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Editorials

This article was a post that I, Shwiggie, made on the Allspark Beast Machines/Transformers message forum on 7/7/2000. It was in reference to the way that the Beast Machines Story editor, Bob Skir, composes his Q and A FAQ at his website (if you haven't seen the second season of Beast Machines yet, be advised that spoilers abound on that page; but there aren't any on this one, unless you think Skir is as pure as the driven snow ;) ). I don't agree with the way he directed the writing of the series, and I particularly resent his perpetual beating around the bush on the subject and arrogant presumptions about the average Transfan. This article will illustrate that quite thoroughly!

My take on Bob Skir's @$$holiness
Yeah, well, who doesn't know the real Bob Skir, who hides behind the legs of Hasbro and Mainframe when confronted with the facts regarding his bastardization of this particular era of Transformers history and shifts the blame away from himself at every opportunity?
The rant begins...forgive me if it rambles too badly
This guy says Hasbro told him not to learn about the pre-existing story and keep it spiritual. So, like the sheep he is, he charges forward to write something which is completely alien and unrelated to the Transformers and decides to throw in a lot of hooey where it doesn't belong. He is claiming that it's due to Hasbro's position of discontinuity.
As a sidenote: If I'm not completely mistaken, Hasbro told DiTillio and Forward the same thing; don't research the old TF stories. Look what happened: not only did Hasbro get a good toy commercial, they got a great series due in large part to the writers initiative in researching the past. Plus, through Larry and Bob's work, a whole lot of newcomers got introduced to the old-school Transformers, creating a fan base that grew larger and more vibrant than ever before! Hasbro has to see the possibilities in this, as evidenced by the recent interview with them by Toyfare regarding the state of vehicular Transformers in the near future. Also, wanna see what DiTillio and Forward had planned for us in Beast Machines (then Beast Hunters)? Check this post by Skywarp at the Plasma Energy Chamber.
edit alert:
Pertaining to the point of Larry DiTillio and Bob Forward's research of the original Transformers storylines in the previous paragraph, it is now known that they already knew a lot about the original TFs prior to their hiring as Beast Wars story editors. In fact, it's been revealed that DiTillio actually had a near complete collection of the original Transformers Comic! Although this weakens the assertion that their iniative to research the past is what helped make the series what it was, it strengthens the idea that their completeness in telling the whole story helped strengthen the plotlines and endear it to us "old-school" Transfans.

#2: The above link to what was thought to have been DiTillio and Forward's vision for Beast Wars Season 4 (Beast Hunters/Beast Machines) can not be verified. What is known is that it was posted by the enigmatic "Network Guy" on another prominent message board (ATT or Yee's, I don't know for sure). While it may have been Bob and Larry's work, it's also possible that it's a treatment for the Beast Hunters show, as written by Marv Wolfman, prior to the hiring of Bob Skir and Marty Isenberg. Then again, it may be the work of fanfiction, nothing is known for certain. So, take that, as with all other opinion articles, with a grain of salt.
Thank you, Straight Edge, for setting me straight! -- Shwiggie

So, Skir and Isenberg decide to write their scripts, without a clue as to what was going on, prior to Beast Wars. Well, then, he must not follow directions too well, or else we wouldn't have see the Key to Vector Sigma or the Plasma Energy Chamber, now would we? What does this say about Skir's excuses? The way I interpret is this: he has to save face in some way to ensure that he can land good gigs in the future.
While I'm certain that he has the capacity to write good stuff, he started off wrong on this project and never attempted to get right. I realize that the majority of us are not in the target demographic, but I have a theory as to why it's regarded as a failure. The show's convoluted plots and spiritualistic subject matter came off too highbrow for most children (Not to say the kids are stupid, but I've asked some kids from 5-12 years old what they thought, and they verified this statement). The lack of satisfying character development and halfway decent dialog turns off most older viewers (again, I've talked to some people). Then, of course, there are the psychotic, diehard Transfans (to whom I owe alliegance), who collectively are the bane of Skir's existance, that are up in arms over the whole sordid affair.
Well, we nutjobs may not be paid writers, but we know a good show when we watch one.
My final analysis of the situation: Skir should develop that thick hide a little more and take his well deserved criticism like a man. Then he should find and write for another series that hasn't been around for 15 years, doesn't have millions of years worth of documented history, thousands of dedicated fans, and a fragile timeline to mess with. That, and several personal recommendations that are not properly discussed on this board.
Shwiggie
Email using the TFRS Contact Page
originally posted at the Allspark BM/TF Disc. Forum and at the TFRS Editorials Site on 7/7/2000
editted for corrective purposes on 7/18/2000

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