The Transformers (1984–1987)
"Transformers" (original title)

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

Stars:

Frank Welker, Chris Latta, Peter Cullen

Cast

Series cast summary:
Frank Welker	...	Megatron (88 episodes, 1984-1987)
Chris Latta	...	Starscream (73 episodes, 1984-1987)
Peter Cullen	...	Optimus Prime (70 episodes, 1984-1987)
Corey Burton	...	Spike Witwicky (65 episodes, 1984-1987)
John Stephenson	...	Thundercracker (64 episodes, 1984-1987)
Jack Angel	...	Ultra Magnus (62 episodes, 1985-1987)
Michael Bell	...	Prowl (58 episodes, 1984-1987)
Dan Gilvezan	...	Bumblebee (56 episodes, 1984-1987)
Casey Kasem	...	Teletraan I (53 episodes, 1984-1986)
Don Messick	...	Ratchet (51 episodes, 1984-1987)
Neil Ross	...	Bonecrusher (36 episodes, 1984-1987)

Storyline

The Autobots and Decepticons, during the great Cybertronian War, crash landed on earth. Millions of years later, geological activity revives the warring factions - the Decepticons want to strip the earth of its vast energy resources, and the Autobots seek to protect the inhabitants of earth from that fate. And so an endless battle begins...

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Plot Keywords:

alien | robot | battle | flying | high tech | 

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Taglines:

Robots in disguise!

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Genres:

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

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Certificate:

TV-Y7

Details

Official Sites:

Hasbro home page

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 September 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Transformers: Generation 1

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sunbow Productions, Marvel Productions, Hasbro

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (98 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Autobot's space ship, the Ark was originally named "Auntie". The name got carried over into the comics. Interestingly, the name of the ship was never spoken in the cartoon.

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Goofs

Wheeljack's "ears" that light up when he speaks change color randomly between episodes. Sometime, they shine with blue light, in other episodes they are red, yellow or white.

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Quotes

Optimus Prime: Sometimes even the wisest of man or machine can make an error.

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Connections

Referenced in Community: Comparative Religion (2009)

User Reviews

Adult oriented as well as child oriented

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Golly gosh,is Transformers really nearly 20 years old?This timeless celebration of colourful good machines versus bad machines is a piece of genius.I was channelsurfing today,and saw this on one of the channels.It was an episode I remember called The Revenge Of Bruticus.That holds your attention as well now as it did when you were a young kid.In fact,strangely enough,it almost seems better caught up in the pretentiousness of adult life.I would be very happy if they made a big hollywood blockbuster movie adaptation of the series,even though this would contradict my movie laws no end.Maybe the heartless marketing moguls at hollywood should leave this old classic alone,and let it stand the test of time in it's current posistion.*****