that made absolutely no sense.

I'm just saying that most of the G1 references from BW seem to indicate that it is connected to a G1 continuity that is fairly similar to the original cartoon but with the exception that in this alternate continuity, Unicron is a god and the TF's were created by his godly rival, Primus.

I would assume that this takes place in between G1 and BW.

No, this is a brand new continuity. They just used G1 footage at the beginning as an Easter egg/fanwank.

 

And yeah, I really doubt Sari's a robot.

 

Yeah, at the youngest Sumdac would have been 60 when she was born, but like all the official press info states, she's adopted.

 

Here's what I think went down.

When thinking up the "human sidekick" character they decided to make her the daughter of the scientist who reverse engineered Megs.

Then they noticed that according to the show's timeline Sumdac would have been pretty old (60, at least) when his daughter was born, so about a week or so before the series premiered, when they released all the official bios, they inserted the bit about Sari being adopted. Problem solved.

IIRC there was no indication that she was adopted until that official bio was released, which leads me to believe the age of her father and herself was simply a mistake that they caught at the last second. The "adopted" bit was added as a quick fix.

 

I just don't see her as a robot. As Pete said, she would be much more advanced then anything Sumdac had created so far. In fact I think we saw the result of his first venture into the techno-organic realm in the mini movie premier (the giant roach thing).

that made absolutely no sense.

I'm just saying that most of the G1 references from BW seem to indicate that it is connected to a G1 continuity that is fairly similar to the original cartoon but with the exception that in this alternate continuity, Unicron is a god and the TF's were created by his godly rival, Primus.

 

Or, to put it more simply - a combination of the G1 show and comics.

I just don't see her as a robot. As Pete said, she would be much more advanced then anything Sumdac had created so far. In fact I think we saw the result of his first venture into the techno-organic realm in the mini movie premier (the giant roach thing).

Just to add to the discussion....

 

"Uh...am I going to be able to breathe down there?"

"Oh, sure! What's 'breathe'?"

Here's what I think went down.

When thinking up the "human sidekick" character they decided to make her the daughter of the scientist who reverse engineered Megs.

Then they noticed that according to the show's timeline Sumdac would have been pretty old (60, at least) when his daughter was born, so about a week or so before the series premiered, when they released all the official bios, they inserted the bit about Sari being adopted. Problem solved.

:tflaugh Way to trust the creative team. This attitude is why fans hate everything before they've seen it.

 

IIRC there was no indication that she was adopted until that official bio was released,

Why would you expect there to be any?

 

which leads me to believe the age of her father and herself was simply a mistake that they caught at the last second. The "adopted" bit was added as a quick fix.

We got confirmation Season 2 was already in production a couple months ago - do you have any idea how far along in the show they were before that press release even got written, much less went out? Sari robot or no, I think they know they're doing enough to not have to rely on last minute press release fixes.

Just to add to the discussion....

 

"Uh...am I going to be able to breathe down there?"

"Oh, sure! What's 'breathe'?"

 

It's been thrown around here a lot that she might not even know she's a robot... IF she is one. I personally don't care; I'm focused on the TFs. All this Allspark nonsense is just a plot device around which the bots can fight, which is what we really tune in for - and then scramble out like mad to find the toys like good little boys age 6-12. :tftongue

Or, to put it more simply - a combination of the G1 show and comics.

No, it's not a combination. To call it a combination is like saying that they some how combined both sources into into a single continuity, when all they did was transplant Unicron and Primus from the comics to the cartoon.

Here's what I think went down.

When thinking up the "human sidekick" character they decided to make her the daughter of the scientist who reverse engineered Megs.

Then they noticed that according to the show's timeline Sumdac would have been pretty old (60, at least) when his daughter was born, so about a week or so before the series premiered, when they released all the official bios, they inserted the bit about Sari being adopted. Problem solved.

:tflaugh Way to trust the creative team. This attitude is why fans hate everything before they've seen it.

Way to jump to conclusions, there. I thought you were above that.

Read any of my posts on the subject. I've been very supportive of this series. The writing is easily the best the franchise has had since Beast Wars (in the animated sense at least), and I love the voice acting. My personal feelings on the animation style aside, I actually like this series.

 

Besides, I don't really see how the scenario I presented is in any way a slap to the face of the writing team. It's simply providing a realistic explanation to a "gap" in the story. Even the most thought out plot lines have their holes, they just caught this one in time to make a fix.

 

which leads me to believe the age of her father and herself was simply a mistake that they caught at the last second. The "adopted" bit was added as a quick fix.

We got confirmation Season 2 was already in production a couple months ago - do you have any idea how far along in the show they were before that press release even got written, much less went out? Sari robot or no, I think they know they're doing enough to not have to rely on last minute press release fixes.

Yes, it does seem like they've thought out the story at least through season 2, and the writing is progressing along nicely. Still, no writing process catches all of a story's flaws, and the fact that Sumdac would have had to have been at least 60 when his daughter was born probably just slipped through the cracks until the last minute. I'm not implying that the writing is substandard in any way, or that the writing team is lazy. I'm simply being realistic. It's a Saturday morning cartoon show, and small details like the age of the human sidekick and her father probably passed unnoticed.

It's very possible that they caught this "plot hole" and, seeing as the bios hadn't been released, made a last second change, adding the "adopted" bit into Sari's profile.

 

The genius is that the creative team adding in the "adoptive" bit into Sari's bio really doesn't change the story the writing team set out to tell.

She can still refer to Sumdac as "Dad," she can still view him as her father. It's very possible she was a baby when she was adopted; that would leave the original father/daughter relationship unaffected.

 

IIRC there was no indication that she was adopted until that official bio was released,

Why would you expect there to be any?

I remember hearing and reading the basic premise of this series long before the official bios were released, long before I even saw the character models, as I'm sure we all did. We knew well before the bios came out that Animated Prime was young and inexperienced. We knew well before the bios came out that Sari and her father would be the two primary human characters.

Up until those bios came out we heard that the two human "sidekicks" would be Isaac Sumdac, the man responsible for building the robotics industry on Earth, and his daughter. We never heard the term "adopted" until the bios. Given the age difference between Sari and her father, it just seems like the "adopted" thing was thrown on to fix a mistake caught at the last minute.

 

And again, that's criticizing the writing team. Mistakes are missed all the time, in this case they were able to basically solve it with an "adopted" bit that has no impact on the story at all.

 

In the end kids, the show's primary audience, probably won't care that Sari's dad was 60, at least, when she was born. For those older fans who do care, there's the official bio they can look up with an "adopted" bit that solves everything. Everyone wins, the story remains unchanged.

 

Hobbes, if I may....

I was rather surprised by your response here. It seemed overly defencive/aggressive. I've been one of this show's supporters, which is what made your reaction surprising to me. I was just offering an alternate, and IMO a much simpler, explanation for the age gap between Sari and her father.

 

We all know your view of this series, and I think it's safe to say most of us agree with that general view. Still, this series has introduced may "new" elements to the TF universe that many fans have had trouble accepting (you even admitted that it's not everyone's cup of tea).

So, mostly due to trolls like SUPREMEQUEEN and eternal pessimists like Hornet, you've become very passionate in your defence of this series. Maybe even a little too personal a defence.

 

Yes, Animated is good. Very good, in fact (IMO). Still, it's not perfect, no series is, no series can be. Simply pointing out minor imperfections, like the fact that maybe the writing team overlooked a minor detail until the last second, doesn't mean people are condemning the series. They're simply looking at it through realistic eyes.

 

It's been thrown around here a lot that she might not even know she's a robot...

How many times do kids hold their breath, for one reason or an other? It's safe to say that if Sari is a robot she would have discovered that she doesn't need to breath to survive by now.

Icecap,

 

Sorry if I offended more than I intended, but this is how I interpreted what you said, correct me if I'm wrong on this:

 

You're saying is that "oops we screwed the pooch and can't do math" is how the mention of adoption ended up in the press release...what's more is you're implying they were well into season 2 before they noticed and thought a random press release was the solution to the issue...that's a slap in the face to the writers, IMO.

 

These people are professionals, dude. Adoption may impact the plot or it could just be backstory they used to "find" the characters that will never be mentioned in a single episode, but let's not make negative assumptions about the attention paid to the show by the creative team over it without a reason to.

 

Friends?

 

-Hobbes

All this talk of Sari being a robot is way out left field IMO. Where does this speculation come from and why would this be important to the overall story?

*Playing Devil's Advocate again*It could be huge. If she's a robot, then she's got tech in her descended, or quite possibly taken from Cybertronian technology. Hell, with the All-Spark Key, she could transform, possibly(If it altered her, of course).It would also explain why she was even able interfaced with the Allspark, as well.As for what I think... I don't see any hints for this. I see a whole lot more hinting towards other things... >.>

Fun thought.What if Sari IS Arcee? That solves one of the female TFs and provides a way to give her an action figure that isn't TOO dorky. Doesn't match the episode descriptions, mind you.And while it wouldn't cover Black Arachnia directly... It'd work a lot better for me to suggest that female TFs were once humanoids whose consciousness was somehow converted into a spark than this creepy transgendered psychotic stuff Simon Furman is pedlling with female TFs.

I have to say, the Sari/Arcee idea does appeal to me. Although it would also be odd because she would "become" one of the Autobots and wouldn't really "belong" to Sumdac anymore. I dunno, I just think that would be weird. Especially for kids who might not like the idea of the child character not having a daddy anymore.

I didn't notice that anybody else had this idea.However, did you watch any of the 90s Batman cartoons? Sari is voiced by Tara Strong, the second Voice of Batgirl.

 

If Sari could change between forms at will, it would make her a cross between the comic book Captain Marvel (kid who could become an adult) and Batgirl (Comm. Gordon's daughter who patterned her costumed identity on Batman). AND it could be an "Autobot Spike" reference at the same time.