Webworld
From Transformers Wiki
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 "So, Galvatron, tell me about your mother." "She was delicious." | |||||||||
| "Webworld" | |||||||||
| Production code | 700-101 | ||||||||
| Season | 3 | ||||||||
| No. in season | 16 | ||||||||
| Production company | Sunbow Productions | ||||||||
| Airdate | October 20, 1986 | ||||||||
| Written by | Len Wein Diane Duane | ||||||||
| Animation studio | Toei, Nakamura Production | ||||||||
| Continuity | Generation 1 cartoon continuity | ||||||||
 Watch this episode on YouTube
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In an attempt to cure Galvatron's madness, Cyclonus takes him to the medical planet Torkulon.
Contents |
Synopsis
The Decepticons approach an asteroid belt in deep space, searching for a material known as isidrite to repair their weaponry. As Galvatron rants about crushing his enemies and everyone else, Ratbat finds an isidrite deposit — already being mined by the Autobots. A battle ensues, during which Galvatron spends nearly as much time bashing his own troops aside as he does firing at the Autobots. With his "help", the bemused Autobots make a clean escape aboard Sky Lynx.
Back on Chaar, Motormaster and Swindle have words with Cyclonus: either do something about Galvatron's madness, or face rebellion. A holographic image of a Quintesson appears to Cyclonus, and advises him that there are planets which specialize in repairing damaged minds, such as Torkulon. Not knowing what else to do, Cyclonus considers the idea, while the Quintessons gloat among themselves that shortly they will have several less Transformers to deal with — including the "most dangerously unpredictable of them all."
Cyclonus lies to Galvatron, informing him that the Autobots are resting on Torkulon after their most recent skirmish; the deranged leader eagerly takes the bait, flying to the planet with Cyclonus and the Sweeps. Upon landing, Galvatron threatens several alien flesh creatures, demanding that they hand over Ultra Magnus. The intelligent Torkuli arrive shortly; when Galvatron predictably refuses their orders for non-violence, they restrain him. Galvatron quickly realizes Cyclonus has deceived him. Galvatron is carried away to begin his therapy, while Cyclonus fills out a small ream of paperwork.
As the therapy proceeds, Scourge has his doubts — "This is stupid! Let's get him out of here!" Cyclonus says to at least give it a chance. The Torkuli are unsuccessful in getting Galvatron to talk about his problems, and even less successful when they have him put together external objects to repair his damaged psyche: Galvatron builds himself a blaster and tries to escape. Finally they attempt "exo-drama", where patients act out their problems, but a bouncing alien screaming at Galvatron finally causes him to snap further, shouting back that "I'll give you something to scream about!!" Galvatron becomes immune to the electromagnetic restraints of the Torkuli; they throw everything they have at him, restraining him for their last resort — the Alya solution.
The chief therapist reveals that Torkulon itself is a living planet, and can manifest itself in the form of insectoid creatures that consume the damaged portions of those who cannot be helped, in effect lobotomizing the planet's victims and leaving them mindless. Cyclonus protests and demands Galvatron's release, but he and Scourge are also restrained by the Torkuli.
The Alya begin to feed on Galvatron who continues to resist: "You have no right to change what I am!" The Torkuli doctor informs him "You've already been changed; that's the problem." Cyclonus can barely watch as his leader's mind is invaded by Torkulon — but something goes wrong. The madness of Galvatron proves to be too strong for the living planet, causing it to malfunction. In the chaos, Galvatron, Scourge and Cyclonus are released from the planet's grasp. After taking a few shots at Cyclonus for getting him in this mess, Galvatron fights to the center of the planet, having seen into its mind while it was inside his. The planet fears Galvatron's madness and destructive potential and attempts to restrain him, but Galvatron powers his way through to its living-computer core. Several cannon mode blasts render the entire planet inoperable. Galvatron informs Cyclonus he will now destroy whatever is left, and warns Cyclonus against stopping him.
After the planet is reduced to smoke and rubble, Galvatron gloats over the beauty of "devastation wrought with precision and care," seemingly just a little more sane... until Cyclonus informs Galvatron that it will take the Torkuli centuries to rebuild. Galvatron decides his work isn't done if it's going to take "only centuries", but a weary Cyclonus suggests that the Autobots might be a more pressing concern. Galvatron smiles at the prospect of killing Ultra Magnus; the Decepticons flee the planet, leaving the Torkuli at the mercy of their insane former patients.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Others |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"Eyes aloft, gentlemen! A rival geological survey has arrived!"
- —Sky Lynx notes the arrival of the Decepticons in typical fashion
"Remarkable. Galvatron is doing most of the work for us."
- —Perceptor watches Galvatron bash his way through his own troops
"I have no head... I have no head... I have no head...!"
- —A three-headed patient
"Before we start, there are certain formalities. Does the patient have a service contract with us? ...Then we'll require a credit reference. I believe we can waive the customary deposit. Should the patient require permanent care, payment will be made in consciousness units rather than conventional currency."
"What I want to know is--"
"Do you understand and agree to these terms?"
"Yes, yes!"
"Then if you'll validate the forms right here... and here for diagnostics... and for therapeutics... and one for parts and labor... and accounting... and there. That's your copy."
[Cyclonus immediately shreds it]
- —The Torkuli present Cyclonus with his mightiest foe yet: bureaucracy.
"Just say whatever comes to mind."
"Kill... smash... destroy!"
"Err... yes... go on."
"Rend... MANGLE... DISTORT!"
- —A therapist starts Galvatron on word association
"I'll destroy everything here—everything! And THEN, I'll destroy the Autobots!"
"Yes... tell me about the Autobots."
"I hate Autobots! I hate Cyclonus! And I'm not very fond of you, either!"
- —Galvatron ends word association, and attempts to end his therapist
"Once he is tied into the planetary computer, Torkulon itself will enter his mind and disable the meta-processor. The Alya will consume the damaged intelligence, and the planet will absorb its energy, including the madness."
"He'll have no mind left! He'll be just a machine!"
"Aren't we all, in a way...?"
- —The head therapist and Cyclonus
"I'll do whatever you want! I'll do nothing at all!!"
- —Galvatron, in a rare moment of total helplessness
"You cannot stop me! I am Galvatron! I am your destruction!"
"He is crazy."
- —Galvatron and Cyclonus. It took him long enough to notice it.
Notes
Continuity notes
- While the reason for the Decepticons need the Isidrite to repair their weaponry is not explicitly stated, the previous episode ended with Galvatron stating the Starscream-controlled Trypticon had "neutralized all our weapons".
- Galvatron insults one of the Torkulon inmates by calling them a "fleshling".
- Some allusion is made to Galvatron's former life as Megatron. While the Torkuli attempt to lobotomize the Decepticon leader, he states that they have "no right" to change what he is, to which the Torkulon doctor replies, "You have already been changed, that's the problem." On the other hand, this could also be taken to mean the change away from his saner personality from the movie. Speaking of which...
- The Torkuli diagnose Galvatron's madness as being caused by a "plasma accident," referring to the dunk he took in Thrull's plasma pools in "Five Faces of Darkness".
- Cyclonus's exchange with the Torkuli reveals that a Transformers' mind is contained in their meta-processor. The Torkuli then link the planet to Galvatron's central processor.
- This is the final appearance of Laserbeak in the (US) Generation 1 cartoon continuity, and one of only two appearances in Season 3 (the first was a brief cameo in "The Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5"). No, he doesn't perch on Galvatron's shoulder.
- When we first see Motormaster and Swindle talking to Cyclonus, Laserbeak is walking along on the ground with them. It might be the only time we ever see him walking instead of flying.
- This is also the last episode in which Sludge can be seen in robot mode.
Real-world references
- A classic Looney Tunes sound effect (used for the Road Runner) shows up as the Decepticons fly across the title screen.
- Star Wars sound effects:
- Millennium Falcon engine burst: when Sky Lynx launches at the start of the battle; when he launches a second time during the battle; when he launches a third time to leave the battle; when Laserbeak flies off with Motormaster and Swindle; as Galvatron takes off to destroy the planetary core
- Luke's X-Wing crashing on Dagobah: as Sky Lynx shakes Scourge.
- X-Wing diving whine: as Cyclonus follows Galvatron toward the core.
- Large portions of the episode, especially the therapy sessions, seem to parody real psychological treatment methods such as word association and dramatherapy. The intentions of the Alya to consume Galvatron's mind could also be taken as a reference to a lobotomy, a process that can "cure" certain mental illnesses but removes significant parts of the patient's personality.
Animation and technical errors
The episode has some rather odd animation quirks that persist across the entire thing.
- In general, the episode is rather wonky with how characters are proportioned out. Besides the examples outlined below, Scourge and Cyclonus in many shots become incredibly lanky and blocky compared to how they usually look, and often the characters will wind up looking like balloons. While not as bad as AKOM's... less than successful attempts at consistency, it remains distracting nevertheless.
- While unclear if this is due to the prints used for Rhino Entertainment's release or a product of the final episode, there are several instances where the animation and/or background elements of a scene jitter.
- Ultra Magnus has a white missile as he grapples with Galvatron. And the colors of his shoulder pop in and out in a botched attempt to show him struggle. This is a common issue with the episode whenever Galvatron struggles against something or someone, and to point out every time this happens would be pointless. Let's just say it happens a lot.
- Galvatron's head crest frequently switches designs between the more model-accurate upwards-pointing position and one where the side horns curve off to the sides of his head. Their length is also inconsistent from shot to shot.
- Like in "Madman's Paradise", all the characters have little to no shading, which is not common at all in Toei episodes from Season 3. What shading is present is often represented with black inking instead of the standard two-tone coloring. This can get out of hand on occasion, such as the act 2 fade out where Scourge's beard and mustache are jet black instead of their usual greyish-purple. Only a handful of shots, mostly those of Cyclonus from behind, use the standard shading.
- The outlines also get oddly thick in some areas, resulting in a disconnect when a character is more boldly outlined than another in some shots.
Aside from the above, the episode also has the usual litany of common errors.
- Coloring errors:
- Soundwave is missing all his yellow stripes as he looms up to eject Ratbat.
- As he speaks his one line, he's missing his yellow stripes again.
- When he reacts to the Decepticon attack on the asteroid, Magnus's inner leg is colored white for a frame.
- Just before Galvatron jumps him, Magnus's shoulder superstructure is blue instead of white.
- The last time he grapples with Galvatron, the top of Magnus's back is red instead of grey.
- Galvatron's gun mode is mostly purple instead of its usual gray as Sludge bashes him aside.
- Cyclonus's gun is white instead of gray as he points it at Swindle.
- Soundwave is missing his stripes and insignia as he watches Galvatron being repaired.
- Galvatron has a "goatee" in most shots, but is "clean-shaven" in others (his chin is sometimes dark grey, sometimes just grey).
- When the head Torkuli turns to Cyclonus and says "Mood swings? Irrational behavior?", his neck turns the same color as his outfit.
- A similar neck issue occurs during Word Association, where Galvatron's neck briefly flashes purple for a few frames.
- The therapist saying "He's developed a tolerance to the inhibitor ray", the bottom of his outfit goes from green, to yellow, then back to green as the lead Torkuli lowers his arm.
- In the shot before Galvatron is sent to Advanced Treatment, the rectangle on Cyclonus's chest isn't colored orange. In the shot after, the "eyes" on his Decepticon symbol are colored in (purple) instead of blue.
- As he vows to destroy the planet, then the Autobots, Galvatron's shoulder pieces are dark grey. In the next shot, they're back to having light grey tops with red squares. A few shots later (as he shoots the gun he built), the red squares are missing.
- During the Torkuli's line, "That's why your friend brought you here," the rectangle on Cyclonus's chest is yellow instead of orange. A few shots later (just before the commercial break), it's not colored in at all.
- While Galvatron is being lobotomized, while begging Cyclonus to help him, he's completely light grey, missing the purple of his armour entirely.
- Cyclonus's eyes are black instead of red as he observes that the planet has become infected with Galvatron's madness.
- The white rectangle near Galvatron's elbow flashes between white and purple as he struggles with the web stuff in mid-air.
- As he picks up the last Torkulon, the red squares on Galvatron's shoulders are missing.
- As Cyclonus gives the order to eject Ratbat, Galvatron's arm is drawn like Soundwave's.
- Ratbat is given a high-pitched series of squeaks as he ejects...and another, lower-pitched caw at the same time, layered on top of the squeaks.
- Perhaps the script called for Galvatron's forehead to blaze with energies, as it's been seen to do on occasion. Instead, two random spots on his temples are animated lighting up like console buttons.
- As Ratbat flaps over the horizon, his wings are layered behind the planet's limb instead of above it.
- Soundwave's only line in this episode once again lacks the trademark harmonics processed by Scott Brownlee, meaning it once again sounds like Dr. Claw. This marks the second time it is known to have happened.
- Sky Lynx's proportions are all sorts of wonky this episode, with his head being tiny, his tail nearly the size of his body, and his bird legs looking like he's got bell-bottoms.
- The laser blasts' colors in this episode are...odd. When the Decepticons attack the Autobots on the asteroid, their blasts are yellow (usually an Autobot blast color), orange and red. Perceptor fires a blue laser blast at Galvatron, who fires blue lasers back at him! This is a trademark element seen in the G.I. Joe cartoon, which is animated by the same company: The Joes' kid-friendly lasers are red while Cobra has blue kid-friendly lasers.
- After the Sweeps miss colliding with Springer, Sky Lynx is back on the ground and takes off a second time. He rather oddly leaves his lower half just standing there, rather than converting to lynx form. When he lands at the battle's end, he's once again combined with his lower portion.
- Scourge and his accompanying Sweeps are at least partially animated based on their older, "incorrect" character models. Their heads are visible in their vehicle modes:
- when Sky Lynx grabs one of them in his claws.
- when they transform to leave Torkulon.
- As the Autobots flee, Swindle can be seen among the damaged Sweeps, despite not being seen approaching the asteroid. In this same shot, the cel with Sky Lynx has a visible smudge on it that moves with him until he leaves the screen, then freezes at the top left corner once he's gone. At the same time, the edge of the filmstrip can be seen at the bottom, cutting off the downed Sweeps in the process.
- In the wide shot of Cyclonus and company walking, they are sliding across the screen far more rapidly than the speed of their walk. Motormaster and Swindle are also drawn to be the same height as each other and smaller than Cyclonus during this scene.
- Roger C. Carmel's inconsistency with the voice of Cyclonus starts to affect Motormaster. In this episode and "The Ultimate Weapon" (Motormaster's last speaking role in the series) his voice for Motormaster sounds weaker than before. The voice lacks most of its usual heavy flanging.
- In the second wide shot of Cyclonus speaking with the Quintesson, he's not quite standing flat on the ground.
- In the closeup of the Quintesson hologram, his mouth isn't animated as he speaks.
- When Galvatron is getting his repairs done, the establishing shot has Motormaster be the tallest Decepticon in the room while Swindle is now the shortest.
- As Cyclonus comes in to enact his plan to get Galvatron to "invade" Torkulon, a wide shot shows that while most of the characters are appropriately simplified, Motormaster gets rather dumpy and overly detailed while Swindle becomes a barely comprehensible figure.
- As Galvatron gets up from the repair table upon hearing about the Autobots, Cyclonus's cel just slides into frame as the camera zooms out.
- Galvatron's right arm becomes dislocated when he demands to know where the Autobots are as the Decepticons fly over Torkulon.
- A few shots later as Cyclonus responds and Galvatron replies back thinking he's spotted some Autobots, the left of the screen suddenly suffers a bit of damage to the filmed elements during the zoom. Once the zoom ends, Cyclonus's arms and helmet are clipping over his face.
- The proportions of the Torkuli vary from scene to scene, going from lanky to bulked out at random points.
- As Galvatron struggles against the inhibitor blast, the Sweeps behind him are set too low on the landscape, making them look like they only come up to Galvatron's knees. Their skewed positioning also makes it look like they're leaning above the ground.
- Galvatron's mouth isn't animated when he yells out "No one is going to do anything for me!" and in several subsequent shots when behind the Torkuli's forcefield. A similar act of ventriloquism also occurs near the episode's end when Cyclonus goes "When I get out of these!" as he struggles against the webbing.
- After Galvatron gets hit with the inhibitor blasts, his left arm flickers in and out of existence in a couple of frames when he threatens Cyclonus.
- The background for the shot of Cyclonus and the Torkuli discussing payment remains the same when it changes to a solo shot of said Torkuli.
- When Cyclonus signs off on the paperwork for Galvatron's therapy, a layering error has the signed papers going underneath the clipboard.
- Galvatron's emblem disappears for a few frames when reaching out to attack his Torkuli therapist.
- After he's immobilized on the arena floor, a few shots show Galvatron floating in mid-air above the steps.
- An odd edit cuts off the head therapist: "We cannot allow you to interfere. Besides." This can be presumed to be an attempt to have Cyclonus cut him off mid-dialogue conveyed rather poorly.
- As he yells, "Free me!" a closeup shows outer space behind Galvatron's face instead of the ground (or the purple webbing that surrounds him). Also, the Alya surrounding him vanishes out of existence after he says it despite their sound effects still being present.
- As he says, "He'll be nothing at all!" Cyclonus's eyebrows are white instead of grey.
- The ends of the Alya change from being pointy to drill-like when Galvatron begs to be freed from the procedure.
- The Sweep that transforms after the planetary overload is inexplicably given an energy glow as he does so.
- In a closeup shot, Galvatron has two ragged holes in his forehead, but they're not seen in any other view, not even in later closeups.
- Galvatron's emblem is missing just before he leaps into the crevasse.
- When Cyclonus says "He IS crazy," part of the Autobot symbol is on his chest.
- As Cyclonus calls out Galvatron's name in the planet's core, the delivery is quite clearly a desperate plea while the animation gives him a smile.
- Cyclonus is drawn with a shadow as Galvatron considers staying to destroy Torkulon further. Despite there being a sky behind him.
- Just like his Sweep, Scourge is given an incredibly cheat-y transformation by simply having it covered up by Cyclonus's dust cloud when the group leaves Torkulon to the inmates.
Continuity errors
- Despite appearing in the group approaching the asteroid, Soundwave promptly disappears and doesn't play any part in the following battle.
- Galvatron is grappling with Magnus when the Sweep offers to help; when he bashes the Sweep aside in the very next shot, Magnus is nowhere to be seen.
- A wide shot shows Galvatron, Cyclonus, and three Sweeps arriving on Torkulon. The rest of the episode shows only two Sweeps, however.
Trivia
- This is by far the most Decepticon-centric episode of the series; the Autobots are only onscreen for part of the first act.
- Twice in this episode (when Cyclonus takes him to Torkulon to look for the Autobots, and when leaving the planet in search of the Autobots), Galvatron says "Ultra Magnus", as if Magnus is the leader of the Autobots. To be fair, by this point in the show Magnus is usually the one issuing orders, and Galvatron is completely out of his mind throughout the episode, so...
- It is ironic that Motormaster is the one to declare an ultimatum of rebellion against Galvatron to Cyclonus, considering he was the first Decepticon to loyally donate Energon to help find Galvatron in "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1".
- The Torkuli diagnose Galvatron with a few processor problems, such as "a severe failure in reality processing, malignant plasmoneural tic, and embrittlement of the metaprocessing circuitry", all of which leave him constantly on the brink of a perceptual crash. Poor guy.
- Storyboards for the episode's third act depict a rather different look for the Torkuli than the ape-men they're ultimately depicted as, looking more like reptilian/cat hybrids. It remains unclear if this was what they were designed like before the episode entered the animation stage, or if this was just how the storyboards rendered them.
Foreign localization
French
- Title: "Le monde de toile" ("The Web World")
- Original airdate: ?
- Concerning the European French dub:
- After dubbing Galvatron during a few episodes, Serge Lhorca gives up his place to Jean Claudio. He is already the 4th voice actor for Galvatron this season.
- Several moments are recovered from the original version, like Galvatron's struggling sounds and screams, or some alien noises.
- The Sweeps' line "For the glory of Galvatron!" is missing.
- Cyclonus' line "Don't insult my intelligence, five-face. I trust you no further than i can throw Trypticon" is dubbed by "I advise you not to try to trick me. I already told you that I have no trust in someone who has so many faces".
- Instead of saying "Tell me where to find the Autobots!" to the little alien, Galvatron says "Tell me where Ultra Magnus is hiding!".
- The alien saying "I have no head" repeats "I don't know anything at all" instead.
- The Torkuli tells Cyclonus that he "does not think that Galvatron is registered for social welfare", so he tells Cyclonus that he will need to pay during the treatment.
- Cyclonus' line "What I want to know is-" is dubbed by "And you are sure that the treatment will be successful?". Consequently, the Torkuli's line "Do you understand and agree to these terms?" is replaced by "But of course I am, so, are you the guarantor of the patient?". To that last phrase, Cyclonus answers "Yes, I know" (the text was probably "Yes, I am" and may have been misread by the voice actor, there is only a slight difference between "je le suis" and "je le sais").
- The Torkuli explains that the Alyas "monitor the functioning of the planet itself". During that one phrase, there is an alien effect on the Torkuli's voice, like if it was an Alya supposed to talk.
- Just before attacking the computer, Galvatron says that he will be "the instrument of its destruction".
- Name-dodging:
- Cyclonus' phrase "Soundwave, eject Ratbat to begin scanning" is dubbed by "Go ahead, release the robot bats, we are at good distance".
- Soundwave's phrase "Ratbat has found the deposite of isidrite, and something else" is dubbed by "That's it, she discovered the isidrite deposit. But there is already someone". "She" is used for Ratbat, but probably because he was called "robot bat", and "chauve-souris" (bat) is a feminine word.
- Ultra Magnus' line "Springer, above you!" is dubbed by "There's more coming, watch out!".
- Cyclonus' line "Go away Quintesson, I'm busy!" is dubbed by "Go away now, I don't have time to talk!".
German
- Title: "Galvatron dreht durch" ("Galvatron goes Crazy")
- Original airdate: ?
Italian
- Title (first dub): "Il pianeta della pazzia" ("The Madness Planet")
- Original airdate: ?
- Title (second dub): "Il mondo rete" ("The Web World")
- Original airdate: ?
Japanese
Mandarin
- Title: "Zhūwǎng Shìjiè " (蛛网世界, "Webworld")
- 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.
Russian
- Title: "Mir pawootiny" (Мир паутины, "Webworld")
- Original airdate: ?
Home video releases
- VHS
2000 — The Original Transformers — Volume 8: Evil Experiments (Rhino Entertainment)
1999 — The Transformers: 2010 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
- DVD
2001 — The Transformers: 2010 — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2004 — The Original Transformers — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 (Rhino Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers — Season 3 and Season 4 (Metrodome)
2004 — Transformers — Collection 4: Series 3.1 (Madman Entertainment)
2005 — Transformers — Volume 19 (Déclic Images) — European French audio only.
2006 — Transformers — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome)
2007 — The Transformers — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — Transformers — Season's Three & Four [sic] (Metrodome)
2009 — The Transformers — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)
2010 — The Transformers — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
2011 — The Transformers — The Complete Original Series (Shout! Factory)
2014 — The Transformers — Seasons Three & Four: 30th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
2014 — Transformers — The Classic Animated Series (Metrodome)
