Autobot Spike, Changing Gears, City of Steel, Attack of the Autobots, and Traitor

Hi, and welcome to the fifth episode of the TFG1

podcast, recorded February 6th, 2009. I am your

host, Michael Blanchard. Today I'll be starting

Season 2 of the Generation 1 Transformers cartoon.

First, we actually have a listener question.

I have recently been, I guess you could call

it promoted, on PredaconEmpire .com. I have my

own forum thread and multiple threads. I have

my own sub -forum over there at PredaconEmpire

.com. Steve slash Megatron, who is my benevolent

host. And Buddy has created a place for me to

talk anything and everything about the podcast.

And Steve actually asked me a question in my

listener questions and comments thread. The question

is, what is your key character to the show that

you feel it could not do without? Now, I replied

to Steve on the forums asking him if he meant

by season or if he meant the entirety of the

Generation 1 cartoon. I will answer it both ways.

The overall character for the entirety of the

series, I really can't pick one. I can pick multiples

that I think that the series would just not be

as good as it was. Optimus Prime and Megatron

would be the first picks. Soundwave and Blaster,

even though they did not really have... too much

of a battle between the two of them in the G1

US release series. But I always did like Soundwave

and Blaster because they were taped X and they

had cool cassettes that transformed and everything

else. And then my final picks would be Rodimus

Prime and Galvatron because, you know, after

the movie, they were the two leaders. of the

Autobots and Decepticons. And I liked Hot Rod.

I liked both incarnations of the Hot Rod character.

The Hot Rod, who was kind of like the kid and

not really, you know, wanting to have any responsibility.

And then Rodimus Prime, who was the leader and

has the Matrix and everything else. I know some

people may not like Rodimus and may only want

Optimus as the Autobot leader, or some people

may not like Galvatron and only want Megatron

as the Decepticon leader, but I did like them

for the characters that they were. So, if anyone

has any questions for me, as I always say, you

can email me at tfg1podcast at gmail .com. Or

you can go onto the forums at PredaconEmpire

.com. That's www .PredaconEmpire .com. And just

click on the forums on the left -hand side. There's

a link that says forums. Click it and join the

forums, please. Whoops. Sorry, Mike. If you're

listening, I stole your speech about forums.

Anyway, Mike Sims from Earth2 .net. I've listened

to Mike say that forum speech about... go to

the website, and there's a link at the left -hand

side of the page that says Forums. Click it and

join the forums, please. I've heard him say that

for, like, over 300 podcasts now. Anyway, yeah,

so also if you'd like to follow me on Twitter,

you can do that. My Twitter name is TFG1Podcast.

So let's get into some episodes today. Starting

off Season 2, we have... But if you really want

to hassle... Wait. There is no need for further

conflict. Megatron. I must say you've improved

your appearance since our last encounter, Spike.

Easy for you to say, Megacrum. The way I see

it, I've become a monster. Like you. Monster?

I am no monster. The Decepticons are but sentient

machines who've discovered our destiny in this

vast universe. Will you join us, Decepticons,

and be second only to me? Together, we will punish

those who did this to you. I... I don't know.

It's getting harder. Megatron, think for you

Autobot Spike. Okay, hold on. Back up the bus.

Back it up. Just back it up. I forgot to answer

the rest of the question. As far as my season

choices for characters, season one would have

to be Optimus and Megatron. Season 2, my favorite

characters for the Autobots were Blaster. For

the Decepticons were Soundwave and Astrotrain.

Astrotrain's always been my favorite Decepticon.

Triple changers rule. So yeah, that hopefully

answers Steve's question. Now to begin the episode.

So we start off today with Autobot Spike. To

synopsize this episode, we start the second season

at Autobot headquarters where a daring new experiment

is taking place. Sparkplug has built his own

Autobot called Autobot X, but the robot goes

berserk because it has no brains. Teletraan 1

alerts the Autobots to Decepticon activity at

an Air Force base. They get there to stop the

Decepticons. But inadvertently during the battle,

the energy source is destroyed and the Decepticons

retreat. While flying away, Megatron transforms

and has Soundwave blast Bumblebee, injuring the

Autobot and Spike as well. Spike needs immediate

medical attention if he is to live. Sparkplug

and Wheeljack hatch a plan to transfer Spike's

brain into Autobot X. giving the doctors enough

time to repair his body. As the transfer commences,

Spike's brain awakens inside the giant robot,

and he is angry that they have done this to him.

He starts destroying the medical facilities and

equipment around him. After the outburst, Optimus

Prime says that he and some of the other Autobots

are needed back at the rocket base to repair

the damage caused by their battle with the Decepticons.

Prime tells Spike that every comfort will be

provided for him, and as the scene closes, we

see Laserbeak spying on the Autobots. At the

Decepticon headquarters, Megatron hatches a plan

to turn Autobot Spike against the other Autobots.

At Autobot headquarters, Bumblebee is still being

repaired, but is being impatient as well. Wheeljack

asks Spike if he's enjoying the movie that he

had had Teletraan 1 tune into. Spike tells him

yeah, but we see that Spike wants to do bad things.

And he can't control himself. The movie that

Teletraan had tuned into was Frankenstein. which

this is basically a Frankenstein episode, watching

the Frankenstein movie reminds Spike of what

he has become. And he goes off again, and even

though the other Autobots attempt to help him,

Spike escapes and goes somewhere to think. Bumblebee

chases after him, but Ratchet still hasn't fixed

Bumblebee's radio transmitter. Bumblebee finds

Spike, but in his uneasy state, he attacks Bumblebee

as the Decepticons arrive in a battle between

Autobot Spike and the Decepticons begins. Megatron

says there is no need for further conflict. However,

Spike is having inner conflict, and the Decepticons

trick him into joining them to destroy the Autobots.

At the Air Force Base, the rockets get launched,

and then Bumblebee arrives and tells Optimus

that Megatron is lying to Spike. and he believes

the Decepticon leader. Prime and the Autobots

try reasoning with Spike, but it isn't working.

A battle erupts with Spike firing Megatron in

his gun mode at the other Autobots. Then, the

rest of the Decepticons join the party. Wheeljack

and Sparkplug arrive to tell Spike that his real

body is ready, and he can return to normal. Autobot

Spike finally realizes what he's doing. to the

Autobots is wrong and he uses Megatron to blast

the Decepticons. The Decepticons then retreat.

Sparkplug tells Spike that he saved his life.

What had happened was Soundwave or one of the

Decepticons had fired on Sparkplug and Autobot

Spike jumped in the way. At Autobot headquarters,

Spike's mind gets transferred back in... back

into his own body, and Bumblebee remarks what

it would be like if a robot's mind ever got transferred

into a human. Now for my thoughts on this episode.

I absolutely cannot stand this episode. This

episode is like the BTAS episode, Batman the

Animated Series episode, The Terrible Trail.

It's just bad. This has to be the stupidest idea

Wheeljack has ever had. Even though it saves

Spike's life, I just cannot watch this episode.

It sucks. However, at the end, it brings up a

point that we will see in seasons to come of

the cartoon. One movie remarks that it would

be like... What would it be like to have a robot's

braid... Excuse me. In a human's body. I can't

remember which episode it is, but... But I will

bring this episode back up when I find that one

and watch it. I know it's Rodimus, Springer,

Magnus, and Arcee that get their brains transferred

into human bodies. Because the clothing that

they find to wear all matches their robot colors.

There really isn't too much more else to say

about this episode. The episodes of the cartoon

that have no overall arcing storyline, I'm probably

not going to have too much to say about them.

They're just basically filler episodes and sometimes

will bring up the issue that happened in the

last episode, but not often. Now that makes it

a whole new ball game. Megatron is mine. Autobots,

go get him! This time I shall show you no mercy!

Right. This time the only... Your troops have

deserted you Megatron turn off the solar needle

There's no time. The sun will explode in less

than a minute. Ratchet, Wheeljack, on the double.

To restore the sun's equilibrium, you've got

to... Past the solar needle's memory. Right.

All we need to do is disconnect that wire. You

mean that wire. Ah, you got a blowout in your

binary circuit. It's that one. Keep your fingers

crossed. All that's left is to destroy Megatron's

solar needle forever. Excuse me, please. I don't

want to be pushy, but aren't you forgetting something?

Your special circuit card, Gears. Here you are.

Um, just a minute. We took a vote and, uh, well,

we decided we like Gears the way he is now. Yeah,

a real photovoltaic pussycat. I see. Well, as

long as you all agree. Hey, if you guys don't

give me my circuit back, I'm gonna start kicking

transistor. All right, Gears, don't get your

capacitors in an uproar. There. So, when do we

roll out of here? This jungle humidity is giving

me a cramp in my chronometer. Hey, now that's

our Gears. And my pulleys are squeaking again.

All right, let's blast that solar needle and

roll out. I suppose you want me to do that. Be

my guest. Next up is Changing Gears to synopsize

this episode. We begin with a group of humans

that have found gold in Themthar Hills. Soundwave

and some of the Decepticons attack them. He releases

Laser Beacon Ravage to prevent the humans from

escaping. At Autobot headquarters, Optimus Prime

has the Autobots assembled. What the hell? Optimus

Prime has the Autobots assemble to stop the Decepticons

from attacking a mining camp, but Megatron has

a plan that they don't yet know about. As you

can tell from the episode title, this one is

all about the little Autobot gears. At the mining

site, Starscream asks Megatron if he can dispose

of the humans, and the leader tells him that

they are of no use to him now. The Autobots arrive,

and the battle starts. During the battle, Megatron

kidnaps Gears in a remote jungle. Megatron has

created a solar needle. The reason the Decepticons

kidnapped Gears was because he has a circuit

that will power the solar needle and allow Megatron

to harness the power of the sun. Optimus Prime

states that with Megatron tapping into the sun,

it has caused a great instability in the star.

The Autobots have tracked the Decepticon location

to the middle of Africa. The Autobots are on

their way to stop the Decepticons, and Starscream

asks Megatron why the Earth is becoming so unstable,

to which the leader replies, all that matters

is that the Autobots are coming. Jazz and Sunstreaker

get on top of Optimus Prime on either side to

laser the Autobots a road through the thick jungle

brush. Bumblebee almost falls into a crevice,

but Wheeljack transforms and saves him. When

they get to their destination, the Autobots attempt

to fire upon the Decepticons, but an energy reflector

shield protects the evildoers and the solar needle.

Oh, I guess that's what I get for drinking soda

before I start recording. The Autobots need to

get rid of the protective force field around

the solar needle. However, the only way to do

this is for someone to find the spot right where

the sun's energy... comes into the device. Prime

and Ironhide argue over the two of them to do

it when Cliffjumper transforms and speeds off.

Shattering the force field, the Decepticons prepare

for battle. During the battle, it comes to a

standoff between the two factions. When Optimus

Prime asks Gears for a favor, Little Autobot

blasts the solar needle, betraying Megatron and

returning to the Autobot's side. After the Decepticons

retreat, Prime says all that's left to do is

destroy the solar needle, but Gears needs his

personality chip back first. The Autobots stop

Prime, saying that they like the nice Gears.

Gears then threatens them if he doesn't get his

personality chip back, he's going to start busting

transistors. Prime gives it to him, and he returns

to the same old grumpy Autobot Gears. Gears blows

up the Solo Needle and then starts complaining

again, priming the other Autobots to transform

and drive off without waiting for him. This brings

this episode to a close. Now for my thoughts.

Four times in this episode I have seen the Decepticon

logo on Megatron's chest be grey, not the purple

it's supposed to be. This episode was a singular

character episode focusing on Gears, and it was

kind of cool. Although, as I've stated before,

I like overall arcing storylines that put the

Autobots in grave danger and show the truly evil

and out -of -this -world control that Decepticons

want. So, yeah. I may not have a weapon, but

I can still transform and roll! Here they come!

Let them have it! Things are looking bad, but

they're starting to sound good! That's the way

to cool it, Ironhide. Now it's time to lend myself

a hand and an arm as well. Well, you're not going

alone, Prime. Let's do it. Where are Prime and

the other guys? There, look. They might need

help. Come on. The Autobots are out of cannon

range. But not out of my range. Come in, Starscream,

Thundercracker, Skywarp. I want an airstrike.

Proceed immediately. Decepticons had uncles.

New Autobots are getting closer, Megatron. Srabba!

Surrender or perish. Devastator wants vengeance.

Devastator wants Optimus Prime. Now, Bumblebee.

Intruders to intruders. They are doomed. You'll

never catch us, Mega Klutz. Mega Klutz, you dare

to insult me in my... Console is now inoperative.

I can no longer maintain weapon control. No matter!

Send Bursar and Laserbeak to take care of the

Earth pests! Devastator will destroy Prime, and

I shall be master of - He's here! I saw this

once when I linked my data bank to an Earth television

transmission. I think it was called King Kong.

And Devastator reminds me of that big baboon.

Don't let him get to your wheel, Jack. Maybe

Devastator saw the same picture. Shooting sport.

Prime! We wrecked Soundwave's control of your

arm! That's the news I've been waiting for. It

will take more than your puny arm to stop Devastator!

Right? Which is why it's lucky the hand at the

end of that arm... ...is holding a gun! RUN!

I've got him! Hold me up! Nice catch, Ironhide!

may have destroyed our city of New Cybertron,

but I have not been defeated. I shall return,

you hear me? I shall return! Next up is City

of Steel to synopsize this episode. We begin

with Laserbeak flying over New York City. He

then flies underground to meet up with the Decepticons,

who are excavating the sewers of New York. The

Constructicons are doing demolition for Megatron,

who has the idea to take over NYC. All of a sudden,

the Empire State Building sinks below the surface.

The Autobots learn of the falling building and

head for New York City. Ah, New York. Oh, boy.

Yeah, I don't want to get on a... Baseball tangent

right now. I'll just say one thing. Red Sox rule

and Yankees drool. However, Laserbeak spots Mirage,

Hound, and the others on hydrofoils heading for

the Autobots Central Park rendezvous. The bird

bot reports this back to Megatron and he tells

Scrapper to dig Optimus Prime down to them. The

Decepticons have Prime and Megatron. shorts out

the leader's motor relays, and puts him in suspended

animation. After Optimus Prime sinks to the ground,

Megatron flies out of the hole and tells the

Autobots that if they ever want to see their

leader again, that they will leave New York City.

Bumblebee and Spike have a plan to get Optimus

Prime back. They do not leave the city, but instead

head for the sewers, where they encounter a reptilian

robot, and they then trap it... Um, shit. and

they then trap it and head forward into the Decepticon

underground base. Megatron has ordered Hook to

disassemble Optimus Prime and dispose of the

parts anyway that the Constructicons want. Hound

and the Autobots, after trapping the robot lizard,

are almost to the Decepticon base, but Hound

wonders why his sensors said Optimus Prime was

behind them. They find Prime's head, and Hound

realizes why his sensors were saying that the

Autobot leader was behind them. Because a piece

of his body was. They put Prime back together.

Well, almost. The only thing that's missing is

his right arm, which he can sense above ground

somewhere. Megatron realizes that Prime has been

put together again, but he tells Soundwave to

use Prime's gun arm to fire upon the Autobots

until they are destroyed. So a battle begins,

but Bumblebee and Spike get into the main Decepticon

control room and destroy the controls that are

making Optimus' right arm fire on the Autobots.

Prime is home once more, and the Decepticons'

plans are foiled. The episode closes as Bumblebee

drives towards the screen with an I Heart New

York bumper sticker on his front bumper. I Heart

New York, what a fucking joke. Anyway, now for

my thoughts on this episode. You gotta love episodes

with Devastator in them. I always love watching

the Concerticons' merging process. It is the

last... As in the last episode, I've noticed

Megatron's Decepticon symbol on his chest become

gray. I don't know why this is. I have no clue.

I know it's an animation flub. I know it's a

coloring flub. I know, you know, this is the

first season of the cartoon. And stuff like that

tends to happen. So, yeah, the sound flubs continue

with voices being spoken, but the wrong robot's

mouth is moving. And that's it for this episode.

On to the next one. I'll stop in. Bumblebee,

come back! You saved me. And Prime, the world

needs the energy my satellite will deliver. It

must go into orbit. Then our task is clear. We

better get to that launch pad before it's too

late. D minus 30 seconds, and nothing we can

do will stop it. Follow me. This is our one way

ticket to Cybertron and the mastery of that galaxy.

We've got to disable that rocket so they can't

use it to escape the Cybertron. But how can we

do that without hurting Optimus Prime and Ratchet?

As long as we're still in the outer atmosphere,

I just might be able to swing it. Open up, Skyfire!

I'm going outside! Watch it! That first step's

a doozy! At the speed we're breezing, I better

hang low! Keep those goons off of me! Technicrums,

time to get down! A musical sonic boom. Good

old jazz. Next up is Attack of the Autobots.

To synopsize this episode, we start this episode

out with the Decepticons attacking the Autobot

base. All of the Decepticons except Starscream

and Megatron are at the battle. Megatron uses

an invisibility spray on himself and Starscream

so they can sneak into the base without Teletraan

1 alerting the Autobots. Once inside the base,

Megatron and Starscream alter the Autobots' recharging

chamber. They place a personality disruptor in

it to turn the Autobots evil. All of the Autobots

except Bumblebee and a few others have been recharged

and turn evil. Megatron's voice comes out of

the recharging chamber telling the Autobots to

attack. The evil controlled Autobots attack a

military base and Hound along with Ratchet go

after the plans for a solar satellite. but the

doctor that created this, Dr. Harding, gets away

from them, and Spike and Bumblebee get to the

Air Force base that Prime and the others are

attacking, and Spike explains to the guards that

those are Decepticon -controlled Autobots. Bumblebee

tries reasoning with Optimus Prime, but it doesn't

work. Megatron and Soundwave break into the bunker

where the computers are that control the launch

of the solar satellite. They take control of

the main computer and nothing can stop the launch

now. At Autobot headquarters, Sparkplug has created

an attitude adjuster. He and Jazz tested out

on Blue Streak and it works. Hound and Ratchet

are chasing Dr. Harding through the city streets.

Jazz and Sparkplug get an attitude adjuster on

the evil Autobots just in time to save the doctor.

They then see Skyfire who is under Decepticon

control and Hound asks Sparkplug if those things

are magnetic, which they are. Hound fires one

out of his particle beam gun and saves Skyfire.

Optimus Prime tosses the... Oh, we go back to

the Air Force base where Optimus Prime is still

going off and Momoby is still trying to reason

with him. Finally, he does, and Optimus comes

to his senses. Prime tosses the satellite into

space while riding Skyfire and back to... Autobot

headquarters, Ratchet, Sparkplug, and Jazz are

all arguing on who saved the day and the episode

comes to a close. Now for my thoughts on this

episode. I think it was episode 2 of the podcast

where I mentioned that it might have been the

only time Epstein Optimus split into his three

components. I was wrong. It happens in this episode

as well. It's a very cool effect. It was kind

of cool to see the Autobots go evil. I love the

effects they used to make Megatron and Starscream

invisible. It just looked really, really awesome.

I found myself just watching this episode for

pure enjoyment, and not really looking for flaws

and flubs. There have been a lot of situations

and plans that the Decepticons have tried to

hatch that seem very familiar to me. Probably

because I watch Season 3 and 4 sets more, which

take place after the movie. I started a topic

thread on the TFWire forums, Transformers Week

in Review, about a possible Shattered Glass animated

series based on the 2008 BotCon theme. After

I got my BotCon set last year, I had read the

comic and was very impressed. I think it would

be a great idea for a cartoon series. Up next

is... the missing electrocells. Good work, Cliffjumper.

Where? In the same area Mirage patrolled yesterday.

Impossible! I'd have picked up a reading on them

for sure. Maybe you did, but decided to keep

it quiet. That'll do, Cliffjumper. We don't want

bad feelings, just the electrocells. Autobots,

transform! Why do you delay, Megatron? The power

in these cells would be transferred to the Energon

cubes by now, and the Autobots destroyed if I

were in charge. But I am in charge, Starscream.

And until I ensure that this failsafe monitor

device works, I will not risk the Electrocells

exploding. Where is the courage your leadership

demands, Megatron? To discover if something works,

you must dare to test it. You fool! You'll destroy

us all! Destroy us all? Oh, brave Megatron. Perhaps

it's time the Decepticons looked elsewhere for

direction. Did someone prepare to make correct

decisions? The transfer worked perfectly. Perfectly,

you say? Look again! Pay the price for your insolence.

Try and remember which side you're on, Mirage.

Keep your mind on the Decepticons, Cliffjumper.

That's just what I'm doing. Just what I suspected.

Mirage is helping the Decepticons. Did you? Yes,

I took them. Then brought them here so the Insecticons

would think the Decepticons had stolen them.

And then? They began to fight each other. The

Insecticons fled and the Decepticons chased them.

Now we can get the Electrocells, Prime. Don't

trust him, Prime. My cyber -polygraph is screaming

trap. Perhaps. But we've got to check it out.

Autobots, transform! Let's get the Electrocells!

Honor me! To begin the final episode, today's

traitor, to synopsize this episode, to begin

this final episode, we find some scientists have

created electrocells to save and conserve energy,

but Megatron and the Decepticons break in, stealing

the electrocells and destroying the laboratory.

The Autobots track the electrocells to a desert

area, but Cliffjumper keeps accusing Mirage of

being a traitor, hence the title of the episode,

Traitor. In the fight, we end up seeing an Autobot

Decepticon battle, and in the fight, Mirage rips

off a Decepticon logo and gets a plan into his

head to set up the Decepticons by cheating the

Insecticons and making them think it was the

Decepticons that betrayed them. I hope that makes

sense. I don't know if it will or not. I hope

it does. During the Decepticon -Insecticon battle,

Mirage, even though he is invisible, gets hit

and Bombshell puts him a Cerebro Shell. controller

into the Autobots. So Mirage is now under Insecticon

control. Cliffjumper still makes the accusation

that Mirage is a traitor and under Bombshell's

control leads the Autobots into a Decepticon

trap. After the battle, the Electrocells are

destroyed and Cliffjumper apologizes to Mirage.

They start laughing and joking around and the

episode closes. I really don't have a whole lot

of thoughts on this episode. This is one of those

episodes again where I found myself just watching

it. through and not taking any notes. I swear

I'm not slacking off, but it was just a great

episode. Cliff Temporelli shows off his temper

and attitude in this episode. Well, that's all

for this episode of the TFG1 Podcast. Join me

next time when I'll be reviewing five more episodes

from Transformers Generation 1, Season 2. Those

being The Immobilizer, The Autobot Run, Atlantis

Arise, Day of the Machines, and Enter the Nightbird.

Thank you for joining me on the TFG1 Podcast.

There are four ways to get in touch with me or

leave feedback for the podcast. The first is

that you can visit the PredaconEmpire .com forums

and get all... your Transformers discussion topics

there. The second is that you can follow me on

Twitter. My Twitter name on there is TFG1Podcast.

The third is you can visit the www .earth -2

.net forums. That's earth -2 .net forums. I have

a thread over there for the podcast. And the

fourth is the email address. Please send us email.

That address is tfg1podcast at gmail .com. For

now, I'm Michael Blanchard saying in the immortal

words of Optimus Prime, transform and roll out.

And thank you for listening. Until next time.

Hey guys, what's going on? This is Mike the Birdman

Dodd from This Week in Geek. And I love friggin'

Transformers. So I fully endorse the TFG1 podcast.