Robotech (TV series)
Three alien invasions, one adapted saga.
**Robotech (TV series)**
Robotech is a space opera animated television series created by Carl Macek for Harmony Gold USA. It aired in broadcast syndication from March 4 to June 28, 1985, with 85 episodes. The story spans roughly four decades and follows three alien invasions of Earth, all triggered by humanity’s discovery of an extraterrestrial scientific advancement called Robotechnology.
The series was assembled by merging three unrelated anime into a single narrative. The first part comes from *Super Dimension Fortress Macross*, the second from *Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross*, and the third from *Genesis Climber MOSPEADA*. Each anime corresponds to one of the three Robotech wars depicted in the show.
**Background**
Robotech was among the first anime broadcast in the United States to try preserving much of the complexity and drama found in its original Japanese sources. Produced by Harmony Gold USA in partnership with Tatsunoko, the show adapts—with edited content and rewritten dialogue—the animation of three different mecha anime: *The Super Dimension Fortress Macross* (1982), *Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross* (1984), and *Genesis Climber Mospeada* (1983). Harmony Gold’s stated reason for combining these unrelated series was its plan to market *Macross* for U.S. weekday syndication, which at the time required a minimum of 65 episodes (thirteen weeks at five episodes per week). *Macross* and the other two series each had fewer episodes than needed, as they originally aired weekly in Japan.
**Plot**
In 1999, an alien battle fortress crashes on an island in the South Pacific. Over the next ten years, humanity repairs and refits the ship, using the advanced “robotechnology” found aboard to create fighter planes that transform into giant robots. As soon as the repaired fortress is ready to launch, the aliens who own it locate it. This triggers a series of wars that devastate Earth.
**Production history**
Harmony Gold hired American writers to adapt the scripts of the three Japanese series. Producer Carl Macek, a pioneer of the U.S. anime industry, supervised this complicated process. The combination produced a storyline spanning three generations, as humanity fights three destructive Robotech Wars in succession over a powerful energy source called “Protoculture”:
- **The First Robotech War (The Macross Saga):** Humanity discovers a cra
- Creator
- Carl Macek
- Production Company
- Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko
- Original Run
- March 4 to June 28, 1985
- Number of Episodes
- 85
- Genre
- Space opera
- Based On
- Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, Genesis Climber MOSPEADA
Lore & Background
The series is set over a four-decade period and follows three alien invasions of Earth prompted by humanity's discovery of an extraterrestrial scientific advancement known as Robotechnology. In the year 1999, an alien battle fortress crash lands on an island in the South Pacific. Over the next ten years, mankind repairs and refits this fortress, using the advanced 'robotechnology' found aboard her to create fighter planes that can transform into giant robots. As soon as the repaired fortress is ready for launch, the aliens to whom she belongs finally discover her location, beginning a series of wars that devastate the planet Earth.
Reader's Guide
Robotech was produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko, adapting the scripts of three Japanese series under the supervision of producer Carl Macek. The combination resulted in a storyline spanning three generations as mankind fights three destructive Robotech Wars over a powerful energy source called 'Protoculture.' The First Robotech War (The Macross Saga) concerns humanity's battle against the Zentraedi; the Second Robotech War (The Masters) focuses on the arrival of the Robotech Masters; and the Third Robotech War (The New Generation) begins with the arrival of the Invid. The series attained a significant cult-following over the years along with critical appraisal; in 2009, IGN ranked Robotech as the 34th greatest animated series. It originally aired in 1985 in first-run syndication, a trend in 1980s animation driven by toy sales, though the failure of the Matchbox toy line is cited as a primary reason for the cancellation of the planned sequel Robotech II: The Sentinels.
Did You Know?
- Robotech was created by adapting three unrelated anime: Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA.
- The series was produced because Harmony Gold needed a minimum of 65 episodes for US syndication, and each original Japanese series had fewer episodes than required.
- A 73-minute animated pilot titled Codename: Robotech preceded the series and was included as an extra on DVD releases.
- In Australia, Network Ten cut the series at episode 52, while the Seven Network broadcast all 85 episodes.
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