Beast Wars (Part 1)

Episode Summary & Review

Summary

After travelling into the distant past via a transwarp drive, the Maximals battle the Predacons in outer space, but both ships crash land on a mysterious planet. They scan for beast forms to protect their robot forms from the planet’s large amount of Energon. Enraged by the apparent failure to land on Earth, Dinobot challenges Megatron for leadership of the Predacons, but is blown away by Scorponok. After the first battle on the planet between the Maximals and Predacons, Dinobot reappears to challenge Optimus Primal for leadership of the Maximals.

Our Take

A scrappy pilot that mostly works. The CGI looks rough now, but the character voices sell it, and Dinobot’s double challenge gives the episode a real spine. The Energon premise is set up fast without much explanation, so just roll with it. Worth a watch, especially if you want to see where the series earned its reputation.