Other Visits (Part 1)
From Transformers Wiki
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 "I'll never let go, Tigatron. I promise." | |||||||||
| "Other Visits" (Part 1) | |||||||||
| Season | 2 | ||||||||
| No. in season | 6 | ||||||||
| Airdate | February 8, 1998 | ||||||||
| Written by | Larry DiTillio | ||||||||
| Directed by | John Pozer | ||||||||
| Animation studio | Mainframe Entertainment | ||||||||
| Continuity | Beast Wars continuity | ||||||||
 Watch this episode on YouTube
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A new alien site and device are discovered, and Megatron intends to have both for himself.
Contents |
Synopsis
Rhinox scans all the known alien sites, with Dinobot playing "back seat computer operator". Both notice a pattern, and Rhinox is concerned, as the next location looks like it is on course with Tigatron and Airazor's scout patrol. They try to alert the pair but are unable to due to Megatron's jamming tower. Dinobot announces he and Rattrap will go to destroy the tower. Rhinox informs the other Maximals of the danger Tigatron and Airazor are in, so the flyers set off to warn them.
Tarantulas is repairing his web in his lair, moaning to himself that no one will help him, as "they're all too busy helping Megatron, even that vile..." when he is interrupted by his computer alerting him to the presence of the aliens. He quickly transforms into his motorbike mode and races off.
In the Predacon base, Blackarachnia is nearly dozing off on scout duty, as "being loyal to Megatron sure is boring!" This doesn't please the purple guy much, as he happens to be eavesdropping. Suddenly, she notices Tarantulas on the scanners, zipping along at breakneck speed in Grid Vaxon. At the mention of the spider, Megatron reveals himself, accompanied by Inferno, and begins giving Blackarachnia orders, with Inferno enforcing his master's wishes. Blackarachnia suggests they follow Tarantulas to see what he's up to, but Megatron seems reluctant. Inferno then reports an attack on the jamming tower and asks if he should back up Waspinator and Quickstrike. Instead, Megatron reveals to the spider and Inferno that now is a prime time to get the Golden Disk back, with only Rhinox guarding the Axalon.
Tigatron and Airazor are patrolling when, to their delight and surprise, they see a hint of plant life in the form of a drifting seed. They continue to Grid Zeiram, where they discover a clearing full of plant life, an area of natural beauty that wasn't destroyed by the alien attack. Airazor is intrigued by the unique forms of vegetation, so she transforms to get a scan. BIG MISTAKE. Tigatron also transforms. BIG MISTAKE. They both seem to be overcome by it all, and share a brief romantic moment. But as the pair cuddle up, tendrils begin to snake up behind them, and suddenly, the two Maximals are entangled. Amidst their screams, they link hands, telling each other that their sparks will always find each other. As they are abducted, Cheetor flies up and tries to rescue them, but to no avail. He screams in protest as he realises he has lost them. As he bemoans the Maximals' inability to warn the abducted pair in time, Tarantulas pops up and blasts Cheetor, knocking him out cold. As Tarantulas begins to check out the site, he realises Optimus Primal is coming, so he retreats.
Optimus and Silverbolt land in the clearing, and Optimus gets Cheetor back online. He hurriedly asks what happened to Tigatron and Airazor, and Cheetor indicates the plant at fault for their disappearance. At this moment, Rattrap buzzes in, informing the Maximals that he and Dinobot have destroyed the jamming tower. (Actually, Dinobot is still landing a few final blows, which topple the tower on top of Quickstrike and Waspinator.) Upon learning about the fate of Tigatron and Airazor, all the Maximals head back to base, all deeply moved.
Optimus com-links Rhinox, who is also shocked by the news, but, being the cool cucumber that he is, goes straight back to scanning the alien abduction and notices two distorted figures in the beam: Tigatron and Airazor. Before he can investigate further, the base alerts go off, and he notices Megatron outside. Rhinox has no time for fun and games, so he literally brings out "the big guns." However, Megatron is merely acting as a diversion while Blackarachnia and Inferno sneak into the base and shut off the defense systems. Big Green realizes he's in trouble and desperately tries to get through to Optimus, but Inferno enters the room, swings Rhinox's chair up to the table, and puts him at gunpoint just as Optimus finally responds. Inferno offers a "Goodbye!" on Rhinox's behalf and simultaneously blasts Rhinox. Blackarachnia rushes for the disk, but Inferno is more hesitant: "The Royalty said we weren't to touch it until..." He is interrupted by Rhinox grabbing him and yanking him back to express his displeasure. Rhinox and Inferno start to rock 'n' sock each other with chin-punches, and Rhinox soon wins by popping Inferno's block off (or at least up). Blackarachnia grabs the disk, but Rhinox menaces her with "The Chaingun Of Doom." He barely has time to threaten her before Megatron appears behind him and lays verbal claim to the disk. Despite his fear, Rhinox quickly readies to smack Megatron in the face, but the Pred is too quick; he grabs Rhinox's hand in his claw, rips it off and sends him sprawling. Megatron grabs the disk, pushes Inferno's head back down, then takes his leave.
The Maximals make it back to the base, and Optimus re-attaches Rhinox's arm. The Maximals then have a council. Cheetor is still upset about Tigatron and Airazor, insisting they need to rescue those two. However, Dinobot says they need to stop Megatron before the aliens strike, to which Optimus agrees. They set off for the site where Tigatron and Airazor were abducted.
Megatron is back in the Darksyde, talking about the Golden Disk, but is interrupted by Tarantulas. The spider brags that he is no longer part of the Predacon command, but also reminds his ex-leader that he is Megatron's only chance of surviving the alien attack. Megatron allows Tarantulas to undertake his plan.
The Predacons head to the abduction site, where they go about ramming posts into the ground. Megatron questions Tarantulas's motives, but Tarantulas isn't telling. However, due to the fact they shared minds, Blackarachnia knows it is because he hates the aliens. Megatron doesn't mind, since hatred is an emotion he can trust. When the plan is complete, Megatron and Tarantulas have a brief laughing contest which is interrupted by Primal and the Maximals, who transform and prepare to attack. The Predacons also terrorize, ready for battle, when the aliens' beam comes down, causing a halt in the proceedings. All the Transformers stare on in amazement as a spaceship materializes in front of their very optics.
The top of the ship opens, releasing an energon surge, which blasts into everybody.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Maximals | Predacons |
|---|---|
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Quotes
"Sometimes Optimus trusts too much..."
- —Rhinox to himself over Dinobot's recent activities
"Blast that scheming spider! Again he defies me!"
"Say the word, my Queen, and he shall burn."
"Not just yet; and for the last time, STOP CALLING ME THAT!"
"As you command, my-[AAACK!]"
- —Megatron finally puts his foot down on Inferno's nicknaming.
"Wherever we go, my Spark will find yours!"
"A-a-and mine, yours."
- —Tigatron and Airazor, just before getting sent into space
"We could have warned them. If only that stinking Megatron hadn't..."
"Well you didn't!" [blasts Cheetor]
- —Cheetor and Tarantulas
"I, uh...I come in peace."
"You're about to leave in pieces!"
- —Megatron and Rhinox, upon discovering the latest addition to the Maximal defenses.
"Done! Ready to rock and roll, insect?"
"I don't rock and roll; I buuurn."
- —Blackarachnia and Inferno before knocking out the Maximal defenses.
"You don't wanna try it. The disk!"
- —Rhinox demands the Golden Disk from Blackarachnia, unaware that Megatron is creeping up behind him.
"It's like I always say: We're all gonna die."(All glare at Rattrap.)
"I know, I know. 'Shut up, Rattrap.'"
- —Rattrap contemplates the situation.
"Is all in readiness?"
"This time, the aliens will get a welcome they didn't expect! Hehehehehe..."
"Ahahahahahaha..."
"Heeheehmhmhmheehaha!"
"EHEHEHAHAHAHAHAA!"
"HEHEHEHAAHAHAHAAAA!!!"
- —Tarantulas and Megatron celebrate the completion of their latest scheme with an evil laughing contest.
"Leave here, Primal! I will deal with this!"
"Like you did last time? Dream on!"
- —Megatron fails to get Optimus Primal's confidence for dealing with the aliens.
Notes
Script timeline
- Second draft: 26th August 1997
Animation and technical errors
- Near the beginning of the episode when Optimus is flying on his gorilla hoverboard, his blaster (which is his thruster in that mode) is pointed down, but there is still a visible jet of flame where it should be.
- During the Maximal group discussion about the alien device, Cheetor's cat head clips into his arm.
- When Quickstrike transforms at the end of the episode, the sound effect seems to be that of Scorponok's transformation sequence.
- As Megatron transforms into robot mode near the end of the episode, his dinosaur mouth remains closed when it should be open, even though the roar sound effect remains intact.
Continuity notes
- Blackarachnia mentions the mental link that she and Tarantulas once shared, which she managed to sever in "Tangled Web".
- Rhinox expresses ill feelings towards Dinobot for his actions during "Maximal, No More".
- This episode shows the first instance of Blackarachnia's affection for Silverbolt.
- Fittingly, many references are made to the Transformers' last encounter with the aliens. Both Rattrap and Blackarachnia refer to the alien's previous superweapon, while Optimus makes several references to the "truce" and his own death that occurred due to the last event.
- Gadgets and powers:
- Optimus carries around a... thing that he places on the unconscious Cheetor's chest in order to restore him to consciousness.
Real-world references
- The fight between Rhinox and Inferno ends with Rhinox socking Inferno so hard that his neck pops up, referencing Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots.
- Waspinator says he's pinned like an "iron butterfly", referencing the 1960s psychedelic rock band that gave the world "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".
Trivia
- The original script called for the alien plant to lure Tigatron and Airazor in with a stasis pod containing a blank.
- This is the final episode to feature Rhinox transforming. His Beast mode will appear one more time in Code of Hero, but the actual transformation is not shown.
Foreign localization
French
- Title: "Les Visiteurs - 1re partie" ("The Visitors - 1st Part")
- Title: Les Visiteurs 1 (Canada, "The Visitors 1")
Italian
- Title: "Minaccia aliena - Parte 1" ("Alien Threat - Part 1")
Japanese
- Title: "E? Ohana ga?" (え? お花が?, "Huh? The Flower?")
- Original airdate: November 10 1999
- So yes, this is the episode where Tigatron and Airazor "come out of the closet". In case you didn't know, Airazor was made male for the Japanese dub of Beast Wars, but his relationship with Tigatron, up until now, was played platonically. Tigatron was dubbed as a comedic "samurai ronin" stereotype with Airazor being his young "ward" and the two shared a close bond that could be described as brotherly. Completely out of the blue at the beginning of this episode, with absolutely no build-up whatsoever in any of the previous episodes, Airazor begins amorously flirting with Tigatron, calling him petnames like "Ti-chan" and basically acting really, really gay. Tigatron responds to these flirtations with startled and embarrassed admonishments for Airazor to "knock it off" and "be quiet". Eventually, when they're both attacked by the vines, they share pretty much the same romantic dialogue as in the English version, expressing their love for one another. With their romantic relationship having not been established in any way prior to this episode, the "coming out" scene is incredibly random, awkward and bewildering.
Mandarin
- Title: "Fǎngkè Jiànglín " (访客降临, "Visiters Falls")
Portuguese
- Title: "Outras Visitas Parte 1" ("Others Visits Part 1")
Spanish
- Title: "Otras Visitas (Parte 1)" ("Other Visits (Part 1)")
- Title: "Los Visitantes Primera Parte" (America, "The Visitors First Part")
Home video releases
- VHS
1998 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Series 2 / Volume 2 (Siren Entertainment)
1998 — Beast Wars — Optimus Lives! (Alliance Atlantis)
1998 — Robots-Bêtes — L'Empreinte D'Optimus (Alliance Atlantis) — French audio only.
2000 — Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers: Metals — I Quit! (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2001 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Volume 6 (Universal)
- DVD
2000 — Beast Wars: Transformers: Metals — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio.
2004 — Beast Wars: Transformers — The Complete Second Season (Rhinomation)
2011 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Seasons 2 & 3 (Shout! Factory)
2011 — Beast Wars: Transformers — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
2006 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Season 2 (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers: Beast Wars — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)
