Transformers

For me, TRANSFORMERS is a cultural thing. It's larger than the '84 TV show and taps right into childhood. It's like the '89 Batman where I can't separate that period sentimentalism from the actual thing. I sit down and watch this, and I'm plugged back into the formative years. It's kinda funny to think of the show as an adult because it was the direct result of the early '80s FCC deregulation, paving the way for half-hour toy commercials as kids' programming. But that's the Lisa Simpson in my head talking. Hasbro's campaign worked, and I've been a fan for 30 years . . . even with the show's dodgy production values and toy line that was both overly complicated (I was constantly referring to the instruction manual) and inconsistent with the animated characters.

But the show worked its magic on me with a vengeance. And there are certainly bigger fans out there than myself. People who've spent years collecting the various iterations, series and live-action movies. But if we're talking the G1 stuff, I'm all over it. And there are other shows from that time that were better produced, but none that hit as precisely as this one. That link between TRANSFORMERS and being a kid is ironclad.

8/10

One of the best cartoons to come out in the 80's along with G.I. Joe and Visionaries.

This story is about two waring Robot factions, The Autobots (the good guys) lead by Optimus Prime, and The Decepticons (the evil nasty pieces of work) lead by the maniacal Megatron.

The show starts off with the Autobots leaving their home planet of Cybertron to find a new source of energy to win the war, having depleted their own planet of energy they set off in their space craft (known in the comics and the Beast Wars TV Series as The Ark) to find new sources of energy to help win the war and replenish there own planets energy supplies, but unknown to them The Decepticons already new about their plan and set off to follow them in their own space craft, The Decepticons ambush The Autobots in space and board there ship but the ship is caught in the magnetic pull of earths atmosphere and the ark crashes into a volcano and lies dormant for 4 million years, before an eruption re-activates the ships computer (teletraan I) which rebuilds and reactivates The Transformers giving them Human vehicles designs and the war starts all over again.

Along with "G.I. Joe", this was my one of my favorite cartoons as a kid. It deals with Optimus Prime and his Autobots in their never-ending battle with the evil Decepticons. Yes, the show was a commercial for the unending line of toys, trading cards, and other merchandise, but it was the best commercial EVER in my mind. The adventures were thrilling and I couldn't wait to watch it every day. The show was greatness personified until after the movie. Everything that came afterwords only tainted the memory more and more. Armada being the pinnacle of ass. However watching anything before the movie still remains pure gold and instantly takes me back to my wonderful childhood in the glorious '80's.

My Grade: A

Transformers is the greatest cartoon show ever made. The toys were outstanding. It makes the cartoons of today look like trash. The first seasons of Tranformers were the pinnacle of childrens entertainment, with supercool characters and awesome well built toys. Even the toys make the toys of today look like garbage. The toys hand a lot of die-casted parts. The cartoon had a good straight-forward plot. Everything went well until the movie where they killed all the best autobots and subsequently killed the transformers, afterwards the show was never the same and the toys started becoming all cheap plastic with simple designs. But the glorydays overshadow the dark. Transformers will forever be immortalized in the hearts of millions.

10/10

Ah, what a gem this was and still is! Sixteen years later, this series still has not lost its sparkle. This is due to the obvious care that was put into this production. Kudos to the animators for successfully animating a slew of WAY cool transforming robots (which, I am sure, is not very easy to do). Kudos to one of the best voice casts ever assembled for a production for bringing the characters wonderfully to life. (The cast list reads like a miniature "Who's Who" among voice artists.) Special thanks must go to Frank Welker, who brought Megatron (among other characters) wonderfully to life. And then, of course, there was the Autobot leader who became so beloved by kids everywhere that he rose to the status of genuine icon for many a child: OPTIMUS PRIME. Now, I liked "Beast Wars" and thought that Gary Chalk was good as Optimus Primal, but the one TRUE voice of the REAL Optimus Prime will ALWAYS belong to Peter Cullen. They could not have gotten (nor will ever get) a person so perfect for the role as him. He brought both gentle warmth and fearless commanding to Prime, and those traits are what made him last, in my opinion. Here's hoping the series will continue to do the same.