Your favorite story arc?

[EverBlue]

All the major story arcs and subplots are listed in the poll. Naturally, I couldn't fit in all of them and heck, some of them even overlap each other. But anyways, which storyline in the show would you consider your favorite and why did you get so much enjoyment out of it? If I left anything out that you may have thought needed inclusion, go ahead and say which storyline it was that you enjoyed.

You can also post your opinions on the other storylines as well. I'll post my thoughts later tonight.

[Orin]

There was only one option in my mind...and it looks as though the majority agree...
The tragic story of Depth Charge's haunted past and obsession with the criminal who caused this is deep and involving...
And Rampage IS DANG COOL!!!

[EverBlue]

My take on the storylines:

Vok plot - This one started out really good, all through Season One. There was mystery, there was intrigue, there were also a lot of cool action scenes and big explosions. The stories were almost poetic in their execution. Season Two rolled around and we got Other Visits Part One and Two. Don't get me wrong because they were really well-animated and well-written but they felt pretty empty. I mean, for one thing, after six episodes of unsolved mysteries dedicated to the Vok(along with two episodes that hint at them remotely), you'd think we would learn more about them. But no.

Instead, what we get is the abduction for Tigatron and Airazor. And for what? So that they can get replaced with Silverbolt and Blackarachnia who later on dig up the Ark and let Megatron prance right into it to destroy time and space? In the end, we learn nothing new about the aliens and we lose two cherished characters for no apparent reason.

Then third season rolls along and we see that the aliens are two giant voodoo glowing skulls. Somehow, I was expecting a little more... maybe like an entire civlization or them or something. I guess it's just like that show Lost. The revelations and answers to our questions never live up to their hype. Maybe if Beast Wars had lasted another 13 episodes(or more ideally, 26), then maybe the Vok storyline could've been expanded on a lot more. Who knows.

Dinobot's storyline - Dinobot used to be my favorite character at one point. Nowadays, he barely scratches the surface of my top five but I'll still give credit where it's due. The episodes that concentrated on his character were for the most part phenomenal. The guilt and shame he felt over his betrayal of the Maximals were very real. He realized that he had become untrustworthy, not to mention hypocritical. Then he sacrificed himself in the heartfelt episode that many of us consider to be perhaps the greatest Beast Wars episode of all time. His story was brilliant and touching.

Protoform X's tale - My personal favorite. If I could go any deeper into how awesome Rampage is, I'd have to write an essay that spanned many paragraphs. But I digress. Rampage introduced a completely new facet of the Beast Wars. We find out that the Maximal government isn't exactly all full of sunshine and happiness. We also see the traumatized victims of his attacks in the form of Depth Charge. It's a psychological drama's paradise from there on. The way they died was also moving and climactic. My only complaint is that Rampage is in a total of 13 episodes while DC's only in 7. I wish they had lived longer... But anyways, Rampage owns you. Don't ever forget it.

Maximals & Preds find out they're on Earth - Leads up to the Agenda trilogy. Pure brilliance. 'Nuff said.

Protecting the Autobots in the Ark - Most of the Maximals start getting more jaded and cynical. Optimus is no longer as corny or as entertaining as he used to be.

High-strung and jaded Maximals = Meh

Standalones - Most of them from Season 1 are underrated gems. You don't have epic, high-octane story arcs like the one in Season 2 without standalone episodes like the ones from the first season to build up characters so that you can care for them and get a good feel for 'em as well. As much as I like Season 2, a part of me wishes that the first season had gone on indefinitely.

[Crowbot]

Story arcs are great, but it's the standalone episodes which I usually end up cherishing more. Season one had lots of good ones, a few average ones and one or two rather bad ones. The problem with standalones is sometimes they descend into too much cartoony violence or plain silliness, like "The Low Road" (IMO, the series' weakest episode). Most of the time, however, these are the stories where we get to know the characters best because they're not too swamped by furthering the main plot. "Power Surge", "A Better Mousetrap", "Double Jeopardy" and "Dark Voyage" from season one stick out in my mind as favourites, as does "Possession" (although you could tie it in with the whole G1-arc from seasons two and three, Starscream's hijinks are still a standalone story). I missed the standalones in seasons two and three, but what few we got - like "Cutting Edge" - were great.

Not that I didn't love the story arcs too. As EverBlue said, the Vok plot started off great but fizzled out by the end. I think it was more a case of trying to pack too much into just 13 episodes, so something had to go - and it ended up being the Vok. "Other Victories" is a disappointing resolution to the story arc, but that still doesn't detract from brilliant episodes like "The Trigger" in season one. In a way it's kind of nice that the Vok remain mysterious - leaves plenty of fertile ground for fanfic.

Dinobot's arc was magnificent. Truly masterful storytelling. Pity they had to bring in TM2 Dinobot after it was so beautifully resolved, but nevermind.

Rampage and Depth Charge's arc didn't get me as excited as it does to some people, but nonetheless I did enjoy it and it was brought to a satisfying conclusion.

The G1-stuff was great, everything from the Ark to Starscream and Ravage ("Decepticons forever!"). My only complaint here is that G1's history started to completely dominate the show towards the end of season three, at the expense of the show's original ideas (such as the Vok). The G1 arc should have ended with the saving of Optimus Prime at the beginning of season three, I think: the appearance of the Nemesis wasn't as important to me as getting some resolution between the BW characters, which is why I find the last two episodes a bit disappointing. Most of the BW cast are left hanging around inside the Ark with nothing to do, which is a bit of an anticlimax after 50 episodes of build-up. I enjoyed the links with G1 that were peppered throughout the series, but toward the end the show got a little too bogged down in history.

[RobotInDisguise]

THe Dinobot plot rules all.