TRANSFORMING TELEVISION

Michael Bay's "Transformers" sequel, "Revenge Of The Fallen", looks to be one of the big blockbusters this summer.

That's the "Cineverse" ( a term coined by Craig Shaw Gardner).

'The Transformers' previously had life in the Tooniverse back in the 1980's. This led to a theatrically released feature which included Orson Welles in its voice cast. And thanks to 'Robot Chicken', the Transformers also have a place in that weird little claymation/action figure TV dimension.

Earth Prime-Time can now legitimately lay claim to having its own version of 'The Transformers', thanks to a merchandising tie-in blipvert from Burger King.

I say Earth Prime-Time can now "legitimately" claim its own version because it is the Toobworld contention that the Transformers have long lived in the TV Universe. They've just never been identified as such.

We've seen them mostly in commercials. Whenever you've had talking appliances or singing toilets, those were Transformers in all likelihood. (Those singing toilets were probably serving a prison sentence; and like most chain gangs, they sang to ease their burden.)

Remember Milton the Toaster, whose voice sounded suspiciously like William Schallert's?

A Transformer.

We usually equate Transformers with automobiles, but the three most famous sentient cars had other origins.

'My Mother The Car' - was the reincarnation of Gladys Crabtree.

'Knight Rider' Two Thousand (aka KITT) - was an artificial intelligence designed at Knight Industries using Cylon technology. (Popular theory adopted by Toobworld Central)

'The Twilight Zone' had a car owned by Oliver Pope in "You Drive" that literally drove him to confess to a hit-and-run. That car was possessed. That new Quizno's ad in which the talking oven begs Scott to "put it in" - that's a Transformer. And one with a twisted relationship with a human....

And with a recent ESPN promo, we get a crossover between 'The Transformers' and 'The Terminator':



I'm thinking that's an alliance that's not long for this Toobworld....

BCnU!