The Ultimate Doom, Countdown to Extinction, A Plague of Insecticons, and Heavy Metal War

Hello there and welcome to the third episode

of the TFG1 podcast recorded on January 9th,

2009. I am your host, Michael Blanchard. I want

to wish everyone a happy new year. 2009 is here.

Second supplemental episode of the TFG1 podcast,

Steve Megatron and I combined our podcasts and

talked about our Christmas stuff and best of

2008, what we liked, what we didn't like, stuff

like that. That was actually, like I said, TFG1

Supplemental 2, and it was All Things Transformers

Episode 10, so congratulations to Steve for 10

episodes. Today I'll be reviewing the final six

episodes of the Transformers Generation 1 Season

1 DVD set. I just want to let my listeners know

that I have mapped out the entire G1 series,

including the movie, to span 24 podcast episodes.

After the final episode, which I'll be reviewing,

the Rebirth Saga, I'll have episode 25 reviewing

and hopefully having a possible roundtable. about

the 2007 and upcoming this year, 2009 sequel

of the live -action Transformers Realms. After

that, I am unsure. As of this recording, I do

not have the Beast Wars and Beast Machines DVD

sets. I thought I was going to, but that fat,

dumb bastard Santa Claus didn't bring them to

me. His reindeer ain't getting no carrots next

year. Bastard. Anyway... I may go on to do a

Beast Wars Beast Machines podcast. I don't know

yet. I've got also several other ideas in mind.

I would like to get a co -host on here, a regular

co -host with me. I usually record Monday nights

of the week that the podcast is supposed to be

airing. The only requirement that I have is that

you must own the Transformers Generation 1 Rhino

DVD sets and just want to be a part of a Transformers

podcast. If anyone wants to do this or if anyone

would like to join me, you can email me at tfg1podcast

at gmail .com. Before I get into the episodes

today, I would like to mention that I've received

my first two iTunes reviews. One is from Steve,

slash Megatron. Thanks, buddy. Greatly appreciated.

The other one, well, it's not a stellar review,

but hey, any feedback is welcomed. Thanks, Slash's

Bacon Pit. Whoever the hell that is. Alright,

let's get into the episodes. To start off...

Reviewing today's episodes by the three -parter,

The Ultimate Doom. First up, The Ultimate Doom

Part 1. To synopsize this episode, we open this

episode in India, where a... Maharaja, I think

that's how you say it, I don't know, I'll end

up fucking that up later, has converted his palace

into a solar power station as a gift to his people.

The Decepticons attack the palace, we then see

Optimus Prime and the Autobots heading to stop

the three Decepticon jets. However, this is just

a diversion from Megatron's real plan. He has

teamed with an evil human doctor named Archival.

This guy wants a human subject for his controller

chips that he wants to use on the other humans

to enslave them. At the Autobot base, Soundwave

releases Rumble to distract the Autobots while

Laserbeak kidnaps Sparkplug. Back at the palace,

in India, Megatron alerts the other Decepticons

to return to base that Operation Guinea Pig has

been completed. Prime, Jazz, and the others are

very confused by this. Laserbeak brings Sparkplug

to the Decepticon base, and even though he tries

to escape, Dr. Archiville straps him in a metal

chair and puts some sort of computer chip behind

his right ear. Megatron says to the scientist

that it had better work, or he'll be sorry. Then

Megatron has Dr. Archiville test Sparkplug on

a dummy of Optimus Prime, and it works. The Autobots

mount a valiant rescue, but it is somewhat of

a trap now that Sparkplug is under Decepticon

control. At the Autobot base, Sparkplug is going

around repairing bots that need no repair, and

this causes Spike to become very suspicious.

At that very moment, the Decepticons attack the

base. Spike finds out why Teletraan didn't alert

the Autobots because Sparkplug sabotaged the

computer. Spike then drops a wrench. into Teletrans

computer chips, causing the alarms to go off,

and fire -retardant foam to be released, short

-circuiting the Decepticons. The Decepticons

then retreat, Sparkplug tries to get Spike to

come with him, and Spike tells him that he isn't

like the Decepticons, and that he is, you know,

on the Autobot side and everything else. To which

Sparkplug replies, then the next we meet we are

enemies. In the desert we find the Decepticons

building the new larger space bridge. Dr. Archiville

finds out what Megatron's plan is, and he is

devastated because Megatron is going to bring

Cybertron to Earth. Unfortunately, doing this

will destroy Earth, but Megatron doesn't care

as long as he gets the energy he needs to conquer

the world. The Autobots have the Sky Spy functioning

again, and they find out about the Decepticons'

largest space bridge yet. Then we see Cybertron

and Shockwave telling Megatron that the space

bridge has been completed, and they are ready

to transport Cybertron. Dr. Archiville has the

human slaves attack the Autobots, and Spike stops

Sparkplug from attacking Bumblebee. But then

Father and Son get into a fight. Two of the three

needed pylons get activated. but Prime stops

Megatron from activating the third for the moment.

Then Megatron threatens Optimus Prime with the

fact that unless he activates the third pylon,

he'll be responsible for Cybertron's destruction.

So Prime activates it. The transference of Cybertron

begins, thus creating massive tidal waves and

earthquakes and all kinds of natural disasters

on Earth. That about sums up this episode. As

I've said before, I think I said in episode one

of the podcast, with the three, four, and five

-part story arcs, I love those. They're just

great. I would much rather have an overarching

story than that, you know, just didn't... be,

you know, filler episodes. I really don't have

too many notes on Part 1 of The Ultimate Doom.

The animation was solid and very cool looking.

The same lip -syncing problems as the episodes

before it, though, in previous podcast episodes.

The lip -syncing in Season 1 is just horrible.

It just is. I'm sorry. So, yeah, that is The

Ultimate Doom Part 1. Earthlings say, fat sense,

fathead. In the next episode of the Transformers,

Megatron's deadly plan to bring Cybertron into

Earth's orbit creates tremendous natural disasters

around the world. The Dinobots attempt to stop

the huge tidal waves and earthquakes which threaten

to rip the planet apart. and Spike journeys to

Cybertron to save his father, Spotplug, who has

been turned into a mindless slave. All in the

next exciting episode of The Transformers The

Ultimate Doom. and create an army of slaves to

produce a vast supply of Energon cubes. Spike's

father, Spotplug, is captured by the Decepticons

and turned into a mindless slave. And Megatron

succeeds in bringing Cybertron into Earth's orbit,

causing huge tidal waves and earthquakes, which

threaten to rip the planet apart as we begin

the second episode of The Transformers. The Ultimate

Doom. Next up today is The Ultimate Doom Part

2. To synopsize this episode, as the second episode

of The Ultimate Doom opens, Cybertron is within

Earth's orbit and creating tons of natural disasters.

The Decepticons and Soundwave create audio disruptor

waves to incapacitate the Autobots. Optimus Prime

tells his Autobots to retreat and then Starscream

mouths off to Megatron about letting the enemy

get away. Megatron then tells him that they can

destroy the Autobots at their leisure and tells

him that this is the only warning that he is

going to get as far as trying to double -cross

Megatron. Back at the Decepticon underwater base,

Dr. Archiville and Rumble are enslaving more

humans with the evil scientist's hypnochips.

Megatron tells him that he'll be returning shortly.

We then skip to a military base, which Laserbeak

is attacking and makes off with one of the humans

for Archiville's experiments of enslaving the

humans. The Autobots are going back. to headquarters,

I think, and they can't even... Wait, what the

hell is that? I think I can't even see... Oh,

yeah. The Autobots are going back to headquarters,

they think, but they can't even see the road

in front of them because of the hailstorm and

high winds. Bumblebee gets a flat, and Spike,

even though in a daze, helps him change the tire.

However, an earthquake starts, and Bumblebee

transforms, but is hanging off of the cliff.

Spike tries to help him, but Laserbeak appears

and makes off with the boy. Bumblebee falls into

the crevice. Windcharger, Hound, and Blue Streak

see Laserbeak with Spike and shoot the Decepticon

just enough so the bird drops Spike. Hound rescues

him. and they go searching for Bumblebee. At

Autobot headquarters, Optimus Prime wonders how

they can save Earth and Cybertron. Wheeljack

tells him that the Dinobots may be able to help

save Earth with, you know, maybe stopping some

of these natural disasters. Let's see here. At

the Decepticon headquarters, a tidal wave sends

rocks over the cliff next to the Decepticon base,

causing Thundercracker to be off balance and

the Energon cubes he is carrying to explode.

Then the tidal wave destroys the Decepticon periscope

entrance. Man, I really like that thing. I hope

that comes back. And they have to abandon the

base. At Autobot headquarters, there's an explosive...

Prime asks Wheeljack for a damage report, and

he tells the leader that the volcano is becoming

active again. The majority of the Autobots escape

the base, including Skyfire, who sees the other

Autobots blasted out of the top of the volcano.

He transforms and rescues them. Ironhide goes

to stop the volcanic eruption, and he succeeds.

The Dinobots divert several disasters from happening.

Spike finds out that his father is on Cybertron

and begs Optimus Prime to let him take Skyfire,

Wheeljack, and Bumblebee to rescue Sparkplug.

That way they can figure out what kind of hold

the Decepticons have over the humans. Skyfire

heads for Cybertron with most of the Autobots

within his cargo hold. They get there. Spike...

Trips a trap door and he and Bumblebee and Wheeljack

fall in. Wheeljack tells Braun to follow them

because they won't fit. The Autobots and Spike

find the Decepticon headquarters on Cybertron.

They also learn how the humans are being controlled.

Spike places his dad's favorite wrench nearby

so he'll see it, but the stronger hypno -chip

overrides Sparkplug and he sounds the alarm.

This concludes this episode. And it's to be continued.

Now for my thoughts on this episode. The animation

since the series has started has gotten steadily

better. I have not noticed as many animation

flubs or sound -slash -lip -syncing issues, even

though there are plenty to come up throughout

the first season. As I stated before, I love

the cliffhanger endings of these three -part

story arcs. These types of stories are really,

really cool. I do have to point out a similarity

here, though. These three episodes of The Ultimate

Doom is the exact same general premise that Galvatron

does in Rebirth, in the Rebirth saga. I just

noticed that when watching this episode. And

Spike makes one final desperate attempt to rescue

his father, Spotplug, before the planet Earth

is torn to pieces. All in the final exciting

episode of... The Transformers, the ultimate

doom. Evil scientist Dr. Arkville, the Decepticons

use hypnochips to control the minds of human

beings and create an army of slaves to produce

a vast supply of energon cubes. Megatron succeeds

in bringing Cybertron into Earth's orbit, causing

huge tidal waves and earthquakes which threaten

to rip the planet apart. And Spike journeys to

Cybertron to save his father, Sparkplug, who

has been turned into a mindless slave. But Sparkplug

betrays his son and sounds the alarm, alerting

the Decepticons, as we begin the final episode

of The Transformers. The Ultimate Doom. Next

up, The Ultimate Doom Part 3. To synopsize this

episode, we start where the last episode left

off. Sparkplug has alerted the Decepticons to

Spike and the Autobots being on Cybertron. However,

the Decepticons confront them and Brawn goes

after the Jets and Soundwave. Spike tries to

escape, but his father stops him. Shockwave is

going to blast Spike, but Braun jumps in front

of the boy just as Shockwave fires. Skyfire,

Wheeljack, and Trailbreaker bust in on the fight,

and Skyfire holds Shockwave off while the others

escape. In the Roads of Cybertron, the Autobots

and Spike are trying to escape the Decepticons

that are following them. Skyfire states that

they should go... on to Wheeljack's workshop

and he'll meet up with them later. At Wheeljack's

workshop, Bumblebee hands Wheeljack a computer

disk that he swiped while they were at Decepticons

headquarters. Sorry about that, folks. Optimus

Prime and the rest of the Autobots are on surfboards

as a tidal wave comes up behind them. I loved

seeing that. That was so cool. I need to get

a screenshot of that. The leader states that

if they can stay ahead of the crest, then the

tidal wave may just take them where they want

to go, into Megatron's camp. At the Decepticon

energy collector, Megatron orders Starscream

to install the generators so that they can collect.

Energy from the incoming tidal waves. Megatron

asks Rumble if the tidal waves are forming, and

Rumble tells him yes, but the Autobots are riding

the wave, to which Megatron replies, good, they're

riding to their doom. Megatron escapes with a

starship full of Energon cubes, and Starscream

is left behind to prepare the next wave. However,

he rescues Dr. Archiville, and they... are plotting

against Megatron. On Cybertron, Spike is running

around the Decepticon headquarters until Shockwave

discovers him and demands the whereabouts of

his Autobot friends. He refuses to tell him,

and Sparkplug asks his son once again to join

the Decepticon cause, to which Spike refuses.

Shockwave... Then says destroy the small human.

Wheeljack unveils his Hypno Disruptor and Sparkplug

is free of Decepticon control. The Autobots escape

in Skyfire and head back to Earth. Optimus Prime

and the other Autobots attack the Decepticons

after Starscream plans on mutiny, but Megatron

catches him, however. Skywarp tells Megatron

of an emergency with the slaves malfunctioning.

The battle begins between the warring factions.

The battle rages on until Skyfire arrives. Wheeljack

uses his Hypno Disruptor to free the humans.

The battle turns to the Autobots' favor. The

humans are freed and run away. Prime wants to

fight Megatron, but the Decepticon leader escapes

in his starship. Full of Energon. Bumblebee knocks

Rumble into the earthquake crevice. Cybertron

will destroy the Earth unless it is knocked out

of Earth's orbit. The Autobots start blasting

Megatron's starship. They eventually hit it and

it gets destroyed, accomplishing the goal of

knocking Cybertron out of Earth. Out of orbit.

The natural disasters on Earth stop, and everything

is returned to normal. Optimus Prime is unsure

if Megatron is truly finished. And we cut to

outer space, where we see the destroyed starship

of Megatron flying off into deep space, saying

he will be avenged. And that rounds out the final

episode of the Ultimate Doom three -parter. Now

for my thoughts. I don't have too many on this,

as I've stated before in today's podcast. I really

did like this story. It was just a great overall

story. It left you on the edge of your seat on

the cliffhangers. It was just great storytelling,

I thought. It also added character depth to Spike

and Sparkplug instead of them just being two

humans helping these giant robots. There were

very few flubs in any of these episodes so far.

My question would be, though, where the hell

did Starscream go with Dr. Archival? Of course,

I think that question will be answered in the

next episode I review today. I kind of slacked

off in this three -part episode, folks. I found

myself just watching to watch it for sheer enjoyment.

This should be our final shipment to Cybertron.

Look at Megatron. I'm gonna blast that smile

off his faceplate. No, Cliffjumper. That would

endanger the humans. We must get Megatron away

from his starship before we can attack. Well,

see what I can do. Happy hunting, Mirage. But

I wouldn't count on getting lucky. Old Megatron's

glued to that ship. He must be ready for launch

when Cybertron passes over us. I want the spades

to work faster. Where is Dr. Rockaville? It's

no use, Doctor! I can't drain enough mind energy

from your feeble brain to fill even one cube!

Without my own energon source, I shall never

be able to take control of the Decepticon! That's

mutiny, Starscream! Megatron! And the penalty

for mutiny is termination! Well, traitor! Megatron!

Emergency! I shall return! What's wrong? Look!

The slaves are malfunctioning! But it's not possible!

And this Dr. Archibald has also betrayed me!

Seems like you've run out of trusty friends,

Megatron! An Autobot? Here? Correction, Megatron.

Autobots! And now that your former slaves are

safely out of the way, we can attack! A fool's

ploy, Prime! Look above you! You're not pushing

slaves around this time. The battle's just begun.

We're outnumbered. I suggest a strategic retreat

for regrouping. We've got to fight it out. If

we lose now, Cybertron's next orbit will tear

the Earth apart. We need reinforcements, and

we need them now. Ask and you shall receive.

And not an astral second too soon. Your slave

control time's over, Megatron. It's Independence

Day! for me! Megatron, it's time for you and

me to settle things. You have a bigger problem

to deal with, Prime. The Earth and everything

on it is about to be destroyed. It's your problem

too, Megatron. I won't be here. I'm after Cybertron

with enough energy to rule forever. the face

of the globe. It won't do us any good either.

We can stop it! We've just got to knock Cybertron

out of its orbit! That's impossible! It would

take an explosion equivalent to 10 billion astroliters

of energy! The Energon Cubes on Megatron Starship!

Me too. Not a bad day's work, was it, Optimus?

I got Dad back, Cybertron's gone, the Earth is

safe, and Megatron's finished. I only wish that

were true, Spike. bringing Cybertron into Earth's

orbit and harvesting the unleashed energy. Megatron

leaves the world in ruins, but Optimus Prime

and the Autobots fight back and destroy Megatron's

starship, releasing enough energy to knock Cybertron

out of Earth's orbit. And now, the Autobots begin

the repair of the shattered planet. More! on

the Decepticon hot cassette charts. As I believe

the Earthlings say, lay it on me, man. You got

it. Let's hear it with laser beam tape. Yes,

Starscream, I understand. Good. Take me to your

secret laboratory. I have use for your other

inventions. That is our next destination, Autobots.

Transform! is Countdown to Extinction. To synopsize

this episode, even though the last episode was

the finale of the three -part The Ultimate Doom,

in this episode we pick up where the last left

off. Excuse me. The Autobots are trying to repair

the shattered planet Earth after its near destruction

by Megatron and the Decepticons. At the Decepticon

underwater stronghold, the fallen evildoers are

fighting amongst themselves until Megatron comes

in and tells them to knock it off. The leader

tells his troops that he has unfinished business

with the evil Dr. Archiville and that traitor

Starscream. Laserbeak comes in and reports his

findings of what Starscream and Dr. Archiville

are up to. The Decepticons head out to stop Starscream's

plans. At the Ark, the Autobots get Teletraan

-1 repaired in time to see that Megatron is functional

and they must stop the Decepticons from regrouping.

Flying through the desert, Starscream and Dr.

Archiville arrive at the scientist's lab. They

then go inside. Starscream finds the doctor's

energy source at the same time as the Decepticons

are headed for the lab. Rumble spots the Autobots

below, following them. Megatron sends Skywarp

and Thundercracker to deal with the Autobots.

At the lab, Starscream has made improvements

on the energy generator. He has activated a timing

device so that after eight Earth hours, it will

explode and destroy the entire planet Earth,

and he will be back on Cybertron collecting the

excess energy to rule the universe. As Starscream

and the evil doctor head for Cybertron, the Autobots

fight back with the Decepticons on Earth. This

battle is short. A short one, Megatron tells

the Decepticons to retreat because the Autobots

don't know when to quit. The Autobots follow

them. And then we are shown Cybertron where Starscream

tells Shockwave that Megatron is no more and

that he has been destroyed along with his starship.

Starscream then blasts the communication monitor

so Shockwave cannot try and attempt to contact

Megatron. Shockwave complies with this order

of no further attempts to make contact with the

Earth. They then start building energy collectors

for when Earth is destroyed. Dr. Archibald tries

to stop Starscream's plan, but gets shocked by

the security system on the computer. On Earth,

Megatron and the Decepticons lead Optimus, priming

the Autobots into a trap. The valiant Autobots

escape the quicksand and capture Laserbeak. To

find out where the Decepticons are headed after

learning what Laserbeak taped, they then head

for the evil Dr. Archiville's lab. At the lab,

Megatron discovers the exponential generator,

but none of the Decepticons see the timer on

the wall. Then the Autobots arrive and the battle

begins again. Optimus Prime gives Megatron a

very good uppercut. And we cut to Cybertron where

Starscream has melted down robotic parts with

Dr. Archiville. Oh, yeah. Because when Dr. Archiville

had gotten shocked by the security system, the

only way that the doctor was able to survive

was for Starscream to combine robotic parts with

his human parts. So he is basically a cyborg

type deal. Just imagine Cyborg from the DC Universe

as a white guy that has a really, really bad

accent. I hate to make that comparison, but that's

the best way I can describe it. Plus Starscream

thinks that the Doctor needs a rest from meddling

in his affairs. Shockwave walks out of the room.

He contacts Megatron and explains that the generator

is on a timing mechanism. Optimus Prime and Megatron

search for it on Earth. In the lab, Megatron

finds the timing device and destroys it. Shockwave

tells Megatron of Starscream's plan. and the

Decepticon leader exclaims that he will be destroyed.

Starscream must return to Earth to find out why

the explosion hasn't occurred yet. In the lab

on Earth, Megatron and Optimus Prime fight for

the energy core of the generator. They get it

outside. The two leaders actually opt to work

together to get rid of the energy core. Optimus

Prime fires it out of Megatron into space, and

it explodes on Starscream. The double -crossing

Decepticon crash lands on Earth right in front

of Megatron's feet. The Autobots are heading

back to headquarters, and Bumblebee asks Optimus

Prime, what he thinks Megatron will do to Starscream.

The Autobot leader replies, Nothing gentle, I'm

betting. Thus brings this episode to a close.

Now for my thoughts. Frenzy debuts in this episode.

I'm going to be trying to notice all of the new

characters in each episode that I review so I

can point them out to people. Frenzy actually

debuted in this episode. The animation, as I've

said before, seems to be getting better. Yes,

I know these cartoons were made in 1984, but

I haven't really noticed any flubs so far today.

Exercise extreme caution we're floating in a

potential inferno Megatron said to give you a

warm welcome The oil tanker If the flames reach

the refinery, the whole place will explode. I'm

saying, come and look, storm clouds. The day

is won. What is that helium -headed grasshopper

talking about? He's talking about the end of

the Autobots. Not in the sky! But our weapon

is in the clouds! And Bombshell's explosion has

brought it to us now! Taste the lightning, Autobot

fool! It tastes terrible! There's got to be something

we can do before we all get fried. There is.

Bumblebee, you've got to transform. Spike, Bumblebee,

stay back. You'll be destroyed. There is now.

We're still okay. What went wrong? Optimus, everyone.

Rubber tires are insulation. The lightning can't

hurt you when you're rolling on them. Now you're

talking. Hop on, Wheeljack. But watch my... from

the sky. I have the most powerful weapon of all,

floating in the sea. When the refinery goes up,

the Autobots will never know what hit them. The

tanker. For once, I wish Megatron the best of

luck. Unfortunately for us, the Insecticons are

Decepticons, too. And with the same engineering,

they won't stay enemies for long. Very true,

Wheeljack. Up next is A Plague of Insecticons.

To synopsize this episode, this episode opens

in Bali in a place called Demon Swamp where gigantic

unknown robots attack the humans. These things

are giant insects. They attack three boats with

fishermen inside each of the boats. The humans

get away barely, but need the radio for help.

At Autobot headquarters, Spike and Sparkplug

hear the SOS over the radio. The Decepticons

learn of these giant robot insects, through Laserbeak,

and head off to the Bali jungle. Once they get

there, Megatron has Soundwave release Ravage

to find them. What they find is a Decepticon

escape pod from their ship that was destroyed

four million years earlier. Optimus Prime and

the Autobots are hot on the trail, but the village

celebration blocks the road so they find a way

around it and head on their way to investigate

the SOS call. At the farm, the Insecticons are

attacking the humans, eating... and eating the

crops. Skyfire, Brawn, Bumblebee, Windcharger,

and Spike arrive at the far farm. Ah, crap. Stupid

keyboard. Farm, and even though they have the

Insecticons outnumbered, they are still outmatched

by their powers. The Insecticons clone themselves.

And now outmatch the Autobots. Wind Charger says

that they sure hope Prime and the others get

there soon. Tunneling under the villagers has

taken longer than Sideswipe thought. Prime blasts

through the cavern and the Autobots attack the

Decepticons. And Insecticons. But Megatron says

that they must go. An oil refinery awaits them

and after taking its energy they will have power

to destroy their enemies. The Autobots attempt

to repair Skyfire. Then they head after the Decepticons.

Soundwave alerts Megatron that they are no longer

alone. The Decepticon leader sends the Insecticons

after Skyfire and Wheeljack jumps in to help

out the giant plane. After ridding Skyfire of

the Insecticons, Optimus Prime catches Wheeljack.

On his trailer at the oil refinery, the evildoers

attack and start stealing energy to make energon

cubes. The Insecticon Bombshell takes control

of Sunstreaker and Sideswipe by using two of

his cerebro -shells, making them attack the other

Autobots. Trailbreaker uses his force field to

interrupt Bombshell's control waves, and Bronn

tells Optimus to throw him so he can catch that

bug. Bronn starts riding Bombshell until Kickback

comes to aid Bombshell and kicks Bronn down.

Skyfire rushes in and saves the tough Autobot.

At the oil refinery, the Decepticon energy draining

operation is going well. When the Insecticons

arrive, Megatron tells them to eat a hole in

the nearby tanker and they can get their share

of the energy. The Autobots and Decepticons get

into a battle at the refinery. The Incepticons

attempt to use lightning to defeat the Autobots,

but Spike realizes that if the Autobots are running

on their tires, the rubber insulates them. Prime

stops the tanker from exploding. Meanwhile, the

Insecticons declare that they need no one's help,

and they start to steal the Decepticons' energon

cubes. Megatron and the rest of the Decepticons

attack the Insecticons. Megatron says, forget

about the Autobots, and they go after the Insecticons,

thus bringing this episode to a close. Now for

my thoughts. This episode premiered. The Insecticons,

obviously. Kickback, shrapnel, and bombshell.

This episode showcased the Autobots thinking

outside the box in order to get around an obstacle

that they couldn't just plow through. The prime

Megatron battles in each episode are great. I

really haven't seen many animation or sound flubs

in these episodes I'm reviewing today. Next up

is the season ender. I'm still not crazy about

this combat deal, Optimus. We all know how tricky

Megatron can be. I mean, they don't call those

creeps Decepticons for nothing. The code specifies

a fair battle, Spike. Under those rules, I'm

confident I can beat Megatron. Besides, if he

does not abide by the rules, Teletraan One will

tell us. The time for the battle approaches.

Autobots, transform! Doesn't this remind you

of the gladiatorial combats in ancient Rome?

Maybe it would if I knew what you were talking

about. It's Earth history, Ironhide. Skiff it.

One -to -one combat, Megatron. With the Vanquished

and his army exiled to deep space. He was that

strong. Optimus Prime, beaten by Megatron. He's

still functional, but barely. My fault. Underestimated

Megatron. Never suspected he had so many powers.

I was not prepared. Well, I'm prepared to knock

those deceptive... has beaten me according to

Cybertron law. To violate that law would destroy

our honor. We will comply and leave this Earth

forever. We'll need Teletraan 1 to diagnose all

his damage. Optimus, can you transform? I'll

try. some of his strength on the way back. Let

me take that load, Optimus. You're a true friend,

Huffer. Autobots, roll out. Perhaps for the last

time. We will accompany them back to their headquarters

to make certain noble Optimus Prime keeps his

word. check that out I just had Teletran -1 do

an energy scan on Optimus' damaged parts and...

See for yourselves. Of course. Somehow Megatron

used the powers of all the other Decepticons.

Then, then Megatron cheated, and we can ignore

the agreement with him, right, Optimus? That

is affirmative. Heavy Metal War. According to

the Rhino DVD sets is the season finale of Transformers

Generation 1 Season 1. To synopsize this episode,

we begin the final episode of Season 1 with the

Constructicons attacking an energy plant that

has a new energy disk that will tap the heat

at the Earth's core to give the humans all the

energy that they need. The Constructicons head

back to the temporary Decepticon base in Megatron

States. that it was worth the time building them

in the caves. The Constructicons start work by

assembling the energy disk components that they've

stolen. Megatron tells Starscream that the conquest

is almost within their grasp, and they will defeat

the Autobots through Optimus Prime's overdeveloped

sense of honor. Megatron then heads to Autobot

headquarters to challenge Optimus Prime to a

Cybertronian one -on -one combat. Prime accepts

the challenge, but unbeknownst to him, the Decepticons

have built an energy transfer machine. Energy

transfer machine? What the hell? Oh, crap. That

doesn't make any sense. What the hell did they

call it in the episode? Anyway, I don't remember.

It basically allows Megatron to get all of the

powers of the Decepticons. Basically, cheat and

beat Prime. The warring faction's troops meet

in the desert to watch the battle between Prime

and Megatron. However, the Constructicons tunnel

under the Autobot base to destroy Teletraan 1,

so the computer cannot detect Megatron's power

transfer. We are shown an excellent, well -fought

battle between the two leaders. Other than the

fact that Megatron smashes Prime to pieces with

all the powers that he has, The Constructicons

are directly under Autobot headquarters until

a trend detects them. Outside, the battle between

Prime and Megatron rages on until Megatron has

defeated Prime, and even though Ironhide and

the other Autobots want to beat the Decepticons

to a bloody pulp, Prime tells them, no, it was

a battle between the leaders, and it was also,

you know, Cybertronian law that dictated this

battle, and they would be... if they did anything

else to it. Prime can barely transform, but does.

Huffer helps out by attaching himself to Optimus'

trailer. They head back to Autobot headquarters

with the Decepticons following to make sure the

Autobots do what they say they will do. Basically,

the stipulations of this battle were the loser...

takes himself and his army to deeper space. So

the Autobots have to leave Earth and be exiled

to deeper space. The Constructicons get into

the Autobot base, but Teletraan has alerted the

Dinobots and a battle begins. The Autobots find

out that Megatron cheated and the time to fight

back is now. The Autobots trick Devastator and

then attack him, causing the Constructicons to

transform out of the giant robot mode. and fall

into the lava pit nearby. The Decepticons realize

that the giant Autobot was a hologram and that

the Autobots blast the Decepticons into the lava

pit as well, and Prime blasts Megatron. Spike

asks Optimus if the war is truly over, to which

Prime replies he is not sure if it will ever

end. We cut to Megatron rising from the lava

with his glowing red eyes, saying, that the Decepticons

shall rise again. This ends the episode and closes

out Season 1 of the Transformers Generation 1

cartoon. Now for my thoughts. To close out the

first season DVD set, this episode was very good.

It showed where each side was coming from. It

also showed how diabolical Megatron and the Decepticons

really are. as well as how honor -bound the Autobots

and Optimus Prime are. The battle scene between

Prime and Megatron, even though one -sided, was

kind of epic. This episode debuted the Constructicons,

which I will have much more to say in subsequent

episodes of the podcast due to their conflicting

origin stories. And I'd like to go into that

a little bit here. I actually write up these

scripts that I read from. Ahead of time, before

I even do any recording for whatever episode.

So, recently, I just wrote up episode 10's script

for TFG1 Podcast. And in that episode, I am reviewing

the episode of the cartoon, The Secret of Omega

Supreme. Well, in that episode, the Constructicons

have a completely different origin than what

they do here. So I don't know if the writers

were just trying to create a better backstory

or if it was just like a redo, kind of like the

whole Knight Rider reboot and all things that

are being rebooted these days, like Knight Rider

and... You know, Bionic Woman and just all these

other reboots that have done are kind of like

the Marvel films with Punisher being rebooted,

which I will not go see that fucking movie. I

will not go see Punisher Warzone. I won't go

see it in the theater. I won't even get the fucking

DVD. Anyway, that's a little bit off topic, but

that's basically my biggest gripe about the Constructicons

is they have so many different origin stories

within the first. two seasons of the Transformers

Generation 1 cartoon. As I said, this episode

premiered at the Constructicons. Scavenger, Scrapper,

Longhaul, Hook, Mixmaster, and Bonecrusher. These

six robots merged to form the super -powerful

Decepticon Devastator. How is Starscream in this

episode? The last time we saw him, he made off

with the evil Dr. Archiville. That, yeah, I don't

know. As I've stated before, the animation and

sound flubs are few and far between in these

final six episodes of Season 1. I love the heroic

music that always plays when the Autobots are

in battle with the Decepticons. I also love the

evil underhanded types of themes that the Decepticons

have. Well, that's it for today, folks. I hope

you all enjoyed TFG1, Episode 3. Next time on

the TFG1 podcast, hopefully I'll have another

TF fan for a co -host to review the entire first

season and gush over things we liked and fume

over things we couldn't stand. Right now the

plan is to have Steve slash Megatron from PredaconEmpire

.com. I am actually in talks or trying to be

in talks with Mike the Birdman Dodd from This

Week in Geek. I would love to get Mike on the

show. I know he's very busy and I know he's got

stuff going on. So, Mike, please email me. When

you can, most likely I'll do the record for Episode

4, which will be the recap episode next week

or the week after. I'm not sure yet. As far as

the supplemental episodes go, I am still working

on the all -cartoon episode. I'm actually putting

together a very, very large episode. It will

probably be the longest time -running episode

that I've had so far, even though my podcast

is still in its infancy with only four or five

episodes, including supplementals under my belt.

Please, please email me. I check my TFG1 podcast

Gmail account every so often before I record

or before I start writing up scripts, and I have

no emails. I would love to hear what other Transformers

fans think of the podcast and what other fans

in general, whether you're a Transformers fan

or not, and you just kind of found this on iTunes

by just searching for stuff, please write in

and let me know. I would love to be able to read

some emails on the air. Again, that address is

tfg1podcast at gmail .com. For now, this is Michael

Blanchard signing off in the immortal words of

Optimus Prime, transform and roll out. Until

next time.