"Beast Wars: Transformers" (1996) TV series 1996-1999

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

6 August 1996 (Canada)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Animation | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The Transformers story continues in the acclaimed sequel!

Plot:

The Transformers' war continues in an older time, through a newer generation. On a prehistoric Earth, the heroic Maximals and the evil Predacons battle for survival against each other and against nature.

Plot Keywords:

Planet | Battle | Robot | Spaceship | Alien

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Scott McNeil	...	Dinobot / ... (52 episodes, 1996-1999)
Gary Chalk	...	Optimus Primal / ... (51 episodes, 1996-1999)
Ian James Corlett	...	Cheetor / ... (50 episodes, 1996-1999)
Richard Newman	...	Rhinox / ... (50 episodes, 1996-1999)
David Kaye	...	Megatron (48 episodes, 1996-1999)
Venus Terzo	...	Blackarachnia (40 episodes, 1996-1999)
Alec Willows	...	Tarantulas (35 episodes, 1996-1999)
Jim Byrnes	...	Inferno (28 episodes, 1997-1999)
Doug Parker	...	Terrorsaur / ... (25 episodes, 1996-1997)
Don Brown	...	Scorponok (24 episodes, 1996-1997)

Also Known As:

Beasties: Transformers (Canada: English title)
Beasties (Canada: English title)
Transformers: Beast Wars (USA) (last season title)

Runtime:

30 min (52 episodes)

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (1997-) | Matrix Surround (1996-1997)

Certification:

Australia:PG (some episodes) | Singapore:PG | Australia:G (some episodes) | USA:TV-Y7

Company:

Alliance Atlantis Communications

Trivia:

Originally, the character Tigatron was supposed to be another character Wolfang. The personality traits were kept, but the character was changed per request of Hasbro.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Kup, who is on Cybertron while the events of this series are occurring, is visible over Optimus Prime's right shoulder when the Preds break into the Ark's control room.

Quotes:

Blackarachnia: They're back just like Tarantulas always said they would be.

Movie Connections:

Follows "Transformers: Victory" (1989)

Very catchy

I remember I first saw this serial in Poland, where I was working in 2000-2001, and then I got hooked on it, and started to watch every episode in the morning or daytime, before or after my classes. It really did catch me! I was enthralled and marveled. Before that, I had hated to see any of the original Tranformers Series, but Beast Wars is a huge step forward, a real progress and areal improvement. What is bad there is a second-rate computer graphics, it is at its best naive or even extremely poor, and you see all the obvious mistakes, the goofs with the position of this or that hero in the given place, his or her coloration or the odd design of the background. Never mind, the plot is breathless. The incessant war between good and band animals, Maximals and Predagons, is very real, and you see not a gorilla, not a wasp, a rat, an eagle or a cheetah, but real people beside, behind, inside them, with their real problems, characters, tragedies and even very cute humor. The Rat one is the best, a cunning little cowardly creature, very lovable and sweet. And what a romance story in the second season! I re-watched the whole serial here in Russia and still am a great fan of it. Watch it!