List of Challenge of the GoBots episodes/story order

Detecting a proper continuity for this series is beyond even Scooter's sensors.

Aside from the original five-episode mini-series, Challenge of the GoBots was neither broadcast, nor even produced in a chronological story order. There are many ways to restructure the series into a suggested viewing order; defunct GoBots fansite Counter-X offers one option, while Transformers facebook column "Ask Vector Prime" proposes another. In addition to correcting continuity errors, both of these lists are structured to promote a better "viewing experience"—for instance, by spacing out similarly-themed plots and two-part stories, or by exploiting circumstantial elements in plot or dialogue to create a "meta-narrative" out of certain episodes.

As the editors of GoBots Wiki require by necessity a consistent chronological order for the episodes to adhere to while writing up the events of the cartoon for our articles, we have created our own list. Our version adheres to broadcast order for the most part, only moving the episodes that absolutely have to be moved to correct any major continuity errors, preserving airdate order relative to one another where not impossible, and is not particularly intended to serve as any kind of recommended viewing guide for the series in anything more than the coldest terms. Notes below explain why each episode is where it is.

No reorganization of the series can eliminate all continuity errors, as there are some that are totally impossible to reconcile. Notes regarding such errors, as well as more detailed annotations on individual episode's continuity points can, of course, be found in each episode's article.

Mini-series (1984)

#	Title	Writer	Original airdate	Production code
1	Battle for GoBotron	Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal, and Tom Ruegger	October 29, 1984	0142-8401
2	Target Earth	Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal, and Tom Ruegger	October 30, 1984	0142-8402
3	Conquest of Earth	Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal, and Tom Ruegger	October 31, 1984	0142-8403
4	Earthbound	Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal, and Tom Ruegger	November 1, 1984	0142-8404
5	The Final Conflict	Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal, and Tom Ruegger	November 2, 1984	0142-8405

Series (1985)

#	Title	Writer	Original airdate	Production code
41	Cy-Kill's Escape	Story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and Peter Anderegg Teleplay by Peter Anderegg	November 11, 1985	0142-8524
42	Quest for the Creator	Story by Peter Anderegg, John Loy, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward Teleplay by John Loy	November 12, 1985	0142-8534
43	The Fall of GoBotron	Story by Peter Anderegg, John Loy, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward Teleplay by John Loy	November 13, 1985	0142-8541
44	Flight to Earth	Story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and Peter Anderegg Teleplay by Peter Anderegg	November 14, 1985	0142-8546
45	Return to GoBotron	Story by Peter Anderegg, John Loy, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Peter Anderegg and John Loy	November 15, 1985	0142-8552
Consistent with the standards of children's weekday syndicated television of the time, this five-episode mini-series can logically be expected to represent the beginning of the series. The story picks up after the original mini-series with the Renegades in captivity, details the history of the GoBot race, and provides proper introductions for the Roguestar and the Modifier, and origins for the Monster GoBots and the Power Suits, both of which appear from the very earliest broadcast episodes of the series.
6	Time Wars	Story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Doug Booth	September 23, 1985	0142-8501
10	Cy-Kill's Cataclysmic Trap	Story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and Peter Anderegg Teleplay by Peter Anderegg	September 27, 1985	0142-8504
This episode centers on the introduction of Snoop, operating undercover as a Guardian, so must be moved to take place before "It's The Thought That Counts," which features her openly serving as a Renegade.
14	Nova Beam	Story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Daniel Will-Harris	October 3, 1985	0142-8514
"Nova Beam" reintroduces Doctor Braxis when Cy-Kill has him broken out of jail, so must be moved to occur prior to "Genius and Son", in which he appears. Additionally, not having encountered him in "Return to GoBotron," Nick does not recognize Pincher, meaning this episode must fall before Pincher's next appearance in "It's the Thought that Counts."
12	Genius and Son	John Loy and Eric Lewald	October 1, 1985	0142-8506
This episode is stated to be Scratch's first duty, meaning it must fall before "It's The Thought That Counts," in which he is active on Earth.
7	It's the Thought that Counts	Mark Zaslove	September 24, 1985	0142-8513
8	Trident's Triple Threat	Story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by David Schwartz	September 25, 1985	0142-8511
9	Renegade Alliance	Story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Don Goodman	September 26, 1985	0142-8508
13	Dawn World	Don Glut	October 2, 1985	0142-8509
15	Forced Alliance	Story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Doug Booth	October 4, 1985	0142-8502
16	Invasion from the 21st Level, Part I	Story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Laine Raichert	October 7, 1985	0142-8503
17	Invasion from the 21st Level, Part II	Laine Raichert	October 8, 1985	0142-8507
11	Speed Is of the Essence	Story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Jina Bacarr	September 30, 1985	0142-8510
"Invasion from the 21st Level" features a dramatic debut for Scales, so "Speed Is of the Essence," in which he appears, is moved to occur after it.
18	Lost on GoBotron	Story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and Eric Lewald Teleplay by Eric Lewald	October 9, 1985	0142-8526
19	Cy-Kill's Shrinking Ray	Story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Dale Kirby	October 10, 1985	0142-8517
20	Doppelganger	Story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Antoni Zalewski	October 11, 1985	0142-8518
21	The Quest for Roguestar	Story by John Loy, Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by John Loy	October 14, 1985	0142-8516
22	Renegade Rampage, Part I	Story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Karen Wengrod and Ken Cinnamon	October 15, 1985	0142-8512
23	The Renegades' Rampage, Part II	Story by Karen Wengrod and Ken Cinnamon, Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Karen Wengrod and Ken Cinnamon	October 16, 1985	0142-8525
24	Ultra Zod	Jim Bertges	October 17, 1985	0142-8528
25	Sentinel	Story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Don Glut	October 18, 1985	0142-8505
26	Cold Spell	Alan Burnett	October 21, 1985	0142-8515
27	Crime Wave	Francis Moss	October 22, 1985	0142-8520
28	Auto Madic	Mark Zaslove	October 23, 1985	0142-8533
29	Scooter Enhanced	Story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and Mark Young Teleplay by Mark Young	October 24, 1985	0142-8521
30	Tarnished Image	Story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and David Schwartz Teleplay by David Schwartz	October 25, 1985	0142-8538
31	In Search of Ancient GoBonauts	Story by Mark Young, Phil Harnage, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Mark Young	October 28, 1985	0142-8530
32	Gameworld	Story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Michael Hill	October 29, 1985	0142-8519
33	Wolf in the Fold	Story by Michael Reaves, Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Michael Reaves	October 30, 1985	0142-8522
34	Depth Charge	John Bates	October 31, 1985	0142-8532
35	Transfer Point	Story by Patrick Barry, Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Patrick Barry	November 1, 1985	0142-8537
36	Steamer's Defection	Story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and Drew Lawrence Teleplay by Drew Lawrence	November 4, 1985	0142-8527
37	The GoBot Who Cried Renegade	Story by Eric Lewald, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Eric Lewald	November 5, 1985	0142-8523
38	The Seer	Eric Lewald and Mark Edens	November 6, 1985	0142-8535
39	Whiz Kid	Al Pegal	November 7, 1985	0142-8529
40	Ring of Fire	Story by Michael Humm, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Michael Humm	November 8, 1985	0142-8539
46	Pacific Overtures	Story by Jeff Segal and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Jina Bacarr	November 18, 1985	0142-8536
47	Destroy All Guardians	Story by Don Glut	November 19, 1985	0142-8550
48	Escape from Elba	Story by Lee Yuro and Linda Yuro	November 20, 1985	0142-8545
49	Fitor to the Finish	Story by Don Glut, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Don Glut	November 21, 1985	0142-8531
50	Clutch of Doom	Story by Eric Lewald, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Eric Lewald	November 22, 1985	0142-8543
51	The Third Column	Story by Eric Lewald and Mark Edens	November 25, 1985	0142-8540
52	A New Suit for Leader-1	Story by Reed Robbins and Peter Salas	November 26, 1985	0142-8544
53	Renegade Carnival	Story by Carla Conway	November 27, 1985	0142-8542
54	The Gift	Story by Karen Wilson and Chris Webber	November 28, 1985	0142-8547
56	The Last Magic Man	Story by Mark Young	December 2, 1985	0142-8548
57	Braxis Gone Bonkers	Story by Steve DeKorte, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Mark Zaslove	December 3, 1985	0142-8551
58	Inside Job	Story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and J. Larry Carroll Teleplay by J. Larry Carroll	December 4, 1985	0142-8557
59	Element of Danger	Gordon Bressack	December 5, 1985	0142-8549
62	The GoBots That Time Forgot	John Loy	December 10, 1985	0142-8555
64	Guardian Academy	Story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, Mark Young, and Laine Raichert Teleplay by Mark Young and Laine Raichert	December 12, 1985	0142-8560
Tri-Trak, Tork, and Twister graduate from Guardian Academy, placing this episode ahead of the final five.
65	Quest for New Earth	Story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, and John Loy Teleplay by John Loy	December 13, 1985	0142-8559
This episode features Tri-Trak and Twister from "Guardian Academy" on active Guardian duty. Cop-Tur does not recognize them, highlighting their "new" status.
55	Terror in Atlantis	Story by Kelly Ward, Jeff Segal, and Francis Moss Teleplay by Francis Moss	November 29, 1985	0142-8556
61	"Et Tu, Cy-Kill"	Story by Jeff Segal, Kelly Ward, Eric Lewald, and Mark Edens Teleplay by Eric Lewald and Mark Edens	December 9, 1985	0142-8554
63	The Secret of Halley's Comet	Laine Raichert	December 11, 1985	0142-8553
"Terror in Atlantis," "Et Tu, Cy-Kill," and "The Secret of Halley's Comet" feature several of the new Guardians from "Guardian Academy" on active duty.
60	Mission: GoBotron	Story by Eric Lewald, Jeff Segal, and Kelly Ward Teleplay by Eric Lewald	December 6, 1985	0142-8558
In addition to featuring the new Guardians from "The GoBots That Time Forgot," this episode appears intended to function as a season finale, featuring a massive battle between the entire Guardian and Renegade fleets that is painted as near-total defeat for the Renegades. It also establishes that the Guardians are working on the rebuilding of GoBotron, which leads directly into the opening scenes of Battle of the Rock Lords.

See also

• These episodes in broadcast order