It's finally here folks! Carl Macek, the producer of the original Robotech series, answered a LOT more of questions than we were initially expecting. Because there are so many submitted by fans, we decided to break up the answers into 3 articles by subject. This first article covers all the questions that deal with Robotech's popularity and Carl's experiences with the initial production of Robotech. Without further ado, I present to you Carl Macek's answers to your questions!


Simply Me217 asks: Did you know you had something as special as ROBOTECH in your hands when you first started on the project?

Carl Macek says: We all knew that we wanted to do something special with Robotech. We had an opportunity to do something fresh - you have to understand that the concept of a serialized story - in animation - was basically unheard of back in 1985 - in so far as domestic television broadcast was concerned. What was great about the experience is the fact that Harmony Gold had faith in the assembled team and allowed us to work without interference. The working environment created by Ahmed Agrama and the whole Intersound crew made the work proceed quickly - we had no time for reflection it was basically "stream of consciousness" - We did realize that the story was compelling - we were all hoping that the show would find an audience.


StrykerAZ asks: Were you surprised at how popular Robotech became after it was first aired? And now, 15 years later, are you still surprised at how popular Robotech still is?

Carl Macek says: Everyone involved in the creation of Robotech were surprised at the response to Robotech - it was always felt that there would be a core following for the show because of the content and the drama inherent in the story, but the depth of following for Robotech was a real eye-opener - from pre-school kids to retired military and every one in-between. The current popularity is a testament to both the story of Robotech and the affect that it has on the viewers - the veterans as well as the new recruits who watch the program.


greydeth asks: First I must say that I and many others have waited 15 long years to tell you "Well Done". To have taken on the task of molding three totaly different series into one coherent plotline is nothing short of amazing. The cult success of Robotech has endured for over 15 years now. How do you react or respond to the admiration of all Robotech fans. Do you bask in the attention or do you prefer to remain in the background?" Again thanks for creating a series that in my humble opinion has yet to be bested even after 15 years. Best Regards

Carl Macek says: First of all thanks. But we must all realize that Robotech is a very unique case - it draws from the excellent animation provided by Tatsunoko, a writing team culled from various disciplines (Bob Barron was one of the original writers of the classic television series "Bonanza"), a powerful score by Ulpio Minucci, et al orchestrated by Arlon Ober, a great cast and most of all the intangibility of "serendipity" - my background allowed me to come up with a story that worked - so from my point of view everyone who worked on the project contributed to the process which made Robotech attain the status it now holds. I enjoy the process of creating entertainment - it's then up to the product to speak for itself. I often sign autographs with the phrase - "With respect to the original creators..." - and that Is how it should be - there is no ONE person responsible for Robotech - I just happened to be charting the course and, at times, steering the ship.


Zor Derelda asks: How did you become involved in making the Robotech Series?

Carl Macek says: I had worked in the entertainment industry for years, and was taking a break by running an art gallery dealing with pre-production artwork from movies and animation cels. I was aware of Japanese animation art and was one of the few places in American where people could come in an buy artwork from anime shows that were not well known. Jim Rocknowski, an employee at Harmony Gold came into the gallery and purchased a group of cels from several Tatsunoko productions. I was curious as to why an "entertainment professional" was interested in these obscure items - Jim informed me that Harmony Gold was in the business of acquiring and distributing animation from Japan. Out of curiosity I asked what other shows Harmony Gold has in their "library". Jim rattled off a number of titles including Macross. I was aware of Macross due to my casual association with the Cartoon Fantasy Organization. There was a growing direct retail market for comic book and other specialty retail products. I asked Jim if Harmony Gold has the licensing rights to Macross - Jim said he would get back to me. An several hours later, he did. His response was, "Yes, we have the merchandising rights, but currently we have no plans to release the series in the United States." From there it was a quick series of events which allowed me an opportunity to license comics, and other items from Macross - including a direct market video compilation of the first few episodes of Macross. But lurking in the background was a deal with Revell and their new line of science fiction model kits acquired from many of the Japanese model kit companies who did mecha kits from Macross, etc. The model kit line was dubbed "Robotech". I was asked if a television series could be cobbled together from Harmony Gold's library under the banner title of Robotech - and the rest is history...


SAWTOOTH asks: My question is what was your best experience with the whole Robotech series from it's very inception until now?

Carl Macek says: The best experience during the production of Robotech was being TRUSTED by Harmony Gold to create a show without the typical "Hollywood Committee " approach to storytelling. Afterwards, it is always a pleasure to know that so many people were affected by the show. And what is great is that I have watched so many fans grow up to become writers, producers, etc. I can only hope that they can create something which will affect their audience in the same way.


LinkErdrich asks: Did you work your way into any of the shows? Are you some background charcter's voice, or face in the crowd in any episode?

Carl Macek says: You have to understand that Robotech was my first real experience with this form of production - the process was so overwhelming that I had little time for "fun" - I did get a chance to "die" a couple of times - just to see if I could get the timing down and see how the actors worked. I tried a couple of lines - not distinguished or inspired, but at least they were in sync. During my stint at Streamline, I did do a bit more - I was the "voice" of King - the lion cub in NADIA as well as military advisor in DOOMED MEGALOPOLIS.


Rand asks: Why were Streamline Pictures' Robotech Perfect Collection tapes cancelled before they were complete? Why did FHE stop making the laserdiscs after Robotech Masters, and why did Lumivision make the Robotech II: The Sentinels disc instead of FHE?

Carl Macek says: It wasn't so much canceled as affected by Streamlines cash resources. It was a monumental job and we had a very small staff. Streamline's decision to allow Orion Pictures to handle distribution was thought to be a way to free up the staff to do Robotech - unfortunately it accelerated the cash flow problems at Streamline - forcing the company to go into other businesses including a model kit division STREAMLINE MODELWORKS, etc. Eventually the license period expired and Streamline was unable to renew the license.

FHE sub-licensed the Robotech Series for home video from Streamline - they did not sub-license The SENTINELS. FHE subsequently sub-licensed the laser disc rights to Pioneer. Pioneer just did a "churn and burn" on Robotech without much marketing. My assumption was that their sales were not enough to justify the ongoing expense of mastering the property. Lumivision released several Streamline titles including "The Sentinels".


greydeth asks: My one major question to you is..." The Robotech series boasted a very long list of accomplished voice actors. Unfortunatly most of the worked under stage names. Have you had any dealings with these actors since originally creating the series and would you propose to bring any of them back for any other potential Robotech sequels?"

Carl Macek says: It is common for actors (and other creative people) to work under "stage" names (Steven King - Richard Bachman comes to mind). Many of the actors I met during the production of Robotech remained friends. During my production efforts at Streamline and other studios I would call them in to work on various projects. The great thing about voice actors is that voices are "timeless" - the only thing that really matters is talent. If I am lucky enough to be involved in any new Robotech projects, I would certainly seek out the original voice actors - even though their original characters may not be part of the storyline.


Ghost1 asks: What did you think of the music in the finished series as a whole? Were Arlon Ober, Ulpio, and the music staff employees of Harmony Gold or did Intersound contract them?

Carl Macek says: The team assembled by Thomas White was superb - each component a real "class act". Robotech was produced by Harmony Gold, and as such, the music team worked for Harmony Gold. Intersound was where the show was assembled.


Zor Derelda asks: What were some of the problems that you encountered during the translations from Japanese to English (if any)? In the editing process, were there any problems that came up in how the series all fit together? Did you have to add/delete footage to make it all fit?

Carl Macek says: We prefer to call these situations challenges. The major challenge was in maintaining continuity both from the point of view of Robotech's complex storyline and in terms of the visual continuity of the choreography of the action. Once we got through that challenge, the ongoing struggle was to create dialogue that was compelling, and "in sync". As you are aware, Robotech is an original story. The animation from these series can be seen as "found footage" - our goal was to assemble a viable original multi-generation story from pre-existing animation. A daunting task which had to be done in a relatively short amount of time - we were on our toes most of the time, but an occasional gaff occurred.

There were instances where we had to delete footage because of content - we were working under "STANDARDS AND PRACTICES GUIDELINES" from NBC - Robotech originally aired Saturday mornings in NYC on the NBC affiliate. These included scenes of violence where bullet wounds were clearly visible as well as scenes in which characters appeared semi-nude (there were numerous "shower scenes" and "communal bath" scenes which had to be cut from the show to allow it to be broadcast on US television). There were also instances in which material had to be moved from one series to another to create continuity. And in the case of episode 37 - the entire episode is constructed from deleted scenes and flashbacks. In the case of The ROBOTECH MASTERS story cycle, the original story does not take place on Earth - in fact it takes place on a planet with two moons. Often their would be two moons in the sky - we had to meticulously go into the footage and remove the extra moon on a frame by frame basis.


Ferret21 asks: I my self am an editor for a small film company called "Feature Films For Families", and, as an editor, edit content of films we acquire. I have found it can be difficult to "re-edit" a Finished Film. In what ways was it difficult to edit 3 completely different series together into 1 saga? What were some of your biggest frustrations? Did the fact that you never see Mecha or Characters from the different sagas interact bother you as you did this, or was it just not possible to do? Would it be possible in future versions of Robotech? After all, who wouldn't want to see an old veritech ruff it up with the invid?

Carl Macek says: We were able to solve most of the story continuity issues through the time line and with dialogue. What we could not do, due to the limitations of technology was change hair color, etc. (baby Dana's hair is a different color than "adult" Dana). And although we did not have various mecha from the different series interact, we did work out sequences that put characters from later series into the storyline to create continuity and familiarity with the characters. The concepts of having various Robotech mecha do battle with the Invid were issues that would be resolved in THE SENTINELS.


kurtkr Was it your intention for the Minmei character to be so annoying or did it just turn out that way?

Carl Macek says: It was always my belief that Minmei's immediate popularity onboard the SDF-1 was a bitter pill to swallow. Therefore, if her "talent" was marginal - but her "spirit" was high - it could show that even misguided personalities like "Minmei" could have a positive effect on people and dramatic situations. Melodrama is made up by extremes - and Robotech was played as melodrama - remember these characters are archetypes.


Dreamdragon0083 asks: After everything was written and recorded, was there any character you would have done a little different?

Carl Macek says: Of the major characters, I think that we were pretty solid. Perhaps we could have handled Kyle with more disdain. But for the most part, everything seemed to gel - given the time and the speed in which it was done. We tried very hard not to introduce any phrases which would "lock" the show into a given time. The hope was to create a program which could be aired to new generations without the fear of sounding dated.


evangelionunit asks: How did you come up with the American names for the characters?

Carl Macek says: We created a "laundry list" of potential names for the major characters when Revell was involved with the project. It was a collective decision between Harmony Gold and Revell. All of the other names were the concern of the production staff. Fortunately most of the choices were pretty good. I even got my mom's name into the show - Minmei's "Aunt Lena" - My mother's name is Leona and all her nieces and nephews called her "Aunt Lena" - I thought it would be cool to "honor" my mother in this way.


That's it for part one of the Carl Macek fan interview, folks. Click here for part 2, where Carl answers questions about the upcoming Robotech DVD's, and the Sentinels!