Two robots that turn into a truck and a gun have been fighting the same war for four million years, and the show treats that premise with total seriousness. Every episode is a kid watching his toys actually mean something, watching them choose sides and die and come back and choose again. The Autobots aren't winning because they're stronger, they're winning because they keep showing up, and that's the only story that matters when you're eight years old and the good guys have to actually earn it.

For millions of years, war has torn apart the planet Cybertron. While fleeing the conflict, the heroic Autobots under Optimus Prime are ambushed by Megatron and his evil Decepticons. The fight on board the Autobot ship ends when the vessel crashes into a volcano. Four million years pass before an earthquake brings the ship's computer back online, reviving both sides and restarting the great war of the Transformers in a giant robot sci-fi adventure.