Classic Sci Fi TV: Our ongoing look back at many of the classics of science fiction and fantasy television.
What Is It? An alien spaceship crash-lands on Earth and humans discover the use of Robotechnology because of the scientifically advanced nature of the craft. This ship, known as SDF-1, is also linked to the energy source called “protoculture” and three successive waves of alien invasions befall the Earth in an attempt to claim that.
Aired: 1985, 1 Season Totaling 85 Episodes
Developed By: Carl Macek
Starring: Rebecca Forstadt, Melanie MacQueen, Tony Oliver, Lisa Michelson, Gregory Snegoff
Is It Must-Watch Sci Fi TV? Yes. This series brought Anime to the United States without heavy edits that skewed it to younger viewers and also delivered an epic, multi-generational sci fi tale that explored the consequences of war and conflict.
The Skinny: In the 1980’s the syndication market changed in such a way as to bring a boom of animated series to afternoon television aimed at younger viewers. Shows such as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Transformers, and G.I. Joe became staples on television and during that same time Japanese Anime started to make inroads to the American audience. This included “kiddified” shows such as Voltron and Transor Z which edited the source material to tone down the violence and more mature themes that the Japanese animated entries contained. Joining the ever more crowded afternoon schedule in 1985 was Harmony Gold’s Robotech which also made notable edits to its source material, but in a very different way. This series strung together three unrelated Anime shows (Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada) and re-dubbed the dialogue to link them together into a multi-generational epic sci fi story. But despite alterations to merge these shows into an inter-connected tale, much of the original source material remained intact and the overall series was much truer to its origins than previous attempts to Americanize Anime. Purists may not have liked the changes to the individual shows, but for many viewers, Robotech was where they learned that Anime had more to offer than the average cartoon on television at that time.
The show delivered mechanized vehicles that fought against each other in action-packed battles, but these were not the simplified, good-vs-evil tales targeted at much younger viewers like those found in Transformers and GoBots. Robotech was populated with well-developed characters whose motivations and feelings were explored and linked to the struggles they found themselves a part of. And major character deaths occurred during the series, emphasizing the consequences of war. Plus, the antagonists where more than just the one-dimensional villains that usually populated kids’ cartoons. They had motivations for their actions, and they introduced some interesting moral dilemmas to the show. Overall, Robotech offered more than a series containing redundant battle scenes and a kid-friendly moral at the end, as it delivered a grand saga with intriguing characters and interpersonal relationships that explored the human condition and the nature of conflict. You can quibble about its variances from the original Anime that made up its components, but it still offered an important animated series to American audiences that could appeal to kids and adults alike and it deserves to be recognized among the classics of sci fi TV.
Cancelled Too Soon? No, the show was designed as an 85-episode epic that told a complete story and it aired in full after hitting the small screen in 1985. It did not have as long of a syndicated run as shows like He-Man and Voltron in part because the afternoon schedule was already getting crowded by that point and also because the show generated controversy due to its violence and the inter-racial relationships it depicted (a major breakthrough for television at this time). A sequel series titled Robotech: The Sentinels was started but cancelled before it could make it to the schedule which I look at in more detail at this link.
Revival: As mentioned above, there was an attempt at a sequel in 1986, and several more attempts followed that over the years, but none have produced a full series (you can read more about those at this link). Much of the story of Robotech: The Sentinels was explored in novelizations (more on those at this link) and there have been several comic book series that have carried on the story as well.
Should It Be Revived / Rebooted? A revival of this series would definitely be welcome and it would be great if someone would go back and start with Robotech: The Sentinels then carry on with the other show ideas planned after that. As an animated series this would be doable, even if the original cast will not be involved because of their ages. As for a reboot, I don’t believe that is needed, but sadly we may get it anyway. I live-action Robotech movie has been in the works for a while, though there has not been much in the way of news on that lately. But consider it likely that we will get that at some point, whether we want it or not.
Interesting Fact: Robotech was “created” by Carl Macek who had disliked what he referred to as “kiddified” versions of Anime that made it to the American market such as Battle of the Planets which was a heavily edited version of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. He wanted to do a more faithful adaptation of 1982’s Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, but it only had 36 episodes which was short of the 65 eps that the syndication market preferred for an animated show that would run daily on the weekdays. That’s what led him to the idea of stringing together the other two shows to create a multi-generational, 85 episode sci fi story.
Where Can You Watch It? The entire series has been released on DVD including editions that package the American versions with the original Japanese series they are based on, but those are out of print and can fetch fairly high prices. It is available for streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Crackle.
Retro Toys: Robotech did not produce an extensive toy line like Transformers and He-Man did, but there were still a fair share of products available related to the show including a cross-over line with Exosquad (more on that show at this link) that appeared in the 90’s.
Robotech: The Macross Saga is a rated PG show about a love tangle in space starring; boring (Rick “it works for me” Hunter), dull (Lisa Hayes), and stupid (Minmei). With overly loud music, inner monologuing, a narrator that wont shut up, and the worst dub singing you ever heard (singing: And I’m here now, whining… Oh, bells are chiming! My dreams, your nightmares have finally come true! ). So no, its death count (mostly a bunch of no names) doesn’t make it mature. So if you took He-man, and gave it Attack on Titan levels of death (chanting: take big bites and eat them all up!), that wouldn’t make it more mature… That would just make its fans cry, like what happen with Transformers: The Movie (crying: Not Prime!).
So knowing the future of Robotech has nothing to do with Macross (The Sentinels isn’t more Macross), anime or manga… Harmony Gold is claiming ownership to an anime that they don’t support, wants nothing to do with, and can do nothing with, other than keep the franchise in licensing hell! I wish Harmony Gold would be more open about this and just admit this is a war, they hate Macross, and they’re doing this out of spite.
All hail lord Shoji Kawamori! Long live Macross! Death to Harmony Gold!
So Roy Fokker was a no name? The entire crew with the exception of Rick and Lisa died at the end, what show are you watching?
So basically you wrote the same old excuses every Robotech fan makes: Harmony Gold had to rewrite and rename SDF Macross to be something it wasn’t (Robotech: The Macross Saga) to get it on American TV (you do know todays anime doedn’t need 65 episodes to air on TV? I know, because Robotech was made in the past, we have to treat today as if it was still 1985), and they couldn’t make more due to cost (why have it animated in Japan, knowing it was never going to be licensed or sold there?), where it doesn’t need more because its as good as it gets (nostalgia blindness, where everyday is still 1985… And delusional, the word doesn’t even begin to describe you).
And if you don’t like it, then you’re a purist…. Then doesn’t that make current anime fans purists, because no one would want todays anime to be licensed or sold like Robotech? So, what’s wrong with wanting some one who’ll support the franchise (yes, Macross is more than just SDF Macross), while working with its creators, respecting them as people by name (YOU MEAN JAPAN HAS PEOPLE WITH NAMES TOO, AND MACROSS WASN’T MADE BY MAGIC?!)?
All hail lord Shoji Kawamori! Long live Macross! Death to Harmony Gold!
The subject of Anime warping onto our t.v.’s back in the early 80’s is a welcome topic!
As a single parent raising two school aged boys at that time, it was interesting to see which shows drew and held their attention. He-Man was there favorite and I shelled out the bucks for merchandise that in short order found their way into The Lost Toy Burial Ground.
I loathed the show. Entire episodes with Spanky & Our Gang quality dialogue where fights occurred to a strictly minimal degree and no one even bled, let alone died. And after every rip snoring finale, He-Man would address the audience with some drivel like: “Well, boys and girls: today we saw what happens when Orco (or whatever the things name was) doesn’t brush after every meal!”
On the other hand, as they left for school every morning, I’d be glued to the set and watching Starblazers! Based on Spaceship Yamato (I believe that was the title) it was a an actual Japanese anime brought here, dubbed, and delivering a quality of art and writing never before savored in the Pacific Northwest, I can tell you.
(My sons absolutely hated it!)
Now, what about Starblazers? What became of and where is it now?
I say please and thankee-sai!
Starblazers came and went in the states pretty quickly. It was right at the beginning of the syndication animation boom and it often suffered from poor scheduling. Plus, there were no toys for the show on the shelves and its more mature themes did not hold the attention of younger viewers as you mentioned above. Watch for a future piece on this show.