The Controversial Legacy of Beast Wars: Transformers

[@SecretGalaxyTV]

New Bespoke Post subscribers get 20% off their first box of awesome - go to bespokepost.com/galaxy20 and enter code GALAXY20 at checkout. Thanks to Bespoke Post for sponsoring!

[@RogueBoyScout]

Thanks for all that you do! Your channel is one of a handful that I actually go out of my way to check on to see for new posts, and check the back catalogue. So while I always like and subscribe to good stuff, I usually never get notifications. And now that I think about it, I don't see why now. So I think you will be my first notification selection. As I am confident you don't abuse the feature to spam. Hey, I'm L33t, but I'm old... So some parts of net culture are new to me, which makes it weird and scary..

[@ciscodeer9094]

Loved beast Wars back in the day when I was a teenager back in California on KCAL ch 9

[@michaelgutierrez4912]

I wonder what we can expect from the Rise of the Beasts Movie.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@ciscodeer9094 I too watched this show on some local channel here in California. Every chance I got I would watch it. I don't know if you ever saw that follow-up beast machines or whatever it was called I couldn't stand that show.

[@kahnkretefpv7594]

Facts!

[@PirataGalactico]

That moment where Megatron is flying through the Ark giving a monologue and ends up in front of Optimus Prime. Ufff, such an excellent scene. Great show.

[@Pewpewpew182]

This was my Transformers as a child. I still remember crying when Dino bot went extinct (1st time).

[@JoRoq1]

Best moment (and episode) of the entire series.

[@sourcecode5273]

You were a child and I was middle aged and I loved the heck out of this series too!

[@chancepaladin]

yeah it was another adult show masquerading as a kid's show. it still holds up 100%. incredibly complex character development.

[@nexus6100]

Maybe there's a bit of nostalgia in there but I'm a forty-year-old man and I still teared up some when I watch that episode recently. It's a very well-done emotional send off.

[@guyver6622]

He lived a warrior and died a hero.

[@chadb9270]

Dinobot’s redemption arc - heroes journey and sacrifice at the end is one of the greatest stories in animation.

[@EnigmaticPenguin]

This was my jam as a late 80's kid. I ended up working in CG animation as a career because of this show and I've been fortunate to work with several old school Mainframe guys who were on Reboot/Beast Wars and Shadow Raiders. I have the complete line of the new Beast Wars figures that have been coming out the last three years on my desk at work.

[@venomtang]

Yep, same story, I got to work with an OG Reboot animator in 2021, on the Halo live action and a few others

[@venomtang]

Also, toss the figures and get the big boy toys, get the Prime 1 Optimus Primal, it's the best work trophy you can get,

[@brianstiles1701]

@@venomtang Why not both?

[@dougsmith6262]

My brother got me the Optimus Primal for Christmas last year and I literally gasped and screamed when I opened it, lol. 37 years old at the time and it was like I was 12 again.

[@tartatovsky]

@@venomtang non transforming statue? eww

[@BWTF_Ben]

It was a brilliant stroke of genius on the part of Bob and Larry to make this a sequel series to G1. I had the honor of helping them with some of those elements and it was wonderful to see fans enjoy it. BW saved Transformers and it remains some of the best Transformers fiction ever written!

[@johncaulfield8935]

It’s him!

[@garonwilliams9148]

I used to frequent your website religiously as a child.

[@BWTF_Ben]

@@garonwilliams9148 Glad to hear it. The site's still up if you ever want to visit. :)

[@Sarcasticron]

It even retroactively improved G1 with the addition of the concept of sparks!

[@samtyler2365]

But what is the best Transformers NON FICTION ever written ?

[@ninashewchuk8976]

ReBoot, Gargoyles, and Beast Wars (or Beasties here in Canada) were my cartoon holy trinity as a kid. I've still got a whole bunch of the original figures stored away in my mom's basement. While I'm not a real fan of Beast Machines I appreciate it for doing its own thing and not just being a clone of the original series.

[@WickedRaccoon16_61]

Same for me as a canadian, thoes are my top 3 when a was a kid. Same for beast machine i need to watch all of it cauz havent all sceen it yet. It didn't get my attention as much when it came out after BW.

[@TadpoleMusics]

Beast Machines didn't need to be a clone of Beast Wars to succeed, but it needed some consistency in characterization if it was gonna be a sequel. None of the characters feel like the same people at all

[@kerry1979]

I'm Still Laughing at the name Beasties.

[@BranBal]

Beast Machine had an awesome last battle, wich Beast Wars didn't had, and for I loved 🎉

[@iExploder]

Hell yeah. Gargoyles was the shit.

[@RetroActionUK]

Beast Wars is my favourite Transformers series after G1. It was so well done and it’s iconic. The toyline and tv series were awesome and it’s Kenner doing Transformers!

[@mrgreatbigmoose]

It's because it was a sequel and not a reboot (see what I did there). They had shown respect for what had come previously.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@mrgreatbigmoose I mean it became a sequel. It was mostly a prequel before that term was pounded in the ground and ruined.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Also, it can be deemed a spin-off.

[@TCPolecat]

Grew up almost on G1, but I was a fan of Mainframe Entertainment's work on Reboot, so gave Beast Wars a try as an adult and loved the more serious story-lines. Beast Machines fell on it's face tho, it really did.

[@jasonfanclub4267]

Yes beast machines was really bad 😔

[@tetravega567]

Shadow Raiders (War Planets) was another cool Mainframe cgi cartoon. Man I hated Beast Machines so much. Mostly the animation change. The story would've worked fine with the og cgi animation style from Beast Wars/Beasties.

[@docxen]

"today we are brothers" that line from the show still gives me goosebumps

[@D21BeastReviews]

The Transmutate episode is Beast Wars at it’s finest. 🔥

[@MegaJessness]

@@D21BeastReviews It's a testament to how good Christy Marx is as a writer, since she wrote that episode.

[@D21BeastReviews]

@@MegaJessness Absolutely!

[@BenDaresAll]

"Let him be. For the moment, we are brothers."

[@zachhughes9149]

I still remember, surprisingly vividly, the night I randomly found a Cheetor hidden at a Fred’s dollar store, - someone had hung it at the back behind the more common ones that weren’t even in the show - and the day I got Inferno at KB toys after going to the dentist. There were typically 2-3 a run, maybe a handful, that you could pretty much always get, but most of the good ones were hard to find back then. It made it all the more special when you did stumble across one AND your mom agreed to buy it.

[@Reivanhist]

What about the video about Guyver? After all, he was quite iconic and influenced the creation of many characters. The current blue beetle, for example, is inspired by him.

[@chadwickjdillon]

Oooo, yeah! Solid snake in chunky white snakers doing high kicks at guys in rubber suits! But seriously, a Guver episode from you guys would be great. Bit of a sleeper in the states, but you put the G word in a video title and all the beetle cyborg fans will come out of the woodwork.

[@MJRLHobbyStuff]

Man, I hate the fact that Guyver toys and stuff is so rare and expensive. It’s brutal

[@mrchainsaw4139]

Was pretty obsessed when I was a kid, one of my all time favorite shows.

[@designatedred]

You know you got a hell of a show where you tear up watching a cowboy vigilante stingray seek out justice at all costs. I adore this show and am happy to see others embrace it.

[@SnakeEyes327]

RIP Depth Charge

[@maxspecs]

Depth Charge was the coolest and the strongest and he fought an invincible crab tank who was the baddest and the toughest.

[@raydhen8840]

Heck, this show made me also sympathize with the monster he hunt the whole series. They didn't have to humanize Rampage, he could be portrayed as just being manipulative to Transmutate, but no, it's all genuine. The writing on this show, man

[@michaelandreipalon359]

A pity Rampage sort of won there, since he really wanted Depth Charge to succumb to bloody, sacrificial vengeance.

[@Gree187]

I didn’t get into beast wars until I realized it was tied into G1 .. Once I found that out , I began watching every show I could find & was immediately hooked . I give this show a lot of credit due to the fact I was 18 at the time & with everything going on in my life , I still found this to be so captivating.

[@mrgreatbigmoose]

I had that same moment...Primal sees a vision of Unicron and I cheered out loud that we had continuity!

[@joeyteter9383]

As a kid living in the 90’s, Beast Wars was one of, if not my, favorite show. I still love it and enjoyed them in Rise

[@dtorrey867]

I watched Beast Wars every morning getting ready for school when it was on. Hitting High School in it's final season. Hell, I still have my original DVDs from the early 2000s!

[@filmpositive6601]

I was a 90's kid, so my Transformers interest was kickstarted by Beast Wars. I remember watching it every day after school and having a few of the toys. The characters are what kept me coming back. I'm sure this new Transformers movie will be a fine adaptation, because Bumblebee was SO GOOD!

[@dbreid903]

Beast Wars, Spider-Man TAS and Batman TAS were my three favourite cartoons as a kid in the 90’s

[@NebLleb]

IMO, this is probably the first truly great Transformers show. The Transformers had its moments and a surprise cult film, but Beast Wars was consistently good throughout, from the first season which felt like an improved version of The Transformers' standalone storytelling to the more serialised second and third seasons. It kept on being good, warts and all, and it's often bought up alongside Animated and Prime as one of the best Transformers shows for a reason. Oh, and the voice acting was some of the best in animation history.

[@INFERNO95]

Third season things went downhill.

[@tartatovsky]

@@INFERNO95 wrong

[@INFERNO95]

@@tartatovsky Your wrong.

[@memnarch129]

Now thats just Prime.

[@GoldLuminance]

@@tartatovsky Nah he's right, Third season is pretty messy; he just failed to explain why. It's not terrible but it's certainly a drop in quality from season 2. The serious tone was toned back a tad bit for one reason or another. Optimus is absent or disabled in most fight scenes because he was too powerful to reasonably use. The Transmetal Driver is introduced with no explanation for what it is or where it came from, Megatron just has it. They bring in Dinobot-2 which seems to be due to Hasbro rethinking killing off Dinobot after coming out with the Transmetal 2 toys, but too little too late. "Dark Glass", the cut season 2 episode; would have done a decent enough job explaining his sudden change at the end of the series to be like the original Dinobot, but it went unproduced in favor of the Transmutate episode, so we missed some important context for that scene. Tigerhawk is introduced, then added to the main roster, and then killed instantly because Hasbro was indecisive on whether or not to release his toy. Season 3 was still very enjoyable but it was a lot messier in execution overall compared to the prior season. It's ending also unfortunately loses any sense of real victory or satisfaction due to it's sequel series, though this isn't the fault of Beast Wars.

[@johnc7389]

Usually with Galaxy's videos, it's either something I saw re-runs of when I was young, or something I can appreciate the history of at least; it's why I follow at all. This one, however, this was right in my window of marketable childhood. Of all the things that could really trigger that back-of-the-head nostalgia tingle, that blue baboon splitting in half to turn into a canon, that hit deep.

[@RyanRead]

Loved the series. My younger brothers who missed out in the original series loved it. We had every thing from Optimal Optimus and Dragon Mode Megatron. Loved Beast Machines and looking forward to the new movie.

[@comicsmisexplained]

@8:53 That song in the Toonami commercial went way harder than it had any given right to. Used to love seeing it. Thank you for that lost memory

[@Chaosic]

The Beast Wars was an awesome show from the 90s and I like the fact that the conflict is robot vs robot and no humans being involved in either side of the war.

[@INFERNO95]

Until the third season.

[@BranBal]

​@@INFERNO95 Stop talking crazy, man

[@craigvaldelamar9439]

They made waspinator king tho🤣

[@michaelandreipalon359]

I don't know, at least the protohumans felt natural compared to G1's memetic loser humans and their whining, and their weak military forces and crud.

[@Chaosic]

@@michaelandreipalon359 yeah I guess.

[@sonicmario64]

Even though Transformers was still around when I was a kid growing up in the 1990s, it was Beast Wars that actually helped me get into the franchise, especially since I'm the kind of guy who prefers animals over motor vehicles. ;)

[@ghostchaser1631]

My best buddy and I LOVED Beast Wars, we would catch new episodes early on weekday mornings before school and talk about them on the bus. Ironically, he also introduced me to The Guyver which was also cool though a little more violent than I was used to at the time. It only got better for us with Beast Machines but, like you said, that's a story for another time 😉. I can't wait to see that movie, it looks awesome. Really excited!

[@nick_QA0]

There were some fun and surprisingly advanced ideas in this show, like the gold disc record of the future, and the debate Megatron had if it represents a record up to a point where he changes something, or if changing something will affect the future recording process to update the disc. And then Dinobot's Shakespeare quoting leading to his suicide run to try to destroy that disc. I also loved Depth Charge berating Primal for inadvertantly letting Rampage out "when you screw up, you screw up big!"

[@billeickman]

Loved the storylines of BW, Depth Charge verses Ravage was really intense and the resurrection of Dinobot was deep.

[@pious83]

*Rampage Still one of the best villains in the entire series.

[@AgentNevets]

I think I was similar to Dan…I couldn’t even accept Beast Wars at the time. However, in 2004 my boyfriend at the time and I watched my G1 and his Beast Wars and I really loved the show. It was really, really good. Great video as always!

[@Darkeklaw]

Insane to think that Kenner (Which by that time was a subsidiary of Hasbro now) was actually producing the Beast Wars toys and then try testing the waters with a Kay-bee toys exclusive toy line called Machine Wars which used Repaints and European released toys to try and bring back vehicles. Optimus Prime was a Repaint of a toy called ThunderClash. It had one wave and faded into obscurity

[@kaijinu]

As a 90s kid, THIS is my Transformers cartoon!

[@zenmaster24]

As an 80s kid...G1 forever!

[@kaijinu]

@@zenmaster24 fair enough....TRANSFORMERS FOREVER!

[@72acemon4]

SAME

[@TaydolfSwifter]

as a 90s kid I'll still rank g1 as top and breastwars way below in the list

[@kaijinu]

@@TaydolfSwifter To each their own, then. 😀

[@Phoenixguyver]

I LOVE that Guyver got a mention. One of my all time favorite anime. The 1st us movie was meh but the second one was much more fun and the series was great.

[@xgringox5417]

Wow this video brings back some memories. I loved this show and watched it ritually as a kids. Thanks for bringing up Beast Wars!!

[@dadahyena]

Easily one of the very best shows of the 90's; great characters, great designs, great stories (and, yep, great toys). The creators went so much further than most "kids' shows" were willing to go and the end result was a truly amazing show that still holds up all these years later.

[@hgc7000]

As a kid of the 80s and a Ride or Die Sideswipe fan, it took a little bit time to warm up to Beast Wars, but I caught the Transmutate episode and THAT Dinobot episode and I was hooked. I’ll always love my Soundwaves, Astrotrains, Springers, and Starscreams. But no Transformer story has been able to touch Beast Wars, and after being reminded of who the writers were, I can understand why.

[@supakitkat]

I was born in 93, and this was the first time I was introduced to the TF franchise. I heard this show divided fans, but ironically it saved the franchise. Yes, later, it's almost like it had been forgotten about. However, as of recently, we've been getting BW content ( especially with the recent Netflix animated series). Now, a movie is set to be released this year. I'm very excited, and I can't wait. I heard the trailer was one of the highest-viewed trailers ever. TBH I'm not surprised. I hope this movie does well, so we can get sequels to this, as It was reported this film is the beginning of a trilogy. The only concern I have regarding the BW characters in this upcoming movie is the voice acting. I hope it's good because I was not too fond of the voice acting for Megatron in the Netflix show.

[@marvelboy74]

I was a G1 fan who simply aged out of the toys and missed out on the last cartoons. When Beast Wars came out, I happened upon it by accident. I was so engaged in the story. Yes, we had Decepticons who were less than loyal to Megatron, but we saw characters actually change their faction. Dinobot had a code of honor. Rampage was a psychopath but still had some level of compassion. Depth Charge was out for vengeance, no matter the cost. It was a master-class in characterization.

[@KnightofDuroch]

Damn, those closing statements gave me chills! I didn't watch BEAST WARS until the special Toonami airings, where they marathoned season 2 over a full week. And when it ended with the cliffhanger of Megatron killing OG Optimus and messing up the timeline, I resolved to go back and watch the show properly from the beginning before taking in season 3. Unfortunately my only option was re-runs on Fox Kids, which at the time was making a mess of their weekday broadcast with extra commercial breaks.

[@claudekaneiii2283]

Beast Wars & Beast Machines will always be my absolute favorite Transformer series & designs! Please do a Beast Machines video!

[@paulrasmussen8953]

Beast machines i will question

[@wolverine9049]

I'm so hyped to see them in live action this year

[@JoRoq1]

I have mixed feelings about it. First, they are Bayformer style designs, not organic beast modes. Also, they are scaled to match the other transformers, not the smaller scale from the show (recall Transmetal Megatron was about the size of Optimus Prime’s head). Second, if this is a continuation of the original Bayverse, that’s a No from me. If it is playing more off the Bumblebee soft reboot, I can give it a chance.

[@wolverine9049]

@John Kaufman it's confirmed that it's not connected to the bayverse and I don't mind the designs cause otherwise it would've looked like nightmare fuel in live action

[@NotThatGuy_YepThatGuy]

@JoRoq1 I'm all the way with you on the scaling change. I know it would have been odd to have human and animal scale transformers interacting with trucks, planes, and tanks, and I know in G1 we had animal themed metal skinned transformers, I get it. However, Primal's team now being at the same size as Prime's shoots down the Beast wars transformations being at all functional as disguise. I didn't like the Netflix series doing this, but at least that happens entirely on cybertron.

[@chancepaladin]

too bad it won't have anything to do with the show. it should have been a prequel reboot like the fking show was.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@chancepaladin That's why most people will probably hate this new movie if they're coming in with any expectations of having anything beyond a very small, basically useless connection to the show. As usual it's pretty much names and the look of the characters and that's it. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if they completely ruin the personalities like they always do.

[@Gappasaurus]

Late to the video and i’m sure all the comments have been made, so i’ll just say that as a G1 fan who actually _enjoyed_ BW that it does my spark good to revisit its history here. Thx guys 😊

[@TheLazyShell]

My introduction to Transformers and still my favorite era of the brand. Helps that I was far more interested in animals than vehicles as a young'un. (Coincidentally, I happen to be wearing a Beast Wars/Jurassic Park mash-up shirt while watching this.)

[@mbern4530]

Fun fact: In Canada this show was called Beasties since the network which aired it at the time didn't want the word "war" in the title. They changed the opening theme song to say beasties and even the text on screen. I didn't know it was called Beast Wars until years later.

[@D21BeastReviews]

I first became aware of Beast Wars one fateful post-school afternoon when I was at a friend’s father’s paper store while waiting to sleepover for the weekend. Brent and I both had our minds blown watching Fox Kids afternoon programming and seeing that first toy commercial with Bat Optimus and Alligator Megatron engaging in battle. It was probably that summer or fall when Beast Wars the series began airing. My brother and I taped the episodes off of TV on Saturday mornings and watched them on repeat endlessly while unintentionally memorizing the lines to nearly episode (sometimes we missed taping on a Saturday. It happens.) Beast Wars is one of my all-time favorite shows ever. I loved the original toyline and the Kingdom figures that came out in the last couple years. I bought the Rhino DVDs from Suncoast as they released in my high school days. I bought The Gathering and Ascension comics as they came out during my college days. I share the show with my son now. This show has given me so much joy in my lifetime. I hope it continues to do so for many others for years to come.

[@orinanime]

I grew up watching G1. I loved the show and movie. When Beast Wars premiered, I was there cheering on the show since day one. I LOVE IT! I love it more than G1. It's my favorite entry in the Transformers franchise. I had a few of the toys growing up. I've got a couple of the new Beast Wars toys that are out now. I have the DVD sets autographed by Garry Chalk. And if I'm lucky, I'll be able to get even more cast members to sign the sets eventually.

[@incara1291]

This was my transformers growing up I'm so glad you guys did a full video on it! I first saw it as the kid it was made for 😁.

[@99Vood99]

'Beast Wars' or 'Beasties' as it was called up here in Canada was an incredible show. It gets criticized by newer viewers due to its very early CGI but the stories and character development were on point. Didn't like the overall aesthetic of the 'Beast Machines' that followed and the character arcs they chose to go with it.

[@steveschweichler7023]

I used to watch the 80s transformers as a child. I joined the army in 97. We would do PT from 7-8 am and after PT I would go up to my room take a shower and then watch beast wars while getting ready for 9am formation. Good memories

[@25Erix]

Beast Wars was my introduction to Transformers as a whole. Wasn't aware of G1 at all back then. Cheetor was my favorite of the bunch and he's the reason cheetahs are my favorite big cat. Rise of the Beasts was a movie made FOR me. I'm stoked for it

[@Tiberon098]

Beast Wars was so cool and still is; I loved it as a kid and do even more now.

[@istevens78]

I grew up watching G1 in the 80's stzrting with the premier of episode 1. I saw the movie in the theater. That said, Beast Wars will forever be my favorite Transformers series. Mainframe Entertainment in the 90's could do no wrong. Reboot, Beast Wars/Beast Machines and the criminally underrated Shadow Raiders are, to me, some of the best animated shows ever to be produced in North America.

[@wedgeserif556]

Must give props to the editor who made Jeffrey Combs' picture twenty times bigger than Mark Hamill's. Dude's priorities are straight.

[@machomusprime50]

Growing up on Transformers G1, I always thought nothing would top that series for me. But Beast Wars came out and completely changed my mind. I used to wake up at 6am and watch Beast Wars. That was a whole hour before I had to get ready for school 🤣🤣🤣. Now that's dedication!!

[@DonkeyCroc]

Important show for a lot of mid to late 90's kids.

[@arioch2112]

People don't realize that there is 'writing for reading' and 'writing for speaking' with subtle variations and differences! Having worked in both radio and television, I feel your pain! LOL Great vid!

[@bjvincent8786]

This show is probably one of the best Transformers shows in Transformer history. Even if you had no prior knowledge of the famous Transformers, to be able to watch this show is a treat in itself.

[@shawnaniganz9808]

I never really got into the original Transformers as a kid, but hoo boy, I loved Beast Wars. I had a lot of the toys for it and watched the show whenever it was on. I even remember renting the N64 fighting game based on it once.

[@deathsnitemaresinfullust2269]

i actually watched this show more than the original series, i remember looking forward to seeing it because i wanted to see what animals would get a design. The cheetah, white tiger, black widow, wasp and dinosaurs were my favorite designs. 😄👍

[@maloydonedidit2903]

Beast wars was an underrated sequel to transformers lore. My favorite joke in all of beast wars was when, I believe it was rattrap after finding the Arc, commented about the craftsmanship of the then out of commission autobots and deceptions and primal responded with "yes.... they were die cast... it's a lost art form." A nice little nod to anyone who grew up in the 80s and had some of the die cast metal transformers like Optimus or Megatron.

[@user-id6po7lw2o]

I loved this series, my mom and I used to watch it all the time.

[@albertomorales7579]

I wasn’t that much of a fan of transformers since I was too absorbed watching ROBOTECH at the time but Beasties was my jam that series I did followed up to Beast Machines and it took me by surprised since I already was knee deep with REBOOT another classic for me.I owned several of the Beasties toys and they were next level.Thank you for this trip back in time and excellent work as always.

[@mosermi443]

I was born in 1990 in Canada, so Beasties was my introduction to the transformers franchise, and I still love Beast wars to this day.. wish i still had my cheetor transmetal toy

[@krazy-mouse]

I loved Beast Wars as a little kid, I was completely baffled when my dad went to Blockbuster and brought a VHS of G1 Transformers home he proceeded to tell me Megatron could turn into a gun, when he proved it I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I had no idea the show had existed since my dad was a kid nor that they had ever been vehicles.

[@PaulHo]

Continuity and callbacks like the tagline "that's just prime" formed my brain in elementary school and helped me excel in English class. That was my excuse for watching as much of Beast Wars as possible.

[@marvingoof3675]

I watched the premiere of the show when I was in middle school. I was aware of G1, but I never watched much. Beast Wars is what got me into Transformers! The story was amazing and I still watch my dvd's of it and Beast Machines to this day. It is one of the best cartoons ever created in my opinion.

[@GBRyker61]

Adding the Spark to the Transformers lore was a brilliant move. And it's become a core component of the franchise ever since.

[@darkcloudXIV]

Japan later released a sequel series to Beast Wars called Beast Wars 2: Super Lifeform. It stared a new cast with Leo Prime leading (Optimus Primal makes a guest appearance/team-up at one point), and the episodes are on KZbin.

[@RoninRaconteur]

I was one of the G-1 fans that actually watched and enjoyed the Beast Wars...it even became a part of AD&D 2e campaign idea later on at that time. It also was a interesting way to play Werewolf: The Apocalypse if you so wished.

[@tompatchak8706]

Tell me more about beast wars and D&D

[@theajshow]

First saw Beast Wars in the toy section of Wal-Mart. Initially, I thought they were some copycat off-brand, possibly copyright-infringement toys. I had no idea they were "legit" Transformers. Then I saw the show on TV and I was hooked! Absolutely loved the character-driven show and it's easily one of my top Transformers series ever.

[@ThomasMHead]

I grew up with G1. I thought Beast Wars and Beast Machines were fantastic! Change of setting, change of tone, focus on character drama, while tying back to the franchise's roots. Late teens me liked it, my middle aged mom liked it, so it must have been doing something right.

[@PrincessMatrix]

I fucking love Beast Wars! It was my jam as a kid, and I couldn't get enough of it! I always remained a TF fan, but after BM ended, part of me missed the beast modes. We'd get a few every now and then, like the Energon Terrorcons, but it was never enough. Kingdom and Legacy (and the upcoming ROTB) bringing them back has put the biggest smile on my face!

[@scottamann2445]

I liked Beast Wars, but I enjoyed it even more when the connection to the original was clear. Seeing Ravage again was the best.

[@RetroActionUK]

Deceptions Forever!

[@scottamann2445]

The cassette transformation with the classic transforming sound! Perfect!

[@scottamann2445]

Who knew Ravage was Russian though!

[@INFERNO95]

@@RetroActionUK He was repeating what the original Megatron say in the G1.

[@werefrogofassyria6609]

Ravage was great, so was the head of Unicron.

[@seatspud]

"When a Spark goes online, there is great joy. When one is extinguished, the universe weeps." - Rhinox

[@darktoylord]

This is the show that kicked off my toy collecting obsession. It started off with just Beast Wars figures. Then I got the internet and started buying vintage Transformers online. And the I was like, yeah, let's just buy everything 😆

[@AaronEiche]

I was a diehard G1 fan - and when Beast Wars came along I was very adamantly against it. The CG was very cool, but the recycling of names, and the humor were a little rough. I finally gave it a chance after reading some praise online about it a few years later. I was blown away at the quality of the storytelling, and eventually how it connected with G1. I even bought some of the higher-priced Beast Wars Toys (The Transmetal 2 Optimus Primal and Megatron) with my (at the time) new found disposable income as a new, working adult. Beast Wars (Beasties in CA!) was really great. Give it a shot if you haven't (Season 1 can be rough, but it gets really good)

[@shawnkarg3794]

As a G1 fan from the 80's, I didn't think much of the Beast Wars line until I saw the show. While it was still a kid based story, the characters were more developed than the Sunbow cartoon, and the incorporation of G1 elements pulled me in as an adult.

[@Myxlpltx]

I remember seeing this cartoon on UPN and thinking, "They transform into animals now? Such a silly idea. Guess they ran out ideas." Jump to a few months later when I'm shedding a tear during Dinobots sacrifice. Yeah, it's good.

[@wangonguy62]

I was a huge fan of both G1 and Beast Wars. I honestly consider it lucky I was around to enjoy both.

[@BitHalo]

I liked Transformers, but always thought they should have a reason to be in their car forms more. When Beast Wars came out and they made it so they had to transform back and forth to live, it added this breath of 'battle timers' that I liked, made the stakes feel higher in a fight.

[@ReBootRevival]

Great vid! I was born in '85, so I didn't get into G1 until the toys were all G2, but I loved Transformers. That said, I didn't have any issue transitioning from G1 to Beast Wars, perhaps in part due to my enjoyment of the CGI of ReBoot. The stories and characters of BW were great, far more fleshed out than those in G1 (and again, I was/am a huge fan of G1!). I wish Beast Machines had fared better, but as much as I loved BW, even I didn't like the direction they took with the story and fates of some characters....

[@Michael_Dominic]

the episode where dinobot sacrifices himself is the most intense narrative pay off in animation. love beast wars

[@alexandersilva3327]

i watched this show recently for the first time and i LOVED it, my new favorite show of all time

[@harlockJC]

I remember being a hold out G1 or nothing...But when I started watching Beast Wars anyways, the story telling of the show wins you over.

[@TheNameBrandCompany]

I freaking love these transformers history videos!!! Would you do one on animated or even the Cybertron trilogy! Keep up the great work!!!!

[@Gojirilla]

As someone who's always loved animals/dinosaurs but never cared about trucks, planes, boats etc, Beast Wars was the only Transformers stuff I really liked as a kid

[@DSWappropriate]

Beast Wars my favorite Transformers Cartoon!

[@tyr0n313]

8:59 oh man I remember this commercial. I tried so hard to win these and never did. And I could never find Cheetor in store shelves. This commercial was a blast form the past.

[@gameplayer1980]

This was what brought me back into the universe. Such great story telling and design.

[@MindTrickedX24]

I grew up with G1, and was as diehard as my short change would allow - cartoons and comics, but not the toys, alas - and was a fully-formed adult when Beast Wars hit. I was skeptical, but grew to absolutely love it. (As an aside, my mother also loved it.) It was GOOD stuff. I sort of followed along to Beast Machines, I guess, 'cause I have no real memory of it. I was pretty-much done with the IP after that. I watched the first two movies, and I was out.

[@JohnConstantine666]

This is my Transformers Show. Beast Wars had such better storytelling compared to G1. I was so happy when Hasbro did new figures in the Kingdom line. They are all proudly on my shelf

[@MathieuLeblanc1991]

I mainly knew it as Beasties since Canada had laws at the time where kids' shows could not have War in its name, it feels jarring hearing the Beast Wars theme song

[@TheBeef89]

Beast Wars is still my favourite transformers series. Just captivated me as a kid, and in aw how well for the time the CGI was. Also just had great compelling characters.

[@KITPUNK]

One fact that wasn't mentioned - Beast Wars was named as "Beasties: Transformers" in Canada.

[@Flin2099]

Man, I loved this series so much! The animation is horrible, but the story was so deep and entertaining. Can't praised this series enough.

[@sourcecode5273]

agree.

[@TheBertLocker]

I lost my shit when they ended up in the Ark.

[@itsagundam79]

I really, really hated the animation, cos I knew we weren't at a point yet with the tech to produce a good looking show. But damn if the story didn't hook me by the end! Tie-ins with G1, devious subplots with Scorponok and Blackarachnia, alien discs, Megatron brushing his dinosaur teeth with a toothbrush, it was all a glorious mindfuck!

[@trailersic]

Me, myself, personally, I love the animation, but then I've always had a thing for CGI, especially early CGI where it can't hide what it is.

[@Martynde]

The animation was good for the 1990s. There were other cgi shows back then and they all looked worse other than Reboot.

[@VundalI]

This was my intro to transformers. I loved the series and the writing was very much 80s comic book drama. The sequel series to Beast wars had excellent ideas but i remember people bouncing off of the new designs.

[@risel56]

I'm actually kind of shocked how little Dan talked about the toyline this episode. Especially since it standardized one of the greatest play features in toy history: The ball joint.

[@RetroActionUK]

Technically it was Generation 2 that introduced it late in the line with the Laser Rods and Cyber Jets for example, but yes Beast Wars took it to the next level and used it for all the figures therefore standardising it.

[@williamthompson5504]

@@RetroActionUK Technically It has G1. Combaticons Vortex and Blastoff both had ball joints on their arms. I agree with you that it was G2 that introduced wide use of the ball joint and articulation in general.

[@RetroActionUK]

@@williamthompson5504 oh yes, Astrotrain too.

[@mechanomics2649]

@@RetroActionUK It's a good thing they didn't say "introduced" then isn't it? They said _"standardized"_

[@gadpunkzine]

Good episode. Beast Wars II: Super Life-Form Transformers coulda used a shoutout though. Highly underrated show!

[@StevenDNA86]

Great video! Beast Wars is my absolute favorite section of the Transformers canon.

[@tylerrichlen3286]

I need that on a shirt with a picture of Optimus Primal yelling "These animals look like they can sh!t"

[@ConnorDoubleYou]

This was the only Transformers I knew of growing up in the 90s. Imagine my surprise when I found out years later that there were vehicle transformers that came first.

[@msvoxacious]

Same!