When Transformers G1 Series Died

The Transformers Generation 1 series debuted on September 17, 1984. But the REAL question is when did it die and why? So fasten your seatbelts because you're about to go on a nostalgia trip to Cybertron to discover "more than meets the eye" about when the Transformers G1 series died. Enjoy!

Time Stamps:
00:00 - Series Backstory
00:41 - Starting off strong
2:53 - Changing gears
3:35 - Going “off-the-rails”
6:25 - “The Massacre of 1986”
7:31 - The Ultimate Doom

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[FunFactFilms]

What should I do for my next "When...Died" video?

[fbomb]

As someone who watched G1 in realtime, I can tell you the first 2 seasons and The Movie were G1’s peak. The animation, the characters, the story telling, all went down hill with 5 Faces of Darkness. Sure season 2 had some quirky episodes, but they were one and done story arcs completed in a single episode, a welcome break from the rinse and repeat formula of the Autobots thwarting the Decepticons’ plan every episode.

[applesaucemm]

There isn’t an episode that I didn’t like. This was my childhood. The weird episodes still had a place in my heart.

[erickarriola]

Honestly the side character episodes were awesome. Helped give every character a chance to shine. Most transformer shows nowadays are very airtight and plot focused and dont have as many Characters. This is the charm of g1 for me, that the world was big and filled with so many characters. I hope future tf media goes back to the g1 formula to hopefully create even more new characters and continue expanding the franchise.

[dragonangel]

I actually agree with this. As much as I love the movie, it truly was the peak of the show. As a kid I did not like season 3 or most of it's characters.

[gabrielboorom]

One thing I think we can all agree on: Starscream's death was epic. The gem of the entire movie.

[trynawork]

I remember being in the theater for the first live action movie. After the words “I am Optimus Prime” the theater burst into applause and yelling like a sporting event… it’s amazing the company didn’t know what they had.

[ShartimusPrime]

1986 movie killed it for me in my childhood. I only watched S3/4 sparingly back then. Caught up to see it all of course in adulthood. Totally agreed w this, but I remember more and more combiners getting introduced up to the release of the movie.

[lazer]

“The Massacre of 1986” sounds suspiciously like “The Bite of 87”

[phillipwattsjr.]

I liked the more off-the-wall episodes...they showed that the series didn't take itself too seriously. Of course, The Movie and Season 3 changed that.

[o..p]

I think most people can agree it was Primes death that’s killed the series if he was still alive and leading more people might have stuck around

[cabbitkisser]

i was just 13 when the transformers came out in 84. i had a mess load of transformers back then. i used watch the show. i still got all of my old transformer comic books still today. the gen 1 transformers are still the best around to me.

[washuotaku]

If you saw it in theaters, like I did, it was devastating. It was also Orson Welles' last movie.

[FifthRobin]

The show just couldn't be the same without iconic characters like Ironhide and Ratchet...

[eugenepalmer]

Last year I revised G1 with my 9-year-old son, from my amazement, he enjoyed watching G1 before 1986 Transformers Movie. Well no other way to avoid watching the 1986 movie, we watch the massacre and my son was completely distraught after the death of Optimus prime. He pause the movie and was completely baffled. He watch the rest of the movie hoping that Optimus prime somehow or someway come back to life. I have to inform him after the movie to just keep watching the rest of the episodes and Optimus prime will come back to life. He truly did not want to watch the rest of the episodes but he reluctantly did. It was like I was reliving the moment how he felt when I was a child.

[vectorprime]

Another thing I think that's worth pointing out is that the animation quality really dipped as the show went on. The reason for this is that the show was worked on by two studios, Toei and AKOM. Toei handled all of season 1 and most of season 2. By the time season 3 came around, AKOM handled a decent chunk of that season and all of season 4. AKOM in general was worse at shadowing and drawing proportions. A good example of this is various episodes in season 2 where Devastator looks like a cardboard cutout rather than a towering giant.

[Alverant]

I think the side characters are important to flesh out the cast. Even side characters have fans so it's important to include them. You can't keep relying on the same half dozen every episode and not have it get stale.

[kyledamron]

My favorite cartoon of all time. A lot of people would say the movie started the demise of the show by killing off Optimus Prime as well as many other fan favorites

[edaniels]

The Girl Who Loves Powerglide was one of the funniest episodes from season 2

[supersmashbro]

"hey kids. wanna see the transformers on the big screen?"
kids: "yeah!"
"now do you want to watch them all die in horrific, pointless ways while we shill you new toys?"