Friday, July 24, 2026

Fall of Cybertron Ultra Magnus (2012)

Photoshop based on Fall of Cybertron Ultra Magnus package artMost of the original characters introduced in The Transformers: The Movie were actively created for the movie, and indeed had their robot modes mapped out even before toys had been designed for them (very much the opposite of the usual process at the time). Ultra Magnus, who seemed to serve a "red herring" role in the movie as the heir apparent to the role of leader of the Autobots after Optimus Prime was killed, was the exception, in that he was created to be attached to a pre-existing mold, which itself was created for the Diaclone line (as was the case for many of the first couple of years' worth of Transformers toys) as the "Powered Convoy," released in Japan two years before the Transformers themselves began to come out. While the Diaclone "Battle Convoy" came to America as "Optimus Prime," the "Powered Convoy" (which shared the same basic truck cab as "Battle Convoy"... only in white... but came with a new trailer which could combine with it to form a larger robot) became the original "Ultra Magnus" toy.

This feature is not about that original toy, which I haven't owned in many years.*

Friday, July 10, 2026

Family Feud at 50

Family Feud 1976-1981 set
Family Feud set from 1976-1981.
Art by "wheelgenius" on Deviant Art
The classic game show, Family Feud premiered on July 12, 1976 on ABC. While it's run since then has not been entirely uninterrupted, it's been on the air far more often than it's been off of it. There are so many episodes now in existence that there are two distinct 24/7 streaming channels, each devoted to a different era. Family Feud is so deeply embedded in our culture that it's fair to say that the phrase "Survey Says!" immediately brings the show to mind for the vast majority of people, and that if one mentions "three strikes," there's nearly as much of a chance that one will think of this show as that they'll think of baseball.