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Transformers

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This is about the original Transformers show. For other Transformers shows, see Transformers franchise
Transformers
TransformersLogo.jpg
Premiere September 17, 1984
Finale November 11, 1987
Network/Provider First-run syndication
Style 30-minutes Animated Action
Company Marvel Productions,
Sunbow Productions
Seasons 4
Episodes 98 + feature film
Origin USA

The Transformers cartoon series was created as a promotional tie-in for Hasbro's toyline of the same name. The series was developed by Marvel Productions, who had at the time just finished developing G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Marvel Productions produced the show under contract from Sunbow Productions, the television arm of Hasbro's advertising firm, Griffin Bacal. Voice work was done at Wally Burr Recording.

The series began with a three episode miniseries titled "More Than Meets The Eye", much as G.I. Joe had begun as a miniseries. Shortly, productions of Transformers went into full gear and the series ran for three full seasons, plus a three-episode fourth "season". Some episodes were later repackaged with live-action introductions and bumpers; this set of episodes is sometimes referred to by fans as "season five".

The series deals with extraterrestrial robots -- "Transformers" -- who, in the first episode, stranded on Earth. These robots come from a planet called Cybertron, and have the amazing ability to reconfigure their body parts into two or more different shapes or "modes". For example, many of the characters have a humanoid mode and can also transform to look like cars or airplanes. The Transformers are divided into two factions: the "Autobots", who wish to live peacefully with other lifeforms, and the "Decepticons" who wish to conquer other worlds and acquire large reserves of energy and other resources for their own use. Naturally, this puts the factions into conflict and most episodes of the cartoon deal with the Autobots trying to stop the Decepticons from stealing energy, harming humans, and the like.

Between seasons two and three, in the summer of 1986, a feature film called Transformers: The Movie was released. In this film most of the major characters from the first two seasons were killed, and a new cast of characters was introduced. Season three of the cartoon deals with these new characters, although there were some holdovers from the first two years.

When the Transformers franchise began, it and this cartoon were simply called Transformers. In 1993, Hasbro revived the Transformers franchise under the name Transformers: Generation Two. Immediately, fans began to refer to the original series as "Generation One" or "G1" in order to differentiate the two. Eventually, this fan-created term began appearing in some materials produced by Hasbro and Takara (the Japanese toy company with which Hasbro co-creates Transformers).

Contents

Cast

Actor Character Duration
Main Cast 1 2 3 4
Peter Cullen Optimus Prime * * o *
Ironhide * *
Frank Welker Megatron * *
Galvatron * *
Soundwave * * * *
Frenzy * * * *
Mirage * *
Mixmaster * * * *
Ravage * * *
Rumble * *
Skywarp * *
Chris Latta Wheeljack * *
Starscream * * o
Sparkplug Witwicky * *
Dan Gilvezan Bumblebee * * * *
Michael Bell Prowl * *
Sideswipe * *
Swoop * * * *
Scrapper * * * *
Scatman Crothers Jazz * *
Ken Sansom Hound * *
John Stephenson Thundercracker * *
Windcharger * *
Kup * *
Gregg Berger Grimlock * * * *
Jetfire * *
Hal Rayle Shrapnel * * * *
Snarl * * * *
Jack Angel Astrotrain * * * *
Ramjet * *
Cyclonus * *
Ultra Magnus * *
Paul Eiding Perceptor * * * *
Corey Burton Spike Witwicky * * * *
Brawn * *
Sunstreaker * *
Shockwave * *
Neil Ross Hook * *
Slag * * * *
Springer * *
Clive Revill Kickback * * * *
Susan Blu Arcee * *
David Mendenhall Daniel Witwicky * *
Orange/Red/o indicates a recurring or guest role during that season.
Dark Green indicates top billing during that season.

Seasons

Season  Premiere Finale #
syndication
Season One September 17, 1984 December 29, 1984 16
Season Two September 23, 1985 January 9, 1986 49
Season Three September 15, 1986 February 25, 1987 30
Season Four November 9, 1987 November 11, 1987 3

Feature Film

Title Release Date
Transformers: The Movie July 11, 1986

In-Depth

DVD Releases

Title Release Discs
Complete Series  (Region 1)
The Complete Series July 23, 2009 (Comic-Con)
October 20, 2009 (General)
purchase 17
Season Sets - Rhino  (Region 1)
The Complete First Season April 23, 2002 purchase 4
Season 2 Part 1 November 26, 2002 purchase 4
Season 2 Part 2 April 22, 2003 purchase 4
Season 3 Part 1 October 14, 2003 purchase 4
Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 March 9, 2004 purchase 3
Season Sets - Shout Factory  (Region 1)
The Complete First Season June 16, 2009 purchase 3
Season Two, Volume One September 15, 2009 purchase 4
Season Two, Volume Two January 12, 2010 purchase 4
Seasons Three and Four April 20, 2010 purchase 4
Episode Collections  (Region 1)
More than Meets the Eye September 1, 2009 purchase 1

External Sites