In 2002, it all started out so innocently. Takara was reissuing some of the original line of Transformers. As an E-Hobby exclusive, special variants were made of brand new characters that never appeared in the original show. The result was Road Rage and Crosscut. After that, what followed could only be described as a wave of repainted G1 molds as new characters with new stories inserted into the Generation 1 canon. This is what we may call a ‘retcon’ since the books were more or less closed on new stories from the original canon up to that point. Repaints of Hound, Sideswipe, Starscream, Grapple and more would follow with new color schemes, names and bios. If a mold had been part of the Diaclone or Microchange line, that original paint scheme would be used as an option as well.

Read on to learn about Flipsides!
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Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

Remember when cartoons used to be good? Back in the days between the original Power Rangers and whatever the hell umteenth spin-off they have run most recently, cartoons used to be well thought-out and fun for kids, while often having some aspects sprinkled about them that were meant for adult humor or reference. This meant kids and parents both could appreciate cartoons without realizing it. Warner Bros. was infamous for this practice, going as far back as the old Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck cartoons for the 60’s and 70’s. Fun campy cartoons that entertained the crap out of us as youngin’s, that have managed to have little surprises in store for us as we’ve grown up and notice subtle little quips that we’d obviously missed or not gotten when we were kids. As WB carried on, this habit did not waver. Enter Freakazoid!
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Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

Before the Sci Fi Channel (or “SyFy”, as it’s now known) decided it hated science fiction fans, it was dedicated to bringing original science fiction content to the masses. The network didn’t always do this well (see Mission: Genesis), but in the late ’90s it would do this often. The first original series to catch my eye that wasn’t a total bomb was Farscape.

Farscape tells the story of IASA scientist and astronaut John Crichton, who is flung unwittingly across space via wormhole to try to survive in a much more advanced society that, due to his many other misfortunes, finds excuses to seek his complete and utter destruction. In true Douglas Adams fashion, we quickly find that Earth (“never heard of it”) is a truly backwater planet, leaving our hero stuck in the middle just trying to figure out what’s going on. Unlike other protagonists stuck in this situation, however, Crichton is able to bring his full knowledge of year 2000-era science fiction pop culture to bear in order to make sense of the things happening around him, to him, and without him.

For these and many other reasons that we are about to explore, Farscape wasn’t just another run-of-the-mill low budget hack writer’s fantasy. It was a hack writer’s fantasy with heart, drama, love, death, and re-death. And lots of sci-fi in-jokes. Come with us as we explore the Powet Alphabet’s “F”.

…what, you expecting Famicom?

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