BotCon 2010 registration has finally opened online, and the site held up despite fan fears. This May 19, 2010 Radio Free Cybertron is hosted by Ender, with Chris McFeely, HeyMickey and TFG1Mike joining the usual crew. Toys R Us briefly listed Masterpiece Grimlock at $59.99, and Peter Cullen is confirmed as Optimus Prime in the new Transformers Prime cartoon. The crew also digs into what really separates Autobots from Decepticons, then praises Last Stand of the Wreckers with guest LadyWreck.
Ender Hosts
Ender volunteers to host, since he is the only one left who hasn’t. Rob, John DeLuna and Exvee join him, along with TFG1Mike, HeyMickey from Superhero Time and Chris McFeely, up at 1 a.m. in the UK. One host recently interviewed Jess Harnell, the voice of Ironhide and Barricade in the movies.
News
BotCon 2010 Registration Opens Online
BotCon finally opened its online registration site. Some fans reported wrong or duplicate numbers and club discounts that didn’t apply. The crew thinks the problems were overblown, and one host says his registration worked like a charm. Another notes it took three months to get this far, while Chris points out that Auto Assembly 2010 registration opened during Auto Assembly 2009. [Source: not found]
Toys R Us Briefly Lists Masterpiece Grimlock at $59.99
Hasbro’s Masterpiece Grimlock appeared on tru.com with new pictures and a $59.99 price, then came down. One host expected $79.99 and is pleased, noting the Takara version cost over $100. Another still feels buyer’s remorse over the Takara Grimlock his girlfriend bought him. A third may buy it for his wife, whose favorite character is Grimlock. [Source: not found]
Peter Cullen Cast as Optimus Prime in Transformers Prime
Peter Cullen will voice Optimus Prime in the new Transformers Prime cartoon. One host finds Cullen unremarkable and says there are better Primes, but most of the crew hears Cullen whenever they think of Prime. They note Gary Chalk is Optimus Primal to them and David Kaye did something different. One host points out that Susan Blue, not Wally Burr, is directing. [Source: not found]
Fraggle Rock Joins The Hub Lineup
Fraggle Rock is on The Hub’s lineup, which puzzles the crew since it isn’t a Hasbro property. One host says the network simply needs content. Several doubt the digital cable channel’s reach and wonder whether the new Transformers and G.I. Joe shows will be syndicated elsewhere. One host jokes the network should be named Hubris. They also lament the year-plus gap between Revenge of the Fallen and the new series. [Source: not found]
War for Cybertron Watch
Comic Book Resources interviewed High Moon Studios, and GameTrailers posted a new mission trailer. One host says he visited High Moon and has learned all he needs about the game. He is looking forward to it, but tires of the drip-feed of character reveals and is relieved Drift isn’t in it. The crew is curious about the tie-in comic, since the game’s place in continuity is unclear. One host says the game’s director called it loosely a G1 cartoon prequel. [Source: not found]
Megan Fox Out of Transformers 3
Variety and others report that Megan Fox will not return for Transformers 3 after her option was not picked up. The crew laughs at the idea that losing her hurts the story. They joke that Ehren Kruger is still finishing the script as shooting nears and that Michael Bay plans scenes around explosions. [Source: Variety]
This Day in Transformers History
On May 21, 2003, Dreamwave released issue #2 of one of its Transformers comics in the U.S. The crew ribs Pat Lee and the Dreamwave collapse, and recalls how the 2002 hype faded once the first book came out.
Contest
RFC is giving away a $50 Big Bad Toy Store gift certificate, a $25 gift certificate and a Transformers figure as third prize. Fans and followers on Facebook or Twitter are entered, or listeners can email brian at tfradio.net. Winners will be announced on the live broadcast on May 26.
Autobots vs. Decepticons: What Separates Them?
Ender asks whether a real philosophy separates the factions. He opens by noting that IDW’s ongoing comic shows peacetime Autobots who don’t seem to want anything. One host argues that Decepticons feel their strength gives them the right to rule, while Autobots feel it gives them a responsibility to protect. That leaves the Autobots reactive, so peace leaves them at a loss. The crew points to Transformers Animated’s post-war Autobot society and its not-so-altruistic government. They also cite Beast Wars’ politics and Armada’s Decepticon-only episodes.
The crew dislikes the idea that Decepticons are genetically evil, citing Liege Maximo in G2 and Grimlock’s line in the Marvel comic. They prefer stories where evil is a choice, pointing to Simon Furman’s UK stories about the war’s early days. Megatron works best when he believes he can restore Cybertron’s lost glory. Dinobot’s defection and Armada Starscream’s change of sides come up as true choices. The G1 cartoon’s Quintesson origin of worker and military robots fits Grimlock and the Dinobots better. The talk closes on sparks, personality components and how the G1 cartoon treated Transformers as pure science.
Last Stand of the Wreckers
LadyWreck, who reviews comics for Moonbase 2’s forums, joins the crew to praise Last Stand of the Wreckers #5. She likes the politics and trials that show a bigger universe and blur the lines between good and bad. The crew loves Prowl as written by Nick Roche and James Roberts and wishes the pair would write a Prowl ongoing. Several feel the ongoing’s Prowl seems like a different character. They also call the Ironhide miniseries great but say it undermines the ongoing. The crew agrees Wreckers works because it shows a downer slice of life.
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.
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Radio Free Cybertron – 08/11/00