Trivia for
"Transformers" (1984) More at IMDbPro »

• In season one Frank Welker voiced 7 of the 13 original Decepticons. He provided the voices of Megatron, Soundwave, Skywarp, Rumble, Frenzy, Laserbeak (screeches), and Ravage (growls). The exceptions were Starcream (Chris Latta), Thundercracker (John Stephenson), Shockwave (Corey Burton), and Reflector (three identical robots with Chris Latta's voice).
  
  
• The first ever Transformer to appear on the series was Wheeljack, episode 0.01 "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1".
  
  
• Voice actor Peter Cullen's voice for Optimus Prime was inspired by John Wayne.
  
  
• Because both Bluestreak and Prowl changed into Datsun sports cars and had similar helmets with "devil's horn" crowns, the animators tried to avoid confusion between the two by removing Prowl's shoulder-mounted rocket launchers which were apart of the toy Prowl. However, occasionally animators would accidentally color Prowl grey like Bluestreak.
  
  
• Although he was part of the first line of Transformer toys, Buzzsaw did not appear until the second season episode 2.25 "Atlantis, Arise!"
  
  
• When Megatron transforms into his pistol mode, he is usually caught and fired by the Decepticon Starscream.
  
  
• Episode 2.01 "Autobot Spike" is the last time Reflector speaks.
  
  
• DEBUT: Contructicons and Devastator (episode 1.11 "Heavy Metal War")
  
  
• DEBUT: Skyfire. Who is known to as Jetfire, as a toy (episode 1.10 "Fire in the Sky").
  
  
• Skyfire's cartoon appearance is drastically different than his toys. The reason for this is that Jetfire was, at the time, a "borrowed" mould of a previously release toy from the rival company Bandi. To avoid unnecessary legalities, the Skyfire cartoon sketches were heavily modified (episode 1.10 "Fire in the Sky").
  
  
• DEBUT: Shrapnel, Bombshell, and Kickback (episode 1.13 "A Plague of Insecticons")
  
  
• DEBUT: Carly, later become Spike's wife and the mother of Daniel in the post-movie episodes (episode 2.02 "The Immobilizer").
  
  
• The premise of the Immobilizer would be used again in the Beast Wars episode 1.11 "The Probe" (episode 2.02 "The Immobilizer").
  
  
• DEBUT: Bluestreak, Brawn, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Gears, Hound, Huffer, Ironhide, Jazz, Laserbeak, Megatron, Mirage, Optimus Prime, Prowl, Ratchet, Ravage, Reflector, Rumble, Shockwave, Sideswipe, Skywarp, Soundwave, Starscream, Sunstreaker, Thundercracker, Trailbreaker, Wheeljack and Windcharger (episode 0.01 "More Than Meets the Eye Part 1").
  
  
• In season 1, there were 24 autobots [Optimus Prime, Skyfire, Bluestreak, Hound, Ironhide, Jazz, Mirage, Prowl, Ratchet, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Trailbreaker, Wheeljack, Cliffjumper, Gears, Huffer, Windcharger, Brawn, Bumblebee, Grimlock, Slag, Snarl, Sludge, Swoop] and 22 decepticons [Megatron, Soundwave - with 4 casseticons, Reflector x 3, Skywarp, Starscream, Thundercracker, Shockwave, Bonecrusher, Hook, Mixmaster, Long Haul, Scavenger, Scrapper, Bombshell, Kickback, Shrapnel]. In season 2, there were 15 new Autobots [Perceptor, Omega Supreme, Beachcomber, Cosmos, Powerglide, Seaspray, Warpath, Blaster, Grapple, Hoist, Inferno, Red Alert, Skids, Smokescreen, Tracks] and 5 new Decepticons [Dirge, Ramjet, Thrust, Blitzwing, Astrotrain]. In the end of Season 2, 10 new Autobots (The Aerialbots and the Protectobots) and 10 new Decepticons were introduced (The Stunticons and the Combaticons).
  
  
• DEBUT: Roller (episode 0.02 "More Than Meets the Eye Part 2")
  
  
• The only character not referred to by name in the pilot trilogy is Windcharger, who, unlike all the other characters, does not get anything to do to display him for the audience (episode 0.03 "More Than Meets the Eye Part 3")
  
  
• DEBUT: Chip Chase (episode 1.02 "Roll for It")
  
  
• DEBUT: Frenzy (episode 1.09 "Countdown to Extinction")
  
  
• DEBUT: Grimlock, Slag, and Sludge (episode 1.04 "S.O.S. Dinobots")
  
  
• DEBUT: Snarl and Swoop (episode 1.08 "War of the Dinobots")
  
  
• Episode 1.08 "War of the Dinobots" was actually set before episode 1.05-1.07 "The Ultimate Doom Part 1-3"
  
  
• Episode 1.10 "Fire in the Sky" is set before episode 1.12 "Fire On The Mountain", which is also set before episode 1.05 "The Ultimate Doom Part 1: Brainwash".
  
  
• If this season had aired its episodes in terms of production order, Windcharger would not be mentioned by name until episode 1.12 "Fire on the Mountain".
  
  
• The Autobot Skyfire (who first appears in season one's "Fire in the Sky") was based on a Transformers toy named Jetfire, who in turn was a copy of the design of the SDF Macross/Robotech VF-1S Valkyrie jet/robot (Hasbro had bought the rights to produce copies of the Takatoku/Matsushiro/Bandai Valkyrie toy as part of the Transformers line some months before Robotech aired in the US). The character's name and design were changed to avoid any legal issues.
  
  
• In episode 0.01 "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1", an orange Autobot in the form of a truck crane appears briefly to haul Hound up for repairs. This Autobots only appears in this scene, never speaks or transforms to robot mode, and is referred to as "Hauler" by Cliffjumper. Apparently, this was an early version of the Autobot called Grapple, who later appears in season two.
  
  
• Cliffjumper was originally going to be named "Blow-Out", due to his tendency to suffer from blown tires.
  
  
• At the time of season one, Spike Witwicky is about 14 years old. His love interest, Carly (introduced in season 2), is about a year older than him. Generally speaking, the Autobots have blue eyes, and the Decepticons have red. There are exceptions, though. Some include: Swindle (purple), Thrust (yellow), and Motormaster (purple). The Autobot called Broadside's character model was totally overhauled halfway during season 3, so it would more closely resemble his toy.
  
  
• Many new characters (Triple-Changers, Blaster, Perceptor, etc.) suddenly began to appear during season two, beginning with episode 2.08 "A Prime Problem" and 2.03 "Dinobot Island Part 1". Their sudden appearance was not explained. In the episodes produced after Transformers the Movie (1986), in which Megatron (Frank Welker) became Galvatron (Leonard Nimoy), Frank Welker took over the role of Galvatron, which seems appropriate. The actors who continued the roles they orignated in Transformers the Movie (1986) for season 3 were: Neil Ross (Springer), Susan Blu (Arcee), David Mendenhall (Daniel Witwicky),John Moschitta Jr. (Blurr), Stan Jones (Scourge), and Roger C. Carmel(Cyclonus, Quintesson).
  
  
• All of the other characters introduced in the movie were given new voice actors. The Constructicon Mixmaster (a character voiced by Frank Welker) falls into lava in episode 1.11 "Heavy Metal War". In his next appearance (episode 2.18 "City of Steel"), he acts quite insane. Later, in season 3, Galvatron (Frank Welker) lands in lava and goes insane as a result (episodes 3.01, 3.02, 3.03, 3.04 and 3.05 "Five Faces of Darkness Part 1-5".
  
  
• 'Ted Shwartz' was originally to be the voice for Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime for the post movie episodes. Some of his lines can still be heard in "Five Faces of Darkness" (Episodes 3.01-3.05).
  
  
• The Decepticon jet Thundercracker never uses his sonic powers in the series (His toy tech specs do say he has them.) However, in episode 1.11 "Heavy Metal War", Megatron, using the combined powers of all the Decepticons, does use them.
  
  
• Many generic Decepticon jets (in various shades of purple, blue, and green) appear with the Decepticons of Earth in the pilot, more than Meets the Eye. They are not seen again after the three-parter, however. Frenzy (Rumble's twin) is one of two 1984 toys/Decepticon cassettes who do not appear in the series premier three-part episode. Frenzy only first appears late in season one, during episode 1.09 "Countdown to Extinction". Buzzsaw (condor) is the other, and does not appear until episode 2.18 "City of Steel".
  
  
• The president of the fictional country Carbombya, Abdul Fakkadi, appears in episode 3.01 "Five Faces of Darkness Part 1" and 3.10 "Thief in the Night". The character/story and was meant to be a parody of Middle East tensions at the time. His name is an anagram of Libyan President Muammar Kaddafi. The name of Fakkadi's country, Carbombya, also contains an in-joke (Car Bomb Ya). Reportedly, voice actor Casey Kasem, who is of Arab descent, objected to this, and quit the Transformers series as a result.
  
  
• Omega Supreme was originally going to be called "Fortress Maximus". Although his name was changed, the name Fortress Maximus is later given to a character who first appears in the series-ending, episode 4.01, 4.02 and 4.03 "The Rebirth Part 1-3".
  
  
• Voice director Wally Burr occasionally filled in for voice actors that were unavailable for a given episode. For example, he provides Thundercracker's voice in the episode 2.41 "War Dawn".
  
  
• Optimus Prime was never intended to return to the series after the movie, but a public outcry (which surprised the producers) resulted in him returning
  
  
• While there were some GI JOE/Transformer crossovers in the comic books there were no crossover episodes between the two shows until the third season when a character voiced by Chris Latta named Snake makes an appearance as an arms dealer wearing a trench coat, hat and a mirrored mask over his face. At the end of the episode he screams, "COBRA!" the battle cry for Cobra Commander
  
  
• Another connection to the GI Joe cartoon, also based on a Hasbro/Marvel comic is the character of Marissa Faireborn. In one episode, Marissa speaks with her father, voiced by Bill Ratner (in his only appearance in the Transformers cartoon), who also provided the voice for Flint, whose real name is Dashiell Faireborn on the GI Joe cartoon. So Marissa is the GI Joe, Flint's, daughter, presumably with Lady Jaye.
  
  
• Although the last new episode aired in the U.S. in 1987, through its spin-offs the Transformers series continued in Japan until 1990. As of 2004, a Transformers series has been in production for 16 of the last 20 years.
  
  
• Sparkplug Witwicky's real first name is not revealed in the TV series. In Marvel Comics, sometimes he is called William, and sometimes Irving. The character based upon him in the 2007 live action film, Transformers (2007), played by Kevin Dunn, is named Ron.
  
  
• Skyfire is the only Transformer in the series who changed his alliance.
  
  
• Alpha Trion is the only Transformer in the series who aged since the beginning of the war between Autobots and Decepticons till the present time, judging by the difference in his look at "War Dawn" and "The Search for Alpha Trion".
  
  
• Due to production errors, Frank Welker's voice for Soundwave is left unmodified by vocoder in at least two episodes. ("Roll for It" and "Webworld"). The result is Soundwave sounding like Dr. Claw from "Inspector Gadget" (1983).
  
  

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