The Transformers

More than any other of the many media which Transformers have invaded in the past 20+ years, it is The Transformers, the original cartoon (1984-1987) which captured the imagination of children and children-at-heart worldwide.



Overview


The cartoon (along with the Marvel comics) set up the basic story of Transformers that most 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.

Once established, the cartoon rarely took any steps to upset its status quo. Plots generally centered on a Decepticon plot or invention of the week, which would be used to gather energy or Defeat The Autobots FOREVER!!, and the Autobots' efforts to stop the plan. Most of the time the Decepticons were forced into retreat, and the Autobots drove off victorious. At most, a new character or team was added to one side or the other. Plots became a bit less formulaic during Season 3, though character death and true plot upheaval remained a rarity.

Through its 98-episode run this series took viewers around the globe and to many strange places and times: across the alien Cybertron, the Earth's prehistoric past, the Earth's then-future of 2005, the Metropolis-like society of Nebulos, and more. It is not the best animated series ever to air, but it stimulated viewers with its concept at the time, and continued to do so in the years to come.

Production


Writing and distribution for this series were handled as a joint effort by Marvel Productions and Sunbow Productions. Animation was produced overseas, primarily by Toei and AKOM.

The original 30 or so characters were heavily modified from their toy designs for aesthetics and ease of animation. Among the artists involved in the original designs are Sh%C5%8Dhei Kohara and Floro Dery. Other known production artists include Dell Barras, who worked on second season backgrounds.

The series was animated on an enormously rushed schedule, due to the need to get episodes on the air in synch with the toys appearing on shelves. That, combined with the vast number of characters and the difficulties involved with the overseas animation process, resulted in a cartoon that is notoriously riddled with animation errors and other mistakes. The producers were often aware of these mistakes, but tight deadlines left them no time to correct them.

Mistakes or not, the show is fondly remembered by many fans for the high quality of its voice acting. Indeed, many characters, lacking any significant plot developments or screen time, were brought to life solely by their unique voices and inflection styles. Voice direction for the series was provided by Wally Burr, notorious for driving his performers to the limit. One of the performers in his stable, Susan Blu, would go on to work as voice director for Beast Wars.

In addition to the show's iconic theme song, Transformers featured a great variety of background music, composed by Robert J. Walsh. Walsh had previously worked on the G.I. Joe cartoon, and many of those pieces were reused for Transformers. Many new pieces were composed as well, many incorporating the melody of the show's theme song. Walsh composed new music for 2nd and 3rd seasons, each in a different style, further distinguishing the three main seasons from one another.

Season 1
The first season is primarily set on Earth, with a few excursions to Cybertron. It started with the 1984 toys as its characters, and introduced the early wave of 1985 toys as it progressed -- the Constructicons, Dinobots, Insecticons, and Skyfire.

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Season 2
The very long second season greatly expanded the cartoon's scope and cast. The second season tends to feature more character-driven episodes than the first season, with many characters getting their own "spotlight" episode. It also features a recurring theme of the Autobots assimilating Earth culture, such the Autobots playing basketball and football and even watching a soap opera. Excursions to alien planets and cultures popped up occasionally as well.

The second season also marked a move from weekly airings (usually on Saturday mornings) to a "stripped" show, aired Monday through Friday, either in the morning or afternoon. Some markets also scheduled it in conjunction with daily episodes of G.I.Joe.

It breaks down very roughly into three segments:
 * The first dozen episodes feature the Season 1 cast.
 * A large second batch of episodes brings in the remainder of the 1985 toys.
 * The final ten episodes introduce the four combiner teams that formed the early entries in the 1986 line.

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Intermediate
The Transformers: The Movie is in continuity with the cartoon series, occurring 20 years after the end of Season 2. It was the single biggest turning point for the series, and remains controversial. The movie saw the introductions of Unicron, the Quintessons, and the Matrix of Leadership, all of which would play important roles in Season 3. It made radical changes to the show's premise, killing off many characters and introducing new ones -- a shock to young viewers who were used to their heroes driving off into the sunset at the end of every adventure.

Despite its unconventional place in the cartoon canon, it remains the best known representation of the cartoon series among fans.

Season 3
Season 3 transformed the whole premise of the show. Gone were the two teams stranded on Earth, along with many of the characters that composed those teams. In their place was a galaxy-spanning tale of battles on alien worlds. With the Autobots in firm control of Cybertron, the Decepticons, though still a threat, were somewhat reduced as villains; new enemies in the form of the Quintessons were introduced. Plots often centered on the ultra-powerful citybots, Metroplex and Trypticon.

Season 3 has a mixed reputation. It contains some of the most mistake-laden episodes of the entire franchise ("Five Faces of Darkness", "Carnage in C Minor", the introduction sequence at right) most of which can be laid at the feet of AKOM. But some of its episodes are among the best as well, both in animation and scripting; "Chaos", "Webworld", and "Dweller in the Depths" are all heavy fan favorites.

Late in Season 3, as in Season 2, the forerunners of the 1987 toy line were introduced: the Terrorcons, Technobots, and Throttlebots, and (very briefly) Slugfest and Overkill. It also saw Optimus Prime resurrected due a massive campaign on the part of fans, who were displeased by his death and subsequent "evil" resurrection. • 2

Season 4


How the truncated Season 4 came about remains a mystery, though presumably the short version is that Hasbro pulled out its funding support. Whether anything further was ever planned is not known. See Urban legends about Transformers'' for more.

As is, the "season" consisted of a single three-part episode, that somewhat hastily brought in thirty or so new Transformer characters, Nebulan partners for 22 of them, and attempted to provide a satisfactory conclusion to the series as a whole.


 * 1) The Rebirth, Part 1
 * 2) The Rebirth, Part 2
 * 3) The Rebirth, Part 3

Kid Rhino (US)

 * Transformers First Season Collector's Edition
 * Transformers Season 2 Part 1
 * Transformers Season 2 Part 2
 * Transformers Season 3 Part 1
 * Transformers Season 3 Part 2/Season 4

Madman Entertainment (Aus)

 * Transformers Collection 1 - Season 1
 * Transformers Collection 2 - Season 2 Part 1
 * Transformers Collection 3 - Season 2 Part 2
 * Transformers Collection 4 - Season 3 Part 1
 * Transformers Collection 5 - Season 3 Part 2
 * Transformers Collection 6 - Season 4
 * The Best of Transformers Generation 1
 * Transformers Generation 1 - Complete Collection

Maverick Entertainment (UK)

 * Transformers - Original Series, Vol 1 (Season 1, episodes 9-13)
 * Transformers - Original Series, Vol 2 (Season 1, episodes 1-6)
 * Transformers - Original Series, Vol 3 (Season 1, episodes 7, 8, 14-16)
 * Transformers - Complete Original Series (complete Season 1)
 * Transformers - Five Faces of Darkness
 * Transformers - The Rebirth

Metrodome (UK)

 * Transformers - Season 1
 * Transformers - Season 2 Part 1
 * Transformers - Season 2 Part 2
 * Transformers - Season 3 & Season 4
 * Transformers - The Complete Generation 1 Collection
 * Transformers - Generation 1 Bumper Special
 * Transformers - The Classic Episodes