A 'teaser' trailer for the War for Cybertron: Kingdom series on Netflix arrived in the last couple of days and, without any real enthusiasm, I watched it.
Naturally, at just a little over 20 seconds in length, it doesn't offer much, even as a teaser, but it does suggest that most, if not all transformations will continue to happen 'off screen'. There's a bit where Optimus Prime comes under fire in robot mode, and emerges from a cloud of smoke and debris in truck mode after the traditional transformation sound is heard. For that reason alone, I wouldn't bother watching any of its six episodes. But then... he also still has his Cybertronian vehicle mode, so precisely what was the point of Earthrise? And what's the point of the Earthrise toyline - and half of the Kingdom toyline - if the Autobots never adopt their contemporary, terrestrial vehicle disguises?
But, even in a mere 20 seconds, there are other warning signs. The terrible frame rate, the terrible matching of dialogue to facial movements, the terrible voice acting, the terrible writing... I mean, I know it's probably cut together specifically for the trailer, but "My name is Optimus Primal... Wrrr fwomm yuurrrr fuuuchurrrrrrrr..." sounds like the actor was both bored and drunk, the recording quality was poor and somebody flipped a switch into slowmo halfway through the line.
And was he ever really named Optimus Primal? I know that's what the toy was called, and I know that's what Megatron often called him in the TV show, but it came across as Megatron being sarcastic... And pretty much all the Maximals only ever referred to him as either 'Optimus' or by one of their myriad nicknames for him... I don't recall him ever introducing himself as 'Optimus Primal'...
And somehow Ultra Magnus is back, and seemingly in his contemporary, terrestrial vehicle mode? Admittedly, it's difficult to be certain given the way the scene is framed... But the idea of him considering Optimus his 'Nemesis' really isn't interesting enough to get me curious about the show.
Based on my experience of having watched Siege and read about Earthrise, it's not just that I think the concluding chapter will be poorly written, poorly performed and poorly animated, with very little connection to the toyline (for example, I will be very surprised if a single Fossiliser appears), it's that I reckon a six-to-eight-year-old would be able to come up with a better story, playing with the toys on their bedroom floor.
Whoever approved this storyline at Hasbro's end clearly has no interest in TransFormers, or using a TV show to adequately market their products. I mean, let's face it, the G1 cartoon was neither the best written, nor the best animated tie-in to a toyline, but it fulfilled its purpose of introducing all the characters from the toyline as they emerged, with stories that involved these giant alien robots actually transforming... and it had to be hand-animated in those days. The Netflix show uses CGI based heavily on the toys, so it should be easy to animate their transformations. The G1 TV show managed to introduce Sky Lynx, Omega Supreme, and many others from the ultimately disparate collection of toys Hasbro cobbled together under the banner of TransFormers. The War for Cybertron Trilogy doesn't have anything like the extensive catalogue of toys, yet only a handful of characters are even featured.
It's genuinely pathetic...
Coincidentally, news has emerged of the next live-action TransFormers movie, subtitled Rise of the Beasts, and featuring a whole five factions: Autobots, Decepticons, Maximals, Predacons... and Terrorcons. It sounds as though there's something of a Unicron Trilogy influence at work. I'm not holding out much hope for the live action movie series at this point... But I'll be curious to see the toys when they finally emerge.
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