With the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, we here at CarVersation felt it’d be nice to look back on the original Transformers concept.  The “Robots in Disguise” were specially marketed for their basis on existing automobiles and aircraft in the 1980s, a trend that endures all the way up to today’s GM-laden blockbuster films.  Hence, the car link.

The Transformers started off as a Japanese toy line from Takara.  Hasbro, sensing an opportunity, grabbed the license to distribute the toys in the West.  In what was a common trend in the ’80s, Hasbro’s robot figurines were joined by a carefully structured animated series that ran from the fall of 1984 to the fall of ’87.  The series, like that of GI Joe, saw its writing determined by new figures that arrived on store shelves; despite that, Transformers commanded a big following among the decade’s youth.

The series told of two robot factions, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, trying affect the outcome of mankind on Earth.  The Autobots, as their name would suggest, were the more “automotive” of the two sides.  Optimus Prime, the Autobot leader, was a large generic big rig; the spirited Bumblebee was a VW Beetle; smooth-talking Jazz transformed into a Porsche 911; Wheeljack was a Lancia Stratos; Prowl, a Nissan 280Z; Sideswipe, a Lambo Countach; and the list goes on and on.

The three-year run saw five seasons hit the air (the last being a mini-series of sorts) and a feature-length movie.  But the series would run its course and move into a strange (and largely forgotten) twist.

The franchise was acquired by Ted Turner’s media empire in the late ’80s.  Turner, in a fit of enlightenment, decided to personally direct the show’s “sixth” season.  Because of character licensing issues, the Turner Transformers series used a new cast meant to have a wider appeal, and storylines intended encourage eco-awareness; the series also coincided with a Toyota sponsorship deal.

Instead of Autobots and Decepticons, there were “Corollabots” and “Celicons.”  The Corollabots were guided by their leader, Ultimatum Supremo, who transformed into a electric-powered Land Cruiser with a top speed of 85 mph and side-curtain airbags.  The Celicons were governed by the wicked Chevitron–who morphed into, of all things, a carburetted V-8 Citation.  GM management tried to sue Turner over the use of its vehicles, but somehow managed to lose the case; it was forced to pay $270,000,000 in a defamation suit that followed from Turner.

The show lasted for just a single ten-episode season, with the final episode having the Celicons and Corollabots resolving their differences to aid a tribe of Amazon Indians from losing their land to deforestation.  Captain Planet made a cameo.

In case you were wondering: Yes, I made that all up–but it made for a good story.  Let’s see Seth Green top that on Robot Chicken.

[All images courtesy of Hasbro and Dreamwave]