Thursday, April 21, 2011

Transformers: Prime - ''Speed Metal''

Spoiler Level: High

One of the drawbacks to getting your television online (legally, at any rate) is that you're at the mercy of when the networks decide to post the latest episodes.  I originally wanted to watch this episode when I watched the second episode of Tiger & Bunny, but The Hub hadn't posted it yet.  So today (which as I'm writing this is actually last Monday) I wanted to watch last Friday's Smallville, but the WB hasn't posted that yet.  So instead I watched this episode and the newest Tiger & Bunny.  As a result there will be two Tiger & Bunny reviews this week, and no Smallville review until next week.

So Knockout and Break Down are still around!  That's good to see, the Decepticon army needed to be filled out a little more.  And wow, Knockout's vanity makes him a real coward.  Was he this much of a baby in the previous episode and I just forgot, or did getting scratched just really bring this out in him?  And I loved the way he yelled when Optimus pulled his door off!  Nice touch.

Did anyone else hope that in the opening scene when the car flipped over the cliff, we were going to get a Speed Racer homage with a big fireball coming up?  I knew it wouldn't happen-- that's just not this show's style-- but I couldn't help anticipating it.


You know you're in trouble when "Don't tell Optimus" becomes a running theme, but this episode did a very good job of letting the point speak for itself without getting too preachy.  It's also nice to see that Arcee could be goaded into a race.  Sometimes it's just good to see a creep get what's coming to him. And speaking of the creep, I think ten years of Smallville has forever turned the "knock 'em unconscious so they don't learn the hero's secret" ploy into a cliche for me, but that's more Smallville's fault than Transformers'.

You know, it just occurred to me, Ratchet wasn't in this episode at all.  That's odd.

...And on a completely unrelated note, this is my 400th post!  I've now been doing these reviews for just two weeks shy of two and a half years.  This blog has gotten 43,253 hits, with my biggest month being last month, March 2011, with 9,170 hits.  My most popular posts have been my Top 100 SF TV Shows list, with a combined total of 10,207 hits.  And out of all that, the single most hits of all time are for the Top 100 Part 4, apparently for a picture I posted of the old Incredible Hulk TV show from the 70's.  Go figure.

Oh, and I've used the phrase "So all in all" 19 times.  I'm surprised it's that low.

As usual, as of this writing this episode is available to view for free (with no commercials!) at http://www.hubworld.com/transformers/shows/prime/videos.

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