Roboculture

You have brought joy to millions of geeks the world over. Your full-sized Castle Grey-skulls, Owl Ships and Jabba the Hutts are a sight to behold. Your sexy cosplayers keep the convention areas fresh and interesting. And your Robotech panels continue to define what mediocrity truly means.

MEMODOMINION, a key figure behind the influential Southern Californian RobotechX fangroup, has finally given someting fans have been clamoring for some time now- Actual daily, in-depth reports of our beloved Comic-Con. Props to him for doing so.



According to his obviously unbiased report, The Robotech Industry Panel was unlike anything he had ever seen in recent years. It was actually filled to capacity.


MEMO's own words, and a sure sign that he and his friends at Harmony Gold feel responsible for this spectacle. I applaud your enthusiasm.

Well, I hate to rain on your parade, boys and girls, but the truth of the matter is that the panel attendance would still be rubbish if it weren't for the hype the Robotech brand has been receiving since the announcement of the Live Action Movie Project.

This attention was also inevitable, regardless of who was running Robotech at this point. Hollywood is desperately trying to capitalize on nostalgia and established franchises that have built-in fanbases. With the massive success of "Transformers", and the growing trend of mining anime-based properties, there's no telling what gets made into a movie nowadays! The fact that Fox has already green-lighted a Cowboy Bebop Live Action Movie is a testament to this craze.



Before anyone forgets, the Robotech Live Action Movie announcements was posted on just about every geek site, magazine, e-zine, and podcast in the planet. It was the kind of attention Harmony Gold's business department and its resident marketing "wizard" Kevin McKeever could only dream about. Robotech: Shadow Chronicles laughable marketing' campaign could never have achieved this level of viral marketing - even after three years since that project's announcement and release on video (twice).


Tommy, Steve, MEMO, I want to congratulate you on your on your recent success. I mean that without a note of sarcasm. However, when you're all at the bar, patting each other's backs for all the wonderful new things the future promises the Robotech brand, just remember to thank the unscrupulous Hollywood machine. It remains to be seen how different Robotech would be once it gets adapted to cinema. (Look at Wanted)



And on that note, I think it's time for me to take a break from Roboblogging for a few weeks, hopefully months. Unless a massive tectonic shift occurs on the franchise that simply must be commented on, you can sleep well knowing that I'm not going to be making new posts here.

In the meatime, if you need an alternative Robotech fix, I highly recommend the lot of you try out Atlantech, by the very talented Lynnette Williams. Click the image for more info about her amazing new universe.

One of the key achievements that Hamony Gold highlighted for the year of 2008 was airing Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles on Asia's Premier Movie channel, Star Movies (Part of Star World)

Harmony Gold representatives were in rapture when they learned the film would receive an encore performance for the entire month of July, 2008. They claimed that this was the first step into the largely untapped Asian market.

What's even more interesting, my dear readers, is that Star World was the only Asian cable channel that aired the classic 85-episodes of the original Robotech series, way back in 1996. People, this was the channel that introduced me to the original series!

Funny thing is, Robotech, was followed by another cult-classic Walker, Texas Ranger, which starred action superstar Chuck Norris.



It's 2008, and I was sitting on the couch with some friends. We were bored and decided to open the tube. Lo and behold, Star Movies was showing Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, and HBO Asia was showing Chuck Norris' Delta Force 2 AT THE SAME TIME!!

Welcome to another exciting new post on Roboculture - The place for all your Robotech fanboy needs. You can't get any more archaic than that!

Commentary:
For this post, I decided to go in detail about the idea of "dismissing" prequels or sequels of well-loved franchises. This discussion will focus on Harmony Gold's Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, the lackluster sequel which... can't seem to stay dead. This article will also refer to other iconic franchises, and how their continuations didn't sit too well with their respective fandoms .


Some argue I'm being unreasonable and that Shadow Chronicles, for all intents and purposes, was a decent follow-up to the classic series. Pundits claim that although it had plenty of misses, it isn’t as bad as... whatever sequel they think sucks. That's OK. I believe goes without saying that to fully appreciate this any of today’s sequels, prequels and remakes, you have to go with a lowered set of expecations.

If Starwars: Phantom Menace taught us anything, it’s that you can’t go back home again.

In fact, it’s vital for your enjoyment. That’s how I enjoyed Terminator 3, that’s pretty much how I also enjoyed the fourth Indiana Jones movie (save for the last thirty minutes or so). You enjoy them for what they were.


But ultimately for me, Robotech: Shadow Chronicles is my Phantom Menace, my Godfather 3, my Matrix Revolutions, my X-Men: The Last Stand... my Aliens 3. The type of film I wish I could just will out of existence and more importantly, from series continuity.


Yes, they’re just movies. Bad ones at that. Don’t get any funny ideas on what I’m trying to say here. I can take my Rocky Balboas and my Terminator: Salvations. I just want to point out as a fan and given a choice, I’d do away with all these crappy prequels, midquels, and sequels and just be content with the original.



Having “realistic expectations" seems like a joke for these films. Sure, there’s some fun in them, but in the end they either jumped the shark (Aliens 3, Macross II: Lovers Again, some argue Indy 4’s ending), ruined whatever integrity was left in the series (Matrix: Revolutions, Batman & Robin, and to some extent the Starwars prequels) or were just plain bad (X-men: The Last Stand).


There’s a constant feeling of, "This crap could have been so much better". Come on, I dare you to watch Starwars: Phantom Menace. Could you honestly stand watching the first 15 minutes of Aliens 3 without any feeling of disgust?



To Harmony Gold's Creative Staff’s credit, R:TSC’s greatest strength was how much elements it tried to retain from the original series. It had Alpha Fighters. Sterlings. Rick Hunter. A virtual laundry list of Robotech “greatest hits”. This however, proved to be the film's ultimate flaw. By sticking close to its idea of the “source material”, the film would alienate all but the hardcore. (and even they were scratching their heads)


Yes, I'm pointing my finger at the venerable Japanese studio. Thanks to a messy litigation, Bigwest barred Harmony Gold using any Macross copyright (This included names, character and mechanical designs) for any future animated projects.



This was a bigger blow than most most of us would want to admit. The reality is that to casual fans of Robotech, the Macross Saga is what "made" Robotech well... Robotech. A market this new Robotech project wanted so desperately to capture. Hardcore fans are more tolerant of this exclusion, because we know the continuity and the backstory. But Joe, the guy watched Robotech twenty odd years ago, will forever be wondering what happened to the Zentraedi... and those cool VF-1 Veritechs.

Marketing wasn’t the only thing that got affected. The overall narrative took a direct his as well.


Rather than working around the problem by introducing a compelling new narrative (as what the series creator Carl Macek tried to do with Robotech 3000), the filmmakers decided to inject as much nods to Macross as was legally possible.

It must come as no surprise what the creators were thinking when they decided to “Super Alpha Fighters” from the original series. The flaw is most telling when a character named Maia Sterling referred to herself as being "half-alien", rather than referring to her true “Zentraedi” heritage (a name was barred due to the lawsuit). Additionally, the film's relatively young cast mirrored the classic Macross dynamic.

Also, since R:TSC was a direct continuation (or overlapping) of the classic series, a proper backstory had to be established. Thanks to the lawsuit (and amateurish storytelling), the intro's flashbacks could only allude to the most basic events.


I understand that a didactic form of storytelling may not be the most effective way to do it, but the fact is that Robotech’s story NEEDED to be established, so audiences could understand the gravity of the coming battle.



The ultimate irony of this is that... the actual trailer of this movie was able to deliver a more compelling tale than the first hour of the actual movie! This begs the question, would this film have been better had it used a voice over narration?

Narration may seem dated and overbearing, but that is what made Robotech, ROBOTECH. This trailer felt truer to the original source than anything. The three minute fluff may seem adequate in explaining the original 85-episodes for hardcore fans, but come on - who is Harmony Gold really targeting with this movie?

Had the creators capitalize on the nostalgia factor, and used the voiceover of a character familiar to audiences (and not the brash, young archetype nobody cared about even in the end of the film!), this film might have been a decent Robotech picture.





Retroactively changing continuity is usually a forgivable affair. Watch Battlestar: Galactica (The TV-movie Razor in particular) or Sarah Conner Chronicles to see just how good retcons can be when done right.

R:TSC, based on its marketing, was a direct continuation of the saga. But who knew that by continuing the Saga, the creators would have to completely change the message and tone of the finale of the series just to fit in a new alien threat?



The message in the end of the original Robotech series is one of hope that humanity can begin anew. Why not use that as a platform for a sequel set a decade following the series, rather than the turgid ret-con aimed at introducing a “new more menacing” alien race in the form of the Haydonites?

It’s the Starwars novels all over again. Just one attempt after another by to “shake-up” the existing continuity. To one-up the threat of the movies. Look at the introduction of something like the Yuuzhan Vong (Starwars version of Star Trek’s Borgs), and how this new race basically screwed the entire universe, killing trillions of people.


Later Starwars fiction states that a hundred years after the movies, the Empire defeats Galactic Alliance. Weird… but don’t get me wrong, they’re good as stand-alone works, but they only help to make the movies, and the triumph of the Skywalkers that much smaller and insignificant.



Interesting. Not only does the R:TSC entangle itself in a continuity nightmare, the creators have the gall to boast about that this was the only way possible for an enjoyable sequel. In the end, the story fails to deliver any kind of satisfying impact.

It simply goes through the motions, leaving people wondering what the big deal is with Robotech. Lets hope the upcoming Shadow Rising will forget this film ever existed.

I just found out who’s been reading my blog. Apparently, they’re powerful individuals that have complete dominance in all things Robotech.

No, not Harmony Gold! Where the heck did you get such a crazy idea? Those rumors are absolutely, 100% FALSE. I repeat, those rumors are absolutely, 100% FALSE.


I’m talking about the Robotech Masters! Those sneaky bastards have been scrutinizing the irreverent content of this blog this entire time. I'm am shocked and dare I say hurt,by this revelation. I thought the Masters wanted peace!

Don’t ask where I got this but... I got a hold of a minute-long clip of one of the Masters conversations. They talk about the rumors I’ve been spreading that the upcoming Blu-ray edition of Robotech: Shadow Chronicles is going to have updated CG. (basically from crap to decent cel-shading). I don't think they like what I said...

Need your Robotech rant fix? You know you want it. What new bullshit will be revealed by Tommy Yune in the upcoming Anime Expo 2008? Rumors have been floating around that Warner Brothers has intentions to take the reins of the franchise. That Toynami will be introducing a new line of Robotech toys.

Does anyone have high expectations on this? What if something good is announced? Horray??! Time will tell. There's no telling how Tommy Yune will screw this one up, especially since the brand is now inexorably linked with Warner Brothers. Hey, if Tommy is still keeping that Steve Yun as webmaster, things may not be so different at all.

I apologize for the language, but I recently heard that Steve just demoted a long-time forum moderator and hardcore supporter of Harmony Gold. The reason? Unknown. The fan in question, you may have heard of before... Because he was probably one of the moderators who voted to ban ME.


Keep those comments coming! I would love to hear your views on Robotech's precarious situation in the 21st century!