Topic: Transformers (Read 20896 times)

Brentai · « **Reply #40 on:** March 01, 2008, 12:19:15 PM »

Oh. Perfect, then.

Thad · « **Reply #41 on:** March 30, 2008, 08:04:57 PM »

...Kinda lost track of Transformers Animated; last I saw was the second Dinobot ep. Should I bother watching anything past that?

Cannon · « **Reply #42 on:** April 09, 2008, 12:39:51 PM »

The final two-parter was pretty meaty. And since we're officially moving into the second season, it's a little more promising on account that Megatron is literally back on his legs (I wish the AllSpark and the deus ex ma-key-na had both gone away, though).

That said, we have Final Crisis for Transformers on the horizon. Keen.

Thad · « **Reply #43 on:** April 15, 2008, 01:01:35 PM »

All right, watched the closing two-parter. Not THAT bad. The nods to the original series ([spoiler]Megatron's revenge against Starscream, Ark getting lodged in side of volcano, Allspark getting dispersed a la Return of Optimus Prime[/spoiler]) were good, although I must admit the latter deus ex machina ending isn't something I'd want to emulate even on my most nostalgic day. The parting shot of the episode also recalls when Sparkplug was in a similar situation in the Marvel comic.

And I like Megatron's new design; his robot mode is so faithful to the G1 version, and yet he transforms into something completely different.

...So I guess what I'm saying is, all the most notable parts are from the original, better Transformers.

Given that Megs closes out the season once again damaged, I'm hoping this DOESN'T mean a bunch more episodes where he's incapacitated and sends surrogates to fight the Autobots.

The other problem is how clearly outmatched the Autobots are. If they don't get some backup, their victories over Megatron are going to become increasingly implausible -- and given that the latest one was "they were saved by a little girl with a magic key", that could pose a problem.

Still no real payoff on the Optimus/Magnus backstory. If that doesn't become a major thread in season 2, then this thing REALLY isn't worth watching.

Anyway. Those of you paying more attention than I am keep me posted on which ones are worth watching, come season 2.

LaserBeing · « **Reply #44 on:** April 15, 2008, 04:06:20 PM »

The aforementioned G1 deus ex machina was really not so bad. It was a bit cheesy, but [spoiler]it performed the much-needed task of depowering the constantly overused MacGuffin Matrix, and also gave the series a semi-satisfying conclusion, as long as you completely ignore Rebirth, which is pretty easy to do since it sucked so bad and didn't go anywhere.[/spoiler]

Thad · « **Reply #45 on:** April 15, 2008, 04:26:28 PM »

Going to nix the spoiler tags since we are now talking about something that aired twenty years ago. Statute of limitations and all that.

Quote from: LaserBeing on April 15, 2008, 04:06:20 PM

it performed the much-needed task of depowering the constantly overused MacGuffin Matrix, and also gave the series a semi-satisfying conclusion

The problem is that these are contradictory goals. Depowering a deus ex machina is irrelevant if it's done at the end of the series, and rather self-defeating if it entails outdoing every single deus ex machina that's come before.

LaserBeing · « **Reply #46 on:** April 16, 2008, 02:49:28 PM »

Well the thing is they weren't sure whether or not it was going to continue at that point. Still, point taken.

And in fairness, the cartoon was never as bad as the comic in terms of USE THE MATRIX TO FIX EVERYTHING

Thad · « **Reply #47 on:** April 16, 2008, 04:40:25 PM »

Well sure, the comic was using the Matrix YEARS before the cartoon pulled it out.

I liked the whole "Rodimus induces a coma" bit in Five Faces of Darkness. It made using the Matrix actually seem like a serious risk, and is probably the defining moment in what separates Rodimus from Optimus as characters.

Cannon · « **Reply #48 on:** April 22, 2008, 10:22:07 AM »

As a somewhat irrelevant point, producer Paul Davids has said that the series writers were aware of the Matrix of Leadership before the movie hit, with its "Oh, hey. I have this in me now." I don't know how it got along to Furman and Budiansky, for the life of me. I may be off in my timing with the premiere of the Creation Matrix and the debut of the ill-fated movie, but I doubt it.

That was an honestly good episode, I thought. Not a hint of the deus ex ma-key-na, and we got some decent interaction between Sentinel and Optimus. The "We don't know what you eat" moment was worth a snicker (if only because it was a case of the cartoon sayin' what I was thinkin'), and it only took a throw-away bit involving Headmaster's arrest to really solidify Powell as a future threat. Moar character episodes plz... N00b.

I don't know if you've caught up with season two so far, Thad, but it outright opened with Ultra Magnus, Sentinel Prime, and Jazz landing. The Decepticons are still on the back-burner for now, with Starscream understandably M.I.A. (this is a trend for him in this continuity), and Megs is setting his sights on Cybertron. So really, the Ultra Magnus/Optimus Prime dynamic is still a possibility. I'll probably keep watching this cartoon even if you stop, Thad, but it'd be a shame to lose your informed counter-points. No pressure, though; it's your half-hour.

Thad · « **Reply #49 on:** April 22, 2008, 11:41:20 AM »

Hm, didn't know we were already into season 2. I'll look into it, though the Mac Mini we use as a media player needs a new hard drive at the moment. (Just the boot drive; all our media's stored on externals.)

Anyway. Yeah, the Creation Matrix definitely showed up back in the Budiansky days, well before the movie. It was probably in the Series Bible from the start.

Thad · « **Reply #50 on:** April 25, 2008, 12:39:35 AM »

The Grimlock Spotlight's not bad. At first I hated the new look for his robot-mode face, but ultimately I decided I like it; definite Kirby creature influence.

Not sure if I like the angle that Grimlock's the last Autobot on Earth when the Decepticons take over, because, well, Furman.

Quite liked the Beast Wars nod which also explains the Dinobots' robotic appearance -- cars and planes work for blending in, but giant metal dinosaurs never really fit into the whole "robots in disguise" theme.

We saw in the Shockwave one-shot that the Dinobots appeared on Earth tens of millions of years ago and their forms imitated the local fauna; here we see that the reason they now look metallic rather than organic is that the lava blast burned off their organic components and -- and here's where the Beast Wars bit comes in -- without the organic components they were forced into stasis lock.

Also: Furman goes to the trouble of calling them "Dynobots" to explain they had that name even back on Cybertron, but Scorponok has apparently always been Scorponok.

Cannon · « **Reply #51 on:** April 30, 2008, 01:27:40 PM »

So apparently Spotlight: Arcee (and to a lesser extent, Spotlight: Grimlock) proves that the Cybertronian justice system literally entails leaving various characters stored in some closet somewhere. I friggin' love it.

I bought a comic that's basically just interviews and advertisement for another comic book. It's a very wacky industry, and I'm a dumb. Looks like All Hail Megatron wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be. As an aside, it made me think about the literary and mythical underpinnings of Transformers, so I don't think it was quite a waste of three bones.

Spotlight: Mirage was either masterful, compressed, sequential art storytelling or a waste of my time. It could be both at once. Readers, do you see what I did there?

Thad · « **Reply #52 on:** April 30, 2008, 04:43:29 PM »

Quote from: Cannon on April 30, 2008, 01:27:40 PM

I bought a comic that's basically just interviews and advertisement for another comic book. It's a very wacky industry, and I'm a dumb. Looks like All Hail Megatron wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be.

See, I flipped through the thing in the store, saw what it actually was, and decided that no, I would not be purchasing it.

Cannon · « **Reply #53 on:** April 30, 2008, 05:02:43 PM »

Maybe because three bucks is a bigger deal for you for me, maybe not. Yeah, I did a stupid, unobservant thing, Thad. This is not an uncommon action for me. Thanks. I get it.

Arc · « **Reply #54 on:** April 30, 2008, 05:05:12 PM »

Quote from: Cannon on April 30, 2008, 05:02:43 PM

Cannon · « **Reply #55 on:** April 30, 2008, 05:08:30 PM »

Quote from: Salt on April 30, 2008, 05:05:12 PM

im in ur twisted knife wound killin ur nurvs

Arc · « **Reply #56 on:** April 30, 2008, 05:12:17 PM »

S'OK, I made the same mistake with a promotional for the Clone Saga years ago.

Then again, the promotional was more enlightening than the actual comics that followed.

Thad · « **Reply #57 on:** April 30, 2008, 05:53:45 PM »

Hey, we've ALL done it. Was meant more as a "no, I didn't pick it up" than "you foolish fooling fool, why would you buy that?"

Cannon · « **Reply #58 on:** April 30, 2008, 06:07:23 PM »

Of course. Sorry if I got a little defensive. BFF?

Ted Belmont · « **Reply #59 on:** May 05, 2008, 08:21:38 PM »

I'd buy it.

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Author Topic: Transformers (Read 20896 times)