Body of Review: Though I liked the original Transformer series and Beast Wars, Transformers Armada never really made the grade with me.  I thought the human kids were irritating and the show just lacked the spark that the other shows had.  The newest Transformer series to air in the US is a direct sequel to Armada; Transformers Energon, and while it is better than Armada, I still don't think it compares to the Transformer series of old.   When you add that these episodes are apparently edited from their broadcast version, it doesn't bode well for the DVDs.

Energon starts 20 years after Armada ends.  The Autobots and Decepticons are no longer at war and working together.  Alongside the humans, the Transformers are looking for Energon so that humans would have a clean, safe form of energy and so that the Transformers would have the power to repair their home planet of Cybertron.

Though the old threats are gone, a new one arises in the form of Terrorcons, a horde of drone robots under the control of a mysterious leader.  Who is controlling them and what they want are the primary mysteries in these early shows.

Many of your favorite Transformers from earlier series are here, with Hot Shot and Optimus playing major roles.  There are some new 'bots too including Ironhide, a new recruit who's still a little.  Along with new Transformers come new powers.  The Transformers can now 'powerlink.'   Two or more robots can join together, adding their power together and becoming a powerful fighting machine.

While this series isn't as obnoxious as the previous Transformer show, it still isn't great.  The transformation music sounds like the original theme played on a Casio keyboard that someone bought at K-Mart.  It is sounds really tinny and hokey.  I also didn't like the whole powerlink business.  Seeing Megatron combine with other Transformers like zords from Power Rangers didn't do anything to endear the series to me.
 
The most irratating flaw with the DVD is that the programs seem to be slightly edited.  My sons, who watch the show frequently, spotted a couple of missing scenes from these shows.  Though I didn't have the televised versions on hand to compare, I did some digging around and it appears that the shows are edited.  One scene that has been deleted occurs in the second episode.  This DVD never shows Alexis arriving at Ocean City, her first appearance is at the meeting.  This web page not only mentions her arrival, but has a screen cap from the show that isn't on the DVD (the top image.)

Another possible discrepancy is the time frame of the show.  Several web pages mention that Energon takes place ten years after Armada, but the intro to the show clearly states that twenty years have gone by.  This wouldn't be a big deal, but both Kicker and Alexis only look like they've aged 10 years.

Even with these flaws, my children (aged 8 and 12) both really enjoy the show.  They rated this show much better than Armada.  While the humans still play a big part in the show, Kicker actually goes into battle with the Transformers rather than just sitting on the sidelines and watching.  And though I didn't like the powerlink ability, my sons thought it was really cool.