I’m still working on getting back into making sure to give this blog the attention it properly deserves. Until then though I’m still create content elsewhere. First up, check out my appearance over at Monster Kid Radio where Derek M. Koch and I discussion, the Giant Spider Invasion. Afterward, follow these links over to Monkeys Fighting Robots and check out reviews of the recent issues of Power Rangers and Transformers. You’ll enjoy it, trust me.
Here it is. The review of the final season of Beast Wars. It’s been a fun ride and a great opportunity to not only celebrate the anniversary of this incredible series but to also help others know just how incredible it is. There is only one question, does the last season bring it home or fail in the end?
After resolving the cliffhanger of the previous season, the Maximals find themselves moving into the Ark. They now must protect it from Megatron who wishes to use it to win the Beast Wars. As they keep up the fight they will get a new recruit named Depth Charge, but he is more focused on getting revenge on Rampage. Unfortunately, the Predacons will also get some help and it involves a lost comrade.
This season really kicked it up a notch. From fixing the timeline, to the introduction of the Transmetal 2s, and the finale which was nail biting, every episode helped to move the plot forward. Also, it featured some interesting new characters like Depth Charge and Tigerhawk. All around a pretty impressive and interesting season.
This season isn’t without questionable episodes. The episode where Cheetor teaches the cave children but then Megatron decides to use them for his own means only barely qualified as an episode which moved the plot. The season wrapped up a bit faster with three discover of the Nemesis. Still this isn’t enough to bring it down much.
There really is one plot point I’d like to talk about. This is the whole deal with the Vok. This mysterious alien race helped to motivate the series at just the right time. In this season they only get one episode and sadly it doesn’t really help to wrap up who or what they are. Also they are never really used again except for minor references therein there in other Transformers series. It might be nice to have the IDW comics take them out for a bit and explore them in more detail.
With this series properly reviewed I can focus my attention on more Transformer related series. Of course I’m probably going to make my next theme month be Transformers but I don’t have it planned for this year. Hopefully next year. I’ll keep you posted crew.
RATING: A-
Greetings crew. Time for some comic reviews. Here are my reviews from Monkeys Fighting Robot for the week. This week, Brutal Legend #3 and Transformers: Till All Are One #2.
Attention Crew, I will be attending Jafax 2016 this year and hosting a few panel. The panels include:
Transformers: The IDW Universe: Friday from 10:30 to 11:30 in Screening Room 3 (Emerald B, Amw.)
Godzilla: Still King Of The Monsters: Sunday from 9:30 am to 11:00 am in Panel Room 2 (River Overlook)
Are you killing your Fandom?: Sunday from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm in Panel Room 2 (River Overlook)
I hope to see some of you there. Don’t be afraid to come up and talk after the panel is over.
The celebration of the 20th anniversary of Beast Wars continues as we move into the second season. Though shorter than the first, season two finds a way to deliver more in the short amount of time the creative team had to work with.
After the intense ending of the first season, the Maximals find themselves without a leader. They don’t have long to mourn as the energy wave brought on by the destruction of the doomsday device which killed Optimus Primal hurtles towards the Earth. When it hits, it causes many to turn into a new form of Transformer, the Transmetal, a mixture of animal and metal which allows them to have vehicles modes. The wave also causes new threats to awaken all across the world and will lead both teams closer to the their origins. Back to the original war between the Autobots and the Decepticons. 
This season is full of great moments. Each episode is dedicated to moving the plot forward with no room for filler. Thanks to this aspect the show doesn’t let up for a moment in its intensity. From the introduction of the Fuzors, to the lose of Airrazor and Tigertron, and Cybertron finally discovering their location, every episode is full of action, drama, and references to the Transformer mythology. This really was the season where fans came around and realized just how much this show had to offer.
The season also introduces some very interesting and entertaining characters such as Silverbolt, the noble knight, Rampage, the experiment gone wrong, and the malfunctioning Transmutate, an innocent creature with destructive power. The show also found way to top the previous season’s cliffhanger by introducing one which was far more intense than fans ever thought to be possible. 
Hands down the best episode of this season was Code of Hero. In it, Dinobot comes to terms with his destiny and realizes the future he saw when he researched the golden disc was coming true and there was no way around it. He would have to fight in order to protect blossoming humanity from the Predacon forces. The battle would be fought on his own and he would lose his life in the process. The episode became infamous as one of the most powerful and well crafted episodes ever in the Transformers franchise.
With this review two seasons are down and one to go. The review of the third season of Beast Wars will be coming sometime later this year. Hopefully these write ups are convincing others to go out and check out this series. The computer graphics may not have aged well but the show is still filled with elements which make it necessary viewing from anyone who calls themselves a true Transformer fan.
RATING: A
Another Transformers Review is up at Monkeys Fighting Robots. I do my best not to gush but I just can’t help it. I love this series so much.
My review of issue 52 of Transformers Robots in Disguise is up over at Monkeys Fighting Robots. Check it out, the more page views it goes, the more I get paid.
This year marks a special anniversary in the Transformers Franchise. It’s the 20th anniversary of the Beast Wars TV series. Many felt the Transformers should never take the form of animals and dismissed the series straight out. Those who did missed out on something great. Beast Wars is one of the best Transformer series ever.
The Maximal crew of the Axalon have crash landed on a mysterious planet while pursuing a group of Predcon fugitives. Led by Megatron, the Predacons have plans to harvest the energon on the planet and use it to take over their home world of Cybertron. It’s up to the Maximals, lead by Optimus Primal to stop them and protect the peace of this strange world.
This series was the first original (Generaion 2 wasn’t original) Transformers series in America in almost 10 years. Deciding to scale back a bit from the huge armies of yesteryear, the show instead has a cast of only ten at first. Each character had an individual purpose and was able to grow through the adventures which took place in the show. Since then this staple of fewer characters allowing for more emphasis on development has lead to success with the series which followed.
The series also introduce many elements into the Transformer mythology. Aspects such as the Spark (the soul of the transformer), the Matrix/Allspark (heaven), the Pit (Hell), and Slag (a phrase of profanity) were all first used in this series. These introductions alone should could cause individuals to give this series a heavy degree of respect.
Beast Wars also sports a surpassing large amount of violence. Treating the characters like the robots they are allowed the characters to suffer great damage and get the necessary repairs after the battle is over. This element led to some impressive action scenes in the first season alone.
The show isn’t without its faults. The CGI hasn’t aged the best. Sure for the time it was pretty impressive but looking at it now some of the background animation is rather dull and there are a few errors here and there. Still, these are small complaints which don’t distract from the overall series.
Beast Wars is a Transformers series which shouldn’t be missed. If you know a Transformer fan who hasn’t taken the time to watch this series then kick them in the butt and insist the show has merit. Remember, this is just my review of the first season. I’ll make sure to finish the rest of the reviews through the course of this year and give the series the proper anniversary it deserves.
RATING: A-
Time to return to another installment of the Transformer franchise. The first season of Transformers Prime was one of the best televisions series ever to bear the Tranformers’ name. Did the second season keep up the strength of storytelling and action?
After the events of the first season, Optimus Prime believes he is his younger self, Orion Pax and he is still friends with Megatron. His comrades will have to venture to their fallen home world of Cybertron to find a way to restore Optimus to his original self. Will they succeed or will Optimus continue to wear a Decepticon symbol on his shoulder?
The quality of storytelling of the previous season stays constant. From the beginning of the season while Optimus believing he is a Decepticon to the quest for the Cyber Keys the drama keeps the audience in their seats episode to episode. The call back to previous Transformers series with items such as the Star Saber and the Omega Lock are excellent ways of using the franchise`s rich cannon to tell a fantastic story. Also, all of the different Cybertronian technology they have recovered over the course the series comes to a head as all seem to play a part in the season finale.
The introduction of new characters help to make the story interesting as well. The Decepticons get Dreadwing, brother of the fallen Skyquake who turns out to be very noble despite being a deadly warrior. The Autobots get introduced to Smokescreen, a young brash solider who has been sent by Alpha Trion, Optimius Prime`s mentor to help with the war. Both of these characters are welcomed additions to the show and really help to flush out the story telling.
This season isn’t without its problems. First up it does contain a clip show (A big problem as this blog is always against clip shows). Second, the show continues with the fetch quests from the previous season. It keeps up the discovery of Cybertron relics before moving to the Cyber Keys. It is a small complaints but still worth mentioning.
This series continues to be one of the best installments of the Tranformers’ franchise. All that is needed is to look at the final season and the movie that followed it. Stay tuned crew. These reviews will be coming down the line but I have another Transformers series I need to focus on this year as it is celebrating an anniversary.
RATING: A-
I originally wanted to wait to review this series when I finished going through all the seasons of its predecessor, Transformers: Prime. Now with the second season’s upcoming premiere I decided to do a special review in honor of this show’s return. Let’s “Rip it up and Ride it out”…hey it took Bumblebee a few times to get it too.
In the aftermath of Transformers Prime, Bumblebee has begun mentoring a young security officer and helping to rebuild Cybertron. All this changes when Optimus Prime sends him a message telling Bumblebee he needs to head to Earth. Using a space bridge, Bumblebee arrives on Earth and discovers a crashed prison ship and the captive Decepticons have escaped. Now with the held of of his student, Strongarm, a delinquent named Sideswipe, a Dinobot named Grimlock, and a malfunctioning minicon named Fixit, Bumblebee must work to track down these Decepticon fugitives and bring them to justice.
The series picks up where Transformers: Prime left off and does help to give Bumblebee his own focus. There isn’t much focus on Cybertron after the first episode. It would have been nice to see what other characters were doing and what changes had been made to the planet now that it is inhabitable again. Hopefully this will happen more in season two. Of course, it does go into some new explanations about the Tranformers Universe by introducing the Realm of the Primes, where the former Primes reside.
The major flaw with the series is the set up. The Autobots get a new Decepticon to track down almost every episode in the classic “Monster of the week” formula. Few series before have had more Decepticons over Autobots through the course of its run. Some of these characters do appear later in the season and even form a team of their own so at least they are able to modify the classic formula.
The team of Autobots is standard by the characteristics they bring to the team. They consist of a novice leader (Bumblebee), the strict rookie (Strongarm), the loose cannon (Sideswipe), the wreaking ball (Grimlock), and a medic (Fixit). Not that the show isn’t able to tell good stories with these characters. Seeing Bumblebee mature to the point he is in a leadership position was a welcome sight for his fans. It was also nice to have Grimlock back into a Transformer series, it would have been nice if he wasn’t a dumb knucklehead with a punch first and ask questions never attitude.
The series doesn’t really have any major flaws but at the same time doesn’t do anything as fanatic within the show like Transformers: Prime did. Probably the lack of the darker and grittier tones which were given off thanks to the sleek computer design the previous series was animated with. Still, the show is good and I am looking forward to watching the new show as it airs.
RATING: B-
The Gigantic Project 