CBS Transformers> The Second Draft part 8: Potential Episodes part 1

I love when these guides do this.

Last time we looked at how the show would have been formatted under this pitch. Now we get sample episodes. When it comes to shows we got I like to match up these plot ideas with the episodes we got in the final product. Did they make them? Were there any serious changes? Were ideas just tossed out completely? And are we better off without the ones dropped or would the episodes have been better going in the original direction?

This is a bit different from other times I got to do this. We DID get a Transformers cartoon, but not this one. This pitch kept only the bare minimum from the original miniseries, while what we got was a proper continuation, complete with the original cast of Transformers and humans. The rules of Saturday morning didn’t apply to weekly, later weekday, syndication. And yet both were done by Marvel Productions and Sunbow. The only writer attached to the project currently is Jeffrey Scott, who wrote both drafts. While working on the main series isn’t in his lengthy writing credits, and I don’t know how many other writers were involved in making these episodes, they would still have this bible. Elements would be picked up for the show. So who’s to say the episodes wouldn’t?

When we finish this document we even have a full script to go over, but for this and the next installment of this article series we’ll take a look at the plots suggested for the show. In total there are 13 episode ideas (and we do start off this section continuing to break the fourth wall but in the same “computer file” format we’ve seen throughout) plus some final notes. 13 episodes is in keeping with the amount required for a weekly show: thirteen weeks worth of episodes. So I’ll see how many I can get in this article before getting to the larger word count, and figure out how long this will take. Either way, this series is nearing the conclusion.

NUMBER: 1
TITLE: ROTTEN TO THE CORE

IN THIS EPISODE, NEGATOR SETS OUT TO CONVERT THE NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY SYSTEMS’ HUNDREDS OF TRAIN CARS INTO AN ARMY OF ROBOTS. IN AN EFFORT TO THWART NEGATOR’S PLANS, THE AUTOBOTS TRACK DOWN THE DECEPTICONS, BATTLING THEM BENEATH THE CITY AS THEY ATTEMPT TO SAVE THE HUMANS WHO ARE TRAPPED IN THE CARS. IN THE SUBPLOT, A GROUP OF GUARDIAN ANGEL-LIKE TEENS ARE CAUGHT IN ONE OF THE SUBWAY CARS AND ASSIST MATT AND OPTIMUS IN TURNING THE TIDE ON THE DECEPTICONS.

Whether or not you want to say this happened in season two is a matter of perspective. The “guardian angels” in this case refers to the group created by Curtis Swia in New York City to help fight crime. Technically they’re vigilantes but they mostly help people in need. We never got them, but Raul and his street performer friends worked with Tracks a few times. In a different episode we would have Astrotrain attempting to create his own army of trains, only to fail miserably because he’s Astrotrain. Not that Blitzwing did any better trying to turn a stadium into his headquarters and getting military strategy from a football coach. So I guess elements showed up, but I could believe it was coincidence. The episode itself does sound pretty cool, maybe with Sparkplug standing in for Matt.

NUMBER: 2
TITLE: THE TITANIUM GERM

WHILE NEGATOR IS ATTEMPTING TO TRANSFORM THE OIL PLATFORMS OFF THE COAST OF ALASKA INTO DECEPTICON ROBOT WARRIORS, JAZZZ {PORSCHE} COMES IN CONTACT WITH A TITANIUM ALLOY THAT IS FOREIGN TO THE AUTOBOTS. IT ACTS LIKE A DEADLY GERM, INVADING HIS MECHANICAL INNARDS AND DEVELOPING INTO AN ELECTRO-MECHANICAL DISEASE. THE AUTOBOTS MUST NOT ONLY STOP THE DECEPTICONS, BUT FIND AN ANTIDOTE BEFORE JAZZZ’S ROBOT BODY IS DESTROYED.

Still with the three “Z”s. I guess you could make the case for cosmic rust, or Kremzeek if you’re stretching, maybe even the time all the Autobots needed the special metal Cybertonium from Cybertron to survive and Swoop, Carly, and Spike went to get some. However, the idea that a form of titanium causing this sounds a bit silly. Hopefully they would have refined the reason because idea itself, Jazz being “sick” and the Autobots trying to find a cure, has merit. Those episodes worked well.

NUMBER: 3
TITLE: THE ERASING OF OPTIMUS PRIME

WHEN OPTIMUS PRIME IS CAPTURED BY NEGATOR, THE EVIL DECEPTICON LEADER PROCEEDS TO STRIP HIS MEMORY TAPES, THUS ACQUIRING AUTOBOT SECRETS THAT WILL LEAD TO THE INEVITABLE DEFEAT OF THE ENTIRE AUTOBOT FORCE. MATT CONROY MUST RISK HIS LIFE TO FREE HIS ROBOT FRIEND AND STEAL BACK THE OPTIMUS MEMORY TAPES.

Cybertronians do not have that kind of computer. That doesn’t mean a refined version of the story wouldn’t work, because we have an example I know is a coincidence. There’s an arc in Transformers Prime where, long story short, Optimus loses his memories prior to becoming Prime, believing himself to still be Orion Pax. Jack, one of the human allies in this continuity, has to restore Optimus’ memories with that reality’s version of the Key To Vector Sigma. Again, it’s the inciting incident that’s the problem, not the plot itself.

NUMBER: 4
TITLE: TIME FOR TROUBLE

ARTHUR KROLL PROVES WHAT KIND OF LOUSE HE REALLY IS WHEN, THROUGH HIS ESPIONAGE WORK, HE REVEALS TO NEGATOR THE LOCATION OF A TOP SECRET TEST SIGHT OF A GOVERNMENT TIME MACHINE. WITH HIS HELP, NEGATOR AND THE OTHER DECEPTICONS TAKE OVER THE TEST SIGHT. ALTHOUGH THE TIME MACHINE WAS YEARS FROM COMPLETION, NEGATOR DELVES INTO HIS VAST DATA BANK MIND AND DISCOVERS THE MISSING FORMULA- HE PROCEEDS TO TRANSFORM THE TIME MACHINE INTO AN INCREDIBLE DECEPTICON WARRIOR ROBOT, CAPABLE OF SHIFTING BACK AND FORTH IN TIME. THE AUTOBOTS MUST STOP THE DECEPTICONS BEFORE THEY TRAVEL INTO ANOTHER TIME WHERE THEY CAN FURTHER THEIR EVIL GOALS, FREE OF AUTOBOT INTERVENTION.

Okay, Mega…Negator keeping the world going on business as usual is strange enough, but he let the government continue on? We would see time travel show up in a few different stories in both the second and third season. We also got a time-travelling robot when they did a crossover figure of the Delorean from Back To The Future. This episode could have been interesting, but like a lot of time travel stories, also has the potential to go horribly wrong if not written right.

Just breaking the text wall.

NUMBER: 5
TITLE: THE PLUTONIUM PLOT

NEGATOR REALIZES THAT IF HE CAN PREVENT THE AUTOBOTS FROM ACQUIRING NEW FUEL SOURCES HE HAS ONLY TO WAIT UNTIL THE AUTOBOTS RUN DOWN, THEN SWEEP THEM UP WITH HIS DECEPTICON SOLDIERS. BUT THE AUTOBOTS GET WIND OF THE PLOT AND THE GAME IS ON: OPTIMUS PRIME AND HIS MEN MUST FIND A WAY TO SNEAK INTO ONE OF THE NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS AND RESTOCK THEIR SUPPLIES BEFORE THEIR BATTERIES…AND TIME…RUN OUT.

This would have been impossible with the show we got. The Autobots already have a big geothermal source and a lot of energy from their support by the humans, including the government. These would be things denied the Autobots in the Marvel comics of the time, assuming the Autobots never learned about geothermal energy due to having such limited human contact in those stories. It would have worked there, and in the plot for this concept, but how would the Decepticons prevent the rebels on the run from getting energy? Get lucky enough to find them? They don’t even have a set base, using Optimus’ TARDIS sized trailer for their base of operations.

NUMBER• 6
TITLE: A COAL DAY IN DECEMBER

WITH A HELPLESS E’ARTH SCIENTIST UNDER HIS THUMB, NEGATOR DISCOVERS THAT WITH A DIAMOND-STEEL ALLOY HE CAN INCREASE THE DESTRUCTIVE POWER OF HIS DECEPTICON WARRIORS BY TEN-FOLD- BUT WHERE TO GET ENOUGH DIAMONDS? SIMPLE- THE COAL FIELDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. NEGATOR WILL USE HIS HUMAN LABOR TO MINE A 100 MILLION TONS AND THERMO-PRESSURIZE THEM INTO DIAMONDS. WHILE NEGATOR IS THINKING OF UNIVERSAL DOMINATION, THE PEOPLE OF THE EASTERN U.S. ARE SIMPLY THINKING OF KEEPING WARM. IT SEEMS THEY ARE FACING THE COLDEST WINTER IN DECADES AND WITHOUT THEIR COAL FOR HEATING MANY MAY NOT SURVIVE. OPTIMUS PRIME AND HIS AUTOBOT COMRADES MUST REGAIN CONTROL OF THE COAL MINES SO THAT MILLIONS CAN HAVE HEAT.

This never happened unless you stretch things so far Plastic Man would be in pain. For Saturday morning science it totally would have worked…but how would you keep the Decepticons from coming back? They still run the planet and the Autobots are not going to hang out there.

NUMBER: 7
TITLE: NOBODY HOME

WHEN WENDY COMES HOME TO FIND HER PARENTS MISSING, SHE SOON DISCOVERS THAT THEY WERE TAKEN BY DECEPTION POLICE TO A DISTANT FACTORY WHERE THEY WERE NEEDED TO BUILD A NEW AND FAR MORE DANGEROUS BREED OF “MIND CONTROLLING” DECEPTICON ROBOTS. WENDY AND EDDIE EMBARK ON A DANGEROUS JOURNEY OF THEIR OWN, ENLISTING THE HELP OF THE AUTOBOTS TO GET THEIR PARENTS BACK.

Is it a stretch to compare this to “The Ultimate Doom” or “Megatron’s Master Plan”? Either almost seems to have been inspired by the whole plot of the second draft, just under different circumstances and wrapped up in two to three episodes. There’s also the first Power Rangers movie if you want to get silly. It would have worked as an episode under these rules.

NUMBER: 8
TITLE: OPERATION ALPHA CENTAUR!

IN THIS EPISODE, NEGATOR COMPLETES HIS FIRST INTER-GALACTIC WARSHIP FLEET AND PLANS TO BEGIN HIS TAKEOVER OF THE REST OF THE UNIVERSE. THE AUTOBOTS MUST STOP HIS ADVANCE IN ORDER TO SET BACK HIS TIMETABLE FOR CONQUEST. TO DO SO THEY ENLIST THE HELP OF A HUMAN UNDERGROUND OF SCIENTISTS WHO HELP THE AUTOBOTS BUILD A SHIP OF THEIR OWN. WHAT FOLLOWS IS A STAR-WARSIAN BATTLE THAT LEAVES NEGATOR’S BATTLEPLANS IN SHAMBLES.

I’ve got no episodes to compare this too. In the show we got both of their ships were grounded and just served as a base of operations.

Technically I could do the entire list right now. However, the final section is really short and how long should I make this article? Next time we’ll finish the episode list and the second draft before moving to the review of the full script that was made, and then we should be done outside of a final thoughts article. We’re almost done with this series.