1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,519 Speaker 1: You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:12,719 Speaker 1: and iHeartRadio. Guess what Will? 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 2: What's that Mango? 4 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: So you know that impulse when you pass an electric 5 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: fan and no one is around and you just want 6 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 1: to lean in and say more than meets the eye. 7 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 3: I'm not sure if you know what I was doing 8 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 3: for the ten minutes before you got in here, But 9 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 3: do you mean like this more than. 10 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 2: Exactly? 11 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:41,560 Speaker 1: That impulse is officially forty years old. Wow, so Transformers 12 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,240 Speaker 1: might have a new movie out, but they are old, 13 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: baby like, these toys are elder millennials, meaning we would 14 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:50,919 Speaker 1: have been about five when the first ones came out. 15 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 3: That is crazy, which would have given us plenty of 16 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 3: time to spend chanting more than meets the eye into 17 00:00:57,520 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 3: household appliances everywhere. 18 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: Household applian. It's like a toaster or whatever. You know, 19 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: Transformers or for everyone these days. But there are about 20 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: two dozen different product lines and the first movie was 21 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:13,400 Speaker 1: directed by Michael Bay that broke the box offices all 22 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,960 Speaker 1: from these toys that had us like crunching tiny pterodactyls 23 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: into the shape of cassette tapes. 24 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 3: Wait, is that is that a real transformer or did 25 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 3: you just make that up? 26 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's totally real. My aunt, when I was in 27 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: fourth grade as a birthday president, took me to Toys r 28 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: US and let me pick out anything, and so I 29 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:33,319 Speaker 1: picked out these tiny mini cassette Transformers. And our fact checker, 30 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 1: slash researcher and resident Transformers guru Gabe said it was 31 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: not a pterodactyl. It was a falcon or a condor. 32 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: So I've already been fact checked, just as his intro. 33 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, you want to get that wrong with Gabe, but. 34 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: It was rad Anyway, Today's episode is a dive back 35 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 1: into the world of Transformers. How did these incredible toys 36 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: come to be? And why is it that kids still 37 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: can't get nothing them? So let's dive in. 38 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,800 Speaker 3: Hey, their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm 39 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 3: Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my good 40 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:29,800 Speaker 3: friend mangesh Hot Ticketter and on the other side of 41 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:34,959 Speaker 3: that soundproof glass trying and sadly failing to convert a transformer. 42 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:37,639 Speaker 3: That's our friend and producer Dylan fag And he's good 43 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 3: at a lot of things, but this is something he's 44 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 3: not so great at, and I don't know, if you 45 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:44,079 Speaker 3: can see it from our angle, mango, But he's sweating 46 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:46,919 Speaker 3: and he's playing pump up music to get him through 47 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 3: it all. And I say that with no judgment, by 48 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 3: the way, like Dylan showed me the instruction sheet and 49 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 3: it takes forty steps to wrestle that thing into a truck. 50 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 3: So he's really got his work cut out for him. 51 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: Well, I am rooting for him, as I always But well, 52 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:03,520 Speaker 1: I know we were both into basketball and the Lakers 53 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 1: as kids. We were both into SNL pretty early because 54 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: of our dads. But was transformer or something you were into? 55 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 3: Oh, it was one hundred percent something I was into. Now, 56 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 3: I didn't always know what I was talking about. In fact, 57 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 3: to this day, if I were to tell my parents 58 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,519 Speaker 3: we were doing an episode on the Transformers, they would 59 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 3: say more to Measdi. Because I would run around the 60 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:27,360 Speaker 3: house pretending to be a Transformer. I had no idea 61 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 3: what the theme song said, and in my mind they 62 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 3: said more to Measdi, and so I just sang along 63 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 3: with it. So it meant something to me, and that's 64 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 3: what's most important. 65 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: But how about you, Yeah, I mean, I remember when 66 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: I was like five or six, living in North Carolina. 67 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: It was the one cartoon that I'd watched religiously in 68 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 1: the afternoons. I was not into G I. Joe, which 69 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 1: I think was the thing that came on after, but 70 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: I was obsessed with Transformers. I love the toys and 71 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: just the idea that you could get your hands on 72 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: a robot and not know what it would transform into 73 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 1: until you like bent and twisted it into all these 74 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 1: different directions and then you'd be like totally delighted by 75 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: whatever return to you, like, even if it was a van. 76 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 3: You know, you've never been so delighted to play with 77 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 3: a van. But just as it adds up, so you 78 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 3: mentioned Gabe earlier, and he is really a stickler forgetting 79 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 3: the facts right about transformers and all of toys and 80 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,039 Speaker 3: toy history. And so just to make sure we know 81 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 3: you didn't transform your transformers, you converted them. I think 82 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 3: we've gone to a new level of nerd here. 83 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 2: But that is the fact. 84 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: Why why did I convert them? 85 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 3: Well, one of the weirdest things I learned this week 86 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 3: is that Hasbro, the company that makes Transformers, purposely avoids 87 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 3: using the verb transform when you know, referring to their 88 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 3: products because they don't want to risk genericizing their trademark. 89 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 3: It's like how Escalator used to be the registered brand name, 90 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:53,839 Speaker 3: but then the term became so common that people started 91 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 3: calling every set of moving stairs and escalator. So it's 92 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:01,040 Speaker 3: just really hard to maintain a trademark the protection around 93 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 3: that once the public starts treating your brand name generically. 94 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 3: So it makes a lot of sense. 95 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: Like Xerox. It's funny my my uncle's firm in India 96 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 1: actually made a campaign with the slogan was make your 97 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 1: Xerox on an HP. 98 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 2: This is pretty great. 99 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:17,719 Speaker 3: Yeah, and I guess it's a problem more when the 100 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 3: brand name is a straight up description of what your 101 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 3: product does. Like you can't trademark an electric mixing machine 102 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 3: as a blender because that's what it does. It blends 103 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,719 Speaker 3: food together. So the same story with escalators, and it 104 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:32,800 Speaker 3: could be argued with transformers too. 105 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: So Hasbro wants to make sure that people associate transformers 106 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,040 Speaker 1: with a specific set of characters and not with like 107 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,119 Speaker 1: gobots or any other transforming toys in general. 108 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:46,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's exactly right, And part of maintaining that tricky 109 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:50,720 Speaker 3: legal distinction is never admitting that transformers transform, so we 110 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:52,919 Speaker 3: will not get them in trouble by saying that, and 111 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 3: I'm sure it is a challenge for the marketing team 112 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 3: that is ridiculous. 113 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:01,080 Speaker 1: Anyway, I know you've got the backstory on these converting 114 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:04,880 Speaker 1: robots that we refer to as Transformers, so why don't 115 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:05,720 Speaker 1: you lay it on us? 116 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 2: All right? 117 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:09,600 Speaker 3: This was a fun origin here, so to start with, 118 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,240 Speaker 3: it's easy to overlook this if you aren't familiar with 119 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 3: the series, But Transformers isn't a purely American invention. The 120 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 3: original nineteen eighties toy line was largely made up of 121 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 3: pre existing products from several different Japanese toy lines, most 122 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 3: notably Diaclone and micro Change. 123 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:29,520 Speaker 1: You know both of these, right, Yeah, I'm a huge 124 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: Diaclone head. Of course, I have no idea what you're 125 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: talking about. 126 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, I didn't either. 127 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:36,799 Speaker 3: It was part of the research, but it was interesting 128 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:39,279 Speaker 3: to look into. So Japan was way ahead of the 129 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,360 Speaker 3: curve when it came to thinking robots were cool. And 130 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:46,040 Speaker 3: that's because, unlike the US and other Western nations, Japan 131 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 3: had been developing robotic inventions as far back as this 132 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:52,960 Speaker 3: seventeenth century, which for reference, was about three hundred years 133 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,839 Speaker 3: before the term robot was first coined. So the earliest 134 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 3: automatons on record in Japan were these tea serving mechanical 135 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 3: dolls that could wheel a cup and saucer back and 136 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:06,080 Speaker 3: forth from the kitchen, and they were a huge hit 137 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 3: with a few wealthy families who could afford them, and 138 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 3: before long, clockwork automatons began popping up in stage productions 139 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 3: and other forms of entertainment that were much more accessible 140 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 3: to the masses. So you fast forward to the early 141 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 3: twentieth century and Japan was already well acquainted with the 142 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:26,880 Speaker 3: idea of robots, far more so than most Western countries 143 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 3: at the time. Then, during the Atomic Age, the idea 144 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 3: of super robots sparked a cultural craze in Japan, and 145 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 3: these colorful robotic warriors began to dominate the manga stories, 146 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:41,360 Speaker 3: the anime shows, and eventually the nation's toy ales. 147 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:44,960 Speaker 1: That's really funny, Like you think about that magazine Giant 148 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 1: Robot that used to exist. That's all about Japanese culture, 149 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:50,119 Speaker 1: So it's kind of that's about their linked. I'd heard 150 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: that the first couple of decades after World War Two 151 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: actually were like a golden age of toys in Japan, 152 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: which is obviously not what you'd expect since the atomic 153 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:00,679 Speaker 1: bombings destroyed some to the country. 154 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's true, But the Japanese people were very resourceful, 155 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 3: like they realized there was plenty of ten lying around 156 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 3: from the Allied soldiers ration cans, and by recycling that metal, 157 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 3: they were able to produce inexpensive toys that got the 158 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:16,640 Speaker 3: industry up and running pretty quickly, and in fact, the 159 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 3: sales of those toys actually helped the Japanese population bounce 160 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 3: back much faster than it otherwise would have, because once 161 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 3: US soldiers saw the innovative and affordable toys that were 162 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:29,559 Speaker 3: being produced there, they started buying them up and sending 163 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 3: them back home to the States, and it was that 164 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 3: enthusiasm that eventually led to Japan being authorized to sell 165 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:38,760 Speaker 3: toys in the global market, which means that toys were 166 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 3: actually the country's first real export following it surrender in 167 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:43,920 Speaker 3: nineteen forty five. 168 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:46,920 Speaker 1: Were these metal toys mostly robots then, I. 169 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 3: Mean there were lots of wind up toys, but also 170 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:52,240 Speaker 3: a lot of vehicles. And as time went on, production 171 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:56,240 Speaker 3: methods improved and more materials became available, but robots and 172 00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 3: vehicles remained the lifeblood of this industry. Started to pair 173 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 3: the two categories together in different ways. Sometimes the robot 174 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,320 Speaker 3: came with their own vehicles to ride in, and other 175 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:10,559 Speaker 3: cases a fleet of non transforming vehicles could be combined 176 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 3: together to form kind of like a giant robot. But 177 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:17,439 Speaker 3: it wasn't until the mid nineteen seventies that the Japanese 178 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:21,640 Speaker 3: toy companies in Takara, they began to push the marriage 179 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 3: even further by making robot figures that could convert into vehicles, 180 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 3: and it was the best of both worlds in a 181 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:30,880 Speaker 3: single toy, and kids just went nuts for them. 182 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 1: So these early transforming robot toys sound great, but they 183 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:37,880 Speaker 1: still weren't technically transformers. 184 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:39,440 Speaker 3: Right, Yeah, they were both toy lines from a company 185 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:43,280 Speaker 3: I mentioned earlier called Takara. So back in the nineteen seventies, 186 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 3: Takara found success with a series called Microman, which centered 187 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:50,320 Speaker 3: on a race of tiny cybernetic spacemen who had come 188 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:53,559 Speaker 3: to protect the Earth from an alien invasion. And they 189 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 3: came with all these interchangeable accessories that could be put 190 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:58,560 Speaker 3: together in all sorts of ways, and you would build 191 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 3: these vehicles and robots for the little guys to pilot. So, 192 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 3: after a couple of years of success, the designers at 193 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:07,840 Speaker 3: Takara decided to launch a spin offline and that would 194 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:11,719 Speaker 3: focus more on transforming robot toys rather than the spacemen, 195 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 3: and the resulting series was called Diaclone, which is a 196 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:18,400 Speaker 3: combination of the words diamond and cyclone. 197 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:21,120 Speaker 1: Which sounds like those diamond storms where rains diamonds on 198 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:24,320 Speaker 1: Neptune or Jupiter, which is just an incredible phenomena. 199 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:25,600 Speaker 2: Yeah it does. 200 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:28,920 Speaker 3: But you know, these toys were small, like. They consisted 201 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 3: of tiny little robots that transformed into these futuristic vehicles 202 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:37,320 Speaker 3: and sci fi fortresses which the new even smaller micromen 203 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 3: could interact with. 204 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:42,080 Speaker 1: Which sounds fun. But it still feels a bit off 205 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 1: from the Transformers. 206 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 2: We know, Yeah, we just you know, it's evolution. 207 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:47,880 Speaker 3: It takes a little time. We're working our way there. 208 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:50,000 Speaker 3: It wouldn't be as exciting if it just happened over night. 209 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:53,679 Speaker 3: And this is still the nineteen seventies, all right. So 210 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:57,280 Speaker 3: fast forward nineteen eighty two, just two years before the 211 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:00,880 Speaker 3: Transformers first came out to Car release the line called 212 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 3: Car Robots, and unlike all the transforming toys that came 213 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:07,880 Speaker 3: before it, these ones converted into real life cars and 214 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:10,640 Speaker 3: trucks instead of made up sci fi vehicles. 215 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:13,600 Speaker 1: So do you know why they decided to move from 216 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:16,240 Speaker 1: sci fi into something that was a little more realistic. 217 00:11:16,679 --> 00:11:18,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean sometimes these kinds of things come from 218 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 3: the preferences of those who are working on this stuff 219 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 3: like this came from the head designer, a guy named 220 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:27,080 Speaker 3: kojin Ono, and he thought it would be more fun 221 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:28,839 Speaker 3: for kids if they were playing with the kinds of 222 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 3: vehicles you might see in real life. Of course, there 223 00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:33,800 Speaker 3: was a little in fighting among the group there, and 224 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 3: other members of the team weren't quite convinced, but when 225 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 3: the sales department backed up Ono's ideas, the company decided 226 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 3: to give it a try. But if you're wondering why 227 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:47,160 Speaker 3: the sales team felt confident, Ono recently offered an explanation 228 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:50,719 Speaker 3: during a twenty twenty four interview with Figure King magazine. 229 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 3: The sixty five year old designer, who still works it 230 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:57,160 Speaker 3: to Kara, by the way, told the interviewer quote, there 231 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:00,199 Speaker 3: was a part conveniently located right in front of our company, 232 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:04,000 Speaker 3: allowing us to easily conduct surveys of children. Of course, 233 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:06,719 Speaker 3: nowadays such practices would be an absolute no no from 234 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:09,760 Speaker 3: a compliance standpoint, But as I mentioned earlier, there's a 235 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 3: certain persuasiveness in directly hearing from children. Their enthusiastic support 236 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 3: played a pivotal role in propelling us forward, and that's 237 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:20,319 Speaker 3: what led them to making these toys that could transform 238 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 3: into real cars. 239 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:24,959 Speaker 1: Okay, so now we've got transforming robots that turn into 240 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:28,880 Speaker 1: these realistic looking vehicles. But we've got to be getting 241 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:31,400 Speaker 1: close to the capital t transformers. 242 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:33,120 Speaker 2: Right, Yep, we are almost there. 243 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:35,480 Speaker 3: In fact, a lot of figures that were designed for 244 00:12:35,559 --> 00:12:38,120 Speaker 3: car robots in the early eighties were the same ones 245 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 3: that would later be repurposed actually as the original Transformers toys. So, 246 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:46,320 Speaker 3: for example, the first one that cojin Ono designed was 247 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:50,640 Speaker 3: this red super tuning Lamborghini, which was later released in 248 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:55,160 Speaker 3: nineteen eighty four as a yellow autobot sports car named Sunstreaker. 249 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 1: And so what about all the other early transformers that 250 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:02,160 Speaker 1: don't turn into cars and trucks, Like I know, there 251 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 1: were also mechanical animals and dinabots. And wasn't there even 252 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,439 Speaker 1: one that turned into like a handgun Megatron? 253 00:13:08,559 --> 00:13:11,360 Speaker 2: I think that's exactly right, Megatron. 254 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:14,160 Speaker 3: Good memory, Mango. And so in one of the universes, 255 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 3: he turns into a Walter p. Thirty eight pistol, which 256 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,600 Speaker 3: is really embarrassing that you didn't know that, But actually 257 00:13:20,679 --> 00:13:23,000 Speaker 3: I only know that because of Gabe once again coming 258 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:25,600 Speaker 3: to the rescue here. But no, you're right, they really 259 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:29,680 Speaker 3: left no stone unturned when choosing the figures alt modes, 260 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:32,040 Speaker 3: which by the way, is the official term for the 261 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:34,400 Speaker 3: non primary mode of a Transformer. 262 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:36,959 Speaker 1: I love that we have all the jargon down thanks 263 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:37,480 Speaker 1: to Gabe. 264 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:40,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, he insisted. I slipped that in there. 265 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:44,360 Speaker 1: So just to recap here, like, Takara had a bunch 266 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:47,800 Speaker 1: of standalone toy lines in Japan which contributed to elements 267 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 1: of what would become Transformers, but none of those treated 268 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:55,160 Speaker 1: the robots as distinct characters. And then what Hasbro comes 269 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:58,040 Speaker 1: in and ditches the spacemen and makes the robots the 270 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:00,640 Speaker 1: stars of the show is not what happens. 271 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:03,199 Speaker 3: That's basically right. So Takara struggled to find a foothold 272 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 3: in the crowded American market, but then in nineteen eighty 273 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:09,199 Speaker 3: three their products caught the eye of a Hasbro representative, 274 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:11,680 Speaker 3: and this was at the Tokyo Toy Show. So the 275 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,600 Speaker 3: rep brought back some sample figures, and before the year 276 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,600 Speaker 3: was out, Hasbro had signed a contract with Takara to 277 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:20,800 Speaker 3: license the figures for the US market, but the next 278 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:23,200 Speaker 3: step was figuring out how to rebrand the toys for 279 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:26,440 Speaker 3: an American audience. Hasbro's partner in the task was an 280 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:31,200 Speaker 3: advertising agency called Griffin Bacall, who had helped develop Gi Joe, 281 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 3: and it was the ad firm's idea to combine Takara's 282 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,720 Speaker 3: various toy lines under one umbrella and to make the 283 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:40,520 Speaker 3: robots the main characters. The company also suggested having the 284 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:44,760 Speaker 3: robots be sentient aliens rather than just accessories to the spacemen, 285 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:49,160 Speaker 3: and proposed splitting them into two rival factions to create 286 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:52,640 Speaker 3: a bit of built in conflict. Hence the heroic autobots 287 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:55,600 Speaker 3: and the evil Dysepticons first time we mentioned them in 288 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 3: this episode. I can't believe it took us this long. 289 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:01,280 Speaker 3: A git there, but lastly, the all import named Transformers 290 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 3: was contributed by j Baccall, the son of the company 291 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:06,280 Speaker 3: chairman Joe Bacall. 292 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 1: Okay, so the ad agency comes up with the bones 293 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,840 Speaker 1: of the story, these two warring factions of alien robots, 294 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:15,200 Speaker 1: But who actually ends up filling in the details here? 295 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:17,960 Speaker 3: That job actually fell to the writers and editors at 296 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:21,240 Speaker 3: Marvel Comics, who had already helped Hasbro flesh out the 297 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:24,600 Speaker 3: world of Gi Joe just a few years earlier. The 298 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 3: original story treatment was written by Marvel editor in chief 299 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 3: Jim Shooter, and it explained that the Transformers had been 300 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 3: locked in a civil war fighting for control of their 301 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:37,960 Speaker 3: home planet, Cybertron, for millions of years. Millions of year, 302 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 3: that's a long war. The constant fighting had left the 303 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:45,480 Speaker 3: planet in ruins and almost completely devoid of eon, which 304 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:48,160 Speaker 3: is the life blood or fuel that powers both the 305 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:52,160 Speaker 3: robots and the planet itself. So the two factions left 306 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:55,560 Speaker 3: their home world in search of news sources of energy, 307 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:59,600 Speaker 3: only to crash land on prehistoric Earth. So they spent 308 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:04,600 Speaker 3: the next four million years than the side of a mountain. Then, 309 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 3: after being awakened by a volcanic eruption in nineteen eighty four, 310 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:11,440 Speaker 3: they adopted the forms of Earth's machines and resumed their 311 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:13,160 Speaker 3: endless war once again. 312 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 1: I mean, it's a great soap opera, but it is 313 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:20,000 Speaker 1: interesting that Shooter framed this conflict does a struggle for 314 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: resources right. 315 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,960 Speaker 3: It's also interesting that he drew his inspiration from real life, 316 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 3: like specifically the energy crisis of the nineteen seventies, So 317 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:32,440 Speaker 3: in his conception, the difference between the two factions was 318 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 3: what they planned to do with the energy. 319 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:35,119 Speaker 2: That they collected. 320 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:37,520 Speaker 3: So you have the Autobots that just wanted to restore 321 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:41,400 Speaker 3: their home planet and live in peace, but those evil Decepticons, 322 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:44,360 Speaker 3: like they wanted to conquer other planets and then create 323 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:47,080 Speaker 3: an empire. Of course, it is worth noting, though, that 324 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:49,960 Speaker 3: Shooter's treatment left plenty of room for future writers to 325 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 3: deepen that mythos. 326 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:55,360 Speaker 1: So did Shooter's treatment delve into all the character names 327 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:59,080 Speaker 1: and backstories because I actually, like separately, was looking up 328 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 1: the earlier trends and they were like thirty different characters 329 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:05,119 Speaker 1: released in just the first year of the toy line. 330 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:07,600 Speaker 1: Like that is so many bios to write. 331 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:09,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think it would be a pretty 332 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:11,600 Speaker 3: tall order for just one person, And that's probably why 333 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 3: Jim Shooter decided to hand the job off to somebody else. 334 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:17,840 Speaker 3: It was a Marvel writer named Danny O'Neill who came 335 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:21,240 Speaker 3: up with the name Optimus Prime, but the rest of 336 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 3: the original cast was developed by an editor named Bob Budianski, 337 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:27,359 Speaker 3: and he was just given a few days to come 338 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:31,760 Speaker 3: up with the names. Personalities, powers, weaknesses, and even personal 339 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:34,800 Speaker 3: mottos of dozens of different robots. That's a ton of 340 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:38,439 Speaker 3: pressure and nothing to go on except the toys themselves. 341 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:41,480 Speaker 3: And to make the assignment that much harder, his deadline 342 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:44,360 Speaker 3: was set for the Monday after Thanksgiving. I mean, how 343 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:46,159 Speaker 3: cruel is that? It just seems like the way that 344 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:49,440 Speaker 3: it works, I guess. But Bob rose to the challenge, 345 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:52,200 Speaker 3: and the work he did over that long, long weekend 346 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:56,159 Speaker 3: became the basis for the four issue comic mini series 347 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:59,120 Speaker 3: that launched the franchise later that year, and he came 348 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:04,280 Speaker 3: up with some real heavy hitters. He had Bumblebee, Starscream, Megatron. Also, 349 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:06,399 Speaker 3: his work didn't go unnoticed. Bob is only one of 350 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:10,160 Speaker 3: four human inductees into the Transformers Hall of Fame. 351 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:14,159 Speaker 1: I was not familiar with the fact that they have 352 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:15,440 Speaker 1: their own Hall of Fame. 353 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:17,639 Speaker 2: Yah. Pretty amazing. 354 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,920 Speaker 1: Well, I want to switch gears and talk a little 355 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:24,160 Speaker 1: bit more about the lore of Transformers, but first let's 356 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:40,000 Speaker 1: take a quick break. 357 00:18:41,359 --> 00:18:42,679 Speaker 2: Welcome back to Part time Genius. 358 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 3: Okay, Mango, So we're in the weird wide world of Transformers, 359 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:48,200 Speaker 3: and I'm curious where do you want to go next? 360 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:51,199 Speaker 1: Since you gave us the real life history of Transformers. 361 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:53,480 Speaker 1: I thought i'd share a little bit about the origin 362 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:57,840 Speaker 1: story in the Transformers universe because it's actually pretty strange 363 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:03,200 Speaker 1: and like surprisingly spiritual, because transformers have souls. 364 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:05,800 Speaker 2: You know. 365 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:09,600 Speaker 3: I took I think two philosophy courses in college, and 366 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:12,359 Speaker 3: neither of those covered this, and so I'm curious to 367 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:12,959 Speaker 3: learn about it. 368 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:14,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, for the amount of money we paid, 369 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:19,120 Speaker 1: it shouldn't have. But in the transformer's lore, they all 370 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 1: have something called sparks, like the spark of life, and 371 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:26,240 Speaker 1: unlike most conceptions of a human soul, a transformer spark 372 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:29,399 Speaker 1: is a tangible object, so it's kind of like an organ. 373 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,439 Speaker 1: It is a weird idea, but Gabe pointed me to 374 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:36,200 Speaker 1: a nice explainer from tfwiki dot net, which he assured 375 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:39,439 Speaker 1: me is the foremost Transformers wiki on the internet. 376 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:41,800 Speaker 3: No, I'm definitely familiar. I forgot to put my phone 377 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:43,879 Speaker 3: on do not Disturb the other night, and I just 378 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:46,600 Speaker 3: kept getting text with these links to the information on 379 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:48,919 Speaker 3: that on Gabe. So let's go ahead and share what 380 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:49,640 Speaker 3: you've learned here. 381 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:54,159 Speaker 1: Okay, So tf wiki rights quote, the spark is the 382 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:58,879 Speaker 1: core of Transformer life and electrically charged massive positrons formed 383 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 1: from the supernatural absence known as rarefied energy. On like 384 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:05,879 Speaker 1: a heart, a spark pulses at a certain frequency to 385 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:09,439 Speaker 1: animate a mechanical body frame like a soul. A spark 386 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:12,600 Speaker 1: is generally accepted to contain some part of a Transformer's 387 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:18,840 Speaker 1: immaterial being, which persists after death by transcending into the afterlife. 388 00:20:19,119 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 3: So you're saying in Transformers, there's a robot heaven too, like, 389 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:24,560 Speaker 3: is there a robot god who made them all? 390 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,600 Speaker 1: I am so glad that my kids never asked me that, 391 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:31,199 Speaker 1: because I would not have been prepared. But just like 392 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:33,520 Speaker 1: in the real world, the answer kind of depends on 393 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:35,920 Speaker 1: who you ask. So if you go back to the 394 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:39,800 Speaker 1: first Transformer story ever published, that Marvel comic that uh 395 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 1: Boudianski worked on, the origin story is completely secular, right, Like, 396 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:48,760 Speaker 1: so life on Cybertron springs up through the naturally occurring 397 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:52,399 Speaker 1: interaction of gears, levers, and pulleys, which you know is 398 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:55,000 Speaker 1: kind of a silly idea, but I also love it. 399 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:58,719 Speaker 1: But then in later comic books and the cartoon series, 400 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:00,919 Speaker 1: and now actually with the latest movie, the creation of 401 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:04,880 Speaker 1: the Transformers is credited to a deity and fittingly, his 402 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:07,720 Speaker 1: name is Primus, which is just a Latin word for 403 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:11,320 Speaker 1: first and as the story goes, he started out as 404 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:14,879 Speaker 1: this ancient ethereal entity, kind of like a cosmic ghost. 405 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:17,600 Speaker 1: But then Primus decided to lay down some roots by 406 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:22,399 Speaker 1: joining his essence to a barren, metal rich planet, as 407 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:26,119 Speaker 1: you do, and then by imbuing each Transformer with a 408 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:27,560 Speaker 1: piece of his essence. 409 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:30,320 Speaker 3: And I'm guessing that's what a spark is, right. 410 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:33,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, They're all little pieces of Primus, which, by the way, 411 00:21:33,359 --> 00:21:36,040 Speaker 1: is also why they have the power to transform. It's 412 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:39,680 Speaker 1: a reflection of his ability to change form, like how 413 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:43,160 Speaker 1: he became their planet. And when a Transformer dies, it's 414 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:46,480 Speaker 1: spark is set to rejoin with Primus's life force, which 415 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:47,679 Speaker 1: they call the all Spark. 416 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 3: This is bizarrely fascinating, but it's also starting to feel 417 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:53,120 Speaker 3: a little bit like I'm being inducted into a cult, 418 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:55,000 Speaker 3: So I want to be a little careful here, but 419 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:55,680 Speaker 3: do keep going. 420 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:58,000 Speaker 1: It's fascinating, Yeah, I mean, I do think The lower 421 00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:00,760 Speaker 1: highlights one of the most unique things about the Transformers, 422 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:05,840 Speaker 1: which is that these aren't machines built by humans or aliens. Instead, 423 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:09,880 Speaker 1: they are the aliens, with their own unique culture and background. 424 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:13,360 Speaker 1: Which you know, is fertile ground for sci fi storytelling. 425 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:15,439 Speaker 3: It's a good point, and with the deep dive we 426 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,159 Speaker 3: took this week, it does seem like Transformers comics and 427 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,320 Speaker 3: cartoons have been mining that potential for a while now. 428 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 3: It's just interesting that the same can't be said for 429 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,760 Speaker 3: all of the live action movies, which are probably the 430 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:29,640 Speaker 3: version of the franchise that most people are familiar with. 431 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:33,720 Speaker 1: Now, yeah, seven live action movies. There are five directed 432 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:36,679 Speaker 1: by Michael Bay. In particular, these movies are a huge 433 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:40,040 Speaker 1: outlier from everything else we've been talking about, Like for fans, 434 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:43,359 Speaker 1: the robots in the series are mostly interchangeable, with no 435 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:46,919 Speaker 1: real time spent on developing them as unique characters or 436 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:50,160 Speaker 1: even giving them much agency in the story. Instead, it's 437 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:52,520 Speaker 1: the human characters who get most of the screen time, 438 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:55,400 Speaker 1: with the Transformers mostly just suiting up when it's time 439 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:58,879 Speaker 1: for one of those big, messy action sequences. 440 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:02,119 Speaker 3: Well, and if you talk to fans of Transformers, and 441 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:04,959 Speaker 3: I was asking a few of their thoughts on the 442 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,880 Speaker 3: movies themselves, they would say, you know, to make matters worse, 443 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:12,160 Speaker 3: the stuff with the human characters is at best completely uninteresting, 444 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:15,880 Speaker 3: and it worst painfully dumb. Not exactly a great review there, 445 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:18,880 Speaker 3: and there isn't much in these movies that they would 446 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:22,800 Speaker 3: actually consider suitable for children. So, for example, the absolute 447 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:25,119 Speaker 3: low point they would say has to be in the 448 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:28,919 Speaker 3: fourth movie, Transformer's Age of Extinction. It's got this whole 449 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:32,520 Speaker 3: scene dedicated to a twenty year old human character explaining 450 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:35,560 Speaker 3: why it's legal for him to date a seventeen year 451 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:39,199 Speaker 3: old girl due to Texas's Romeo and Juliette law. So 452 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:41,840 Speaker 3: we started to get a little weird here. I know, 453 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:44,600 Speaker 3: he even pulls out a laminated card to prove that 454 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:47,000 Speaker 3: his relationship is approved by the state. 455 00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:48,919 Speaker 2: It's just weird that it goes in that direction. 456 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:52,560 Speaker 1: That is insane. Kay was actually telling me that the 457 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:55,359 Speaker 1: whole thing is kind of ironic because Transformers comics have 458 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:59,240 Speaker 1: all these big philosophical ideas baked into their storytelling and 459 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 1: they wrestle with like concepts of God or evolution or whatever. 460 00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:06,560 Speaker 1: But to make the movie more appealing to adults, fans 461 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:10,440 Speaker 1: think that they dumbed down the adaptations, which is kind 462 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:14,360 Speaker 1: of amazing actually yea, also for super fans, the live 463 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:17,359 Speaker 1: action stuff never looked right apparently, and I didn't realize this. 464 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:21,000 Speaker 1: Producer said the traditional BLOCKI designs of the Transformers in 465 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:23,960 Speaker 1: their robot moods would look silly for the two thousand 466 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:26,320 Speaker 1: and seven live action movie that Michael Bay did, so 467 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:30,639 Speaker 1: they were redesigned to be much more visually complicated, with 468 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:33,840 Speaker 1: lots of like shifting panels and tiny moving details, which 469 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:37,960 Speaker 1: is obviously visually interesting, but that makes the characters look 470 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:43,080 Speaker 1: virtually unrecognizable, which obviously didn't please fans. Also, their robots 471 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:46,639 Speaker 1: were dumbed down. In the comics, Optimus Prime's motto is 472 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 1: freedom is the right of all sentient beings and he 473 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:53,119 Speaker 1: only turns to violence as a last resort, right, like 474 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:56,720 Speaker 1: that's his whole ethos. But in these movies he's a 475 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 1: bloodthirsty robot shouting out lines like we will kill them 476 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:02,800 Speaker 1: all and give me your face, which is a real. 477 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 3: You don't think that's a sophisticated and tenidating line. That's 478 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:09,920 Speaker 3: not quite the same vibe. 479 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:12,200 Speaker 1: It's sort of paraphrasing mlkay. 480 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,879 Speaker 3: Definitely, yes, yeah, yeah, I remember that one, but you know, 481 00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:17,520 Speaker 3: it's not quite the same vibe as the old motto. 482 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:19,600 Speaker 3: And I'm curious, though, did you get a sense of 483 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:22,760 Speaker 3: how the Transformers fandom responded to those kinds of changes. 484 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's deeply polarizing. A lot of fans were unhappy 485 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,440 Speaker 1: to see the characters treated as these one note killing machines, 486 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:33,560 Speaker 1: and all of them suddenly were clarifying online that there 487 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:36,679 Speaker 1: were fans of Transformers but not the live action movies. 488 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:40,240 Speaker 1: There's actually a joke that referenced a lot about how 489 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:42,520 Speaker 1: bad these movies are within the community. And it's from 490 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:45,320 Speaker 1: the good place. You know that sitcom course, love that 491 00:25:45,359 --> 00:25:48,120 Speaker 1: show and Ted Danson's character tries out a new scent 492 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:51,600 Speaker 1: of Acts deodorant, which supposedly makes you feel the way 493 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:55,040 Speaker 1: that Transformers movies make you feel loud and confusing. 494 00:25:57,480 --> 00:25:59,320 Speaker 3: I love that they threw that line on there, But 495 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,760 Speaker 3: clearly somebody liked these movies though, right, Like they seem 496 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,000 Speaker 3: to be super successful and they keep making them. 497 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:08,359 Speaker 1: Oh man, they were massive, like the Bay movies made 498 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:12,920 Speaker 1: so much money, and they made the Transformers culturally relevant again, 499 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:16,040 Speaker 1: like in a way it hadn't been since the nineteen eighties. Also, 500 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:18,320 Speaker 1: they serve as an entry point for a whole new 501 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:21,040 Speaker 1: generation of fans, both kids and adults. You know, some 502 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:23,040 Speaker 1: of the people in the community say, even if you 503 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:24,720 Speaker 1: don't like the movies, it's a great way to get 504 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:28,320 Speaker 1: people into Transformers, and they're okay with that. Just to 505 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:30,960 Speaker 1: show you the difference though, like between the high minded 506 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:34,720 Speaker 1: concepts versus the gory action. The comics that came out 507 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:37,640 Speaker 1: at the same time as the Bay movies were dealing 508 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:43,320 Speaker 1: with questions about the nature of war, societal expectations, PTSD, 509 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:47,960 Speaker 1: and gender dysphoria like all while positioning it in this 510 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:51,640 Speaker 1: like fun sci fi romp. So for fans of the comics, 511 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:54,560 Speaker 1: the new animated movie is more akin to what they like, 512 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,160 Speaker 1: since there are no annoying humans to steal the spotlight. 513 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:00,639 Speaker 3: All right, Well, for the sake of all the Gabes 514 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:02,480 Speaker 3: of the world, I hope we got all of the 515 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:05,159 Speaker 3: lore and myths right because otherwise our moms are going 516 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:07,439 Speaker 3: to get some angry letters, and they're always good at 517 00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:10,880 Speaker 3: responding very calmly to those. But let's hope they only 518 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:12,320 Speaker 3: get positive notes this week. 519 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:15,440 Speaker 1: I'm sure they can handle it. But before we say 520 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:18,600 Speaker 1: anything even more inflammatory or get our moms in trouble, 521 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:28,600 Speaker 1: let's start the BacT off. Okay, So here's a weird 522 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:31,560 Speaker 1: one to start us off. It turns out that Transformers 523 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:35,360 Speaker 1: has an odd connection to the nineteen eighty eruption of 524 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:39,040 Speaker 1: the Mount Saint Helen's volcano in Washington State. Namely, it 525 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:41,280 Speaker 1: helped inspire the story of how the robots first came 526 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:44,440 Speaker 1: to Earth. So in the Marvel comic that you mentioned, 527 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,320 Speaker 1: the Transformers spaceship crashes into the side of a dormant 528 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:50,719 Speaker 1: volcano called Mount Saint Hilary, which is a made up 529 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:53,600 Speaker 1: peak that was said to reside in Oregon, just outside 530 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:57,080 Speaker 1: of Portland, and the real world inspiration is easy enough 531 00:27:57,119 --> 00:27:59,960 Speaker 1: to spot, but it's even more explicit in the original 532 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:03,560 Speaker 1: story treatment. And that's because the volcano was actually called 533 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:07,159 Speaker 1: Mount Saint Helen's. The change was likely made out of 534 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:10,240 Speaker 1: respect for the victims and because you know, they're trying 535 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 1: to market toy robots to children. 536 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:15,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, it's good call, all right. 537 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:18,080 Speaker 3: So we talked about how the original Transformers toy line 538 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:21,600 Speaker 3: was cobbled together from existing to car products. But something 539 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 3: cool I found this week is that TAKR is still 540 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:27,400 Speaker 3: very much involved in the brand. Once the series took 541 00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:30,600 Speaker 3: off in the US, TAKR actually imported it back to Japan, 542 00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 3: essentially re releasing their old toys in new packaging. The 543 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:37,080 Speaker 3: line became such a big hit there that once Hasbro 544 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 3: ran out of existing toys to release his Transformers, the 545 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:43,960 Speaker 3: two companies began working together to produce new ones. The 546 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,360 Speaker 3: result is one of the toy industry's most unique and 547 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:50,040 Speaker 3: long lasting partnerships, because even though they're on opposite sides 548 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:52,760 Speaker 3: of the world, the two companies now collaborate on every 549 00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:56,880 Speaker 3: aspect of figure design development, with the Hasbro team handling 550 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:00,360 Speaker 3: the character selection and the concept design and the Kara 551 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,400 Speaker 3: doing the heavy lifting on figuring out the engineering and 552 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:07,840 Speaker 3: how the toy will actually transform or actually, excuse me, convert. 553 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:11,720 Speaker 1: That is so cool that they're like still working together, 554 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:12,080 Speaker 1: you know. 555 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 3: It really is, you think of It is like such 556 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:17,040 Speaker 3: a competitive space and the fact that they're collaborating is awesome. 557 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:21,440 Speaker 1: Yeah. So, as strange as the franchise is sometimes, it 558 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:25,120 Speaker 1: has attracted so much celebrity talent over the years, and 559 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:27,920 Speaker 1: the list of actors who lent their voices to Transformers 560 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 1: includes everyone from Weird al Yankovitch, Steve Sheemi, Angela Bassett, 561 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:36,920 Speaker 1: Leonard Nimoy, and Lawrence Fishburn. But the biggest talent to 562 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:40,360 Speaker 1: ever voice a Transformer is, of course, the late great 563 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:43,560 Speaker 1: Orson Wells and This was back in nineteen eighty six, 564 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:46,400 Speaker 1: when the first animated Transformers movie was coming out and 565 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:50,800 Speaker 1: Wells was cast as the movies big bad transformer named Unicorn. 566 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:54,040 Speaker 1: Wells's career had been in a downturn for many years 567 00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:56,480 Speaker 1: by that point, which is obviously why he agreed to 568 00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:59,560 Speaker 1: the role. But Unicron turned out to be his final 569 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 1: film performance, which he hadn't been expecting before he passed 570 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:06,840 Speaker 1: away just one week after recording his lines. He spoke 571 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:09,560 Speaker 1: out about the role, making it clear how much contempt 572 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:12,640 Speaker 1: he had for the whole production. So this is his 573 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:15,440 Speaker 1: quote and what he told the press. You know what 574 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 1: I did this morning? I played the voice of a toy, 575 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:20,960 Speaker 1: some terrible robot toys from Japan that change from one 576 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:24,080 Speaker 1: thing to another. Japanese have funded a full length animated 577 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:26,760 Speaker 1: cartoon about the doings of these toys, which is all 578 00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:29,800 Speaker 1: bad outer space stuff. I play a planet I menace, 579 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:32,840 Speaker 1: somebody calls something or other, then I'm destroyed. My plan 580 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:35,600 Speaker 1: is to destroy whoever it is is thwarted and I 581 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:37,640 Speaker 1: tear myself apart on the screen. 582 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:40,400 Speaker 2: Is so great. 583 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:43,560 Speaker 3: I've never heard that before, but I love that, so 584 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:46,480 Speaker 3: I agree. I know it really is, and I love it. 585 00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:48,320 Speaker 3: I love every word of it, all right. So there 586 00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:51,440 Speaker 3: are thousands of different transformers at this point. Most of 587 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:53,680 Speaker 3: them have their own unique names, and let me tell you, 588 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:57,000 Speaker 3: they get so much weirder than Bumblebee. So here are 589 00:30:57,080 --> 00:31:00,200 Speaker 3: a few of my favorites. You've got Power Hug, who 590 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:03,840 Speaker 3: turns into an organic pill bug. You've got Cup with 591 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:07,040 Speaker 3: a K who turns into a pickup truck. You get 592 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:11,000 Speaker 3: it where that comes from. And Tarantulus, who, despite having 593 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:14,560 Speaker 3: the word tarantulas and his name, actually transforms into a 594 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:17,080 Speaker 3: generic spider and not a tarantula. 595 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:18,480 Speaker 2: I don't know why. It's kind of confusing. 596 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:21,880 Speaker 3: And there's also a cross section of transformers with oddly 597 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:26,160 Speaker 3: inappropriate sounding names. You've got Randy the Wild Boar, You've 598 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,640 Speaker 3: got Big Daddy, who's actually a tiny hot rod, a 599 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:32,800 Speaker 3: pair of trucks called Huffer and Puffer. And then, last, 600 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:36,400 Speaker 3: but not least, you've got Master Dominus, who transforms into 601 00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:39,360 Speaker 3: the bones of a mastodon or wooly mammoth. 602 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:42,600 Speaker 1: That's so reirdly he transforms just as the bones, but 603 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:46,640 Speaker 1: just the bones. I am surprised you didn't include my 604 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:50,280 Speaker 1: favorite weird transformer name, Steve from Accounting. 605 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:54,200 Speaker 2: So there's a character called Steve from Accounting Yeah and. 606 00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:57,480 Speaker 1: Fly he transforms into a stapler. Is that amazing? 607 00:31:58,080 --> 00:31:59,680 Speaker 2: That is fantastic. 608 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:02,720 Speaker 3: Got a same ango between the Steve from Accounting fact 609 00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:05,080 Speaker 3: and the orson Wells one. I just can't stop thinking 610 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:07,240 Speaker 3: about that quote. I'm gonna have to give you today's 611 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:07,720 Speaker 3: fact off. 612 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:13,040 Speaker 1: So congrats, well, thank you. No, obviously I watched Transformers 613 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:15,560 Speaker 1: as a kid. You watch them. We love the toys. 614 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:17,680 Speaker 1: We were vaguely aware of some of the stuff before 615 00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:20,880 Speaker 1: the show, but Gabe is obviously the powerhouse span here 616 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:24,680 Speaker 1: who applied us with all the research. And also, Gabe 617 00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:27,800 Speaker 1: maybe promise to mention this if anyone is interested in 618 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:31,240 Speaker 1: really falling down the Transformers rabbit hole with him. Tfwiki 619 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:33,440 Speaker 1: dot net is a great place to start. And he 620 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:36,320 Speaker 1: says that there is a YouTube series by an Irish 621 00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:40,440 Speaker 1: fan named Chris mcpheeley. It's called Transformers the Basics and 622 00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:42,120 Speaker 1: Gabe highly recommends it. 623 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:45,200 Speaker 3: That is pretty awesome. I love it when our team 624 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:47,480 Speaker 3: members just get to dig in on things that they're 625 00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:51,479 Speaker 3: passionate about and prepare for episodes like this. It's what 626 00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:53,960 Speaker 3: it's all about, that celebration of knowledge and all the 627 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:55,280 Speaker 3: fun stuff that's out there. 628 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:57,120 Speaker 1: Too, weirdness and weirdness. 629 00:32:57,200 --> 00:32:59,560 Speaker 3: We love that part too, but I think that covers it. 630 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:03,280 Speaker 3: For today's Part Time Genius from Mango Gay, Mary, Dylan 631 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:06,040 Speaker 3: and Me, Thanks as always for listening. We'll see you 632 00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:19,400 Speaker 3: next week with a brand new episode. 633 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:23,320 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. 634 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:27,840 Speaker 1: This show is hosted by Will Pearson and Me Mongagetikler 635 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:32,160 Speaker 1: and research by our good pal Mary Philip Sandy. Today's 636 00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:35,560 Speaker 1: episode was engineered and produced by the wonderful Dylan Fagan 637 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:39,240 Speaker 1: with support from Tyler Klang. The show is executive produced 638 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:42,760 Speaker 1: for iHeart by Katrina Norbel and Ali Perry, with social 639 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:47,200 Speaker 1: media support from Sasha Gay, trustee Dara Potts and Vinie Shoy. 640 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:52,400 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 641 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:56,160 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.