Beast Machines: Transformers
Beast Machines: Transformers
| 18 September 1999 (USA)
SEASON & EPISODES
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  • Reviews
    ada the leading man is my tpye
    Rijndri Load of rubbish!!
    ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
    Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
    xamtaro Beast Machines is easily an animated TV series which proves that Transformers can be so much more than just entertainment and toy advertisements. This show is one of very few animated series that actually casts aside the more kid-friendly themes and embraces the darker and more intelligent aspects of storytelling.This series tackles a good bit of philosophy with pseudo-religious undertones. It is not just a battle good vs evil, or of technology vs nature; that is just the surface and sadly that is all that people look at. Under that, there is the theme of "balance", sort of like yin/yang. A balance between cold hard logic and unpredictable primal emotion. One frequent complain by many was the whole "techno-organic concept and the concept of an organic Cybertron. I urge you not to take such concepts too literally. The very nature of "techno-organic" indicates a blending of Technology and nature. It is a metaphor for peaceful co-existence and not an actual literal concept(why do people take things too literally?). As the series moves along, we are shown the negative effects of swaying to either extreme end of the spectrum. Too much reliance on nature and emotion, without the focus of logic, makes one no better than a Neanderthal(as evidence by the Episode 5 "Forbidden Fruit"), savage and warlike. Now take that metaphor and apply it to the concept of "a once organic Cybertron". It makes perfect sense, if taken as a metaphor, in indicating Cybertron's long savage history of war. On the other hand, Sway the other way into cold amoral logic and one becomes nothing more than a mindless drone; Cybertron becomes a cold and foreboding place where individuality is crushed all for the sake of peace.Metaphors abound in this series, challenging the audience to actually think deeper and not just take things at the literal face value.Technology and Nature(embodied by Megatron's and Optimus' ideals) are metaphor for the very real-world issue of religious extremism. There is even a scene where Optimus tries to forcibly reformat an unwilling Megatron, similar to how some religious extremists would force someone into joining a cult.Megatron and his vehicon drones are a metaphor for the amorality of technology. His goal is unity and peace, even if it has to be at the price of the individual selves. Throughout the series, the Maximals also turn technology to their own use, further advancing the theme that technology is not inherently bad, it only depends on who uses it.These are just a few of the clever, thought provoking themes, so rare among animated series, that the producers decided to throw in. Another complain was about the change of personalities in the main characters. Do know that the series starts off in the middle of the action with the Maximals already on the run from Vehicons, separated, locked in beast mode, and possessing no memory of what came before. Then the find out that their battles in pre-history was all in vain, and all that they believed in had been shattered.Such traumatizing events are bound to change an individual and those changes make perfect realistic sense. Optimus had is faith in himself shattered by his humbling defeat, then turned to a new guiding light and principle, only to have that shattered also. RatTrap already had an inferiority complex in Beast Wars, and that is further compounded here by him being stuck in his tiny, non threatening beast mode and then discovering his ineffective combat mode. To see a once courageous warrior cowering in fear only adds to the sense of peril and the great level of threat that the vehicons present. Cheetor grows up, Black Arachnia finally finds her softer side etc. Overall, the good guys are not so "good" anymore. Their quirks and their flaws are more visible now but it all effectively makes them a lot more "human"(oh the irony) and adds to giving them a greater depth and dimension.Oh and speaking of dimension, the 3D animation has take a huge jump in quality. A lot more detailed and fluid than its predecessors and possessing fully rendered shadows that add to the dramatic effect and the chilling new setting of a "ghost town" Cybertron. It actually holds up to the test of time and still look great even when compared to other more recent CGI in TV series like Transformers galaxy force. Voice acting carries on the high standards set in place in Beast Wars so no complains there. The only thing that may put off some fans of Beast Wars is the lack of "fun". Beast wars balanced serious moments with more lighthearted comedic ones. Beast Machines however, is 26 episodes without a single laugh; Straight faced and serious all the way. This is not a show for the kids, but one for fans of animation with the desire to see something more complex than just "good vs evil". The many underlying philosophical themes will keep the more learned ones busy with endless discussion while the casual viewer can still enjoy the serious tone, excellent animation, and intense action sequences.
    Andrew DiMonte (NoArrow) "Beast Machines" puts the remaining maximals - Optimus, Rattrap, Cheetor and Black Arachnia - back on their home planet Cybertron after the ending of "Beast Wars". Unfortunately, they wake up and find themselves with no memory, in their original forms (the very first ones from the first season of Beast Wars) and being pursued by fierce robotic drones. They find out that their nemesis, Megatron, escaped en route to Cybertron and conquered it before they could arrive. After escaping the drones they find "The Oracle" of Cybertron and are transformed into more organic transformers, who fight Megatron and his new team of henchmen - Jetstorm, Thrust, Tankorr, Obsidian and Strika.There are quite a few mysteries at the start of the series, including how Megatron managed to conquer Cybertron and the true identities of the main villains henchmen. It is pretty exciting at times, especially with the introduction of character Noble at the start of the second (and last) season. I wont give away anything, just watch the show!Of course, there are many faults that make "Beast Machines" not as good as "Beast Wars". First, it turns into a weird new agey, environmentalist show about three quarters the way through, because Optimus finds out that the planet's core has always been organic rather than metalich, so the maximals start fighting to bring plants and fluffy animals back. Also, Megatron often whines about how he wants to leave his organic form (a huge metal dragon) because instead he wants to be pure metalich. I have no idea why the writers put this development in, because in "Beast Wars" Megatron never complained once, and actually loved his dragon form. He basically becomes a metaphor for the evil logging corporation that's chopping down precious trees. And the introduction of Nightscream's naive character (a bat) takes away from Cheetor's conflict with Optimus for the same reason.All in all, "Beast Machines" is a good show, but not a match for "Beast Wars", 7/10.
    gigantisaurus although not up to the bar of it's "transformers" elder, "Beast Machines" is still basiclly the same idea. they've landed on a strange planet, wheter or not it's Earth will still always be the mystery, and need to find a way to get home. But lo and behold the ever prominent villians in the plot some how manage to get stranded on the very same planet. well now they have to fix their ships, get enough crystal things , and fight each other doing it. i'm not saying this is bad, i enjoyed it very much, and i especially liked the beast asspect of the show, and the fact that it was computerized animation, i think, brought a sort of mobile freedom to the charecters and terrains, but overall i thought that this show was a good one.
    Kasady Beast Machines has revived some of the old concepts from the original show, but it has a lot of continuity problems and errors. Cybertron is suddenly organic, Primal's change in bodies from Beast Wars was ignored, and the characterization changes sometimes make me sick, especially Primal's "light-hearted" stance. Plus the Maximals running constantly doesn't make for any good battle scenes. Bob Skir has also changed his mind on certain issues over and over(we will see Decepticons, we now won't see them...). Hopefully season 2 will fix a lot of problems, but we will have to see.
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