Beast Machines

Episode 13: End of the Line

SPOILERS AHEAD

SYNOPSIS:

Tankor tries to manipulate the events so that Megatron and Primal
will face off.  Tankor has give Megatron's the means to replicate 
enough keys to deploy beams on a "planetary level".

Cheetor and Rattrap try tapping into Megatron's activities.
Tankor drones attack but Rattrap tests some "organic tentacle mines"
successfully.

Tankor is frustrated when he can't control the drones.  He plots to
get Megatron to use the drones for him.

The diagnostic drone sends a false vision to Primal and reveals the
"Plasma Energy chamber" and sends him the command controls.
As in the Transformer: Generation 1 series "Rebirth", the PEC overloads
machinery without harming organic forms.

Now, both sides have the ability to change the world to their vision
of what the planet should be.
Cheetor injects some sense into the situation and brings to light that
if Primal uses the PEC to change Cybertron, Primal is just as bad as
Megatron.  The Maximals take Cheetor's advice and attempt to disable
the Vehicons with "key programs" from firing on the entire planet.

Tankor zaps Rattrap with the key and Primal senses it.
Primal faces off with Megatron (which quickly becomes reminiscent of their
first encounter in Master of the House).  The other Maximals aren't
faring so well -- each of them are hit with the key program.

Primal attempts to re-format Megatron but Tankorr arrives and hits
Primal with a blast from the Key to Vector Sigma.  But as Tankor turns
his guns on Megatron, energy binders sieze Tankor.  Every General is
hardwired to not attack Megatron.

Primal activates the Chamber as Megatron gives the order to fire the
key program.  Beams all over Cybertron swirl.  Tankor watches helplessly.
The metallic infected Primal watches his fingers blow away as glitter.

"To be continued" rears its ugly head.


DESIGN NOTES:

The diagnostic drone exits the Oracle/Vector Sigma and states that he
sent the false vision.  Evidently, the Vehicons need direct access to
the super computer to send such a vision.
Also, after Tankor had the drone get the key, access was denied to Primal.

Bob Skir uses yet another plot device from the old Transformer series:
the Plasma Energy Chamber.  So all of you people (including myself) who
wanted to forget "Rebirth" may need to work it back into the storyline.

The Beast Machine writers did warn us that they would take elements and
devices from many continuities in writing Beast Machines.
This is where some more people bail the Beast Machine boat, more nay-sayers
say "see, I told you so".  I guess we need a champion to yet again resolve
the continuity retcons -- who will be our hero?


ANSWERS:

So like Captain Benjamin Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Optimus Primal
needs to realize that he's been getting some false visions and determine
which ones were real and which ones were lies.

So whose corrupted here?  We have Rhinox/Tankor corrupted by Megatron, the
Oracle/Vector Sigma corrupted by Tankor.  And Primal and Megatron are acting
upon lies from Tankorr.  Poor Cybertron is caught in the middle.


The Beast Machine FUTURE:

Pure spectulation really... Now that the First Season is concluded (the
first 13 episodes of the "planned" 26 have aired, what now?

It will be interesting if anyone gets a new body out of this last episode.
Primal and Cheetor looked pretty cool to me.  But ya know how pure-robotic
forms make you evil.

Will Episode 14 follow in a mere months or will we wait until September 2000?
Are the episodes produced and will air in Canada immediately while US viewers
wait for 9 months?
The last scenario seems the most harsh on us fans in the United States.
A lot of people will be pretty upset if Beast Machines continued in Canada and
all we got was a new Power Ranger series.

Oh, by the way, Power Rangers Lost Galaxy concluded Saturday as well.
The new series is called Power Rangers (duh) Lightspeed Rescue.
I will say that the "Zords" (blasted name!) are not too bad.  I actually want
to get the "Grand Liner" and "Liner Boy" mechs.  In the US, "Grand Liner" is
going to be called the "Super Train Megazord".  Maybe "Liner Boy" will be
named "Train Boy".  Well, as Zords go, the main Zord "Lightspeed Megazord"
isn't _TOO_ bad.

Maybe Beast Machines will go into re-runs.  Then finally, the toys show up.
Then, McDonalds will have a promotion.

Oh, dread, now that the Animorphs line is dead, will they adapt unused
Animorph designs as Beast Machine toys?


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