The Transformers (TV series)

The Transformers
The American and Japanese logos
Genre	Science fiction Action Adventure
Created by	Hasbro Takara Tomy
Based on	Transformers  by Hasbro
Developed by	Toei Animation AKOM Production
Written by	Various
Voices of	Charlie Adler Jack Angel Arlene Banas Jared Barclay Roger Behr Michael Bell Gregg Berger Susan Blu Steve Bulin Arthur Burghardt Corey Burton Roger C. Carmel Michael Chain Phillip Clarke Rege Cordic Scatman Crothers Peter Cullen Bud Davis Walker Edmiston Paul Eiding Laurie Faso Ron Feinberg Ron Gans Linda Gary Brad Garrett Richard Gautier Ed Gilbert Dan Gilvezan Joy Grdnic John Haymer Michael Horton John Hostetter Jerry Houser Milt Jamin Buster Jones Stan Jones S. Marc Jordan Casey Kasem Stephen Keener Aron Kindaid Chris Latta Joe Leahy Morgan Lofting Jeff MacKay Danny Mann Mona Marshall Michael McConnohie Terrence McGovern David Mendenhall Don Messick Denise Mora John Moschitta Alan Oppenheimer Rob Paulsen Tony Pope Bill Ratner Hal Rayle Peter Reneday Clive Revill Neil Ross Ken Sansom Ted Schwartz Tony St. James John Stephenson Beau Weaver Frank Welker
Narrated by	Victor Caroli
Composer(s)	Johnny Douglas Robert J. Walsh
Country of origin	United States Japan (Seasons 1 & 2, some Season 3 episodes) South Korea (Some Season 2 episodes and Seasons 3 & 4)
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	98[1] (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Gwen Wetzler Nelson Shin Joe Bacal Margaret Loesch Tom Griffin Lee Gunther
Running time	23–24 minutes
Production company(s)	Hasbro Sunbow Productions (m4e AG) Marvel Productions (Marvel Animation)
Distributor	Claster Television
Release
Original network	First-run syndication[2]
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	September 17, 1984 (1984-09-17) – November 11, 1987 (1987-11-11)
Chronology
Followed by	The Headmasters (Japan) Transformers: Generation 2 (US)

The Transformers is the first animated television series in the Transformers franchise. The series depicts a war among giant robots that can transform into vehicles and other objects.^[3] Written and recorded in America, the series was animated in Japan and South Korea. The series was based upon Hasbro's Transformers toy line, itself based upon the Diaclone and Microman toy lines originally created by Japanese toy manufacturer Takara.^[4] The series was supplemented by a feature film, The Transformers: The Movie (1986), taking place between the second and third seasons.

In Japan, the series was called Fight! Super Robot Life-Form Transformers (戦え！超ロボット生命体トランスフォーマー, Tatakae! Chō Robotto Seimei-Tai Toransufōmā) for Seasons 1 and 2, and Fight! Super Robot Life-Form Transformers 2010 (戦え！超ロボット生命体トランスフォーマー２０１０, Tatakae! Chō Robotto Seimei-Tai Toransufōmā Nisenjū) for Season 3. Following the conclusion of the series in 1987 but in 1988 the 5th & last season of the series is the retelling story of the TV series rerun, with episodes with Powermaster Optimus Prime as the host of the 5th season of TV series with a boy named Tommy, the Japanese created Transformers: The Headmasters, a sequel series. Three Children's manga adaptations of the Japanese dub were written by Masami Kaneda and illustrated by Ban Magami as part of their Fight! Super Robot Life Form Transformers: The Comics (戦え！超ロボット生命体トランスフォーマー ザ☆コミックス, Tatakae! Chō Robotto Seimeitai Toransufōmā: Za Komikkusu) series. The first series was serialized in Kodansha's TV Magazine from April 1986 to November 1986, the second from December 1986 to April 1987 and the third from May 1987 to July 1987. The first manga used the same name as the TV series and is eight chapters long, the second manga was titled Super Robot Life-Form Story - The Transformers (超ロボット生命体物語 ザ★トランスフォーマー, Chō Robotto Seimei-Tai Monogatari: Za Toransufōmā) and is five chapters long, and the third was titled Great Transformers War (トランスフォーマー大戦争, Toransufōmā Dai Sensō) and is three chapters long.

Due to the 1992 franchise-wide relaunch under the name Transformers: Generation 2, the original series and its toy and comic book parallels are referred to as Transformers: Generation 1, aka G1. Initially a fan-coined term, it has since made its way into official use as a retronym. Although not a completely new show, new CGI features such as bumpers, alter the appearance of the old episodes.

Production background

The Transformers toyline and cartoon/animated series was inspired by the Japanese toyline, Microman (an Eastern descendant of the 12" G.I. Joe action figure series). In 1980, the Microman spin-off, Diaclone, was released, featuring inch-tall humanoid figures able to sit in the drivers' seats of scale model vehicles, which could transform into humanoid robot bodies the drivers piloted. Later still, in 1983, a Microman sub-line, MicroChange was introduced, featuring "actual size" items that transformed into robots, such as microcassettes, guns and toy cars. Diaclone and MicroChange toys were subsequently discovered at the 1983 Tokyo Toy Fair by Hasbro toy company product developer Henry Orenstein, who presented the concept to Hasbro's head of R&D, George Dunsay. Enthusiastic about the product, it was decided to release toys from both Diaclone and MicroChange as one toyline for their markets, although there were eventual changes to the color schemes from the original toys to match the new series.^[5]

By 1984, U.S. regulators had removed many of the restrictions regarding the placement of promotional content within children's television programming. The way was cleared for the new product-based television program. Hasbro had previously worked with Marvel Comics to develop G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero for a three-pronged marketing scheme - the toyline, a tie-in comic book by Marvel, and an animated mini-series co-produced by Marvel's media arm, Marvel Productions, and the Griffin-Bacal Advertising Agency's Sunbow Productions animation studio. Given the success of that strategy, the process was repeated in 1984 when Hasbro marketing vice president Bob Prupis approached Marvel to develop their new robot series, which Jay Bacal dubbed "Transformers."^[3]

Marvel's Editor-in-Chief at the time, Jim Shooter, produced a rough story concept for the series, creating the idea of the two warring factions of alien robots – the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons.^[6] To flesh out his concept, Shooter called upon veteran editor Dennis O'Neil to create character names and profiles for the cast, but O'Neill's work – for whatever reason – did not meet with Hasbro's expectations, and they requested heavy revisions. O'Neill declined to make said revisions, and the project was turned down by several writers and editors approached by Shooter until editor Bob Budiansky accepted the task. Hastily performing the revisions over a weekend, Budiansky's new names and profiles were a hit with Hasbro, and production began on a bi-monthly four-issue comic book miniseries, and three-part television pilot.

Japanese designer Shōhei Kohara was responsible for creating the earliest character models for the Transformers cast, greatly humanising the toy designs to create more approachable robot characters for the comic and cartoon. His designs were subsequently simplified by Floro Dery, who went on to become the lead designer for the series, creating many more concepts and designs in the future.

Show history

"More Than Meets the Eye" pilot/mini-series

The three-part mini-series was animated by Japan's Toei Animation studio and it first aired in the United States in September 1984.

The pilot introduced Optimus Prime's Autobots:

• Brawn
• Bluestreak
• Bumblebee
• Cliffjumper
• Gears
• Hound
• Huffer
• Ironhide
• Jazz
• Mirage
• Prowl
• Ratchet
• Sideswipe
• Sunstreaker
• Trailbreaker
• Wheeljack
• Windcharger
• Hauler who was seen only in vehicle mode, had no dialogue and was not seen again in the animated series

And Megatron's Decepticons:

• Starscream
• Skywarp
• Thundercracker
• Reflector
• Soundwave and his cassette spies:
  • Laserbeak
  • Ravage
  • Rumble
• Shockwave (who stayed behind to guard Cybertron under Megatron's orders)

The conclusion of the series has the Decepticons defeated and the Autobots poised to return to Cybertron, but this was blurred somewhat when the series was picked up for continuation, and the Autobots remained on the planet to protect it from renewed Decepticons. The Autobots make friends with their first two human allies, Spike Witwicky and his father Sparkplug Witwicky. A few episodes later, a paraplegic computer whiz named Chip Chase became an additional ally.^[7]

Season 1

Thirteen further episodes were commissioned for the first season of the series, and the pilot was re-aired, now with the title "More Than Meets the Eye". Running from September to December 1984, the series established important new concepts that would persist through the rest of its run, such as the Decepticon Space Bridge, and featured the debuts of several new characters that would be available in the toyline the following year—the Dinobots (leader Grimlock, Slag and Sludge, and later Swoop and Snarl), Jetfire (known as Skyfire on the series), a Decepticon cassette named Frenzy, the Insecticons (leader Shrapnel, Bombshell and Kickback) and the Constructicons (leader Scrapper, Long Haul, Mixmaster, Bonecrusher, Scavenger and Hook), and their combined form, Devastator. ^[8]

While most of the characters for this and the following seasons were Diaclone and MicroChange toys from Takara (or based on them), Hasbro also drew on other resources to bulk up the line, acquiring toys from ToyCo (Shockwave), ToyBox (Omega Supreme, Sky Lynx) and Takatoku Toys (Jetfire, Roadbuster, Whirl and the Deluxe Insecticons). The latter company's absorption by Bandai—the main competitor to Takara, which was releasing Transformers in Japan—caused some legal problems, however, and none of their toys featured in the cartoon (save for Jetfire, who was renamed "Skyfire" and received several aesthetic changes).

Season 2

With the series having proved a great success, the second season was created with the intent of getting the series into syndication and thus consisted of 49 episodes (and a new version of the theme song), bringing the total number produced up to the 65 episodes needed to meet syndication requirements. Where the first season primarily functioned episodically but had a general continuity from episode to episode, which thus required they be viewed in a specific order, Season 2 and its syndication goals saw this method of storytelling dropped in favor of single-episode tales mostly without lasting repercussions which could hence be generally watched in any order that networks chose to air them. These episodes often served to spotlight single characters and flesh them out more. Most of the new characters introduced in the 1985 toyline were further Diaclone and Microman toys, some of them modified in unique ways.

The first batch of new characters were introduced with no explanation whatsoever of where they had come from. The new Autobots in this group were Beachcomber, Cosmos, Powerglide, Seaspray, Warpath, Grapple, Hoist, Red Alert, Skids, Smokescreen, Inferno, Tracks, the scientist Perceptor, the defense base Omega Supreme and Soundwave's Autobot counterpart Blaster. An Autobot bounty hunter named Devcon appeared in an episode called The Gambler, but he was never seen or heard from again. Another new human character was introduced: Spike's new girlfriend Carly. The new Decepticons were Dirge, Ramjet, Thrust, and the Triple Changers Blitzwing and Astrotrain. Soundwave's original companion, Buzzsaw, was shown for the first time. A young street punk named Raoul appeared in a couple of episodes involving Tracks. More characters made their debut, like Alpha Trion, and a group of female Autobots, led by Elita-1 ( formerly Ariel ). And the supercompter Vector Sigma.The tail end of the second season introduced four combining teams of Autobots and Decepticons - the Aerialbots (leader Silverbolt, Air Raid, Skydive, Fireflight and Slingshot who form Superion), the Stunticons (leader Motormaster, Dead End, Breakdown, Wildrider and Drag Strip who form Menasor), the Protectobots (leader Hot Spot, Streetwise, Groove, Blades and First Aid who form Defensor) and the Combaticons (leader Onslaught, Brawl, Swindle, Blast Off, and Vortex who form Bruticus), each team capable of merging their bodies and minds into one giant super-robot. Although debuting in this season, the toys - based on an unmade Diaclone line that was aborted in Japan in favor of importing the Transformers toyline itself - would not be available until 1986.

After Season 2 was produced, Toei Animation worked on Transformers: The Movie, but since the film wouldn't be released in Japan until 1989, they instead had an original video animation made, once again by Toei Animation called Transformers: Scramble City. This OVA dealt with the alternative combining abilities of the Aerialbots and Stunticons. The other teams, the Protectobots and Combaticons appeared later on and this would be the first introduction (to the Japanese) to characters like Ratbat, Ultra Magnus, Metroplex and towards the end of the OVA Trypticon. The OVA was unique as it used the original music cues from the American series, though Toei made their own transition effect for this OVA. The OVA however ended on a cliffhanger that was never resolved, where Metroplex and Trypticon looked like they were about to fight one another.

The Transformers: The Movie

1986 would prove to be a big year for Transformers, with the summer release of The Transformers: The Movie. The story line is based in the year 2005 and introduces a new cast of characters that were the first to be originally created for the Transformers line, and not derived from other toylines. The new characters were the Autobots Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Arcee, the triplechanger Springer, Ultra Magnus, Wreck-Gar, Wheelie, and Blaster's own group of mini-cassette Autobots Steeljaw, Ramhorn, Eject and Rewind. The only new Decepticon was Ratbat, Soundwave's new minion. Other new characters were the ferocious Sharkticons who were owned by a race of evil five-faced robotic aliens called the Quintessons.

Free of the restrictions of television, the movie featured many character deaths (including Optimus Prime, Brawn, Ironhide, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Windcharger, Prowl, and Starscream), as the old guard were wiped out to make room for the next generation of toys. Megatron, Skywarp, Thundercracker, and the Insecticons were remodeled into Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps by a planet-sized Transformer known as Unicron. Megatron and Thundercracker clearly became Galvatron and Scourge, but there is debate as to who actually became Cyclonus, Bombshell or Skywarp.

The Matrix of Leadership was first introduced in the movie. Near the end of the movie, Hot Rod used the Matrix of Leadership to destroy Unicron, save Cybertron and become Rodimus Prime, the new leader of the Autobots, at least until Optimus made his surprise return at the end of the third season. The movie also introduced an adult Spike and his son Daniel.

Season 3

The future setting of the movie continued on into the third season of the series, which debuted in September 1986 and ran to November of that year, picking up right where the movie's events had left off. With the addition of Flint Dille as story editor, the series took on a strong sci-fi orientation, with grimmer story lines and stronger inter-episode continuity that revisited concepts more regularly than past seasons. More new characters were added to the show. On the side of the Autobots, they are the Triplechangers Sandstorm and Broadside, the space shuttle Sky Lynx, the Technobots (Afterburner, Nosecone, Strafe, Lightspeed and their leader Scattershot who combine to form Computron), the Autobot city Metroplex and the Throttlebots, (Chase, Freeway, Rollbar, Searchlight, Wideload and Bumblebee who was rebuilt into Goldbug). On the side of the Decepticons, the original Predacons (Rampage, Headstrong, Divebomb, Tantrum and their leader Razorclaw who can merge into Predaking), BattleChargers Runamuck and Runabout, the Triplechanger Octane, the Terrorcons (Rippersnapper, Sinnertwin, Cutthroat, Blot and their leader Hun-Gurrr who can merge into Abominus), the Decepticon city Trypticon and finally, Soundwave's new minions Slugfest and Overkill.

A slightly different version of the theme song was the new intro for the season, first heard in the Transformers commercials. More than fifty percent of the season's episodes were produced by Korean animation studio AKOM, whose work was widely derided by fans.

The grim direction, different (often cheap and poor) animation and new cast of characters ultimately failed to sit well with the viewing audience, who desired to see Optimus Prime return to life after his big-screen demise. The production team ultimately gave in to these demands, and Optimus was brought back in a two-part season finale titled "The Return of Optimus Prime," which aired in March 1987. Starscream would also return as a ghost. Unicron makes a few appearances as well as his head continues to orbit Cybertron. Carly, who is now Spike's wife and Daniel's mother, also appears in the series (Sparkplug is gone from the series with no explanation), along with two new recurring human characters: Commander Marissa Fairborne of Earth Defense Command and the dictator Abdul Fakkadi of the desert nation of Carbombya. The sadistic Quintessons also appear in the series and are revealed to be the creators of Cybertron and the Transformers themselves. The Autobots' volcano base, along with the Ark and Teletraan-1, were all destroyed by Trypticon. And finally, as bit players, Chip Chase and Raoul never appeared in the series again.

The conclusion of this season marked the end of the shared cartoon continuity for western and Japanese audiences. While the U.S. production proceeds to the "Season 4" mini-series, this was ignored in Japan and replaced with several full-length cartoon series, starting with The Headmasters.

Season 4

Finally, Hasbro's attention from the series drifted, and Transformers was not allocated the funds that would allow it to continue. The series was brought to a close in November 1987 with the airing of the fourth season, which consisted solely of a three-part story entitled "The Rebirth." Penned by regular series writer David Wise, who had previously scripted several mythology-building episodes, "The Rebirth" introduced the Headmasters (Autobots Cerebros, Brainstorm, Chromedome, Highbrow, and Hardhead and Decepticons Mindwipe, Skullcruncher and Weirdwolf, plus the triplechanger Horrorcons Apeface and Snapdragon) and the Targetmasters (Autobots Pointblank, Sureshot and Crosshairs and Decepticons Triggerhappy, Misfire and Slugslinger) including the Headmaster cities Fortress Maximus and Scorponok (plus the Autobot and Decepticon clones Fastlane, Cloudraker, Pounce and Wingspan, the Autobot double spy Punch-Counterpunch, and the Decepticon six-changer Sixshot), and restored a new age of peace and prosperity to Cybertron.

But the Decepticons stole the final scene of the episode, just to let viewers know that their evil was not yet crushed, and that the battles would go on. As Arcee becomes a Headmaster with Daniel and Spike pairs up with Cerebros who becomes the head of Fortress Maximus, then Kup, Hot Rod, Blurr, Cyclonus and Scourge all become Targetmasters. After both factions landed on the planet Nebulos, the Autobots sided with Gort and his freedom fighters Arcana, Stylor, Duros, Haywire, Pinpointer, Firebolt, Peacemaker, Spoilsport and Recoil. The Decepticons team up with an evil organization called the Hive, made up of their leader Lord Zarak (who becomes the head of Scorponok) Vorath, Monzo, Spasma, Krunk, Grax, Nightstick, Aimless, Fracas, Caliburst, and Blowpipe.

The theme song was still the same as the one from season three, but the intro had scenes from season three as well as scenes from past Transformers commercials.

Although this was the end of the series in the West, in Japan, three additional animated series were produced to replace Rebirth for Japanese audiences—Transformers: The Headmasters, Transformers: Super-God Masterforce, Transformers: Victory and the single OVA direct to video release; Transformers: Zone.

Best Of

The Transformers did not quite disappear from American airwaves either, however, as a fifth season aired in 1988, serving as "best of" collection of the series.^[9] It re-aired 15 episodes from the original series, along with The Transformers: The Movie edited into a further five episodes. To help promote the then-new Powermaster Optimus Prime figure, the first new toy figure of Optimus since 1984, Sunbow produced new material featuring a stop-motion (and machine prop) version of Powermaster Optimus interacting with a boy named Tommy Kennedy. Each episode would be told as a story to Tommy by Optimus, and together they would essentially introduce and close each episode. This time, the intro had clips from both the series and the movie. Some of the episodes that was in this format was, "More Than Meets the Eye" Parts 1,2,3, Transformers the Movie (Done in a five part series), "Five Faces of Darkness" (Another 5 Part) "Dark Awakening", "The Return of Optimus Prime" Parts 1 and 2. "Fight or Flee". There was not many aired in this format.

Generation 2 series

From 1993-1995, the original Transformers series was rebroadcast under the Generation 2 label. The Generation 2 series featured a new computer-generated main title sequence, computer-generated scene transitions, and other small changes.

The original stories were presented as though they were recordings of historical events by the Cybernet Space Cube (sometimes referred to as the Cybercube). The cube had the various scenes on its faces, which it spun between for transitions, replacing the classic spinning Autobot/Decepticon logo.

A large percentage of the characters featured in the show did not feature in the toyline, and vice versa. The G1 toys re-released for G2 which did feature in the show sometimes had their color-schemes radically altered and no longer matched their animated counterparts. One of the most notable discontinuities was the G2 Megatron; more stringent toy laws concerning gun replicas forced the re-imagining of Megatron as an M1 Abrams tank with a green camouflage color scheme, completely at odds with his form on the series as a Walther P38 handgun.

Other Transformers continuities

The cartoon was produced in tandem with a comic book series, produced by Marvel between 1984 and 1991, and also referred to now as "Generation One" (or more simply "G1"). The comics tell a substantially different version of the story. Both versions were equally authorized by Hasbro.

The name "The Ark," referring to the Autobots' ship, was not used in the original cartoon. In the cartoon series the ship's computer was called Teletraan I; in the comics, it was called "Auntie," though this name was not often used.

Supplemental sequences

Opening sequence

The opening sequences for each of the first three seasons were entirely unique, with no episode footage being reused, and each of the three had their own version of the famous Transformers theme tune. Additionally, the third season story Five Faces of Darkness had its own specialized opening sequence for all five parts, depicting events that occurred in the miniseries. The fourth season of the show, however, did not feature any new animation in its opening sequence, instead combining together footage from the third season opening and various clips of animation from 1987 toy commercials, alongside the third season opening theme.

Ending credits

Like the opening sequences, the ending credits sequences changed every season. However, these sequences were clip reels of scenes from episodes of that season. Instrumental versions of the theme music were used, although the third and fourth seasons utilized a male chorus.

Transition sequences

A brief sequence was used frequently to transition between scenes. The symbol for either the Autobots or Decepticons would be seen being replaced with the other symbol (or in some cases, the same symbol again). Which symbol was shown initially depended on which Transformers faction was being chiefly depicted just before the transition, and likewise, the latter symbol was for the faction that was to be depicted immediately after the transition. For scenes primarily featuring the Quintessons, the Decepticon symbol would also be displayed.

This transition technique, reminiscent of the one used in the original Batman TV show, became a hallmark of the series. It was used throughout the entire four-year run.

"Bumpers"

Brief, eyecatch-styled original animations were used as bumpers to segue in and out of commercial breaks. These would depict individual characters transforming from one mode to another, often against a blank colored background, and would end with the Transformers logo. The bumpers were accompanied by a variation of the Transformers theme, and a voice-over by Victor Caroli.

Mini-documentaries

Several mini-documentaries, narrated by Caroli, aired at the end of certain Season 3 episodes. Except for one brief newly animated shot of Slammer and Scamper in the Transformers cities segment, all of these simply used clips from the series. Mini-documentaries were made on each of the following subjects:

• A detailed history of the Autobots
• A detailed history of the Decepticons
• A detailed profile of Ultra Magnus
• The story of a Decepticon subclan, the Predacons
• The history of the Quintessons
• The history of cassette Transformers
• The stories of the Transformer cities: Metroplex and Trypticon.

Public Service Announcements

Five proposed public service announcements (PSAs) were created for the second season of the series but never actually aired on television (they appear as bonus features in Rhino's Transformers Season 3 DVD set, Metrodome's Season 1 DVD set, the Transformers: The Movie 20th Anniversary DVD and the Transformers video game from Atari) and Shout Factory's DVD sets. These PSAs were based on the PSAs produced by the G.I. Joe television series (which was also produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions and also based on toys made by Hasbro). They even reused the catchphrase "...and knowing is half the battle," which was popularized by the G.I. Joe PSAs. These PSAs included:

• Bumblebee advising children not to run away from home.
• Tracks catching children in the act of stealing cars.
• Red Alert reminding children to wear reflective gear when riding bicycles at night.
• Seaspray showing children why it's important to wear life jackets when boating (voiced here by Wally Burr, rather than by his regular actor, Alan Oppenheimer).
• Powerglide teaching children not to judge others without getting to know them first.

VHS and DVD releases

Region 1

Seasons 1-4 were released on DVD in the USA by Rhino Entertainment (a subsidiary of Time Warner) between April 23, 2002 and March 9, 2004.^[10] Due to degradation of the broadcast masters, the some sections of the Rhino Entertainment release use earlier incomplete animation, often introducing errors, such as mis-colored Decepticon jets, Skyfire colored like Skywarp, missing laser blasts, or a confusing sequence where Megatron, equipped with Skywarp's teleportation power, teleports but does not actually disappear. This version also added extra sound effects that were not present in the original broadcast version.

In 2005, Rhino lost the rights to distribute Transformers on DVD. The license was subsequently acquired by Sony Wonder (a division of Sony BMG). Sony Wonder announced in October 2006 that they would re-release the first season of the series in 2007, with the other seasons presumably following.^[11] In June 2007, Sony BMG dissolved Sony Wonder and moved the label to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, without releasing any DVD sets.^[12]

In May 2008, Hasbro re-acquired the rights to the Sunbow library of shows including Transformers.^[13]

In March 2009, Shout! Factory announced that they had acquired license from Hasbro to release Transformers on DVD in Region 1 with Vivendi Entertainment. They subsequently released the complete first season on June 16, 2009. Season 2, Volume 1 was released on September 15, 2009. Season 2, Volume 2 was released on January 12, 2010.^[14] Seasons 3 & 4 was released together in one set on April 20, 2010.^[15] These releases corrected most of the newly introduced Rhino animation errors, but this was necessarily accomplished by using lower quality sources. Rhino's added sound effects were discarded.

On October 20, 2009, Shout! Factory released the complete series in a box set for the first time in Region 1. This set, dubbed "Transformers- The Complete Series: The Matrix of Leadership Collector's Set" features all 98 remastered episodes along with all new bonus features.^[16]

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date
The Complete First Season: 25th Anniversary Edition	16	June 16, 2009
Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition	28	September 15, 2009
Transformers - The Complete Series: "Matrix Of Leadership" Edition	98	October 20, 2009
Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition	21	January 12, 2010[14]
Seasons Three and Four: 25th Anniversary Edition	33	April 20, 2010[15]

Region 2

Metrodome Distribution released Seasons 1-4 in the UK between November 17, 2003 and October 11, 2004. The seasons were released in four box sets: Season 1, Season 2 Part 1, Season 2 Part 2 and Seasons 3-4. Maverick had released Season 1 previously in the UK in 2001, before Metrodome acquired the rights. Three individual volumes were released (though the episodes are in the wrong order), a box set of the three disks, which included a fourth disk containing bonus features, and one volume of Transformers: Generation 2 with five episodes that had the Cybernetic Space Cube graphics added. They also released a volume of Transformers: Takara which included the first six episodes of the Asian English dub of Transformers: The Headmasters.

Notably Season 2 was released first by Metrodome because Season 1 was released first by Maverick.

The first release by Metrodome was a budget-range DVD of the Transformers movie, released through Prism Leisure.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date
Season One	16	October 11, 2004
Season Two, Volume One.	28	November 17, 2003
Transformers: The Movie — Reconstructed	98	September 5, 2005
Season Two, Volume Two	21	May 3, 2004
Seasons Three and Four	33	August 30, 2004

Region 4

Madman Entertainment released the four seasons in six box sets in Australia and New Zealand (Region 4): Season 1, Season 2.1, Season 2.2, Season 3.1, Season 3.2 and Season 4.

They later released the remastered Shout! Factory version of Transformers in the same volume arrangement as the American release. In 2007, Madman Entertainment released a 17-disc complete collection box set.

Other releases

A collector's tin box set was released in Asia by Guangdong Qianhe Audio & Video Communication Co., Ltd. under license by Pexlan International (Picture) Limited. The set includes the entire series, The Transformers: The Movie, a set of full color postcards, a rubber keychain and a full color book (graphic novel style) which serves as an episode guide. While the book is almost entirely in Mandarin, the chapter menus contain English translations for each episode. The set is coded as Region 1.

In July 2009, Transformers G1, Season 1 (25th anniversary edition) was made available for digital download via the PlayStation Network's video store in the United States for $1.99 per episode.

On October 10, 2010, The Hub (formerly Discovery Kids, later Discovery Family on October 13, 2014) started airing the original episodes of the Transformers G1 Series on the network. The series will be followed by the two sequel series Beast Wars and Beast Machines.

Currently, iTunes has the complete first season of the Transformers for digital download for $19.99. It has not been stated whether the movie or the rest of the series will be added to the Apple iTunes Store.

Notes

• Metrodome's Generation 1 releases use the remastered production masters which originated with the Rhino release of the series (and contain all the inherent errors). Additionally, they include Magno Sound & Video's 5.1 audio (with added sound effects), but use a modified version of their 2.0 track.

References

External links

• The Transformers at the Internet Movie Database
• Transformers at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• The Transformers at TV.com
• Metrodome's Transformers DVD homepage

Transformers   Universe Autobots Optimus Prime Ultra Magnus Rodimus Blaster Bluestreak Blurr Brawn Brains Bumblebee/Goldbug Cliffjumper Crosshairs Drift Hoist Hound Jazz Jetfire Jetstorm Metroplex Mudflap Omega Supreme Perceptor Powerglide Ratchet Red Alert Roadbuster Sandstorm Seaspray Sentinel Prime Sideswipe Skids Sky High Smokescreen Topspin Wheelie Wreck-Gar Subgroups Thirteen Primes Alpha Trion Vector Prime Spy Changers Hot Shot Crosswise Ironhide Mirage Dinobots Grimlock Slag Sludge Snarl Swoop Aerialbots Air Raid Fireflight Skydive Protectobots Blades Streetwise First Aid Throttlebots Technobots Afterburner Lightspeed Nosecone Scattorshot Strafe Omnicons Wreckers Bulkhead Springer Wheeljack Omnibots Monsterbots Female Autobots Arcee Beta Chromia Firestar Flareup Moonracer Windblade Decepticons Megatron/Galvatron Steeljaw Starscream Astrotrain Barricade Blackout Blitzwing Bludgeon Demolishor Dirge Dreadwing Frenzy Laserbeak Lockdown Lugnut Octane Over-Run Ramjet Ratbat Ravage Rumble Scorponok Skyquake Skywarp Slipstream Shockwave Soundwave Sunstorm The Fallen Thundercracker Thunderwing Trypticon Subgroups Insecticons Bombshell Kickback Shrapnel Venom Ransack Constructicons Hook Scavenger Scrapper Stunticons Motormaster Wildrider Combaticons Blast Off Brawl Onslaught Swindle Vortex Predacons Seacons Overbite Firecons Duocons Horrorcons Maximals Optimus Primal Airazor Longhorn Predacons Scorponok Thrust Waspinator Inferno Iguanus Spittor Skystalker Supporting characters Primus Unicron Galvatron Cyclonus Scourge Death's Head Circuit Breaker Spike Witwicky Sparkplug Carly Witwicky Rad Marissa Faireborn Subgroups Gobots Headmasters Mini-Cons Powermasters Pretenders Quintessons Targetmasters Transmetals Transmetal 2 Triple Changers Star Seekers Character lists Autobots Primes/Matrix holders Decepticons Maximals Predacons Mini-Cons Female Transformers Technology and physiology Ark Cybertron Matrix of Leadership Nemesis Spark List of Transformers planets List of Transformers spacecraft   Media Toy lines Transformers: Generation 1 Battle Beasts Action Masters Turbomasters Transformers: Generation 2 Machine Wars Beast Wars Beast Machines Transtech (unreleased) Robots in Disguise Armada Universe Robot Masters Energon Alternators Masterpiece Cybertron Legends Titanium Classics Film Animated Revenge of the Fallen Alternity Generations Power Core Combiners Dark of the Moon Prime Rescue Bots Age of Extinction Crossovers Built to Rule Transformers Label Star Wars Transformers Comic series Marvel The Transformers Target: 2006 Headmasters Generation 2 New Avengers/Transformers Dreamwave Generation 1 Armada/Energon The War Within Micromasters IDW The Transformers Spotlight Beast Wars The Gathering The Ascending Generations Evolutions Transformers (film comic series) Lists Comics characters UK comics Animated series Main group Generation 1 Characters Episodes Scramble City Generation 2 Beast Wars Characters Episodes Beast Machines Characters Episodes Robots in Disguise (2000 series) Characters Armada Characters Episodes Energon Characters Episodes Cybertron Characters Episodes Animated Characters Episodes Prime Characters Episodes Rescue Bots Characters Episodes Robots in Disguise (2015 series) Characters Episodes Japanese exclusive The Headmasters Characters Super-God Masterforce Characters Victory Characters Zone Characters Beast Wars II Characters Beast Wars Neo Characters Robot Masters Go! Web series Cyber Missions Feature films Animated films The Transformers: The Movie Beast Wars II: Lio Convoy's Close Call! Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising Live-action films (characters) Transformers Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Transformers: Dark of the Moon Transformers: Age of Extinction Audio releases The Transformers: The Movie Theme Song Collection History of Music 1984–1990 The Album Song Universe The Score Revenge of the Fallen – The Album Revenge of the Fallen – The Score Dark of the Moon – The Album Dark of the Moon – The Score Age of Extinction - The Album Rise of the Dark Spark - The Album Video games The Transformers (1986) Battle to Save the Earth Mystery of Convoy The Headmasters Beast Wars Beast Senshi Saikyō Ketteisen Beast Wars Transmetals DreamMix TV World Fighters Transformers (2003) Transformers (2004) The Game Autobots Decepticons Animated: The Game G1: Awakening Revenge of the Fallen Autobots Decepticons War for Cybertron DS version Cybertron Adventures Dark of the Moon Universe Fall of Cybertron Prime – The Game Rise of the Dark Spark Angry Birds Transformers Transformers: Devastation Novels Ghosts of Yesterday The Veiled Threat Exodus Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel Exiles Retribution The Covenant of Primus Engagement BotCon Transformers: The Ride The Transformers Experience Category Commons

Animated television series and films in mid 1980s linked to Hasbro properties Hasbro Claster Television Griffin-Bacal Advertising/Sunbow Entertainment Marvel Productions De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (Subcontractors: Toei Animation AKOM) TV specials The Charmkins G.I. Joe A Real American Hero (1983) The Revenge of Cobra (1984) My Little Pony 1984 special Escape from Catrina The Transformers More Than Meets the Eye The Return of Optimus Prime The Rebirth TV series Standalone series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1985) Inhumanoids Jem and the Holograms The Transformers Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light Anthology series Super Sunday Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines Inhumanoids Jem Robotix My Little Pony 'n Friends Primary: My Little Pony Secondary: The Glo Friends MoonDreamers Potato Head Kids Films G.I. Joe: The Movie My Little Pony: The Movie The Transformers: The Movie Personnel Joe Bacal George Arthur Bloom Tom Griffin Nelson Shin See also Produced by DIC for Hasbro COPS G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1990, including Operation Dragonfire from 1989) Maxie's World (1987) Tie-in to properties later acquired by Hasbro Produced for Tonka (acquired in 1991): GoBots Challenge of the GoBots (1985) Battle of the Rock Lords (1986) Pound Puppies 1985 special 1986 TV series ... and the Legend of Big Paw (1988)

Children's programming on CBS in the 1980s First-run animated series The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle (1979–81) The All New Popeye Hour (1978–83) Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–84) Tarzan and the Super 7 (1978–80) The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show (1980–82) Drak Pack (1980) The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour (1980–82) The Kwicky Koala Show (1981) Trollkins (1981–82) Blackstar (1981–82) Gilligan's Planet (1982–83) Pandamonium (1982–83) Meatballs & Spaghetti (1982–83) The Dukes (1983) The Biskitts (1983–84) Saturday Supercade (1983–86) Dungeons & Dragons (1983–85) The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show (1983–86) The Get Along Gang (1984–85) Muppet Babies (1984–91) Pole Position (1984) Inspector Gadget (1985–86) The Berenstain Bears (1985–87) The Wuzzles (1985) Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling (1985–87) Wildfire (1986) Galaxy High (1986–87) Teen Wolf (1986–87) Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater (1987–88) Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures (1987–88) Popeye and Son (1987–88) Dennis the Menace (1986–88) The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy (1988–90) Superman (1988) Garfield and Friends (1988–95) Dink, the Little Dinosaur (1989–91) The California Raisin Show (1989–90) Rude Dog & the Dweebs (1989–90) First-run live-action series Captain Kangaroo (1955–84) In the News (1971–86) 30 Minutes (1978–82) CBS Saturday Film Festival (1971–78; 1982–84) Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince (1983) Pryor's Place (1984–85) Little Muppet Monsters (1985) CBS Storybreak (1985–87) Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986–91) Hey Vern, It's Ernest! (1988–89) Rebroadcasts The Bugs Bunny Show/Road Runner Show (1968–71; 1975–78; 1978–85) Shazam! Speed Buggy He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Shirt Tales Land of the Lost The Transformers Kidd Video Schedules 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 Related topics Garbage Pail Kids The Young Astronauts Animation in the United States in the television era Modern animation in the United States

Discovery Family programs *: No new episodes, in rerun; **: Edited for time; (): upcoming Hasbro series Live-action Based on Hasbro properties Family Game Night* Animated Hasbro G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero* Littlest Pet Shop My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Pound Puppies* The Transformers* Transformers: Prime* Transformers: Rescue Bots* Film blocks Discovery Family Movies Original Animated Movies Hasbro Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising Equestria Girls** Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks** Equestria Girls: Friendship Games** Acquired series Animated American Greetings Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures Other Blazing Teens The Jungle Book