S.O.S. Dinobots
Title card via TFWiki, fan-archive fair use
Wheeljack and Ratchet build the Dinobots from fossils, but the powerful, short-tempered new warriors prove as dangerous to the Autobots as to the enemy.
As the Autobots discuss whether or not the Decepticons are behind the tremors they've been experiencing recently, Spike Witwicky notices the tremors are stronger near one of the rock walls of the Autobot base. Ironhide's sensors detect something odd behind the wall, so the Autobots break through, finding a cavern. Spike explains to the surprised Autobots that the bones scattered around the cave are dinosaur fossils, which pique the curiosity of Optimus Prime and Wheeljack.
Elsewhere, Soundwave and Reflector stake out the Great Falls hydroelectric power facility, and return to the Decepticon base once they have enough information.
Spike takes Hound on a tour of a natural history museum to further illustrate his paleontological crash-course. Hound snaps a few holograms of dinosaur bone displays, which he played back for the other Autobots. Wheeljack and Ratchet are inspired, believing that they could construct robot versions to use against the Decepticons, and Optimus gives them permission. A laborious construction ensues, based on designs drawn up on Teletraan I, with all of the Autobots taking part.
Meanwhile Megatron announces that the Great Falls constitute a perpetual power source that will let them take over the universe forever. On his order, the Decepticon forces fly out to take the dam.
Wheeljack unveils the three new additions to their ranks: the Dinobots Grimlock, Slag and Sludge. Impressed by the giant Dinobots and their ability to transform into dinosaurs, Optimus asks for a demonstration of their other abilities, and Wheeljack has them disintegrate the rubble from the earlier excavation. As Wheeljack explains that he's looking to upgrade the Dinobots' limited intelligence, the trio suddenly start attacking the Autobots. Grimlock heads for the control room, pursued by Bumblebee and Spike, but the pair are unable to prevent the Dinobot from trashing Teletraan I. Bumblebee does manage to lure Grimlock away from the room so Ratchet can start the long repair job. As the fight continues, Optimus orders the Dinobots destroyed, but Wheeljack manages to disable them with his magnetic inducer. Despite Wheeljack's pleas, Optimus orders them decommissioned, and the three Dinobots are sealed in the rock cavern, never to be activated again.
The Decepticons arrive at the Great Falls, and the humans try to reach the Autobots via Teletraan I. Their distress signal goes unheard, as Teletraan I is currently offline thanks to the Dinobot rampage. Ravage trashes the humans' communication equipment, and the facility falls under Decepticon control.
With Teletraan I out of commission, it's up to individual Autobot scouts like Hound to be on the lookout for Decepticon activity. Hound's sensors detect the ransacking of the Great Falls plant, and he alerts Optimus. Optimus leaves with a strike force, ordering Bumblebee to stay behind to guard the base.
The Decepticons are gathering energy from the dam as energon cubes, and Megatron assures Starscream that he has a plan for when the Autobots arrive. When the Autobots do arrive on a cliff overlooking the falls, they're unable to detect any Decepticons, but the foe soon pops out of their hiding places and attack. As his warriors keep the Autobots occupied, Megatron connects his fusion cannon directly into the Great Falls' power output. He blasts the cliff-face where the Autobots stand while Rumble bashes at the ground, causing the cliff to crumble and sending the Autobots falling into the raging waters below.
—Optimus Prime gives the okay to make the Dinobots, because sure, why not?
—Bluestreak, mocking Hound's radar accuracy, to the amusement of no one
—Rumble goading Bluestreak
—Slag and Sludge determine friend from foe by using faction symbols.
—Rumble's clever combat banter
- Though the holographic dinosaurs illustrated in the episodes matched some of the concepts of the early ‘80s, their depiction is outdated by today's standards. The dinosaurs in the show are the sluggish, tail-dragging cold-blooded variety not in keeping with more modern theories of warm-blooded, bird-like animals. Also when the holographic dinosaurs are shown, a Brontosaurus is seen living alongside a Triceratops and a Tyrannosaurus. In reality, Brontosaurus lived in the Jurassic Period, while Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus lived at the end of the Cretaceous Period (to put this into perspective, Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus lived closer to the present day than they did to when Brontosaurus was alive). So basically, they were separated by tens of millions of years, but apparently, in a cartoon, that doesn't matter.
- At one point in the script's development, Megatron was going to proclaim himself "Megatron of Cybertron" when taking over the power plant. This was briefly amended to "Megatron Septimus Five of Cybertron", before being altered to "I, Megatron, declare this facility Decepticon domain!" as the finalized line.
- A scene deleted from the episode storyboards (pictured at right) shows Reflector receiving a brutal beatdown from all three Dinobots. This scene was scripted to be repeated in future episode War of the Dinobots, as the Decepticons watch video footage of their defeat. As the scene was deleted before the episode was animated, its re-use was cut as well.
- This episode shares the slightly stylized artistic style of "Roll for It". Note the strange poses that the Decepticons strike while flying, Optimus's unusually rounded head, Bumblebee's somewhat flattened head, and the little bits of shading seen on characters's faces in closeup.
- Another deleted scene would have shown a human mother and child at the Great Falls both voiced by Mona Marshall that was recorded but cut from the final episode.
- This was one of the six episodes featured on the Revenge of the Fallen console game, and the three on the PSP game, though it is in astonishingly low quality.
Screencaps via TFWiki (Teletraan I), used under fan-archive fair use.