The Wild History of Battletech: The Animated Series - Yes, It's Real

[@kurtweldon5646]

I produced this show. Nice to see someone remembers it.

[@stonewall286]

Appreciate your work Kurt. Thank you.

[@RenegadeHPG]

Any interest in hoping on a podcast to talk about your experience with it?

[@1leggeddog]

It made me into a Mechwarrior fan for life! ty

[@bensantos3882]

Amashing!

[@NathanielJordan85]

Ditto K M. This made me a Mech Warrior before MW5, before HBS's Battltech, before Mech Assault or even the card game. Battletech and Robotech together actually got me into Armored Core, and the whole mecha genre. Zero regrets, much love.

[@theblackpantslegion]

The series is canon, as in-universe propaganda from the Tharkad Broadcasting Company.

[@TymersRealm]

Damn It! How did I miss you posting here, Tex?

[@Locusthorde3000]

TEX SPEAKS.

[@mq5731]

I kinda wish they would do something like this for Prometheus

[@sentinelmoonfang]

Filthy freebirth propaganda just like BPL. We still love Tex, though... even if he's a stravag.

[@damienhailey118]

As are the characters themselves. Adam Steiner even becomes temporary Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth during the Jihad, and later takes up the crown for real sometime afterwards. Then the's the whole Daboku thing. For budget reasons, they only used a limited number of mechs in the series. One of them was called the Mauler, which appeared many times in FedCom formations.... despite being identified in Technical Readout: 3050 as a Mech used by the Draconis Combine. To fix this, later versions of TR3050, and TR3039 introduced the Duboku, a mech that fought in the War of '39. The Daboku was pretty much identical to the Mauler, but had an electronics issue(basically the toys' ejection panel feature) that saw many Dabokus getting captured by the Fedcom in near-pristine condition. The original Mauler was then retconned as the result of a successful effort to fix the Daboku's issues.

[@corvusdove874]

When I was a kid, we started taking apart the Battlemech toys, replacing their weapons with fireworks. It's how I learned what each degree of tissue burn means.

[@eriktilton6250]

I have no clue what you're talking about but this gave me a great chuckle!

[@tomtheconqerur]

You have simulated life as a Merc. Good job

[@southpawmoose]

Sounds like. Propper 80's/90s childhood

[@nikushim6665]

Yep i learned what third degree burns were that way. But instead of fireworks it was D class rocket motors.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

Both the 1st Somerset Strikers and their leader Adam Steiner are not only canon in the main Battletech universe, they also have a major influence in the lore later on because Adam Steiner ultimately became Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth and his descendants still rule the realm in the present day of the lore. Adam gained his throne in large part due to his popularity stemming from the holovid series (well, that and staunchly defending the Commonwealth from the Clans again while the Steiner-Davions had their civil war). Yes, boys and girls, Battletech the Animated Series literally helped someone rise to the throne of an interstellar empire!

[@ryank5424]

"Information is ammunition"

[@nikushim6665]

The TV was retconned, however FASA way of retconning borrowed from their roots. Like Macross, its written off as a in universe propaganda film.

[@natsume-hime2473]

To be fair, the Lyran Commonwealth has almost always had a Steiner as Archon. That's why they're the Commonwealth is usually referred to Stiner territory and their force are called Steiners as well. The same applies to the other 4 great houses and their respective nations. The Federated Suns are almost always ruled by a Prince, or Princess of the Davion line. The Cappellan Confederation is usually ruled by a member of house Liao. The Free Worlds League almost always has a Marik as President General. The Coordinator of the Draconis Combine is usually a member of house Kurita. During the Star League era the first lord, lord of the Terran Hegemony, and first among equals(to the other Great Houses) was always from the Cameron dynasty.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

@@natsume-hime2473 Adam Steiner is a member of a cadet branch of House Steiner and was never meant to succeed to any official position. When he first met Katrina Steiner she was a bit incensed that this distant "cousin" seemed to have abused his name to get to her. She eventually allowed Adam to go ahead with his plan, but refused to support him beyond providing a ship. Adam's rise came about because Katrina's heirs (via her daughter Melissa's marriage), the Steiner-Davions, fucked things up so thoroughly the people of both Lyran and Suns halves of the Federated Commonwealth rejected their entire bloodline entirely. They had to fall back to cadet branches of both Houses to get their rulers. With that said, as the lore stands today, the last Steiner-Davion ironically rules Terra and technically all the Clans as ilKhan Alaric Ward of the Wolves, having wrecked the Lyran realm Adam's descendants rule in his rise to power.

[@redgrain3914]

No one is going to believe this, but this video brought up a repressed memory of 13 year old me yelling "Hit his Blast Panel!" and then kicking another kid in the crotch. I must have at least been familiar with the ads. Wow.

[@SilentZombie]

I laughed way too damn hard at this!! >XD

[@donalny]

Glad I'm not the only one.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

"He keeps kicking me in the d*ck. WHY does he keep kicking me in the d*ck??"

[@CM-wv8ns]

Never saw that design flaw in Macross... though one would think it was in Exo-Squad

[@peterparker6584]

oh Jesus why am I not surprised.

[@cutter23]

Thank you for this! Battletech is nearly 40 years old and in the middle of a huge revitalization and it is great to see these throwbacks!

[@TymersRealm]

Battletech turned 35 last year. And the Table Top side is still going strong!

[@thorinbane]

Saw some recent plastic prints for the kickstarter. Many are more than worried they are rushing things too fast. Sculps look like hot garbage.

[@thac0twenty377]

yeah I'm frigging old. This was my first game system after playing Crescent Hawks Inception on my Tandy

[@stevenhenry5267]

Wrong

[@Alverant]

I would have loved a toy Atlas. They needed the Steiner Scout Squad.

[@BoisegangGaming]

"ATTENTION, ATTENTION! I HAVE SCOUTED THE ENEMY COMMANDER! HE IS VERY DEAD NOW!" I just can't think of anything but the "Frederich" Steiner Scout Lance skits from the Black Pants Legion when I see an Atlas.

[@TymersRealm]

@@BoisegangGaming I think that was the point...

[@BoisegangGaming]

@@TymersRealm Of course it was the point! Now, the other scouts are reporting that they have scouted the capital into a crater and are requesting reinforcements.

[@Piterdeveirs333]

Good day! All Steiner units prepare to show these Godless Kuritans what war crimes look like!

[@rifleman2c997]

@@Piterdeveirs333 Do not run, you will only die tired.

[@RichtorLazlo]

One thing that you missed in those lawsuits was that fact that copyright law was different across international boarders and that was one of the big problems was that in Japan copyright law allowed images, ideas and concepts to be released for use almost like a lease, in that fasa had purchased the images only and harmony gold had purchased story elements, as in America under copyright law you cannot split the intellectual property but in other nations (japan) you can.

[@Cobralalalala]

Two things: 1. I love that the play feature was that they exploded if they were hit in the junk. 2. ROBOTJOX!!!!!!!! That is all. Keep up the good work.

[@Dracounguis]

Robotjox, that movie single handedly destroyed giant Mecha movies till Pacific Rim, lol

[@MrColinWarde]

Robotjox! What a great attempt!

[@DrFoo11]

Best mems! 10th birthday party, pizza, friends, and Robotjox!

[@Cobralalalala]

@@Dracounguis I don't think I'd give it that much credit. It was a lower budget movie from an independent studio that didn't even get a wide release. It couldn't kill anything on its own. The sad fact is that mechs have just never had the popularity in the US that it did in Japan. Some shows and toy lines did well, but it never went beyond that.

[@trailersic]

Crash & Burn!

[@Dovoline3]

"Whose home planet was the first to fall to the Clans" *Cries in literally worthless Periphery worlds*

[@micheljavert5923]

*looks around in confusion* Hey, anybody hear something? Like a distant, mournful cry filled with the knowledge it'll never be fully heard or understood? Oh well it's probably just the wind. (😉)

[@yolobathsalts]

*laughs in Minnesota tribe* And we'll do it again.

[@MoreEvilThanYahweh]

To be fair, the only thing the Oberon Federation had going for it was their ruler was literally called "King Grim".

[@Reoh0z]

MAD\CAT! MAD\CAT!! MAD\CAT!!!

[@GoblinZone1]

COMSTAR: I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened. The rest of the I.S.: "Eh, not my problem" *proceeds to continue punching each other*

[@anthonyspecf]

So happy to see you Toy Galaxy cover BattleTech. It is one of my favorite SciFi franchises. From the Table Top game, to the novels, MechWarrior games, MechCommander, and especially the relatively new BattleTech PC game from HBS, it is a franchise filled with so much lore and depth, it is just so enjoyable.

[@GameAlicornLuna]

Interestingly enough, there is a canon Battlemech called the Daboku (I think) that was the prototype for what would become the Mauler. The Daboku was a mech plagued with technical issues, including one such issue where if the front was hit in a certain way, it would cause the mech to activate the ejection feature. The Daboku was actually based off the toy line's Mauler due to the crotch launching feature of the toy.

[@jonathanwapner6262]

"HIT HIS BLAST PANEL!, THAT'S MY PURSE!"

[@TheMichaelBeck]

I was stationed in Erlangen West Germany back in the late 80s. I remember buying my Commodore 128D at the Nuremberg PX and getting the OG Battletech game. I've played every Mechwarrior since. They did an amazing job with Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries and a new Mechwarrior is coming out this fall. Good times!

[@sleeplessknight99]

4:27 "...with ONE weakness" Hitting each other in the groin. LOL

[@andrewgwilliam4831]

Pretty amazing they didn't pick up on that before manufacturing them!

[@weldonwin]

Well, the Nut-Shot is one of the oldest and most effective fighting tactics in mankind's long and brutal history of beating the snot out of one another

[@johndillermand4053]

@@weldonwin lmfao

[@morganrobinson8042]

I mean, unless you reinforce the hell out of the joints, one good structural hit and the whole thing buckles. Nearly as bad as ankles. And that's leaving out actuators, ammo and everything else. Making walkers is hard, and mechanically suboptimal. Blowing off the arms is a bit of headscratcher.

[@thundercactus]

As someone who actually played battletech back then, the most annoying thing was the serious lack of mech designs that FASA allowed them to have. Which lead to the REALLY awkward scene where a brand new, top secret, Draconis Combine assault mech was guarding a middle-of-nowhere backwater spaceport in the Lyran Commonwealth

[@MrSomebodyStrange]

Judging by the show he whole FedCom mech forces is a bunch of Centurions and Wolfhounds with an occasional Daboku and Axeman. Also clans apparently had regiments upon regiments of Timber Wolves.

[@scottsanburn204]

Nothing says toy line like multi-tiered legal actions spanning decades. 🙄

[@Icedpyre]

Nice "Cheers" shirt. Battletech for life. I still have most of the toys from the cartoon. CGL(Catalyst Game Labs) is still pumping out new Battletech fiction, and recently closed a $2.5M USD kickstarter to produce new miniature packs, maps and other game paraphernalia. That combined with the two two video games that came out over the last few years? Battletech is doing just fine my friend....just fine :D

[@mward5962]

Yeah, but FASA is still dead, and the clickytech era where they got bought out by FanPro/Wizkids isn't one anyone really looks back upon fondly. The upswing in Battletech videogames in the last 5 years has been the real win for me.

[@TymersRealm]

@@mward5962 Just so that you're aware, the KS mentioned above was for a CLAN Box Set. Yes, I said CLAN Box Set. Something that was never done in the FASA days...

[@thecompletejake]

I LOVED battletech! The show, the video games, the novels, the tabletop board/RPG UNIVERSE Fasa released, even the collectible trading card game. Such a cool property!

[@BoisegangGaming]

"Says 'MadCat' instead of 'timberwolf'." Insert TexTalksBattleTech "Clanners lost and are dumb" speech

[@ARCcommand]

*cough* Timberwolf not Dire wolf *cough*

[@BoisegangGaming]

@@ARCcommand it was something-wolf. Between them and the space wolves/corgis, it's hard to differentiate between all the "wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf".

[@Zeithri]

@@BoisegangGaming The Awhooooo's Mechs! Timber Wolf is the one that looks like a Marauder and Catapult made sweet love together ( _hence MAD/CAT_ ) and Dire Wolf is a 100 ton mech that looks like it was inspired by Turtles and is also known as _Daishi_ .

[@tssteelx]

PRAISE Z0RG!

[@PerpetualGM]

@@BoisegangGaming Bah, the Clan Wolf has nothing on the Clan Ghost Bear. They've literally run out of different ways and languages to name something a "bear".

[@lsgreger2645]

I absolutely missed this series. I loved the Mechwarrior/Battletech games. My inner nerd would be complete if we actually got another old FASA property Shadowrun got its own show or animated series!

[@TymersRealm]

Yea, a Shadowrun series could be cool. But I'd rather see Crimson Skies looked at again...

[@antoniobeltranthesumosnipe8634]

I'm suprised with crews like Zombie Orpheus/Dead Gentlemen, there isn't a larper group out there that hasn't said "Lets do a Shadowrun vid!"

[@albertmartinez8721]

I dunno, you tend to get stuff like this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnizeISlh5uZbNk

[@lsgreger2645]

@@albertmartinez8721 Yeah, I know. That is why I kinda geeked out and enjoyed Bright. I know it isn't a perfect movie, but it made me realize I wanted something Shadowrun!

[@lsgreger2645]

@@TymersRealm I never got into FASA's Crimson Skies. I looked up the plot, and it looks amazing!

[@MultiMal3]

"Our hero is Adam Steiner, whose home planet was the first to fall..." No no, you're supposed to say it like "HIS HOME PLANET~! was the first to fall."

[@LordAlacorn]

That calls for BATCHALL!!!

[@NaglfarCommando]

And his home planet was not the first to fall.

[@KillerOrca]

@@NaglfarCommando Do we even know which planet the Clanners fucked over first? Didn't they steam roll through the Preiphery?

[@CSSstravag]

@@KillerOrca The Clans probably hamburgered a bunch of Pirates on their way through the Periphery toward the Inner Sphere, but IIRC the first major contact was Clan Jade Falcon against the Kell hounds mercenaries on the planet known as The Rock.

[@KillerOrca]

@@CSSstravag Something tells me that a Steiner's homeworld wasn't some place called "the Rock". So I guess thats a retcon

[@rudyvalle9022]

Making the real animated series a propaganda TV series within the lore was a genius move.

[@Seektheday]

I clapped when I read that on Sarna. I clapped and I was alone in my apartment

[@TymersRealm]

@@Seektheday Listen to the Tex Talks Battletech by the Black Pants Legion on the Thor/Summoner. When Tex comes to the Thor M, I like his comments.

[@Canoby]

@@TymersRealm Tex is a gold mine of awesome commentary, especially on Battletech

[@nicktumpach804]

to bad it only lasted one season. Also how it ended on a cliffhanger

[@moriskurth628]

@@nicktumpach804 In-Universe the explanation was probably that someone on the writing team didn't pay their HPG Bills on time. That, or Clan Ghost Bear joined the Rasahague Republic around the same time, and the Broadcasting Company responsible didn't want to piss off their new neighbor. If the Comic exists in-universe, I don't know though. And before I forget... LONG LIVE THE HOUSE STEINER!! LYRAN COMMONWEALTH FOR LIFE!!

[@ryank5424]

This show is actually what got me interested in battetech. The earliest I can remember was catching it on a little channel called space and as a sci-fi fan checked it out, it was my first encounter with the property.

[@rustedbeetle]

Oh Harmony Gold, how you kept destroying our childhoods with tenuously based litigation.

[@TheRyujinLP]

Both FASA and Harmony Gold kinda got screwed over by how shitty the way the Macross license was handled at the time. Different Japaneses companies sold the rights to the them because you had several companies in Japan claiming they had the right to do so. And the thing is if you don't enforce your trade mark or copywrite then you lose it so if Harmony Gold didn't sue FASA then they risked losing their claim. Now don't take this this as me saying they never did nothing wrong over all, while I'm a fan of Robotech I hate Harmony Gold as a company, but that doesn't mean they should be blamed for things that the didn't do.

[@jfridy]

Licensing was the Wild West back then.

[@webs538]

Even hasbro got caught up in it.

[@dhoffnun]

Well - at least after *all this time* HG has finally been told to go kick rocks. "The Unseen" are back in videogames developed by some of the original FASA crew.

[@docvaliant721]

@@TheRyujinLP turns out Harmony gold was sold rights for Macross by a company that didnt even have the rights to it. The co creator of robotech. Robotech was in fact the one that was infringing on copyrights. HG got put down by hair brained schemes and piranha. In Japan it was settled that tatsu the co creator of robotech didnt have ip rights and so HG doesnt either. FASA on the other hand did ask premission for the use. Battletech also came a year before Robotech. Which my guess is they made robotech to try and claim ownership of macross and battletech art.

[@callsignenterprise6895]

Actually, as you stated, although some of the events portrayed in the animation are different than what is accepted at cannon from the novels, several characters have shown up in the old Battletech novels, which makes those characters cannon to the overall Battletech universe. So yes it is cannon!

[@scottmcintyre2809]

All the characters are canon. Adam Steiner eventually became Archon (king/president/whatever) of the Lyran Commonwealth, Franklin ended up in command of the Otomo (basically Draconis Combine Royal Guard) and his Grand Daughter eventually became ruler of the Combine. Malthus found out about the in-universe holovid and tried to challenge Steiner and the Production company who created the show to trial by combat for the "insult" of it, but since Lyran law it ended up as a slander suit that was dismissed, at which point he challenged the judge to trial by combat and spent 6 months in prison for contempt of court before being sent back to the Falcons in disgrace where he ended up getting recruited by the Falcon's intel organization.

[@coyote16able]

@@scottmcintyre2809 I know this is 7 months later but it gets better Clanners that personally knew Malthus and saw the in-universe Holovid said the Clanners in the show where exaggerated even Malthus though not him not so much.

[@fredlandry6170]

The Clans are the descendants of the Star League military that left human space in 2784 after the devastating Amaris Civil War.

[@Macrochenia]

Technically, they're the descendants of the people who followed Alexandre Kerensky after he rage-quit the Inner Sphere following the end of the Amaris Civil War because the Successor States wouldn't recognize him as the new First Lord. And then after his death, his son and those other people decided that the best way to honor the memory of the Star League was to create a new society that shared none of its values.

[@Paerigos]

@@Macrochenia The guy was never interested in being the First Lord... and well that was acutally one part of the problem... NOONE really wanted to get the empty chair of chained and weakened terran hegemony from which the succesor states took chunks of territory...

[@Paerigos]

​@@Macrochenia And as far as Nicolas Kerensky goes - the guy was the only one with any kind of PLAN of how to change the society in some way that does not bring immediate self annihilation. It wasnt perfect but it was one hell of way better then 4 Succesion wars! (especially since the main problem got solved by a stray gauss rifle shot few years later... In some respect by dying Nicolas Kerensky helped his legacy more then by anything he did during life) And if some idiots were willing to entertaion patience like Ghost bear does - (see you Wolverines...) the problems fix themselves.

[@earlwyss520]

I seem to remember that Alexander K took the majority of the Star League Military and fled to prevent their use in the subsequent civil wars, only to have civil war break out amongst his followers, hence the rise of the clans. Wolf's Dragoons were members of (Clan Wolf) sent to recon the inner sphere for the clans., They had with them, Natasha K (aka "The Black Widow") a "True Born" descendant of Alexander K, whom went back to clan Wolf when the invasion occurred.

[@earlwyss520]

@@Paerigos When I ran a Battle Tech game in 1992-94, I had clan Wolverine flee the other clans, and set themselves up off the Lryan Commonwealth's western border in unexplored space, and find evidence of an ancient extinct alien species. I (as the game referee) helped a friend develop a Resonance Cannon that did massive damage (50 D-6 point blank) and tapering off (like sound actually does)in a 45° arc from a heavy mech (like an Archer or Mad Cat). Problem was that it required so much shielding that it could only be fitted in the chest cavity, be the only weapon fitted, and that any damage taken to the shielding resulted in the mech itself taking ALL of the damage itself. We though that we had a winner, but never thought to submit it it FASA Corp.

[@ncemt]

Team Battletech here. In 2018 Harmony Gold tried during again. This time it was revealed they didn't have any rights to the original concepts. They asked for the case to be closed. CGL agreed if they promised to never use again.

[@Getwright-]

I definitely thought that, this, Warhammer 40k, and Exo squad, were all related to or set in the same universe as a kid. And i remember loving the opening credits of this but liking exo squad more overall

[@KillerOrca]

Holy shit that would be an amazing crossover.

[@battleoid2411]

@@KillerOrca A clan mech blows up a leman russ looking all big and bad until it is unceremoniously vaporized entirely by a single blast from a warlord titan

[@shaider1982]

Tex from Black Pants Legion has joined the chat. (Edit) Here is one of his videos which sort of covered a part of the cartoon: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ame7mGR6nLydhKs

[@Zeithri]

" _Let me tell you about Nicholas Kerensky..._ "

[@shaider1982]

@@Zeithri i enjoyed his video on the amaris civil war and the one for the clans.

[@tssteelx]

PRAISE Z0RG!

[@taemien9219]

Don't sue Tex, Tex has no money.

[@Pewpewpew182]

Loved the opening song to the show when I was a kid. I was so sad when it never continued on. Loved the one episode where they caught this one woman from the enemies side and she helped them make the 3d visual portion for their helmets. Thought that was pretty honorable. Need to buy the set one day.

[@username12120]

I remember that episode! All the IS characters just did not understand what she was doing or talking about with the whole bondsman thing, eventually she got so pissed off at them for not knowing or understanding what she meant or was trying to do(I think they thought she was sabotaging their mechs) she escaped and went back to Clan lines.

[@LeeONardo]

Christine Redman I think was her name piloting the Vulture (which does exist as a Tyco prototype, would have been a series 3 mech). I also like how the CG was explained as the "enhanced imagining" mode the clans used before she placed into into the IS mechs. Very under rated series which deserved the cliffhanger being wrapped up or at least a series 2.

[@JBalderas1990]

I remember I had a purple alien guy with a mech as a toy when I was a kid...never knew where it came from. Clicked on this thinking Battletech was the toy line but turns it out it was Exo Squad by the end of this video. 24 yr old mystery solved! Thanks!

[@ruthiekest3218]

From robotech

[@ruthiekest3218]

Never mind u right also, robotech has aliens also

[@EVAUnit4A]

If you play the MMO FPS video game _MechWarrior Online_ (2012- ), the hero variants (meaning you need real money to buy them) of the _Mauler_ (MAL-KO "Knockout") and _Bushwacker_ (BSW-HR "High Roller") are specifically colored to look like their counterpart toys from the animated series of the 1990s.

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

really? wish we had Mathus summoner or pythor's hunchback IIC

[@EVAUnit4A]

@@sheilaolfieway1885 I recently became aware that there was a prototype made by TYCO, for a Mad Dog which was never released!

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

@@EVAUnit4A hmm that would have been interesting to see Redmen's vulture/maddog.

[@camw621]

OH MAN. The Battletech game for Sega Genesis was actually one of the coolest things I've ever experienced. If there's two things I think society needs more than ever... it's a return of Dirigible flight, and mother-f-ing MECHS!

[@ollierees9493]

Damn. Exo Squad has been buried in my brain for over 25 years. Now its out. Cheers guys!

[@jesseperry9602]

Did someone say Armored Core?? I magically appear whenever that happens!

[@AndAlltheNerdyFun]

I still find myself saying initiate enhanced imaging.

[@TymersRealm]

@Harlock1776 Nope, jade turkey for sure...

[@flaircraft]

I'm constantly saying "Reactor online. Sensors online. Weapons online. All systems nominal." Nobody ever gets it :(

[@AsilarWindsailor]

@@flaircraft That is truly unfortunate. The younglings need to be introduced to this great setting. What if Netflix made a series using modern production facilities? That would be AWS-8W ….I tried to use the Awesome as.. well nevermind it was a dumb joke. I really would like to see Netflix make a series about it though

[@veritech1020]

I saw the show and toys before I heard of the tabletop game, which I played years later. The CG battle sequence were specifically to demonstrate the superior Clan battle computers in their mechs. Later on one of the Freebirth Inner Sphere surats steals a Clan Mech, and discovers the difference.

[@dirus3142]

Jordan Weisman has always pushed the envelope in technology when it came to expanding FASA IP to other media. Just look at the Battletech virtual pods as an example.

[@larshthecasualmechwarrior4123]

O man, thanks for doing this! I'm a fan of Battletech, but I still have this cartoon on my bucket list.

[@dyslectische]

KZbin you can fine it .

[@Alverant]

You're not missing much :( Watch the BlackPantsLegion on KZbin instead :)

[@TymersRealm]

@@Alverant Won't argue there. But what to suggest: 1) the Tex Talks Battletech series 2) Tex's play throughs of the HBS game 3) the other online mechwarrior games So many choices?

[@davidhuxley4818]

This show was the highlight of my Saturday morning while it was running!

[@Wahinies]

Same

[@alpal3158]

I used to watch battletech and Skeleton Warriors back to back.

[@timtheenchanter6418]

Watched the hell out of this when it aired. Ran on a channel in the UK called TCC (The Childrens Channel I think) during a "Hour of Power", with Skeleton Warriors (if you watched this show theres a 95% chance the opening is playing in your head right now) on first and Battletech on afterwards. Only knew about the expanded Battletech universe through the Mechwarrior and Mechcommander games on PC a few years later. Still remember the final episode of this; they get back to Somerset and Steiner challenges the Jade Falcon leader to a duel with the planet as the prize, kicks his ass but then the JF guy says "Fine, planets yours...were keeping all the citizens though!" and piles millions of people into their ships and leaves the planet abandoned.....which is just Pedantic Villain Linguistics 101

[@Renegade666]

OMG YES!!! This was literally my childhood too!!

[@tanall5959]

This cartoon got me started with Battletech back when it was originally airing. Then I discovered Mechwarrior 2... I am now a shameless Clan Ghost Bear fanboy ^.^

[@sazerchu]

My gaming Cell was just starting to "mature" when this series came out. We are still going strong though I've had other commitments now. I'm a Kuritian guy.

[@KMCA779]

@@sazerchu I was going to call you out on being the worst house but then I remembered Capellans exist.

[@ashwhiteforest9078]

​@@KMCA779 I identify as a human rights violation and war crimes are my fetish. Retract your previous statement or I will be forced to shoot you in the crotch. Do you want battle damage? Because this is how you get battle damage.

[@SWIFTO_SCYTHE]

1:20 ARMORED CORE - you sir are awesome. I own every game in the series!

[@Acid_Ink]

TheAllaksion I used to love that game in High School. One of my friends had the basement of his house as his domain and we’d go down there and spend HOURS playing AC

[@seb24789]

"Main System: Engage Combat Mode"

[@jaywaii3187]

Somehow as a kid, I didn't realize the first Mechwarrior PC game and the Battletech cartoon were part of the same universe. I only really got into Battletech lore from reading everything in the Mechwarrior 2 PC game. Go Clan Wolf!

[@DrFoo11]

I had no idea till I read your comment right now, and someone corrected me that the Timber Wolf is in fact the Mad Cat. What the what?

[@TymersRealm]

@@DrFoo11 Timber Wolf - Clan official name Mad Cat - Inner Sphere name for the Timber Wolf given by Comstar (beware of Space AT&T)

[@KennethDPedersen]

ExoSquad and Battletech these are a few of my favorite things..

[@SignoftheMagi]

Fun Fact: Harmony Gold finally lost their lawsuits against Battletech, so the game can at least use all the "hidden" mech (read: stuff they stole), as long as they have different art. Which they did some years ago.

[@Dracounguis]

Yup, they redesigned them. You'd think that would have been a cheaper option than decades of lawsuits. Harmony Gold was suing the video game maker Piranha Games up till last year. I think HG does more suing than making entertainment for the last 20yrs.

[@TymersRealm]

Actually, if you look at the Table Top side of things, the Classic redesign initiative has brought the Dougram, Crushed Joe, and Macross based units (save the LAMs) into a modern, and rather close to their Unseen forms, style.

[@SignoftheMagi]

@@TymersRealm They did, but HG kept suing them over and over again. Even when the models evolved to the point they were barely recognizable, they suing them over simply HAVING the same names or for doing it in the first place. But recently, the judge dismissed the suit with prejudice. That means they can never again sue them over the same issues. So they are finally past the lawsuits.

[@TymersRealm]

@@SignoftheMagi I'm fully aware of the legal bitch-slapping HG got in the '16-'18 affair. I'm hoping HG never gets compent counsel to try it again ('cause they will). Outside of the Dougram quads (Scorpion & Golaith) and two of the OST mechs, pretty much all the 3025 unseens have been Classic'ed on the Table Top side.

[@Dracounguis]

@@TymersRealm I believe they got LAMs back into it again too. New designs obviously.

[@obregon209]

I went to a virtual reality arcade in the 90s and we played battle tech and each player got your own personal Pod that closed around you with screens . It was a epic 90s birthday! I think I had a “No Fear” T-shirt on!!!!

[@Summertimeblues28]

Love me some Battletech from Tyco. Thanks for posting this. Be safe everyone

[@wraithgear4216]

this show is surprisingly in tune with the battle-tech mythos. even if its only cannon sideways. the shows plot runs at a break neck pace, and those not fairly deep into the lore will miss all the ways it is accurate, though the story and characters seems to fit more with other child action cartoons of the era then the grittyness of the setting. its a fun watch to pick out mechs and my friend group regularly use "You DARE refuse my batchall?" only to respond with "refuse your WHAT?!" in Mechwarrior Online

[@KillerOrca]

The reply to “Muh BatChall” is “Confused Freebirth” and it’s just Adam Steiner going HUH

[@SWIFTO_SCYTHE]

MECHWARRIOR / BATTLETECH as a whole is AWESOME. I played the hell out of Mechwarrior 2 on MS Dos.

[@rebeccabogardus4138]

Now there is a turn based combat Battletech on Steam.

[@CrunchyRhombus]

I am suddenly find myself having flashbacks watching the animations. Thanks for sharing!

[@latrelldavis7068]

Robot Jocks...and I quote ," crash and burn."

[@Demolitiondude]

Chicks dig giant robots.

[@mrandmrsduquette1904]

Nice.

[@seanbrazell6147]

Aff.

[@stonewall286]

Check out Good Bad Flicks coverage of the moviem

[@seszw6159]

I played the tabletop game quite a bit in the late 80s early 90s. I even played the sit in battlemech simulator in Chicago a few times. I never knew there was a cartoon! How did I not know about this???

[@OptimusShr]

Some slight errors: 1: There ARE transforming 'Mechs in BattleTech, the tabletop at least, I don't think they were in the show. They are called Land Air 'Mechs and transform between 'Mech mode and Land Air Mode. The Three original Land Air 'Mechs were variants of BatlleMechs based on the Valkyries from Macross. The Stinger, The Phoenix Hawk, and the Wasp. 2: Yes we do remember this show, mainly for how bad it was.

[@Plotatothewondercat]

Don't forget the quadvees, the way less impressive and way more dysfunctional transforming 'Mechs.

[@OptimusShr]

@@Plotatothewondercat Yeah I forgot about those since the Battletech people I know only really talk about the Land Air 'Mechs.

[@Zeithri]

I love me some Phoenix Hawk. Land/Air Mechs don't get enough love.

[@Coyotequatch]

@@Zeithri Phoenix Hawk: the only Macross 'mech that Takara/Hasbro turned into a Transformer (Jetfire).

[@linadecaseleycarloss5838]

a friend of mine had the Zentradi Commander's battle pod - in Battletech terms a MAD-3R Marauder in it's original form. Loved the original 3025 era technical readouts & 'mech. I adored those days & built up a complete regimental combat team. Oh those were the days...

[@potatoradio]

Remember the Battle of Like Tweet Tukayyid . 21 May 3052 - Clans loose to intergalactic AT&T ,"pay your bill bucko" - Comstar.

[@tssteelx]

Comstar you have no choice.

[@miked884]

Blackpants legion fans unite

[@ookamiprime6646]

Clan Wolf did not lose to Space AT&T

[@kevinW826]

Ookami Prime they withheld from the vote? Or withdrew? I forget, I had all of the novels.

[@ookamiprime6646]

@@kevinW826 Clan Wolf beat Comstar at both battlefields. Jade Falcons and Ghost Bears both drew.

[@thebl4ckd0g]

Oh man. Brings back memories of a young teenager me, who still enjoyed watching cartoons, especially in the tail-end of when they still tried to air cartoons on Saturdays... loved this cartoon!

[@vustvaleo8068]

an existing Japanese mech design from an anime gets imported - competing American companies: "MINE! NO MINE! NO THAT BELONGS TO ME! THAT'S MINE!"

[@TheRyujinLP]

I know that it's fun for some reason to base on the US but this wasn't the US sides fault. There was really no way either FASA or US Harmony Gold could of known just how messed up the licensing situation for Macross was in Japan at that time. The rights were split between three different companies and they all claimed they had sole rights to license the show to outside markets so you ended up with a two different companies using their "right" to sub license the property to different US companies with no communication between them. So in this case but FASA and Harmony Gold were right AND wrong at the same time.

[@Texas240]

@@TheRyujinLP - "could have" or "could've", not "could of". Please pass it on, let's not allow a generation to not understand contractions.

[@Vessekx]

The_RyujinLP, Harmony Gold *should*, however, have known that *they* didn’t own the copyright or exclusive licensing rights they repeatedly went to court to ‘enforce’ against FASA and others.

[@smackyfrog6046]

There were so many robot mech attack properties in my childhood. Thank you for sorting this out for me.

[@black2much]

The history of Air Raiders plz

[@TheExplosiveGuy]

I grew up with the Mechwarrior games, which take place in the Battletech universe, and some of my fondest memories are from those games. Best video game series ever, and the franchise is still kicking too, it's lasted decades.

[@856Dropout]

I thought I was the only person that knew about “Robot Jox”

[@buzzkill4623]

achilles!!

[@mndalran]

This was on at 430 am when I was growing up in my area....still woke up to watch it

[@awakz100]

I played the RPG and knew this show existed but never saw it,

[@shinigamiwolfen]

I had the Axman and Bushwacker as a kid and was aware of the Battletech franchise but never knew the show existed. When I saw the title I was like "Oh man I bet this explains the toys."

[@deidryt9944]

"slavish devotion to chain of command"... sounds like someone's read the Blood of Kerensky trilogy and is paraphrasing.

[@KillerOrca]

I mean it IS Inner Sphere propoganda in-universe so

[@kevinW826]

Loved that trilogy

[@jorgenunopina1665]

thank you so much man, i have been looking for this toy for decades! i got the mauler back as a kid after i see the show here in Portugal maybe 96, and lost track of the name of the cartoon, but i never forget it!

[@Dracounguis]

I started playing Battletech from the late 80's. It's a well developed universe. (Till the Jihad and after where things went stupid, imo) A Sci-fi universe with NO ALIENS! Shocking, I know! The show was campy as hell. The catchphrase "Information is ammunition!" was cringy even then and is said tongue in cheek by anyone who knows it. I still have all the action figures from it. They weren't horrible, but not great quality even for that time. The people figures are like M.A.S.K. in detail and size. While not a HUGE game like Warhammer 40k is, it's still alive, even though the Mechwarrior: Dark Age game by Wizkids kinda killed the universe to make it fit their (now dead) MageKnight 'clicky' version the game. And Harmony Gold can go jump off a cliff, they've been hounding FASA, and the subsequent Battletech owners, TO THIS DAY!

[@Dracounguis]

@MosesBad Don't look at the most recent rule-book... Just about everything from the old Tactical Handbook is now tourney legal. What we'd call Level 2 Rules, if they didn't get rid of that distinction a few years ago. It's like they just tossed everything in the new rule-book they could think of. ::: When I do infrequently play a game nowadays, we also use stuff from 3075 or earlier. Definitely nothing after the Dark Age and that ClickyTech junk

[@mward5962]

@MosesBad 3067's civil war is about as far as I'll go. It honestly feels like a good spot to stop if you'd been following the plot since 3025. Since it basically rounds off the whole Federated Suns - Steiner story.

[@ryand7575]

This video make me remember about all the toys I had from this show. Took a deep dive and I am realizing how amazing my parents were for getting me so many of these toys.

[@sabin26]

I'm team all the above. Giant robot combat.

[@michaelinterbartolo3]

On college visit to Purdue we stayed in Chicago and my dad and I went to the battle tech center. Decades later he still reminds me that he won. Now a days these battle tech game pods show up at local comic con and my kids and I usually play a round or two.

[@emperorjames794]

"Information is ammunition."

[@Logan912]

G.I. Joe already took “knowing is half the battle,” so the Battletech cartoon tried at least. It’s cheesy as all hell, but it tried.

[@AronFigaro]

Battletech was an awesome animated series, and I still love the universe. It's so weird to look back on it and see that it happened in 1994 - when my mother and I look back on our love for the Battletech universe, we always think I was younger than that.

[@jakestyles002]

I love them all, and it breaks my heart that licensing and law suits ruined all of them for everyone.

[@SecretGalaxyTV]

No way those rights get licensed out that way today. The early 80s was like the wild west.

[@Reoh0z]

That which has been Seen can never be Unseen.

[@funkmachine6420]

Omggg I remember this!!! This brought back a memory that I didn't realise I'd forgotten!

[@manundermask6601]

You just confused a whole generation of people by showing a VCR.

[@Texas240]

A what? ; )

[@Evilbutteredpopcorn]

@@Texas240 An ancient device used to decrypt data archives we used called "VHS Tapes"

[@earlwyss520]

@@Evilbutteredpopcorn I still have 1 or 2 functional VCRs and 1000 VHS tapes.

[@Sharemycosplay]

You seriously just made my day. Loved this show as a kid and everything Battletech. Even have the Battletech Genesis game loaded on my Mini. Great video. Never hard any of the toys, but would have loved them.

[@liljenborg2517]

Team Battletech, team Exosquad, or team Robotech? Yes. Yes I am. Team Clan? Burn ‘em with PPC fire. Team Kurita? Damn the accords! Them need to be NUKED (along with Harmony Gold).

[@orionthanathos8861]

Harmony Gold = an abomination of toy and licensed animation distributor...

[@gotifan]

40 years later and I'm still just as much, if not more, of a Battletech nerd than I was back then. The major differences are plastic instead of metal, acrylic paint instead of enamel, and I have a grownup's budget for more toys (minis) now. So many miniatures. So, so many... lol.

[@jmac2050]

Why, I keep hearing, "Battle Necks"

[@captainstarlight3780]

So just watched the series. It surprisingly gets a lot better as it goes along. Shame it never got a second season honestly.

[@b.thomas8926]

Legal Commandment: Thy shall not cross Harmony Gold. They sue everyone.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

Nah, they already lost the last lawsuit. No more avenues of appeal. Unseens all the way, baby!

[@TymersRealm]

@@andrewsuryali8540 Give them time to get competent lawyers. Then they'll try again.

[@ncc17701a]

I remember this series. I used to play a lot of Battletech. I still have a lot of the books (both novels and resource books). That led me onto Robotech (where Battletech got some of the Mech designs from). Loved playing this game!

[@timo191]

Black kid-"Hey cool mech. Where is it from?" White kid-"It's from the Clans." Black kid-"Excuse me?"

[@tropicalwargaming688]

Nice one

[@Atriviality]

A Land Air Mech (LAM) is a transformable mech from the Battletech universe. They stopped using them after being sued by various companies for using the designs from Macross.

[@ShineyFace1337]

Since harmony gold can't do their bullshit anymore, does that mean they could bring lams back I wonder

[@greggvictorious968]

Robotech is disqualified for being a bizzaro pirated version of Macross.

[@n.maximo5505]

Gregg Victorious but then is it in-disqualified for also having two other anime’s’s in there? I mean it’s definitely whack.

[@davidgriffin9412]

Great video, I started playing Battletech when it first came out. I had many battledroids miniatures and then a lot of battletech miniatures. We even got into the RPG they published. I still play Battletech.

[@Monothefox]

ROBOT JOX!!!

[@CantankerousDave]

ACHILLES!!!!!!! (Still can't believe it was written by famous sci-fi author Joe Haldeman...)

[@DrFoo11]

Spoiler alert. TEX IS AN A-HOLE

[@aldusxenon]

I played the board game and the P.C. game...loved them. Again...thank you for this, Dan. 👍

[@kylehough7336]

Thank you for the Robot Jocks reference. Also, thank you for the properties that leak into my other interest: tabletop gaming. Great work!

[@Knight121198]

This is what got me into Mechwarrior video game franchise, still waiting on that movie though!

[@jasonparent7967]

Sadly a Battletech movie has been hampered by hubris and an ego bigger than a Jade Falcon

[@MxMoondoggie]

Remember the TV show as a kid, used to go to my friend's place and watch it. He had all the toys from it.

[@benjaminsanchez1869]

I used to have the Mauler mech. I loved it as a kid and wished they'd finish the series. I hope something else comes down the line in the future. This would be an amazing mini-series or movie.

[@LordOfAllusion]

In Chicago near Navy Pier there was an Arcade which featured a dedicated Battletech Center. You got to go in a cockpit and pilot a mech playing games against other people (basically an early LAN game) for like 10-20 min at a time. As a kid I loved going there but could only afford to do so maybe 5 times.

[@MrGrumblier]

I remember that. There are still two places that use the Tesla II pods - one in Minnesota (12 pods) and the other in Texas (18 pods). The original Battletech Center was created by the founders of FASA. Interestingly enough, the simulators were what FASA originally wanted to create but the tech wasn't up to the job at the time so they settled with tabletop miniatures instead.

[@thunderbug8640]

This show was pure fire.

[@premsing88]

I remember the series. Ddnt see the toys in store back then. It was aired on tv during the 90s here in malaysia. Enjoyed it a lot

[@GELTONZ]

I watched this as a kid and made a point of recording all the CG fight scenes. A few years later I'd meet a friend who got into the tabletop game and Mechwarrior 2 on PC super hard and blew his mind by revealing there was once a cartoon but deeply regretted that I never recorded a full episode, just a compilation of the CG scenes. At least I had a decent pile of the toys...and the Exo-Squad toys which was actually where I first learned about the Robotech/Battletech design similarities. I had watched Robotech years earlier but never noticed that the Marauder was a Zentaedi Officer Pod until the toys started directly competing. Shame the show didn't last longer to tie in with Mechwarrior 2. Also due to copyright issues the cartoon will likely never see a DVD release so please enjoy the episodes on KZbin!

[@02167631]

I loved this show and have rewatched the series several times since its initial run. I even caught a few episodes just last year. Even now. I would have loved a 2nd season or continuation. To this day, i still smile when i think about the quote," initiating enhanced imaging!"