TF: Prime - Just a few thoughts
Avoided a lot of discussion, reviews and spoilers (as much as I could anyway, given how easy it is to run into spoilers on Twitter) till I could sit down and watch the whole thing from start to finish. Finally did it today...
And I liked it. Liked it a lot actually... The quality of the videos I ended up downloading weren't the best (a problem which I intend to rectify with some HD downloads) which might have diminished the visual enjoyment, but overall, I really enjoyed it.
First and foremost, coming off the awesome that was Animated, I really did have to push away all that I was used to from Animated, Bayverse, and of course, G1, and treat this as its completely own universe and as its own story. I find it helps and makes it more enjoyable when you just watch it for what it is, rather than have this separate mental screen where you compare everything that happens with your favorite series of choice.
That being said, I did giggle at the obvious nods and inspiration from other series... homage is good, yes.
Optimus introduced himself to the humans the same way he introduced himself to Sam and Mikaela in TF 1. Same words, tone, delivery, and he even did the kneel and lean in, eye-projector flashback thing XD
I am not surprised since Kurtzman and Orci wrote TF 1 and 2... it was also a little worrying considering that yes ROTF stank as a plot. Unless it was just Bay's stupid humor getting in the way of what could have been a decent plot. But hey, lets see how Kurtzman and Orci tackle a series without Bay interfering, yes?
Poor Cliffjumper. But I guess if they wanted to whittle the team down to what seems to be the norm now (the team of Five Autobots), then someone had to go. They already have the iconic muscle car in Bumblebee so... 'fraid Cliffy was it... and to be zombie-fied on top of it... tsk. Though Zombie-Cliff did sound a lot like Gollum.
I do like this Arcee. Probably the first Arcee I like. I'm glad she's blue and snarky instead of being the token sweet pink femme. She feels a bit like a younger Chromia from ROTF/G1.
Peter Cullen as Optimus... bah, do I even need to say anything? It's just awesome. Welker's Megatron... this was where I had to tell myself not to expect a G1-sounding Megatron, because this is not G1 Megs. That made it a lot easier.
I thought Bee was adorable with the little squeaks and beeps.
The kids... Ahh the kids... Is it common protocol to go into a new series automatically hating the kids until they prove otherwise? Did I miss the memo on that? I was trying to see why people were going "OMG I hate the kids, they're so annoying" - uh... sorry? I didn't get that at all (and mind you I am the first one to go OMG DIE! when I come across an annoying kid).
Jack is very Sam-like. The whole likable loser type living with his mom... missing father, and is probably going to end up looking at Optimus or Ratchet as the father figure. Unless Arcee's already filling that role, in which case, whoa... a two-female 'parent' type role, I applaud. Everyone likes Sam, so I don't see how Jack is so annoying when he's essentially the Sam-type in animated form.
Miko... looks-wise, yes I see the Sari resemblance... but I like the fact that they've chosen to throw in a semi-Japanese teenager in there... and whoever thinks that she's too hyperactive to be true has not been to an Asian cosplay/anime convention. Miko is essentially a J-rock/punk teen, and from what I've seen of local J-rock/punk teens here... yeah, I'd say spot on, right down to the hairstyle and clothes (actually Miko's clothes are still rather tame). So maybe I'm immune, I dunno. Maybe she's not a stereotype commonly found in the West, but she is around these parts, so I guess it's not really annoying to me. Watch a few documentaries about Japanese teen culture, and yea, You'll see Miko there. And they've given her the typical Chinese-Japanese habit of taking pictures of everything on their mobile phones XDDDD
Raph... I like this kid the most I think. The fact that he understands Bee and is actually somewhat useful with his computer skills. Heh flash drives. He's a bit on the quiet side, and was shaken by all the battles, so aside from the whole trauma of war, I'm curious to know what his story is. Again, I really don't see what's annoying about him. He's been a lot more useful in 5 episodes than G1 Spike was in a whole season.
I did come to the conclusion that this Five Autobot team is like a mashup of the Five Autobot teams from TF 1 and TFA. Which made me giggle when I realized that Arcee was kinda like BV Jazz and TFA Prowl smushed together... though more TFA Prowl (bike, hand-to-hand combat, snark) than Jazz.
It was kinda cool they weaved in the Dark Energon from WFC in there. I swear there were times I thought I was watching a video game - in a good way. I admit I yelled at Optimus towards the end of episode 5 that, "dammit you'd better not be dying again!" ... but yes, I do like it that they've thrown in a bit of BV, a bit of G1, bit of TFA as a kind of "wink wink nudge"... hell, even a bit of Galaxy Force with the stop sign out in the desert.
So we've got to wait till Feb for the next episode of TF: Prime? Awww...