That, combined with the vast number of characters and the difficulties involved with the overseas animation process, resulted in a cartoon that is notoriously riddled with animation errors and other mistakes.
The series was animated on an enormously rushed schedule, with many episodes going from script to screen in as little as four months, due to the need to get episodes on the air in sync with the toys appearing on shelves. Writers notable for writing numerous episodes include Donald F. Episode scripts were written by a large array of freelance writers. Story editors for the series included Dick Robbins, Bryce Malek, Flint Dille, Marv Wolfman, and Steve Gerber. Other known production artists include Dell Barras, who worked on second season backgrounds. Among the artists involved in the original designs are Shōhei Kohara and Floro Dery. The original 30 or so characters were heavily modified from their toy designs for aesthetics and ease of animation. Nobody on Earth noticed this for millions of years. The show also featured an enormous cast of characters in comparison to the more limited cast of future shows, likely due to the cost of developing CGI models as opposed to hand-drawn animation. It is not the best animated series ever to air, but it stimulated viewers with its concept at the time, and continued to do so in the years to come.īeing the first series of Transformers ever, some episodes tended to be very, very, weird and 80sish compared with later shows. Through its 98-episode run, this series took viewers around the globe and to many strange places and times: across the alien Cybertron, the Earth's prehistoric past, the Earth's then-future of 2005, the Metropolis-like society of Nebulos, and more. Plots became a bit less formulaic during Season 3, though character death and true plot upheaval remained a rarity. At most, a new character or team was added to one side or the other. Most of the time the Decepticons were forced into retreat, and the Autobots drove off victorious.
Plots generally centered on a Decepticon plot or invention of the week, which would be used to gather energy or Defeat The Autobots FOREVER!!, and the Autobots' efforts to stop the plan. Once established, the cartoon rarely took any steps to upset its status quo. The factions crash-land on Earth and, millions of years later, begin their battle anew in Reagan-era America and across the globe. The cartoon (along with the Marvel comics) set up the basic story of Transformers that most other incarnations were to follow: two warring factions of robots on the planet Cybertron leave in search of resources. aside from the power source that lights up the entire core of the planet. Season four was replaced in Japan with several extra original series.Depleted of energy. Season Four, 3 episodes ► The Rebirth, Part 1Ī fifth season was broadcast, but consisted of existing episodes introduced by a stop-animation Powermaster Optimus Prime and a kid referred to as Tommy Kennedy. Season Three, 30 episodes ► Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1
In Japan an original animation titled Scramble City was initally released in place of the movie, the movie itself being delayed until 1989. ► Movie Review and Commentary by Blackjack ► Movie Review and Commentary by DrSpengler Watching the movie before them is strongly recommended, as there are many cast changes. Unlike many other series, for which an animated movie was the end, Transformers soldiered on in the US for a further two seasons. Often split into three episodes when broadcast on TV. *These two episodes are on the part two set from Rhino, but fit earlier in story chronology.
► A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur’s Court For a list ordered by broadcast dates, click here. Season three and four episodes after Five Faces of Darkness are reviewed by Blackjack.Īs per the popular Prime Targets guide.
A guide to the original 'G1' Transformers series by DrSpengler, including synopses, short reviews, character appearances, production errors and notes where versions collected on DVD in recent years differ from those broadcast.