The God Gambit
From Transformers Wiki
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 When someone asks you if you're a god, you say "YES"! | |||||||||
| "The God Gambit" | |||||||||
| Production code | #700-41 | ||||||||
| Season | 2 | ||||||||
| No. in season | 26 | ||||||||
| Production company | Sunbow Productions | ||||||||
| Airdate | October 28, 1985 | ||||||||
| Written by | Buzz Dixon | ||||||||
| Animation studio | Toei | ||||||||
| Continuity | Generation 1 cartoon continuity | ||||||||
 Watch this episode on YouTube
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The Decepticons scheme to conquer a race of primitive humanoids by exploiting their religious beliefs.
Contents |
Synopsis
The people of Saturn's moon Titan are slaving under the tyrannical rule of Jero, the head astrologer priest. The time has come for the harvest offerings and the Titans bring their contributions to the feet of the statue of their "Sky God".
Talaria, a rebel who believes in "reason and common sense", leads a revolt, shatters the statue, and exposes Jero for using the Sky Gods as an "excuse for high taxes and harsh laws".
At the same time, Cosmos is being chased through space by Astrotrain, with Starscream and Thrust aboard. Cosmos calls Autobot headquarters on Earth and tells Optimus Prime about energy data he gathered. During the transmission he gets hit and falls towards the surface of Titan.
The Titans have gathered around a fire while Talaria tries to convince her people that the Sky Gods are an illusion. At that very moment, Cosmos crashes nearby, and Jero, tied up along with his high priests, uses the strange event to reclaim his place as leader.
Astrotrain, Starscream, and Thrust land in front of the temple, overhearing the struggle between Talaria and Jero. Astrotrain spontaneously decides to pretend to be the Titans' supreme god in order to enslave them. Starscream protests, but relents without much effort.
Starscream and Thrust prop up the unconscious Cosmos in the temple as a new idol in place of the shattered statue. Astrotrain then removes Cosmos' data storage, and points out a disconnected cable that prevents the Autobot from calling for help. He fails to notice that Talaria has been watching him. Unseen by the Decepticons she slips to Cosmos's side and reconnects the cable, re-establishing the communication to Optimus Prime on Earth. Prime tells her how to activate Cosmos' homing beam. In that moment, the Decepticons notice her, but she escapes, thanks to Cosmos who woke up just in time to fire at Starscream. Cosmos is, however, quickly disabled again by Astrotrain.
Back on Earth, Optimus Prime orders Omega Supreme to take a team to Titan and rescue Cosmos. Omega informs Prime that the trip will use up 97% of his energy, which will leave him unable to transform. The team includes Perceptor, who will discover what the energy source was, and Optimus himself intends to go. However, Red Alert warns Prime that as the leader of the Autobots, they cannot afford to let Prime be killed or captured. Jazz goes in Prime's place.
On Titan, Jero leads the Decepticons to a cave full of energy-rich crystals. Astrotrain forces the Titans to harvest crystals and carry them to the temple.
In the meantime, the Autobots arrive, with Omega crash landing on the edge of an abyss. Jazz and Perceptor leave in search of Cosmos and his energy source. They meet with Talaria, who takes them to the temple and to Cosmos.
Before they can repair Cosmos, they are attacked by Starscream and Thrust. Jazz quickly gets the upper hand on Starscream. But Astrotrain has the Titans fire the crystals at the Autobots, and they have to retreat, leaving Talaria to be captured by Astrotrain. Astrotrain orders her to be sacrificed as a means to further intimidate the rest of the Titans.
Jazz and Perceptor soon find the crystal cave, where Perceptor notes the instability of the crystallized energy, as did Starscream earlier. They meet a group of Titans there who tell them about the sacrifice. While Perceptor takes some of the crystals to refuel Omega Supreme, Jazz heads for the temple to rescue Talaria.
He is successful, and he manages to hold off the Decepticons long enough for Omega and Perceptor to arrive.
The Decepticons flee after realising that they can't fight Omega Supreme. Before they leave Titan, however, they blow up the crystals, starting a chain reaction that will destroy the temple and the surrounding area.
Omega Supreme helps the Titans to escape over the abyss that surrounds the temple mount, and the Titans thank the Autobots for their help. Jazz expresses relief that the Decepticons won't be messing around with the Titans' religion again.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Titans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"Here's the church. Here's the steeple. Open the doors and where are the people?!"
- —Starscream, playing the role of Wheelie
[Omega Supreme is out of energy and stuck precariously on a cliff edge]
"We'll pull you back over the edge!"
"No! Strength: insufficient. Cosmos required."
"We'll find Cosmos, and his energy source, then come back for ya! Just don't move."
"Sarcasm: not appreciated."
- —Jazz and Omega Supreme do not share a sense of humor.
"Not the slightest sign of Cosmos, but there is a native in that tree shooting arrows at us."
- —Perceptor isn't that concerned about Talaria's attack
"A heretic. What more fitting end than to be sacrificed?"
- —Astrotrain needs Talaria's blood in order to be appeased.
"Sorry to bust up your revival, but the lady ain't got her heart in it!"
- —Jazz while saving Talaria from being sacrificed.
"Lord Astrotrain, what about me?!"
"Die, like the worm you are!"
- —Jero learns that he shouldn't have worshipped Astrotrain
"They started the chain reaction!"
"Don't ya just hate sore losers?"
- —Perceptor and Jazz are not amused by the Decepticons' actions.
Notes
Production information
- First draft script: 15 March 1985
- Script revised by Ron Friedman: 19 March 1985
Continuity notes
- Gadgets and powers:
- Cosmos has a signal beacon which the other Autobots can use to track him.
- The two rectangles on the cheek guards of Astrotrain's helmet are also lasers!
- Omega Supreme demonstrates, not for the first or last time, his ability to transform into robot mode out of nothing but his rocket component.
- Omega can also extend his tank track like a bridge.
- There is "electric lava" on Titan. Well okay.
- Did Jero make it off the island? He disappears after the cave explodes and is never seen again!
- The inhabitants of Titan would never be seen again, but the moon would be revisited later. Apparently Titan had been "terraformed" in the meantime, which makes the unspoken fate of this civilization especially curious.
- This episode and "The Gambler" are the only episodes (pre-The Transformers: The Movie) that Megatron doesn't appear in.
Real-world references
- In 1985, the proposition of life on Titan wasn't all that far out there, if you weren't paying too close attention; the actual moon does have a substantial atmosphere, which completely obscures its surface. The Voyager spacecraft had sent back the first substantial data on it just a few years prior, bringing Titan and its then-mysterious surface to popular attention.
- The episode also does a reasonably good job of portraying the perpetual dim lighting conditions that prevail at such great distances from the Sun, though the characters themselves are brightly illuminated.
- "Look ye on his might, and despair!" is paraphrased from the 19th century poem "Ozymandias" (the original line is "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!")
- As it shows Cosmos, Astrotrain's scanner makes the same electronic throb noise used for Dalek technology in Doctor Who.
- Starscream recites a human nursery rhyme. "Here's the church. Here's the steeple. Open the doors and where are the people?!" He doesn't, however, do the hand gestures that go along with it.
- Star Wars sound effects:
- Millennium Falcon engine burst any time Omega's rocket mode flies.
- TIE Fighter roar as Starscream takes off inside the temple, followed by cockpit noises from Darth Vader's TIE Fighter, then Falcon engine whine as he crashes.
- X-wing Fighter diving whine as Thrust and Starscream break off their search for the Autobots.
Animation and technical errors
- After Jero announces "Look ye on his might and despair!", in the full shot of the Sky God statue, it's missing its lower legs.
- Improbable viewpoints:
- While relaying Cosmos's communications, Teletraan I provides a camera view that tracks alongside him. (and in that view, Cosmos is flying sideways.)
- Shortly after Astrotrain blasts Cosmos, we get a back view of Astrotrain and the insignias on his wings are missing their cheek triangles.
- When Starscream questions Astrotrain's choice of himself as the "supreme god", the vents on the sides of his head aren't drawn in.
- Coloring errors:
- As Astrotrain prepares to introduce himself, the lower segment of Starscream's canopy is colored yellow instead of gray.
- As Astrotrain joins them, the crest in the center of his head is the same purple as the rest of his helmet, instead of yellow. The error repeats when this shot is continued a moment later, as Astrotrain walks off.
- Astrotrain's yellow crest is purple again as he examines the crystals.
- As he watches Jazz start climbing to the temple, the rim around Perceptor's chest is red instead of white.
- Perceptor's shoulder cannon is all-red, rather than red with gray bands, as he staggers around following Omega's landing.
- Astrotrain's head crest is purple instead of yellow for a third time as Jero asks him about the false gods.
- As Starscream and Thrust carry Cosmos up to the top of the platform in the temple, Starscream's wing insignias are right-side up when they should be upside down.
- As the pair reach the top of the platform, Starscream's left wing disappears for a split second.
- Starscream's first shot at Talaria uses Megatron's fusion cannon sound effect instead of the standard Decepticon laser noise. When the shot repeats after the commercial break, he's got the Autobot laser sound!
- Thrust's cockpit and chest are misdrawn as he traps Talaria, squared off and a bit overlarge.
- As Jazz lowers his arm after announcing he likes shooting Decepticons, his bust size suddenly increases.
- The shot from space of Omega Supreme lifting off appears to show him originating from somewhere in Brazil.
- Just before Talaria starts shooting at Jazz and Perceptor, the wheel arch on Jazz's right leg keeps turning black as he walks.
- Talaria's arrows make an incredibly loud whoosh noise. One of them curves upwards as it passes Jazz.
- Shortly after Starscream tells Thrust to stand and fight, Thrust clips through the wall instead of using the temple door.
- After Starscream crashes and ends up lying upside down in his jet mode, part of his undersection is colored as his cockpit as Jazz runs up to grab him. It turns grey shortly before Starscream transforms.
- As Astrotrain transforms and lands after the crystal attack on the Autobots, he doesn't get a transformation sound. The roaring sound usually used for diving jets cuts off at its peak as he and the other 'cons land.
- Astrotrain's grip on Talaria doesn't seem to be very firm at all.
- As Starscream and Thrust search for the Autobots, their jet-mode shadows are seen tracking along the ground. Starscream's tail wings don't correspond to his actual design, seemingly having a single center tailfin instead of twin taifins.
- When Perceptor explains why Jazz using a rock to loosen up some energy crystals is a bad idea, he says in his own voice, "Set off one crystal, and a chain reaction..." and then continues, "...will blow us all up!" in Jazz's voice!
- The sound of Jazz firing comes about half a second before the knife is blasted out of Jero's hand. That's one slow-moving laser.
- Thrust and Starscream transform and land in the crystal cavern without the sound effect.
- As Jero runs around in front of Astrotrain to beg for his life, Astrotrain's front landing gear is inexplicably hovering about two feet off the ground.
- As Omega Supreme's tank and rocket cross the bridge, they pass a bunch of Titans, despite the next shot showing that both of them take up the whole width of the track.
- Cosmos's groans as he reactivates are missing his usual self-echo.
Continuity errors
- The aliens speak English! True, Beachcomber once tried to translate a bird's chirping (in "The Golden Lagoon"), but here no one has to activate any special program to talk to the people on Titan.
- Omega Supreme can go to Cybertron and back without recharging, but a one-way trip to Saturn will use up 97% of his energy? Of course, he just may not be at his maximum energy level from the start, but that isn't mentioned anywhere.
- The crystals are said to be dangerously unstable, yet Omega Supreme is able to use them to power up (with no ill effects).
- Talaria is a really horrible shot, isn't she? When firing arrows at the Autobots, she manages to miss Jazz twice despite the fact that he's a relatively big target and standing in place. The way the arrows arc (as well as the fact that one falls before hitting Perceptor) also indicate that she's not even putting any strength behind those shots.
Trivia
- Astrotrain seems out of character in this episode, especially with him ordering Starscream around. It would seem that this episode may have been originally written for Megatron in the Astrotrain role and quickly re-written in order to feature Astrotrain (who was, not coincidentally, a new toy at the time). This would explain Starscream's deference (and apparent fear) of Astrotrain, plus Astrotrain's Megatron-esque dialogue.
- Like the previous episode, this one debuts a few new commercial bumpers: Shockwave and Grimlock.
- This was one of several episodes subjected to the MSTF treatment at BotCon 1999.
- This is the first episode where Frank Welker doesn't voice anyone.
- Among fans, Astrotrain's proclamation that "These fools worship Transformers!" has gained near-legendary status as a bit of humorous self-ribbing.
Foreign localization
French
- Title (Canadian and European French broadcasts): "Les dieux des cieux" ("The Gods of Heavens")
- Title (European French DVD release): "Le dieu" ("The God")
- Original airdate: ?
- The dialog between Starscream and Thrust after the second commercial bumper is missing. This results in 15 seconds of jets flying in silence.
- Jazz's last phrase "Like no Decepticons to monkey around with your beliefs!" is replaced by "And we will build a huge monument on our planet, in your honor!". This kinda goes against the episode, but hey!
Italian
- Title (dub 1): "Il pianeta degli schiavi" ("The Planet of the Slaves")
- Original airdate: ?
- Like the title suggests, Titan is erroneously considered a planet, instead of a moon. Also, despite the Italian name of the moon being "Titano", it's instead called by its English name in the episode. Possibly the translator didn't understand that Titan is a real existing place and, thinking it was invented for the series, simply copied the name used in English.
- When a rebel says: «and she wouldn't be sacrificed!» the sentence is badly cut, so you can just hear him saying: «and she wouldn't be sac–», making Perceptor's reaction pretty weird.
- Title (dub 2): "Falsi dei" ("False Gods")
- Original airdate: ?
Japanese
- Title: "Sky God" (スカイゴッド)
- Original airdate: February 14, 1986
Mandarin
- Title: "Tiānshén Jiànglín " (天神降临, "The Gods Arrive")
- Original airdate: ?
Brazilian Portuguese
- Title: "Deus do Jogo" ("God of the Game")
- Original airdate: ?
Russian
- Title: "Igry bogov" (Игры богов, "The Gods' Games")
- Original airdate: ?
Home video releases
1994 — Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers — Convoy Set (Takara) — Japanese audio only.
1998 — The Transformers — Autobot Edition (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
- DVD
2001 — The Transformers — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2003 — The Original Transformers — Season 2 Part 2 (Rhino Entertainment)
2003 — The Original Transformers — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 5 (Rhino Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers — Season 2 Part 2 (Metrodome)
2004 — Transformers — Collection 3: Series 2.2 (Madman Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers — Volume 9 (Déclic Images) — European French audio only.
2006 — Transformers — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome)
2007 — The Transformers — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — Transformers — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza (Medianetwork Communication) — English and Italian audio.
2009 — Transformers — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome)
2009 — The Transformers — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers — Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
2009 — The Transformers — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)
2011 — The Transformers — The Complete Original Series (Shout! Factory)
2014 — The Transformers — Season Two, Volume One: 30th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
2014 — Transformers — The Classic Animated Series (Metrodome)
