Challenge of the Gobots the Original Miniseries on DVD

Jun 10, 2011

I have not watched the Challenge of the Gobots in years, except for in small snippets online. You hear a lot of people making jokes about the Gobots, usually comparing them to the Transformers and I must admit, I have cracked a few myself. I ain’t proud of it, but I admit it.

Now I made some cheap shots in the past at the expense of the Anti-Transformers, but over the years, I find myself more drawn to the Gobot Toys. Something about their understated nature makes them seem almost more sophisticated to adult me. Perhaps I am reading too much into some plastic, but that is what I love to do.

Since my appreciation for the Gobots has grown and because the Warner Archive has released the original mini-series on DVD, I thought it would be a good opportunity to re-watch and see if I can get some magic out of them. I am happy to report that after rewatching, I do see the magic, but it is not exactly the magic I expected.

I should remind you, this is just the original miniseries. The series and it 60 episodes are still locked up somewhere in the Warner Archive.

I said not exactly the magic I expected. I expected Transformers like spectacle because it has been drilled into my head. But what I got was something completely different. While the Transformers would make me sit up at night and I would nitpick certain elements that set my disbelief ablaze (how did Megatron shift size like he did), The Gobots don’t seem to care. The vehicles range in size yet, the robots do not seem to correspond. Furthermore, there are weird relationships that I remember confounding younger me and I am happy to say, older me is even more confused.

I guess in a nutshell. I love it. It is confusing, odd, and does not take itself too seriously. It really is an anti-Transfomers.