Sabrblade wrote:NuclearConvoy wrote:Sabrblade wrote:Wonder how many new viewers caught the primetime U.S. premiere of episodes 1 and 2 on Cartoon Network.
I hope it's a lot.
I really want a good Transformers series to be incredibly successful and bring Transformers up a notch in standing with new fans, both young and old.
Between the IDW comics getting better and this series feeling good to start, following on the heels of both the surprisingly entertaining Prime and the stellar Animated, it feels that we are in a renaissance of sorts for Transformers media. Then there are the movies, hard for me to say how i feel about them... I feel like they introduce interesting new takes on characters and some great designs, but they are amazingly inept in making Transformers respectable. Their reach is also much farther than the comics and television shows...
There's one more praiseworthy cartoon series left out of that post of praise (and dispraise, in regards to the movies bit).
1) What series did I leave out?
2) God, I really, really want to like the movies more. I want them to be as eloquent and wonderful as I know Transformers can be... but I also know that this sin't the venue for that, and the movies are aimed to tap into the buying power of those who like summer blockbusters. Some parts of it I enjoy, I can watch them for their unintended hilarity, I can watch them for their beautiful CGI battles, I just can't watch them for smart characterization and explicable, intelligent plots.
Still, they have introduced some wonderful elements to the fiction, in my opinion. They came in with an entirely new aesthetic that forced people to change what they thought Transformers had to be confined to, they put some new spins on existing character concepts that breathed fresh air into them and also provided us with a catalyst to discuss the benefits and negatives of these ideas.
I for one loved AOE Hound. I thought his design was unique and thoughtful, his basic character concept was solid and they had a great voice actor. Did he get much characterization beyond old, grizzled gun nut soldier who always keeps fighting...? no. But it provided us with a new "mold" to go with moving forward that is visually unique and still familiar enough. Sure, the name can waffle back and forth, but I can easily see that basic design being recreate with good chances of success in other media moving forward.
Pros and Cons...