Ain’t It Cool News reports a new Transformers series following Beast Wars and Beast Machines continuity. Brian Kilby treats the rumor with caution in this June 16, 2000 Radio Free Cybertron. Benchpress Comics is out of business, ending its Transformers project, and Bob Skir and Marty Isenberg will skip BotCon. John DeLuna weighs Car Robots against Beast Machines in the ATT Buzz, and Turin returns with a G2 Inferno review. Goldimus Prime reviews Optimus Primal, Brian reviews Car Robots Episode 1, and the Computer Saga finally ends.
News
Ain’t It Cool News Reports a New Beast Machines-Era Series
Aintitcoolnews.com reported that a new Transformers series is in the works and will follow Beast Wars and Beast Machines continuity. Brian answers with a dry “Joy” and reminds listeners the site isn’t always accurate. [Source: Ain’t It Cool News]
Benchpress Comics Goes Out of Business
Alt.toys.transformers reported that Benchpress Comics is out of business, and its Transformers and G.I. Joe projects are dead. Brian calls it a bummer. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Bob Skir and Marty Isenberg Won’t Attend BotCon
Bob Skir and Marty Isenberg will miss BotCon this year because of work conflicts. Brian says that ends an RFC contest tied to their appearance. [Source: not found]
News from Cybertron
An isolated case of the Hate Plague goes unreported because it broke out at an all-night Beast Machines showing. Swindle has made a fortune selling old Transformers memorabilia on eBay. Wheelie is nowhere to be found, and all is as it should be.
ATT Buzz
John DeLuna says alt.toys.transformers is going easy on Car Robots because it is honest about being a kids’ show. Beast Machines, he argues, followed a great sci-fi series, then went back a few steps and was too uneven. The newsgroup also debated which toys should have appeared on Beast Wars and Beast Machines. John would have loved to see Transmetal Terrorsaur, and thanks Primus that Optimus Minor never made the show. He closes with a thread called The Autobots’ Hidden Master that turned into a debate over Megatron’s origin and pink rabbits. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Optimus Prime for President
A paid message from Optimus Prime for President 2000 touts the Autobot leader as a proven leader.
New on the RFC Website
AlexJ33106’s fanfic The Autobots Broadcasting Company, parts 1 and 2, is on the site, along with his story The Autobots Take on the White House. Parts 1 and 2 of the RFC movie parody are up in MP3 and RealAudio with scripts. The missing Hooks interview has been added to the archive.
Toy Review: G2 Inferno
Turin returns after a leave of absence, explaining that work, home and a new girlfriend have kept him busy. He also delivers a riff about King Solomon lacking two-ply toilet paper. G2 Inferno is $45 mint on card at amoktime.com. Turin rates the fire engine mode very nice for its hose, chrome, rubber wheels and molded wipers. The robot mode is big and sturdy, with a ladder that doubles as a weapon, a shoulder cannon, a handgun and the big red water cannon. He dislikes the add-on fists and notes only the arms move. Inferno still earns Awesome, Turin’s highest rating.
ATT Dos and Don’ts
Brian shares his personal guidelines for posting on the Transformers Usenet groups. Read the FAQ, don’t assume your idea is original, and don’t assume anyone cares. He argues off-topic posts don’t belong on the group and spoiler space is a basic courtesy. He also says BotCon goes where 3H Enterprises finds most convenient. He defines newbie, elder, metatags, metaposts, fanfic and trolls, and plans to make it a recurring segment.
Rattrap007’s Impossible Trivia
Rattrap007 hosts alone this week. Last time’s answer was As the Kitchen Sinks, the soap opera from Prime Target, and Chris McFeely was the only one to get it right. This week’s question asks listeners to describe the three games Rattrap plays during Beast Wars.
Site Plugs
TFW2005.com has the first episode of Car Robots available for download, along with music RFC has featured. Brian also plugs the Lonac RPG group and Goldimus Prime’s Goldimus.com.
The Computer Saga Conclusion
The Computer destroys the Earth and Radio Free Cybertron, only for Brian to wake up and find it was a dream. The Computer saves its plan as masterplan.mpeg, and Brian admits the Computer will be back.
Toy Review: Beast Wars Optimus Primal
Goldimus Prime reviews the original Ultra Optimus Primal gorilla. The beast mode is a brick more fitting of a Deluxe, and gets a 6 out of 10. The robot mode has 14 points of articulation, two swords, a mace and hidden missile launchers. The wing-flailing gimmick looks goofy and gets in the way of posing. The robot mode earns an 8, and he rates Optimus Primal an 8 out of 10 overall.
Episode Review: Car Robots Episode 1
After spoiler space, Brian reviews the first Car Robots episode, downloaded from TFW2005. Gigatron attacks, and young Yuki, whom John dubbed Daniel Witwicky 2000, is befriended by Fire Convoy. Brian enjoys the simple plot and finds it easy to follow without Japanese. He dislikes the pink holographic girl and the Deathtrons’ Team Rocket-style exit. He concedes it is a spiritual successor to G1, but too much like the sillier first two seasons. It gets a 5 out of 10, very average.
Radio Free Cybertron is the world's first and oldest toy and action figure podcast — broadcasting from the heart of the Transformers fan community since October 1999. What started as a scrappy fan show has grown into an institution, with nearly 1,000 episodes and over 25 years of coverage. Every week, host Brian Kilby and the RFC crew dig into the latest Transformers news, toy reveals, collecting, and everything hitting shelves from Hasbro, Takara, and beyond. No fluff, no hype — just informed, passionate collectors who have been doing this longer than anyone else on the planet. The original. The longest running. Till all are one.