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stunt_muppet at 01:24pm on 07/02/2010 under doctor who, fandom, methinks it's loltastic, transformers, yay!
stunt_muppet at 01:24pm on 07/02/2010 under doctor who, fandom, methinks it's loltastic, transformers, yay!So it's been announced that a) a new animated Transformers series is in development (which gives me a fresh pang of sadness that there is no more Animated, but the franchise marches on), b) it'll air on Discovery Kids (which is...puzzling, given that Transformers is about as far from actual science as you can get, but then regular Discovery Channel airs Mythbusters and that is much less interested in science than it is in blowing stuff up, so fair's fair), c) it'll be called Transformers: Prime, and d) Jeffrey freaking Combs will be providing the voice of Ratchet.
That sound you hear is my Re-Animator and JLU-era Question fangirl squee. eeeeeeeee.
I'm excited as to what this means for how Ratchet will be played - given Combs' other roles (and his smooth, quieter delivery) I have a feeling this Ratchet will be more in the vein of G1!Ratchet, who was more laid-back and irreverent, rather than TFA!Ratchet (who is...basically fanon!G1!Ratchet, interestingly; fanon is odd that way). Either way, I'm looking forward to the promos and teasers so I can know more about the new series.
But what really amused me was reading the comments in the article announcing Combs, and how a good third of the comments were (of course) already declaring the new series and indeed the franchise Ruined FOREVER based on (take your pick) the fact that the series is airing on a cable channel, the series' name (no joke), or the fact that the series will in fact be aimed at children. Because apparently we have again missed the memo that the Transformers franchise exists to sell toys to children, whether adults collect them or not. (Interestingly enough, I saw few cries of Ruined FOREVER based on Combs' casting. A few raised eyebrows, but little actual disapproval.)
I was already giggling a bit at this rare opportunity to watch one of TF fandom's famous tantrums in real time, but then I realized that this all sounded eerily familiar. In fact, it sounded eerily familiar because just yesterday Doctor Who fandom was throwing much the same strop over one of the announced writers for Season 5 (or is it 6?), declaring that New Who and indeed the franchise were Ruined FOREVER because a writer they didn't like had signed on. Many of the angry comments sounded almost exactly the same.
And then I really did laugh out loud. Oh, fandom. Your absurdities never cease to amuse, except when they do and I kind of want to slap you.
Final point: I am only moderately ashamed that, once I heard there was a new TF series being produced, one of my first thoughts was "maybe this time there will be girl robots who do things oh please please please let this one have girl robots who do things please I don't think that's a lot to ask and while I'm here can I have a pony." A GIRL CAN DREAM, OKAY.
That sound you hear is my Re-Animator and JLU-era Question fangirl squee. eeeeeeeee.
I'm excited as to what this means for how Ratchet will be played - given Combs' other roles (and his smooth, quieter delivery) I have a feeling this Ratchet will be more in the vein of G1!Ratchet, who was more laid-back and irreverent, rather than TFA!Ratchet (who is...basically fanon!G1!Ratchet, interestingly; fanon is odd that way). Either way, I'm looking forward to the promos and teasers so I can know more about the new series.
But what really amused me was reading the comments in the article announcing Combs, and how a good third of the comments were (of course) already declaring the new series and indeed the franchise Ruined FOREVER based on (take your pick) the fact that the series is airing on a cable channel, the series' name (no joke), or the fact that the series will in fact be aimed at children. Because apparently we have again missed the memo that the Transformers franchise exists to sell toys to children, whether adults collect them or not. (Interestingly enough, I saw few cries of Ruined FOREVER based on Combs' casting. A few raised eyebrows, but little actual disapproval.)
I was already giggling a bit at this rare opportunity to watch one of TF fandom's famous tantrums in real time, but then I realized that this all sounded eerily familiar. In fact, it sounded eerily familiar because just yesterday Doctor Who fandom was throwing much the same strop over one of the announced writers for Season 5 (or is it 6?), declaring that New Who and indeed the franchise were Ruined FOREVER because a writer they didn't like had signed on. Many of the angry comments sounded almost exactly the same.
And then I really did laugh out loud. Oh, fandom. Your absurdities never cease to amuse, except when they do and I kind of want to slap you.
Final point: I am only moderately ashamed that, once I heard there was a new TF series being produced, one of my first thoughts was "maybe this time there will be girl robots who do things oh please please please let this one have girl robots who do things please I don't think that's a lot to ask and while I'm here can I have a pony." A GIRL CAN DREAM, OKAY.
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It's my first time seeing it in real time, too! And, even if I knew this is the fandom who coined the "Ruined FOREVER" line, I'm still surprised at how seriously people take the giant space cartoon robots.
Especially because we've had a lot of proof that new series don't kill the franchise. But hey, I like G1 and Beast Wars and TFA, so what do I know. :P
... and don't get me started on the people who complain about a kids' series being directed at kids.
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It's a little stupid how excited I am about this. It's like watching a beautiful flower bloom!
... and don't get me started on the people who complain about a kids' series being directed at kids.
That's what annoys me the most, really. It's like, it's okay if Transformers was a kids' show back in the Eighties, but now that
Ithe primary audience is all grown up it should be sophisticated and nuanced grown-up entertainment for serious collectors. Why isn't Hasbro catering to my whims, me me me! Blargh.(no subject)
Thiiis. It's especially annoying because Transformers does have Darker And Edgier comics aimed at an older audience.
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I really should get a hold of some of the comics someday, though; some of them (Shattered Glass!) look quite good.
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Granted? I always laughed at the cranky G1 purist "Animated is too DIFFERENT" fans, until I finished Animated and realized my very first reaction to the rest of the franchise was, indeed, "G1 is too DIFFERENT!" So I immediately felt ashamed of myself, gave G1 more of a chance, and silently forgave the cranky purists because - well, it might be very silly, but I can sort of see where they're coming from now. ^^;
And girl robots who do things would be awesome. More female Decepticons, PLEASE. And maybe a bigger role for Elita-1 and/or Arcee, yes? :D
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It is a little hard to transition into a new series, especially after your first - that's what you get used to! So I do sort of feel for the older fans who had to get used to, say, Beast Wars and Armada. (It even took me a while to get used to Beast Wars - I used to be hesitant to watch it because it didn't have characters I recognized from fannish osmosis and the art style was so different. I really like it after watching most of Season 1, though.) But the thing is, by this point if you are one of the old-school fans, you've already done this transition a couple of times already. You'd think the sense of "this is not the same thing as I'm used to" would be milder if you already had a couple of versions under your belt.
That is my one consistent complaint with the Transformers franchise, and indeed with action-adventure cartoons and such aimed at boys in general - it'd hardly hurt to have more girls! It's not like if you do include female robots you have to write them talking about shoes or something. Make them kick ass just like the boys and I guarantee (as much as I can, anyway) that the little boys in the audience won't flee screaming from the girl cooties. And the little girls in the audience (because there are some! really!) will have more awesome, powerful female figures to call their own! With actual personalities! Come on, Hasbro, it's not really a lot that I ask.