- Transformers: Robots in Disguise -- and not 'Transformers: Robots in The Skies', by the way *Four million years ago* _(give or take a few days, presumably)_ on the planet Cybertron _(in the Alpha Centauri system, according to the [much better written] comic books)_ life existed, but not life as we know it today. Intelligent robots that could think and feel inhabited the cities. They were called Autobots... and Decepticons. But the brutal Decepticons were driven by a single goal... total domination of the peace loving Autobots, and a war between the forces of good and evil raged across Cybertron, devastating all in its path, destroying the planet's once rich sources of energy. On the edge of extinction, the Autobots battled valiantly to survive... The cartoon series *coincidentally* featured the 'characters' from a popular toy-line of the eighties. *Coincidentally* characters disappeared - or tragically died - when their corresponding toy ceased to be on sale in the shops, and other characters stepped up to replace them as their toys appeared. This was apparently legal. _This series is, as I have remarked to TL, *far* too deeply burnt into my poor little brain. The fact that I am _reasonably_ sure that the above paragraph is a more or less accurate rendition of the series' opening narration after all these years is enough to make me curse and bewail HumanMemory. [-- WJR]_ Anyway, with their planet running out of power _(just what are the natural resources of a giant lump of steel, anyway?)_ the Commander-in-Chief of the Autobot army, one Optimus Prime _(how is it that, as a peace-faring race of reluctant warriors, the Autobots' entire civilisation seems to be based around a military command structure? For the Decepticons I can understand it, but for the Autobots it just seems... wrong.)_ decides that the only hope of solving their energy crisis lies in mounting a search mission into space. The Leader of the Decepticons, Megatron _(voiced by Frank "I'll get you next time, Gadget" Welker)_ learns of this scheme, and takes a group of his warriors on a space mission of their own- to attack and destroy the Autobot mission. Since energy-weapon battles on the command decks of interstellar spacecraft are generally a bad idea, it's none too surprising that the Autobot ship (with both crews aboard) plummets into the gravity well of a planet and fly straight into a volcano. Four million years later, the volcano in question erupts, and the resultant energy surge activates the Autobot ship (The Ark), which dispatches a small satellite to survey the planet. Unsurprisingly enough, the planet turns out to be Earth- now in the twentieth century. The Ark revives its crew, for the sake of disguise adapting them to be able to transform into the likenesses of vehicles and machines of this world. Conveniently, it gives car modes to those Autobots who had car wheels and doors and things inexplicably attached to their robotic bodies, and those Decepticons who have wings turn into jet aircraft. The Autobots and Decepticons resume their war on Earth. The Transformers is rather fun, I'll admit that, with its sing-along theme music, extremely variable animation, and utterly incompetent villains: "I am Starscream the Mighty!" TheTransformersTheMovie is also in existence. So too is BeastWars, a nineties CGI 'sequel' series and (presumably) toy line. == *"O__U__S__F__Gi, TransformAndRollOut!"* CategoryKidsTV