Transformers: Beast Machines
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Season one - Episode 1: The Reformatting
1) Hey, I caught a sneak preview of the first episode of BM at BotCon 99. First let me say it was great. Awesome! You have not exaggerated anything on this page. I especially liked the idea of a spiritual transformation to "tame the beast without." Great concepts. But I do have a couple of questions...
(1) how/why did the maximals revert back to their BW season 1 forms (as opposed to the forms they had at the end of season 3)?
Heh heh heh... You'll find out! And when you do, you'll also find out something you didn't *want* to know!(2) There was reference to the matrix as being some sort of all-encompassing existence of energy that created life as we know it (the description kind of reminded me of "the force"). Is this the same physical matrix from G1 transformers that was housed inside the autobot leaders and can be opened to "light our darkest hour," or are we talking about something entirely different?
the answer is "A", The Force, God, the AllSpark.
...and please don't say, "all will be revealed."
I didn't! See, sometimes I *do* answer questions directly!
2) As you probably know, Mainframe and Hasbro showed the first episode of Beast Machines during BotCon TF convention. From what I've heard the audience was blown away by it (as you predicted! :) With this sneak peak come new questions though. Silverbolt and Rhinox were gone from the show. That's all right (although I liked them both) But what was slightly worrying is that none of the Maximals mentioned or seemed to notice they were gone. This is particularly worrying in the case of Blackarachnia, since her and Silverbolt's love is a huge reason she is who she is today. He's the only real reason she joined the Maximals at all. Will we see her fret about her love's fate? We WILL learn their fates eventually right? (Otherwise what could be a cool mystery turns into a gaping and annoying plot hole.)
Silverbolt and Rhinox? Oh, they'll come up in conversation from time to time!3) One of the things commented on after the recent Beast Machines preview at the BotCon (besides how cool the show looked! :-) was the inclusion of the Oracle and the hints about the Transformer's past. That's a great direction, with lots of cool potential! My question is, will BM respect (even maybe reference?) what we ALREADY KNOW about Cybertron's past? In the Cartoon Cyberton was revealed to be a Quintesson factory, where they built Transformers to sell. The TF's gained sentience and rebelled. (They learned to Transform later during the war with the Decepticons.) Then in the Comic Book we learned Cybertron and the TF's were created by the godlike Primus (Lord of the Light, whose essence WAS the Matrix) to battle the dark god Unicron. (He gave them the power to transform because Unicron could.) These two stories can work together. (Primus creating Cybertron, the Quintessons invading it later) Will BM be compatible with TF history this way too? Primus was mentioned in Beast Wars often, will he play a role here? Expanding and enriching the TF mythos is always welcome, but it should be done with a respect for what came before, Will BM have this?
I'd like to think so! We will be addressing the known past, but some pretty large pieces are yet unknown... to the degree that you don't know what you don't know... and neither do our characters!4) In the episode "The Reformatting", it was shown that the Vehicons are mostly mindless drones. Of course, the only forms shown were those of Tankorr and the Cybercycles. Will there be any Vehicons, with the exception of Megatron, that will have individual personalities, or will we see only Megatron with a bunch of powerful vehicular Transformers?
Megatron doesn't believe that anybody but himself should have personalities, and so they don't. And they won't. Unless Megatron were forced into making it so...In the same vein, will we see any Transformers sympathetic to the Maximals on the hunt, or possibly any Maximals themselves join the four outcasts?
You'll see!
Lastly, since there are various groups of Transformers spread throughout the universe, will we see more of these groups come back to the planet, or will the main conflict be the Vehicons hunting the Maximals?
The answer, oddly, is *both*!
5) Greetings guys, first off I'd like to congratulate you on what seems to be an excellent new series and a faithful but creative elaboration upon the "mythos." Now that the first episode of BeastMachines is public domain, I'm sure you'll be getting more specific questions (like these); I hope you can answer a few.
Without any further ado:
1) Was the Oracle responsible for drawing all the scattered TFs to the planet in the first place, or for drawing them BACK to Cybertron?
Both!2) Is this the "original" Cybertron or a duplicate, a la Generation 2?
The original!
3) Has the Beast Wars timestream been altered? What happened to all the rest of the Maximals and Predacons?
The others? Something bad, no doubt, with a capital "M"!
4) Will all the Vehicons be drones, or will some of them have personalities? The Promo pic of Jetstorm certainly suggests so.
Megatron only wants his drones to be mindless.
5) PLEASE tell me Tankorr is going to be renamed (Okay, not a question, sorry).
Oh, we'll find *some*thing else to call him. But I guarantee you won't like his new name, either!
6) Is the Oracle a personification of Vector Sigma, a manifestation of Primus, or something different altogether?
It's the AllSpark, God, if you will. the spark of every transformer who has ever lived, or ever will live.
7) Are there any of the original Autobots or Decepticons left? Is Starscream's spark still around, and is Unicron's head still in orbit around Cybertron? (If it isn't, I hope you explain why)
All will be revealed!
8) The "lost levels" of Cybertron are a good and logical idea. Will more of the action be situated in them? Will some of the levels contain clues to ancient Cybertronian history?
Yep!
9) Who exactly lives in the expansive urban areas of Cybertron? Will we get to meet these occupants?
Sadly, we will!
10) Is Megatron still in his dragon incarnation? You can see the dragon claws on his chest (peeking from beneath his robe) in the promo picture.
You'll see.
11) Will the absences of Silverbolt and ESPECIALLY Rhinox be addressed? Rhinox was possibly the best, most fully-developed character in the "original" Beast Wars series.
We promise you, we haven't forgotten about them!
12) Why do the maximals begin the show in their original beast modes, and not their respective transmetal/transmetal 2 forms? Is this due to a temporal factor (like going forward in time to get back to Cybertron)?
There *is* a reason, and it *will* be revealed... eventually.
13) Is there a possibility you're incorporating any elements of the Japanese continuity without violating copyright per se? Such as, the IDEA of blowing up Cybertron, or planets of independently-evolving Transformers scattered throughout the universe, etc.
I'm not familiar with the japanese transformers, so some ideas may overlap just by coincidence, great minds think alike, and all.
14) It seems like the Beast Wars show (which you cited as your primary "canon") drew heavily upon the comic book continuity--heck, they even used the comic's writer for the last episode. So will you seek to reconcile the plot elements obviously derived from the comic (Primus, the Matrix being a force of creation, The Swarm) with the old cartoon version (the Quintessons, etc.)?
We've got our hands filled with current events, so there's no time for history! But what we *can* reconcile, we *will* reconcile!
15) Why am I asking so many questions when I know most of them will be answered over the course of the series?
Because it lets me know that Marty and I were on the right track when we wrote these episodes, addressing so many of the concerns you all seem to have *before* we knew that they *were* concerns!
Heh, heh...that last one was for you guys, 'cuz I'm sure you're thinking that by now. And the answer is, simply, that I'm impatient and can't wait. I hear the show is everything you said it would be, and I'm extremely excited. Keep up the good work!
Thanks! Marty and I have been working overtime to make good all of the promises i've been making here!
That's all for now, and thanks for your time and efforts. Peace!
6) I attended BotCon and would like to say that all of my doubts of the show are gone it looks great!! what i am wondering is maybe you could still use at least one of the my 3 personal favorite characters who died (tigerhawk, dinobot, and depthcharge) You mentioned that the two missing characters sparks where just floating out there couldnt it be possible that theirs are two? pretty please
Sadly, there are no plans to use the aformentioned characters as yet. But the show ain't over yet!7) Hello! I was a proud member of the 1,000+ that attended BotCon '99 this past weekend! I'm sure you will be getting a great deal of response from the MUCH APPRECIATED sneak preview of the first episode of Beast Machines. If no one else mentions it, the room was packed, a second showing was demanded, and all were cheering, laughing and clapping. Having the classic characters in their original beast forms was a nice touch. It caught us all off guard. (Here it comes) Of course, I am being a little picky when I mention… the Mighty Morphin' Maximals we apparently have on our hands now. It's not horrible, but, as you said in response to the morphing rumor - morphing is NOT transforming, when it applies to the Transformers. I assume that the decision to depict the conversion to robot mode in this way could have been the decision of someone else, or even (shudder) some manner of marketing committee call. Many fans find it disappointing, and the Hasbro rep played it up, indicating that the Maxies will be "more spiritual, use a martial arts approach to fighting." Like Mighty Morphing Power Rangers. Or Mutant Ninja Turtles. (Again, the shudder) A spirituality can be depicted in dialogue, body language and actions. They don't need to morph. Mainframe has done the usual fab job, the detail in the characters almost making the characters look too organic to be Transformers (again, to fit the story, I suppose). Your new direction for the story looks good - some are curious how far the "origin" story will go. So far, the Transformers' origin has been credited to Vector Sigma, a race called the Quintesons, and a supreme being named Primus. A fourth may further muddy the waters. ULTIMATELY - I assume these changes are meant to appeal to the main demographic - so FOX will have great ratings and Hasbro can sell toys by the truckload. And if the kids don't ask Santa for the super-ultra sized Cheetor, the Transformers will fade again from the toy stores and television screen. Whatever keeps it going, eh? We love the Transformers, and look forward to cheering and clapping in our living rooms come September.
With the way Beast Wars went, they'll all have new a new look next season anyway. Maybe we can sneak some real transforming in then, hmmm?
I was very adament in my answer about Transforming not being the same as Morphing... and then animation comes back and damn if it doesn't look like morphing and I don't look like a liar! Okay, okay, it *does* look like Morphing, but I assure you the feel of the characters will be the same, and Rita Repulsa will not be making any (many?) guest appearances! Trust me, some of our characters will Transform traditionally. And the new aspects of the show will sit quite nicely with you all once you see how they all fit in!8) Where do you get off saying that this 'Spiritual Transformation' is transforming at all? No matter what you call it, it's morphing, and you know what, that's not what I watch transformers for. I watch it for transforming where they slide and twist and fold and you actually SEE them transform, not some white aura crap. I'm not blaming this totally on you, I'm sure this has something to do with FOX taking over, but in any freaking event, MORPHING sucks. It's also nice to see you totally IGNORED what was cannon for the show since the Original TFs were BUILT to transform and be sold, and here you have some legend about them having to learn to transform? That makes for some great consumer goods. You want a more spiritual show? That's wonderful. I want a show where big giant robots that turn into different things go around kicking the tar out of each other while displaying awesome personalities...this does not mean mindless bad guys that you can kill off in droves.
Sorry you don't like the morphing. I wasn't thrilled with it either, but believe me, it had more to do with how the designs animate than anything related to Hasbro's plans/needs. The fact that the original Transformers were built and sold as a workforce *will* be accounted for! And as for giant robots kicking the tar out of each other... it'll be there, it'll be there!9) 1.Were did you get the idea for the reformatting thing and the transformation style in BeastMachines ? 2. Will Primus be involved in BeastMachines ?? Thank You
"Reformatting" was our way of reconciling the old designs with the new designs; they couldn't just show up lookin' different with no explanation at all! But instead of just making an excuse for the change and moving on, we've incorporated the Reformatting into the very heart of our story, in ways that will enrich our characters and our themes. Keep watching...!10) I know you've heard this a thousand times since the BotCon showing of BM, but Why? Why no Transforming, I know you have Spiritual transforming (MORPHING!!!) but that isn't spiritual tfing. The only main gripes that i've heard so far is the Transforming and all the spiritual stuff. Are you gonna change this? or is it set in stone?
The spiritual aspect of the show will be ongoing.... but it's there to serve a purpose and you'll soon discover what it is! Also, again, I'm sorry folks are having trouble with the morphing/transforming, but please know that some of our characters will be undergoing traditional Transformations as well!11) I managed to see the first episode at BotCon and I loved it! Not only does it look fantastic, but you managed to capture the personalities of the original characters perfectly, especially Rattrap and Blackarachnia.
Now for my question, will we get to learn about any of the old civilizations of Cybertron in the series as the story progresses?
I'm glad you like our handling of the characters. And yes, we'll be learning things about Cybertron's past as our story progresses... but *mostly* we'll be dealing with current events, not history!