From kendrick@io.com Tue Oct  3 13:22:18 CDT 1995
Article: 23885 of alt.toys.transformers
Path: news.io.com!io.com!not-for-mail
From: kendrick@io.com (Kendrick Kerwin Chua)
Newsgroups: alt.toys.transformers
Subject: TF Weekday 10/3 - Make Tracks
Date: 3 Oct 1995 13:19:55 -0500
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TF Weekday Oct 3 1995 - Make Tracks

The EI/AD: Instant Transformers, courtesy of Decepticon science. Bad
armor, poor weapons and no brains... But what's an evil empire without
faceless minions, anyway? Any equivalent of B.A.T.s is a decent Evil
Invention/Alien Device.

The plot: During a long period of Decepticon inactivity, the Autobots have
relocated to New York to help law enforcement with crime-busting.
Undercover as a potential stolen car, Tracks is shot at and damaged by
street thugs, then recovered by a kid named Raoul. One in need of repair,
the other in need of a friend, they bond quickly after the Gettis Bros.
come by, demanding Raoul make good on his promise to provide a stolen car.
One Gettis' slip of the tongue lets Tracks know that the Decepticons are
working with them, and with Raoul's help they discover a great
manufacturing plant in New Jersey run by Decepticons. Here the Decepticons
are converting stolen cars into robot warriors. After Cosmos and
Powerglide fail to catch Starscream in a shopping mall, Prime discovers
the plant and sends Bots to rescue Tracks. Meanwhile, Megatron makes his
plans known by sending out his army of remote-controlled stolen cars, each
with transform mechanisms and laser guns. After defeating these, the
Autobots head back to Jersey with intent to destroy the plant. After a
brief hostage situation with Raoul, Megatron gets an access panel full of
spray paint and the Cons decide to run for no good reason. The Bots blow
up the plant and then start work on recovering the stolen cars and
reconverting them back into normal vehicles.

The characters: Tracks episode, focus focus. Although you wonder why it's
him and not Jazz who's out there cruising the streets and befriending
humans. Then again, Jazz has a sense of responsibility and duty. They
don't make quite as big a deal out of Tracks' vanity as usual, which is
good because it makes him a three-dimensional personality. The only other
major character to speak of this episode is Raoul, who is your stock
street-guy-with-a-heart-of-gold. He's given a little bit of tragedy and
heroism, rather than just being a standard annoying squishie... Even if
he saves the day at the end, at least he used street smarts rather than
mysteriously being smarter than the alien robots.

The plot holes: First of all, is it really more energy efficient to build
lots of mindless warriors than to go out and shoot your enemy personally?
Granted, it gives the animators an excuse to show people blowing up for a
change, but it doesn't make for a very believable plot element, even if
it is cool. That, and we don't have a very clear idea WHY the Autobots
are in New York to begin with. I think we're to assume that Prime knew
the Cons would be in town, but I wished they'd explain that further.

Moving pictures: Kind of jerks around a bit, jumping from segment to
segment without any sense of continuity. The show is saved by the strong,
focused characterization and the singular plotline. The mystery of it
doesn't hurt either. None of it is spectacularly bad, although the
explosions inside the mall left a lot to be desired... Maybe debris flying
and holes formed in the wall after Starscream blasts a few? Close ups of
a few faces make up for the lackluster animation otherwise, as well as
the thrill-packed segments of Tracks and his winged mode. The fact that
every stolen car became a GREEN robot is a little disappointing tho.

The cuts: Can't tell. Anybody with an original recording of this care to
elucidate?

Toys they should reissue: Tracks was a neat toy... Although if they G2
him, he better have wings. Maybe he deserves a third mode altogether, but
that just wouldn't be Tracks.

Quotables:
"I have been shot at, smashed up, and stolen three times today, and I am
in a most foul humor."

"Great. First time in my life I steal a car, and it's got a big mouth."

"First floor... sporting goods, shoe stores, and fast food!"

"I'll teach you to mess with a Chrysler building!"

"The Constructicons must've skimped when it came to givin'em brains!"
"Skimped nothing! As far as I can tell they don't _HAVE_ any brains!"

KKC, Raoul becomes a recurring character, doesn't he? Gee, add him to the
list of human figures to make, right next to Spike, Carly, Talaria and
the Bounty Hunter... Anybody remember Seaspray's friend's name?
--
kendrick@io.com - Kendrick Kerwin Chua - WTB: 80s Transformers and GIJoe toys
"What would you have me do with Washington,Destro? Pepper it with spitballs?"
Necronomcon FAQ home page at http://www.io.com/~kendrick/necronomicon or anon
FTP at io.com:/pub/usr/kendrick -Personal home at http://www.io.com/~kendrick