general media Thoughts On The Transformers IP?

[KatonRyu 1,026]

I used to like Transformers, both the old cartoon and Beast Wars, and parts of the newer cartoons. The movies, I feel, focus far too much on the humans and I never liked the designs for the Transformers themselves in them either. Coupled with the exceptionally stupid jokes in some of the movies ("I'm directly beneath the enemy scrotum", anyone?) I think the Transformers IP needs a reboot.

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

To promote the season three toy line that was being produced, they decided to kill off characters from the first two season toy lines who had been there since the start. Some were killed in such stupid ways, they border on the line of sheer absurdity. Other characters were killed by being blasted in places where in the show, they got hit in the same places and survived. A few were killed off-screen without any explanation. Optimus' death was the worst case in that fans/parents sent Hasbro tons of letters--some addressed to Optimus directly--complaining that he was killed.

Wow, talk about a case of fictional death drama. And here I was thinking Hasbro were too kid friendly and stuff to even consider killing off characters in their shows.

I used to like Transformers, both the old cartoon and Beast Wars, and parts of the newer cartoons. The movies, I feel, focus far too much on the humans and I never liked the designs for the Transformers themselves in them either. Coupled with the exceptionally stupid jokes in some of the movies ("I'm directly beneath the enemy scrotum", anyone?) I think the Transformers IP needs a reboot.

You talked mainly about the movies is where you seemed to have your problems, so maybe It's just the movies that need a reboot, but I don't feel like that would really do much. I don't think rebooting the IP would sort any problems you have either, in fact it has been. Multiple times. Counting every cartoon I've heard about in this thread plus the other ones I remember, possibly more too, we have Beast Wars, Animated, 2 different shows subtitled Robots In Disguise, Prime, the Unicron trilogy etc. That's 8 different reboots! I don't count the movies as a reboot because if I recall, different TF shows came and went during 2007-present's ongoing sequels, I like to consider them a sub entity separate from the cartoons.

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

Wow, talk about a case of fictional death drama. And here I was thinking Hasbro were too kid friendly and stuff to even consider killing off characters in their shows.

 

They couldn't do it in the actual show itself due to having to follow American broadcasting standards regarding animation, yet such standards don't apply to movies. As such, they got away with killing a lot of Autobots and Decepticons, some died in rather gruesome manners. There was also the swearing incident that came from Spike, the human friend of the Autobots.

[Megas 27,064]

They couldn't do it in the actual show itself due to having to follow American broadcasting standards regarding animation, yet such standards don't apply to movies. As such, they got away with killing a lot of Autobots and Decepticons, some died in rather gruesome manners. There was also the swearing incident that came from Spike, the human friend of the Autobots.

"Oh shit what are we gonna do now?"

 

Even as a 23 year old this still makes me laugh

Edited February 11, 2017 by Whompy Whomperson

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

"Oh shit what are we gonna do now?"

 

Even as a 23 year old this still makes me laugh

 

I knew you of all people would remember that line. I'm 34 and still get a chuckle whenever Spike says it.

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

They couldn't do it in the actual show itself due to having to follow American broadcasting standards regarding animation, yet such standards don't apply to movies. As such, they got away with killing a lot of Autobots and Decepticons, some died in rather gruesome manners. There was also the swearing incident that came from Spike, the human friend of the Autobots.

 

"Oh shit what are we gonna do now?"

 

Even as a 23 year old this still makes me laugh

 

I knew you of all people would remember that line. I'm 34 and still get a chuckle whenever Spike says it.

Unwarranted stupid character deaths? Check...

Unexpected cursing occasion? Check...

The Touch? Check... (No-one mentioned that, but I have a real fondness for the song, had no idea it was from a TF movie til recently)

I need to see this movie!

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

Unwarranted stupid character deaths? Check...

Unexpected cursing occasion? Check...

The Touch? Check... (No-one mentioned that, but I have a real fondness for the song, had no idea it was from a TF movie til recently)

I need to see this movie!

 

The characters were killed off to promote new toys though Hasbro would pay the price because season three wasn't nearly as successful as the first two were. It also didn't help that changing the show's dynamic in favour of a more futuristic/science fiction theme by casting aside the modern day Earth setting--modern for 1984/1985.

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

The characters were killed off to promote new toys though Hasbro would pay the price because season three wasn't nearly as successful as the first two were. It also didn't help that changing the show's dynamic in favour of a more futuristic/science fiction theme by casting aside the modern day Earth setting--modern for 1984/1985.

I always thought it would make more sense to have Transformers in a futuristic settings, the giant transforming cars with laser weapons SEEM to fit in better in that kind of place that on modern Earth in all fairness. If Transformers gets rebooted again (and it probably WILL be) I have much more interest in Cybertron than Earth, so It'll never happen probably but I wanna see more of Cybertron or some kind of origin type series set entirely on there before it was destroyed.

Edited February 12, 2017 by OmegaBeamOfficial

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

I always thought it would make more sense to have Transformers in a futuristic settings, the giant transforming cars with laser weapons SEEM to fit in better in that kind of place that on modern Earth in all fairness. If Transformers gets rebooted again (and it probably WILL be) I have much more interest in Cybertron than Earth, so It'll never happen probably but I wanna see more of Cybertron or some kind of origin type series set entirely on there before it was destroyed.

 

Unfortunately, the fans at the time didn't feel the same way. Ratings dropped and Hasbro were desperate to bring it back up to a reasonable level, and they were still getting complaints about Optimus' death. In the end, they decided to bring him back to life although you could tell that it was a rushed effort since they had to ret-con a previous episode's event as well as having numerous animation errors. Transformers will be rebooted again but the question isn't a matter of if but when.

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

Unfortunately, the fans at the time didn't feel the same way. Ratings dropped and Hasbro were desperate to bring it back up to a reasonable level, and they were still getting complaints about Optimus' death. In the end, they decided to bring him back to life although you could tell that it was a rushed effort since they had to ret-con a previous episode's event as well as having numerous animation errors. Transformers will be rebooted again but the question isn't a matter of if but when.

Wow, for once I actually feel bad for Hasbro. I totally get the rage though, don't get me wrong. I remember situations where they killed off main characters in some of my favourite shows, and that royally pissed me off. And on the reboot situation, this still continues to make me wonder why most cartoons can't just stick to one iteration before scrapping it all away for another show, It's irritating, and I find It's ALWAYS the kids cartoons. Family Guy is still going and people still love it, South Park is still going and people still love it, why the hell do kids cartoon creators, especially Hasbro feel the need to reboot their franchises every few years (though MLP seems to be an exception since FIM's been going since 2010, probably because they know that they'll never end up with a version better than this one.). And It's not like "in order to make new toys to sell" is an excuse, just introduce new characters in the later seasons. Oh, but don't kill them off, that was a terrible mistake... Phew, sorry. I got a little raged there, It's just stuff like this that really cheeses me off...

Edited February 13, 2017 by OmegaBeamOfficial

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

Wow, for once I actually feel bad for Hasbro. I totally get the rage though, don't get me wrong. I remember situations where they killed off main characters in some of my favourite shows, and that royally pissed me off. And on the reboot situation, this still continues to make me wonder why most cartoons can't just stick to one iteration before scrapping it all away for another show, It's irritating, and I find It's ALWAYS the kids cartoons. Family Guy is still going and people still love it, South Park is still going and people still love it, why the hell do kids cartoon creators, especially Hasbro feel the need to reboot their franchises every few years (though MLP seems to be an exception since FIM's been going since 2010, probably because they know that they'll never end up with a version better than this one.). And It's not like "in order to make new toys to sell" is an excuse, just introduce new characters in the later seasons. Oh, but don't kill them off, that was a terrible mistake... Phew, sorry. I got a little raged there, It's just stuff like this that really cheeses me off...

 

They have to reboot their franchises in order to attract a new, young audience and get them to buy their toys--or have the audience's parents do that for them--otherwise they don't earn any money. MLP will eventually have a fifth generation sometime in the future--it's an inevitability--but for now Hasbro is keen on letting it continue for as long as possible. No matter what the fandom thinks, Hasbro can and will reboot MLP to appeal to the next generation of children resulting in the toy sales continuing.

 

With Optimus Prime, the catch with him now is that if he dies in a Transformers iteration, he has to come back to life later on and in a more powerful form or just be stronger than he was before.

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

They have to reboot their franchises in order to attract a new, young audience and get them to buy their toys--or have the audience's parents do that for them--otherwise they don't earn any money. MLP will eventually have a fifth generation sometime in the future--it's an inevitability--but for now Hasbro is keen on letting it continue for as long as possible. No matter what the fandom thinks, Hasbro can and will reboot MLP to appeal to the next generation of children resulting in the toy sales continuing.

 

With Optimus Prime, the catch with him now is that if he dies in a Transformers iteration, he has to come back to life later on and in a more powerful form or just be stronger than he was before.

Again, I simply don't agree with them doing that considering they can just create new characters and buildings and such, put them in the show, sell their toys and that's it. But companies are companies and companies will never change as much as some would like. I always thought Transformers was aimed at a young audience anyway. It's like if someone gave their kid a brown teddy bear, then a few decades later they had another kid and bought them a teddy bear except now It's blue or something. They like the blue bear but that doesn't mean they wouldn't like the brown bear. People seem to have this odd confused way of thinking that kids today don't like the same thing as kids years ago did, and there's no proof that's actually true because no-one's ever tried to keep a series running for longer than a few years to test it. And now I'm just even more nervous about when G5 inevitably rolls into town because if I know Hasbro well enough, their next iteration will be nothing like the last one, and without Lauren Faust there since she doesn't work on the shows anymore, they'll fall into the same mediocre stereotypical shovelware TV that they did for three generations.

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

Again, I simply don't agree with them doing that considering they can just create new characters and buildings and such, put them in the show, sell their toys and that's it. But companies are companies and companies will never change as much as some would like. I always thought Transformers was aimed at a young audience anyway. It's like if someone gave their kid a brown teddy bear, then a few decades later they had another kid and bought them a teddy bear except now It's blue or something. They like the blue bear but that doesn't mean they wouldn't like the brown bear. People seem to have this odd confused way of thinking that kids today don't like the same thing as kids years ago did, and there's no proof that's actually true because no-one's ever tried to keep a series running for longer than a few years to test it. And now I'm just even more nervous about when G5 inevitably rolls into town because if I know Hasbro well enough, their next iteration will be nothing like the last one, and without Lauren Faust there since she doesn't work on the shows anymore, they'll fall into the same mediocre stereotypical shovelware TV that they did for three generations.

 

It's what Hasbro did back in the 1980s and the Transformers fandom made them pay for it. The show had to refrain from being too violent because of U.S. guidelines though the movie was able to break those shackles and go absolutely crazy by killing off so many characters within the first ten minutes due to said guidelines not being applicable. I suggest you watch the movie for yourself to see what they ended up doing. I'd say about a dozen characters were killed off who fans recognize and countless extras who were there just to be used as fodder.

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

It's what Hasbro did back in the 1980s and the Transformers fandom made them pay for it. The show had to refrain from being too violent because of U.S. guidelines though the movie was able to break those shackles and go absolutely crazy by killing off so many characters within the first ten minutes due to said guidelines not being applicable. I suggest you watch the movie for yourself to see what they ended up doing. I'd say about a dozen characters were killed off who fans recognize and countless extras who were there just to be used as fodder.

Did... Did I READ that correctly? A DOZEN characters? TEN MINUTES in? And considering these special guidelines with TV shows I have to wonder how Hasbro gets around those now, as I hear Transformers Prime featured a surprising amount of onscreen death. And you know what, I can live with them killing off a few characters for dramatic effect, yeah it sucks, but sometimes killing off a character is a good way to show the impact of the situation, but that only really has that effect when characters people actually like are killed. I can't believe I'm actually saying this but maybe if they toned down the death dial just slightly it wouldn't be a problem. Have those new characters there if you want to, but there's no reason there Isn't room for both the old and new toys.

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

Did... Did I READ that correctly? A DOZEN characters? TEN MINUTES in? And considering these special guidelines with TV shows I have to wonder how Hasbro gets around those now, as I hear Transformers Prime featured a surprising amount of onscreen death. And you know what, I can live with them killing off a few characters for dramatic effect, yeah it sucks, but sometimes killing off a character is a good way to show the impact of the situation, but that only really has that effect when characters people actually like are killed. I can't believe I'm actually saying this but maybe if they toned down the death dial just slightly it wouldn't be a problem. Have those new characters there if you want to, but there's no reason there Isn't room for both the old and new toys.

 

You heard me correctly. I'd go into further details but you should watch the movie for yourself. I know that it's been available now for just over thirty years now but I don't want to spoil too much. The guidelines have changed in recent years though Transformers Prime was also intended for an older audience so the rating was increased to around Y7 or PG--I'm not sure which one it is.

 

​The characters killed in the movie were among the most popular in the series.

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

You heard me correctly. I'd go into further details but you should watch the movie for yourself. I know that it's been available now for just over thirty years now but I don't want to spoil too much. The guidelines have changed in recent years though Transformers Prime was also intended for an older audience so the rating was increased to around Y7 or PG--I'm not sure which one it is.

 

​The characters killed in the movie were among the most popular in the series.

Thanks for the consideration, much appreciated. On the subject of ratings though, I wouldn't really know how old those would suggest, or what they'd convert to considering my country doesn't have ratings for cartoons at all, as a result of that shows are constantly censored here in a desperate bid to keep all cartoons appealing to kids of all ages, It's kind of sad. Oh, sorry, I got off topic again.

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

Thanks for the consideration, much appreciated. On the subject of ratings though, I wouldn't really know how old those would suggest, or what they'd convert to considering my country doesn't have ratings for cartoons at all, as a result of that shows are constantly censored here in a desperate bid to keep all cartoons appealing to kids of all ages, It's kind of sad. Oh, sorry, I got off topic again.

 

They should still have the 30th anniversary edition of Transformers: The Movie if you know where to look. The animation will surprise you since it is over thirty years old but the action is still pretty good. They even had celebrities--at the time--voice many of the new characters just to make it extra special.

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

They should still have the 30th anniversary edition of Transformers: The Movie if you know where to look. The animation will surprise you since it is over thirty years old but the action is still pretty good. They even had celebrities--at the time--voice many of the new characters just to make it extra special.

Yeah, I've seen it around, It's pretty easy to find, I just gotta scrape together the money for it is all. I personally think even the original show's animation is still just as great as it was back then but that's just a matter of opinion.

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

Yeah, I've seen it around, It's pretty easy to find, I just gotta scrape together the money for it is all. I personally think even the original show's animation is still just as great as it was back then but that's just a matter of opinion.

 

Since generation one was what started the brand, I also suggest watching the show as well. You don't have to watch every single episode--some are best to avoid--but watch enough so that you can get an idea as to how the other iterations came into being by basing themselves off of the original. I'd watch episodes from season two more than anything.

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

Since generation one was what started the brand, I also suggest watching the show as well. You don't have to watch every single episode--some are best to avoid--but watch enough so that you can get an idea as to how the other iterations came into being by basing themselves off of the original. I'd watch episodes from season two more than anything.

Oh, trust me I've seen plenty of Generation One, I actually have a DVD with a bunch of episodes on there which I've owned for quite a few years now, It's easily my favourite iteration of the bunch although it has It's flaws. Plus, as crappy of some of those movie licensed games that my friend owned were, they did at least have some unlockable G1 episodes which were a really good time.

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

Oh, trust me I've seen plenty of Generation One, I actually have a DVD with a bunch of episodes on there which I've owned for quite a few years now, It's easily my favourite iteration of the bunch although it has It's flaws. Plus, as crappy of some of those movie licensed games that my friend owned were, they did at least have some unlockable G1 episodes which were a really good time.

 

In that case, you just need to watch the movie to see what happens for yourself. Generation one does have flaws given that the animation quality varies from episode to episode, some voices sound different, continuity isn't its strongest suit, and some episodes are just plain awful, yet it retains that nostalgia factor.

[OmegaBeamOfficial 622]

In that case, you just need to watch the movie to see what happens for yourself. Generation one does have flaws given that the animation quality varies from episode to episode, some voices sound different, continuity isn't its strongest suit, and some episodes are just plain awful, yet it retains that nostalgia factor.

Well, in all honesty I should probably watch anything I haven't seen of the show yet, considering what I did watch was rather confusing at times due to the fact I barely know any of the lore behind the series besides the basic concept. The DVD I had was Season 2 Volume 4 which was rather late into the series. I doubt the movie will make much sense without knowing all that stuff, when exactly is it in the timeline?

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

Well, in all honesty I should probably watch anything I haven't seen of the show yet, considering what I did watch was rather confusing at times due to the fact I barely know any of the lore behind the series besides the basic concept. The DVD I had was Season 2 Volume 4 which was rather late into the series. I doubt the movie will make much sense without knowing all that stuff, when exactly is it in the timeline?

 

The movie takes place twenty years after season two in the year 2005.

[PumpkinCharm 65]

On 2/7/2017 at 0:45 PM, Apollo Justice said:

I still have yet to see it myself, but virtually every Transformers fan and their mothers will say Beast Wars. the 1984 cartoon is pretty fun too

It may be hard for someone who started from the edginess of Prime to go back to G1 for a bit, but I promise you won't regret it. I haven't read the IDW comics, but I hear they're astounding, like even people who know nothing about the franchise hold high praise for More Than Meets The Eye and sister comic Robots In Disguise.

[Denim&Venöm 16,508]

Well it all started for me with Beast Wars. One of the earliest shows I even remember. I was so obsessed as a kid. One of these days I should go back for a rewatch. Got as many of the toys as I could. Played the video games, both the sketchy PC shooter and the fighting game. 

 It was after that I saw the first movie. I saw Robots in disguise back when Fox kids was still a thing. I saw the unicron trilogy. I don't see what peoples issues with it are. Saw the first two movies. The first was okay and I enjoyed the callbacks. Did not like the second movie and haven't bothered to watch the rest. Pretty much stayed out of things until I caught Transformers Prime. And I've herd good things about animated to my surprise. Maybe I'll catch that too. 

P.S. People may have endeared themselves to Frank Welker, but David Kaye for my money is best Megatron.