RIP Larry DiTillio

[GoktimusPrime]

https://www.newsfromme.com/2019/03/16/larry-ditillio-r-i-p/

:( :( :(

Beast Wars writer Larry DiTillio has passed away. :( :(

DiTillio's contribution to Transformers cannot be understated, particularly in the way that he was so successfully able to execute the concept of World Building to a Transformers television series. World building was something that had existed before, particularly with the likes of Simon Furman in the G1 comics and even David Wise in the G1 cartoon, but Wise didn't do it as well as DiTillio did because G1 writers never really collaborated with each other.

DiTillio brought a level of world building never seen before in a Transformers cartoon. And furthermore, he was doing it retroactively because he didn't work on G1. Both DiTillio and Forward made the conscious decision to research Generation 1 and Generation 2 canon to try and build some basic knowledge of Transformers lore for Beast Wars. And we know that they even sought advice from the fandom, something that was unprecedented! Sure, they didn't get everything right, but how awesome was it that they cared enough to make that effort! They didn't have to. Beast Wars could've easily been a reboot which makes things so much easier for writers because they don't have to worry about continuity maintenance.

And this is something that's been lost today. Everything's a reboot now and nobody cares about putting in the work to maintain a long running continuity (except IDW). And there was so much more world building that DiTillio had in mind for Beast Wars that never came to light because the series was cancelled after its third season, and we know that Beast Machines (which DiTillio never worked on) wasn't nearly as good as Beast Wars.

Transformers exists today because of Beast Wars, thanks in no small part to the work of Larry DiTillio. We all know that Beast Wars saved the Transformers brand from extinction in the mid to late 1990s. And to this day I still regard Beast Wars as the best screen story ever written for Transformers. No other TF TV series can hold a candle to it.

[Tha_Phantom]

Well said Gok. I have huge respect for what Larry and everyone else who worked on Beast Wars did, it is definitely the best Transformers show.

Thank you Larry for your great contribution to the Transformers brand and may you rest in peace.

[griffin]

It's really sad news. If it wasn't for him, I don't think we would have had a Beast Wars cartoon that had such quality and depth, as Ditillio (with Bob Forward) made it more than just a 22 minute toy commercial... they made it a story.

Ditillio was one of the Transformers people I wished I had actually met, and I thought I had, but looking at my records, he only appeared at one BotCon, which was 1998 (the year before I started going to them).
I think he was someone I once had an email conversation with back in the 90s, because we were talking about the show Captain Power, and how he was trying to get it restarted (as he was working on the original).

[Lord_Zed]

Sad news indeed, Although I'll remember him most notably for Beast Wars, I'll also remember him for his contributions to Babylon 5 another of my favourite 90's shows.

[Sam]

Very sad, another legend has passed.

[TaZZerath]

I was already down for other personal reasons, but this truly made me sad today.

I was a 'gewunner' who held what few G1 toys in really high regard as a kid, until my rebellious post-divorce side shone through and I wanted to get rid of many as I could because of what I thought they represented and my shift towards computers and consoles and the need to get as much money as I could from them.

When Beast Wars came along I was finishing off high school and it was really tough going. I had major bouts of insomnia due to stress and pressure. Beast Wars, being free to air at the time, saved me, and I always tuned in to watch it. Code of Hero made me physically cry for the first time in a long time. Beast Wars re-ignited my Transformers love and I haven't looked back since.

RIP Larry. You're one with the Allspark now.

[Jetfire in the sky]

I was watching MOTU 200x and he was a writer on that too, brilliant story teller.

[griffin]

I had several Beast Wars episodes playing this weekend at home, in memory of Larry Ditillio. They were fun to watch, but sad too... :(

[griffin]

Another Beast Wars writer has passed this year (https://news.tfw2005.com/2019/12/03/beast-wars-crossing-the-rubicon-writer-dorothy-catherine-d-c-fontana-has-passed-away-401600) - (Dorothy Catherine) DC Fontana, at the age of 80.

She is better known for her work in the Star Trek universe, as she only wrote one Transformers cartoon episode - Crossing of the Rubicon (https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Crossing_the_Rubicon) (the episode in the third season that saw Blackarachnia become a Transmetal, and a permanent Maximal, with the removal of her Predacon shell program).

That episode of Beast Wars aired 20 years ago!