Sumdac’s rival Prometheus Black is determined to prove that the future is human modification, not robotics, but when he has a lab accident while trying to find a way to sabotage the Autobots, he becomes the series’ first new human supervillain, Meltdown! Can the Autobots put a stop to him before he turns Sumdac Tower into a puddle of goo? Can Bumblebee prove that size doesn’t matter and make Bulkhead and Prowl stop picking on him? Was “Prometheus Black” not a supervillain enough name already? And which one of us is a big Peter Stormare fan? Join us this week for “Total Meltdown”!
Podcast: Stasis Pod
Stasis Pod Episode 88: Home Is Where The Spark Is
Sari helps the Autobots settle into their new home on Earth, and she decides to start with a sleepover! But when her key jolts Megatron awake, he immediately starts looking for ways to get the Allspark from them! Can the Autobots survive a game of Twister? Will Prowl stop being a jerk? And just what kind of vocal range does Corey Burton have? Join us this week as we learn that Home Is Where The Spark Is!
Stasis Pod Episode 87: Transform and Roll Out Pt. 3
The Autobots are getting settled into their new home, but there’s still one loose thread: Starscream is coming for the Allspark! Can the Autobots stop him? Is this the fastest an Optimus has died in a new series? And does that make it real Transformers now? Join us this week for Transform and Roll Out! Part 3!
Stasis Pod Episode 86: Transform and Roll Out Pt. 2
In near-future Detroit, Issac Sumdac has revolutionized the world with his company’s robotic creations. But when an experiment in the nanotech lab gets out of control, it wakes the Autobots’ ship from its stasis at the bottom of Lake Erie! Can they figure out what these squishy “human” things are and save the city at the same time? Whatever happened to this brave Cartoon Network that encouraged its creators to have a human character like Sari? And really… Detroit? Join us this week as we Transform and Roll Out! …part 2.
Stasis Pod Episode 85: Transform and Roll Out Pt. 1
With Beast Wars, Beast Machines, and an overview of everything else after behind us, it’s time to move on to our next full series: Transformers Animated!
The war is over, and Autobot Academy washout Optimus Prime is stuck on space bridge repair duty with a ragtag crew when they come across something no one expected to see again: The Allspark! But when its presence draws Megatron’s own flagship, can they keep it out of Decepticon hands? Can Starscream stop being so Starscream for like two minutes? And is “huge asshole” just Prowl’s default characterization now? Join us this week as we… Transform and Roll Out! (Part 1.)
Stasis Pod Episode 84: Beyond the Unicron Trilogy
As the Unicron Trilogy came to a close, the Transformers franchise was poised on the edge of something that would change it forever: Michael Bay’s first live-action Transformers movie. This week we wrap up the Unicron Trilogy and discuss everything that happened between it and our next subject, Transformers Animated!
Stasis Pod Episode 83: Titans
After the Energon cartoon, Hasbro and Takara decided they needed to put at least a little effort into the next one. By enlisting the anime studio Gonzo and actually giving the translators time to work, Transformers: Cybertron was… well, at the very least, better than the two shows that came before it. With far better CG robots, some genuinely charming characters, and a story that at the very least had clear cause-and-effect, Cybertron was actually pretty likable.
Except for that incredibly boring Speed Planet arc.
Fortunately, we’re skipping right past that part this week! We come in with the Autobots in possession of three of the four Cyber Planet Keys, Bud, Jolt, and Reverb stuck with the Decepticons on the Atlantis, and everyone rushing to find the last Cybertronian colony, Gigantron! But with a black hole threatening Primus, can Optimus Prime use the Matrix to power him up without the final key? Has Thunderblast gotten any more bearable with time? And could Starscream just maybe not jump in front of something that’ll make him a planet-sized monster for a change? Join us this week as we return to “Titans”!
Stasis Pod Episode 82: Imprisoned Inferno
Following Armada’s amazing toy sales, Hasbro and Takara apparently decided lackluster animation and even worse translation were just fine, because that seems to have been the attitude behind the Transformers: Energon TV series. With a confusing plot, stilted CG robots, and translations errors on par with Generation 1’s animation errors, Energon quickly established itself as no one’s favorite Transformers cartoon.
We’re still gonna watch an episode, though. In fact, we’re going to watch an episode that in many ways embodies the series, an episode that didn’t even get a spell-check on the title: Imprisoned Inferno!
As Kicker! and Misha explore a new planet that’s teeming with life and Energon, Inferno holds watch over Shockblast on the desolate Iron Planet. But when Megatron sets his sights on corrupting the stoic sniper, will Inferno be able to resist? Why does the animation suddenly get so much better in Act 3? And did Cliffjumper and Downshift really just refer to each other by their own names!? Join us as we answer some of these questions and fail to answer others while watching Improsoned Inferno!
Stasis Pod Episode 81: Chase
With anime the “cool new thing the kids are into”, 2002 saw the first Transformers toyline and TV show jointly developed by Hasbro and Takara for both markets: Armada. And while the toys were exciting and innovative, the show was… less so.
With the Autobots out screaming dramatically at the Decepticons, Alexis, Rad, and Carlos find the base’s computer being possessed by Sideways! Soon they’re pulled into “cyberspace” with their Mini-Con partners, where they get a glimpse of Cybertron, fight Sideways, and end up chased by an awfully familiar-looking evil planet! Will they ever find their way out? Did anyone working in cartoons in 2002 know anything about computers? And just what were the animators smoking? Join us this week for an episode of Transformers: Armada–Chase!
Stasis Pod Episode 80: Attack From Outer Space
After Beast Machines, Hasbro took a break from cartoon production and imported Takara’s Car Robots under the name Robots in Disguise. But only a couple episodes into the show’s American run on Fox Kids, something happened that lowered the American viewing public’s appetite for casual urban destruction. Many episodes had to be edited; a few had to be pulled from airing entirely, though they later saw release on DVD in the UK.
This week we watch one of the latter.
The Decepticons replace a human space shuttle with their own Movor in hopes that a spy in Earth orbit will be able to find the Autobot’s secret base. But the Autobots he finds are too busy doing other things to be much help! Will he be able to fulfill his duty? Is it still too soon for that much casual urban destruction? And do any of us believe that the replaced astronauts are totally safe? Join us this week for some ani-mayhem with the original Robots in Disguise episode, “Attack From Outer Space”