Beast Wars: Transformers – The Complete Series on DVD
I was a fan of the original Transformers animated everything. If it was on the screen, I watched it. Then the 1980s ended and with it, went my passion for Transforming robots.
So a half a decade passes, and I am started to get more into computer programming and spending every waking second on my computer. It was at this point where I developed a habit that still follows me to this day. I will have a TV on next to whatever computer I am working on and will have it silently running. It was during one of these silent runs that I happened upon a new show, Beast Wars: Transformers. I saw the title pop up on the screen and stopped what I was doing.
Transformers you say? I am interested. Computer graphics? I am very interested. Tell me about it, please…
When the descendants of the treacherous Decepticons — now known as Predacons — land on a mysterious planet in search of the powerful crystal fuel Energon, it’s up to Optimus Primal and the heroic Maximals to stop them before they conquer the universe!
I began watching it, and what would follow would be an on-again-off-again romance with the show as it continued its 3 season run. Some months I would get really involved with the show, it was more complex than the Transformers I grew up with. Often having multi-layered plots that spanned episodes. Plus, as I mentioned, the whole series was computer animated, which I was very excited about at the time. The problem I had with the show is that it wasn’t the original Transformers. So actually the issue was me.
Yes, it had characters with similar and in some instances identical names, but it was different in ways that branded it very 1990s, including this need to make the characters “shout out” before Transforming. I will say this my constant craving for nostalgia while watching the show would eventually be rewarded with a few appearances by original characters.
Now 15 years have passed since the show’s run and I have had the opportunity to watch the show almost right after watching the original Transformers and I have to give the show the credit it deserves. Yes, it is silly and derivative, but the writing on the show was solid for a kid’s show and I am really impressed with how much respect the writers gave to the kids that watched it — giving them longer-running plots and complex characters who develop across multiple episodes.
Shout! Factory as always continues to impress with their releases. The series transfer looks and sounds great and has some great extras including:
– Retrospective featurettes
– Art galleries
– New interviews
– 12-pg Collectible booklet
So if you are craving The Beast Wars you can now get them and enjoy! I certainly have. If you are a fan of the classic, give these a chance. Yes, the computer animation is a bit dated and it can be hard to hear those names thrown about in reference to the weird-looking animals, but pay attention to the stories, you will not regret it.