Transformers - Heroes - Rebirth (Vols. 1-3)

Starring:Michael Chain, Jeff McKay, Brad Garrett, Tony St. James, Bud Davis, Jerry Houser, Hubert Gagnon, Corey Burton, Marshall Efron, Denise Mora (II), Milt Jamin, Arlene Banas, Ted Schwartz, Don Messick, Michael McConnohie, Michael Horton, Ed Gilbert, Aron Kincaid, Ken Sansom, Morgan Lofting
Director: Jay Bacal, Peter Wallach, John Walker (XVIII)
Studio: Rhino / Wea
Product Type: DVD

Description

The Earth is the battleground in an age-old struggle for control over the universe. Ordinary looking planes, cars, and vehicles suddenly transform into mighty robots that wage war with the advanced armory of super technology. It's the Decepticons against the Autobots in a battle for the world's energy supply. With the help of human allies, the Autobots just might be able to keep control away from the power-hungry Decepticons. Featuring episode, "Rebirth 1-3," The Decepticons attack Autobot City in an attempt to steal the key to the plasma chamber on Cybertron. They succeed and Punch is badly damaged. The Decepticons (led by Cyclonus), ten Autobots (led by Hot Rod), and the key end up on the planet Nebulos.

Customer Reviews:

The Last Hoorah for the Transformers.......2004-02-09

By 1986, the Transformers were still very popular, but fans had grown tired of the show, especially since its 3rd season changed its tone very drastically. It was more of a "space bonanza" kind of show and it no longer featured our hero, Optimus Prime. After the show's producers responded to the demands of the fans wanting Optimus Prime back, they ended Season 3 with his much-welcomed resurrection. They geared up for a 4th season, but by now, the popularity had waned, and thus the series ended with one last three-parter that was initially intended to launch the would-be 4th season. "Rebirth" introduced many new Transformers into the mix, most of them being the Headmasters (robots that transformed from the robots' heads) and the Targetmasters (robots that transformed from weapons).

Our story is about a planet called Nebulos, in which the society is fighting back against their evil rulers, "The Hive." The Hive control all the machinery and basically do their dirtywork. Several autobots crash-land on the planet after being pursued by the decepticons. The autobots had the "key to the plasma energy chamber" which was what the Transformers were forged from (or maybe it was just the autobots?). Once the decepticons find them on the planet, both robotic factions take sides and engage in combat. Optimus Prime discovers this because of Alpha Trion (who merged with Vector Sigma, recall), who says that Vector Sigma allowed Galvatron to know of the key. New battles are fought, new Transformers are introduced, and the decepticons are shot halfway across the galaxy while Cybertron hits another Golden Age.

Plotwise, it's ok, but most of the episodes spend time introducing the new characters and this planet that they're on. It seems like it could've been a decent direction for the show had it lasted longer, but instead, everything seems crammed together. The "love" relationship between autobot Arcee and human Daniel is rather disturbing to say the least. After all, wasn't Arcee supposed to hook up with Hot Rod or Springer anyways? Speaking of which, Hot Rod was also disappointing in this episode. He has returned to the "young-in" that was portrayed in the movie, but seriously, after leading the autobots for almost a friggen year you think he could've matured a little. It's like the third season never happened.

Overall, while it's certainly not a terrible episode, I find myself wishing the Transformers series had ended on a better note. "The Return of the Optimus Prime" seemed like a near-perfect ending to me, with Prime gaining Galvatron's respect and all. Maybe I'm just thinking this way because it's the Transformers last hoorah and being a fan of this show, I never wanted it to end. A must for Transformers fans; others needn't bother.

The final three episodes of the series.......2004-02-07

After Optimus Prime's heroic return (finally) in the final two-part episode "The Return of Optimus Prime," Marvel and Sunbow geared up for what was supposed to be the fourth season for our beloved cartoon show. Unfortunately, they ended up only producing a three-part episode "The Rebirth," which somewhat concludes the series in general. This brought in the Headmasters and the Targetmasters, in addition to Fortress Maximus, the new Autobot base, and Scorponok, the Decepticon base that transforms (duh!) into a scorpion. The storyline consists of several Autobots crashing on a far-away planet Nebulos while carrying the "key to the plasma energy chamber" (or something like that) and the Decepticons were in pursuit. They join two factions on the planet, the Nebulans themselves and the "Hive," an underground organization that rules the planet with an iron fist.

Actually, come to think of it, I'm glad they didn't extend the series to a longer seasonal run. By season 3, Transformers had gone as far as it could. While it delved further into the mythology of the Transformers, the charm (and more importantly, the CHARACTERS) the made the series so excellent to begin with are practically nonexistant with the exception of a key few characters. So, is this three parter excellent with the return of Optimus Prime? While Optimus does have a decent role in the final installment, it's still an episode that seems jampacked with new characters (obviously because of the new toys that were out). Hot Rod's back to his old self like the movie and while that it appropriate given Optimus's return, it feels so awkward and out of place. Also, I was disturbed by the Arcee/Daniel relationship in the movie... seriously, a little kid loving an Autobot?? How could that work? I won't go into that much because Amazon edits submitted reviews, but I'm just going to say that it's inappropriate and completely WRONG.

The subplot of Vector Sigma's "plan" (which causes Cybertron's second golden age) seemed very rushed as well. They didn't spend enough time like any true transfan would've wanted.

I would only get this DVD if you are a die hard Transformers fan. It's still an interesting rental, perhaps, to see how the mighty cartoon series came to an end. Otherwise, I recommend caution. Perhaps it'll come with season 3, even though it's supposed to be season 4 (and only 3 episodes in the season).

Confused hectic series should have been a movie........2004-02-01

This SHORT series should have been another movie. It suffered from several problems as a series, however. Because they shoved so much new stuff into 3 made for TV episodes, the story line is way over-compressed. It also seems like it's almost nothing but a plug for a bunch of new transformers that they never had enough time in the series to develop and then make for toy production (and thence, more money). So, what the viewer gets is a story that seems almost entirely monetarily based to generate revenue on a bunch of new Transformers before the series ended. Despite this being a fictitious story line, these episodes take the ridiculous to a whole new level, even when one accepts the basic tenements of the Transformers in general. These three episodes have enough in them for a properly written STORY (read: movie or another year's worth of episodes). Overall, it's good closure for a Transformers fan, but erringly schizophrenic.

Good, but not great episodes...what a con!.......2003-07-29

On this disk is the three part Rebirth saga which would have begun the transformers cartoons fourth season, but due to lessening fan demand it was cancelled ( see we only have ourselves to blame!)

The DVD is standard, that is there just there, no effort has been made to include extras and the episodes only look slightly better then an VHS copy from the 1980's ( I use to have one before bying a DVD)All the animation glitches are still noticeble.

Sadly the story is played a touch more light hartedly then the movie and most season 3 shows (probberly due to the inculsion of Optimus Prime) Bottom line - you want big coulrfull episodes, get this, if you want a cartoon with a harder edge buy the movie.

Great series - why had it been cancelled???.......2003-05-19

Why had it been cancelled and replaced by a CGI series with new characters carring the same or similar names??
Good animation quality and Optimus Prime in action - this is what TF - The Rebirth is!

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