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Nightmare Planet

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The Transformers ep 79
Transformers 2010 ep 24
NightmarePlanet Quintessons watch Daniel.jpg
"But it wasn't a dream. It was a place. And you and you and you...and you were there!"
"Nightmare Planet"
Production code 700-99
Season 3
No. in season 14
Production company Sunbow Productions
Airdate October 31, 1986
Written by Beth Bornstein
Animation studio Toei, Studio Look, Nakamura Production
Continuity Generation 1 cartoon continuity
Yt icon rgb.png Watch this episode on YouTube

A recurring nightmare of Daniel's turns out to be an experiment by the Quintessons.

Contents

Synopsis

Daniel has been having nightmares involving a giant Galvatron. Worried, Spike and Carly ask Rodimus Prime to come visit him. Rodimus manages to calm Daniel, suggesting that should a huge Galvatron menace Daniel again, to imagine a huge Rodimus to fight him off. After he falls back asleep, a tentacle grabs Daniel...

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Rule Two: No make-believe things like, oh, pink dragons and stuff.

Meanwhile, Rodimus, Ultra Magnus, and Springer are driving through some thick fog when the Predacons attack the Autobots. However, both factions of Transformers are suddenly attacked by monsters on which their weapons have no effect. It turns out that the Quintessons are using Daniel's nightmares to create chaotic monsters which will destroy the unpredictable Autobots and Decepticons.

Springer and Razorclaw are captured by a dragon and taken to a castle. While there, they meet a princess chained in a dungeon, whom Springer unbinds. She tells them of a magic lance that can kill the dragon and claims that her father will give them gold if they free her. Springer agrees to free the Princess and slay the dragon regardless of the reward, while Razorclaw acts like he's on the verge of coughing up a hairball.

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This scene would probably have played out much differently in Kiss Players.

Back at the battle, Rodimus, Magnus, and the Predacons are being threatened by a witch and giant. They manage to dodge a blast from the witch that turns the giant into a toad and Magnus finds a bucket of water which destroys the witch. However, a giant snake monster appears from the ground and nearly swallows the Transformers before a plane, piloted by a familiar face, rescues them. The Quintessons realize that Daniel's subconscious mind is assisting the Autobots, so they increase the power to suppress his help. At the castle, Springer is trying to find way out, while Razorclaw has decided to wait until the guards come. Suddenly, Springer thinks of a plan, but requires Razorclaw's help.

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This is like a Frazetta painting. With giant robots.

Elsewhere, Rodimus, Magnus, and the Predacons find an abandoned amusement park. Heading into the fun house, Rampage and Tantrum are attacked by the mirrors, while Divebomb falls down a large hole. Rodimus and Headstrong are attacked by a giant Galvatron, which is then defeated by a giant Rodimus Prime. Rodimus realizes that they are somehow in Daniel's dream, due to the situation matching the advice he'd previously given. At the castle, Springer is fighting the dragon but needs help. Razorclaw refuses to help, but the Princess reminds Razorclaw that the dragon will kill him as well. Razorclaw reluctantly serves as Springer's mount and he stabs the dragon, killing it. The castle also disappears and a yellow brick road appears.

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"You won't tell anyone I wet the bed, will you, Rodimus?"

Meanwhile, Rodimus is calling out to Daniel. Shocked by the revelation that Daniel is trying to help save the Transformers in his nightmares, the Quintessons set the machine on its highest level, which will kill Daniel. The dream world begins to deteriorate, but the Princess guides them through the storm. Daniel is able to draw the Quintessons in subconsciously and the Autobots rescue him. Razorclaw wants to scrap the Autobots, but Headstrong cannot transform, preventing them from becoming Predaking. Razorclaw orders the Predacons to retreat.

Back at home, Daniel wakes up, not remembering what happened, and tells Rodimus that he took control of the dream. Rodimus tells Daniel that he won't have any more nightmares: "No more giant Galvatrons, and no more snake monsters." Daniel looks confused: "Hey... how'd you know about the snake monsters?"

Featured Characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons Humans Others

Quotes

"I'll do it, my lady, and for no reward!"
"...Bleh, you're making me sick, Autobot."

Springer's heroic antics aren't much to Razorclaw's liking


"How did you know that would work?!"
"I spent time talking TV with Wreck-Gar."

Ultra Magnus and Rodimus


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This is just one of those times when no caption we post will ever be as hilarious as the actual quote.

"Hold up, Headstrong! It's not the real thing! Look at how big he is!"
"FOOL! Galvatron can be any size he wants!"

Rodimus Prime and "Galvatron" debate the mass-shifting issue.


"Get him, Rodimus!"

Rodimus Prime cheering for (giant) himself battling Galvatron.


"The fantasy's over, Rodimus Prime. Enough fun for one day."
"If that's his idea of fun, what does he consider a bad time?"

Razorclaw and Springer have differing definitions of "fun".

Notes

Continuity notes

  • The Witwickys have a giant-scale home (presumably on Cybertron), with halls, ceilings and doors big enough to accommodate their robotic friends.
  • Razorclaw seems awfully interested in the princess's offer of gold. Whether this means it has actual value among the Decepticons, or he just likes shiny things, is unknown. But he probably just likes shiny things.
  • The princess is pretty much Carly in a pink gown.

Real-world references

  • The yellow brick road and the witch being defeated with a bucket of water are both references to The Wizard of Oz.
  • The giant recites the famous lines from Jack and the Beanstalk: "Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman!"
  • Star Wars sound effects:
    • Death Star superlaser as Divebomb flies over the clowns.

Animation and technical errors

There's evidence to suggest this episode had a troubled production:

  • The finished animation is missing in-between cels in several scenes (leaving the keyframes only), such as when Springer climbs onto Razorclaw.
  • The episode under-runs to such an extent that two secret files are tagged onto the end rather than one, presumably to make up for various missing shots.
  • The artistic style is all over the map. Sometimes it's standard Toei style; sometimes it's the upgraded style used in the animated Movie; and for a few shots, it's a highly stylized anime rendering of the characters. The differing styles alternate from scene to scene and sometimes shot to shot. Suggesting the use of more than one animation team and/or studio to help out (as was usually common, but not to this extent).
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    "We're gonna get out of here by skipping a few scenes ahead."
  • At least one scene seems to be missing from the episode. When Springer, Razorclaw and the princess are still locked up and know they need the magic lance to defeat the dragon, Springer says he has an idea to break out. The next time we see the trio, they're free, they have the magic lance and Springer is fighting the dragon.
  • The battles with the dream-creatures are generally a bit disjointed and nonsensical; though it could have been scripted that way for surreal, dream-like effect, The Transformers usually wasn't that edgy:
    • The first batch of dream-creatures get no introduction at all - the camera shot changes, and they're just there, just strolling along. None of the Transformers seem too concerned that a madhouse of giant organic creatures just waltzed in out of nowhere, either - literally nobody comments on it.
    • When the witch appears, Rodimus yells "Hold it! Don't fire!" at the other Transformers present... and the witch replies "For THAT I shall cast a spell on all of you!" Presumably one of the Predacons was supposed to have fired on her, provoking her reaction.
    • No context is provided for the battle with the flytrap plants; the battle is already in progress when the episode rejoins the characters, the monster plants having appeared and attacked between scenes. Rampage and Tantrum's fight with them also seems to be missing a few shots or lines of dialog or something. Rampage's "Get away from me!" seems to have been (p)recycled from his later encounter in the house of mirrors, as it doesn't entirely make sense in this context. Likewise, Tantrum's "I thought you could do it too!" seems like it should be a reply or follow-on from another line.
    • Rodimus calmly floats up into the air where Headstrong is trapped in a plant. The plant then explodes for no reason.
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      "Fighting clowns? Yeah, it's pretty undignified. Could be worse, I guess. It's not like I'm having to do something really humiliating, like flex my mouth pistons to destroy a swarm of nanocons."
    • Magnus is never shown getting the weed-killer tank he uses against the Venus flytrap-style plants; likewise, the plants aren't actually shown wilting or freezing or anything; they just kind of flash and jump back and forth.
    • Magnus's "Look!" - possibly meant for him finding the weed killer tank - doesn't correspond to anything happening on-screen.
    • A plant clamps onto Rodimus's leg. Magnus then freezes a bunch of other plants, and Rodimus's predicament is magically over.
    • When Daniel dreams up the clowns, only three are shown appearing at first - but each subsequent shot shows another clown, a different one in every shot, for over half a dozen total.

More commonplace errors include:

  • Rodimus Prime's head crest is missing the line through it for most of the episode.
  • Spike's eyebrows are black instead of brown.
  • Rodimus's hand is yellow instead of gray as he rests it on Daniel's shoulder.
  • Rodimus's vehicle form is strangely flattened as he and the others drive into the fog.
  • "Not the best place for a party" - The sides of Springer's helmet are light gray instead of green.
  • Rampage's weapons use a modulated version of the Galvatron cannon sound when he fires on Magnus. So does Predaking's gun.
  • Headstrong somehow lands in a puddle of muck, despite the battle happening on a metal surface.
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We call it "bad art" but it's still way better than AKOM!
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"Predaking HAS the crotch thrust! He needs nothing more!"
  • Predaking's combination sequence is a re-drawn copy of his sequence from "Chaos", skipping the robot modes. Recycled footage isn't technically an error, but the previous shot had the Predacons scattered and grappling with various Autobots; then suddenly they're all together and combining.
    • Both of Predaking's footplates are drawn incorrectly, and instead of both being light gray, one is red and the other white.
    • And then, with a loud mechanical whirring sound, Predaking's shoulder guns tilt a tiny bit forward for no reason.
    • The next shot has Predaking's weapons facing all the way forward. It's also in a completely different art style from the previous shot.
  • "Predaking has the power" - what he lacks, however, is facial coloration - his black eyeband changes to orange as he flexes and starts to turn.
    • Predaking then fires a weapon from his chest while his back is turned to us - but he doesn't have any weapons there!
  • As Magnus yells, "Look out!," Rodimus is missing his Autobot symbol (of course, at the tiny size of the shot, it would just be a red smudge anyway.)
  • Tantrum is colored blue and gray as he and the others look up at the giant.
  • Rodimus has red eyes as he and Rampage leap out of the way of the witch's spell.
    • And again as he comments on the giant's destruction.
    • Again as he tries to convince Headstrong about the giant Galvatron.
    • Giant Rodimus has red eyes as he first confronts the giant Galvatron.
    • "This is gonna sound bizarre, Magnus..." Rodimus has red eyes... then the next shot, a nearly-identical closeup, has him with the correct blue eyes. Then back to red when the first shot is recycled.
  • "A bucket of water...but why?" is spoken by Magnus, but Rodimus' mouth is moving. Rodimus has yellow hands again, too.
  • "How did you know that would work?" - Both Magnus and Rodimus's hands are drawn abnormally huge compared to their bodies.
  • "When this experiment is completed" - the Quintesson's death face has two panels that flash between light and dark gray, in synch with the motion of his mouth.
  • "You're setting it too high! It might damage the human's brain!" - Only the Quintessons' speaking faces are colored; the other faces are grayed out.
    • The same shot, and the same error, recurs when the Quintessons set the machine to its highest setting.
  • When Rodimus Prime remarks the giant Rodimus fighting the giant Galvatron is like in Daniel's nightmare, his voice is enhanced to sound like the giant Rodimus.
  • Just before the yellow brick road appears, the sides of Springer's helmet are gold all around (not just inside). This is corrected a moment later.
  • "The human brain still defies us" - the Quintesson's body is missing, leaving his face floating in air as he talks.
  • The Quintesson's display has a setting marked "overlord" instead of "overload".
  • "Hang on, Danny! I'm coming!" Rodimus's spoiler is missing.
  • When Daniel "wakes up," for two shots Rodimus' Autobot symbol is above his chest flame instead of inside it, drawn to the specifications of an earlier character design that also crops up in Hot Rod's commercial, The Transformers: The Movie promo, and "The Killing Jar".
  • Tantrum's eyeband is red instead of yellow as he stands behind Razorclaw.

Continuity errors

  • Based on the scenery, and the Quintessons' gloating that the experiment will allow them to take control of Cybertron, the entire episode seems to happen on that world. Assuming that's the case, it raises the question of how the Predacons are able to run around unhindered on the Autobot-controlled planet. Ditto for the Quintessons, who appear to be operating on the same planet.
  • Likewise, just how the Quintessons' magical machine works is never given any explanation. If it can project a real-life version of anything at all, wouldn't it make more sense to just hook it up to one of the Quintessons and have them imagine a really big Transformer-eating Sharkticon, instead of grabbing Daniel, aka "one of the most heavily-guarded-by-the-Autobots humans alive"? And if the human brain was really the vital component to make it work, wouldn't any other random unguarded human do just as well? Or better yet, one who hated the Autobots so they wouldn't try to save them in their dreams?
  • Even if this loony scheme had succeeded, the Quintessons would have destroyed all of eight Transformers for their troubles.
  • What's all this Danny stuff? Granted, Danny is a nickname for Daniel, but he's never been Danny before and he's never Danny again.

Trivia

  • This episode is the first to use the new, more heavily synthesized Season 3 background music.
  • It's a coincidence that this episode is horror themed and it aired on Halloween. Then again, the G.I. Joe episode "Nightmare Assault" aired the previous day... so maybe not.
  • Springer acting as a knight is at least an unintentional pun: the German word for knight in a chess game is "Springer".

Foreign localization

French

  • Title (European French broadcast): ?
  • Title (Canadian French broadcast and European French DVD release): "La planète des cauchemars" ("The Nightmare Planet")
  • Original airdate: ?
  • To date, and although there is probably one in existence, the European French dub of this episode is lost. The French DVD editions use the Canadian French dub instead.
  • Concerning the Canadian French dub:
  • Unlike the original version, Predaking does not say his name, but says "The king of the Predacons".
  • Instead of telling Divebomb that they need to free Springer and Razorclaw, Rodimus Prime says that "they need to free Springer, Razorclaw", as if he was talking to Razorclaw himself.
  • Rodimus Prime's line "I've spend time talking TV with Wreck-Gar" is dubbed by "I took the time to study what happens on television".
  • The princess tells Springer to follow the yellow-brick road, and Springer says "Like in the Wizard of Oz... I can't believe it!".
  • Daniel's breathing is missing as he wakes up.
  • Rodimus Prime is still called Rodimus Primo instead of Rodimus Primus.
  • During the secret file, Soundwave ejects Laserbeak and calls him "Warrior bird". His Canadian French name is usually Vautour.

German

  • Title: "Der Alptraum Planet" ("The Nightmare Planet")
  • Original airdate: ?

Italian

  • Title (first dub): "Incubi" ("Nightmares")
  • Original airdate: ?
  • Sometimes in this episode Springer speaks in rhymes, although not always.
  • Title (second dub): "Il pianeta dell'incubo" ("The Planet of the Nightmare")
  • Original airdate: ?

Japanese To date, and although there is probably one in existence, the European French dub of this episode is lost. The French DVD editions use the Canadian French dub instead.

  • Title: 悪夢の惑星 (Akumu no Wakusei, "Nightmare Planet")
  • Original airdate: May 22, 1987

Mandarin

  • Title: "È Mèng" (噩梦, "Nightmare")
  • Original airdate: ?

Brazilian Portuguese

  • Title: ?
  • Original airdate: ?
  • This episode's original translated title is currently lost due to a glitch in the only known surviving copy of the audio track.

Home video releases

All releases listed are in English audio unless otherwise noted.
VHS

United Kingdom 1987 — Transformers — Starscream's Ghost / The Nightmare Planet / The Ghost in the Machine (St. Michael Video Library)
Germany 1987 — Transformers — Der Alptraum-Planet (Polyband) — German audio only.
United Kingdom 1990 — Transformers — Nightmare Planet (Collins Video)
United Kingdom 1992 — Transformers — The Nightmare Planet (Tempo Kids Club)

LaserDisc

Japan 1999 — The Transformers: 2010 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.

DVD

Japan 2001 — The Transformers: 2010 — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
United States of America 2003 — The Original Transformers — Season 3 Part 1 (Rhino Entertainment)
United States of America 2003 — The Original Transformers — Season 3 Part 1: Vol. 3 (Rhino Entertainment)
United Kingdom 2004 — Transformers — Season 3 and Season 4 (Metrodome)
Australia 2004 — Transformers — Collection 4: Series 3.1 (Madman Entertainment)
France 2005 — Transformers — Volume 20 (Déclic Images) — Canadian French audio only.
United Kingdom 2006 — Transformers — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome)
Australia 2007 — The Transformers — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)
Germany 2007 — Transformers — Box-Set (3DVDs) (Flex Media) — German audio only.
United Kingdom 2009 — Transformers — Season's Three & Four [sic] (Metrodome)
Australia 2009 — The Transformers — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment)
United States of America 2009 — The Transformers — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)
United States of America 2010 — The Transformers — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
United States of America 2011 — The Transformers — The Complete Original Series (Shout! Factory)
United States of America 2014 — The Transformers — Seasons Three & Four: 30th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
United Kingdom 2014 — Transformers — The Classic Animated Series (Metrodome)

External links

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