SOS from Planet Sandra



The Autobots respond when an emergency request for energy comes from the other-dimensional planet Sandra.


 * English/Malay dub name: An SOS From a Lost Planet

Detailed synopsis
On Chaar, Cyclonus and Scourge pick up an SOS signal from the planet Sandra, asking for help in replenishing their dwindling energy reserves. They bring it to Galvatron's attention, but Scorponok dismisses it out of hand, preferring that they not get involved in interplanetary affairs. Galvatron agrees, but dispatches Ratbat to find out whether or not the Autobots have also picked up the SOS.

On Athenia, Galvatron's suspicions prove correct - the Autobots have indeed recieved Sandra's SOS, and Fortress maps the location of the planet, which exists in a parallel dimension, in that universe's version of Earth's solar system. The Autobots debate the virtues of aiding Sandra, with Spike unsure if it is wise to sacrifice any of their own limited energy supply. Eventually, after Fortress recieves a report from Punch that the Decepticons have recieved but ignored the SOS, they decide to ship the minimum amount of energon cubes that they can spare directly from Earth, rather than from Athenia's stockpile. Daniel and Wheelie request that they be allowed to go too, and are permitted. The whole affair, however, has been witnessed by Ratbat, who informs Galvatron of the Autobots' plan of action. Proclaiming that all of Earth's energy belongs to the Decepticons, Galvatron prepares to stop the Autobots from sending any to Sandra.

A short time later, on Earth, Galvatron co-ordinates the Decepticon forces with Sixshot while Ultra Magnus oversees the Protectobots and Technobots as they load energon cubes onto the Trainbots. Twincast arrives to inform them that Galvatron has arrived on Earth, but the warning comes too late, as Galvatron, the Terrocons and the Constructicons swoop down out of the sky and open fire. The Trainbots try to make a break for it as the combiners and leaders brawl, but Sixshot shoots them out of the sky.

News of the attack reaches Athenia, and Fortress and Spike make the difficult decision to send Athenia's own energy on to Sandra while the Decepticons' attention is on Earth. Battleship Maximus takes off from Athenia with the energy on board, but Galvatron is quick to realise the deception and sends Scorponok, kept on standby on Chaar for just such an occasion, after the Autobots. When the battle erupts, Fortress has Wheelie, Spike and Daniel board a small shuttle, intending for them to sneak away conflict to deliver the energy while the villains are busy. Chromedome and Hardhead disconnect from their Transtectors and join the team, boarding the shuttle in their small robot forms, and the group travels through the dimensional rift to Sandra and successfully delivers the energon cubes. Daniel and Spike, in particular, are dismayed to see what a wasteland Sandra has become as a result of their diminished energy; the group is met by a trio of Sandran representatives, who explain that the planet's civilization foolishly expended their natural resources, believing them to be unlimited. They also reveal that they are only a few years away from developing new sources of energy, but that their remaining supplies will run out before then, hence the SOS. This affirms Spike's belief that he made the right choice in agreeing to help them, but just then, Fortress Maximus appears in the sky, with Scorponok hot on his tail. While the two giants fight, Chromedome and Hardhead use their diminutive stature to sneak explosives onto Scorponok, which explode and badly damage the Decepticon. Recombining with their Transtectors, they join in fighting the other Decepticons, forcing them to retreat.

Stats
Original airdate: 27th November 1987

Featured Characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Animation and/or technical glitches

 * As Twincast runs up to Ultra Magnus, guess who's already standing behind him? It's Twincast!
 * When the Decepticons attack the Autobots on Earth, Brawl appears to have been included in place of Blot, since all the other Terrorcons appear, and none of the other Combaticons do.

Transformers references

 * Punch's double-agent status was established in Return of the Immortal Emperor. Despite being a bit of a doof when backed into a corner, Punch continues to be quite effective and important for much the story arc that is about to begin.

Miscellaneous trivia

 * When voicing his opinion on the Sandra situation, Scorponok speaks "through" his city-mode Transtector for the first time as an echoing, disembodied voice. Up to this point, all of Scorponok's interaction with his fellow Decepticons has been done while in his small robot form, but this is the beginning of a trend that continues throughout the upcoming story arc, where the small robot does not appear on-screen (apart from in transformation sequences), and the character is simply treated as a giant transforming spaceship. This comes at the same point in time that his role in the series is reduced to simply ferrying the Decepticons from planet to planet and fighting Fotress Maximus a bit, so perhaps it was done to make this a bit more palatable. Once this story ends, though, the small robot returns to the fore to carry on with his own plans.