In honor of the mighty Transformers 25th Anniversary and on the eve of it’s sophomore live-action feature film, Revenge of the Fallen, comes the anniversary edition of where it all begin. Transformers: The Complete First Season is important for a number of reasons but for longtime fans it means that you can FINALLY get the original cartoons for an affordable price. Shout factory scores big points for that alone.
The Complete First Season contains all 16 episodes that aired in the fall/winter of 1984, just before the immortal toy line was launched. Much like they had done with G.I. Joe just prior, Hasbro unveiled a comic title, then the cartoon series, followed by the highly anticipated toy line- all of which continue in full force in the modern day. These initial 16 episodes cover the history of the Autobots and the Decepticons from their war on Cybertron to their awakening millions of years later on Earth. The season twists and turns the plot many times over and introduces us to the Transformers extended families as well, including the Dinobots, Insecticons, and Constructicons.
The fact is that this season in particular (and to a greater extent the inaugural run of the series) is spectacular. This cartoon is from a golden age for their industry. Not only was there a wild mass market for cartoons but they also still taught ethically sound principles throughout each episode and used vocabulary that challenged and excited Saturday morning cartoon watchers. As all these things are sorely missing from many modern cartoons, I highly suggest letting your kids journey back in time to explore where this franchise began. Clunky animation or not, I can almost guarantee you that your children will be enthralled by this collection.
The extras here are a little light but, heck, I’m just glad to have gotten anything. There is a short, semi-interesting, documentary (more like a round table discussion sans the table) about how the Transformers came to be and how they modeled the plan for launch after the successful campaign they had mounted for G.I. Joe. There are also original trailers for the toys, a printable script for the “Transport to Oblivion” episode, PSA’s from 1984, and a limited edition Autobot magnet (that now adorns the refrigerator in our house) that’s pretty darn cool.
Overall, this is a set you can’t go wrong with. And coming in at under $20.00 makes it an essential purchase for both longtime fans and the young ones!
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
