We’ve reached a place recently in Geekdom where animated series and features, while primarily designed for a child demographic, are becoming more and more accepted (and desired) by audiences across the board, including adults. There are many arguments in the debate as to why this shift is occurring, but one of the most popular theories focuses on the quality of writing and acting talent that has been drawn to the creative medium. The Hub Network’s Emmy Award-winning Transformers Prime series is a perfect example of this trend in animation, having received both critical acclaim and fan praise. If the latest episodes of Transformers Prime Beast Hunters, “Prey” and “Rebellion” (airing TONIGHT – 4.12.13), are any indication, the quality and excitement of this series will be holding strong all the way through the third and final season of the Autobots’ war against the Decepticons!
MINOR SPOILERS BELOW
As a child of the ‘80s, I was a big fan of the animated Transformers cartoon airing around the same time, but the recent live-action films by Michael Bay didn’t really appeal to me, so I was only vaguely familiar with the new, CG-animated Transformers Prime series. I had caught a few episodes of the show and read a few issues of the associated IDW comics book series, Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots written by Mike Johnson and Mairghread Scott, but I considered myself a Transformers Prime “dabbler,” at most. After watching “Prey” and “Rebellion,” I can confidently state that Transformers Prime Beast Hunters has a similar appeal to Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which has snagged viewers who may not care for the live-action films the animated series are derived from, but still have been engrossed by their animated counterparts due to smart writing, layered stories, and well-rounded characters. Whether or not you’ve enjoyed the recent big-screen versions of the robots in disguise, most will be sure to enjoy this thrilling and dramatic series!
“Prey” and “Rebellion” tell an exciting story arc that sees the Autobots scattered and under siege by the Decepticons and their new destructive Predacon ally, a dragon-like creature cloned in Shockwave’s laboratory from fossilized Cybertronian remains. With jaws stolen right off the alien creature from Predator and an extremely ill-tempered attitude, the Predacon keeps most of the Autobots busy while Smokescreen is isolated with an injured and dying Optimus Prime. Given the fact that the death of Optimus Prime was a huge and emotional story element of the original animated Transformers film, many fans may be wondering if the leader of the Autobots will be leaving us again and force a new Transformer to accept the title of Prime. In order to have Optimus’ fate revealed, fans will have to be sure to catch tonight’s episode at 7:30 p.m. EST on The Hub Network.
In addition to some excellent writing, Transformers Prime Beast Hunters also contains top notch action, amazing and detailed animation, and superb vocal talent, including Michael Ironside, Ernie Hudson, and George Takei, as well as Frank Welker and Peter Cullen, who voiced many of the Transformer characters in the original ‘80s cartoon series!
Here’s one last reminder to catch Transformers Prime Beast Hunters every Friday at 7:30 p.m. EST on The Hub Network, but don’t stop there. If you’re a hard-core fan, you won’t want to miss all the extra bonus content that The Hub Network is providing viewers, including this exciting news from the official Transformers Prime Beast Hunters press release:
Additionally, starting Friday, April 19 (7:30 p.m. EST), the first four episodes of the new season will have special encore presentations that include “Autobits” — behind-the-scenes trivia with exclusive in-picture commentary designed to create an immersive viewing experience. Additional new episodes will resume in May.
For more information and exciting additional content from Transformers Prime Beast Hunters, be sure to visit The Hub Network’s official website, hubworld.com. You can also find Hub, and Transformers Prime Beast Hunters, at The Hub’s Facebook and Twitter (@HubTVNetwork), which, according to the press release, will be providing “sneak peeks and exclusive content from the new season and extend the viewing experience with additional activities to engage fans of all ages.”
And, don’t forget, these robots (and theTransformers Prime Beast Hunters animated series) are more than meets the eye!
