Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine FL revisits The Transformers' post-animated-movie episodes

This thread was inspired by Dev\'s Five Years Later thread , which helped me to realize that Season 3 of Transformers is truly the FYL of 80s kiddie action cartoons, intensely hated by many, passionately loved by a few, a futuristic darkening of the original concept that's not without its flaws, but not without its rewards, either.

I won't be reviewing the movie in detail, even though it sets up the events of Season 3, because I'm far more ambivalent about the movie than I am about Season 3. The reasons for this will gradually come to light in the reviews.

Note: I will be reviewing the episodes in the order of chronological content, as there is some continuity to the season which was wrecked by the original airdates.

EPISODE 3.1, "FIVE FACES OF DARKNESS PART 1"

Written by: Flint Dille

Plot: The Autobot/Decepticon wars are over, with the Autobots triumphant and the Decepticons exiled to the barren planetoid Charr. When mysterious forces sabotage the interplanetary Olympics and kidnap Ultra Magnus, Kup, and Spike, the Decepticons are at the top of the Autobots' suspect list. But when Rodimus Prime and Grimlock sneak onto Charr, they find the Decepticons in a sad state. So if it wasn't the Decepticons, then who was it? Just as Rodimus and Grimlock are asking themselves that, the Decepticons discover their presence and attack them. TO BE CONTINUED

Review: The five-part season opener is IMO one of the best-written episodes of the series entire run. Unfortunately, it's also one of the worst-animated, as many Season 3 episodes were farmed out to the Korean Akom studios instead of the usual Japanese Toei studios. That said, I believe that Seasons 1 and 2 also had a lot of episodes that were well-written but badly animated (I love "War Dawn" as much as anybody else, but nobody's going to convince me the animation isn't as bad as the worst of Season 3.)

Five Faces of Darkness, which I'll refer to as 5FOD from here on, has often been criticized for getting off to a slow start, but I think the measured pace enriches it, giving it all of the characterization, humor, and solid story structure that was missing from the movie.

And then there are the uniformly superb voice performances, substituting Richard Gautier (Hymie the robot from "Get Smart!"), John Stephenson (Mr. Slate from "The Flintstones") and Jack Angel for the roles of Rodimus Prime, Kup, and Ultra Magnus, played in the movie by Judd Nelson, Lionel Stander, and Robert Stack, respectively. The performances of the seasoned voice actors are SO much better than the performances in the movie. Neil Ross and Susan Blu reprise their movie roles as Springer and Arcee, while Roger C. Carmel (Harry Mudd from "Star Trek") and Stan Jones (Lex Luthor from "Super Friends") finally get a chance to shine as villains Cyclonus and Scourge, after being total non-entities in the movie (a digression: I firmly believe that Cyclonus is a reformatted Thundercracker and Scourge is a reformatted Skywarp; Cyclonus, for all his evilness, at least had loyalty and gravitas, while Scourge ultimately proved to be a cowardly and self-serving thug.)

Next: The kidnappers revealed, and Frank Welker takes over the role of Galvatron.

I remember I liked the idea of this season but not the execution (but I was young and may have missed things). My favourite parts were always Ultra-Magnus and Cyclonus. The episode where they are forced to work together was excellent.

Cyclonus was awesome, in no small part thanks to Roger C. Carmel's vocal performances. It's a shame that Carmel died before the end of the season, because as talented as Jack Angel was, he couldn't quite equal Carmel.

I loved the development of the Quintessons into a key part of Transformers history during this five-parter. In fact one of the things that's irritated me about subsequent versions of the Transformers is the lack of the Quintessons in this key role.

Oh, and agreed regarding Skywarp = Cyclonus and Thundercracker = Scourge.

You may want to look at this, which is an earlier draft of the movie script, and appears to be what 5FoD was intended to follow-up on: http://boltax.blogspot.com/2010/12/heritaage-auctions-transformers-movie.html

Thing is though, all the 'Cons except Megatron were dead when they were reformatted, ja? Ergo, it doesn't matter who their bodies once were, because Unicron made up their personalities from whole cloth.

i liked the Episode where Rodimus Prime and Springer's essence where put into Human bodies, and Cobra Commander had a cameo in that episode also.
the one thing i didn't like about the post animated movie episodes was that Galvatron wasn't as menacing and evil as he was in the movie, maybe it was the VO actor that played him. and there was some plot where there was a quest for the Decpeticon Matrix of Leadership to supposedly restore the Decepticons back to greatness, it just didn't gel for me.

Agreed 100%. It was a nice touch to give the Bots and Cons a common enemy so that it wasn't just an endless squabble between the two robot camps.

Thanks.

LOVE that episode, "Only Human", and it's one of the ones I most look forward to reviewing.

I respect your opinion, but I disagree 100%. I'll elaborate in the review below.


EPISODE 3.2, "FIVE FACES OF DARKNESS PART 2"

Written by: Flint Dille

Plot: Springer and Arcee rescue Rodimus Prime and Grimlock from being beaten to death by the Decepticons, for although Rodimus appears at first to succumb to his injuries, in reality he retreats into the Autobot Matrix and finds out who the kidnappers are: the Quintessons, monstrous five-faced creatures from the planet Quintessa.

Meanwhile, the elite Decepticons led by Cyclonus use their team's meager reserves of energy to revive Galvatron, who had landed on a far away planetoid after free-falling through space at the end of the movie.

The Autobots' rescue of Ultra Magnus, Kup, and Spike from the Quintessons appears to go smoothly, but the Quintessons escape and use a self-destruct mechanism to blow up Quintessa with the Autobots in range of the explosion. TO BE CONTINUED

Review: This episode was pretty mind-blowing for a tween Fanfic Lady who hadn't yet seen the movie (I didn't see the movie until 1990.) In addition to the brilliantly weird and creepy design of the Quintessons, there's also the trippy sequence where we see the visions provided by the Autobot Matrix (here, the rough-edged animation actually works to the advantage of this particular sequence IMO.)

And, ah, the post-movie Galvatron, crazier of personality and higher-pitched of voice, with Leonard Nimoy's wooden baritone replaced by Frank Welker's elastic range.

To this day, I puzzle over why many people consider the Nimoy Galvatron to be such a badass and the Welker Galvatron such a bitch. IMO, if either one was a bitch, it was the Nimoy Galvatron, who spends the entire movie under Unicron's thumb and is defeated by Rodimus Prime with ridiculous ease.

Quite simply, I love the wild/psycho/crazy/unstable Welker Galvatron, and I love Season 3's Galvatron/Cyclonus/Scourge dynamic, similar to that of G.I. Joe Season 1's Cobra Commander/Destro/Major Bludd dynamic.

Next: We find out just how psycho the new Galvatron really is!

ok you kinda hit it on the head, i understand why you like the wild/psycho/crazy/unstable Welker Galvatron version but it never meshed with me i love Nimoy's calm cool but totally evil Galvatron.
it reminded me how different Serpentor acted post G.I. Joe: the Movie, he too was psycho/crazy/unstable/wild, always screaming "THIS I COMMAND!!" i was always kinda hoping that Cobra Commander and Destro would've staged a coup and take back control of Corbra. but i'm rambling on it was a change that i wasn't ready for after being Wowed by the previous seasons.

I don't really have much of an opinion on movie Galvatron versus series Galvatron, but I thought they were both pretty much second rate compared to old school Megatron.

I also really missed Starscream in the Decepticon ranks post-movie.

I missed Starscream, too. Killing him off in the movie was a bad idea, and bringing him back as a ghost in Season 3 couldn't fully compensate.

The Starscream toy WAS still being produced during the entire time the movie was released and Season 3 aired, a testament to the character's enduring popularity.

EPISODE 3.3, "FIVE FACES OF DARKNESS PART 3"

Written by: Flint Dille

Plot: The Autobots' escape ship is destroyed by flying debris, but they survive and they land on a very sticky planet appropriately named Goo.

Meanwhile, Galvatron and his elite guard make a detour on their way to Charr, and they destroy an Earth Defense Command space platform. Blurr and Wheelie, who were trying to deliver Metroplex's new transformation cog to Earth, are nearly killed by Galvatron and end up stranded on Jupiter's moon Io.

When Galvatron and his elite guard arrive on Charr, they find only Blitzwing, the only Decepticon soldier who wasn't manipulated by the Quintessons into serving them. On Goo, the Quintessons command the Decepticon soldiers to attack the Autobots. TO BE CONTINUED

Review: This is, in my opinion, the most satisfying segment of 5FOD, and one of the highlights of Season 3. It is also one of the most brutally violent episodes of Transformers -- Galvatron takes no prisoners, Wheelie shoots a Sweep in the face, and Springer is dismembered. Incidentally, I wonder how many of us secretly wanted Galvatron to actually succeed in destroying the annoying duo of Blurr and Wheelie?

EPISODE 3.4, "FIVE FACES OF DARKNESS PART 4"

Written by: Flint Dille

Plot: The Junkions save the Autobots on Goo from being annihilated by the Decepticons, and Springer is restored. Galvatron makes the Decepticon/Quintesson alliance official. EDC Captain Marissa Faireborne's attempted rescue of Blurr and Wheelie ends up with her becoming stranded on Io as well. Rodimus retreats once more into the matrix to learn the full story about the Quintessons, and it isn't pretty. The Decepticons unleash Trypticon on Earth while simultaneously launching an assault of Cybertron. TO BE CONTINUED

Review: Mostly setup for the spectacular final episode, the highlight is the origin sequence where the Quintessons are revealed as the Transformers' creators. There's a nice mix of grandeur and irony to this origin story, very much a piece with the other work of the late, great Steve Gerber, who story-edited Flint Dille's 5FOD scripts.

EPISODE 3.5, "FIVE FACES OF DARKNESS PART 5"

Written by: Flint Dille

Plot: While Sky Lynx rescues Blurr, Wheelie, and Capt. Faireborne on Io and Metroplex's transformation cog is succesfully installed, enabling Metroplex to defeat Trypticon, the battle on Cybertron is brutal, and to make things worse, Blitzwing discovers the Quintessons plan to neutralize all the Transformers.

Review: I really like the way the conflicts escalate over the course of 5FOD, climaxing with Cybertron under full-scale Decepticon attack, Sky Lynx versus Predaking, and Metroplex versus Trypticon. I also like how Blitzwing gets nice shades-of-grey character moments here which he never got in his earlier appearances. Less satisfying is the resolution, which is a bit of a dud and almost makes me wish that this had been a theatrical sequel to the movie instead of the beginning of a new season, so that the implications of the Quintessons' intentions could have been carried to their logical conclusion. But, on the other hand, if that had been the case, we wouldn't have gotten the many superb stand-alone episodes that would follow the flawed but still exhilirating 5FOD.

EPISODE 3.6, "THE KILLING JAR"

Written by: Michael Charles Hill & Joey Kurihara Piedra

Plot: Ultra Magnus, Cyclonus, Captain Faireborne, and Wreck-Gar are all captured and imprisoned by a Quintesson scientist.

Review: A simple but solid episode with plenty of great characterization. I find Faireborne especially pleasureable. She is a very underrated character, although Susan Blu did give her a rather grating voice. And anyone who likes both Transformers and G.I. Joe has to smile at the cameo by Fairborne's father, Flint, even if he is actually a Quintesson illusion. Michael Charles Hill, who had previously written Season 2 highlights "Starscream's Brigade" and "The Gambler", is, in my opinion, the one Transformers writer who never wrote or co-wrote a bad episode.

EPISODE 3.7, "CHAOS"

Written by: Paul Davids

Plot: Can Kup bring closure to a tragic event from his past when the Decepticons begin hoarding a new deadly source of energy?

Review: I've probably watched this episode more times than any other Transformers Season 3 stand-alone. I just find it to be all-around perfection, from characterization to action to pacing to quality of animation and of voice acting. This episode helped me to accept the grizzled old warhorse Kup as the replacement for the pre-movie grizzled old warhorse Ironhide. There's real depth and substance to Kup's character arc within this episode, and John Stephenson's nuanced voice acting in the role of Kup makes it all the more pleasurable.

Next: Possibly the best Transformers episode ever, and definitely the most powerful. I'm talking, of course, about "DARK AWAKENING."

EPISODE 3.8, "DARK AWAKENING"

Written by: Antoni Zalewski

Plot: Pursued by Galvatron and his elite guard, Rodimus, Magnus, Kup, Arcee, Spike and Daniel end up at a gigantic Autobot tomb where the bodies of all the fallen Autobots are kept. And Optimus Prime's tomb is empty...which can only mean trouble, and trouble is spelled Q-U-I-N-T-E-S-S-O-N-S...

Review: This remarkable episode is the one I'd most likely point a Transformers skeptic toward. It is, in my opinion, the most adult, intelligent, and thematically rich Transformers episode ever made. And for a tween, the theme of never being able to turn back the clock to the way things were...that was heavy stuff! But Optimus is no mere puppet of the Quintessons -- he rediscovers his nobility, overrides their re-programming and makes the ultimate sacrifice to redeem himself and save his fellow Autobots. Come to think of it, that's pretty heavy for a tween, too.

Even though I never completely warmed up to Rodimus, this was as classy a farewell as his predecessor could have possibly gotten, and it's a shame that the impact of this episode was spoiled when the decision was made to bring Optimus back to life at the end of the season.

EPISODE 3.9, "SURPRISE PARTY"

Written by: Steve Mitchell & Barbara Petty

Plot: Daniel and Wheelie get into deep trouble when they go searching for the file containing Ultra Magnus' birthdate.

Review: Any episode would have been in an unfortunate position if it had to follow "Dark Awakening", but even factoring that in, this is still pretty bad. The story is as juvenile as the worst of the pre-movie episodes, and Daniel and Wheelie are both more annoying than ever.

EPISODE 3.10, "MADMAN'S PARADISE"

Written by: Craig Rand

Plot: Daniel and Grimlock stumble into a sword-and-sorcery-type realm.

Review: More of that brat Daniel, but I have a soft spot for this episode, maybe because I like sword-and-sorcery-type stuff in animation. Imagine a mezzo-quality episode of "Dungeons & Dragons" with Transformers instead of the kids, and you'll get the idea whether you'll like it or not. That, and whether or not you hate Grimlock's personality change from the hard-hitter of the pre-movie episodes to the childlike simpleton of the movie and the post-movie episodes. Personally, I don't hate it.

NEXT: The most twisted and subversive Transformers episode ever -- "WEBWORLD!!"

EPISODE 3.11, "WEBWORLD"

Written by: Len Wein & Diane Duane

Plot: With Galvatron becoming an increasing danger to the other Decepticons, a desperate Cyclonus follows a Quintesson's advice and takes Galvatron to the psychotherapists' planet Torqulon. After several disastrous attempts at therapy, the doctors try their most drastic measure: having the planet's core computer absorb Galvatron's consciousness. But before the process can be completed, the computer is infected with Galvatron's madness and the planet begins to self-destruct. Galvatron destroys the computer, and then finishes off the process of destroying the planet.

Review: Depending on one's sense of humor, this episode could either be seen as tasteless and offensive, or clever and hilarious. I favor the latter view. This episode, with its overtones of satire, has Steve Gerber's sensibility all over it. Every time I watch it, I end up rooting for Galvatron despite myself. There's no way they could get away with an episode like this in a modern-day cartoon, and I think that's a shame.

EPISODE 3.12, "CARNAGE IN C-MINOR"

Written by: Buzz Dixon

Plot: The Decepticons scheme to use an alien race's powerful three-part harmony as a weapon.

Review: Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before -- the infamous "Carnage in C-Minor", worst animation ever, worst episode ever, blah blah blah.

I don't think it's that bad.

I don't think it's good, but it's not the worst episode ever (that would have to be Season 2's "Child's Play"), or even the worst Season 3 episode (that would have to be either "Surprise Party" or "Thief in the Night.")

But, yes, the animation is terrible and Buzz Dixon is capable of much better than this (I chalk it up to him being so busy story-editing all 30 episodes of G.I. Joe Season 2.)

EPISODE 3.13, "FOREVER IS A LONG TIME COMING"

Written by: Gerry Conway & Carla Conway

Plot: A team of Autobots accidentally switches places with A-3 -- a young Alpha Trion from Cybertron's distant past -- and the time-space continuum unravels.

Review: Re-visiting the same basic time-travel plot of one of the best Season 2 episodes, "War Dawn", this is, in my opinion, one of the strongest Season 3 scripts. Unfortunately, like "War Dawn", the animation is not up to the quality it should be, but I still enjoy it.

EPISODE 3.14, "FIGHT OR FLEE"

Written by: Tony Cinciripini & Larry Leahy

Plot: The Decepticons easily conquer Paradron, a distant energy-rich planet colonized millions of years ago by exiled Autobots. The Cybertronian Autobots are unaware of this until one Paradronian Autobot, Sandstorm, escapes.

Review: A very good episode that could have been great if it had been a two-parter. There's just too much potential here to fully explore within the half-hour format. Sandstorm (voiced by Jerry Houser) is quite likeable and the animation is mostly above-average. But, yes, this is the episode with the infamous line delivered by Jack Angel as Ultra Magnus, "I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life...okay, gimme the bomb." Why the notoriously perfectionist voice director Wally Burr decided to go with such a comically awkward take is a great mystery.

EPISODE 3.15, "THIEF IN THE NIGHT"

Written by: Paul Davids

Plot: The Decepticons ally themselves with a North African dictator whose country's oil produces a particularly rich Energon.

Review: A horrible, racist episode that inexplicably revolves around an offensive throwaway character seen briefly in "Five Faces of Darkness." Worse yet, it's the only episode where Six-Gun, one of the coolest Transformers toys appears, and then only for one scene where he doesn't get to use his weapons. A couple things worth noting: Trypticon is voiced by a then-unknown Brad Garrett, who would later betray himself as a racist, and the dictator character is one of the reasons why we didn't see Cliffjumper in Season 3 even though he survived the movie -- Cliffjumper's voice actor, Lebanese-American Casey Kasem, was so outraged by the character that he quit the show.

NEXT: STARSCREAM RETURNS!! Well, kinda sorta.

Kinda throwin this in here...cause I don't know where else to put it. Gonna get the kids at least the first (maybe second too) season of the cartoon when we get taxes back.

If you have to choose one out of the three full seasons, I'd suggest going for Season 2. I don't think Season 3 should be seen by kids under 13 years of age.

Thanks, I'll remember that.

EPISODE 3.16, "STARSCREAM'S GHOST"

Written by: Megeen McLaughlin

Plot: The title would seem to say it all...

Review: ...except that it takes forever for Starscream's ghost to actually show up! Until then we get a rather uninvolving story of the Decepticon Elite Guard pursuing Octane, whom Galvatron has branded a traitor (there's been a rumor going around for years that the episode was originally supposed to star Blitzwing, but Octane was substituted for him because Octane's toy was newer.) Overall, the plot convolutions don't really hold together as a story, making this episode more typical of a lesser cartoon than Transformers. But, hey, Starscream's back, and the next episode would showcase him to the fullest.

EPISODE 3.17, "GHOST IN THE MACHINE"

Written by: Michael Charles Hill & Joey Kurihara Piedra

Plot: Starscream's ghost possesses Scourge and re-activates Unicron's head, in the hopes of having his body restored. Unicron assigns the duo three tasks, which end up causing a great deal of chaos and destruction and may spell doom for Cybertron.

Review: The script is near-perfection, from Starscream and Scourge's banter, to a Spike/Bumblebee reunion ("Just like old times"), to the hilarious scene where Starscream possesses Trypticon and nearly stomps Galvatron to death, to Starscream tricking Unicron into giving him what he wants, only to have it seemingly taken away again. The ambiguity of his status at the end set up a possible return later in the season, which unfortunately didn't happen. And the animation is not nearly as good as the script deserves. But overall, this is one of the best Season 3 episodes.

NEXT: An episode written by a then-unknown PAUL DINI!!!!

EPISODE 3.18, "THE DWELLER IN THE DEPTHS"

Written by: Paul Dini

Plot: The Quintessons trick Galvatron into releasing some of their monstrous bio-mechanoid genetic experiments. One monster proves particularly troublesome.

Review: Years before Batman: TAS made him a star, Dini contributed energetic and highly entertaining scripts to several 80s cartoons. Dini's one Transformers episode is no exception. The story's horror elements, which would have been jarring in the pre-movie episodes, fit the dark atmosphere of the post-movie episodes like a hand in glove. Add to that some of the best quality animation of the show's entire run, and you've got a winner.

EPISODE 3.19, "NIGHTMARE PLANET"

Written by: Beth Bornstein

Plot: An Autobot/Decepticon skirmish is interrupted when Daniel's dreams start turning into reality.

Review: I don't know whether this episode's incoherence, choppy pacing, and lack of flow are a deliberate design to create the sensation of a nightmare unfolding, or just clumsy editing, but I favor the latter theory. As with its immediate predecessor, "The Dweller in the Depths", this episode makes effective use of horror imagery, but in the end, it's too confusing to be fully involving as a story, and too indifferently animated and literal-minded to work as a purely sensory experience.

EPISODE 3.20, "THE ULTIMATE WEAPON"

Written by: Arthur Byron Cover

Plot: As Rodimus suffers a crisis of confidence, Protectobot First Aid's pacifism leads to the Decepticons' theft of Metroplex's transformation cog.

Review: Apparently a lot of people dislike this episode. I don't understand why that is. It has some great animation (the Metroplex/Trypticon battle in particular is absolutely spectacular), and it has a nice message about how even pacifists have something to contribute during wartime. And First Aid (voiced by Michael Bell) is a far more likeable and believable pacifist than, say, G.I. Joe's ludicrous Lifeline.

EPISODE 3.21, "THE BIG BROADCAST OF 2006"

Written by: Michael Reaves

Plot: When the Quintesson Journal ends up lost amid the mess that is the planet of the Junkions, the Quintessons manipulate the Junkions' beloved television signals in an effort to control them. But things go very, very wrong.

Review: Another much-disliked episode that I've always liked. Once again, story editor Steve Gerber's satirical sensibility is stamped all over this one. If people complain that the Junkions are annoying, I think they're missing the point. The Junkions are SUPPOSED to be pop-culture-saturated idiots who can be easily manipulated. I also believe that if the episode weren't so poorly animated, it might be better appreciated. Its insights into the implications of mass media are eerily prescient, and admirably ambitious for a kiddie cartoon from the 80s.

EPISODE 3.22, "THE QUINTESSON JOURNAL"

Written by: Richard Merwin

Plot: At the end of the previous episode, the Quintesson Journal was lost in space. While this MacGuffin is frantically pursued by Autobots, Decepticons, and Quintessons alike, two warmongering alien empires stand at the verge of destroying each other utterly.

Review: Another underrated and uncommonly ambitious episode. That said, it's not as good as "The Big Broadcast." If only there were less screen-time spent on the chase after the Journal, and more screen-time looking at the tragic futility of the war between worlds and the Quintessons' profiteering (and also, of course, if only the animation had been better.)

EPISODE 3.23, "ONLY HUMAN"

Written by: Susan K. Williams

Plot: Assisting the police on Earth, the Autobots run afoul of mobster Victor Drath, who recruits a strangely familiar character named Old Snake to transfer the essences of Rodimus, Magnus, Arcee, and Springer into organic humanoid bodies.

Review: A light-hearted change of pace reminiscent of Season 2's more offbeat moments, this is a delight from start to finish. Williams' dialogue is sparklingly witty (Rodimus after drinking coffee for the first time: "Ugh. Smells better than it tastes,") and her plot is clever. And for G.I. Joe fans who hated what happened to Cobra Commander in "G.I. Joe: The Movie," this gives us hope that he did return to sentience in some as yet untold story in the official G.I. Joe cartoon mythos.

EPISODE 3.24, "CALL OF THE PRIMITIVES"

Written by: Donald F. Glut

Plot: An alien scientist, Primacron, creates a giant energy-absorbing monster, Tornedron, and anoints him Unicron's successor. As Tornedron goes on a rampage, Primacron's former assistant brings together all the beast-and-monster-Transformers in the hopes that their primitive instincts can come up with a way to stop Tornedron.

Review: A polarizing episode, which most people seem to either love because it has some of the best animation in Transformers history (this is the one Transformers episode animated not by Toei or Akom, but by TMS,) or hate because it has one of the worst cop-out endings in Transformers history. Me, I love it. The sheer dynamism and fluidity of the animation creates an dream-like effect, turning the episode into an experience in pure sensory overload.

EPISODE 3.25, "GRIMLOCK'S NEW BRAIN"

Written by: Paul Davids

Plot: After getting zapped by a live wire, Grimlock inexplicably becomes a genius, foiling a Decepticon plot by creating the Technobots, and eventually sacrificing his newfound intelligence for the greater good.

Review: I've always had a sentimental spot for the Technobots and their Decepticon nemeses, the Terrorcons, which is why I can't really bring myself to hating this inanely written and badly animated episode. Plus, it's got cute little Cosmos in it, too.

EPISODE 3.26, "MONEY IS EVERYTHING"

Written by: Carla Conway & Gerry Conway

Plot: The Technobots assist Earth Defense Command Captain Marissa Faireborne in outwitting a slimy space mercenary and foiling a Quintesson plot.

Review: I really want to like this episode. I think Captain Faireborne is a great character and a showcase on her is most welcome to me. Plus I love the Technobots. But this one is an out-and-out dud. The animation is some of the worst of the season, and the mercenary is just too oily for the attempted romantic tension between him and Captain Faireborne to work.

EPISODE 3.27, "THE FACE OF THE NIJIKA"

Written by: Mary Skrenes & Steve Skeates

Plot: A small group of Transformers crash-land on a planet of barbaric super-humanoids whose psionic potential the Quintessons greatly fear.

Review: Good premise, weak execution. The already-muddled plot is not helped at all by clumsy storyboarding and mediocre animation.

EPISODE 3.28, "THE BURDEN HARDEST TO BEAR"

Written by: Michael Charles Hill

Plot: Frustrated to the breaking point with shouldering the responsibilites of leadership, Rodimus gets reckelss, and he's creamed by a couple of Stunticons who steal the Autobot Matrix and take it to Galvatron, who orders Scourge to destroy it. Instead, Scourge uses the Matrix on himself, becoming monstrously powerful and usurping the Decepticon leadership. Will Rodimus reclaim his burden -- and can he?

Review: This is a very good episode with a lot of things to like -- it's especially nice to have a guest appearance by Captain Faireborne in a good episode after the letdown of "Money Is Everything." And yet...and yet...I can't help but feel that, like "Fight or Flee," it would have been even better as a two-parter. I can't help but wonder if that's how it may have originally been planned, as it's more than obvious that it was originally meant as the season finale before the decision was made to bring back Optimus Prime in the two-parter that follows.

EPISODE 3.29, "THE RETURN OF OPTIMUS PRIME PART 1"

Written by: Marv Wolfman & Cherie Wilkerson

Plot: Two space explorers save Optimus Prime's body before his ship detonates (see "Dark Awakening", its place in continuity now retroactively moved.) Their ship carries with it spores which induce mindless hatred and violence in both organic creatures and robots (?????) A foolish vendetta against all Transformers results in the spores infecting almost all Transformers, and soon most humans as well. Before Rodimus is infected, he commands Sky Lynx to find a Quintesson, the only ones capable of resurrecting Optimus Prime. The operation is a success, but now Optimus has a great challenge ahead of him.

Review: This plotting of this installment just reeks of seat-of-the-pants desperation. I have nothing against bringing Optimus back, even if it does invalidate the magnificent "Dark Awakening," but it could have been done much better. At least there are some well-animated action sequences, especially the Technobots/Terrorcons battle.

EPISODE 3.30, "THE RETURN OF OPTIMUS PRIME PART 2"

Written by: Michael Charles Hill, from a story by Cherie Wilkerson & Marv Wolfman

Plot: In order to stop the plague, Optimus must first ally himself with Galvatron, then battle Rodimus for possession of the Autobot Matrix. Order is restored, and the Autobots and Decepticons temporarily cease hostilites.

Review: A big improvement on Part 1, and I'm guessing it's thanks to Michael Charles Hill re-writing of what must have been a mess of an original script. And there's some very good animation here as well, especially the attacks by the giant spider and the energy leeches. Still, I think one's reaction to this episode will depend on whether or not they object to the very concept of bringing Optimus back. I have to say that, ultimately, it works for me. At the end, when he says, "Transform and roll out," my heart skips a beat.

NEXT: The three-part series finale, "THE REBIRTH."

EPISODE 4.1, "THE REBIRTH PART 1"

Written by: David Wise

Plot: The Decepticon's steal the Autobots' key to the plasma energy chamber in Cybertron. The pursuit of the key leads Autobots and Decepticons alike to the planet Nebulos. The mechanical/organic synergy is the crucial element to the Autobots coming out ahead.

Review: Not a bad start, although it goes downhill steeply from here. Also, despite holding over a lot of Season 3 characters, there seems to be a concerted effort to make this series finale special lighter in tone than Season 3, right down to bringing back Season 2 mainstay David Wise to pen the script. Unfortunately, budget cuts forced Wise to compress his inital 5-part story into 3 parts, with disastrous results. Due to the same budget cuts, Akom animated the special. It's not their worst work, and there's even the occassional well-done action sequence or the odd splash of bright colors -- but it's still not Toei.

EPISODE 4.2, "THE REBIRTH PART 2"

Written by: David Wise

Plot: Good and evil Nebuloids interface with Autobots and Decepticons alike, creating Headmasters and Targetmasters.

Review: A real clunker, low on action and high on stilted introductions to characters that will ultimately go nowhere.

EPISODE 4.3, "THE REBIRTH PART 3"

Written by: David Wise

Plot: The final showdown on Cybertron ends with the Decepticons sent free-falling through space aboard their battleship and Cybertron having its energy resources restored. The new Golden Age of Cybertron has begun.

Review: Overall, "The Rebirth" just gets worse every time I watch it. Among many other sins, writer Wise forgets that Galvatron is crazy but NOT stupid (and, to add insult to injury, he has actually has another character call Galvatron an idiot.) But ultimately, I understand that Wise had the thankless task of introducing a whole year's worth of toys in only three episodes, ending the show not on a note of transcendent joy but with a crass whimper. Sad.

I hope this thread has inspired at least a few people to search YouTube or wherever for the best Season 3 episodes, like "Dark Awakening," "Dweller in the Depths," "Webworld," "Chaos," or "Ghost in the Machine," among others. From what I've read on the internet, Seasons 3 and 4 are not a part of the Transformers reruns in current rotation. That's truly a shame, as I feel that some of the finest Transformers episodes came out of Season 3, and I don't want to see them neglected to the point of entering oblivion. Transformers Season 3 dared to try something different, dared to expect that its audience was growing up along with the show. I know I felt that way at the time and I loved the results. Hopefully in a modern-day context of grown-up viewers no longer shocked by its radicalism, and of tween and teen viewers with minds opened by the advances in animation over the past 25 years, Season 3 will become better appreciated over the years to come.

Not sure what episodes he is watching (not paying that close attention) but Jon is loving the Generation 1 marathon on the HUB right now.

I'm glad Jon's enjoying it. Unfortunately, there are no Season 3 episodes in the current G1 rerun package.

On the other hand, I think Jon's way too young to watch Season 3 anyway. It might scare him.

Hannah, on the other hand, is about the perfect age for Season 3. Dev, how about if you let her look at this thread and, if she's interested, you could help her find Season 3 episodes on YouTube or wherever?

Oh, one other thing. If you're still thinking of buying one of the TF DVD sets when money permits, go for Season 2 Part 1. You get the best value for your money, as it has 28 episodes to Part 2's 21 episodes. Plus, most of the best Season 2 episodes are on Part 1 anyway.

I grew up with Paul Dini's works (along with way too much anime) so I would like to watch Episode 18. If I have a general knowledge of the Transformers will I understand what is going on, or should I watch the previous episode?

Yay Emily!

All of the single-part episodes stand on their own without the need to see earlier episodes. So you can jump right into Episode 18.

Happy viewing!

Transformers are on Netflix now!!! All 4 seasons, Jon (and I) are going to be busy.

G.I. Joe's first season is also there! w00t!

Awesome!!

Just some advice: be careful what you let Jon watch of Season 3. For example, if he really loves Optimus Prime as you say he does, then I think he'd probably be upset by "Dark Awakening" (great episode though it is.)

I'll watch that one first. He did okay with the newest show and Optimuses turn to the dark side for a few episodes. As well as the episodes with Bumblebee in trouble. Usually if I assure him everything will be alright, he;s good. But I will watch it first to be sure.

Just saw that they have Jem and the Holograms on here as well. I love Netflix.

Or, we may stop at season 2 until he's older.

we'll see.

It is my sad duty to announce that Ken Sansom, the voice actor who played Hound on the original Transformers cartoon, has passed away at the age of 85. Hound was my favorite of the first wave of Autobots, and Samson's gentle, good-natured voice acting was one of the main reasons.

Thanks for bringing joy to so many people. R.I.P.

Cell-Shaded G1 Transformers fighting game announced:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ09Vuj4cSo#t=27

Even though I'm not a gamer, I do appreciate you bumping this thread, Dave. Funnily enough, I was planning to add some reviews to its sister thread this week.

I was thinking earlier today about how most Season 3 haters complain about bad Akom animation. Well, I just went over the list of episodes in this thread, and IMHO the quality ratio of below-average animation to adequate-to-great animation is exactly 50-50. Just more proof that Season 3 gets a bad rap.

I really do hope this thread has led at least a few 40-and-over people to re-evaluate Season 3, and a few young people to watch Season 3 without preconceptions.

So...I recently made a Millennial co-worker a Transformers best-of list spanning all four seasons. And after I'd already given it to him, I looked over the rough draft, and discovered that I had overlooked "Webworld!" At first I was shocked and bewildered. Then I had to wonder if maybe, as I get older, the darkly funny nihilism of that episode is no longer to my taste. I still love Season Three overall, but not in quite the same way, I suppose.

RIP Danny Bulanadi, a storyboard artist during this season of Transformers. He also did a lot of comics art for Marvel, usually as an inker.