Altered States Magazine is pleased to present a Question & Answer session with Hasbro's friendly and talented Jen Donahoe. Her answers are presented verbatim; our questions have been edited to more precisely fit the subject. And because they were pretty wordy, in retrospect. Sorry about that, Jen.

ASM: Are there plans for a new Transformers television series? JD: There are plans in the works for a new series, but details are still being worked on. ASM: Will Botanica and the Giant Floating Megatron Head have toys? If not, why would Hasbro and Mainframe invest so much work in non-toy models? JD: There will be no Botanica or Floating Head. Plans for Transformers are constantly changing and sometimes some products are planned, but not produced (such as the General Optimus Prime and Hound Auto-Rollers from Generation 2). ASM: Why the substantial difference between many of the Beast Machines toys and show models? JD: The timing on the planning between Hasbro/Mainframe was not ideal during the development of Beast Machines. Thus there were some discrepancies between the look of the show and the toys. Many of the upcoming toys will look closer to their television show counterparts (such as Savage/Noble). ASM: Was the rather small Beast Machines Megatron designed as a Mega or as a Deluxe? JD: Megatron was always intended to be a Mega. ASM: Why did Optimus Primal and Megatron receive such small toys? JD: Although those two characters are the leaders, we were trying to experiment with using characters other than leaders as the larger toys (such as having Rampage be an ultra during the Transmetals instead of Megatron). ASM: When will Mega Rattrap reach stores? JD: Rattrap should begin to be available just before Christmas. ASM: Is Primal Prime a limited release? JD: Primal Prime will not be produced in extremely large numbers, and should be a bit of a challenge to find. KayBee toys might be a good place to find him in the coming months. ASM: Will we see more multiple-size versions of characters? JD: There will be upcoming toys of the same character in different scales. ASM: Will the Beast Machines toyline continue through 2001? JD: Beast Machines will continue into 2001 with the "Battle for the Spark" line (hence the beginning sequence change on the American release of season two). This will continue the Maximal versus Vehicon theme. ASM: Are any more drones or show-style repaints scheduled after the Sonic Attack Jet (Aerodrone)? JD: There are more Vehicon drones forthcoming, but not necessarily repaints. ASM: This year's Ultra toys are gigantic and electronic, but have simpler transformations than those of past years. Why the change? JD: We are constantly attempting new types of design and transformations. Sometimes this involves experimentation with materials and electronics. The hope is to create new and innovative toys ever year, not necessarily following a pattern set down by previous toys. We have also learned that most kids enjoy easier transformations than in the past, which gives them a greater feeling of accomplishment. ASM: Supreme Cheetor has a very simple transformation and fairly limited articulation for a toy of its size. Why was this done with a Transformer which was aimed at older collectors? JD: He looks cool, does anything else matter. :-) ASM: With the rest of the line bearing Cheetor's face on the boxes and cards, why does Nightscream have his show-version beast mode pictured on his box instead? JD: The packaging used this year was to give a unified look across the toy line. Whenever available, CGI art from the Mainframe television show was used on product packaging. Examples of this include Tankor, Cheetor, Megatron and Nightscream. ASM: What happened to some of the Beast Machines toy features that we were told about at Botcon '99, such as color-changing plastics and clear panels with visible moving parts and gears inside? JD: Those were concept ideas that have not made it to production at this time. ASM: Why were toy releases scheduled in such a way that, halfway through the second season, some of the earliest show characters have not yet been released? Does this sort of delay hurt sales? JD: Product shipping times are established far in advance of their actual release, and thus there can be discrepancies between the release of a toy and its appearance on the television show. Sales on Beast Machines have been excellent but we of course constantly strive to bring out product out at the best times possible. ASM: Is the Beast Wars toy line officially over? JD: Beast Wars will be discontinued in 2001 to make way for new Transformers product, including Beast Machines toys. ASM: Why was the "Battle for the Spark" subtitle added to Beast Machines Season 2 in the U.S.? JD: The title is a tie in to the Beast Machines line of toys for 2001. The Spark is a key feature for each of the toys. ASM: What prompted this year's unusual sublines, the Mutants, Deployers, Beast Riders and Dinobots? JD: For any toy line to remain a viable product, there needs to be innovative and different approaches taken to keep the product fresh. These were examples of concepts that allow us to experiment and adding variety to the line. ASM: Why are some features (Tigerhawk's wheels, Jawbreaker's claw, TM Rattrap's rotating axles, etc.) undocumented or eliminated from the final version of a toy? JD: Features can be eliminated or not mentioned for a variety of reasons. The include cost, design ideas that do not work or in some cases, features are there but undocumented (such as Optimal Optimus' gun being able to be mounted on his hip). ASM: Will we be seeing any more imports from Takara's lines beyond the Dinobots? JD: There will be a Target exclusive Magmatron later this year. As long as there may be a strong market for the product, we may continue to work with Takara to bring Japanese product over. Hasbrocollectors.com also brings in Takara products. ASM: Is there any likelihood of the recent Unicron prototype being produced? JD: No plans exist at this time for production of the Unicron toy. We have seen it and heard the fans, but what was shown was only a prototype and not a true tooling that can be used for production. ASM: A recent magazine interview with Hasbro stated that "Generation 1-style items" are in the works. Any hints as to what these items might be, or when they will become available? JD: Keep checking store shelves next year! ASM: Why was the Japanese Shadow Panther toy renamed "Tripredacus Agent" on HasbroCollectors.com? JD: Primarily legal issues with Takara.

Jen, thanks for all your time and good will. We'll keep it short next time. Keep up the great work!

Daniel Lipkowitz is a contributing editor of ASM and can be reached at asm_lipkowitz@skyjammer.com. He also dances a mean polka.