Transformers Season 3 Discussion Thread

[Silverwynde]

Since I didn't see one posted, I just had to start one. So here goes:

Holy. Slag. There was a lot of awesome in this and I literally don't know where to begin. Blackout was insanely huge, Spittor was a menace and Cyclonus! I can't believe it; Cyclonus! Too bad about Red Alert; I guess being made an explosive loogie would make anyone paranoid. I also hope that there's a cure for cosmic rust or Rodimus is royally screwed. (Interesting note: Judd Nelson was Roddy's voice. Frickin' sweet.)

So Sari is actually a protoform. That's... incredible. I guess that technically makes her a Maximal, since she's Cybertronian and organic.

I was loving Sari's upgrade until it went completely nuts. The one scene that really stood out during that sequence-- Sari inadvertently stabbing Bumblebee. My heart literally stopped. I thought for certain he was a goner.

Sari's eyes are no longer red-- they're now blue. And she's aged a bit as well. How very curious.

Oh man, not Blurr! He just can't be... Don't let him be... Slag you, Shockwave: I will never forgive you for this! :bawling:

I'm thinking that Ratchet's by-passes won't last. Something's telling me that her body will find a way to work around everything. She's going to have to learn to control the power she now possesses.

Ratchet's back story is becoming more and more interesting. I'm really starting to feel for the old timer. I half want to cuddle him and tell him, "Don't worry. Everything will be alright."

When Optimus referred to the group as a family, I smiled. They really do seem like a family now, with all they've been through together.

And was it just me, or did 'Bee use a Furmanism in this ep? The truly funny thing-- I noticed it and Prime didn't. (Between us, Prime's the bigger comic geek. He should have spotted it right away.)

Perceptor's voice was weird, but kinda cool. I like.

So, thoughts? Theories? Anyone else as excited as I am for the next ep? Discuss away!

 

[Martonimos]

This episode was frikkin' intense. I've seen James Bond films with less violence. Hot Shot lost a leg, Rodimus rusted, Blurr was crushed to death and thrown in the incinerator (although I'm hoping they're all coming back). Sari and Bumblebee had several near-death experiences as well, not to mention Omega Supreme. Overall, this episode was far more mature than I expected from a kid's show; it surpasses even Thrill of the Hunt with intensity. Even so, a fun experience; on a scale of one to awesome, this rates at a really large number.

Blurr is easily twice as cool as his G1 counterpart. The fact that he ran through space is really cool, considering how impossible it should be. I guess he lucked out, finding all those rocks to push off of. And his speech thing is much cooler, since he's not just repeating the same thing over and over and over again. I'm really hoping he's only a little dead. Shockwave was interesting as a double-agent, and I especially liked how he told Strika not to move until he hears from Megatron, very reminiscent of how he was in the G1 cartoon. Omega Supreme and Ratchet's backstory was endearing, and I was kind of interested in the glimpse we caught of the Great War. Hopefully, we'll see more of Arcee eventually; maybe she'll be resurrected as a sword-wielding killing machine. The other character who really interested me, though, was Oil Slick. I love the mad scientist-ninja vibe he has, the way he almost carelessly takes Rodimus down. I'm hoping Strika's team will see more appearances in the future, especially since she's Lugnut's consort. Side note: Ew.

I got the "Sari's a Maximal" thing too, especially with the BW-style stasis pod and the small size. I figured she was from the future, after the Animated universe's Great Upgrade. Just speculation, but time travel is one explanation for how she appeared in Sumdac's lab.

I'm excited for this season. Looking forward to Wasp's appearance in a few episodes. The Sari storyline will hopefully go in some interesting directions (let's see if she handles cyber-puberty any better than Cheetor did). I'm betting Shockwave won't get his comeuppance until the end of the season, but when he does, I hope it hurts. As I've said, I hope Blurr and Rodimus's team come back, as I'd like to see Rodimus and Optimus interact a little, and Blurr is at least three different levels of awesome.

So, yeah. Ought to be a good season. I'm worried about the series coming to an end; haven't heard much from the toyline since the cancellation rumors, except that Blackout apparently showed up in a toy catalog. Hopefully, a new season will rejuvenate interest in the show and keep it going alongside ROTF.

EDIT: Haven't read it myself, but there's an Arrival issue where Ratchet helps Oil Slick come up with an antidote to Cosmic Rust. Slick tries to screw him over, but Ratchet steals back enough antidote to replicate. I guess Rodimus didn't have any one him, though, or if he did, never got a chance to use it. Not a continuity error, but a continuity eyebrow-raiser at the least.

 

[Silverwynde]

So where to start this time?

Bulkhead reminds me a bit of myself: He's a bit naive and willing to give someone another chance. It worked with Bumblebee (they eventually became friends) but I'm thinking his good will has been wasted on the Constructicons. It's truly a pity because the Constructicons aren't really "bad" guys.

I dislike Dirt Boss. Intensely. Though it was funny to see Bumblebee teasing him for being such a shrimp.

That whole scene with the assembly line gave new meaning to the word "auto-erotic". I'll never look at that the same way again.

Poor Ratchet. Imagine having several tons of Lugnut falling on top of you. Ow.... >.<;

Loved the sign for the oil company. Sludge, izzat you? :lol:
And they make deliveries to Sheboygan. Cool. But do they deliver to Fond du Lac, Menasha, Beaver Dam and Neenah? (If you don't get it, you're not from Wisconsin.)

And now we see the "triumphant" return of one of the 'Screamer clones. Wonder where femme-Scream is hiding.

 

[Martonimos]

What are you talking about? We didn't see any of the clones. And if we had, I most certainly would not have liked Lugnut's last line dialogue with him. I would not be interested at all in seeing the big guy having to pay for that later.[/lies]

Dirt Boss definitely doesn't fit with the other constructicons, and the way they gave in to him makes me think they're pretty much beyond redemption at this point. I'm wondering how their relationship with Bulkhead will play out in the future.

Spoiler

Assuming, of course, they survived the giant explosion.

I liked how Dirt Boss had controlling powers similar to the Headmaster unit. Since TransWarped implied that was the only unit out there, you have to wonder how Masterson will react to it turning into its own robot. I seem to remember Derrick saying something about a "Headmaster Jr." episode, but I could be wrong.

On the subject of which, I wonder what happened to Powell? He was thrown out by Sumdac last episode, but it seems he still owns at least a newspaper, and there was that art of him in a pimp suit, so he may still be a threat.

 

[Snake Bandage]

I heard that Where is Thy Sting has been leaked... though I have no idea where to find it, and I'm not going to look.

 

[Martonimos]

Apparently, so has Five Servos of Doom.

Also, in case you didn't know, Derrick J. Wyatt recently posted this.

Spoiler

Looks like Blurr may or may not be dead. At least they left him the option. Some people say that Blurr has to stay dead, to show how badass Shockwave is. I guess they're right; Skyfire's return was one of the most anticlimactic moments of the g1 cartoon. But I think, as long as they give him a season or two to simmer for a while, bringing him back would be a good move. Especially if he proceeds to KILL SHOCKWAVE TO PIECES.

 

[Silverwynde]

Man, oh man. What an ep. (And I admit it-- I was naughty and watched it a few days ago on YouTube, but I had to re-watch it this morning. I just had to.)

I. HATE. Sentinel. Prime. I felt like punching him. In the face. Repeatedly. Until I turned every bone in both my hands to jelly. What a total and utter dick. :complain:

Way to go, Wasp. Just give me another reason to hate your servos. (Like I didn't have a ton already...)

Bulkhead was soooo darned cute in this ep! That gigantic bear hug he gave Bumblebee was just adorable. :crush:

Jetstorm and Jetfire were cool, but struck me as a tad bit clueless. I also had some trouble placing that accent they were using. Russian, perhaps?

I practically fell over laughing when Ratchet said "You're doing it wrong". I don't know why, but that line just struck me as funny.

Thank you, Bulkhead for saying exactly what I've been saying about Wasp. He may not have been a traitor, but he certainly wasn't a "good" bot by any means. Heck of a way to determine who was the real Bumblebee-- a video game competition. (And that was TORQ III in the game's background. Pretty nifty.)

Holy. Slag. Shocky snapped. Big time. At least Magnus didn't fade to gray. Then I would have been really worried.

I really don't want this season to end. It's just too darned good.

 

[Martonimos]

Wow, been a while since I replied to this topic. OK, so!

Where is thy Sting: Ouch. What happened to the writing in this episode? I know this is supposed to be a children's show, but "Hey, Bumblebee! Why are you acting so strange? And talking in that weird manner? And why is Wasp insisting he's you? Oh well, I'm sure that's just a huge coincidence" requires too big a suspension of disbelief for my part. And figuring out which one is which by a video game? It actually does make sense, but it reminded me of A Prime Problem more than anything else, and I expect more from Animated than I did from the old cartoon.

Still, not too bad overall. The ending was as intense as ever; I honestly wasn't sure whether or not UM would make it. Also, Ironhide being alive means that at least some of Rodimus's team made it! Woohoo!

Five Servos of Doom: All right! It's about time we saw some of Prowl's past. Of course, now I want to see even MORE, like who he was like before meeting Yoketron (he seems something like a pickpocket, given his attitude). Like when he met Jazz, and even Oil Slick (assuming Oil Slick's toy bio is canon in the cartoon). More Jazz is always a good thing. My one complaint is that Lockdown being one of the students felt like too big of a retcon. Why didn't he use Yoketron's helmet or his martial arts training in either of his other encounters with Prowl? But, ah well. It's good to know that UM's alive, but Shockwave running around with his hammer has me on edge.

Also, hey, Swindle wasn't dismantled after all! I wonder how he'll escape being locked in vehicle mode like that. And Warpath apparently is a ninja. I can't help but laugh at that.

Predacons Rising: Even though this episode was pretty cool, I had insanely high hopes for it (being written by the Beast Wars guys) and was mildly disappointed. Wasp sneaking away while the Primes argued was another harsh reminder that this is, after all, a show meant for children. And for some reason, the story didn't grab me as much as it could have. I don't know why Blackarachnia would abandon the Dinobots in Black Friday but then come right back. (Although now that I think of it, Meltdown must still be hanging around, right?) But this was actually really cool. I always love the Optimus/Sentinel dynamic, especially when it's gone into as deeply as it was in this episode. Sentinel's reaction to Blackarachnia was a bit scary, but he seems to have come to terms with it. I'm glad, since I got his toy a few days ago; he's a jerk, but he isn't evil. I love the line "Wasp forgives you. BUT WASPINATOR NEVER FORGIVES!" I love all the BW references at the end; Waspinator pulling himself together, and Blackarachnia waking up next to the original BW Maximals (sans Dinobot, for obvious reasons). I can't help but think that the state of Dinobot Island at the end was referencing something, but I have no idea what. My biggest dissapointment was that the new group was never referred to as the Predacons, and that it's so small--for now, at least. Looking forward to that thread being explored more in the future.

Things I'm still waiting anxiously for: Soundwave's return, with Laserbeak (and, I hope, Ratbat). I hope he has a more durable body this time; maybe an Allspark fragment can help with that. And why the Pit haven't we seen more of Sarimus Primal? You have the whole thing with her becoming a teenager, and then you cut her out of the show? I mean, humans in Transformers are often annoying, but why'd you have to get rid of this one just as she was getting interesting?

Anyway, there are still a few Starscreams kicking about, notably the Female. At this point, she may be the last Decepticon on Earth. Of course, eventually we'll have to deal with Megs and the original Starscream returning, but I doubt that'll be until near the end of the season. I really hope Screamer gets his body back when he does.

Well, that's all for now, methinks. Looking forward to a great rest of the season!

EDIT: Oh, hey! Just saw the preview for Human Error. It looks like I'm getting two of my wishes at once! Also, I know I was complaining about Where is thy Sting resembling A Prime Problem, but this episode recalls Mostly Human, which was one of the most potential-filled episodes of the original series. I'm hoping that this time they can use that potential to its fullest degree.

 

[Silverwynde]

Okay, where to start?

Five Servos of Doom: I'll admit it-- when I was first saw Prowl I really didn't like him too much. This changed my opinion of him greatly. Prowl may not be my favorite character, but I respect him a lot more now.

I really lost a lot of respect for SP. The idea of him working with Lockdown wasn't surprising, but it made me royally angry. I know he wanted to be a hero, but that wasn't the way to go about it.

And if Yoketron's VA ever came to a BotCon, I would simply die. XD

Predacons Rising: Holy slag. What an ep! All I can really say about it is-- Blackarachnia, it looks like you're not in Detroit anymore. Good old transwarp tech: you can end up anywhere or any time.

SP's reaction to BA left me.... chilled. I understand his intial freak out over it, but saying she should have been dead rather than a hybrid just felt so wrong.

And no matter the universe, Waspinator just doesn't die. :lol:

 

[Martonimos]

To be fair, Lockdown is a bounty hunter. He'll work for whoever pays him the best, and for a while at least, that was SP. But he should have let the other Autobots in on it, to ensure that any attempted backstabs (like the one that actually happened) didn't go sour. And like I said, while he definitely reacted initially in a "Burn the heathens!" kind of way to Blackarachnia, he seems to have come more to terms with it later.

Man, listen to me defending him. I sound like Optimus. I wonder if we'll ever figured out why OP left the academy. There's not too much of this season left.

 

[Martonimos]

Funny story: After watching the preview for this episode, I thought, "Man, Soundwave should be a badass Decepticon warrior, not some mass-produced children's toy." Then I looked over at the deluxe-class Soundwave in my hand, and thought, "wait."

Anyway, this episode rocked out loud. For starters, Sari's return is all different sorts of awesome. She's adapting well to her new powers, but still has a lot of the same charm. I'm not sure how teenager-ey she seems. And she finally got the scooter/jetpack from the unaired opening! I liked how, even after putting money in Powell's pocket, Sumdac still proves that he's the best dad in the world.

Speaking of Powell, I guess I got my answer as to what happened to him. It'll be interesting to see him and Sumdac compete.

The Autobots in human bodies was slightly cheesy at first, especially Bulkhead and Bumblebee (why is 'Bee a kid? I know why, of course, but he seems more like a belligerent teenager to me). But overall, it was handled much better than Only Human. I especially loved Prowl's reactions, how he was taking advantage of the opportunity to see the world through a human's eyes. You have to wonder how he feels about regaining his robot form. (On a side note, it looks like Samurai Prowl is now the only Prowl. A shame, but I guess it makes sense.)

I first began to suspect something was wrong when the Decepticon invasion began. Things like Megatron taking over Cybertron are too important to take place off-screen. It was awesome how they turned out to be in The Matrix. But now I'm not sure how they'll escape.

And, of course, the pièce de résistance... SOUNDWAVE!!! I was always disappointed in Sound and Fury, because of how Soundwave was composed of smaller bots and shattered after one hit, even if it was a Bulkhead hit. But this Soundwave seems a lot more durable... and a lot more badass. While he's only holding the Autobots hostage in a virtual world, he is holding them hostage. He has both Laserbeak and Ratbat, which is cool. The only thing I'm worried about is the army of small Soundwaves. I think I'm going to hate them. Other than that, this is an awesome, triumphant return for one of my favorite characters.

And Soundwave was in his Electrostatic (Soundblaster) colors. Awesome.

I cannot wait for the next episode. I want to see this resolved, one way or another.

 

[Mitchman]

Question. Is this series any good? I mean I love transformers but I dunno I lost appeal with the kiddie looks. So is it any good?

 

[Martonimos]

It's obviously a matter of opinion, but if you were to ask me, I would say yes. Not as good as Beast Wars, but far better than the original cartoon. As long as you're willing to put up with the occasional reminder that this show was meant for eight-year-olds, it contains a great deal of good writing, with interesting characters and strong, suspensful story arcs.

 

[Silverwynde]

Unabashed fangirl moment: Ohmigod, Bumblebee was adorable! Hey Hasbro, make that cute little hat he was wearing and I'll buy multiples of it. And I'll even wear one! :lol:

Alright, where to begin on this one? It was nice seeing an actual Christmas episode and since it was out of season, I could actually enjoy it. (I work retail. I'm pretty burned out by the time 12/25 rolls around.)

I'm really loving Sari's look; it reminds me a lot of how Key from Key the Metal Idol looks. I also figured she'd finally "master" her new powers but I was really surprised to see her get the scooter. That was awesome.

I was digging the human forms, especially Bee's. And was I the only one who nearly fell over laughing when Bulkhead had to run to the restroom? That was just classic!

Prowl really surprised me in this episode. He reminded me a bit of Hound with the whole "I kinda wanted to be human" thing and the playing peek-a-boo really floored me. I mean, Prowl always struck me as so danged uptight; I never thought he'd do something like that. Though I wasn't too surprised that Prowl would be a vegetarian.

I should have figured that this was a dream or something similar. I mean, bringing Cybertron into Earth's immediate orbit would set off global cataclysms, kinda like Megatron did back in the olden days of G1.

Ut-oh, evil Autobots. Where have I seen that before? Can't wait for next week's ep!

Question. Is this series any good? I mean I love transformers but I dunno I lost appeal with the kiddie looks. So is it any good?

Oh it's a very good series. Once you get past the art style, it's one of the best written TF series you'll watch. But that's just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Martonimos]

Prowl really surprised me in this episode. He reminded me a bit of Hound with the whole "I kinda wanted to be human" thing and the playing peek-a-boo really floored me. I mean, Prowl always struck me as so danged uptight; I never thought he'd do something like that. Though I wasn't too surprised that Prowl would be a vegetarian.

After Prowl got over his "better-than-you"-ness in the first episode, he was all about nature. I mean, he watched a cat stalking a bird, he protected a nest of baby birds, he was angry about Bumblebee bringing a TV camping, etc. I'm not at all surprised that he'd be interested in the experience of becoming an organic creature. Although I don't know if he'd want to stay like that for long.

I should have figured that this was a dream or something similar. I mean, bringing Cybertron into Earth's immediate orbit would set off global cataclysms, kinda like Megatron did back in the olden days of G1.

Not to mention, as my girlfriend pointed out, that Cybertron was insanely small. A planet inhabited by robots that average at least two stories tall would not be the size of an earth city. Also, bringing it that close, the biggest cataclysm you'd have to worry about is the planets falling into each other.

 

[Mitchman]

Aha I guess I will give it a look. I mean I just did not find it amusing that the robots are not secret and that its a bit too kiddy. But I guess I could give it a go and find out what its all about. OKAY I'M SOLD. I just watched the first episode. My god that was great. The intro is a remix of the old theme and optimus prime is some new fangled bot and ratchet is centuries old? Great googly moogly were have I been. I saw this show with a wrong perception all along.

 

[Grave-E]

I've never been much of a Transformers fan, so before this series, I hadn't been exposed to a substantial amount of what past generations had to offer, nor do I have any intention to rectify that.
That said, I'm really loving this show. Unlike most, the designs are actually what dragged me in in the first place. I know these guys are robots and all, but I'm all for the more expressive, streamlined art style. That in itself makes it a hell of a lot easier for an outsider to warm up to these characters.

Yesterday's conclusion to the two parter was awesome. Wreck-Gar is a personal favourite, so him coming out of literally nowhere to join the substitute team at the last moment instantly made this episode epic. I'm glad he's still prone to suggestions and just as naive as ever.

Soundwave was also more than satisfying, and it's good that he was able to put up a good fight this time around, even if he was scrapped in the finalé. Props to these guys for sneaking in a 'Kabong' during what was a serious brawl between him and Optimus

 

[Zeta]

Making the kid sidekick a human Maximal was one of the most brilliant things I've ever seen done in a Transformers series.

Also makes the Bumblebee/Sari shipping a lot less creepy and adorable now.

Wish they would have ditched The Witwickys in the Transformer movies and replaced them with Sari.

 

[Silverwynde]

Saw the ep before we got ready for Dairycon. Talk about a lot of Transformers awesomeness, all in one day.

It was nice to see Snarl finally get his name. I laughed out loud when Scrapper admitted that he wanted to name him "Slag", but he took it as an insult. (G1 Slag actually liked his name for that reason, iirc.)

Wreck-Gar's back! I couldn't help but let out a little whoop of joy when I saw him. But the best Wreck-Gar scene had to be when he tried fighting with an accordion. That was just plain awesomeness.

I guess Prowl's processor over matter did work. He didn't hurt Sari and was the first to snap out of it. Too bad about Soundwave's shiny new body, but I'm thinking he'll be back.

All in all, I thought it was a great episode and I can barely wait for next week. Man, I wish this series would never end.

 

[Martonimos]

"I was going to call him Slag, but I think he took it as an insult." HAH!

Ahem. So, Soundwave is badass again. It takes a certain kind of awesome to overpower Prowl like that. I'm glad to see Scrapper being not so bad anymore; freeing him from Mix and Dirt Boss's influence probably helped. Also interesting to see a Dinobot and Constructicon working together like that, considering they were worst enemies in G1. And WRECK-GAR!!! Yes. This episode pulled out so many of the minor characters, it's great. And seeing one of my favorites, Soundwave, at the helm of things is just awesome. SUBSTITUTE AUTOBOTS, ATTACK!

Isaac and Prime being controlled by Soundwave was creepy. I loved hearing Isaac doing a Soundwave voice. Soundwave saying "Resistance is futile" was a bit of a turn-off, though; does he really need to turn into the Borg? But I loved Wreck-Gar's accordion. One of the greatest things ever.

And, finally, the rock-off between Optimus and Soundwave brought me to fangasm. This is what Auto-Bop should've been like. "Your ax is useless!" "But yours isn't!" The ending was a dissapointment, but the rest of the episode powered through it.

Overall, I loved this one. Even though they were only human in a simulation, it was fun watching the Autobots cope with being human (unlike Springer, it looks like Optimus has a hard time figuring out to drive his own body). And bringing all those minor, obscure Transformers together was awesome. I loved the self-references with Wreck-Gar and Slag Snarl, and as I said, the musical battle was the perfect clincher to it all.