The Transformers: Season 01 (1984) Reviews

Season one of the "cartoon commercial" The Transformers begins with the three-part "More Than Meets the Eye," which explains how the two warring Transformers armies from the planet Cybertron, Optimus Prime's good-guy Autobots and Megatron's bad-guy Decepticons, were placed in suspended animation when they attempted to expand their battle to prehistoric Earth. "Thawing out" in 2005 A.D., the combatants resume their war as if nothing had happened, with the Autobots gaining a bit of an advantage by winning two human earthlings, Spike and Sparkplug, over to their side. A later episode, "Roll for It," introduces another major human ally of the Autobots, computer whiz Chip Chase. Subsequent season-one highlights include the three-part story, "The Ultimate Doom," wherein Megatron enlists the aid of a mad (Do you hear? Mad!) human scientist in attempting to bring Cybertron into Earth's orbit. And "A Plague of Insecticons" introduces a brand-new threat to Autobots and Decepticons alike -- not to mention a fresh new line of Hasbro-licensed Transformer toys! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide