Beast Machines was an animated television series produced by Mainframe Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. It was a direct sequel to Beast Wars taking place within the continuity of the original Transformers series. The cause of much controversy among the fanbase, the show ran for two seasons, airing on YTV and Fox Kids from 1999 to 2000. Of the Transformers animated series produced in North America, Beast Machines was the only one to have been completely conceptualized and outlined in advance, lending it a more serialized and linear storyline than the others. The Beast Machines intro theme was "Phat Planet", by Leftfield. [edit] Characters [edit] Episode List List of Beast Machines episodes [edit] Season One | Episode Number | Title | Airdate | Description | | 01 | The Reformatting | September 18, 1999 | Optimus Primal finds himself home on Cybertron, although this is no welcome homecoming. Infected with a virus that will not allow him to transform, being chased by a large group of unfamiliar bots trying to destroy him, and unable to remember how this came to be, a strange force leads Optimus to Rattrap, Cheetor, and Blacharachnia, who all have the same problems. They soon take refuge deep underground where they stumble across The Oracle, an ancient supercomputer and the force that had been leading Optimus. The Oracle cures the virus and reformats them with techno-organic forms. | | 02 | Master of the House | September 25, 1999 | Optimus begins to train the Maximals so that they may all learn to transform. This goes well for all but Rattrap, who is stuck in beast mode. Soon, the Maximals discover that the entire history record, along with all the citizens, of Cybertron is nowhere to be found. They search for answers at the Maximal Citadel, where the Maximal Elders once convened. There they discover Megatron controlling the planet and the Vehicon drones that have been attacking them, as well as his plan to create a purely technological Cybertron free of organic components. Optimus becomes furious when Megatron refuses to tell Optimus what he did with the sparks belonging to the inhabitants of Cybertron. | | 03 | Fires of the Past | October 2, 1999 | Blackarachnia begins to have memory flashes she can’t explain. She goes to find the ship they came to Cybertron on to search for answers. Rattrap follows and confronts her about what she’s doing. They are then attacked by what they assume are three Vehicon drones. They soon recognize these Vehicons as being intelligent and carrying sparks. The Vehicons reveal themselves to be Megatron’s generals: Thrust, Jetstorm, and Tankor. Eventually Blackarachnia and Rattrap reach their ship and discover that they had forgotten their two Maximal friends Silverbolt and Rhinox. | | 04 | Mercenary Pursuits | October 9, 1999 | After being scolded by Megatron, Jetstorm, Thrust, and Tankor begin to search vigorously for the Maximals. The Maximals are eventually discovered and nearly escape due to the Vehicons’ bickering over who will capture the Maximals and be rewarded by Megatron. Eventually Tankor is the one who brings the Maximals before Megatron. Rattrap manages to escape and free the other Maximals so they can escape Megatron. Optimus senses something strangely familiar in Tankor and manages to convince him to join them. Tankor and the Maximals escape from Megatron, but as they hide underground Megatron accesses Tankor's memory and erases his memories of befriending the Maximals causing him to attack them. | | 05 | Forbidden Fruit | October 16, 1999 | The Maximals discover what appears to be an organic bat but soon realize it is a transformer named Nightscream. Nightscream explains what has happened on Cybertron, from the virus to the coming of the Vehicons, and how he fled underground and fell into a pit where he went offline. When he reactivated he’d transformed into a bat. He takes the Maximals to an underground organic tree which bears fruit. All of the Maximals but Cheetor begin to eat the fruit. The fruit quickly begins to bring out their beast forms’ primal instincts causing them to act primitively. Cheetor kills the tree to stop the other Maximals from eating the fruit. Optimus then uses his Oracle download to reformat Nightscream. This weakens Optimus exponentially and he leaves Cheetor in charge of the Maximals while he rests. | | 06 | The Weak Component | October 23, 1999 | During a recon mission Rattrap, Cheetor, and Nighscream are attacked by Vehicons. Rattrap sees Nightscream in trouble and attempts to transform and save him. Unaware of Cheetor’s and Nightscream’s plan he accidentally foils it causing them to not care that when he transformed it was because he wasn’t thinking about himself. Between being scolded by the other Maximals and the realization that his robot mode has no weapons, Rattrap leaves the Maximals’ hideout to pay a visit to Megatron. The two soon come to an agreement. Rattrap will protect Megatron until morning, when Megatron will be completely healed from his current weakened state, and Megatron will let him keep a Vehicon heavy artillery suit. The plan goes awry when the other Maximals appear at the Citadel to save Rattrap. Rattrap ends up standing by his word and defending Megatron against the other Maximals. A weakened Optimus appears telling Rattrap that he doesn’t need Megatron’s weapons. The stellar cycle ends and Rattrap leaves the Vehicon weapons. The Maximals walk away towards the rising sun. | | 07 | Revelations Part 1: Discovery | October 30, 1999 | While being chased by Vehicons the Maximals come across one of the factories Megatron used to remove the sparks of everyone on Cybertron. In the ensuing battle Blackarachnia and Thrust get separated from everyone else. Thrust proceeds to continually save Blackarachnia from danger convincing her that he is actually carrying Silverbolt’s spark, but when the other Maximals arrive Thrust escapes. During the course of the battle Optimus makes a series of tactical mistakes that eventually cause Cheetor to take command. | | 08 | Revelations Part 2: Descent | November 6, 1999 | Optimus communes with the Oracle while the other Maximals attempt to help Tankor, Thrust, and Jetstorm regain their old memories. Cheetor and Rattrap manage to offline Tankor long enough to figure out what happened to them when they got to Cyberton and find out that Tankor is carrying Rhinox’s spark. Meanwhile, Blackarachnia and Nightscream have a run-in with Jetstorm and Thrust that results in Jetstorm managing to remove Blackarachnia’s spark. | | 09 | Revelations Part 3: Apocalypse | November 13, 1999 | Nightscream chases down Jetstorm and retrieves Blackarachnia’s spark. Rattrap and Cheetor lose control of Tankor and once again face him and his Vehicon drones. Tankor continually appears to show signs of inner conflict during the battle. While communicating with the Matrix through the Oracle, Optimus finds Rhinox. Optimus is taken back when Rhinox shows signs of hostility towards him. Meanwhile, Rhinox manages to gain control of Tankor claiming that he is no longer on the Maximals’ or Megatron’s side. Cheetor and the others subdue him and attempt to forcefully reprogram him. Optimus appears and tells them to let Rhinox go. Rhinox leaves the Maximals with a criptic message, “the next time we meet, it will not be as allies”. | | 10 | Survivor | November 27, 1999 | Megatron commands Jetstorm, Tankor, and Thrust to help his Diagnostic Drone kidnap Nightscream in an attempt to learn a way to purge him of his beast mode. While chasing Nightscream through the underground tunnels Tankor, more accurately Rhinox, is left alone with the Diagnostic Drone. Tankor proceeds to reprogram the drone to act loyal to Megatron, but to work for Tankor secretly. Eventually Nightscream and Optimus are chased into a cave where they discovered thousands of fossilized animal remains, in turn realizing that Cybertron must have at some point supported organic life. Meanwhile, Tankor is shown discovering the cave where Optimus downloaded the Oracle. | | 11 | Techno-Organic War, Part 1: The Key | December 4, 1999 | Tankor accesses the Oracle and learns of the existence of the Key to Vector Sigma, a device which could transform organics into "technomatter". As the Maximals attempts to reintroduce organic life to Cybertron, Tankor attacks, but overloads from the key's power. Megatron obtains the Key, and prepares to use it against the Maximals. Tankor is then revealed to have faked his demise, and given Megatron the key as part of his own plan. | | 12 | Techno-Organic War, Part 2: The Catalyst | December 11, 1999 | Megatron begins adapting the key into a global weapon, in an attempt to destroy the Maximals and purge Cybertron of organice life. Meanwhile, Black Arachnia tries to release Thrust from Megatron's control and bring back Silverbolt, but instead finds him to contain Waspinator's spark, with Jetstorm holding Silverbolt's spark. Her plan is interrupted by the Vehicon drones, and Jetstorm and Thrust resurface. | | 13 | Techno-Organic War, Part 3: End of the Line | December 18, 1999 | Tankor uses the Oracle to arm Optimus Primal with control of the Plasma Energy Chamber, a device that could destroy all technomatter on Cybertron. Tankor then sets up a showdown between Megatron and the Maximals in which he intended to seize control once they destroyed each other. However, Megatron had hard-wired a fail-safe into Tankor's body which caused him to shut down when Tankor tried to harm Megatron. Megatron and Optimus Primal both unleash their weapons against each other, threatening Cybertron itself. | [edit] Season Two | Episode Number | Title | Airdate | | 14 | Fallout | August 5, 2000 | | 15 | Savage Noble | August 19, 2000 | | 16 | Prometheus Unbound | August 26, 2000 | | 17 | In Darkest Knight | September 2, 2000 | | 18 | A Wolf In the Fold | September 9, 2000 | | 19 | Home Soil | September 16, 2000 | | 20 | Sparkwar Pt. I: The Strike | September 23, 2000 | | 21 | Sparkwar Pt. II: The Search | September 30, 2000 | | 22 | Sparkwar Pt. III: The Siege | October 7, 2000 | | 23 | Spark of Darkness | October 28, 2000 | | 24 | Endgame Pt. I: The Downward Spiral | November 4, 2000 | | 25 | Endgame Pt. II: When Legends Fall | November 11, 2000 | | 26 | Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future | November 18, 2000 | [edit] DVD Releases Beast Machines: Transformers (Episodes # 1-5) - Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
- Language: English
- Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Audio: 2.0 Dolby Surround
- Number of discs: 1
- Rating: PG in Canada
- Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada
- DVD Release Date: August 10, 2004
- Run Time: 107 minutes
 Canada /  United States
Beast Machines - Transformers: The Complete Series - Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
- Language: English
- Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Audio: 5.1 Dolby Surround & 2.0 Stereo
- Number of discs: 4
- Rating: Not Rated
- Studio: Rhino Theatrical
- DVD Release Date: February 28, 2006
- Run Time: 700 minutes
Canada / United States Beast Machines - Transformers: Series 1 - Format: Dubbed, Full Screen, PAL
- Language English
- Region: Region 2
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Audio: 5.1 Dolby Surround & 2.0 Stereo
- Number of discs: 2
- Classification: PG (Parental Guidance)
- Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- DVD Release Date: 16 July 2007
- Run Time: 264 minutes
Beast Machines - Transformers: Series 2 - Format: Dubbed, Full Screen, PAL
- Language English
- Region: Region 2
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Audio: 5.1 Dolby Surround & 2.0 Stereo
- Number of discs: 2
- Classification: PG (Parental Guidance)
- Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- DVD Release Date: 19 November 2007
- Run Time: N/A
 United Kingdom
''Beast Machines - Transformers: Season 1 - Volumes 1 & 2'' - DVD Release Date: 20 June 2007
- Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Region: Region 4
Classification: PG (Parental Guidance) Beast Machines - Transformers: Season 2 - Volumes 1 & 2 - DVD Release Date: 23 October 2007
- Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Region: Region 4
- Classification: PG (Parental Guidance)
 Australia
[edit] Other information Written into a special edition comic book was a character by the name of Primal Prime. Appearing only in this book, he was a side character to the Beast Machines story and later was written into the toy lines of both Beast Machines and Transformers: Universe. In the Universe story line he eventually gained a new body which combined with Apelinq to create Sentinel Maximus. The head writers used to post and answer questions on a message board known as Bottalk. [edit] Beast Machines Toys The Hasbro toys for Beast Machines are infamous for the fact that many bear little resemblance to the characters on the show, in both shape and color. They were also scaled out of proportion to each other. The reason for this was that although basic concept sketches were made of the major characters, the show creators and toy creators developed the characters independently from that point in the first year. After the first year of toys was released, a number of slightly more show-accurate toys were released. Many of the characters created as toys never made it on the television series, although some did appear in the comic books. Oddly, the transforming plant Botanica from the television series was not made into a toy for any of the related toylines. The toys released in the Beast Wars Returns (a release of Beast Machines in Japan) toyline by TakaraTomy were recolored to more closely resemble the show colors. Molds from the drones in the Vehicon Army, which bore more resemblance to the Vehicon Generals, were recolored and used as the Vehicon Generals instead in the Beast Wars Returns toyline. A line of simple McDonald's Beast Machines toys was sold which did look more like the show characters, and this line was recolored for release in other countries by other fast food restaurants. [edit] Non-Show Groups A number toy sub-groups didn't make it into the animated series, but had small stories on their toy boxes. - Two deluxe sized vehicles that resembled heads of animals and could be ridden by larger figures. Both were redecoed once each, but their boxes remained unchanged.
- Three sparkless Maximal drones that turn into weapons useable by larger toys. All three were redecoed in new colors, but their boxes remained unchanged. The dark blue recolor of Rav was used to represent the character of Chro in the 3H Comic series.
- A set of Maximals, all recolors of older toys from the Beast Wars, Beast Wars Neo lines.
[edit] Non-Show Characters A number of characters appeared in the Beast Machines toy line who didn't make appearances in the television series. These included: - Blastcharge - A Vehicon who turned into a six-wheeled missile truck. Did appear in the Wreckers comics.
- Buzzsaw - A Maximal who transformed into a wasp. Did appear in the Transformers: Universe comics.
- Battle Unicorn - A Maximal who turned into a unicorn.
- Che - A Beast Rider whose form was a cheetah head. Was to appear in the un-produced Wreckers #4.
- Chro (Name given to purple Rav repaint) - Appeared in Wreckers comics.
- Dillo - A Maximal Deployer who turned from an armadillo into a weapon. Did appear in Wreckers comics.
- Geckobot - A Maximal who transformed into a flying lizard.
- Hammerstrike - A Maximal who transformed into a hammerhead shark.
- Longhorn - A Maximal who turned into a bull. Was to appear in the un-produced Wreckers #4.
- Mechatron - A Beast Rider whose form as a dragon head.
- Mirage - A high speed Vehicon race car. Appeared Apelinq's War Journals, his drones appeared in Wreckers comics.
- Mol - A Maximal Deployer who turned from a mole into a weapon. Did appear in Wreckers comics.
- Nightviper - A Maximal who transformed into a cobra.
- Primal Prime - A repaint of Beast Wars Optimal Optimus. Did appear in the Wreckers comics.
- Quickstrike - A Maximal who transformed into a wolf. Did appear in the Transformers: Universe comics.
- Rav - A Maximal Deployer who turned from a bird into a weapon. Did appear in the Wreckers comics.
- Scavenger - A Vehicon Demolitions expert. Did appear in the Wreckers comics.
- Skydive - A Maximal who turned a pterodactyl. Was to appear in the un-produced Wreckers #4.
- Snarl - A Maximal who turned into a lion. Did appear in the un-produced Wreckers #3, and the Transformers: Universe comics
- Spy Streak - A Vehicon stealth jet. Did appear in the Wreckers comics.
[edit] Transtech After Beast Machines ended, Hasbro planned a follow-up series called Transtech. The series was supposed to bring back some of the characters who died in Beast Wars along with some characters from the original '80s cartoon, all in new, organic-looking bodies, with vehicle alternate modes instead of the animals used in Beast Machines. Many concept sketches and even a few toy prototypes were made, but Hasbro scrapped the idea in favor of bringing Car Robots to American markets. Concept sketches or prototype toys have been seen for Blackarachnia, Cheetor, Depth Charge, Megatron, Nightscream, Optimus Prime, Scavenger, Shockwave, Soundwave, Starscream and a new character called Immorticon. There were also rumors of a Transtech Dinobot. It is generally believed that the concept for Transtech Cheetor inspired the design of Transformers: Cybertron Brakedown and the concept for Transtech Megatron inspired Armada Megatron. [edit] Transformers: Universe The storyline of Beast Machines is continued in the short-lived comic book Transformers: Universe by 3H Publishing, which has stories taking place during the second season of Beast Machines (In the Transformers: Wreckers comic) and after the Beast Machines story (in the Transformers: Universe comic). [edit] English Cast - Optimus Primal, voiced by Gary Chalk
- Cheetor, voiced by Ian James Corlett
- Rattrap, voiced by Scott McNeil
- Blackarachnia, voiced by Venus Terzo
- Silverbolt, voiced by Scott McNeil
- Nightscream, voiced by Alessandro Juliani
- Botanica, voiced by Kathleen Barr
- Savage/Noble, voiced by David Kaye
- Megatron, voiced by David Kaye
- Diagnostic Drone, voiced by Christopher Gaze
- Tankor, voiced by Paul Dobson (1-9) and Richard Newman (9-onward)
- Thrust, voiced by Jim Byrnes
- Jetstorm, voiced by Brian Drummond
- Obsidian, voiced by Paul Dobson
- Strika, voiced by Patricia Drake
- Waspinator, voiced by Scott McNeil
[edit] Controversy As early as its premiere episode, Beast Machines provoked much debate among fans about whether the new series' creative team was portraying the individual characters and the broader Transformers backstory as accurately as the creators of Beast Wars had done. Much of the criticism focused on character portrayals and actions that were seen as inaccurate and inconsistent with how the characters were established in Beast Wars. For example, the wise-cracking Rattrap is portrayed as "not enlightened enough" to transform at first. This is further compounded by the fact that many of the actors associated with recent Transformer series have referred to Beast Machines as "The Bad Thing"[citation needed]. In addition, there was much debate over perceived continuity errors in regards to the broader Transformers backstory, such as the claim to Cybertron once being an organic planet. While this had some foreshadowing in the original series episode The Dweller In The Depths, it contradicts the comic continuity where Cybertron was created by Primus from a meteor. The ending of Beast Machines proved to be extremely controversial. Detractors believe that the "reformatting" of Cybertron, from purely metallic to technorganic, diminished the traditional qualities that had made the Transformers mythos special. While Beast Machines has always been a controversial series, it has gradually become more popular over time with some Transformers fans, particularly in retrospect after the Unicron Trilogy, which was met with even heavier abuse for its general low quality. Hasbro has since retconned much of Beast Machines events in fan-exclusive convention comics such as Transformers: Universe, and fanclub publications, reviving many characters killed and redeeming those "corrupted" during the series like Rhinox. Nevertheless, Cybertron remains technorganic. [edit] Production notes According to commentary of the Beast Machines DVD the series was initially to be called Beast Hunters. The character Jetstorm was initially called Skybolt, but the writers changed the name because to make it harder to theorize Silverbolt's connection to the Vehicon. The first five episodes of the series were filed with the name Skybolt, and later edited to reflect the change. At one point, Thrust was going to be carrying Silverbolt's spark, but the writers decided to have him carry Waspinator's spark instead on a whim. In the episode Home Soil, the character Thrust made a gesture similar to the middle finger to Optimus while racing to the crashed ship and in the episode "Savage Noble", Thrust also made a gesture similar to the middle finger to Cheetor when they briefly banded together to search for Savage. In the flashback featuring Waspinator, the heads of Inferno and Quickstrike make cameo appearances, as do the pre-humans Hammer, Jack, Una and others. [edit] External links |
