Why Getting Up Early Is Worth It

I like to hit the Market Mall Toys R Us early on Saturday morning. It gives me the chance to get at the Transformers stuff before the it gets too busy, and I’ve found some nice treats waiting on the shelves. Last time, I found Masterpiece Grimlock.

Today, I was slightly disappointed to see that there wasn’t really anything new, aside from Wave 2 of the Power Core Combiner 2-packs. At least, that’s what I thought. Because as I was leaving the aisle, I noticed that they had gotten some more Leader Class toys in. Mostly Optimus Prime, until I spotted something in the back that looked distinctly un-Optimus. So I go digging, and come up with…

Leader Class Starscream. The only one there, the only one I’ve seen in Calgary ever. Naturally, the Power Cores went back on the pegs and Screamer came with me instead.

I might still get those Power Core dudes, though, because I like the PCC stuff.

And now, for some not-Transformers stuff. I grabbed How To Train Your Dragon on DVD, because I loved that movie so much. Incredible visuals, brilliant voice acting (Craig Ferguson as Gobber, anyone?), and yes, I happen to think Toothless is adorable. I’m looking forward to going home and watching it about three times in a row.

Also, to rekindle a somewhat forgotten enjoyment of mine, I got Mythbusters: Collection 6.

Tonight is going to be fun.

Help! I’m Becoming A GeeWunner!

Okay, that’s not true. But it sounded good. And I can’t help but feel that way with all of this info about Transformers: Prime coming down the tubes. I don’t want to submit to my instinctive reaction, especially since I’ve ended up eating my words when I’ve knee-jerked to several other Transformer series. Particularly, I was really harsh on the G1 series and on TF:Animated. I was introduced to Transformers through the first live-action movie, and that was all I accepted for the longest time. Now, G1 and Animated are probably my favorite series, with the live-action movies coming in at a distant third. I really need to get around to watching Beast Wars someday.

But I digress. I want to talk about Transformers: Prime here. First of all, the good things. This will be the first Transformers series that I get to watch from the very beginning, the first time I’ll get to feel that anticipation, that thrill of sitting down to see something brand new in my beloved fandom and share that excitement with a whole bunch of other people. Call me silly, but I enjoy that sort of thing.

Good thing number two would be Frank Welker being cast in the series, simply because he’s one of my favorite voice actors, and has been since I started paying attention to voice acting and just how many times his name popped up in the credits of the stuff I watched. And on the topic of voice actors, I do love me some Peter Cullen. And just actors in general…how about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Cliffjumper? Think they’ll go crazy on the Ghostbusters references for Ernie Hudson?

Now, let’s hop onto the fence for a while to talk about some of the character designs. My favorite design so far has to be Bulkhead. He looks pretty awesome. Arcee has a pretty good design as well, and Ratchet looks promising.

Let me pause for a breath here, because I might get a little ranty at this point. Still on the topic of character designs, it’s scary how much I hate that Starscream design. He looks so thin and spindly, and feminine to the point where–wait, you hear that? It’s a chorus of slashfic writers crying out with joy. And that head, set so low and hunched down when the rest of him is so long and lanky is strange.

Next, the little information that the character bios are providing just make me nervous. I long for a series where the Decepticons are given characterization, motivations beyond just a lust for power, anything to make them more than generic bad guys. I don’t think I’m going to get that with this series. I’m worried that they will use Frank Welker’s return as an excuse to just rehash G1 Megatron. I love G1 Megs for what he is, a campy, silly ’80s villain. I don’t want to see that in a modern series.

And finally, the short clip in the commerical for the Hub launch, featuring a closeup of Optimus Prime’s face while he delivers the famous “Autobots, roll out!” line. Something about that face bothers me. I love the helmet, but the face is just weird. And looks far too young to be speaking in Peter Cullen’s Prime voice.

That’s about it for now. I’m trying to stay positive about the series, trying to look forward to it, but I’m going to have to see more before I make a judgment either way. Here’s hoping it works out for the best.