B-Tech Toon Not that Bad (Comparatively)

[JPArbiter]

like I said in the Podcast... the Battletech Cartoon was my entry point into the IP so I will always have some rose tinted glasses when it comes to it.

it really typifies the 90's tie in  cartoon series for better or for worse, moderate animation quality, narrative writing that verges on excuse plot, but some golden moments of characterization.  the sound design and theme song were fantastic though.

I love it, I wish I could get it on a remastered DVD.

[victor_shaw]

OK my thoughts on the cartoon.
Bad voice acting
Boring story-lines
The unit in the show (1st Somerset Strikers) was less then interesting.
The main villain and his lackeys where poorly written.
Poor CG for even the time.
It was a repository for bad ideas later added to battletech(EI, Infiltrator, Sloth, Banshee ASF, Tactical operations center)
Overall the show was and is cringe-worth to watch then and now.

Finally IMHO the show should have been set in 3025 or around the 4th successor wars.
Lets face it this is where most players that get into battletech are going to come in.
As has been said elsewhere in this thread, the Grey death legion, Wolf's Dragoons, Kell Hounds would have been much better units to head this cartoon.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Setting it during the Clan Invasion actually did make sense, since that tied it in with what was current for Battletech at the time.  People who saw the cartoon and decided to try getting into the series would have found it easy to get material on what was happening rather than having to try and find out-of-print sourcebooks.

[Dayton3]

Just my two cents about the change in Transformers while we're on the subject.

To me the worst thing about the Transformers movie and aftermath was how they changed Megatron,  brilliant,  ruthless, cold blooded,  merciless,  but a great leader to Galvatron who was constantly a borderline mental case.

[Crimson Dawn]

Just my two cents about the change in Transformers while we're on the subject.

To me the worst thing about the Transformers movie and aftermath was how they changed Megatron,  brilliant,  ruthless, cold blooded,  merciless,  but a great leader to Galvatron who was constantly a borderline mental case.

The funny thing about that is when I was a kid I missed why he is like that because in the movie he is not really like that.  I missed that in "Five Faces of Darkness" (the first set of episodes after the movie aka season 3) Galvatron has sparks going on around his head and after that point he acts like that.  His insanity was due to some combo of falling damage, the plasma bath, or perhaps the destruction of Unicron since he was directly controlled by him (in the movie Galvatron is the only one that talks in his head to Unicron and the only one to feel pain when being influenced).

I agree though that I prefer Megatron over Galvatron in personality and design.

[Charistoph]

The funny thing about that is when I was a kid I missed why he is like that because in the movie he is not really like that.  I missed that in "Five Faces of Darkness" (the first set of episodes after the movie aka season 3) Galvatron has sparks going on around his head and after that point he acts like that.  His insanity was due to some combo of falling damage, the plasma bath, or perhaps the destruction of Unicron since he was directly controlled by him (in the movie Galvatron is the only one that talks in his head to Unicron and the only one to feel pain when being influenced).

I agree though that I prefer Megatron over Galvatron in personality and design.

Near constant torture has a way of breaking a person's mind, too.

So, torture, check.  Cranial damage (he flew threw Unicron's skin head first), check.  The unit which allowed Unicron to directly communicate and torture him fried in an overload when Unicron blew, check.

It's more a wonder he was able to walk straight.

[Kidd]

There weren't any onscreen deaths in the BT cartoon right?

To me the worst thing about the Transformers movie and aftermath was how they changed Megatron,  brilliant,  ruthless, cold blooded,  merciless,  but a great leader to Galvatron who was constantly a borderline mental case.

Nearly dying twice in the course of 1 movie does that to you.

The dialogue in the transformation scene though... amazing stuff.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

There weren't any onscreen deaths in the BT cartoon right?

Not from any named characters, anyway.

[Major Headcase]

I wanna see a modern animated series set in 3025 +/_ about a unit of Wolf's Dragoons. Just so the show can have periodic cameos of Natasha Kerensky and her Black Widow company. 😁
It would have everything needed to sell a modern cartoon: giantrobots, explosions, cool uniforms, deep story, and sex appeal.
AND being the Dragoons, the story could easily advance through the era's of Battletech , since the Dragoons have been at the center of it all.
I'll get my crayons and start story-boarding... 🤣

[SCC]

Setting it during the Clan Invasion actually did make sense, since that tied it in with what was current for Battletech at the time.  People who saw the cartoon and decided to try getting into the series would have found it easy to get material on what was happening rather than having to try and find out-of-print sourcebooks.

Not only that but the setup was a simple good guys vs bad guys and the good guys where the preexisting factions in BT, you'd need either the Jihad or some other scale bad guy to make a new cartoon work.

[victor_shaw]

Not only that but the setup was a simple good guys vs bad guys and the good guys where the preexisting factions in BT, you'd need either the Jihad or some other scale bad guy to make a new cartoon work.

This is a misconception of modern film/TV that you have to have some galaxies spanning bad guy for a story to be good.
Now to the preexisting factions thing this is another issues as the 1st Somerset Strikers, and the Falcon's Claw where both new units that had not existed before the show.
They where added later to the bring the cartoon into the main story.

[abou]

Victor, it was a show for kids. I was 10 when I saw it. You can use nuance, but you aren't going to get far making it overly complex for a Saturday morning block.

[victor_shaw]

Victor, it was a show for kids. I was 10 when I saw it. You can use nuance, but you aren't going to get far making it overly complex for a Saturday morning block.

I was in highschool at the time this came out, so I don't have the nostalgia goggles for this show that some have.
I also remember the fan-base being upset that instead of the live action movie we wanted, we got this.
This like all cartoons of the time was just to sell a line of cheaply made expensive toys.
But as a cartoon, why they tried to go after a demographic that did not play the game and most likely where not going to get into the game at there age.
Add to this that by the time this show came out anime was already on the rise in the U.S. and would have been a better vehicle for the show and to hit the demographic that actually play the game.
So as I said this had nothing to do with Battletech fans and was about sell toys to young kids.

[Kidd]

Mercenary Mad Max Mechs caught up in inter-House border intrigue is the best way to introduce people to the universe I think. Probably adapt the GDL story. The progression from there to the Helm Core rediscovery is natural.

Then on to the Clan invasion, Comstar Schism and finale in the fires of the Jihad.

[Mendrugo]

Or they could got the Exo-Squad route - open with a few episodes introducing Richard Cameron, Stefan Amaris, and Aleksandr Kerensky as the Periphery Uprising starts up, then kick things into high gear on Christmas Day, 2766.  Gives you the chance to do fleet actions along with 'Mech battles, with a clear Good Guy/Bad Guy dichotomy.  (Heck - for fun, you could have the Lion Hearts as the POV unit, led by a maniac and always thrown in where the action is hottest...then time travel them to the 3050s for a second series.)

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Victor, it was a show for kids. I was 10 when I saw it. You can use nuance, but you aren't going to get far making it overly complex for a Saturday morning block.

Well, you can, and some shows did, but the Battletech cartoon wasn't going for that, it was going for the simplistic route because that was easier.

I was in highschool at the time this came out, so I don't have the nostalgia goggles for this show that some have.
I also remember the fan-base being upset that instead of the live action movie we wanted, we got this.
This like all cartoons of the time was just to sell a line of cheaply made expensive toys.
But as a cartoon, why they tried to go after a demographic that did not play the game and most likely where not going to get into the game at there age.
Add to this that by the time this show came out anime was already on the rise in the U.S. and would have been a better vehicle for the show and to hit the demographic that actually play the game.
So as I said this had nothing to do with Battletech fans and was about sell toys to young kids.

Anime was barely becoming mainstream when the Battletech cartoon came out.  The majority of got imported to the US in the 90s was either kids' shows or hentai.  Do you really want a Battletech anime that had been imported to the US by 4Kids Entertainment?  If you thought what we got was bad...

[Charistoph]

Anime was barely becoming mainstream when the Battletech cartoon came out.  The majority of got imported to the US in the 90s was either kids' shows or hentai.  Do you really want a Battletech anime that had been imported to the US by 4Kids Entertainment?  If you thought what we got was bad...

The Dragonball series, Sailor Moon, Robotech, and Gundam series were all anime favorites that played on both Saturday Morning and Cartoon Network (depending on the time), and they REALLY aren't that much of what would classify as a "kid's" show.  Seriously, there were huge bloodbaths in every single one of those series and some even had to be completely rewritten from a direct translation to avoid other taboo topics at the time.

As for modern tv shows, Star Wars Clone Wars had a very interesting back plot to things which sometimes makes me think some of the clones should have asked each other, "Are we the baddies?"  However, that is a one off.  Unless it is totally vulgar or anime, most modern American cartoons trend to the overly educative route.  Oddly enough, that nearly required educative route helped encourage the anime surge.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The Dragonball series, Sailor Moon, Robotech, and Gundam series were all anime favorites that played on both Saturday Morning and Cartoon Network (depending on the time), and they REALLY aren't that much of what would classify as a "kid's" show.  Seriously, there were huge bloodbaths in every single one of those series and some even had to be completely rewritten from a direct translation to avoid other taboo topics at the time.

When Dragonball and Sailor Moon were first broadcast in the US, they were heavily edited to make them kid friendly.  That's the point.  A hypothetical Battletech anime would have likely received similar treatment, which would not have been an improvement over what we were given.

[Charistoph]

When Dragonball and Sailor Moon were first broadcast in the US, they were heavily edited to make them kid friendly.  That's the point.  A hypothetical Battletech anime would have likely received similar treatment, which would not have been an improvement over what we were given.

Yeah, the country wasn't quite ready for Archer or South Park at that time, much less a direct translation of any of those series.  The most risque cartoon even close to that time was the Simpsons, and that one is rather mild.  By the time Battletech came out, though, there was ExoSquad, and that one actually better reflected what the Inner Sphere was like far more than the titular show was.

[glitterboy2098]

When Dragonball and Sailor Moon were first broadcast in the US, they were heavily edited to make them kid friendly.  That's the point.  A hypothetical Battletech anime would have likely received similar treatment, which would not have been an improvement over what we were given.

robotech as well.. they removed all the blood and cut scenes that showed the aftereffects of being hit by gunfire close up (the zent pilot being ripped apart by rick's VF-1D emptying a full GU-11 magazine into it was cut for example, leaving just a closeup of him firing and then a cut to the zent pilot face down dead in the distance. and Roy fokker's blood was removed from his cockpit and uniform, etc) you still had battle scenes where mecha got blown up and such, but by the ratings system at the time watching vehicles blow up was not as bad as seeing a person get killed directly. even if those vehicles were piloted types.

[Crimson Dynamo]

I loved the cartoon. I would get so worked up in anticipation that I would always wake up 30-60 minutes early and have to sit through whatever lesser offerings were on before BattleTech. My parents and siblings all knew the characters, storyline, what happened on today's episode, etc because I wouldn't shut up about it. 23 years later and I've spent Oh my God levels of money in the name of the fandom of the franchise that was first presented to me on those early Saturday mornings. Rewatching now, there is some rose-tinting that goes on, and that tinting has faded in a couple spots, but damn me if I don't still get goosebumps when I hear "This is the Inner Sphere..."

[SCC]

This is a misconception of modern film/TV that you have to have some galaxies spanning bad guy for a story to be good.
Now to the preexisting factions thing this is another issues as the 1st Somerset Strikers, and the Falcon's Claw where both new units that had not existed before the show.
They where added later to the bring the cartoon into the main story.

The problem is that if you make the show about, say, the 3022 liberation of Galtor III you the FedSuns in the role of the good guys, the DC as the bad guys, and more or less ignore the other factions. Hope you don't have any problems with your favorite faction being ignored in any future cartoon, or cast as the bad guys.

[I am Belch II]

As much as I would love a Battletech type something on a tv or internet or some type of mass media. I don't want it to happen to it, I don't want to spend most of the time trashing it and complain on how bad it is. Maybe something good would come out of it.

I say this from experience for example Star Trek Discovery. Same reaction to it.

[Batman]

Oh.

My.

God.

Victor Steiner-Davion is a Disney Princess.

It all makes sense now!

 :toofunny:

[DOC_Agren]

Nicholas Kerensky is the true Disney Princess of Battletech. How else do you think he got all those critters to show up and get Clans named after them?

    :thumbsup: :rockon:

[Bosefius]

When the cartoon came out I was 22 and had been playing Battlefield for 7 years already. I was hopeful it would be good but was sadly disappointed. The 2 year old and 4 year old I was a nanny for loved the show however.

[victor_shaw]

When the cartoon came out I was 22 and had been playing Battlefield for 7 years already. I was hopeful it would be good but was sadly disappointed. The 2 year old and 4 year old I was a nanny for loved the show however.

I guess the question would then be are the 2 year old and 4 year old playing battletech now.
And if so was it the show that brought about this intrest.
The thing is shows of that era were meant to get kid into the IP that the show was about and/or sell toys.
So if it failed to do that for battletech and from what I heard failed to make a dent in the toy marked, then the show failed.

As you and I have said, it seem that it did not resonate with the demographic that played the game so what did it accomplish.



 

[Bosefius]

I guess the question would then be are the 2 year old and 4 year old playing battletech now.
And if so was it the show that brought about this intrest.
The thing is shows of that era were meant to get kid into the IP that the show was about and/or sell toys.
So if it failed to do that for battletech and from what I heard failed to make a dent in the toy marked, then the show failed.

As you and I have said, it seem that it did not resonate with the demographic that played the game so what did it accomplish.

As far as I know they don't, even though their parents both played.

[SteelRaven]

Yeah, the new Battletech strategy game will do more for the franchise than a new cartoon.

Also, the fact so many are talking about Transformers and 4Kids tells me allot of people are stuck in the past. Saturday morning cartoons are dead, a new animated series would ether be more mature aimed at the existing fan base in lieu of something live action (and the demand for that is not big enough) or to market existing franchise (something many game franchises don't need nor ask for)   

[Drop Bear]

Saturday Morning may be dead but what about the "Holiday Time Wasters" that run in the 4pm-5:30pm weekdays and most of the day during actual holidays.

Imagine an aged up Famous Five or a Scooby gang type group banging about on some unnamed frouniter world, solving local mysteries and looking for a supposed lostech cache. turns out many of the bad guys where scouting and later sabotaging for an upcoming Pirate Raid. season end cliffhanger can have the gang in hiding as the pirates look for loot and the melding kids that sent their plans astray and may know where a lostech sight may be. most of the Mech action will be Industrial Mechs till the end of season 1.