Stephen Davies Alludes to New Series Aimed at Younger Viewers

Fits well in line with what Roberto Orci told IGN, and I'm cool with it.

The next TF cartoon after Prime being lighter than Prime and more like the tone of G1 and RB will be a nice change.


...AAAAAAAAAnd cue the mass hysteria and fanrage over this news making Transformers Ruined FOREVER!

Noideaforaname wrote:Animated and Beast Wars were aimed at a younger audience than Prime, and those 2 are my favorite TF shows, so I'm curious to see how this new show turns out.

Also, this reminds me I still need to watch Rescue Bots. Well, more than just the Tim Curry episodes...

All three shows are excellent.

Noideaforaname wrote:EDIT: I really hope "harkens back to G1" doesn't mean "more G1 movie quotes".

It's referring to the tone of G1.

That's what we just posted.

Va'al wrote:That's what we just posted.

Originally, it was just a summary that was posted. Didn't see that the first post was edited to include the excerpt.

Sabrblade wrote:

Va'al wrote:That's what we just posted.

Originally, it was just a summary that was posted. Didn't see that the first post was edited to include the excerpt.

He knows, he's just messin' with ya.

ScoutBumblebee wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Va'al wrote:That's what we just posted.

Originally, it was just a summary that was posted. Didn't see that the first post was edited to include the excerpt.

He knows, he's just messin' with ya.

Va'al wrote:

ScoutBumblebee wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Va'al wrote:That's what we just posted.

Originally, it was just a summary that was posted. Didn't see that the first post was edited to include the excerpt.

He knows, he's just messin' with ya.

This is kinda scary since I really want a sequel to Prime, but this sounds like yet another re-imaging and start from zero.
A lot of this also sounds like those leaks someone posted a few months back, especially the simpler designs.

If this is yet another complete revamp I think I'm done, I take too long to get used to a new TF take, so once I do and then fall in love with it it'll just get replaced, an I just can't deal with that anymore.

Well as long as they have Decepticons. Why didn't Rescue Bots have them? Were they deemed too mature for kids?

I'm not too optimistic about this, I'll give it a shot though. I hope it's more like G1 and less like RB.

If it's going to take the tone of the G1 cartoon, I hope it's not written as poorly as well.

Prime was pretty dark I can see them wanting to lighten it up a little.

njb902 wrote:Prime was pretty dark I can see them wanting to lighten it up a little.

Prime was really dark. I enjoy it, but I won't let my kids watch it. Oldest is 4, and it's way too intense for him. He thinks he wants to watch it, but it's too scary for him, and has too much stuff that's too mature for him. I think it's nice to have both sides of TF spectrum.

Daaaah, gee Hasbro - I donno - ya think maybe you should bring back TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED?????

Why did you (and/or Cartoon Network, depending on who you talk to) cancel a perfectly good series that appealed to both children, AND adults? And now you're scratching your heads, wondering what kind of transformers series could possibly appeal to children and adults?

Try NOT cancelling the good series' that you've already done before dweedling your lips and wondering how come there aren't any. Why re-invent the wheel here when TFA was a great series that was killed while it still had plenty of juice in it?

Shockwave7 wrote:Daaaah, gee Hasbro - I donno - ya think maybe you should bring back TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED?????

God no.

The art, animation, and characters were poor as it was. On top of that, Hasbro has constantly stated that they want to move forward, not backward with the brand. Bringing back TFA is an example of moving backward.

Point being: Animated's return is implausible. It doesn't need to come back either.

PrymeStriker wrote:

Shockwave7 wrote:Daaaah, gee Hasbro - I donno - ya think maybe you should bring back TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED?????

God no.

The art, animation, and characters were poor as it was. On top of that, Hasbro has constantly stated that they want to move forward, not backward with the brand. Bringing back TFA is an example of moving backward.

Point being: Animated's return is implausible. It doesn't need to come back either.

I'll give you its too late to reboot Animated. It had its time and the window is closed, but even if you didnt like the asthetic, and quite a few people don't, Animated had a huge multi generational following. A lot of people loved it, and it wasnt afraid to poke fun or pay homage, not just to the omnipoyent G1, but also to Beast Wa rs, Diaclone, the Japanese series' no one had heard of. It was fun crowd scanning, the same fn we get pickng out Kreons frm the TakTom comics. Like it or lump it, quality wise, it was not a step backward.

Rebooting a five year old series, now that would be kind of a bad idea, but thats a different point.

Flashwave wrote:

PrymeStriker wrote:

Shockwave7 wrote:Daaaah, gee Hasbro - I donno - ya think maybe you should bring back TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED?????

God no.

The art, animation, and characters were poor as it was. On top of that, Hasbro has constantly stated that they want to move forward, not backward with the brand. Bringing back TFA is an example of moving backward.

Point being: Animated's return is implausible. It doesn't need to come back either.

I'll give you its too late to reboot Animated. It had its time and the window is closed, but even if you didnt like the asthetic, and quite a few people don't, Animated had a huge multi generational following. A lot of people loved it, and it wasnt afraid to poke fun or pay homage, not just to the omnipoyent G1, but also to Beast Wa rs, Diaclone, the Japanese series' no one had heard of. It was fun crowd scanning, the same fn we get pickng out Kreons frm the TakTom comics. Like it or lump it, quality wise, it was not a step backward.

Rebooting a five year old series, now that would be kind of a bad idea, but thats a different point.

I'm not sure how that paragraph relates to my post. It seems that you're trying to disagree with me by saying that Animated's quality was not a step backward, in which I never brought up to begin with. Can you clarify?

I honestly don't know how to feel about this.

I'm not going to scream RUINED 4EVER because it's too soon. On one hand, I'm happy that they're doing another reboot since Prime is pretty much wrapped up (even though here are too many fates left ambiguous and plot threads just left hanging). On the other, I like it when Transformers tackles the darker stuff. But I understand that they need to balance it out and not turn it into Evangelion (though that would be pretty cool).

Maybe whatever the new series brings will surprise us. Maybe it'll be something really amazing to the table. We don't know yet.

PrymeStriker wrote:

Shockwave7 wrote:Daaaah, gee Hasbro - I donno - ya think maybe you should bring back TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED?????

God no.

The art, animation, and characters were poor as it was. On top of that, Hasbro has constantly stated that they want to move forward, not backward with the brand. Bringing back TFA is an example of moving backward.

Point being: Animated's return is implausible. It doesn't need to come back either.

I'll allow some folks didn't like TFA. I had severe doubts when I first saw it, but it grew on me because it was good. I don't propose 'rebooting' TFA. They left it at a point that begs for them to pick up where they left off. It wouldn't be the first time that a series was come back to after a long haitus.

Plus, I fail to see how going from a serious TF prime style series to a quasi-kids show is a 'step forward' anyway, but that's another issue. If Hasbro is planning to make transformers into another kiddie-style show, then TFA would definitely not be a 'step backward' compared to this 'rescue gobot' thingy they're doing already. Not to mention, TFA was ended when they were on the cusp of putting out some really kick-butt toys that should have made it to market. (TFA Thundercracker, Marauder Megatron, Blackout, Wingblade Optimus...)

God knows we can't count on the likes of Michael Bay to take the Transformers 'forward'. Every movie he does digs them deeper and deeper into ridiculousness.

I'm not sure how that paragraph relates to my post. It seems that you're trying to disagree with me by saying that Animated's quality was not a step backward, in which I never brought up to begin with. Can you clarify?

I'll take a stab at it. The part where you said "The art, animation, and characters were poor as it was." and in the same breath lumping TFA with the statement that Hasbro 'wants to take the transformers forward, not backwards'. Sounded like quite the knock there, no? You may not have intended it that way, but it kind of sounded like it.

welcometothedarksyde wrote:Well as long as they have Decepticons. Why didn't Rescue Bots have them? Were they deemed too mature for kids?

I don't know this to be fact, so take it with a grain of salt. But I believe that RB didn't have Decepticons because the focus was more on rescues, safety, etc than the eternal war between Decepticons and Autobots. It's alluded to that Prime and Bee are off fighting Decepticons, but never outright mentioned. Rescue Bots is fun to watch... With my kids. But I wouldn't watch it without them, like I do Prime. So we shall see what the new series brings.

welcometothedarksyde wrote:Well as long as they have Decepticons. Why didn't Rescue Bots have them? Were they deemed too mature for kids?

Because including Decepticons goes against the entire point of that show.

It's to get away from the harshness and turmoil of warfare and focus on something more positive and optimistic. It's not a war show because it's not supposed to be, it's a sitcom.

viruscarnage wrote:I'm not too optimistic about this, I'll give it a shot though. I hope it's more like G1 and less like RB.

In all honesty, I don't see that much a tonal difference between the two. In fact, I'd be willing to say that G1 seasons 1-2, Beast Wars season 1, Robots in Disguise eps 1-26, the first half of Armada, the first half of Cybertron, Animated seasons 1-2, and Rescue Bots all have roughly the exact same tone.

PrymeStriker wrote:

Shockwave7 wrote:Daaaah, gee Hasbro - I donno - ya think maybe you should bring back TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED?????

God no.

The art, animation, and characters were poor as it was.

ScoutBumblebee wrote:Rescue Bots is fun to watch... With my kids. But I wouldn't watch it without them, like I do Prime. So we shall see what the new series brings.

Well, I'm 23 and have no kids, yet I enjoy Rescue Bots far more than I ever did TF: Prime (and I do really like TF: Prime a lot). Needless to say, I'm anxious for season 2.

Sabrblade wrote:

ScoutBumblebee wrote:Rescue Bots is fun to watch... With my kids. But I wouldn't watch it without them, like I do Prime. So we shall see what the new series brings.

Well, I'm 23 and have no kids, yet I enjoy Rescue Bots far more than I ever did TF: Prime (and I do really like TF: Prime a lot). Needless to say, I'm anxious for season 2.

I actually do rather like Rescue Bots. I guess my post didn't quite come off that way. But I'm a good bit older than you, and I can say for sure it took RB a bit to grow on me. The first couple I watched with my son, I had a total GEEWUN purist moment where I was like, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHAT HAS BECOME OF MY PRECIOUS TRANSFORMERS?!" But the more I watched, the more I was sucked in and really started enjoying it. I'm quite looking forward to season 2, too. I look for a concrete release date every day, ha! It's just... Different. And if I look at it as different, it works for me. It's meant to be silly, light hearted, not heavy. And that's OK.

ScoutBumblebee wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

ScoutBumblebee wrote:Rescue Bots is fun to watch... With my kids. But I wouldn't watch it without them, like I do Prime. So we shall see what the new series brings.

Well, I'm 23 and have no kids, yet I enjoy Rescue Bots far more than I ever did TF: Prime (and I do really like TF: Prime a lot). Needless to say, I'm anxious for season 2.

I actually do rather like Rescue Bots. I guess my post didn't quite come off that way. But I'm a good bit older than you, and I can say for sure it took RB a bit to grow on me. The first couple I watched with my son, I had a total GEEWUN purist moment where I was like, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHAT HAS BECOME OF MY PRECIOUS TRANSFORMERS?!" But the more I watched, the more I was sucked in and really started enjoying it. I'm quite looking forward to season 2, too. I look for a concrete release date every day, ha! It's just... Different. And if I look at it as different, it works for me. It's meant to be silly, light hearted, not heavy. And that's OK.

I was hooked by the end of the second episode.

In all honesty, those two episodes accomplished far more in my eyes than all five episodes of "Darkness Rising" (one of the worst series openers I've ever seen, IMHO) did.

Shockwave7 wrote:I'll take a stab at it. The part where you said "The art, animation, and characters were poor as it was." and in the same breath lumping TFA with the statement that Hasbro 'wants to take the transformers forward, not backwards'. Sounded like quite the knock there, no? You may not have intended it that way, but it kind of sounded like it.

No, by moving forward, I meant moving forward with Transformers lore and brand as a whole rather than TV show quality.

Sabrblade wrote:

PrymeStriker wrote:

Shockwave7 wrote:Daaaah, gee Hasbro - I donno - ya think maybe you should bring back TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED?????

God no.

The art, animation, and characters were poor as it was.

Let's see:

Virtually everyone has giant chins
Disproportionate body parts in a few instances, mostly with bigger bots.
The animation was ironically not the best quality. I could pick a random episode and pick out multiple instances when the animators got lazy and made subtle movements rather choppy. There were a couple of times at the beginning "Predacons Rising" were Sentinel Prime suffered dearly.
Annoying characters everywhere:
Bumblebee
Bulkhead
Sentinel Prime
Sari (while developed well)
Lugnut
Sentinel Prime
Jetfire
Jetstorm
All of those damn human villains
Sentinel Prime

Since season three was the only remotely decent season, Transformers Animated was mediocre at best.

Sabrblade wrote:

ScoutBumblebee wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

ScoutBumblebee wrote:Rescue Bots is fun to watch... With my kids. But I wouldn't watch it without them, like I do Prime. So we shall see what the new series brings.

Well, I'm 23 and have no kids, yet I enjoy Rescue Bots far more than I ever did TF: Prime (and I do really like TF: Prime a lot). Needless to say, I'm anxious for season 2.

I actually do rather like Rescue Bots. I guess my post didn't quite come off that way. But I'm a good bit older than you, and I can say for sure it took RB a bit to grow on me. The first couple I watched with my son, I had a total GEEWUN purist moment where I was like, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHAT HAS BECOME OF MY PRECIOUS TRANSFORMERS?!" But the more I watched, the more I was sucked in and really started enjoying it. I'm quite looking forward to season 2, too. I look for a concrete release date every day, ha! It's just... Different. And if I look at it as different, it works for me. It's meant to be silly, light hearted, not heavy. And that's OK.

I was hooked by the end of the second episode.

In all honesty, those two episodes accomplished far more in my eyes than all five episodes of "Darkness Rising" (one of the worst series openers I've ever seen, IMHO) did.

Well, we watched out of order at first. Little boy caught sight of it on Netflix and was all about watching, so he picked an episode and went with it. I watched off and on, and just kind of thought, "Meh, not good at all!" But when I actually sat down to watch, it did hook me after an episode or two. Prime... I have to agree. I had to persevere hard core to get through the first 5-6 episodes of season one. I really wanted to get into it, but it took some work. I did get to the point where I looked forward to watching, but when I think about it, yeah, I guess I find RB an "easier" watch than Prime. And I do like Prime. Oooh, I fear I am babbling. Let me hit submit before I say too many random things.

ScoutBumblebee wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

ScoutBumblebee wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

ScoutBumblebee wrote:Rescue Bots is fun to watch... With my kids. But I wouldn't watch it without them, like I do Prime. So we shall see what the new series brings.

Well, I'm 23 and have no kids, yet I enjoy Rescue Bots far more than I ever did TF: Prime (and I do really like TF: Prime a lot). Needless to say, I'm anxious for season 2.

I actually do rather like Rescue Bots. I guess my post didn't quite come off that way. But I'm a good bit older than you, and I can say for sure it took RB a bit to grow on me. The first couple I watched with my son, I had a total GEEWUN purist moment where I was like, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHAT HAS BECOME OF MY PRECIOUS TRANSFORMERS?!" But the more I watched, the more I was sucked in and really started enjoying it. I'm quite looking forward to season 2, too. I look for a concrete release date every day, ha! It's just... Different. And if I look at it as different, it works for me. It's meant to be silly, light hearted, not heavy. And that's OK.

I was hooked by the end of the second episode.

In all honesty, those two episodes accomplished far more in my eyes than all five episodes of "Darkness Rising" (one of the worst series openers I've ever seen, IMHO) did.

Well, we watched out of order at first. Little boy caught sight of it on Netflix and was all about watching, so he picked an episode and went with it. I watched off and on, and just kind of thought, "Meh, not good at all!" But when I actually sat down to watch, it did hook me after an episode or two. Prime... I have to agree. I had to persevere hard core to get through the first 5-6 episodes of season one. I really wanted to get into it, but it took some work. I did get to the point where I looked forward to watching, but when I think about it, yeah, I guess I find RB an "easier" watch than Prime. And I do like Prime. Oooh, I fear I am babbling. Let me hit submit before I say too many random things.

Seems I'm in the outfield as usual.

Took me the pilot alone to get hooked on Prime. In fact, I wasn't keeping up with Transformers in 2010, so technically TFP brought me back into the franchise. Still think it's the best Transformers cartoon to date.

Meanwhile, I didn't even finish watching episode two of RB during its back-to-back premiere. Got far too bored, and I was really excited to see it. To this day I still haven't watched more than five episodes worth of that cartoon. Sorry.

For some strange reason, though, I want to watch the premiere of season two...

PrymeStriker wrote:

ScoutBumblebee wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

ScoutBumblebee wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

ScoutBumblebee wrote:Rescue Bots is fun to watch... With my kids. But I wouldn't watch it without them, like I do Prime. So we shall see what the new series brings.

Well, I'm 23 and have no kids, yet I enjoy Rescue Bots far more than I ever did TF: Prime (and I do really like TF: Prime a lot). Needless to say, I'm anxious for season 2.

I actually do rather like Rescue Bots. I guess my post didn't quite come off that way. But I'm a good bit older than you, and I can say for sure it took RB a bit to grow on me. The first couple I watched with my son, I had a total GEEWUN purist moment where I was like, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHAT HAS BECOME OF MY PRECIOUS TRANSFORMERS?!" But the more I watched, the more I was sucked in and really started enjoying it. I'm quite looking forward to season 2, too. I look for a concrete release date every day, ha! It's just... Different. And if I look at it as different, it works for me. It's meant to be silly, light hearted, not heavy. And that's OK.

I was hooked by the end of the second episode.

In all honesty, those two episodes accomplished far more in my eyes than all five episodes of "Darkness Rising" (one of the worst series openers I've ever seen, IMHO) did.

Well, we watched out of order at first. Little boy caught sight of it on Netflix and was all about watching, so he picked an episode and went with it. I watched off and on, and just kind of thought, "Meh, not good at all!" But when I actually sat down to watch, it did hook me after an episode or two. Prime... I have to agree. I had to persevere hard core to get through the first 5-6 episodes of season one. I really wanted to get into it, but it took some work. I did get to the point where I looked forward to watching, but when I think about it, yeah, I guess I find RB an "easier" watch than Prime. And I do like Prime. Oooh, I fear I am babbling. Let me hit submit before I say too many random things.

Seems I'm in the outfield as usual.

Took me the pilot alone to get hooked on Prime. In fact, I wasn't keeping up with Transformers in 2010, so technically TFP brought me back into the franchise. Still think it's the best Transformers cartoon to date.

Meanwhile, I didn't even finish watching episode two of RB during its back-to-back premiere. Got far too bored, and I was really excited to see it. To this day I still haven't watched more than five episodes worth of that cartoon. Sorry.

Dude. We all have different tastes. Not outfield, just you've got your own tastes. All good.

PrymeStriker wrote:Virtually everyone has giant chins

Which were awesome.

PrymeStriker wrote:Disproportionate body parts in a few instances, mostly with bigger bots.

Which was homaged in TF: Prime.

PrymeStriker wrote:The animation was ironically not the best quality. I could pick a random episode and pick out multiple instances when the animators got lazy and made subtle movements rather choppy. There were a couple of times at the beginning "Predacons Rising" were Sentinel Prime suffered dearly.

Because animation errors are totally unheard of in TF cartoons.

PrymeStriker wrote:Wonderful characters everywhere:
Bumblebee
Bulkhead
Sentinel Prime
Sari (while developed well)
Lugnut
Sentinel Prime
Jetfire
Jetstorm
All of those damn human villains
Sentinel Prime

Fixed that for ya.

Well, maybe not Sentinel and certainly not all of the human villains, but the former was a guy we loved to hate and the latter weren't important (save for Meltdown and maybe the Headmaster for being the only credible threats of the human villains.).

PrymeStriker wrote:Since season three was the only remotely decent season, Transformers Animated was mediocre at best.

Opinion, not fact.

Sabrblade wrote:

PrymeStriker wrote:Virtually everyone has giant chins

Which were awesome.

Nope.

PrymeStriker wrote:Disproportionate body parts in a few instances, mostly with bigger bots.

Which was homaged in TF: Prime.

Transformers Prime proportioned body parts fine. Characters like Wheeljack & Breakdown had long arms at best, but that was part of their figures. There was an unnecessary need for it in Animated

All in all, I don't like Animated's aesthetic. However, stir-fry it with Bayverse...

PrymeStriker wrote:The animation was ironically not the best quality. I could pick a random episode and pick out multiple instances when the animators got lazy and made subtle movements rather choppy. There were a couple of times at the beginning "Predacons Rising" were Sentinel Prime suffered dearly.

Because animation errors are totally unheard of in TF cartoons.

Seriously, slow movements were choppy in that cartoon, period. Practically every subtle move such as the wave of a hand or a head turn was delayed in some way. The only time the animation is smooth is in faster-paced scenes, such as battles, where the frames move quicker.

PrymeStriker wrote:Wonderful characters everywhere:
Bumblebee
Bulkhead
Sentinel Prime
Sari (while developed well)
Lugnut
Sentinel Prime
Jetfire
Jetstorm
All of those damn human villains
Sentinel Prime

Ruined that for ya.

Fixed that for ya.

Well, maybe not Sentinel and certainly not all of the human villains,

They were the worst.

but the former was a guy we loved to hate

He was a guy I wanted to burn.

and the latter weren't important

So? They make me want to step on them, and I'm their size. They were a bunch of idiots.

PrymeStriker wrote:Since season three was the only remotely decent season, Transformers Animated was mediocre at best.

Opinion, not fact.

Just like everything you and I have argued.

Except for the part about animation.

You leave Angry Archer out of this, he was amazing.

And Animated brought us Issac Sumdac. the greatest human character we've gotten in Transformers.

Animated was a great show and I wish they would have finished off the 4th and final season, and given us Animated Beachcomber, he just looked so dope!


I just wish Hasbro would stick to one continuity and incarnation for a while, Prime was awesome and the reason I even started watching it was because Hasbro promised that it was going to stick for at least 10 years. This new show here better be separate and not the new main thing. I am sick of having to get used to a new Transformers show and start liking it to the point that I want it to stay the norm.

I man Hasbro did state they wanted to go into a new direction with their business and expand more into media and entertainment.

Dead Metal wrote:Animated was a great show and I wish they would have finished off the 4th and final season, and given us Animated Beachcomber, he just looked so dope!

But they did.



Sure, his dialogue scene from "TransWarped" had to be cut, but he still appeared in season 3. Though, had his scene not been cut, it would have had him dying horribly instead of letting him go on to appear when he did in "Decepticon Air". So, I guess that's a blessing in disguise for those who like him.

Dead Metal wrote:I just wish Hasbro would stick to one continuity and incarnation for a while, Prime was awesome and the reason I even started watching it was because Hasbro promised that it was going to stick for at least 10 years. This new show here better be separate and not the new main thing. I am sick of having to get used to a new Transformers show and start liking it to the point that I want it to stay the norm.

I man Hasbro did state they wanted to go into a new direction with their business and expand more into media and entertainment.

Well, with the way "Predacons Rising" ended with Cybertron revived and able to make new life, Megatron turning over a new leaf and disbanding the Decepticons, Predaking finally having more of his own kind to be with, and peace finally established, that leaves room for a follow up series to be tonally lighter than what came before since we're well passed the grim harshness of war and now have room for a lighter fresh new start.

And back when IGN interviewed him, Bob Orci did hint at the next series being a "tonally different continuation" that he'd love have as much continuity with Prime as possible, but we'll see.

Sabrblade wrote:

Dead Metal wrote:Animated was a great show and I wish they would have finished off the 4th and final season, and given us Animated Beachcomber, he just looked so dope!

But they did.



Sure, his dialogue scene from "TransWarped" had to be cut, but he still appeared in season 3. Though, had his scene not been cut, it would have had him dying horribly instead of letting him go on to appear when he did in "Decepticon Air". So, I guess that's a blessing in disguise for those who like him.

But how am I supposed to like him if all he did was cheer? I would have preferred seeing his death scene over this, because that would have let him actually do something for five minutes and we could get to know him a bit, like this he's just like the all the rest of the faceless background characters.

Sabrblade wrote:

Dead Metal wrote:I just wish Hasbro would stick to one continuity and incarnation for a while, Prime was awesome and the reason I even started watching it was because Hasbro promised that it was going to stick for at least 10 years. This new show here better be separate and not the new main thing. I am sick of having to get used to a new Transformers show and start liking it to the point that I want it to stay the norm.

I man Hasbro did state they wanted to go into a new direction with their business and expand more into media and entertainment.

Well, with the way "Predacons Rising" ended with Cybertron revived and able to make new life, Megatron turning over a new leaf and disbanding the Decepticons, Predaking finally having more of his own kind to be with, and peace finally established, that leaves room for a follow up series to be tonally lighter than what came before since we're well passed the grim harshness of war and now have room for a lighter fresh new start.

And back when IGN interviewed him, Bob Orci did hint at the next series being a "tonally different continuation" that he'd love have as much continuity with Prime as possible, but we'll see.

I can see that, but there is that little titbit that this show is inspired by Rescue Bots and is a completely new incarnation.

I'll wait and see, if it turns out to be connected to Prime and looks the same I'll bite, if it's yet another completely different take continuity and look wise I'm done.

Dead Metal wrote:But how am I supposed to like him if all he did was cheer? I would have preferred seeing his death scene over this, because that would have let him actually do something for five minutes and we could get to know him a bit, like this he's just like the all the rest of the faceless background characters.

Even if his death was just to spite the character? (cuz it totally was, as DJW just made him to kill him)

At least the Almanacs gave us a look at his personality.

Dead Metal wrote:I can see that, but there is that little titbit that this show is inspired by Rescue Bots and is a completely new incarnation.

I took it as being a "tonal" inspiration more than anything, but... I don't see where they say it's new incarnation. I see "reimagination", but that happens with every series including sequel ones.

Hasbro wants to pick up more young kids and build the fan base from the bottom. I hope it works. Its seems like the brand is getting a little fragmented again, the Rescue Bots series never appealed to me and I have never even seen an episode. My son who is now eleven thinks its too childlike for him. So there may or may not be some method to their madness. Ont the other end the comics are suppose to be aimed more towards adults, but the writing and the stories are just too incoherent at times, then there is the movie verse......
In my opinion War and Fall Cybertron brought the freshest interpretation of the brand in a long time and hope that gets a chance to continue without becoming too convoluted. And no Prime does not look or read like a continuation of War for Cybertron no matter what they try to say, the creative talent on both are just too different.

The problem is that Hasbro has settled into a 2-odd year pattern where they establish a series and toy line for Transformers, and they expect to totally flush it after that span of time so they can clear the toy shelves for the next Bay movie, then make a 'new' TV series to repeat that pattern while awaiting Bay's next film.

So instead of giving any particular series (like TF Animated or TF Prime) the proper time and diligence to develop it well, they just dump them, and then go to conventions spouting nonsense about 'wanting to more forward, not backward'.

(And if Hasbro doesn't want to 'move backward', as they claim, then why don't they dump all the established characters completely? Why keep using Optimus, Megatron, and (shudder) Bumblebee over and over and over and over and over and OVER? I got no problem with that because they're great - but don't say you want to 'move forward' and then just keep right on going back to the G1 well)

There was absolutely no reason (as far as series writing, character development, and great story ideas) why they could not have carried Transformers Animated on for at least 2 more seasons. Ditto for TF Prime.

Hasbro will never say it out loud, but the truth of why they're killing off perfectly good series' is clear. Bay's next film is coming out, and they don't want his movie toys to be dueling with other lines of TF toys on the shelf. They think that we, the public, are so dumb that we won't be able to 'tell them apart' and will be 'confused' if we see TF prime toys hanging on the hooks next to Bayverse toys. They're scared that Bay's toys won't 'sell as well' with us dumb fans being so utterly baffled by seeing two different lines of figures on the shelf at once. So, time to kill TF Prime, dump all those figures, and clear the way for whatever half-@$$ed insectoid nightmares Bay has managed to fart onto the drawing board this time (when he's not fleeing in terror from broken teleprompters).

Sabrblade wrote:

Dead Metal wrote:But how am I supposed to like him if all he did was cheer? I would have preferred seeing his death scene over this, because that would have let him actually do something for five minutes and we could get to know him a bit, like this he's just like the all the rest of the faceless background characters.

Even if his death was just to spite the character? (cuz it totally was, as DJW just made him to kill him)

At least the Almanacs gave us a look at his personality.

Marty Isenberg hated him too, which is why they conceived him to be a hyper over the top parody of his G1 self, which is why I still want to see that scene just to witness the awesome that that would have been.

Dead Metal wrote:I can see that, but there is that little titbit that this show is inspired by Rescue Bots and is a completely new incarnation.

I took it as being a "tonal" inspiration more than anything, but... I don't see where they say it's new incarnation. I see "reimagination", but that happens with every series including sequel ones.

I see "complete reimagination", which sounds an awful look like reinvented reboot.

And Just as an aside, the whole "we can't stay with one incarnation for longer than a year or two because we want to move forward and reinvent it all to stay fresh and new and because this franchise is all about change" thing is utter bullcrap.
It's just an excuse to keep selling the same thing over and over and to keep the status quo, if they really meant the whole change thing, they would stick to one incarnation and let that progress and evolve.

Edit:
Shockwave7 basically beat me to that last part as I can see now.

Shockwave7 wrote:(And if Hasbro doesn't want to 'move backward', as they claim, then why don't they dump all the established characters completely? Why keep using Optimus, Megatron, and (shudder) Bumblebee over and over and over and over and over and OVER? I got no problem with that because they're great - but don't say you want to 'move forward' and then just keep right on going back to the G1 well)

If Transformers Prine is any proof, Hasbro is fully capable of recycling names and design cues while giving totally new personalities to their characters to make them original. Wheeljack, Soundwave, Starscream (in S3), Arcee, Smokescreen, Breakdown, Skylynx, Predaking, etc.

Also, the Decepticons were absent from Rescue Bots and Prime & Bee did not appear very often IIRC

So, time to kill TF Prime,

Prime was NOT CANCELLED. Prime planned to end after 65 episodes. And they didn't even end it there.

dump all those figures,

TFP didn't care whether it had a toyline or not. They were writing a show. They didn't even give the show a mass-retail toyline until season two, a whopping year and a quarter after the series premiered.

clear the way for whatever half-@$$ed insectoid nightmares Bay has managed to fart onto the drawing board this time (when he's not fleeing in terror from broken teleprompters).

Say what you want about the movies, but they usually have kick-ass toys.

For those who are still worried about the next show being too kiddy bear in mind that series like Beast Wars Animated and the new TMNT show have rather dark,deep and serious moments at times despite being more light hearted so if the new show has the same line between dark and light then it'll be good.

As much as I like the more darker tone of Prime I understand that we can't have every series be like that. Kids are still the target audiance and it's best to switch every now and then to keep the brand going. Like what both the Godzilla and Batman franchises did back in the day. Besides if the new show won't do a lot for me in the end theres always the IDW comics to look forward to so it's not like there's nothing to fall back on.

Don't like the new TMNT show very much.

The problem I have is that it seems to be yet again a new series, a reboot unconnected to previous material. I'm sick of that, especially when they use the tiered all excuses of "keeping it fresh", "moving forward", "change", etc.
If you constantly start again and recycle stuff and never allow stuff to continue and evolve into something new, then yea, you're not really changing or moving forward, you're pushing the reset button instead of next chapter.

I'm in the "never again Transformers animated" camp. It is the only series I don't own a toy or DVD/blue ray of. I didn't enjoy the look, or story of it. I'm happy that others love it but I never want to see it again.

ausbot wrote:I'm in the "never again Transformers animated" camp. It is the only series I don't own a toy or DVD/blue ray of. I didn't enjoy the look, or story of it. I'm happy that others love it but I never want to see it again.

Understood. Not gonna take that away from anyone. I liked the series and the figures just fine though. I know that the chances of Hasbro taking it up again are remote. My only point is - if they REALLY want a show that appeals to both adults and kids - they got one already. TFA was left off at a perfect spot to pick up again with new storylines. (for example, Sentinel Prime (the Autobot version of Starscream) could work to undermine Optimus, jealous of him as the new hero of Cybertron. And his clumsy sabotage efforts wind up helping Megatron to escape and resume his war. The potential of showing Optimus having to deal with the newer, heavier pressures of true leadership are golden)

I can only say that I harbor the same aversion that some feel towards TFA to the look/toys/movies of all things Bayverse. The Bay figures just aren't any fun, they don't look good, and most of them are kibble-laden bricks. Maybe it's just resentment that they decided to make Megatron look like some kind of gay vampire, but I just don't like them, and I find the movies to be jarring, purile, juveline, crass, and emotionless. As a fan from G1, I had high hopes. But the first movie was a major letdown, and since then I have had no desire to see any of the movies in theater. To date, Movie 1 is the only one of which I have a DVD copy. And even that one has to be winced through. I've only caught snippets of the other films on TBS re-runs, though I've seen enough to know that they're not getting any better - quite the reverse.

And... I'm confused. Some say that Hasbro was planning '10 years' of TF prime, while others are saying the 'plan' was only 65 episodes (which is about the average life of a cartoon show, give or take). Has anybody got ANY proof of either allegation other besides 'oh it's just something I heard somewhere'? I don't think I ever said they cancelled TF Prime - I said they dumped it. (There's a difference. If the show had been cancelled for low ratings, that would be a crime. But it's even worse if they knew the show was great and popular, but they dumped it anyway for no other reason that some suit in some office somewhere said, 'Well, we hit 65 eps, that's it!') If the 'plan' was for only 65 episodes, when they had so much potential to do more, then it was extremely short-sighted of them. We never got any real insecticon figures, no decent version of Airachnid, no mass release of Breakdown... so much potential wasted.

And while I can't prove it, I'm still convinced that one of the major reasons why they're dumping TF Prime is to clear the field for the next round of Bayverse crap. When they started TF Prime, they were in Hasbro's inner circle, and they knew another movie was coming. They also knew the rough schedule for making it. Boom - we wind up with only 65 episodes of TF Prime - time to flush it and make room for Bay's next round.

Shockwave7 wrote:And... I'm confused. Some say that Hasbro was planning '10 years' of TF prime, while others are saying the 'plan' was only 65 episodes (which is about the average life of a cartoon show, give or take). Has anybody got ANY proof of either allegation other besides 'oh it's just something I heard somewhere'?

They have said a few times in interviews and I think in the S3 DVD audio commentaries they mentioned the plan for TFP was only 65 episodes. TFP was only a part of the Aligned Continuity, which is supposed to last 10+ years.

http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/ ... ve-/19044/

Scroll down, and it's there!

double post? Pfft.

Va'al wrote:http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/notes-from-hasbros-transformers-prime-cg-cartoon-panel-updated-during-panel-welker-and-cullen-reprise-roles-soundwave-/19044/

Scroll down, and it's there!

Ah, that's better. Still - again, it shows that Hasbro is REALLY short-sighted. TF Prime had the potential for at least 2 more great seasons of story arcs (Airachnid's fate being just one. Soundwave's potential escape being another).

I don't run corporations or networks, and I'm sure there's details and reasons behind their decisions. But if a show is popular and the figures are selling, it seems kind of stupid to end it just when it's really revving up.

And all the while, they're STILL running Pokemon - a series that SHOULD have ended years ago.... But the games/toys are still selling and making money. Surely they could have used that same excuse to carry TF Prime onward.

Though I do add the caveat that I don't think the BH figures sold very well. Walmart started duct-taping two Deluxe BH figures together for the price of one because they just aren't moving. Maybe that was the death-knell for the series, finalizing the decision to end it at 65.

Shockwave7 wrote:

Va'al wrote:http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/notes-from-hasbros-transformers-prime-cg-cartoon-panel-updated-during-panel-welker-and-cullen-reprise-roles-soundwave-/19044/

Scroll down, and it's there!

Ah, that's better. Still - again, it shows that Hasbro is REALLY short-sighted.

65 episodes/3 years does not strike me as short sighted, it's the 2nd highest episodes for a Transformers series, first being G1. The recent TF series don't last longer then 2-3 years as well.

However, prior to Hasbro dropping the whole Beast Hunters ordeal on the Prime show crew at the eleventh hour, TF: Prime had had about three-to-four seasons worth of story material to work with, but because of the last-minute insertion of Beast Hunters, all of it had to be sped up and finished off by the end of season 2, thus explaining why Bulkhead healed so quickly, why MECH got taken out of the picture, why the "Armada" episode had so much wrapped up in one go, etc. etc.

They also had more planned for season 3 had it been a full 26 episodes, but because of their intended goal of 65 episodes, they had 13 episodes left to work with and had to trim down, cut out, and alter their original Beast Hunters story material to make the remaining 13 episodes work. Though, the story material that was put into making "Predacons Rising" was not part of this original season 3 material, as it was crafted from all new ideas after they felt they were done making the series.

Shockwave7 wrote:Ah, that's better. Still - again, it shows that Hasbro is REALLY short-sighted. TF Prime had the potential for at least 2 more great seasons of story arcs (Airachnid's fate being just one. Soundwave's potential escape being another).

Well, this next series is the perfect place for all of that.

I don't run corporations or networks, and I'm sure there's details and reasons behind their decisions. But if a show is popular and the figures are selling, it seems kind of stupid to end it just when it's really revving up.

I feel like Prime ran its course and it was concluded on a great note. They went through their exposition (season one), rising action (season one finale into season two), climax (season two finale), falling action (beginning and middle of season three), and resolution (season three finale & Predacons Rising). To make anything more would've broken the elements of a story.

Honestly, though. What more could Prime have done for a fourth season? Any loose ends they should've tied up (the only legitimate ones being the Airachnid-Insecticon arc, Breakdown & Bulkhead's rivalry, and Raf's understanding of Bumblebee) needed to be done within the show's three season run. They didn't need to make a whole fourth season for that.

I hope the new series looks and feels like the fall of cybertron game. It's a nice mix between g1 and modern transformers.

Shockwave7 wrote:Daaaah, gee Hasbro - I donno - ya think maybe you should bring back TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED?????

Why did you (and/or Cartoon Network, depending on who you talk to) cancel a perfectly good series that appealed to both children, AND adults? And now you're scratching your heads, wondering what kind of transformers series could possibly appeal to children and adults?

Try NOT cancelling the good series' that you've already done before dweedling your lips and wondering how come there aren't any. Why re-invent the wheel here when TFA was a great series that was killed while it still had plenty of juice in it?

I have two boys - and this is the series we keep watching over and over. Prime is too dark or serious for them (they like the fight scenes, but when Ratchet laid out on a table about to be interrogated, no), G1 varies so much from show to show and has bizarre plots and too many new/random interchanging characters.

Rescue bots was great, but they got tired of it. Decepticons are fun!

So what was wrong with animated? Probably the artwork

I love Animated. Am working my way through now and really like it. I also will probably start in on Animated toys next, because I really like how they closely resemble the actual character on the show, which is really fun. Animated was such a fun, clever show with SO many homages to other iterations. Fun.