G1 season three thoughts

[Dominic]

A story being "about characters" does not make it good, especially when it is loaded with 80s cheese. Cheese of course being a polite euphemism for "shit".

[Gomess]

You're right, it sucks, what was I thinking.

[andersonh1]

You want to talk about a bad episode?

Carnage in C-Minor
This episode has one redeeming virtue, which is how much Soundwave enjoys the alien sound, and how for once he's integral to the plot. Otherwise, everything about this episode is bad. The animation is awful, the scale of the characters is frequently off, the models are bad, and the singing aliens are impossible to take seriously. Planet of the Opera People. Holy cow... how did this episode get made? It's terrible in just about every way.

[Gomess]

C-Minor is one of my most vivid childhood memories of S3, because it was on the same VHS as Fight or Flee- which I guess I loved- at my local rental place. C-Minor was one of my first experiences of "enjoying crap". It's just so funny, from the Micromaster Constructicons uniting to form a Magnus-sized Devastator, to "All-EG-ra! Where are you GO-ing?" And Evil Huffer!!

Basso Profondo indeed.

[138 Scourge]

Okay, I was inspired to watch this one from these posts, and I'm about five minutes in. All I can say so far is, say what you like about this episode, but Broadside taking out Devastator by turning into an aircraft carrier and landing on him is a pretty clever bit.

And I like the way the opera aliens sing. That's hilarious. "So much for the comet!!"

Holy crap, Perceptor's figured out a couple things since the movie. Devastator shows up again, and Perceptor blows his ass away in one shot? Man, I thought the science-sniper thing in IDW's comics was without precedent.

The opera people appear to be speaking in perfect English. So Blaster translating is cracking me up.

Yeah, this episode's crap, I can see that, but man, I'm with Gomess on this one. It is friggin' hilarious!

[andersonh1]

Yeah, this episode's crap, I can see that, but man, I'm with Gomess on this one. It is friggin' hilarious!

I'll grant you that. I was laughing out loud any number of times. Yeah, Broadside's entrance is pretty effective, isn't it?

[andersonh1]

Fight or Flee
This is another episode that seems like it's out of place, since this looks a lot like Sandstorm's origin story. And we have a group of pacifist Autobots who fled Cybertron during one of the wars, similar to the group that Drift came across in IDW's comics. They're so peaceful they won't fight, and let the Decepticons take over their planet. The Autobots go in to help, and end up destroying the planet, in a rather extreme solution to the problem. Galvatron shows a glimmer of intelligence as he determines that something is wrong, since Ultra Magnus is running like a coward even though he's not a coward. The animation is pretty good, which really contrasts with "Carnage in C-Minor". Man, this season goes from one extreme to another.

Funniest line of the episode. Ultra Magnus: "This is the most beautiful sight in the universe. Okay, give me the bomb."

Webworld
A word about the quality of the DVDs is appropriate here. Having seen this episode numerous times on Rhino's VHS release, it's immediately clear how much more color and contrast these DVDs have. The colors on this episode pop out, so much so that I noticed how different the color scheme is on the different Torkulon inhabitants, a detail I'd never really registered before. Great picture quality.

This is one of my favorite season three episodes. There are so many good things about it. The Decepticons get tired of Galvatron abusing them and are on the verge of revolt, which makes total sense. Galvatron's plasma damage is referenced, showing some continuity with FFOD. There's a good deal of humor mixed into the plot, as the Decepticons are put into situations we don't normally see, such as Cyclonus dealing with paperwork and legalese, and Galvatron being psychoanalyzed. My only real nitpick is that he's a good deal crazier than he's been in recent episodes, where he's generally sane, if quick-tempered. And it's odd that he seems to focus on Ultra Magnus more than Rodimus Prime in this episode, since Rodimus is his opposite number when it comes to the Autobots. And we actually see him begging, which is unusual.

This episode works on multiple levels, since kids are unlikely to get all the jokes about therapy and paperwork. More Transformers episodes should have been this entertaining. One of the best, in my view.

[Gomess]

it's odd that he seems to focus on Ultra Magnus more than Rodimus Prime in this episode, since Rodimus is his opposite number when it comes to the Autobots.

Presumably Diane Duane followed the toys here, since Galvatron and Ultra Magnus were marketed as opposing "city commanders" there. Rodimus was actually marketed as a sort of lone "Autobot saviour".

[andersonh1]

Ghost in the Machine
Starscream's another of my favorite G1 characters, so this follow-up to "Starscream's Ghost" was welcome, and better than the first story. It jumps right into the plot as Starscream plans to get his old body back and return to life. I guess if this had been written post-Beast Wars, we'd have seen his spark hovering around rather than his ghost, but I suspect the idea is about the same. Starscream, showing the penchant for meddling with things he ought to leave alone, just like his old boss Megatron used to, activates Unicron and demands a new body. Unicron wants something in return, and the episode follows Starscream and the manipulated Scourge's attempts to fulfill those requests.

It's nice to see some forgotten characters like Bumblebee and Warpath make an appearance.

Best exchange of the episode, between Starscream and Galvatron:
"Starscream! You are a dead mechanism!"
"Of course I'm dead, Galvatron! But not for much longer. And then are you going to be sorry!"
"I'm already sorry!"

And of course, Starscream betrays Unicron at the crucial moment. So did Galvatron hunt him down and kill him again, or did he survive to make another return (which never happened?). The episode doesn't say. I like to think he escaped, but we'll never know.

[Gomess]

Beast Wars

So did Galvatron hunt him down and kill him again, or did he survive to make another return (which never happened?). The episode doesn't say. I like to think he escaped, but we'll never know.

ERROR