Alright, Transformers fans, it's time once again for our most popular feature on the web site!  And by "most popular" I mean "it's gotten more comments than any other."  These typically are in the form of long-time friends suddenly changing their phone numbers without telling me, or sending me emails consisting solely of the sentence "you big freak" or "step out of the Way Back Machine."  These kind of comments had led me to believe that no one liked these articles, but then a new one was actually specifically requested on the message board!  After restarting my heart, I decided it was actually time to do another one of these, so let's go!

The Decepticons have reformed after their apparent defeat in "More Than Meets the Eye Part 3" and have contacted Cybertron.  Shockwave has built a Space Bridge during Megatron's absence, and it is rigged to send and receive material from Earth.  Unfortunately, the first test run fails miserably.  Bumblebee and Spike discover the Space Bridge, but are captured.  Megatron alters Bumblebee's memory to lead the Autobots to a trap while simultaneously planning on sending Spike over the Space Bridge to see if a pilot will change the outcome.  Of course, the Autobots escape Megatron's trap and save Spike.  Megatron himself gets inadvertently sucked into the Space Bridge's transport beam and is presumed dead.  Or is he?...

• When we last saw the Decepticons, they were going down, in flames, into the ocean where they barely survived.  Now all of a sudden they have an Atlantis-like city underwater.  Where'd they get the stuff to build all this?
• When we first see Shockwave, his behavior is strange for two reasons:  First, he's sitting in gun mode for no apparent reason; and second, he's firing for no apparent reason.  He even transforms and says "losing power..."  Well maybe you shouldn't be firing, genius!
• The Autobots and Decepticons left Cybertron in the first place because they didn't have enough energy to last "a quartex," which apparently is a measurement meaning "four million years" because they're still quite alive, with communications in place, and they've even built a Space Bridge.
• Speaking of this four million years business, why the hell did Shockwave wait four million years before trying to contact Megatron?
• As with the space cruiser in "More Than Meets the Eye part 2," there's just no way in hell that Megatron could have constructed this elaborate Space Bridge on his end in what seems like a manner of hours.  Hell, using Earth materials, I doubt he be able to build it in decades.
• What's with this time figure Shockwave gives of "3,000 astroseconds?" Three thousand?!?  You mean there's no way of breaking that up into larger units of measurement?
• Bumblebee, after discovered by the Decepticons (and bravely zipping away, leaving Spike in the dust) drives into a cave for safety.  Well, sort of.  After he drives in, he drives back out and taunts the Decepticons for a few seconds and then goes back in, all for no apparent reason.
• At one point, Jazz uses a stalagmite to "bat" away one of Starscream's blasts.  The odd thing here is that his blasts destroyed the stalagmites just seconds earlier, and the very blast that Jazz knocks back destroys the one behind Starscream.  So why didn't it destroy the one Jazz used as a bat?
• After saving Ironhide in the cave, Optimus Prime stands and faces Megatron.  Then Prowl has a line, and when we cut back to Prime, he's suddenly stuck in a kneeling position with a foot stuck in a pile of rocks that were nowhere near him two milliseconds prior.  What the hell happened?

CHANGED PREMISES

Actually, quite a bit changed between "More Than Meets the Eye," the pilot, and "Transport to Oblivion," the first episode of the actual series.  These changes make it look like this was never meant to be a series at all, but just a three-part movie of sorts.

• According to Ironhide, the Autobots have been on Earth for "months" since defeating Megatron at the end of "More Than Meets the Eye part 3."  However, at the end of that episode, the Autobots had received energy from the nations of the world and were just moments away from returning to and revitalizing Cybertron.  So what happened?
• Cliffjumper shoots a Decepticon-shaped rock at the start of this episode that was nowhere to be seen in "More Than Meets the Eye."  In fact, the whole base looks different.  It's a lot more like a desert than before, when it had much more grass and trees.
• Shockwave tells Megatron that his supply of energon cubes is dangerously low.  This is probably due to the fact that he doesn't have any, since Megatron invented them on Earth.
• This marks the only time I remember Soundwave dramatically glowing when he first transforms at the power plant.
• Starscream fires a concussion blast at Ratchet and Prowl, while before he had null rays (and will again in this episode).
• Shockwave tells Megatron that the Space Bridge can only be used for "eleven minutes."  Megatron, at the start of the first test, says they'll be sending the cargo in "five seconds."  Why then does Shockwave tell Megatron that the Space Bridge will be inoperative for "3,000 astroseconds?"  In other words, he suddenly switched to a totally different unit of time for no good reason.

ANIMATION FLUBS

• The Autobot ship has only three thrusters.  Actually, I'm not sure if this is an animation mistake or a changed premise, since it may or may not go back to five thrusters with the next episode.
• When Shockwave first contacts Megatron, he leans forward into the viewscreen, then he leans back.  His shadow remains in the "leaned forward" position though.
• At one point, Teletran pinpoints the sudden city-wide energy loss to the "SOLOR POWE STATION," whatever the hell that is.
• Optimus Prime's first transformation comes from "More Than Meets the Eye."
• When Starscream gets ready to take off from the Solor Powe Station, we see Skywarp streak off in the background.  Then Starscream transforms and takes off.  As he does, Skywarp takes off again and joins Starscream in the sky.
• When Bumblebee and Spike first find the Space Bridge, the camera pans over to Megatron who says "prepare for the test run, Shockwave."  As he says this, his mouth is way off to the side and only about half on his face.  It looks hilarious.
• Megatron mouths Shockwave's line "test run number two aborted."
• When Laserbeak returns to report that the Autobots fell for Bumblebee's reprogramming, he transforms into a cassette with no transformation sound.
• When the Autobots arrive at the cave, Prowl is drawn like Sideswipe.
• Ratchet and Gears seem to swap voices throughout this episode.  Actually, as memory serves, they swap voices throughout the entire series.
• When the Decepticons leave the cave, Skywarp takes off and the minute he hits the air and flies away, he becomes Thundercracker.
• After entering and getting sealed into the cave, four new Autobots appear that weren't there before.  Also, after blasting open the cave and driving away, these four Autobots are never seen again.
• As Ravage guards Spike, the energy beams that form Spike's cage can't decide if they want to be behind or in front of Ravage's head.
• The metal track that the Space Bridge car runs along vanishes as Spike jumps onto Bumblebee's hood.
• When the Space Bridge first operates, the doors are solid and take up the whole width and height of the Space Bridge itself.  However, during Spike's test run, the doors are thin and only cover the front of the bridge.
• After the second test fails and Starscream takes command, Skywarp magically becomes Starscream for two shots.

CORRECTIONS

• I'm continually disgusted with people's nonsense regarding this show.  For instance, some clown out there wonders how we see Shockwave's side when the angle changes during Megatron and Shockwave's conversation.  For this to happen, it would require 3D communicators, and the Transformers don't have those.  Says who?  These guys can build a Space Bridge out of rocks in ten seconds, but a 3D television screen is not possible.  Ugh, people out there need to put this shit into perspective.
• I've also hear people ask why the debris that goes up into the Space Bridge portal along with Megatron doesn't materialize on Cybertron with him.  I don't think these people watched the episode very closely, because Megatron says three different times that traversing the space bridge requires guidance.  Obviously Megatron is equipped to do this, but the rocks are not.

- Danimal