''Challenge of the GoBots'' (or ''GoBots'' for short) is an American

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

produced by Hanna-Barbera, based on the

GoBots GoBots is a line of transforming robot toys produced by Tonka from 1983 to 1987, similar to Hasbro's Transformers. Although initially a separate and competing line of toys, Tonka's Gobots became the intellectual property of Hasbro after their b ...

toyline released from

Tonka Tonka is an American producer of toy trucks. The company is known for making steel toy models of construction type trucks and machinery. Maisto International, which makes diecast vehicles, acquired the rights to use the Tonka name in a line of ...

. The show was first broadcast in

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

on September 8, 1984, then the show joined the weekday/weekend programming block ''

The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera ''The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera'' is an American animated syndicated programming block produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that ran on a weekly schedule and was performed in live action. The program ran from 1985 to 1994. Overview The ...

'' on September 15, 1985. It was later rerun on the

USA Cartoon Express The ''USA Cartoon Express'' was a programming block consisting of animated children's series which aired on the USA Network from September 20, 1982 to September 15, 1996. ''Cartoon Express'' was the first structured animation block on cable tele ...

Summary

''GoBots'' dealt with two opposing forces of transforming robots from the planet GoBotron: the heroic Guardians and the evil Renegades. The Guardians were led by

Leader-1 This is an alphabetical list of GoBots characters with information on their appearances, fictional biographies and histories. Bad Boy Bad Boy is one of Cy-Kill's minions. He is a rough street punk always ready with an insult and looking for a ...

while the Renegades were led by Cy-Kill. The characters rarely had guns, instead shooting energy blasts out of their fists. The female robots on the series, such as Crasher, were built like the males, but with some distinguishing female features. The GoBots' origin as GoBeings accounted for the presence of genders among the robots. The series generally focused on a small number of 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. ''GoBots'' had no clear division between the two factions. The characters had no identifying insignias or markings to indicate their allegiance, although it was indicated on the toy 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.

Plot

In the series’ backstory, thousands of years ago on the planet GoBotron of the Proxima System, there lived a race of human-like organic beings called GoBeings. Civil war erupted on the planet when the power-hungry terrorist group known as the Renegades arose, led by a madman dubbed "Stron-Domez the Master Renegade", who waged war against the peaceful Guardians. When a Renegade sabotage operation inadvertently resulted in a gigantic asteroid colliding with GoBotron, the natural disasters that resulted from the asteroid's impact pushed the GoBeings to the verge of extinction. However, the genius referred to as Ex-El the Last Engineer saved his people and took his experiments to replace parts of his own body with mechanical substitutes to the ultimate extent and transferring the essences of the GoBeings into large cyborgs known as GoRobotic Machine Men, or simply GoBotic Machines or GoBots. The GoBots possessed an additional ability; after being run through the device named the Modifier, the GoBots’ bodies were able to transform into other vehicles. His work done, the Last Engineer intended to retreat to a pre-prepared workshop elsewhere in the galaxy, but the Master Renegade stole his ship and escaped in his stead. The Last Engineer placed himself into suspended animation beneath the surface of GoBotron, while above, the war continued to rage between the Guardians and the Renegades, now all encased in GoBot shells. In the last quarter of the 20th Century, the planet Earth became involved in the conflict between Leader-1's Guardians and Cy-Kill's Renegades. During one of these battles, one of Leader-1's lieutenants, Turbo, became severely damaged. Unwilling to let his friend and teammate die, Leader-1 began his quest to find the legendary Last Engineer. Leader-1 found the person he believed to be the Last Engineer, but Leader-1 had unwittingly released the Master Renegade (though he did repair Turbo to gain the Guardians’ trust). The Guardians later found the true Last Engineer, who was instrumental in frustrating the alliance between Cy-Kill's Renegades and the Master Renegade. The Master Renegade later escaped the custody of the Renegades, and plagued both factions, notably attacking the UniCom colony of New Earth.

Characters

Episodes

# "Battle for GoBotron, Part I: Battle for GoBotron" (written by Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal, and

Tom Ruegger Tom Ruegger () is an American animator and songwriter. Ruegger is known for his association with Disney Television Animation and Warner Bros. Animation. He also created ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''Animaniacs'', ''Pinky and the Brain'', and ''Hist ...

) # "Battle for GoBotron, Part II: Target Earth" (written by Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal, and Tom Ruegger) # "Battle for GoBotron, Part III: Conquest of Earth" (written by Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal, and Tom Ruegger) # "Battle for GoBotron, Part IV: Earth Bound" (written by Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal, and Tom Ruegger) # "Battle for GoBotron, Part V: The Final Conflict" (written by Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal, and Tom Ruegger) # "Time Wars" (story by Jeff Segal and

Kelly Ward Kelly Ward (born November 17, 1956) is an American actor and voice director for television animation. He is most famous for his role as T-Bird Putzie in '' Grease'' (1978). Biography Ward was born in San Diego. He is the son of Don and Bonn ...

, teleplay by Douglas Booth) # "It's the Thought that Counts" (written by

Mark Zaslove Mark Zaslove (born June 7, 1959) is an American television and film writer, director and producer and novelist, in live-action and animation. He has won two Emmy Awards and the Humanitas Prize. He has created a wide range of content from the child ...

) # "Trident's Triple Threat" (story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward, teleplay by David Schwartz) # "Renegade Alliance" (story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward, teleplay by Don Goodman) # "Cy-Kill's Cataclysmic Trap" (story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and Peter Anderegg; teleplay by Peter Anderegg) # "Speed is of the Essence" (story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward, teleplay by Jina Bacarr) # "Genius and Son" (written by John Loy and Eric Lewald) # "Dawn World" (written by

Don Glut Donald F. Glut (; born February 19, 1944) is an American writer, motion picture film director, and screenwriter. He is best known for writing The Empire Strikes Back (novel), the novelization of the second ''Star Wars'' film, ''The Empire Strikes ...

) # "Nova Beam" (story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward, teleplay by Daniel Will-Harris) # "Forced Alliance" (story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward, teleplay by Doug Booth) # "Invasion from the 21st Level, Part I" (story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward, teleplay by Lane Raichert) # "Invasion from the 21st Level, Part II" (written by Lane Raichert) # "Lost on GoBotron" (story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and Eric Lewald; teleplay by Eric Lewald) # "Cy-Kill's Shrinking Ray" (story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward, teleplay by Dale Kirby) # "Doppleganger" (story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward, teleplay by Antoni Zalewski) # "The Quest for Roguestar" (story by John Loy, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward; teleplay by John Loy) # "Renegade Rampage, Part I" (story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward, teleplay by Karen Wengrod and Ken Cinnamon) # "Renegade Rampage, Part II" (story by Karen Wengrod, Ken Cinnamon, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward; teleplay by Karen Wengrod and Ken Cinnamon) # "Ultra Zod" (written by Jim Bertges) # "Sentinel" (story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward, teleplay by Don Glut) # "Cold Spell" (written by Alan Burnett) # "Crime Wave" (written by Francis Moss) # "Auto Madic" (written by Mark Zaslove) # "Scooter Enhanced" (story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and Mark Young; teleplay by Mark Young) # "Tarnished Image" (story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and David Schwartz; teleplay by David Schwartz) # "In Search of Ancient Gobonauts" (story by Mark Young,

Phil Harnage Phillp L. Harnage is an American television writer and screenwriter. He is known for his work at DIC Entertainment. He resides in Santa Monica, California with his family. Filmography Television * series head writer denoted in bold * ''Fat Al ...

, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward; teleplay by Mark Young) # "Gameworld" (story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward, teleplay by Michael Charles Hill) # "Wolf in the Fold" (story by

Michael Reaves James Michael Reaves (born September 14, 1950) is an American writer, known for his contributions as scriptwriter and story editor to a number of 1980s and 1990s animated television series, including '' Disney's Gargoyles'' and '' Batman: The An ...

, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward; teleplay by Michael Reaves) # "Depth Charge" (written by John Bates) # "Transfer Point" (story by Patrick Barry, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward; teleplay by Patrick Barry) # "Steamer's Defection" (story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and Drew Lawrence; teleplay by Drew Lawrence) # "The GoBot Who Cried Renegade" (story by Eric Lewald, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward; teleplay by Eric Lewald) # "The Seer" (written by Eric Lewald and Mark Edens) # "Whiz Kid" (written by Alfred Pegal) # "Ring of Fire" (story by Michael Humm, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward; teleplay by Michael Humm) # "The GoBotron Saga, Part 1: Cy-Kill's Escape" (story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and Peter Anderegg; teleplay by Peter Anderegg) # "The GoBotron Saga, Part 2: Quest for the Creator" (story by Peter Anderegg, John Loy, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward; teleplay by John Loy) # "The GoBotron Saga, Part 3: The Fall of GoBotron" (story by Peter Anderegg, John Loy, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward; teleplay by John Loy) # "The GoBotron Saga, Part 4: Flight to Earth" (story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and Peter Anderegg; teleplay by Peter Anderegg) # "The GoBotron Saga, Part 5: Return to GoBotron" (story by Peter Anderegg, John Loy, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward; teleplay by Peter Anderegg and John Loy) # "Pacific Overtures" (story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward, teleplay by Jina Bacarr) # "Destroy All Guardians" (written by Don Glut) # "Escape from Elba" (written by Lee Yuro and Linda Yuro) # "Fitor to the Finish" (story by Don Glut, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward; teleplay by Don Glut) # "Clutch of Doom" (story by Eric Lewald, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward; teleplay by Eric Lewald) # "The Third Column" (written by Eric Lewald and Mark Edens) # "A New Suit for Leader-1" (written by Reed Robbins and Peter Salas) # "Renegade Carnival" (written by Carla Conway) # "The Gift" (written by Karen Wilson and Chris Weber) # "Terror in Atlantis" (story by Kelly Ward, Jeff Segal, and Francis Moss; teleplay by Francis Moss) # "The Last Magic Man" (written by Mark Young) # "Braxis Gone Bonkers" (story by Steve DeKorte, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward; teleplay by Mark Zaslove) # "Inside Job" (story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and J. Larry Carroll; teleplay by J. Larry Carroll) # "Element of Danger" (written by

Gordon Bressack Gordon Joseph Bressack (May 28, 1951 – August 30, 2019) was an American television writer who won Emmy Awards for ''Pinky and the Brain'' and ''Animaniacs''. Television credits ''Series head writer denoted in bold.'' * ''The 13 Ghosts of Scoo ...

) # "Mission: GoBotron" (story by Eric Lewald, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward; teleplay by Eric Lewald) # "Et Tu, Cy-Kill" (story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, Eric Lewald, and Mark Edens; teleplay by Eric Lewald and Mark Edens) # "The GoBots That Time Forgot" (written by John Loy) # "The Secret of

Halley's Comet Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the on ...

" (written by Lane Raichert) # "Guardian Academy" (story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, Mark Young, and Lane Raichert; teleplay by Mark Young and Lane Raichert) # "Quest for New Earth" (story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and John Loy; teleplay by John Loy)

Cast

* Rene Auberjonois - Dr. Braxis * Candy Brown - A.J. Foster (pilot miniseries) *

Arthur Burghardt Arthur Burghardt (born August 29, 1947) is an American retired actor, best known for portraying Jack Scott on the soap opera ''One Life to Live''. In animation, he's known for lending his deep bass voice as Devastator in '' The Transformers'', D ...

- Turbo * Ken Hudson Campbell - Van Guard * Philip L. Clarke - Dr. Go, Tork *

Peter Cullen Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He is best known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original 1980s ''Transformers'' animated series, reprising the role many times since 2007. He has also voiced many other ...

- Pincher, Spoiler, Tank *

Paul Eiding Paul Eiding (born March 28, 1957) is an American actor and instructor, best known for his voice roles as Colonel Roy Campbell in the ''Metal Gear'' series and Max Tennyson in the '' Ben 10'' franchise. During the 1970s, Eiding was a prolific c ...

- Scorp *

Bernard Erhard Bernard Erhard (February 6, 1934 – November 1, 2000) was an American actor. Career Early in his career, Erhard worked as a music teacher at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL), and directed numerous theater productions there. ...

- Cy-Kill *

Dick Gautier Richard Gautier (October 30, 1931 – January 13, 2017) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and caricaturist. He was known for his television roles as Hymie the Robot in the television series '' Get Smart'', and Robin Hood in the TV comedy ...

- Bugsie, Klaws *

Phil Hartman Philip Edward Hartman (; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States w ...

- Baron Von Joy * Bob Holt - Cop-Tur, Geeper-Creeper *

Marilyn Lightstone Marilyn Lightstone (born 28 June 1940) is a Canadian stage, film and television actress and writer. Biography Early life and education Born in Montreal, Quebec, Marilyn Lightstone graduated from Baron Byng High School in 1957. She went on t ...

- Crasher, Path Finder * Sparky Marcus - Nick Burns * Wayne Mathews - General Lindley *

Gail Matthius Gail Matthius (born December 14, 1953) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member of NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' during its critical and ratings low point at the time (the 1980–1981 season, produced by Jean Doumanian), and ...

- Anya Turgenova * Morgan Paull - Matt Hunter *

Brock Peters Brock Peters (born George Fisher; July 2, 1927 – August 23, 2005) was an American actor and singer, best known for playing the villainous "Crown" in the 1959 film version of ''Porgy and Bess'', and the wrongfully convicted Tom Robinson in t ...

- General Newcastle *

Peter Renaday Peter Renaday is an American actor. His career spans several films and television shows. His major roles include Master Splinter in the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', as well as Abraham Lincoln in the Hall of Presidents, and Henry in Count ...

- Master Renegade * Lou Richards, Jr. - Leader-1 * Bob Ridgely - BuggyMan * Leslie Speights - A.J. Foster (regular) * B.J. Ward - Small Foot *

- Fitor * Kirby Ward - Heat Seeker * Frank Welker - Scooter, Blaster, Rest-Q, Screw Head, Zeemon

Home media

Various episodes of the show had been released on VHS and Betamax by

Vestron Video Vestron Video was the main subsidiary of Vestron, Inc., a home video company based in Stamford, Connecticut, that was active from 1981 to 1993, and is considered to have been a pioneer in the home video market. The name is now used for a collect ...

under its Children's Video Library label in the 1980s. On May 17, 2011,

Warner Archive The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

released ''Challenge of the GoBots: The Original Miniseries'' on DVD in Region 1 as part of their Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com. On May 6, 2014, Warner Archive released ''Challenge of the GoBots: The Series, Volume 1'' on DVD in Region 1. The three-disc set features the first 30 episodes of the series. The final volume ''Challenge of the GoBots: The Series, Volume 2'', which contains the last remaining 30 episodes of the show, was released on March 10, 2015. The 1984

Ruby-Spears Ruby-Spears Productions (also known as Ruby-Spears Enterprises) was a Burbank, California–based American entertainment production company that specialized in animation with another branch in Rome, Italy. This company was founded in 1977 by vete ...

television film, '' Robo Force: The Revenge of Nazgar'', is included as a special feature.

Adaptations

The show spawned an animated, feature-length film '' GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords'' which opened in theaters on March 21, 1986, a little over four months before '' The Transformers: The Movie'' (August 8). Clips from the show were also used in

Errol Morris Errol Mark Morris (born February 5, 1948) is an American film director known for documentaries that interrogate the epistemology of its subjects. In 2003, his documentary film '' The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamar ...

’s '' Fast, Cheap and Out of Control''. Additional GoBots storyline was later released on the Transformers

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

pages "Ask Vector Prime" and "Renegade Rhetoric", with GoBots characters also appearing in storyline from

Fun Publications Fun Publications was a publishing company that ran the Transformers Collectors Club and the G.I. Joe Collectors Club under license from Hasbro. Besides releasing comics, Fun Publications released exclusive toys and ran conventions for their clubs ...

. Where Renegade Rehetoric serveres as a second season to the show in form of text stories told from Cy-Kill's perspective.

Stations

References

External links

*
Challenge of The Gobots: The Original Miniseries
' at WBshop.com * {{USA Cartoon Express Gobots Transformers (franchise) animated television series 1984 American television series debuts 1985 American television series endings 1980s American animated television series American children's animated action television series American children's animated space adventure television series American children's animated science fantasy television series Television series by Hanna-Barbera The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Hanna-Barbera superheroes Animated television series about robots Television shows based on Hasbro toys Television series by Tonka