Making Sense of Generation One: Part 6

In 1987, the final new episodes of the original Generation One Transformers aired in the United States. Although a fifth season aired, these episodes were only repackaged episodes from the first four seasons. It appeared that the adventures of the Autobots and Decepticons would only take place in the comic books for the rest of their run in the 1980's. However, in Japan, the animated adventures of the robots in disguise continued. In 1987, Takara (the Japanese company who owned the Transformers brand in Japan) chose not to import the three part series finale, The Rebirth, from the United States. Instead, Takara commissioned the production of an additional season to properly tie off the stories of the classic characters. This series was the 35 episode Transformers: The Headmasters.

Transformers: The Headmasters began its broadcast run exclusively in Japan in 1987. The series completely ignored the events of The Rebirth, and it picked up one year after The Return of Optimus Prime Part Two. Cybertron is at peace after the truce between the Decepticons and Autobots. However, Galvatron returns to Cybertron and launches a full scale assault with the new recruits to his army, the Headmasters (Wierdwolf, Skullcruncher, and Mindwipe). Galvatron sought to control the powerful super computer Vector Sigma which was deep within Cybertron. Meanwhile on Earth, the powerful new Decepticon warrior Sixshot leads the Triple-Changers and Constructicons against Autobot City. The Autobots are eventually saved from defeat when a force of Autobot Headmasters arrive on Cybertron aboard the powerful Battleship Maximus. Optimus Prime then ventured into Cybertron led by the spirit of Alpha Trion to locate Vector Sigma and protect it from the Decepticons. At the same time, Hot Rod and the Headmasters were searching for the Matrix (which Optimus had placed in a secret location on Earth to recharge after Optimus had released its energy). Eventually, Hot Rod found the Matrix and returned to Cybertron. Hot Rod became Rodimus Prime again and along side Optimus Prime and Cerebros, they battled Galvatron and the Deceticon Headmasters within the Vector Sigma chamber. Optimus Prime then sacrificed his life to protect Vector Sigma from Glavatron. From there, the story continued.

Although The Headmasters is the least favorite of the exclusive Japanese series, it is still an awesome series to watch and it felt like a more fitting finale for the classic characters we all know. Highlights of the 35 episode series included: the death of Optimus Prime, the return of Rodimus Prime, the deaths and rebirths of Soundwave and Blaster, the rise of Fortress Maximus and Skorponok as the new faction commanders, the destruction of Cybertron, the death of Galvatron, the creation of the Target Masters, and the final battle between both forces on Earth in which the Autobots drove the Decepticons from Earth at last. That sure is a lot of stuff for one series. Transformers: The Headmasters also told a different origin for the Headmasters and Target Masters. In the Japanese continuity, there are no Nebulans or humans bonded to Transformers. Instead, human sized Transformers build powerful Transformer sized bodies called Transtectors which they could combine with. In the case of the Target Masters, the human sized Transformers were fused to the hands of several Autobots and Decepticons during an explosion in space while they were in gun mode. From there, the "guns" could detach and transform into human sized robots.

If you felt the original U.S. series was tied off too quickly, this show definitely assisted in giving the classic characters a proper finale. It is rumored that the first 13 episodes of the series were created from aborted scripts for the U.S. fourth season. From there, the series shifted the focus onto the new characters. After the conclusion of this series, you would think that the war was finally over. However, the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons is a war without end.

Batman: Under The Red Hood

If you have read my blog for a while, you probably know that on rare occasions I'll post something non-Transformer related. This is one of those times. This weekend I saw (in my opinion) the best Batman film since the The Dark Knight. On July 27th, Warner Bros. Animation in association with DC Comics released Batman: Under The Red Hood on DVD and Blue Ray. It is an animated feature, but don't let that fool you. Like the previously released Batman: Gotham Knight, this is one film that pains me to see in the kids and family section. This is not one for the kiddos so I hope the parents mind the PG-13 rating.

The story combines elements from the Batman story arcs A Death in the Family and Under the Hood. The film opens with the Joker brutally murdering Jason Todd (the second Robin). Five years later, a mysterious new figure going by the name The Red Hood appears in Gotham City. The Red Hood is compared to Batman, however The Red Hood lacks the moral code of the Dark Knight, and he isn't afraid to kill. Batman and Nightwing (the original Robin) are now in pursuit of The Red Hood who seems to have ties to Batman's past. Also, the Joker gets caught in the middle and complicates the situation even more. For those of you who either haven't read the comics or seen the film, I'll leave it at this.

The film is produced by Bruce Timm, but it is not a continuation of the 1990's Batman: The Animated Series. This film is a stand alone story. The animation is amazing and the dark design really fits the characters, setting, and story well. Also, the new voices of Batman and the Joker are stunning. It is so hard to fill the shoes of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, but the new guys do so good of a job, you won't be disappointed. Also, the voice of The Red Hood and all of the other characters in the film are well cast. If you need a film to tide you over until 2011's conclusion to Christopher Nolan's Batman saga, this is the film to get. Like I said in the beginning, this is NOT a family movie. Please be mindful and don't trust the stores listing it as a family friendly film.

Making Sense of Generation One: Part 5

The original Transformers animated series is considered to be one of the best cartoons from 1980's. One of the saddest moments from that decade of great cartoons was when the series ceased its broadcast run in 1989. Season three of the series was definitely a difficult transition for many fans due to the change in setting, style, and characters. Due to the decline in success for the animated series after the failure of the 1986 film in theaters and the lackluster reception to the third season, Hasbro decided that season four would be the final season of new episodes. However, this season would consist of only three episodes. This mini-series was called The Rebirth.

Season four writer David Wise reported in 2004 that season four was supposed to consist of a five part mini-series to introduce the new Headmasters and Targetmasters and tie up the series. Hasbro then made a last minute decision to cram the story into three parts. David Wise did a great job with compensating considering the huge amount characters he had to work in. In three 22 minute episodes, David Wise introduced the Headmasters, Targetmasters, their origin, Sixshot, Nebulos, the Nebulon race, the evil Hive, Skorponok, Fortress Maximus, Punch/Counterpunch, the Autobot and Decepticon Clones, and the Horrorcons. Wise also crafted the story to see the restoration of Cybertron. That is a lot of story to cram into 90 minutes, but again, Wise did a great job introducing all of these concepts and giving the show a proper series finale in the U.S. The show again featured a new opening intro, however it retained the season three song but featured new animation from the commercials.

In 1988, Hasbro commissioned one final season of the Transformers. Hasbro created a stop motion animated Powermaster Optimus Prime to host a sort of "best of" collection of episodes which ran from 1988 to early 1989 on the weekends. This Optimus Prime would tell classic adventures of the Transformers to a young boy named Tommy Kennedy, and the two would interact verbally during the episodes. The episodes came mainly from the third and fourth seasons with the three part series premiere episode More Than Meets the Eye brought in at the beginning of the season's run. The show also featured the first ever televised broadcast of Transformers: The Movie, but it was broken down into five parts with the music video for Stan Bush's The Touch shown at the end of part five.

When the show finished its run, no new Transformers episodes aired in the United States until Transformers: Beast Wars in 1995. In 1993, Hasbro did re-air classic Generation One episodes under the Generation 2 banner for two seasons. However, no original episodes were produced. Many fans in the United States at the time the "fifth" season of the original cartoon ended believed the adventures of Generation One had ended. However, while the U.S. series was wrapping up in 1987, the animated series continued in Japan. In fact, three additional seasons aired as well as one additional series pilot from 1987 to 1990.