Beast Wars Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Beast Wars (Beasties in Canada) was a line of toys in the Transformers range, released by Hasbro in the late 1990s. The toys spawned a full CG animated series set in the Transformers universe, produced by the Transformers Production Company Inc. The series was made in the 1990s, and some have seen it as a sequel to the original Transformers cartoons of the 1980s, though others point to story elements originating in other versions of the Transformers story.
Each 1/2 hour episode of the series follows the adventures of the protagonist "Maximals" and the antagonist "Predacons", both of which are beings who transform between "robot" and "beast" forms. The Maximals, in this new series take on the role of the Autobots in the original series, while the Predacons take on the role of the Decepticons.
The head writers for the Beast Wars TV series were Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio.
The two-part pilot episode, entitled Beast Wars chronicles the arrival of both the Maximals and Predacons on a mysterious, uncharted planet. The Predacons have stolen a golden disc which was the most valued relic of the planet Cybertron (the home of the Transformers) and supposedly held the location of a rich Energon source which could make the Predacons invincible. They have fled into space with it in their spacecraft, seeking Earth. (The reason they are seeking Earth is not yet explained). However, they are pursued by a Maximal exploration ship, which was the only ship able to lock onto the Predacon ship. The opening scene of the whole series is where the Maximal ship emerges from what is supposedly a wormhole in space, closely pursued by the Predacon ship. (Apparently they became the pursued rather than the pursuers somewhere in the course of events). In a brief battle over the unknown planet, both ships are critically damaged, and plummet to the surface.
Both the Maximals and Predacons are stranded on the planet, which they soon learn is rich in Energon. Although Energon is vital to the survival of the Transformers, an environment as Energon-rich as that which they now find themselves in is harmful to them - causing their robot-forms to short out within a few minutes. Thus both the Maximals and Predacons scan the surrounding terrain for powerful lifeforms, which they then use as a basis for their new beast forms.
The four Maximals take on the form of a gorilla (Optimus Primal, their leader), a cheetah (Cheetor), a rhinoceros (Rhinox) and a giant rat (Rattrap). Meanwhile, the leader of the Predacons (Megatron) takes on the form of a purple tyrannosaurus rex, while his minions take on the form of a velociraptor (Dinobot), a giant wasp (Waspinator) a giant tarantula (Tarantulas) a pterodactyl (Terrosaur) and a giant scorpion (Scorponok). Dinobot quickly defects to the side of the Maximals, due to his disillusionment with Megatron's failure to bring them to the correct planet (specifically, he calls Megatron an "idiot" and is blasted away from their company as a result).
Thus began the Beast Wars as the Maximals and Predacons battle on the mysterious planet for control of the Energon source.
Before the Maximal ship crashed on the planet's surface, it ejected dozens of stasis pods, containing dormant Transformers into a safe orbit. When the stasis pods come down to the planet's surface, a new Transformer emerges, and the Maximals and Predacons race to rescue or reprogram him or her. Thus, as the first season progresses, the cast of characters is built up in this way.
The subsequent seasons of the Beast Wars saga see dramatic changes to the characters - including the introduction of the Transmetals (characters based on the Hasbro toyline where there are three modes of transformation, not just two) and the Fuzors (in which the Beast Mode of the Transformer consists of a combination of two different animals (for example, a wolf with wings)).
Beast Wars introduced the concept of sparks, a secular sounding term for "souls". Each Transformer carries his own spark within him and when critically injured, the Transformer dies and their spark leaves their body. Maximal sparks return to "The Matrix" while Predacon sparks enter "The Pit". Sparks and mortality would play a major role in Beast Wars.
It would soon be revealed that the Maximals are the descendants of the Autobots and the Predacons descendants of the Decepticons.
Further developments come with the revelation that the Transformers have been stranded on prehistoric Earth with the Autobot Ark, containing the statis-locked Optimus Prime, his officers and the Decepticons who boarded the Ark before it crashed. Also, one of the the 'Golden Discs' was in fact the Voyager Golden Record, and the location of Energon was Earth itself. The original Megatron had inscribed additional information onto the disc.
It is also revealed that Megatron's mission was a futuristic slave rebellion - destroy Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots as he lies in stasis, and free the Predacons from years of practical slavery after the Great War.
The entire Beast Wars series is rendered in 3D computer graphics, which at times is a joy to watch, while at other times leaves a little to be desired. For example, one of the most superb effects is the highly expressive rendering of Megatron and Optimus Primal in their respective tyrannosaurus rex and gorilla beast-forms, and, in general, the rendering of all the characters is well done. The visual effects most significantly fail in the unconvincing attempts to place the beast-form characters against the natural landscape of the planet. This is perhaps most clearly seen in the scene in Part I of the pilot, in which Cheetor is racing over a plain, looking very computer-generated and unnatural.
By the time that "Beast Wars" was ending, there was a large demand by fans of the show who wanted to know what was going to happen to the stranded Transformers, who were now able to leave Earth and return back to their home of Cybertron. As such, a sequel was created known as "Beast Machines." This new series featured the Maximal team returned back in their home environment; but the planet is without power and no other signs of life - with the exception of a new race of Transformers known as the Vehicons, who are out to take over Cybertron and will stop at nothing to destroy the Maximals. One minor setback though - the Maximals find themselves stuck in their animal forms, and with no ability to transform into their more powerful robot forms, have they finally met their match...?
The Japanese series "Beast Wars The Second" and "Beast Wars Neo" were created to fill the gap while the second and third seasons of Beast Wars were being translated into Japanese (called Beast Wars: Metals). They take place in the future that the Beast Wars characters hail from, and are noted primarily for the return of Unicron, but more negatively, for their childish, comedic nature. Beast Wars The Second spawned a theatrical movie - albeit a short one. See Transformers Series for more details.
This is an Article on Beast Wars. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Beast Wars Pilot episode
Further adventures
Notes on animation techniques
Original Characters: Maximals
Soon Tigatron, Airazor, Silverbolt, and Depth Charge joined the ranks.Original Characters: Predacons
Soon Blackarachnia, Inferno, Quickstrike, and Rampage joined the ranks.Second series
Japanese Continuity
External links