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| Dana Sterling retells the story of her parents, Max and Miriya, to reassure viewers that this is still the same show, honest! |
Original Air Date: Apr. 21, 1985.
Story Editor: Steve Kramer. Supervising Director: Robert V. Barron.
(And yes, I'm aware that there was only one season of Robotech. The numbering is for the convenience of being accurate to the original series as well.)
PLOT - ROBOTECH:
It has been fifteen years since the destruction of the SDF-1. New Macross City has been sealed off because of radiation, and new settlements have been built to take its place. The next generation of fighter pilots has graduated from the Robotech Academy, with their commencement speaker urging them to follow in the footsteps of such heroes as Admiral Gloval, Claudia Grant, and the others who died protecting the Earth.
While most of the graduates are rushing to celebrate, young Bowie feels depressed. He believes that he's made a mistake enlisting in the military. His friend, Dana Sterling, decides to boost his spirits by telling him about how her parents met - her parents being Max Sterling, the SDF-1's ace pilot, and Miriya, the greatest fighter among the Zentraedi.
Meanwhile, the Robotech Masters have reached Earth. Hiding behind the moon, they begin their search for the remains of the SDF-1 and their lost protoculture factory, launching an attack in the process...
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| The Masters debate over how to proceed. |
CHARACTERS:
This is a clip show, so there's not much opportunity to get a strong impression of the new regulars. Bowie worries that he doesn't belong in the military. Dana is more enthusiastic about following in her parents' footsteps, but she cares enough about her friend's bad mood to take time to cheer him up. Another fighter pilot is introduced late in the episode, but other than observing that she feels less anxious at the prospect of battle than she had expected, she doesn't get much to do. I don't think her name is even mentioned at this point, though she's too prominently spotlighted to not be a major character later.
We also get a scene showing the Robotech Masters. Now that they've reached Earth, there's disagreement about how to proceed, with one wanting to study a human, while the others want to just stick to the plan and conserve their dwindling resources. This actually is interesting, because it establishes that the villains are operating from a position of desperation and even weakness.
NARRATION:
The narrator sits this episode out, save for doing the "Next Time" teaser at the end. There's really no need for him, not when the characters are so intent on narrating for him.
INCIDENTAL MUSIC:
Much of this retells the Max/Miriya story from Macross, and the music from the Robotech episodes are reused exactly as on first broadcast. Since many of the clips are from action scenes, this results in the "action" music cues being even more overused than usual. Ulpio Minucci's Robotech theme is a fine composition - but I really don't need to hear it three times (not counting titles) in a single 22 minute span!
There is one nice touch, when we see Bowie listening to a recording of Minmei's We Will Win, which helps to sell this as the same world from "The Macross Saga."
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| Dana's friend Bowie thinks he's made a big mistake by joining the military. |
OTHER MUSINGS:
Dana's Story is a dual clip show. This is the only regular Robotech episode that has no corresponding show from another series, because everything here is built from clips. In addition to all the flashbacks built from Macross footage, the "frame story" is taken from Southern Cross episodes, with new dialogue dubbed in to create a different context, all targeted at easing viewers over the transition from one generation to the next.
This was probably a smart move. The divide between one show and the next, with a new set of characters introduced to tell a new story, was always going to be a danger point for the series. If viewers didn't feel as if they were still watching the same show, many would leave (doubly a risk when boys came home from school to find the new lead was a GIIIRRRL!)
Between cutting Southern Cross footage into Macross's epilogue, to show the Masters leaving for Earth, and creating this episode, firmly establishing that the Macross backstory is affecting the present and introducing Dana as Max and Miriya's daughter, the writers do the job of keeping it all unified... at least so far.
As to the episode? It's fine for what it is. The frame story does its job in establishing the new status quo, introducing some of the new characters, and starting the plot in motion. The battle scene at the end is choppy and lacks any real resolution... but given that it was cut together from other battle footage from Southern Cross, there was likely a limit to what could be done.
Oh, and it is kind of nice to see the Max/Miriya story retold as the central focus rather than as a side plot. This shift in emphasis from the first broadcast versions, emphasizing what had previously been a "B story," makes for one time when I didn't mind revisiting old footage.
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| Graduates listen to a commencement speech filled with Macross references, because this is the same show - honest! |
OVERALL:
Dana's Story was likely a necessary episode to keep the overall arc on track and to ease viewers over the divide between series. I'd be lying if I said it created any strong connection with the new characters, but it does its job in that it still feels more or less as if I'm watching the same show.
Given the limitations of being an episode made up entirely of bits from other episodes, I'd say it's as good as it could be. That may be damning with faint praise. Still, it's a pleasant enough way to kill half an hour, while also setting up at least some of what's going to come next.
Overall Rating: 5/10.
Previous Episode: Farewell to Tenderness/To the Stars
Next Episode: Prisoner/False Start
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