"Transformers" (1984) TV series 1984-1987

Director:

Peter Wallach

Writer:

Roger Slifer (live-action sequences)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

17 September 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

More than meets the eye!

Plot:

Two opposing camps of alien transforming robots fight in a war that has the fate of Earth in the balance.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Robot | Battle | Actor Playing Multiple Roles | High Tech

Cast

Frank Welker	...	Megatron / ... (72 episodes, 1984-1987)
Peter Cullen	...	Optimus Prime / ... (63 episodes, 1984-1987)
Chris Latta	...	Starscream / ... (63 episodes, 1984-1987)
Corey Burton	...	Spike Witwicky / ... (58 episodes, 1984-1987)
John Stephenson	...	Thundercracker / ... (54 episodes, 1984-1987)
Dan Gilvezan	...	Bumblebee / ... (51 episodes, 1984-1987)
Casey Kasem	...	Teletraan I / ... (51 episodes, 1984-1986)
Don Messick	...	Ratchet / ... (49 episodes, 1984-1986)
Michael Bell	...	Prowl / ... (48 episodes, 1984-1987)
Jack Angel	...	Ramjet / ... (41 episodes, 1985-1987)
Scatman Crothers	...	Jazz (34 episodes, 1984-1986)
Gregg Berger	...	Grimlock / ... (30 episodes, 1984-1986)
Ken Sansom	...	Hound / ... (30 episodes, 1984-1985)
Michael Chain	...	Hoist / ... (29 episodes, 1985-1986)

Also Known As:

Super God Robot Force
Tatakae! Chô robot seimeitai Transformer (Japan)
The Transformers (USA) (new title)
Transformer 2010 (Japan) (third season title)
Transformers: Generation 1 (USA) (informal title)
Transformers (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Transformers (Greece) [el]
Transformers (West Germany) [de]

Runtime:

Argentina:30 min | USA:30 min (98 episodes)

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:U (video rating) | Singapore:G | Canada:G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | USA:TV-Y7 | Australia:G (some episodes)

Company:

Sunbow Productions

Trivia:

Omega Supreme was originally going to be called "Fortress Maximus". Although his name was changed, the name Fortress Maximus is later given to a character who first appears in the series-ending, episode 4.01, 4.02 and 4.03 "The Rebirth Part 1-3".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Animation errors can be found in each and every episode, and some of these are quite noticeable. Characters are colored differently from shot to shot at times, robots that should be dead appear randomly, and sometimes, you can see the same character twice in the same shot. Another issue is the misplacing of animation cels, which resulted in characters appearing to be small/gigantic, and in some instances, full limbs and other body parts are missing.

Quotes:

Quintesson Commander: Besides, how can you be so sure we are the ones who betrayed you?
Galvatron: Well... you all do look alike...

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Robot Chicken: Dragon Nuts (#2.5)" (2006)

My favorite cartoon ever

Words can't even express how passionate I am about "Transformers." The recent DVD releases have let me revisit the entire series, and it's been one of the happiest experiences of my life. I wasn't entirely surprised how clearly I remembered individual bits of certain episodes (rare character appearances, etc.) as I watched them, even though I hadn't seen them in 15 or 20 years.

The following are my season-by-season impressions:

Season One - In the cold light of retrospect, this is the one that holds up the least well. There are too few characters (or the same ones are spotlighted too often,) the action is generally tame compared to later seasons, and the stories are too campy and repetitive. The one standout episode is the last one, "Heavy Metal War." My guess is that they weren't sure if it would be back next year, and decided to pull out all the stops.

Season Two - My sentimental favorite, because it had the best characters (my favorite Autobot was Tracks, my favorite Decepticon was Starscream - yes, he'd been around since Season One, but he was spotlighted more in Season Two,) but the quality level is so uneven it can be frustrating. The first few episodes are basically a continuation of season one, as no new characters are introduced yet, but these include two of the series crown jewels, "Atlantis, Arise" and "The Insecticon Syndrome." Once the new characters started rolling out (pun intended) the episode-to-episode quality still fluctuated, but there were still plenty of keepers.

Season Three - Very underrated in my opinion. Yes, it's a shame that a lot of the best characters were either killed off or re-invented in the movie (which I didn't like - it had no story) and that their replacements were a pretty boring bunch (except for Cyclonus.) But the quality of the writing was much more consistent (the five-part season opener, "The Five Faces of Darkness," was everything the movie could have been,) some familiar characters really blossomed (Grimlock was so cool,) and the show had a darker tone and more action, changes which sat well with me (most of my favorites of the earlier episodes were along those lines.)

"Rebirth" - The three-part series closer. Too much like an average Season Two episode. The DVD has an excellent interview with writer David Wise, who genially explains why it didn't turn out as well as it could have.

My dream come true would be if there were a brand-new series with the Gen 1 characters. I just hope they don't start until I've broken into the industry, so I can write for it.