Transformers

This is about the original Transformers show. For other Transformers shows, see Transformers franchise

Transformers
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).

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

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series

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

• The Cybertron Chronicle
• Transformers Voice Actors