Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine Celebrating the pre-movie episodes of Transformers (and the Gobots, too), now with ongoing TF profiles

A companion thread to this one.

TRANSFORMERS 3-PART PILOT EPISODE - Written by George Arthur Bloom
CHALLENGE OF THE GOBOTS 5-PART PILOT EPISODE - Written by Tom Ruegger

In 1984, two TV cartoons about robots who could turn into vehicles (among other things) premiered in syndication, each with its own pilot mini-series, and pop culture has never been the same.

Transformers and Challenge of the GoBots are, in my opinion, the 1980s TV cartoons which hold up the best by far. With their huge casts, space-opera overtones, and universe-building scope, they were twin bolts of lightning in a bottle.

Far more than the glorified toy commercials their detractors have accused them of being, these shows have delighted kids and adults across generations. I hope to get down to the precise reasons for that as I look back at the first 65 episodes of Transformers, and all 65 episodes of GoBots. I also hope to resolve once and for all which of the two shows I like better, and why.

Unfortunately, only the first 35 episodes of GoBots are available at the moment, so this thread will remain incomplete until the final 30 are finally released (and hopefully the won't be a 3-year gap like there was between the DVD releases of the miniseries and the first volume of the regular series.)

I'll start, of course, with the pilots. And here, I have to say, the GoBots win by a nose. In addition to the extra breathing room provided by having 2 more installments than the Transformers pilot, the story is also better structured and less juvenile. Where the Transformers pilot gets off to a glorious start only to start meandering once the robots reach the planet Earth, the GoBots pilot is reasonably well thought-out, with stronger story beats. And it almost goes without saying that both pilots suffer from the plot holes and bad science typical of 80s TV adventure cartoons.

The GoBots also has a more clear-cut conflict between the heroic Guardians and the villainous Renegades, with the Guardians protecting the plaent Gobotron's ruling council and the Renegades wanting all the power for themselves, in order to rule like tyrants. Compare this to the set-up in Transformers, where it's never quite clear who exactly is in charge of the planet Cybertron, the heroic Autobots or the villainous Decepticons (although it's vaguely hinted that the Decepticons are, as we see Decepticon leader Megatron leaving Shockwave to take care of the planet, whereas we don't see the Autobots leave anyone behind.)

Having said all that, Transformers does come out better in several ways: the characters are more engaging, the voice acting much stronger, the animation fuller and less cartoonish, and the production design more imaginative.

To elaborate on some of the above points, compare the heroic robots' respective leaders: the Transformers' Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen, who has said he based Prime on his older brother, Larry, a fire chief) has far more gravitas and grit than the GoBots' bland and unimaginatively named Leader-1 (voiced by Lou Richards). There's also the matter of the other heroes -- the only other Guardians who get much screen time in either the mini-series or the ongoing series are the rugged lieutenant Turbo (voiced by Arthur Burghardt) and the surrogate kid brother figure Scooter (voiced by Frank Welker in that child-like voice that he has used elsewhere, and which some people find grating; I myself don't.) Compare these two to their Autobot counterparts, Ironhide (also voiced by Peter Cullen) and Bumblebee (voiced by Dan Gilvezan) -- Turbo, like Leader-1, comes off hopelessly bland, while Scooter comes off as a whining coward where Bumblebee can pretty much take care of himself, even if he does end up being saved by his elders a lot.

There's also the human element. In Transformers, humans are represented by the salt-of-the-earth oil rig worker Sparkplug (voiced by Chris Latta) and his plucky teenage son Spike (voiced by Corey Burton). Both are likeable and endearing. In GoBots, we have astronaut, wannabe action hero and Tom Selleck look-alike Matt Hunter (voiced by Morgan Paull), and his teenage proteges, Nick (a white boy voiced by Sparky Marcus in the pilot and Ike Eisenmann in the series) and A.J. (a black girl voiced by Leslie Speights). They are uninteresting and best, irritating at worst.

And finally, of course, the villains -- here it's a close call, but the Transformers come out ahead. Megatron (voiced by Frank Welker in his best raspy growl, with an unbeatable maniacal laugh), and his lieutnants, the creepily steadfast Soundwave (also voiced by Welker, aided by really cool vocal processing effects) and the conniving, traitorous Starscream (voiced by Chris Latta to the same wonderfully shrill effect as G.I. Joe arch-villain Cobra Commander, whose TV cartoon debuted one year earlier) are all gloriously over-the-top yet still utterly menacing. By comparison, the GoBots' Cy-Kill (voiced by Bernard Erhard) is merely an adequate arch-villain, and his dull-witted muscle Cop-Tur (voiced by Bob Holt, pretty much re-hashing his Grape Ape voice) is an utter buffoon. Oh, but then there's Cy-Kill's female first lieutenant, Crasher (spectacularly voiced by Marilyn Lightstone), a deliciously sadistic ball of wickedness. For a cartoon principally aimed at boys in the unenlightened 80s (though both shows always had lots of girl fans), the presence of both genders among Guardians and Renegades alike was refreshing and quite ahead of its time (though Transformers would eventually introduce female Autobots).

So there you have it. Both shows off to flawed but promising starts. Transformers would show 13 more episodes during the 1984 season, while the GoBots ongoing series wouldn't start until 1985. To make things easier to follow, I'm going to review the next two Transformers episodes as stand-alone reviews, and then go back to reviewing Transformers and GoBots alongside each other, one episode at a time.

Fasten your seat belts and ROLL OUT!

TRANSFORMERS: TRANSPORT TO OBLIVION - Written by Dick Robbins & Bryce Malek

In my opinion, the show was still finding its footing during its short first season. There seems to have been an effort to structure the season like an old-time black-and-white movie serial in 13 installments, but this has the unintended effect of making the individual episodes hard to distinguish from each other.

Compounding the disappointment in this, the first episode, is the lack of continuity from the end of the pilot, where the Autobots were about to return to Cybertron. Instead, they're still on Earth with no explanation. The lack of enough screentime for Cybertron would be a recurring problem during almost the entire first and second seasons of Transformers.

What this episode does do is introduce the very cool concept of the "Space Bridge", built on Earth by the Decepticons to transport matter to and from Cybertron.

TRANSFORMERS: ROLL FOR IT - Written by Douglas Booth

Despite some very inconsistent animation, this is a good episode showcasing another human supporting character, Chip Chase (voiced by Michael Horton), a boy genius in a wheelchair. The potential for audience manipulation based on Chip's condition is dangerously high, but the script wisely sidesteps that temptation.

Douglas Booth would write several episodes of both the first and second seasons of Transformers. In my opinion, Booth was hit-and-miss, but when he was good he was very good.

TRANSFORMERS: DIVIDE AND CONQUER - Written by Donald F. Glut

Despite a whopper of a plot hole where the Autobots are affected by acid rain but Chip is unharmed, this is in my opinion one of the strongest first season episodes. With Optimus Prime's life hanging in the balance after he's critically wounded in battle, it effectively taps into the primal (no pun intended) fear of losing a parental figure. Donald F. Glut, a prolific 80s and early 90s scripter who I think gets a bad rap, also does a good, refreshingly understated job with the Megatron/Starscream conflict, and the animation is mostly above average.

GOBOTS: TIME WARS - Written by Douglas Booth, from a story by Jeff Segal & Kelly Ward

With generally inferior characters and inferior animation to Transformers, GoBots episodes tend to live or die by the strength and scope of their plots. This one, a fairly cliched ride through the old villains-go-back-in-time-to-change-history-to-their-advantage trope, is not terrible, but it's not terribly good, either. It also sets a pattern of the episodes focusing on a trio each of Guardians (Leader-1, Turbo, and Scooter) and Renegades (Cy-Kill, Crasher, and Cop-Tur) while one cipher Guardian (in this case, Pathfinder) and one cipher Renegade (in this case, Buggyman) appear in supporting roles of little or no substance.

TRANSFORMERS: FIRE IN THE SKY - Written by Alfred A. Pegal

For me, this is the best episode of the first season. It has shades of gray in the moral conflict faced by Skyfire (voiced by Gregg Berger), an ancient Transformer super-warrior from a time before the Autobots and Decepticons chose factions. Adding to the pleasures, we find out that Starscream wasn't always a villain, and that he and Skyfire were once fellow scientists and friends back on Cybertron -- the first hint of the Transformers' rich backstory which will be further explored in future episodes. The animation is pristine and mostly error-free, although the climax and ending seem a bit rushed.

GOBOTS: IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS - Written by Mark Zaslove

There are some strong points to this episode -- it's the first one to feature several characters from both sides of the conflict, and the plot, while familiar, is strong enough: one Guardian is brainwashed by the Renegades into becoming a saboteur. Unfortunately, there's two big problems: firstly, the Guardian turncoat is Scooter, who is so unlikable we don't really care what happens to him; secondly, there is a new and very unappealing human character introduced, purely as a plot device: his name is Clyde, and he's animated to look about 50 years old, which makes his brief flirting with A.J. disgustingly creepy. A decent action sequence at the climax, and the pleasure of hearing Welker, in the role of Guardian medic Rest-Q, use his Fred-from-Scooby-Doo voice, are not enough to fully redeem this one.

TRANSFORMERS: S.O.S. DINOBOTS - Written by Donald F. Glut

Introducing the first three of the titular Dinobots -- Grimlock the Tyrannosaur (voiced by Gregg Berger), Slag the Triceratops (voiced by Neil Ross), and Sludge the Brontosaur (voiced by Frank Welker) -- this is a fairly by-the-numbers episode kept afloat by generally good animation. It's easy to predict that the unstable, violent Dinobots will end up saving the other Autobots and redeem themselves, but it's fun enough viewing.

GOBOTS: TRIDENT'S TRIPLE THREAT - Written by David Schwartz, based on a story by Jeff Segal & Kelly Ward.

Decent animation (by Hanna-Barbera standards, anyway) and a decent premise (Trident is the Renegades' cyborg ally, an embittered scientist from a foreign power who helped design the high-tech device which the Renegades steal) combined with the debut of my favorite Guardian, the tough and spunky female Small Foot (voiced by B.J. Ward), make this the first satisfying done-in-one episode of the GoBots. It's worth noting that this is one of a handful of GoBots episodes released on VHS.

TRANSFORMERS: FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN - Written by Douglas Booth

Presumed dead only two episodes ago, Skyfire comes back just in time to help stop the Decepticons' usual antics, this time in South America. By far the best-looking episode of the first season -- for the first time, the action sequence pack a real punch -- but the excellent animation is at the service of a silly story with unfortunate Latin stereotypes. Adding insult to injury, this is the first, though sadly not the last, episode to focus on the Autobots Brawn (who I've always considered an unappealing little thug) and Windcharger (who I've always considered a hopeless nonentity). I do give the episode some credit for giving some much-needed face time to one of my favorite Decepticons, Thundercracker (voiced by John Stephenson).

GOBOTS: RENEGADE ALLIANCE - Written by Don Goodman, based on a story by Jeff Segal & Kelly Ward

A promising premise goes to ruin in this badly animated and slow-paced episode. The Renegades manipulate an alien warlord with an armada of drone ships into attacking Gobotron. Unfortunately for the viewers, the plot requires the warlord to be stupid, his drones look like something you'd find in a cereal box, and the expected big battle gets called off at the last second.

TRANSFORMERS: WAR OF THE DINOBOTS - Written by Donald F. Glut

A fairly routine episode enlivened considerably by some nice shades-of-grey characterization of the Dinobots. Megatron manipulates the first three Dinobots -- taking advantage of Grimlock's arrogance, Slag's hostility, and Sludge's stupidity -- into attacking Optimus Prime. And, of course, it just so happens that the next two Dinobots, the Stegosaur Snarl (voiced by Hal Rayle) and the Pteranadon Swoop (voiced by Michael Bell) are waiting in the wings to help save the day. Naturally, this being an 80s TV cartoon, the status quo is reset by the end, but the temporary ambivalence of the Dinobots is refreshing.

GOBOTS: CY-KILL'S CATACLYSMIC TRAP - Written by Peter Anderegg, based on a story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and Peter Anderegg.

This action-packed, lightning-paced, surprisingly well-animated cracker of an episode finds B.J. Ward doing double duty as both Small Foot and the Guardians' latest recruit, the arrogant and vain Snoop, who leads the Guardians into the titular trap on a distant planet where the Renegades have established a new base. In a way, Snoop is the best and worst thing about this episode -- on one hand, it's cool that she turns out to be a Renegade spy, and a villainess of the same caliber as Crasher; on the other hand, it's a bit disappointing that she turns out to be a Renegade spy, because in a series where most of the heroes tend to be insipid and boring, she might have livened things up had she stayed a Guardian. Still one of my favorite episodes of the whole GoBots series.

TRANSFORMERS: THE ULTIMATE DOOM (PART 1 OF 3) - Written by Larry Strauss, from a story by Douglas Booth

Unlike the pilot 3-parter, The Ultimate Doom has an ambitious, near-apocalyptic scope as the Decepticons conspire with their new human ally, Dr. Arkevill (voiced by Casey Kasem) to mentally enslave humanity (shades of the GoBots pilot) and to use a massive space bridge to bring Cybertron into Earth's orbit, creating natural disasters from which energy will be harvested. Although it's a mess in execution (having each installment scripted by a different writer doesn't help), it could have been a real guilty pleasure if the animation hadn't been done by Toei Studio's weakest unit. One of the Decepticons' mind-slaves is Sparkplug, and it's genuinely disturbing to see him actually hit and throttle Spike as he struggles to regain his free will. As with Divide and Conquer, The Ultimate Doom taps into some very human fears.

GOBOTS: SPEED IS OF THE ESSENCE - Written by Jina Bacaar, from a story by Jeff Segal & Kelly Ward

A rule of thumb with GoBots is: the bigger the cast, the more likely the episode is good. This one, in which an unconscious Turbo is rescued by two young men who use him to enter a car race, has an embarrassment of riches in the cast: plenty of both Small Foot and Crasher, a cameo by Snoop, the debut of my favorite male Guardian, Van Guard*, and so much more. Speed is of the Essence is not a perfect episode -- there's a few leaps of logic which stretch credibility too far, even by 80s TV robot adventure cartoon standards -- but it's a darn good one.



*I'm not sure why Van Guard is my favorite male Guardian, because he's just as lacking in personality as the others. I guess I just like his voice (by Ken Campbell) and his design.

TRANSFORMERS: THE ULTIMATE DOOM (PART 2 OF 3) - Written by Earl Kress, from a story by Douglas Booth

A rather pokey and meandering middle installment, serving mostly as set up for the big finale in the next episode. A lot of time is devoted to showing the destruction of both the Autobot and Decepticon bases, even though both will be quickly repaired after The Ultimate Doom ends.

GOBOTS: GENIUS AND SON - Written by John Loy and Eric Lewald

As if Nick and A.J. weren't annoying enough, now we get a grade-school-age brat to test our gag reflex. Said brat's father is a scientist at a space station blackmailed by the Renegades into giving them the weapon he invented. GoBots-by-numbers when the kid's offscreen, putrid when he is onscreen. It's worth noting, though, that after this episode, the two writers (working separately) would go on to script some of the best episodes of the series. We've all gotta start somewhere.

TRANSFORMERS: THE ULTIMATE DOOM (PART 3 OF 3) - Written by Leo D. Paur, from a story by Douglas Booth

The opening action sequences on Cybertron are spectacular, some of the series' best animation since Fire on the Mountain. Then, halfway through this installment, the animation units switch rather jarringly, and the story plods towards an underwhelming conclusion. At least Spike's reunion with the liberated Sparkplug is moving, although Corey Burton has claimed that Chris Latta played sick mind games with him while they were recording that scene.

GOBOTS: DAWN WORLD - Written by Donald F. Glut

Scooter and Nick are inexplicably on a dangerous deep space mission by themselves when they run afoul of the Renegades and crash-land on a planet of savage blue-skinned natives and giant swamp creatures. As silly and schlocky as it sounds, but at least it's fast-paced fun.

TRANSFORMERS: COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION - Written by Reed Robbins & Peter Salas

GOBOTS: NOVA BEAM - Written by Daniel Will-Harris, from a story by Jeff Segal & Kelly Ward

Coincidentally, both these episodes have thin premises which hinge on a protracted countdown to Earth's destruction. And since neither one of them is very good, I don't think they're worth reviewing separately.

TRANSFORMERS: A PLAGUE OF INSECTICONS - Written by Douglas Booth

The wonderfully creepy and treacherous Insecticons -- Shrapnel (voiced by Hal Rayle), Bombshell (voiced by Michael Bell), and Kickback (voiced by Clive Revill) -- make their debut in this well-written but badly-animated episode. It makes me wonder exactly how Toei Studios selected which units would work on which scripts -- the silly Fire on the Mountain gets the best animators, and this one gets the worst??

GOBOTS: FORCED ALLIANCE - Written by Douglas Booth, from a story by Jeff Segal & Kelly Ward

Does what it says on the tin. The Guardians and the Renegades must call a temporary truce and work together when they both crash-land on a planet of giant cyber-organic spiders. Double-crosses abound, of course, keeping the story unpredictable and always watchable despite lapses like Scooter using a holographic disguise with a spider body and a Scooter head!

TRANSFORMERS: THE HEAVY METAL WAR - Written by Donald F. Glut

The first season finale is, in my opinion, good but not great. Good in the sense that it introduces the Transformers' first and best combiner team, the Constructicons -- Scrapper (Michael Bell), Hook (Neil Ross), Scavenger (Don Messick), Mixmaster (Frank Welker), Long Haul (Gregg Berger), and Bonecrusher (Neil Ross), all of whom merge to form the mighty Devastator (Arthur Burghardt) -- as well as a lot of good character bits. Not so good in the sense that the seeming final defeat of the Decepticons at the end is underwhelming in its seeming arbitrariness. Indeed, the second season would do away with all vestiges of continuity in favor of self-contained done-in-ones and done-in-twos.

GOBOTS: INVASION FROM THE 21ST LEVEL (PART 1 OF 2) - Written by Lane Raichert, from a story by Jeff Segal & Kelly Ward

A very strong opening installment for the first multi-parter of the ongoing series, as the Renegades use a device to teleport monstrously powerful insectoids from another dimension into our dimension. The creatures are led by Queen Exor, who has an awesome voice (I'm not sure who it is, but I suspect it might be Jennifer Darling). Great cliffhanger as Exor takes control of the Renegade base, Rogue Star, and teleports in reinforcements.

TRANSFORMERS: AUTOBOT SPIKE - Written by Donald F. Glut

When Spike is badly injured after he and Bumblebee foolishly jump into the fray, the Autobots and Sparkplug decide to transfer his mind into a robot shell while his body recovers. Of course, this leads to disaster, and, of course, the Decepticons try to turn it to their advantage. Weird in a bad way, and more than a little creepy, this episode was a very strange choice for a season opener.

GOBOTS: INVASION FROM THE 21ST LEVEL (PART 2 OF 2) - Written by Lane Raichert

Queen Exor and her insectoids begin their conquest of the world, imprisoning humans as well as any GoBots unlucky enough to cross them. Compared to the first installment, this one's a mess, but at least it's a fast-moving, decently-animated mess...until the lame ending, where, for no given reason, Exor is unable to prevent herself from being transported back to her dimension, even though she did just that earlier in the story.

TRANSFORMERS: THE IMMOBILIZER - Written by Earl Kress

This episode is a good demonstration of what I feel is Transformers' greatest strength -- characterization so strong, it rises above pedestrian plotting. The McGuffin of the title is not very interesting, but Ironhide's crisis of confidence and feelings of obsolescence are very compelling, as is the new human character introduced here: Carly, a brave, if somewhat foolhardy, and super-smart college student who is also a stand-in for every Transformers fangirl.

GOBOTS: LOST ON GOBOTRON - Written by Eric Lewald, from a story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and Eric Lewald

A great idea -- the Guardians and their human allies being forced to interact with the Gobotron underclass -- ruined by weak execution. One problem with this episode is that it can't quite seem to decide what it wants to be: it's got both nauseatingly cute mutant urchins and vicious mutant gladiators, some of whom actually die. Another, bigger problem, is that the Guardians and the humans appear to have learned nothing by the end of the episode.

TRANSFORMERS: DINOBOT ISLAND (PART 1 OF 2) - Written by Donald F. Glut

A couple of Autobots accidentally discover an island that is literally out of time, and is inhabited by dinosaurs. Optimus Prime figures it would be a good place for the Dinobots to stay, at least temporarily. But the rich natural energy resources inevitably attract the Decepticons, who sink the Dinobots into a tar pit, and start draining the island's energy sources, causing the time-space continuum to unravel. There's also a bunch of new Transformers introduced, albeit many more Autobots than Decepticons, in ways that are cornier and more juvenile than usual for this show. Otherwise, it's not bad, although it's mostly set-up for Part 2, and it often feels padded.

GOBOTS: CY-KILL'S SHRINKING RAY - Written by Dale Kirby, from a story by Jeff Segal & Kelly Ward

The title pretty much says it all. And with the rule of thumb that robot cartoons are lame whenever giant kids mistake them for toys (see also Transformers' "Child's Play"), there's really nothing else to say, except: Don't watch this episode.

TRANSFORMERS: DINOBOT ISLAND (PART 2 OF 2) - Written by Donald F. Glut

The time-space warps unleash barbarians, cowboys, and pirates, and the Autobots must send them back to their respective times. Once that's done, they take the battle to Dinobot Island, where the Dinobots are freed the Decepticons flee, and the temporal status quo is restored. Better than Part 1, with decent animation and plenty of action, but once again it all feels just a bit too juvenile, as if the people making the show were talking down to their target audience of 10-to-11-year-olds. Happily, this is the exception and not the rule for most of the show's run.

GOBOTS: DOPPLEGANGER - Written by Antoni Zalewski, from a story by Jeff Segal & Kelly Ward

The Renegades create impostor versions of the Guardians in order to destroy their enemies from within. A great episode that kicks off with action aplenty and doesn't let up for a second. Also the best showcase for Small Foot of the show's entire run. And it's pretty awesome that, since the impostors don't have souls, we get to see them blow up real good! My only complaint would be that it might have been even better as a 2-parter, allowing more room for the kind of complex characterization that GoBots tended to avoid in favor of strong plots like this one.

TRANSFORMERS: TRAITOR - Written by George Hampton & Mike Moore

There is a rare case of dissention in the Autobot ranks as Cliffjumper suspects Mirage of being a Decepticon collaborator. The Decepticons are having their own problems with their typically shaky alliance with the Insecticons. Now THIS would have been a great choice for a Season Two opener -- exceptional animation, intricate plotting, and shades-of-gray characterization. I always had a soft spot for the reckless, hot-headed Cliffjumper (voiced by Casey Kasem), so I enjoy seeing a spotlight on him.

GOBOTS: THE QUEST FOR ROGUE STAR - Written by John Loy, from a story by John Loy, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward

The Guardians must use strategy to sabotage the Renegades' operations by sneaking aboard their enemies' colossal interstellar battleship headquarters, the Rogue Star. This is the best episode from the first half of this show's run, in my opinion. The plotting is tight, the action is plentiful, and the cast is larger than usual. Even the animation is actually rather good for what it is. And in an ironic stinger at the end, the Renegades actually deceive the Guardians into thinking that Rogue Star has been destroyed! Since the Renegades, despite their evilness, tend to be more compelling characters than the Guardians, this is almost pleasing!

TRANSFORMERS: ENTER THE NIGHTBIRD - Written by Sylvia Wilson and Richard Milton

A Japanese scientist invents the Nightbird, a female ninja robot, whom the Decepticons steal and reprogram to fight on their side. She proves capable of outfighting all the Autobots assembled on Earth, and she is only defeated when Megatron decides to make her his new first lieutenant, causing a jealous Starscream to shoot her in the back. Ninjas were a hot thing in 80s pop culture, so it was inevitable we'd see one here. That said, it's not a bad episode, although the reprogramming and the eventual capture and imprisonment of the Nightbird have unfortunate connotations, especially considering the episode was co-written by a woman.

GOBOTS: RENEGADE RAMPAGE (PART 1 OF 2) - Written by Karen Weingrod & Ken Cinnamon, from a story by Jeff Segal & Kelly Ward

Some nauseatingly saccharine magical elf-like creatures who live peacefully on a triangular planet (!) own a powerful three-piece amulet which is coveted by the Renegades. In the end, the Guardians and the elves see no recourse but to destroy the triangular planet, and hopefully the amulet and the Renegades with it. But the Guardians and the elves end up trapped within an amulet-generated force field just as the planet is about to explode...and this is such a weak episode it's hard to care about anything that happens; hard to believe someone thought this thin story was strong enough to be a two-parter.

TRANSFORMERS: CHANGING GEARS - Written by Larry Parr

Autobot Gears, a runty little grump, possesses a special circuit that the Decepticons need to power their latest super-weapon; losing that circuit causes him to become cheerfully subservient to the Decepticons. While I normally applaud the way that certain Autobots had spotlight episodes, a few of the choices were just bizarre -- such is the case here, with Gears so unlikable no matter what personality he's sporting that it's hard to get involved in the story. Good animation, though, showing once again how randomly the scripts were farmed out to Toei Studios' animation units.

GOBOTS: RENEGADE RAMPAGE (PART 2 OF 2) - Written by Karen Weingrod & Ken Cinnamon, from a story by Jeff Segal & Kelly Ward

If you really must know, the Guardians and the elves find a crack in the force field that they can squeeze through just before the planet explodes, leading to more meandering, padded escapades until the Renegades are defeated and the planet is magically restored. I think the word I'm looking for to describe this waste of ink, paint, and plastic is feckless.

TRANSFORMERS: A PRIME PROBLEM - Written by Bryce Malek & Dick Robbins

A far inferior variation on the great GoBots episode "Doppleganger". Here, the Decepticons create only one Autobot impostor, an Optimus Prime look-alike. The plot, such as it is, requires the other Autobots to be stupid, until the impostor finally reveals himself by being callous about Spike. Not the worst Transformers episode, but definitely one of the dullest.

GOBOTS: ULTRA ZOD - Written by Jim Bertges

The Renegades have taken a small industrial town hostage and forced the residents to build the latest model Zod, a giant and powerful but dull-witted beastial robot that the Renegades have been mass-producing for years to no avail. Of course, it so happens that A.J.'s aunt and uncle live in this town; that, combined with the Renegades chickening out at inappropriate times, and Ultra Zod being no smarter than the previous model AND having the exact same weak spot, assures viewer dissatisfaction.

TRANSFORMERS: ATLANTIS, ARISE! - Written by Douglas Booth

The Decepticons make an uneasy alliance with King Nergil (voiced by Wally Burr), ruler of the underwater city of Sub-Atlantica, and set off to conquer the world, starting with Washington, D.C. After many double-crosses, and some hilarious vandalizing of U.S. national landmarks, the Autobots and Dinobots win the battle, the Decepticons retreat, and King Nergil escapes after destroying his own kingdom. Despite playing fast and loose with the laws of physics and telepathy (more than usual for a cartoon, anyway), and despite a whopper of an animation error where Optimus Prime watches himself rush to save the Washington Monument, this episode is a blast, and one of my favorites of this season. The pace never lets up, and the animation is mostly gorgeous. I'm surprised that King Nergil never returned in a later episode.

GOBOTS: SENTINEL - Written by Donald F. Glut, from a story by Jeff Segal & Kelly Ward

Earth science creates Sentinel, a super-robot designed to help the Guardians patrol the planet. Unfortunately, Scooter's stupidity results in a glitch that turns Sentinel into a genocidal megalomaniac determined to wipe out all organic life. Far too dark a concept to be accommodated by an American-produced kids TV cartoon from the 80s, the episode just bumbles along until the lazy default ending for any cartoon with an invincible villain -- just have him leave Earth to wreak death and destruction elsewhere. Needless to say, the Guardians condone this, coming off very badly indeed.

TRANSFORMERS: ATTACK OF THE AUTOBOTS - Written by David Wise

The Decepticons turn most of the Autobots evil, though this being an 80s cartoon, the most evil thing they do is vandalize an Air Force base (with no human casualties, of course.) This episode is notable mostly for being the first written by David Wise, the most prolific writer of Season 2, and responsible for some of its best episodes (and a couple of its worst). This one is merely mediocre, with animation that's never better than just okay. It does have some nice character work for Bumblebee and Jazz, as the two Autobots spared the evil-izing. Bumblebee's faith in Optimus Prime's essential goodness is such that it's genuinely moving.

GOBOTS: COLD SPELL - Written by Alan Burnett

Yes, it is the same Alan Burnett who went on to contribute so much to the DCAU. The script's premise -- a mad scientist invents a climate changer, which in turn is coveted by Cy-Kill -- is cliché, but the actual script is pure gold, with genuinely (as in intentionally) funny dialogue, plus a rare spotlight on a guest-star Guardian, in this case, Dive Dive, who turns into a submarine. Dive Dive actually shows hints of a well-rounded characterization, and he's the one with the never-say-die attitude when all seems lost. Truly a "comfort food" episode.

TRANSFORMERS: MICROBOTS - Written by David Wise

In which we finally learn what happened to the Decepticon ship from the pilot episode. Some explorers uncover said ship, and the Decepticons chase them away so that Megatron can upgrade his powers thanks to the ship's power source, the Heart of Cybertron. Megatron makes tinfoil of most of the Autobots, and the day is only saved when Perceptor (voiced by Paul Eiding), Bumblebee, and Brawn shrink themselves to make a "fantastic voyage" into Megatron's inner workings and disconnect the power source. Early on, Brawn comes off like even more of a jerk than usual, but at least the script doesn't bang us over the head with Important Lesson that Brawn must learn (namely, that a scientist like Perceptor has as much value to the Autobots as a warrior like Brawn.) And the animation is spectacular, possibly the best of the entire season.

GOBOTS: CRIME WAVE - Written by Francis Moss

Cy-Kill unites all the organized crime families in America, and working together, they take over the United States, but only for as long as it takes for the Guardians to foil their plans. A decent episode, but nothing about it particularly excites me. 80s action animation by numbers, if you will.

TRANSFORMERS: THE MASTER BUILDER - Written by David N. Gottlieb & Herb Englehardt

As much a spotlight on the Constructicons as it is on new Autobots Grapple and Hoist. The former sextet takes advantage of the latter pair so that a solar-energy-absorption tower designed by Grapple can become a reality -- with the Decepticons the sole beneficiaries, of course. Once the smoke has cleared, Optimus Prime forgives Grapple and Hoist a little too easily, but the rich characterization and typically excellent voice acting in this episode makes that flaw forgivable.

GOBOTS: AUTO-MADIC - Written by Mark Zaslove

The Renegades finally make a proactive move against the power of the Guardians' combiner robot, Courageous, by creating their own combiner robot. Unfortunately, the Renegades' scheme involves allying themselves with a heartless used-car salesman and his termagant wife, possibly the two most annoying human characters of the show's entire run. Adding insult to injury, the battle between the two combiners lasts less than one minute and is poorly executed.