actually they addressed that by implanting 1/2 of Rampage's spark in Dinobot II.

And what about the season 1 Dinobot clone? (The talking one, anyway.)

I dunno :P

 

Was that before or after "The Spark"?

 

I don't see any way that it makes sense for a Transformer to have DNA.

 

prior to Beast Machines, that is :tflaugh

 

If two TFs can be twins, why cant they have DNA? They even go as far as to say twins or Clones cant use there weapons on each other *read that in Dreamwaves MTMTE guide* *Sunstorm's powers didn't effect Starscream* *Feels like X-Bob*

DNA is only required for living, constantly changing/growing organisms. It's the blueprint that reminds the organism of what it's supposed to be as it replaces dead cells etc. If you're a robot, you have no need of anything like that. What determines identity is the spark, followed by datatracks. Copy one or both of those and you would have the TF equivalent of a human twin or clone. So you can have twins/clones, it's just that it comes about via different means with TFs.

 

Even in Beast Machines, a disembodied spark from a Beast Wars guy could enter a fully robotic body and be 100% "itself", meaning that nothing inherent to the character was lost when the beast mode was lost.

in Dinobot II.

 

What about when Primal took on Prime's Spark. His body broke apart and grew like a creature exiting a cacoon. That doesn't

well like I said, spark determines identity

 

although it's not like the whole thing wasn't a rationalization for Primal getting a new toy

actually they addressed that by implanting 1/2 of Rampage's spark in Dinobot II.

And what about the season 1 Dinobot clone? (The talking one, anyway.)

I dunno :P

 

Was that before or after "The Spark"?

 

I never thought of that. How was Dinobot's original clone able to think and what not with out a spark? If it didn't have a spark, how come Meg's TM2 clones were stupid and unstable?

actually they addressed that by implanting 1/2 of Rampage's spark in Dinobot II.

And what about the season 1 Dinobot clone? (The talking one, anyway.)

I dunno :P

 

Was that before or after "The Spark"?

 

I never thought of that. How was Dinobot's original clone able to think and what not with out a spark? If it didn't have a spark, how come Meg's TM2 clones were stupid and unstable?

That's why I was asking about when that episode took place. Not that I'm saying that the writers made stuff up as they went along, but......... well uh

actually they addressed that by implanting 1/2 of Rampage's spark in Dinobot II.

And what about the season 1 Dinobot clone? (The talking one, anyway.)

I dunno :P

 

Was that before or after "The Spark"?

 

I never thought of that. How was Dinobot's original clone able to think and what not with out a spark? If it didn't have a spark, how come Meg's TM2 clones were stupid and unstable?

That's why I was asking about when that episode took place. Not that I'm saying that the writers made stuff up as they went along, but......... well uh

It was prior to "The Spark" like episode 6 or so.

actually they addressed that by implanting 1/2 of Rampage's spark in Dinobot II.

And what about the season 1 Dinobot clone? (The talking one, anyway.)

I dunno :P

 

Was that before or after "The Spark"?

 

I never thought of that. How was Dinobot's original clone able to think and what not with out a spark? If it didn't have a spark, how come Meg's TM2 clones were stupid and unstable?

That's why I was asking about when that episode took place. Not that I'm saying that the writers made stuff up as they went along, but......... well uh

It was prior to "The Spark" like episode 6 or so.

ding ding ding!!!

It was actually *just* prior to The Spark; episodes 14 and 15 respectively. Awfully close together for them to have forgotten they cloned him...

 

Now I'm trying to figure out if Transmetals have DNA.

It was actually *just* prior to The Spark; episodes 14 and 15 respectively. Awfully close together for them to have forgotten they cloned him...

 

Now I'm trying to figure out if Transmetals have DNA.

sure they do, if they have organically enhanced robot modes, right?

 

The question isn't whether they have DNA, but whether or not it has anything to do with their identity as Transformers. Transformers aren't organic creatures, so any DNA the guys in Beast Wars had came from other organisms. In other words, creatures that were not them.

 

BTW I'm guessing (just guessing) that the writers would *not* claim that Dinobot's clone had a spark. Could he have been pure AI?

It was actually *just* prior to The Spark; episodes 14 and 15 respectively. Awfully close together for them to have forgotten they cloned him...

 

Now I'm trying to figure out if Transmetals have DNA.

sure they do, if they have organically enhanced robot modes, right?

 

The question isn't whether they have DNA, but whether or not it has anything to do with their identity as Transformers. Transformers aren't organic creatures, so any DNA the guys in Beast Wars had came from other organisms. In other words, creatures that were not them.

 

BTW I'm guessing (just guessing) that the writers would *not* claim that Dinobot's clone had a spark. Could he have been pure AI?

The evidence seems contradictory, if we use BM as a source. Beast Machines pretty firmly established that programming was a primary contributor to personality, beyond (or even overriding) the spark. Either that or all three generals were faking their personalities for various lengths of time. Blackarachnia also had her personality overlaid and modified by programming. So, a pure AI character does seems somewhat consistent with the premises of the universe. On the other hand, he had rather a lot of independence for a pure AI character, citing BM again. Though in BM Megatron didn't put any AI at all into his drones, and by the time he got around to making his generals, maybe he didn't have any stored personality data tracks lying around to fashion AIs out of, thus forcing him to use sparks to inbue them with personality/originality.

 

Anyway. On the other matter, if the transmetals have DNA, then clearly that DNA bears little or no relationship in property or function to normal, organic DNA as we understand it. (Come to think of it, normal DNA doesn't really account for 'rhinocerouses that slice up into parts and hang off a robot mode', either.)

 

We know that BW transformers' personalities are effected by their beast forms, from Call of the Wild. That's a case for DNA bearing personality, in the BW universe. If animal DNA can do so, why can't Dinobot DNA?

I think the phrase "shell program" is helpful here. When I first heard that, I instinctively thought of a user shell on an operating system, which is really what shell programs are in BW/BM. You have the operating system core, and you have a shell on top of it that controls how that core can interact with others, and vice-versa. To put it crudely, Blackarachnia's shell program (implanted by Tarantulas) blocked or distorted the "good" impulses coming from her core and amplified the "bad" impulses, creating what seemed to be an entirely different personality than she would otherwise have had. Same with the Vehicons -- Rhinox' intelligence and sensitivity were stifled, and his aggressive tendencies were amplified. And so on.

 

My guess is that a pure AI robot could probably fool Transformers for a short time, but eventually its limitations would become apparent. The fact that Dinobot's clone was modeled after someone they all knew would have made the deception easier, since Megatron would have known (to a degree) how Dinobot would act and react in any given situation).

 

The thing about TFs being influenced by their beast mode seems to be less scientifically based and more "spiritually" based, if that makes sense. Almost like their beast modes were animal totems that represented and/or influenced them in some manner. Of course, the original crews *did* choose their beast modes, so that might be a chicken / egg issue. I say that because it doesn't really make sense for a TF spark to be influenced at all by organic matter. Then again, Savage/Noble was a pure organic creature who nevertheless housed a spark (though this was a "WTF?!?" to the Maximals), so clearly some connection between spark and organics is possible.

 

And after all, Megatron's behavior in the first season of Beast Machines depends upon him having been affected by his beast mode.

Dark Glass would be nice, and a longer battle between OpOp and Megs. I would say seeing G1 Megs' spark returned, but we got that on the DVD.

 

Otherwise, Beast Wars was awesome. I really wouldn't want to change anything.