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Challenge of the Gobots

Show Summary

Aired: 1984 - 1984
Show Type: Animated
Country of Origin: US

Challenge of the GoBots (also known as Mighty Machine Men) is an American animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, based on the Gobots toy-line released from Tonka. Most of the toys were imported from the Japanese toy line Machine Robo.

The show was first broadcast in syndication on September 8, 1984. It was later rerun on the USA Cartoon Express. However, it was never seen on the Cartoon Network (like many of Hanna Barbera's material), and has yet to be shown on Boomerang.


The show is similar in theme to Hasbro's more popular Transformers series. GoBots dealt with two opposing forces of transforming robots from the planet Gobotron (which should not be confused with Cybertron): the heroic Guardians and the evil Renegades. The Guardians were led by Leader-1 with others including Turbo and Scooter. The Renegades were led by Cy-Kill, with Crasher and Cop-Tur among their ranks. The characters rarely had guns, instead shooting energy blasts out of their fists. Unlike Transformers, GoBots had regular female characters. (Transformers didn't introduce female robot characters until its second season, and then only as recurring, not regular characters.) However, the females were built like the males (only Crasher receiving any distinguishable female features). The GoBots' origin as organic beings accounted for the presence of genders among the robots.

The series generally focused on the "lead" three robots from each faction (Leader-1, Turbo and Scooter vs. Cy-Kill, Cop-Tur and Crasher), who were virtually ever-present, with other characters seeming to rotate in "guest-star" roles.

Unlike in The Transformers, GoBots had no clear divide between the two factions. The characters (as well as the toys) had no identifying insignias or markings to indicate their allegiance, although it was clearly indicated on the packaging. Likewise, there was no commonality of design within each faction.

The only “theme” to a side was that anything that turned into a “monstrous” looking robot or vehicle was a Renegade. Perhaps the most distinguishing trait dividing Guardians from Renegades was the way their voices sounded. The Guardians' voices had an echo, while the Renegades' voices were more computer-like.

The show spun off a big screen movie "Gobots: battle of the rock lords", and three japan series called machine robo.

The france dub of machine robo is called "revenge of the gobots" and is dubbed as a sequal to the american series.



Comments

CelestePosted: 07/18/2007
Well, marketing is one reason why the Gobots failed. The other reason why Gobots failed is because general interest in Gobots dropped as soon as the Transformers came on to the market. Tonka made Super Gobots, so Hasbro gave the Transformers their gessalts, combiners, Transformers had Autobot City, so the Gobots had their ships, and so on and so forth in a vicious cycle of "our product line is better than your product line so just give it up because you'll never win."
The only thing that I found that was good about COTGB is the way that the female characters were handled personality-wise. It was nice to see females take control of certain situations because back in 1984 you didn't really see females in anykind of leadership roles. In other words they weren't just there to be eye candy. The female Gobots had more than just being eye candy on their minds.
CelestePosted: 05/13/2008
Also Cap Gobots were out an entire year before Transformers were.
The first Gobots commercial, as I recall it, aired in 1983 while the first Transformers commercial aired in 1984.
gustogummiPosted: 01/06/2009
Anyone who thinks this show is good should die in a fire. This show was shit and the toys were fucking gay.
CelestePosted: 01/12/2009
Does anyone feel any hot air coming through their computer screens?
Jukebox980Posted: 04/11/2009
Yet another show that I tell people about and NO ONE BELIEVES ME!! I liked it. . . even though it was a poor man's Transformers.

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