The Transformers

Chances are that if someone's talking about The Transformers, they're talking about this cartoon series. More than any other of the many media which Transformers have invaded in the past 20+ years, it is the original cartoon (1984-1987) which captured the imagination of children and children-at-heart worldwide. This cartoon set up the basic story of Transformers that all other incarnations were to follow: two warring factions of robots on the planet Cybertron leave in search of resources. The factions crash-land on Earth and, millions of years later, begin their battle anew in Reagan-era America and across the globe. Through its 98-episode run this series took viewers to many strange places and times: the alien Cybertron, the Earth's prehistoric past, the Earth's then-future of 2005, the Metropolis-like society of Nebulos, and more. And although not the best-written or drawn cartoon to ever air, its capacity to stimulate viewers with a concept never seen before is, some might argue, unsurpassed in the world of animation.

Note: These episodes are listed in production order rather than original airdate. In a few instances, this means that episodes are not in the correct chronological story order, the specifics of which are noted in their own articles. Note that Season 3, in particular, suffers from this - the Rhino DVD release of the season reordered the episodes in question so that they were in order, but also reordered many episodes that did not have any placement problems, throwing off the whole shebang. Conversely, the R2 Metrodome release of the season just reorganized the problematic ones. Note: The Transformers: The Movie (1986) is part of this series, taking place between Season 2 and Season 3.

Season 1
1. More Than Meets the Eye, Part 1 2. More Than Meets the Eye, Part 2 3. More Than Meets the Eye, Part 3 4. Transport to Oblivion 5. Roll For It 6. Divide and Conquer 7. Fire in the Sky 8. S.O.S. Dinobots 9. Fire on the Mountain 10. War of the Dinobots 11. The Ultimate Doom, Part 1 12. The Ultimate Doom, Part 2 13. The Ultimate Doom, Part 3 14. Countdown to Extinction 15. A Plague of Insecticons 16. Heavy Metal War

Season 2
1. Autobot Spike 2. Changing Gears 3. City of Steel 4. Attack of the Autobots 5. Traitor 6. The Immobilizer 7. The Autobot Run 8. Atlantis, Arise! 9. Day of the Machines 10. Enter the Nightbird 11. A Prime Problem 12. The Core 13. The Insecticon Syndrome 14. Dinobot Island, Part 1 15. Dinobot Island, Part 2 16. The Master Builders 17. Auto Berserk 18. Microbots 19. Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1 20. Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2 21. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1 22. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2 23. Blaster Blues 24. A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court 25. The Golden Lagoon 26. The God Gambit 27. Make Tracks 28. Child's Play 29. Quest for Survival 30. The Secret of Omega Supreme 31. The Gambler 32. Kremzeek! 33. Sea Change 34. Triple Takeover 35. Prime Target 36. Auto-Bop 37. The Search for Alpha Trion 38. The Girl Who Loved Powerglide 39. Hoist Goes Hollywood 40. The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1 41. The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2 42. Aerial Assault 43. War Dawn 44. Trans-Europe Express 45. Cosmic Rust 46. Starscream's Brigade 47. The Revenge of Bruticus 48. Masquerade 49. B.O.T.

Intermediate
The Transformers: The Movie (1986) Scramble City

Season 3
1. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1 2. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2 3. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3 4. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4 5. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5 6. The Killing Jar 7. Chaos 8. Dark Awakening 9. Forever is a Long Time Coming 10. Starscream's Ghost 11. Thief in the Night 12. Surprise Party 13. Madman's Paradise 14. Nightmare Planet 15. Ghost in the Machine 16. Webworld 17. Carnage in C-Minor 18. The Quintesson Journal 19. The Ultimate Weapon 20. The Big Broadcast of 2006 21. Fight or Flee 22. Dweller in the Depths 23. Only Human 24. Grimlock's New Brain 25. Money is Everything 26. Call of the Primitives 27. The Face of the Nijika 28. The Burden Hardest to Bear 29. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1 30. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2

Season 4
1. The Rebirth, Part 1 2. The Rebirth, Part 2 3. The Rebirth, Part 3