Transformers: EarthSpark Season 3

Transformers: EarthSpark: Special: Hometown Heroes

I couldn’t stand that. There was one thing I liked, but I was SHOCKED at how bad that was. I LIKE this show. Or I did.

The reason I liked this show was also one of the show’s potential faults. I liked the human element and the fact that the Bots seem to go through real human emotions and really had a sense of family. The problem with that, of course, is the potential to take that too far. Make the characters melodramatic and emo. That’s what happened here. But on a level of enshittude I honestly never expected to happen.

I talk shit about Greg Weisman but I never expected him capable of writing a script this bad or this stupid. And it being so much both of those things makes me wonder if I had been giving him this huge benefit of the doubt, mostly so as not to enrage his rabid fans. The scariest fandoms to me are South Park’s and Weisman’s. (I am not scared of Rick And Morty’s toxic fans; they are utterly pathetic losers; the fact that Dan Harmon knows it is probably why the guy is always so unhappy). For South Park fans, I steer clear. I literally stopped watching the show for 20 years, partly so I wouldn’t have to deal with them anymore. But Weisman’s tentacles run DEEP, and in stuff I love, and in stuff he has no business fucking up.

If you are wondering if I ever hold my tongue so as not to offend people, this episode tells me I’ve done that for Weisman, and probably repeatedly. The dude has been at this for over 30 years. A writer is supposed to get better and more mature with age. The fact that I hated almost every bit of this tells me the problem is Weisman.

Do I keep my mouth shut about Weisman going forward? I’ll say this. Any gripes about his work will remain about the work. Which is part of the reason I don’t really talk as much shit about him as I do other creators who make me unhappy. Weisman is great to his fans. And his fans take any criticisms of his work as a direct personal criticism of the man himself. And they’ll bully you for it. And Weisman will let it happen. And damn, that’s messed up.

To any friend reading this review, if you EVER hear somebody talk shit about Gilda And Meek, LET THEM. That’s totally fine. If somebody hates it, I don’t want them feeling threatened or as if they can’t honestly express that opinion. I’d prefer if people liked it but that’s not how responses to art and storytelling should work.

I’m laying it a bit on the line here, so maybe I ought to describe my specific problems with the episode. I can’t say the specific things I’m saying about Weisman without any receipts. Okay, I could, but that’s a fucking stupid and dangerous thing to do in this specific fandom.

I mentioned the human element. The episode is focused too much on the Maltos. I understood the logic of doing that in the early episodes (they were the viewpoint outsider characters) but at this point, I want to see Optimus Prime, and Megatron, and Bumblebee. Honestly the new Terran Bots aren’t very interesting to me, but at least they’re BOTS. But having an episode about Robby being bullied in school is NOT what a 45-minute episode should be in probably the last season (especially if the season is only two 45-minute episodes).

And I’ll go there. Despite the fact that Hoagie is a character of color, it hits me extremely wrong that this white girl Olivia is lying to her law enforcement father about this Black kid committing violence he either didn’t do or didn’t start, and she’s believed because she’s a white girl. It would be one thing if that were one of the controversies (guarantee you if Dwayne McDuffie wrote a similar scenario in “Static Shock” it would have been.) but the episode is acting colorblind and as if that specific thing doesn’t actually matter. It does. It’s why she’s believed over Robby even though Robby himself has built up a lot of goodwill and trust in the town. The thing that is especially appalling is even his own parents believe the white girl over him. Which by the way, is not remotely fucking believable. Again, this shit does NOT occur in a vacuum, and this is NOT how Black parents react to these specific types of untrue accusations against their kids.

And the emotional tie-in at the end of the episode is... Olivia’s Mommy issues? For real? We JUST met this character THIS episode and they made the pathos of the climax revolve around her.

Hot Rod’s betrayal at the end pisses me off. Because in the next episode we’re gonna learned that if it wasn’t fully justified, it was at least understandable. And Weisman is the kind of writer who thinks that makes that specific storytelling turn forgivable, or even unexpected and clever. For me, I see having Hot Rod do something like that with ZERO context in the moment is fucking dirty writing, especially if you are gonna walk it back later (and they will). And this specific writing weakness can be seen in ALL of Weisman’s work, even stuff that is beloved. And I’m realizing its unacceptable.

I will accept that Weisman is good to his fans (although I will never thank him for turning a blind eye to the bullying) but that doesn’t remotely mean I have to pretend his faults aren’t faults just because I’m afraid of them. That’s fucked up. Nobody should ever feel bad for disliking a creators’ work. And for all of you Weisman fans looking at me menacingly now and cracking your knuckles, I want to point out this episode made me legit angry. I cared about it enough that my response was to write this boring long-ass review. As far as art goes, stirring a strong reaction is actually a positive thing. I view Weisman’s work as “love it or hate it”. I’ve never seen a project of his stir anything BUT a strong reaction. You can be pissed at me saying that Weisman sucks at his job of writing (and he does). His job as an artist and creative type potentially stirring controversy and buzz? This is how it is supposed to be. And Weisman pissing me off is a better reaction than the producers of TRON: Ares boring me.

I mentioned there was one thing I liked: Megatron! He’s my favorite character on this show, and he had a couple of great moments. The first where he nobly declares to Starscream he will free him from Mandroid’s tyranny even if it means Starscream’s destruction (he’s MAYBE joking a little). I also liked the part when he initially declined to go back to Cybertron because he didn’t like the person he used to be there, and likes the person he is on Earth with the Maltos better. See? THAT is human drama that matters using a character that matters. We really shouldn’t have only gotten a single scene like that for 15 seconds.

This was bad. Depending on how the next episode goes, my opinion on this entire show may be soured. Especially because I sense this is probably it for the show. 1 star.

Transformers: EarthSpark: Special: Legacy Of Hope

So, I don’t like this show anymore. It was bad enough when they threatened to kill Megatron. Them ruining him instead is something I will never forgive.

The dialogue in the episode is legit bad. The jokes are unfunny and the character pathos lands with a thud.

I ought to hand it to the show. I predicted Weisman would put in the legwork to make Hot Rod’s betrayal be secretly rational and for the greater good. I talked shit about what a dirty storytelling move that is. Nope, I’m a dope. Weisman isn’t fucking us around after all. That bit was just legit badly written. My mistake. Again, I have been giving the guy the benefit of the doubt for years. I need to stop doing that.

If you’re growling there was obviously NO outcome to that twist that would make me happy, that’s perfectly true. Which is why it’s a bad twist.

So as of now the only Transformers project EVER I currently love is Transformers Prime (I LIKED Transformers One). This incarnation had potential but refused to focus on the right things. For me, the family stuff used to be the icing on the cake. Turning the show into ENTIRELY about that is not what the premise actually is.

And apparently this IS the series finale so it leaves Megatron wrecked. I am beyond pissed. 1 1/2 stars.