Didn't read the other answers but For me, BW is important because they were a dream come true. Transformers that went from one thing to fully highly posable robots was what I always wanted in a TF. Plus all the weapons are self contained, no loose extra parts was a blessing. BW started alot of good trends that evolved into all the wonderful stuff we have now.

 

Oh yeah.........THE SHOW, WAS THE BEST TF SHOW EVAH!! That show sold alot of toys. Then there were the conventions and hundreds of websites the started because of the line and show.

BW is the best show, and, even though some of the toys are rather goofy looking, i think many of the transmetals would have to be ranked up with the greatest TF's ever. TM Cheetor is IMO one of the all around coolest figures ever created.

A lot of people give G1 credit because it created the Transformers for us, but BW is what really gave the line life. Without that show, we wouldn't have Transformers today.

 

Gotta give credit where credit is due. G1 created it, BW brought it back. Give love to both.

I agree with optimus 3000...gotta give credit to where it is due...beast wars breathed life back into the transformers at a time when people like me who grew up with G1 were either in college or just getting our of high school and were not really into the scene. For me they are what brought me back into the series towards the end of it in season three and yes even beast machines.  I really love the toys, even the 1st series releases that are being reissued. I went out and collected the whole line about 2 years ago when the season 1 box set came to DVD. The G1 show was not as bad as people make it to be...You have to remember the time period and context in which a show is created and also the values and views of them as well...1984 was A way different time period then 1995 when beast wars came out. G1 was basically a good vs bad cheezy 80s show trying to groom young americans against the USSR. beast wars came in a cold war free time...different influences of what is good and what is not...Also...I get tired of the now almost 22 year old G1 toys being bashed by people who are probably not even as OLD as the toys are. you CAN NOT compare a 22 year old toy to a 1 month or even 10 year old toy...you simply can not ! IT would be like comparing apples to oranges as they say and I for one an tired of it. Its ok and people explain away the beast wars lack or articulation but the G1 toys get Castrated for not being that way?!?! It really bugs me being a G1 fan. I know they are not UBER posable, but I can not expect that from something that was made 22 years ago. Is a 22 year old car as cool and stylish as a new one? no...so lets stop bashing the 80's bricks...we all know they are and they can not help it or change themselves to your 2005 standards!

Silly rabbits, G1 Blast Off and Vortex were the first TFs to have ball joints. :P

 

But yeah, it was all about the show for me. When the first season came out on DVD, a friend let me borrow it and I was like "okay fine, he says it's great, I'll watch it." I was blown away. There was a developing storyline (but not like the anime shows where if you missed one episode you were screwed), interesting characters, a harder edge to the writing and action, and for goodness' sake, they had some dude riffing on an electric guitar in the theme song!! :lol

 

But most important of all, it was done well. Aside from being a darn entertaining show, Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio were great story editors, and as some of us know, Mainframe used Beast Wars as a showcase for their fledgling animation studio. And when you've got so much creative energy going into a product, it can't help but succeed.

 

And I don't think there's a single G1 fan out there who can watch "The Agenda" and not have at least one "HOLY F*CKING SH*T" moment. :thumb

without BW to revive the TF line i dont think we would of had unicron either.

 

BW was a great show... especially how the 11th episode featured starscream. early on it tied G1 into BW (though i always wonder what would have happened if starscreams spark reinhabited his body on the ark.)

As so many others said, it's the show.

 

I can't stand most of the toys from the line, no matter how articulated, they're still ugly and uninteresting, but there are a handful of really nice figures in the mix.

 

The show was just a show, but remains the most intelligently handled show in all generations, both prior ands since, and actually reminded me more of the G1 UK comic than any cartoon.

And of course, the fact that it was firmly set in the G1 universe means you weren't watching something that contradicted the characters you'd grown up with, wasn't a cheap route alternate reality, it was something totally new that used all that had gone before to strengthen it's own lore and story lines.

 

And of course with the organics, it finally made sense to have male and female Transformers and continued something that had begun in the G1 and G2 comics.

Agree with everyone else.

 

What made the first BW toys sell were the characters. I am a big Rattrap fan and only recently got the first Rattrap figure though eBay. He is pretty bad but because the character is do darn cool, the toys is better as well.

 

Optimus Primal is an excellent toy as well and a great leader. He was on equal terms with his soldiers (something all the recent Primes cannot really say) but did not take Blot from anyone.

 

Then look at Energon Prime taking Blot from that runt Kicker.  :tdown 

 

Kids, US kids that is, do not like that. I never liked any of the typical anime shows that had humans piloting a machine. I thought it was stupid because what is cooler than a living machine.

 

When I was a kid I loved G1 and I still do because it has a few really good episodes and excellent characters. Ok, also lots of flaws but that was expected of a show back then. G1 invented Transformers.

 

Beast Wars reinvented it and brought it back to life. If not for Beast Wars we would have nothing right now. It was the best show ever! It had:

 

Excellent characters.

Excellent storylines.

Great jokes.

Great cultural references.

Excellent animation (not even GF/Cybertron is THAT good, though it is close)

Plenty of "wow!" moments.

Tie-in to G1.

 

Sadly Beast Machines did not work so we are stuck with those Japanese shows which suffer from a few mahor failing:

 

Poor stereotypical characters (Cybertron seems to be a bit better.)

Poor animation (again Cybertron is a huge improvement)

Overusage of humans.

Annoying humans (especially that runt Kicker whom I could not stand  :tfpuke )

Decepticon leaders that were not really cunning or evil.

Poor storylines: In Armada it was find all the mini-cons, in Energon it was find all the Energon and in Cybertron it is find all the planet keys. How about finding a good storyline next time.

A storyline for which people HAVE to see every episode.

 

I mean I bought the new figures because I am a competist but it is not as if any of the tv personalities are that memorable. The only one I cannnot forget is Kicker but that is because he was annoying to no end and hogged all the airtime.

 

In Beast Wars, all the characters were memorable so it is pretty much impossible to choose a favorite. I like Rattrap but I also like Dinobot for his warrior attitude. And what about Rhinox? The raw power of the team but also the scientist. The Thing and Mr Fantastic rolled into one. Brilliant.

 

That is what made the toys and the show worthwile. And untill we see a cartoon that dares to be as different as Beast Wars, Transformers will probably slowly die out.

 

Older fans watch out of loyalty but a young kid does not have that. He will just see a mediocre show and turn it off to play a game or do something else.

Agree with everyone else.

 

What made the first BW toys sell were the characters. I am a big Rattrap fan and only recently got the first Rattrap figure though eBay. He is pretty bad but because the character is do darn cool, the toys is better as well.

 

Optimus Primal is an excellent toy as well and a great leader. He was on equal terms with his soldiers (something all the recent Primes cannot really say) but did not take Blot from anyone.

 

Then look at Energon Prime taking Blot from that runt Kicker.  :tdown 

 

Kids, US kids that is, do not like that. I never liked any of the typical anime shows that had humans piloting a machine. I thought it was stupid because what is cooler than a living machine.

 

When I was a kid I loved G1 and I still do because it has a few really good episodes and excellent characters. Ok, also lots of flaws but that was expected of a show back then. G1 invented Transformers.

 

Beast Wars reinvented it and brought it back to life. If not for Beast Wars we would have nothing right now. It was the best show ever! It had:

 

Excellent characters.

Excellent storylines.

Great jokes.

Great cultural references.

Excellent animation (not even GF/Cybertron is THAT good, though it is close)

Plenty of "wow!" moments.

Tie-in to G1.

 

Sadly Beast Machines did not work so we are stuck with those Japanese shows which suffer from a few mahor failing:

 

Poor stereotypical characters (Cybertron seems to be a bit better.)

Poor animation (again Cybertron is a huge improvement)

Overusage of humans.

Annoying humans (especially that runt Kicker whom I could not stand  :tfpuke )

Decepticon leaders that were not really cunning or evil.

Poor storylines: In Armada it was find all the mini-cons, in Energon it was find all the Energon and in Cybertron it is find all the planet keys. How about finding a good storyline next time.

A storyline for which people HAVE to see every episode.

 

I mean I bought the new figures because I am a competist but it is not as if any of the tv personalities are that memorable. The only one I cannnot forget is Kicker but that is because he was annoying to no end and hogged all the airtime.

 

In Beast Wars, all the characters were memorable so it is pretty much impossible to choose a favorite. I like Rattrap but I also like Dinobot for his warrior attitude. And what about Rhinox? The raw power of the team but also the scientist. The Thing and Mr Fantastic rolled into one. Brilliant.

 

That is what made the toys and the show worthwile. And untill we see a cartoon that dares to be as different as Beast Wars, Transformers will probably slowly die out.

 

Older fans watch out of loyalty but a young kid does not have that. He will just see a mediocre show and turn it off to play a game or do something else.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

GEE, so you must of not liked Macross, Southern Calvary, and Mospeada-AKA Robotech then did you?

 

Silly rabbits, G1 Blast Off and Vortex were the first TFs to have ball joints.

He's on crack! just kidding! those figures only had a limited amount of ball joints, not a complete figure... but then again there was a little signs of the ball joint system in most of the combiner teams- except BrickKing aka Predaking!

After many years without Transformers, one day, by chance, I catched on TV the Beast Wars show. The first time I saw in the intro the subtitle "Transformers" in small, with that new font I was all "What!? No way those critters are the cool Transformers!"

I also felt defrauded about how it was again autoconclusive episodes where everything stays as it was (mostly the episode where the maximal ship takes off, makes it to the air; and then, in mid-air it has a breakdown, or something, and falls EXACTLY in the same position it was at the beginning... I thought that one was extra-lame) so, my first impression was not quite good, but...

 

As many have already pointed out, the characters and many other details are very well developped, and the story soon began showing more than it seemed at first glance.

 

I think that one of the best aspects about BW is that it was not "oriented" they just had a story, developed it nicely, and they got a fine product. Children are not larvae; they are persons. They don't need "children oriented" shows, books, or anything. They like what is cool and good; and I don't know about the rest of you, but for personal experience, I can say that as a child I HATED all kind of "child oriented" shows, clothes, food (what Happy Meal? bring me the big burger, who would be happy with a sandwich the size of a coin and a piece of plastic painted in 3 colors??)

So that's why BW is superior to many former and later shows: it just concentrated on making a good story; not trying to be educative, pedagogic, politically correct, and exemplificating towards the kids.

 

But hey, don't stay there, go watch the series and make up your own opinion about it. You won't loose a leg, you know.

 

I agree that the 1st wave toys were quite bad, special mention to Cheetor and Dinobot. But after them the line was quite improved, and we had pieces as Silverbolt, one of the best Transformers ever. Sure, there were some potatoes too, but still I don't think the line was in all so bad...