Episode 001 - More Than Meets the Eye Part 1

The First Ever Episode of The Transformers

Synopsis
A Civil War rages on the planet Cybertron between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons. With the planet's resources depleted, the Autobots - guided by there leader, Optimus Prime - set out on a mission to scout for new energy sources. But a surprise attack from Megatron and the Decepticons will leave both sides marooned and deactivated on the distant planet Earth for 4 million years! When they finally reawaken, the battle between good and evil continues on present-day Earth.

Review
This episode has probably been seen by every Transformers fan in existence. We are introduced to the most memorable characters (and Trailbreaker). The animation is decent for 1984 but there are some mistakes. This episode is far from perfect. However, it is better than what shows up in later seasons. The voice acting is better than most Kid's shows at the time (IE: Voltron). The best actor of the whole bunch has to be Peter Cullen. He seemed like the only one who was taking his dialogue seriously in this first episode. Peter Cullen was great from the start, while the other actors improved over time. To this day I still find it odd that on Cybertron the Autobots and Decepticons have their Earth Mode bodies. I guess it is because they were using animation models. So, for the first five minutes they didn't want to make completely different robot designs. I do give them credit for making new alt modes for the characters who do transform (though Soundwave being a Lampost was stupid). Also, apparently Teletran 1 got damaged in the crash because it couldn't tell the difference between an Autobot and a Decepticon, while in later episodes it automatically knows when a Decepticon is in the base. Also of note, there is a crane named Hauler who will never be seen or heard of again or at least until E-Hobby made Road Hauler (E-Hobby doesn't exist in the Transformers universe).
Despite being a giant metal robot, Optimus Prime can't lift a steel bar that is probably the weight of his arm. Also, how can the Autobots even float in the water? They are solid metal and probably would sink..... Wait, I'm trying to make logical sense about a series that revolves around giant transforming robots (maybe they are just standing considering their size). There isn't much character development in this episode aside from Hound liking Earth, Cliffjumper being a hot head and the fact that the writers knew from the beginning that Starscream wants to be leader of the Decepticons. Overall, this is a great start to a freakin' awesome franchise. It appears the humans have the same thinking as Michael Bay which is that humans are able to kill giant robots with lead pipes.

7 out of 10 Energon Cubes
 
(Images from the Transformers Wiki, Review written by Soundout)