him. But no, they let him be on his merry way without ever letting on how much they were actually struggling. I think that was dumb. ***1/2.
Convoy: Love the idea of having actual FORMIDABLE human enemies which has got to be a first for the franchise. Usually the gag is that humans with hubris have NO idea what they are stepping into and get smacked down HARD and wind up having to be saved by the Autobots. I like this plot twist. I also think the idea of the Autobots switching the weapon from Optimus' trailer to the train in the tunnel was a smart one. It's a shame it didn't work. ****.
Deus Ex Machina: A Mission Impossible Transformers story? As unlikely as that sounds, they attempted it here. Pity it didn't really work either. All right. ***.
Speed Metal: An illegal street racing episode however is a no-brainer for a show with talking cars. It was great. I'm just surprised they never did it before. ****1/2.
Predatory: Scariest kids cartoon EVER. Few animated kids shows have unsettled me this much and the ones that did (Justice League's Only A Dream) only did so in certain places. This was a non-stop nightmare generator. Excellent! And look! Gina Torres! How can a woman that gorgeous have THAT evil sounding a voice? Also notable that this was the first episode we got a flashback which is something we've sorely needed (and continue to still need). *****.
Sick Mind: I loved this episode. I think Bumblebee was a VERY interesting choice to go into Megatron's mind because he's mute to the audience. I wouldn't have picked him but it's to the writer's credit that it worked anyways. Great cliffhanger too. *****.
Out Of His Head: I'll concede the episode is completely predictable. But I'm LOVING Megatron FINALLY being able to confront Starscream and putting him in a world of hurt. Thanks! I needed that! ****. Two Part Average: ****1/2.
Shadowzone: Done to death sci-fi concept, made tolerable by the severe and hilarious abuse suffered by Starscream. The last shot was awesome. ***1/2.
Operation: Breakdown: SORELY disappointed Breakdown STILL doublecrossed Bulkhead at the end as it was SO predictable and happens in every single Transformers cartoon every single time there is an alliance or enemy rescue mission. Then again, this ending completely prepared me to be fooled by the killer ending to One Shall Rise so it's all good. **1/2.
Crisscross: Suprised they revealed Jack's secret to his mother this early in the show's run. I have some complaints about her reaction but they were addressed later in the season. Airachnia is STILL freaky. But why was she called "AIRachnia" BEFORE she chose a helicopter as her vehicle? Nice try, writers. ****.
Metal Attraction: Still not cool with June in the Batcave but the episode was all right. ***.
Rock Bottom: That look that Megatron gave Jack after he spared his life chilled me to the bone. Talk about a rabid dog needing to be put down. Yikes. The episode was awesome. *****.
Partners: My only disappointment in this episode is that this is the last time we see Starscream this season. I was hoping he'd pop up in One Shall Rise. Other than that, the revelations were fast and furious. I loved that Arcee FINALLY learned he killed Cliffjumper and her reaction. And did I mention Megatron was smart? I doubt the Megatron on the old show would EVER consider what a liability to Decepticon Intelligence the capture of a second in command (especially such a cowardly one) would mean. I bet Airachnia thought she was headed toward a big fat promotion until she got a reality check. ****1/2.
T.M.I.: Sometimes I find Miko as cute as the writers do. And sometimes I find her REALLY annoying. This was the latter. All of the problems that happened here were entirely her fault and probably would have been easier to deal with in a controlled setting like the base. She is seriously stupid. **.
Stronger, Faster: I love Jeffrey Combs but his Ratchet took some getting used to. I'm more used to him playing spooky people rather than lovable curmudgeons. There's a precedent for it in the Andorian Shran on Enterprise but I still had a bit of a hard time getting used to Ratchet's voice at first. It's clear he was wisely cast however from his performance this episode. Combs brings the nasty and even uses the bit of unlikely humor in his voice in his "Hoo Hah!" that we haven't heard since JLU's the Question broke into a buidling while singing bubblegum pop. Good episode, I think. ****.
One Shall Fall: THIS. THIS is the smackdown between Optimus Prime and Megatron Transformers fans have waited 30 years for. My complaint is that it took this long for a TF project to actually give it to us. But it was worth the wait. That final shot of Megatron standing over Prime's broken body while the volcano erupted was awesomesauce. Perhaps the best episode of the season. Best line goes to Optimus when one of the kids asks him if he wants to see something funny: "No." He deadpanned and killed it. *****.
One Shall Rise, Part 1: MORE essential flashbacks (and they'll continue in all three parts). Unicron (John Noble!) SHOULD have accepted Megatron's offer. He was totally doomed the second he rejected him. And it's about time June confronted Jack and the Autobots for putting children in danger. That's the reaction she should have had all along and I was afraid they were going to just ignore the elephant in the room. Yes, the kids are now safer with the Autobots than without them but if June HADN'T finally gotten angry when she did I would have thought her a bad mother. *****.
One Shall Rise, Part 2: Another "look" between Megatron and Jack that made my skin crawl, more flashbacks, and an army of Unicrons? Sold! And the alliance with Megatron worked because they completely fooled me with it in part 3. Yeah, this was a good one. ****1/2.
One Shall Rose, Part 3: They got me. Completely suckered me. And were able to so thoroughly trick me due to the predictable outcomes of the temporary truces with Breakdown and Starscream eariler in the season. Megatron is SMART. After ONE sentence, he decides that instead of calling off the alliance and killing Optimus, that it would be MUCH more damaging to recruit an Orion Pax suffering from amnesia to the Decepticons. Now there are a MILLION ways that can go wrong, and I haven't seen season two yet so they COULD have already screwed it up, but Megatron saw a once in a lifetime opportunity and decided the risks were worth waiting to see how this would play out. Pure. Evil. GENIUS. Screw Xanatos. They need to name a TV trope after Transformers Prime's Megatron. My pick for second best scene: Soundwave demolishing Airachnia without even trying. She has been shown to be the toughest Decepticon to beat other than Megatron and to see her so thoroughly trashed by Soundwave made me go "Yikes!" I guess there's a reason why he is so high up in rank. I want to see him take on Optimus or Bulkhead now. That would be an epic smackdown. *****. Four Part Average: *****.
Shadowzone Commentary: This commentary with Bumblebee on it was cute especially everybody else's reaction to the beeping. Next time I want to see an entire commentary with JUST Bumblebee. ****.
Making-Of Transformers: Prime: Loved all of the clips from the various Transformer series over the year as well as getting to see what Peter Cullen and Frank Welker look like. *****.
Toy Featurette: More great clips and I love the toys too. ****1/2.
Season 2 Teaser: Only about ten seconds long, this is STILL a killer. *****.
Trailers:
Transformers Prime Trailer: Good trailer. ****.
G.I. Joe Renegades Trailer: I may want to see this show now. ****.
Transformers Bot Shots Battle Game!: This looks cute. ***1/2.
Transformers Prime: The Game: This looks fun. ***1/2.
DVD Menus: Pretty slick. Animated with different colored backgrounds on each disc. *****.
Transformers Prime: Season Two
I don't think the second season of Transformers Prime was QUITE a good as the first but it's still probably the best action toon currently on television (yes, better than Young Justice, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, and The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes). I like some of what the season did (Starscream as a rogue agent) and disliked other stuff (sidelining Bulkhead in the middle of the season and grounding Starscream).
Starscream is the best character on the show (even better than last season's MVP Megatron) because he is absolutely hilarious. They involve him in the funniest stuff and they take the fact that he IS so pathetic and make fun of it. Say what you will about G1 Starscream, but they always treated him with a shred of respect as a worthy adversary and all but this Starscream is SO over-the-top pitiful that when he DOES come up with the rare good plan (see "Inside Job") you are all the more impressed. I was actually hoping he would wind up siding with the Autobots more but that would probably require less treachery than he was capable of.
The Hunt For The Horcruxes bored me a bit (especially with the five-part "sideways" hunt in the middle of the year) probably because I didn't sign up for a "quest show". Honestly, I'm betting The Quest is the big thing that doomed the ThunderCats reboot and I never have any patience for them. Still, at least there aren't any more relics to collect next season and they all WERE put to good use in the second to last episode.
This season contains two clips shows. The second one was great, the first was not. I'll go deeper into the reasons why in my episode reviews below.
Best episodes are the third part of the season premiere (Orion Pax, Part 3), the one that threw everything and the kitchen sink at Megatron (Armada), the one with Shockwave (Out Of The Past), Starscream's brilliant plan (Inside Job), The Starscream / Megatron face-off clip show (Patch) and the two part season finale (Regeneration / Darkest Hour). Season Overall: ****.
Orion Pax, Part 1:
I am SO happy that Megatron actually HAD a plan for recruiting Orion Pax to the Decepticons. I thought it was a brilliant move at the time (if impulsive) but I couldn't for the life of me see what Megatron would actually get out of it. The fact that he came up with this plan in the span of six seconds just makes it that much more impressive. Speaking of impressive, I'm glad they came back to Starscream right away. His absence in the last six episodes of season one was deeply felt and hurt an otherwise flawless season finale. ****.
Orion Pax, Part 2:
Insecticons! Great second part and this is our first real look at Cybertron. Exciting cliffhanger too. ****.
Orion Pax, Part 3:
The setbacks On Cybertron were delightfully relentless. The second I saw that Scraplet I was like "Oh. POOP." Kudos to the show for using the Scraplets and the Insecticon to get rid of each other. My favorite moment was when Orion Pax hesitates to take the Matrix of Leadership from Jack by asking if he was worthy and Jack saying "You have no idea". Understatement of the year. ****1/2. Three Part Average: ****.
Operation: Bumblebee, Part 1:
Part 2 is better but Part 1 certainly lets us know what the stakes are. And I'll get into Silas' biggest mistake of the season in the review for "The Human Factor" but for now, let's just say his recklessness started here. And kudos to the show for finally explaining WHY Bumblebee "speaks" in beeps and whistles. I didn't expect them to answer that for any other reason than "It's cute". ***1/2.
Operation: Bumblebee, Part 2:
I think it was a HUGE mistake to take away Starscream's T-Cog for the majority of the season. Because he is one of the few characters whose vehicle informs his personality. He's slippery and always willing to take off in cowardice at a moment's notice and his skinny, lightning speed jet shows that. The conclusion was better than Part 1 though. ****.
Loose Cannons:
This show has the annoying habit of name-dropping famous Autobots only to reveal they're dead. How cool would it have been to actually see Seaspray? More Wheeljack is always good though. ***.
Crossfire:
I'm still shocked Zoe killed Jayne, er, I mean Airachnid killed Breakdown. I knew it was gonna happen a split-second before it did but I had always assumed they had bigger plans for Breakdown. Guess not. ****.
Nemesis Prime:
Strike 2 for Silas. He deserves everything that's coming to him in "The Human Factor". ***1/2.
Grill:
The first of the two clip shows is a good way for newbies to the show to play catch-up but not for much else. It doesn't help that unlike in "Patch" the information relayed isn't given to a character who needs to know it but rather than one who is supposedly a new audience member surrogate. Passable by unnecessary. And this show doesn't usually take the cheap way out of anything. **1/2.
Armada:
I love that Megatron can't decide of he is having the best day ever (SO much random luck befell him here) or the worst day ever (he was being hit from all sides, all the time). I'm unhappy that Airachnid is now sitting the rest of the season out but five Starscream clones MORE than made up for it. Starscream is the best character on the show so having five comic relief characters (especially ones you can kill off in various gruesome manners) was a good thing. And if Megatron was having a topsy turvy day, Bulkhead was having the luckiest day ever. As we'll see in the middle of the season his luck won't last. ****1/2.
Flying Mind:
Megatron was unnessecarily careless this episode. That's not like him. Still, I like that the Autobots were playing offense for once, even if it meant sending in the kids and Fowler. ***1/2.
Tunnel Vision:
A LOT of fun. I really have come to love Knock Out and he's totally grown out of his role as half of the Knock Out / Breakdown duo. He's his own character now and he manages to steal every scene he's in. I love Miko and Jack having to decide exactly how much they SHOULD tell Vogel and reasoning that telling him EVERYTHING was the wisest course of action because he is one of the few people stupid enough to simply believe it without question. Good call. ****.
Triangulation:
I was REALLY bummed when Starscream got the armor. I usually am half-rooting for Starscream but that is a REALLY useful weapon and I wanted Prime to have it. ***1/2.
Triage:
I love that they managed to "defeat" the Decepticons without ever jeopardizing Soundwave's place as Megatron's most loyal and competent officer. Soundwave and Megatron actually believe they WON that round when Raf and Rachet came up with a MUCH bigger prize than they could have realized. I love that the show does stuff like that. ****.
Toxicity:
Boo to the episode for leaving us on the exact same cliffhanger as the previous episode. What is this, "Lost"? ***.
Hurt:
I think Megatron learning about how dangerous the children could potentially be is the biggest reason the Autobots lost the season. It wasn't really explored that much but reading between the lines, I think if Megatron hadn't started to view them as a threat, he wouldn't have been as inclined to track their every move and thus learn where the Autobots' base was. Plus finding them also made them excellent hostages in the season finale which cost Optimus Prime everything else. ****.
Out Of The Past:
Shockwave! Transformers Prime, you're doing it right. More updated versions of classic bots, please. I don't care too much about Cliffjumper (especially because they didn't snag Dwayne Johnson to voice him again) but the flashbacks were MORE than interesting enough otherwise. ****1/2.
New Recruit:
The new ThunderCats cartoon has made me VERY mistrustful of new team members on kids cartoons, especially if they are based on good guys from the original properties so I was very pleased and surprised that by the end of the season, Smokescreen turned out to be exactly what he said he was. I know that actually SOUNDS predictable (and it kind of is) but I like that the show was still able to keep me guessing. ****.
The Human Factor:
Silas, um excuse me, Cylas deserves every bit of torture and misery that he is fated for because of his stupidity this episode. I can see him playing head games with the benevolent Autobots. I can even see M.E.C.H. thinking it's okay to push around Breakdown or even Starscream. But you do. NOT. Eff. With Megatron. Full stop. Period. Stupid, stupid, stupid. ****.
Legacy:
Optimus Prime racing up that mountain in truck form, transforming, jumping and pulling an Excalibur with the Star Saber, was his biggest Crowning Moment Of Awesome of all time. And THAT is saying something. And did you notice that for the first time EVER Megatron actually showed fear (of the Sabre)?. He showed confusion and uncertainty when Unicron rejected him in last year's finale but this was the first time you could see the "Oh, s***!" look in his eyes. ****1/2.
Alpha/Omega:
I know they undid it by repairing the sword later in the season but it was a HUGE mistake destroying the Star Sabre after only one episode. They had built it up last episode as this all-powerful game-changer and then promptly gutted it. I haven't felt this ripped off since Buffy slayed the Ubervamp in it's third appearance. This didn't gut the momentum as much as that did but it sure felt like we wasted quite a bit of time on that plot point. **1/2.
Hard Knocks:
Thank God they didn't wind up making Smokescreen the Star Child or The Chosen One. He simply had the last key hidden in his gut. TON of stuff happened this episode too so it gets a high grade. ****1/2.
Inside Job:
I am REALLY going to miss the plotline of Starscream as a neutral rogue but I love how he bought his way back on to the team. That was a BRILLIANT plan he came up with and part of me was REALLY hoping he'd pull it off and he did. Smokescreen had a pretty good showing here too and it is TOO bad that he wasn't able to pull off that escape AFTER Starscream had stolen the Autobots' share of the keys. Timing is everything. Favorite bit was Megatron "accidently" throwing a car Vehicon off the warship after mistaking it for a jet one. That led to a VERY funny (and gruesome) sight gag. ****1/2.
Patch:
Megatron Vs. Starscream. It was a long time coming and you knew that if Starscream WAS going to return, Megatron was going to need a decent reason to let him back on the team. I don't know if I buy Megatron's reasoning for keeping him around. If I had been Megatron and learned what he did I would have killed him then and there. After all, he had been foolsih enough to bring the keys to the warship practically giftwrapped and after learning how Starscream desecrated Skyquake it was obvious he was eventually going to have to choose between him and Dreadwing. I STILL think Megatron is going to regret his choice. By the way, the clips played better here because they were as Knock Out put it, "juicy". Having all of Starscream's transgressions recapped for Megatron not only got new viewers up to speed but it moved the mythology of the show forward too. THIS is how you do a successful clip show. ****1/2.
Regeneration:
Poor Dreadwing. Should have joined the Autobots when he had the chance. The Autobots came THIS close to winning everything but they totally forgot to watch out for their biggest weakness. Of COURSE Megatron would be tracking the kids now that he not only knows how dangerous they can be (thank you Miko) but about how much they mean to the Autobots. I ALMOST thought Optimus wasn't gonna negotiate for them next episode because I might not have. But I'm not Optimus Prime. *****.
Darkest Hour:
They had better not kill Optimus off next season. I am SERIOUSLY worried for him and hope that the worst that's happened to him is that he's lost an arm. But the Autobots should have seen Megatron's "side project" coming. Once the Decepticons learned where Raf lived the Autobots should have moved their base. If they survive they won't make that mistake again. Seriously awesome cliffhanger. But if Optimus is dead, I have the right to change my opinion about that. *****.
A Look Back At Season Two: The producers hint that season three will take a page out of the animated movie. Here's hoping they are referring to characters introduced in the movie (or a flashforward) and NOT the death of Optimus Prime. ***1/2.
Optimus Prime: Up Close And Personal: A few things jumped out at me. 1. This is at least the third time I've heard about Optimus Prime being considered a father figure for latchkey kids back in the day. How cruel it was for the original movie to kill him off for the sole reason of selling new toys. Speaking of cruel, I was appalled by the revelation that Peter Cullen learned of Optimus Prime's death in the first movie by reading the script, with no warning from the producers whatsoever. That is SO freaking unprofessional and it seems I have always detested Generation 1 and it's writers and producers for good reason. 2. Larry King's line to the girl dressed as Tanooki Princess Peach was spot-on: "This is a weird place". 3. King seems to have no idea how continuity between different projects works since he asked Cullen how Optimus could be killed off on Generation 1 and "brought back to life" in the movies and new cartoons. To his credit Cullen humors the stupid question (he doesn't even bother to point out that Prime came back to life on Generation 1 first) but I can't help but think that the Bat-Embargo on JLU was more directed towards doddering old fogeys like King rather than modern savvy kids. 4. Cullen remarks that his favorite Transformers project he has ever worked on is Transformers Prime. This does not surprise me in the least. Interesting interview. *****.
Transformers: The Original Series Trailer: Talk about polishing a turd. **1/2.
G.I. Joe: Renegades Volume One Trailer: This looks interesting. It's good that it came out on a half season set rather than a single disc release. ****.
Tramsformers Prime: The Game Trailer: This looks fun. ***1/2.
DVD Menus: Similar to the season one menus with different images. *****.