Talk:Transformers Animated (cartoon)

Cybertron Modes
Anyone else think that we should add images of all the Cybertron forms in the profile pages


 * Sounds like a fantastic idea. please sign your comments--Skyglide 05:01, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
 * So who all has shown Cybertron Modes so far? I'm probably missing a few:


 * Optimus Prime
 * Bulkhead
 * Bumblebee
 * Sentinel Prime
 * Omega Supreme
 * Ironhide
 * Wasp
 * Lockdown
 * Blackarachnia
 * Longarm Prime
 * Megatron

Are Blurr and Swindle considered to appear in their Cybertron or Earth modes?KrytenKoro 08:19, 6 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Ratchet and, arguably, Omega Supreme, though his Cybertronian mode is featured quite a lot on his and other pages. -- Semysane 09:01, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Wasp, Warp and Swind
Ok, anyone got a link confirming these three. Cause I know Waspy was just a rumour to start off with, and Skywarp and Swindle are completely new to meUser:GWolfv2
 * http://www.seibertron.com/news/view.php?id=12617&, but it's STILL a rumour. We should wait for an official statement. --Hepathos 16:32, 20 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Or at least until we know which factions the new characters are. Skywarp we can take for granted, but the other two?  --Thylacine 2000 18:36, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

Mixmaster
Is this confirmed?
 * I believe this info came from the same person who posted a lot of the design sheets on different message boards. I'd assume he's in the know if he got his hands on those, but at the same time, I'm not sure I'd call it official. Koh4711 02:05, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

Waspinator?
When has there been any mention of him appearing?
 * David Kaye talked about Waspinator appearing in the show during BotCon '07. -Awa64 01:23, 7 January 2008 (UTC)
 * He wasn't confirmed in anyway though. And as far as I can tell, there's nowhere in the episode guide that introduces him

Yeah, I don't really think that we should have him there right now. Hope to god he's in though. Ragingtsunami726 02:23, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Ironhide

 * sooooo...Ironhide is not one of the Cybertrons Elite Guards anymore now that he got placed in the normal cast of autobots?--Grand-majin 16:38, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

UK Intro
I was watching TF:A in the UK and noticed that the intro has gained the adition of two red bars at the top and bottom of the screen, these are not in the versions i have downloaded... is this because of the change from NTSC to PAL or is it because they were animated in 16x9 while the rest of the show is 4x3?

Season 3?
"Season 3 is already in the works and season 4 is quite possible"--where was that ever confirmed? I thought we hadn't heard anything about the cartoon past "A Bridge Too Close." --Thylacine 2000 16:21, 13 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Either Botcon or Comicon, if I recall. Mentioned that 1 and 2 were already in the can (and we know why now, given the way they're being aired back to back) and that they were taking this all the way.--RosicrucianTalk 16:25, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

Cast List & Non-Show Characters
We have probably reached the point where the cast list on this page should be pruned of characters who haven't actually appeared in the show, like Blurr and Laserbeak. Opinions? JW 17:56, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, there is the possiblity of Blurr in Velocity, but I think Laserbeak can go for now. -- SFH 18:28, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Laserbeak is being planned for S3 apparently User:GWolfv2
 * Our general rule is that we wait for things to actually happen before putting them in the wiki, n'est-ce pas? JW 19:47, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
 * How about Oil Slick? He was designed to be a toy only character. And I have a hunch, so does Jetfire & Jetstrom. Where do we put them? --Hepathos 11:01, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
 * They're in Category:Animated characters and Category:Toy-only characters. That's the way we normally handle toy-only characters.  JW 11:18, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, toy-only characters might be found under.... oh, I dunno... maybe... Animated (toyline)? -- Repowers 14:16, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

Once again, barring dissent, I'm going to go through the cast list and prune it of characters who haven't already appeared in the show. That way we don't try to predict who's a toy-only character, and we don't post stuff in advance of official announcements. Toy characters go on Animated (toyline), and all characters go in Category:Animated characters, but the cast list is for people who have appeared. Dissent? JW 20:46, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

Criminy
Every time a writer or voice actor mentions someone as a "possibility" we have to spend three months removing them from the cast list. Now, it begins for Galvatron and Ratbat. And they're still talking about Waspinator as a "possibility" so we're still dealing with that one.--RosicrucianTalk 23:56, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

Making new pages for episodes...?
So I was thinking I would try my hand at actually creating a page and adding some real content. I was gonna do it for Black Friday since it doesn't have a page, but I wanted to make sure there wasn't some rule against doing this for episodes that haven't aired yet, even though they already showed this one at Botcon. --Rose.T 06:48, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
 * We have a 30 day moratorium on 'club-exclusive' material. (So people don't just rush here and reach rephrased synopses instead of signing up.  Also because if you opt for the cheap shipping your stuff arrives later.)  In that instance, the material being 'protected' by the moratorium increases in value (for Fun Pub) because it is protected.  Black Friday is not a club exclusive (it was a con exclusive,) refraining from documenting it does not increase its value- or offer any secondary value to people who sign up for the collector's club in the future (unlike other club premiums, future members will never 'get' to watch he episode early again.)
 * The Botcon airing of Black Friday doesn't seem to be protected for any of the reasons we normally protect stuff. I'd say 'go ahead' unless someone else voices an objection. -75.168.112.43 07:29, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I say go for it, just use a spoiler tag. We had synopses for episodes that were essentially Canadian exclusive, at least for a week. - Semysane 09:00, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
 * No. No spoiler tags in episode articles. If you're too stupid to realize that an article about the episode itself contains spoilers, then nothing can help you. —Interrobang 10:04, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm gonna disagree here, just on the off chance that someone clicks "random page" and winds up on the Black Friday page. The spoiler alert will give them time to get somewhere else before seeing something they might not want to.  -hx 11:29, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree with Hooper. Having gone through the BW time when assholes spoiled things left and right in a big HEY I GOTS INSIDE INFO DIG ME douchebaggery festival, I'm all for making sure accidental spoilers don't happen. --M Sipher 14:18, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I invite all of you to Transformers Wiki Talk: Spoilers.--RosicrucianTalk 14:21, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't see how that's not accomplished by the navbox at the top that clearly states it's the 26th episode of Animated. Or, y'know, the title. —Interrobang 14:25, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
 * What about the page title "Garbage In Garbage Out" tells me that it's an unaired Animated episode, instead of some obscure storybook that I've never heard of or old comic book title that I've forgotten about? Spoiler warnings are common courtesy and have been since time immemorial (in Internet terms, anyway.) -- Repowers 14:46, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

More cast revealed
Creator Derrick has posted in his blog http://derrickjwyatt.blogspot.com/ several faces of who appear to be, swindle, jetstorm, wreck gar, skywarp, shockwave, mixmaster, blurr, jetfire and thundercracker

Also, in the comments section he says and I quote "About Gurren Lagann: No, actually. I hadn't seen Gurren Lagann until after we had finished most of the first season of TFA. I wish I had, because I would have had the Headmaster robot transform with stubby little legs. And maybe Masterson's head popping up out of the top of the robot."
 * Who thinks these characters should be added to the cast list? I mean, the are confirmed.
 * Aside from Wreckgar, they haven't appeared yet. We're not adding people until they've had an episode appearance and a confirmed voice actor (if they have speaking lines).--RosicrucianTalk 03:01, 2 May 2008 (UTC)
 * The official site (http://www.transformersanimated.com/transformers-characters.php) Also lists Preceptor and Omega Supreme too.SteamFan42 18:49, 28 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Transformers Animated.com isn't the official site. the Official site is Transformers.com -- SFH 18:50, 28 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Them dudes are gonna get a C&D from Hasbro for using such a URL. --FFN 19:02, 28 June 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm amazed they haven't already. They've even taken down the "this is a fan site and not official" notice they used to have. --KilMichaelMcC 19:05, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

Profile problem
anyone else think a few of the profiles need to be tightened/tidied up. Magnus for example. Or Prime's(needs to be expandedd). They just feel like people have been adding stuff, instead of one steady piece of writing like profiles for other series...I've an idea for the ones I think need fixing, but rather get the go ahead before I have a goUser:GWolfv2
 * Don't really need approval. Pages usually need tightened up a bit after a few episodes air. Go for it.--RosicrucianTalk 15:56, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Yep. That's called "dogpiling" and it's a real problem when new episodes are revealing more info about a character -- people just tack stuff on without looking at what's already written. Drives me nuts! -- Repowers 16:02, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Reception
Simple Q: Should we add something about fan reaction, like we did with Sari's page. And I mean proper tuff, what's pleased, what was less well received. None of that rubbish about chins, or insulting fans or anything. Just, the reception section is fairly bare.
 * Please sign your posts, as instructed at the top of every Editing Talk screen. JW 19:56, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

"Always animated"
I think one could make a compelling arguement that the previous four TV seriese weren't animated... --M Sipher 17:51, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

What century is this?
I may just be forgetful in my old age, but have they ever made reference in the show to exactly when it takes place? 21st century, 22nd century? If so, in which episode? JW 11:57, 7 May 2008 (UTC)
 * In "Blast from the Past," Isaac says his new circuitry will bring Dino Drive into the 22nd century. --Thylacine 2000 14:09, 7 May 2008 (UTC)
 * The packaging blurb on the back of the Transform and Roll Out DVD says 22nd century as well. --ItsWalky 14:12, 7 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Excellent, the DVD is the sort of evidence I was looking for, thank you. (The BftP quote isn't conclusive; lots of people in the 1990s were talking about gearing up for the 21st century.)  JW 14:24, 7 May 2008 (UTC)


 * But what century did Isaac Sumdac find Megatron. How old was he then, and then 50 years later? Seems a little old for a 8 year old daughter.
 * Yes, Isaac definitely seems old for having a daughter Sari's age. That's part of the Sari Sumdac mystery, which may be revealed in the 2-part season ender coming up.  How old he was and what year it was when he found Megatron is irrelevant; the age gap is there on purpose.--Apcog 15:15, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

Starscream Clones
ADVANCED SPOILERS ARE NOT WELCOME ON THE WIKI, SHITSTAIN. --M Sipher 03:40, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Aaaand since the discussion got nuked, I'll just repost my last point which was not spoilerish. You're not getting what I'm saying, KrytenKoro. They were detonated because they were living bombs. That's a bit different. Those two are likely not going to be back, or if they are they'll basically be clones based off of the same archetypes, not the same characters. The clones are inherently disposable. The G1 cast pages don't list every individual insecticon clone.--RosicrucianTalk 04:06, 29 May 2008 (UTC)
 * glory be...anyway, I get what you're saying. However, by that tack we might as well remove all the Guest characters until they make multiple appearances. The Insecticon clones, as far as I understand, where "perfect" clones - same design, same personality, and more an ability then actual characters. The Starscream clones have different designs and personalities, and seem to be getting different toys. They have a named faction which plays as an important "third party" in the series, and may not all have the same voice actor. I get that, by the nature of their appearance they "probably" won't come back in the same capacity, but I still feel that they play a big enough role in that episode to be considered full characters, and that they are unique enough to not just be labeled "generic". However, if it will work as a compromise, could we at least list Starscream clones as a cast "member"?
 * Also, why did you put Lockdown back in the guest section? He doesn't at all fit the guidelines for it, since he has both multiple appearances and a named "group" (which I had to remove as an attempt at compromise, but still...).
 * I don't want to preemptively edit before an agreement, so if you do agree, please tell me or perform the changes yourself.KrytenKoro 06:15, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Wait, I had to miss something while I was at work. I wanna know what the fuck happened that had this whole conversation blasted into oblivion. Seriously y'all, what the hell happened?--AWT88 02:09, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Spoilers. Spoilers happened.--Carrion 02:27, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Can I have a name of who spoiled something, or do we keep their names withheld? Or was it someone who didn't sign their name?--AWT88 02:37, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Just check the diffs if you really must know.--RosicrucianTalk 03:22, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't think its really appropriate to start off a section by addressing the reader as a "shitstain". its rather vulgar and clearly has no place in this discussion. (yea, i was serious!) Don't we have a rule against vulgarity on our quaint little wiki?--Skyglide 03:32, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I think it comes as no mystery at all that a great many of us are at our wits' end due to the freaking season finale spoilers that keep finding their way into the talkpages.--RosicrucianTalk 03:34, 30 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Understandable. I accidently watched a bridge to close on FanTransformers page on youtube. in doing so, i clearly ruined alot of stuff for myself...alot. Still, no need for vulgarity. I like to think we run a respectable establishment here at Teletraan-1. --Skyglide 03:41, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't think the Starscream clones need to be referred to as a cast member on the mainpage in any catagory, currently they are Macguffins rather than fully fledged characters even if they do seem to show an independent personality. I wouldn't mind if they were listed as cast in episodes they appear in, but as of "A fistful of energon" they have NO place in the main page. They are little more than a plot device to make Starscream a threat (and I'm all for that) as he is operating independently of the Decepticons with no one backing him up. If their characters are developed later on, then A.) that is spoilers, and as such should not be presented, or hinted at through formatting in this wiki until the episode in question airs in North America and B.) I will track down and break the fingers of anyone whomever spoils the season finale for me with their own keyboard (Okay not really, but I will be very very pissed off). A pox and rude language on the talk page of any offenders. (Undecided) 05:44, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Changing Characters Section. Oy.
So, um, anyone want to restore stabiity to the "Cast" section? Lockdown in particular. I've forgotten what he IS, you've been changing him around too much. (Not really, but you get my drift.) And while we're at it, I think that the Dinobots and Elite Guard might do better under "Guests". Or maybe not. Any feedback? Galvanisation 12:04, 29 May 2008 (UTC)
 * We group them under their appropriate subgroupings when applicable, just to make it easy to link to the subgroup articles. What absolutely mystifies me though is that some users seem to think that a character being under "guests" is like the kiss of death around here. I just don't get the point of inventing some sort of "secondary cast" header or "bounty hunters" subgroup to keep Lockdown out of the "guests" list because he's been in two episodes instead of one.--RosicrucianTalk 14:38, 29 May 2008 (UTC)
 * They seem to think of "Guest" in the G1 cartoon sense, that is little (or no) lines, maybe uses their "power" once or twice and disappears for the rest of the season leaving the viewer to wonder why they were in the episode in the first place. I guess most if us have just gotten used to characters either being in the spotlight or ending up as scenery. (Undecided) 06:00, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Criticism and Reception
Can we add a section on this, like there is on the UT series, once Season 2 is out of the way? User:GWolfv2 20.33 June 6th 2008

Air Dates
Okay, I'm going to admit-- I download this series. As such I have no idea when episodes air in the US, and I suspect this is true for others based on some very vague "Ugh,you know... whenever it airs" comments.

Is there a sits somewhere that lists the US airdates of upcoming Animated episodes to aid in the setting of spoiler expirations? -Derik 11:10, 13 June 2008 (UTC)
 * —Interrobang 00:12, 14 June 2008 (UTC)
 * It's okay Derik. I'm totally off as well. -- SFH 01:22, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

This kinda references the air dates but not really the dates. For A Bridge Too Close (I and II) could we not add to those pages until they air in North America? I have nothing against other English speaking countries that have seen the show, but could we please not add to those shows until it airs in North America?--AWT88 16:49, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Urrrrrgggghhh. —Interrobang 17:38, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
 * A coherent response: Have you ever tried simply not looking at those pages if you don't want to be spoiled? —Interrobang 17:40, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

Shorts?
Should there be articles for the two Transformers Shorts seen the the Transform and Roll Out DVD? - Spongezilla 16:50 22 Jun 2008 (UTC)
 * There should certainly be, but I don't have the DVD, so... —Interrobang 23:00, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Well, I do. But I'm not real great with starting pages. You problely could make a small section next to the season 2 piece. -- Spongezilla 10:18, 23 June 2008 (UTC)
 * No need; I just finished creating the pages and filling in the information, so we should be all set. However, both are missing some crucial information, including their Writing and Directing credits.  Provided someone knows where that can be found, that should be filled in. Prowl and Bumblebee is also in need of an image, and I'd rather not have to resort to YouTube screencaps, so if someone has the DVD, that's gotta be taken care of too. And if there's any animation/cointinuity errors, those still need to be added as well. Still, for what it's worth, most of the information has been filled in, so all that's left is to take care of the last few details... -- Cyberlink420 17:58, 23 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Where are the names from? If they're not official, this needs to be noted prominently.  --ItsWalky 23:01, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

I was just about to get some images. Thanks Cyberlink420 Ok, I put in the images. They're a little big because I shot them from my DVD players. 15:44, June 2008 --Spongezilla 15:20, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

New section for creative staff?
As I was writing Sam Register's page, I noticed that the main Animated pages do not list any of the creative staff anywhere, so articles like Marty Isenberg, Derrick J. Wyatt and Register are largely orphaned. How about we create a section dedicated to the staff that made this cartoon on the cartoon's page? --FFN 17:14, 29 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Well? Considering how many people here spooged over Animated, I find the lack of a creative staff section surprising. --FFN 06:28, 1 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I'd be for it. Unlike a lot of Jpan-produced series, we know who the peopel are, and enough of thir histories that the staff pages are more interesting than just "Repeating what my credit was on other pages." -Derik 06:38, 1 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Great. Hope somebody who knows them and have spoken to them at BotCon or whatever will do this section then, since I know relatively little about them :( --FFN 16:59, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

Season 3 Episodes?
Where the heck did those S3 episode titles come from? We've barely heard anything about S3 yet!--Inevitable Betrayal 18:33, 17 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm gonna guess "ass". --M Sipher 19:03, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

No "Commentary"?
Dude, I am really getting tired of this constant attempt to plot series as "more" or "less" G1. You did it with the movie, you did it with the IDW continuity, and now you're doing it with Animated. I really think commentary like this is outside the scope of what we want to be doing with our articles.--RosicrucianTalk 20:00, 19 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, "dude", I'm sorry that we disagree on this point. It seems to me that it's an extremely relevant (and evident) observation that merits having some description. I must say, I really don't quite understand what exactly it is you feel "we want to be doing with our aticles", since this seems to be in line with much of the description throughout Teletraan 1 of observable cross-franchise influences and homages. More to the point, my addition merely followed in the same vein as the existing paragraph detailing Animated 's similarity to Movie continuity/visuals... so I fail to see why you reckon that commentary regarding the show's similarity to the film is valid while comparison to the equally evident G1 and Beast Wars elements must be wholly excised. To comply with your perspective, I have taken you at your word and removed the "commentary" on the film as well, because if we can't have "commentary" on our wiki, then we have to at least be consistent, right...? PP 02:08, 20 July 2008 (UTC)PacifistPrime
 * That last bit you deleted wasn't "commentary." It was fact. They did intentionally include movie-esque elements in the show in order to make it feel more familiar to viewers who were only familiar with the movie. You can't deny that. It oughta stay in.--Inevitable Betrayal 02:25, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Not only was it fact, it was official Hasbro statement. It is an extremely close paraphrase of what the Hasbro staffers said in great detail in their Botcon '07 presentation.  --Thylacine 2000 04:42, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Looking at what was taken out of the article... I don't quite see what the big deal is. Animated does indeed draw some concepts and elements from G1 and BW.  We don't really need "confirmation" of it; it's right there for anyone to see.  The deleted paragraph could stand to be re-written a little bit maybe (maybe kill off that last X+Y=Z/0 bit), but I don't see what's so objectionable about the content. -- Repowers 03:57, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm mostly viewing this in the greater context of what PP has cooked up regarding his theorizing on continuity families, which as I've stated has started to grate on my nerves. He's repeatedly tried to categorize various continuities relative to G1, the theorizing reaching its nadir when he authored a lengthy screed saying how the live-action movie deserved to be in the G1 continuity more than the IDW comics. It's just navel-gazing to a degree that I find distasteful and believe doesn't have a place in this wiki's articles.--RosicrucianTalk 05:33, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't think PP is familiar with the argument against taxanomic classification. The Linean system (Phylum, Genus, Species) beeates artificial divisions within the material it categorizes.  Because biological life can in fact fall anywhere among a field of classification, when you classify one sample as A, and another sample as B, that means that samples right along the border of A and B are declared one or the other, even though they are, in truth, both.  And teo samples right alognt he border- though virtually identical- are declared to belong to completely different categories.
 * The TF Multiverse is not organized hierarchically. We do that for our convenience, declaring this-or-that to be "G1," but the truth is that there's nothing requiring TF to fall into such neat categories.
 * I also argued that the movie, by our reckoning, should be considered a 'G1' universe, hwoever divergent. But the G1 continuity family is our construction, it does not exist- it's jsut a classification scheme we developed.  And the simple fact is, G1-y as the movie clearly is- it also has enough fundamental differences that choosing to fold it into the G1 articles would do a dis-service to the things we were trying to document.  (It'd be nice, insofar as innumberable ciphers like Movie Prowl are probably just analogs of their G1 incarnations... but that's not enough of a reason to shove Movie Racthet into G1 Ratchet's entry, to the disservice of both.)  Besides- sequels will inevitably use more G1 character names, probably including some who are cipher-characters at this point, so trying to pin those down now and 'declare' who they are is probably a really bad idea, since that's likely to change in the future. -Derik 08:01, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

It's kinda redundant to mention the fact that the show has G1 references, since all Transformers material leads back to G1.Blackdrop 04:05, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
 * And yet it's significantly G1-ier than, say Armada.
 * Conversely, despitye the presence of Blitzwing and Starscream, I think you can probably say that Robots in Disguise is inherently G1-ier, given that the dub tries to put into some sort of AU brancing off from the second season of the G1 cartoon.
 * Animated features a lot of G1-esque characters, but its universe, history, status-quo, setting etc... isn't G1-y at all. It's like BW's Cold War made butt-babies with the political backdrop of Megatron: Origin- but even that is only broad strokes-- it's very much its own animal.
 * Ani Ratchet looks like G1 Ratchet- but his characterization seems to be based on Movie Ratchet. Very little in the series is 'cleanly' one universe or another.  G1 tends to get more distinct homages- but it was also the original, so I'm not sure how much that should count.
 * I agree that the Sunbow cartoon and 2007 movie are the biggest influences- but they're hardly the only ones, and the show is doing a fair ammoutn of stuff no other TF has done before. Galling it a G1 remake is unfait.  The recent TMNT cartoon, which retold Mirage comics issues verbatim... that's a remake. -Derik 04:41, 20 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, Armada had some influence on Animated as well. Bumblebee's name was originally supposed to be Hot Shot, but was changed to Bumblebee in anticipation of Movie Bumblebee's popularity, which is why he acts more like Hot Shot than G1 Bumblebee.  The search for the Allspark fragments is somewhat reminiscent of searching for Minicons / Cyber Planet Keys as well.  And yet, we don't point out that Animated is somewhat Unicron Trilogy...ey Semysane 07:50, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Well, I'm glad that generated a bit of wider discussion. First off, I'd like to respectfully suggest that Rosicrucian's actions seem more than a little bit of a knee-jerk reaction to the fact that he hasn't liked some of my "distasteful" contributions in the past (i.e. because he disagrees with them). Contributions, I'd like to remind him, which I have abided by the consensus view to reject. I don't think he should dismiss things I have to say out of hand because he is irked by things I've written in the past.

I take Derik's spiel about the argument against taxanomic classification, which I think is fine and essentially correct, up to a point. However, given the breezy nature of this wiki (as has been pointed out to me: this ain't Wikipedia), I believe greater lattitude is permissable. Rosicrucian claiming that there is no place for "commentary" like this is fecetious, in my view. Derik is right that things have to be organised into discreet categories even when there is considerable and obvious overlap, which is precisely why we need to be able to nevertheless debate and comment upon these kinds of differences beyond the simple classification stamps. For example,I still contend that the MovieVerse and IDWverse are roughly close enough to each other in their GeeWunny-and-yet-UnGeeWunny-ness for them to either both fall within or without our arbitrary (but neccessary) classification of G1. But, that was discussed, decided against, and we moved on along that basis. It did not, however, prevent us from still having "commentary" on these issues in relevant sections.

But to the specific matter at hand: I think the freak-out about mentioning G1 & BW in the Animated cartoon page was not only unwarrented, but kinda ludicrous considering the huge list detailing all the (mostly G1) homages present in the overall Animated franchise page. I'd be in favour of Repowers' suggestion of rewriting the deleted paragraph and exising the "recipe" formula, which, dare I say it, is what I suspect was the main thing that drove Rosicrucian into a fit of pique. Might I suggest:


 * "Additionally the series pays a great deal of homage to Generation 1 in its use of characters who predominantly have not only the names of G1 characters but have designs (and sometimes personalities) more overtly evoking the original series than was the case in the Movie. Furthermore, there are some noteworthy elements of Beast Wars incorporated into the premise of Animated, such as the notion of the Great War having long since ended and the positioning of the show's Optimus and his small crew of Autobots (Maximals) as low-ranking, non-military personell unexpectedly thrust into conflict with the more militant Decdepticons (Predacons). Not to mention the inclusion of new versions of Beast Era characters Blackarachnia and Waspinator."

How's that?

PacifistPrimePP 13:30, 22 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I think it looks perfect apart from a couple of typos. -- Semysane 09:13, 23 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Okay, cool... Well, since no-one has raised any objections and over a week has passed, I'm going to add it then. I hope this doesn't inspire another round of deletions. Cheers, PP 08:24, 2 August 2008 (UTC)PacifistPrime

Human villains/allies
Has there been any word at all on toys or merchandise for the non-transforming characters? What with all the effort they're putting into the humans this season, relative to past seasons, it seems to indicate that they might be given some merchandise attention too. Is there anything to this?

On another note, besides Oil Slick, are there any transformers who are planned to be toys but not characters?KrytenKoro 05:41, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Widescreen vs. Fullscreen
It says that the broadcast version on Cartoon Network is always the version with the sides cropped off and the only parts in wide screen we've seen are from promos, but it appears that Cartoon Network broadcasts the widescreen version on its HD channel.Thatother1dude 19:21, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Fall 2008 source
YTV's Fall 2008 lineup "Other additions to the schedule this fall include: Blue Dragon, Casper's Scare School, Dinosaur King, Home Improvement, Jibber Jabber and Skunk Fu. New episodes of returning series include: The Adrenaline Project, Ghost Trackers, Grossology, iCarly, Monster Buster Club, Mystery Hunters, Pokemon, Prank Patrol, SpongeBob SquarePants, Storm Hawks, Tak and the Power of Juju, Transformers Animated and Yu Gi Oh GX."

There's the source for new Animated in the fall. --Detour 17:00, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Thank you. You grasp what RayxCreamMaker does not.--RosicrucianTalk 20:28, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

"Predacons Rising"
It should be noted that Unicron.com, who is claiming this is legit, is only citing "independent & credible sources." So let me just say now that if this is anyone's source for adding the episode to this article, or to Forward and DiTillio articles, it will not pass muster for what this wiki considers admissible. In fact, it will only make most of us angry at you for crapping up the articles.--RosicrucianTalk 20:39, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, it should be pointed out that a recent interview with David Kaye on Seibertron.com does confirm that Forward and DiTillio are back to writing for this series. Sabrblade 15:23, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

Comic info in character articles
Having just finished reading the first issue of the IDW Animated comic, I figured I'd start a bit of chat up about how to best incorporate the story material into the character articles (some spoilers to follow). This whole first issue is "Transform and Roll Out" from different perspectives, adding in additional key information that explains other things from the series (how Starscream crashed on the moon, how the Decepticons and the Elite Guard tracked the Autobots to Earth), and, it being written by Isenberg, it seems to me that it does a disservice to the narrative to make "IDW comics" a separate header when the information would "read" better incorporated with the cartoon info. Perhaps we could rename it "cartoon & comics"? And if need be, make the comic information italic, as we do with Marvel UK information? Thoughts? Suppose I'll have to wait for more people to read the book first... - Chris McFeely 22:09, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Well according to Isenberg, the comics are canon, and tie into Season 1, so I don't really see a reason to split em up. I mean it's not like the movie stuff where you've got 50 different versions of how they got to Earth is it? GWolfv2 23.14 13 August 2008 (UTC)
 * There needs to be some way of differentiating between cartoon and comic info, even if they're in the same continuity. We'll want to avoid leaving readers confused and wondering things like "Wait, what episode did that happen in?" --KilMichaelMcC 23:59, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Maybe we can do like we do with Marvel UK in the Marvel Comics continuity of G1? In italics with a note explaining it? --Detour 00:02, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
 * That works. --M Sipher 00:05, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
 * And storylinks. --ItsWalky 00:18, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
 * The Stargate wiki has Storylinkes that include, essentially, a disambiging prefix. (ATL) (Episode).  It might be worth considering something like that-- or maybe a storylink that had a comic-book icon associated with it?  (I'm really not sure what sort of schema this might involve, I'm just throwing the concept out to see if anyone else has an idea.)
 * Also can I suggest changing the affected fiction headers from "Animated cartoon" to "Animated cartoon continuity"? I think it's a good way to reflect that this entry includes events that are in the same continuity as the cartoon, but do not all originate with it.  (It's really the only use of the "continuity" suffix on headers that makes sense to me.  Otherwise I think it's needless word-watery.) -Derik 01:03, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't think that will work, as the events of the comic likely take place in the middle of episodes. I'd want it to be crystal clear what events are and aren't from the comics. --M Sipher 01:09, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Italics seems workable as long as we donty' get text stories. That- or you could jsut say Italics are any non-cartoon source ("expanded" universe) and let readers click the storylinks to investigate such sources themselves. -Derik 01:17, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
 * So are we going with italics or what, cause we need to start updating this -GWolfv2 Aug 14 2008 18.40

Well, Italics could work, but there are some places where Italics are used for emphasis, which could be confused for something that happened in the comic. Wait, what if we wrote the comic stuff in a different color, like how the Smallville Wiki uses green text for dreams/delusions/non-reality events. We could write the comic stuff in blue or red or whatever color that visible enough to be read (not yellow!). Sabrblade 15:29, 15 August 2008 (UTC)