Robotech (TV series)

This article is about the 1984 television series. For the franchise, see Robotech. For other uses, see Robotech (disambiguation).
Robotech
Title screen from the original broadcast.
Genre Epic, Mecha, Space opera
Created by Carl Macek
Based on
Written by Story:
Carl Macek[1]
Dialogue:
Steve Kramer
Greg Snegoff
Directed by Robert V. Barron
Starring (see below)
Narrated by J. Jay Smith
Theme music composer Ulpio Minucci
Country of origin United States
Japan
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 85 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s) Carl Macek
Ahmed Agrama
Running time 25 minutes
Release
Original network First-run syndication
Sci-fi Channel
Cartoon Network
Picture format NTSC
Audio format 1.0 monaural (1984)
5.1 Dolby surround sound (2004)
Original release March 4, 1984 – June 28, 1985 (1985-06-28)
Chronology
Preceded by Codename: Robotech
Followed by Robotech: The Movie
Robotech II: The Sentinels
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
Robotech: Love Live Alive
External links
Website

Robotech is an 85-episode adaptation of three different anime television series made between 1982-1984 in Japan; the adaptation was aired in 1984. Within the combined and edited story, Robotechnology refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship that crashed on a South Pacific island.[2] With this technology, Earth developed giant robotic machines or mecha (many of which were capable of transforming into vehicles) to fight three successive extraterrestrial invasions.[3]

Background

Robotech was one of the first anime televised in the United States that attempted to include most of the complexity and drama of its original Japanese source material.[4] Produced by Harmony Gold USA, Inc. in association with Tatsunoko Productions Co. Ltd., Robotech is a story adapted with edited content and revised dialogue from the animation of three different mecha anime series: The Super Dimension Fortress Macross from 1982, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross from 1984, and Genesis Climber Mospeada from 1983.

Harmony Gold's cited reasoning for combining these unrelated series was its decision to market Macross for US-American weekday syndication television, which required a minimum of 65 episodes at the time (thirteen weeks at five episodes per week). Macross and the two other series each had fewer episodes than required since they originally aired in Japan as a weekly series.[5]

Production history

Harmony Gold hired American writers to adapt the scripts of the three Japanese series.[6] This complicated process was supervised by producer Carl Macek, a pioneer of the anime industry in United States.[7][8]

This combination resulted in a storyline that spans three generations as mankind must fight three destructive Robotech Wars in succession over a powerful energy source called "Protoculture":

Codename: Robotech

Codename: Robotech is a 73-minute animated pilot that preceded the series. It is set within the events of the First Robotech War. It was a greatly extended version of Gloval's Report, the fourteenth television episode that summarizes the beginning of the series. It was aired on some television stations before the broadcast of the series in 1985. It was included on DVD as an extra with the first volume of the Robotech Legacy Collection and the complete Protoculture Collection, from ADV Films.[9] The disc includes the option of audio commentary by producer Carl Macek and was also released in Australia by Madman Entertainment.

Television broadcast

Home video releases

Original series episodes

Original series cast & crew

English cast

Executive & creative staff

  • Ahmed Agrama - Executive Producer
  • Jehan Agrama - Associate Producer
  • Debbie Alba - Dialogue Director
  • Robert V. Barron - Supervising Director / Writer / Dialogue Director
  • Ardwight Chamberlain - Writer
  • Greg Finley - Writer / Dialogue Director
  • Kent Hayes - Production Manager
  • Jason Klassi - Writer
  • Steve Kramer - Script Editor / Writer / Dialogue Director
  • Carl Macek - Producer / Story Editor
  • Mike Reynolds - Writer / Dialogue Director
  • Gregory Snegoff - Script Editor / Writer / Dialogue Director
  • Tao Will - Writer

Production crew

  • Jorge Allia - Transfer
  • Leonardo Araujo - Recording Engineer
  • George Bours - Recording Engineer
  • Guillermo Coelho - Video Tape Engineer
  • John Reiner - Recording Engineer
  • Bryan J. Rusenko - Chief Engineer
  • Eduardo Torres - Recording Engineer
  • Gerardo Valdez - Transfer
  • Joel Valentine - Final Re-Recording

Music staff

  • Julian Costas aka Claudio Costa - Composer / Songwriter / Arranger / Producer
  • Michael Bradley - Composer / Songwriter / Lancer's Singing Voice
  • Alberto Ruben Estevez - Music Composer
  • Ulpio Minucci - Composer / Main Theme
  • John Mortarotti - Music Editor
  • Arlon Ober - Composer / Arranger / Songwriter
  • Reba West - Minmei's Singing Voice
  • Thomas A. White - Executive Music Producer

Since Robotech was a non-union project, many of the voice actors involved worked under pseudonyms to avoid trouble with their union. The voice actor list printed in Robotech Art One lists the pseudonyms rather than the real names of most of the actors.

Continuing after the original series

References

  1. Yang, Jeff (2010-05-06). "The 'Robotech' master". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
  2. "The Past, Present and Future of Macross". IGN. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  3. "An Introduction to Robotech". Robotech.com. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  4. 1 2 "Macek Training". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  5. "Why were the names from the original shows changed?". Robotech.com. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  6. "The Past, Present and Future of Macross". IGN. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  7. Yang, Jeff (2010-05-06). "The 'Robotech' master". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
  8. "What is Robotech?". Robotech.com. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  9. Darius Washington (2001-07-22). "Robotech: The Macross Saga Legacy Collection 1". EX: The Online World of Anime & Manga.
  10. "Abandoned Shadow Rising Trademark". Trademarkia.
  11. Borys Kits. Maguire, WB attack the big screen with 'Robotech' , reported by HollywoodReporter.com September 7, 2007. Last accessed Dec 29, 2007
  12. Kevin McKeever. Robotech :Love Live Aive cast announced at NYCC robotech.com October 12, 2012. Last accessed Nov 5, 2012

External links

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