Own the rights?
31 out of 31 people found the following review useful: Excellent, yes..., 27 August 2003 Author: Brian Wilder (pyynk) from Decatur, Georgia
Peace has returned to Cybertron after millennia of fighting, the Great Cybertronian Wars were over. Three hundred years later, a new Megatron emerges to command new troops, the Predacons, to conquest. Using transwarp technology, Megatron and his soldiers travel through time to a familiar blue green planet with Optimus Primal and his Maximals in pursuit.This well written series paid homage to the Generation One series, both the comic and the cartoon, and still managed to stand on its own. The characters grow and mature, cowards become heroes, villains prove their honor, and heroes die protecting the innocent.I grew up with Generation One, I love those characters, but Beast Wars was unquestionably the best written series that ever existed in the Transformers series.
18 out of 18 people found the following review useful: More than meets the eye... in the 90s and in CGI, 7 July 1999 Author: Op_Prime from Ardmore, PA
Beast Wars updated the classic 80s cartoon series and made it CGI. Beast Wars was filled with great stories, an interesting plot that connected it to the 80s cartoon, superb characters and so much more. Also the voices were very good and the characters were so diverse, that contributed to it's greatness.
19 out of 21 people found the following review useful: Coolest show ever, and surprisingly dramatic, 1 July 2003 Author: Andrew DiMonte (ThatIsNoArrow) from My House, Canada
So many people would call this show "elementry" and stupid, but it's actually quite dramatic. The story that spanned three seasons focuses on two alien races (the Maximals and the Predacons) who crash onto Earth eons before the original Transformers are discovered by the humans. From there on, the Predacon leader Megatron tries to take control and destroy the Maximals.The growth of the characters over the three seasons is very entertaining, funny and dramatic. Oh, and not to mention that the action and graphics are often amazing.Good show, definitely my favorite children's action, 8/10.
15 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Good action/adventure & fun comedy, 4 May 1999 Author: Dehlia from New York
I never saw the first series; I only started watching Beast Wars to keep an eye on my son. But I'm hooked! The action/adventure is passable, and sometimes excellent, with startlingly good animation. But the comedy! When Dinobot said "Alas poor Tarantulus, I knew him, Rattrap" -- I just about fell off my chair! Episodes will play on Shakespeare, old Westerns, other toys and series' -- anything's fair game.
11 out of 11 people found the following review useful: A Private Little War, 11 April 2004 Author: DarthBill from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Sequel series to cult 1980s toy line series cartoon "Transformers" picking up centuries later with their descendants, the Maximals (successors of the Autobots) and the Predacons (successors of the Decepticons, though the term originally referred to a branch of transformers created BY the Decepticons). With a smaller cast on both fronts - and less voice actors - the series opens with a Maximal exploration team, led by Optimus Primal (Gary Chalk, who had also voiced He-Man and would later voice Man At Arms for the new He-Man series) chasing a band of Predacons, led by Megatron (David Kaye, later Professor X on the ill be gotten X-Men Evolution, and NO, this Megatron is not the same character as the one played by Frank Welker in the original series), and after going through a time warp tunnel thing in space and shooting at each other they crash on an uncharted planet that housed a number of animals native to Earth. Later on it turns out that the planet IS Earth, Earth in the past, some time after the Autobots and Decepticons crash landed in the old series, meaning that the Maximals must now fight to protect their head honcho Autobot ancestor, Optimus Prime, from the Predacons. There was also a little sub plot about aliens who were using Earth as kind of an experiment, but that later faded out of focus.The Maximals and Predacons appear to be smaller than their ancestors, which allowed them to adapt better to animal transformation modes. The hero of the series, Optimus Primal, turned into a giant gorilla while Megatron, oh so perfectly, chose the form of a T-Rex (it is SO King Kong).In the Maximal crew, there was Rhinox (who was kind of like the Panthro of the Maximals), demolitions expert Rat-Trap (who had kind of a Bruce Willis/Humphrey Bogart complex), callow youth Cheetor, animal rights and nature activist Tigertron the Barbarian (as Rat-Trap called him), falcon fly girl Air-Razor (who kind of had a relationship with Tigertron), fuzor wolf/condor cross Silver-Bolt (who had kind of a knight in shining armor complex; I think he's actually named after the Aerialbot character from the old series), giant vengeance seeking stingray Depth Charge, and perhaps most interesting of all, the Predacon rapter defector Dinobot, who later got killed in glorious battle and was resurrected as a transmetal version of himself. The Predacon spider Black Arachnia later defected from the Preds and joined the Maximals, which is where she actually belonged anyway seeing as how she was originally a Maximal protoform*.Predacons included Tarantulas (at least he was allegedly a Predacon, though he could just as well been descended from something else), giant deranged fire ant Inferno (who had a tendency to call Megatron his "Queen"), speech impaired Waspinator, ill fated Star Scream wannabe Terrorsaur, ill fated teacher's pet scorpion Scorponok, the cantankerous rattle snake/scorpion fuzor Quick Strike, and the monstrous Rampage, a Maximal experiment gone horribly wrong (and the dark secret of the Maximal's mission).While it's impossible NOT to compare "Beast Wars" to the original Transformers, it's not fair to do so given that the two were made in different eras of television writing with a big difference in budgeting and what not. Both shows are products of their eras, and it shows in characterizations and plots. The Beast Wars characters are more in line with what is considered cool today, so that's just how it is. This show did retain the old show's tendency to have "bad guys" change alliances and become "good guys" though, such as when Black Arachnia joined up with the Maximals. Characters had a tendency to get killed and either stay dead or come back and there was the tendency to introduce new characters* by crashing these stasis pods thad the Maximal ship had dropped in orbit over the Earth that would crash from time to time. Another way to introduce new toys was to upgrade the heroes (transmetals, anyone?)Beast Wars was one of the last great shows to hit the airwaves. It had everything: it had humor, it had drama, it had pathos, it had characters who were so flesh and blooded that they really made you love them or hate them. Character relationships included Rat-Trap's bickering with Dinobot, Silver-Bolt's forbidden love affair with Black Arachnia, the alleged relationship between Tigertron and Air-Razor, Megatron's on again/off again bond with Tarantulas, and many others.Sadly, they chose to follow this wonderful gem of an action series up with "Beast Machines", which chronicled what happened to the characters when they got back to Cybertron, messed them up big time (making Rhinox evil, making Silver-Bolt a jerk) and just plain made a mess of everything. Avoid "Beast Machines" at all costs."Beast Wars", however, is a prize too good to miss.
8 out of 8 people found the following review useful: A stunning addition to the Transformers universe!, 6 November 2003 Author: AJ from Sydney, Australia
Fantastic animation coupled with awesome characters and fun, action-packed episodes equals Beast Wars. Talk to any hardcore G1 fan and they'll tell you how much they enjoyed this series and how well the producers pulled it off, carving their own name into the Transformers shrine whilst still completely respecting the original series and comics, even paying homage to them in several episodes.Beast Wars is a stunner. So what are you waiting for - dig in and MAXIMISE your entertainment!
8 out of 8 people found the following review useful: WOW!!, 4 May 2000 Author: Figaro-8 (greyfigaro@hotmail.com) from Columbia, SC
I absolutely love this show! It has everything going for it: top-quality animation from Mainframe, an excellent voice cast, great music, and the most intricate story lines I've seen in a while. This should be a reference guide as to how a quality TV series should be done. I must state that my favorite character by a longshot is Dinobot. The animators did a wonderful job on him. His facial expressions combined with Scott McNeil's incredible performance drive home the point that he is a complex character. He is cunning, yet noble and in deep thought. Even thought he leaves the Predacons for the Maximals, you are never quite sure what he is going to do next. In a sense, he is neither Maximal nor Predacon; he fights on his own side. I thought the "Code of Hero" episode was sad, yet fitting for him.
11 out of 14 people found the following review useful: The best show to see, 18 May 2005 Author: Timothy McKann (Wingzero586@aol.com) from United States
When I first watched this series on television, it was pretty cool. This series takes place on prehistoric earth before the great war of the Autobots and Decepticons. I know the first episode, there are 4 maximals against 6 Predacons, and then Dinobot left the predacons to join the maximals. Then in episode 2, it was 5 against 5 and then later in episodes 7 & 8, one new Maximal and one new Predacon (Note): The maximal is Tigertron, and the Predacon is Blackarachnia. The episode,"Gorilla Warfare" reminds me of the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Optimus in that episode got hit by Scorponok's cyber bee, and he was bad to the bone. I think the other episodes get more interesting, like the episode "Double Dinobot", (Note): Here are some lines that will make you laugh: (Dinobot: "I'm afraid he is no longer with us. A shame really. He was quite a handsome creature... and quite tasty." Flicks a piece of the clone from his teeth and belches. The Maximals look on in horror and confusion. Optimus: "You're disgusting." Dinobot: grins). Those were the most funniest lines in the show. In some of the episodes, Rattrap always calls Dinobot :"Chopper Face",and sometimes "Scale Belly" As you know, he and Dinobot never get along. It wasn't long till a new maximal and Predacon arrived, and it was seven against seven. (Note): The new maximal is Airazor, and the new Predacon is Inferno. Inferno always says to Megatron: Yes,my queen. That was the most funniest line I've heard in the entire series. But sadly, at the end of the first season. Optimus Primal was destroyed. That scene almost looked like a scene from Gundam Wing, where Heero destroyed his Gundam. Season 2 gets better,it was the birth of the Transmetals, and the coming of the Fuzors, and the return of Optimus Primal. It was pretty cool that Cheetor,Rattrap, and Optimus Primal went Transmetal. The trans metals were powerful to withstand the Energon. I also like when Quickstrike has this western accent. Of course, both forces were decreased. 2 Predacons gone, and later 2 maximals gone. Then later a new Predacon called Rampage. But the best episode to see in this season is: "Code Of Hero" That is the most popular episode of this season to see. It was very sad to see Dinobot sacrificing himself to save the valley and to die a hero. Then later,it was 5 maximals against 7 Predacons. It was cool, at the end of this season when the maximals discovered the AutoBot spaceship, the Ark.Season 3, it the last and final season of Beast Wars. It pick up after the last episode in season 2. New things happen in this one, Optimal Optimus Primal is born with the power of Prime's spark, Blackarachnia joins the maximals. (Note): Silverbolt was the one to convinced her to join. And boy do they make a cute couple. And they got live in the Ark.(Note): The maximal spaceship, the Axalon, was destroyed. But it cool to see the new maximal Depth Charge, he is very cool. Of course, Dinobot is back, and now he is a Transmetal 2. Also, Cheetor becomes a Transmetal 2 as well. The rest of the series gets more interesting, Blackarachnia also goes Transmetal, and Megatron also becomes a whole lot powerful with the original Megatron's spark. And of course, Tigerhawk is born. But by the end of the series, Depth Charge and Tigerhawk were destroyed. I know it was dreadful to see them get destroyed. And it was funny at the end of the series. (Note): Here is a line.(Waspinator: "Waspinator happy at last.") That was the final line in the series.The show also features the voices of:Susan Blu ,Donald Brown , Jim Byrnes , Gary Chalk ,Ian James Corlett (famous for MegaMan, and DragonBall Z) , David Kaye , Campbell Lane , Blu Mankuma , Scott McNeil , Colin Murdock ,Richard Newman ,Pauline Newstone , Doug Parker , Elizabeth Carol Savenkoff , David Sobolov , Venus Terzo ,and Alec Willows .So in closing, get all the collections on DVD. You will see what I mean.
6 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Very catchy, 11 December 2006 Author: denis888 from Russian Federation
I remember I first saw this serial in Poland, where I was working in 2000-2001, and then I got hooked on it, and started to watch every episode in the morning or daytime, before or after my classes. It really did catch me! I was enthralled and marveled. Before that, I had hated to see any of the original Tranformers Series, but Beast Wars is a huge step forward, a real progress and areal improvement. What is bad there is a second-rate computer graphics, it is at its best naive or even extremely poor, and you see all the obvious mistakes, the goofs with the position of this or that hero in the given place, his or her coloration or the odd design of the background. Never mind, the plot is breathless. The incessant war between good and band animals, Maximals and Predagons, is very real, and you see not a gorilla, not a wasp, a rat, an eagle or a cheetah, but real people beside, behind, inside them, with their real problems, characters, tragedies and even very cute humor. The Rat one is the best, a cunning little cowardly creature, very lovable and sweet. And what a romance story in the second season! I re-watched the whole serial here in Russia and still am a great fan of it. Watch it!
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Dinobot, Dinobot, what have you done to my little Dinobot!?, 5 August 2005 Author: NickSoapdish from United States
Dinobot was my favorite character on Beast Wars. It was a shame that he was killed off; but this still remains an excellent and watchable show. For a children's show based on a toy line Beast Wars surprisingly often featured intelligently written episodes often with dark or dramatic themes. This was a great show to watch. the voice acting is well done. Optimus Primal sounds like a tough-leader-guy, Waspinator has a hilarious whiny voice, and Rattrap sounds unusually like George Costanza. Megatron has a deep, formidable sounding voice. He has an English accent and he says "Yes.." at the beginning of practically every sentence he says on the show.Tarantulas was fascinating as he was a treacherous conniving double-agent, you never could predict what he was going to do next. But Dinobot was the most interesting character on the show, he was an evil Predacon who defected and joined the heroes; the Maximals. Some of the best content from this show deals with Dinobot as he struggles to find his fate and identity and learn how to work with his new Maximal allies. One of the best episodes of Beast Wars is number 35 "Code of Hero". It stars Dinobot in his continuing quest to make amends for his life as a Predacon. Episode 35 is amazing; to be honest it reminds me of "Man on Fire". (Both have characters with questionable pasts undertaking a desperate mission to save others; there are more similarities, but I should save you readers a few surprises.)Beast Wars did decline in quality once Dinobot died, but it remained entertaining and full of interesting characters and episodes. I give Beast Wars a high recommendation. It's a wonderful computer-animated show and it is definitely worth a look.
Add another review
