The Beast Wars Trivia Thread

[NaitoKage]

Got that faster then expected. Blaze is up to 2 points now.

[Blazemane]

What explanation does Megatron give for the fact that he talks to himself?

[Alak]

Gah that's the episode Blackarachnia asks him that question. He says something along the lines of "it's intelligent conversation". Basically an insult to everyone else around him.

[Wicked Woman]

I've always been pervy to...Intellegent conversations. ~Megatron - The Low Road.


WW

[Blazemane]

Yeah, "intelligent conversation." Alak gets it first.

Score:
Alak: 2 point
Blazemane: 2 point
GoktimusPrime: 1 points
NaitoKage: 1 points

[Alak]

Here's a freebie: What were the initial beast modes of Optimus Primal and Megatron before the cartoon aired in 1996 (toys were released in 1995)?

[NaitoKage]

Optimus Primal was a bat and Megatron was an Alligator. Originally the tv show was going to go with the prospect of possibly having Primal and Megatron switch between the two toy forms, but decided to ditch it due to the difficulties of having so many character models (which is why you see so many "repaints" in the show at the first season.)

[GoktimusPrime]

Alak: Beast Wars toys came out in 1996 dude. 1995 was the final year of Generation 2 with awesome figures like Laser Optimus Prime (one of the best Optimus Prime toys ever made IMO), the Cyber Jets, Go-Bots, and some craptacular toys like the Power Masters (which till this day I still don't own any of! :p Although I kinda want Ironhide just... cos he's Ironhide :/ (although I remember when I first saw him in stores (it was TRU) I thought to myself, "Poor Ironhide, look what they've done to you!" -- a bright flouro Go-Bot Soundwave I can take, but Power Master Ironhide is a seriously <expletive> toy!)

[Alak]

Huh... last night that same website listed 1995 as the first release year. You never know with wikis I guess.

Oh, and NK got it right.

Alak: 2 point
Blazemane: 2 point
GoktimusPrime: 1 points
NaitoKage: 2 points

[NaitoKage]

My Rattrap and Bat Primal and Croc Megatron are stamped 1995. Pretty sure they came out around that time. the Tv show came out in 1996 airing on Satelite as Pay per view, then coming out as the full tv series on fox.

[GoktimusPrime]

I just checked my Bat Primal and it says 1996. But anyway, even if the toy's stamped 1995, that would be the year that the patent was registered, and not necessarily the year of release. Often the year of release is the same as the year of patent, but it's not at all uncommon to see a year of patent being earlier than the actual year of release. It typically takes 1 year to create a Transformer from conception to final product. Hasbro/Kenner does the concepts and Takara does the engineering to transform those conceptual designs into actual toys. So it's most probable that the 1996 Transformers were designed in 1995, and some of them may have even been patent registered that year, but it wasn't till 1996 that the toys actually hit shelves and were available to the public for sale. Have no doubt that Hasbro/TOMY are currently finalising their designs for this year's toys, such as the Dark of the Moon toys. We've already seen some leaked toy images, like Dark of the Moon Megatron (which Hasbro is currently issuing "cease and desist" orders to any fan sites hosting said images - I managed to see them before the order was issued, but if you haven't already seen them you'll probably have to wait until Hasbro officially releases their images)

[Alak]

I'm actually sure it's 1995 now.

McDonalds BW toys

Also, Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transforme ... oy_line%29

With the failure of the Generation 2 series, Hasbro and Takara decided the franchise needed an overhaul. They went in a new direction and a new beginning. While there had been Transformers that change into robotic animals, the premise of the new line was that all figures would transform into animals with realistic appearances. The Beast Wars toyline was launched in the autumn of 1995, and Mainframe Entertainment produced a computer-generated imagery, or CGI, animated series program to tie in with the new toyline. A fresh idea coupled with a TV series program with strong stories assured this series the success Hasbro and Takara needed, as this series was a giant hit in international markets as well as in Takara's home market, Japan.

It's quite possible that NaitoKage got the first batch of Optimus Primals (bat form) in '95 and the one GoktimusPrime got was from a later wave in '96. Either that or Australia didn't see any BW toys until '96. Also keep in mind that the source is Wikipedia...

[NaitoKage]

Yeah, unfortunately all I have to go on is memories. I remember getting the toys around christmas to mid fall of 1995, then around march or june I first saw beast wars and recorded it on pay per view(Which I wouldn't of bothered with if I didn't have the toys) then later on was surprised to see it on tv eventually.

I wouldn't be surprised about Australia getting the stuff last(Since like europe they get videogames and such so far after the fact it's depressing.), but I do remember seeing the Machine wars toys in the store at the same time as the Beast wars..

[Nurann]

Alak: Beast Wars toys came out in 1996 dude. 1995 was the final year of Generation 2 with awesome figures like Laser Optimus Prime (one of the best Optimus Prime toys ever made IMO), the Cyber Jets, Go-Bots, and some craptacular toys like the Power Masters (which till this day I still don't own any of! :p Although I kinda want Ironhide just... cos he's Ironhide :/ (although I remember when I first saw him in stores (it was TRU) I thought to myself, "Poor Ironhide, look what they've done to you!" -- a bright flouro Go-Bot Soundwave I can take, but Power Master Ironhide is a seriously <expletive> toy!)

The figures referred to in the question were indeed a 1995 release; my box and little comic that came in it has that date on it, and was confirmed by the research I did on them when I got the box home from Botcon last year. The set of two, or the original bat Optimus Primal and alligator Megatron, was released before BW itself with the original timeline concept in a small comic inside the toy box. The storyline was later changed to be what we know it as for the CGI cartoon release.

[Alak]

^ sorry that we're drifting off topic, but is that the comic where Optimus is flying around and he lands near a swamp where Megatron catches him off guard? If so, I think I used to have that (someone gave it to me, I didn't have the toy).