History Trivia / BeastMachines

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: This how the show was treated in Japan. After the low sales of Beast Wars Neo and Beast Wars Metals toylines, Takara deciced to skip Beast Machines and replace it with Transformers Car Robots. They did dub the series a few years later in 2004 but it was a pretty bare-bones dub with no new opening or ending songs like the Beast Wars dub and they dumped the series on a small satellite only channel rather then airing it on TV Tokyo, ensuring that most people in Japan didn't even knew the show existed or was dubbed until the DVD release. The toyline also saw a small print run exclusive to Toys"R"Us Japan.

* CreatorBacklash: During an interview, Creator/GaryChalk said he disliked how his character, Optimus Primal, was turned into a "religious cult leader".

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: This how the show was treated in Japan. After the low sales of Beast Wars Neo and Beast Wars Metals toylines, Takara deciced to skip Beast Machines and replace it with Transforers Car Robots. They did dub the series a few years later in 2004 but it was a pretty bare-bones dub with no new opening or ending songs like the Beast Wars dub and they dumped the series on a small satellite only channel rather then airing it on TV Tokyo, ensuring that most people in Japan didn't even knew the show existed or was dubbed until the DVD release. The toyline also saw a small print run exclusive to Toys"R"Us Japan.

* FanNickname: Big Floating Head for the Grand Mal, since the thing was never given a name in-show, and its true name was only gleaned by reading the scripts.
** Hasbro's own toy, released a few years later, was named "Megatron Megabolt", turning from the head into Megatron directly(this toy is also weirdly compatible with a G1 Fortress Maximus). A green recolor was released later named "Megabolt".

** The Rattrap toy actually has legs, though the can be folded away for the show-styled wheel mode.

** A few color choices aside, the McDonald's happy meal toys were usually much more on-model to the CGI than most of the official toys were.

** In addition to reprising his role as Megatron, Creator/DavidKaye also voices Noble/Savage.

* CastingGag: [[ThoseTwoBadGuys Obsidian and Strika]]'s voice actors share the same initials ('''P'''aul '''D'''obson and '''P'''atricia '''D'''rake).

* ExecutiveMeddling: Marv Wolfman had pitched the original outline for the show. However, Fox insisted on Bob Skir and Marty Isenberg being story editors instead due to having worked with them on ''WesternAnimation/GodzillaTheSeries''. This proved to be a shock to Skir and Isenberg themselves, as they had professed a lack of knowledge about the Transformers franchise. Skir had Wolfman write a few episodes so he could still be involved in the show.

* CreatorBacklash: During an interview, GaryChalk said he disliked how his character, Optimus Primal, was turned into a "religious cult leader".

** Story editor Bob Skir ''really'' wanted Nightscream to be a female transformer, with a design and personality much like Newt from ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' - he even "argued 'til I was blue that our new bat be female", to no avail. ExecutiveMeddling ensued. As such, the character ended up an {{Expy}} of John Connor from ''Franchise/{{Terminator}} 2''. Skir has since stated this probably was ''not'' the best idea, even if it gave them a personality to base Nightscream off, because even many fans of ''T2'' found John Connor the worst aspect of the movie (whereas Newt is widely beloved by the ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' fanbase).

** Bob Skir and Marty Isenberg were originally set to write their dream project- an ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' cartoon- only for them to get [[{{Railroading}} pulled into this show by accident]]. The resulting cartoon, ''WesternAnimation/AvengersUnitedTheyStand'' sucked utterly and was quickly pulled from the Creator/FoxKids lineup.

* FranchiseKiller: Originally, Hasbro planned to continue the Beast Era with a third show called ''Transtech'' but the mixed reception of ''Beast Machines'' and the failure of its toyline forced Hasbro to pull the plug on the Beast Era. Furthermore, after ''Beast Machines'' ''Transformers'' shows would be imported from Japan [[Film/{{Transformers}} until almost a decade later]].

* HeyItsThatVoice: Outside of the returning voice cast from ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' (Creator/GaryChalk, DavidKaye, Creator/ScottMcNeil, Creator/VenusTerzo, Richard Newman, IanJamesCorlett, and Jim Byrnes, albeit with Byrnes in a different role):
** Alessandro Juliani ([[Manga/DeathNote L]] and [[WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster a cartoon version of Kid Icarus]]) voices Nightscream.
** Creator/PaulDobson voices Tankor and Obsidian.
** Creator/KathleenBarr voices Botanica.
** Creator/BrianDrummond voices Jetstorm.
** Patricia Drake ([[Manga/BlackLagoon Balalaika]]) voices Strika.
* TheOtherDarrin:
** Creator/BrianDrummond starts as Jetstorm. [[spoiler:Creator/ScottMcNeil returns once he's changed into Silverbolt.]]
** All the recurring characters from ''Beast Wars'' were given new voices in the German dub, since the two shows were handled by different companies and since there was a several-year gap between the two dubs, as ''Beast Wars'' only had its first season localized.

* FranchiseKiller: Originally, Hasbro planned to continue the Beast Era with a third show called ''Transtech'' but the mixed reception of ''Beast Machines'' and the failure of its toyline forced Hasbro to pull the plug on the Beast Era. Furthermore, after ''Beast Machines'' all ''Transformers'' shows would be imported from Japan [[Film/{{Transformers}} until almost a decade later]].

* FranchiseKiller: Originally, Hasbro planned to continue the Beast Era with a third show called ''Transtech'' but the mixed reception of ''Beast Machines'' and the failure of its toyline forced Hasbro to pull the plug on the Beast Era. Furthermore, after ''Beast Machines'' ''Transformers'' shows would be imported from Japan [[Film/{{Transformers}} until almost a decade later]].

* FranchiseKiller: Originally, Hasbro planned to continue the Beast Era with a third show called ''Transtech'' but the mixed reception of ''Beast Machines'' and the failure of its toyline forced Hasbro to pull the plug on the Beast Era. Furthermore, after ''Beast Machines'' later ''Transformers'' shows would be imported from Japan [[Film/{{Transformers}} until almost a decade later]].

* FranchiseKiller: Originally, Hasbro planned to continue the Beast Era with a third show called ''Transtech'' but the mixed reception of ''Beast Machines'' and the failure of its toyline forced Hasbro to pull the plug on the Beast Era. Furthermore, after ''Beast Machines'', later ''Transformers'' shows would be imported from Japan [[Film/{{Transformers}} until almost a decade later]].