TRANSFORMERS Animated (2008)
head writer Marty Isenberg Q & A

1) Is the "Great War" still on? If not, where do the Decepticons live? Did the Autobots "win" the "war", or did the Decepticons just leave for greener pastures? And do the Autobots know/care if the Decepticons harm other planets?

The "Great War" as it exists in our series is officially over and the Autobots won. The Decepticons have been exiled to the far rim of the galaxy, although some would dispute whether that exile was self-imposed.

2) Will you try to make the show a little more dark/mature to change the current demographic (6-8 years old) to 6-36 years old?

The current demographic is actually 6-11 years old. But I think there's plenty in the show for adults to enjoy.

3) Can we get other Transformers veterans like Bob Skir, Larry DiTillio, Doug Booth, Michael Charles Hill and Flint Dille as guest writers on some episodes in future seasons of TFA?

Possibly. But first I'd like to get those "future seasons" greenlit. ;)

4) Will all Transformers shown on screen be based on upcoming Hasbro toys?

I believe "most", but I can't definitively say "all".

5) Can we get New "And knowing is half the battle!" Public service announcements after each episodes?

I wish. Actually there may be some fun "bonus" material coming. Watch for it.

6) What made you decide to use Sentinel Prime? Is he the leader of the Autobots, or do they have a democratic government group, or what?

I wanted to give Optimus a rival. We floated around a bunch of names for who that rival should be and ultimately settled on Sentinel. He is not the leader of the Autobots. He's not even the leader of the Autobot military -- that's Ultra Magnus. We occasionally refer to a "Cybertron Command" authority over the military, but thusfar in our series we have not explored the nature of Autobot government. And honestly, does anyone watch those Star Wars prequels for the senate scenes? I didn't think so. :)

7) Will the giant anime sweat drop make an appearance? Why the giant chins, Marty, Why!?

I don't draw, so I can't really answer that question. For the record, I love the character designs on this show.

8) Blackarachnia was originally in Beast wars. Will we see other "borrowed" characters, like Cybertron's Thunderblast, Armada's Demolishor, Energon's Wing Saber, etc?

No current plans to use Armada or Cybertron characters.

9) What are the names of the Decepticon and Autobot starships?

The ships have not been named. I believe the production model sheets refer to them as "the Nemesis" and "the Ark", but we never say their names out loud in the series.

10) Is that Spike Witwicky, his wife Carly and son Daniel getting ice cream in Detroit?

It is if you want it to be them. ;)

11) Did you change Bumblebee's personality a little after Hasbro asked you to not make the character Hot Shot?

Yeah. We adjusted his character to be more fitting to Bumblebee's personality, but we left some of Hot Shot in him (namely his need for speed).

12) Why a little girl? When aiming at young boys, why have the Autobots hang with a little girl?

Because we'd like girls to tune in as well, even if they're not the primary target demographic. Also, she's a really fun character.

13) Will we see a female Autobot (or several) in the main cast anytime soon? I know that The Batman worked to get Batgirl in ASAP, Teen Titans and JL each had strong female leads, etc; is there a specific reason why Transformers were denied an Autobot female lead?

Some female Autobots will be showing up, but currently no plans to put one in the main cast.

14) Do you plan on having any combiners in the show? Much of what made the original Constructicon team "cool" was the fact that they combined to form a giant robot. Is there any chance the new Constructicons will be given this ability?

Possibly.

15) Despite the fact that this series is set in the far off future, will we see many older vehicles on Earth? And if so, is there a chance some Animated TF might scan these vehicles instead of the new ones?

If I had my way, yes. But so far I haven't been able to convince Hasbro to make a retro-tailfins/chrome grill or a rusty old Model T Transformer. For about ten minutes we discussed the possibilty of Ratchet scanning a retro Ecto-1 style ambulance, but it never got anywhere.