Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)

Generation 1 continuity family « Beast Machines » Toyline Cartoon Commercials

The Tron Legacy of Transformers.

Beast Machines: Transformers is a 26-episode cartoon that aired in the US from 1999 to 2000, in support of the toyline of the same name. It is a direct follow-up to Beast Wars, set in the same G1 continuity and featuring many of the same characters. Like Beast Wars, its computer animation was created by Mainframe Entertainment.

Overview

The Maximals, in a rare moment of Not Running Away.

The show follows the adventures of the core Beast Wars cast upon their return home to Cybertron; there, Optimus Primal and his crew find that the whole planet is abandoned, and the streets are patrolled by mindless Vehicon drones serving Megatron, who somehow escaped his captivity.

Worse still, they learn that they are infected with a deadly virus that will kill them in a matter of hours. Salvation comes from the mysterious supercomputer known as the Oracle, who sees them fit to complete its mission of a planetwide "reformatting", and turns them into technorganic warriors, a perfect blend of organic and technological matter.

As the show progresses, Primal and his fellow Maximals learn to balance their technological side with their newly introduced organic aspects, mastery coming in slow stages. Unlike the previous conflict, where sides had been roughly equal, the four original Maximals were quite outnumbered by their Vehicon enemies, and the battles took on a "guerilla warfare" feel, with the Maximals using sewers and underground levels to their advantage and avoiding surface levels unless for combat purposes. As the show progresses, two brand-new Maximals and a returning face boost their numbers.

Initially, Optimus is driven by a crusade to restore the organic above the technological and to right his failure to stop Megatron. Over time, it becomes increasingly clear that he's becoming obsessed and overzealous. At the midpoint, after Cybertron is almost destroyed, he realises that the point should be to create a balance of organic and technological, not a supremacy. Under this new, saner cause, the Maximals eventually turn Cybertron into an technorganic paradise, though at the cost of their leader's life.

Production

"Help me! My arms won't stop growing!"

Writer Steve Gerber had once pitched a "wildly original take on Transformers" (Dan DiDio's words) as part of the development of Beast Machines.^[2] Mainframe instead went with a different outline by Marv Wolfman: the Maximals returning to Cybertron and finding Megatron had conquered it. (The Vehicons may be his idea as well.)^[3] Back in these early days, the show was to be called "Beast Hunters".^[4] Bob Skir and Marty Isenberg were invited into a discussion, despite not knowing much about Transformers, because of their good working relationship with Fox Kids (who they'd worked on shows like Godzilla: The Series for). Skir didn't think he had a shot but it'd be good to network with Mainframe for the future.^[5] In the end, Fox said they wanted the duo script editing a show based on Wolfman's outline.^[6] (Bob felt a bit bad about that and made sure to hire Wolfman to write episodes.)^[7]

Bob Skir says that other writers came up with the Vehicon Generals and "all the mystical stuff came from Marty [Isenberg] and I, based on Hasbro's request that we add a 'spiritual dimension' to the show". (The phrase "I am transformed" came from Hasbro.) The overall arc of the series also came from Skir and Isenberg "based on many conversations with Hasbro, Mainframe, Fox, and us".^[8] Hasbro was quite keen on the spiritual tone out of a desire to try something new with the franchise, while Skir felt nature versus technology was an obvious theme but he felt that was a lazy cliché and the show should be about a balance between the two. (The technorganic characters helped him argue this.)^[9] He merrily went all-out with the spiritual aspect, expecting Hasbro to change their mind but he found they liked it and asked for more!^[10] It was Hasbro itself who said "hey, what if someone turned into a plant?" as part of their drive to stretch the franchise to its limits.^[11]

One odd brief was that both Mainframe boss Dan DiDio and Hasbro didn't want Skir and Isenberg to watch old episodes, as they wanted a fresh take and DiDio felt Beast Wars was too continuity heavy. (He'd even told Wolfman that Beast Wars had no ties to the original series and to do as he pleased with Generation 1 continuity when doing his outline.)^[12] Again: Beast Machines was a sequel to a sequel. As it turned out, Beast Machines ended up being more continuity heavy and one reason was because Hasbro told them about things like Vector Sigma and the Hate Plague and encouraged them to be used.^[13]

Isenberg did most of the work on the first season of Beast Machines due to Skir's workload and a bereavement, while Skir did most of the second season due to Isenberg running Action Man.^[14]

Skir originally wanted the character of Nightscream to be a young female Transformer, patterned after the girl, Newt, from the movie Aliens. When that was nixed, Nightscream ended up becoming John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day instead.^[15]

Fox Kids' press release in 1999 not only still used the Beast Hunters name, it said the enemies would be Predacons.^[4] Shortly after the press release, the production toyed with various titles before finalizing "Beast Machines". The use of the term Predacons in the press release may be an error or a deliberate "well nobody's heard of Vehicons yet" decision, as no other source has talked about Predacons being in it.

Reception

I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I - HATE - YOU!

Controversial even by the standards of other Transformers reinventions, Beast Machines is remembered by some as a series that tried to tackle heavy philosophical concepts, discussing such issues like what it meant to live in an increasingly technological society, the dichotomy between the desires of the individual and the needs of the whole, the inevitability of conflict and inequality in a free society, the ugly consequences of fanaticism, and the paradox of a living technological world. Story editor Bob Skir describes the series as a "religious epic novel for television".^[16] Most of the Transformers franchise lore about sparks, their abilities, and the mechanism of their life cycle, was introduced or developed in this series.

The series amassed many detractors early on, who complained that core cast portrayals were inconsistent with how these personalities had been established over the years of the preceding Beast Wars series. Examples include Megatron being a far grimmer villain with a completely different agenda from before; Rattrap appearing to be too cowardly; Rhinox apparently choosing to become a villain (though it sounded like he was no longer in his right mind);^[17] and, later on, Silverbolt being a grim, vengeance-driven soldier with none of his former goofy-noble personality. Critics also alleged a "hippie" agenda behind Beast Machines, with Optimus Primal becoming an anti-technology guru (it was actually intentional that Primal was going too far and he'd moderate his views in Season 2), and criticized Bob Skir's decision that the Maximals would not use guns (though big swords and highly destructive laser blasts were okay).

The show's "epic novel" storytelling structure meant that at times it was forced to tread water, relying on repetitive chase scenes and expository speeches. The plot and tone, with the heroes outnumbered and outgunned and on the run, also meant many episodes would have them running or under stress, without the humorous, occasionally zany approach of Beast Wars to balance it out: this was intentional but often a frustrating viewing experience. It was also, at that point in time, by far the most serialized American Transformers cartoon, making it difficult for new viewers to join at some random episode and be hooked in. It didn't help that the series began in medias res and with the characters suffering amnesia, with many foundational issues deliberately left vague until at last resolution was established in flashbacks in episodes 7–9. By then, Mainframe executive Asaph Fipke had become somewhat notorious for repeatedly assuring fans that "all will be revealed". Why the series opened with the Maximals having amnesia and being in their Season 1 organic bodies is not obvious, as (aside from explaining why they're not immediately looking for Rhinox and Silverbolt) it wouldn't have affected the plot either way.

The show is one of the darker Transformers animated series and the most thought-provoking. It is also the final animated entry into the Generation 1 story canon, bringing the events in that continuity family to a rather conclusive ending (which also didn't win it many popularity points). If nothing else, the creators had ambitions to do more than sell toys.

Despite all the criticisms, the show continued and improved on the high production values of Beast Wars, with solid scripting and excellent voice acting. The CGI varied from competent to gorgeous. Mainframe's animators showed their considerable talents in giving highly emotive expression to such alien characters as the Vehicon Generals and even the Diagnostic Drone, who didn't have a face. As with Beast Wars, Robert Buckley provided the series background music, this time creating a stylized electronic music in keeping with the mechanical environment of Cybertron.

Hasbro was happy enough with how the show was doing that they asked Skir if there could be a third season. Believing that the show was strongest with 26 episodes and that (after the fandom controversy) Hasbro would want a rethink soon, Skir turned this down.^[18] A followup line was planned instead but after that aforementioned rethink, it was subsequently scrapped. Hasbro's next foray into animation would be to bring over a year-old Japanese show for consumption in the United States, till a new story could be concocted.

In light of multiple cartoons (some with their own unfavorable reception) that have aired since then and the passage of time, Beast Machines has been reevaluated more favorably, although this is not universal.

Episodes

Main article: List of Beast Machines episodes

Season 1

Tankor, YOU'RE FIRED!

Season 1 largely centers on the Maximals' efforts to find out what has happened to them, as they arrive on Cybertron with no memories. In addition to Megatron and the core Maximal cast, three new Vehicon Generals are introduced, as well as the new Maximal Nightscream. By the end of the season, Optimus Primal has been driven down a road of extremism, and an apocalyptic confrontation marks the season finale...

Season 2: Battle for the Spark

This freakish, tentacled, multi-limbed creature is one of the kid-friendly good guys!

The ultimate face-off at the end of Season 1 is resolved in a most unusual and cerebral manner, setting the tone for Season 2 as Primal realizes his mission is one of balance, not extremism. Silverbolt rejoins the Maximal ranks, a new Maximal arrives from off-world, and two dangerous new generals join Megatron's side as the Maximals search for the lost Sparks of their brethren and battle to regain control of Cybertron.

Credits

For further information, see: Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)/credits (season 1)

For further information, see: Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)/credits (season 2)

Characters

There's a caption under me?!

Because developing new CGI character models was, at the time, an expensive and time-consuming process, the number of named on-screen characters in Beast Machines was relatively small compared to most other Transformers shows. It is thus practical to list all the Transformers who appeared in the cartoon. They are listed in order of appearance. (Most drones are not listed, and neither are incidental flashback characters.) Note that many characters besides these are also full-fledged Beast Machines characters, having appeared in other media.

International Release

Japan

Japanese G1 continuity « Beast Wars Returns » Toyline Cartoon

The Beast Machines franchise was not initially released in Japan. As such, the Beast Machines cartoon did not reach Japan's shores until late 2004, where it was retitled Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns (超生命体トランスフォーマー ビーストウォーズリターンズ, Chō Seimeitai Transformers Beast Wars Returns). The series was initially broadcast on TAKARAND, TakaraTomy's channel on the satellite-based mobile entertainment service MobaHO!, from November 6, 2004, to January 30, 2005. In February 2005, it was reaired on Cartoon Network Japan and, following that, other networks including Gifu Broadcasting. Having been released on satellite networks, the series was not edited for time like other Transformers cartoons.

The localization was headed up by Yoshikazu Iwanami, the man responsible for the dubbing of Beast Wars, and thus Beast Wars Returns was reworked to the same extent as the previous series had been in Japan. The overblown jovial character quirks exclusive to the Japanese version of the series were retained while new quirks were created for the newer characters.

Perhaps most troubling of this satirical and humor-driven dub was Nightscream's characterization. Nightscream was turned into a flaming homosexual stereotype, lifting many quirks from the then-popular "Hard Gay" persona of comedian Masaki Sumitani (including ripping off his catchphrase, "Fuu!"). Other homosexual stereotypes attached to Nightscream included a new obsession with fashion and style, highly effeminate petnames for other characters (such as calling Rattrap "Aunty"), and a more lustful infatuation with the character Noble. While effeminate, vaguely homosexual characters are not uncommon in Japanese Transformers cartoons (many Japanese incarnations of Starscream are preeeeetty gay), the portrayal of Nightscream in this manner was not particularly respectful. For example, as they were both flyers, Silverbolt often spent more time with Nightscream than he did Blackarachnia. Already feeling jilted due to Silverbolt's new standoffish personality, this regularly incited angry commentary from the jealous fembot, who derisively referred to Nightscream and Silverbolt as the "gay boys" ("homo-tachi").

Other changes included Megatron's various Vehicon drone forces taking on individual chants that they would repeat ad nauseum for every second of screen time. Additionally, one of the series' major plot twists was ignored for the sake of goofy adlibbing, as Thrust and Jetstorm retained not only the voice actors for Waspinator and Silverbolt, but all of the unique vocal and personality quirks belonging to those characters, thus eliminating any ambiguity to their previous identities. And needless to say, with this being a parody dub, all moments in the original version that were intended to be dramatic were reworked for comedy value.

Given the low-key release of the series, a new theme song was not recorded. Instead, "Phat Planet" by Leftfield was retained. Characters from the series would proceed to talk over the entire length of the title sequence, having "amusing" conversations (likewise, they talked over the ending credits). Only one original piece of music was recorded for the series, "Megatron Ondo" by Yukio Hibariya and partly performed by Shigeru Chiba, created exclusively for Volume 7 of the Beast Wars Returns DVD release.

Also exclusive to the final DVD release of the series was an additional, goofy clip show:

• Where Is the Banana? R

Italy

This series didn't air on TV in Italy, but it was rather published on DVD in 2007. The characters are voiced by different actors compared to Beast Wars, and they're called by their English names instead of the Italian ones. Still, "Autobot" is changed to "Autorobot" like in G1.

Spanish America

Like the dub for Beast Wars, Beast Machine's dub was produced in Mexico. Unlike Beast Wars, the show was dubbed at Barrero Productions, with an almost completely different cast.

Home video releases

Japan

Main article: Geneon Universal Entertainment

• Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — Volume 1 (2004)
• Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — Volume 2 (2004)
• Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — Volume 3 (2005)
• Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — Volume 4 (2005)
• Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — Volume 5 (2005)
• Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — Volume 6 (2005)
• Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — Volume 7 (2005)
• Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — DVD Box (2005)

United States

Main article: Rhino Entertainment

• Beast Machines: Transformers — The Complete Series (2006)

Main article: Shout! Factory

• Transformers Beast Machines: The Complete Series (2014)

Canada

Main article: Anchor Bay Entertainment

• Beast Machines: Transformers Volume One (2004)

Australia / New Zealand

Main article: Sony

• Transformers: Beast Machines — Season One: Volume One (2007)
• Transformers: Beast Machines — Season One: Volume Two (2007)
• Transformers: Beast Machines — Season Two: Volume One (2007)
• Transformers: Beast Machines — Season Two: Volume Two (2007)

United Kingdom

Their tagline. His head.

Main article: Sony

• Transformers: Beast Machines — Season One: Volume One — Reformatting (2007)
• Transformers: Beast Machines — Season One: Volume Two — Revelations (2007)
• Transformers: Beast Machines — Complete Season One (2007)
• Transformers: Beast Machines — Complete Season Two (2007)

France

Main article: Sony

• Transformers: Beast Machines — Intégrale Saison 1 (2009)
• Transformers: Beast Machines — Intégrale Saison 2 (2009)

Germany

Main article: Sony

• Transformers: Beast Machines: Die komplette Season 1 (2007)
• Transformers: Beast Machines: Die komplette Season 2 (2007)

Spain

Main article: 20th Century Fox

Main article: Sony

• Transformers: Beast Machines: Primera temporada completa (2007)
• Transformers: Beast Machines: Segunda temporada completa (2007)

Italy

Main article: Sony

• Transformers: Beast Machines: Prima stagione (2007)
• Transformers: Beast Machines: Seconda stagione (2007)

Giveaways

Main article: Hasbro

• Beast Machines: Transformers — The Reformatting & Master of the House (1999)
• Beast Machines: Transformers: Battle for the Spark — Sparkwar Part I: The Strike (2000)

Notes

• The idea of Cybertron having once been organic was a throwaway idea in Marvel Comics original treatment!^[19]
• Skir had to pass up his dream project, an Avengers series featuring "lower-tier characters" such as the Scarlet Witch, the Vision, Wonder Man, and Tigra, which he had developed with Isenberg; the series got greenlit the same day the writing team had just committed to spearheading Beast Machines. (The resulting series, The Avengers: United They Stand, was a bomb and quickly vanished from the Fox Kids lineup.)
• The theme tune for the show was Leftfield's "Phat Planet". This was also used for a famous Guinness advert. The latter proved a more popular TV slot.
• This was the first Transformers fiction where the good guys didn't use any form of guns. This was down to Fox Kids' edict against firearms, as well as Bob Skir preferring to write heroes who didn't rely on guns,^[4] and Hasbro wanting to have less gunplay than before (though super-explodey lasers and sharp instruments were fine!).^[20] When Skir said this online, many fans wraxed wroth because they believed he was talking about gun usage in all adventure fiction and real-life gun users too (he wasn't).
• Fox Kids made some edits to their Beast Wars repeats, but Beast Machines got no requests to tone down the violence! ^[8]
• Apart from flashbacks, visions, and such, Beast Machines takes place entirely on (or in orbit of) Cybertron, thus making it one of the only television series not to feature any human companions.
• In some Beast Machines DVD releases, such as Kid Rhino and Shout! Factory, the title sequence and commercial bumpers curiously feature widescreen footage squished down to a 4:3 aspect ratio. Given the intro is made up almost entirely of footage from the first season, it's entirely possible that 16:9 versions of the episodes were animated but never released.
• Simon Furman thought Beast Machines was too dark and serious for being a cartoon show for kids.^[21] And trust us: the guy who wrote Generation 2 is something of an expert on 'too dark and serious for kids'.
• Vector Prime, in contrast, thought it was an awesome show.^[22]
• This is the only Transformers cartoon that had a complete German dub.
• The show would not receive a French-language dub until 2007. The voice director, Frédéric Meaux, would later supervise the dubbing of Transformers: Prime, which explains why the two series feature nearly identical voice casts.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Chō Seimeitai Transformers Beast Wars Returns (超生命体トランスフォーマー ビーストウォーズリターンズ, "Super Lifeform Transformers Beast Wars Returns")
• Cantonese: Maangsau Haap (Hong Kong, 猛兽侠, "Beast Heroes")
• French: Mécanimaux (Canada, "Mechanimals")
• Mandarin: Bǎibiàn Jīngāng: Zhòng Jīxiè Xìliè (Taiwan, 百變金剛：重機械系列, "Morph Vajra: Heavy Machinery Series"), Biànxíng Jīngāng: Shòu Xiè Zhēngbà (China, 变形金刚：兽械争霸, "Transformers: Beasts vs. Machines")
• Russian: Transformery: Zvero-Roboty (Трансформеры: Зверо-Роботы, "Transformers: Beast Robots")
• Spanish: Transformers: Bestias y Máquinas (America, "Transformers: Beasts and Machines"), Beast Machines Transformers: La nueva aventura (America, "Beast Machines Transformers: The New Adventure")

References