Proggiest sounding CHALLENGE OF THE GOBOTS Episode Title

Dates for series should read 1984-85.

"Trident's Triple Threat" feeling the most authentically proggy to me right now.

All we want is what's beyond, the GoBotron

Torn between Invasion from the 21st Level (Parts 1 & 2) and Renegade Carnival

"The Secret of Halley's Comet" - the most Rick Wakeman

it's definitely "invasion from the 21st level (parts 1 & 2)" but i'll give credit to "element of danger" for sounding like it could be the band that recorded all these

otm

I'm not sure who would do "Genius and Son". Maybe ELP.

Could imagine Magma doing "Ultra Zod".

"Terror in Atlantis", "Depth Charge", and "Trident's Triple Threat" are Drexciya titles, imo.

Destroy All Guardians could be thrash metal, so it loses to Cy-Kill's Escape. Only prog hyphenates

Destroy All Guardians could be thrash metal, so it loses to Cy-Kill's Escape. Only prog hyphenates

off-brand

Although it was a close race, based on pre-existing Japanese toy lines, the Go-Bots cartoon preceded Transformers by a few weeks.

https://i.postimg.cc/YCzhvphm/temp-Image-DJGTGj.avif
these things were grails back in the day.

okay, so I'm 100% certain I had a film of Gobots called The Gobotron Saga. I watched it to death when I was a kid. But bnow it turns out it was a TV series? Maybe it was a compilation film?

Agree that it's "Invasion from the 21st Level (Parts 1 & 2)"

"Battle for GoBotron" Parts I through V is a series of L. Ron Hubbard adaptations.

"Pacific Overtures" was their ill-advised Sondheim covers album.

The band's name was Braxis, and "Braxis Gone Bonkers" was when Braxis went bonkers.

"Speed is of the Essence" was their tepid attempt at a punk single in 1978.

1985-1986 was peak year for cartoon/toy spin-offs, and, I gotta say, after watching episodes of Thundercats, Transformers, and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, their scripts for the most part....hold up?

Go-Bots had the looniest character of them all. A drag queen Renegade named Crasher with black lipstick and eyeliner and a hyaena laugh.

C'mon, this stretch is straight out of a Rush tracklist:

"The GoBotron Saga, Part 1: Cy-Kill's Escape"
"The GoBotron Saga, Part 2: Quest for the Creator"
"The GoBotron Saga, Part 3: The Fall of GoBotron"
"The GoBotron Saga, Part 4: Flight to Earth"
"The GoBotron Saga, Part 5: Return to GoBotron"

When I was like 7 or 8 I asked for some specific Transformers for Christmas and instead got some GoBots. :\

The Quest For Roguestar sounds like a 20-minute epic in which Roguestar is a metaphor for the band's own self-expression

I went for '...Cy-Kill's Escape' as Cy-Kill definitely sounds like a prog concept album's star villain, but there are a lot of good ones. Could totally see 'A New Suit for Leader-1' being part of an ill-advised political outing for a prog band, thinly-veiled allegories with major cringe factor.

I haven't read all these yet but I'd bet cash money there's at least half a dozen prog bands with a track called "Sentinel"

"A New Suit for Leader-1" - the dumb skit which always precedes "Invasion from the 21st Level" in concerts

1985-1986 was peak year for cartoon/toy spin-offs, and, I gotta say, after watching episodes of Thundercats, Transformers, and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, their scripts for the most part....hold up?

Interesting. Even as a child, I found the character design of Thundercats very off-putting.

My fave of the 80s toy cartoons: M.A.S.K., for its rousing theme song, the cute/sassy robot sidekick T-Bob, and most of all for the barely ambiguous romance between main protagonist Matt Trakker (a single father and multi-millionaire tech bro, natch) and his engineer Bruce Sato.

Ach, I forgot to mention M.A.S.K..

cy-kill def strikes me as the most proggy, but i think it just reminds me of rush's cygnus x-1.

"quest for roguestar" sounds like a concept album, absolutely. "sentinel" feels like the name of a 6-minute song the band includes to fill out a b-side (side a is one 18-minute suite)

Could totally see 'A New Suit for Leader-1' being part of an ill-advised political outing for a prog band, thinly-veiled allegories with major cringe factor.

Real-life LOL

voted Steamers defection, just give it a vote, but in hindsight

"Invasion from the 21st Level (Parts 1 & 2)”

is the proggiest, in that it implies a multipart opus based on a made up sci-fi invasion.

likely taking up the whole side of a record.

i was a big fan of rival toon the mighty orbots. it occupies a big place in my memory but it turns out they only did 13 episodes, running from september to december 1984.

for proggy/komische comparison, the 13 mighty orbots episode titles:

Magnetic Menace
The Wish World
Trapped on the Prehistoric Planet
The Dremloks
Devil's Asteroid
Raid on the Stellar Queen
The Jewel of Targon
The Phoenix Factor
Leviathan
The Cosmic Circus
A Tale of Two Thieves
Operation Eclipse
The Invasion of the Shadow Star

Go-Bots had the looniest character of them all. A drag queen Renegade named Crasher with black lipstick and eyeliner and a hyaena laugh.

Oh wow, voiced by a woman too.

"Escape from Elba" offers many opportunities for quoting 19th century music and a galloping finale.

Fuck do I love a galloping finale

This thread is making me have to work way too hard to not lmao in the office

i voted "wolf in the fold". i don't know why, it just stuck out to me.

"Fitor to the Finish" is the drummer's treasured solo track.

"Fitor to the Finish" later became the name of drummer Dave Fitor's basic cable home renovation show after the band broke up.

"Steamer's Defection" sounds like something you don't want to look up on Urban Dictionary.

"A New Suit for Leader-1" - the dumb skit which always precedes "Invasion from the 21st Level" in concerts

― jmm, Tuesday, June 17, 2025 9:31 AM

Totally an "Emperor's New Clothes" rip

Fitor was Cy-Kill's second in command, captured in that episode by the Guardians and put in the position of betraying the Renegades.

“Speed is of the essence” is the one I’d most like to hear.

I like 'Scooter Enhanced'

It's even more enhanced in the Steven Wilson mix.

the episode titles from the third series of the Transformers cartoon are also kind of proggy, but maybe a touch more goth/metal than the Gobots

"Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1"
"Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2"
"Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3"
"Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4"
"Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5"
"The Killing Jar"
"Chaos"
"Dark Awakening"
"Forever Is a Long Time Coming"
"Starscream's Ghost"
"Thief in the Night"
"Surprise Party"
"Madman's Paradise"
"Nightmare Planet"
"Ghost in the Machine"
"Webworld"
"Carnage in C-Minor"
"The Quintesson Journal"
"The Ultimate Weapon"
"The Big Broadcast of 2006"
"Fight or Flee"
"The Dweller in the Depths"
"Only Human"
"Grimlock's New Brain"
"Money Is Everything"
"Call of the Primitives"
"The Face of the Nijika"
"The Burden Hardest to Bear"
"The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1"
"The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2"

Can't believe I'm reading through G.I. Joe episode names right now. These have more of a 70s prog band going through their 80s synthpop phase feel.

Cobra's Creatures
Countdown for Zartan
Cobra Soundwaves
Jungle Trap
Haul Down the Heavens
The Pyramid of Darkness, Part 1
The Pyramid of Darkness, Part 2
The Pyramid of Darkness, Part 3
The Pyramid of Darkness, Part 4
The Pyramid of Darkness, Part 5
Battle for the Train of Gold
Operation Mind Menace
Lights! Camera! Cobra!
Red Rocket's Glare
Satellite Down
Money to Burn
The Phantom Brigade
Synthoid Conspiracy, Part 1
Synthoid Conspiracy, Part 2
Spell of the Siren
Twenty Questions
The Gamesmaster
The Greenhouse Effect
The Viper Is Coming
The Funhouse
Where the Reptiles Roam
Lasers in the Night
The Germ
Captives of Cobra, Part 1
Captives of Cobra, Part 2
Bazooka Saw a Sea Serpent
The Traitor, Part 1
The Traitor, Part 2
Cobra Quake
Excalibur
Worlds Without End, Part 1
Worlds Without End, Part 2
Cobra CLAWs Are Coming to Town
Eau de Cobra
An Eye for an Eye
Primordial Plot
Flint's Vacation
Hearts and Cannons
The Gods Below
Memories of Mara
The Wrong Stuff
The Pit of Vipers
The Invaders
Cold Slither
The Great Alaskan Land Rush
Skeletons in the Closet
There's No Place Like Springfield, Part 1
There's No Place Like Springfield, Part 2

Bazooka Saw a Sea Serpent

Can't remember which Guided By Voices' album this is on.

These shows aren't complete without a five-episode arc.

Interesting. Even as a child, I found the character design of Thundercats very off-putting.

― cryptosicko, Tuesday, 17 June 2025 15:37 (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

There was something a bit gooey and disturbing about the whole thing, I'll give you that. Used to go apeshit for the theme tune though

Can't remember which Guided By Voices' album this is on.

otm lmao

Here is a list of episodes from season two of He-Man and the Masters Of The Universe (so many episodes!!)

The Cat and the Spider
The Energy Beast
Day of the Machines
The Gamesman
Fisto's Forest
The Rarest Gift of All
The Great Books Mystery
Origin of the Sorceress
Island of Fear
To Save Skeletor
The Ice Age Cometh
Trouble in Trolla
Betrayal of Stratos
Disappearing Dragons
The Shadow of Skeletor
The Arena
Attack from Below
Into the Abyss
Fraidy Cat
The Rainbow Warrior
A Trip to Morainia
Things That Go Bump in the Night
Three on a Dare
Just a Little Lie
One for All
Jacob and the Widgets
The Littlest Giant
Trouble's Middle Name
Journey to Stone City
A Bird in the Hand
Battlecat
The Time Wheel
Search for the Past
Hunt for He Man
The Greatest Show on Eternia
Not so Blind
Revenge is Never Sweet
The Good Shall Survive
The Secret of Grayskull
No Job Too Small
The Bitter Rose
The Gambler
Teela's Triumph
Orko's New Friend
The Problem with Power
Double Trouble
The Eternia Flower
Happy Birthday Roboto
Battle of the Dragons
Time Doesn't Fly
Here, There, Skeletors Everywhere
Beauty and the Beast
Orko's Return
Visitors from Earth
Monster on the Mountain
The Magic Falls
Search for a Son
Mistaken Identity
The Toy Maker
Bargain with Evil
Capture the Comet Keeper
The Ancient Mirror of Avathar
The Games
To Save the Creatures
The Cold Zone

The Greatest Show on Eternia

Can practically envision the gatefold double LP of this.

Time Doesn't Fly

Well, this is kinda "Time Stand Still."

Baroness Meets the Mastodon