Making sense of Beast Wars and beyond

[Sam]

Hey all,

I know very, very little regarding Beast Wars and the stories beyond it (e.g. Beast Machines).

So I was wondering if you could give me a list of recommended viewing and/or reading because I'd like to find out more about the lore behind it.

So far, I am thinking this is what I should watch first:

- Beast Wars series
- Beast Machines series

Are there any Beast Wars and/or Beast Machines comics (apart from the IDW ones) that you think I should be reading?

Also, I think there may be some Japanese Beast Wars and/or Beast Machines episodes somewhere (I raised this point because I saw that the IDW Beast Wars sourcebooks seemed to refer to some Japanese characters)?

Finally, if you know of a good summary article on the Internet regarding the plot behind Beast Wars, please also point me to it. Thank you.

[STL]

I'm not the most knowledgeable of BWs lore yet but definitely start with the cartoon. People's objections (mine initially) wth BWs is their alt modes and the setting. Having watch the cartoon (season 1 and a bit of season 2), I've warmed to the cast far more. And that's the wonder of the BWs. You actually warm to characters b/c of their personality traits.

In G1, you warmed to a character b/c of some random reason or oneliner they cracked or a particular episode they starred in. There wasn't as much reason for it. I like Prowl a lot for example but for the life of me, he's never been fleshed out in character as much as the majority of BW characters.

Beast Machines is far more infamous though it does has its supporters.

[GoktimusPrime]

The watch list you have there is pretty good - watch Beast Wars first, then Beast Machines.

It's up to you if you want to watch the Japanese series - they're an expansion on the Canadian series but aren't totally vital to the overall Beasties lore. Whereas Beast Wars is written with adult viewers in mind (even though it's still primarily aimed at kids), BWII and BW Neo are written exclusively for kids and consequently doesn't have as much appeal to adult audiences as Beast Wars. If you really want, go ahead and watch it - but if you just want to watch the more important bits of BWII and BWNeo I would recommend watching...
1/ The Beast Wars II movie - my favourite part of BWII continuity and it also ties the Canadian and Japanese continuities together. Chronologically speaking, this movie "takes place" at the "time" of the Season 1 episode "Chain of Command."
2/ The last few eps of BWII (although the beginning of BW Neo will recap these events)
3/ The last few eps of BW Neo - basically from when the Blentrons come in. BW Neo actually gets quite interesting from that point until the end. Before then it's pretty bland.

Comic-wise, none of them really tie in that strongly with the TV series, but "Reaching The Omega Point" has ties with other stories, like Beast Wars: The Ascending. Not an essential tie, you can happily read BW The Ascending without ever having seen BWII, BWNeo or having read "Reaching The Omega Point," but having seen/read those other stories does make you appreciate it more.

Beast Machines is far more infamous though it does has its supporters.

Beast Machines created controversy regarding a few areas which I won't go into until you've at least started watching it. I like it though.

[Adzma]

Beast Wars is certainly a very good series to watch. I don't know about others, but I personally find it "easier" to watch than the G1 cartoon, by which I mean in some cases, G1 makes me cringe when hearing some lines, (eg. "FAT CHANCE FAT HEAD!" and "Prepare to blast off!" to name a couple) because they seem a little childish (don't get me wrong though, the show still rocks), whereas BW seems much more fluid and young adultish. Beast Machines on the otherhand... well all I can say is if you want to absorb all of the BW universe, go ahead and watch it.

[GoktimusPrime]

Beast Wars works well in appealing to children and engaging older audiences at the same time - whereas the G1 cartoon was primarily geared to appeal to children (and consequently was quite camp). Beast Machines is on the complete other end of the spectrum and only holds appeal for adults (I would be quite amazed if any child could properly appreciate/comprehend the themes in that show). Beast Wars was a good balance of being fun and action-packed enough for kids to enjoy whilst having a story that was written at a level high enough for older audiences to appreciate.

Both Beast Wars and Beast Machines tie into G1/G2 continuity and are loaded with G1/G2 references for the old school fans.

IMO Beast Wars is the best story ever written for a Transformers television series and the second best Transformers series written other than the G1/G2 comics.

[Paulbot]

Since nobody actually explicitly said it yet, I just want to add that Beast Machines is a direct sequel to Beast Wars. It's basically series four and five of Beast Wars so it doesn't make a lot of sense if you haven't seen Beast Wars first.

[kup]

Beast Wars is a great series and if you watch it as a G1 fan then it enhances both your apreciation and enjoyment of both G1 and Beast Wars as the series support and enrich each other when it comes to concepts and lore.

Beast Machines on the other hand is drastically different to Beast Wars in story telling and style although as Paulbot mentioned, it so happens to be a direct sequel but aside from the first few episodes, it is mostly its own unique series.

Beast Machines is the type of series that there is a chance you may hate if you are a Transformers fan as they move radically away from the core concept of what makes Transformers..well..Transformers :P. Its a good series by itself if you watch it as a non Transformers fan but it could leave you a bad taste in the mouth if you happen to be one, particularly at the end.

Beast Wars despite the realistic animal altmodes; it follows traditional Transformers concepts and enriches them without crossing the line, Beast Machines on the other hand doesn't and many TF fans (Including hardcore Beast Wars fans like myself) do not like Beast Machines very much because of that.

To put it simply, don't expect the same storytelling style or dynamics of the Beast Wars series when watching Beast Machines. Try to treat it as a separate series, even separate to Transformers if you want to enjoy it for what it is.

Beast Wars on the other hand will not only make you a bigger G1 fan but also enriches many of the already stablished concepts touched upon in not only the G1 cartoon but the G1/G2 comics too while giving you great apreciation for the series itself.
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Armenian Recipes

[GoktimusPrime]

Try to treat it as a separate series, even separate to Transformers if you want to enjoy it for what it is.

But that goes against what Beast Machines is meant to be - as Paulbot said, it is supposed to be a direct continuation from Beast Wars... a sequel and essentially the fourth and fifth seasons of Beast Wars.

Yes, it is a massively major departure from the more orthodox perspective of what Transformers is in some regards (not all), and like it or not, that doesn't change the fact that Beast Machines is part of Transformers - specifically it is part of G1/G2/BW continuity. That is a canonical fact whether you like it or not.

Saying something like "Beast Machines is more enjoyable if you ignore the fact that it's Transformers" is like saying, "Olympic Taekwondo is good martial art if you ignore the fact that they can't fight" or "smoking isn't really bad for your health if you ignore the various diseases associated with it." For better or for worse, Beast Machines is part of Transformers.

And I submit to you that accepting Beast Machines as Transformers is a LOT easier than accepting Animorphs as Transformers!

"Gah! What's the word 'Transformers' doing on top of 'Animorphs'?!"

[kup]

Sorry I didn't make myself clear on the previous post.

When I said try to treat it as separate series I didn't mean for him to ignore that it is canon because it is even if I don't like it. I just meant not to expect or feel disapointed when the series takes such a radical departure from traditional Transformers concepts and story telling.

The departure from 'traditional' Transformers is a huge culture shock and if you can't see passed it then it ruins the series for you even though the series is reasonably good despite this. The changes made to some of the BW characters also causes a big shock but if you don't see passed it, it can make you feel bitter.

I am not saying to ignore canon I am saying to treat the show as its own creative effort without expecting a continuation of the same story structure or characterizations that we saw in Beast Wars as well as regular transformer concepts. After you get over the culture shock after the first few episodes where they begin to distant themselves from any references of what happened before, it becomes its own series and arguably enjoyable.

What I meant as a separate series it was more of in 'mindset' than canon.
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[Sam]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Looks like I have a lot of catching up to do.