This section is for reviews of Transformers cartoons and movies on DVD. This exciting format gives us a chance to see or favorite episodes in amazing sound and picture quality, well in most cases...

Beast Wars: Classic Episodes

Way back in 1996 I got word that there was a new Transformers show on TV. I was ecstatic and quickly rushed downstairs to check it out. As I turned on the TV, I was met with images of a talking computer generated rat with a New Jersey accent, riding on the backs of a gorilla and Rhino...I was in shock, this was not Transformers, what the hell is this! I kept watching, having no clue what was going on and being appalled that this show brandished the Transformers name. It soon turned out that these were in fact robots in disguise, as all the animals transformed into robots. I was still very confused why was Optimus Prime a monkey and how did they get to prehistoric Earth?? Unfortunately, I never stuck around to find out, and never gave the show a chance. I just believed it was another failed attempt at bringing back the Transformers. Well just a couple years ago, I started to watch the late night reruns of the show. Suddenly, I found myself really getting into it! I was blown away by the great story lines, and the character development. I finally realized that this wasn't the Transformers I remembered it was something else entirely, that was great in its on right. I started taping as many episodes as I could, the quality was poor, but at least I had them. Before I got a chance to finish, Beast Wars/Beasties was taken off the air. Replaced with some insanely horrible show, that no one in there right mind would want to watch even at 2:30am...I had lost my chance to get all the episodes on tape because I believed that since this show wasn't like the original it wasn't good. And now I've missed out seeing all of one of the greatest cartoon series ever. The episodes I did manage to get were in very poor quality, it seemed there was no hope. That is until now... Content In 1996 Mainframe Entertainment (A company who had previously created the sucessful Reboot cartoon) produced the newest Transformers series. Featuring cutting edge computer animation, great writing and voice acting, the series became a hit. The popularity of this show, is pretty apparent in the quality of this DVD. Most cartoon DVD's seem to try give you the minimum amount of episodes possible. Beast Wars Classic Episodes, contains 2 hours and 20 minutes worth of unedited Beast Wars episodes. Its a collection of introductory episodes of the Beast Wars series, allowing for fans both new and old to see how the story originally began. This DVD includes the first 7 Episodes of the Beast Wars (known as Beasties in Canada). Pilot: Part 1 (The Beast Wars) After a fierce battle in space, two warring robot races are shipwrecked on a sparsely populated planet. The planet's rich deposits of the mineral Energon force the machines to assume the forms of native animals in order to avoid being paralyzed by radiation. Pilot: Part 2 (The Beast Wars pt.2) The Maximals and Predacons continue their battle on this strange new world. Dinobot aids the Maximals in stopping the Predacons from reaching a massive energon deposit, which will give them the power to conquer Cybertron. The Web Cheetor seeks to prove his worth, after making a big mistake when engaging the Predacon Scorponok. He attempts to disable the Predacons newly recovered mega-cannon, but instead finds himself in even deeper trouble. Equal Measures A large storm is keeping the Maximals from going through with a plan to set up energon monitoring systems. Cheetor is convinced by Dinobot to go against Primal's orders, and to try and beat the storm. As expected, Cheetor drops one of the devices too close to an energon vein, and is subsequently struck by lighting. The resulting combination of technology and nature create a transporter between the Maximal and Predacon bases. Chain of Command The Maximals and Predacons battle at the standing stones and destroy a part of the monument, unleashing a energy signal into space. A strange object crashes in the area and while Primal investigates, the object emits an energy blast that causes him to disappear. The remaining Maximals are forced to decide on a new leader and make a stand against a Predacon attack. Power Surge The Predacon Terrorsaur discovers a floating mountain rich with energon. When doing a scan, he accidently comes into direct contact with the energon and gains incredible power. He defeats Megatron in a bout for the leadership of the Predacons and then proceeds to use his new power to try and destroy the Maximals. Fallen Comrades One of the jettisoned status pods from the Maximal's ship falls out of orbit and crashes on the planet. The Maximals and Predacons rush to try and reach the new warrior first. Since these episodes are so early in the series the animation and story quality is less refined. Some of the episodes in this selection are sub-par using pretty weak plot points, like the transporter that's accidently created in Equal Measures, to drive the story. The models still hold there own against most non-Mainframe CG shows out now, and the animation doesn't rely on motion capture to get the job done, this stuff is being done by very skilled artists. Some of the animation and backgrounds in the first episodes looks a little rough, but it continues to improve as the series goes on. On the non-technical side, the show has some of the most interesting and diverse characters ever in a cartoon series. Hell they even have more personality the most normal tv show characters! However, in this group of episodes we're only first meeting these characters and you only get a glimpse at their depth. The storyline itself is pretty interesting, giving homage to the original Transformers series, while taking a completely different direction. There are a lot of main themes that run through the entire series, and even in episodes that are totally self contained, you'll see small things foreshadowing future events. Basically this is a great sci-fi series and whether your a Transformers fan or not, you should take a look at it. And here's your chance to get started. OUT OF FIVE Video This is a pretty nice transfer of the series. It is of course a full frame transfer because it only appeared on TV. The image has a bit of a grainy look but, this is probably the clearest you'll ever see this show. I know its a huge improvement from the tapes I have of it. Mainframes animation looks beautiful on DVD and you see a lot of the details you missed from watching it on cable. The DVD starts off playing a bit of the Beast Wars intro and then quickly switches to the menu system. First a chromed version of the cover splits revealing the actual menu screen. From here there is a circle in the background that plays a few quick clips from the series and then the menu options pop up. You have the choice of viewing the entire collection, picking an individual episode, or selecting one of the extra features. If you select one of the individual episodes it will show you a quick clip from it and then start the episode complete with its intro and credits. This is a simple but great looking menu setup and it was nice to see that Alliance/Atlantis actually put some effort into it. OUT OF FIVE Audio Although the show was in stereo, it didn't quite do the show justice. It sounds great on DVD, even though its not in 5.1 surround sound. Its really nice to have this show with crystal clear sound, hearing Waspinator fly around you and other background noises, truly brings new life to the show. The music works well too, it may become redundant for some people, but it usually fits the action well. The sound isn't groundbreaking but there's nothing to complain about either. OUT OF FIVE Extras Unfortunately this DVD is pretty light on extras, but at least they tried to add something. It has a picture gallery, which includes 21 images from the first season of the series. This would have been a cool feature, but the images are confined to small circle in the middle of the screen, making it pretty pointless. They are previous unrealesed pictures, so at least your seeing something new and not the same shots they had on there website. The other extra is the intro to the show. Oddly its the intro to season 3, you can still see most of the first season intro just by selecting any of the individual episodes on the DVD. I would have liked to see some of the production art, or some information on the making of the series. Interviews or commentary with the writers or voice actors would have been cool too, but I guess you can't expect to get anything much on a cartoon DVD. OUT OF FIVE Overall Beast Wars first move to DVD is quite impressive. The presentation of this DVD is great, even the cover has cool and dynamic head shots of the characters. The DVD has great audio and visual, an impressive amount of episodes, and awesome menus. A few more extras and we would have one hell of a DVD. Although this is a great DVD for the amount of episodes you get, these are far from the best ones. I really hope Alliance/Atlantis releases more episodes on DVD. At the moment Rhino has gained the rights to release Beast Wars episodes in the US, so they may or may not continue. Either way, more episodes should be coming to DVD and I'm definitely looking forward to that. OUT OF FIVE

Beast Wars Classic Episodes Release Date 2001, Available Now Distributer Alliance Atlantis Rating PG Running Time 2h 20min Sound 2.0 Dolby Stereo English, French Aspect Ratio Full Frame Screen capture images courtesy of The Beast Wars Vault

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