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Transformers: Seasons Three and Four - The series takes a turn to the darkside.

  • Jun 2, 2011
Rating:
+4
For millions of years, a race of military like robots have been locked in a brutal war. The two opposing factions are the heroic Autobots lead by Optimus Prime, and the evil Decepticons lead by Megatron. After years of fighting, both sides are facing extinction due to low energy reserves. Seeking a new power source, the Autobots plan a recon mission, but their ship is invaded by the Decepticon force, which causes their ship to crash into a volcano on Earth. 4 million years later, they awaken from their dormant state to continue the war, with earth's resources being the ultimate prize and deciding factor of the war.



Previous Seasons:

Transformers - Season One

Transformers - Season Two: Part One

Transformers - Season Two: Part Two

Movie:

Transformers: The Movie


Transformers - Seasons Three and Four:


The Cybertronian War has come to an end and despite massive casualties, the Autobots are the victors of the great war. The planet devouring world Unicron has been defeated, and the Decepticons have been driven off of Cybertron. The Autobots experience a brief moment of peace, until they're attacked by unknown assailants. Several of their numbers are kidnapped during the sneak attack, and despite having no evidence, the Decepticons are blamed for the attack. However, the Decepticons barely have enough energy to keep themselves functioning. Therefore, who could have been responsible for the attack? -summary

The final seasons of Transformers takes place in the year 2006, which happens to be one year after the great battle. This final season directly follows the events of the movie, and the Autobots have a new leader in the form of Rodimus Prime, while the Decepticons also have a new leader in the form of Galvatron. This season features many new faces with a few familiar ones as well.

The series has changed in so many ways by this point, for the good and the bad. First of all, the series has a much darker feel. It was never a secret that the two armies wanted to kill each other. However, it's made even more apparent that they're trying to wipe each other out. One must assume this, due to a few Autobots getting several clean kills on the Decepticon forces very early. The Decepticons also appear to be even more ruthless. During the earlier seasons, they were mainly focused on satisfying their insane need for energy. Now, their primary goal is only to kill the Autobots. At times, they can be very violent towards each other.

The setting is much better because now the series is taking place more in a sci-fi element. The Transformers are flying through space, and their battles are ending up on different worlds now. The Earth is no longer a major battleground. The story also has a bit more depth, by revealing a whole lot more on the Transformers rather checkered origin.

The characters have went through several changes. Most of the characters from the previous seasons were either killed off, given new bodies, or disappeared completely with their fates up in the air. The new cast is a serious mixed bag. Some of them have great personalities such as Rodimus Prime, who spends time dealing with his new role as leader. At times, the burden of leadership overwhelms him, and episodes such as The Burden Hardest to Bear, and The Ultimate Weapon provides some good storytelling on the issue. Galvatron is also very interesting, and is quite possibly the reason to see this season. He went through a change that hasn't left him "all up there", and he appears to be consumed by madness and insanity. His violent outburst even irritates some of his followers, which is seen in the episode Webworld. Several of the newer characters are interesting and stand out in the right ways, while others had me hoping for their demise. 

There's also a third party, which were introduced in the movie known as the Quintessons. During this chapter of the series they are delved deeper into. They're a race of robot beings with their own sinister drive, who links directly into the Transformers past, which is told in the episodes The Five Faces of Darkness. They're a very refreshing addition to the series. Everything about them screams look at me: Their cold demeanor, calculating strategy, wicked and conniving motives. They provide a huge breath of fresh air which takes the focus off the two warring factions. 

Although it can have its shining moments. The animation at times can be horrid. There are many, many, animation errors throughout the entire seasons: such as two and even up to five, or more of the same character appearing on the same screen side by side. Sometimes characters would show up in the opposing ranks. It can just be bad sometimes and there is more, with the episode Carnage in C-Minor being the most error plagued.

The artwork has its hit and misses as well, but most of the robots have some very cool character designs. The soundtrack also went through a revamping, and there's a few new songs with a catchy opening. The voice work is still pretty good, with Frank Welker delivering the best performance as Galvatron. The season also has many episode highlights: Dark Awakening, Ghost in the Machine, Starscreams Ghost, The Dweller in the Depths, as well as a two parter and multi episode: The Return of Optimus Prime and The Rebirth, only to name some.

Overall, this is a very good collection which is also loaded with extras found on disk four. They contain a small feature called: The Autobots, Decepticons, and The Fans, which is a commentary speaking on the popularity, conventions, and loyal fan bases. It also contains several of the toy commercials and other good stuff for fans.

This set contains the final 33 episodes, and for some reason, some of the episodes are listed and aired out of order. These are no typos on my part:

Disk 1

66) The Five Faces of Darkness Part 1
67) The Five Faces of Darkness Part 2
68) The Five Faces of Darkness Part 3
69) The Five Faces of Darkness Part 4
70) The Five Faces of Darkness Part 5
71) The Killing Jar
72) Chaos
93) Dark Awakening
75) Starscream's Ghost

Disk 2

73) Thief in the Night
76) Forever is a Long Time Coming
77) Surprise Party
78) Madman's Paradise
79) Carnage in C-Minor
74) Fight or Flee
80) Webworld
81) Ghost in the Machine

Disk 3

82) The Dweller in the Depths
83) Nightmare Planet
84) The Ultimate Weapon
86) The Quintesson Journal
85) The Big Broadcast of 2006
87) Only Human
88) Grimlock's New Brain
89) Money is Everything

Disk 4

90) Call of the Primitives
91) The Burden Hardest to Bear
92) The Face of Nijika
94) The Return of Optimus Prime Part 1
95) The Return of Optimus Prime Part 2
96) The Rebirth Part 1
97) The Rebirth Part 2
98) The Rebirth Part 3

Pros:
- Good action scenes, more of a sci-fi feel, darker


Cons:
-Massive animation errors, new cast doesn't compare with original

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Post a Comment
June 02, 2011
I have a few minutes so I think I can do some reading. I am happy that you observed the uneven quality of the animation with this season. Sometimes I felt like they rushed it so that they can meet a deadline. Nice work!
 
June 02, 2011
"or disappeared completely with their fates up in the air", love that, great review.
June 02, 2011
Thanks. And it sucks that happened too. Some of the best characters in the series were never heard from again.
June 02, 2011
Yeah I know what you mean but I love the way you put it.
June 02, 2011
Oh I got that. And you know something else? The graphic novel from IDW barely covered any of it. That book was a waste of time and money.
June 02, 2011
That sucks
 
1
More Transformers Seasons Three and... reviews
Quick Tip by . July 03, 2011
posted in WHAT CAN I SAY?
The final seasons of the Transformers and it follows the dark tone set by the movie. Both the Autobots and Decepticons have new leaders in the forms of Rodimus Prime and Galvatron. The series is still action packed but features more of a sci-fi setting which is really cool. Some good battles here plus the debut of the Headmasters and Targetmasters.
see all Transformers Seasons Three and... reviews (2)
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About this topic

Wiki

Following the defeat of the planet eater known as Unicron and the end of the great Cybertronian War, the victorious Autobots, led by Rodimus Prime, finally reclaim their home world. But when Galvatron is returned to the ranks of power by his exiled Decepticons, his war against the Autobots is revived, and this time it is fueled by vengeance! Opening with the five part fan favorite miniseries The Five Faces Of Darkness, The Transformers explosive third season follows the valiant Autobots as they are targeted for destruction by not only their old foes, the Decepticons, but also the mysterious and deadly creators known as the Quintessons!

This final four-disc set of the megapopular animated series concludes with the rarely seen three episode fourth season of The Transformers that introduces you to the amazing world of the Headmasters!
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