Customer Reviews

Transformers: Season One (Collector's Edition)

5 star:		(132)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I thought about ordering this DVD set for some time but had held off. I thought it was rather pricey. Along came by birthday, though, and I decided to buy myself a little something....

I forgot how good this show really was. It was incredibly loyal to the each of the characters and everything at this point. The voice actors are an all star cast as well.

The remastering job was very good when you consider what they had to work with to start. They cleaned up a lot of noise and dirt off of the film and made the colors a lot more vivid and clear. There are some occasional sound effects added, but they are not intrustive and not that frequent, really. A couple of scenes in "Heavy Metal War", the last episode on the disc, turned out pretty poor, but otherwise they did an awesome job restoring this first season run, even including the original opening of the show and the commercial bumpers.

I am still annoyed by the constant coloring mistakes made by the original animators of the show. I guess it's part of the charm, and it's probably best that Rhino left them like they were. I remember these coloring mistakes in the original series just as well, and it even bothered me back then in 1984-85 that Sunbow couldn't seem to tell the difference between Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp most of the time (though as the series goes on past the first 5 or 6, they DO get better about it...save for the part in Heavy Metal War where there are two Starscreams side by side, one of which was supposed to be Skywarp).

I wish Rhino would take out the stupid cartoon openings on their videos and DVDs, though. While I know they are mostly a children's video company, with things like Transformers and GI Joe, they are mostly catering to adults...adults who don't want to sit through a cartoon rhino dressed like Elvis at the start of each disc while we wait for the menu to appear.

Overall, if you grew up with this original series of Transformers, as I did, you will very much enjoy this set. I enjoyed every minute of it, and can hardly wait until late November now, where Rhino releases the first half of Season 2 in a box set. The second half of Season 2 follows in the Spring.

So if you are waiting like I did, stop waiting now. After watching this, I felt like a kid again, and you will too.

....The year of The Transformers!!! It's about time! I'm 25 years old and i'm sure that others from my generation used to spend their afternoons with their friends transforming their autobots and decepticons and talking smack on which ones we bought. I can't wait for this DVD collection to come out. Hopefully it doesn't stop with the first season and also give us a chance to see again He-man, Voltron, M.A.S.K, Gem (jk!!!). Anyway keep up the good work RHINO!!!!!

I must say that, after anticipating this box set since I first heard about it six months ago, I am incredibly disappointed. Revieiwing the material first hand, I seriously have to wodner why it was delayed twice over this. Let's start with our customary description: It's the complete first season fo the 1984 Marvel/Sunbow production of "The TransFormers" on DVD. With that out of the way, I can further explain why I feel so let down by this release.

1. When you claim to have remastered a film or TV show, please actually do it the whole way. I cannot stress this enough. For all the hullabaloo they went through to show the changes (see disc 4), I have to wonder why, in particular, they only fixed that space bridge scene (with the beams showing through) in only some of the episodes, especially as it was STOCK FOOTAGE. Even the mylar cuts they said were present in the broadcasts and claimed to have edited were inconsequential at best, and not even in the VHS releases at worst. Overall I did like the slightly less faded look they gave the series, but that was more than expected given the format used (DVD).

2. Never ever make the final product worse than the source material. I canot stress this enough either. There are plenty of backwards transformations, "sliding" scenes that didn't "slide" before. In particular the construction of the 2 new Dinobots, there are 2 scenes that just aren't right. I think I even saw colors that were colored right change to the wrong color in this version. That seems to throw out the theory that was working against my arguement of "why weren't any color errors fixed?" which is a shame.

3. Changed sounds really get on my nerves. The intro has extra sounds that make no sense inserted when the 3 jets transform and land. When Starscream opens fire on Ironhide near the end of "Divide and Conquer" the sound was changed from his standard laser to a cheesy toy gun like pulsing sound. These little "edits" are all over the 3 discs in varying degrees of unexplainedness.

4. The 4th disc is of varying consistency at best. Some things they say they changed in the remastered versions on the previous 3 discs DO NOT ACTUALLY APPEAR. Other than that, I really did enjoy the 4th disc with all the extras. Makes me wish they would ahev put half that time into the TF:TM bonus section.

In conclusion, if you are a casual fan, you'll probably not find much to object to. I mean, it is The TransFormers isn't it? And on DVD no less! But to more discriminating fans, who know the series inside and out and how it should have been done, you'll be disappointed, possibly angry, in varying degrees. If this was an early release problem, then my limited apologies to Rhino. It really should have been right the first time, honestly, but it would be nice to hear that these issues are being legitimately investigated and corrected.

Just a final plea to the producers: DO SEASON 2 RIGHT PLEASE!!

It seems every time I read a review on Rhino's Transformers DVD, it's always as though they did a fantastic job - this is far from being true. There is always a tremendous amount of quality and motion lost when analog is transferred to digital.

Errors: First off there are many new errors that were not in the original analog masters. In "Heavy Metal War" Iron Hide transforming is backwards. There is also a serious digital glitch! There are also scenes which have "digital pauses" and even incorrect colors that were not in the original masters that we grew up with.

Colors: Some of the colors like the oranges and greens appear to be crisper, but Rhino overdid it enhancing "fake" digital color which results in a quick-buck production. Green water when it was originally blue, yellow-greenish sky's when it was originally whiteish, and orange rocks when they were originally brown - I cannot understand why people think they did such a wonderful job?

Sound: Amateur mixing and no compression, vocals are at times too loud or sound effects such as explosions, too low or poorly enhanced. They also added in sound effects at parts where there were none originally, such as with the intros and bumpers, and they do NOT sound like anything from the original sound.

Overall this DVD is nice for those who want an inexpensive, digital collection of the original Season One Transformers, but don't expect it to surpass the originals.

Rhino's careless and unworthy handling of the immensly popular "Transformers" license is never more apparent than in the Season One box set.

I gave it two stars because they only did two things right. One was the packaging, which they smartly decided not to do artwork for the covers and went with the plain brushed metal look. They must have learned something from the horrible packaging from the previous DVDs and videos they produced. Second they retained the original commercial bumpers.

My main problems with the DVDs is their supposed remastering. The sound effects they added are distracting, sometimes drowning out what characters are saying. Plus, anyone who knows the cartoons knows that those sound effects aren't authentically original. They don't add anything to the presentation and only give Rhino a blurb to put on the packaging.

The biggest mistake Rhino made with this set is the recoloring.
Everyone knows that the first season was already riddled with animation, voice, and color errors, but did Rhino fix any of these things? No, they added to them! In one shot they color Trailbreaker (a black pickup) completely red. In another scene Skyfire(a white jet) is colored with Skywarp's color scheme(a black and purple jet).

It's funny cause in the side by side comparison extra you can see that colors and effects were correct in the original. Rhino shows that they can change the colors at will, but neglected to fix any of the original errors, i.e. Optimus Prime being blue in a scene from S.O.S. Dinobots.

There are too many mistakes Rhino has engraved into the Transformers video library to name here. I just emplore Rhino to not take this valuable license for granted and be a little careful and mindful of the material and fans when releasing future seasons.

I just got my copy of the Transformers Complete first season, so I took the day off and sat down and enjoyed a trip down memory lane. Firstoff each episode has the commercial lead in's as well as the "scenes from the next episode" endings. This was a huge surprise, but I enjoyed it greatly. The episodes are crisp and the sound is amazing. I thought that the interactive dvd menu( the 3D Ark Control room) could have been better, but thats my only complaint and really thats more of a personal peave. I think that any collector should buy the boxed set rather than the individual DVD's (three in all) because you get cool animation cell cards, mine were of Starscream and Rumble.

Finally we have a collection of the Transformers episodes that are clear, and in a numerical order with the many extras I mentioned above. I was very pleased with the dvd and I say that anyone who watched this cartoon as a child should buy this dvd for the historical value it has. I actually remember getting up and watching Transformers as well as my other favorite cartoons and for a while I remembered what it was like to be a kid again!! If I could I would give this collection 6 STARS, but unfortunately I couldn't. So what are you waiting for... "Transform and Roll Out"

Anyone reading this is a fan. And if you're a fan, this is a must have, as others who grew up with the Transformers, have repeatedly said. I'm grateful that this DVD box set was made available and admit that I STILL watch the epsisodes on boring nights when I want to unwind and feel like a kid again. The writing was excellent and made for a superior cartoon.

Like many other childhood fans, I taped the episodes when they were on TV and watched them over and over again as a younster. I just couldn't get enough! I practically had all the dialogue and little glitches memorized. Those tapes are long gone so you can imagine my uncontrollable, child-like excitement when I spotted the box set in the store.

That said, I began to watch the episodes with an ear to ear grin and relive my childhood. My memory was jarred and the dialogue was all coming back to me as I watched. ALSO, I was really looking forward to seeing the episodes truly "remastered" with all the improvements of modern technology...not to mention the anticipation of seeing all those annoying little color and voice glitches corrected...or so I thought. I almost felt cheated not only to see all the glitches still there but EVEN MORE glitches than the original! MORE color gaffes and flaws! I couldn't believe they went thru all this trouble and produced a product that had MORE mistakes than back in 1984! How irresponsible and careless! They even added silly sound effects where they were none in some cases! "Divide and Conquer" is especially rife with extra (and annoying) sound effects and more color mistakes than the original! I actually still have that episode on VHS and side by side, the VHS version is actually better: fewer flaws than the DVD! I fully expected all the mistakes to fixed. In a remastered DVD, I expected perfection for all of us who cherish the memories. Not only were all the mistakes ignored but they added new ones!! I can't say it enough. I still shake my head. It's like taking the same test twice with the benefit of seeing the answers between attempts and scoring LOWER on the second. Inexcusable! Utterly amazing!

Oh well, I still have them and love them. But, it must be said: Shame on Rhino Video! Shame! You delivered a less than half-hearted effort. Half-hearted would have simply been an exact duplicate. I would glady repurchase a PERFECTLY remastered addition if anyone with the rights to it is listening.

I bought this dvd set for my 5 year old son. He started watching the digimon transformers that are screening after school. When I heard there was a new series of transformers on tv I kinda got excited. I was thinking original series remade like beast wars, computer graphics. I was appalled that the whole transformers concept has been degraded by such lousy animation and woeful story lines. I bought the real transformers so my son could experience what I did growing up. He watched all 16 episodes in one day! I find myself a child again telling him about Bruticus and Menasor aswell as all the great characters like Soundwave. I don't know what's wrong with cartoons these days but at least we have these great dvds to rekindle the faith.
There maybe some continuity issues with say Sky Fire's emblem changing color every time you see him but you can't beat the voice overs of Megatron, Starscream, Optimus Prime(the Semi, not the tow truck) & Soundwave. Almost 20 years old but seems to be superior in so many ways to the[ones] on tv now. You gotta love THE REAL TRANSFORMERS

I've been waiting so long for this day to happen. The Transformers complete first season on DVD. This was the most amazing cartoon I had ever seen while growing up. I was nine years old when the Transformers debuted in 1984 on Saturday mornings. I had my mom set the alarm clock ten minutes before six o'clock to make sure I didn't miss the begining of it. I only wished I still had all my original toys. The entire story line is brilliantly written. The heroic Autobots, lead by there leader, Optimus Prime versus the evil Decepticons, lead by there leader, Megatron. It shows the true meaning of the phrase "It's good vs. evil". I'm hoping that they continue to release all the Transformers seasons on DVD until the very last episode. Just like the recently released Robotech series. The Transformers were, and still is, my favorite cartoon and toy ever!! I have never stop thinking about Transformers even to this day. It is a must have for everyone!! Buy this DVD!! It is MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE!!!!!!!!!!

I never thought this day would come. Transformers was one of my favorite cartoons when I was young along with He-Man and G.I. Joe, and now I am able to own and watch the complete first season anytime!! This DVD box set is the way to go. The packaging is excellent, you get a fourth bonus DVD packed with extras along with the boxed set, so if you buy all three DVD's seperately you will miss out on this. Also, you get two animation cells which are really cool. I have absolutely no complaints about this superb collection of classic cartoon history. The boxed set far surpassed all of my expectations and I am more than happy with this product. Hopefully we will be seeing more boxed sets so we can collect all of the episodes. If you don't already have it, get the Transformers movie too. I highly recommend this product to any Transformers fans, you can also introduce a piece of your childhood history to your kids, nephews, or anyone that has never seen the classic Transformers. This is the way to go, so what are you waiting for? Transform and get yourself this boxed set, you will be glad you did.