More Original Script ramblings
Chris McFeely
Dawn,” “Trans-Europe Express” and “Cosmic
Rust.” Because the first was the first one I actually did this
for, and the other three are the first three episodes on the same disc
as the scripts, so I don’t have to flick back and forth. :)
AERIAL ASSAULT
- The rug merchant at the start gets a few more lines. To what he says
in the episode, he adds: “50 petas? You will ruin me and my
children will starve. 60 petas? A deal! Why, my very, very good
friend, of course I take credit cards!”
- When Slingshot says he’ll stay to help Skydive, you’ll
remember that Air Raid’s response is a sarcastic
“riiiight.” Lines were cut here were Air Raid jokes that
Slingshot’s staying to get out of having to fight Blast Off
again, and Slingshot denies it, hence the sarcastic reply.
- The first big cut scene comes after Hassan finds Slingshot and
Skydive in the back of Ali’s truck, after Skydive says:
“We’ve got a lot to talk about.” It’s hard to
know if any time passes between this and the cut scene (the scripts
don’t specify, they just have dialogue, remember), but I’m
presuming that the two Aerialbots have transformed back into jet mode,
to hide from Ali.
Anyhoo... Ali discovers Hassan, and threatens to “skin him
alive,” but Hassan wriggles his way out of trouble by asking:
“what would the border guards think if they caught you smuggling
stolen jet fighters?” Ali’s a bit lost for words, and then
Hassan suggests: “But if the border guards were to see nothing
more than these two refrigerators, which I assembled out of some very
interesting parts...”
Yeah, as if a big blue griffin wasn’t silly enough for this
episode, Slingshot and Skydive get disguised as refrigerators to get
them past border control. :)
- The next scene follows on directly from this one, but it harder to
decipher because it was clearly a visual one, rather than one driven
by dialogue, and since there are no stage directions in this script,
it’s challenging. However, as near as I can tell, a sandstorm
causes some trouble for the trucks, and Hassan quips about his bike
being built better. Swindle speaks up rather angrily against the
notion of him towing any trucks – “Swindle is a
Combaticon, not a beast of burden!” – and so they steal
some camels to tow them instead. With the exception of two lines by
Hassan and Ali, though, none of the speakers in this scene are
identified by name in the script, for whatever reason, so besides
Swindle’s obvious line (because he says “Flesh
creature”), I’ve no idea who’s saying what.
- The prince’s name is consistently spelled as
“Jumal,” where I’d have thought it was
“Jamal.”
- Another cut scene comes after Ali radios Megatron. Swindle decides
to check and make sure the jet chassis are concealed, and Hassan tries
to stop him, to no avail – and when Swindle sees them, he
recognises the Aerialbots. After this, as with the last cut scene, the
speakers are not identified by name in the script, but it’s
obvious what happens. One of the Aerialbots directs Hassan to quickly
open Swindle’s back panel and disconnect everything, shutting
him down. At their instructions, Hassan erases part of Swindle’s
memory banks to make him forget this little discovery. Then,
they’re about to reach the border, and Hassan tells Swindle to
hide his gun. His gun’s still on display in the finished
episode, notably.
- The script contains the full version of Onslaught and Blast
Off’s lines that get clipped by some kind of audio error.
There’s nothing more to them than what’s always been
believed – “blast him into oblivion,” and
“Combaticons unite.”
WAR DAWN
- Very little in this episode, actually. Perhaps the most notable
thing is that “chronosphere” isn’t spelled that way
– it’s actually spelled “Kronosphere.”
- After Slingshot says they have to find someone to repair Orion, and
Silverbolt says, “We will,” he adds: “I tired to
warn them! I tried to warn all of you! But if you wouldn’t
listen, you think he would?”
- The young Alpha Trion is identified simply as “Alpha
Trion” in the script.
- No, before you ask, there is NO indication of Dion being rebuilt
into anyone. :)
TRANS-EUROPE EXPRESS
- As some will already know, the Pearl of Bahoudin was originally
named the Pearl of Jehuddin. This name is what they used in the
summary booklet for the DVD set, too.
- The name of the company that made Auggie’s car is spelled
“Symultech.”
- After Wheeljack tells him where Auggie’s engine came from, a
dropped line has Tracks snidely remark: “And HE’S the one
screaming about an unfair advantage?”
- Seconds later, after Wheeljack identifies Auggie’s engine as
being made out of “some kinda weird metal,” there’s
a cut scene where Auggie comes back to do some more ranting. He asks
if the Autobots’ engines have been checked, and Tracks decides
that if Auggie wants to look under everyone’s hood,
they’ll look under his, too. Auggie is insulted that
they’re implying there’s something out of line about his
engine, and Wheeljack questions what it’s made of. Auggie snaps
that it’s none of his business.
- Again, seconds later, as the race is about to begin, the Autobots
line up in car mode and trade quips about who’s going to win.
Bluestreak grumbles: “Compete, compete, compete! You’d
think they actually wanted to be human!”
- Professor Terranova’s name is spelled with only one R, as
“Teranova.”
- As Tracks and Bumblebee get close to the finish line and are
approached by the Stunticons, it’s stated in the script that
Auggie’s in view ahead of them. The Stunticons swerve around
Auggie’s car – this is where Bumblebee’s
otherwise-nonsensical line from the finished episode, “Boy, they
sure gave him the road!” comes from. Tracks is suspicious,
though – he’s never seen the Stunticons go around
something they could just as easily go through! Bumblebee wonders if
Auggie is in league with the Decepticons, and he and Tracks go and
drag him out of his car again for a little interrogation. He holds his
own, though, and convinces the Autobots he’s not working with
the Decepticons. When Dead End later steals his car, he comments that
he’s been dragged out of it “three times” today
(once when Bumblebee wanted to teach him some manners, second for the
interrogation, and third for now, when Dead End yanks him out).
COSMIC RUST
- Again, not many changes, but one thing that IS changed is VERY
interesting.
- Cut lines almost immediately. In response to Rumble’s warning
about the asteroids, Astrotrain says: “Quiet, pipsqueak,
you’re bothering me!” Then, after he says, “Well fry
my heatshield!” Rumble retorts: “I’ll do more than
that if you call me pipsqueak again!”
- Remember how Starscream said: “Too bad none of us reads
ancient Autobot?” Well, in this script, Megatron CAN. And what
the inscriptions say is the truly interesting part:
“It says that the Thirteenth Legion of Autobots arrived here the
first millennium after the creation of the Autobot Matrix."
Starscream subsequently deduces:
"Which would make it about five hundred thousand years before we left
for Earth."
Now, of course... this doesn't make any sense, because it doesn't jive
with anything we'd later learn of the Matrix. It's not even internally
consistent with the script, which (stupidly) claims the 13th Legion
has been on Antilla since the "dawn of time." The interesting part is
simply that there WAS an attempt to work the concept of the Matrix
into a pre-movie episode.
- When Megatron tells Starscream to have the Stunticons capture
Perceptor, Starscream is shocked that he would allow an Autobot into
Decepticon headquarters. This questioning is what makes Megatron
scream “Do as I say!”
- When the Aerialbots pursue Blitzwing, a great deal is made of the
fact that he flies through the city, as Slingshot exclaims in shock
that he’s doing it. Act one doesn’t end with Dead End
ushering Perceptor into Blitzwing, but rather with the Aerialbots
flying into the city after Blitzwing, and Blitzwing targeting them
with his guns. Notable line: Silverbolt says, “I never thought
I’d say this, but... you guys stay on his tail while I fly
above! It’s much to LOW for me!”
- Act 2 continues the focus on city-flying – Slingshot wonders
why the Autobots are always complaining about the traffic in the city
– it’s nothing he can’t handle! ‘course,
it’s only thanks to a warning from Fireflight that he avoids
flying into a building. Perhaps Fireflight’s near-collision in
the finished episode (and this script) WASN’T intended to be
representative of his tech spec information that says he’s a bad
pilot, if Slingshot nearly did it too.
- Megatron is a bit more threatening to Perceptor. After he agrees to
had over the Lightning Bug if he’s cured, he adds:
“Otherwise, we will be forced to do something desperate... and
irrational. Look at it this way, Perceptor – if you do what I
ask, I might be trustworthy... if you don’t, I will *definitely*
be vindictive.”
That’s all for now, folks! I’ll probably start doing these
in order from now on, going back to “The Golden Lagoon”
and working forward.
Chris
Aaron F. Bourque
>"Look at it this way, Perceptor: if you do what I ask, I might be
>trustworthy... if you don't, I will *definitely* be vindictive."
That's a pretty good line, for Megatron.
Aaron "The Mad Whitaker" Bourque
--
Women supposedly mature at a faster rate than men
If that is true, how come they live so much longer then . . ?
Nothing says maturity like transforming toys for ten-year-olds.
Did Megatron's giant Sphinx come from US parts?
Chris McFeely
> Dawn,” “Trans-Europe Express” and “Cosmic
> Rust.”
Ew.
I don't know what happened with the formatting, there. Let's try that
again.
Today, I'll cover "Aerial Assault," "War Dawn," "Trans-Europe Express"
and "Cosmic Rust." Because the first was the first one I actually did
this for, and the other three are the first three episodes on the same
disc as the scripts, so I don't have to flick back and forth. :)
AERIAL ASSAULT
- The rug merchant at the start gets a few more lines. To what he says
in the episode, he adds: "50 petas? You will ruin me and my children
will starve. 60 petas? A deal! Why, my very, very good friend, of
course I take credit cards!"
- When Slingshot says he'll stay to help Skydive, you'll remember that
Air Raid's response is a sarcastic "riiiight." Lines were cut here
were Air Raid jokes that Slingshot's staying to get out of having to
fight Blast Off again, and Slingshot denies it, hence the sarcastic
reply.
- The first big cut scene comes after Hassan finds Slingshot and
Skydive in the back of Ali's truck, after Skydive says: "We've got a
lot to talk about." It's hard to know if any time passes between this
and the cut scene (the scripts don't specify, they just have dialogue,
remember), but I'm presuming that the two Aerialbots have transformed
back into jet mode, to hide from Ali.
Anyhoo... Ali discovers Hassan, and threatens to "skin him alive," but
Hassan wriggles his way out of trouble by asking: "what would the
border guards think if they caught you smuggling stolen jet fighters?"
Ali's a bit lost for words, and then Hassan suggests: "But if the
border guards were to see nothing more than these two refrigerators,
which I assembled out of some very interesting parts..."
Yeah, as if a big blue griffin wasn't silly enough for this episode,
Slingshot and Skydive get disguised as refrigerators to get them past
border control. :)
- The next scene follows on directly from this one, but it harder to
decipher because it was clearly a visual one, rather than one driven
by dialogue, and since there are no stage directions in this script,
it's challenging. However, as near as I can tell, a sandstorm causes
some trouble for the trucks, and Hassan quips about his bike being
built better. Swindle speaks up rather angrily against the notion of
him towing any trucks - "Swindle is a Combaticon, not a beast of
burden!" - and so they steal some camels to tow them instead. With the
exception of two lines by Hassan and Ali, though, none of the speakers
in this scene are identified by name in the script, for whatever
reason, so besides Swindle's obvious line (because he says "Flesh
creature"), I've no idea who's saying what.
- The prince's name is consistently spelled as "Jumal," where I'd have
thought it was "Jamal."
- Another cut scene comes after Ali radios Megatron. Swindle decides
to check and make sure the jet chassis are concealed, and Hassan tries
to stop him, to no avail - and when Swindle sees them, he recognises
the Aerialbots. After this, as with the last cut scene, the speakers
are not identified by name in the script, but it's obvious what
happens. One of the Aerialbots directs Hassan to quickly open
Swindle's back panel and disconnect everything, shutting him down. At
their instructions, Hassan erases part of Swindle's memory banks to
make him forget this little discovery. Then, they're about to reach
the border, and Hassan tells Swindle to hide his gun. His gun's still
on display in the finished episode, notably.
- The script contains the full version of Onslaught and Blast Off's
lines that get clipped by some kind of audio error. There's nothing
more to them than what's always been believed - "blast him into
oblivion," and "Combaticons unite."
WAR DAWN
- Very little in this episode, actually. Perhaps the most notable
thing is that "chronosphere" isn't spelled that way - it's actually
spelled "Kronosphere."
- After Slingshot says they have to find someone to repair Orion, and
Silverbolt says, "We will," he adds: "I tired to warn them! I tried to
warn all of you! But if you wouldn't listen, you think he would?"
- The young Alpha Trion is identified simply as "Alpha Trion" in the
script.
- No, before you ask, there is NO indication of Dion being rebuilt
into anyone. :)
TRANS-EUROPE EXPRESS
- As some will already know, the Pearl of Bahoudin was originally
named the Pearl of Jehuddin. This name is what they used in the
summary booklet for the DVD set, too.
- The name of the company that made Auggie's car is spelled
"Symultech."
- After Wheeljack tells him where Auggie's engine came from, a dropped
line has Tracks snidely remark: "And HE'S the one screaming about an
unfair advantage?"
- Seconds later, after Wheeljack identifies Auggie's engine as being
made out of "some kinda weird metal," there's a cut scene where Auggie
comes back to do some more ranting. He asks if the Autobots' engines
have been checked, and Tracks decides that if Auggie wants to look
under everyone's hood, they'll look under his too. Auggie is insulted
that they're implying there's something out of line about his engine,
and Wheeljack questions what it's made of. Auggie snaps that it's none
of his business.
- Again, seconds later, as the race is about to begin, the Autobots
line up in car mode and trade quips about who's going to win.
Bluestreak grumbles: "Compete, compete, compete! You'd think they
actually wanted to be human!"
- Professor Terranova's name is spelled with only one R, as
"Teranova."
- As Tracks and Bumblebee get close to the finish line and are
approached by the Stunticons, it's stated in the script that Auggie's
ahead of them, but in view. The Stunticons swerve around Auggie's car
- this is where Bumblebee's otherwise-nonsensical line from the
finished episode, "Boy, they sure gave him the road!" comes from.
Tracks is suspicious, though - he's never seen the Stunticons go
around something they could just as easily go through! Bumblebee
wonders if Auggie is in league with the Decepticons, and he and Tracks
go and drag him out of his car again for a little interrogation. He
holds his own, though, and convinces the Autobots he's not working
with the Decepticons. When Dead End later steals his car, he comments
that he's been dragged out of it "three times" today (once when
Bumblebee wanted to teach him some manners, second for the
interrogation, and third for now, when Dead End yanks him out).
COSMIC RUST
- Again, not many changes, but what one thing that IS changed is VERY
interesting.
- Cut lines almost immediately. In response to Rumble's warning about
the asteroids, Astrotrain says: "Quiet, pipsqueak, you're bothering
me!" Then, after he says, "Well fry my heatshield!" Rumble retorts:
"I'll do more than that if you call me pipsqueak again!"
- Remember how Starscream said: "Too bad none of us reads ancient
Autobot?" Well, in this script, Megatron CAN. And what the
inscriptions say is the truly interesting part:
"It says that the Thirteenth Legion of Autobots arrived here the first
millennium after the creation of the Autobot Matrix."
Starscream subsequently deduces:
"Which would make it about five hundred thousand years before we left
for Earth."
Now, of course... this doesn't make any sense, because it doesn't jive
with anything we'd later learn of the Matrix. It's not even internally
consistent with the script, which (stupidly) claims the 13th Legion
has been on Antilla since the "dawn of time." The interesting part is
simply that there WAS an attempt to work the concept of the Matrix
into a pre-movie episode.
- When Megatron tells Starscream to have the Stunticons capture
Perceptor, Starscream is shocked that he would allow an Autobot into
Decepticon headquarters. This questioning is what makes Megatron
scream "Do as I say!"
- When the Aerialbots pursue Blitzwing, a great deal is made of the
fact that he flies through the city, as Slingshot exclaims in shock
that he's doing it. Act one doesn't end with Dead End ushering
Perceptor into Blitzwing, but rather with the Aerialbots flying into
the city after Blitzwing, and Blitzwing targeting them with his guns.
Notable line: Silverbolt says, "I never thought I'd say this, but...
you guys stay on his tail while I fly above! It's much to LOW for me!"
- Act 2 continues the focus on city-flying - Slingshot wonders why the
Autobots are always complaining about the traffic in the city - it's
nothing he can't handle! 'course, it's only thanks to a warning from
Fireflight that he avoids flying into a building. Perhaps Fireflight's
near-collision in the finished episode WASN'T intended to be
representative of his tech spec information that says he's a bad
pilot.
- Megatron is a bit more threatening to Perceptor. After he agrees to
had over the Lightning Bug if he's cured, he adds: "Otherwise, we will
be forced to do something desperate... and irrational. Look at it this
way, Perceptor - if you do what I ask, I might be trustworthy... if
you don't, I will *definitely* be vindictive."
That's all for now, folks! I'll probably start doing these in order
from now on, going back to "The Golden Lagoon" and working forward.
Chris
Túrin
> - Megatron is a bit more threatening to Perceptor. After he agrees to
> had over the Lightning Bug if he's cured, he adds: "Otherwise, we will
> be forced to do something desperate... and irrational. Look at it this
> way, Perceptor - if you do what I ask, I might be trustworthy... if
> you don't, I will *definitely* be vindictive."
Now *that* line should have stayed in. It's *reallly* scary. I like
it!
Túrin
Mark Brown
news:5e6cc61f.0405...@posting.google.com...
> Today, I’ll cover "Aerial Assault,” “War
> Dawn,” “Trans-Europe Express” and “Cosmic
> Rust.” Because the first was the first one I actually did this
> for, and the other three are the first three episodes on the same disc
> as the scripts, so I don’t have to flick back and forth. :)
Cool, but, uh, are you doing something wierd with your formatting? The first
post didn't have problems with quotation marks and apostrophes.
Mark
"Somehow, Megatron being able to read Ancient Autobot makes sense after TWW.
Nice little coincidence."
ShadowWing
"Chris McFeely" wrote
> - Act 2 continues the focus on city-flying - Slingshot wonders why the
> Autobots are always complaining about the traffic in the city - it's
> nothing he can't handle! 'course, it's only thanks to a warning from
> Fireflight that he avoids flying into a building. Perhaps Fireflight's
> near-collision in the finished episode WASN'T intended to be
> representative of his tech spec information that says he's a bad
> pilot.
Still sounds like a bad pilot to me. :)
Prime Saber
> I don't know what happened with the formatting, there. Let's try that
> again.
Thanks, it's a lot better now. ^_^
> WAR DAWN
> - The young Alpha Trion is identified simply as "Alpha Trion" in the
> script.
So, he's no longer A-3. Maybe his visit to the future in
"Forever Is A Long Time Coming" inspired him to change his name
shortly after returning? :)
> - No, before you ask, there is NO indication of Dion being rebuilt
> into anyone. :)
Ironhide: "Ah shucks." :(
Personally I don't think it's Ultra Magnus, since he might have
mentioned something about being built 9 million years ago, or
around the same time as Optimus, or by Alpha Trion. Sure, he
could have forgotten all of that, but still...
> TRANS-EUROPE EXPRESS
> - As Tracks and Bumblebee get close to the finish line and are
> approached by the Stunticons, it's stated in the script that Auggie's
> ahead of them, but in view. The Stunticons swerve around Auggie's car
> - this is where Bumblebee's otherwise-nonsensical line from the
> finished episode, "Boy, they sure gave him the road!" comes from.
> Tracks is suspicious, though - he's never seen the Stunticons go
> around something they could just as easily go through! Bumblebee
> wonders if Auggie is in league with the Decepticons, and he and Tracks
> go and drag him out of his car again for a little interrogation. He
> holds his own, though, and convinces the Autobots he's not working
> with the Decepticons. When Dead End later steals his car, he comments
> that he's been dragged out of it "three times" today (once when
> Bumblebee wanted to teach him some manners, second for the
> interrogation, and third for now, when Dead End yanks him out).
Cool, that mystery is solved. ^_^
> COSMIC RUST
> - Cut lines almost immediately. In response to Rumble's warning about
> the asteroids, Astrotrain says: "Quiet, pipsqueak, you're bothering
> me!" Then, after he says, "Well fry my heatshield!" Rumble retorts:
> "I'll do more than that if you call me pipsqueak again!"
So, Rumble's piledriving inside Astrotrain in the movie is
also payback? :)
> - Remember how Starscream said: "Too bad none of us reads ancient
> Autobot?" Well, in this script, Megatron CAN. And what the
> inscriptions say is the truly interesting part:
>
> "It says that the Thirteenth Legion of Autobots arrived here the first
> millennium after the creation of the Autobot Matrix."
>
> Starscream subsequently deduces:
>
> "Which would make it about five hundred thousand years before we left
> for Earth."
>
> Now, of course... this doesn't make any sense, because it doesn't jive
> with anything we'd later learn of the Matrix. It's not even internally
> consistent with the script, which (stupidly) claims the 13th Legion
> has been on Antilla since the "dawn of time." The interesting part is
> simply that there WAS an attempt to work the concept of the Matrix
> into a pre-movie episode.
Very interesting. To make the whole thing really consistent,
instead of simply equating "dawn of time" to "a long time ago",
some time travel might be involved? :) I guess the creation
of the Matrix might involve some fusion of A-3's badge and
Primacron's assistant then. It still doesn't answer whether
Optimus had the Matrix at the time, but at least it was around.
> - When Megatron tells Starscream to have the Stunticons capture
> Perceptor, Starscream is shocked that he would allow an Autobot into
> Decepticon headquarters. This questioning is what makes Megatron
> scream "Do as I say!"
Does that make sense? It's not like Autobots weren't at the
undersea base before...
> Notable line: Silverbolt says, "I never thought I'd say this, but...
> you guys stay on his tail while I fly above! It's much to LOW for me!"
Heh, he's still "afraid of heights", ;) but wouldn't he want to
be lower then?
> - Megatron is a bit more threatening to Perceptor. After he agrees to
> had over the Lightning Bug if he's cured, he adds: "Otherwise, we will
> be forced to do something desperate... and irrational. Look at it this
> way, Perceptor - if you do what I ask, I might be trustworthy... if
> you don't, I will *definitely* be vindictive."
That's vintage Megatron. ^_^
> That's all for now, folks! I'll probably start doing these in order
> from now on, going back to "The Golden Lagoon" and working forward.
Great. Maybe we'll find out how the Autobots knew about Electrum
in the first place?
Tony Li, the Prime Saber
Overlord of Japanese TFs from Headmasters through Super Link at
http://www.primesaber.com
Zobovor the Multi-Faceted
Chris McFeely wrote:
>- When Slingshot says he'll stay to help Skydive, you'll remember that
>Air Raid's response is a sarcastic "riiiight." Lines were cut here
>were Air Raid jokes that Slingshot's staying to get out of having to
>fight Blast Off again, and Slingshot denies it, hence the sarcastic
>reply.
Geez, why do the editors cut stuff like this? It brings so much more meaning
to the episodes. For example, I'd never really attached any significance to
Slingshot's injury in the episode, other than being a plot contrivance to
strand him in the air base for a while for some undercover work. The specter
of the oh-so-full-of-himself Slingshot actually having doubts about his
performance would have added a great layer to his character, and would have
lent all sort of new meaning to his later confrontation with Blast Off during
the fight with the Griffin/Gryphon. (May as well ask for a correct spelling,
while I've got you here...)
>Yeah, as if a big blue griffin wasn't silly enough for this episode,
>Slingshot and Skydive get disguised as refrigerators to get them past
>border control. :)
Silly, yes, but no moreso than airplanes getting turned into winged cars.
Besides, this would have made *so* much more sense than draping a bed sheet
over the Aerialbots and hoping nobody would think to look in the laundry truck.
(It's nonsensical crap like this that gives the G1 cartoon the reputation of
being sloppy, cookie-cutter kiddie-fare. It's not, of course, but sometimes I
hate the fact that people can point to scenes like this, call them abominably
stupid, and be one hundred percent correct.)
>Swindle speaks up rather angrily against the notion of him towing any trucks -
>"Swindle is a Combaticon, not a beast of burden!"
Say, is there any indication in this script of just why Swindle was stuck
babysitting the plane thieves to begin with? I mean, I know it was a plot
contrivance to separate the Combaticons so they couldn't form Bruticus and
trounce the Aerialbots during the riverbed ambush, but was there any kind of
in-story explanation?
>- The prince's name is consistently spelled as "Jumal," where I'd have
>thought it was "Jamal."
I've actually got a handful of corrected spellings for a lot of terms from the
G1 show that I've only gotten around to sharing with a handful of people. I
think I got some of them from the copy of the show bible that's floating around
online. (To be blunt, I've argued over the spellings with people so many times
that I'm beyond glad to finally get confirmation on some of this stuff.)
>- No, before you ask, there is NO indication of Dion being rebuilt
>into anyone. :)
Out of curiosity, is there any mention of the fourth Autobot killed by
Megatron? (I attribute Derik Smith with discovering the character, but I'd be
interested in knowing if he was deliberately written into the story, or a
random, whimsical addition on the part of the animators...)
>TRANS-EUROPE EXPRESS
>
>- The name of the company that made Auggie's car is spelled
>"Symultech."
I tend to think that a lot of these script spellings are intended to minimize
mispronunciation on the part of the actors. "Simultech" would be a more proper
neologism if it was indeed short for "simulated technologies," for example, but
you run the risk of the voice actors treating it with a short "i" sound. (The
same goes for the spelling of the kronosphere, really. It's obviously derived
from the "chrono-" prefix, but you can't mangle the "k" spelling the same way
you could with the "ch" spelling.)
>- Remember how Starscream said: "Too bad none of us reads ancient
>Autobot?" Well, in this script, Megatron CAN. And what the
>inscriptions say is the truly interesting part:
>
>"It says that the Thirteenth Legion of Autobots arrived here the first
>millennium after the creation of the Autobot Matrix."
>
>Starscream subsequently deduces:
>
>"Which would make it about five hundred thousand years before we left
>for Earth."
Veeeeery interesting. This does clash rather badly with other episodes ("Call
of the Primitives" seems to suggest pretty strongly, for example, that the
Autobots didn't create the Matrix at all), but it *is* fascinating to see that
some attempt was made to reference the Matrix in a second-season episode.
Obviously, the series writers were well aware of the development of the movie
at this stage in the show's history, and I don't doubt that it must have been
tempting to foreshadow events from the film in some capacity. (I have always
thought that Megatron's line in "Starscream's Brigade" about being sick of
Starscream's endless quest for power was written by someone who was keeping
Starscream's eventual death somewhere in the back of his mind.)
Of course, it's quite possible that this isn't a reference to the movie at all.
I've got this theory that Hasbro assigned the Matrix to Optimus Prime, and
asked that the concept be worked into both the comics and cartoon storylines.
The comics writers worked the concept into the story almost immediately, but
the Matrix wasn't used in the cartoon until the theatrical film. I tend to
think that when the writers were planning the movie, they put all their big
ideas out on the table (transforming cities, transforming planets, gratuitously
ripping off Star Wars concepts), and one of them was to finally incorporate the
concept of the Matrix. One version became the Creation Matrix, and the other
became the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, but I am absolutely certain they both
originated from a single Hasbro concept.
>Now, of course... this doesn't make any sense, because it doesn't jive
>with anything we'd later learn of the Matrix. It's not even internally
>consistent with the script, which (stupidly) claims the 13th Legion
>has been on Antilla since the "dawn of time."
I've always taken that to mean that Antilla was colonized near the beginning of
recorded Autobot history. <shrug>
>- When Megatron tells Starscream to have the Stunticons capture
>Perceptor, Starscream is shocked that he would allow an Autobot into
>Decepticon headquarters. This questioning is what makes Megatron
>scream "Do as I say!"
I have *always* thought that it sounded like Megatron was arguing with some
unheard counter to his orders. (Another episode where this happens is "Divide
and Conquer," when Megatron is telling Starscream to let the Autobots win the
fight in the rainstorm.)
>Perhaps Fireflight's near-collision in the finished episode WASN'T intended to
be
>representative of his tech spec information that says he's a bad pilot.
Say, speaking of Fireflight, is there any indication of why he was missing
during the events of "Aerial Assault"? (If that ain't the result of a bad
script edit, I don't know what is.)
--
Zobovor
I'm just a guy who buys toys. Some I like; some I don't. I write long,
overbearing posts about them because it's a fun way to pass the time. That's
all.
ZMFTS: http://members.aol.com/zobovor/
To e-mail me, chop that Mini-Con in half.
Chris McFeely
> lent all sort of new meaning to his later confrontation with Blast Off during
> the fight with the Griffin/Gryphon. (May as well ask for a correct spelling,
> while I've got you here...)
Script goes with Griffin.
> Say, is there any indication in this script of just why Swindle was stuck
> babysitting the plane thieves to begin with?
Nope.
(To be blunt, I've argued over the spellings with people so many times
> that I'm beyond glad to finally get confirmation on some of this stuff.)
It's why I'm making a point of listing spellings. I'm finnicky over
them too. :)
> Out of curiosity, is there any mention of the fourth Autobot killed by
> Megatron? (I attribute Derik Smith with discovering the character, but I'd be
> interested in knowing if he was deliberately written into the story, or a
> random, whimsical addition on the part of the animators...)
Nothing mentioned in this script, but it does only have dialogue, so
there could be something in the full version of the original draft.
> Say, speaking of Fireflight, is there any indication of why he was missing
> during the events of "Aerial Assault"? (If that ain't the result of a bad
> script edit, I don't know what is.)
Nope, nothing. ^^;
As a side note, the complete "Visionaries" series came out on DVD in
the UK this week, and the discs contain all the original scripts for
the thirteen episodes. Even more impressively, two of them are the
full-length original drafts, with directions and all. When I asked
Metrodome about the scripts, and how many more they had, I was told
that they think they have all of the Transformers scripts. On Season
2, Part 1, they only included "Autobot Spike" because it was
non-Rom-content, and they only had room for it. But they went with Rom
content for S2, Pt 2. And it looks like they'll be doing the same for
season 3/4 (which we're getting in one, big set, rather than across
two like the US), so I could wind up doing this again for all of
season three... :)
Chris
Gyumaoh
>them too. :)
I think you listed Dion's spelling as just that, but how was Ariel spelled?
How about that Abdul Ben-Fizel guy?
Chris McFeely
Ariel. And yeah, Dion's spelled like that.
> How about that Abdul Ben-Fizel guy?
Abdul Ben-F'aisal.
Chris