The Transformers 

Two opposing factions of transforming alien robots engage in a battle that has the fate of Earth in the balance.

Stars:

Frank Welker, Peter Cullen, Corey Burton

Cast

Series cast summary:
Frank Welker	...	Megatron / ... 93 episodes, 1984-1987
Peter Cullen	...	Optimus Prime / ... 69 episodes, 1984-1987
Corey Burton	...	Spike Witwicky / ... 68 episodes, 1984-1987
Christopher Collins	...	Starscream / ... 68 episodes, 1984-1987
John Stephenson	...	Thundercracker / ... 67 episodes, 1984-1987
Jack Angel	...	Ultra Magnus / ... 60 episodes, 1985-1987
Dan Gilvezan	...	Bumblebee / ... 54 episodes, 1984-1987
Michael Bell	...	Prowl / ... 53 episodes, 1984-1987
Casey Kasem	...	Teletraan I / ... 53 episodes, 1984-1986
Don Messick	...	Ratchet / ... 49 episodes, 1984-1986
Neil Ross	...	Springer / ... 39 episodes, 1984-1987

Storyline

During the great Cybertronian War, the Autobots and the Decepticons crash landed on Earth. Millions of years later, geological activity revives the warring factions - the Decepticons want to strip 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 in a crucial race to find an energy source for their homeworld Cybertron.

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Plot Keywords:

1980s | actor voicing multiple characters | alien planet | alien world | flying robot | 

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Taglines:

More than meets the eye!

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-Y7

Details

Official Sites:

Hasbro home page

Country:

USA Japan South Korea

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 September 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Transformers

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,300,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sunbow Productions, Marvel Productions, Hasbro

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (98 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Autobots, most recognisable human friend, Spike Whitwicky, was aged in his late teens to early 20s in Seasons 1 and 2, because they were set in the years of production where in the movie and the final 2 seasons he was older because they were set 20 + years into the future

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Goofs

The second title sequence of Season 3 contains a number of notable animation errors. When the Sharkticon swims towards the screen and opens its mouth, it suddenly turns upside-down for a couple of frames. And in the last shot of the sequence, Ultra Magnus' head is colored entirely blues (his face should be gray), and Kup is drawn with Springer's head. These errors are easy to spot, since the appear in almost every episode.

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Quotes

Ironhide: Stop talkin', tighten your shock absorbers and get in. We're gonna make a new river.

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Connections

Referenced in Phineas and Ferb: One Good Scare Ought To Do It!: Parts 1 & 2 (2008)

User Reviews

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.