Transformers: Generation 2
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Danny Galvez from Pinoso, España · CC BY-SA 2.0
The toy line featured reissued figures with new colors, electronic features, and a new logo.[1] The television series was a rebroadcast of the original Generation 1 episodes with added computer-animated effects.[2][3] The Transformers: Generation 2 initiative included a toy line and a television series that repurposed content from the earlier 1980s Transformers franchise.[1][2]
Making and release
Many toys sported new, vivid color schemes.[1] The only new footage produced for Generation 2 was a series of primitive CGI sequences used for Hasbro toy commercials.[2] These commercials made Generation 2 one of the earliest computer-animated series, predating ReBoot.[2] This series was a rebroadcast of the original Generation 1 series, using the Marvel Comics commercial as the main title sequence.[2]
During the initial period, Generation 2 toys were simply re-releases of 1980s Generation 1 figures.[1] Certain figures were equipped with new spring-loaded missile launchers or battery-powered accessories that flashed and made noise.[1] Episodes of the Generation 2 television series were broadcast from 1993 through 1995.[3] Existing hand-drawn animation had newly created computer-generated scene transitions placed over it.[2]
To hide the original act-ending fades, the footage was sometimes played at a reduced speed.[2]
What the cited sources add
The Erickson encyclopedia states that the CGI toy commercials made Generation 2 one of the earliest computer-animated series, predating ReBoot.[4][2] The same source confirms that the television series incorporated CGI footage from the toy commercials as commercial bumpers.[4][2] Kurtzman also confirms that all Generation 2 episodes were taken from the previously produced Generation 1 series.[3] According to Alex Kurtzman's IGN article, the Cybernet Space Cube was said to be recording historical events, which is how the original stories were framed.[3]
Kurtzman notes that the cube showed series scenes on each of its six faces, and it would rotate to a different face during transitions.[3] This new approach took the place of the earlier scene bumpers that showed the spinning Autobot and Decepticon logos.[3]
References
- Wikipedia, "Transformers: Generation 2" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: GameAxis Unwired, July 2007, Page 99 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Transformers: Generation 2" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Erickson, "Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003", McFarland & Co, 2005, p. 870 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Transformers: Generation 2" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Alex Kurtzman, "The History of Transformers on TV – Page 2 of 3", IGN, June 27, 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Open Library record, ISBN 9781476665993 ("Television Cartoon Shows"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Transformers: Generation 2 (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Transformers: Generation 2 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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