One Shall Fall; One Shall Rise Parts 1-3

Episode Name: One Shall Fall; One Shall Rise Parts 1-3
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Three and a Half Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
An ancient Cybertronian prophecy of doom and darkness is fulfilled. Megatron gets desperate and busy. But things are going to get troublesome, when it is discovered that the prophecy refers to the revival of Unicron!
It'll take a lot to save Earth this time...

Mission Report:
Since One Shall Fall was basically a modern version of Before The Storm (Beast Wars, Season 1), I just added it to the rest of the storyline.
This was a pretty good set of episodes. There were downer points. A lot were just once again hitting my creationist beliefs. I mean... Earth=Unicron (or Unicron's covering...?)? Primus and Unicron shown as "gods" (without actually saying it)? How is that not supposed to hit my comfort buttons?
But, surprisingly enough, the episodes were enjoyable even with those elements (reminded of Darkness Rising Parts 1-5, at the start of this Season). The story was well-done. The action was enjoyable. There was a team-up! Hey, I said I liked episodes with those. We hear classic names, and see an old artifact that has appeared in the 1980's series... the Key to Vector Sigma! That's awesome! And the Matrix of Leadership makes an appearance! Neat...! We hear lore and origin stories. The action was good. Especially where Megatron and Optimus Prime were fighting Unicron's antibodies together... that's an awesome scene to watch!
But, like a different multi-parter ending from Beast Wars... Other Voices Parts 1-2, to be exact... there was a real killer at the ending. I mean, if the ending were different, these episodes might have gotten four Spaceships! But no way... they took out Optimus Prime without taking out Optimus Prime! They wipe his memory, so he's now teamed up with his old friend Megatron, and he's unaware that's Megs's evil! GAH...! The only good part about this is that they didn't actually kill Optimus this time around, but that even might have been better! As Cheetor says in Dark Designs, "Better dead than Pred." Replace "Pred" with "'Con", and you get the idea.
These episodes won't make my faves, but they were good... there was just killer points in belief-button-pushing, and the ending once again was a killer.

Was that my longest post? I've got to start measuring these...

Transformers Prime, you've had your ups and downs. But I'm glad to say that there were much more ups than downs. You were a highly enjoyable series. You've proven yourselves worthy of the Transformers universe, and worth enough to continue watching! I am glad to say that I'll be continuing to watch you, and will eagerly await the arrival of the next Season on DVD! See you next year... or when I re-watch Season 1! LOL!

Stronger, Faster

Episode Name: Stronger, Faster
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Three Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
Ratchet is trying to figure out the rest of the formula for synthetic Energon. But, with the Autobot Energon stockpiles so low, he feels helpless to help. In desperation, he tries the synthetic Energon on himself. It works too well. It makes him faster and stronger. But it alters his mind as well...
And it may make him do something crazy!

Mission Report:
This is another one that's just okay. The whole thing was like watching Ratchet on drugs... or I guess steroids would make a better example. It wasn't very comfy. It was awesome watching Ratchet doing martial arts, or fighting much like it, however. The story was pretty well-done, but it wasn't exactly the comfiest.
This was only an okay show overall.

T.M.I.

Episode Name: T.M.I.
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Three and a Half Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
Miko once again sneaks into a mission. But she, by accident, activates a security function of an old cylinder of data. The data downloads into Bulkhead's head. At Base, the Autobots discover that Bulkhead has the equation for synthetic Energon, which could solve a lot their problems. But that data, that turns out to be living data, is taking over Bulkhead's mind. And Megs wants the data that was in that cylinder, so the Decepticons center their attention on Bulkhead.
Things are going to go wild, and a good deal of it will be at a monster truck (I'm guessing a "T.M.I.", whatever that is) arena!

Mission Report:
It wasn't bad or good. Out of some average shows, this was better than some in enjoyment. The story was decent, but the enjoyment level wasn't the highest. Miko seems to learn her lesson (but who knows? It's Miko). And it's kind of nice to see Knock Out again.
This wasn't the best, but it wasn't really bad either. It's one of the better of the average-rating shows that I've seen, actually. :)

Partners

Episode Name: Partners
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Three Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
Megatron sends Airachnid to get a weapon prototype, and Starscream is her guide. The Autobots pick up their activity. Betrayal by Airachnid allows the Autobots to capture Starscream. Starscream then says he'll help them, if they will let him join their side. They put Arcee to guard Starscream while they take care of Airachnid.
Too bad that Arcee swore vengeance on Cliffjumper's killer, who turns out to be Starscream...

Mission Report:
Another that won't make the fave list. It was cool to see the modern version of the Immobilizer. And it's nice to see Arcee learn a lesson about revenge. But the Immobilizer was cooler.
The story was pretty well-done, but it wasn't the best. But it wasn't the best for enjoyment. Other than the Immobilizer, it wasn't my fave.
This is not my fave show.

Rock Bottom

Episode Name: Rock Bottom
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Four Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
Arcee, Bulkhead, Jack, and Miko are investigating an abandoned Decepticon mine. They all go inside. Turns out that the supposedly empty mine isn't so empty after all. Meanwhile, Megatron and Starscream go inside the mine, where Megatron faces Starscream off about his treachery. But an Autobot/Decepticon encounter causes the mine to collapse, trapping them all!
Will everyone make it out in the end?

Mission Briefing:
Two bad ones, two good ones. Yay! I enjoyed this episode. The story was pretty well-done, though there were some glitches. It was enjoyable. I enjoyed Jack's choice, though seeing Megs' face in rock... freaky... And seeing the depth of the bond between Miko and Bulkhead was awesome.
This was a good show overall.

Metal Attraction

Episode Name: Metal Attraction
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Four Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
Things are a little out of whack since June has join the team. And not everyone's really enjoying it (though they try to stay shut around June). Then Ratchet picks up an odd magnetic disturbance. Arcee and Bulkhead go to investigate (technically, Miko sneaks along, but gets sent back later).
But Megatron has picked up the signal too, and knows it's a Decepticon weapon. Breakdown heads out to get it, but Airachnid soon gets in the way. The Autobots catch up, and discover that the weapon is a Polarity Gauntlet. And how do they primarily find this out?
By (after loosing the first battle) getting stuck to each others' backs!

Mission Report:
Two "yays"--no MECH, and the first Airachnid episode that I like! The story was well-done, except for a few glitches. It was enjoyable. And it turns out that Cybertronians are more human than thought--turns out that you can't replace eyes on them either! Not something you would suspect, but it does kind of make you pity Breakdown. There was a bit of humor in the episode too... but more on the end, in how Airachnid is brought back to the Decepticon Warship.
This was a pretty good show.

Crisscross

Episode Name: Crisscross
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Two and a Half Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
MECH goes tracking Airachnid, but they end up teaming up with her to get Jack and Arcee. Meanwhile, Jack's secret activities with the Autobots get him grounded.
But when MECH and Airachnid kidnap June Darby--AKA Jack's mom--things are going to get real dangerous, real fast!

Mission Report:
Yet another MECH episode! And it had Airachnid! Already decided that she's not a fave! Yeesh...! Yet again, I did not care for the episode. The story was pretty well-done, but I didn't really enjoy it. I think the best part was June joining the team, but that was about it.
This is not my fave episode, and will probably never will be.

Operation: Breakdown

Episode Name: Operation: Breakdown
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Two Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
After Breakdown beats Bulkhead in a private fight, he is captured by MECH. MECH's planning on using info from Breakdown's body for their own purposes. The Autobots learn of this, and go to Breakdown's rescue... Bulkhead goes later than the others, due to personal feelings, etc. Megatron refuses to send a rescue party himself.
Will everything be okay in the end?

Mission Report:
Apparently, I don't care for episodes with MECH in them. This second episode with MECH wasn't the best-done story (though not total trash). And some of the things didn't make the greatest sense. It wasn't really enjoyable.
This isn't going to be on my fave list.

H.O.U.S.E. Rules

Episode Name: H.O.U.S.E. Rules
Series: Eureka, Season 1
Rating: Four Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
Jack's been cranky since Henri told everyone he was leaving. Jack's even considering leaving Eureka himself! His house, SARAH, then calls a select group of people, and locks them inside her. She says it's to make sure that the human relationships keeping Eureka going stay strong, and she's holding the people hostage until they resolve their differences. But when Jack and the others try to escape, they accidently turn SARAH off, and re-activate BRAD... an military AI system gone bad! Joe and Tagger are trying to rescue them.
Will everyone make it out?

Mission Report:
This was a good show. The story was pretty good, though it could use some tweaking. Like, what was the deal with the pizza guy? Was he an accident? That was never explained. And the Joe/Tagger relationship... yikes! You saw it coming (more or less) in this episode, but you would have never suspected it during the rest of series. It was weird.
All in all, this was a good show.

Shadowzone

Episode Name: Shadowzone
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Four Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
Starscream's still around and ticking! After a major beating by Megatron (luckily not shown), Starscream is on the mend. But his traitor mind still works. He sneaks off with his shard of Dark Energon, in order to re-awake Skyquake as a zombie!
The Autobots detect this, and go to stop it. Bad news is, Miko chased them through the Ground-Bridge, and the other two humans chased her! Thanks to Escape Ground-Bridge Double-Trouble, Miko, Jack, and Raf are stuck on another dimensional plane (like 2D and 3D, not other-universes type, I think)... a "shadowzone"!
Oh, and there's more bad news... the 'Con-bie Skyquake has followed them into the Shadowzone, and decided he wants human a la mode!

Mission Report:
This was a good episode. Except some freaky scenes at the beginning, (and always a lost point for the zombie, but not as many as usual...) this episode was enjoyable. The story was well-done, and there were twists of humor! Or scenes that I found amusing, anyway...
This was a good episode.
...
Seriously, good shows with zombies? (Yeah, yeah, Forsaken on W.O.W....) These guys are scarily good...

Out Of His Head

Episode Name: Out Of His Head
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Four Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
Going off where Sick Mind left off, Megatron is in Bumblebee's head, and controlling him from time to time. And what else is on his agenda but to revive his own body? Raf notices that something's wrong and is worried for his best friend. While the other Autobots (except Ratchet) are working on stopping Starscream from melting the Artic, Megatron takes over completely and starts on his agenda.
Will Raf be able to save his best friend?

Mission Report:
Better than the last one. The story was well-done, though it did have glitches. It was much more enjoyable. And Megatron is fully back in action! It took them a while to fulfill the promise that they've been making, but at least they finally did! Poor Starscream... LOL! Considering some of the other Starscreams' works, he actually didn't do too bad of a job leading. Too bad he still had that traitor's streak! :)
I finally hit a good episode! After the last few, it's a relief. Oh yeah, and it's the end of the "multi-parter".
This was a good episode. Yay!

Sick Mind

Episode Name: Sick Mind
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Three Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
Ratchet discovers the location of the Decepticon Warship, but also of an Autobot shuttle in distress. The doc and Optimus go to check it out. But that ship's a plague ship... and Optimus Prime gets infected with the plague! In order to find a cure, Arcee and Bumblebee Ground-Bridge onto the Warship. The Autobots discover that Megatron is still alive, and he is the only one to hold the cure!
Bumblebee is going to have to enter Megatron's mind to get the cure...

Mission Report:
It was better than the last episode, but it still did some freaking out. Fair warning: it's a "multi-parter". It's one that they don't tell you until the "To Be Continued" in the end. The story was well-done, and Megs is finally coming back in action (of sorts).
This is not going to be a fave episode, however.

Predatory

Episode Name: Predatory
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 2
Rating: Two and Half Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
A ship crashes on Earth. When Arcee and Jack go to check it out, Arcee discovers that it belongs to her old enemy--and one that she's afraid of--Airachnid! This Decepticon now collects extinct species... after she makes them extinct!
And now she's after humanity...!

Mission Report:
Okay, they have their own version of Blackarachnia. I believe that's what going on with Airachnid, anyway. Yeesh...
The story was pretty well-done, but this episode won't make my faves. It freaked me out a lot. Not a good memo! There were parts that I enjoyed (mostly near the end).
So, this was a well-done episode, but it's not going make my faves list.

Speed Metal

Episode Name: Speed Metal
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Four Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
Jack and Arcee beat a bully named Vince in a race, despite breaking a rule. Then Vince challenges Jack to a bigger race. Jack manages to borrow Bumblebee, but he's going to learn his lesson about illegal racing and rules when the Decepticon car Knock Out joins the race...

Mission Report:
Hey, cool! This must be the Transformers Prime version of Velocity (Transformers Animated, Season 2). Very neat...!
But back to business. Some stuff surrounding Optimus Prime is what knocks the points out--they made me uncomfortable, despite the minor humor they put in the first OP (Optimus Prime) scene.
But the rest of the episode was good. The story was good and pretty well-done, the action was awesome. But it also re-raised the question: "How in the world does Raf understand Bumblebee?" Will they ever answer that question? Yeesh... At least it showed that Raf's the only human to understand Bumblebee.
This was a pretty good episode overall.

Deus Ex Machina

Episode Name: Deus Ex Machina
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Four and a Half Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
After being Miko’s “getaway car” from detention, Bulkhead takes her to an ancient Greek site, where they discover that an Energon Harvester is hidden on Earth! The Harvester can suck Energon from any source… including living robots, killing them! Meanwhile, Starscream has called in the car-‘Con Knock Out to help repair Megatron. Knock Out’s assistant, Breakdown, causes trouble at the Greek site.
But the Harvester is discovered at a museum, so things are going to get ugly…

Mission Report:
This was a very good episode. The story was very well-done, though it had a few glitches. And we finally see Megs again… though he still doesn’t come back. Yeesh! That’s getting annoying (hey, he keeps popping up in the theme sequence)! But the story was good, the episode was enjoyable, and Miko seems to learn a lesson. Not much, however! Lol!
This is a very good episode.

Convoy

Episode Name: Convoy
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Three Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
Optimus Prime and the team go to help Agent Fowler transport DINGUS (sp?), a special new nuclear power source, to a secure location. But, on the way, they are attacked by Silas and his evil gang--MECH. With idealogy (sp?) that Prime says Megatron's own, Silas wants the DINGUS. And, of course, when the Decepticons hear that the Autobots are busy, they send a bunch to mess things up more. But if something happens to DINGUS, the meltdown will leak radiation and kill thousands of people...
With no choice but to reveal themselves, Optimus Prime and the others are going to need a lot of luck...

Mission Report:
...and a lot of story tweaking! The story was only average material. It had problems, and wasn't really enjoyable. I mean, duh, of course DINGUS was on the train! Obvious...! Why else move into the train tunnel? And it seems like more of the government knows of the Autobots than we previously knew. Yeesh...! But, luckily, it wasn't total trash. It just wasn't the best.
So, the episode with the first human bad guys is an only average show. Yeesh...

Con Job

Episode Name: Con Job
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Four Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
An old friend of Bulkhead's is coming to Earth: the Wrecker Wheeljack! But the Decepticons pick up on Wheeljack's coming as well, and capture him. Starscream sends the Decepticon Makeshift--looking and sounding exactly like Wheeljack--into the Autobots' midst in order to activate a surprise attack and/or discover the location of the Autobots' secret base.
But Bulkhead's knowledge of his dear friend may reveal Makeshift's true identity...

Mission Report:
Ah, the modern version of A Prime Problem. When I got the gist of the show, that episode was the one that came to mind.
This was better than that episode, however. The story was pretty well-done, though could use some tweaking. And they aren't keeping Wheeljack! Come on! Sure, he's not the same bot from the 1980's (though they did a great job making him look very similar, especially with his battle mask on), but I was upset by the fact that he's not staying! There's a bit of a hint that he might visit again, but yeesh...! I was starting to like him too!
But, despite that, this was a pretty good show overall.

Scrapheap

Episode Name: Scrapheap
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Three and a Half Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
During an Arctic mission, the Autobots discover a stasis pod. They bring it back to base to de-thaw (sp?). And it's a Saturday, so Jack, Miko, and Raf are visiting! Optimus and Arcee go back to the Arctic to find clues on the pod.
Unluckily, the rest at the base find out what they are... scraplets! They are tiny bots that eat metal... mainly living metal! These tiny scourges have disabled the Ground-Bridge, and they are targeting the Autobots. More bad news? Optimus Prime and Arcee are stuck in such extreme temperatures that they'll freeze and die if they're out there too long!
Jack, Miko, and Raf's organic nature protect them from the scraplets, but will it be enough to save the day?

Mission Briefing:
This one didn't have as much humor as some of the others, but at least it didn't totally stink. The story was only about average material, and it wasn't as enjoyable as the other two. Not the greatest way to do the first non-'Con trouble episode.
But it didn't totally stink. It was somewhat enjoyable, and there were a few hilarious jokes at the end. And watching Bulkhead overcome a fear to save everybody was awesome.
This Season's first close-to-just-okay episode was actually a little better than some other about-average episodes I know about. :)

Masters And Students

Episode Name: Masters And Students
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Four Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
After Megatron's supposed demise, Starscream tries to get the loyalty of the Decepticon forces. Since it's Starscream (giggle), he's having some trouble. In order to get a loyal soldier, he awakens the super-strong Decepticon warrior Skyquake.
Team Prime (the Autobot team) picks up on the 'Con activity, and Optimus and Bumblebee head out to check it out. The other Autobots are helping their human friends with their science project. Unluckily for them, Ratchet takes over... yeesh...
Unluckily for Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, Skyquake is still loyal to Megatron, even when he's supposed to be dead. And killing Autobots was one of Megs' orders... and there's the possiblity (sp?) that the order-giver still functions...

Mission Briefing:
The story was only a little higher than average material. The action was pretty awesome, however. And the reason, if remembering the five-parter, for a certain reappearance made decent sense. And the scenes around Ratchet were amusing, though a little... okay, not so little... embarassing (sp?). Despite making me chuckle, they and the need-tweaking part of the story were the low points. The rest of the episode was pretty good (and seeing Agent Fowler in action was pretty cool).
This was a pretty good show overall, however.

Darkness Rising Parts 1-5

Episode Name: Darkness Rising Parts 1-5
Series: Transformers Prime, Season 1
Rating: Four Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
The Autobots have been on hiding on Earth for at least three years. But when the Decepticons return, things are going to get wild... especially since their returned leader, Megatron, has obtained Dark Energon (blood of Unicron)... allowing Megatron to create Cybertronian zombies! And three human kids, Jack, Miko, and Raf, get stuck up in their mess by accident!
Optimus and his team (Bulkhead, Ratchet, Arcee, and Bumblebee) are going the help of their human allies, including an old ally (Special Agent Bill Fowler) and a whole lot of luck, to save the Earth and everything from Megatron and his evil plans...

Mission Report:
Wow... They've learned their lesson from The Five Faces Of Darkness! The story was well-done, the action was good, and there was actually some humor (actually mostly near Ratchet)!
What were the lost points? Usual things: the multi-parter was long (five shows!) Yeesh! And, next usual losing points: ZOMBIES!!! (Yeah, yeah, I have a Forsaken character on W.O.W....) And there was an Autobot zombie in the beginning! Yeesh...! And there were a few glitches. Most were minor (but not all), but they were still there (like, how did Raf understand Bumblebee?*).
Despite all that, the multi-parter was amazing! I eventually got used to the zombies... still not enough for me... and the story was well-done. Good enough for me to like it with the undead element, which is weird and good!
These episodes were surprisingly good.

Keep this up, Transformers Prime, and you'll be dubbed worthy of the Transformers universe (and I'll keep watching you! LOL!).

*Oh, Bumblebee speaks like R2-D2 in this series (or a lot like it)! Soundwave's the one who now uses recorded transmissions to talk.

Heroes On Both Sides

Episode Name: Heroes On Both Sides
Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Rating: Three Spaceships

Mission Briefing:
"Fear is a great motivator."
The Republic Senate is going down a dark path. To stop it, Padme Amidala and Ahsoka Tano go to an old friend of Padme's... who is now a Separatist! While Ahsoka learns that the world isn't black-and-white, Padme convinces her old friend to have the Separatists try for peace.
But an attack planned by Count Dooku may put an end to wanting peace...

Mission Report:
Okay, there's been costume changes in the Jedi Order. In this episode, both Ahsoka and Anakin were wearing new outfits. I believe that we see Anakin's in Star Wars Episode 3 (the movie), but Ahsoka's is totally new.
This is not my favorite. The story was very well-done, but it wasn't really the most enjoyable. I did like the moral they taught, and how they showed that the world (or universe) isn't black-and-white. But the story wasn't the most enjoyable, I'm afraid. Seeing a new world and the Separatist Senate (I so didn't know that they had one!) was pretty cool however. And they had their own droid version of Transformers! Awesome!
While the moral was good and story pretty well-done, this is not the best episode for enjoyment.