Robocultured: Another Side of Robotech News / SPACE Cancels Robotech / Blu-ray
Commentary:
SARCASM MODE ENABLED
Alas. After weeks of exposure on the land of milk and honey (otherwise known as Robotech.com) SPACE, a popular Canadian sci-fi channel, has decided to discontinue airing Robotech! According to “sources”, the cult favorite was yanked due to abysmal ratings. The blame allegedly falls on the show being placed on a bad timeslot, but truth be told, Robotech’s just not appealing enough to today’s audience anymore. Sort of breaks your heart, doesn’t it?
Robotech’s slot has since been replaced by Relic Hunter series. The one starring Tia Carrera. Canadians have got good taste! (As an aside, Tia’s part Filipina)
Robotech.com has since quietly deleted (yes, I did five minutes of research here...) the news item regarding the reports of airing on SPACE, and replaced it with an announcement of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles on Blu-ray! And that’s another thing I want to tackle for this post. A High-Definition Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles disc. A complete digital transfer, with an additional twenty minutes more of Tommy Yune and his silly deleted scenes.
Seriously.
Did this film deserve a third re-release? And what's the hook now? So you can hear more of Tommy Yune rambling how amazing his movie and Robotech is?
There are a few reasons why Funimation could’ve green-lighted this. A re-release such this as also serves as a ‘countdown’ timer to Shadow Rising. Number one is to serve as a promotional tool for the sequel, Shadow Rising. Whereas the first re-released Special Edition’s biggest selling point was the “deleted scenes” (trust me, Tommy Yune, and just about every convention attendee can attest to how overly hyped these were), this Blu-ray edition might make a Shadow Rising teaser its must-have feature. Either that, or they go for the goddamn the blooper reel.
Number two: to fulfill Shadow Chronicles’ original purpose, which was to bring in new fans. Problem is, Shadow Chronicles carries too much baggage from the original series for any newcomer! C’mon guys and gals, its story takes place DURING an actual episode of the series for crying out. Still, might as well put a “new” product like this out before coming out with the Blu-ray version of the entire Robotech Saga. The Blu-ray edition costs USD 40.00. The standard DVD Special Edition costs USD 35.00. The first costs about USD 20.00. If this keeps up…
Number Three: To comply with the Harmony Gold motto of not giving a rat’s arse about the fans and their poor little wallets. Just how many versions of Robotech were put out in the standard DVD format? Last time I heard it was three. A lot of folks cursed under their breath about these repackaged versions with “never before seen features”, and thankfully, Harmony Gold continues this annoying trend.
And finally, Number Four: To allow Robotech some form of presence in upcoming comic or anime conventions. With the franchise’s popularity taking a dip over the past few years due to an onslaught of other modern distractions, the Blu-ray might, JUST MIGHT Robotech booths a little more traffic. Nobody wants a repeat of the "overly hyped" Robotech cellphone game. Shucks.
SARCASM MODE ENABLED
Alas. After weeks of exposure on the land of milk and honey (otherwise known as Robotech.com) SPACE, a popular Canadian sci-fi channel, has decided to discontinue airing Robotech! According to “sources”, the cult favorite was yanked due to abysmal ratings. The blame allegedly falls on the show being placed on a bad timeslot, but truth be told, Robotech’s just not appealing enough to today’s audience anymore. Sort of breaks your heart, doesn’t it?
Robotech’s slot has since been replaced by Relic Hunter series. The one starring Tia Carrera. Canadians have got good taste! (As an aside, Tia’s part Filipina)
Robotech.com has since quietly deleted (yes, I did five minutes of research here...) the news item regarding the reports of airing on SPACE, and replaced it with an announcement of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles on Blu-ray! And that’s another thing I want to tackle for this post. A High-Definition Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles disc. A complete digital transfer, with an additional twenty minutes more of Tommy Yune and his silly deleted scenes.
Seriously.
Did this film deserve a third re-release? And what's the hook now? So you can hear more of Tommy Yune rambling how amazing his movie and Robotech is?
Unused ads left out from Robotech.com
There are a few reasons why Funimation could’ve green-lighted this. A re-release such this as also serves as a ‘countdown’ timer to Shadow Rising. Number one is to serve as a promotional tool for the sequel, Shadow Rising. Whereas the first re-released Special Edition’s biggest selling point was the “deleted scenes” (trust me, Tommy Yune, and just about every convention attendee can attest to how overly hyped these were), this Blu-ray edition might make a Shadow Rising teaser its must-have feature. Either that, or they go for the goddamn the blooper reel.
Number two: to fulfill Shadow Chronicles’ original purpose, which was to bring in new fans. Problem is, Shadow Chronicles carries too much baggage from the original series for any newcomer! C’mon guys and gals, its story takes place DURING an actual episode of the series for crying out. Still, might as well put a “new” product like this out before coming out with the Blu-ray version of the entire Robotech Saga. The Blu-ray edition costs USD 40.00. The standard DVD Special Edition costs USD 35.00. The first costs about USD 20.00. If this keeps up…
Number Three: To comply with the Harmony Gold motto of not giving a rat’s arse about the fans and their poor little wallets. Just how many versions of Robotech were put out in the standard DVD format? Last time I heard it was three. A lot of folks cursed under their breath about these repackaged versions with “never before seen features”, and thankfully, Harmony Gold continues this annoying trend.
And finally, Number Four: To allow Robotech some form of presence in upcoming comic or anime conventions. With the franchise’s popularity taking a dip over the past few years due to an onslaught of other modern distractions, the Blu-ray might, JUST MIGHT Robotech booths a little more traffic. Nobody wants a repeat of the "overly hyped" Robotech cellphone game. Shucks.
While I think a High-Def version ISN'T a 'bad' idea per se, the fact that the "Never Before Seen" features are things you SHOULD HAVE seen in the original standard DVD Special Edition (i.e. outtakes and animatics for Chrissakes!) makes this whole thing stink to high heavens.
There is still time... for Tommy to shout out that it will contain the Shadow Rising teaser. Remember that the release is still September. One single announcement like that would increase sales ten times more I think. But in any case, I'll wait for the Youtube/online version. (Comment this)
Oh, speaking of which, I am deciding on getting a 22 inch Samsung monitor, or an AOC, or a Viewsonic. Oh the choices! (Comment this)