Transformers fans disappointed by the live-action Michael Bay films and various animated permutations of their favorite Cybertronians' adventures may find some solace in the Emmy-winning Transformers Prime, a CGI series that harks back to the Transformers' heyday while adding welcome layers of depth and grit to the characterizations. There's also a touch of darkness in its central storyline, which has Decepticons Megatron (Frank Welker) and Starscream (Steven Blum) mining Dark Energon to create a "zombie" army of robots to defeat a quintet of Autobots, led as always by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen). Aiding the Autobots in their defense of the Earth are a government agent (Ernie Hudson) and a trio of school kids who serve as a conduit between Optimus's team and the human race. As outlined by producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (who penned two of the Bay-directed Transformers films), the action shifts between the Autobots' battles with the Decepticons and Megatron's attempts to wrest control of his minions from the rebel Starscream. The season comes to a head with its cliffhanger finale, which resurrects the robot-god Unicron (Fringe's John Noble), forcing Cybertronians on both sides of the moral fence to pick up arms against a common and devastating enemy. It's a thrilling end point to a largely terrific season with high points (Cullen and Welker reviving their '80s-era roles, Firefly vets Adam Baldwin and Gina Torres as Decepticons Breakdown and Airachnid, and cult movie hero Jeffrey Combs as Ratchet; Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson pops up briefly as well) overshadowing the lows (the unremarkable, occasionally grating young heroes). There are also 15 commentary tracks (for a 26-episode series), all featuring cast and crew members including Cullen, Hudson, Combs, producer Jeff Kline and Rafi Ruthchild, composer Brian Tyler, and even executives from Hasbro; the latter is also present for a toy featurette that exceeds the standard advertising-disguised-as-featurette pitfall by looking at unreleased characters and the conception of newer ones. The Making of Transformers Prime is a bit more by the book: it's a production by the series' broadcast network, the Hub, and covers the usual subjects (voice cast, past Transformers incarnations) without much fanfare. A 20-second preview of season two, which debuted at New York Comic Con in 2011, rounds out the extras. --Paul Gaita