Finally designated myself some TV time for this... Turns out the kids watched the first three episodes back when it first showed up on Netflix and didn't get into it. Having now watched the first 3 episodes myself, I get why. This is so.... charmless. I really like the concept, but I'm finding it so hard to care about anybody (or remember who's who). I don't care about gritty realism, I want my moping to be offset with banter! (Sulky knock-backs don't count as banter, either.)

All the characters seem really clunky in their animation, though that might be because I've not watched any CGI transformers for awhile. But most of them are so top heavy and it's bugging me for some reason. I'm guessing they're more toy-accurate than most cartoon models? For the most part, I'm getting used to it, but Elita One's hip-swaying thing when she walks is always going to drive me crazy. Dear god, why??? Also, her voice sounds far too young for the character. One of the only good things about the G1 cartoon concept of Elita is that they gave her a mature, deep voice. Elita One here sounds like a teenager, not a veteran soldier and definitely not a peer of Optimus Prime.

Anyway... that said, I do appreciate the evident love for the G1 cartoon... really liked that they open with Wheeljack and Bumblebee, even if I don't like Edge Sulky Bumblebee. Wheeljack is about the only character so far that I do like / have interest in.

Ultra Magnus is really, really bad at disguises. And covert operations. And military strategy. On the other hand, the scene with Megatron refusing to turn around so that Magnus can't shoot him is absolutely on point, and made me all nostalgic... In a way I feel bad about because it's very cliche and tropey, but it's such a classic Magnus take. Evil will always triumph because Good is Dumb.

Megatron really hammers home to Jetfire that he should always take the shot.. Almost like it's foreshadowing... Ding, ding, ding... two and a half episodes in, and this show has finally got a story hook I'll take.

Very happy to see Ratchet show up and Impactor, who's always somebody I've wanted to see in a cartoonverse, because he seems like fun, but I don't do well with comics.

A lot of this cartoon does feel like it's got more in common with comicverse than with cartoonverse G1. But that might just be because I'm quite vague on comic continuity.

Velvet Glove (going to try and stick this series out before getting herself some Transformers Prime to watch.)

On Wednesday, July 19, 2023 at 1:54:07 PM UTC-6, Velvet Glove wrote:

> This is so.... charmless. I really like the concept, but I'm finding it so hard to care about anybody (or remember who's who).

I thought it was interesting. I especially liked how the characters spanned the entire good/evil spectrum. You've got Prime, of course, straight as an arrow. You've got Megatron, the epitome of Doing Bad Stuff. But in the middle you've got characters like Jetfire and Starscream and Ultra Magnus and Elita One, who do a variety of good/bad things for their own reasons. The variety in different philosophies was really interesting to me.

Obviously, you're not collecting the toy line, so a lot of background characters are probably largely meaningless to you. But, you don't have to be able to recognize Cog or Spinister on sight. I think the show works on its own merits, even if it's not a commercial for the toys.

> All the characters seem really clunky in their animation, though that might be because I've not watched any CGI transformers for awhile. But most of them are so top heavy and it's bugging me for some reason. I'm guessing they're more toy-accurate than most cartoon models?

I think I remember reading that the animation models for the characters were based directly on the computer models that Hasbro used to design the toys.. So, yes, very accurate to the real-world product. You can even see the pegs on some characters where the rubbery blast effects can be attached.

> Anyway... that said, I do appreciate the evident love for the G1 cartoon.... really liked that they open with Wheeljack and Bumblebee, even if I don't like Edge Sulky Bumblebee. Wheeljack is about the only character so far that I do like / have interest in.

Wheeljack is pretty charismatic, yeah. I get the feeling that we're "supposed" to like the edgy, Rebel Without a Cause version of Bumblebee, but I honestly find it silly.
> A lot of this cartoon does feel like it's got more in common with comicverse than with cartoonverse G1. But that might just be because I'm quite vague on comic continuity.

Prime's tendency to brood and wax all angsty is definitely inspired by Marvel Comics.

I want to say more, but I don't want to spoil the episodes you haven't seen yet!

Zob (we must discuss more, when you are properly caught up)

On Wednesday, July 19, 2023 at 3:54:07 PM UTC-4, Velvet Glove wrote:
> Finally designated myself some TV time for this... Turns out the kids watched the first three episodes back when it first showed up on Netflix and didn't get into it. Having now watched the first 3 episodes myself, I get why. This is so.... charmless. I really like the concept, but I'm finding it so hard to care about anybody (or remember who's who). I don't care about gritty realism, I want my moping to be offset with banter! (Sulky knock-backs don't count as banter, either.)
>

I'm glad you've given it a chance! I just couldn't get into it - it took G1 only three episodes to create a universe, and more importantly, characters, worth caring about. Netflix had three seasons to execute on their grimdark and gritty vision, and G1 still eclipses it by a country mile.

> All the characters seem really clunky in their animation, though that might be because I've not watched any CGI transformers for awhile. But most of them are so top heavy and it's bugging me for some reason. I'm guessing they're more toy-accurate than most cartoon models? For the most part, I'm getting used to it, but Elita One's hip-swaying thing when she walks is always going to drive me crazy.

Transformers Energon did it first, and did it better. Dear Primus I can't believe I'm actually praising Energon.

>
> Anyway... that said, I do appreciate the evident love for the G1 cartoon.... really liked that they open with Wheeljack and Bumblebee, even if I don't like Edge Sulky Bumblebee. Wheeljack is about the only character so far that I do like / have interest in.
>

I'm growing a little tired of callbacks as a substitute for actual plot or character development. "Hey, that's a thing I recognize from a better version long ago" isn't art, it's cynicism masked as nostalgia.

> Velvet Glove (going to try and stick this series out before getting herself some Transformers Prime to watch.)

Prime is lightyears better, both in terms of production values (still impressive in 2023), and in voice acting/characterization.

Plus, the OGs Cullen and Welker. As I posted in the other thread, Netflix did Cullen and Welker dirty by hiring non-union actors to impersonate them rather than hiring the actors themselves. Underpaying discount Youtubers in order to undermine professional union members is contemptible.

The results speak for themselves - the number one criticism of the show is of the terrible voice acting, and it makes the series unwatchable for so many.

That said, the show is much improved, IMHO, if you watch it in another language. Among other options, you can weeb out and watch it in Japanese with English subtitles. Youtube has clips with options for Portuguese, Thai, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and German. Literally each of those performances has more emotion, weight, and heart than the lackluster English audio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnV1z31FBmc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB5qax3dA7E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RIPAnaNZWk

Couple of responses before getting onto the next 3 episodes...

I do *like* the good/evil spectrum, though it's not done with any subtlety here. I definitely appreciate that people are not blindly devoted to Optimus here and agreeing with everything he says, one of the big reasons I never could like G1 Optimus. But I think with this show, there's nothing to say what the characters want *beyond* their cause. They're all doing what they believe is the right thing to do, and it's not really clear *why* Starscream is OK with genocide and Jetfire isn't, or *why* Optimus has so much faith in the plan I didn't understand and Elita doesn't.... They're either being selfless or driven by personal ambition rather than personal likes and dislikes.

Did they really cut costs by hiring non-union actors? Ouch. That's really painful coming so soon after Prime was such a success with those Emmys etc. Also, in the last three episodes, it was getting a bit ridiculous how much they were following the William Shatner school of line delivery. The animation is also lacking... that's another way I really miss Prime.... I remember how easily Bulkhead and Arcee conveyed their personalities, when standing still and silent, just by expression and posture. This lot... not so much.

I have poor recognition abilities anyway... with real live people, also with cars, so I tend to do better with a more cartoony style, and I wonder if I'd enjoy the companion cartoon that went with this more. (There was one, wasn't there? I recall it being this gritty miniseries and something a bit more appealing for the under 12s? Maybe?)

Disclaimer ahead of what is a *very* patchy review: I have ADHD and sometimes I can't consciously choose what gets retained and what doesn't. My brain did not cooperate tonight.

Anyway, finished off the first series, but it almost didn't happen because my eyes were glazing over through the 4th episode and I seriously considered calling it a day. For a moment my interest was piqued when Bumblebee got his own little wisdom of the ages subplot, but then he went on a knock-off Matrix-vision-quest, while Optimus Prime stood there patiently waiting for him to finish zoning out, and it made me miss Rodimus Prime and Springer *so damned much*.

(I don't know if Hasbro mandated that it had to be the Bumblebee character or if the writers are just anti-Hot Rod, but it seriously felt that Hot Rod would have made so much more sense in this role.)

The other reason I almost stopped watching was because Ultra Magnus got killed off (And in a rare moment of the animators actually conveying something, he was so *delighted* to make Megatron settle for murdering him instead of getting the betrayal he wanted) so it looked like we were fresh out of movie characters, but just in the nick of time, Arcee shows up in her G1 look.. And she was pretty damn near *perfect*. I was expecting either as lazy a Strong Female Character take as they'd done with Elita One or the She's On Screen So It Counts As Diversity take that they've done with Chromia (who honestly gets less to do than G1 Arcee typically did, which is pretty painful).

Instead, there Arcee is being all demure and serious, until the crap goes down at which point she's running headlong into battle all guns blazing. And as much as I would have loved to have Springer show up as well, I really really like the Cog dynamic... I'm not quite sure how she supports his weight and is still able to run, but it's more plausible bad-assery than having her wrestle people. Anyway, after that, she's perfectly happy for Bumblebee to drive, but when he shorts out, she takes over and gets them back to base. No fuss; no ego; gets the job done. *That's* my girl!

.... And then Arcee gets Chromia'ed and we're stuck with Elita emoting the group through episode 6. I'll give next season a go, but mostly in the hope that Arcee, Cog and Wheeljack get to go on missions together. (And I'll pray that they never ever show her legs when walking again because she does the same hip-swaying thing as Elita but it's worse because her thighs are so round. I'm not sure what it is, but curves look really disturbing on these character models. Alpha Trion was terrifying.)

Other stuff... Jetfire's switched sides, which as Zob pointed out, was basically spoiled by the optics. And he is taking over Ultra Magnus for the Noble Warrior by willingly allowing them to put a bomb in his brain. (And everybody is OK with this? I mean, Elita, I can get, but shouldn't Optimus be anti-this whole thing???) Also, if I were Prowl, I'd have detonated when he announced that there was a trick to avoiding the vortex but did *not* tell them what it was. He just wanted to play the hero and rescue his own Datsun-in-distress. (I have no idea if Prowl is a Datsun in this or not, but I'm not passing up that pun.) Anyway, again... not sure how this Noble Warrior stuff worked when he was on the side of Decepticons (I don't think anybody is going to stay working for Megatron more than a few weeks without a mile-wide cynical streak), but it appears to be his defining character trait now.. It was kind of a nice moment when he told Elita she wasn't going to have to continue the fight alone. Self-aggrandising, but it was a good final line. (There may have been a line after it and it was just so totally forgettable, I blanked it out. This is entirely possible.)

Impactor was a huge disappointment. He's just going to self-sacrifice himself in a rather random, hasty, we-want-another-impactful-death moment, where any emotional gravitas was completely undercut by Ratchet's exaggerated agonising over whether to help his friend or press the switch--so I'll spend five seconds doing neither! I don't know why Impactor bothered... he should have just let Ratchet take the hit and pressed the button himself. (And why the hell was Ratchet so far from the switch in the first place? Why wasn't he waiting with his hand over the button?)

On the plus side, we have Zombies! And while I would have appreciated some fanservice to have either Impactor or Arcee (or both) getting to reprise some zombie experience, I'm always happy to see Zombie TFs. I... honestly don't know how they stopped them. I was paying more attention to the zombies than the main cast, and I am at the point where my brain will not retain anything Optimus Prime does. I know Moonracer died, but mostly because I couldn't figure out how Chromia got there from the Space Bridge until they said Moonracer's name over her body. Those two looked far too similar, so just as well they killed Moonracer off.

What the hell was with Omega Supreme at the end? It felt like that was meant to be a badass iconic moment and... Eh. They didn't sell the guardians well. I'd rather they'd saved that reveal for an actual storyline.

Um... how did the Cybertron Autobots decide that the Ark was lost and everybody dead? Eh. I think Elita just wants to break up with Optimus. I'm pretty sure that was true of G1 Elita too. Anyway, I like that set up, I like the character division there, with Elita and Chromia together *and* Jetfire. And lost in space, we have some iconic Ark Autobots... and Arcee. (I'm always going to be amused that this silly little Japanese-school-girl meets Princess Leia character design is now obliged to represent Hasbro's go-to Female Transformer. Arcee's journey from 1984 to modern day is one long and hilarious exercise in social commentary.)

OK, so I guess I'll check out the next series and mope over Arcee's inevitable lack of screentime / character development.

Velvet Glove (and would it kill them to give us a Jazz??)