I was reading a article over retro
things last week. All the normals were there Nintendo, Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles, Dino Riders etc. However, Transformers were not listed among the many
toys and electronics, and that kind of put my nose out of joint. I mean quite
possibly the greatest longest lasting toy line ever, snubbed. I was only
slightly vindicated when he mentioned the comic line, but when he broke into the
shows he snubbed it again. He mentioned shit like
Silver Hawks, Bucky O' Hare and Samurai
Pizza Cat, but no Transformers. At this point, I was livid. None of theses shows lasted as long as
Transformers. Granted, the original series lasted only 4 seasons, but the follow
up series propelled it until the mid 90's. Yet this guy acts like this he has
never even come across it.
I
might sound a bit bitter, but coming from me, would you expect
anything less? Transformers is the very first show I remember. In many way the lessons I learned
from it shaped my young life. To not give this animated series its proper
respect is a hot button topic of mine. Yeah it is campy and the catch phrases
are a bit hokey but that's it's charm.
I would argue to say that never has such
a powerful show existed until Transformers. There was not a person in the 80's
or 90's who didn't know what the Transformation sound was. I mean for a television show to start 29 years ago and a comic 30
years ago and still be relevant says
something.
I
often try to remember what it was that drew me into it in the first place. I truly
come up blank. I mean really as along as I have been in this world so has
transformers. I mean nothing I watch feels so comforting to me then good old
G1. From the moment I hear Peter Cullen “Optimus Prime” say Roll Out I feel
home. Just in voice casting alone there is a wealth of talent. With the likes
of Scatman Crothers, Casey Kasem, and John Moschitta Jr., you would be hard pressed to find a better pool
of talent. So if I can't discover my own origins, it brings me to a question. At bass level, what is Transformers exactly?
It is about a bunch of giant shape
changing robots who crash on Earth. Once awake from their multi million year
nap they continue the war that broke out on their planet. What a great
concept for a kids TV show. Giant war thirsty robots wanting to kill us all.
Stopped by friendly giant robots bent on our protection. How does it get any
better?
This
show could pull things like a space bridge, which looked like a rainbow road in
space, and we bought it. They could give the Italian sports car an Italian
accent and we saw Side Swipe, not a overly racial filled caricature of a
Italian person. They could say leaking lubricant and we never thought
ewwww. The 1986 animated movie actually
used the song Dare to Be Stupid by Weird Al and ended with a circle dance. Yet we loved and I still
do love it. This movie killed Optimus Prime and yet we still watched it. Tear
filled eyes in our head but damn it we watched it. How much more can TV series
do before it is classified as an amazing series? Transformers G1 had 98 original episodes -
that’s a lot by kid shows standards. Hell, the only one I know that had more was
He-man and The Masters of the Universe.
Love
it or hate it, Transformers G1 left a mark on the 80's and 90's no other cartoon
series could have. It showed some the wonders right out their door. Others, it
caused them to look towards the heavens in hopes of not being alone. In my case
it made to brothers closer and closer with every single episode. We may not
have always got along with each others, I may have been the annoying younger
brother and he the bully older. However Transformers was neutral ground. During
that brief 30 minutes day all was right
with the world. So be it nostalgia or whatever you want to call it, I love
Transformers, and will always do so.
This
article was written in memory of
William
E. Cain
Till
All Are One
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