| "Robotech 3000" | |
| Robotech 3000, Episode 00 | |
| |
| Air date | 2000 |
| Written by | Carl Macek |
| Adaptations | |
| Comic adaptation(s) | None |
| Novel adaptation(s) | None |
| Episode Guide | |
| previous none |
next none |
Robotech 3000 was Harmony Gold's stalled attempt to reboot the Robotech franchise before the turn of the millennium. After the relative success of Voltron: The Third Dimension and Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, a new Robotech sequel was proposed that would use 3D CG visuals, with producer Jason Netter and writer Carl Macek at the helm. They partnered with Netter Digital for the series.
The pilot was disliked by fans, and other factors ultimately lead to its cancellation. It's legacy is in both infamy and obscurity. It most recently was used in the canon during the events of Titan's Robotech reboot, which featured a plot point of that comic's Invid Regess crossing into the story's universe to steal protoculture, additionally causing the events of the pilot.
Storyline[]
to be added
Cast[]
- Richard Epcar - Narrator / Arroq
- Rebecca Forstadt - Lorna Cassidy
- Edie Mirman as Suzy Kramer
- Dan Woren as Captain Nobel
- Cam Clarke as Brent Hawkins
- The character Kretaan has a non-speaking role
Background[]
The story was based during an era of peace under an interplanetary federation a thousand years in the future, to avoid conflicts with Robotech's complex continuity. Some of the new concepts presented were Veritech Excavators, Proteus-group starships, but none of the trademark anime-look and transformable mecha of the earlier series were seen. The response to the Robotech 3000 promotional trailer at the 2000 FanimeCon anime convention was disastrous. Much of the negative feedback concerned the distinctive artistic style of the original anime series were going to be replaced by generic CGI characters in a style that resembled ReBoot.
Producer Carl Macek contributed a story treatment for the conclusion of the protoculture ending for the background of the proposed series.
By the 2000 San Diego Comic-Con, it was revealed that the CG project had been cancelled, not only due to negative feedback from fans but also because American animation studio Netter Digital, which had been hired to produce the project, had gone bankrupt earlier that year. An attempt was made to salvage the series as an anime-style production at Tatsunoko Production (the original Japanese studio that animated Robotech) and some pre-production art was produced, but this too was cancelled as a new regime of staffers joined Harmony Gold to once again reboot the Robotech franchise and begin development on Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles.
It was released on DVD on 23 July 2013 alongside The Shadow Chronicles and Love Live Alive. The short is very obscure and often mocked by fans, but despite this the cast gained a cameo role in Robotech 21.
External links[]
- Carl Macek interview
- Robotech 3000 at IMDB.com.
- Universe 3000 - The Archived home for Robotech 3000 fandom.
- Archived Robotech.com FAQ - The official "line" about abandoned projects such as the Sentinels and RT3000.
- Wikipedia