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[Uzumaki Goku]

I love Beast Wars. In fact, when I think of Transformers, it's Beast Wars that got me into the franchise. Fun characters, strong stories, the show had everything. So when the show ended, a sequel series was in the works. Great I thought! Only Beast Machines proved controversial.

It asked questions about what it meant to live in an increasingly technological world, the choices between the needs of the individual and the needs of the many. But.... that come at a cost.

You see, the writers were specifically told NOT to watch Beast Wars when writing Beast Machines, so thus the series opened with a lot of unanswered questions as to how the Maximals were suddenly back in their original bodies and the absence of Rhinox and Silverbolt. This also led to rather... sudden changes in characterization:

Optimus Primal instead of the down-to-earth commander he was in Beast Wars became more of a religious zealot determined to fulfill the will of the Matrix. Megatron went from being charismatic to being someone obsessed with ridding his Beast mode due to a hatred of organics and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

What's most disappointing is... lots of unanswered questions from Beast Wars don't go answered, the Tripredacus Council completely disappears without a mention, the implied corrupt nature of the Maximal Elders, the identity of the mysterious aliens the Vok and why Tarantulas hated them so, never answered. So in that aspect Beast Machines disappoints. Even some of the voice actors refer to Beast Machines as "the bad thing that happened"

But, I don't know. Does Beast Machines have some merit?

 

[The Real Napsta]

I remember it being disappointing, but it's worth a watch.

 

[IsntChrisL]

Absolutely not. I remember being really excited for the show as a kid. I was so disappointed...

 

[Altazor]

will never forgive 'em for what they did to Rhinox.

 

[whitemex88]

I remember being really turned off by the artstyle and I hated how they turned Rynox(?) Into a bad guy.

 

[BlackLagoon]

But, I don't know. Does Beast Machines have some merit?

...

Hmm

...

Well

...

The opening theme, Phat Planet by Leftfield, ain't bad.

 

[emag]

Beast Wars wasn't a worthy follow-up to OG Transformers (G1), so the point is moot in my eyes. Then again, I wouldn't watch G1 again beyond the pilot and the movie, so maybe TF just isn't that worthy of devotion anyway (yes, I've read the recent comics).

 

[freeofgreed]

Yeah I disliked it heavily as a kid. Especially since Beast Wars was like my favorite show at the time.

 

[Lulubop]

Hell no

Beast Wars wasn't a worthy follow-up to OG Transformers (G1), so the point is moot in my eyes. Then again, I wouldn't watch G1 again beyond the pilot and the movie, so maybe TF just isn't that worthy of devotion anyway (yes, I've read the recent comics).

Beast Wars is GOAT

 

[Davey Cakes]

I LOVED Beast Wars as a kid but I couldn't get past the first episode of Beast Machines.

 

[Slayven]

It's biggest crime was being too slow to get going, I think it was an interesting followup with some good ideas.

 

[Zee-Row]

Beast Machines was fucking awful , they also couldn't have guns because Fox Kids didn't allow them.

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

At the time, it was probably one of, if not the worst piece of Transformers media ever created.

Then things got worse.

So

Much

Worse.

 

[Cardon]

Production values were fantastic, and the themes the show was trying to tell were admirable. But as a whole it just felt disjointed a lot and the huge leaps the characters went through personality wise, almost throwing away elements of growth, was disappointing.

I still like the show a lot, but as a continuation and ultimate finale of the Beast Wars saga it was disappointing.

 

[tcrunch]

Couldn't get past the new designs myself, I never even watched the first ep after I saw the trailer. I did watch it a long time after the fact and...meh.

 

[Sibersk Esto]

At the time, it was probably one of, if not the worst piece of Transformers media ever created.

Then things got worse.

So

Much

Worse.

The best part about dogshit Transformers media is to see it get torn apart in the TFwiki.

 

[Uzumaki Goku]

At the time, it was probably one of, if not the worst piece of Transformers media ever created.

Then things got worse.

So

Much

Worse.

I know what the other images are from, but what's the third image from?

 

[grandwizard]

Nope. I loved beast wars and I remember being excited for the beast machines premiere and it just being so weird and dark that I couldn't get into it at all.

 

[Uzumaki Goku]

Couldn't get past the new designs myself, I never even watched the first ep after I saw the trailer. I did watch it a long time after the fact and...meh.

Rattrap's redesign is the worst.

 

[freeofgreed]

I know what the other images are from, but what's the third image from?

Just about to ask that as well.

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

I know what the other images are from, but what's the third image from?

Yuki Ohshima, a guy who's work is well...explicit enough that I don't think I could post it without getting banned.

 

[Uzumaki Goku]

Yuki Ohshima, a guy who's work is well...explicit enough that I don't think I could post it without getting banned.

Is... this about Kiss Players? Because oh God....

 

[Zocano]

I loved it as a kid and was honestly surprised at how criticized it was when I grew up and saw others' opinions on it. I totally get the complaints and don't think it's as solid or well thoughtout as Beast Wars but I love Beast Machines quite a lot regardless. I really liked the take on Megatron and how it was basically post victory.

 

[McLovin]

I loved loved loooooved beast wars, yeeeeeeessss...
wtf is beast machines?

 

[SatoAilDarko]

Couldn't get past the new designs myself, I never even watched the first ep after I saw the trailer. I did watch it a long time after the fact and...meh.

What happened to Rattrap made me hate it. They do directly address his reduction to pure tech support but it just sucks.

He was never a big combat guy anyway but he could at least fight instead of essentially havin no combat ability.

And yes the look of everything was indeed horrible.

It's biggest crime was being too slow to get going, I think it was an interesting followup with some good ideas.

This is kind of true. I checked out before they really resolved who were in those three new robots and I remember catching an episode that revealed the big one I definitely was impressed.

Reading it on it later there were definitely interesting ideas but mixed with other bad decisions. A plant Transformer I guess makes sense if there were no animals but it's still bad.

 

[Cardon]

Couldn't get past the new designs myself, I never even watched the first ep after I saw the trailer. I did watch it a long time after the fact and...meh.

Only design that bummed me out was Rattrap. I couldn't get over how the dude didn't have legs anymore. Other than that I really liked how the faces were more emotive.

 

[sphagnum]

It is by far the most philosophically mature Transformers show.

It is also ugly af.

 

[MisterAnderson]

Couldn't get past the new designs myself, I never even watched the first ep after I saw the trailer. I did watch it a long time after the fact and...meh.

WHAT THE FUCK DID THEY DO TO RATTRAP

 

[yanipheonu]

My main problem with Beast Machines is that it plays out like the creators of Beast Wars watched too much anime.

In Beast Wars, a battle sequence is usually well planned out with unique situations and quips.
In Beast Machines, a fight is basically just stock footage and actual anime speed lines.
You see the same animation of someone using their special attack over and over. Seen one fight, seen them all.

That and the story is reeeally pretentious.
Felt like someone watched too much Evangelion and tried to make a Beast Wars show in the same style.

 

[Zocano]

Rattrap got fucked but I really like every other design in the show. The vehicons are all amazing. I had every single toy of them as a kid.

 

[Rhaknar]

no it was not

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

Isn't there someone on here that worked on the original? Maybe they have some answers to those questions.

 

[Savitar]

God no.

They told the poor guy who originally got blamed big time Bob Skir not to review anything that came before, so instead of consistent characters we had them acting different. Weapons? Too violent! So that's gone! Characters had a pasted skin on them now instead of true detail. Lava explosions! Machines are evil, nature is the true way! In a Transformers TV show. Hideous designs by a fashion designer. Transformers with actual real hair and teeth and oh yeah, a teeth attack by batboy. Butchered mythology. Stories were not allowed to be too dark like the Dinobot stuff in BW or bots getting really killed.

There is good reason the show is avoided like the plague and hated by the fandom and Hasbro.

 

[teruterubozu]

That's when I stopped watching. Beast Wars was way better. Plus the toys were way cooler.

 

[ShirAhava]

Beast Wars wasn't a worthy follow-up to OG Transformers (G1), so the point is moot in my eyes.

I thought it was just me....I hated Beast Wars never understood what people saw in that show and wished they would just put G1 back on.

Biker Mice from Mars was better!

 

[Starphanluke]

I lowkey respect Beast Machines for tackling some heavy ass themes for a children's cartoon (mainly the follies of becoming a religious zealot), but it is still way too slow and far too loosely connected to BW. Plus, pretty much all of the characters lose the charm they once had.
Still worth a watch for Transformers fans though, if only because the ending just fucking goes for it.

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

By the way, the man who told the writers to disregard all previous continuity? Dan DiDio, one of the men fucking up DC Comics for the past decade or so.

 

[Ragelink26]

In my opinion Beast Wars is the only good version of Transformers. That being said, I really liked Beast Machines. I have both shows on DVD and watch them every now and then. Like someone else said, Machines got really...anime and preachy, but did some really cool things with the characters (Rhinox and Silverbolt mainly)

 

[Toxi]

At times, the show felt like a targeted assassination of all your favorite Beast Wars characters. Rhinox, Silverbolt, Rattrap, Optimus Primal, Megatron, all got hit with really bizarre and unfitting dialogue and progression. It felt like the show's creators hated Beast Wars.

I thought it was just me....I hated Beast Wars never understood what people saw in that show and wished they would just put G1 back on.

Biker Mice from Mars was better!

Watch a random episode of G1, then watch a random episode of Beast Wars. One holds up a lot better, and it ain't G1.

 

[Onemic]

I hated that show so much.

 

[psyfi]

Back in the day I thought of it as a massive downgrade. They vacuumed its soul till it shriveled, slapped an overly serious cyberpunk aesthetic over it, then threw it into a stale, undercooked plot.

 

[NeOak]

Couldn't get past the new designs myself, I never even watched the first ep after I saw the trailer. I did watch it a long time after the fact and...meh.

This

THIS.

Beast Machines was a POS after Beast Wars. Jesus. I couldn't watch more than a few episodes.

It trashed the good things Beast Wars had, killed the characterizations of several main Beast Wars chars. And then the fucking technorganic BS. Like, pls.

And then we got this that looks like someone was on crack and used MS paint colors to make "changes"

Compared to :

 

[jstripes]

Eh, I liked it, in some ways more than Beast Wars, which was incredibly ugly in my eyes.

I grew up watching the original original Transformers, so...

 

[Dusk Soldier]

I think the story was interesting, and decent for what it was.

But it didn't mesh well as a secret to Beast Wars, a lot of the characters were given radically different personalites.

I did like the plot of Rhinox not only going bad, but trying to usurp/over throw megatron.

 

[McLovin]

Just saw the first episode on YouTube, this is freaking sad. Won't watch the rest.

 

[Toxi]

I feel like Beast Machines would have worked better as an entirely new continuity.

Because it had some good ideas, but they get overshadowed by how fucking baffling it is as a Beast Wars sequel. Like a former friend adopting a villainous ideology could work well if it wasn't fucking Rhinox, the reliable and wise friend who saved the day in the final episode of Beast Wars. We know the character well enough for that sort of plot development to feel nonsensical.

I'm surprised they didn't dig up Dinobot's corpse just to have him go "Megatron was right."

 

[psyfi]

Rhinox going bad makes zero sense and the very thought offends me to this day

 

[MattKeil]

No. If it had been its own standalone series it would have just been a middle-of-the-road TF show with a weird premise. As a follow-up to Beast Wars it's garbage character assassination that never should have existed.

 

[Kade]

The redesigns were disgusting.

 

[Surface of Me]

Beast machines can suck my cock.