So I was curious and I read bit by bit while glancing away, so that I’d dodge spoilers but see what you thought that wasn’t spoilery.

> And did the script writers seriously think that, in the middle of a
> supposedly family-friendly film, a joke about masturbation was really
> either necessary or appropriate?

While I don’t know the joke in question, I’m not too alarmed at this. Consider this exchange from the 1984 Ghostbusters, also generally good for families:

“Nothing was wrong with our system until dickless here turned the power grid off.”
“They caused an explosion!”
“Is this true?”
“Yes it’s true. This man has no dick.”

(That may not be verbatim, but the important parts are)

> I seem to remember that he Decepticons did, indeed, have awareness of
> color.

Yeah. I imagine they were much harder to tell apart.

As for knowing about the original setup… I’ll see what I think when I go. :)

If you’re curious about the original setup, though, look for “More than Meets the Eye” parts 1-3. I don’t know if they’ll be fully represented on Youtube or not… More than Meets the Eye was the series premiere, and it was three episodes long (episodes 1 and 2 were to be continued)… the numbers may be confusing on Youtube since it may say “More than Meets the Eye 2 part 2/3″ etc.