Blast from the Past



Professor Sumdac upgrades a trio of animatronic dinosaurs from a local theme park, but the creatures develop minds of their own and become rampaging Dinobots, bent on destroying the Autobots.

Synopsis
Sari takes the Autobots to "Dino Drive", a dinosaur exhibit, in order to teach them some of Earth's history. On the way, Bulkhead accidentally destroys every car in the parking lot. Once inside, Tutor Bot explains about the dinosaurs' prowess, and the Autobots see the animatronic dinosaurs and become amazed by the creatures' power. Bulkhead becomes so fascinated, he tries to get the robot Pteranodon to fly and do other things to amuse him. This only succeeds in having the robot fall and cause a Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus robot to collide and break each other, crushing Tutor Bot. The Autobot take the broken animatronics to Professor Sumdac for repair.

At the lab, Megatron views the power of dinosaurs through the damaged Tutor Bot and seems very impressed by their destructive potential. Sumdac enters the lab and berates himself for programming the Tutor Bot with such simple information that everyone already knows. Megatron decides finally to speak to him, saying he never knew these things. Sumdac is shocked, and Megatron, pretending he's just come back online, asks where he is. Professor Sumdac rambles a bit, then says it's a long story. Megatron then reassures him that since he's not going anywhere, he can sit through a long story. After Sumdac gives a brief history of Megatron's discovery and how he relates to modern technology, Megatron convinces Sumdac that he is an old friend of the Autobots and that they'll be more forgiving of Sumdac keeping his secrets if he helps repair their old comrade. However, it would be best to keep it quiet for now. As a sign of good faith, he offers to help Sumdac repair the dinosaur displays and provide information on how to upgrade their technology so they'll be even more convincing. He conveniently forgets to tell Sumdac that he plans on using them for prototype attack drones.

Meanwhile, at the Autobot base, Prowl is trying to teach Bulkhead how to control his strength and size. This, of course, ends with Bulkhead falling on Prowl. Prowl tries a new tactic and moves the training to an island in Lake Erie. This results in Bulkhead dropping some trees on Prowl.

At Dino Drive, Sumdac reveals his and Megatron's creations to the gathered press and Autobots—the Dinobots!

After a short display, Megatron takes control, and the Dinobots go on a rampage. As the Autobots try and fight them, Bulkhead tries to recreate Prowl's teaching, but to no effect other than falling into Prowl and knocking him flat on his back. Ratchet and Bumblebee then combine their powers to create an electromagnetic pulse to shut down the Dinobots, but Sari's key is somehow drawn to the creatures. She decides to help and plugs the key into Bumblebee. The blast intensifies, blowing the dinosaur skins off them and revealing their robot bodies beneath. Professor Sumdac is confused and brings them back to his lab for maintenance.

At his lab, Megatron becomes perplexed as to why the key activated, thinking it sensed something Cybertronian about the Dinobots. He dismisses this idea and curses the drones for being useless. Then something very surprising happensthe Tyrannosaurus starts to talk, and the other dinosaurs begin to move! And on top of that, Megatron finds he can't control them!

Megatron then surmises that the Autobots must have done something to them, declaring that, somehow, they have sparks of their own. The Tyrannosaurus then dubs himself "Grimlock" and, without fail, Megatron declares that he is the Dinobots' leader. Grimlock doesn't approve of this concept and announces that he is the leader, and Swoop and Slag seem to agree. The Tutor Bot activates, much to Megatron's annoyance, and explains how dinosaur fossils make fossil fuel, which makes cars and trucks work. Grimlock takes this to mean cars and trucks "eat" dinosaurs and announces that cars and trucks are bad. Megatron takes advantage of their low intelligence and tells them that "fossil feeders" are bad and the only thing worse are car robots, a.k.a. Autobots. He shows them how to use one of their more destructive powers, and they use it to destroy the Tutor Bot. Grimlock is pleased with this, but does not know how he did it. Megatron explains how he designed them, then tells them that the fossil feeders want them dead, so the Dinobots go to defend themselves.

As they start on their rampage, Captain Fanzone arrives to attempt to stop them. Suddenly, Slag whips a car with his tail, and Captain Fanzone's car becomes the first casualty of the Dinobots' war on the fossil feeders as the thrown car lands on it. Fanzone, not missing a beat, takes a bazooka and shoots Slag in the face, but Slag just swallows the incoming missile.

The Autobots then arrive and, at Bulkhead's suggestion, lure them to a park to battle them. As Grimlock sees them transform, he remembers something he'd forgotten: Car robots are worse than cars and trucks. Furious, he orders the Dinobots to attack. As the battle goes on, the Autobots are seriously outmatched, especially since Bulkhead is trying to "access the situation" before acting, as Prowl tried to teach him to do. Prowl, realizing their disadvantage, hollers for Bulkhead not to try and be like Prowl, but to be like Bulkhead. Reassured, Bulkhead quickly drops Slag and Swoop.

At the lab, Sumdac and Megatron are watching the events unfold on the news, and Sumdac is unable to comprehend why the Dinobots malfunctiooned again. Suddenly, the professor realizes that the fire-breath was part of Megatron's design specifications. Megatron feigns shame, claiming that he wanted a body again, so he experimented with the Dinobots by adding "features". Sumdac sympathizes with Megatron, promising not to tell the Autobots and to restore Megatron one day.

Meanwhile, Bumblebee and Ratchet are pinned down by Grimlock's fire-breath. Slag and Swoop get up and join in, the heat melting the parking lot behind the two Autobots. Optimus remembers the tar lesson from Dino Drive, and Bulkhead throws all three Dinobots into the newly formed pool. The Dinobots use their flames in an attempt to free themselves from the "black, sticky stuff", but only make things worse for themselves.

The Dinobots are trapped with only their heads sticking out. Professor Sumdac promises to melt them down due to their danger to society. Optimus approves of this, but Prowl does not, feeling that they have shown they have minds and sparks of their own. When Sumdac returns the next morning, he finds the Dinobots have escaped from their tar prison.



On the deserted island where Prowl and Bulkhead trained, the Dinobots are freed into a large crater which houses a beautiful natural environment. Prowl and Bulkhead see how happy they are and decide to keep it their little secret. With that, Prowl sets a hologram up to keep them hidden and safe from the world.

After they leave, Grimlock dubs cars and trucks bad, but Nature good. Two birds promptly defecate on him, which makes him rethink his claim and dub Nature stupid. He orders them to come down and fight like a Dinobot. He spits out a flame but the birds simply fly away. Furious, Grimlock suddenly activates another of Megatron's "features" and transforms! Slag and Swoop stare in amazement as Grimlock draws a giant, flaming sword. Grimlock like...

Stats

 * Written by: Kevin Hopps
 * Directed by: Irineo Maramba, Ben Jones, & Kentaro Mizuno
 * Original airdate: January 12, 2008

Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes
"Sorry I'm late, guys. Uh, did I miss anything?" "No, I'd say you hit just about every car in the lot."
 * —Bulkhead can't seem to catch a break, certainly not from Bumblebee.

"Nice, Prowl. Maybe next you can teach an engine block to float."
 * —Ratchet being a crotchety old goat

"This island will be the ideal place to train you: quiet, peaceful, and nothing around for you to damage."
 * -Prowl, who is wrong

"The primitive materials available on this planet are useless. It will take countless solar cycles to create attack drones capable of my needs, and without more substantial robotics for my own body, my prospects are grim, locked in this prison of a lab." "Grim...lock...Grim...lock."
 * —Megatron learns why Grimlock ' s name doesn't start with an "S".

"Me Grimlock." "Then listen well, Grimlock. I am Megatron, your leader." "Me Grimlock leader."
 * —Grimlock and Megatron. Some things never change.

"Bulkhead...what are you doing?" "I'm doing what you do!" "...better idea! Do what you do!"
 * —Prowl and Bulkhead discuss strategy.

"I should be more careful when I try to reverse-engineer alien technology."
 * Isaac Sumdac's entry in the "Gee, You Think?" competition.

"Just because something's big and lumbering and destructive doesn't mean you give up on it."
 * —Prowl delivering the most backhanded compliment ever

"Me Grimlock...like."
 * —Grimlock upon transforming. And the world trembled.

Animation errors

 * In one scene, Slag's head is coloured grey instead of gold.


 * Prowl removes his Autobot symbol because of its hologram emitter. However, in the next shot, he still has it.

Transformers references

 * A far-off island that becomes a training ground for a lumbering warrior to hone his skills without causing collateral damage to the Autobots' base? Gee, that sure sounds familiar...


 * After smashing into Slag, Bulkhead cheerfully apologizes with "Excuse me!" in much the same way that Generation 1 Slag did after stomping on a Quintesson in The Transformers: The Movie.


 * Grimlock's line "Car Robots worse!" may be taken as a subtle jab at Transformers: RiD, which was called Car Robots in Japan.


 * Only two other anamatronic dinosaurs are seen in Dino Drive, a Stegosaurus and an unidentified sauropod. These may be references to Sludge and Snarl. Or potential future Dinobots.

Real-world references

 * The gate of Dino Drive is remarkably similar to the gate of Jurassic Park in the movie of the same name (and thus, by extension, to the gate from King Kong, to which JP's design was an homage). Music reminiscent of the Jurassic Park theme can be heard during some of the Dino Drive scenes.


 * Speaking of Jurassic Park, Grimlock's roar sound a lot like the one from the T. Rex in that movie.

Miscellaneous trivia

 * This marks the first time the Dinobots have been used in a Transformers TV series since Generation 1. There is much joy.


 * The Dinobots' color schemes are lifted directly from the Generation 1 cartoon, with some minor variations. This is most obvious in Swoop's torso being blue, rather then the red featured in Generation 1 Swoop's comic and toy incarnations. The Diaclone version of Generation 1 Swoop's toy likewise had a blue chest, so this is possibly an homage, but is more likely coincidence.


 * Unlike Generation 1, the Dinobots' alt modes match up much more closely with how dinosaurs are depicted in the fossil record (no sluggishness, more mammal/bird-like, Grimlock bent over horizontally, no bowleggedness, etc.). There was still a lack of feathers before they were de-skinned, though.  (However, since it's doubtful T. Rexes had a feather covering like smaller therapods, and pterosaurs only had down, it's not really an issue)


 * In this episode, Tutor Bot actually teaches Sari and the Autobots about dinosaurs and fossil fuels. He's back on form, however, when the pre-Transformer Grimlock squashes him.


 * It seems somewhat odd (but not terribly surprising) that Humanity have developed advanced robotics and such, but still use fossil fuels in their cars.


 * According to Ratchet, the Transformer race is over 10 billion years old.


 * Despite what Tutor Bot says, fossil fuels are not made from dinosaur fossils. Fossil fuels are made from various hydrocarbons, which are mostly formed from plant matter that has long since settled in the Earth's crust. For more, see this.


 * Tutor Bot claims that many of the creatures lived during the Jurassic period, but Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops and the pterasaur Pteranodon hail from the Late Cretaceous, not the Jurassic. The only dinosaurs actually from that time period are the Stegosaur and Sauropod mentioned above. This makes Tutor Bot blind, vague, or incapable of teaching about dinosaurs, fossil fuels, and (depending on how literally you take him) basic math. The fact that Professor Sumdac continues to fix him is almost amazing.