TRANSFORMERS: THE BASICS on the G1 CARTOON 

SMALL CORRECTION: I said "The Rebirth" aired in September 1987, but I meant *November* 1987.

As a little girl I fell in love with Bumblebee and wanted desperately to grow up so I could have a yellow Volkswagen bug. It makes me smile to think that some little girl is going to watch the new Bumblebee movie and do the same thing thirty-some odd years later. ;)

I was introduced to Transformers by Armada as a kid, and Starscream's death was the first time a tv show made me cry. I found G1years later.

The Girl Who Loved Powerglide never fails to make me laugh

I'm surprised they haven't made a series that takes place in the 20 year gap between season two and the movie.

I was introduced to Transformers through the Bayverse movies. I fell in love with the characters, impactful messages, and awesome action. I watched Gen 1 soon after and still love to rewatch it. I don’t mind the animation errors, for it makes a fun game to see how many you can find throughout the episodes. The humor and teasing makes me laugh every time, and is something I wish Hasbro would bring back in today’s media.

I saw Transformers The Movie in theaters when it was new and i'm glad no one else liked it because we rented a copy over and over until the video store eventually gave it to us. That movie is TIMELESS!

I didn't grow up with the G1 Transformers cartoon, I discovered it years later however, I have grown to love the show!!

The Transformers G1 cartoon is simply the best show on TV back in the 80s. And indeed still being watched and rediscoverd by new viewers today. And foundly remembered by the older generation from back then. Glad I discovered this YT channel brings back alot of good memories. Thank You

"We've got the touch." WAIT A MINUTE

I am one of those who grew up with this series in the 80´s!!! Thanks!!!

1:17 Poor Prime, he swallowed a human again.

I’m a young fan who discovered the series later on, but i love it to death. And sure, it may look dated to some people, and the toys aren’t as articulated as they are today, but there’s a certain charm to both the old toys and animation errors that makes it so amazing. Generation 1 is quite simply my favorite bit of Transformers continuity. Right next to the War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron games.

oh my the animation errors was killer...

My dad grew up with the show, so when I was younger (like, 3-4, so I don’t remember much of it) he’d rent the cds so we could watch the episodes together. Besides that, I grew up with the Bayverse movies. But, now that I am -almost- 13 I appreciate the g1 show and it remains my favorite as I revisit it :) I’m on season two, and already watched the movie because my dad insisted on getting it over with( it made me cry, btw >.

While I was too young to have watched the G1 cartoon when it was first airing (I wouldn't even be born for almost a decade after it premiered), I did discover a VHS of the three-part pilot at a local video rental store and gave it a watch, intrigued that Beast Wars wasn't the only Transformers show. Later, as a teenager, I took to watching the series on Teletoon Retro (a Canadian TV station that airs older cartoons), since my interest in the franchise had been rekindled by the live-action movie and Animated.

Call of the Primitives is my favourite episode. I find it hilarious that the animal Transformers get along slightly better than their main teammates.

The fact that Hasbro hasn’t tried to take this show down shows that they’re looking at this and going “Oh yeah, we approve of this!”

First I ever saw of TF G1 was in re-runs in the 1990's, when I was little. It and Power Rangers defined my early childhood (giant robots FTW), and then I saw a VHS of The Movie in a charity shop, bought it, and watched it till it wore out, and was inevitably chewed-up. I still watch the hell out of it online, too. Incidentally, the G1 movie is the first time I ever heard a swear on TV.

The G1 Transformers toy line and cartoon were such iconic and memorable parts of my youth. I couldn't wait to rush home from school, plop down in front of the TV, and catch up on all the latest episodes. There was at least a 3-year period where I was absolutely obsessed with them! It's another reason in a long list of why growing up in the 1980's was so awesome!

My favorite transformers g1 episode is the one where Beachcomber mourns the loss of organic life in a glen because of a special metal the autobots and decepticons were fighting over. Im a youngster so i was surprised to find these seeds of “autobots maybe not always good” were there even back in the eighties. I personally grew up with TF Animated and in between seasons i quenched my thirst for transformers by watching the movies and hunting down the G1 episodes on RU-vid

I may have been born in the late 90s but I love the g1 show so much

As someone who came in with the Beast Wars cartoon I never really felt the need to watch Gen 1 Transformers until recently and I gotta say while it’s quite cheesy it’s still a top quality cartoon and a must watch for any hardcore Transformer fan.

I'm lucky enough to have seen the G1 series when it first aired on TV, I have the original DVD set that came with animation cells, and the newer DVD release set.

I still remember my mother having to teach me how to tell time so I could watch this show as a kid.

I was a 90's boy who loved Beast wars but thanks to the hub network I fell in love with G1 Transformers even if it was a little dated.

My first introduction to the G1 series was in the early 2000s when I was younger around the time of the first and/or second Live action Transformers movie in which I saw the original G1 Transformers movie and I liked it

I'm definitely part of the newer generation of Transformers fans, but my dad decided to start me off with "the good stuff" and introduced me to the franchise with G1. As a kid, I thought everything but the 86 Movie was just cheesy, but now, I love the original cartoon!

I watched this cartoon back in the 1980s, I've been a Transformers fan since then as well. It was a cheesy, naff, silly cartoon that continues to have it's charms to this day despite the errors and 1980s cheese of the whole thing.

This show will always have a special place in my heart

My heart will always be with this show.

my dad watched it when he was a kid and technically i did too since he had it on a collectors dvd but i've started rewatching it now that i can actually take the 'plot' for what it's worth. starscream's my favorite character though, love that bird boy.

season one animation> every other season

As a kid and even today, Transformers is my life!!!! Going to the store to buy them and watching them on TV.....heaven......

Awesome job on all of these BASICS videos, Chris. I subscribed a long time ago and look forward to many more. Part of the genius of the G1 franchise, in my opinion, was the development of TV characters that made kids want the toys even more. It certainly worked on me.

As a fan that watched the original series when it first aired, I really appreciate this trip down memory lane. Thank you!!

Amazing to see how far the transformers legacy has lasted... from watching it as a kid in the 80s and still to this day I am a big fan.

Though I feel that some later shows (Animated and Prime) are superior to G1, I have nothing but the utmost respect for it. That cartoon is like the Volkswagen Beetle, it may be old and have a lot of problems, but it's very reliable.

My dad introduced me to this when he found out it aired on the hub tv channel. Remember staying up till 12 am on weekends just waiting to watch it with him. Now I’m looking forward to the new Netflix series, I hope it turns out well

My mom said I cried for a month after Prime died, we couldn't finish watching the movie I cried so much. I didn't watch the whole movie till I was in high-school, when I rented it from Blockbusters!

Awesome video dude, I was a big Transformers fan in the 1980s with a vast collection of Transformer toys

In a newish fan who recently watched it and by far my favorite character was and still is soundwave

G1 proves to be one of the most important pieces of pop culture pieces ever, would be more appropriate given what the series has helped create.

i will never admit this is a cartoon, it is more of an anime in my eyes.

I've been here since they began. Nothing better. I really understood my love the most when I joined the USMC. That's when I realized that Optimus Prime and Megatron showed me what good leaders and bad leaders are. I will never forget that.

The golden lagoon and call of the primitives stand out as favorites of mine. Also, the return of optimus prime and the hate spores was very memorable.

My first exposure to G1 was when my Dad bought me seasons 1 and 2 on DVD, I was maybe 6 or 7 years old at the time, but I must say that "The Golden Lagoon" will always remain as my favorite episode from G1.

I'm 12 years old and i sooo want to watch G1!

I have this entire show and I am 14

I watched Seasons one and two when I was a kid. Unfortunately, when my family moved out to California I had to catch the bus to go to school when the third season aired. So I haven't really been able to watch much of it. But I loved the parts of the series that I was able to watch. I think my favorite character on the show was Jazz.

1:40 thank you! I always wondered what was up with Megatron's head and gun. Such a simple answer too.

I grew up watching G1 . this informative breakdown is excellent!! I learned many things. Thank you.

I started to watch Transformers when season 3 started to air. I did watch the movie and the next day season 3 started ! I'm probably the only one who did like season 3 and Rodimus. I think his struggle of being the leader was too adult for a tv show of that time. I liked it and still love it.

I remember the 80's Gen 1 Transformers as the single most important thing in the world at the time. Rushed home after school, and everything was put on hold until the Transformers show was done. I still remember getting Soundwave for Christmas that year.

I died recently when watching season 3 and the decepticons went to a middle East country called carbombya

One of my favorite cartoons from back in the day. Along with Voltron & Tranzor Z

Just subbed, super work! Hope 'Transformers: Prime' gets your treatment, it needs a quality review.

Love it! I feel kinda ashamed though that I wasn't aware of how many bonafide comicbook legends had a hand in the original cartoon :)

I was introduced to transformers when I found my dads old G1 toys at grandmas house

Yeah, I'm 27 (in 2021). I grew up with Beast Wars, RID 2001 and TF: Animated. Plus great shows like Avatar the Last Airbender and Bruce Timm's DCAU. So when I was 10 and got the entire G1 Transformers show for Christmas just as I asked for, I only knew it by reputation by Geewunners who wouldn't stop going on about how great it was. I was profoundly disappointed. Funnily enough, because I didn't get attached to any of the characters, I didn't care when they died in the movie, save for Optimus who I genuinely felt for as he died. Season 3 ended up being my favourite as I felt Ultra Magnus, Kup, Springer, Arcee and Rodimus were telling muuuuuch more interesting stories with deeper themes and better characterisation than S1-2. Plus the film and much of season 3 was darker, and I was a fan of that.

I grew up.with this series and one of my favorite characters ever was Red Alert and his episode with Inferno, and Starscream is my favorite decepticon. I'm pretty sure I've seen almost every episode of g1, read most of its comics, and very excited when I see different siege designs of classic characters from "My era." I essentially sat out the beast era and revisited the unicorn trilogy a little bit. And of course I've went out of my way to see all the live action movies, including Bumblebee, but I'll always have fond memories of seeing the original animated movie. Everything from the death of optimus to the origination of galvatron. One of My favorite series as a kid and one of my favorite movies! Thank you for all your basics videos, Chris. I'm trying to watch them all to see what I've missed over the years lol

I'm a very new fan, getting into the series just over a year ago. I was drawn in through a Monster Hunter transforming toy review made by JobbytheHong, and my love for transforming toys was reignited since my brief passing with them in childhood. Then the on market toys, wiki, and IDW comics drew me in further. Now I'm stuck, but this seems like a pretty cool fandom to be in.

i was introduced to transformers when going to the library on weekends mostly and picking up vhs and dvds of g1 episodes that i would watch from every day and g1 still holds a special place in my heart.

G1 FOREVER! !

Keep up the good work, I luv this.

9:44 The Wings Universe blew my mind because i didn't know those events happened before and after the G1 cartoon had its time.

To this day i still watch the G1 series and I'm 42. Better then Michael Bay's version

It's been years like 2012 or 2011 I last saw Generation One it's now 2019 and I still love it today.

The basics is my fav tf lore on youtube..hands down. Ive rewatched every epidode @ least twice. Kudos.

Just watched all your TF Basics and subbed!

Love seeing these videos so much. It's so great to see all this history condensed, and I always learn something new about the technical and business side of Transformers history. Youngster who got into the cartoon much after the fact ova here. Fav ep has to go to either Starscream's Brigade, which introduced my fav combiner team ever, or The Gambler, which just had a fun story I'd say.

This is my favorite show and I wasn’t even alive when it came out but I still love it, I don’t even have to think about my favorite transformer is Soundwave by far, great job on the video

I didn’t watch the show back in the day. After all, I was only -23 years old when it first aired!

Great work on the video mate!

My brother and I ran from the school bus to the house to watch G1 Transformers. We also had the largest yard on our block and every Saturday we had over 15 kids in the neighborhood bring their toys over. We also had G.I. Joe battles in the yard too. The good old days. We all hated Optimus death and didn't like Rodimus. We saw Ultra Magnus as the leader after Prime.

i love you channel! thank you for this

Great video! Yep, I was a kid in the 80's and watched the original. Still one of my all-time favorite shows!

I was introduced to transformers with this series and I wasn’t around in the 80s so in my opinion it still holds up

Used to rent the 86 movie a ton from my local video store when I was a kid. :)

When i was around 7 or 8 when i first saw the 07 film i was fascinated by the lore and wanted to know more so my dad bought me season 1 and 2 box sets of g1 and 10 years later still into the series.

To say I love you for this video series would be a gross understatement.

The show is on RU-vid so I’ve been working through them. Along with this channel it’s increased my love of Transformers

I dont know why but "We've got the touch" Cracks me up.

I didn't get into Transformers until I was already an adult, but I decided to start with G1 as a taster to see if it was my sort of thing. It is! :D Most memorable episode for me: Triple Takeover

1:18 looks like Spike forgot to get out of Prime before he Transformed

Great memories. This has been my most favourite show for the past few years and I've watched so many times, I've lost count. My favourite character was always Soundwave.

I discovered back in the early 2000s when my brother got it from the library and we were hook and this was after we we watched armada and before energon came on the air, my favorite episode is the one we're Starscream creates the combatacons and my favorite characters are Starscream and Galvatron.

Thanks for the summary...brings back memories.

I remember the TF movie being “hosted” on its first tv broadcast by puppet/animatronic Optimus Prime, which left one of the kids he was telling the tale to beg to know how he survived. He laughs it off as a tale for another time as the credits roll. I’ve NEVER seen that version or type of hosting for TF ever again. I thought it was some sort of dream for years, and it’s still rare for me to get any type of confirmation that it existed.

G1 was the very best. I remember watching it on Wacaday (The Wide Awake Club) on UK TV on the weekend mornings. I loved it and still have a huge collection of the G1 comics now

Some of my favorite generation one characters were Trailbreaker, Swoop, Red Alert, Blitzwing, Rat Bat, and Rumble

I'm only 16 but I love g1

Good summary video! Flowed very naturally.

These are some well put together videos :)

I get in for TransFormers when I first time saw TF Armada.

Beast Wars was my Gateway to the Transformers Universe. I never got to see the G1 TV Series until the Early 2000s on Teletoon Retro. Although I DID see the G1 Movie before the TV Series. My Favorite Characters were the Dinobots.(Especially Grimlock)

Thanks for bringing back some great memories still live the show. Peace out my friend

Chris McFeely, great video. This is the Greatest Cartoon TV Show ever made!! I first saw this in Luxembourg in the mid 80's and got hooked!!

At the time of this writing, I am 27 years old and, while I grew up more with Beast Wars and Unicron Trilogy, I have fond memories of watching the first two seasons of G1 on VHS and DVD in my childhood. For me my favourite Transformers were: Megatron, Starscream, Shockwave, Soundwave, Rumble & Ravage on the Decepticon side, Optimus Prime, Powerglide, Beachcombover and Ironhide on the Autobot side. My favourite Combiners were: Devastator, Bruticus and Menasor.

Wonderful video. I'm looking forward to watching more!